We need a rule for NEW Permanents

Well, maybe not so much a rule as a warning.

My suggestion is that in the future, those designing new Permanents should be certain that if they design a route that is, perhaps “tailor made” for a recumbent rider, that when said recumbent rider totally kicks their butt during a ride, that the owner of the Permanent will be prepared, in advance, to be suitably humbled.



After I rode Ron’s Nottoway Ramble last weekend, I made it known that I intended to ride my Permanent this weekend. Although there was some tentative interest from a couple of others, Ron committed to the ride and joined me for my Eastern Shore ride (total climbing of 500 feet).

The weather was astonishingly nice for early July and other than a headwind on the way out that became a crosswind for the return, you really couldn’t ask for a better day.



We got to the BP station that is the first control at 39 miles just 20 minutes after it had “opened.” This was the first time I used this new site for the mid-way control and other than the absence of V8 juice (seems to be totally prohibited on the Eastern Shore) it provided everything I wanted including RESTROOMS (2 of ‘em!)

Ron was less excited about getting to the town of Assawoman than Dean had been, but he did question if the town next to it might be Bootyville.



The loop back to the BP station is definitely less scenic than the outbound route although I still like riding along the old railroad and how much of the section is in the shade. Until you get to Parksley, the traffic is very light. Admittedly, from there to the BP control is 6 miles of wide open road and surprising amounts of traffic. On this day, as is often the case, unfavorable winds turned it into a bit of a slog. But the new control is still a reward once you get there.

The winding of Seaside road gave us the weird experience of left turn = tail winds, right winds = head winds. All along, as had been the case all day, I’m trying to prove to myself that I can keep up with Ron on the recumbent in these conditions. Actually, I needed to try to prove I could keep up with Ron, period.



We got to the finish in 9 hours and enjoyed our time waiting in line at one of the most inefficient McDonald's on the planet so we could get our receipts showing our finish time as much later than it really was.

Getting out of a rut

Ron’s Nottoway Ramble became available to me for a ride Saturday after some previous weekend plans changed. Having already ridden my Eastern Shore Permanent twice in June (the 2nd time just so I could confirm the location of a new control with RESTROOMS!!), I didn’t need to get in another 200k, but I did NEED a ride for the day. With 3 riders from my local group headed down for it and Dean and Ron joining them, it was too good to pass up.



With 6 of us at the start, it had the appearance of a late season brevet with a few riders in need of a distance to fill in their series. Temps were pleasant and the forecast was great. Several of us ran into problems with getting to the start (I missed an exit off the interstate after having already been held up by a bridge lift on 264) so we weren’t on the road until 0720.


Kim and Amie



After a pleasant roll out, Pascal and Kim started to pull away. I jumped after them and Kim’s new protégé Amie but Dean and Ron stayed back for a more leisurely day (my mistake).



With Pascal setting a torrid pace, I had trouble keeping in contact with the 22mph paceline. Since I’d lost my frame pump when I left it on the trunk of the car when I left home, I HAD to keep up with everyone in the group. I think we passed some very picturesque areas but it was all a blur.



As we approached the Yale General Store for our 1st control, I backed off the pace knowing that all would be stopping. After water and ice and a bit to eat we were back on the road, but found I could keep up a bit better.



I had heard that there was a nice Italian restaurant in Waverly but when we got there none of us were up for a hot lunch and chose to just refuel at a nearby Exxon that seemed to be having a sale on every cigarette brand that you’ve never heard of.



At the Circle Store in Claremont we huddled in the shade along one side of the building although Pascal was prioritizing having a place to sit before reapplying sunscreen.



With 50 miles to go and no controls in between, we planned to stop at a store in Surry where we were indeed welcome.



This was where it became apparent why all the riders except Ron (on his recumbent) were using Camelbaks today; there were no more stores for the remaining 35 miles and it was now in the 90’s. Also as Kim noted, while we would have a tailwind, that would mean we no longer could count on the breeze to keep us cooled off.

Having already had a flat just after we left the Circle Store, Kim now started having problems with the clamp on her seat rails. Every stretch of rough road would cause it to loosen and then the tilt of the saddle would go WAY off. After several tries we seemed to get it settled into a stable position.


Kim, offering her opinion of the situation

At one point on Berrymans Corner road, I was (astonishingly) taking a turn at the front and focused on a long stretch of shade straight ahead. Though not marked on the cue sheet, we needed to make a right turn to remain on the same road. Thankfully, Kim spotted the road sign and stopped us before we’d gone more than a quarter mile down the wrong road.

After the mistake, our computers were off a bit and Pascal and Amie were stopped at the top of a hill wondering where the church was that was to be an information control for us at 126 miles. I thought we still had about a half mile to go and around a couple of turns I heard a big “Ah hah!” from behind me as they spotted the steeple on the left ahead.

Once we got to the finish Kim made it perfectly clear that we would be going to DQ as soon as we were all packed up. She, Pascal, and Amie have convinced me I need a way to change clothes after these rides in the future as they all did and I was still in my bike clothes as we sat down for a post ride snack.

Also, Amie showed us all a neat trick to delay someone who is trying to jump on your bike and ride off while you're in a store.

Just make sure to put it on the non-drive side of the bike so you don't get chain grease on it.

Thanks Amie!

The Steve Martin defense

Two simple words. Two simple words in the English language: "I forgot!" How many times do we let ourselves get into terrible situations because we don't say "I forgot"? Let's say you're on trial for armed robbery. You say to the judge, "I forgot armed robbery was illegal."
Steve Martin
Saturday Night Live
Season 3: Episode 9

Instead, let’s say a police officer arrives at the scene after you, as the driver of a vehicle, have just struck a bicyclist. Don’t let yourself get into a terrible situation. Remember, two simple words is all it will take; you say to the police officer and to anyone else around;

“What cyclist?”

“I ‘didn’t see’ (HEY, there’s another ‘two simple words’ for you) that person on a bike.”

It is truly magical. Drive a car, hit a cyclist, and maybe even KILL a cyclist. Just remember to say those “two simple words;” two simple words in the English language: "what cyclist?"

Just announce that you “didn’t see” the cyclist and you’re off the hook! Not even a slap on the wrist for you! Please sir or madam; go on about your day with nary another thought of this incident.

Better than a “get out of jail free” card because not only is there no penalty for you, why you won’t even be considered the least bit responsible for what happened. How could ANYONE consider you to be responsible; after all, you “didn’t see” the cyclist.

It is odd, though. While “didn’t see” seems to work 100% of the time in this case, it seems to NEVER work in others.

“What sign? I didn’t see the 25 MPH sign.”

“What school? I didn’t see that I was in a school zone.”

“What red light? I didn’t see that red light.”

“What car? I didn’t see that car stopped in front of me until I rammed into it.”

“I didn’t see that other car coming from my left when I pulled away from the stop sign.”

“I didn’t see that mother pushing a baby stroller in the cross walk who had the walk light while I had a red light that I also didn’t see.”



Are cyclists super-heroes with the power of invisibility? We must be!



It’s the only explanation. We wear garish colored clothing and ride with wildly spinning leg motion that ANYONE can see. We outfit our bikes and often our bodies with crazy flashing lights and reflective gear, but STILL people say they “didn’t see” us. I guess we really are invisible.



Or maybe they just don’t care.

(Inspired by the efforts of Wes Cheney who is trying to bring attention to this issue after the deaths of 4 cyclists in the last year in Norfolk and Virginia Beach)

Bicycle Dreams and miscellany

You really need to watch this movie.



RAAM is so far out of my league, it's like a different sport altogether. But, then, so is professional racing and that doesn't stop me from watching the Tour each year. That said, you at least can get a taste of some of what these riders go through with randonuerring. But JUST a taste. And having had that taste, it gives me even more respect for their ability than I had before.

Just buy the DVD and watch it already.

Miscellany

Now that the brevet season is over (I finished my SR series, what else am I supposed to do now?), I can either stock up on beer and pork rinds, settle into a recliner for 8 months or keep riding.

Eh, I guess I’ll keep riding.

After all, PBP is the year after next.


Me at the back (where else?) of a paceline

When we finished the PAC tour, we were warned about a depression-like mood that often strikes people after completion. It made a lot of sense: you’d been wholly focused on preparation for months and fully engrossed in a singular effort for weeks and now it was all over. The end of this year’s series of brevets didn’t hit me as hard as PAC tour in that regard, but, still, I am left with a bit of a loss of focus. There’s still the R-12 and possibly a few extra 200k rides. But, it’s not the same as the well defined schedule of events whose dates I’ve had on my desk since last fall when they were first announced.

Did my June 200k on the Eastern Shore permanent last weekend (just over 9 hours this time). Nothing to think about on the 30 mile slog into a surprising headwind near the finish, so I started totaling up mileages and realized I’ll finish the year with 3500k of RUSA and ACP brevets. Unless, that is, I ride a few extra times and top 4000k. Have to see how it goes.


Reflective stuff.



So, I got all this reflective stuff on my bike in addition to my lights, but who knows if it works or not? Well, wow, it does. Really impressive is the BLACK reflective tape on the rear rack. Bought this on Ebay because I thought the white reflective tape looked bad on the black tubing of the rack. Stuck some on the black rear section of my helmet, too. And the reflective sidewalls on the tires surprised me. They really light up even here when I’m at an angle to the light source. If anyone says they can’t see me at night they’re lying.