Ride Guide- June 2021

This monthly newsletter below will contain details needed leading up to the 2021 Tour des Trees. We are grateful to you for joining us.

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Registration Deadline and Other Notes:

Tour week is coming fast, which is a great thing. Of course, with event time coming up, that also means there are a few things to do before we get to Colorado. Be sure to go through the list below to make sure you are ready.

Reminders:

1- Register! - You must register by June 25

2- Create your fundraising page and fundraise! - Fundraising minimums must be met by October 31

3- Order your jersey - Orders must be completed by June 28

4- Email photo of your COVID-19 Vaccination Card - Please send to Jonathan by August 16

5- Make your travel arrangements! - See our Participant Resources page for details

Stops we have finalized.

Planning details for the ride also means planning details for when we stop. Since we are heading to Colorado, here are a few informational nuggets regarding some of the stops we’ll be at:

Tree plantings in Golden, Denver, and at Colorado State University
Presentation at the Loveland Public Library
Tour of the Altec facility
And many more to come!

RoadID Discount:

Safety is important at the tour and it is also important while you are preparing for the tour. With that in mind, RoadID is offering all our riders a 20% discount on any order at roadid.com. RoadIDs can be created with your name, emergency contact information, and medical information that can help any first responders help you in case of a problem. It is highly recommended that you wear one wherever and whenever you ride or workout.

This is a nice discount and they have asked that we not share it on a website or via social media, so if you would like to purchase a RoadID or any replacement products for the one you have, email Jonathan at jcain@treefund.org and he will send you the code.

Super Salad Bars Discount:

Super Salad Bars will be providing us with a few snacks for the road, but they have also been nice enough to provide us with a promo code for anyone that might be looking for a nutrition bar that can be easily eaten while you are out training. They are offering a 15% off discount on any entire order for any and all riders with free shipping using code: FULL15 at checkout from supersaladbar.com.

CTS TrainRight Free Trial:

Have you been training for the ride? Do you need a little extra help or advice? CTS TrainRight has offered all our riders a free, 14 day trial membership for their online training program. Go to www.trainright.com/membership and enter the code TDT14 into the promo code box to take advantage of this offer.

A Note From The Tour Director:

Most of you are familiar with the demands of multi-day cycling events and even more specifically the demands of the Tour des Trees. But for those who aren’t, and as a reminder for our Tour veterans, I’ll summarize the most critical elements to consider, and then speak to this year's unique challenges.

In preparing for a multi-day event, it is important to train consistently and to include blocks of at least 2 & 3 consecutive days in your training. The rides during these blocks should mimic 50-75% of the duration of a typical Tour stage. This will simulate the demands of cycling with residual fatigue. These training blocks will also highlight areas that you'll need to pay special attention to, like lower or upper back, neck and the all important contact points. Discomfort in these areas during long days in the saddle, is not unusual but if you experience significant pain it should be addressed before you show up at the Tour. If simulating a Tour stage doesn’t fit your lifestyle, another way of training for the demands of a multi-day event is to incorporate split sessions, something along the lines of sweet spot intervals in the morning and some shorter more intense intervals in the afternoon.

Speaking of Sweet Spot, this really should be the cornerstone of your training. It is efficient, effective and doesn’t stress your body too much, thus can be done several times a week. Here is a good article that covers some key ideas on best practices so you can be efficient in your fitness training.

I saw this video recently from Ted King as he recounts how his preparation was disrupted due to a crash and injury he sustained a mere five weeks out from his key event, Unbound Gravel. The things he talks about rings true for us all; there is no perfect and uninterrupted preparation, don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Do the best you can in preparing the Tour and just remember, you are here to have fun, enjoy the challenge and lean on the support team as needed!

Preparing your body for the rigors of riding multiple hours per day for multiple days is the first part, but equally important is understanding and preparing for the unique fueling demands of a ride like the Tour. You will need to be prepared to take in 120 - 240 calories (30 - 60g of carbohydrate) and 20-24 oz of fluid per hour. These calories are best consumed in a combination of both liquid and solid fuel. Your on the bike fueling demands will be supplemented by several rest stops each day, so make sure you incorporate these into your fueling plan but try not to overindulge at them, since the average person can only assimilate around 1g of carbohydrate per minute. Trust me, your gut will thank you.

The final pillar of a successful Tour is recovery, it is important to understand that preparation for the next day's ride begins as soon as you finish your ride that day. So begin replenishing your glycogen stores by consuming some carbohydrates as soon as you finish, replenish your fluids, eat a good meal (we’ll take care of that) and get plenty of rest.

A typical day in the Tour is 5 - 7+ hrs of ride time broken into 1.5 - 2.5 hr intervals between rest stops.

The Unique Demands of This Year's Tour

As was highlighted in the May Ride Guide, this year's Tour presents some unique challenges, aka long climbs and high elevation. These are both difficult to simulate but there are best known strategies for addressing them. First, high elevation; while most people don’t experience any significant reduction in athletic performance below 7,000 ft, we’ll be spending some time above that and will top out over 9,000 ft on a couple of occasions. There is no perfect way to plan for the effects of elevation but the best advice is to arrive early if your schedule allows, stay on top of your hydration, limit alcohol, and get plenty of rest. Here is a good article on how to best manage these effects and adjust your expectations when attending an event at high altitude.

Now regarding long climbs, not all of use have the luxury of access to mountains to train in. Quite frankly, it isn’t really essential that you do, by understanding the demands that long climbs present, you can incorporate a couple key strategies to prepare for them. The demands of a long climb is simply an uninterrupted hard effort. So simulating that requires locating a stretch of road that doesn’t have any traffic control disruptions for extended periods and riding it at just below your threshold (FTP) pace. While this too may not be easily accessible to everyone, there is now a wonderful solution to this, a smart trainer, as referenced in the training article in the previous section! I know, I know, indoor training s&*ks, but it super efficient, safe and helps you overcome all of those issues mentioned above.

In the July Ride Guide I will cover pacing strategies, and gearing recommendations as well as do a deeper dive into the 3 critical climbs of this years Tour!

Thanks for reading and Ride On!

Paul Wood

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Connect!

Want to talk to other riders at this year’s ride? RSVP to our Facebook event and get the conversation going: Tour des Trees 2021: Rollin' the Rockies | Facebook

Welcome To Our First Time Riders!

Robert Smail

Nolan Jones

Jen Grimes

Jon Crain

Aaron Crowder

Be With Us, Virtually!

Love what the TREE Fund does or know someone that would like to support what we do but can’t make it out to Colorado this year?

Be sure to sign up for the Virtual Tour des Trees and raise funds for the TREE Fund. The virtual event is free to participate in but you can still win prizes for hitting various fundraising levels. It’s a win-win! For more information, visit www.treefund.org/virtual-ride-option. Virtual riders will also be able to participate in some of the activities we'll be doing during the ride, so keep an eye out for more details.

Connect on Strava!

Getting in your bike miles? Let everyone else know how your training is going by joining our Strava Club. Reminder, if you have a Strava account, you can link it to your fundraising page so that your donors can see your progress.