PedalTheOcean.com

Killer training days and Killer whales

2008-08-16T08:12:00.004-06:00

Killer whale in Johnston Straight, Vancouver Island, BC

Helen and I, along with our good friends Val and Gary Erickson just returned from a 5 day camping/kayaking trip through Johnston Straight in northern Vancouver Island. It was a rough, wet, cold, dirty but AWESOME week! We saw Killer Whales every day - amazing. To do a trip like this once a year is nourishment for the soul.

Johnston straight is shown on the map above.
We had to take a 2.5 hour water taxi boat ride from
Campbell River, BC to our camp in the rain forest.

Helen and I in the tent

Helen in her kayak

Helen and Val and kayak on a misty morning

Helen and Val and our guide with a Sunstar

Vancouver Island is amazingly beautiful

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle eating a Salmon

Gary and Greg back to civilisation

Training and the record attempt

A date and location has been set for the record attempt. Monday September 8th on Whitefish Lake in Montana. My man Skip Schloss has kindly volunteered to act as the event organizer for me. He has a house with a dock on the lake and many friends and contacts in the Whitefish area. I'll post more details later when I get more time.

Today i finish a 4 day heavy volume training period where I will complete a total of 24 hour of race-pace pedalling on Glenmore Reservoir here in Calgary. I did 10 hours straight, non-stop on Wednesday and finished with a 10.9 kph average speed. 10.2 kph is required to match Carter Johnson's current 24 hour kayaking record.

On Thursday I experimented with a slower pace and managed to end my 5 hour day with an average speed of 10.4 kph. Compared to the average power I had to maintain for 10.9 kph, 10.4 kph is a FAR more efficient pace.

I calculated that it took 25% more power on Wednesday's 10.9 kph effort to produce only 4.8% more speed on Thursday's 10.4 kph effort. My strategy will be to conserve as much as I can during the first 12 hours be being as efficient as possible with low power output, then slowly increase the power through the night until morning if possible.

On Thursday I lost my prop when my shaft broke! OH NO!!! Since I am not using a strut to hold the prop, when the shaft breaks, the prop falls to the bottom of the lake. I marked the location by dropping a way point on my GPS, but accidentally errased it. The lake is VERY weedy and dirty where it fell, so diving in to find it probably isn't possible. Also if I get caught in the water I will get fined because you are not allowed to swim in the reservoir. Since I didn't have a paddle with me I started to paddle with my hands, but quickly realized that I wasn't going anywhere. Luckily one of the rowing coaching boats was near and the two girls (who I see EVERYDAY out there on the lake) kindly gave me a ride and tow back to the dock. I have a spare prop, but now I need to ask Manny to CNC machine me one more. I hate asking because he is so busy right now with PAYING work.

Fridays 5 hour ride was without the SRM power meter because the battery died, so I wasn't able to monitor my power output. I ended at 10.4 kph average speed and included a bunch of pauses for this and that and varying intensities and speeds throughout the day.

Today's final ride will be harder because I want to try to stress my muscles after 3 days of heavy miles and fatigue. I'm thinking of aiming for 180 to 200 watts for 5 hours, and an average speed above 11.4 kh.

Contest

Don't forget that you can enter to win a free Nomad hand held computer by correctly predicting my finishing distance during the 24 hour record attempt. As more information about my speed and training results become available to you, you can revise your prediction as many times as you like by re-entering the contest. We will take your LATEST entry as your official prediction and the contest will close on Sept 8th.

Here is the online entry form:

GPS distance measuring

2008-08-14T08:10:00.003-06:00

Check out this cool high-tech GPS gear I got from my friends at Trimble and Geneq!

The SXBlue from Geneq is a high precision GPS that delivers sub-meter positioning accuracy and low power consumption. It uses a new GPS engine architecture that provides faster startup and acquisition times. the SXBlue will be mounted on CriticalPower2 and will transmit my position via a XTend radio frequency modem to a receiver unit tat is connected to my Trimble Nomad hand held computer which will accurately map and log my position.

Greg Bradley holds the reciever unit with
the antena mounted on a fiberglass rod.

On board CP2, I will use my Trimble Nomad running GPS software to collect redundant data and so that I can see where I am on the moving map. The Genec GPS will not only transmit my position to the ground based unit via radio, but simultaneously broadcast my GPS coordinates via Bluetooth to the Nomad which I will have in front of me as I make my way around the lake. Very slick.

This is the transmitter unit mounted behind the seat of CP2.
The GPS antennae is on the top of the Genec cap I am wearing.
They call me Super Geek.

The transmitter unit will be powered by four 7200 Ma Lithium Polymer batteries connected in parallel which will give me about 30 hours of continuous use.
The photo above shows my charging station.

The rules

According to the Guinness World Record guidelines for "GREATEST DISTANCE BY A PEDAL POWERED BOAT IN 24 HOURS", an acceptable method of measuring my distance is:

"The progress of the journey must be tracked using timed GPS position reports which are transmitted to a separate station. The onward transmission may be via Inmarsat, Argos or another system capable EITHER of collecting the data and automatically forwarding it at preset intervals OR of being polled by the base station (or both). The essential feature is that the timed GPS position reports must be collected and forwarded without any action by the participant. The data collected in this way must be submitted with the record claim and must be certified as being true and accurate by the person/persons manning this station. "

The alternative method of measuring distance which is also accepted by Guinness is the old fashioned surveyed buoy course and counting laps.

The International Human Powered Vehicle Association is reviewing the GPS distance measuring method. They suggest that using the GPS to measure a pre-existing marked course might be acceptable, but to freely wonder around the lake using the GPS to measure my distance would be against the spirit of the competition. I would have to agree to some extent.

To satisfy both Guinness and IHPVA, I may have to revert to counting laps of a professional surveyed marked course like I did during last years HPB record attempt for HPVA, and use the GPS distance for the Guinness record.

New modifications to CP2

In Whitefish I noticed that I had problems making tight turns in windy conditions so I stole the flip-down rudder off of my Hobie Adventure Mirage drive kayak and installed it on CP2. It works VERY well. When I need to turn a corner, I just pull a cord and flip down the large rudder. To make small adjustments to my course, I use my small efficient rudder.

Check this sweet elliptical chain ring out:

This is an elliptical chain ring made for me by my buddy Matt Cochran at Kittadyne. As you can see in the photo, the chain ring is not round, but oval. I rotate the ring such that the widest diameter of the oval coincides with my optimal pedal torque position. This tends to better simulate the momentum of a road bike. Riding the round ring on the boat is like pedalling your bike with the breaks on and the elliptical ring relocates more of the torque to my power position, and less to the part of the pedal stroke that doesn't do much work. It seems to work great and after 10 brutal hours on the lake yesterday, me knee seems to be a lot better. I'll post results of my training run in the next update.

my new serious haircut

Whitefish lake

2008-08-04T19:05:00.006-06:00

We were in Whitefish, Montana at our cabin for the weekend and I got in two great days of 8 hours straight, non stop in CriticalPower2 on Whitefish Lake.

The good news is that the conditions were way less than favorable and I still managed to end above record pace each day. I also found that because the lake is so big, that if you know what direction the wind is coming from you can go to that side of the lake and get calm water.

On Sunday I was on the north side of the 10 km long lake enjoying flat, calm, glass-like conditions when the water on the south side was rolling with 2 to 3 foot waves! By mid-afternoon the waves on the south end would swamp my hull from the tip of the bow all the way back to behind my seat. I got soaked and CP2 took on so much water through the seams that I couldn't lift her out of the water.

On Fridays ride the wind picked up in the afternoon while I was en route back to the south dock and I got blown to shore and had to jump in and drag CP2 onto the beach. I waited for 20 minutes until it calmed down a bit and re-launched. Made it back to the main dock safe and sound. On Sunday I used my large rudder which made ALL the difference with control in the rough water. With the large rudder on (slower due to increased drag), I spent about 50% of the day in waves and wind I was still able to maintain an average of 10.4 kph (10.2 required for record). My small rudder is more efficient, but I can't use the small rudder in large waves - just not enough control. The large rudder worked really well.

Sunrise on Whitefish lake

I think I can do the record attempt at Whitefish lake. According to rower Skip Schloss and a few fisherman I spoke to, it was unusually windy for the weekend there. But even with that wind, I was still able to find large areas that were very sheltered. On Friday the wind was from the south west and I had the entire 10 km west side that I used that was very calm. On Sunday the wind was from the north and the north tip of the lake was very calm. On a typical calm day, I would expect that there could be many calm areas. I was also told that the ski boats disappear mid-August when school starts back again. I found that the waves from the boats don't effect me as much as I though they would. There were dozens of motor boats all around me on Sunday, and I didn't see my speed being effected that much from them. The wakes are large and rolling, not choppy. I think additional skin friction is caused by small, scattered waves, not by large rolling smooth waves.

I think that a large, retractable rudder for turning would be beneficial. When I was looping around the North end of the lake, I found that I could do a fairly tight turn and stay in the calm water easier with the large rudder than I could with my small blade. When I was touring the west side of the lake on Friday, my turns with the small rudder took me way out into the middle of the lake which was fairly wavy. The small blade is more efficient for keeping on track though.

I borrowed the retractable rudder from my Hobie Mirage drive kayak and I want to install it on the stern of CP2. When I need to turn around at the end of the lake, I'll just flip down the large rudder, do my turn, then flip it back up again. I think this would be more efficient in the long run than doing HUGE wide turns with the small rudder and risking drifting into windy, wavy conditions.

After I finished shooting this video I found a plastic bag in my waste pouch and placed the camera into the bag. A minute later the wind and waves pushed me into shore. I had to jump out and swim to shore with CP2 in tow. I landed on PGA pro player Tyler Erickson's beach. He kindly offered me a ride to the main dock, but I was able to push off after a few minutes when conditions calmed a bit. Thanks anyhow Tyler - nice to meet you!

Early morning on Whitefish Lake

1000 meter sprints

2008-07-27T17:16:00.003-06:00

This is rather encouraging.

I have analyzed and calculated and ran numbers in every combination and permutation regarding my chances to break Carter Johnson's 242 km surfski 24 hour distance record. So far, to be brutal honest with you, I have not been totally convinced that I can do it. Carter is a formidable opponent and it is very difficult to beat the simple efficiency of a Surfski kayak and a paddle.

Is my boat fast enough? Am I physically capable? Both really important questions, and both difficult to answer independently.

Typical afternoon thunder boomers rolling in

However, I found a way to directly compare man and machine. I found a YouTube video of Carter doing a 4 minute, 11 second thousand meter sprint in the same Surfski kayak that he used to set the 24 hour HPB distance record. I figured that if my fitness and my boat were both up to the challenge, I should also be able to complete a 1000 meter sprint in about the same time. And I did - 4 minutes, 11 seconds exactly.

Below are the two YouTube videos - the top one showing Carter finishing his 4:11 sprint in his Surfski kayak and below that, me finishing my 4:11 sprint in Critical Power 2 human powered boat.

I haven't been training these short bursts, so my sprint interval power is probably down from what it used to be, but I was able to complete a few very painful 1000 meter intervals between 4:11 and 4:16. My interval was also interrupted by some waves from the SS Moyie paddle boat, and my prop striking the hull near the end of the interval when I was pushing out over 400 watts to finish. I am certain that I could shave at least 11 seconds off with some additional training - which would probably be good for me anyhow.

I think this is a fair comparison and at the very least, it provides me with some level of confidence that I should be able to go at least 242 km in 24 hours with the assumption that my long distance endurance is at least equal to Carters.

I have postponed the 24 hour record attempt until later in August to allow me more time to find a lake and get organized. We're off to our cabin in Whitefish, MT this week and I am planning for some epic long training days on Whitefish Lake and maybe even Flathead lake with CP2.

--------------------------------
I just had an email conversation with Jeff Potter about what exactly we are hoping to prove to the world by beating a simple kayak with a complicated pedal and propeller powered boat. Jeff really makes me think about the bigger picture. I get so immersed in my challenge that I sometimes lose site of why any of it matters at all.

If the record is a vast improvement over the kayak, then we could certainly state that our system is simply a better way of travelling on water by human power. It's not that simple, and I really doubt that if I break the record, it would be by a substantial amount - however, 1 km over the current record in my books at this point *IS* substantial! A kayak is simple, light weight, and inexpensive. It can be dragged up a beach and generally weeds don't effect it's forward progress much. There isn't much to break on it and you can paddle in shallow water because the draft is so small. The pedal powered boat is none of the above.

A pedal powered boat does have it's merits though - The advantages might be equal efficiency to a surfski - but I would say more comfortable to more people for longer distances than paddling. It also frees up the arms for fishing, or reading, or whatever. Most of the rowers tell me they would kill to be able to use their hands and arms during a long rowing journey.

The technology we develop in pedal powered boats, however, has far greater importance than for what Joe Sixpak wants to tool around in on the weekend. Because we are developing a means to power a boat (or a road vehicle for that matter) that does not rely on large oars or paddles extending from the hull, we have a way to make our boats more aerodynamic for wind and weather sheltering for the rider(s). On long journeys, this is substantial (as PedalTheOcean hopes to prove).

For the advancement of energy efficient water transportation, what we are developing with our pedal powered boats is DIRECTLY APPLICABLE to that end - whereas, paddle powered boats are not (I doubt anyone would be interested in pursuing a solar powered rowing boat). An adequate solar panel on CP2 would probably be the most energy efficient boat on the planet. I'm not sure how you could use a solar panel on a Surfski.

I've said this before - Human power is about the pursuit of doing more with less rather than our current way of always trying to do more with more. Someone calculated that a gas engine in Critical Power would demonstrate fuel efficiency of over 10,000 miles per gallon.

-----------------------------
I would like to extend a HUGE congratulations to Carter Johnson who recently won the men’s solo division of the Missouri 340 kayak river race. Carter finished the race in 37 hours, 46 minutes. Johnson’s time is record-setting for this race, now in its third year. He finished more than eight hours faster than the winner in the men’s solo division last year. WOW!

Carter Johnson during the 2007 Texas Water Safarai
Image courtesy of FitToPaddle.com

GEEKMOBILE

2008-07-25T17:03:00.002-06:00

Ya, I know. What a dork huh?

I met my buddy Bryon Howard at the Heritage Park docks at Glenmore reservoir to help me launch the new floating geek-mobile. I chose the Heritage docks because they are usually fairly deserted aside from a few guys trying to catch fish from the dock. I seriously did NOT want anyone to see me in this! Especially the competitive rowers and kayakers that I race around the reservoir all the time.

I knew it wouldn't work and it didn't. My average speeds were way down due to the weight of the silly fairing contraption. It was pretty calm, but there was a section of the lake that was windy and my speed decreased just as much as it usually does when I passed from the sheltered area to the windy area. After a few loops we tore off the fairing and did another couple loops unfaired as a control. Results below:

With fairing @ 150 watts = 11.2 kph
Without fairing @ 150 watts = 11.5 kph
Wind: calm sections, 5 kph sections

I know that the benefit of the fairing should really only be for moving into head winds, but from these tests, I think that the weight of the fairing during calm waters would defeat any benefit the aerodynamics of a fairing would offer for the windy portions of the ride. My gut feeling at this point is to focus on weight shaving rather than wind shielding.

That said, our calculations still predict a net overall gain if the full fairing weighs less than 10 lbs. I think this could be possible with an aluminum wire frame/mylar covering. But, I think the gain would be very small and might not worth the time or effort.

Here is a photo of Rick Gritters streamliner HPV. The photo shows it with a heat shrunk mylar covering, but I think Rick used aircraft Dacron wing material as the final cover. He says the bike weighed in at 40 lbs, so I would guess the fairing itself might be about 10 lbs.

-----------------------------------
Friday, July 25th report and a comparison to last years record attempt:

I was on the lake for 3 hours today. The objective was non stop and to maintain 150 watts. It was fairly windy - 10 to 15 kph and quite wavy for most of the 3 hour ride. My SRM battery died after an hour, so I don't know what my ending power average was, but it was probably between 140 and 150 watts. My speed however was very low - 10.5 kph. There were quite a few stops due to weeds collecting on the prop and wrapping around the bow. These stops were probably responsible for .5 kph of the average. Still, without these stops, I would really only have been at an average of 11 kph. 10.2 kph is record pace. Calm water is a very important factor.

I looked back at last years blogs to see where I was during training for last years pedal boat record attempt. On May 18th I finished a 10 hour day on Glenmore reservoir. I reported that it was very windy at times, and dead flat at times. I was pedaling an early version of WiTHiN which is based on a double kayak with a recumbent seat, pedals and a propeller. I finished the 10 hours at 7 kph average speed which was right at the 168 km record I was training to break. This compares now to an entire day spent on the water with CP2 and ending with an average of 11 kph (I am using the average speed from my 5.25 hour training day because it included both calm and windy periods just like last years comparison training day) which is 264 km in 24 hours, which is 22 km over the current record of 242 km. This is encouraging.

WiTHiN-24 from the 2007 HPB record attempt

To summarize, my long training day average speed from last years boat WiTHiN was right at the record pace, and this years long training day average speed on CP2 is slightly over the record pace.

Also, here is how both boats average 150 watt speeds compare to their respective records they were design to break:

WiTHiN 150 watt speed = 9.2 kph
24 hour record = 173.76 km
Theoretical 150 watt 24 hour distance = 24 hours * 9.2 kph = 220.8 km
150 watt efficiency over the record = 127%

CriticalPower2 150 watt speed = 11 kph (average water and wind)
24 hour record = 242 km
Theoretical 150 watt 24 hour distance = 24 hours * 11 kph = 264 km
150 watt efficiency over the record = 109%

CriticalPower2 150 watt speed = 11.5 kph (calm water and wind)
24 hour record = 242 km
Theoretical 150 watt 24 hour distance = 24 hours * 11.5 kph = 276 km
150 watt efficiency over the record = 114%

CriticalPower2 150 watt speed = 11.8 kph (mirror flat)
24 hour record = 242 km
Theoretical 150 watt 24 hour distance = 24 hours * 11.8 kph = 283.2 km
150 watt efficiency over the record = 117%

As you can see, this comparison shows that it will be more difficult to break the 242 km record in CP2 than it was to break the 168 km record in WiTHiN. However, my training day average now shows a higher average speed relative to the respective record than last years training day average.

"At some point you have to put the calculators down and just go for it."
Greg Kolodziejzyk

3 hr fairing test

2008-07-22T08:09:00.002-06:00

This is what the wind sees

I spent 3 hours on the water Monday non-stop at 150 watts with the front and rear fairings on and my overall ending speed average was quite disappointing. I ended up at 145 watts and 11 kph. The wind was very calm for Calgary - long periods of very calm with pockets of 5 kph wind and ripples to 10 kph gusts with a bit more roughness in the water, but over all a very good example of a calm weather day - probably about as good as I could expect for an entire 24 hours.

I don't think the fairing did a thing, but it is hard to say for sure. Compared to the last 5 hour non-stop run where I ended at 160 watts and 11.4 kph average. The first 3 hours were very calm like Mondays test and my average was at 150 watts and 11.3 kph average - this compares to 11 kph from Monday in the same conditions, but with the added weight of the fairing shell on CP2. All that said, it is still hard to say for sure because I was continually pulling weeds off the prop. My speed can slow down by up to 1/2 kph or more when there is a weed on the propeller. There are sections of the reservoir where large patches of weeds are growing right up to 6" of the surface. It's a major pain.

I need to clarify a few of the reasons regarding testing of a fairing, as I've been getting quite a few emails. I know that at low speeds of 10 km/hr, the aerodynamic drag reduction from a fairing won't provide much additional speed. I am also aware that my fairing only went half way in creating a really good, smooth airflow over the cockpit because it stops abruptly before the pedals and starts again right behind my back. The reason why we think it could help is mostly due to reducing the effect of pedaling into any head wind. This is the same reason why WiTHiN human powered ocean crossing boat is fully faired. When I am moving forward at 10 km/hr into a 15 km/hr head wind, the apparent speed of the hull through the air is 25 km/hr and at 25 kph, a fairing is very effective.

For those of you reading this who aren't aware of my previous project, I did play a large role in the design and development of Critical Power human powered vehicle where I set a 24 hour distance record of 1041,24 km by circling a 1/2 mile oval race track in Eureka, California in the summer of 2006. When Ben and I designed the fairing shell for Critical Power, we ran various shapes through CFD software to test and refine the shape.

Also - about comparing my faired human powered boat performance to Carters unfaired effort, I don't see any reason why a fairing would be considered cheating or some kind of unfair advantage. One of the advantages of pedal/propeller power over paddle power is that we have the option to encapsulate the driver because there are no large paddles or oars that extend out from the boat that need to be allowed for. A large benefit of the pedal/prop platform is that it is more aerodynamic to start with due to the lack of the draggy paddles, so why not build-on that as a feature? I mean, that is the whole idea behind my pursuit of what can be accomplished using human power and some open minded innovation.

Hopefully technology that we develop and demonstrate will inspire new attitudes toward pursuing energy efficient boats and vehicles. Human power is about doing more with less rather than our current gluttonous attitude of doing more with more.

My buddy Gary takes CP2 for a spin

fairing test and 10 mph!

2008-07-20T21:55:00.006-06:00

Because I realize that dealing with some wind for most of the afternoon during the 24 hour distance record attempt is going to be a given, I decided to test out a fairing. At 10 km/hr, an aerodynamic fairing won't help very much, when when I am pushing CP3 10 km/hr into a 10 km/hr head wind, my apparent speed is actually 20 km/hr, and at 20, the advantages of a fairing could be substantial.

The fairing was easy to make - just a thin PETG clear plastic sheet curved over a curved plywood bulkhead. I had a few large sheets of PETG in the shop from when I was making canopy domes for Critical Power streamliner. Both the front and rear fairings took me a total of a few hours to make.

The test was the same loop I did at the reservoir on Friday at 150 watts and my average speed was 11.5 km/hr. This is .1 km/hr faster than without the fairing. That's only about 2.4 km over 24 hour and only 1.2 km if half the day is calm. It was typically windy with some calm periods. I would say periods of 10 to 15 km/hr winds with patches of calm.

At this point, I can't say for sure that pursuing this fairing is worth it. I will experiment with additional fairing to fill in the area behind my seat and possibly some additional covering for the sides of the cockpit. Over 24 hours including some calm periods where a fairing would not help at all, I would say the weight of the fairing which increases the displacement could result in a SLOWER over all average.

I can still set the entire boat up at the car in the parking lot and carry it on my shoulder down to the dock.

Here is a video of me hitting 10 miles per hour (16 km/hr) in CP3.
I'm not sure why the image is so washed out.

I decided to maintain 400 watts as I approached the dock and got Gary to film this. I hit 16 km/hr then the prop flexed up so high it struck the hull. I've done 15 km/hr before and the prop clears the hull - I guess 16 is the limit for now unless I lower the angle of the shaft and gear box. I think I could hold 400 watts for about 4 minutes which means it might be possible for me to average 16 km/hr for 1000 meters.

Mixing it up with the rowers

My buddy Gary was with me and here's a photo of him taking CP2 for a spin. The fairing might not help the speed all that much, but it sure looks cool! It would look even better if it was painted silver with a giant Critical Power 2 logo on the side.

6 hour trial results - not great

2008-07-19T10:46:00.004-06:00

I got out to Glenmore reservoir yesterday for a 'race-day' simulation. The goal was to maintain my target wattage non-stop for 6 hours following a GPS route that I plotted on my Garmin etrex using Google Earth. I would then have a really good idea how close I could get to Carters 242 km kayak record using this real-world test data and extrapolating my result out to 24 hours.

It's very close, but probably slightly UNDER Carters record at this point. My average power was 160 watts and 11.4 km/hr average speed. I plugged these numbers into Ricks excel calculator and came up with an expected average speed of 10.1 km/hr for 120 watts which is the average power I hope I could end up with for 24 hours. This is a total of 242.4 km - almost smack dab exactly what Carters record is. BUT, I didn't allow for the difference between my actual track and the surveyed course. Since I would be rounding the marked course to the outside of the buoys, I will end up travelling further than I am given credit for. I was also able to measure this 'slippage' and it works out to about 1.9%. Adding 1.9% to the total distance of 242.2 km would mean that just to EQUAL Carters record, I would need to go 246.8 km - an additional 4.8 km, or .2 km/hr additional average speed (significant). I think I can reduce the slippage but it would mean more buoys in the water marking out a rounder, smoother course. One of the reasons my slippage was so high was because I had plotted a GPS course using very few waypoints which meant that my corners were sharp. You can see in the image above how far my track veered off of the course.

The other issue with the projected 10.1 km/hr average speed is that it is based on ending with 120 watts of average power and so far, my peak average power for a 24 hour event has been 115 watts. 155 watts would convert to 10 km/hr + 1.9% slippage would equal 235.4 km. This is 6.6 km short of the record.

My average speed would have been higher if there was no wind, but for the first 4 hours of yesterdays test, the wind was pretty calm - probably about what I could expect for a day of very calm weather in Calgary. Probably 5 to 10 kph wind with periods of flat calm and periods of ripples. At the 5 hour point the daily poltergeist thunder storm blew in and I barely made it out of the water before all hell broke loose. I was racing back to the dock with 2 foot whitecaps breaking all over the deck and got slammed head first into the dock because I couldn't stop. I had placed a new 62 tooth front chain ring on my cranks and my chain pulley wasn't tight enough to allow me to back pedal, so I had no breaks.

My average speed also would have been a bit higher if I weren't carrying so much additional weight. Since I was by myself on the water yesterday for 6 hours (cut short by 45 minutes due to the storm), I had to carry 6 hours of water, food, some extra clothes, a life jacket (got in trouble from the patrol boat the other day about not having a PFD on board), etc. I figure I was carrying an additional 15 pounds which is quite a bit. Without that additional weight, I might expect 11.4 km/hr at 150 watts of power rather than 160 average watts. This would equate to 10.4 km/hr at 120 watts average power (249.6 km total), and 10.1 km/hr at 110 watts of average power (242.4 km total).

Jeff posted a comment regarding the rules, GPS data and the surveyed course to this blog post that I thought was rather important, so here it is along with my reply

Now, if you could keep an average speed of about 13.0 km/hr for 120 watts, I might win the computer.
seriously though Greg, what ever the end result, you will still be a winner to us that are rooting for you.
The course you will be going around. Will the actual distance be taken from how many laps you complete in 24hrs or will they accept a GPS reading as it is in basically still water?

Jeff in the UK
# Adventures of Greg 6:04 PM

Jeff: The IHPVA will only accept the # of laps I make around a professionally surveyed course submitted with verification by qualified observers that I followed the course.

Guinness on the other hand will accept transmitted GPS data as long as the GPS data is transmitted wirelessly from the GPS on board to a remote station and the data is sent to Guinness and has not been in contact by me.

IHPVA may accept GPS data for distance, but I would have to subtract the known error which could be up to 20 meters per waypoint (significant). The alternative is to find a high resolution GPS. I haven't looked into that, but it may greatly reduce slippage.

-----------------------------------------
PREDICT GREG'S FINISHING DISTANCE CONTEST UPDATE:

As I progress along with these tests and further refinements to CP2, you can revise your contest prediction as many times as you like. We will take your latest prediction as your final prediction and the contest will close the day before the record attempt.

Enter your prediction or revised prediction here:

-----------------------------------------
Physical issues:

The majority of my distance training has been on the M5 lowracer which is the exact same geometry as CriticalPower2, so I would expect that my muscles are fully adapted to the position. This does not seem to be the case. After my 5 hour non-stop ride on the water with CP2 yesterday, I notice that I was getting a sore knee which is a bit tender today. There seems to be a difference between pushing the pedals around on the road bike vs pushing them around on CP2. I think that there is a lack of momentum helping the pedal stroke around and this stress is relatively new to my legs - meaning that I will probably require more specific boat training to be fully ready for 24 hours and especially if I want to achieve the higher average power output required to break the record.

-----------------------------------------
Goals

Every time I do an Ironman race (or marathon) I try to come up with a prioritized list of goals for that race. For example, here are my goals for Ironman in order of importance:

1. To place high in my division and qualify for a world championships slot for Ironman Hawaii
2. To set a new personal record
3. To break 11 hours
4. To finish the race

The idea of using the ranked objectives is to provide some alternative goals if the first goal doesn't look like it will be possible. At Ironman Arizona in 2006, I had the race of my dreams and was able to accomplish the first goal and got a Kona slot. I have finished 13 Ironman triathlons and have accomplished goal one once, goal two a few times, goal three a few times, and goal four 13 times.

Here are my goals for the 24 hour human powered boat distance record:

1. To break Carters human powered boat 24 hour record of 242 km and have the record ratified by the IHPVA (International Human Powered Vehicle Association)
2. To break my own pedal powered boat 24 hour distance record of 173.76 km and have it ratified by Guinness World Records

The difference between the Guinness record and the IHPVA record is the IHPVA record allows ANY kind of human powered boat including a kayak, a row boat, a pedal powered boat or even a swimmer. It is pure and simple and an ideal that I believe in and pursue with passion. The HPVA record is the record that Carter owns (in my view, but it has yet to be officially ratified by the IHPVA records committee for unknown reasons). The Guinness record that I own is from last summers record attempt. I was able to beat the existing IHPVA 24 hour HPB record of 168 km, but wasn't aware of Carters 242 km pending record. I was able to establish a record category at Guinness for pedal boat distance in 24 hours, and was awarded that record. Goal number 2 is to break my own record of 173.76 km which I feel should be fairly easy to do with Critical Power 2 compared to the big and slow WiTHiN-24 which was essentially a tandem kayak with a recumbent seat and pedals. It was heavy and inefficient compared to the new CP2.

-----------------------------------------
Lakes

My search for a QUIET, isolated lake has not been going well. I have been speaking with Rachel from Parks Canada about using Emerald lake or Lake Louise for the attempt. She has been helpful, but has determined that it would definitely be considered an 'event' and as such would require various approvals from Parks Canada. She thinks she can get me final word on these approvals by the end of August! I'm not holding my breath. Another problem with the mountain lakes is they are typically situated below glaciers which feed them. I've been told that cold catabatic winds blow down the the glaciers every afternoon, so I'm not sure how much additional wind shelter these mountain lakes would provide.

Moving further west into BC has some issues as well. I was speaking to a BC parks guy and he tells me that most lakes that are accessible by vehicle are filled up with water skiers and motor boats every day during the peak summer season. There are a few lakes with motor bans, but they are typically very small - possibly too small for my 24 hour record attempt.

So, I've been taking another look at Glenmore Reservoir. If I can pick a good, calm weather day, I might expect 5 to 10 kph for most of the afternoon with calm during the night. I would say maybe 50% of the day could be calm and 50% could be a bit windy. That's why I consider my test yesterday at Glenmore pretty typical of a calm day. I had periods of flat calm, and periods of 10 to 15 kph winds with ripples and small waves.

I think that rather than pulling my hair out trying to find a windless lake far away from Calgary and all of my volunteers, observers, family and friends, I am going to have to plan and deal with some wind and just try to pick a good weather window for the attempt and do it here in Calgary on Glenmore where there is no motor boats allowed. Many of you have suggested taking a look at a fairing, but according to our calculations, a fairing would not be very effective if the winds were less than 5 kph. With winds varying from 10 to 15 kph periodically, a fairing could possibly be effective. It won't help with reducing drag due to the wavy water surface, but pedalling CP2 10 km/hr into a 10 km/hr head wind is like 20 km/hr wind on the bow of the boat. At 20 km/hr, a fairing becomes very effective.

Have a great weekend!
Greg

-------------------------------------------
Greg is challenging kayaker Carter Johnson's
24 hour distance world record of 242 km
with a new human powered boat specially built
for this record attempt. (Last week of July, 2008)

PREDICT GREG'S FINISHING DISTANCE
AND WIN A FREE TRIMBLE NOMAD
HANDHELD RUGGED COMPUTER!
Enter now:
http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/HPB/HPBmain.html

Sonoma bike trip

2008-07-15T18:08:00.006-06:00

M5 lowracer touring modification with rear panniers. It's the way to tour!
(lowtourer or tourracer?)

Helen and I just got back from our self-supported bike tour around Sonoma Valley, CA. Since I needed the recumbent position training benefit from the trip, I fastened a rear rack onto the M5 and clipped my panniers on and hauled all of our clothes and gear. It worked out great - no problems at all aside from being a bit invisible to traffic as I usually am.

We had tons of fun, ate plenty and drank a some really great wine. The hills on the first day were the steepest inclines I have ever ridden and had to walk the steepest parts. The rear panniers with our stuff probably weighed 50 lbs and I don't have hill climbing gears on the M5. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. The training effect of powering up those climbs should be good.

It was four days of awesome riding and a long run on the beach thrown in for good measure. See below for some additional photos of our Sonoma trip.

-----------------------------
24 hour record progress

Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park

It's kind of coming down to the crunch right now. I would like to attempt the record during the last week of July which leaves me just a couple weeks to get organized. I spent most of the day today doing some research on possible lakes for the record attempt

The photo above is Emerald Lake in Yoho national part which is about 3 hours west of Calgary. The lake is in the wind sheltered region west of the great divide, and is about the perfect size for a 1 km diameter loop. Any lake larger than Emerald tends to create larger waves and ripples with wind. I need to keep the lake as small as possible to minimize the wave size, and as large as possible to keep my circumference route as large as possible. Emerald seems like it is suitable.

But, Emerald lake is in the National Park and I need a permit. I spoke with Rachael at Parks Canada today and she is going to seek permission on my behalf. She told me the only problem she can foresee would be the recent cougar warning for the area. This might make stationing an observer on the far side of the lake in the middle of the night a bit risky. I think that we could station shifts of observers on row boats, canoes or kayaks rather than on shore to deal with the cougar and bear risk.

If Rachael gives me the OK, I need to scout the lake to make sure that it would work for the 24 hour distance record. Then my next issue is finding enough official observers who would be ready at a moments notice to travel out to Emerald and sit in a row boat for 12 hours.

If you would be able to act as an official for any day during the last week in July, or know of anyone who might be able to help, please contact me. greg@justgreg.com or 403-651-2748

If you have not already, please take a couple of minutes to register your distance prediction for me during my attempt. Trimble has donated a Nomad rugged hand held computer for whoever comes the closest to predicting my final finishing distance. It's free to enter. The entry form is here: http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/PredictContest.html

-------------------------------------
Following my progress during the 24 hour record attempt:

You can follow my progress during the 24 hour record attempt at the blog:

http://www.adventuresofgreg.com/HPB/HPBmain.html

Or you can subscribe to my Twitter feed and get quick updates via email, web or your cell phone during the 24 hour attempt: https://twitter.com/pedaltheocean

I will NOT be using email to post updates, so if you have entered the contest and want to follow my progress, please subscribe to the RSS feed at the blog, watch the blog, or subscribe to the Twitter feed.

---------------------------------------
Photos from Sonoma:

M5 tour-racer and a Sonoma vineyard (click to enlarge)

Helen and her carbon Kestrel Airfoil triathlon bike at our hotel

Big mistake - when you are bike touring,
don't ever eat at a French restaurant.
This was Helen's main course.
It consisted on ONE single, solitary, solo, lonely
square inch of fish.

Me and the M5 at Bodega Bay on the coast.

Tan lines. It was 107 degrees everyday for the in-land portion of the trip!
(OK, maybe I am flexing just a bit...)

enter my contest!

2008-07-14T19:14:00.003-06:00

Win a FREE Trimble Nomad® Handheld Computer!
Predict my finishing distance and you can win a free
Trimble Nomad handheld rugged computer.

The farthest distance a human has travelled under his own power on flat water is 242 km by Carter Johnson on April 29-30, 2006 on Lake Merced, California using a Huki S1-x surfski kayak. On the week of July 27 to August 2, Canadian Greg Kolodziejzyk is going to challenge Carter's record using a specially designed, state of the art carbon fiber pedal powered boat called Critical Power 2.

Event sponsor Trimble is offering a free Nomad® handheld computer to whoever can come the closest to predicting Greg's finishing distance during his attempt at a new 24 hour human powered boat distance record.

The contest is free to enter and open to anyone. Simply fill in your name, email address and distance prediction in miles or kilometers on the form found below.

The new Trimble Nomad handheld computer delivers maximum performance and reliability in a lightweight and extremely rugged design that's easy to carry. Featuring built-in GPS, color camera, embedded Bluetooth and 802.11g wireless, the waterproof Nomad weighs just 17 ounces, meets military specifications for drops, vibration, and both high and low temperature operation, and runs Windows Mobile 6. With rounded edges to fit comfortably in your hand, the Nomad works wherever and whenever you need it. More information on the amazing Trimble Nomad can be found here.

Contest entrants can follow my progress live during the record attempt here at the BLOG: www.adventuresofgreg.com/HPB/HPBmain.html

From the lake

2008-07-05T15:41:00.001-06:00

From the lake,
originally uploaded by adventuresofgreg.

A mixed day. A bit of rain, some wind, some waves, some mirror flat. I was testing some outrigger braces to stop them from flopping around so much. I'm not sure they make much of a difference. I did get 11.6 kph ave on my first out and back, but it was pretty calm then. Can't say for sure what caused the good measurement. The one thing - do realize is that absolutely flat mirror conditions are way, way faster than anything else.
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network