Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Taste of Carolina 1200K

2011 was a Paris-Brest-Paris year. P-B-P is THE event for a randonneur, and it only happens once every 4 years... but this year it happened during a recession. It was obvious early on that it would be impossible for me to afford to travel to Paris, so I had to resign myself to following my friends from afar during August. But then Tony Goodnight of Bicycle for Life announced the inaugural Taste of Carolina 1200K! This would be the first weekend of September, 1200 kilometers, which is 750 miles... the same distance and time limits as P-B-P, and here in my home state. Much more affordable. The moment I found out about it I determined to complete this ride!

Day 1, Saturday: Of Mountains and Cramps

After a late departure from Raleigh on Friday evening, Geof and I checked in with Tony and got a few hours sleep in the common hotel room in Greensboro. We were up before 3am Saturday morning and preparing for a 4am departure. We rode through the McDonald's drive-thru for coffee and a McMuffin, then gathered with the others at the start. 21 randonneurs started the 1200K, 2 started the 1000K, and quite a few others were there for a short 200K.


I felt great through the early part of the ride, staying with the front part of the group as we left Greensboro heading toward the Blue Ridge Mountains. There was a separation at a traffic light and I found myself in a small group of 5 riders off the front. Turns out they were all veteran 1200K riders, each with more than one of these grand rides under his belt- I was the lone rookie. The pace was easy to handle- we all worked well together, taking reasonably short pulls on the front and maintaining a steady effort. No one was pushing the pace on the easy uphills, saving our strength for the serious climbing to come.


Shortly before sunrise we were caught by another group from behind and our numbers increased. This group contained lots of folks I knew, including a few who were fresh back from P-B-P and only riding the 200K. The consistent effort I had enjoyed so far this morning was replaced by a more typical randonneuring group style- coasting and braking on the downhills, then hammering uphill. I kept up with the group for awhile, but the hills and rollers were getting bigger and these intervals took their toll on me. At about 50 miles in, shortly before the first controle, I started feeling the early onset of cramps. Not a good sign when I knew the serious climbing into the Blue Ridge started at about mile 70... I dropped off the back, let the group go and tried to spin easy and get over these cramps. Had to get off the bike and walk it out a couple of times, but I made it to the controle.

While I was at the controle I loaded up on electrolytes and tried to walk around a bit. The front group left shortly after I arrived, the majority of them heading back the way we came since they were at the turnaround for the 200K. Note to self: never match the pace of those who are only riding one sixth the distance! I still had that crampy feeling when I left the controle. I was alone, a little behind Geof but I knew I'd never catch him or keep up with his pace. I plugged in my iPod and resigned myself to the idea of riding the next 700 miles solo...

I'm not sure if I read the cue sheet wrong or if I was distracted by the cramps, but here I screwed up. I was looking for a turn and I thought it was 3 miles down the road- it never materialized. After another half mile I stopped, pulled out the iPhone and checked the map. Turns out I had missed a right turn less than a half mile out of the controle! I rode back, adding 7 bonus miles and losing 20 minutes of precious time. There were hills in them thar hills, and I was still fighting the cramps so these were bonus miles I didn't need. The climbing was getting more serious, and on every uphill I'd have to stop and walk off a cramp. I began to wonder if I was going to DNF in the first 200K. Joel caught me, he was riding the 1200K just a couple months after breaking his hip in a training accident. Chapeau! We rode together for a bit, but when we got to the big climb on Highway 89 I couldn't keep up with him and let him go.

Highway 89 is about a five mile climb into the Blue Ridge Mountains. I'm not sure how many times I had to stop and walk, but the combination of spinning a low gear and walking from time to time finally worked out the cramps. By the time I got to the top I was feeling much better. Good thing, too because this was just the start of the serious climbing. The route came close to the Virginia border, then dipped back down into Sparta. I stopped at Twin Oaks for food and finally met some of my fellow riders: Joel, Tim L, and John O. were there and eating. While I was eating John P. and Vance showed up, the a rider whom I had just met named "Gator."

Tim & John O. left shortly before I did, then I rolled out alone. After awhile I caught up with them, but there was constant climbing and descending, so it wasn't really what I'd call group riding. I needed to just ride my own pace anyway, and eventually John and I were ahead of Tim and he was out of sight. When we got to the Mountain Grocery controle at the 200K mark we figured he'd roll in right behind us, but the next rider we saw was Vance, then Gator. Turned out that Tim had missed a turn and gotten some bonus miles! We had a nice long stop at the store, then Tim, John, and I got back on the road.

This section was heavy with Labor Day weekend traffic as we headed into Laurel Springs, a popular hangout for bikers in the mountains (I'm talking about leather-clad Harley-riding bikers here- not lycra-clad, shaved-legged bikers.) Figuring the biker bar would be too busy and take too much time for food we moved on down the road back to Sparta and stopped at a Hardee's for a bite. It was about 6:45pm by now and time to put reflective gear back on for night riding.

The three of us stayed relatively together, though there was still enough climbing left that we weren't riding as a group, rather just keeping one another in sight. We paused when we reached the sign for the Eastern Continental Divide and tried to convince ourselves that it was all downhill from there. At about mile 178 we reached the right turn onto Hwy 89- the big 5 mile downhill descent out of the Blue Ridge. John and Tim suggested that I go first since I had the best headlight- the Lumotec IQ CYO N plus. I turned right and immediately started accelerating down the mountain.


The highest speed I saw on my Garmin before the pucker factor kept me from glancing down at it was 45mph... That was about the same time I noticed the beginnings of a speed wobble. As the speed got even higher the wobble got worse, and at one point I thought I was going to lose control of my bike. It felt like it went on for a long time, but it was probably only a couple of seconds before I remembered that you're supposed to lay a knee alongside the top tube to suppress a speed wobble. As soon as I did that my bike stabilized and I started picking up speed again! I have no idea what my top speed was, since later in the ride my Garmin dumped all its data... but you'll read about that on day 2.

We reached the controle at Salem Fork at about 10PM where we grouped up with Vance, John P, and Gator for the 64 mile ride back to Greensboro and our first nap. I had estimated we'd be there at about 3am, but it was 3:45 by the time we arrived at the Best Western. Geof had gotten a room for Sat. night and had told me before the ride that I was welcome to share. He'd given Tony a keycard for me, so I headed up to catch someshuteye. When I opened the door I knew immediately that I needed to find another spot to sleep. Geof was spread eagled across the bed and snoring like a lumberjack! I left him and went in search of new digs. Luckily one of the fastest riders had just left and given his keycard to Tony, so I was able to get into a room and have a quick shower and get some sleep. The climbing in the mountains had slowed me down considerably, so to stay on schedule I really was only able to get about an hour's nap before my iPhone alarm was ringing and Tony was knocking on my door.



Day 2, Sunday: Of Sleep Deprivation and Headwinds

Back on the bike and on the road at about 6:30am I was with Tim, John O, and John P. We made our way out of Greensboro, south towards the Uwharrie Mountains. Just over 20 miles in we hit a bit of climbing on Caraway Mountain Rd. and I found my rhythm. I was out in front of the others over the big climb and descended to the convenience store on the left. As I arrived I saw another rider leaving but couldn't tell who it was. Joel, Mary, and Curt were at the store and preparing for departure. They told me that was Geof going up the road. I hadn't expected to see him again until the finish! I bid them Bon Route and went in the store to stock up on much needed snacks and fluids. John O. and Tim arrived, then John P. arrived just as I was ready to leave.

Back on the road I was back into my rhythm again and feeling surprisingly good. No lingering cramps or soreness from the previous day's climbing extravaganza, so I was making good time. Before the ride I got myself a little iPod shuffle, mainly for the long battery life. It had lasted me all day on Saturday and I'd charged it in the hotel while I slept. I cranked up the tunes and cranked out the miles. Soon I caught Joel, Mary, and Curt but didn't want to lose the rhythm so I just said hello and went on by. A few miles down the road I saw them in my mirror catching back up, so I eased off a bit and they caught me. Joel wanted to have a little chat and see how I was doing, since the last time he'd seen me on Saturday I was walking out the cramps on Hwy 89! We talked a bit and then they said their farewells and eased off the gas. I got my flywheel spinning back up and put the earbuds back in, still feeling good.

It was about Noon when I got to Troy, and the cue sheet lists a Quick Check store on the left. When I pulled in I saw Geof standing there wearing his Texas Rando Stampede jersey, getting ready to roll out. I asked if he wanted to ride to the beach together, then short-stopped the store and we got on the road. It was good to catch up with him, both literally and figuratively! He told me about his ride the previous day and it was nice to have some company on the road, but I was no longer in my comfortzone. It's tempting to push too hard on the uphills to try to match another rider's pace, then when there's a gap it's also tempting to push too hard in the flats to try to catch back up. I was doing it again, and I was feeling the compounded fatigue. We got to the controle in Ellerbe around 2:30pm and stopped for a sit-down burger at the restaurant across the street.


Our long lunch stop was just what I needed to recover, and it also allowed Joel, Mary, and Curt to catch up with us. They were riding by as I was getting ready to roll, but for some reason my Garmin had shut itself off. I'd charged the battery back in Greensboro while I slept, and I had three USB batteries with me for supplemental power. It wouldn't power back up- it does this from time to time and the only fix is a reset, holding the lap & power buttons down for 5 seconds. After the reset it powered back up & showed plenty of battery, but doing that dumps all the data! I was disappointed, but didn't have time to worry too much about it & got on the road to catch up with the others.

The five of us rode together for a short time, but I couldn't get into my comfort zone. Joel, Mary, and Curt were keeping asteady, easy pace but I felt like I needed to spin a bit faster. I went off the front and soon I saw Geof coming to catch me. He caught & rode right by, but this time I forced myself to stay in my own zone and not try to catch him. Time to turn the iPod on and get back into my rhythm. It was harder to maintain a good speed this time, fighting headwinds out of the south generated by Tropical Storm Lee coming up out of the Gulf. Still, I made it to Laurinburg a bit behind Geof and just in front of Joel and crew.

Joel, Mary, and Curt short stopped it, so Geof and I left shortly behind them. When we caught up we found them riding with Micah, who was riding a single speed and also was one of those experienced 1200k'ers in my little group of 5 early on Saturday. He, Geof, and I soon grouped up and had a gap off the front of the rest. We took turns in the wind, but I was pushing myself to stay with the other two and the pace was about all I could handle. We stopped at a store in Rowland and put on our reflective gear for the coming darkness. Geof commented that we needed to pick up the pace! I told them I was at my limit, but back on the road the speed had definitely picked up. We had about 75 miles to go before our sleep stop in Ocean Isle, so I said my goodbyes and eased off a bit. Tunes went back on and it was time to fight the wind alone again.

Out in the country at night it's pretty peaceful on the road. The cars give you more room than they do during the day, probably because of how visible we are with all of our lights and reflectors. I'm convinced that during the day car drivers treat cyclists with disrespect out of contempt, but at night they really can't figure out that we're cyclists until after they've passed! Country dogs, on the other hand, are another story. Their owners let them run free, and they love to chase bikes. The ones that are most dangerous are the ones that don't bark- all you hear is the skittering of paws on pavement and heavy panting. I managed to escape all of them unharmed. As I was entering Tabor City a silver minivan drove slowly up beside me and a menacing voice from inside said "You best get off the road!" When I reached the controle at the Shell Station (the only thing open at 11:30pm in Tabor City) the minivan was parked there with it's doors open. Inside were some wanna-be gangbangers, and I had to fight the urge to comment on their ride. You usually expect a Mercedes, a Hummer, or maybe an Escalade...

I loaded up on caffeine, since by this time I'd been riding for 40-something hours with only an hour of sleep! I had about 35 miles to go, but with the headwinds and the sleep deprivation I figured it was going to take awhile. The caffeine helped for about an hour or an hour and a half, then I really started to worry about my ability to keep riding. I was starting to have little bouts with double vision, and at some point I decided to find a spot to take a nap. I pulled into a church and set myself up on the porch. I set my phone's alarm for a 30-minute nap, but I lay there for at least 10 or 15 minutes without being able to sleep. Each time I started to fall asleep I'd wake up with a start, I was afraid that I'd sleep through the alarm and DNF the whole ride! I got back on the bike and kept going. Then up ahead I spotted a glowing Coke machine beside a roadside car garage and pulled in to caffeine up. That damn machine ate $1.25 and wouldn't give me my Coke.

As I was punching, kicking, and cussing the Coke machine I spotted Joel and crew riding by, so I jumped back on the bike and got right behind them, using their taillights to keep myself awake and on the road. I couldn't ride in their group, I was afraid that in my sleep deprived state I'd be too dangerous. Most of the way I stayed 3 or 4 bike lengths behind Curt, but in the last 8 or 10 miles I was dropping back and then sprinting up over and over just to wake myself with a bit of adrenaline. Finally we rolled into Ocean Isle, just after 3am. I took a shower and got in bed for a serious 4 hour nap.


Day 3, Monday: Of Tailwinds and Saddle Sores

I woke up around 8am and got ready for another day on the bike, then went across the street from the hotel for breakfast. I took my time, and everyone else had rolled out before I was finished. Tony kept encouraging me to get going, telling me I could catch them if I hurried. I was in no hurry, and I knew I'd rather ride my own pace than try to group up with anyone else. I applied some sunscreen and got back on the road at about 9:30am for a solo ride to Tabor City.

It was during this stretch that I encountered one of the most rare and legendary things in all of cycling: the tailwind on the return stretch. I saw Vance arriving in Ocean Isle fighting headwinds, and I yelled "Go Vance, Go!" but he yelled back "I'm done!" It was too bad, but the same wind that he was fighting was helping me make good time, and I arrived back at the Tabor City controle around Noon where I saw Joel, Mary, and Curt again. They had a longer stop than I did, and I got back on the road to enjoy some more tailwinds whipped up by the tropical storm. The rest of the ride back to Laurinburg was solo, and I rolled in there at about 5pm to find Geof, Micah, and others.

The weather had been kind to us through the whole ride, but now we had Tropical Storm Lee breathing down our necks. The forecast called for rain Monday night and all day Tuesday, so most of us changed our plans and decided to push on past Laurinburg to try to make it to Southern Pines before the rain. I'd developed some "saddle interface issues," so I took advantage of the restroom and Tony's supply of witch hazel for a little on-the-road first aid. I also deployed the "third sock." Some of you know what I mean... Once again I donned the reflective gear for night riding and replenished my supplies from my drop bag.

Geof had spilled a gel flask in his front bag and was busy cleaning that up, but I was ready to go so I got back on the road solo. I had the iPod going and was once again making good time. After a little over 20 miles the cue sheet had me looking for a left turn, and I passed an unmarked street and immediately started wondering if I'd missed it. Once I'd ridden a half mile past where the turn should've been I turned around to ride back. Back at the unnamed street I met Micah, also trying to figure out if we were supposed to turn there. I fired up my iPhone and checked the map, only to find out that there was no left turn, we just needed to continue going straight and ignore that cue. Micah called Geof and told him, then we got back on the road.

I rode with Micah for a few miles at a slow pace, having a nice conversation- I thought we were soft-pedaling and waiting for Geof to catch up. After awhile he said he needed to speed up, which was fine with me- I was starting to stiffen up a bit. We upped the pace, but Micah wanted to push harder than I did, so I let him go up the road. A couple of miles later Geof blew past me and rode up to Micah. I could see the two of them up the road all the way to the controle at Hope Mills.

At the controle I had more caffeine and some food, and Chuck showed up looking fairly dazed. He went behind the store for a nap while the rest of us got ready to go. Once again I was ready to roll and didn't feel like waiting for the others, so I rolled out solo. Even in the dark I could see ominous clouds were forming, and occasionally lightning would illuminate the horizon. I stopped at an all night convenience store to change the battery in my helmet light, I was having trouble reading my cue sheet. Geof and Micah rolled up and we went into the store for caffeine, then Joel ,Mary, and Curt passed by. The three of us got back on the road, but on a bit of a downhill I pulled away. When I got to Joel & crew I paused long enough to ask how everyone was doing, then just kept going- once again I'd gotten my rhythm and wasn't feeling like slowing down.

Geof and Micah caught up to me once it started getting a bit hilly coming into Southern Pines. Then they passed me and went up the road. I saw them again at the controle store, and it wasn't too long before Joel, Mary, and Curt rolled in. We went down the road to a Microtel and scored a couple of rooms for cheap. Geof, Micah, and I piled into one and I slept on a couch-like window cushion thingy. It was about 4am, and I set my alarm for 7.



Day 4, Tuesday: Of Torrential Rain and Solitude

After a few hours of shuteye I got up and got ready to go. It had rained while we slept and the roads were pretty wet. I went to the lobby of the Microtel and had some of their "breakfast" and "coffee." Geof and Micah weren't ready to go yet, so I got on the road solo again. I was convinced that they would catch me in the first 20 miles or so and leave me behind anyway. I was feeling pretty good, my legs were a bit sore but not as much as I had expected after 670 miles! After the first 23 miles I stopped ata convenience store for a Frappuccino and a honey bun. I thought perhaps Geof & Micah had passed by while I was in the restroom.

As I got into the Uwharrie Mountains the rain started. It was surprisingly cold rain, which felt great on my sore legs and actually invigorated me. I rode through a couple of hard showers, then the sun came back out and it was beautiful. I was really enjoying myself now, I knew I could make it to the finish... I had enough extra time to handle just about any mechanical problem and I'd been able to tolerate the saddle interface issues that had caused many other riders to abandon. At one point Tony passed me in his white van and stopped on the side of the road to take a picture as I passed. I was well provisioned from my last stop so I kept riding.


Coming into Asheboro the clouds were more ominous. The rain started coming down in buckets before I pulled into the Sheetz controle, and I spotted a white van parked beside the store. There was someone inside, so I assumed it was Tony and he didn't feel like getting out in this rainstorm. Imagine my surprise when I knocked on the window and discovered that this was a house painting crew who had no idea why some crazy cyclist wanted to get in their van! Luckily the van had been parked on the downwind side of the store, because I think there might have been a tornado nearby- the wind was blowing the rain sideways and all of the store's outdoor displays blew down and were scattered across the parking lot. I decided to get myself a sandwich for lunch and hang out there until the storm passed.

The rain didn't stop, but the wind died down enough to get back on the road. Only 30 miles to go, and I made my way through Asheboro, recognizing some of my old haunts from back when I went to school here at RCC. I left Asheboro and made my way back to Greensboro, but shortly before I got into town the rain started again quite heavily. This was the hardest rain yet, and I was dealing with Greensboro traffic at the same time. It was raining buckets as I made my way down Hwy 68 back to the Best Western.

When I arrived at the finish soaking wet there was Biker Bob waiting, offering to take my bike and sign my card. My finish time was 83 hours 10 minutes. I asked where Geof and Micah were, but Bob said they hadn't arrived yet. I'd just assumed they had passed me while I was stopped somewhere. Volunteer Jennifer took my picture and gave me my 1200K medal. Since I was already soaked I walked next door to the parking lot, drove my car back over to the Best Western, and got my dry clothes. Geof and Micah arrived and I went and took a shower, then waited for others to arrive. We greeted Joel, Mary, and Curt who arrived along with Tim, then a few others trickled in. Once they'd all had a chance to clean up and get in dry clothes we all went next door to a Ruby Tuesday for a big meal.



I had a blast on my first 1200K, and I can't wait to do it again next year!


Thursday, September 8, 2011

It's been awhile since I wrote...

I can't believe I haven't blogged since the Hot Springs brevet at the end of April! Here's what I've been up to in a nutshell:

-On May 8th I rode the Carthage Coffee Run 200K solo- a little rain at the start, then the sun came out. Then headwinds on the return trip.

-May 22nd I rode the Siler City Express 200k with Wes Johnson. Hilly...

-May 25th I rode the Get 'er Dunn 100K with Dean and a few others- even though this ride starts just about 5 miles from my house this was the first time I've ridden it.

-May 29th I rode Leesvile-Leasburg-Leesville 200K with Geof, Tim, and David. This was David's first 200k, and he chose a hilly route on a really hot day. Geof & Tim went up the road, but I stuck with David and he refused to give up. Chapeau!

-June 5th I rode the Showdown in Black Creek 200K with Geof, Hoffman, Tim, and I think Mike D. and Lynn L. A little rain in the first half.

-June 7th I rode Tim's Whirligig 100K route with Tim and John O. John and I both hit 5000K for 2011 on this ride!

-June 9th I rode the Howling Grits 100K with Maria, Alan J, and Vance. Great food & company!

-June 12th I rode the Tar Heel 200k with Tim L. John O. was supposed to join us but overslept I think.

-June 19th was the Benson Mule Pull 100K with Geof, Hoffman, David, and Tim L. Once again Geof took off, this time with Hoffman. David and I finished with Tim.

-June 26th was the Kerr Lake Loop 200K with Geof, Lynn L, Ian H, Tim L, and Chris W. Fast pace on a pretty hot day.

-June 30th I rode the Get 'er Dunn 100K with David S, then went to the Slow Spokes ride in the evening.

-July 2nd I rode Tony Goodnight's Bicycle for Life 400K brevet out of Salisbury. This was a great test for the upcoming Taste of Carolina 1200K since it started at midnight for a bit of sleep deprivation and took us to the Blue Ridge Mountains for some serious climbing. I felt good at the end- very encouraging!

-July 10th I rode the Carthage Coffee Run 200K with Ian, Geof, Lynn L, David, Tim, Cole, and Isaac. The heat was a major factor, and David was feeling it toward the end. Hung in for the finish though- rando tough!

-July 19th I rode Leesville-Leasburg-Leesville 200K solo. It was cool early in the morning so I tried to make good time. Short stopped the controls since I was by myself. Finished with an excellent time, especially for such a hilly route.

-July 24th I rode L-L-L 200K again, this time with Byron. A more relaxed day, but still hot and hilly. Took about an hour longer than last time, mostly in longer stops.

-August 7th I rode L-L-L 200K solo again- this time about half an hour slower than my best time of 7:56.

-August 16th I rode the Tar Heel 200K solo and realized that I'd been spending all my time training for climbing. Windy flat rides suck. The time on this one was about an hour slower than the last month's L-L-L run, even with approximately 6,000ft less climbing!!


There's 3100 kilometers of rides I neglected to blog about. I'm sure Martin has been wondering what happened to me. Next post will be my report from the Taste of Carolina 1200K!!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Bicycle for Life Hot Springs 200K Brevet

Geof and I decided to test our climbing legs last weekend by riding the Bicycle for Life 200K up in Hot Springs, NC. 125 miles with an approximate elevation gain of over 10,000ft should be a good dry run for the rando bikes to see if Geof's rig is ready for Texas and if mine is do-able for the Taste of Carolina in September. I put a wide range SRAM cassette on the LeMond so I'd have a "bail-out gear" if I needed one. (I did!)

I met Geof at the camera shop and gave him a ride home, then we piled everything into his Honda Fit (great gas mileage) for the drive across the state. Amazing how much stuff you can fit into a Fit... As usual we got a bit of a late start, and then along the way we made a few stops: dinner, a grocery store, and yes- a Wal-Mart! I wasn't sure if Geof would even set foot inside one but he did ok, and I don't think the experience scarred him too badly. My $10 sleeping bag sure did come in handy, though! When we finally rolled into Hot Springs at 12:30am the sidewalks were rolled up and no one was around at the campground. We set up and crawled into our tents for a few hours' sleep, hoping that we'd be able to find someone in the morning and settle up for camping.

We got up at 5:30am and fixed coffee and breakfast, then started getting the bikes and gear ready for the ride. Before I knew it we ran out of time and it was just about 10 minutes till the ride was supposed to start at 7am! I high-tailed it over to the start and got my registration stuff taken care of. We saw that Chris and Annette Camm were there, but didn't know any of the other riders. I'm not sure what the exact number was, but probably 8-10 total.

The route starts in Hot Springs and immediately starts climbing. Most of the first 26 miles is uphill! Lee and Luke- 2 local Asheville guys took off from the gun, and Geof went with them. The rest of us followed, spread out on the climb and each of us spinning uphill at our own pace. I had to roll my armwarmers down and unzip my vest, the climbing was really warming me up. At the top of the first climb was Tony, ready to shoot a blackmail picture of each of us huffing and puffing our way over the summit. On the other side the vest was rezipped and the warmers pulled up as I tucked into a screaming descent in the cool morning air. On the way down we saw the Fléche riders climbing up to the end of their 360K route. Chapeau gentlemen!

After the descent we started climbing again, and I got together with Geof, Rick, Chris, and Annette for a great ride through beautiful mountain scenery:



At one point we came to a T-intersection with a stop sign, but we were a few miles early for the right turn indicated on the cue sheet. Still, the road sign said Big Laurel Rd, and our next turn was a right to remain on Big Laurel so we turned right. Turns out we were wrong. We climbed a mountain and descended the other side before we finally came upon a road sign that told us the road we were on was now called Walnut Creek. I was able to get a roaming cell signal and slowly load up maps on my iPhone to confirm that we were indeed off course, and by quite a lot. Chris, Annette, Geof, and I turned around and started back. Shortly we came upon Rick and he turned around and joined us. We had no idea what had happened to Lee and Luke, we had seen them make the wrong turn before us, but they never turned around. We climbed back over the mountain and descended again to the point where we had gotten off course. Note to self: I need to spend more time familiarizing myself with the route before a mountain brevet. We got 16 "bonus miles" and added about 2,000ft of climbing!

Back on course it was more uphill until we finally made it to the first control. Good thing, because I was out of water and needed a store badly. We refilled and got back on the road, which of course was headed uphill... After this climb we were given a bit of respite, with another screaming descent. On the way down we spotted Lee and Luke climbing up toward us, not sure how they got there but they were headed back toward the control. We kept riding through lovely rolling mountain scenery and eventually they caught us and slowed to our pace to join us. Soon we entered Asheville where there was once again cue sheet confusion. We trusted in the local's knowledge and went the way Lee and Luke said was correct, and after only a few more bonus miles we found control number 2 and restocked the fluids and snacks again. This time Chris and Annette turned around one of their signature short stops and left before us, we wouldn't see them again the rest of the ride.

The next section had us riding north along the French Broad River until we got to a road that would cross the river and let us turn south again. At this point Lee decided to leave the ride and head on home, he wasn't worried about RUSA credit anyway. Luke stayed with us, so it was him, Rick, Geof and me. We had more confusion when we reached the correct mileage for a right turn onto New Leicester Hwy, but the road was actually called Old Leicester. We turned anyway, but then were unable to find the next turn, a left onto Old Newfound Rd. Once again the iPhone came in handy, a quick check of the map showed that we could backtrack and get on New Leicester Hwy, then take it to Newfound Rd. Back on course again we soon found ourselves faced with another mountain to climb. It wasn't long before Geof and Luke were out of sight around the switchbacks and I was alone with the climb. This one was really hard for me. I needed food- by this time it was around 2pm and we hadn't stopped to eat any real food yet. I spent most of the climb in my bail-out gear (34/32!) spinning along at maybe 5mph. At one point I had to stop in some shade and rest for a minute. I had 2 shots of Hammer gel and half a Clif bar, 2 Endurolytes and lots of water then got back moving again. Just after the summit I came into the small town of Canton and spotted a convenience store. Sure enough, there were Geof and Luke looking about as tired as I felt. We had a nice, long stop and we were eventually joined by Rick as well.

Back on the road we made a few quick turns through town and then fought a mean headwind all the way to the penultimate control at Iron Duff. I was never able to keep up on the little climbs, then I would put out too much effort trying to bridge the gap and get back with Geof and Luke. At one point I made it back up to them, but then just couldn't keep up the pace and was soon dangling out in the wind again. Around this point I was also realizing that in my morning rush I had forgotten to apply sunscreen. The hunger, climbing fatigue, sunburn, and wind were really wearing me down. At the control store I had a long to-do list. Bought sunscreen, water, a snack, and a fizzy caffeine drink. Applied the sunscreen while conversating with a little old lady who was smoking a cigarette out on the bench. Filled my bottles, one with water and the other with Mountain Dew, and I was ready to go.

I had thought that the others would have been making a shorter stop than me, but they were still milling about. I was sure that the worst climbing was ahead of us- the climb up Betsy's Gap, and I figured that the guys would catch me and pass me by at some point, most likely before then. I went ahead and took off, telling them I'd wave as they passed me on the climb! I felt great on this section. Just like on previous rides, as soon as I get out by myself and start riding my own pace I do really well. I think that trying to push hard with the strong guys up the hills and trying to bridge the inevitable gaps is both physically and mentally exhausting. I probably go slower over the whole course from burning myself out like that in the first place. I know I've been in situations where I'm close to the dreaded bonk from riding like that, and I've barely been able to turn the pedals over. Now I was by myself, climbing in my own rhythm, and enjoying the scenery. There were quite a few big hills, and I kept wondering if I was starting the big climb but they would always turn out to be just really big hills.

When I hit the big climb there was no question this was it. Slowly but surely I ground my way up. Turn after turn I'd wonder if I would come around the curve to see the top- only to see more uphill and switchbacks. Still, it was gorgeous up here and there was very little traffic. The sunscreen had helped a bit with my sunburn, my skin didn't feel so hot anymore. I was reluctant to pour any water on my head to cool down, I figured I'd need to drink all that water! I even shot a little solo video:



When I finally got to the top I was surprised that I hadn't seen Geof and Luke. That was a long climb- probably 4 miles or more- and I was going up at about 5-6mph! Oh well, no time to worry about that, it was crazy descent time. I zipped up the jersey and took off. By this time I was really getting the hang of curvy descents on the LeMond. It's a different feel than the Specialized- not quite as twitchy. This descent was soooo much fun! I was sure I'd be picking bugs out of my teeth later from the ear-to-ear grin that was plastered across my face as I flew down the mountain I'd climbed so slowly for the last hour or so. Even when I was down off the mountain and in the valley I was still going downhill, so I was flying and making up for all the time I'd spent creeping along. I sped through the towns of Luck and Trust and then over one last little climb before arriving back in Hot Springs. I didn't see Tony anywhere, so I got my card signed at the Iron Horse and had a pleasant conversation with a gentleman from Durham about randonneuring. He's a cyclist too, and he sounded pretty interested! About 15 minutes after I arrived, in rolled Geof and Luke. Shortly after they showed up in rolled a Dart team that contained John P. and his ear-to-ear grin! We all stood around talking and taking pictures for awhile, then I headed back to camp for a shower. My time turned out to be 12 hours and 7 minutes- not too shabby considering 23 bonus miles in the mountains!

Monday, April 18, 2011

A Tornado-Free NCBC 300K

Randonneurs pay special attention to the weather forecast. Usually when it calls for rain or cold we just bundle up in wool and soldier on, but that was not to be the case for last weekend's NCBC 300K Brevet. A line of dangerous thunderstorms was bearing down on our area and had already produced tornadoes and damage west of us. Some discussion ensued about the safety of holding the ride anyway, and eventually RBA Al Johnson made the decision to postpone the brevet by one day. It turned out to be a VERY good decision as the Triangle area was hit with a reported 62 tornadoes on Saturday that led to over 20 deaths.



Sunday was a much better day, and about 20 riders lined up at the start. It was a tad cool, but we warmed up nicely as we left Morrisville as one big group. It was an easier initial pace than the 200K a couple weeks earlier. As we approached the Chatham County line I heard Martin behind me say "I guess since Jerry's not here nobody's going to go for the county line." I hadn't been paying attention, but since I had a reminder I jumped and took the "sprint" uncontested. I took advantage of the small gap that I had on the group to get my point & shoot out for a video.



The usual suspects who always push the pace seemed to be absent, but Annette kept speeding things up on the front as we approached Jordan Lake. I got on her wheel and soon I noticed that there were only a couple others with us. She pulled all the way across the lake and almost all the way to Lystra. I took over after she pulled off, but Lin passed me on the downhill so I got on his wheel. Once the road turned upward again I was back on the front, but before I knew it Tom passed me with no one on his wheel, so I jumped on it. I was getting pretty much a free ride to Jack Bennett with the front group! Once onto the climb on Jack Bennett I got into my climbing rhythm and found myself out front solo. I wasn't surprised though when Geof showed up to join me at the top, and there was a group of front runners just behind him.

We kept rolling and enjoyed the nice fresh asphalt of Andrews Store Rd. Shortly before we got to Frosty's Kim told me she'd forgotten to put any food in her pockets, it was all stashed in her seat bag. I rummaged around in my front bag and passed her a chocolate chip Clif bar. Always nice to have some good karma to cash in later! Up Chicken Bridge, Castle Rock/Old Switchboard, then past Lindley Mill and we were on the rollers to Snow Camp.

It was a short stop at the control at Snow Camp, but still the Camms took off before the rest of the pack. Then Tim left, saying he had a front tire going soft and hoping there would be a volunteer with a floor pump at Siler City. The rest of the group was leaving and Geof wasn't quite ready yet. I was kinda waiting, but didn't want to get dropped if he put the hammer down to bridge the gap, so I took off. I knew he had the ability to catch, so I was just worried that the group would get too much of a gap on me. I caught them in short order and it wasn't much longer before Geof was back in the fold.

At Siler City the Camms were almost ready to leave just as we arrived. I was still filling bottles when they took off, and I saw Tom go with them. Tim had replaced his leaky front tube and was ready to join the main group again. I went ahead and took off with a small group, knowing that some of the strong riders who weren't yet ready to go would catch us on the hills to Seagrove. If I want to have a good time on one of these brevets I have to minimize my time off the bike. Sure enough, the hills took their toll on me- Geof, Mike, and John caught us shortly. I got dropped on the way into Seagrove and was the last of this group to arrive at the control.



I needed a break and some solid food, so I ordered a ham & cheese and had a sit-down. Unfortunately that meant that everyone left except Mike and John. Great company to be in, but I didn't have a prayer of keeping up on the climbs. As we left Seagrove it was obvious that I couldn't maintain their pace uphill, so I intentionally let them go and settled into my own rhythm again. I pretty much resigned myself to the idea that the entire 2nd half of the brevet would be solo. As I was on the return I saw other riders coming in for about the first 10 miles. After that I was alone with the road, the bike, and the occasional car. I got back to Siler City and saw riders leaving the control as I got stopped by the light. Joel was volunteering and had set up in the parking lot with drinks and snacks, and Tim was there eating a sandwich at the back of Joel's truck. I didn't even get off the bike, just rolled up, got my card signed, grabbed a Rice Krispy treat, and continued on my way.

Still solo all the way back to Snow Camp, but when I arrived at the control there was Geof, Mike, and John. I took a little time here, replenished the fluids and ate a snack. We all left together, but once again I was having trouble finding my rhythm in the group. It seemed like I'd always have to brake on the downhills to keep from running into the wheels in front of me, but they'd get a gap on me on the uphill. Having done that before I knew it would only take a couple of those before I'd burn myself out trying to close those gaps after the uphill. I just started riding for myself, keeping a steady effort and maintaining my cadence. I got ahead of the others for awhile, but they would close the gap some on the uphills because they were putting out more effort than I was. Then on the flats they would soft pedal and downhills they would coast, while I maintained my steady effort and I'd pull further ahead. This went on for awhile until Geof caught up with me and passed on a hill. I didn't change anything- chasing him would blow me up, so I just kept going.

Mike came up to me and said hey were stopping for a nature break and asked if I wanted to wait and ride in with them. I hope he didn't think I was being anti-social, I just needed to keep my own rhythm going and not try to keep up with someone else's. They stopped and I kept going. A little while later they caught me and passed, and soon they were out of sight. I was passing Frosty's so I didn't have too far to go, but the pollen was really starting to bother me. I got that can't-breathe feeling and had to ease up even more. I decided that I'd stop at Andrews Store, and there were Mike and John also taking a break.

Once again they offered to ride in together and I tried to talk them out of it. Not only did I not want to slow them down, but I didn't want them to speed me up! I finally relented to the peer pressure to ride with the group, and they waited while I took a much needed break before we left together. Quite a few times in those last miles I was gapped off on a little incline, but they kept easing off and waiting for me. Nice folks. I would've understood if they'd gone on without me. We rolled into Alan's place at 7:52, just one minute after sunset! I did turn on my light, but just for safety so cars could see me. I was still wearing sunglasses. Alan had sodas and pizza for us, and a birthday cake for John. This year's time of 12:52 is 2 hours and 26 minutes faster than my time on this same course last year! Almost all of that time was made up at the controls!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Triple Hump

Geof put out the word that he wanted to do some hill training to prepare for his Texas Rando Stampede 1200K ride, so I suggested the classic Triple Hump in Stokes County. I modified the route a bit, but kept the 3 major climbs: Sauratown Mountain, Pilot Mountain, and Hanging Rock. I've never attempted any serious climbs like this, so I was nervous. Would I even be able to do it?

I couldn't get to sleep Saturday night, my mind wouldn't stop fretting about the next day's climbing- not to mention the descending! One of the things people forget about riding mountains is that sure, the climbing is hard but the descending is more dangerous. I'd had about 2.5 hours of sleep when we left Cary early Sunday morning to meet David in the parking lot on top of Hanging Rock at about 9am. I brought the Specialized Allez instead of the LeMond rando bike- perhaps saving a pound and a half would make the difference between survival and utter failure. Geof brought Claire, his newly built custom randonneuse, and David was riding his Soma Stanyan.

It was chilly and foggy atop Hanging rock as we prepared to set off. I put on arm warmers, but elected to leave behind the jacket and knee warmers since I wasn't running a bike with bags to stash the layers once peeled. The forecast was for mid to high 70 degree highs later in the day. The ride starts with a screaming descent of Hanging Rock and it was COLD. Pretty sure all three of us were experiencing some shiver-induced speed wobble! Once down the mountain it was still cold and foggy, but at least we were traveling at a more reasonable rate of speed. A short ways down Moore Springs Rd. we passed a convenience store and noted their sign that advertised Hammer Nutrition products- made a mental note to stop on the way back before the final climb of the day. The ride over to Sauratown Mountain was chock full of "rollers." Of course, back here at home they would be classified as big hills! The climbing served to warm us up a bit, but inevitably we'd crest the hill and go speeding down the other side again.

Before we knew it we were at Sauratown Mountain, which on paper looked worse than it turned out to be. MapMyRide had it as a 5 mile climb with an average 4% grade, but that was taking into account the 2 miles leading up to the turn onto Sauratown Mtn Rd, so when we thought we were starting we only had 3 miles left to the top! Also this road is mostly straight, with only 2 big turns so it's easier to maintain a climbing rhythm. I kept Geof in sight for quite awhile, and in this fog that meant that he was probably within 50 or 100 feet of me! Eventually he gained enough of a gap that I lost sight of him, but when I suddenly broke out of the fog into bright sunlight near the summit I could see him just ahead. At the top he had maybe 2 or 3 minutes on me. David was just behind us. Climbing and sunshine had warmed us up so the layer peeling commenced, and everybody had a snack before we set off for the day's second screaming descent.

When we re-entered the fog on the way down Sauratown the temperature dropped drastically. I was wishing I still had my warmers on. My companions disappeared into the mist as my shivering caused me to have to slow down to avoid the wobbles. Thank goodness the organizers of the Three Mountain Madness had spray painted "SLOW" on the road just before the big curve because in this thick fog we couldn't see that far ahead! As I came around the curve I spotted Geof & David on the side of the road and I worried that something bad might have happened. It was hard to stop on such a steep slope, but when I got to them I discovered that it was just that Geof had flatted his rear tire. Turns out it was a cheap tube, and the heat from heavy braking caused a leak. He patched it while I held Claire so she wouldn't get too dirty and we continued on our way.

Flat #1

The first serious climb was behind us and I was very happy with my performance. I'd read about climbing and descending techniques, so I was just trying to find my rhythm and keep my heart rate from getting too high. It worked. Now we were on our way to climb Pilot Mountain. I've driven that road before- it's the quintessential mountain road with steep twists and turns and switchbacks. The kind of road that you drive up in 2nd gear and overheat your brakes on the way down. MapMyRide has it as a class 2 climb: 3 miles at an average 7.1% grade, and in that 3 miles you climb 1,100 feet! I've ridden centuries with less elevation gain than we were about to do in just a few miles.

The roads between Sauratown and Pilot were more of the same rollers, with at least one really good grinder thrown in for good measure. The chilly fog had been replaced by sunshine and warm temps, and the arm warmers came off again. As we approached Pilot Mountain I got away on a downhill and built up some speed, came around a bend and saw the Surry County line. Geof and David were way back, so I took the sprint without challenge. They were starting to catch up to me about the time I made the left turn into the park to start the climb, and I saw Geof stop to have a nature break. I thought I'd take the opportunity to get a bit of a gap since he'd most likely pass me very shortly on the climb anyway. The first bit wasn't bad at all, but then the grade really kicked in and I had to find my comfort zone again. I figured I could go a little harder than I did on the last climb, so I tried to keep my heart rate below 180 (about 90% for me.) I was running a compact crankset (50/34) and a 12-26 cassette, so pretty much the whole way up I was in a 34-26! I used all the tips and tricks I've read about; alternating sitting and standing, taking the outside line since it's not as steep, relaxing, and controlling my breathing. It all worked. It was very hard, but I never felt like I was pushing beyond my limits. At one point I saw Geof behind me but I didn't try to speed up or worry about getting caught, just kept riding my comfortable pace. I reached the parking lot at the summit and no one had caught me! As a matter of fact it was a little while before Geof came along, seems he had been having shifting problems and couldn't go all the way down to his lowest gear (not sure I would've even made it to the top with that issue!)

At the top & still smilin'!

We took pictures and posted status updates to Facebook from the top of the mountain and then started the descent. I went first, and on the very first turn I misjudged how tight the switchback was and "overcooked it" a bit, crossing the double-yellow and raising the pucker factor drastically. I think I was a bit timid on the next few turns because Geof and David were close behind me, so I got braver and started taking the turns with more gusto and built up a little lead on Geof. I didn't want to force him to brake too much and have the same overheating problems he had on Sauratown. Soon I could no longer see my companions in my mirror, and I was really getting the hang of this descending thing. When I reached the visitor center at the bottom I stopped for water and hoped Geof and David would see my bike parked there. Once my bottle was full they still hadn't arrived and I started to worry. When a minivan stopped on the way down to tell me that one of them was on the side of the road up there with a wheel off I was pretty sure Geof had flatted again. I waited a bit, but finally decided to ride back up to them so I could come back down again! Sure enough, everybody was fine but Geof's patch job couldn't take the heat from the braking and Claire had gone flat again.

Flat #2

He did another quickie patch job and we rode down to the visitor center, but the tire was flat again by the time we pulled in. Geof finally had to just put a brand new tube in it. It was a cheapie Kenda tube that kept going flat, probably a good lesson to learn before Texas...

Flat #3

Now that Claire could hold air again we got back on the road and hit a store in Pinnacle for liquids and snacks, then headed back along the rollers toward Hanging Rock. We were treated to fantastic views of Pilot and Sauratown Mountains and some really fun roads. Just before Hanging Rock we stopped at the convenience store and sampled their Hammer Nutrition products. Location, Location, Location! One quick right hand turn and we were back to climbing. This time Geof had a lead, so I was just happy to keep him in sight. There'd be no way to catch him since he would just speed up if he saw me coming. At first I tried to close the gap a bit, but it was definitely better to just find my own rhythm and get it done. There's no way to catch Geof on an uphill if he still has air in his tires.

At the top I wasn't too far behind, I still had him in sight when he turned into the parking lot. All in all I had a great day on the bike and found out that I can actually do this climbing stuff!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

NCBC 200K Morrisville -Siler City- Morrisville

I was looking forward to riding RBA Alan's 200k this year- I missed it last year due to work and started the series with the 300k. This year I've already completed a full series and an additional 600K, so I'm in pretty good "early season" form. I'm still trying to figure out what this "season" is that everybody talks about... ;)

One of my big goals this year is to enjoy the ride more- I spent most of last year suffering at the back of pacelines trying to hang on and eventually getting dropped, destined to ride solo from then on because the group had built up such a lead. My plan for this 200K was to ride in the front group until they started their hammerfest up the hills, then stick with the more reasonable paced riders. But that was not to be. A check of Weather Underground told me that we'd be fighting some wind out of the west on our route to Siler City- the hourly forecast showed it building in the morning to about a 15mph headwind by 11am, then into 20+mph in the afternoon. I modified my plan and decided it would be in my best interests to stick with the strongest riders until the turnaround, then ride the tailwinds back home.

The morning was cool- just below 40 degrees when we started, yet it was supposed to be in the 60's later in the day. I fitted my VO Campagne handlebar bag to my front rack but it was mostly empty, ready to receive my shed layers as the day warmed up. I stayed near the front on the way out of Morrisville- I'd been gapped off by the traffic lights in town on one of the brevets last year and I've learned my lesson. Once we were out on country roads I pulled out my camera and shot the obligatory group video.



This would be the first 200k for Bryan H. (fast Bryan.) He spent most of the morning talking with Geof, and I was sure they were hatching some sort of strategery... I had a chance to chat with Martin and John P. before we got to the hill on Jack Bennett Rd. that usually causes all sorts of splits in the pack. Surprisingly I went up Jack Bennett really well, and was still with the front group after the summit. I spent a little time talking with Fast Bryan and trying to convince him that I'd get dropped at some point, but he just didn't believe me.

I can't remember what caused the first real split, but I was in the 2nd group on the road and for some reason I decided to try to close the gap. Fast Bryan came with me, then passed me, but I just couldn't hold his wheel. Eventually I was swallowed by the group behind and everything came back together, so I'd burned some matchsticks uselessly. You'd think I'd know better by now...

A bit later there was another split on Lindley Mill Rd. as we were approaching a left turn, due west on Greensboro Chapel Hill Rd. I knew we'd be turning into a full-on headwind so once again I tried to close that gap, but a car pulled out from a driveway and got between my little group and the front runners. At the left turn stop sign the front group got through while we had to negotiate around the driver who had suddenly become timid and wouldn't go through the intersection. The combo of headwinds and the big rollers into Snow Camp meant that we wouldn't close the gap, so Geof, Fast Bryan, and myself rolled into the control just a bit behind the leaders.

I got the card signed and a Mountain Dew, and as I was shedding the first layers of the day I saw Tim rolling out solo. I said something to Geof, and he was back on his shiny new bike and on the road lickety-split. I chugged the rest of the Dew and took off after him, but now I was out there solo and trying to catch up. Bryan caught me and I hung onto his wheel as long as I could (man that guy is fast!) but soon I had to bridge the gap myself, and not nearly as effortlessly as it looked like Fast Bryan had! Eventually Geof, Bryan, and I were caught by some others from behind who had left Snow Camp shortly after us, but we never caught Tim.

This group was strong, the headwinds were picking up, and I was starting to run into my first real trouble of the day. Every time we'd hit an uphill roller the rest of the group would hammer and I couldn't keep up their pace. At the top I'd be faced with closing a gap in a headwind. At first the gaps were small, but this is a problem which compounds itself- the effort I put out on the uphills wasn't enough and the gaps would get a bit bigger each time. The effort I put out on the flats and downhills to bridge the gaps kept me from recovering and being able to keep up on the next hill. On one uphill just a few miles from Siler City my legs started to cramp. I'd been going too hard and now I had to gear down and spin and watch the group go. John O. passed me and I told him I was cramping- he offered to wait for me but I told him no- I really didn't know if I could spin through it or if I'd soon be writhing on the side of the road!

Turns out I was able to spin it out, and as I rolled into Siler City I saw that there had been another group that left Snow Camp first that Tim was chasing- now they were on the return trip and he was still on the chase. Joel was waiting in Siler with a fantastic spread of snacks and liquids, and I had every intention of making a long stop but a little voice in the back of my head kept suggesting that maybe I'd be able to keep up now that we'd have some help from the wind. I got back on the bike just in time to roll out with the same group that had dropped me on the way in.

I kept up over about 2 or 3 rollers, then the cramps came back. Once again I spun a low gear through the pain and the cramps subsided. I was able to ease my way back up to a reasonable speed, but I'd lost Geof and Bryan until Snow Camp. After the control I lost them again, but got caught up by another group and we were making good time. As we approached a left turn on Hwy 87 I saw Geof and Bryan stopped at the old gas station. I pulled off, but I should've just kept going. My little group went on down the road and I tried to catch them but just didn't have the gas to do it. Bryan passed me and caught the group, then Geof passed and caught them too. Soon I could see the pair of them out in front of the group and pulling away! Somewhere in here I noticed that I'd lost one of my gel flasks. I found out later that it had bounced out of my bag on a rough stretch and later was smashed by a car. What a waste of Hammer Apple Cinnamon... The handy pockets that face back toward the rider on the VO bag are just not big enough to buckle closed with a gel flask inside.

I was still thinking that I could possibly catch when I heard someone behind me call my name. I think it was Jerry- at least I could tell he was back there because his Cinnamon Girl is easy to spot. We were approaching Frosty's, and I thought perhaps one of them had picked up my flask. I stopped and waited for them, but no flask- they were just inviting me to join them for a rest stop at Frosty's! Funny how things work on a brevet. I was too dumb to know that the last thing I needed was to keep digging deep in my "suitcase of courage" (read with Phil Liggett accent) to try to catch up with the next group up the road. Far better to take a short break and ride with the next group! The only problem was that my legs started threatening to stiffen up while I was sitting inside Frosty's, so I got up to walk around a bit and get ready to go. Back on the road my new group included Jerry, Chris Camm, Tom F, Ricochet Robert, John O. and a few others. I took the opportunity to shoot another video.



We were getting some really intense wind now, and not always tailwinds! The predictions of 20+mph winds gusting even higher apparently had come true. Anytime the wind direction turned into a tailwind I took advantage of it and built up as much speed as I could. Eventually I had built up a little gap on my companions. Robert came across the gap and since I had some company I just kept doing my thing, tucking into the aero position when the wind was in my face and sitting up when it was at my back, letting my body act as a sail. Having the opportunity to set my own pace really let me get into the rhythm and I felt really good on this last leg of the ride. Robert kept telling me that he was out of gas, but he didn't appear to have any trouble keeping up...

Just as we were getting into Morrisville, Robert and I were caught by Chris and Jerry and the four of us rode in to Alan's house together for a time of 7:55. I was beat, but pretty satisfied with the ride overall. Still trying to put these lessons into practice: I should conserve more energy early on, perhaps I would have had enough to stick with my group those last few miles into Siler. And I should never stop with the really fast guys for a nature break, I don't have the speed to keep up with them!

Monday, March 21, 2011

Bicycle for Life 600K Brevet 3/19/11

Why would I put myself through another 600K when I've already completed the SR series? Good question. Seemed like a good idea at the time...

A few of the 59 riders at the start.

59 riders lined up at the Super 8 in Lumberton for another fun-filled set of brevets. 200K, 300K, 400K, and 600K riders all started at once and I became part of the large front group that formed. The speed was really picking up, but I was feeling good and took a couple of my trademark short-pulls on the front. About 20 miles in we made a right turn onto Gum Spring Rd. and found road construction barriers blocking the route! No worries, we could see the barriers on the other side of the torn up road, so we all did a short cyclocross impression. That caused a bit of a split in the pack, but it mostly got back together until Ammon, where the 200K and 300K riders had a control stop while the rest of us rolled on.



I took another pull up front, and my plan was to pull for 1 mile, then get my point & shoot camera out to do another video as I fell back to the comfort of the draft. I was still at 0.8 miles and down in my aerodynamic tuck when I had to dodge left to avoid a hole. I was moving back to the right, but the rider behind me had jumped into the gap and was accelerating, so my pull was over! I sat up and tried to get my camera out quickly. Well, I screwed up and fumbled the camera and it went skittering down the road at 18-20mph! I pulled off to the left and turned around to see the last folks in line dodging my camera as it lay on its back in the middle of the road. After recovering it I just stashed it in the bag and got to work catching back on.

A shot of the peleton shortly before I fumbled my camera

At the first control in Roseboro there was the usual race to be first in line to get the card signed and the line for the restroom. I've become more efficient at the controls, so I was able to get my checklist done and still have a minute to check out the damage to my camera. It's mostly cosmetic, but the corner by the battery door has a big gash and the camera won't turn on. I opened the battery compartment and little bits of broken plastic fell out. The shock had broken the plastic catch that holds the battery in place. I grabbed a bit of discarded cue sheet, folded it up to about the right size and wedged it in place. The camera worked! Still, I didn't take it out for the rest of the ride.


Folks started leaving the control so I got back on the bike and headed out. As always the stop caused splits in the pack, and I was now in the 2nd group on the road. We were trucking along at a good pace though, and it seemed like we were slowly closing the gap to the smaller front group. My turn to pull came up and I put my head down and pushed about 21-22mph. Guess that wasn't enough because Tom F. came flying by me and I had to decide whether to go or not. There wasn't anybody on his wheel, so I pushed even harder and got on his wheel. In my mirror it looked like most of the group had stayed with me and I held Tom's wheel until we were almost up to the front group, then waved the next rider forward and dropped off. By the time I was tucked in at the back we had bridged the gap and it slowed down. I found Colonel Mike near the back of the group and he told me that effort had really taken it's toll on him.

Next we had to cross some intersections in Garland, causing splits and accelerations again. Some of these intersections got a bit hairy, with oncoming traffic and cyclists wanting to get through and not get dropped. After one particular intersection I decided to remove myself from the rat race- I was burning too many matches too early and I saw that Col. Mike had already pulled the plug and was a bit further back. I sat up and started spinning an easy gear, plugged in my iPod and just cruised along waiting for Mike to catch up. I hit the lap button on my Garmin so I'd have a record of this first section with the group- it gave me a 19.4mph average speed for this first 60 miles. Once Mike caught me we continued a nice easy pace for awhile, knowing that Jerry, Wes, Tim, John, and other strong riders were still behind us and we might have some company soon.

Jerry and Wes were the first to catch us, and we picked it up a bit and rode with them for a few miles, but it was getting to be too much for Mike again. When I saw him pull the plug I dropped off and let Jerry and Wes go up the road. It looked like Mike was hurting, and I've been there & done that. In a couple more miles he asked if we could stop for a minute. He was having some weird high heart rate issues and was worried that if he felt like this after the first 100K perhaps 600K was biting off a bit more than he could chew. He had just recovered from a respiratory infection, so I can understand why he'd be worried. I helped him weigh his options: turning back meant riding 65 miles back to Lumberton... with 4 routes running at the same time who knows how long it might take Tony to get out there if Mike waited for a pick-up... and the next control was 42 miles up the road. We checked the open/close times on the card- it was about 11:20am and we had until 7:02pm to ride the next 42 miles, plenty of time. We knew that there was food in Wallace just 20 miles away, so we decided to just casually spin up the road and get some lunch. Being from DC, Mike had never heard of Andy's before (like a couple of Seattle randos who rode this route with us in February) so I thought it was a good idea to introduce him to it. After we ordered burgers and chocolate shakes Tim and John showed up. We had a much needed meal and Col. Mike was looking much, much better.

Mmmmmmm.

Back on the road with Mike, Tim, and John and we were making good time. It was a short 20ish mile run to the control in Maple Hill, then another short run of 24 miles to the control at Rocky Point. By this time it was 5pm and we knew that it would get dark before our next control stop in Garland, 54 miles away. We donned our reflective gear and got back on the road. The 4 of us were working well together despite the headwinds we'd been fighting all day. John and Tim were taking their usual long pulls, Mike was looking strong again, and I was holding my own... at first. After awhile it was my turn to run into problems. I couldn't catch my breath and every time I tried to take a deep breath I would cough. I'd had this same symptom once before- on the NCBC 400K brevet back in May 2010. That turned out to be pine pollen. I guess spring has officially sprung!

This coughing, hard to breathe stuff slowed me down, but my companions were nice enough to wait up for me any time I fell behind. We rolled into Garland at almost 9pm and just barely caught the pizza place before it closed. Food definitely helps. It had cooled down dramatically so I put on my knee warmers and my wind vest. Apparently John hadn't brought knee warmers, so a bit further down the road he improvised with a couple of free newspapers and some plastic bags.

John O. gets the Rando Creativity Award for his newspaper leg warmers and plastic baggie mitts.

My breathing issue got better- good thing because we had about 70 miles to go to get to Shallotte and then 12 more to get to Sunset Beach where we could finally catch some sleep. The other guys had been knocking back Red Bulls and NoS energy drinks (135mg of caffeine in those!) but I was afraid I'd crash hard before we got to the beach. Maybe I should've had one though, because around 1 or 2am I started getting bleary-eyed. My speed was suffering again, and every time I tried to calculate speed / distance left to go to Shallotte it seemed like I wasn't getting any closer. I tried to get the guys to go on ahead since I was slowing them down, but they wouldn't leave me. For a little while I got on the front and sped up the pace and made some time, but eventually I didn't feel safe going 15 or 16mph so I had to slow it down. I'd whipped up John and Tim though, and they were off. A couple of times I had to ask Mike not to ride beside me because I was getting swervy and dangerous. He was worried about me, and wasn't going to leave me behind no matter what. Thanks Mike!

Eventually we made it to Shallotte, sometime around 3:30 or 4am. I'm not really sure of the time. Tim and John were waiting for us, but I told them I was going to lay my head down at one of the tables in the convenience store so they took off while Mike stayed with me. I felt like I didn't ever fall asleep, so I got a cup of coffee and a snack so we could get back on the road. Later Mike told me we had been at the store for about an hour! Maybe I did get a nap after all. As we were getting ready to leave, in rolled Ricochet Robert. He did a short stop and joined us for the short 12 mile run into Sunset Beach.

The coffee or the nap or the Little Debbie iced honey bun really worked, because we kept up a nice pace into Sunset Beach, climbed the bridge, and arrived at 5:20am. We were confused about where the hotel was, it looked like the cue sheet told us to go back over the bridge and then the hotel would be on the right. We climbed the bridge an extra time before we noticed that the hotel was only 0.1 miles from the pier, so it was back over the bridge to go get some sleep. A hot shower after over 400K is a great thing. As soon as my head hit the pillow I was out, and I slept hard until my alarm went of at 9am. Mike was getting ready to go, so I put on a fresh kit and got something to eat so we could get back on the road.

Sleep was what I needed, now I felt great. Mike said that we were the last riders out on the 600K route. Ricochet Robert had left earlier with another rider and 2 others had left just before us. We decided that would be good motivation- 4 carrots up the road! I found out later that Tim and John had only slept for a couple of hours, then got up and rode on with Jerry and Wes. Mike and I cranked up the pace and soon we passed a store with 2 bikes parked in front. Only 2 more carrots. At the South Carolina line we stopped at a convenience store and found we had caught Robert and his companion. We grabbed drinks and snacks for the next 25 mile run into Boardman.

At the control in Boardman I went looking for food. Last time I was at this convenience store I had one of the triangle sandwiches, and it caused major gastric distress about 10 miles up the road. This time I had one of the spinning hot dogs- Joe from Seattle ate one of those last time and it didn't send him running for the woods. We got back on the road, with only 18 miles to the next control at Clarkton. I was spending most of my time up front, getting into the zone and keeping my cadence rhythm going I could comfortably maintain about 16-17mph. Just outside of Clarkton we slowed it down a bit, this time it was Col. Mike's turn to feel bad.

He waited until this last control to tell me that he really hadn't slept at Sunset Beach, just laid in bed. It must have been all that NoS energy drink he had! He ate a couple of spinning hot dogs and we had a nice long stop and a chat with one of the locals. I really enjoy these little encounters on the road, they inevitably start with the question "how far you ridin?" and then you get to see the look on their faces when you answer "380 miles." This gentleman took a keen interest in my bike, my Brooks saddle, and how my clipless pedals worked. It gave Mike plenty of time to eat his hot dogs.

Gorgeous sky with "God light" on Sunday.

It's 28 miles from Clarkton back to Lumberton. Last time I rode it was in the dark at the end of the 400K with Mike, Tim, and Geof. We passed the singlewide trailer with all the pit bulls in cages outside on NC-211- that's where the drunk rednecks had yelled and chased us on the 400K. They weren't out in the yard this time, must have gone fishing or something. It was looking like we'd arrive around 7 or 7:30 at the pace we had been going, but the spinning hot dogs worked their magic and Mike was feeling better. We kept up a good pace, and the frequent dog chases probably saved us 15 or 20 minutes! We arrived at the finish in Lumberton at 6:30 for a total time of 35 hours. Tony had pizza and sandwiches waiting, so I ate something before getting in the car for my drive home. Another great Bicycle for Life brevet! Thanks Tony!!

Me & Col. Mike still smilin' at the finish!


Monday, March 14, 2011

A Ride To Remember

On Saturday the family and friends of Adrian "YoA!" Hands gathered together for a memorial service and ride to celebrate his life. By the time I first met Adrian in 2009 his ALS had confined him to a wheelchair and he could no longer ride a bike, but that didn't stop him from joining us at Geof's house for a post-Firecracker ride meal. I talked to him about how Geof was trying to convince me to try my first 200K permanent and he not only encouraged me to do it but also thought I should set a goal for Paris-Brest-Paris in 2011! Though I did not get the opportunity to get to know Adrian in person I have benefited indirectly from knowing those whose lives he touched- among others Geof, Byron, MikeD, Sridhar, Branson, Jerry, Capt. Ende, and of course Adrian's son Ian.

YoA!

I met up with Bryan H. and David at Geof's house for a pre-dawn start to ride over across Jordan Lake to meet Jerry at the store on the corner of Lystra Rd. Then the four of us rode to Carrboro to meet Ian and accompany him on his ride to the gathering in Hillsborough. Ian had carefully packed his dad's ashes into a pannier on the back of Adrian's trusty Koga Miyata bike so his last trip "wouldn't be in a stinkin' car!" We were all honored to join him on the journey. We rode to Hillsborough and stopped at Weaver St. Market for a bite to eat and to meet up with more cyclists and friends.



After breakfast we rolled over to the courthouse where family and friends were gathering, looking at bikes and photos of YoA! and generally having a nice time catching up with and meeting one another. Eventually we all made our way down to the Eno River en masse for a touching ceremony to scatter the ashes in the river. It was emotional for everyone in attendance, then on the walk back up from the river Ian proclaimed "Lets go ride bikes!" to get us all back in the proper mindset. Later he told MikeD and Geof it was the "coolest funeral ever!"



We all rolled out from the courthouse on a 37 mile course to Raleigh for the memorial service at the SGI-USA Buddhist center at 3pm. It was a beautiful warm day and everyone was in great spirits, enjoying the company and telling Adrian stories. Before long the front group of riders had missed a turn- I was slightly behind still putting my camera back in the front bag when I heard the folks behind me trying to yell after us. I tried to yell up to the riders in front but they didn't turn around so I hammered a bit and caught up to them to let them know about the missed turn. Branson said no worries, he could navigate us through Durham and back on course and everyone agreed that some bonus miles were nothing if not appropriate on a YoA! tribute ride!



It was a fantastic ride with good weather and great friends, and when we crossed the ATT Branson peeled off to head home and Jerry was waiting to join back up with us. We stopped to eat again at an Indian restaurant before heading on to the memorial service. At the SGI center we had another huge gathering of cyclists, family, and friends. Before the service there was a parade of bicycles led by Gilbert Anderson, then we all went inside for a moving memorial service. For many of us the Buddhist traditions were new, but soon familiar. Grieving is one of those things that transcends language. Everyone had the chance to offer incense and a prayer for Adrian, and folks got up and shared their fond memories before we watched a slideshow of his life and rides. Touching words were said by Adrian's brother, his wife Padmini, his daughter Shanti, and son Ian.

Afterward there was more congregating and chatting out in the parking lot before Geof, Bryan, and I headed back to Geof's place. From everything I've been told of Adrian it was a perfect way to celebrate his life- surrounded by family and friends and smiles and bicycles.