steve-in-kville 

Not sure if I read this here on BF or elsewhere. Is she planning to break another record? Like the fastest 100,000 miles of all time??

Maybe I read too much....

znomit

From her FB May 16th:
"For anyone who doesn't know, I am continuing on to set the record for the least amount of days to ride 100,000 miles."

mibike

This is a spreadsheet for her 100,000 mile https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...s20/edit#gid=0 attempt 90K + at this time.

steve-in-kville 

Thanks!

Lakerat

About 12 days from 100K miles

CliffordK

Then does she stop, or keep going for 200K?

I've noticed on Strava that Steven Abraham generally seems to be trailing Amanda Coker by a fair amount, although apparently close this month. Does he have a chance of beating Amanda? Will there be a Men's record that will be less than the Women's record?

Lakerat

Imagine how strange for her to break the habit and not ride the first day when she stops.

DXchulo

Yeah, that's going to be difficult. I've never even come close to what she's doing, but I've done a few 10-day tours and a 23-day tour, and even then I felt out of place when I had to go back to "normal" life.


I bet she'll come up with another big goal/ride that will make us all feel even more inadequate.

CliffordK

Even the diet will have to change. Imagine if she's been eating 5000 calories a day for the last year, then gets off the bike for a month.

I wouldn't be surprised if this isn't the last we hear of her. All this riding has to be pretty good training. Will we see her jump into pro women's racing? Could she jump into pro MEN's racing? I could imagine a push for greater equality between racing circuits.

John_V 

She doesn't live far from where she is riding. I'm sure she'll be out riding more for fun when all this is over. I don't think the cycling world has heard the last of Amanda Coker.

John_V 

For those not following her on a daily basis, she did her best ride ever yesterday (day 414) - 402 miles @20 mph average speed and 100% on her TT bike. this girl.

StephenH

I think the men's records and women's records are separate; the real interest is not in one or the other, but the better of the two. But Kurt will still hold the men's record. I think they also have breakouts for different ages, for that matter.


As to what Ms Coker does- what she is doing now is quite a bit different from road racing and quite a bit different from long-distance racing. So she might do well in one or the other, but whether she's got any interest along those lines is a different matter. Racing something like RAAM is basically a moneypit, racing the various 12/24/500 mile races around the country is a moneypit but to a lesser extent. I don't know how hard it is to make a good living as a female pro, either. So there're some other considerations beyond just spinning pedals.

Machka 

If those around her who care about her really care about her, they will start talking to her now about goals that do not involve cycling such as going to university, getting a job, or taking up another hobby. Eventually she will need something else to focus on. If she just reaches a cycling goal and stops cycling, she will go into a depression. I do hope that those who care about her realise this.

Good on her for going for these goals ... but ...

CliffordK

Entering the sport with international fame may be of benefit, especially when one considers sponsors. Perhaps also benefit women's cycling or women's sports in general.

But, you are right, mass start racing dynamics would certainly be different from what she's doing, and she may or may not excel with it. Likewise, a short time trial would be different from her ordeal.

Rowan

The dynamics of racing of any sort are so completely different to what Amanda is doing at the moment, any attempt at them would be disappointing, in my view. RAAM or one of the other ultra-distance events might suit her, but they are not professional.

The elephant in the room as far as all this goes is her personality and how her previous crash impacted on that. I suspect that the on-going effects of her injury have given her the extraordinary psychological ability to ride on for these records, but she is going to need careful management when the end of these attempts comes.

Please don't take this as a criticism of her. I hope her records stand for as long as Tommy Godwin's did, and in a way I am glad she has so effectively eclipsed Kurt Seavogel's figure, largely because of his subsequent machinations to protect that record.

c.miller64

An understandable opinion, but there's no doubt in my mind that Amanda is more than capable to race at the professional level. While she obviously has off the charts endurance, it's really her power that has made her record attempts so successful. At 20-21mph, she is riding at a very low percentage of her FTP and is the main reason she's able to perform at the level she does day in, and day out.

Rowan

I am aware of those things. But as has been pointed out in many posts in the Racers forum here, as well as in various threads in other forums, it's not so much the ability to go all day, or even put out power, but to cope with the surges that other riders use to sort out the opposition.

It is well known that the further someone rides at a certain output, their body adapts to that becoming normal. Being able to up its output on demand becomes another matter. Very few long-distance riders are effective "short course" racers.

She also does seem to have a dislike of riding with others with whom she is not totally familiar, and in mass-start races, that is something she is not going to cope with at all well.

As I said, there are a number of significantly different dynamics involved in racing. TTs might be a different call.

As a by the by, has Amanda been approached by any of the professional teams to try out for racing? That to me is the main indicator of her suitability for a racing role.

As I say, this is not to diss her achievements in any way. But I do find it an interesting discussion point, and if she ever is able to make the transition, all the more power to her.

DXchulo

Doesn't seem like she would want to risk another crash. Can't say I blame her. It's not like the female pros are making millions of dollars.


RAAM seems like a pretty good fit. Obviously there's always a risk of crashing, but it's pretty low in RAAM and managing that risk is largely in your own control. I bet she could find enough sponsors and/or online donors to make it happen financially.

CliffordK

Well, I'm sure she's had a year on the bike to think about her future. Perhaps she'll be able to pick up some paid photo ops. Wheaties? Bike ads?

I saw the notes on the Strava page about riding with unfamiliar cyclists. But, she is also in the middle of a huge event. She has her annual mileage record (although, will they adjust the start/end points?), but just imagine crashing out on the 100K ride at 99K

Apparently she has some junior racing experience, from a few years ago. But, if a team chose to try to recruit her, I would hope they would take her under their wing to get her up to speed, so to speak.

Do women elbow their competition out of the way like the men?

Flamme Rouge

OK troll, why bring this up in a thread about the amazing accomplishments of a very focused cyclist?

I'll censor my own comments regarding your utter ignorance. Simply put, you clearly did not see the video. Sagz never touched Cav with his elbow in spite of Cav hooking Sagz with his handlebars, after he had already leaned in heavily on Sagz.

My guess is that you've never raced and you're probably uncomfortable in a close pack. If you had experience with either then you would realize that (i) Cav had no "right" to the line, he didn't own it; (ii) the front of the race was moving left to right at about 70kph and Sagz was forced to do the same; (iii) whilst history had no bearing on this particular TdF stage, Cav was trying to use his physical style against a bigger adversary -- and failed quite dramatically; (iv) Cav was already falling before Sagz put his elbow up due to the physics of being pushed from his right by the charging Cav, as Cav catastrophically realized he had no business trying to sneak up the barrier... I could go on, but it's clear you have no idea about which you speak. If you won't listen to me, try reading comments from the many pros/ex-pros who actually have experience on the bike and don't suck up to the ASO which obviously was trying to placate one of it's main sponsors: Dimension Data (which happens to be Cav's team).


Maybe you'll have more luck baiting some Trump fans about CNN since that seems to be your style.

CliffordK

I didn't mention people or races, nor was that my intent. You can go to the Professional Cycling subforum to read my comments about the TdF Stage 4 if you wish.

My question was more in general whether there is the same level of aggressiveness in the women's races as the men's races, especially in the finishes which might lead to crashes. I suppose I'll have to watch the final day Women's TdF to find out.

Looking up crashes on the web, it does appears as if there are quite a few in the Women's races... so that may well be a valid concern for any rider wishing to enter pro racing, male or female.

StanSeven

Ok, let's keep the thread on topic. The Sagan/Cav debate is another thread(s).

Thanks

BillyD

We don't need all that hostility and insults either.

Rowan

The crash thing would seem important. Another female BF poster has stopped massed start racing because of several crashes that have resulted in concussions. It took a while for her to get back to riding, and now TTs, after her last crash. Massed start racing in either gender does involve physical contact, especially crits, and crashes are pretty common.

AS I said in a previous post, the dynamics of racing are entirely different to what Coker is doing now. In addition, if she was regarded as having any significant potential, she would likely have been approached by now (which may or may not have happened). I also suspect that her body has been conditioned to such an extent that if she were to encounter a mountain climb of any significance, she would struggle.

And again, happy to be proved wrong on all this.

jeffpoulin

I think it's great when we talk about a men's record which is less than the woman's record! Amanda has really set a high bar. I'm not sure what she'll do in the future, but I saw that she recently did a 400 mile day in 19 hours. Wow!