For some, winter is the time to step out of 1’s consolation zone. It’s far sufficient from the meat of the season, strive new issues, begin some good habits, or go far off the deep finish with feats of energy.
A few of my driving mates used this time to discover the technical facet of driving. Take my buddy Dicky, for instance (pictured above), he used the autumn/winter to construct and bridge as much as the sharp finish of the 32″ mountain bike dialog.
My buddy Jeff, alternatively… he went for the complete feats of energy (a Festivus custom for many who observe). Jeff challenged himself to see how lengthy he might journey on the curler over a 24-hour interval. It’s a wild concept, and never for these with a weak bottom. Nevertheless, Jeff didn’t do that only for the press and punishment. His underlying motivation was a journey to push him additional towards his massive occasion of this season, the Race Throughout America (RAAM).
I sat down with him for an interview to achieve perception, see what he was considering, and discover out what’s subsequent.
BikeRumor: First query, and most significantly… — WHY?!
Jeff Koontz: I like loopy concepts, and having registered for RAAM (itself a loopy concept), I wanted alternatives between now and June to check fueling methods. My physique can deal with no matter fueling technique I throw at it for six hours, however past 10 or 12 hours, it begins to wrestle to get the fitting gas into the system. With that in thoughts—and Pittsburgh January climate—I got here up with the curler problem.
BR: Why rollers and never one of many many super-cool and extremely pleasant good trainers?JK: I’ve been bike racing and coaching since 1995, and I’ve all the time educated on rollers. Even with the good good trainers on the market in the present day, I’ve all the time simply paired my energy meter and coronary heart charge monitor to Zwift and ridden on the rollers. Over that 30-year interval, I’m on simply my second set of Kreitlers.
BR: What was the longest journey you’d accomplished earlier than this effort?JK: The longest was Paris–Brest–Paris in 2023 at 762 miles (on rollers, it was the PRL Full).
BR: Did you practice particularly for this journey? Did you’ve a mileage purpose in addition to a time purpose?JK: I’ve been on a structured coaching plan with my coach, Josh Friedman (ATP Race Consulting), for fairly some time. For the reason that finish of the street season, we’ve been constructing towards RAAM. The purpose was mileage in 24 hours, with an unique goal of 717 miles (spoiler alert: nope), measured on the wheel—not Zwift miles. That quantity got here from two historic 24-hour curler rides from 1975, the one information I might discover. The primary was 687 miles, set by Olympian Jack Simes, whom I had the pleasure of messaging with earlier than and after the problem.
BR: Stroll us by means of your tools decisions. Had been these all chosen particularly for this effort?JK: I put tri bars on my street bike—a BMC Teammachine R-01—as a result of my arms can’t tolerate drop bars for that lengthy, and a TT bike would’ve been brutal for twenty-four hours. In testing, my 54/40 chainrings have been a bit of mild, so I swapped in my TT bike’s 58/44 crankset. I additionally ran my TT wheelset: a Princeton Blur Disc rear wheel and a Mach 7580 entrance wheel, with Corsa Professional Velocity tires and latex tubes at about 120 psi. I used 3” Kreitler alloy rollers, disconnecting the flywheel and headwind fan to spin as freely as attainable. In December testing, I might maintain 32 mph at about 170 watts and thought that, with good fueling and restricted downtime, 717 miles was attainable. On journey day, although, 32 mph took nearer to 210 watts. Making an attempt to remain within the 32–35 mph vary early on proved unsustainable, and it wasn’t till about 12 hours in that I absolutely accepted my destiny. I believe the document might have been doable on 4.5” rollers, however that’s not what I had—and I don’t see a do-over in my future.
BR: How did you gas for this? I seen the Hydropak—stroll us by means of the plan.
JK: My spouse was residence for a lot of it, however I didn’t wish to ask her to look forward to 24 hours, and I wished to attenuate the variety of bottle fillings. The Hydropak was all the time plain water. The entrance 750ml bottle was a double-strength NeverSecond carb combine to cut back liquid consumption and bloating, and the rear 750ml bottle was pure, unflavored maltodextrin. Each three hours or so, I took a 500ml restoration drink blended with coconut milk for protein, some fats, and a giant psychological break from the mouthfeel. I charted the whole lot prematurely so my spouse would know when to provide bottles, and in a single day, she left a cooler subsequent to the coach for straightforward entry. I initially focused 96g of carbs per hour, which proved too aggressive, so I backed off to seek out the consumption charge my intestine might tolerate.
BR: Music, podcasts, motion pictures, bike races—how did you cross the time?
JK: I began with the prolonged editions of The Lord of the Rings—virtually 12 hours. Then I switched to Recreation of Thrones from the start till about two hours to go, when teammates confirmed up for the ultimate stretch and an after-party.
BR: Chamois cream or none?JK: Sure—undoubtedly. Assos is my go-to, and I’d suggest avoiding something with sturdy menthol for an effort like this. Every week later, I used to be peeling like a sunburn, however truthfully, I’ve had worse, and my bottom got here by means of in fairly fine condition.
BR: Had been there darkish moments the place you questioned the entire thing?
JK: Oh sure…. Round midnight—eight hours in. I began at 4 pm, and when midnight hit, it dawned on me that I’d ridden a very long time… and nonetheless had 16 hours to go. That realization hit onerous. From there on, I took it one hour at a time, like counting down intervals—besides the minutes have been hours.
BR: How lengthy did restoration take?JK: I took two days off the rollers, then was again on them—sporting a warmth swimsuit—the next Tuesday.
BR: What’s subsequent, and what did this educate you heading into RAAM?JK: Subsequent up is Texas Hell Week in March, capped by the Longhorn 500-mile extremely. After that, I’m concentrating on Crush the Commonwealth (Philly to Pittsburgh), which I’ve executed earlier than, and probably a 24-hour TT in Could. All of it feeds into RAAM on June 16. The most important lesson was diet. For the facility outputs I’ll handle over 24 hours, 90g of carbs per hour could also be an excessive amount of. I can get what I want from barely diminished carbs, mixed with fats metabolism, in Zone 2. Forcing too many carbs early created intestine setbacks. Coaching the intestine might assist, however I believe 90g is healthier for somebody doing 250–300 normalized for 5 hours than 190 watts for twenty-four hours. I’ll hold experimenting.
BR: Are you able to share the ultimate knowledge?
JK: Sure…..
Elapsed / Transferring Time: 24:00 / 22:18
Avg / Normalized Energy: 171 / 190
Energy Burned: 14,162
Load / TSS: 915
Miles (measured on the wheel): 628.5
Common Velocity: 26.2 mph
Miles recorded in Zwift (Tempus Fugit): 480.3
Common HR: 111 bpm
Di2 knowledge confirmed most time break up between 58×12 (27%), 58×13 (28%), and 58×14 (27%), with heavier use of the 58×12 early and better gears later.
BR: Any parting phrases for riders trying to push what’s attainable?
JK: Whereas I put lots of work into coaching, there’s an equilibrium between pacing and fueling that, in the event you get it proper, enables you to journey almost endlessly. You additionally want a stable psychological framework for time, distance, and workload. That comes from expertise—and the one option to get expertise is to strive new issues. Essentially the most rewarding issues in life usually come from dealing with fears, particularly when the concern of failure is excessive.
