Cat 2 performance

I have been rollering away for several days now. Every time I do it, things get better and so I decided it was time for a power test. I calibrated my Ergomo and went at it for 20 minutes straight. Then, according to the power graphs developed by Dr. Coggan -Dr. Power himself- I went about to find out my status.

I topped out at 4.30 W/kg or solidly in the "Very Good" or Cat 2 range (which runs from 4.09 to 4.80). There is some overlap in the Coggan categories but 4.3 is well outside the Cat 3 range so that is reassuring. The lower bound of "Excellent" or Cat 1 is at 4.65. In another version of the graph -one with no overlaps- "Very Good" runs from 4.25 to 4.71.

When I first started riding in 1989, I got a Cat 4 license. Back then, Cat 4 was the lowest category. (They have since added a Cat 5 group). Near the "end" of my first cycling infatuation I graduated to Cat 3. In 1995 I took a break from cycling and it wasn't until 2008 that I re-applied for a license. My goal was to get a workout in while I waited around for Alistair.

Since I was driving Alistair to races every weekend, I wanted something to do instead of standing around for 2 hours. So I applied for a license and petitioned that they give me a Cat 4 (so as to avoid the dangerous inexperience of Cat 5) which they did. I probably could have asked for a Cat 3, but I decided to play it safe. I did a few races in 2008 as a Cat 4, but then my road bike frame broke and I did not race at all in 2009.

I think I can do even better than I did today -I could certainly lose a few pounds if nothing else- and I may be able to get my power-to-weight to the top of the Cat 2 category. Not that I intend to upgrade my license or anything, but it is nice to know that my fitness is up there.

Powergraph

The power graph from IM Canada. Power in Watts is on the right. Speed in kph is the blue graph and reads out on the left. Never mind the high power numbers, the meter was not calibrated. It appears the values are at least 50% too high. Values around 200-230 are more like it. I would expect the first 50 Km to hover around 220-230 based on previous experience -with a calibrated meter that is.

I rode 36.56 km or 22.72 miles in hour 1. Hour 2 was at 69.17 km or 42.98 miles. Hour 3 at 96.87 or 60.19 miles. Hour 4 was 126.78 or mile 78.78. Hour 5 at 153.71 or 95.51 miles (speed dropped to 19.1). The total bike was 5:49:50.

The altitude profile is in green. You can see Richter (the first climb) and Yellow Lake (the second one). You can also see KM 120 where special needs was. Both speed and power decrease over time and you can see that the drop on the "backside" of Richter is for real.

I calculated a moving average of power (the black line) to make the drop more obvious. You can also see some recovery on the Yellow Lake climb (after I ate). Power increases for a while as expected because the course climbs towards Yellow Lake. But overall power output stays below the initial segment.

Power drops to zero on the descents or when I stop pedaling.