Chasing Pole Position

I'm a fan of Formula 1 - The cars, the maneuvers and the innovation. Take away the extravagant lifestyle and I think there are a lot of similarities with mountain biking. Both are are constantly pushing the technological aspects of their sport while competing on a worldwide level. Athletes are given new technologies to try during actual races as well. It could be a new aerodynamic upgrade for an F1 driver or maybe some new 650b wheels for a mountain biker.

One thing I really like about Formula 1 is the qualifying sessions. Constantly putting in lap after lap, searching for the smallest of gains while at the limit of your machine. Drivers try to shorten the braking zones and get on the throttle sooner without losing control and ending up in a wall. So what does this part have to do with mountain biking?

Enter Joyride 150. The long xc loop is essentially one lap of the Joyride Grand Prix and my Kona Kula Watt is the car. Coupled with my Garmin 800 and I have a means of tracking my fastest laps.

I started off with a slow warmup, to pick the lines and understand the different obstacles along the loop. After that I start to up the pace a little bit and set a baseline lap. The first hard lap was 3:00 minutes. I immediately improve on the next one to 2:34. The subsequent laps were all around the same time. It was surprising to realise just how hard it was to take off a few seconds on a lap. There was also difficulty from running into the back of other cyclists. (I called them backmarkers) Laps 10, 18, 21 and 23 were pit stops of varying lengths. Usually just getting some water and taking an easy spinning lap.

Two hours of chasing fastest lap makes for some fun and a great workout.