Original ride report as sent to Tandem@Hobbes, the international email list for tandem enthusiasts, on June 6, 1999:

"Preparations:

Last Sunday was the day of the first of the major MTB marathon events in Germany for 1999, the Garmisch Marathon. Over the last few years, long distance off-road events (usually with a long option of around 120km (75miles) and about 3,500m of climbing (11,500ft) have sprung up all over Europe. In the Austrian Alps, there is even an off-road equivalent to Trondheim-Oslo, covering 220km (140miles) and 6,000m of climbing (20,000ft)!

After riding the event in Kirchzarten (near Freiburg in the Black Forest, SW Germany) and St. Wendel (north of Kaiserslautern) with two different stokers last year, I went looking for a stoker to do the complete series of four events organized by the German Moutain Bike magazine this year: Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Bavarian Alps), Kirchzarten, Seiffen (south of Chemnitz), and St. Wendel.

Luckily, I am the coach of the university's (recreational) cycling group here in Freiburg, so I know quite a few strong cyclists, and since we live between the Black Forest and the Rhine valley (only about 15km away from Jan Ullrich's home), all are used to climbing. The natural choice for a perfect stoker was Evelyn, a former gymnast, who has been surprising everybody ever since she first joined the group. She rides both on and off-road on her singles, never talking much, but always among the first at the end of every ride. Light, strong, and a smooth pedaling style - what else should one want?

Myself, I entered my first bike race when I was 14, and I have raced on and off road as well as on the track most of the years since. The two most active years of racing for me were 1988/89 and 1996/97, when I was living in Texas (as a YFU exchange student and as a student at UT in Austin, respectively). Since my return from Austin I have quit racing to have enough time to finish my studies, but I still ride for fun. I am a complete bike nut, I love working on bikes almost as much as I like riding them, I like trying out new stuff which I do as often as my wallet allows (when I was still working at a bike I usually owed my boss more at the end of each month than I had earned). Evelyn is smarter than me, having invested only sensible amounts in her bikes.

I had been hoping to buy a tandem ever since I worked at a bike shop (German Moehren's "German's Mountain Bikes" in Heidelberg, Germany's first off-road only shop) that sold their own line of high-quality tandems several years back. I first got to ride one three years ago when a fellow [T@H] member was looking for a captain to sub for her absent boy-friend, and quickly decided that I had to get one myself. Thus, during my year at UT, my girl-friend Sabine and I tested several tandems and finally bought a Santana Fusion/Cilantro. Of course, I have since made substantial modifications to the bike. See the tech report below.

Evelyn and I had already ridden the Kirchzarten Marathon together last year, finishing first among the eight(?) tandems and around 300th place in the mens' field of around 1500 starters. Even though we ride a lot, we had not had the time to prepare specifically for the Garmisch ride, as for both of us our time at the university is coming to an end and comprehensive exams take their time to prepare for. We had run a lot, since running is less time-consuming than cycling, but couldn't put in many miles on our bikes. Evelyn did spend a week in the Italian Alps with her mountain bike, though, while I opted for a week of canooing on the Loire (France) to relax from school. Due to technical difficulties with a retrofit disk brake we hadn't been able to ride the tandem at all together until the night before the Garmisch ride. However, I promised Evelyn that I my utmost concern was to bring us home safely and that I would heed any plea to slow down, so we were in good spirits going into the event.

We don't know yet if we'll ride Seiffen and St. Wendel (both courses are less interesting than the first two), but the registration for Kirchzarten will go out tonight.

The course:

The northern part of the Alps witnessed their worst floods for as long as people can remember just ten days ago, so right until the day before the event it was unclear whether the race would be held at all. In the week before the ride the course had to be changed quite a bit to bypass some destroyed sections. The course was shortened to two laps of 40km each (25 miles), but the total elevation remained almost the same at 3,300m (11,000ft). The effect was that quite a few sections were way too steep for anybody to ride. Even single riders with a low gear of 20-34 were pushing their bikes for long stretches! And some of those sections, even the paved ones, were hard to PUSH up! I saw more than one riders lose traction walking and fall down down!

Even the original course is quite a bit more challenging than other such events, simply because the location in the Alps doesn't leave the course designers much choice other than long, steep uphills and long, steep downhills. Most of those downhills were on ski slopes, full of deep rain ruts to avoid erosion during the summer months - not too hard to jump on a single, but quite an obstacle on a tandem.

In every off-road event, there are warning signs marking the beginning of steep downhill sections, but since many of them are not all that steep, many riders tend to ignore them and do not reduce their speed. Here, such behavior would not only have been foolish, but certainly suicidal!

The course started with a flat stretch of 5km to warm up and to stretch out the field a bit (350 riders per starting group are quite a bit of traffic on narrow mountain paths). This part was full of potholes, so it was here that Evelyn lauded the newly added Moxey XC supension post. She had expressed some reservations against it after a brief parking lot ride the night before, but I had assured her that she would not want to do the ride without some cushoning under her butt... Next came a 15km uphill, most of it rideable, and a welcome rest stop with plenty of food and cool drinks to fill up our water bottles with.

Back down along ski slopes, and then through a fairly dark wooded section that was extremely steep and full of loose gravel (my girl-friend Sabine, who did one lap on her single, later told me that she "decided it was time to get off a few yards too late and thus I was forced to ride it all - horrible!"

Another rest stop with drinks at the bottom, and then a long walking section uphill, most of it paved. Some more up and down, up and down, and again a long climb, though this time almost completely rideable to (almost) finish the pain for the lap. Next came another long downhill, a few parts of which had been almost completely washed away in last weeks torrential rains. Those sections were clearly marked, however. Again there were a few dark section through the woods, a nice change from the sun-scorched, dusty uphills. A tricky grass section sloping to one side proved fatal for some riders, but the ground was soft enouigh to soften the fall. At the bottom came a 120° turn and then a section along the fence surrounding a soccer field designed to weed out the tandem teams as it included a very narrow 90° turn.

Shortly thereafter came the final challange: The climb up a paved road leading up along the slope of the 1936 olympic ski-jump. Knowing well how steep this section is, the organizers had promised to give out prizes to riders who would ride it both laps! Out of the about 1000 starters, only five managed the climb without walking!

The way down on the other side of the jump was a narrow single track with switchbacks. Nice for singles, but challenging for tandems: The section would have been rideable for us hadn't other riders pressured us to get out of the way because we were slower around the turns, of course. A rest stop in the 1936 Olympic stadium at the bottom of the jumps completed the lap.

The 1st lap:

Dehydration was the main adversary to fight during the ride! The sun had already been out the days before to dry the course, and then on Sunday it burned down on the riders. Since long stretches of the course were on wide ski slopes, there was little shade from trees.

The race committee had somehow failed to realize that tandem teams usually ride as one unit, and assigned Evelyn and me to different starting groups. After some discussion, they did let us start together, though. We tried to stay out of the way of the top riders (and those thinking they should be among them), but still did try not to lose time one the flat part. As soon as the first climb started, my heartrate monitor took over controlling my power output. I had gone way beyond my abilities two years ago when I tried to stay with the pros in the Kirchzarten marathon on my single, and since then try to pace myself better on long climbs. I had set the monitor to beep at over 180 bpm, a pace I can usually maintain for quite some time. Whenever it started to beep I reduced my share of the load a bit to get back below the limit. (NOTE: heart rates differ greatly from person to person, even within one age group! Some never reach 170, others can go over 200. This has no significance for respective training levels. Find out for yourself!)

There I am again: Bike nut and gadget man. Evelyn's approach was completely different: She just rides! She knows her body well enough to make sure she'll make it to the finish line, and she's enough of an athlete to get there fast! Whenever I looked back to ask how she was doing, she just gave me one of her wonderful smiles and said "Just great!" At Kirchzarten last year I had believed her less and less during the ride, thinking it was just a stock phrase. The amount of power she put out towards the end of last Sunday's ride, however, convinced me that she really just enjoys cycling hard and fast.

On the way up already, we noticed the many photographers on motorbikes. Cool, just like during the TdF! And since we were one of only three tandems doing the longer option, and not going slow, either, they took quite a few pictures of us. Hey, we might even make it into Mountain Bike magazine!

We felt pretty fast on the first long climb, and didn't spend too much time at the rest stop. Before the ride, many had asked us how a tandem would make it down the mountains without slowing other riders down. We were determined to show them that we wouldn't be the ones slowing people down! That lasted for a few fractions of a second, though, until I became aware of the many deep ruts in the course, threnches almost. I don't think I have braked as hard before in my life! So I had to change my strategy: As I have pointed out to others many times before, picking the best line when descending is of an even higher importance on a tandem than on a single. Now I went back to that strategy: Find the best spots to cross the ruts and aim for them early on. We did have to ride a bit slower than experienced single bike riders, but not by much, I assure you.

Maybe we should have, though, because on the steep section through the dark forest that followed we had a blow out on our rear tire. And not just the tube was ruined, but the rim was bent as well! Bummer! The wheel looked strong enough to make it through the final 55km, though, so we changed the tube and went off again. We were not the only ones with this problem: I have never seen so many people changing tubes! Garmisch is definately a course on which a light full-suspension bike would have helped by increasing reliability.

We completed the first lap without any further problems. The bent sidewalls on the rear rim made brake modulation harder, but at least the rim would still pass through the brake. I would not have continued the ride with one brake unhooked.

Needless to say, we were not among the five riders who climbed the final ascent on their bike. We didn't even manage it the first time. However, we were pleased to notice that we started walking later than many riders arond us. We finished the first lap in 2 hours and 52 minutes, about an hour behind eventual winner Jan Ostergaard.
 

The 2nd lap:

At the beginnning of the second lap I noticed cramps beginning develop all throughout my legs. I am sure I didn't drink enough on the first lap, and the hard pace was beginning to take its toll. I therefore decided to go easier on the long climb, not going beyond 175bpm this time (and most of the time staying below 170). I could feel the onset of the type of headache typical for dehydration and a beginning heat stroke, so I drank more and poured a lot of water over my head and jersey. Still, we had to stop once to allow me to cool down in the shade.

On the way down we passed by a corner marshall yelling "Look, the tandem is still riding!" I believe she meant that as a compliment, but Ostergaard probably was off his bike by that time... Shortly thereafter we approached the same where we had had our blow out on the first lap. I mentioned it to Evelyn, she told me to slow down, I did - but still: BOOM - PFFFFFT - CLONK CLONK CLONK!

Not enough, before the ride I had refused the 2nd tube Evelyn had bought for the weekend, so we were left with a flat tire and without a tube and patch kit. And this should happen to me, even though I am usually the one telling people to never leave home without a tube AND a patch kit because you never know... Smart guy!

Of course, the flat occured almost at the beginning of the descent to ensure that we would lose lots of time! It was about a three mile walk to the next service station, during which we were passed by one of the other two tandems. The other finished a few minutes behind us.

The rest of the lap was fairly uneventful. We completed the second lap in just over 4 hours, putting Evelyn in 21th place out of 23 female finishers of the 80km event (with 10 DNFs) and myself in 497th of 524 men (just over 200 DNFs). We hadn't reached our goals of finishing as the first tandem and among the top third of the men's field, but we sure had a ton of fun along the way! Thank you, Evelyn!

The stuff we rode and how it held up:

ENGINES: Chris and Evelyn, 27 and 23, students

Rear motor in excellent condition and with a superb power-to-weight ratio; front engine could use some additional training.

FRAME: '96 Santana Fusion/Cilantro CroMo

Excellent tandem frame. The top tube could be a bit stiffer for tough off-road courses, especially for stokers who (unlike Evelyn) are outside of the Pantani weight category. A larger top tube would also solve the akward cable routing problem for the rear rim brake. The rear top tube could be a bit longer, but Bill already knows that my stokers disagree with him in this respect. Also, poor cable routing to the drum precludes the use of large diameter tires.

Santana has lenghthened the rear cockpit a bit (not enough for us) and increased the diameter of the top tube (haven't ridden their new bikes yet) since they built our bike.

FORK: '99 Votec GS IV OS/S with integral Votec XL stem and Votec bars

Wonderful fork for both tandems and singles! The bolt-on hub greatly increases steering control. I would not want to miss it. I would not have wanted to ride this course without suspension. Others, like Kirchzarten may be fine on a rigid bike, but not Garmisch! Votec's XL stem allows up to 145mm of extension, making up for the shortish top tube on the Santana.

FRONT WHEEL: 36 DT Competition 2.0/1.8 double-butted spokes connecting a Mount bolt-on hub to a silver Mavic D521 rim

Much stiffer than the X517. Well worth its weight on an off-road tandem meant to be ridden hard.

REAR WHEEL: Original Santana/Wheelsmith gold label wheel using an EDCO hub, 40 Wheelsmith 2.2/2.0 single-butted spokes and an Araya RM 20(?) rim

The hub (with the reinforced ratchet after we broke the original one) held up on the steep climbs. Now I'll dare to put on lower gears. IMHO, the rim is not the best choice. It'll be replaced with a Mavic D521 (thanks to Santana's German distributor Wolfgang Haas, Mavic from time to time makes a special run of 40-hole versions).

I use Velox rim tape exclusively. The KoolStop strips used by Santana are allright for off-road wheels with their lower tire pressures, but not for high-pressure applications.

TIRES: 26x1.95" Continental Double Fighter (dual compound, black/grey)

The perfect tire for this event. I never missed a knobby tire except for a short grass section sloping off to one side. I mounted the tire for Kirchzarten last year, and we greatly apprechiate the reduced rolling resistance. I had taken a set of knobbies along to be prepared for rain, though. A larger rear tire might have let us come through with less flats.

BRAKES: Magura HS 33 Quicksilver with standard black pads front, '97 LX-Vs with black Kool Stop pads rear, plus the standard Arai drum activated via a Suntour XC Expert thumbshifter.

DO NOT use the standard LX-V pads, as they eat up rims faster than you can replace them!

The rim brakes worked excellently; and we certainly would not have finished the race without the Arai. This course is unrideable without a non-rim brake! I don't like the three-lever setup, and some readers may wonder why I don't mention the Formula disk I added to the tandem a week ago: I am still short a few parts to mount the long hydraulics line, and the stock one will only reach the stoker bar. I don't believe in giving the stoker anything beyond possibly a bell, a map, and a warm hug (after the ride), especially in competitive off-road events, so I had to go back to the trusted Arai the night before the ride. The Arai did what it always does: It smelled horribly, but it slowed us down!

On Maguras vs. V-brakes: Hydraulic brakes may be nice for a tandems rear brake, but otherwise the added complexity is not really worth the trouble. I put them on because I needed the front V for Sabines MTB after I put on suspension and she absolutely refused to ride hydraulics. The Maguras were the only choice I had lying around in my basement. They stop the bike well, and modulation was very good, but not noticeably better than with pre-'99 LX-Vs with well-maintained cables. The V-brake noodle guides are a problem because dirt gathers in them quickly (especially in the rear. I have therefore replaced them with Caramba rollers.

DRIVETRAIN: Standard Santana equipment: XTR derailleurs, XT cranks, 12-32 8-speed XTR cassette, 54-44-28 chainrings. Upgrades: LX RapidfirePlus levers, Avid Rollamagic

Held up fine. I might change the rings to 54-42-26 when the old ones wear out.

GRIPS: Biogrip Race front, ODI Attack rear

I love Biogrip for long rides with flat bars! My girl friend doesn't, so my stokers get standard grips.

SEATS: Selle Italia Flite front and rear

Last year, I had Evelyn bring her own seat, but this year we didn't bother to swap. She liked the Flite as well. My girl-friend and I have Flites on six out of our eleven seatposts (not on the commuters, the guest bike and on her MTB).

REAR SEATPOST: Moxey XC with soft elastomer

Superb! Evelyn said she couldn't imagine having to ride a course like the one in Garmisch without it. The bobbing motion took some getting used to on flat stretches, but in rough terrain nothing beats a parallelogram post. We feel that damping is not neccessary - the legs provide enough.

Other tandems:
As far as I know, there were three other tandems at the weekend; two C'dales who rode the 80km, and a lower-tech tandem (Sabine's description, I didn't see them) doing the 40km.

The fastest tandem was ridden by a mixed team. They had a C'dale Moto FR fork in the front, a Moxey post for the stoker and dual disks (couldn't see which when they passed us).

The other C'dale had a C'dale upside-down fork, a rim brake in the rear and a Sachs disk in front. I talked to the captain briefly after the event and he said he would certainly not ride it again with this front brake!

The tandem doing the short ride was unsuspended. I heard rumors of a KHS-team being there, this might have been them. I don't know anything about their brake setup."