La Ruta De Los Conquistadores
"The Toughest Mt. Bike Race on the Planet"
Ergomo Pro- "The Toughest Power Meter on the Planet"
On November 11,12, 13 in Costa Rica, leading expert on training with power, Hunter Allen and his coaching client, Dennis Ryll, competed in La Ruta De Los Conquistadores, a 3 day Mt. Bike race across the entire country of Costa Rica. Hunter and Dennis used the new ergomo Pro computer and sensor for the entire 3 days and the ergomo proved without a doubt, ergomo is "The Toughest Power Meter on the Planet", by functioning in the harshest conditions in the world of Mt. Bike racing.
To understand the incredible demands on the ergomo Pro, you first have to understand the climates and conditions in La Ruta. In the three days of racing, each racer rides through 12 different climates from the heat and humidity of the jungles to the high altitude on top of the Irazu Volcano to the cloud forests with constant rain to the dry heat of the savannahs on the east coast.
The first day begins on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica in the jungle with 90 degree F. heat and 99% humidity. The first day contains over 15,000 feet of climbing and features over 3 hours of riding/walking on a mud encased jungle trail. From checkpoint 1 to checkpoint 2, the distance is only 10k, but Hunter and Dennis took 3 hours to complete this section, because of the mud and near impassability of the trails. This year, 2005 was one of the muddiest ever according to the race promoter, Roman Urbina because the 'dry' season had not yet started in Costa Rica. The mud was characterized as a combination of 'peanut butter' and 'mashed potatoes' by many of the participants.
Hunter in one of the many mud puddles on Stage 1.
Yes, this would be called a "Hike-a-Bike" section. That's Hunter in the blue.
During this jungle section, the ergomo was tested to the utmost limits that a power meter owner would ever subject their ergomo to. Every 100meters, the mud was caked on the bike, that Hunter and Dennis had to stop and unclog the mud from their rear wheels, in order to even get it to spin.
Hunter's bike at one of the rest stops.
At each creek crossing, which came about every 500meters, they stopped and washed off their bikes and drivetrains by submerging their bikes including the ergomo into the creek and pedaling the cranks underwater to get the water to wash off the mud.
Nothing better than a waterfall bath to clean off the bike!
"The amount of mud and water was just unbelievable this year" commented Hunter, "I can't believe that ANY bike computer would survive these harsh conditions, much less a power meter! It really goes to show how tough the ergomo is and how well it has been engineered."
Close-up of the ergomo AFTER the waterfall bath!
After the mud section, there is a stop at a river crossing where workers from a local bike shop use a pump to pump the water from the creek and wash off the bikes with a fire hose, and again the ergomo survived with flying colors. And this was just Stage 1!
Dennis Ryll's bike complete with his ergomo onboard, gets a washing after the mud section.
Stage 2 started out with a 4 hour climb up the Volcano Irazu and then a 1.5 hour descent down one of the roughest, rockiest sections in the race. To understand the descent from the volcano, imagine riding your bike down a 10-25% slope in a alternating dry/wet riverbed full of rocks. Hunter used his ergomo to keep his watts from 72-78% of his threshold power on the climb, and used the altimeter function to know when he was approaching the top of the volcano. On the descent, the ergomo was subjected to almost constant jarring, shaking, jerking and bouncing, with over 1.5hours of rocky terrain. Hunter said, "I was in the zone on that descent! I was in 260th place at the top of the climb and finished 199th and was just floating down the mountain. Going down that descent is like holding onto a 'jackhammer' while trying to ride a unicycle. It's just nuts."
Stage 3 started in the dry heat of the town of Turrialba, and went over three mountains, through more mud, and more rocky descents.
Yet another bike washing! When does the mud end?
Stage 3 finishes with about 10kilometers of riding on an abandoned railroad track and crossing many dangerous bridges that have long since been in good working condition. Riding on the abandoned railroad track further tested the shock-proof ness of the ergomo.
Dennis Ryll with his ergomo and one of the dangerous railroad bridges.
In the last 5 kilometers of the race, racers ride along side of the ocean, and in the previous days, there had been a flood, so they had to cross many large pools of water in the road. These pools were anywhere from 5meters long to 30meters long. Some pools were not very deep with water, while others were so deep that the water covered the entire drivetrain of the Mt. Bikes. One pool was so deep that the water covered the entire bike just below the handlebars! Dennis exclaimed, "I thought I was going to have to start swimming! I went into this one long puddle and I just kept going deeper and deeper and then the water was completely covered my bike frame and I just kept pedaling and hoping that I would come out on the other side! I couldn't believe how deep that puddle was and I was doing 450-480watts while my bike was under water!"
Truly, "The Toughest Mt. Bike Race on the Planet" is the perfect testing ground for testing "The Toughest Power Meter on the Planet" and the ergomo Pro is most certainly the toughest of all the power meters! Not only does it handle the abuse of road biking and Mt. Biking, but it handles the harshest of conditions. Mud, Rain, water is no match for ergomo. If you want a reliable power meter that will work throughout all the weather conditions, then ergomo is your choice.
Hey ergomo, it's time for lunch break..
Hunter's power meter files are hosted below as well. Click to download the file and view them completely. You will need a copy of ErgoRacer software or CyclingPeaks in order to view them. You can download a free 14 day trial of CyclingPeaks at www.cyclingpeakssoftware.com
Stage 1 Power File
Stage 2 Power File
Stage 3 Power File
Please visit Hunter Allen's coaching site, www.PeaksCoachingGroup.com, where he coaches athletes all over the world, specializing in coaching with power meters. Hunter coached Trek/VW pro Jeremiah Bishop to a 5th place finish, the highest North American finisher in this years La Ruta. Hunter is also the co-author of the upcoming book, "Training and Racing with a Power Meter.", which will be available in late January 2006.
More information on "The world's toughest power meter" can be found on the ergomo site, www.ergomo.net Please contact them for more information on sales and technical questions.
