For me - to do all the rides and finish! Its special because my Dad suffers with Parkinsons
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This is my first ToF, I’m usually away for it as it always clashes with February Half Term here in the UK. As the slopes are closed I will make the most of it and ensure I get through the ToF and out the other end, I can’t wait to get started on Sunday
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Nice. See u at the start line!
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- Have a fun week. Not very SMART, but I’ll know if it happens.
- Get some proper social indoor riding done with a bunch of folks all tied together on OBS, Discord, Twitch and Facebook, live streaming like we do every year.
- Do 3 stages at full tilt and be disciplined about the rest.
Goals - tick 
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Having trained smarter & longer through the winter months, my goal is to complete this on Nuclear this year having survived & (mostly) enjoyed my first ToS last year on Focussed. 4DP confirms I’m stronger but then ultimately that also makes the rides tougher right?! So then to push myself to beyond where I believe I can go, to enjoy the social side (Suf forum & riding with friends), to raise some money, and to build on my fitness heading into UK spring/summer.
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Essentially, for 6 weeks now, my SMART goals have been to
- complete the prep plan (including stregnth, mental and yoga)
- complete the tour (nuclear, with full 50h window)
- of the (many) reasons why, use these 6 + 1 amazing weeks to increase self trust, confidence and have fun.
I think an event like TOS takes care of a fair bit of the SMART in a goal. For the past 6 weeks (that’s already time-bound!) I’ve had a structure on the trainer and the goal was to follow the plan - getting out of it what I put into it.
The same applies to the TOS itself. I know exactly what I am doing each day - that’s all of those SMART letters covered right there.
I really loved the prep plan, especially the mental toughness program - what a gem. Wow, I can only imagine if I applied that program to my work life!!
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My sincere condolences to Gareth_Harvey.
For me, I was not going to do the tour this year. I kept getting flats on the trainer, which turned out to be hardened plastic rim tape chewing up my tubes…and since my Velox hadn’t arrived, I thought I had the perfect excuse to skip the ToS.
Until the Velox showed up yesterday. No excuse anymore. Today, ToS start day, my apartment building has cranked the heat up to a low sauna-like temp, as outdoors in Manitoba feels around -45 to -50 with the wind chill.
With that, and that the circumstances we all face trying to avoid illness, my only goal is to get through it and not get sick, even if I have to cut the intensity down to a whimper. I can’t get sick.
It’s going to be a literal hell in this indoor heat!
GET ME THROUGH IT, PLEEEEEASE ;D
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Raise money to help those with Parkinson’s, and try to hit or exceed the power targets. I am a personal trainer specializing in older adults and have 3 clients with Parkinson’s, so I have an idea of their challenges. Today on Cobbler around 85 minutes I had a message on my screen that my computer was not connecting with my HR or Power meter. I rode another 5 minutes, then stopped, unplugged my Ant+ stick and reconnected. This has happened many times before with the Sufferfest app, but never once in 5 years using TrainerRoad. This was a big disappointment, perhaps enough to make me reconsider subscribing again.
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Do you use a USB extension cord for the ant+ dongle so it can sit on the floor closer to your pedals? That usually takes care of connecting issues. For me, I’ve found BTLE much more reliable so I just made the switch. Others swear by Ant+ and have the opposite issue. If you have the option (ie if your stuff is dual broadcast) it might be worth trying BTLE.
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Thanks for the advice Glen. I do use a USB extension and the stick is about 18 inches away from my Stages crank and maybe 3 feet from the HR strap. None of this happened with all the years I used TrainerRoad, but has happened more times than I can remember with Sufferfest along with videos which I already downloaded buffering. What is BTLE?
thanks,
Bill Ross
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BTLE is Bluetooth. Connection issues have got to be the most frustrating so I feel your pain. Some people have had success with moving their fans (I’m not joking) or repositioning their internet routers (still not joking) as sometimes it’s just a matter of interference.
If this is a regular issue, if you haven’t already, I’d also consider emailing the minions theminions@thesufferfest.com
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First time and nuclear, waht else? 
The goal is have a big workload and a good time.
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Almost blew my goal this morning. Finishing breakfast before embarking to the Valley, I received a phonecall to ask me to get to a hospital appointment 100 mins later. 9H is 57 mins and the drive to the hospital 40 mins.
I was late but only 10 mins and I have kept on target ready for tomorrow’s secret assignation before work.
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My goal is to raise a little money for a good cause and train consistently. I’m doing the focused option for two reasons. First, my kids have this week off from school; I want to have enough gas left in the tank every day for snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and snowball fights. Second, I intend to roll into the KoS training plan next week. I don’t want to blow myself out now.
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So how did everyone get on with their ToS goals?
I’m proud to say I crushed it. I did every ride in the morning of the scheduled day. No messing.
(Beaten by Fight Club but I’m ok with that. Sort of ok with it.)
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I raised more money than I expected.
I finished stronger than I started.
Goals exceeded!
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Good for you. And good for DPF.
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I realise it is a little back to front to state my goals at the finish but after 20 days in Covid Quarantine (yes in Hong Kong it is 21 days in a hotel room with virtually no external contact except two Covid tests) - but it was to remain focussed and try and complete the nuclear option. Unfortunately the last minute of Hammer No. 9 saw me reduce to 90% - but every other minute of this stage and other stages was done under Nuclear conditions. Thank you to all from the Sufferfest for this great event. It won’t be my last! Thanks also to my friend who managed to deliver my bike and trainer to my room - I would recommend this to anyone who has to self isolate. Here is a few pics of what TOS in a hotel room looks like! Stay sane!
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Way to pass your quarantine time, wow! Congratulations!
Post Tour, I feel like I reached some goals I hadn’t had the courage to consider:
- Completed all the stages in the “focused” option without cracking
- Did a good job of eating/drinking while on and off the bike
- Focused on recovery as best I could between stages (massage, yoga, foam roller, ice, arnica gel)
- Had the mental toughness to get focused even on the last couple of stages when my body just wanted me to stop
- Raised some money for DPF
- Set myself up well for the rest of the winter with a “jumpstart” on my Mt. Suf. fitness goals
- Had fun!
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