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75 XSS (Per Day), for 75 Days: A New Self-Challenge

75 Days of 75 XSS (Xert Strain Score) Points – Let’s See Where This Leads

75 XSS per day, roughly 5 days per week? Can I achieve this?

The Xert Strain Score (XSS) is a volume-measuring tool that looks at a cyclist’s time, wattage, energy expenditure, and overall fitness signature. The calculation is unknown, but for me, it roughly equates to 10 KiloJoules per point when cycling aerobically. In conjunction with XSS, a cyclist’s “FOCUS” and “POLARITY” are revealed on a per-ride basis. XSS also affects Training Load and Form. Focus tells a cyclist where their ‘concentration of benefits’ has resulted from the ride. Polarity is revealed in the color of FOCUS. It tells the cyclist whether their ride was “Pure”, “Polarized”, “Less Polarized”, and “Mixed”.

Why 75 XSS?

Garmin 1030 Xert Screen
My goal is to earn 75 XSS per day, roughly 5 days per week. Some days will be purely aerobic, using DFAa1 Heart Rate Metrics, while other days will be intensity based, and will probably be performed out on Singletrack.

I chose 75 XSS for several reasons.

First – 75 XSS follows my favorite mantra in fitness training: SMART.

  • Specific – It’s a value I can follow on the main screen of my Garmin 1030
  • Measurable – 75 XSS is the result of energy and time spent cycling.
  • Achievable – this is a big one; my time commitments have changed over the months and the entire Western US is under a severe drought. This requires that I ride earlier in the day, and spend less time on the mountain bike. 75 XSS also requires roughly 750 KiloJoules, which is less than 2 hours of time spent cycling. In short, I can ride and get home for other commitments.
  • Repeatable – 75 XSS is something I can achieve about 5 days per week and still not get too fatigued. My goal is to do this about 5 days per week.
  • Timely – It’s summer, the days are long, and this should lead to a higher level of chronic fitness without getting too stale.

Why 75 XSS in 75 days?

75 Days of XSS, roughly 5 days per week, would put me at roughly the end of August. I really have no goals. There might be some late-season bike rallies I would like to attend. Perhaps there are some Cols I would like to climb in the Fall for PR’s. Bike racing is picking up in the Northern Nevada area. However, after a successful Fall of 2020, and some solid prep work in January and February of 2021, I lost some fitness. This led to a drop from a high level of performance on the mountain bike and road bike. I also started gaining weight again. Thankfully, with the help of BT-Nutrition’s Reful App, I have again begun to lose weight, and my performance has turned a slight corner. A 75 day MesoCycle will give me time to ride at lower intensity out on the road bike, and higher intensity out on the mountain bike. On days that I am performing low-intensity rides, 75 days where I burn at least 60 grams of Fat, SHOULD yield some weight loss. My goal is to get back down to 67-68kg without losing power.

What’s my FOCUS?

My FOCUS for this effort is two-fold. First, I’m going to force myself to ride longer periods at lower intensities on a consistent basis. After lots of consulting with professionals and observation with my clients, we will all be implementing regular “DFAa1” slope tests to better determine a more accurate Lower Threshold of Aerobic Intensity. For me, this translates into efforts at a HEART RATE below 150 beats per minute. This also translates into a LONGER period of time out on the road or trail to achieve 75 XSS. 89% of my clients and myself are showing a wattage/HR value that is about 5-10% below Xert’s LTP. Less intensity means fewer KJ’s per minute and per hour, so it has to be made up with time.

Xert Adaptive Training Advisor Rainbow Dial
I like Xert’s Adaptive Training Advisor. I prefer the Rainbow Dial to the interval targets and workout goal. The Advisor does not account for other aspects of training and recovery. Instead of 193w, I’m making my endurance rides roughly 170 watts of intensity, and this correlates with the DFAa1 system of determing lower threshold. This is making my easier rides easier, and longer, with less strain (something rarely discussed in Xertworld.)

On my harder days, I’ll be performing intervals in the “Pursuiter” and “Puncheur” range of intensity (30-90sec efforts above 350w for me), so that my WEEKLY FOCUS will be in the “Rouleur” and “Breakaway Specialist” range of intensity. I will use the Rainbow Dial in Xert, but I’m not going to use the Suggested Workouts, which tend to favor blocks of workouts that don’t follow my plan for 75 XSS and don’t agree with my plan for intensities. I’ve followed this path before, but with 30 years of experience, I know my own body better.

TRAINING TOOLS

I’ll be including files or links to files for download for everyone to peruse. I’m going to use the Vo2master as much as possible, so that my gas exchange can be monitored and reviewed. I’ll be recording the Saturated Muscle Oxygen (SmO2) on my Left Lateralis, as well as my Total Hemoglobin Count. These are not shown on Xert, and will be analyzed separately. Finally, I’ll be performing regular DFAa1 ramp tests (probably every Monday), indoors, to then post on www.runalyze.com, for review on my lower intensity threshold.

The GOAL

The goal, with 75 XSS over 75 days, is to try and get back up to about 290-300 watts for my Functional Threshold Power, keep 25-30 High Intensity Energy KiloJoules, drop my body weight to 67-68kg, and learn about my body through the instruments I’m providing.

Thanks for joining me on this journey.  I hope the regular posts lead to better discussions about training, fitness, recovery, nutrition, hydration, and enjoying the experience of the ride.

Tuning Mountain Bike Rear Suspension With the Shockwiz

Mountain Bike Rear Suspension Does Not Have to be a Mystery! Use the ShockWiz!

If you know my story, you know that I began my journey in cycling as a mountain biker. My first Mountain Bike Rear Suspension System was purchased in 1995; a Trek Y-Bike. I have owned probably half a dozen Mountain bikes with Rear Suspension, but tuning them and understanding how to make them work for me and my cycling, was really a frustrating mystery. However, in 2017, a project was announced on KickStarter that promised to enlighten me; the ShockWiz. I’ll be tuning my mountain bike rear suspension with the shockwiz from day one.

What is the ShockWiz?

Shockwiz is a sensor that attaches to the outside of a front fork or rear shock. It uses a short hose to connect to the air chamber, and it measures air compression, rebound, damping, time spent in the air, and how many times a rider bottomed out over the period of measurement. I was an early investor, and was more excited when Quarq purchased the company before it even released the ShockWiz.

Tuning Mountain Bike Rear Suspension With the Shockwiz.

When I moved to Northern Nevada in August of 2019, I was incredibly excited about the opportunities to mountain bike from my front door! Since that first day, EVERY RIDE has been ridden with the ShockWiz, front and rear.

The bad news is that my mountain bike is a 2012 Trek Superfly 100. It is NOT the optimal bike for this type of terrain! After about 80 hours of attempting to optimize my RockShox Sid XX, I reached out to Mike Davis of MAD RACING in Reno, and we began to discuss the data that was being revealed by my ShockWiz. I quickly realized that the Sid XX would not work well in this rocky, vertical terrain. So I purchased a Fox 32 Factory SC in late 2019, placed the ShockWiz on the fork, and accumulated over 200 hours in 2020, testing different air pressures, damping, rebound, and compression.

The result was a consistent 92 to 96 points on the Fork.

But the rear was another story.

The 2012 Fox RP23 was altered and rebuilt by Mike at MAD Racing several times, to try and optimize the values the ShockWiz was providing. However, we never got more than 88 points on the App. Furthermore, the most consistent and revealing metric showed that Low and High-Speed Compression needed to be “Softer”.

Getting a New Rear Shock

As my experience and skills progressed, I quickly came to realize over the course of 2020, that modern-geometry bikes and suspension would completely elevate my confidence and competence when riding.

However, the Covid pandemic led to an incredible crisis in supply for bicycles on a global scale. I decided to ride my current bike for the entire year, and wait for the supply chain to catch up.

It never did.

So early this year, I decided to invest in a rear shock upgrade, and to use this as an opportunity to record and optimize the shock, using the ShockWiz.

The Fox DPX2

The Rear Shock that I decided to buy is the Fox DPX2. It is slightly heavier than the older RP23, but it is MUCH more adjustable! The shock has settings for Dampening, Rebound, Air and Nitrogen. It has 13 settings for Low and High Speed Compression, which is exactly where my old RP23 said needed attention.

Let’s Get Started!

This video is about the installation of the Fox DPX2 Rear Shock. I got help from David Simon. He owns my local bike shop, Bicycle Service Center in Reno. I’ll be recording and blogging the lessons I’m learning from this new shock via the ShockWiz, every hour that I ride. It’s a bit nerdy, but I don’t believe anyone has shared a long-term experience with the public, and I’m excited about the opportunity.

So watch the video, and feel free to leave a comment, either here or on the YouTube page. I’ll get back with you as soon as I can.

Thanks for watching, and enjoy the ride!

 

Garmin Incident Detection Activated and Worked

Garmin Incident Detection Triggered After A Crash And Alerted My Wife

The Garmin Incident Detection feature is one of the most under-rated features in the Garmin Connect Ecosystem. Many of my friends and family either do not know it exists, or if they do, they tend to turn it off. I’m writing this to strongly urge you to reconsider. When the Garmin Incident Detection feature triggers, it can save you critical minutes when you’re in a crisis. Today, I came pretty close, and I’m glad I had it running on my Garmin 1030.

The Ride – Peavine Mountain, Total Recall and StageCoach Trails, the “Towers to Cairn Loop” on Strava.

Here’s the Strava and Ride With GPS link to my ride.

I was having a pretty good ride. I’ve been working hard on my business, and my clients are seeing a lot of success. This has occurred at the expense of my own performance, so I felt the need to roll out and enjoy some time on the singletrack. I rode a soft warmup loop with my wife and the dogs. The temperature was moderate, winds were nominal, and the light was flat. I left the family at the trailhead, punched in the Strava section for the local DRY trail loop, and started riding.

The Garmin showed that I was within 8 seconds or so of my Personal Record on the climb, but I was also climbing with my front and rear suspension activated. I was testing out a higher tire pressure and was relying on the suspension to do more work. The bike did not feel perfect – it was rebounding and bouncing off of rocks. Front and Rear tires were at 24psi.

I saw several other cyclists, but none were riding at my pace, or they were not on the same trail. Some were riding in the anti-clockwise direction. Basically, I had the trail to myself, and I was really working the berms to try and see if the decreased rolling resistance was worth the slipping and lack of edge bite in my Hans Dampf Tires. I crested the top of the climb about 18 seconds behind my PR, and decided to go for it and claw those seconds back on the StageCoach descent.

StageCoach Descent

On the descent, the bike and I kept launching off the tabletops. I’m not a Pro Downhiller – Big Air scares me. I’m 50 years old, I have crappy Health Insurance, and a lot of respect for the mountain. The Garmin recorded 2 jumps of maybe .5 seconds each, but I really worked to keep the tires on the ground, and stay balanced. Balance and centering on the bike are critical when you’re descending at speed. In many ways, a descent can be SAFER at speed, because the bike is flying over rock obstacles, the suspension is absorbing and rebounding to keep the tread in contact with the earth, and you’re at a lower center of gravity. This means I was traveling fast. The extra air in the tires was leaving me with less traction and control, so I was ‘on the edge’ of my abilities.

I know this trail VERY well. Strava and Ride With GPS show that I’ve ridden this trail at least 54 times since I moved up here. It’s one of my two “Go To” trails, and I have become comfortable with every rock, every berm, and even the new features, which Trailbuilder Kevin Joell installed in the Summer of 2020. The Garmin “Flow” Field for the field, which is maybe 3 Minutes, was pretty low, and lower in that Garmin metric is better.

I clawed back about 5 seconds over the route time, but with about 30 yards to go, there’s a gully that you have to hit JUST RIGHT, and absorb a lot of the rebound energy in the bike. Well, oops! I lost my balance, went airborne, and crashed, tumbling while clipped in, with two full impacts.

The Garmin Incident Detection CHIRP

My final impact on the ground was pretty hard, but I hit dirt and not rock on my lower right ribcage. While I lay on my back, my lower torso twisted and my bike still connected to me, I heard that Garmin CHIRP. I looked over at the unit, and it said “NEED HELP? NOTIFICATION WILL BE SENT IN”, and it started chirping a countdown.

Garmin Incident Detection Screen for Garmin Edge displaying a message "Incident detected. Sending message to emergency contacts."
The Garmin Edge Incident Detection Screen displays a message notifying the user that an incident has been detected and a message is being sent to emergency contacts.

I have 3 Contacts in my Emergency Contacts in Garmin Connect, which is a FABULOUS and UNDER-UTILIZED Web portal. The contacts are: My Wife, My Friend Billy, and my Mom. I ALWAYS ride with my phone, and I ALWAYS make sure my phone and my Garmin are connected before I leave for the ride. It’s almost like a cyclist’s version of GM’s “OnStar” system. When the Garmin head unit detects a high-g force shock, it triggers the Incident Detection Warning and Countdown.

I thought about canceling the Alert, but then I tried to get up, and I felt woozy. There was blood on my knees and my back was hurting. I knew I had hit my helmet, and I did not know if I had broken anything or if I had suffered a concussion.

THE CALLS

I let the Countdown finish. Within 30 seconds, my wife was on the phone, calling.

Tracy Christenson Garmin Incident Detection Text
The Garmin Incident Detection Feature sent my wife a text message with my exact GPS Coordinates. She knew right where to find me if I needed help.

It felt good to hear her voice.

She stayed with me on the phone while I slowly pulled myself apart from the bike, and then moved to stand. My breath was still short, and I could not take a deep breath. I finally cleared out my head, and told her I was riding home.

She met me at the driveway, and I rolled in.

Later, I received a phone call from Billy – he had been away from his phone, but we both agreed that this was the right thing to do.

Billy Gogesch Garmin Incident Detection Email Map
Billy pulled up the link on his PC, and was able to find my crash position in high-res detail. This was just his first shot. My home is visible in the map, off to the right.

Later that evening, my mom called as well. Here’s her emergency message from Garmin…

Jeanette Wharton Garmin Incident Detection Text
It’s nice to know that your emergency information is going out, even if it just means picking up the pieces. Sardonic, but serious.

Conclusion

The Garmin Incident Detection Feature is one more reason why I love my Garmin 1030 and Fenix 6X. There are SO MANY quality features in Garmin Connect, many of which are overlooked or ignored. I’m going to try to dig into these more. Yesterday, the Garmin Incident Detection feature properly activated when I had a crash in a semi-remote area with few people around. I am glad it did, even though I was able to pick myself up and ride home. NEXT TIME, I may not be as lucky.

One More Thing

And this is serious. I love cycling. I love riding a bike. But crashes happen, whether they’re solo or in groups or on trails or on roads. I have been learning and instructing since 1993, and I remain a student of the sport. But I’m not dumb and I’m not naive. Wrist ID bands are really just glorified Toe Tags. I know that stuff happens.

SO, I carry a tiny SD chip in my wallet and in my saddlebag, with a video I made and update now and then, that basically says,

“Hey – if you’re looking at this, I’m either dead or incapacitated. Here’s my Last Will and Testament, and here’s my Living Will. Use the data on my Garmin to determine whether this was my fault, or someone else’s, or was just an Act of God, which is doubtful. I have a life insurance policy with XXX. Know that I died doing something I love, and trying to share that passion with others. Thanks and move on with your own lives.”

Or something like that. I think the Garmin Incident Detection feature can help me avoid having anyone watch that vid, and hopefully, I’ll be cycling into my 90’s, like few others.

Thanks for reading, and Enjoy the Ride.

 

OverReaching

OverReaching With Xert

I’m just 10 days out from my “Peak” with the Xert Adaptive Training Advisor and Xert Goals, so it’s important that I push through this period, and OverReach.

An OverReach is about increasing both training volume and intensity, and FOCUSING on the intervals necessary to improve, in this case, my 5MMP power output, to be a true “Breakaway Specialist”.

I slid the “Freshness Feedback” on the Xert Goals window to ’15’, and will perform another 5:00 FOCUS ride today, probably on a wireless trainer.

Don’t forget to sign up for the Webinar that will begin immediately after the 5MMP breakthrough effort, at 1200, GMT – 8, on January 30th. Cost is just $10.99, or you can sign up for the blog at $10 and get all past, current, and future blog posts and webinars. I’ll continue to do this monthly, so let’s learn together!

Thanks again, and ENJOY THE RIDE!

Xert Workouts

Xert Workouts Follow the “SMART” Protocol

Today’s Xert Daily Ditty shows how important a good night’s rest can be, towards helping you continue your path of Progression.

I slept over 8 hours last night. When I awoke, I adjusted the Xert “Freshness Feedback”, and then, using the new Xert Adaptive Training Advisor recommendations, built a workout that addresses my goal for today.

It follows the “SMART” Protocol.

  • SPECIFIC
  • MEASURABLE
  • ACHIEVABLE
  • REPEATABLE
  • TIMELY

Don’t forget to register for my webinar on January 30th, where we’ll discuss the results of my efforts as I pursue this 5 Minute “Breakaway Specialist” fitness breakthrough!

Enjoy the Ride!