From the Ground Up | S4 Ep. 3 | Redefining Limits

[@GunnisonCrestedButte]

We are with Rich on this one-the descent is worth the climb! Thanks for coming to Gunnison!

[@lukewallenbeck7645]

As an avid cyclist who lives at 450 ft above elevation I'm feeling major empathy for Rich & Kristen. Fitness just doesn't translate automatically to higher elevation. That's the reason the pro's do 6 weeks of altitude training before a race!

[@christopherharmon9336]

I have to applaud the participants, and the people who put this series together. This is an inspirational series of videos! I live in Colorado, and these videos highlight one thing that really bothers me about the bike industry. Gearing. From 8:15 to 8:35 in the video, "...and then Kristen and Richard were both walking their bikes up it and they're having a harder time from sea level, but..." The altitude was a factor, of course. If people are pushing their bikes uphill, the gearing is too high. It's that simple. Lower gearing can help a person regulate their heart rate and breathing. A pro I watch on KZbin profiled one of his gravel bikes, a mountain bike with a 40 tooth front chainring and a 10-52 cassette. Divide 40 by 52, and you have a ratio of 0.77. I'm going to assume the participants had 46/30 cranks coupled to 11-34 cassettes. This gives a ratio of 0.88. The beginners have harder gearing than the pro who completed Leadville in under 10 hours. This is an industry problem. Yes, I know you can now run mountain bike cassettes with the premium, electronic groupsets, but this does not represent what a true beginner is going to purchase. I believe the sea level participants would have performed better at Steamboat if they had gravel bikes equipped with lower gearing, or decent hardtails with a good, fast-rolling XC tire. With a Chisel hardtail, at the very least, Richard would have gone farther than he did, in less time. Kristen would have probably cut time off her ride. I'm not saying mountain bikes are better gravel bikes, I'm saying give people the right tool for the job. So here's a thought for next time-give beginners a mountain bike, or a gravel bike with Microshift Advent X/Sword. Toss the 40T chainring, and replace it with a 34 or 36 tooth chainring. A 34/11 gearing combination with a 45mm tire will bring you to 19.3 mph at just 75 cadence. Unless someone can ride in the dirt, uphill, at 20 mph, this gearing would be fine. Downhill? Pedal to 21-22 mph, and coast.

[@ionious97]

This is all great stuff. Let's recognize how high the fitness barrier is to cycling. It really is a herculean effort to come "off the couch" and start tackling big rides. Building up to a 124 mile / 10,000 ft ride takes time for a trained athlete let alone for people with a limited aerobic / fitness base. Carrying extra weight makes the task exponentially harder. Would love to see the team tackle something hard but a little more achievable.

[@tommytom2112]

You all are so inspiring! I am a lifelong cyclist who has NEVER fit in so I am totally relating to this! I am short and muscular (with a bit more X than Y you might say.... @ 59 I am 5'6" 190# and look dumb as shit in lycra!)) and have been around the cycling world in some way shape or form for 40 years since retiring from gymnastics. "You don't LOOK like a cyclist" is something I have heard countless times in my career as a (exeptionally average pack fill road, mountain and cyclocross racer in Colorado from 1985 to 2010 ( 24 Hours in and Rage in the Sage were anchors in my season). I hate to say it, but cyclists aren't the most tolerant/friendly/welcoming group in the world....) and now gravel racer ever since in Pennsylvania, I have had to withstand being on the outside looking in regardless of how much I would diet and ride. Sideways glances that I just knew meant....what's HE doing here? Anyway......my point is...... I am so glad that I kept showing up and RIDING! It's worth it! My life is blessed and I have cycling to thank for that! It's funny but the challenges most of us face originate right in the space between our ears and can grow into insurmountable obstacles if we let "fitting in" hold us back! If anyone wants to connect on Strava....hit me up at Tom Jensen - Malvern PA (Pic is a time trialing Day of the Dead Skeleton) lol!

[@vc1954]

How have i just now heard of this show?!?!?! Where do i sign up???

[@ronnierazon1742]

I'm in the verge of watching episode 4 shortly

[@ronnierazon1742]

Been watching this so far....but one thing I did not see on this episode 123 .....is nutrition coaching or training also is all the bike set up is single or double and want cassette range ?