2008 has been a great year, at home, at work and on the road! My son Geoffrey and I have been triking at least once a week and keep growing his mileage each time we are out. We are up to five miles round trip now. Once we are riding about nine miles round trip regularly, we will go for his first "loop" around the airport. I consider this an amazing achievement for him. Until last May he never rode a bike. His KMX Kart has really changed the world for our entire family! Katie and I have been riding to her lacrosse practices almost every Tuesday and Thursday. In addition to the quality miles with the kids I have been able to get in some early long distance events. Over 800 miles so far this year and it's just late March! So far a successful 200K in January, a personal Century in February, the Death Valley Century on the 1st of March and now a second attempt the randonnneuring Spring team event, a Fleche.
The word Fleche means "Arrow" in French. Teams ride 360K over 24 hours from various points towards the same target like a bunch of arrows. It is the only event in randonneuring that is a team event. One of the things I personally love about randonneuring is the fact that each ride is a "personal ride." It's not a race but a challenge to each person. Each brevet is its own challenge. The Fleche is very neat, it's nice to try the challenge with good company along the road.
Last year on my first fleche Team Torque never made it past 12 miles. Jim was fighting the headwinds on his DF bike, it was snowing, 27 degrees and the winds were howling when Jim dropped out. I made it to 100 miles but the last 30 were spent loosing lunch on the road. Drew made it to 120 miles and then it got too cold.
So this year we hoped to fair better and would try the same route but this time Kristin went along as the third person. As always, my mom was helpful and our youngest two kids spent most of Easter weekend with her. Something I think she enjoyed as much or more than the kids! We left a car at my office in Rockville for the return trip and would drive the three of us out to Dewey Beach Delaware to the start the night before.
Here are the bikes loaded on the back of my Saturn. There is almost more recumbent back there than car!
If you read Drew's blog he describes it as a great sight. We fit three recumbents on that little Allen rack. You always here of people having trouble putting their recumbents on a car carrier. This picture tends to prove otherwise. Of course Drew has a similar picture, he had a little trouble with the camera at first. The memory card was full but with a quick phone call he was able to clear the memory card and "Make Art."
You learn something on each of these events, what to take, what not to take, where to eat and where not to eat. Last year we had dinner at a chinese place that was fancy, expensive and well... not the best choice as a pre ride meal. So I learned and this year we had pasta at Nicola Pizza. Dinner was great, the food was pretty good, the portions just right and the service was fantastic! We had about a 15 minute wait but as soon as we were seated our orders were taken and our meals were delivered quickly.
It's always tough getting a good nights sleep but it wasn't too bad. 6:00AM rolled around and we got ourselves together. We stayed at the Sea Esta IV, same as last year, cheap rates, a mile from the start and nice clean rooms.
A nice hearty breakfast at the Sunrise Diner in Dewey Beach fit the bill once again and we prepared to head off on our trek to Arlington, VA.
Here are the three of us ready to ride;
One big difference this year is that there is no snow in the picture! A much better start. That would stick with us for some time. As we left Dewey Beach it was not bad at all, low to mid 30's, slightly overcast and the winds were there but not brutal. We made much better time than last year too. We got to Al's Country Store in 2:30 arriving at 10:30AM. Way ahead of last year, at this point we were riding at 15.5MPH and holding a trip speed of about 15MPH. A nice cushion for meals and rest stops were being built. Here is Al's Country Store;
Al signed our brevet cards and Drew chilled out for a bit while Kristin made some phone calls about girls Lacrosse. This is where we made the discovery that the woman that handles the referees for girls lacrosse in our area is Drew's boss. Where is Kevin Bacon in all this I don't know, but the "three degrees of separation" discussion went on down the road for a few miles. Drew was chilling out while Kristin was on the phone.
Look! It's sunny out and while it's cold, it is not freezing and really quite pleasant. We left Al's and made our way forward. We crested the 60 mile mark in less than four and a half hours. That put us in Suddlersville about 1:30 for lunch. Hours ahead of last year. Kristin was having some knee issues from tendonitis but was still riding well. Her cell phone dropped and by luck she heard it hit the road and went back for it. Drew and I waited at the light before making a detour to the little diner where the Pepsi poisoned me last year. Drew caught a picture or two and I shot some YouTube footage of Kristin rolling into town. She looks good on Toby's Bacchetta Strada.
We all sat down and had a great meal. I ordered the "small" cheeseburger sub and was glad I did. It was huge, quite good and I could not finish it. Really glad it was not the large, there is no way I could have consumed that much food at once. Maybe at 16, but not at 43.
After lunch we made our way back onto the route and headed towards Chesapeake City where I abandoned last year. It was nice to be moving and not be paving the road for the next 30 miles. The winds were a little more in our faces but not too bad. Right where I called home last year and asked for a pickup we caught some old trains sitting next to the crossing.
This is an RS2 which means it is a "Road Switcher 2" made by Alco. These locomotives were used a lot in the region. I have an HO model of an RS2 in Pennsy colors in the basement. The Lehigh Valley railroad owned some, so did the B&O, Conrail and many other lines. I took a few other pictures of this and the small switcher behind it that looked like an Alco "Cow" switcher. More of a yard switcher for short distances than the RS2. My son likes trains a lot, actually, our entire family likes trains a lot. I have always had a model railroad of some type on and off since I was a kid, so trains along the road always get my attention. Kristin is into trains too. She has a small "Z" scale train set she has set up in her office at Christmas before.
Kristin caught up to us and we chatted a bit. The tendinitis was kicking in and she was slowing down. I dropped back and hung with her to help encourage her on the road. Our pace had dropped way down. We stopped and adjusted her handlebars and that helped quite a bit but we were loosing time. I called Drew at the first route 301 approach on route 299. Drew waited for us at the end of 299. We then pushed on towards Chesapeake city. I rolled up to the Bohemia Cafe where I had abandoned last year and felt great. Not so for Kristin's knees. The route 213 bridge was looming overhead and it was 4:30PM. We were better than one and a half hours ahead of last years pace. For what it's worth, the Bohemia Cafe is great. I really want to go there and just have a nice long meal there some time.
We then climbed over the route 213 bridge. All three f us have gone over this bridge by bike before. During CAM tour in 1991 the route took us over it, but required that we walk on the sidewalk instead of riding. We cycled over it this time. It was awful. Several cars tried to force Kristin and Drew off of the road and a few more were quite vicious! I was so pumped up with adrenaline I was ready to tear apart the driver of a red Ford Focus. He intentionally missed Kristin by inches and same goes for Drew. The downhill was better, all three of us were pumped up and we made it into Elkton on 213 with no other issues. Here is what the 213 bridge looks like;
Once in Eltkon the real climbing of the trip began. I forgot to eat some more and ran out of gas part way up Pleasant Hill. The rest of me felt great, I just needed food. I stopped and got some peanut butter crackers from Kristin and forgot about the perpetuem. I should have killed off some perpetuem back in Chesapeake city and my energy would have been great. I need to set up a bottle cage on my bike to make getting the bottle easier. With gloves on it's a hassle to get out of the bag and I forget to intake the nutrition.
It took us a little more than two hours to get into Oxford, Drew took a picture of the Octoraro Hotel and Bar where he stayed last year. We then rode down to the Oxford Diner. It was 7:00PM.
The Oxford Diner ROCKS! The food and service were fantastic.
I polished off a plate of mashed potatoes and a hot turkey sandwich with gravy like it was going out of style. Drew was looking good and feeling fresh, the meal quickly changed my energy levels and I felt great. No amount of food or Advil were going to fix the tendinitis. It was at this point we sat there and decided to hit the abort button. It was close to 8:00PM and we would have 12 hours to finish the second half but not a long rest period, our cushion was gone. Going further might have cause very bad damage to Kristins knees. We rode over the the Octoraro Hotel and while Kristin and Drew had a few beers, I called my freind and workmate Tom to bum a ride home or to the Saturn. Tom picked us up and we borrowed his car for a few hours. We left the bikes at the Octoraro and drove to Dewey, got the Saturn, drove back and got the bikes. It was 2:00AM when we loaded them on the car, we took Tom's car back to Rising Sun, fueled it up and headed home.
We got home at 4:00AM. The only thing left to do was to get Kristin's car later that day.
Well, we got ten times as far as a team this year. I feel as though finishing a fleche is within reach but the stars have not aligned to allow it...yet. It was disappointing but no one was to blame, when you attempt and ride events like this all manner of things can and do happen. No matter how prepared you are, things break, people break. That's also part of what makes randonneuring so enjoyable too. Overcoming adversity, pushing yourself, your machine and seeing just how much farther down the road you can go...
The word Fleche means "Arrow" in French. Teams ride 360K over 24 hours from various points towards the same target like a bunch of arrows. It is the only event in randonneuring that is a team event. One of the things I personally love about randonneuring is the fact that each ride is a "personal ride." It's not a race but a challenge to each person. Each brevet is its own challenge. The Fleche is very neat, it's nice to try the challenge with good company along the road.
Last year on my first fleche Team Torque never made it past 12 miles. Jim was fighting the headwinds on his DF bike, it was snowing, 27 degrees and the winds were howling when Jim dropped out. I made it to 100 miles but the last 30 were spent loosing lunch on the road. Drew made it to 120 miles and then it got too cold.
So this year we hoped to fair better and would try the same route but this time Kristin went along as the third person. As always, my mom was helpful and our youngest two kids spent most of Easter weekend with her. Something I think she enjoyed as much or more than the kids! We left a car at my office in Rockville for the return trip and would drive the three of us out to Dewey Beach Delaware to the start the night before.
Here are the bikes loaded on the back of my Saturn. There is almost more recumbent back there than car!
If you read Drew's blog he describes it as a great sight. We fit three recumbents on that little Allen rack. You always here of people having trouble putting their recumbents on a car carrier. This picture tends to prove otherwise. Of course Drew has a similar picture, he had a little trouble with the camera at first. The memory card was full but with a quick phone call he was able to clear the memory card and "Make Art."
You learn something on each of these events, what to take, what not to take, where to eat and where not to eat. Last year we had dinner at a chinese place that was fancy, expensive and well... not the best choice as a pre ride meal. So I learned and this year we had pasta at Nicola Pizza. Dinner was great, the food was pretty good, the portions just right and the service was fantastic! We had about a 15 minute wait but as soon as we were seated our orders were taken and our meals were delivered quickly.
It's always tough getting a good nights sleep but it wasn't too bad. 6:00AM rolled around and we got ourselves together. We stayed at the Sea Esta IV, same as last year, cheap rates, a mile from the start and nice clean rooms.
A nice hearty breakfast at the Sunrise Diner in Dewey Beach fit the bill once again and we prepared to head off on our trek to Arlington, VA.
Here are the three of us ready to ride;
One big difference this year is that there is no snow in the picture! A much better start. That would stick with us for some time. As we left Dewey Beach it was not bad at all, low to mid 30's, slightly overcast and the winds were there but not brutal. We made much better time than last year too. We got to Al's Country Store in 2:30 arriving at 10:30AM. Way ahead of last year, at this point we were riding at 15.5MPH and holding a trip speed of about 15MPH. A nice cushion for meals and rest stops were being built. Here is Al's Country Store;
Al signed our brevet cards and Drew chilled out for a bit while Kristin made some phone calls about girls Lacrosse. This is where we made the discovery that the woman that handles the referees for girls lacrosse in our area is Drew's boss. Where is Kevin Bacon in all this I don't know, but the "three degrees of separation" discussion went on down the road for a few miles. Drew was chilling out while Kristin was on the phone.
Look! It's sunny out and while it's cold, it is not freezing and really quite pleasant. We left Al's and made our way forward. We crested the 60 mile mark in less than four and a half hours. That put us in Suddlersville about 1:30 for lunch. Hours ahead of last year. Kristin was having some knee issues from tendonitis but was still riding well. Her cell phone dropped and by luck she heard it hit the road and went back for it. Drew and I waited at the light before making a detour to the little diner where the Pepsi poisoned me last year. Drew caught a picture or two and I shot some YouTube footage of Kristin rolling into town. She looks good on Toby's Bacchetta Strada.
We all sat down and had a great meal. I ordered the "small" cheeseburger sub and was glad I did. It was huge, quite good and I could not finish it. Really glad it was not the large, there is no way I could have consumed that much food at once. Maybe at 16, but not at 43.
After lunch we made our way back onto the route and headed towards Chesapeake City where I abandoned last year. It was nice to be moving and not be paving the road for the next 30 miles. The winds were a little more in our faces but not too bad. Right where I called home last year and asked for a pickup we caught some old trains sitting next to the crossing.
This is an RS2 which means it is a "Road Switcher 2" made by Alco. These locomotives were used a lot in the region. I have an HO model of an RS2 in Pennsy colors in the basement. The Lehigh Valley railroad owned some, so did the B&O, Conrail and many other lines. I took a few other pictures of this and the small switcher behind it that looked like an Alco "Cow" switcher. More of a yard switcher for short distances than the RS2. My son likes trains a lot, actually, our entire family likes trains a lot. I have always had a model railroad of some type on and off since I was a kid, so trains along the road always get my attention. Kristin is into trains too. She has a small "Z" scale train set she has set up in her office at Christmas before.
Kristin caught up to us and we chatted a bit. The tendinitis was kicking in and she was slowing down. I dropped back and hung with her to help encourage her on the road. Our pace had dropped way down. We stopped and adjusted her handlebars and that helped quite a bit but we were loosing time. I called Drew at the first route 301 approach on route 299. Drew waited for us at the end of 299. We then pushed on towards Chesapeake city. I rolled up to the Bohemia Cafe where I had abandoned last year and felt great. Not so for Kristin's knees. The route 213 bridge was looming overhead and it was 4:30PM. We were better than one and a half hours ahead of last years pace. For what it's worth, the Bohemia Cafe is great. I really want to go there and just have a nice long meal there some time.
We then climbed over the route 213 bridge. All three f us have gone over this bridge by bike before. During CAM tour in 1991 the route took us over it, but required that we walk on the sidewalk instead of riding. We cycled over it this time. It was awful. Several cars tried to force Kristin and Drew off of the road and a few more were quite vicious! I was so pumped up with adrenaline I was ready to tear apart the driver of a red Ford Focus. He intentionally missed Kristin by inches and same goes for Drew. The downhill was better, all three of us were pumped up and we made it into Elkton on 213 with no other issues. Here is what the 213 bridge looks like;
Once in Eltkon the real climbing of the trip began. I forgot to eat some more and ran out of gas part way up Pleasant Hill. The rest of me felt great, I just needed food. I stopped and got some peanut butter crackers from Kristin and forgot about the perpetuem. I should have killed off some perpetuem back in Chesapeake city and my energy would have been great. I need to set up a bottle cage on my bike to make getting the bottle easier. With gloves on it's a hassle to get out of the bag and I forget to intake the nutrition.
It took us a little more than two hours to get into Oxford, Drew took a picture of the Octoraro Hotel and Bar where he stayed last year. We then rode down to the Oxford Diner. It was 7:00PM.
The Oxford Diner ROCKS! The food and service were fantastic.
I polished off a plate of mashed potatoes and a hot turkey sandwich with gravy like it was going out of style. Drew was looking good and feeling fresh, the meal quickly changed my energy levels and I felt great. No amount of food or Advil were going to fix the tendinitis. It was at this point we sat there and decided to hit the abort button. It was close to 8:00PM and we would have 12 hours to finish the second half but not a long rest period, our cushion was gone. Going further might have cause very bad damage to Kristins knees. We rode over the the Octoraro Hotel and while Kristin and Drew had a few beers, I called my freind and workmate Tom to bum a ride home or to the Saturn. Tom picked us up and we borrowed his car for a few hours. We left the bikes at the Octoraro and drove to Dewey, got the Saturn, drove back and got the bikes. It was 2:00AM when we loaded them on the car, we took Tom's car back to Rising Sun, fueled it up and headed home.
We got home at 4:00AM. The only thing left to do was to get Kristin's car later that day.
Well, we got ten times as far as a team this year. I feel as though finishing a fleche is within reach but the stars have not aligned to allow it...yet. It was disappointing but no one was to blame, when you attempt and ride events like this all manner of things can and do happen. No matter how prepared you are, things break, people break. That's also part of what makes randonneuring so enjoyable too. Overcoming adversity, pushing yourself, your machine and seeing just how much farther down the road you can go...