Just Dean and me. "Irregular" Robert backed out Tuesday afternoon. Fearless Leaduh Alan called Dean just before 7 to say he was backing out because he had forgotten to put his jacket/coat in his truck. 30 miles later, Dean realized that he had two jackets/coats in his car -- Alan could have used one of those.
A bit chilly early, but well above freezing.
Complete gray overcast. Where was the "partly sunny"?
Light west (i.e., mostly "neutral") breeze.
The clouds came closer to the ground as the morning wore on.
(Meaning, that it became "hazy" -- I wouldn't call it "foggy".)
Moisture from the clouds (fog) condensed on the roads, especially River Road.
It was warmer and dryer in Tar Heel.
We speculated that the chill had settled into the valley.
After 2:30, the sun started breaking through.
By 3:00, mostly sunny.
But the wind direction had changed to northwest (i.e., not neutral homebound).
As neither Dean nor I were able to ride much the last three weeks, we found that "use it or lose it" definitely applied. (Dean seemed more effected than me -- I couldn't talk him into "suspending his belief".)
Lots of road kill.
Even more annoying dogs.
Some more than annoying.
One in particular. (Ask Dean.)
But we saw a Blue Heron in flight when outbound, and again when homebound.
Almost balances out.
Excellent ride.
Dean got in his December "R" ride. Glad to have helped him get to R-47.
He got in his "P" ride two-and-a-half weeks ago.
(On his "P-12", Dean CLAIMS, while exuding wide-eyed innocence, it happened by accident. Uh-huh. Sure. Probably had inside info from a "local RUSA official". No evidence. I'm just saying.)
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[Edit Jan-02-2011: In his comment below, Dean mentions that he shall comment elsewhere regarding his "P-12". To see those comments, click here.]
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Dec-22:
Tar Heel 200 Permanent; 125.0 m.; 8 hrs, 26 min in-motion; 14.8 mph; rando time: 10 hrs, 0 min elapsed clock time. (Slowest moving average on this route. Fastest elapsed clock time.)
Q-1 tot: _16 rides; __938.2 m.; _60 hrs, 39 min; 15.5 mph.
Q-2 tot: _31 rides; 2,263.3 m.; 151 hrs, 29 min; 14.9 mph.
Q-3 tot: _37 rides; 2,293.2 m.; 156 hrs, 31 min; 14.7 mph.
Oct tot: _13 rides; 1,050.6 m.; _58 hrs, 44 min; 15.3 mph.
Nov tot: _10 rides; __726.4 m.; _48 hrs, _6 min; 15.1 mph.
Dec tot: __4 rides; __223.2 m.; _14 hrs, 48 min; 15.0 mph.
YTD tot: 111 rides; 7,494.9 m.; 500 hrs, 26 min; 15.0 mph.
Btw, my "Eddington Cycling Number", as of this ride is ... 71.
_
Thanks for the company, skiffrun!
ReplyDeleteAlthough we were prepared for night fall (like good randonneurs with lights and reflective gear), we made it in before sundown on the "shortest" day of the year!
Although my odometer begs to differ (with 125 miles), the day slipped by quickly, which leads me back to the first sentence above . . .
After a monster October, you are sitting nicely in December after the dust, er, snow flakes have settled at R-5? The hard, winter months are almost over.
On the matter of your parenthetical comment --- "On his 'P-12,' Dean CLAIMS, while exuding wide-eyed innocence, it happened by accident. Uh-huh. Sure. Probably had inside info from a "local RUSA official". No evidence. I'm just saying." --- I shall comment elsewhere sometime at greater length.
Lets ride!
Dean/Raleigh
From "slowest moving average" and "fastest elapsed", you must have buzzed through the controls pretty fast. I'll try and remember some dog spray, or at least a couple of rocks, for tomorrow's ride.
ReplyDelete@ Dean - You are correct on the R-5, but I'm not counting.
ReplyDelete@ BB - We didn't dally at the controls, but we weren't particularly quick about them either. I forgot to put on my toe-covers, so I took my shoes off @ Stedman, Tar Heel and again at Stedman to let the warmth of the stores come into direct contact with my socks; in each case I put the shoes back on when the floor no longer felt "warm". At the homebound Stedman control, as we were remounting, I commented to Dean "we weren't rushing but we weren't dallying, either; but we still just spent 15 or 20 minutes here." Although no "Winter Epic", it was still nice to rewarm.