Ok, the post title is a little misleading. It's really about some Crank Brothers Acid 2 pedals going on the bike. More carbon fiber goodness. These are basically Egg Beaters with a carbon fiber and magnesium platform. They are about 325 grams. Not super light but not too heavy. I feel these pedals are a good balance between lightweight and strength. The platform helps to distribute some pressure and that helps quite a bit on longer rides and hills.
I took the bike over to the shop Thursday, it's first "public" viewing in person. One of the mechanics looked it over and really liked it. The bike really is an eye catcher. The carefully crafted blend of recumbent, mountain and road bike is just right in my opinion. Kristin said it catches her off guard at first when looking at but as she looks at, it all makes sense.
Later in the evening I decided to go for a short spin. My original plan was to only ride about 5 miles, just down the street to the BWI trail and down the hill past the horse farm. Once underway I was really enjoying myself and when I got to my planned turn around point I decided to go another mile to the 195 bridge. Well, that plan faltered, when I got to the bridge I decided to just push on and ride the entire 12 mile loop. I didn't push the bike or myself and after 45 minutes the entire trip was over. I didn't even have a water bottle packed. It was a cool dry evening so I never felt the need to drink.
Here are my observations so far;
This bike really begs to ride. Not a fast ride but very efficient, my Strada begs to go fast, the 700X begs to just go and go.
I LOVE disk brakes. I feel very confident and sure footed about braking.
Flat footed standing stops are easy on this bike.
Climbing while standing took a litle time to learn but works very well on steep hills. It's also nice to take a stand on pedals while coasting. More for a change of position than anything else.
I am very happy with the SRAM drive train.
There is more but lot's of liitle things.
One thing I do notice is that the bike catches everyone off guard. They are not expecting that road bike feel in something this comfortable.
Hopefully the dynamo hub and brevet rear will be ready for the October 200K. The fenders will be in next week with the carbon crank.
The first part of the build is complete. There are a few items on the bike that will be replaced over the next few months as I get parts in and things get tuned. I’ll start with what is missing and then go through the bike and build and point out those items to be replaced a second time in detail. So what’s missing? Well, the rando wheel set has not been built, they will include a SRAM dynamo on the front, DT/Swiss spokes and Velocity Deep V rims. The rear wheel will probably have a Phil Wood disk hub. The Truvativ Rolleur cranks set will be replaced with a carbon set from FSA or the Truvativ carbons. The current 980 chain will be replaced with a Wipperman Ti hollow pin chain. The new wheel set will get some faster tires too.
So Thursday of last week Kristin and I built up the frame set.
Okay, time to get serious about this build. The first thing on was SRAM X.0 rear derailleur. Man is this thing smooth and light! The gold colored mount was sweet and look at the carbon, yum.
After that it was time to swap out the factory handlebar (which is very nice) for some more “black gold.” This is a carbon fiber composite bar and checks in at 125 grams. Parts of this bike are weight weenied when possible and other parts are not, I hope to have a nice balance of low weight, reliability and performance. The bar is pretty comfy and has plenty of room for what I plan to install on this bike. Given that the headlights will be down low where they belong and not on the handlebars, there is even more room.
I slipped the shifters and the Team brake levers on the bar and added the Ergo grips, at this time I gave the shifters and lever a bit of alignment and tightened them down a bit to allow for some fine adjustment once the wheels were set and we could get a feel from the cockpit.
These grips are super comfy and feel good climbing.
Now things are taking shape and the Avid BB7 disk brakes go on. I think disk brakes are better in many ways. You can argue both sides well but I find them more solid on hills and in bad weather. I like the way they STOP the bike. The fact that they do not heat up the rims is another argument for disk brakes. I have heard stories of people blowing tires on mountain descents.
The front brakes look as nice as the rear ones do too.
While I was putting on the cailpers, Kristin added the rotors to the wheels, these are the daily ride/ training set. They are nice wheels if a bit heavy, Bontrager Race 29ers. They have DT Swiss spokes and some nice hubs. The all black looks good. They are shod with some Continental Gatorskins. They are a nice cost effective tire. Good for training and general riding. Not very fast but they should last and serve well under the conditions of riding trails and roads.
Good from both sides!
...and of course the front;
I then set the initial chain length. After the first ride both Kristin and I feel we might add a link or two. It will lock on the big/big combo. Not that one should ride the extremes but excess on the low end is safer IMHO.
I tried the SRAM X.7 front DR but the backside of it had too much material and I could not get the cage low enough. So I went with a $himano Ultegra 6600. It’s the same derailleur as I have on the “Silver Strada” and the only $himano derailleur I have found to be reliable on a consistent basis. Once we had the 6600 in place I cabled everything up with Jagwire sleeves and black coated PTFE cable. There are arguments for and against this cable. I like the way these cables and they have never given me a bit of trouble. Never had them gum up or anything other than super smooth shifting and braking. Once cabled and the first tuning of brakes and gears, I gave the bike a wrenching all over and added some platform pedals I had kicking around the shop. We added the carbon fiber Alpha bottle cage and looked the bike over one more time. We then declared it time for the maiden voyage.
I let Kristin have the honor of the first ride. She went maybe twenty feet before she “got it” and headed smoothly out of the driveway.
Other than locking up on the big/big combo the bike performed well and then I went for a spin. The front DR needs some fine-tuning and rear brake needs a minor tweak. Other than that the bike is ready to ride.
It's been interesting and exciting riding brevets. Each ride has been unique, even riding over some of the same roads on seperate events has been different each time. After two years of randonneuring on a recumbent I have put in enough mileage to feel I can call myself a randonneur. Maybe not a very experienced one but I have had enough experience to learn what and what does not work for me. For each of us some things work well or not so well in different conditions.
I have taken some time after completing my Super Randonneur series this year and decided to evaluate my strategies, all of them. I am going to train differently and a bit more intensive this next year. More hills and more intervals.
I am also going to add a special bike to the mix. Some of the local brevets include up to ten mountain gaps in 200K. Others only 4 or 6 gaps. While I feel it is a bit ridiculous to design a route like this, it is what the local RBA's offer. So a bike that climbs better is also on my list. Don't fear fellow bent riders, I am not giving up the Silver Strada. I love riding a bent way too much and frankly I find the upright bike an outdated design and concept for most riding. Unless you are racing in a peleton or triathlon, I don't see a reason to ride one. I know some folks love the DF and that's fine. We should all ride what we like.
After the thought process, I came up with a list of what I feel would make a great randonneuring bike for me;
Lightweight - need to get up those hills and make my energy last over hundreds of miles. A good climber Reliable frame - solid design and construction Reliable components - no finicky pieces Light but strong wheels - easy to repair on the road Disk brakes - for those steep down hill runs, wet weather and no tire popping in the heat, easy wheel changes Two sets of wheels - training and randonee' Wider tires - something to fight chip seal Dynamo hub - time to go light on batteries LED Lights - use the newer dynamo driven led lights Fenders - light but solid GPS - 'nough said 700C wheels - easier to find than 650C or 26" Comfortable - If it's not comfy, why ride? Efficient - Brevets are not races but you want an efficient bike Easy to transport and store Easy to add racks and storage Bar cons or trigger shifters Removable seat pad - for rain days when off the bike
So armed with my list and some research I rented a RANS crank forward bike from Greg about a month ago. It was a Zenetik, a model year or two old. I liked the format a lot. A missing thing Toby had mentioned was being able to look back with ease. Something I can not do on a highracer but sure could on the Zenetik. While I liked the bike and Gregs price on it was fair, I wanted something a bit more. So after a lot of reading forums and Vik B's blog I decided on the RANS 700X. Since this bike was going to be very specific to my needs, I decdided a frame set was the way to go. I would build the bike from scratch, with it's main purpose being a rando rig.
Here is the Silver 700 frame from the rear quarter.
It's a pretty light bike. The seat is the RANS carbon fiber model, the fork is also the RANS carbon fork. The frame has disk brake tabs, so does the fork!
I plan to use the brake bosses for mounting lights. This should give me a solid mounting place front and rear. It puts the front lights low and the rear lights a little higher than my Strada.
Here are the goodies for it so far;
SRAM X.0 carbon trigger shifters SRAM X.0 carbon rear DR
These should be in early next week. Planned are;
SRAM X.0 front DR AVID BB7 brakes Carbon Truvativ crankset with MTB gearing. GPX bottom bracket One wheel set hand made with SRAM dynamo Schmidt LED lights Dinnotte rear light Spare Trek rear light Ti Crank brothers Quattro pedals
I am still researching the daily driver wheel set and the base computer. I'll probably go with the Trek Team iNsite I have on the Strada. It supports two bikes so a second set of transmitters is all I need with a mount.
Tires, I am thinking of trying out the Vittoria Randonneurs and the Schwalbe Marathon Racers or Kojaks. I might even look at Pro 3's or GP4K's. The first set will probably be the Vittoria's unless I hear somehting really bad about them or they won't fit.
This bike is great looking, it's gonna get black rims and spokes I think.
I am thinking of replacing the bar with a carbon one, depending upon weight saved. Looking at ergo grips or have Kevin do the custom wrap like he did on the Strada.
A few last thoughts and comments on the RANS CF's and a few other things;
An order for a Fusion and Dynamik came into the shop, we have folks that are dieing to try these bikes. I put them together out back as soon as they came off the truck. RANS does a great job of packing these bikes.
Jeff took the Fusion for a very short spin around the parking lot and was quite surprised at how it handled. Not like a bent, but a DF. He "got it" on the first ride, once someone rides one of these bikes, it is a no brainer.
I also took the Fusion and the Dynamik for brief spins after assembly to shake them down and you can really tell the difference in the geometry between them, both great bikes, just a different feel.
Last, when I unpacked the frame back atr the house, Kristin caught that the 700X was packed by "Randy." I wonder if this was someone else or was it Randy Schlitter? Kind of cool and we are keeping the packing check list with signature for historical sake.
That's all for now. I'll post over the next week as the base bike is built, then tested. After that the updates as it is "rando rigged" will come in. Hopefully in October or November I'll do a 200K on it and see if my suspicions are right. This may be the new brevet platform.
This year Randonneurs USA is celebrating it's 10th anniversary. To honor that event 200K brevets were held the 16th and 17th of August. It didn't take too long for me to decide which 200K to ride once I got the ok from Kristin. I posted on the local list and Dana decided to give a 200K another shot. After the Lost River "Horror of Hills"he bravely signed up and was propery rewarded. I made it clear that this was a great route and that he could finish it and not have a cardio implossion.
Kristin and I had a meeting with my sons school at lunch time and then I loaded up the car and left around 3:00PM for North Carolina. I forgot to take a departure shot and when I stopped at a Wawa store in Virginia I snapped a picture. Somehow peotic that I stopped at a Wawa after the "Tour De Wawa"last month.
Note the bike is on a rack hanging off the back of the car now? While it's been nice having the bike safe and dry in the trunk, the hour of setup and takedown doesn't work everywhere. I love the Hollywood Sportrak but haven't had a hitch on my car for near two years. I decdided to get one and JC Whitney had one for a DIY install. It took about an hour total and fits the veggiemobile just right. I locked the bike to the rack using the cuff lock and felt the bike was safe and secure for the trip.
Priceline once again came through with a $50 room at the Extended Stay just a few miles from the start and a burger at Hooters made for a nice evening meal before bed time.
At 5:30AM I drove over to the start and was able to take advantage of having the bike loaded with all but the seat pad on the rack. This let me sleep in an extra 20 minutes.
It was still quite dark out and I waited about 20 minutes after the official start to leave, that way I would not need to carry lights. Everyone was busy and happy getting ready, Bob O. was there too. This is the third brevet I have been on with Bob, he is a great guy. I got to meet his wife and daughter at the picnic later in the day too. Nice folks!
Even more randonneurs getting ready to go;
It was nice relaxing a bit before leaving, I know this route and know that it is not hard to make up twenty minutes of time. More of the start;
At 6:18AM I hit the start button on the Garmin and Dana, his freind Bob and I head out, we make a wrong turn, the cue sheet is a little funky at the start and finish. We correct the error, get in some early bonus distance and off we go. This is one of the most pleasant brevet routes I have ever seen. The terrain rolls enough to keep you interested and levels out out in sections. None of the hills are really steep but a couple are long.
Jack Bennet Road is the longest climb on this brevet. It's a mile or so at 4 or 5 percent. When I got to the top I caught Dana and Bob as the crested it near route 15-501.
A quick jaunt down the highway and onto Andrews Store Road putting us back onto quiet roads. We make our way through the mist and the sun slowly burns off the moisture. After 55K we find ourselves at the famous "Frosty Trading Post."
I can not say for sure if it really is famous, but it's an ideally placed store on this route. That is another nice thing, this route has a nice number of stores. Bob's knee is bothering him and he stops at a store about 12 miles from Siler City. Dana and I roll along the road at a good pace and head to Siler City as returning riders wave hi. Here is a map of the route from Motionbased;
We make it to Siler with plenty of time to spare and a volunteer meets us and signs our brevet cards. I get a quick sandwich and Dana and I start the return trip to Morrisville, we will pick Bob back up along the way.
Once again we arrive at the Frosty Trading Post. This time the stop is a little longer, I sit inside and wait for them to catch up, it isn't long and I get to enjoy sucking down some air conditioning.
Along the way back Dana and I crest the century mark and I snap an on the road picture;
We roll along, the miles are ticking down we come off of 15-501 and enjoy the fast descent on Jack Benett Road. 20 or so miles left, plenty of time and lots of sunshine. As we pass the lake there are fishermen and water skiers having fun.
In the distance I see a DF rider approaching. He turns up Marthas Chapel Road as we do. For the next few miles I play cat and mouse with him and then finally kick in the overdrive dumping him along the road, he cracks on the rollers. It was kind of fun and we chatted a bit as I stopped at the next turn to make sure Dana and Bob did not miss it. The rider was on his normal Saturday run and was surprised to be dropped by a bent. Heh, as slow as I am so was I!
Along the way I passed the spot where my seat stay cracked on the 300K in April. I know it's a picture of a Stop Sign but it is unique spot in my randonneuring history.
We get near the finish and ride several bonus miles as the ques sheet had two, not one mistake at the end. We made it and finished the ride. Here Dana is at the pavillion, a successful 200K brevet under his wheels.
Once again a great ride with the North Carolina Bike Club Randonneurs. The weather was nice, the people and roads were great.
Here are the basic stats.
I know I have mentioned this often before, but I do think this is the perfect 200K route for anyone wanting to try a brevet the first time.
After the Ohio 600K I really had not planned on attempting "The 600" again this year. My feelings were that I was capable and didn't need to this year. Yes, a cycling goal not met but these things happen.
The DC Randonneurs debacle back in January has had me riding and enjoying brevets elsewhere. It's actually been quite a pleasure. I have met people I would not have seen otherwise and have been on some great routes in places I have never been on a bike.
I have looked at the New Jersey Randonneurs site a few times and noticed the Cranbury 600. I never paid much attention to the dates of the event and even where but a glance at the site a few days after my DNF in Ohio had me thinking differently. The route would pass through my favorite areas of New Jersey, not be forever in mountains and the odds of chipseal very low.
Putting all that to mind I started looking hard at the cue sheet and route July 4th weekend and Kristin was up for my attempting another 600. I spent part of the holiday weekend mapping it out and decided to go for it. Once again loaded to go...
The ride description was great, the majority of controls were to be at the quintessential New Jersey Institution, the Wawa Store. Yes folks the NJ Rando folks labled it "Tour De Wawa" and they were on the money. I love Wawa stores, probably more than Sheetz.
I mapped out the route on mapmyride, once again a frustrating experience. Bikely is way better! This gave me a better idea of where the route went, more so than just seeing the controls on a map. I wish I had done this for the Ohio 600. Something I hope to repeat in the future is the preride map. It helped in a few tricky spots where the roads have no signs.
I took Friday off and left around 2:00PM. It's only a three hour drive so that would put me in Cranbury about 5:00PM. I gave myself plenty of time considering Friday afternoon traffic. It was nice to be there five hours prior to the start. I parked in the old PNC bank lot per the instructions and scoped out the town. After a bit I went for some pizza. I forgot how great Jersey pizza is!
Cranbury Pizza was great, Ney York style pizza without having to go to New York! After the pizza I went back to the car and chilled for a bit. There was a concert in the park just down the street, it made for a very pleasant evening.
I got some ice cream from Gil and Berts ice cream shop and watched the show for a bit. After that it was time to put the bike together and get it rigged. Once the bike was ready and I was dressed, I met the volunteer running the event, Laurent. With the 10:00PM start time like PBP there was a certain feeling about the ride that was very hard to describe.
Once registered and ready, I went back for another round of pizza to top off the tank. About 10 minutes before the start, I was relaxed and ready to go. The night time start was much nicer than an early AM start.
At 10:00PM, 21 randonneurs and randonneusses head out onto the roads of North Eastern New Jersey in search of "The Wawa" store.
Laurent gave the signal and off everyone went, but me. I had forgot to turn on the Garmin and circled the parking lot while it homed in. As the local church bells struck 10, the signals came up and off I went as I pushed the start button. Hey, 377.6 miles is a long way to go before I am back in this parking lot, best to pace myself.
Road surfaces and terrain are a funny thing, it's amazing how much faster the bent is on flat and rolling terrain. Within 15 minutes I was in with the group that had left about 4 minutes before I started. I decided since this was a "flat" route that I would hang with the fast guys for a couple of hours and then drop down to a slower pace. We covered 32 miles in the first two hours and we passed a Wawa on the way, wait a minute, I thought this was "Tour De Wawa?" Ah, we were not to stop at every Wawa along the way. Okay so on we press passing Fort Dix and as we did all I could think of was an episode of M*A*S*H where Klinger talked about Fort Dix.
A little later I rolled into the first control with a rider behind me and several more resting at the control. Laurent met us there and was signing our brevet cards. A quick meal with chicken salad, a Coke, Gatorade and some chips and out of the first control with over 90 minutes cushion! The route then had me rolling down wonderful 539. This would be one of several great long stretches of asphault that let me make time. Along pine barrens and long flat to low grades, through misty fog and cranberry bogs. The halo effect on car headlights as they apporached from in front was at times ghostly.
About 4:10AM and the mist gets thick, the air becomes very warm and I go over a draw bridge. Egg Harbor is close now, we pass the plant of these famous yachts. It was still too dark to capture a picture of the plant but here is one of the factory from their web site.
A few minutes later I arrived in Egg Harbor city at the Dunkin Donuts. I know have 3 hours and 30 minutes of cushion in 98 miles!
No chipseal, no "scenic" roads and yet, lots of scenery. Laurent signed my brevet card and offered me a chicken sandwhich, that when combined with a coke from the machine accross the street, really hit the spot! I must say he really ran the brevet exceptionally well.
I took this shot about 5:00AM when the store was supposed to open. Not even a body inside yet! About 5:15AM I headed back out on the road, knowing I would stop in less then 10 minutes. Employees were now inside but the DD was not open. Oh well, I was insearch of Wawa stores anyway.
Just outside of town the odometer crests the century mark for the first of hopefully three times this trip.
The temps are nice, I am to call home in an hour to wake up Kristin for Katie's swim meet. I pass the Atlantic City airport and glady go well around Atlantic City itself. Shortly after, I see another randonneur tossing back some what looks like coffee at a 7-11. The nerve of him! This was after all, this is TDW! A block later I rolled into my first un-official Wawa store I called home and no answer, the girls must already be up and gone or showering. I get a drink and some food, spend about 10 minutes and move out.
A few busy roads and the route went along a short section of bike trail and out towards the Atlantic Ocean. Once I crossed the bridge onto the barrier islands I went over the Ocean City inlet and took this shot;
I can watch the sea for hours on end, the ever changing patterns of the water, the smell is so relaxing. Sadly I can not linger for the day and enjoy the beach, perhaps another time.
I coast down the bridge and into Ocean City NJ. My parents and I stayed here for a weekend when I was a teenager. The town has grown some but it remains much the same place and not negatively affected by the casino growth of Atlantic City. It still has a lot of that "beach town" feel and not a suburb feel.
I have mentioned so often my disdain for chipseal and I am happy to announce I never encountered any chipseal on this ride. Sadly, the highway engineers in New Jersey have discovered something worse. I am not sure what you would call this stuff. The best description I can give is asphault that has worn away from rain and sand exposing all the course aggregate. From Ocean City to the South end of Sea Isle City it was like riding a rumble strip for about 12 miles. I think the road surface was just what I described.
The stretch along the shore was pleasant but slow, traffic and lots of stop signs traffic lights. I was happy when I hit the South end of Sea Isle City, the road smoothed out and I stopped at an un-official Wawa and had some donuts and a chocolate milk.
From here it was on to 7 Mile Island and into Avalon. We have vacationed here in the past, it's by far my favorite beach town and has my families most favorite pizza place, Tonios!
It was about 8:30 in the morning and they were not open yet. That's okay, there is a Wawa calling my name just a few miles down the street. All in all the road surface on 7 Mile Island is far better the OC or Sea Isle and while busy most folks are beyond polite. I roll into the Stone Harbor Wawa with over 4 hours of cushion.
The store is swamped! I follow the procedure, buy something, get a reciept and get my brevet card signed by the clerk. Not too far from departure and a couple more randonneurs arrive. It's often funny how you pass people on a brevet and never know it. We chat a bit and they go in search of breakfast the involves plates, forks and seating. I suggest the diner on the mainland not too far away. It was on one of my plans but I was skipping it as I was quite full from the donuts and quart of chochlate milk back in Sea Isle City. I bid them farewell and left Stone Harbor.
The traffic on the causeway to the mainland was light, I passed a couple of produce stands the family has been to on vacation. As I cross the Garden State Parkway I notice the diner is packed. People are waiting outside. I found out later my two fellow randonneurs see the packed diner and hit McDonalds for some pancakes.
The route goes through Dennisville and as I make the turn onto Dennisville road and I am rolling about 17.5 MPH, and feeling good. Suddnely a bee flies up, lands on my arm and stings me. It really hurt and smarted for a few hours. Still, not enough to make me stop and I push on to Mauriceville and the next Wawa store.
It was starting to get quite hot and the predicted 84 degrees F has long been passed, I read 90 degrees on the bike. Thoughts of how nice just hanging out at the beach ran through my mind. It helped me move on thinking of this shot;
No walls of chipseal on this ride or "scenic" roads, but the sun and the heat combined with being awake for 30 hours was dragging on me a bit. I had been up since 6:10AM the day before and its about noon time.
I pass through Mauricetown and into, you guessed it right, a Wawa store. I refilled my water, had a coke and gatorade. A brief rest and I am back on the road.
As I make my way along the road the afternoon heat hits me a bit and I am exhausted. I pull off the side of the road, pull the seat pad from the bike and use it as a matress for about 10 minutes. I swig some water and feel a bit better. It is 98 degrees out on the road. The asphault is even hotter.
Several miles later I can tell I am closer to the Delaware Bay as the route passes marshes. I stop at a Sunnoco station and begin the process of a quick recharge. It dawned on me that I had not eaten in some time. Not since the Wawa in Sea Isle City. I should have had something in Mauricetown. A cheeseburger and a coke have me feeling better quickly, I refill the camelbak and pour cold water over my head. In minutes I am ready to ride.
During all this one of the two guys I saw in Stone Harbor arrives. Turns out his brother in-law is the other rider and has become ill. The heat I guess. The plan is for the healthier one to ride to the siesta stop to recharge the batteries for their lights so while the other is back a bit resting, the first is pushing on. He takes off a few minutes before me.
The miles tick off and a few miles from the control I see him just up ahead, a pickup truck passes me and it contains his brother in-law. He can ride no more and a game warden is giving him a ride to the siesta stop at mile 214.
The other one and I ride together on to the control in Seabreeze. It's a typical randonneur conversation, we talk about what we see by doing this and other brevets. As we get closer to the bay the wind picks up. Our road speed is about 16 or 17 and we keep it up to avoid the masses of horse fly just waiting to bite us. As we ride along through the marshes, fiddler crabs are crossing the road every so often, what a treat! You only see stuff like this on a bike and only when going places most folks never ride. We get to the control, see the answer we need and make a quick getaway. This is an informational control, we will write the answer on our brevet cards later.
It's a quick five miles to the next control, here we arrive at a 1700's estate. Eagle Manor has been rented by Walter and Laurie and they have opened their home to us as a control and oasis.
After 214 miles this is quite a site to see. KNowing my drop bag is here with catered food, showers, a mattress and a few hours rest warms the heart.
Laurent was looking quite relaxed sitting in a chair under a giant tree. He noted our time and signed our brevet cards. In the house we were waited on with lots of food and drink. It was wonderful, I ate a little bit, called home and cooled off before taking a shower and a 30 to 45 minute power nap.
I arrived with nearly 5 hours of cushion and decided to spend half of that here. After waking I was still a little weak in the stomach but a coke and some delicious home made chicken noodle soup brought me to life again. I only had a 163 miles to go! Less than 300K I told myself, and I have covered 300K before.
My other reason for the longer stay was a hope to have some cooler air to ride in and it paid off. It had dropped into the lower 80's and was very pleasant. It was 6:45PM as I left Eagle Manor.
The ride was pretty unecentful from here to the next control, a Wawa at route 40. I pulled into here and caught a few more riders. Laurent was here for a brief stop and a jeep with the two brother in-laws that had abandoned the ride. At this point 7 had dnf'd, one third of the starters were not going to finish but hopefully ride well another day.
I decided at this point that chicken noodle soup was my new friend and got a cup, a coke and some pineapple. It hit the spot and I put on the lights and left for Hammonton.
The miles were ticking away a little slower now but the distance was getting shorter too. Well before Hammonton I passed a point where there was only 200K to go! I was back up to a three hour cushion from about 2 and was feeling a little tired when I got to Hammonton.
102 miles to go as I got to the Wawa in Hammonton. Yes another control, another Wawa. Sticking with the same menu I also loaded up some extra snacks, the next control was about 55 miles down the road that I would ride in the middle of the night.
I left Hammonton after midnight. I really wanted to sleep for about 30 minutes but the town bums kept bothering me for a dollar for a hot dog and such. I tightened up lights a bit, they had rattled loose earlier that day in Ocean City. After that the shell jacket went on and off I went, I decided I would fair better finding a nap spot in the park 15 miles ahead.
About 3:30AM and it's time to pull off the bike for a nap. I see shadows I know are not there. I have plenty of time, I just need to catnap. I set the alarm for 30 minutes and get a really good nap. Actually better than at the sieasta stop. 4:15AM and I am back on the road rolling through the long 20 mile stretch of pine barrens and bogs. It's really neat and very isolated.
As dawn arrives I stop at a restaurant and bar that is closed but has a table and chair out front. Here I take a break and kill off a gatorade and some peanut butter crackers. Just what I needed to keep going. I also pull the headlamp and lights off the bike. I can now read the cue sheet with the abient light again.
6:15AM and I am in Vincentown! About 2 and a half hours of cushion! I have 7 hours and 45 minutes to go 52 miles. I now begin to feel I will complete the ride in time. An order of Wawa pancakes and bacon fills me up. I find out that a large group is just 35 minutes ahead of me. I am energized.
The next 50 miles I take my time, relax and do not push myself. The route now has some hills but all of them are reasonable and what I expect to find when riding. The roads are nice and so is traffic.
About 2 miles from Cranbury and it hits me as to what has happened, I am less than ten minutes from finishing "The 600." I am thrilled, I have broken my 400K glass cieling and feel good. Tired, exhausted but good.
As I roll into the control, Laurent is there to greet me. He had passed me in his car a while before when I was stopped to call home. He made sure i was okay and moved on.
Here at the control, he and some others invited me to join the for some ice cream. I broke down the bike and loaded it into the car, change my clothes and joined them for a great post ride treat.
I learned a lot on this ride, I have a much better feeling for what needs to be done to finish PBP. There is a lot of work to do but I now know I can do it. If at times it sounds easy, it's not, it's just so much fun, you gloss over the rough stuff.
The ride home was tough, cars make a great numbing feeling that put you to sleep, I napped and drove and napped and dirve all the way home to get there safely. Dinner was great and sleep yes sleep came easy for some reason. After all, I had only been awake for most of 64 hours.
Last, this was my first success at a 600K but my second attempt. I felt cheated by the weather on the Ohio 600K, but it gave me the chance to ride this one.
One last note, according to Laurent I am the first recumbent rider to finish a New Jersey Randonneurs 600K. Okay, I'm sold!
600K??? are you crazy? Admitedly, you have to be a little crazy to be a randonneur. There's just too much involved in it to not be a lemming following the pack. I've succeeded so far this season in 200K, 300K, 400K and a wild century through Death Valley. Now comes an attempt at the "peak" of my cycling season. The "Litmus Test" according to the RUSA handbook is used to describe the 600K. I think it is in many ways.
The ride was split into two sections, a 400K loop and a 200K loop. This would allow for an overnight or cleanup stop at the 400K mark. I went ahead and booked a room for Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. I knew from my 300K and 400K experiences two things about the hotel. Have a room for after the ride, it's nice to take a short nap and clean up before a long car ride home. It's also nice to sit down and have a meal and good nights sleep if possible too.
I took off both Friday and Monday as transit days. This time I was able to leave well before noon and drive out to Grove City. Once again I enjoyed having everything loaded into the trunk for the 7 hour drive out.
The trip out was fast, having decided to skip the evil Pennsy turnpike and take I68 to Morgantown and then I79 up to I70 in PA and onward again through WV and into Ohio. I made much better time coming home from the 400K and found the same for both directions on the 600K.
For what it's worth I put a lot of planning and strategy into the ride. I had thought of all of the things within my control and also, how I might feel at certain critical times. Different plans depending upon what time and enrgy level I had at the 400K mark would decide overnight sleep, a quick cleanup and ride or something in between.
"Going into a brevet is like going into battle." Planning and being prepared. I had my 400K change of clothes, change of batteries and extra snacks ready to go.
I even had all of my first morning things ready for a quick ready and ride. Good thing too, half the night I was yelling at drunks and trying to sleep, finally at 1:30 AM they gave it up and went to bed. Arrrgh.
I got to the Motel 6 about 6:30 and checked in, took my time to prep the bike too. It was nice being ready to ride by 7:30. Registered, cue sheets in hand, map, and brevet card. I even ran into Alan from the 400K, we would ride along together later on Saturday and Sunday.
Note the new cue sheet holder is mounted and loaded. This thing was GREAT on the road. I wish I had made this thing a long time ago.
I grabbed the pasta from Pizza Hut for dinner and washed it down with a Sprite. Watched some TV and worked on the payment and registration system for the Mid Atlantic Bent Event. About 9:30 I called home and went to bed. Dealt with the loud drunks until 1:30 and woke up at 4:00AM a little tired but I have started long rides with a lot less sleep.
Here at 5:00AM 14 randonneurs begin a long day on the road.
Unlike the 400K three weeks before, I am the only bent this time. This never bothers me, I am quite used to this being the case. Also unlike the 400K, the sky is clear as we head out. The first 20 miles is pretty flat, a few small climbs early in the ride that are short but very steep, I take my time to save energy.
The sunrise was really cool!
The route had a detour on the cue sheet from two years prior but the detour is cleared and there should be no problems. Well, before the first control we encouter this:
Oops, I guess this is why the route should be checked in advance of the brevet. It took me 15 minutes to cross this as safe as I could. Technically I could have taken a detour that would have added no distance but removed the worst road I have been on in my life. About a mile past the bridge was Mainsville road and it was thick chipseal that was broken and lots of short steep hills up and down. A very dangerous road.
I ran into another "obstacle" when crossing this bridge. Let me take a moment to mention dogs. I love dogs, they are great creatures, Sadly some are outright mean and chase cyclists. I have been attacked by a few and fended them off with tree limbs and yelling, threating to run the chainring into them. Most dogs either ignore you or stand on a porch and bark. Some however, refuse to hold still for a picture.
I took me three tries to get him to hold still. He trotted alongside of me for almost a mile until I went down a fast hill and disappeared from site. He was really freindly and wanted to go along.
After dealing with Mainsville road I arrived at the first control before 10:20. Over 80 minutes of cushion. Had I detoured I would have been in probably 30 minutes sooner. hmm... I will use that in the future, it's perfectly legal and a smart move. I was at the control for about 20 minutes, had a sandwich, a coke, some Gatorade and reloaded my water bottle and gatorade bottle for the next 100K section.
Here is the New Lexington control;
The next 20 miles was pretty pleasant, a few long gradual climbs but nice enough. Then the route turned into Apalachia and there was a lot of climbing. Here is the century mark picture.
It was hot and about 10 miles from the 200K control I ran out of water. The good news is that I was on the outskirts of town and in "the burbs" and a nice lady filled the one bottle for me and I road into Marrietta. About 4 miles from the control I see another cyclist and as I got closer I caught a glimpse of Alan's 2007 PBP jersey. We road together into the 200K control at the Subway.
I believe Alan was having some stomach trouble and even suggested getting a hotel room. We had 90 minutes at this point and after a meal we hit the road. The ride out of town was nice and the roads were rolling with some longer climbs but no killer hills. Off in the distance we could see dark clouds rising. Never a good sign.
About 20 miles up the road the lightining was getting closer and Alan stopped to put on his rain jacket, then I looked around. We both looked at each other. There was a store about 20 minutes up the road, my hopes were to get there before the storm. It was not to be, several nearby lightning strikes had Alan asking a nice couple for use of their porch until the lightning passed. We changed into rain gear, had some food and drink and rested. The storm did not stop for quite a while, eating up our cushion and then some.
Once we felt it safe to ride again, off we went. Sadly as we watched the distance and the rain falling, the clock expired. We got to the next control 24 minutes too late. My goal was to be there about 9:30, we got there at 11:27, 24 minutes too late. DNF'd by the one thing I could not control, lightning. Arrgh. Had I detoured ealrier, I might have made it. That 30 minutes of bridge and bad road would have made it close.
Alan and I fueled up at the control and he asked around about a hotel for the night. I was into the idea, no sense in pushing on when the ride was over. We could have a nice ride back on Sunday.
Sadly there is nothing near by, we decide to push on towards Grove City and the Motel 6. After another 15 miles we find a pavillion and get out of the weather. I had a coke from the machine across the street, and sit on the picnic tables. It's damp and cold, we decide it's safer to spend the night sleeping on the picnic tables. The town drunks are racing up and down the street in thier exhaust system free rice burners. We make the best of it and get a restless sleep on the tables.
About 6:00AM we wake up and get back on the road. Nothing is open for miles. We get to a point on the cue sheet where there is a turn from the state road onto about 9 miles of "scenic" road. Scenic to an RBA means, chipseal, lots of hills and generally poor riding conditions. You can only enjoy these roads from a car. Here I have a good cell signal and dial in the gps and maps. It turns out a short run on the state road takes us back to New Lexington and we skip the cue sheet from here. We use the Google maps to bring us home on good quality roads.
In New Lexington we found a local bakery with great apple fritters and coffee in ceramic mugs. The fare is wonderful, we relax not worrying about the clock and enjoy knowing the road surface from here on will be half decent. The 21 mile stretch into Lancaster was fast. We cover it in 70 minutes. Several long grades but blacktop lets the bike move quickly.
We stopped in Lancaster at a Marathon station and change from long sleeves to short, put on sunscreen and ride off to Lithopolis and on to Grove City. We got into the Motel 6 and I called home about 1:00 and I headed for a short nap.
I felt great and wished there was time for the 200K loop. Too bad the lightining killed the ride.
Not many finished this ride, the storm ate the clock!
I feel a 600K is within my grasp and will try again soon, weather depending. I think I have all the other parts solved. My next attempt will be on a flatter route in a few weeks. It has a 10:00PM start so hopefully evening storms will have passed (hopefully no storms) but with it being flat, I should be able to build a large cushion of four or five hours in the first 200K.
Each time I go out on a ride using a cue sheet I am instantly reminded of how many little accessories are missing from the recumbent world. Many things that work on an upright will easily transfer to bikes like highracers and many other bents. Some however, don't work at all. Handlebar mounted cue sheet holders fall into that category.
I have seen bent riders use all types of tricks including taping a ziplock bag to the frame, rubber bands to hold it on the thigh and a clever back of the wrist mounted method.
I prefer the cue sheet right in front of me. In the past I have used a binder clip on the cables to hold up my cue sheet. Easy and functional but it blocks the view a bit and I wind up leaning to the right to see around the sheet.
I remember seeing online a cue sheet holder on a bent using a clear plastic tube. I thought that was a great idea and put some thought into making a bar top mounted cue sheet holder using clear platic tubing.
Here is the list of materials;
1 - 4' T8 Tube Guard with Ends 1 - pack of Velcro organinzing ties (can you have too many 1 - 18" sticky back Velcro Pack (two 18 strips) 1 - 2 pack of 7/8" Plastic Hole Plugs 1 - Gel type glue for plastic
Total ~$15 at Lowes.
Here is a sample cue sheet and the T8 Tube Guard.
The tube guard
is a poly acrylic material, many plastic sunglass lenses are of the same
material. These tubes are meant to hold color filters and protect from
shattered glass on flourescent lights. Be sure to get the T8, the larger
size is almost too big but you might prefer it. I thought it would
obstruct too much of my view of the road.
The next step was to roll up the cue sheet and place it in one end of the tube. Then hold it up against the handlebar to mark the length with a Sharpie.
The picture is a little dark but you should get the idea.
Now the next trick is cutting the tubing. It's best to make an initial cut about six inches away from your mark. This gets rid of excess tube and allows you to get a feel for the final cut at the mark. I used large ktichen shears and think they will work best. Be careful not to crimp the tubing as you cut. Sharp large shears should prevent this from happening. Remember, you have some extra tube if you mess up. Just mark out another section from the excess tubing from earlier.
Here is the tube cut with a cue sheet inside and it's plastic ends stuffed on. The Velcro and plugs are next.
Here I removed the end caps and glued the plugs in place. I will use the plugs to keep rain out but ride most of the time with them in the gear bag but close at hand.
Next I cut four small pieces of Velcro and stuck two of them on the tube ends at opposite sides. I did this to help prevent slipping and to make mounting on the bike easier. The holder is now ready for the bike.
Two Velcro wraps that touch the glued on Velcro and then wrap around the bar hold the tube in place. Clean and simple the cue sheet holder is ready to ride.
It took me about 20 minutes to finish the project. The holder does not change my view of the road as far as I can tell. I can see about 6 cues at a time before I need to give the tube a slight roll. Changing the sheet position is easy, you just pull out the sheet and adjust the rolled sheet to what you want to see next and stick it back in the tube.
Most of the time when you read someones cycling blog it's about the ride they are on or just finished, perhaps a project they did on their bike or a group event. No matter what, the blogs are normally about the writers experience. So it is here, I did not make something, I did not prepare for a ride, and I did not ride. Here instead I was a supporting player in a bigger picture.
Friday afternoon I drove down to Chistiansburg Virginia, it would be here that I manned the overnight control at the Econolodge. Several riders had already been through the control and Matt Settle (the RBA) was there with Pat in the room. Riders were loading up, taking a brief rest and then pushing on, well, maybe.
This is pretty typical of how the room looked during busy times. Riders would show up and have their brevet cards stamped and signed while the date and time was also recorded on a control sheet. Most of the riders would spend about 30 minutes to an hour at this control, after all, on the way out this was the half way mark. Riders at this point had covered 615K. Knowing that they had less than half to go was a good tool used to encourage riders to push on.
Did I mention it was HOT! The afternoon temps were 95/95. 95 degrees and 95 percent humidity. Very tough and those typical nasty mountain climbs were not making it easy for anyone. Colorful metaphors were often used by riders to describe the route. "This has been some of the most beautiful terrain I have ever seen, but do we always have to scale mountains." was one of my favorite quotes of course $#%$#% hill was also used to describe Jameson road.
Out in front of the control room family and friends awaited randonneurs and randonneuses.
If you have ever read the RUSA handbook there is mention of discouraging personal support. While it is against the rules to have personal support on the road, you can have it at controls. The problem is that the car sitting there with family and friends is often too inviting and makes for any easy way home. The mountains and heat make that 70 mile per hour air conditioned transport very attractive. I know I was glad to be in my car for the trip down and back.
Most of the time at the control is spent waiting but when riders are there it is a hive of activity. Most everyone in this picture is about to hit the road for evening. It's around 7:00PM and those pushing on from here want to take advantage of the cooler night temperatures. That will mean the upper 70's and low 80's and compared to the daytime temps, that's a lot cooler.
Every now and then you take a picture that no word could ever describe. Here is a randonneur that has covered 615 kilometers of mountains and heat.
As the night passed on and the control closed for the outbound leg at 9:50 I was able to clean up the room a bit, order some dinner and watch a little TV. The last two riders to come through were from Texas and spent the heat of the day sleeping. A pretty good plan, they looked fresh and would make up lost time over night as they were not so tired.
Around 10:00PM I got a call from Matt, I gave him the update and DNF list. We were looking at a 38% and maybe a 50% DNF rate! That's a huge number. Last, he updated me and I would expect the first two riders on the return leg by midnight.
Here a rider heads out for the evening after fueling up at the control.
The two fast riders out front were back on the road around 12:30AM or so. It would not be until 3:45AM that the next rider rolled in, from there a rider or a small group would pass by ever hour.
About 10:30AM and most riders had returned from Hillsboro and Fancy Gap. Matt and Pat returned to finish manning the control until 2:38PM when it closed. I loaded up my car with the drop bags from Fancy Gap and was able to fit a bike and one of the DNF riders in too.
11:00AM and I pull out of Christiansburg. On the way up the road I get to have a great conversation and learn a lot from my passenger. He has completed PBP, the Cascade and other 1200's. The heat and constant hills took their toll here.
I hate to bring back the RUSA handbook again but it does suggest working a control on a big one as part of your brevet training and it's a spot on idea. I did learn a lot. It was also nice to give back and help out other riders.
After a few hours we arrived in Leesburg, here I dropped of the bags and my passenger and drove the short hour home.
What a great experience, I plan on working some other events too. I love riding but helping out has it's own rewards too!
After last months great NCBC Randonneurs 300K I was feeling pretty good after going that distance. In fact I felt like I could easily ride another 100K. That made me feel confident about doing a 400K. The RUSA handbook mentions that the 400K is much harder and often "the one riders fear the most." I did not feel that and still don't.
I took the day off Friday to drive out after doing some yardwork and other domestic tasks so as to not worry about them after returning. Finally after 1:00 I was able to load the car. The only thing that has bothered me driving to these distant brevets has been having the bike on the back of the car. When you stop it requires setting up a locking system, not a big deal, just something I wanted to skip.
Well it turns out with poping off the wheels, seat and the cranks the "B" fits into the trunk of the "VeggieMobile."
It took all of five minutes to do this and it was nice driving down the road knowing the bike was secure and not adding drag.
After loading the rest of my gear in the car it was time to go. Here is the departure shot I normally take when leaving for a brevet.
This was sooooo cool having the bike inside the car! Not worrying about wind, weather or security. I am always paranoid of the bike flying off while driving down the road. I am less concerned when using the Sportrac as the bike is pretty locked into place but I don't have a receiver hitch installed. The trunk rack has never failed me but still scares me.
The drive was about 8 easy hours, I took my time and enjoyed the scenery. When I got to the hotel I unloaded the car into the room.
About 15 minuted later I have the bike reassembled, checked out and my gear ready to roll. Off to bed, it's 10:30PM
1:30AM and the room shakes, the winds howl and I shoot out of bed. The front that was dropping tornados in Indiana a few hours ago is now passing through Western Ohio. I sleep on and off for the next few hours but not as well as I would like.
4:20 the alarm goes off, I get cleaned up, dressed, run up to the RBA's room and register. I get the cue sheet and I am shown the detour on part of the route. No big deal. A quick breakfast and off the 5:00AM start.
Here at the start are ~20 randonneurs. I think all of us made it. 4 of us were on high racers, three Bacchettas and a RANS F5. It's dark, the winds are lite and the sky is glowing form lightning just to the South of us. The forecast has us in a Tornado Watch until 9:00AM.
There is a light on and off mist for a few hours but the light wind and sun start to burn off the clouds around 8:00. The stretch to the first control was almost 59 miles. Roughly 100K with no open stores or stops. Something I would keep in mind for the return trip. When I got to Sidney I took a shot of the town hall, this is a very pretty mid-western town.
The control at the Speedway was a welcomed oasis. First things first, the brevet card was signed, it was 9:33AM and that made 4:33 for 100K. Right on target for my projected 23 hour finish. The original game plan going in was to cover 100K ever 5 hours and take a one hour lunch and dinner stop with 20 minutes max at each control. I was able to do that for the first 200K, reaching the turning point in 11 hours, but I am getting ahead of myself.
After the first control we would encounter the detour. It actually made the ride a little nicer, sticking to a nice paved higway versus chip seal. About 10 miles later I came up on this:
We weren't told about this detour!
With luck, it was easy to ride the bike through the detour. I have been on other brevets that did the same thing. So it was "Not so Closed."
It was only 28 miles or so to the second control. It was mostly farms.
So after a couple of hours I rolled into the Subway in Liberty. I picked up a drink and some chips, not quite ready for lunch, it was a short stretch since Sidney. A quick 10 minute in and out stop and back on the road. From here there wasa fair amount of climbing, nothing huge but a lot of small ups and downs but no real rollers. After passing through Zanefield I crossed a smalll bridge as the odometer crested the century mark for the 8th time this year. I thought it was worthy of a picture.
This also meant it was another 27.1 miles to the midway point and the turn around control. By this time the light breeze was now a strong mid 20's wind with some major gusts. Along some flat sections I was coasting for upwrds of a mile at 20+mph! Sadly I knew I would, like everyone else, "pay the price" on the return. Along one of these flat sections about 10 miles out I passed Larry Graham of Team Bacchetta, way out in front by miles with one upright rider latched on to his wheel.
Sorry about the picture, I snapped it a little early, it was hard to see with the sun on the screen of the camera.
I passed a lot of the other riders and counted 14 of the 20 by the time I hit the control. At 4:00PM I arrived at the control and had finished the first 200K in 11 hours. Still on target and looking like a 400K would be under my belt before going home!
The Marathon station had excellent subs, a colby and turkey hit the spot, I also took some time to clean up and put on the last of the sun screen. After about 30 minutes I headed out and into the wind.
Here is a map of the route;
So now it's a matter of finishing another 200K in about 15 hours. Not a big deal. Well, excpet that the wind was brutal, it really sapped my strength and my average for the next 41 miles was about 9mph. Now comes that unique moment of an out and back ride of over 200 miles, at the exact same spot I had crested the century mark, I had exactly 100 miles left to go. It was worthy of a picture.
The picture is about 100 feet from the other century spot, I just wanted to be acrross this little bridge before stopping.
Again passing throught Zanesfield and up the worst hill of the day, the only one I walked and not because of the climb. The road was full of washout and gravel, not very fun and not very safe. Corkscrew Hill needs some love by the highway administration. Here is where I met Allen, he was riding his Waterford and we decdided to ride together the rest of the way back. We made our way along the road and arrived at the Subway in Liberty by 8:30.
Notice the second bent? It's belongs to a nice gentleman from Florida, I missed his name but he road with us most of the way back until we hit Terra Haute. The three of us headed out and made out way back to Sidney. It was dark and the temps were pleasant, the high winds were now a light breeze again. The ride along the Miami river valley was sweet, the stars were out and almost the only other light was from our bikes.
It's 11:50PM do you know where your Randonneur is? Sidney at the final on the road control. 58.8 miles to go and 8 hours to get there. We loitered a little too long but we left the control with and hour and a half to spare. All three of us loaded up on water and snacks, we already knew this was a long lonely stretch of road. It was. Pleasantly so at that! Almost no cars and very quiet farm land. As we rolled through Terra Haute I felt a little pang in my stomach. I Coke from a machine and a pack of cheese crackers from the bike bag. A quick snack and as we pulled out, my chain broke, 4:00AM and 25 miles to go.
It pays to pack tools and quick links. Allen had a quick link on him and he got his out before I could get to mine. I told him I would give him my new one when we got back. 20 minutes later and we are back on the road. I pulled my right knee a bit and just backed off a bit, I was not too sleepy and we had plenty of time.
Actually when we left the control in Sidney we took it easy and finished a little less beat and a little bit later. Randonneuring is not a race. It was a blast riding in our little group.
6:50 AM and we roll into the Days Inn, ride complete. A successful 400K under my belt. My sixth "official" time cresting the century mark this year. The other two times being training rides. I had my brevet card signed and headed into the room for about 4 hours of sleep before driving home.
The Garmin died with 7 miles to go and I did not feel like messing with spare batteries for the last few miles. Which reminds me, Titanium batteries are no where near as good as the Lithium ones. I would have had the entire ride recorded if I would have used them.
The "Big One" of the season is next. I have to decide which one to try, ROMA has one and Ohio has one, each a week apart. I am going to ask the RBA and find out details on the ROMA ride then I will decided which one to tackle.
North Carolina Bike Club Randonneurs 300K In keeping with my 2008 cycling goals a 300K brevet was next on my schedule. ROMA had a pair of 300K brevets earlier this month but schedules just were not going to allow the first 300K and the second ROMA 300K was an extension of the insidious 200K Lost River. Don't get me wrong, I like a challenge, I do enjoy conquering a mountain pass or two on a brevet. 4 passes and constant chip seal with a lot of other climbing is a bit much IMHO. On the Mason Dixon 200K I met a nice guy named Bob and he had mentioned the NCBC Randonners rides and how nice they were, after riding the 300K with NCBCR, I agree.
I loaded the bike on the car the morning before made sure everything was packed and headed to the office.
The goal was to leave the office by 3:00 and beat most of the DC afternoon rush hour traffic. I495 was backed up for a few miles up to I66, after that I95 South was great until I was South of Potomac Mills. then it was backed up and moving at less than 25 miles an hour. I cut off on to route 1 and while slow, it was moving. I95 was moving better South of Quantico but never opened up until South of Fredericksburg VA. The rest of the drive was uneventful, I got to Morrisville NC around 8:45 and checked in to the Extended Stay. Once again Priceline made the deal, $30 for the night. A burger for dinner and off to bed.
5:30AM came and I loaded the car for 5 minuted drive to the start. I didn't bother going for a second night but should have, it would have made Saturday night easier. I met up with a few of the DC Randonneurs crowd said hi and got ready. Bob was there and so were other COHO bike owners. Turns out the guy that build these great rando bikes is on the the ride. Here is his website.
...and the COHO crowd.
I was the only bent but there were three or four four tandems.
Glen and Lynn are in the background, the couple in the foreground is from Millersville MD, just a few miles down the road from home. I rode with them for a bit and got some video of them.
The route was pretty flat to easy rolling for the first 17.5 miles, then went in to the first real climb of about a mile at about an 8 percent grade. Nothing would be bigger the rest of the day, four or five more climbs like it during the rest of the ride. Many more rollers and some flat sections. Lot's of low grade climbs in the 3 percent range. A pretty bent friendly route for the most part. I was able to hang with anyone I wanted to all day. That really made for a chance to chat with and enjoy the company of the other randonneurs and randoneusses. At about 50K I stopped at this little store.
It's the "Frosty Trading Post." A nice little store, they are open until 8:00PM. Several riders mentioned visiting it before they closed on the way back. Okay, we weren't too far off of that pace. It also turns out some of the crowd was only riding a century and some were truning around at the 100K control to ride a 200K. Ah, they would for sure be back by closing time. After a quick snack and a juice, I pushed on with a another tandem couple and another guy riding solo. The four of us rode away from the store and after a little bit the rollers took effect and the bent shined. About a mile from the control I made a right turn and after about 2 miles discovered that there was an error in the cue sheet. Sadly this took me up two big hills and cost me about 15 to 20 minutes. Oh well, nothing like a few bonus miles. I caught up with the tandem couple and a few others, including Bob.
A coke, a chicken sandwich, a reload on Gatorade and the water bladder then had my brevet card signed. Then Bob and I rode together towards the second control. The tandem and other solo rider were only going 200K. I'd highly suggest this route for a first 200K. It's not flat but not insane. It is what I would consider the ideal brevet route. Not too easy, some long climbs. A few short but steep grades, some rollers and some flat areas that allow you to make up some time on the hills. Mostly excellent roads and wonderfully scenic views.
As Bob and I rolled on I got up ahead on hill and called home. I then had time to grab a picture of him from a nice shady spot.
After a brief stop we both headed off towards Seagrove. The section from Siler City to Seagrove had more hills and was more up hill than down. Still, not brutal but some good hill work. We passed a few of the faster riders heading back as we rolled into Seagrove.
There is a half mile or so climb past the pottery shops. Then into town and up to the Quick Check for the second control.
The Quick Check had a Hardees and I ordered a cheeseburger and washed it down with a coke. Bob rolled in and we both called home and shot the breeze for a bit. I refilled on Gatorade and got some water from the control. NCBC Randonneurs had a couple of folks checking on us and they ran the control at the Quick Check.
It was a lot more downhill and rolling on the way back to Siler City. When I left Seagrove I had a cushion of 1:22. When I got to Siler City my cushion was 2:45. Did I mention the great scenery?
...of course on the road was nice too...
The picture above is pretty much what the road was like returning from Seagrove. At this time I had passed the last two riders and Bob had dropped behind. I rolled into Siler city feeling a little hungry but very fresh.
I did a repeat of my stop in Siler City earlier and rolled out of the control with over 9 hours to finish the last 100K. I was very excited. Barring a bad mechanical or very bad weather I would finish with time to spare. There were a few quick and light passing showers and stopped a couple of times during the lightning as I made my way back towards the Frosty Trading Post. I missed the closing by 9 minutes. 8:09. At this point I put on my vest, fired up the lights, put on the head light and rolled on towards the finish.
Here is the bike ready to roll into the darkness.
There was another store about 12 miles down the road. This stretch probably had the most continuous climbing. Again nothing brutal but a lot of up and down, no rollers. I was able to hold about 14 for an average and got to the store by 9:00. I was now about 18 miles out with one big downhill, a few small climbs and flat. I stopped at this store for a quick break, an ice cream and orange juice. Here I met Tim, a fellow randonneur from Florida. We decided to ride together and we worked as a team with me reading the cue sheet and his verifying off of his gps. We had a fast descent and then crossed the lake from the video ealier. We did the last climb of about a mile and rolled on some flat. We stopped at a "T" and when we restarted, disaster struck. My right seat stay had cracked. A quick 10 minute repair with electrical tape and the two of us rode back nice an easy at about 10 or 11 miles an hour over the last miles.
Here is the seat stay.
Living proof that some basic repair items pay off. The one advantage at this time was it was 10:00. Even if I had to walk the last 11 miles, I would finish in time.
Here are the basic stats from motionbased;
It was a great ride. No doubt I would go back down and ride with these folks again. The brevet was well run like every other brevet I have been on, but the route was by far the best I have seen. It was nice not having to finish the last three miles on a 10 percent grade climb. Instead it was easy rolling and allowed for some cool down time. The cars and everyone along the road was beyond nice. Almost every car waited to be waived by when passing. The biggest issue was some dogs. I need to find a way to deal with them, maybe the airzound. For what it's worth, I also had some very friendly dogs that came up to me for attention.
I decided to spend the night at the Microtel instead of driving home 6 hours. It was nice to have a late dinner and then just sleep. Now to get ready for the 400K!
After last weeks failed fleche it was time for another randonnee' event. This time it was the Lost River 200K. This route was scheduled last year but conditions forced changes in the route. This time conditions would allow for the ride to follow the complete planned route.
I caught a ride with Drew and we drove out the night before and stayed at the Super 8 in Warrentown VA. This is one of the nicer budget motel/hotels you will find. Clean, well kept and comfy beds. The free WiFi was nice but very slow.
We got up Saturday morning and we were ready to ride. I had changed some things on my bike. I added a bottle cage to the left seat stay and it worked beautifully. I also put the rear derailure into friction mode in hopes of finding my climbing gears and debugging any issues it gave me.
There were somewhere between 12 and 14 riders for this grueling event. Three of us were on recumbents! Here is my Strada, ready to roll;
Here is Drews Cobrabike Royale ready to roll;
...and here is Dana's Gold Rush Replica ready to roll;
The black and gold theme is very cool.
Speaking of cool, it was freezing out! I thought it was Spring, but it felt like W*nt*r. There were signs of Spring here, some flowers and green grass.
The route took us through Strasburg and down Back Road. Back road is very nice on the way Southbound. Here we p
After passing through Zanefield I crossed a smalll bridge as the odometer crested the century mark for the 8th time this year. I thought it was worthy of a picture.
