McLain Flats

I’ve been going hard for ten days straight now, and I knew I couldn’t do another long ride. So I concocted a new route for myself, which I figured would take 90 minutes and would offer some challenging climbs long enough to get in some good FTP interval work.

I invented a new standard route, which basically links Aspen and Snowmass Village, via bike paths and McLain Flats Road. Clockwise, the climbs are longer and steadier; the other way, the climbs are very steep, chaotic,m and too short to get any good FTP work done; it would be mostly a series of widely separated VO2 max efforts.

So clockwise it is. From home, I took the usual 5.5 mile, 20 minute swoosh downhill following Brush Creek Trail to the Aspen Mass trail, dropping down to the Roaring Fork just east of Woody Creek. Instead of heading down valley, as I would usually do at this point, I headed right, uphill, on McLain Flats. This is a long grind with 9-14% grades for the first half, then easing off to rolling uphill 3-5%. It took me a total of 16 minutes to get to the top, at and altitude adjusted IF of about 0.93. Good enough.

The reward up there is the little seen view of the Roaring Fork canyon, with the sewage plant bubbling directly below, the Business Center just above, the airport across the highway, then on to the ski mountains, and the Elk Mtns in the wilderness area. It’s easy to see why the richest folks choose this spot for their 8-figure mansions.

Then twisting down (with a little up) to Henry Stein park, where I turn into the parking lot and head left, to catch the Cemetery Lane trail I could ride the Lane itself, but the first little bit is just to steep and filled with cars to make it fun. The trail, in the bottom at any rate, is actually a very long bridge, a concrete path laid onto pillars so as not to gouge out the hillside and risk erosion.

Once past the steepest portion, I lean left onto the road, and continue on to the down valley trail on the right at the top of the hill. This was a 5 minute FTP effort. Down valley for a couple of miles, to the connector tunnel under Highway 82 onto the Owl Creek Trail skirting the airport runway expansion.

Bombing downhill along the backside of the airport, I aim for the five switchbacks which quickly take me up to the “easier” portion of the Owl Creek. Cresting the ridge at 14 minutes, I hit another 0.95 IF.

Easy cycling back down. I could have taken the standard route home, but wanted a bit more riding and sightseeing, so I went through Fox Run to the Village Way Trail, then onto the Brush Creek so I could go all the way to the Village. Totally unnecessary, except for the sightseeing value. And I really should know my way around my own town on my bike, I guess.

This finishes my Big Bike Week here in Snowmass. I’ve learned a few valuable pointers. First, there really is a reduction in my ability to hold power levels at higher altitude. At the low point of the valley, about 6000’, I can ride at about 93% of my power level at the same state of perceived exertion. By the time I get to 10,000’, that drops to about 85%. I don’t even want to talk about what happens above that. So I altitude adjust my power numbers accordingly. I even go into WKO+ and modify my FTP there for the dates I am here, which will raise all of my key metrics, but seems fair.

Second, I’ve learned that trying to do rides longer than about 4-4.5 hours is just not worth it on an ongoing basis. I can get more cumulative work in if I stick to 3-4 hour rides, than if I try to throw in the longer ones. I can do work intervals on the uphill portions of IF – 0.75-0.85, and use the downhills as recovery segments. For shorter rides (2 hours or less), I can find steady grades that allow me 40-50 minutes worth of FTP work (altitude adjusted). That makes for a good once a week effort.

I’ll try to emphasize these two principles (which have taken me YEARS to fully learn) for others who are trying to do extended periods (5-10 days) of increased bike or tri training at altitude.