daviddavieboy

I am hung up on which ride to sign up for, either the Heroic or the (formally known as) Coastal route. I can do 100+mi but the climbing on the Heroic ride is double than I have ever tackled before on such a long ride. I am still training and my FTP is slowly recovering from almost no real cycling in a year. What fitness level were others at at the time of their last event ?

rccardr 

I've done the Coastal Route four times. It's difficult- even for riders in very good condition- as it contains all three of the 'major' climbs, and that's what will grind you down. So I concentrate on slow climbing skills (200 watt power number, 50-60 cadence, HR under 150 for 60-90 minutes at a time) all winter long & use a spin bike when the weather restricts outdoor riding. In the spring also tend to be 15 pounds lighter than around the holidays, so there's that.

On the other hand, I'm 68 and us older types lose condition fairly quickly. If off the bike for almost a year, suggest you pay attention to conditioning for the next four months.

Or walk.

davester

The Coastal route is plenty hard, and harder than most centuries that I ride (and I ride a lot of very hilly centuries). Don't forget that it involves a lot of dirt (which substantially increases the effort required per mile) and some brutal climbs. I'm in pretty good shape for a 65-year-old, having ridden the Markleeville Death Ride (130 miles, 16,000' of climbing) and Eroica California, amongst others, for the last two years. I do about 3,000 miles and 250,000' of climbing per year. Coming off a period of non-riding, I think it would be foolish to ride the Heroic, which is only 4 months from now, unless you can dedicate a very large amount of time to fairly intensive training between now and then.

mgopack42 

my Heroic Eroica 2018

I can say i was in good condition, but not a world beater. my secret weapon is I am too stubborn to be reasonable. I may have been one of the last to leave the course. the good news is by the time I got to the staging point, the beers were priced to sell...FREE!
Unlike some of the naysayers, you will see on the forums, I say know your capabilities, and then challenge yourself to stretch them, you wont regret it!

noglider 

The only insight I can give you is that training is important. I had heard about the Hillier Than Thou ride and was intrigued. The website says that if you don't train, you will regret riding it. I took that to mean that if I train, I should be OK. It might be the first ride I ever actively trained for. And it went well for me. It was hard, but I had a great time. I made a couple of partners on the ride, and both of them had to walk up the hills, but I made it up without walking once, so I was pleased.

Classtime 

daviddavieboy If you knew your old FTP and know your current FTP, then you should do the Heroic Route. 16 weeks gives you 4 or 5 good blocks of training.

p.s. walking an Eroica bike up a few sections to a place firm and level enough to get started again is perfectly acceptable.

since6

My only caveat is if you are an older rider, really listen to your joints, knees, ankles, hips, back and don't forget your neck (it can be a real disaster to have trained everything but your neck muscles to hold head/helmet for hours and find you can't), they catch up much slower than muscle mass and lung capacity and once injured can often stay injured until replaced.
So do go for the journey! But bring your body along with you.

mhespenheide 

I'm in my mid-forties, 6'4", ~185#, good general fitness. My goal for Eroica is to enjoy a day in beautiful surroundings and around beautiful vintage bikes. I appreciate hard efforts and pushing my limits, but I'm not really into suffering for its own sake. I enjoy being fit enough to climb well, and to be able to help lead pacelines on Highway 1 and other flatter portions.

I've ridden the coastal route four times. I've ridden the portions of the Heroic route on my own, on other days (since I live ~1.5 hours south of the course). To me, the "Scalatores" or new Coastal (without Kiler Hill) are the more interesting rides -- unless you're specifically looking for the challenge of the extra miles. And the rolling hills on those extra miles are not to be underestimated even if they don't have a named climb like Kiler or Cypress Mountain. To me, the real beauty of the ride is in the shoestring dirt roads crossing the coastal mountains. So I'd recommend the "Scalatores" route, personally.

From there, you need to ask yourself a couple questions: are you willing to gear down? Or are you willing to walk? Some of the climbs are tough, made more so by the dirt roads. There are long sections where standing out of the saddle to climb doesn't really help since you'll likely lose traction and spin out the rear wheel. So you're looking at long sections of seated climbing. If you don't mind walking in places or don't mind gearing down (with a triple or super-low rear cogs), then the hills are survivable. I will say that the cool conditions at the start of last year's ride meant that I didn't drink enough over the first part of the day and I ended up cramping badly on Cypress Mountain, so I'll have to be more careful about that.

Over the rest of the year, I divide my time between cycling (usually with a modern carbon bike; a few times per month vintage), running, and backpacking/hiking. Starting right about now, I generally start riding the vintage bike more often and work up to ~3 hours rides on the vintage bike. The food stops are enjoyable enough that I usually linger and recover there, so (for me) Eroica CA feels more like four rides in one day rather than a single grind.

That said, I now have a newborn son and I don't know what kind of training I'll be able to do this winter. I might step down to the (new) Coastal route and skip Kiler this year.

mgopack42 

also remember, no one cares which ride you signed up for, just sign up and show up and ride the one you are feeling. I was unsure if i should do the Heroic route myself, and most of the people i met in Cambria did a shorter ride. of the three of us that did the Heroic, i was the old pudgy one, and as a consequence never saw the guy ( i forget his name) that i rode to the start line with again until dinner! After the ride, i said "never again; i have done it and now i dont need to again", but my f'ed up brain is considering doing it again, only BETTER!

daviddavieboy

I have until the end of January to sign up at the cheaper rate. I have sent an email asking if I signed up for the Heroic could I change my route at the time of start as the cost is the same. As far as my training it is going well, currently my FTP is 240 using a powertap hub and I am still well over my regular riding weight. I have no problem with having to walk a hill (not that it has ever happened) as I love to take photographs and tend to pause if I am taken by the scenery. My bike has 53x41 NR chainrings and a 30x14 freewheel I am not prepared to change my drive train so I can see walking in my future. I am driving 3000+ mi one way so optimally I would like to sign up for the heroic challenge but do the coastal if I don't feel up to it.

DiabloScott

I had a similar thought this year - I was in good shape and I do a lot of climbing and I wanted a HARD EPIC ride. But the description said something like "we suggest starting at 5:30 am wave if you're doing the Heroic otherwise you might not make it back before dark"... that spooked me a little bit. And it was tough and epic and I walked the steepest part of Cypress and walked some in Kiler and I finished before dark, but not by much.

9-1/2 hours ride time 12-1/2 hours total, counting a minor mechanical I had, and a detour off-course. There wasn't much margin for error.

lapola

I am still training and my FTP is slowly recovering from almost no real cycling in a year. What fitness level were others at at the time of their last event ?

Choke 

You can absolutely change your route if you want. As far as that goes, you can do it while on the ride....I've done that before. You have to check in at the finish so they know that you're no longer out there.

jcb3

I did the Heroic in 2016 and that was enough. It was my first Eroica.

10:30 moving and 13 hr total on the route. Made it back just as it was getting dark. 4 flats, which certainty didn't help. So I was trying to hurry and catch up all day. Walked Cypress and Kiler. Was one of the last riders on Santa Rita Road (Wes was sweeping the hill of the last few riders and pronouncing some of them needing a SAG, luckily I didn't receive that sentence).

Coastal is hard enough without adding the 30 extra miles and 2 hours of the Heroic. Especially now with the two hard hills (Kiler and Cypress) at the end rather than in the middle.

All you really get from the Heroic is a detour on the backroads east of Paso Robles. The really interesting scenery is on the remainder of the route. Sort of like a century when they route you through some neighborhoods to add some distance.

If this is your first event, I would suggest the Coastal. Unless this is a bucket list once in a lifetime event, you can do the Heroic some other day.

Of the 4 times I rode Cypress, I walked twice and rode twice - a combination of gearing, conditioning, and mental strength.

First year, I really wasn't ready for the mental difficulty of the ride.

delicious

I did the heroic route the first year (2015?) in CA. At the time my FTP was probably b/w 3.0 and 3.5 w/kg at 160 pounds, and I had completed several century+ rides. It was still tough, but very fun.

daviddavieboy

This was my last century from last year, but this was on my race bike and 35 lbs lighter. Also this is a vacation and a one time thing so I am going to sign up for the Heroic. If I don't feel up for it at the time I'll switch the shorter. I am going to be in the area for a few days so I may check out some of the monster climbs on my own.

mgopack42 

Since Scott posed his strava, i will put up a picture from the link i posted above. fo all i know it was DiabloScott who i started with. I walked a little in Kiler Canyon, mostly because it was soft and rutted. I walked A LOT of Cypress Mtn. I had a plethora of mechanical issues, so that added to my time.
If it helps anyone, i was about 190 lb, and my FTP was about 220.
SOOO the OP should be able to do it is FTP is at 240 and weight not too much over 225.

DiabloScott

Yeah! Looking at the flyby, we were together until I missed the turn at Santa Rita, and then we crossed paths at the rest stops, and then I passed you on Cypress somewhere.

mgopack42 

yeah, I don't remember people, but I remember your EM. You definitely passed by me as I walked up Cypress.

Classtime 

There is now a Strava Club to check in.
https://www.strava.com/clubs/571539

daviddavieboy

This is exactly the kind of metric I was looking for. Right now my weight is 230~235 (lost 15+ from Sept) but it is coming down slowly as my activity level is rising and I am watching my food a little more so I feel I can get to ~200 fairly easily. I am training with my Eroica bike indoor (with LOTS of protection) getting all the bugs worked out and a new leather saddle broken in. I have heard many accounts of riders taking wrong turns so I will try to hook up with someone knowledgeable of the route AND take my bike computer in my pocket. Now I have to get over ruining my nice bike shoes using toe clips. LOL BTW all signed up, Thanks all for the useful comments !

Classtime 

Looking forward to seeing your Bob Jackson up close. Bring the Pinarello for the Nova Ride on Saturday 3,000 miles after all.