Ill be in this year. Racing the masters 35+ Cat 4/5 group. Should be a fun race again. Training in Houston can suck, but im doing the masters gran fondo plan during the week with 100 mile rides on Sat. Im also getting a few rides in Colorado to get some climbing / descending in.
How did everybody go yesterday? I made sub-10, which was my goal. Had strong legs much later into the race than first time, but still hit empty with ~30 miles to go. Beautiful day to ride!
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My first (only?) lotoja was in all pretty great. I was in the Masters 35A group so we rolled with the P/1/2 at 5:30. Very early and chilly start!
I was crewless and thankful for bottle handups, without which I would have lost the group immediately. I got ahead of the group when they were chilling out which gave me a chance to pee early on (not a rolling pee guy). Climbs got spicy, lots of attacks, etc.
My only complaints are 1) the bottles they used for handups were garbage and it was nearly impossible to get anything out and 2) how about some food at the finish?
Overall 9/10 would recommend.
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My teammate took a neutral bottle and said the same thing… it was impossible to get any water out.
I took off just after you and it wasn’t too cold until just before Idaho and then 
I can’t imagine doing it without support, so kudos to you!
EDIT: You won your race. 
CONGRATS!!!
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Secret’s out 
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Those bottles were… something… I was greatful for the handups, but ended up just pulling the lids and dumping them on myself as the lid was so hard to drink from.
Congrats on your win. I finished my second Lotoja (cat 5). Beat my PR by about 45 minutes. I seem to stuggle over salt each year and from Thayne to alpine. Had a fantastic comeback from Alpine to finish which I’m stoked on. Really didnt train much this year so im stoked on my time. I tried to reduce my overall stoppage time but ended up on an hour on the dot for a second year in a row (4 mins in mont, 6 on salt, 15 in afton, 5 in a bathroom, and 30 in alpine).
What training plans did you follow? I was fairly unstructured most of this summer which fit the bill. Would love to be in shape to go sub 10 next year if I have the time.
You definitely want to cut down that stoppage time. I was at 8 minutes total with 3 stops including bathroom at one. You could beat your PR by another 45 minutes next year riding at the same pace with less stoppage. 
Afton to Alpine was tougher this year than I remembered… it was difficult to tell, but I think there was a cross-headwind here.
I didn’t use TR this season. I was mostly focused on volume/CTL and that worked well for me.
Thanks.
With most of the long stuff like this, eating and drinking is more than half the battle. It was definitely warm this weekend too, so hydration and electrolytes becomes more of a factor for me. I wish the handups hadn’t just been water, but beggars/choosers.
Agreed that minimizing stoppage is huge. Other than peeing early on, I didn’t put a foot down. Most of the front group didn’t put a foot down. All you should need is a few bottles and a few gels from aid and keep rolling. I started with 10 gels in my pockets, fwiw.
I am off formal training and just ride a lot, mostly unstructured and some virtual racing 1-2 times a week. 15+ hour weeks are the norm for me. Without much time, I would honestly just do as much sweet spot as you can handle. If a ride like this is largely solo and you are not trying to hold on to attacks, etc, it’s all about your endurance anyhow and it becomes a 10 hour time trial.
I completely agree with the stoppage time issue. I was conscious of it but, in the moment, it felt like a necessity rather than a choice.
I rode well up to the end of Geneva, but hit a rough patch during the heat of the day on Salt. After that, I felt good heading into Afton and took a planned break. I struggled to eat between Afton and Alpine, and by the time I reached Alpine, I just couldn’t get any food down. Eventually, I decided I was better off slow-rolling rather than sitting there, so I rolled into Snake, forced down a gel, and instantly felt better. I ended up having three more gels between Hoback and the finish and felt amazing by the end.
Throughout the summer, I was riding 8-10 hours a week, mostly unstructured, with longer rides on the weekends. I fueled almost exclusively with carbs fuel gels. I’m not sure why I thought I needed to add in real food for a 10-hour ride to supplement the gels, but it would have been better if I stayed true to my training.
In terms of hydration, I drank about 2L before Montpelier (not including the handup bottle), another 2L before the Salt Summit (with some extra water at the Montpelier aid station), about 300-400ML into Afton, 1200ML between Afton and Alpine, and 1500ML between Alpine and the finish. There were times when I wished I had some calories in the bottle, but I’ve also experienced situations where all I want is fresh water and end up stuck with just mix, which doesn’t go well for me. I used salt piles for electrolytes but definitely could’ve used more.
Overall, I’m stoked about the ride but aiming for next year to follow your strategy of only stopping long enough to swap bottles, dump trash, and restock gels.
Congrats on the win. How do those 15+ hour weeks look in terms of TSS, typically?
Thanks. Usually around 900 or so, ctl was 130-135 most of the summer.
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Im glad yall had some great rides. I was able to beat my time last year by 25 minutes, mostly by reducing my stoppage time. I got dropped going up strawberry by my team and ended up by myself for a large portion of the ride. I caught a nice draft into montpelier by the front of the 700’s and then caught a nice draft into Alpine and Hoback from some 400’s. Unfortunately i had my chain drop before alpine and cramped before hoback. All in, it was a beautiful day