Doc on a bike

Early to bed early to rise gets a 200k before dark

2012-01-02T20:31:00.000-05:00

The New Years day Edenton 200k.

Since I just did this, mostly just pix this time

Coming into Hertford

A local Cat 2 racer admiring Kim's Specialized Roubaix

Edenton

Shorts and short sleeves

Prettiest info control ever

Brent and Jacob near the end

Ron's NEW Permanent. The Hertford-Edenton 203k

2011-12-10T10:05:00.002-05:00

I keep wanting to design a new route, myself, but Ron is encouraging my sloth by turning out great new rides. His Wakefield ride was already a favorite among our sparse band of randonneurs here in the Hampton Roads area. Now he's come up with another great and picturesque ride.

Though 5 of us were originally planning to ride it last weekend, illness and other bike issues took 2 out. That left Brent and me along with Jacob who would be riding his first RUSA event and first ride beyond a century.

We had cold enough start temps in the upper 30's that I had trouble reading the cue sheet past watery eyes. So we promptly missed, like, the first turn.

Jacob, welcome to randonneuring; these are bonus miles.

The first 40 miles took us through empty rural roads with a few dogs for extra excitement ( as per the law in North Carolina, they were appropriately not on leashes of course.)

By the time we got to the first control around mile 40 in Hertford, the temps were warming up and we were shedding clothes in the sunny conditions.

We chatted with some locals and rolled on to an information control in Edenton

Like this house?

Here's the view they have from their front porch

More canons and a light house

Lots of cool houses in Edenton

So, I missed another turn leaving Edenton and MORE bonus miles. But that made us arrive down the road at the right time to see

So it wasn't all bad. There were more horses later in the ride but they were a bit wary of us so no additional pix.

2 other controls plus a couple of information controls would be needed and provided good stops at well placed intervals. We continued to be treated to some great views

The sun was getting low and we were making good enough time to finish JUST after sunset but we'd all brought lights and reflective gear.

Jacob, late in the ride

Long shadows this time of year

Pulled in around 5:30 with the temps just starting to dip again.

Jacob, welcome to our own little corner of cycling madness

R-36, Eastern shore

2011-11-12T08:50:00.000-05:00

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.

Morrisville 200k and cookout

2011-10-16T14:09:00.000-05:00

Way back in April I posted my impressions after the first Morrisville 200k .

Now, at the end of the season, I can reiterate that same opinion: I did not become Marco Pantani during the course of the year.

I literally went backwards on the first big climb ~20 miles into the ride and got dropped by everyone in the lead group. The closest riders behind me would not be seen again until after the Siler City stop, on the way back up Siler City Snow Camp Road.

It was, however, a simply gorgeous day for a ride, so I decided to take some pix as they came along, and try to keep moving along as fast as I could, anyhow.

With a slight headwind, I was going slow at chicken Bridge road

and was treated to this view,

and to THIS view on the other side

(see that mist in the distance, it looked great in the early AM sun)

We always see these on the ride, but I never took the pix before, so here they are

Andy and Jayjay were at the Siler City control for us

This was, of course the last ride of the year, so we had a cookout at the end as we have done since the RUSA 10 year anniversary ride

Geoff with his new bike. Mike manning the grill

Last brevet of the year, so time to try a new mount for the video camera

6 AM roll out

Early in the ride

Having been dropped waaaay back on Jack Bennett,
I took this cause I felt like it

I finally caught some riders after Snow Camp.
Here's Tom and Mary with a few others

Leaving Siler City, back on the road to Snow Camp

Big group still together on the way back to Snow Camp

Long video of the paceline leaving Siler City

All in all, a great ride and a great way to top off the year.

PBP part 3

2011-09-06T16:46:00.003-05:00

The control in Brest was the most frustrating of all of them.VERY slow food lines, even more inadequate toilette facilities with even longer lines. I think I was there for 2 (that’s right TWO) hours. Insane. I was maybe doing things for about 20minutes.

One of many dining halls

Can't recall which stop had it, but this pastry with a wedge of brie was like a religious experience

However, having refueled, the weather was more pleasant as I headed out on the return to Carhaix. The sun poked out on occasion and the wind seemed a bit advantageous. Here was also where I was reminded that you’re never alone on this event. On one of many long gradual rollers, I could see an unbroken line of riders in front of and behind me. Remember, this is after over 600k and we’re still in a group.

At Carhaix, I was wanting to use a floor pump at the repair site to top up the pressure in my rear tire (had to be deflated back when I was amputating the rear fender). However, as I spun the tire to get the valve lined up, I saw that an area of tread was gone and I was riding on exposed casing.

Tony, the NC RBA, tells me he’s had this as a recurring problem with Continental tires. I may have just been lucky with them so far, but had not had any problems with them. I also was willing to think it may have been damaged by the fender dragging on it when the brace broke sometime well before Brest.

In any case, I swapped it out for the spare tire I was carrying and had no further problems. Indeed, almost no further mechanical issues.

Another rider was at the mechanics tent while I was there. His minimally spoked rear wheel needed to be replaced after one of the spokes had torn part of the hub off. The mechanics miraculously had a very nice replacement wheel. So, of course, the guy had to dither about the cost of the replacement. Even through my sleep deprivation and rando-dementia, I was aghast. What options did he have?

I also ran into Drew Buck at this point. Indeed, he commented on my tire. He's a rider from the UK who, as he did in 2007, completed the ride on an antique bike. In this case one form ~1900 with wooden rims.

I ate what was fully established now as a nourishing if uninspiring meal and headed out asit began to get dark.

Once again, we were to go through St NICOLAS DU PELEM for an optional food stop. And, once AGAIN, the volunteers dutifully guided us….right past the stop and onto the roads toward Loudeac. Again, I decided to just keep going.

At Loudeac, I once again ran into Franz Neuert who had crewed when I did PAC tour. He was here to act as support for his wife who was doing great on the ride. (Unfortunately, much later, she developed a vicious case of Shermer’s Neck – all she could do was look down and towards the edge of the road to guide her path and was unable to look forward at all. With Franz’s sage advice she stopped at that point due to the obvious safety concerns.)

Overnight stops at Tinteniac and early morning at Fougeres are a blur to me. At this point it was really just keep moving, keep eating and don’t lose any of my meager 3 hour time cushion.

Whole mess of pictures!

However, by the time I rolled into Villaines, it was late afternoon and the warmth and sun were boosting my mood as did the reunion with most of the NC riders. They were planning to take their time a bit so they could all finish together at a time similar to that of Adrian Hands (a very inspiring individual story. I can’t do it justice and refer you elsewhere) in 2003 when he did the ride in 88:56.

I, however, was way too concerned about whether I could still finish. I had a good cushion of time, but was still feeling snake-bit from earlier problems and was in no mood to gamble.

I took off for the control at MORTAGNE AU Perche knowing it would only be 140km from there to the finish. Mike Dayton had warned us that there was to be a bit of climbing to get there and especially so on the final few kms to it. Thankfully, the earlier incident with my Garmin had allowed me to pre-ride that climb, so I wasn’t too concerned.

It’s familiarity from the mob scene on the way out when it was just a food stop was actually a bit comforting. I knew I had gotten there in reasonable time from the start. Though sleepy, I was still feeling strong. I ate and took a power nap resting my head on the table. I had done the same thing at the last 2 stops, and again, this was surprisingly refreshing.

We would have another control before the finish and would be stopping at Dreux; half-way to the original start location. This leg was very tough. It was night, and although I rode with other groups, fatigue and lack of landscape made it difficult to maintain focus. I stopped a couple of times by the side of the road just to mentally re-group. Finding no coffee anywhere, I stopped for a Coke out of a miraculous vending machine in a small village and was joined by another rider for a short break.

The rest and that drink helped a lot. We latched onto the wheel of a tandem and FLEW down the road. After interminable turns we pulled into Dreux from which we would only have ~ 45 km to finish.

Knowing that we were close to the finish and would be riding in daylight, I’d hoped for a relatively pleasant ride. However, even after the brief nap I’d taken at Dreux, the cumulative fatigue combined with monotonous roads and a cloudy sky to make concentrating as difficult as ever. As before, even riding in a group didn’t really help. The rhythmic motions of the other riders and the wave-like action of the group in front of me created a mesmerizing effect. I had to slow or stop a few times just to keep my bearings.

We got into, what seemed like, a forest area with spots of exclusive looking houses and some significant climbs. The sky had cleared and the sun was finally peeking out. If there’d been a US-style convenience store to stop for coffee I would have been elated, but, as with the entire route, nothing.

I plowed on without really taking in much of the surroundings until we finally came in towards the finish.

With about 5km to go, my final mechanical issue occurred just to annoy me: the bracket holding my headlight broke off. It didn’t matter, since I would not need it, but, c’mon now. Was that really necessary?

I stuffed the light into the front pocket of my handlebar bag so it wouldn’t suffer any more damage and would stop rattling.

Crossing the finish at 86 hours and the simple knowledge that I had done it after all the down moments during the ride, woke me right up.

I got my card stamped and began to take in the sights around the finish area.

There were many who were sleeping around the gymnasium.

More than a few were wearing neck collars after suffering from Shermer’s neck. At the finish, I got to meet Franz’s wife, Elenore, who was still needing her neck collar.

I had something to eat

(note the rider in the neck collar)

and then ran into Branson and several people from the NC group. They were waiting for the group I also got to see come in of Mike Dayton, Ian Hands, Jerry Phelps and others who were aiming specifically to finish at 88 hours 56 minutes. (Again, the finishing time Adrian Hands had in 2003 and the basis for the Society that bears his name.)

During the event, I had often wanted to be riding with them, but mentally could only focus on getting done by whatever means I could in whatever time I did. Considering the ride in from Dreux, I easily could have finished well after them. For sure, I don’t think I could have maintained their riding pace based on what had happened 2 days earlier, leaving Carhaix.

Branson invited me to join them for a group photo (especially since I’d finished in my NC randonneurs jersey), but I opted to ride back to the hotel and lapse into and 18 hour coma.

Top = normal eyes

Bottom = post-PBP eyes

Though it had nothing to do with the ride, it’s worth noting that the rest of the world was still happening while we were off on the roads of France. Hurricane Irene was bearing down on the East coast and taking a peculiar route that would send it right through all the major cities - and their airports. As a result, all the flights to DC and NYC were cancelled on Saturday morning. Not the kind of thing anyone needed to have to deal with when they were trying to re-insert themselves into normal life again.

Only because I’d wanted a Wednesday flight to get to Paris, I’d had to fly out of (and back into) Boston. My flight (and I think one more after it) was not cancelled. To top it off, my wife had anticipated that, once there, my return connection WOULD be cancelled and had gotten me one of the last rooms near the airport in Boston. Though I’d much rather have been back home, I had a nice place to rest some more instead of sleeping in the airport.

The NC group pic from before PBP

Pic someone took of me near Lassay les Chateaux

The following were all the professionally shot pix of me

PBP (part 2 of .. who knows)

2011-08-28T14:42:00.000-05:00

Well, and the possibility you may learn something about life from going forward anyhow

After waiting for the 80 hour fast group and the tandems and recumbents to go off on their 90 hour start, we were allowed to begin to head to the track around the soccer stadium in order to wait to start

2 lines, either side of the track, converging at the top of the soccer field

(i.e the football pitch)

Couple of riders here waiting

Stockholm cyclist riding a fixie. Knows the lead singer from The Hellacopters.

(Same singer from the Backyard Babies. You know?)

I actually look like I belong here

Performance enhancing drug?

(Not the first or last smoker I saw on the ride)

Looks all official and everything

The start of our group. # 5 of 6 groups in the 90 hour pack of ~ 3000 riders

Rolling along. David McCaw from Ottawa, Canada

Near sunset

The first 140k to a food stop at MORTAGNE AU PERCHE went fast through a warm but pleasant evening. The 90 hour start group I’d chosen began at 6M and sent off ~ 500 riders per group every 20 minutes until 8 PM. I was in the next to last group and at least had some daylight for the start.

We got to the food stop and it was a mob scene. There was a stand for coffee and sandwiches, but they were out of bread. A long line for the main cafeteria food seemed my only option. A rider passed out while standing in the line (this is nuts). The food was good and some coffee fueled me for the run to the 1^st control at VILLAINES at 221 km.

Unfortunately, flying down the hill from the food stop, my bike bell pinged loudly. I couldn’t see any problems, so I just kept going. When I got to the rotary I realized my Garmin GPS had come off and had struck my bike bell. Since it was my most reliable computer, I really had to ride back up the hill and try to find it. After scanning the road with my lights and reaching the top of the hill I’d seen nothing.

I headed back down and resolved to look one last time. I’d almost reached the bottom of the hill when I hit a bump, realized THAT could have caused it to fall off and slowed. YES! Found it just at the edge of the road and still working.

I got to Villaines in the early AM hours and felt well in spite of the lack of sleep that a night start guaranteed I’d have to deal with. While the sandwich line was an option, they had nothing vegetarian. No bother, the main cafeteria line was great.

There had been an occasional rattle coming from ther rear of my bike. I suspected it was the fender, but everything seemed tight. When I took a close look, though, there was a small crack developing in the fender near the seatstay bridge. This is not good. I considered several quick fixes, but duct tape seemed the most likely and indeed seemed to hold the fender in place across the crack. I was hoping by limiting any shaking across the crack that it would not worsen.

There had been a forecast for rain on Monday and we were having a few sprinkles , so I wanted to get my jacket. Couldn’t find it. Looked everywhere on my bike twice. Minor chaos. Went back to use the toilette. Came back and looked again for my jacket. Nothing. Well, I had a spare in my drop bag at 400k in Loudeac, so, I guessed that would be better than nothing. Got to get going.

Since it was cloudy, I decided to put my reflective vest back on for safety. And reached into my back jersey pocket, where, I found it. Next to my rain jacket. Which was in the middle pocket.

Whole mess of pix:

We ran into one of countless small groups with roadside tables of food and drinks.

Later we zoomed through the gorgeous town of LASSAY Les Châteaux

We then got to FOUGÈRES at 300k and I reminded myself we were now a quarter of the way through and halfway to Brest. More lines for food and toilettes but moving forward. Unfortunately, though I was riding well, I wasn’t building up much time in the bank for sleep I’d planned for at Loudeac that night. Nothing to be done, though. I had to keep moving and try to do what I could.

The stretch to TINTENIAC included a nice section of farm country including the SENS DE BRETAGNE region where it was (I think) that we passed the lavender fields I mentioned earlier.

About 20km before we got to Loudeac, and just before dark, it happened: riders from the 80 hours group who’d started 4 hours before me were already on their way BACK from Brest. They had done ~ 800 km in about 30 hours.

I got to Loudeac in the dark around 10PM and tried without success to eat, change clothes from my drop bag and take care of other needs as quickly as I could. I had 3 hours until the control would close by the time I finished with those needs and decided to sleep instead of heading on. Although my sleep was fragmented and not as restful as hoped, this meant I didn’t end up riding in the worst rain of the event that blew through around midnight.

With a dead camera battery and having forgotten to get fresh ones from my drop bag, there would be no more pix until I got back to Loudeac on the return. (As it turned out, between rain and fog, there wasn’t a GREAT deal that I would have been dying to photograph anyhow)

During the overnight section to CARHAIX-PLOUGUER, we were to pass an optional food stop at St NICOLAS DU PELEM. When we arrived there, the volunteers directed us to a typical section of fenced off paths around a building which lead us, ….past the stop and on the way to Carhaix. No way I was turning around, so we went on.

Carhaix, again provided the same situation as the other stops: lines for everything. More potential sleep time lost just waiting for things that I usually can get done quickly on domestic brevets. Also, my fender crack had worsened and more duct tape was tried with what, again seemed a success. Thankfully, I did meet a group of the NC riders there. HUGE morale boost to see familiar faces. To my pleasant surprise, they were still on their way outbound to Brest.

I waited a bit so I could at least start off with them, but soon felt a bit ill and couldn’t keep up the pace. As we headed to the coast, drizzle and fog began to build and build and build. Soon, my glasses were in a constant state of being covered with small water drops. All I could see was the rear light of the rider in front of me.

My rear fender started rattling again, but the prior area of the crack repairs seemed to be holding. A family was out on the road serving coffee in this miserable weather and I stopped. After doing so, I noted my bike wouldn’t roll backward. The brakes were OK and it was driving me nuts. What the hell is wrong, Then I saw it; the fender brace had ripped loose and the rear fender was dragging on the tire. No idea for how long that had been happening and now the fender REALLY was toast.

In a muddy field I struggled to get the fender off and still resolved to save the generator light attached to it. My back-up battery light would have to serve me from here on.

After completing the removal of the fender (an act done with “extreme prejudice”), I had some of the coffee and headed on to Brest.

The rain and fog had begun to clear as we got later in the morning, which made this stretch a bit more pleasant.

Me (best attempt at a smile, sorry) and the new bridge to Brest

I, however, was mentally struggling. I was tired and frustrated about these mechanical issues. Nevertheless, I had to admit, the bike itself was working fine, my legs felt good, even if I was in a funk. Also, the forecast had been for the rain to NOT return, so, there actually was no NEED for the fender along the way to the finish.

Ride the ride that you are dealt.

Yes, I’d planned and prepared, but, as those bumper stickers so correctly used to say, “Shit Happens.” This ride was not going anywhere near as well as I’d hoped or tried to make it go. However, it was still working out and I still had plenty of time even if not the reserves I wanted.

I was here to ride PBP. I was NOT here to ride “Keith’s pre-conceived version of how his PBP ride ought to go.”

I needed to make this keep happening as best as I could with what I did have going for me. As I said, my legs felt good. My knees felt good. My feet felt good. Physically, I was doing well and I was keeping fluids and nutrients down even if my time management at controls was terrible owing to the lines and my own needs.

PBP (part 1 of ...who knows)

2011-08-26T08:42:00.001-05:00

"This is this. This ain't something else. This is this."

A few km out of Villaines on the way back to Paris, I started thinking about conversations that I'd had with a couple of other riders many months ago. We'd discussed our intent of riding PBP and why it would mean a lot to do so. I knew that they were out on the road as well here this week, but had not seen them.

My next thought was, "Gee I hope all of us really do get to go ride PBP."

And that is just one of the symptoms of Randonesia. (Or, Randodementia to others.)

But the gist was there.

"This is this.
This ain't something else.
This is this."

In randonneuring there isn't anything to compare. There are many other 1200k even 1400 and 1600 events. Some may very well be more difficult in terms of climbing required. Many are very well known and riders look forward to doing them.

But, THIS is PBP.

Maybe it is the history of an event dating to the late 1800's.
Maybe it's the intimate tie in with the origins of the sport and being held in it's native country
Maybe it's the size of an event with almost 6000 riders on the road. A group so big, you're never alone on the road over a 4 day stretch.
Maybe it's the obvious love the local people have for it. (Friends and family will show up and cheer in the US for something like this. But, here, rain, middle-of-the-night, cold, wind, whatever, people will be out cheering you on. Many will be giving out water, food, coffee, or whatever they think you might need. Kids will stick their hands out hoping you'll do the same and slap their palms as you pass)

For certain, it's the International participation. (So many countries, I can't even begin to guess. There's nothing like my last night on the road. I was riding with 2 guys speaking in Italian headed towards the next to last stop. Later we were joined by other riders. Before long, I was hearing German, Spanish, English (with an England accent), English (with an Australian accent), Japanese, and a couple of snippets I couldn't begin to identify.

There was also the quintisenstial French moment when, as I dug a croissant out of my handlebar bag I noticed the wonderful aroma of a huge field of lavender that I was riding past.

A brief summary of my ride:
Felt physically well the whole time. Even at the end, my legs could have kept going if this were a longer event
I passed people, sometimes. Even uphill. I know, I was surprised, too
Other than cold, dense fog and drizzle on the way to Brest (AKA the Seattle of France) the weather was quite good.
Mechanicals. Ugh. No deal-breakers, but contending with a slowly disintegrating rear fender (upon which my primary rear light is mounted) played havoc with me mentally. Having the front light bracket break 3km from the finish was just the perfect top-off. Glad I carry a spare tire and not just tubes (tread started coming off ~ 150km from the finish and I had an exposed section of casing I was riding on)
The lines for toilettes and for food. OMG. So much for having ANY real ability to manage my time at the controls.
Maybe 2 hours of sleep the whole time.
No crashes or injuries.
Adequate but very basic food options if you insist on being a vegetarian. (As my wife appropriately reminds me, it's not that I "can't" eat meat, it's my CHOICE to not do so. There is a difference.)

I'm still in my hotel room and my bike is packed for the trip home tomorrow. I'll post an add'l report with pix later, but thought I'd pass along these early experiences and thoughts.

Bonne route, indeed.

SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES	21-08 19:39	0h00	0 km/h	0h00	0.1 km/h
VILLAINES-LA-JUHEL	22-08 06:56	11h16	19.6 km/h	11h16	19.6 km/h
FOUGERES	22-08 13:00	17h20	17.9 km/h	6h03	14.7 km/h
TINTENIAC	22-08 16:07	20h27	17.8 km/h	3h07	17.3 km/h
LOUDEAC	22-08 21:10	25h31	17.6 km/h	5h03	16.8 km/h
CARHAIX-PLOUGUER	23-08 05:05	33h25	15.7 km/h	7h54	9.6 km/h
BREST	23-08 11:45	40h05	15.4 km/h	6h40	13.9 km/h
CARHAIX-PLOUGUER	23-08 18:12	46h32	15.1 km/h	6h26	13.2 km/h
LOUDEAC	23-08 23:45	52h05	15 km/h	5h33	14.2 km/h
TINTENIAC	24-08 07:24	59h44	14.5 km/h	7h38	11.1 km/h
FOUGERES	24-08 10:53	63h14	14.6 km/h	3h29	15.5 km/h
VILLAINES-LA-JUHEL	24-08 16:55	69h15	14.6 km/h	6h01	14.6 km/h
MORTAGNE-AU-PERCHE	24-08 22:37	74h58	14.5 km/h	5h42	14.2 km/h
DREUX	25-08 05:16	81h37	14.3 km/h	6h39	11.3 km/h
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES	25-08 09:33	85h53	14.3 km/h	4h16	15.2 km/h
Kilomètres parcourus: 1230

Yeah, but can I put it back together?

2011-08-13T12:28:00.000-05:00

Packing the Travelers Check for PBP and my experience and opinions of S&S frame packing.

I knew that the cases for these are designed to hold THE BIKE and not expected to hold the racks, bags, fenders, and other things I feel I need. Nevertheless, I remember STRUGGLING to haul around the fullsize bike box I used on PAC tour to transport my bike to Seattle. And with that, I didn't even have to lug it through airports since I paid a service to pick it up and deliver it to the hotel.

So, a smaller and more maneuverable container was almost as much of a goal for me as a bike that was designed to be transported in a smaller case and save on baggage fees.

The people who sell these bikes primarily push those cost savings since the case JUST does come in under the size cut-off that gets you an additional charge for over-size luggage. Realistically, the cost for me of time off work, flights, accommodations at the event, and all the incidentals already pile up so much that those extra baggage fees just don't matter all THAT much. I'll certainly take the savings, but the cost for the case and its other little packing gizmos together with the added cost for such a frame make it hard to break even unless you do this a lot. (So, I guess I'll just HAVE to do this a lot.)

So here's the sequence, more or less

Crank, rear derailleur, and chain removed along with rear wheel

Front half and rear wheel

Wheels and frame now in

Ready to close.

Special netting to keep it all together when the TSA people get curious as well as special gizmos to keep the box from getting squished by other luggage

Compare the fully packed case with another bike

Took a couple of hours, but I wasn't in a hurry. Also, there were a couple of minor repositioning steps that weren't obvious from the online instructions.

Other than the special tool they provide to separate the frame couplers, the whole process only required a multi-tool (that I'd need anyway on the ride) and an adjustable wrench.

I gotta say, you really do need to be comfortable with working on your bike to do this. Notice I had to deflate the tires, remove the chain and the crank, disconnect the front brake cable, remove the handlebars, and took off the rear derailleur (not required, but advised to reduce risk of damage). And, of course, also the front rack and the bags. Remember, too, the rear brake and both derailleurs have special "cable splitters" that allow them to be separated instead of fully disconnected.

They sell special wrap for the tubes to prevent damage, but, in spite of their warnings that it is too bulky, I found pipe insulation worked well.

Biggest problem was that even on the 52cm frame (!) I ALMOST couldn't get the front half of the frame in because the steerer column is uncut to allow a very upright position on the bike. I suspect other randos might encounter the same issue given that common preference. Another owner of this bike model told me he had to remove the fork entirely to get it to fit.

Given that I've been generally thrilled with the bike itself, my overall experience is a positive one. For many trips, I wouldn't need the rando extras (fenders, bags, racks, etc) and just bringing the bike would suffice. For big events like this, I won't need much other than clothes, so I can stuff some items into the bike box and all the rest will easily fit in one add'l piece of luggage.

PBP prep time

2011-07-03T09:51:00.001-05:00

With PBP looming, I was starting to get a little antsy about my preparations. My planned (and, on schedule) approach had been to do what got me ready for the Sept and Oct 1000k rides last year.

I had been thinking of tackling Tony's July 4th 300k with its midnight start. The ride wasn't a concern, but the 14 hours of round trip driving struck me as crazy.

However, seeing the Ancienes from NC as well as some local friends off riding mountains in Vermont and doing training on the Blue Ridge Parkway had been worrying me.

I mean, like last year, most of my “training” involved doing my commute route as often as possible combined with weekend rides after having completed the SR series plus a couple of extras. This years weekend rides involved 100 milers with an ice cream stop 2/3 the way through.

Didn’t sound very tough to me, on further reflection.

So, I came to the difficult decision that I needed something challenging.

Well, nothing says challenge like ….the EASTERN SHORE!!

Yeah, buddy!

500 feet (maybe it’s better if I call it “SIX THOUSAND inches”) of climbing!!

Challenging traffic

Well, it’s ALWAYS windy there, right.

Forecast, 5mph. Out of the North. Oh. Yeah. That means a tail wind for the return leg.

Yeah, but, last year it was like 105+ degrees!

Temperatures expected to be upper 70s to low 80’s.

Aw, to hell with training. I just want to ride my bike.

Had a great day.

Beat that.

Wakefield 200k

2011-06-27T05:40:00.000-05:00

For all the cycling that goes on in Hampton Roads, randoneurring is a very tiny minimal scant rare (OK, virtually non-existent)portion of the scene. This seems to be in contrast with the very active DC and NC groups.

I cannot tell you how envious I am when I get these damn emails announcing DC weekend rides like “The Devil's Daughter”. Worse are those from NC: Get ‘er Dunn, Benson Mule Pull, Carthage Coffee Run, or the cause of my greatest jealousy, the “Howling Grits” populaire.

When  I started, I didn’t think we had ANY perm around here.  We actually did have Ron’s Nottoway Ramble, but I didn’t recognize the address as being nearby. 
Even when I put together mine, I couldn’t come up with a clever name. (Hence the attention grabbing “Eastern Shore” Permanent. “Well, whoop-dee-do”.)

So, it was with great anticipation that 3 of us took on Ron’s new Wakefield 200k (clever name to follow)

We were familiar with the terrain from his nearby route out of Windsor, but this one required another 45 minutes of driving westward.

Although billed as having a bit more climbing than Windsor, it all comes in gentle (albeit frequent) rollers with no long climbs that can break up a group.

In spite of the heat in the afternoon, we had a great time on a well thought out and scenic 200k. With the start only 35 miles off of I-95, this could potentially be available to riders from NC and the DC group.

Morrisville 600k

2011-05-20T05:55:00.000-05:00

FYI: to whatever cycling deity has been trying to send me a lesson:

message received!!

Loud and clear!

Enough already!

Yes, I get it; ride your own ride. Hang in no matter what and just finish the event.

For reasons I cannot fathom, I had bad legs for the start of the ride.

Things felt perfectly fine, but when the lead group notched up the pace….nada. Nothing.

John M. and (possibly) Chloe?

Watched them pulling away.

Recumbent passed me.
Going.
Up.
Hill!

I’d half expected trouble when I had to triple check with Alan and Dorothy about which pile of drop bags was for White Lake.

The Wilmington one was gigantic.

With generally decent weather in the forecast and the belief of some that you should ride a 600k straight through if you’re doing PBP, it looked like the lead riders were planning on just such an approach to this one. As such they were looking for a fast time and were in no mood to dawdle in the least.

I’d ridden through the night on the 2nd day of Tony’s 1000k last fall and HAD to ride straight through my first ever 600k, so I didn’t feel the need to beat myself up on this one.

I was not amused.

So, from around mile 30, I was on my own until the Rocky Point control (18 miles from the turn-around in Wilmington). There I hooked up with Joel and John O. for the ride out and then Joel and Tom all the way back to White Lake around 2AM.

When I was ready to leave at around 6AM, Joel and Tom were there, but Ian’s fiance’s pasta offering for breakfast was too good to turn down. It really hit the spot. Unfortunately, I once again got myself separated from other riders all the way until Angiers with ~ 35 miles to the finish. Even then,Joel, Tom, John M and Branson were about to roll out as I got there for lunch. They informed me that Kim and Brent had just left and said they were tired of soft-pedaling for me and that I needed to hurry up.

Consistent with my oft stated claim that I moved to Virginia to be in the sweet tea zone south of the Mason-Dixon Line, a large amount of said beverage kick started me into a strong finish. (‘bout damn time)

I caught John M. exiting a park where he’d contemplated a nap but decided to push on. Soon I came upon Joel who had some GI issues from the McDonald’s lunch stop.

I rolled into Alan’s around 3:30, soon after Kim and Brent had arrived.

Two brand new Super Randonneurs!!!!

(And Brent just rode his 1st Century in August)

Advice of the ride, paraphrased from Joel at Rocky Point on the way back:

“No, Keith. At a fast food restaurant stop late in a ride, you want to sit as far away as possible from the windows to make it EASIER for your bike to be stolen. “Hey Jerry, can you come pick me up? Nothing I could do about it. Can’t finish the ride. Bike’s been stolen.”

A HUGE thumbs down to the manager of the Wilmington Howard Johnson’s for threatening Jerry with a call to the police if he didn’t pay for EIGHT rooms for our use during the ride.

BIG thanks to Ian and his fiance for the help at White Lake and to Jerry for the pizza and support in Wilmington.

When in Virginia Beach...

2011-05-16T14:55:00.006-05:00

Two new 76 mile RUSA Permanent Populaires for those visiting or lucky enough to live here.

Frogs to the Beach and its reversed version, Virginia Beach to the Frogs.

Say you're visiting the region and want to see the oceanfront. Starting at the Chesapeake Fat Frogs bike shop (you can also get a receipt from the Starbucks or the 7-Eleven that are there) you pass through farmlands

and quiet roads

until you ride over the dreaded Pungo Ferry Bridge

and then through the rural area of Pungo itself.

There you'll find horse farms

and llamas.

You may see a few cyclists there

Crossing over Rudee inlet,

you come in to the oceanfront area itself. From there you can simply continue down lovely Pacific avenue

or opt for a detour to ride down the boardwalk which runs parallel. (To do so, you'll turn right at the 5th street light at the foot of the bridge over Rudee inlet. Then continue across Atlantic Ave, up the sidewalk and onto the boardwalk. Just be sure to only ride on the section designated for bikes or you may get ticketed by the police.)

Just watch your language

Look for the King Neptune statue for your turn to get back out to Pacific near the control

The turn-around comes at Pacific Place shops.

At the turn-around, you can enjoy a pastry and coffee at Perked Up! (unless it's Sunday, when they are closed) or use the 7-Eleven located just behind Pacific Place shops

The route also takes you along the edge of a National Wildlife Refuge.

If you are staying at the Oceanfront and want to see other parts of the area, just opt for the Virgina Beach to the Frogs route. This starts at the 7-Eleven (or the Perked Up! coffee shop) follows the same route in reverse and makes the turn-around in Chesapeake at the Fat Frogs bike shop/Starbucks/7-Eleven

Contact me via email as per the RUSA website if you are interested.
(Just use the Permanents search, select Virginia and the 100-199km distance and you'll see them listed by starting city.)
Remember, you are required to be a RUSA member for these rides and must register and sign a waiver.
I can handle the processing of your RUSA membership and will waive any fees for the ride itself if you are paying to join or renew your RUSA membership.

Thanks to Crista for the fast approval and to Kim who helped me scout this route.

Google Docs re-formats my lovely cue sheets into a bit of a mess, but if you'd like to get some idea of the route here's the Frogs to the Beach cue sheet and here's the Virginia Beach to the Frogs one

Morrisville 400k

2011-05-02T05:13:00.000-05:00

Wow. What a perfect day for a long event.

While it was cold at the start and would be similarly so towards the end, those temps would be easily manageable with some well thought out clothing choices.

The early pace was rather gentle, perhaps owing to several riders who had just done their Fleche last weekend.

~~Sridhar~~ Vance and Kim with the early paceline

Nevertheless, the hills on Jack Bennett and Parker Herndon did their usual damage to my pace. Kim and Brent had previously acknowledged their unwarranted headlight envy and were willing to wait repeatedly for me so they'd have benefit of my headlight on the late parts of the ride.

At the turn around, Joel and his dad were there. Turns out, Kim first became interested in distance riding after hearing Joel's dad give a talk at a Tidewater Bike Association meeting back in the 1990's.

Somewhere around the Snow Camp return control, my stomach went on strike.

Maybe it was the coffee from Siler City, but from then on, it was all I could do to just keep moving forward.

My 4 riding companions used some clever excuses ( change light batteries, put in toe warmers, flip the cue sheet, stretch break, ...) to delay their finish so I could repeatedly catch up. (MUCH appreciated!!!)

And MANY thanks to Joel and his dad, Ian and Lin for their super helpful support at the controls.

Just the facts:

Random commute views

2011-04-09T08:53:00.001-05:00

Plum Point Park, right behind our office

Peta headquarters in Norfolk. Light rail crossing of the Hague

Way cool houses on the other side of the Hague

Cool roof

With Paris-Roubaix this weekend, here's a ride down the cobbles on Botetourt St.

The Pagoda in Norfolk

And the pond at the Pagoda

The Wisconsin

Where the cruise ships dock

A ride along Waterside

Cargo ship on the Elizabeth River

And a still shot from Waterside

An AM shot from Broad Creek Park near Norfolk State University

Riding along Shell Road in Virginia Beach

'cause Martin says I have to do a post- Morrisville 200k

2011-04-03T08:24:00.000-05:00

I did not become Marco Pantani over the winter

Martin said, no matter how short, I have to do a post after this ride. So, there it is. Actually, it really says it all.

Product review: Park stand, Craftsman Pump

2011-03-27T15:26:00.000-05:00

I purchased these myself and have used them for well over 6 months.
One rocks, the other is a dud.
First the negative review.

Park Tool PRS-20

I have an OLD Blackburn stand that clamps on the top tube.

But, I'd lusted after one of these for a couple of years.

The bike rests on the bottom bracket and a sliding clamp on the rail adjusts its location to clamp onto either the front fork or rear dropouts.

Because of the way the rear clamp works, the chain just rolls over the holder.

However, this thing is NOT designed for clamping by the front fork with fenders in place. I can't show it because the fender hits the rail of the stand WAY before you get close to having the clamp near the fork drop-outs.

As shown, it is possible to use the stand with the rear wheel removed. However, even when you do muscle the bike onto the stand and clamp the rear dropouts the fit is very close. As shown here, it actually wouldn't fit if you had opted for a more custom lower position of the fender attachment at the chainstay bridge.

Lastly, the whole thing is rather top heavy, especially with a brevet bike. There is a strap near the bottom bracket rest that is SUPPOSED to wrap around the chainstays or downtube to hold the bike in place. By no means does this hold it firmly enough to really do any good.

Pro:
No chance for damage from a clamp that grabs tubing on the frame as with other stands.
Adjustable height for working on the bike (Very good for bottom bracket work. Actually NOT so good for headset work which is too high up even at the lowest point.)
Portable (The 3 sturdy legs all fold up, and the rail pivots down with removal of a simple pin so that it all collapses down to a flat and relatively small package for transport) This would actually make it good for carrying in a support vehicle.
Stable stand (but see below regarding the bottom bracket strap)

Con:
CANNOT clamp on the front fork with a front fender installed.
See above regarding height issues and headset repairs
Useless strap system for holding the bottom bracket in place. (Yes, I've had bikes almost fall off while working on them.)

Overall I don't wholly regret owning this and still tend to use it when a simple bracket that raises the rear wheel off the floor won't do. It IS great for my road bikes that lack fenders. If I ever have to help with driving a support vehicle, this would be perfect to bring along for serious roadside repairs. Nevertheless, it fails my "I would buy a replacement one if it vanished" criteria.

Now the positive review
Craftsman C3 19.2 volt Cordless Inflator

I have a 20 year old Silca floor pump that's had the gaskets replaced, fallen over countless times and still works well.

But it takes FOREVER to pump up a tire from zero when using it. My eyes aren't so good at seeing the pressure gauge ALLLL the wayyyyy down there on the floor.

So I sprung for this since it requires the same rechargeable batteries that my drill and circular saw use.

This is NOT sold with the battery or charger, but does come with several adapters including a good one for use with Presta valves

But, as I hint, the head is designed for automotive Schrader valves and requires an adapter for presta valves

That said, it works well with this somewhat cumbersome arrangement. And, readily gets tires up to road pressures with an easy to read gauge

Pro:
No effort required on the part of the user
Digital pressure display right on the grip
FAST (whether topping up or filling a new tube)
When filling a new tire, you can be doing so and checking for proper seating of the tire simultaneously.
Portable
Actually designed for use on car tires, so it's not a uni-tasker. (Can be used for inflating sports balls and beach inflatables with add'l attachments that come with it)

Con:
Price. It's ~$45 and you STILL have to have the batteries and charger for them ($85 if you don't already own them)
Presta valves require you to use the traditional "presta valve adapter" that many of us carry for emergency uses.

Conclusion; I would buy a replacement one of these in an instant if this one died. This would be fantastic to have in a support vehicle on ride.

Lumberton 400k: Proving Cambria Bike wrong

2011-03-22T20:16:00.000-05:00

When I lived in upstate NY, and was just getting started with group rides, I once had some guy give me advice in the middle of a paceline. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the advice had to do with his opinion (shared by others, I’m sure) that my saddle height was wrong. So, at full speed, he rides up along side me and yells to me “your saddle height is wrong! It’s supposed to be 0.883 x your inseam length in centimeters!” Since I didn’t have a handy paper and pencil to record his helpful advice, I decided to simply ignore him.

Rollout

I think that in randonneuring, more so than in almost any other cycling niche, there is respect for the concept that all of us out there are doing what works for us. Between the steel frames, various combinations of bags (or none at all), fenders (or not), aerobars (or not), etc (or not), we all seem to have gravitated to our own unique set-up. As such, I hear almost no unsolicited advice being spewed out on the road when I’m with randonneurs.

Wes and John Ende

(Mike offers John his "prescription vest" in exchange for John's sunglasses)

Mike D. and Lin

(Lin, I'm sorry, but this angle makes riding a 'bent look stranger than ever)

However, if you’re going to ride together with a group for 12+ hours, odds are you’re going to HAVE to talk some, even if it has nothing to do with cycling

Mike D and Joel

Enter Joel and Henry and another bit of learning on my part.

The lead group, as I peeled off the front

Mary F.

Road closed?

I may have had better rides in terms of how I felt or how well I did, but I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard and had so much fun.

Joel's broken aerobars

Joel and Henry at Sunset beach

Me and Joel

Sunset beach

I mean, what else can you say when, with temps dropping and all of us sniffing and snorting from runny noses in a paceline at midnight, Joel casually asks, “Henry, do you have a tissue?”

Just a great stretch of road

Back and forth across the borders

I don’t tend to talk much on rides. I apologize if it seems that I’m being aloof or something. It really stems from my previously stated dislike for other riders “sharing” their expertise with me when I neither want to hear it nor need to hear it. Plus, the hidden message in such one-sided conversations is rather apparent and I simply DO NOT want to be one of those types.

Heading over New Bridge. leaving sunset Beach

But after this ride, I find that I really do need to improve my rando conversation skills.

At the finish

Unfortunately, since Joel and Henry can fall back on 20 years of rando experience and friendship for their conversations, it may just take me a while to get better with this. Also, I don't really have much snappy repartee when I'm gasping for breath, while trying to hold a wheel.

Thank you to Joel and Henry for a TERRIFIC 400k

Video from Nottoway 200k

2011-03-14T06:40:00.000-05:00

With temps climbing into the mid-60's, Kim had picked a great day (in spite of the headwind we'd have over the final 35 miles) for riding Ron's Nottoway Ramble. Pascal joined us and promised not to hammer us into the ground (and to do the pulls late in the ride). I'll let the videos tell the story. (the first one, and ONLY the first one is shot at an odd angle as I failed to adjust the lens correctly)

Cows! Didn't know they raised them here.

Another view from early in the ride

A long video as we ride through Courtland and cross the Nottoway river

A nice section just after Claremont at 85 miles

Watch what happens to me when we go uphill after this big downhill at the James river

Next hill, I held Kim's wheel, but Pascal leaves us behind, again

One final shot from late in the ride

Bike Porn (possibly NSFW)

2011-03-05T19:42:00.001-05:00

So, we've all seen the early pix of Geoff's new ride, and she is going to be the belle of the brevet.
So, before my new rig is yesterday's news, I thought it deserved being shown off a bit.
After all, Mike accused me of buying components at "pimp-my-bike.com"

Surly head tube badge

That's my name

I wanted DT Swiss Alpine III spokes and they only come in black, so, shiny hubs are out

IQ Cyo

Paul Neo-Retro up front with Kool-Stop Cross pads

Velo Orange fenders

This FSA extension moves my bike computer forward, which is a better spot for quick glances than if it was back on the handlebar. It also allowed me to mount a Knog light on the underside which illuminates the cue sheet in the Velo Orange Champagne bag

Paul Touring Canti on the rear

'cause Dura-Ace is overkill

Off center rim on the rear. Allows for drive-side spokes to come out to the rim at the same angle as the non-drive side and have the same tension.

Cane Creek 110 headset

Surly 4130 double-butted Cromoly

Chris King Bottom Bracket

Finally!

2011-02-21T02:14:00.001-05:00

Brent at the finish

200k permanents are all well and good, but, the heart and soul of randonneuring is a brevet.

Any distance will do.

Yeah, but, THIS is still FEBRUARY!!

Quite a turnout

Most RBAs seem to arrange for their events for early spring. The weather may be less than perfect, but you are unlikely to have to worry about frostbite or hypothermia. Last year, Tony had a series of EARLY season rides that were quite popular, especially for those of us wanting to help pile up RUSA ACP miles to optimize USA PBP slots for 2011. In any case, it showed how the NC rando crowd was certainly willing to brave the cold for some brevets prior to the usual ride season.

Having done 200k rides on local permanents in January and February, I felt ready for a 300k but balked at the idea of a 400k or longer with the still cold weather we’re having. Sure, it wasn’t predicted to be as bad as most weekends have been, but, still, riding at night in these temps is not fun.

No, thank you.

With that in mind, Kim and Brent (riding his ever first brevet after completing 200k permanents in December and January) came down to ride this event as well.

During the day, and especially as night began to fall, all those we ran across who were committed to riding the 400/600k seemed to envy our decision, but were going to soldier on.

Short sleeves in FEBRUARY!

The day was indeed great for an early season event. We fought a headwind for the first 1/3 of the ride but were then blessed with tailwinds and later a not too troublesome crosswind while sunshine and temps meant shorts and short sleeves. We finally pulled on the arm and leg warmers as we donned reflective gear and set up our lights with only about 25 miles to go.

Brent can be forgiven for his pose at the finish as shown above. He was stuck in the big chain ring from mile 50 on due to a busted shifter. Then his GI tract rebelled and he couldn’t take in any calories for the middle 1/3 of the ride. To me, hanging in there with all those problems and still finishing the ride all warrant an early appraisal of Brent as “rando tough.”

Just the facts

A Tale of 2 Surlys (And a rainy 200k)

2010-12-12T07:34:00.001-05:00

When I decided to start with randonneuring after PAC tour, I concluded that the lugged steel bike I had used for that event wasn’t really right for my new adventure. It lacked eyelets for fenders and racks and, while comfortable, was a bit too twitchy. The Long Haul Trucker seemed an ideal choice for me and, after 3 seasons with 2 R-12s it has been a great bike.

During my 1st year of riding brevets, though, someone mentioned that they had been using the Surly Cross-Check for these events. With its shorter wheelbase, it lacks the Lincoln Continental plush stable ride of the LHT, but seemed likely to split the difference with my PAC tour bike’s geometry. It lacks the low-rider braze-ons of the LHT front fork, as well as those for the 3rd water bottle on the down tube, but otherwise has most of the same features I’d want for these rides. I also envisioned a slightly lighter overall set-up since I’d learned more about how to make use of drop-bags on the longer events; I also felt I could make do with a different rear bag set-up that wouldn’t require a rear rack.

Given my satisfaction with the LHT, however, I was in no hurry to try anything else. Its stable ride had saved me several times when I’d nail a pothole when fatigued and held its line while soaking up much of the impact.
When I accompanied my wife on a trip where I rented a bike, I began looking into the options for a true travel bike such as those with S&S couplers. The cost of retrofitting the couplers on one of my older bikes kept ballooning whenever I would do the math, and most bikes that came with them installed seemed too much for what might be an only occasional use.

Enter the Surly Travelers Check; a Cross Check frame with S&S couplers.

New frames were still ~$1200 and the 2010 model is a hideous brown color. I posted a favorite search on Ebay and against all odds (there have only been 5 S&S bikes or frames of any size posted for sale in the last 6 months), BINGO!

A prior model year, blue frame, in my size, for half the cost of a new one.(And, since it was used, I wouldn’t need to have the LBS prep the bottom bracket shell and head tube.)

So, I had ridden it a few times and was cautiously pleased. It’s hard to make direct comparisons since I am not installing aerobars which are illegal at PBP anyhow. This, however, was the first 200k on this new bike using a route that I did last November.

Forecasts from every source predicted serious rain by night, but only 30% chance of even trivial sprinkles in the afternoon. Yet the radar Saturday morning looked menacing enough that I opted for clothes that would (and DID) help me in both the mid-40’s cold and the rain. This was also the first Rando event for Brent: a navy guy who I’d ridden with during his 1st and only century this past summer.It also gave Ron (who is the route owner) 5000k for the year while continuing his 3rd R-12. He and another 'bent rider, Tom, were behind us and persevered through much more rain than we had to deal with.

Brent at the store in Claremont

Kim and Brent

Ready to ~~rob the store~~ roll

We started in 32 degree temps and gloomy day long dense cloud cover but with little to no wind. The temps crawled up to 45 but then started to drop around mile 85 as a few errant sprinkles ominously began to drop. As we neared a C-store in Surry with 30 miles remaining, the skies opened up. Although we’d planned to skip the usual stop there, the rain and cold pulled us inside for a rest.

In spite of shoe covers and heavy gloves, Brent and Kim were having problems with cold and wet hands and feet. There was some discussion of packing it in but I noted that we could be done by 4:30/5:00 if we pushed on. We agreed to head back out since it seemed that the rain was, at least, not getting any worse.

I think we all decided that we had no reason to complain when, a couple miles down the road, we exchanged waves with a fully loaded touring cyclist who passed us heading the opposite direction.

We pulled into the final control at 5:00, after 9 ½ hours on the road to give Brent his first rando event and me the start of an attempt at a 3rd R-12.

The new bike performed very well under the unpleasant conditions. All I really had wanted was to accomplish was to try it for 200k. But, when you can keep pushing on when things are tough, and your bike just responds without any issues, THAT is a good sign.

Bikers Welcome – Florida 1000k

2010-10-24T14:58:00.001-05:00

Biketoberfest in Daytona Beach.

Sure, a perfect time to send ~41 lycra clad cyclists through town with their motorized brethren amassing for an event that, for the town, is 2nd only to bike Week in March.

Actually, it was no problem at all. The Harley guys and gals were courteous across the board, if, perhaps, a little louder than necessary once they did pass me.

I hadn’t planned on riding 2 of these things at the start of the year. I wanted to do this one, tack on a vacation afterward and try out the Amtrak auto train down to Florida.

(Auto train was well worth it: far more pleasant than flying and a very relaxing way to get to the start of a big ride.)

However. Tim Bol, the RBA, put up a realistic disclaimer that he could decide to cancel it if there was a hurricane threat. Combined with the ever present issue of injury or illness preventing me from participating, I resolved to ride Tony’s Labor Day 1000k to be certain I’d get one in this year.

However, I never formed the thought that, having done that ride, I was now free to skip this one.

As with Tony’s ride. The weather was perfect with temps in the upper 50’s at night and daytime highs of 85 with no rain. The winds fought us on day one but were neutral or mildly helpful the rest of the ride.

I hung with the lead riders through to the first control at New Smyrna Beach (77 miles in 4 hours into a head wind). I was feeling great and was surprised when my legs soon started hurting. It had been a brisk pace, but not insane by rando standards. By the time we got to Daytona (~mile 90), I couldn’t hold anyone’s wheel, so I resolved to just ride my ride and be glad I’d put some serious time in the bank.

I tried stretching, 1mm saddle height adjustments and finally took some ibuprofen (only the second time ever on a brevet).

I guess I don't look too bad at this point

It helped enough that following the 200k control in Palm Coast, I was able to hang on to a group of riders including Andy from Audax Atlanta, Larry from Ft. Meyers, and brothers Rob and Brian from this region.

After the control in Seville (200miles) we geared up for night riding. I failed to accept how cold it had gotten and had to stop for my my vest and arm warmers. After a long chase, I caught up with the group but had leg troubles return a few miles later. With 15 miles to the overnight control in Tavares, I fell completely off the group who assumed I’d stopped to sample some of the Tennessee charcoal filtered Old No. 7 “energy drink” in my Surly flask.

I was pleased with my midnight arrival at the control where Tim was waiting for us with pasta (sadly, not vegetarian), but was still worried about why my legs were so damn sore. It was preventing me from keeping up with groups even though I could keep moving at an acceptable pace.

Although I started with the Rob and Brian in the AM, I once again didn’t have the power in my sore legs to keep up. I took some more ibuprofen, went over the only real hills of the event and was then caught by Andy and Larry.

Whatever had been the problem, I felt progressively better from then on and felt very good late Saturday and all day Sunday.

Yes, I did see 2 scrub jays in this area before Clermont (mile 292)

Andy from Audax Atlanta

I rode all day with Andy and Larry, eventually linking back up with Rob and Brian. We kept running into Paul on his fixed gear (!) who was rding with Hamid who is hilarious. Here he is in Avon Park at mile 394 with 60 miles to go to reach the Saturday night control in Okeechobee;

And here is Paul's bike

Many orange groves

The 60 mile stretch to Okeechobee was reminiscent of that long section of Alan’s 600k getting back to white Lake: dark, empty roads with nothing to hint that you are making progress.

This time there were pizzas (including vegetarian ones (THANK YOU!!) at the hotel. We got in at around 10PM thereby limiting our time on the road on a Saturday night. Having been advised that there was no place to eat in the AM, we opted to delay our start until 6:30 so we could have the 6AM free breakfast at the Best Western where we were staying. (Actually the overnight guy was nice enough to put stuff out sooner for some earlier risers.)

Lake Okeechobee

I started with the same 4 guys and would be rding with Brian and Rob all day. Larry, in particular set a tremendous but sensible pace and we slowly began to catch a couple of earlier groups.

Joel

By the Jupiter control (523 miles), we had grown to around 10 or so riders including Joel who I’d ridden with before and is a great source of humor on the road as well as a very strong rider.

At the Jupiter 7-11 control, Joel pointed out something that I’d given some brief thought to before. See, by the time we left, the toilet in the 7-11 was broken. I’d seen 2 other men’s rooms that were out of order earlier in the ride and the urinal would be found to be out of commission at the next control.

Toward the Jupiter Control (check out those trees)

As Joel put it, you’ve got some guy, the RBA, telling these store owners about how there’ll be 50 riders coming through and buying all sorts of stuff and all they have to do is sign and date our cards.

Easy money, right?

Yeah, but what happens is that

1.    we descend on a poor unsuspecting store,
2.    purchase $0.59 of peanut butter crackers & maybe a Gatorade,
3.    share some gallon jugs of water (assuming we don’t fill ‘em from the bathroom taps for free)
4.    fill our bottles with the free ice from the soda dispensers
5.     re-apply chamois cream while in line
6.    hang around in weird clothes speaking an odd language(“..decaleur..”, “..the headtube needs to be faced..”, “…Carradice longflap…”, “…650B..”, “…hammered Honjos…”, “..have to chase the bottom bracket threads first..”, “… the store where I puked on the 400k last year…” )
7.    making their other customers uncomfortable
8.    and, yes, break their toilet.

Final tally, $200 in sales and a $300 plumbing bill.

Compare that to the Harley riders who stop, buy gas, smokes, beer, and maybe some lotto tickets.

Bikers welcome!

Cyclists?

Uh, not so much anymore.

45 mile section to control at Ft. Pierce (568 miles)

Statue in Ft. Pierce

We left the final control in Ft. Pierce and were inspired by calculations that we could finish just before sunset if we maintained at least a 15 mph average. After a few initial miles on A1A where the road surface was bad
and the bike lane was worse, things smoothed out for good and we were able to cruise along at 17-18
mph.

Almost done

Joel, Rob, and Brian

Lessons learned:

1.    I do seem to be able to hang in there when the $4!7 hits the fan. I may not feel
wonderful, but I can keep moving forward at a reasonable pace until things get better.
2.    things get better. (Do whatever you can to keep moving.)
3.    You’re carrying ibuprofen with you for a reason, dummy.
4.    RYOR. (Ride your own ride)
5.    After two 1000k rides? Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, thrice …. (I still have things to learn and improve upon on rides of these distances.)
6.    It takes a few weeks to fully recover from a ride of this distance. (6 weeks was barely enough to be ready for another one of these)
7.    A week at the beach is a great way to start your recovery

I think this qualifies as progress
2006:    2 or 3 century rides per year
2007:    PAC Tour (I learn about randonneuring during my preparation and then from riders there)
2008:    SR series
2009:    SR series, R-12
2010:    SR series, extra 200 and 400k, Fleche, 1000k x 2, R-12

Totally unrelated observation.

I'm not sure that a hot tub is compatible with a requirement for an O2 tank, but here you are;

1000k Jedi mind tricks

2010-09-08T17:32:00.003-05:00

These are not the kilometers you are looking for

As the Yogi Berra quote alludes to, long bike rides can be won or lost in your head. Or at least, how motivated you feel, especially when you’re tired, can be heavily influenced by your mindset.

Thursday sign-in

I had a couple of minutes to think about this during this weekend’s 1000k. Most randonnneurs already know this stuff, but for my non-cycling reader I thought I’d touch on this and share some pix and a bit of a report from the ride.

Under no circumstance do you contemplate the distance you are about to ride. It’s true for even 200k but especially so for 1000k. I mean, WTF? 1000k!? Mileage-wise that’s like, ..whoa, …no way! Can’t be done.

At the very least, on a ride this long, your goal is the motel for the night. More commonly you just focus on getting to the next control which is in ~30 miles or so. When the going gets tough, you just think about getting to the next turn on your cue sheet. Tony, who put this ride together (THANK YOU!!) really helps with this mind trick. While I couldn’t appreciate it on his 200k in January, his preference to print a stack of your cue sheets such that there is only one or maybe 2 controls on each of them is a blessing. You can physically manage your vision of the ride this way since all you see IS the miles to the “finish” of the next control.

With hurricane Earl obligingly veering away from the coast (after at least looking like it was aiming right for the region) we were gifted with near perfect weather for our Greensboro start and for the entire weekend.

It was hot enough on Friday that several riders had to DNF and others who I know finished looked like hell (quite frankly) late in the day at the Coho control.

Nevertheless, I think we had around 30 riders for the 1000k (including, I’m told, Kevin Kaiser from RAAM).

Maybe this was my reward for riding that 100+ degree 200k in July, but I felt OK in the heat on Friday. Oddly, I was the only one opting for a sleeveless top with a forecast high of 95.

I hung with the lead group to the first control at 40 miles and thought I could continue to do so. Several riders said they didn’t need water (!!) and left immediately. I left a few minutes later after trying to deal with my GPS which had a seizure, or something, as we had neared the store.

In spite of seeing several groups that were just in front of me, I could not seem to close the gap.

After the next control, I was able to hang with various riders for big stretches including Ian H. and with George.

After a meal at the 200k point which was back at the start, I hung with George again whose local knowledge made navigating a bit easier.

After stopping at the friendly confines of Chuck’s home and Coho Cycles, I sputtered a bit for reasons unknown and had to struggle on alone to get to the next control at around 11PM.

Here is another place your mind can doom you. Sometimes you’ll know why (I need to eat/drink/stretch) but commonly you have no idea why you suddenly feel you have no strength and even less motivation. It happens, and it will usually go away. As often with me, it took a sweet tea and large fries at that next control as well as a brief enforced rest. It also helped that I had been thinking that we had 60-70 miles and one more control before we would get to the Friday night stop. I fact, the next stop WAS the Days Inn in Fayetteville, and it was only 50 miles. I was ecstatic.

After a 30 mile section just to get to the Ft. Bragg area, I hooked up with another rider for the final 20 miles to the motel.

Long solo rides at night with no turns to look for can be difficult. Like I said earlier, often your motivation is to just get to the next cue on the route. But, when it is 30 miles away, THAT alone can be mentally tough. You ride and ride and ride and then, when you dare to check your computer you learn that it’s only been 0.6 miles since you last checked.

Leaving Ft. Bragg and Fayetteville far behind us, we rolled into the “Ft. Bragg/Fayetteville” Days Inn (250 miles) around 3:30 where I hauled my bike up the stairs to my 2nd floor ~~room~~ sauna, turned on the A/C and got some much needed rest.

Although the next door Waffle House was appealing, it was already 7:30 when I checked out and really just felt like some coffee and eggs that they had at the motel.

I really felt I should have some of their “Little Chocolate Donuts”

[http://www.hulu.com/watch/2345/saturday-night-live-little-chocolate-donuts}

Tim L. was just leaving as I finished checking out and I kept pulling into controls just as he was leaving all day. Arriving at Snow Hill (85 miles into the day and 342 total), a couple of missed turns by Tim put us at the control at the same time and we decided after each having a 64 ounce (!!) sweet tea (99cents!!) that we would ride together.

Headwinds on the way to Tarboro (375 miles) proved our decision to be a good one. The next 22 miles to Scotland Neck weren’t quite as windy, but we were motivated to get there before it was too dark. Tim laid down a furious pace that I shouldn’t have tried to match. My quads were hurting more than usual and would later come back to haunt me. As it was an open control we stopped at a Wendy’s for some real food (baked potato!!).

The 40 miles that would then take us back into Virginia to Skippers (just south of Emporia) were another tough stretch of long distances with no turns on the cue sheet to aim for. Some areas of narrow roads and heavier traffic made things a bit tough. My thighs were still aching from the earlier effort but it was not deteriorating, at least.

At the McDonalds truck stop in Skippers (437 miles around 11PM) we were reassessing our situation. Tim was rightly worried about fatigue as we would be riding in very rural areas and dealing with hills around our next stop in Lake Gaston.

I tried to emphasize and focus on the fact that we had one control left and then would be headed for the motel in Henderson. That seemed to provide some encouragement for both of us. As it was getting colder, we added some layers (although my arm warmers and wool top weren’t enough and I needed my jacket after a few miles).

Long stretches during the day can be made easier by enjoying the scenery, but not so at night. I dared a few upward glances at the clear sky (while avoiding the scampering possums) where the Milky Way was easily visible given the lack of light pollution. I also heard a great horned owl and a screech owl.

Tim set a safe pace in the dark for an hour or so and then asked me to lead so he could try following my taillights as a way to keep him more alert.

It was interesting to ride in the cold night air only to be met with warm air each time we’d sweep down a hill onto a bridge over the lake. Sadly, all the stores were closed at the control (466 miles, ~2AM and no coffee!) but we were able to get receipts by canceling a “purchase” with credit cards. We also had to be quiet since another randonneur was sacked out behind the store where we stopped.

A couple of 8 and 9 mile legs on the final stretch to the motel in Henderson created challenges and although we had trouble reading the street signs we avoided any bonus miles. About 10 miles out from Henderson I abruptly had a stabbing pain in my left knee that made me stop pedaling altogether. Tim coasted by thinking I was just trying to trade off the pace making and I tried to find a rhythm at which I could pedal and not feel like my quads were going to tear loose from my kneecap.

I tried stretching, I tried standing to pedal (BAD idea) and eventually found that a moderately fast cadence and staying seated allowed me to maintain a reasonable pace. I kept monitoring the sensation and noticed no worsening. Very gradually it actually seemed to improve but no way I would dare stand to pedal given my previous experience with it.

Nearing Henderson, we had the interesting experience of exchanging “good morning” greetings with someone just out for their pre-dawn stroll. We got in just before 5AM at 500 miles. This time, after riding in the cold I got to my room only to find the A/C was on full blast. My knee was sore but better so I opted for some Advil with some food before getting some sleep

I woke up at 8:30 and decided to get going. My knee was WAY better and as the day would progress it continued to improve. (By late in the day I could stand and pedal whenever I needed without any issues.)

After 3 wrong turns trying to leave town I knew I needed to have some actual breakfast and hit the waffle house.

This was a good decision in light of the final 200k.

“All your quads are belong to us”

I should have known better. There are some seriously tough 200k rides in N.C. I’ve seen the ride reports and the DNF numbers from them. Somehow I thought this was going to be like the last day of the Tour; just coasting in to the finish and enjoying myself.

Instead, I had 2600 feet of climbing in the first 50 miles. Several hills were probably in the 10% vicinity and often left me in full sun with no breeze to cool things off.

My original hopes for a 5PM finish shifted to 6, then 8 then 9 as the day wore on into night.

Not only was I creating difficulties for myself with my wholly unrealistic beliefs about potential finishing times, I also set myself up for disappointments at Yanceyville (575 miles).

As I approached the open control there, I made plans to find a Subway if possible. I don’t know WHY I thought there was one (there is), but I was all excited about having a sandwich. Problem was, it and the other fast food places are actually on NC-86 which parallels Main Street where I was. So all I saw was a ghost town on a late Sunday afternoon.

I started worrying that I’d get past every convenience store and have to double back to get my card signed. So I sullenly settled for my usual Pringles and sat on a curb and pouted.

20 miles later as I passed through Reidsville (GORGEOUS houses there), I pulled into a convenience store and discovered my uneaten peanut butter sandwich that had been in my drop bag. I finished it, pedaled on and then stopped to text my wife the latest arrival estimate for 9PM while putting on my reflective gear that I had NEVER expected to need that day.

For whatever reason, I felt dramatically better. Part of it was the mental games involving the remaining 30 miles and the similarity to my frequent Saturday morning group rides. If I hadn’t been running late, then I wouldn’t have gotten to see those deer that got spooked as I rolled past them in the yard of a house.

Struggling a bit to read the street signs as it got darker, I finally pulled in at 9PM after 62 hours on the road to cheers from Tony and some 200k riders who were preparing for their Monday event.

With full bravado I asked if anyone wanted to head out then for another 200 but had no takers.

Interesting: After the 600k at the end of May, I hadn’t done any ride longer than 200k.

Don’t get too smug about this one.
1. It didn’t rain.
2. I had no mechanical or health problems.
3. The temps, while cooler overnight on Saturday were only moderately so. And while hot on Friday, it wasn’t like the furnace they’ve had on the Shenandoah 1200 or that I had on my July 200k
4. This course was rather flat.

"Get on the Sidewalk!!"

2010-08-14T16:28:00.001-05:00

They see me rollin', they hatin'

I often receive the above helpful suggestion from drivers of motor cars but have opted to not pursue such a program of navigation. I believe that while I am certain that they are purely offering me their most sage wisdom, that their lack of familiarity with sidewalks has lead to their mistaken advice.

So, I present a brief pictorial review of what is wrong with their thinking.

Also known as....

Why it's not a sideRIDE, it's a sideWALK (although even that's being generous at times)>

Sidewalks of the "Knights who say Ni!" Complete with shrubbery

A variation: the "Death From Above" sidewalk

The "None shall pass!" sidewalks

The "gateway into a parallel dimension" sidewalk

A variation: The Path Formally Known as Sidewalk

The "grass is greener" sidewalk

The "river Styx" sidewalk

The "Bridge of Death" sidewalk

And the Invisible sidewalk

(On these roads, I've been yelled at to get on the sidewalk.)

Sidewalks have now become like window shutters on houses built in the last 70 years: wholly decorative, no longer functional.

When we were in Ashland, Kim noticed a group of people walking on the sidewalk and asked if they might be PAC tour riders. I figured they were becase they looked fit and we were near the motel. But, the REAL reason as I opined was because THEY-WERE-WALKING! Nobody walks anywhere anymore.

But just to show that I'm not a total crank, check out this cool house in Norfolk

Hey PAC Tour is in town!

2010-08-09T17:13:00.000-05:00

After riding the Tappahanock 200k permanent in June in 100+ heat index, I swore off riding it until fall. But such memories of unpleasantness fade with time. So, when I saw that PAC Tour would be finishing their penultimate day with a stop in Ashland on Sunday, I thought I should head up there again so I could stop and say hi.

Kim, who rode the Northern transcontinental in '04 (and got me ready for the '07 event) was up for it as well. Thankfully, as the day approached, the forecasts stayed moderate and indeed the weather was MUCH nicer. Although it did reach the low 90's, and that occurred once we were into the open and less shaded areas, the humidity never got to the same levels as before. What wind there was stayed mostly favorable for our directions.

Last time, we neglected to stop at a store that comes around mile 30 just after you cross the Mataponi river and ran out of fluids with nothing for another 7+ miles. Though we knew to stop this time, we were foiled again since the store didn't open on Sunday until noon. Luckily, with milder weather, we had enough to get to the store at around 60 miles without running short.

We managed to get back after 9 hours 15 minutes on the road (knocking off more than an hour from our June struggle) and saw the last few riders come rolling into town as we pulled into the finish.

Kim checking out the route map

Lon working on the tandem

Lunch van

After checking in and cleaning up abit, we stopped at the motel to drop off a couple of bottles of my Beaujolais for the upcoming wedding of Lon and Susan's daughter Rebecca who I had the pleasure of riding with ever so briefly in '07.

Drafting a tractor in '07 with Lon and Rebecca on the tandem and Rebecca's now fiance

We had a nice time catching up with them and several creww members over a dinner at a local restaurant until they had to head back to get everything ready for the finish in Williamsburg today, Monday.

Woody Graham's 20,000 mile award

Why does the USPS have to suck?

2010-08-06T17:20:00.001-05:00

I really want to like USPS. Really, I do.

When I first wrote this as a draft idea, I had several things that I liked quite a bit about the USPS. Since then, however, all of those things have been screwed up so that I no longer have ANYTHING about the USPS that I like. So, here we go…

Their counter staff seems to be experts in calm, relaxed, excessively thorough service. Read; THEY”RE TOO DAMN SLOW! Do you hear me Witchduck office? I am talking to YOU!

I actually do like the little kiosks that provide the automated services so I can mail odd size items when I get there without having to wait in line. However, what happened to the Automated Postal Center kiosk at the MAIN Norfolk post office? The MAIN office, for crying out loud! And then they took the one out at the little office in the strip mall off Military Highway where the BJ’s is. And the one at the Withcduck office (them again) seems to be locked until the counter opens on Monday morning.

Wusupwifdat??

Initiating a vacation mail hold USED to be easy to do online (one of my previous favorite things).

Oh, you want to request that your mail be held for a vacation? Well, your requested date for resuming delivery may or may not result in actual mail resuming when it is supposed to. It’s anyone’s guess. And most recently, they just plain forgot to hold it all for a week while we were gone. Just kept jamming mail into our box day after day until there was no room left and then stopped.

You want more big screw-ups? You got ‘em.

First there was this one:
Collectible edition of Osler’s PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF MEDICINE won on Ebay. Post office says it WAS delivered, but no sign of it at my house or at the post office. They keep insisting it was delivered. Thing is, their claimed delivery date was during a time when my mail was being held. Ebay seller puts in an insurance request to recover my costs 6 weeks after the sale. OOPS! We found it. Hah, hah, hah. When your mail got held, it must have ended up in a bin where it stayed until AFTER your mail was held again, at which time we found it and delivered it over a month late. Lah dee dah!

And then this:
Bike part ordered from overseas that required we sign for it. Doesn’t show up for a month. Contacted the seller, who tracks it down finally. Has been languishing at the post office for over 2 weeks. Post office says they tried to deliver it and left notices of their attempts; TWICE.

‘cept they didn’t!!

In fact, one of the days they claim that they tried to deliver it was a day my wife was HANDED the mail when she drove up as it was being left by the carrier. Seems like we should have actually gotten the package THEN, huh?

Post office employee essentially calls me a liar when I tell him we never got the notices. Points to some illegible scrawl on the box which somehow is meant to prove they left a notice. Reminds me they would have just HAD to have sent it back to the shipper in another week or so since “I” failed to pick it up after they had left me their noticesssss.

@$$40!3

Then, I get home that day and NOW they left the notice to come get the package I JUST DID pick up that morning!

IDIOTS!!!

Now for the one thing they USED to do well but have finally screwed up as well.

I liked their online system for priority mail and calculating postage. But, today, all day, it refuses to recognize our Zip code. Just keeps coming back with “Please enter a valid ZIP Code™”

Hey enter THIS pal!!!

End Saturday mail delivery, huh? Yeah, well, there’s sure nothing like ELIMINATING services to retain your client base when your business is suffering. Hey! How ‘bout we bring BACK Sunday delivery! Or maybe TWICE daily mail delivery! Used to have those things you know.

USPS = Epic Fail

M,m,m,m Toasty!

2010-07-25T11:25:00.004-05:00

I chose poorly

Hottest day EVER in Norfolk.

And I decide to get my July 200k done.

Tomatoes

I wasn’t going to write up yet ANOTHER Eastern Shore permanent. But I need something to look back on to shut myself up in February when I’m hot under the collar about riding in the cold.

A common question among some in my crowd is whether it is worse to ride in wind or in cold. Cold wins out in my mind because of all the clothing difficulties, the actual danger when it’s REALLY cold, and the simple unpleasantness of the whole experience.

Empty roads and rows of corn

Well, extreme heat has just joined the fiery debate.

It was getting quite late into the month and I was fired up to get my July 200k. I knew it was going to hit 100 and it indeed got to 101 in Cape Charles which broke their old record. I foolishly thought that my 1 hour afternoon commutes in similar temps had kept me prepared for such temps.

No UFOs, but lots of other lawn art

After blazing through the first 100k in under 4 hours, I was feeling extremely over-confident. “Hell, I’ll be home before 3 o’clock!” 2 hours later I’d covered just over 20 miles and was cowering in the shade with ice on my neck

trying to make myself eat something and wishing I had more water carrying capacity than just my Camelbak and THREE bottles. I’d been having fleeting glimpses of all my incipient hyperthermia warning signs of chills and goose bumps and knew it was going to be a long afternoon. I’d planned on a making a couple of extra stops, but now it was clear that they were not just options but were absolutely essential.

I wasn't the only thing withering in the heat

And I was having a serious love/hate relationship with the SW headwinds. At times they helped cool me a bit even as they impeded my progress. But much of the time I was experiencing weird gusts that felt like an oven door had been opened. I was riding the left hand side of lanes when needed just to get in the shade and trying to speed through sunny sections to get to the next area of relief. Once in the shade I would sit up and slow to enjoy any brief respite.

SHADE!!!!!

During a June ride in the mid-80’s, I covered the last 40 miles with a Camelbak and one bottle of water. That same amount gave out in 25 miles this time. I took my usual break at 100 miles and cooled off a bit. The knowledge that I planned to stop yet again 10 miles later was enough to fire me up to get going again.

I took a pre-planned detour to the Machipongo Trading Company where the have great coffee in the winter and had great ice tea today. More to the point, they had a great bench in the shade. It meant a 2 miles detour to go there and then get back to the route but was well worth it.

Cool house in Machipongo. Here's some detail

Reloading at a C-store with WAY more cold water than I would need provided the spark and I headed out to finish the last 12 miles.

One good thing came out of this, though. I realized that when conditions such as these prevent you from working harder in order to go faster, it means that you are going to have lots of strength left once it does cool off. It seems like your muscles get asked to take a break while the “keeping you cool” portion of your body’s circulation takes charge.

Raising the bar for “Bike Friendly” roads - San Diego 100k Populaire

2010-07-19T21:21:00.003-05:00

San Diego 100k Populaire
Old Town to Carlsbad

Sir, you say your roads are “Bike Friendly”.
I have ridden “Bike Friendly” roads
I’ve known “Bike Friendly” roads
“Bike Friendly” roads are a friend of mine
Sir, your roads are not “Bike Friendly”

Between the capacious bike lines (wholly integrated into the traffic flow), the hyper-courteous drivers (seemingly reading my mind when a lane change was coming up), and the ABUNDANCE of other riders out there, this experience has spoiled me for all other riding locations.

The ride itself came about when I accompanied my wife to a meeting. Not enough time to do a 200k I opted for a scenic 100k instead. Also, I needed to rent a bike since taking mine made no sense for such a short time there.

The guys at The Bike Revolution were only a few blocks from the hotel and had a Bianchi in my size and could swap out the pedals for my Speedplays. Nevertheless, it wasn’t going to match my own mutant bike geometry. Nor was there going to be a Brooks saddle. So, 100k was about all I was willing to commit to trying under the circumstances.

Greg Olmstead and the San Diego Randonneurs have a whole raft of permanents to choose from with several starting out of San Diego itself. Greg was even nice enough to meet me at the start to assure that I got the card for the route.

Of necessity, the ride begins in (albeit historic) areas of the city but quickly you get some reprieve along the Rose Canyon bike trail followed by some sections near UC San Diego.

Rose Canyon bike path

Much of the rest is along the coast.

Cardiff-by-the-sea

Carlsbad

Salt marsh

Power station near Carlsbad

Purplish common roadside plant

Palm trees

The rest includes some scenic short climbs that weren’t too steep for a flat-lander like me. All of this afforded some really beautiful and pleasant riding.

Other sections run through several small towns with lots of stores for supplies if needed. Traffic here was still courteous and there was plenty of room even without marked bike lanes.

there WERE more surfers than cyclists, though

Different line of convenience store foods

I rode for short stretches with scores of other cyclists all of whom seemed out for their own rides that day. One natural outcome of so many other riders on the road is that they don’t tend to wave all that much. It would be like waving at every passing car while driving on the interstate.

Well worth the efforts to include this in our short trip. Ever so glad I didn't try to ride further on a bike that was so different than any of mine.

Tappahanock 200k

2010-06-27T18:43:00.006-05:00

So, Ron has been oohing and ahhing about this route for months. I had a need to try out a new crank set-up and bottom bracket and wanted some hills. I tried to hint to Kim that a ride closer to here might be good, but she wasn’t having any of it. Plus she offered to drive the 2 hours to the start in Ashland, VA..

I know some of the guys in the NC Randonneurs think nothing of making such a drive, riding a 300 or 400k, and then driving back home. For a brevet, I’m willing to make such a trip, but have tried to keep permanents close to home. So I got up at 3:30, forgot my gloves, spare sunscreen, an insulated thermos for my bike, the tube socks I bought for ice around my neck in the heat, and my camera (although it was actually in my handlebar bag).

2 Frogs on a bike antiques store

Ron and his recumbent buddy Tom arrived just before 7, so they sent Bob, Kim and I on our way since we were itching to get started. Things went well getting out of town and the early temps were better than expected, partly as a result of a favorable breeze and some cloud cover.

Right after crossing the Mattaponi river at around 30 miles we skipped a store since we had plenty of food and water. Problem is, there wouldn’t be another source for 30 more miles.

After the control at 45 miles, we were told by a local sheriff that there was a store at a campground just up the road, so we gave it a try. Unfortunately the road was loose sand and impossible to ride and of uncertain length. We decided to cut our losses having only involved a 2 mile detour to get to the sand road.

After checking out a church in vain search for an outdoor spigot, we just plowed on knowing there was a store in 7 miles.

Once there, I slugged down water, Tomato juice and stocked up on bananas while polishing off most of a bag of chips. Bob rolled in just as we were leaving and took over the remnants of the bag of ice in true rando tradition.

He later came in to the Tappahanock control at a nice little restaurant called Java Jacks where Kim and I had just finished some frozen coffees that hit the spot.

While stopped at a store to re-fill water, we spotted Ron and Tom heading for the control. We caught up with Bob who had passed us while we were at the store. Although we stayed together for a bit, Kim’s take-no-prisoners pace caused him to drop off again and we headed on to Sparta with the heat and headwinds making everything more difficult.

Sparta was a great stop, mostly as a result of the crew of locals that entertained us while we ate and re-supplied.

There was a great amount of very welcome shade and excellent scenery the rest of the way from there.

There were also some of the steeper, though relatively short, climbs of the ride.

We stopped at a small store before the last control prior to the finish so I could use their, ahem, facilities. There, they had the World Cup match on the TV which, unfortunately made me aware of something about my bike: my coasting Chris King rear hub sounds like a stadium full of vuvuzelas.

The last 6 miles are all on roads that we’d used to get out of town in the morning, but, now it was HOT, and into a headwind and every little climb just seemed that much more difficult. We rolled in after ~ 10 hours on the road having slowed steadily over the last half to 2/3rds of the ride as the heat rose.

Overall. A great route if the conditions hadn’t been so harsh. VERY scenic with light traffic and excellent roads. Totally recommended if you can get to it.

Eastern Shore Permanent -mostly just pix

2010-06-13T08:11:00.003-05:00

Since nobody wanted to ride with me, I just took pix

One of MANY sweet potato farms

Obligatory abandoned old huge house

Cool way to mark Webb's Island Road

The "chicken house" near Wachapreague

Really cool looking house in Tasley

Details

Obligatory photo of, well, yeah...

Horse farm between Assawoman and Atlantic

Tall but small house? in Modest Town

On the road towards Horsely

Parksley

YO! Old Skool bike computer calibration here!
(Just after the Greenbush Post Office)

Onley.

With temps topping out around 95 at home, I'm glad I did THIS ride since it only got to the low 80's even if there was the usual 20mph headwind to deal with for the last 40 miles.

600k report + The 5 stages of riding in the rain

2010-05-26T05:22:00.004-05:00

It’s ride to ~~work~~ Wilmington day!

(Newspaper bags to keep my feet dry.)

My luck had to run out.

Before I started riding randonneuring events, I came across a line that, perhaps best summarizes this sport. It was something like, “If it fails to rain during a brevet, it is due to poor planning on the part of the organizer.”

Nevertheless, I have had AMAZING good luck with the 2 brevet series in NC following my first one with the DC group. Other than a few sprinkles on the 300k this year and a brief cloud burst on the 400k last year, it’s been dry.

With only a 40% chance of rain for the 600k, I figured we’d be dry, but as they say, plan for the worst and hope for the best. I installed my fenders and packed what I would need if it did rain.

Before I get to the rainy story, I need to clarify how one deals with rain when riding a bike. It’s really quite complicated and has been studied and written about by ~~Kubler-Ross~~ ….er….uh….somebody….I guess.

The 5 stages of riding in the rain

Denial: No, that wasn’t a rain drop. I think water just splashed from my water bottle onto my leg. Or a drop of sweat onto my arm. I think those spots are normal on this section of pavement and those little ripples in that puddle are just bugs moving about. Maybe I just imagined the whole thing. NO WAY it could be raining!

Anger: why the hell does have to rain? The weather channel said it wasn’t going to! IT was supposed to rain, but not here and not now! Damn them! Damn meteorologists don’t know anything! Stupid damn rain!

Bargaining: OK, so it’s raining, but I’ll be happy with the current light drizzle, but just don’t let it get any heavier, or at least not a thunderstorm. Yeah, just don’t let it get any heavier I won’t complain. At least not thunder and lighting, OK?

Depression: Oh, hell, I’m wet, my feet are wet, and I’m miserable. It’s never going to stop! I should have put my fenders on and brought my rain jacket. Rain is just the absolute worst thing to happen during a ride. What am I doing on a bike? I should be using a BOAT! I’m such an idiot for not planning for it. Oh, who cares?

Acceptance: Well, so what if I’m wet and it’s raining? I’m still moving forward. And at this point it doesn’t matter if it keeps raining since I’m already soaked. Yeah, I can take this. Bring it on! No problem.

So, ~30 riders headed out under cloudy skies and dry roads. After 1 hour, it started sprinkling. At 2 hours it was a downpour. (Later in the ride, I heard someone say how nice that rain had been. They went on to say just WHY they felt that way, but my brain was still confused over the linkage of “rain” and “nice.”)

Branson

As I was in a fast group and trying as usual to make ~~“hay while the sun shines”~~ some serious time while I could, there was no way I was going to stop to put on my jacket, shoe covers, and cycling cap. So, I was soaked, my shoes were full of water and my glasses were covered with water drops. At one point I had so much water puddling in my left eye that I couldn’t see out of it.

John P. and Geof

Thankfully, that was all of the rain for Saturday.

Mary & Bryan (who would later bend his frame on a pothole impact and STILL FINISH!)

At the control in Stedman, I took care of business and was ready to roll when Glenn, as well as Tom and Mary were heading out ahead of the group, so off I went. Once we got to White Lake at 120 miles, I said goodbye since I needed to get my room key for the night. Along the long stretch of NC-53 I tried to hang with a couple of fast groups but couldn’t hold their pace. Glenn caught up with me, but was having worse trouble with the heat than I was and pulled into a store for a soda and some rest I decided the do the same a bit further along.

I later learned that some guy in an SUV tried to be cute and whip around him only to lose control and run into the front yard of a house and wreck the vehicle. Although he was OK, Glenn was obviously shaken by the incident and seriously considered stopping once we got to Wilmington. (He did finish the ride.)

I was able to hang onto a group that caught me just before the control with 18 miles to Wilmington. I’d end up staying with them (Chet, Geoff, Tim, Mark, Branson, Glenn, and a couple of others) all the way back to White Lake.

After a shower and 3 hour sleep break, I found I was wide awake, so I dressed and headed out to the welcome sight of Chet waiting for Geof. We would ride together the rest of the day, later picking up John who, like Geof, was riding his first 600k.

Geof &Chet (tweedle-dead and tweedle-DEADER according to Chet)

As we neared Stedman, with 80miles to go and Chet chanting “COFFEE, COFFEE, COFFEE”, it started raining again. There, the radar looked bad, so, there was no sense in waiting for things to clear. I took the time to put on the newspaper bags tokeep my feet dry. We headed out in a downpour, though opting to stop again a few miles later for a breakfast at last year’s control.

Just before Erwin, the skies opened up and we caught some serious rain. Stopping at the store in Erwin, John, who’d been nursing a sore knee caught up with us and rode along for much of the rest of the ride. After a lunch stop in Angier, Geof, now fully caffeinated, took off and wouldn’t be seen until the finish.

Thanks to Mike D. for the pic at the finish

With 2 miles to the finish (TWO MILES!), we topped one of the last rises on Morrisville-Carpenter only to see it raining HARD just a head of us. (Indeed, it last ONLY rained until about 2 blocks before the finish where it was dry)

Chet yelled out that, “It’s not fair!”

Yeah, but it was fitting.

Just the facts: through 400k

and the final 200k

Hey, Lio is a randonneur

2010-05-16T05:42:00.000-05:00

(See, he even has a front fender)

More here

Morrisville 400k

2010-05-09T19:10:00.005-05:00

"Fearless leader" Alan. Without him, none of this happens

"It's a beautiful day for a ~~ballgame~~ double metric ... Let's ~~play~~ ride two!"

(paraphrasing Ernie Banks)

Wow. 30 people came out on a day which, winds aside, was perfect for a long ride. Although the temps rose a bit higher than expected, a cold front that seemed destined to bring rain didn’t do anything except moderate the late day temps. While some added arm warmers and vests as the sun went down, I found the 60 degree temps at the 2AM finish to be brisk, but manageable with a wool top and base layer.

Glen leading us on the causeway

Lin and Wes chatting early on

The main pack kept up, what I thought to be a fast pace, through the first 50 miles to Snow Camp. Others later opined that the fast riders had been holding back some; a theory borne out by the 1 hour gap they had on me by the eventual turn around.

Indeed, this was a day in which the usual casual (actually, party-like on the 200k) atmosphere at the controls was replaced by a we-mean-business rapid check-in and ride on speed. Riders that I KNEW were only a minute or so ahead of me were gone by the time I got to Snow Camp. Kim had warned me that her plan was the same and blasted away while I desperately tried to chug down a V8 and top off my water. I waited for a few seconds while Amie filled her Camelbak, partly out of courtesy, but mostly for someone to help share the work of getting to Siler City while headed straight into the wind.

Once there, it was more of the same. Against my better judgment, I took off as soon as she was ready with only having filled up on water, but not eating anything else. By the time we got going on Coleridge road, I knew I couldn’t hold her pace. I kept up a pretty good speed and was caught by Joel and Branson who I rode with for a bit.

However, when we made the turn on Erect Road, the bottom fell out. I hadn’t eaten anything since that V8 at Snow Camp and with 10 miles to Seagrove I was into a pretty good bonk.

I slogged along with damn little strength and no mental energy at all. To my surprise, as I poked along Main Street entering Seagrove, Amie was standing beside the road. She’d been fighting for weeks with a, er um, “saddle interface issue” that had become much worse soon after she’d dropped me. She’d ridden the final 20 miles toward Seagrove in an effort to TRY to keep going, but had concluded it was no use. Astonishingly, her plan was to RIDE back to the start, in spite of her problems.

Once at the control I vowed not to leave until I felt better. A gigantic sweet tea and huge helping of fries sat well on my stomach and I felt much better after some enforced rest.

Having a flat sucks. On a tandem it sucks more. The worst is those PLUS having forgotten your pump. Glad I could help with a quick loan of mine for Chet.

Lin taking a break during the flat repair. Stoker Cyndy just taking a break.

Chet and Cyndy back rolling again

Once on the way to the turn around I caught up with über-recumbent rider, Lin who was flying along in spite of the hills that usually wreak havoc on those bikes.

Once on the last stretch that would take me to the control (the cruel misnomer of River Rd), I saw the lead riders heading back. Soon, Kim rode past and I shouted a brief message about Amie’s predicament. Importantly, with Lin close behind me, we were the last members of the early pack to head toward the control. It would be another hour + before any other riders would come along and an hour before we’d be back by that spot.

At the control, everyone was camped out in the shade trying to cool off from the exposure to all the sun in the warmer than expected conditions. Though the full bonk had passed, my stomach never really recovered throughout the ride. I was limited to my signature V8 and some crackers, but they seemed to do the trick. I headed out with just a couple of riders in the distance and felt good. As I alluded to, we came upon Kim after about 30 minutes. She was stranded by the side of the road with a broken rear derailleur cable.

Glen came to the rescue with one of his spares and I was at least able to offer a spare set of hands and a pair of pliers to assist with the fix.

Glen made it look easy

Souvenir

Once repaired, they took off, but I couldn’t keep up the pace over the hills we had to cover to get back to Seagrove. My stomach refused to settle down, so I had to temper my efforts and try to just enjoy the surroundings.

Once back in Seagrove, I told Kim that I needed to rest and try to eat, so she appropriately went on alone. Once I’d had enough of both, though, I decided to try things out rather than wait for Glen, Joel and Branson. I told them I half expected they’d find me 100 yards down the road WHENEVER they did decide to depart, but I felt surprisingly good and rode faster than expected back to Siler City where pizza was waiting at the control.

With all the stomach problems I’d had, I was reluctant to try it, but it was exactly what I needed along with a brief rest while Glen, Joel and Branson came in and had something to eat as well. We rolled out together toward the Snow Camp control where Bob had indeed brought his famous chocolate chip cookies together with many words of encouragement. Mike, who I had been playing leap frog with much of the day joined us when we headed out toward the finish.

We stayed together really well in the dark with very similar speed no matter who was at the front of the paceline. After catching ~~the tandem~~ Kim (I thought it was the tandem! Damn she was riding fast) as we pulled onto Crawford Dairy, the pace picked up a bit. Unfortunately as we neared Frosty’s, I felt I needed to eat some more and had to let them go.

As I approached the Andrew’s store, I was pleasantly surprised to find that ~~while the tandem had gone on~~, everyone else had decided to stop. Unfortunately for her, this included Kim who had missed the turn onto Old Switchboard and picked up some bonus miles. Jerry, who had finished a bit after 11PM, pulled in with food and cases of water (these guys are THE BEST).

Other than a surprising burst of climbing prowess that allowed me to keep up with Kim on Yates Store, followed by some stoplight luck that split us from the group, the 6 of us rode together for that last ~20 miles.

Alan was still up and Amie had brought pizza to the finish.

All in all, a great day even with the added challenges I brought myself due to my poor calorie management.

Just the facts

(well, until the batteries ran out just after Siler City on the return)

For the funniest and most concise description of the ride go here

Morrisville 300k - I should’ve known better.

2010-04-25T14:46:00.002-05:00

Kim & Amie, ready to torture me

Bringing new riders into randonneuring seems to be the way we grow our sport. Sure, some, like me, learn of it and then check it out. But I think more often, a randonneur knows someone from long training rides and one or the other of them suggests the new rider try it out.

Vance, from the Fleche

So once I’d gotten my feet wet in ’08 (literally and figuratively) I knew I should work on getting some riders from my weekend group into it as well. The main reason was that, knowing their love of long rides and that they would never shy from a challenge, that this sport was perfect for them. Thing is, these were the people who whipped me into shape so that I not only completed the PAC tour Northern in ’07, I felt great the whole time. So, I should have known that if they took up randonneuring they would bring that same intensity to these events. In short; no more easy rides for me. On the plus side, I would finish faster than before and maybe learn that I have underestimated what I am capable of.

~40 riders, quite a crowd

I tend to bring an attitude of “save something for later” to these rides. Not that I dawdle, but, I don’t really push my pace as much as I should. I definitely don’t push hard enough on hills. It starts to hurt a bit and I just throw in the towel and hope I can catch up with the pack later (fat chance). There probably really is a point that I shouldn’t go beyond, but, based on Saturday’s ride, I hadn’t even approached it so far.

Matt Settle from ROMA

Kim and Amie kept up a pace that was, for me, brutal. At times they’d let me get ¼ mile behind them or more, and then ease back ‘til I’d catch up before putting the hammer down again. Flats and gentle rollers weren’t the problem, but that long climb on Coleridge and several of the sections on the return just after Seagrove were killers. And forget about taking a long break at the controls.

All for the good, though.

In spite of pushing myself to hang on to them all day, I was still able to ride hard over the final 20-30 miles. (Of COURSE they dropped me on the Yates Store hill; I didn’t say I could climb, only that I can climb better than I gave myself credit for previously. And that doing so isn’t going to trash my legs for an effort later on.)

Joanne who was minutes behind us all day

The ride itself went great. Unlike last years sauna, the temps stayed moderate all day with relatively light winds. Forecast rains and thunderstorms prompted me to install my fenders at 4:30 AM but held off other than some light sprinkles around 6PM. Bob Bingham who was at the Snow Camp control will be required to bring cookies to all subsequent rides. (THANKS again! They were delicious!) Andy's help at Seagrove was much appreciated by this tired cyclist!

Hey, they let me catch them for a finish photo to

celebrate Amie's longest ride

Just the facts
(Newly updated after a correction to a setting
on the Garmin Connect site)

Morrisville 200k in pictures

2010-04-11T13:46:00.001-05:00

In honor of my new camera, just pix and captions.

Alan at the registration

Amie, Kim and Pascal all came down from my area to kick my butt.

Always great to see Dean at the ride

Mike; he's not pointing, he's trying to get a cut to stop bleeding

Jerry on his SWEET Coho.

Whoa! Check. Out. Those. Fenders!!

Bob, who I rode with a lot.

Says he has no desire to ride longer than 200k.

Pity since he's great at this

Always wanted this shot.

Never had the chance owing to fast groups I was with at the time

At the Siler City control

Amie and Glenn (from Bristol, Va)

Eric who came all the way here from the SIR group to ride with us.

At the finish.

Not shown: the cake celebrating Mikes 100 months in a row of

riding a century.

Result of my front spokes hitting the quick release of a bike

passing me on the right as I was starting the left turn onto Martha's Chapel Rd.

Nickel, just 'cause she's cute

Team Fleche with 2 Veg

2010-04-06T05:15:00.003-05:00

You've already read the best (from Mike & Vance), now read the rest.

A flèche is a 3-5 bike team event covering a 24 hour ride finishing at a specified location, riding a route that each team has specified before the start; different teams do not follow the same route, but finish at the same specified location. No stop may be of over 2 hours and the final 2 hours must cover a minimum of 25 km. Teams are of three to five bikes, of which three must finish in order to complete the flèche; the usual distance is 360 km. Flèche competitions traditionally take place on or about the Easter holiday. (derived from Wikipedia)

What it fails to mention is that riding a Fleche seems to be subject to unexplainable outside forces that conspire to stop you; to a greater degree than on any other ride.

What might I have forgotten to do?

As both of my blog readers know, last year’s was my first DNF ride. The less said about it, the better.

This year’s was, seemingly, doomed before the start owing to a major snafu with the original route requiring a serious scramble with less than 100 hours to go to the start.

Tony, the unflappable RBA running the event, apparently had no doubt that it could be fixed. In the depths of my despair, Vance would send me an email exclaiming how exciting all this last minute chaos seemed to him. As the newly appointed captain, I was rushing around trying to make sure the cue sheet was right (including making corrections at 6AM the day of the ride), the maps got to Tony and that we all even knew where to meet for the start.  Oh, and trying to be personally ready to ride the thing.

The blessing this year was the most perfect weather you could hope for. Last year’s epic thunderstorms and the snow I’ve heard about from 3 years ago were replaced with ZERO rain chance, highs in the 80’s with lows in the mid-50’s. 
With only the minimum team of 3 riders, we left Greensboro early and had no trouble with the traffic. Once well on the way, however, I experienced the worst rudeness from NC drivers I’ve yet encountered. Horn honking, waving at us (while riding on the shoulder) to get further over to the right (on a four lane road with an empty left-hand lane), and unnecessarily close passes throughout the day.

Then the troubles began.

Soon after our 45 mile control stop, Rob seemed to be falling behind repeatedly. Then, in my mirror I saw him stop by the side of the road. As I waited at the bottom of a hill, a driver stopped to tell me that she thought he looked like he was ill. In reality it was just a stop he’d make to adjust a cleat and he thought it was now OK.  Soon, however, it got much worse for his foot. Instead of just slowing, Vance and I would stop and wait for Rob only to have him be unable to accelerate from a re-start. Hillier than expected roads were making it very painful and nearly impossible for Rob to put any power behind him left foot.

At the 90 mile control he looked to be in serious pain, and I thought we might be done. Remember, for a Fleche to be successful, at least 3 riders from a team must finish.

We talked a bit about various tricks, both mechanical and pharmacological, that could help. Between some analgesics and a drastic cleat adjustment we hoped things would be better and tentatively headed out. Vance and I kept a watch on Rob’s pace and gradually eased back into a speed we’d ridden earlier in the day. Thankfully, the terrain was now becoming flatter and placed far less demands on Rob’s foot.  When he made his signature sprint from behind for a county line sign, we knew he was feeling better. Although he got a bit dehydrated on the way into Mt. Olive and was briefly nauseated at our 135 mile control, things seemed to be improving overall.

We joined another Fleche team at Village Pizza in Mt. Olive for a great dinner. Lots of fluids and a bit of real food seemed to turn Rob’s situation around for good. Not only was the food and service wonderful, but,…..wait  for it……they….let….us….bring….our bikes inside the restaurant!!!!

Departing Mt. Olive, it was now dark but the temps were still pleasant, though we had all donned warmer coverings for the cooler conditions to come.

Navigating at night is always a bit of a challenge. You don’t want to take your eyes off the road or off the bike in front of you. But you’re going to having to tilt your head just right to aim your helmet light at the cue sheet, get your bifocals positioned so you can read a shaking, blurred from sweat-that-made-the-ink-run set of directions, and then try to catch a name off a twisted, bent, and faded street sign: all after being blinded by the brights from an oncoming car.

Nevertheless, with all three of us keeping an eye on the cue sheets, we did OK. There were a couple of places where the signage got confusing, or, as I’ve been known to do, I’d over think the directions and get flustered. Again, though, Vance and Rob were seeing the signs I’d miss and got us through Jacksonville after a massive breakfast at The Kettle; a restaurant that was busier at 2:30AM than most others are at 6PM.

We pulled in to our planned 22 hour control at 5:30 and had 30 minutes to kill before the place opened. At this point, I finally felt confident enough that we were past any problems that I decided I’d post the fact to Facebook. So, of course, when we pulled out at 6:20…..wait…for…it….I had a flat tire. Of course the rear tire. Of course I couldn’t find WHY it went flat. So after I replaced the tube I was just waiting for it to go flat again. Which made me ride like I was possessed. I was trying to get enough distance toward the finish that I’d have time for yet another repair and still finish on time.

As it turned out, the flat was probably a tiny pinch flat and a slow leak. When we’d gone through Swansboro, I was following Vance who appropriately pointed out a large pot hole to his left. Given my focus, or lack, my brain registered that, “yes, that is a pot hole” but responded in no other useful manner causing me to hit it square on.

We flew through the distance toward the finish with me paying attention at every tiny road bump to see if that rear tire seemed to be going flat again, but all went well. After arriving at the finish we had a great time cheering the other teams that finished at their later target times with randonneur, par excellence, Woody Graham in the very last group.

Sadly, our original captain, Mark, was unable to ride owing to health issues and major life events. However, he provided the best help a tired randonneur could ask for; a ride home after the event.

Since I lost my camera somewhere on 24 East between Jacksonville and Swansboro,  no pix except those you see here.

Epocrates + Blackberry = FUBAR

2010-03-24T18:41:00.001-05:00

(A non-cycling rant)

2 great things that are ~~GREAT~~ TERRIBLE together

Epocrates, while not perfect, is quite frankly one of the BEST medical software things out there. I’ve been using it for yyeeeaaarrrsssss. The thing has all the info you’d want about meds that patients are on. And not just the expected stuff like doses and side effects. It also does drug interactions and had costs and formulary status for many insurances. It also includes all kinds of medical calculators and with the Blackberry, you can even retrieve pictures of pills. PICTURES OF PILLS!. Right in the exam room! So when the patient goes, “I dunna know wha Ima takin’.” You can say “well, does it look like this?”

There are other features that, even after all these years, I still haven’t had time to explore. It just plain makes patient care much easier.

Couple of years ago, my wife and I decided to get smart phones that would eliminate the need to carry both a cell and a PDA. For various reasons, we opted for the Blackberry. As a PDA, I actually do like it better than the various Palm devices I’d used for years before. Palm’s decision to change their graffiti entry to a new “improved” version annoyed me greatly, since I had the old system down, cold. Since, at the time, it couldn’t run Epocrates, the iPhone wasn’t an option.

I doubted we’d really make much use of the email system which is the big Blackberry feature, but, it has been somewhat useful.

But, here is the problem; Epocrates, on the Blackberry is a mess. Where do I start?

It. Runs, So. Damn, Sllloooowwwww. It… makes…. me…. want…. to…ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz
UH! Whah! Did I doze off there? Sorry.

Also, OTA transfer takes FOREVER. I know it doesn’t tie you down to the computer like a USB transfer did on the Palm, but, still.

Oh. I hear you out there; “Yeah, but you only need to install it once using OTA transfer. After that, all you do is get short updates which don’t take much time.”

As Rep Joe Wilson put it, “YOU LIE!!”

It is IMPOSSIBLE to update your Epocrates on the Blackberry.

IMPOSSIBLE.

Don’t try to tell me otherwise.

I’ve spent HOURS trying.

I’ve spent HOURS going over their FAQ pages.

I’ve had innumerable email exchanges with their tech support about this and tried everything they said.

Every time it’s the same story; “We just fixed it in our latest update. Delete your old version and then do a complete re-install and it’ll work fine.”

Again, “YOU LIE!!”

So, every 75 days, I get pop-ups when I try to start Epocrates telling me that I’m a bad person who has not gotten an update recently. It won’t STFU until I do something. And that requires deleting the program, manually deleting its files from the SD card, rebooting and then doing a brand new OTA install. All of which ALSO destroys any personal notes I made on drugs during my use of the previous version.

If they don’t fix this, I doubt I’ll stick with Blackberry for my next smart phone.

DON’T LOOK! IT’LL BURN YOUR RETINAS!

2010-03-18T05:34:00.001-05:00

It's like, how much more pale could this be? And the answer is none. None more pale.
(paraphrasing Nigel Tufnel)

65 today, huh?

Time to celebrate by finding some bike shorts! (Glad I didn’t sell them all on Ebay when I was sure it would never be warm again.) Great fun instead of wearing tights on the way home. Usually, I just wear the same thing in the evening as I had to wear for temps in the ~ 30 range on the AM commute. If it’s going to be in the 50’s, it’s more than I need but not too uncomfortable. But, mid 60’s? Definitely worth bringing different clothes for the ride home.

I wasn’t expecting to have to deal with low 30’s this morning. I’d just about decided I wouldn’t need my jacket and surely not my balaclava, but, there I was; complete with helmet cover and lobster cloves still, too. Still having to blow my nose repeatedly via a technique I’d rather not discuss.

But, all worthwhile since it meant when work was done I could actually ride a bike while wearing shorts.

AAAARRRGGGHHHHH!

I TOLD YOU NOT TO LOOK!

If the sight of that much pale skin has not, indeed, blinded you, let me just say that cyclist legs in March are a whole ‘nother shade of pale. (I REFUSE to make ANY Procol Harum references here; stupid pretentious symphonic rock band.)

This is pale that would horrify vampires, people with albinism or porphyria patients. Sure, the contrast with the black lycra enhances the effect, but it’s truly frightful all on its own. Silicon dioxide sunscreen would actually make them look better.

Unfortunately, it won’t get better very fast, either. Best to avert your eyes from cyclists for at least another couple of weeks.