Dave Wiens is Committed to Family & Winning (Part 2)
by Bryan on January 20th, 2009
This is part 2 of a 2 part story.
So what exactly does Mr. Leadville track while training for a 100 mile bike race with over 14,000 feet of elevation gain? Well, he said all he really cares about isn’t even mileage, but rather the number of hours on the bike and vertical feet climbed. Not even heart rate? Dave said, “I look at my heart rate to gauge my efforts while on the bike, but I don’t need to analyze the data. I think data can be over analyzed.”
Dave does get out on the road bike which accounts for about 30% of his training on the bike. “Mostly I get out on the road for the flats and as a time to do interval training,” said Wiens. He spoke of intervals that included an example like holding a heart rate of 140-145 for 7.5 minutes, then jump to 150-155 for 7.5, down to 135-140 heart rate for another 7.5 minutes and so on. “Its just one of my personal training techniques. I have read many books and articles and realized no one training program works for everyone. You really should read a lot for yourself and build your own,” stated Wiens.
While some competitors are obsessed with their equipment and how much each part weighs, if its carbon or titanium, Wiens is not that guy. He does know he rides a 175mm crank arm but he really isn’t that much of a junkie when it comes to his equipment, which is another sure sign of a guy who really just loves to ride. “I just want a light hard tail,” stated Wiens. “Light wheel set, light bike, light tires and I am good, otherwise I am not that particular.” he added. “I run my tires tubeless with Stan’s and carry with me two spare tubes, CO2, home made tire boots and multi-tool,” said Wiens who has never had a flat on the 6 years he has raced Leadville.
Dave Wiens last bike was under 20lbs and would you believe he rode it only 3-4 times before the race! That doesn’t seem like much time to get a bike dialed in, but Wiens was happy after a couple rides and adjustments.
Since a member of the Topeak-Ergon Team, Wiens has been riding using the GX2 grips and really truly loves them. “They’re all I need. I’m a huge advocate of bar ends. Imagine riding a road bike but you couldn’t ride on the hoods. That’s how I feel when I ride a mountain bike without bar ends.” said Wiens. “I think the best way to try Ergons is to ride them exclusively for a few weeks and then go back to round grips and see how they feel. They might feel funny at first and it can take some time to dial in the angle of the wing. Everyone likes it a bit different. Some riders like it turned up slightly or down slightly or level. You need to make small adjustments until you find your sweet spot. I don’t like riding with round grips at all anymore. My townie even has Ergons.”
Wiens found out about ten days before the race that Armstrong would be racing for sure. “Up until that point, it had just been rumors and now I really felt like I had to step up my training and so my preparation become much more focused,” Wiens said, “In the end, I did win and I felt perfectly prepared.” Wiens doesn’t train on the course. He does pre-ride the first 20 miles the day before with his brother. He has done this the last four years. “Don’t fry yourself on the pre-ride,” Wiens suggested.
As far as support goes once the race has begun, Wiens wife, Susan meets up with him around the 40, 60 and 80 mile points with a messenger bag that has somethings for him to choose from depending on his mood. Included are energy gels, powerbars simple hydration with complex carbs, sodium and potassium. “I live off those energy gels and I don’t really eat that much solid food although I like to nibble on a bagel with some peanut butter and jelly during the last 40 miles,” said Wiens.
Wiens doesn’t listen to music while racing, but has his shuffle loaded up with what he described as a crazy mix of music that he jams to while training. At any one time Wiens’ mp3 player includes music from:
Metalica
Gary Newman
Vivaldi
Tom Petty
Black Sabath
Ozzy
“…and some kind of random techno music which is really good, but I have no idea who I am listening to,” said Wiens, laughing.
Its not surprising that Dave Wiens, a mountain biker, doesn’t mind a beer or two. He revealed an interesting favorite drink formula: 1/2 beer and 1/2 soda pop (like Coke or Dr. Pepper). “Oh its awesome in the summer and the Europeans have been doing that forever.” stated Wiens. And after a long ride chips and coke are his go-to “recovery” food and then of course are his wife’s cookies. If he is not to blow and sandwich, pasta or burrito are good.
Wiens has no interest in a 24 hour solo race, “…especially not one with laps. I did the 24 Hours of Old Pueblo co-ed on a team and loved it. I definitely want to do it again this year, we had so much fun.” said Wiens who is tentatively scheduled to race the Trans-Alps Stage Race this July.
So should we expect you at Leadville again in ‘09?
“Yes, definitely.”
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I think Byran did a great job with this story.
Nice job Bryan!! I am in awe of Dave. I used my “outside responsibilities” as a crutch. Dave does both and seemingly does them very well. Bring it Dave!!!