Yesterday was the 3rd for my Farm to Fork Fondo series this year and it was a beautiful day to be on a bike! Cool morning to start with sun, a few clouds but not too hot. Celebs on the ride included Floyd Landis (yes, that Floyd Landis) and Mike Ritcher, NHL Hall of Fame goalie (I got to meet him). Floyd is originally from Lancaster County PA and he’s now working with local Amish farmers there to grow hemp for his CBD products. Got to see a field or two during the ride.
I’m pretty happy that I did not have to walk my bike on this one! When i start to feel like i can’t take in enough oxygen, I just stop, catch my breath and let my heart rate drop. That and @Coach_Theia’s hill climb workout advice playing in my head helped me conquer the hills yesterday and more hills overall this year than last year at the FtFF rides. And I had the best avg mph and avg watts of all 3 of the rides so I must be getting a little bit stronger!
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@PaleGail what a great report. It sounds like an amazing experience. And great job on those hills. And that’s fantastic putting your training into IRL rides. You go!!
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Yes!! That’s great about the hills and speed! Keep up the great work!!
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Way to go @PaleGail! Sounds like a fantastic ride. Well done!
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Interesting article from WSJ - hopefully you all can see it -
https://www.wsj.com/articles/these-coaches-do-everything-but-carry-clients-over-the-finish-line-11571148264
the Farm to Fork Fondo series was mentioned which is how I saw it and I’m all happy for Tyler and his crew but it characterizes it as a race and its not and while I’m all for women getting props for something that’s not a M vs F thing, the polka dot jersey is awarded to the top male and the top female. Yes she beat the top male by 3/100 of a second but not a race - technically. I think it all depends on whether the event is specifically identified as an individual sport/event or not - i get how for someone qualifying for Kona it might be suspect but for an event like FtFF, not so much. Kind of the same thing as the guy that ran 26.2 in under 2 hours - it wasn’t a race and he had pacers and a car with lasers pacing him - did he himself crush the world record? Depends on your view. @Coach_Theia interested in your thoughts as someone who is a coach and has been on the competitive athlete side as well.
I don’t know. I think even with all of the lasers and technology help, the guy did still have to run the 26.2 miles. I sure couldn’t have done it, even with help. I’m not sure how many people in the world could have, but it can’t be very many.
I was reading some comments on a running forum that that event was a specific kind of run- pacing, lasers, and so on are all allowed because the goal is to break the record. Similar to the person who broke the land speed record on the bicycle using a pace car and a crazy efficient bike. It isn’t supposed to be a realistic situation or a race situation- the goal is to get the number.
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Oh, maybe I can hire @Coach_Theia to ride my 24-hour race with me next summer? I am sure to win it then! 
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@Stefanie i was thinking the same thing! She could help me on one of my fondos 
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I’ll do it @PaleGail but @Stefanie, it’s gonna have to be a shorter race for me to help you. I am pretty sure I’d not be helpful at all at a 24-hour race - I might end up sleeping on the side of the road!
So this is an interesting discussion. I don’t think you will see this sort of thing with elite and pro cyclists… maybe not even with strong, experienced amateur cyclists. It’s probably a pride thing in some respects. I know I would not want to have someone help me on the road (on the sidelines yes), just because I want to do it in my own - make the mistakes on my own, have to use my own mental grit, etc. I love the challenges. But that’s a personal choice.
In a way, having a coach “carry you” it’s no different than being on a pro team and having team mates work for you - just like the World Tour teams do… every racer on the team has a “job” and a pacer who allows the best contender to conserve energy in the race is the Domestique of the team.
On the other hand, having a coach ride WITH you (instead of FOR you) can be a great experience, because he/she can coach you real-time, as things happen, THAT I think is very helpful. I’ve done that with my current coach and learned a ton. He could see things that are not possible to see from a workout power file.
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