R-36, Eastern shore

If I make a "negative" promise related to cycling (i.e, something I WON"T do) don't believe it. Oh, it may actually come true, but the source is generally not reliable in such matters.

About 5 years ago I decided to keep riding a century each month to see if I could for a whole year. Little did I know at the time that this accomplishment was not considered worth commenting on in my future circles of friends.
I thought it was a big deal. So big that I said I wouldn't try to do it again. (And, well, technically I haven't since my current string involves rides of 125 miles or more.)

I decided after completing that year of centuries that it was too much trouble and too much pressure and took all the fun out of riding. I found that I would pass up rides because I "needed" a century for that month and the available event somehow seemed to interfere with this other goal. 

Indeed, when I went for my first R-12, the plan (which I voiced in no uncertain terms) was to try to do it and not continue with more of these rides. Partly this was because it seemed almost impossible. All the logistics that had to come together and all the things that could go wrong from illness to injury to bad weather. Also, I'd started my R-12 in December. This meant any subsequent one would presumably also begin in December.

Thing was, I subsequently found myself in surprisingly good form when the brevet season began the next year. I'd done nothing else so it had to be the result of the R-12. Part of the success though came from the need to keep doing other, shorter rides to keep in shape for those once a month 200k rides.  It wasn't anything dramatic (like I've said, I still can't climb), but the endurance was certainly there and much better than prior years.

So, Saturday, I finished my 3rd R-12 in a row. We'd hoped to ride the beautiful Tappahanock route out of Ashland, but health and personal issues took out half our planned group of 4 riders. Pascal and I decided to limit our travel time and just do my Eastern Shore route. We knew there was to be 30mph winds with 40mph gusts and this would be directly in our faces for the first half of the ride. Coming out of the NNE, it would also be colder than the stated 45 degrees. We told ourselves that the reward would be on the return leg and it was true.

I'd hoped the snow geese would be there, but not quite yet. We did come across a bald eagle about 20 yds off into a field working over some carrion and keeping a couple of vultures away.

Pascal. Less than thrilled with this route

MANY thanks to Pascal for helping me with this ride. Whether it was taking the lions share of pulls, especially in the headwind, or keeping me honest with a faster pace than I felt like riding, he got me this one. Riding it solo would have been no fun at all.

Part of the nearly 20 mile section to Onley that is FLAT and STRAIGHT.

I love it, but it's tough on a fixie for Pascal

Somebody has said that once is luck, twice is skill, three times is dominance.

I still don't think I can claim that about this randonneuring sub-genre of R-12s. I still think accomplishing these depends on a lot more than personal ability.

First of all is GREAT support from other riders. Kim made my early September ride possible just like Pascal did this one. September's ride also turned out to be proof of another issue: bad weather. The only other weekends I could have ridden in September turned out to be complete washouts with dangerously heavy rains. As I said earlier, personal, work, family, and health issues can all EASILY come up and stop your attempt at an R-12.

So, yes, I confess that I will continue and go for R-48. But mostly because I enjoy these rides and it just makes sense to use this goal as an incentive and as a tool to help me with other aspects of riding that mean a lot to me as well.