The Dirty Dozen hill climbing event

Training
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I participated in a unique event this weekend, and I think Xert gives some interesting insights into how it went.

The event is the Dirty Dozen, where the goal is to complete 13 of the steepest hills around Pittsburgh without putting your foot down. These hills all have maximum grades above 20%, a few even go above 30%, and most of them are quite long.

There are some nice YouTube videos about the event, e.g.: Mitch Boyer and Rick Sebak.

Here’s the link for my effort in Xert:
Xert - Activity | Moderate Mixed Breakaway Specialist Ride: Dirty Dozen. This was my first time doing the Dirty Dozen. My goal was to complete it, and this felt like a long shot.

A few observations:

  • I really tried hard to pace myself (and avoid any breakthroughs!). I accidentally got close a few times, like on the 2nd hill (around 53:26) when the cobblestones were jutting out at sharp angles. Or around 4:05:25 on what is generally considered the hardest hill.

  • For the first 9 hills (up to around 05:13:15), the three points where my effort was closest to MPA really were the three most painful parts of the race. That third one was Canton Ave., the most famous hill of the Dirty Dozen, which is short but paved with cobblestones and very steep, peaking at a 37% grade. This was an all-out sprint for ~35 seconds, and I think it wore me out for the rest of the event.

  • After the sprint on Canton, every single time I drew down MPA (each of the last 4 hills) was miserable. These were some of the hardest hills to complete, but Xert makes it clear that this was because of fatigue, not because I was putting out much power.

  • I’ve never been sure what athlete type to configure in Xert to prepare for the Dirty Dozen. Zooming in to look at individual hills, I see that the Focus ranges from GC Specialist to Road Sprinter, depending on the length of the hill and on how well I paced myself. And I suppose that with increased fitness, the focus duration of the individual hills will decrease.

Anyway, I don’t know whether anyone else finds this interesting, too, but I thought I’d share. And I’d love to hear any other thoughts about Xert’s insights or what else I should do for next time. And of course everyone is welcome to join next time, too.

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Thanks very much for sharing this, it looks epic! How did you deduce the Xert Focus for individual hills?

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Hovering over the power graph shows the location on the map. And then selecting a range on the power graph zooms the graph to show only that specific range, and the stats above the graph, including the focus duration, apply to that specific range, too.

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Very cool, thanks - I never noticed the stats changing before, but I see it now!

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Hi @amcnabb, thanks for sharing your experience with the Dirty Dozen—what an epic challenge!

It’s fascinating to see how Xert’s insights can enhance your understanding of such a demanding event. Your pacing strategy was commendable, especially on those steep hills! I appreciate how you’re analyzing your efforts in relation to MPA and activity difficulty. Those cobblestones on Canton Ave really tested your limits! It’s interesting how fatigue can play a crucial role, even if your power output isn’t high. Riding at a sub-optimal cadence or on bumpy surfaces could lead to faster fatigue than expected.

For future training, consider using this activity with Race AI to prepare again! If you can get a file from someone who did it faster, you could use that too! Additionally, using ‘XSS Buckets’ on high-intensity efforts with repeats on short, steep hills could build the specific strength and endurance needed for explosive climbs.

I’d love to hear how you plan to prepare for the next Dirty Dozen! Any specific workouts or strategies in mind? Do you have other events planned before then?

Thanks for the video recommendations - I’ll check those out!

Great job!

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Everyone should watch a Mitch Boyer video to see what more real rides should look like on virtual ride platforms.
Immersive panoramic shots possible with an Insta360 make all the difference in the world.

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Thanks, @ManofSteele.

I don’t have any particular training strategy in mind. I do plan to practice the hills more often, in addition to generally improving my fitness.

I hadn’t looked into Race AI before, but it seems like a good idea. I assume I’d want to start it about 3 months before the event next year, right?

If I want to do better next year than this year, can I tell it to target everything at 5% or 10% faster? Maybe I could just lie about what my weight was this year.

With regard to XSS buckets, I think this only works for Garmin; I have a Karoo.

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