# Nice flat roads for 20 min FTP testing. Bay Area/LB



## Hapsmo (Jun 11, 2010)

Could anyone recommend some good flat roads for 20 min FTP testing? I am in the Bay Area, and Los Banos area a few times a week.


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## dwgranda (Sep 8, 2009)

Why do you need a flat road? Something like OLH or Kings if you can keep the focus on the flatter parts can do the trick.


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## Hapsmo (Jun 11, 2010)

I thought a good flat road would give me less chance of variance when repeating the test.


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

As dwgranda points out, OLH is perfect for this - no traffic, no turns, no wind and almost completely shaded so it stays cooler in the summer. Kings is similar. I find these hill climbs very good for repeatability - often within seconds over a 20 minute period when my form has not changed. Personally I have a really tough time maintaining threshold watts on the flat but it comes natural on the climbs. Hmmm, I really need to practice more flat riding?


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## dwgranda (Sep 8, 2009)

For me, on these climbs the power seems to be bouncing all over the place but when I look at the average it seems to be within 1-2 watts of each time I make a run. It's annoyingly consistent if you have the same mental effort  I just had a mental breakthough for the shorter durations and I'm anxious to see if this makes any difference in 20 minute power, but I'm in a little bit of fear for how much I know it's going to hurt.




Hapsmo said:


> I thought a good flat road would give me less chance of variance when repeating the test.


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## Rhymenocerus (Jul 17, 2010)

If you ever make it out to the East Bay, Danville Blvd is about a ~15 mile flat run, I do a lot of training in the Aerobars out there. Its not perfectly flat, but on my 40mi out and back trip theres only like 500ft of climbing.

Its the flattest thing out here, I love the East Bay


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## deadleg (Jan 26, 2005)

If you really want flat, try the Davis area. The local club has has some maps and rides online I think.


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## alex3780 (Nov 7, 2009)

the roads around my office in mountain view are fantastic. i plan on doing the baseline tests for my training there.

i work at central expressway and ravendale. you can do a 1.1 mile perfectly-flat loop that has basically no traffic prior to 7am on weekdays or on the weekends. you have to ride a few hundred meters in a wide bike lane on central expressway but it's not bad.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...387882,-122.052097&spn=0.006828,0.010428&z=17

You go clockwise on ravendale, bernardo, and central. it's basically a crit course - rarely windy, flat, car-free outside of business hours, and the road quality is fine.


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## Hapsmo (Jun 11, 2010)

Thanks. Looks like some good spots mentioned, I will check them out when I get home tonight. There are some flat roads out in Los Banos area that I am staying at two days a week, but the amount of trucks and lack of any room on the side of the roads has me thinking its not a great idea.


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## Undecided (Apr 2, 2007)

Hapsmo said:


> Thanks. Looks like some good spots mentioned, I will check them out when I get home tonight. There are some flat roads out in Los Banos area that I am staying at two days a week, but the amount of trucks and lack of any room on the side of the roads has me thinking its not a great idea.


If you're using a climb, pick one that you expect to be convenient for re-testing. I wouldn't use OLH unless you're certain you'll never get under 20 minutes. Hwy. 84 east is also good---more consistent than the real climbs.


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## 2clueless (Jul 31, 2008)

If you want flat....try Monterey Road from Santa Teresa down to Morgan Hill or Santa Teresa Road.


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## rhauft (Aug 8, 2006)

East Bay = North Livermore Road - flat and fast on the HOP (house of pain) route


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## orangeclymer (Aug 18, 2009)

2clueless said:


> If you want flat....try Monterey Road from Santa Teresa down to Morgan Hill or Santa Teresa Road.



yup thats the ticket.


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## zender (Jun 20, 2009)

Along these lines, where would you guys recommend for a flat 40K TT effort. Without having to drive out to Davis or resorting to an indoor trainer, I mean.

This isn't for FTP calculations, but trying to maintain as constant a power output for 40K and possibly get to the 1hr benchmark. Near me, 40K will yield as much as ~ 3,000 ft of total gain which puts 1hr out of reach for these weak legs and lungs.


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## ukbloke (Sep 1, 2007)

zender said:


> Along these lines, where would you guys recommend for a flat 40K TT effort. Without having to drive out to Davis or resorting to an indoor trainer, I mean.
> 
> This isn't for FTP calculations, but trying to maintain as constant a power output for 40K and possibly get to the 1hr benchmark. Near me, 40K will yield as much as ~ 3,000 ft of total gain which puts 1hr out of reach for these weak legs and lungs.


I think the South Bay suggestions (Monterey Road, Santa Teresa, Uvas) suggestions are best for that. Another possibility is up and down on Canada Road in Woodside, but it has some gentle rollers and can be windy.

I've been trying to think of somewhere for doing Chris Carmichael's CTS performance field test. This needs an uninterrupted stretch of road for an 8 minute all-out interval (which you do twice with a 10 minute cool down). I do better with some incline, so I'm thinking of Portola Road from before OLH up to Alpine Road. The only problem is that if I do improve I don't think its going to be long enough for 8 minutes of hard riding.


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## zender (Jun 20, 2009)

Canada road is good for the 8 minute FTP test in that you don't have to stop from 92 to the top of the slight hill south of Edgewood about 4 miles. If you can do that in 8 minutes, it's time to quit the day job! The problem is, it's hard to maintain a nice steady output on the rollers, so your normalized power will be noticeably above average power. But, I routinely do the various CTS intervals there using the inclines for the intervals and the downhills for the rests. 

No way I will ever average 24.8mph for an hour straight on Canada though


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