Sep-01: Short Ride on US Bike Route #1

Unintended short ride, that is.

I cycled 15-miles to the start, arriving at 0735.
25-minutes 'till start time -- 25 minutes trying to stay in the shade.

Although I rode 10 solo perms last year,
And a few solo perms late in 2010,
I was anxious the night before
As I had done not a single solo perm this year.

That anxious feeling was long-gone by the time I climbed back up from crossing the Tar River.
I was starting to settle in and looking forward to a fun, if slightly warm, day.
Probably made better by the expected tailwind the last 48-miles of the route.

About 20-miles into the route,
I concluded that the 39/15 faux single-speed gear I'd used to that point was too easy.
The route would be pretty flat until Nutbush Creek Rd,
So I switched to the 50/15.
That was a bit too hard given another 110-miles to the route (and 15 afterward).
So I attempted to shift to the 50/17.

I'd been having some difficulty shifting among the rear cogs on recent rides,
But I attributed that to the chain being WAYYYY beyond its lifetime.
I should have been paying more attention.
I'd experienced what the problem really was twice before in the last 2 1/2 years.
But had gotten the problem fixed before ... failure.

The 50/17 was a no-go.
Instead ... BANG ... the Shimano shifter had completed chewing its way through
All the strands of the rear derailleur cable.
50/11 was the result.

I shifted to the 39/11,
And decided to ride the last three miles to the first control,
To consider my options.

I could probably have tied-off the cable on my water-bottle-cage
Into the 15 or 17 (or hopefully the 19) in the rear.
Then I would have had a 3-speed:  30-39-50 in front; whatever in back.
Two or three places on the route would have HURT,
But I could probably have completed the route.

If it were the last chance of a month to keep an R-series going,
I would have done the roadside "fix".
But it was only the first day of the month,
And I'm riding the "Showdown in Black Creek" route tomorrow,
With newbie randonneuse Karen,
And she might need, or at least want, some company along for psychological purposes,
On what will be her second attempt at R-1.

So ... I turned around and rode back to Raleigh.
Got the rear derailleur cable replaced.
And even though I really putzed the 5 or 6 miles after the stop at the bike shop,
I ended up with my 4th fastest in-motion ride of the year.
Because I had decided not to bother with the roadside fix described above,
And rode back in the 39/11.

You know what happens when you ride in the 39/11 compared to the 39/15?
You go a LOT faster (assuming you maintain a similar cadence).
I'm always amazed how fast I can make the bike go when I want to on a shorter ride.
Someday, maybe, maybe, maybe I'll try riding faster on 200k ride.

Maybe.
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Sep-01:  

--> Kerr Lake Loop; turned around "at the Oxford" control --> ; 79.3 m.; 4h55 in-motion; 16.1 mph.

Q-1 tot: _22 rides; 1,610.3 m.; 108h42; 14.8 mph; 1947 RUSA kms. 

Q-2 tot: _29 rides; 2,711.5 m.; 182h48; 14.8 mph; 2700 RUSA kms. 

J-A tot: _19 rides; 1,591.9 m.; 105h29; 15.1 mph; 1599 RUSA kms. 

Sep tot: __1 rides; ___79.3 m.; __4h55; 16.1 mph; ___0 RUSA kms.  

YTD tot: _71 rides; 5,993.0 m.; 401h54; 14.9 mph; 6246 RUSA kms.