Interesting Cluster Map Info

I sometimes check the Cluster Map just to see where the "hits" are coming from.  This morning was an interesting and diverse list:

1/29 @ 4:46 : Mountain View, California, US

1/29 @ 4:46 : Yerevan, AM

1/28 @ 11:28 : Hanoi, VN

1/28 @ 11:07 : Montreal, CA

1/28 @ 10:09 : Raleigh, North Carolina, US

1/28 @ 10:00 : Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, US

1/28 @ 8:13 : Lumberton, North Carolina, US

1/28 @ 8:02 : United States, US

1/28 @ 11:22 : High Point, North Carolina, US

1/28 @ 10:27 : Chapel Hill, North Carolina, US

I have a pretty good idea who "High Point" is.
I have a pretty good idea who "Lumberton" is.

No guess as to who "Chapel Hill" and "Raleigh" might be.
Ditto "Elkins Park".
And clearly, I have no clue as to who "Montreal", "Hanoi" and "Yerevan" might be.

I always wonder who the frequent visitor from "Mountain View" could be.

N.C. Perms -- What Have People Been Riding?, # 5b

The Previous blog-post looked at the Permanents (>= 200+ kms) that were ridden in 2012 if the circuits by the route-organizers on their own routes were ignored, and also if the remaining 2012-10K-Hound circuits were removed from the data.  This post will do the same thing for the Permanent-Populaires.

Part of the reason for looking at the data ignoring "own-route-circuits" is because of a joke JP made at the NC-year-end-party.  Other reason(s) include examining what the non-organizers / non-10K-Hounds randonneurs rode in 2012.

The Permanent-Populaires (100-199 kms): 

		ALL			sans organizer			sans 10K-Hounds
2012  --  Route Name		circuits	kms		circuits	kms		circuits	kms
Get 'er Dunn / 878		141	14,382		77	7,854		18	1,836
Bahama Beach / 1404		66	6,798		44	4,532		10	1,030
Eureka 100 / 1651		32	3,232		0	0		0	0
Howling Grits Populaire / 770		26	2,678		15	1,545		15	1,545
Hope Springs Eternal / 1636		17	2,380		7	980		2	280
Sauratown Lite Populaire / 977		19	2,318		2	244		2	244
Bunn Warmer / 1583		9	972		4	432		2	216
Cameron-Carrboro-Cameron / 1399		7	791		5	565		3	339
Ham and Yam Populaire Jam / 1178		5	540		0	0		0	0
Hillacious 100+6.5 / 1554		5	530		0	0		0	0
Benson Mule Pull / 792		4	420		4	420		0	0
Natty Greene Lite Populaire / 966		3	318		3	318		3	318
The Whirligig / 1006		2	200		2	200		2	200
L'Societe d'Adrian Hands Pop. / 1377		1	102		1	102		1	102
Capitol Bailey Pop - 102km / 1289		1	102		1	102		1	102

Total

338

35,763

165

17,294

59

6,212

Removing the route-organizers from their own route stats gives the middle set of above columns; note that:

• Dean did G'eD 64 times in 2012 and the Mule Pull not-at-all -- poor, neglected Mule Pull.  That's 45% of all G'eD circuits in 2012.  G'eD still comes in as the favorite perm-pop.  (No additional comment regarding the Mule Pull -- except:  I like that course, even if I've always ended up doing it slowly.)
• I did Bahama Beach 22 times.  That's 33% of all BB circuits.  But BB would still be the second-most-favorite perm-pop (third after removing all 2012-10K-Hound-Klub circuits). 
• Al P did his Eureka 32 times -- all since mid-September.  That 100% of all the Eureka circuits.  I'm confident that is only because the route became available late-ish in the year, and it is a little bit of a commute for Raleigh / Durham residents.  I do know some people say they are trying to figure out when to go do the route. 
• JP did his Howling Grits 11 times.  That's 42% of all HG circuits in 2012.  Hmmn -- Jerry's joke almost turns back on him.  :-o 
• Mick did his HSE 10 times, Bunn Warmer 5 times, and CCC twice.  59, 56 and 29 percent of total circuits, respectively. 
• Joel did his Sauartown Lite 17 times -- 89% of the circuits.  Would he have done the route another 16 times to get his third consecutive 10K-Hound if "life" had not gotten in the way?  I shudder to think of it. 
• In total, route-organizers (riding their own routes) did almost one-half of the circuits (and over one-half the kms) that were ridden on the NC perm-pops in 2012.  That certainly supports the idea that it is good to have a convenient route to ride. 

Removing the remaining 2012-NC-10K-Hound circuits gives the 2 right-most columns: 

• There were five NC 10K-Hound-Klub members in 2012.  In order of kms:  MickH, Dean, Mary, Ricochet Robert, me.  Only Robert is not a route-organizer. 
• 10K-Hounds accounted for another 106 circuits and 11-thousand more RUSA kms on perm-pops organized by others. 
• Route-organizers and 10K-Hounds accounted for ~ 82.5% of the circuits and kms completed / credited on NC Permanent-Populaires (100-199 kms) in 2012.  [Dean once told me that it would be a lot easier to get 10K-Hound status if one has their own "recovery populaire".  That has been the case for at least some of the NC 10K-Hounds in each year we've had some 10K-Hounds -- 2010, 2011, 2012.]  
•  
• On routes they don't organize, 10K-Hounds accounted for: 
• 59-circuits of G'eD (55 of those by Mick, 4 by me); 
• 34-circuits of Bahama Beach (24 by Mick, 10 by Ricochet Robert); 
• 5-circuits of Hope Springs Eternal (4 by me, 1 by Dean); 
• all 4 circuits of the Mule Pull (3 by Mick, 1 by me -- each was a solo effort); 
• 2-circuits of the Bunn Warmer (1 each by Dean and me); 
• 2-circuits of Cameron-Carrboro-Cameron (1 each by Dean and me). 
• In contrast to the Permanents of 200k or more, non-organizer 10K-Hounding was concentrated in, well, essentially two perm-pops.  

Big conclusion to these two posts? 

It appears that North Carolina randonneurs, other than route-organizers and 10K-Hounds, prefer riding a 200k-plus route over doing a perm-pop. 


Further posts to come? 

I think so. 
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[For the next post in the series, click-here.]  
 

N.C. Perms -- What Have People Been Riding?, # 5a

Previously, in this series.

Previously, I mentioned a joke JP made in the introduction of Dean "Phun Physio" F as the 2012-NC-Randonneur-of-the-Year.  Condensing, the jist was that Dean's Permanents were the most ridden in North Carolina, but maybe not if one didn't count Dean's rides, er, completed circuits.  Luckily (?), with the extract that Ian did, and knowledge of who the various route-organizers are (one can always check the RUSA website), and some other skills, we can find out.  [Warning:  I removed the route-organizer and 10K-Hound info manually, it is possible that I made a mistake or two, or three.]

The Permanents (200k or more):

		ALL			sans organizer			sans 10K-Hounds
2012 -- Route Name		circuits	kms		circuits	kms		circuits	kms
Lookin' Out My Back Door / 1468		77	15,477		66	13,266		51	10,251
Leesville-Leasburg-Leesville / 831		60	12,240		50	10,200		26	5,304
Warrenton + Egypt Mountain / 1444		26	5,548		17	3,625		11	2,343
Ammons-Whiteville / 1380		27	5,454		11	2,222		11	2,222
Tar Heel 200 / 589		26	5,200		24	4,800		22	4,400
Lumberton-Ellerbe 200K / 1391		25	5,075		14	2,842		14	2,842
OakElmOak / 1551		17	3,553		14	2,926		9	1,881
Carolina Crossroads / 1279		12	2,400		9	1,800		6	1,200
Showdown in Black Creek / 481		10	2,040		10	2,040		6	1,224
Lake Gaston 210K / 1242		9	1,890		6	1,260		6	1,260
Yanceyville Ramble / 480		8	1,664		8	1,664		8	1,664
Big Bike to Performance Bike / 803		6	1,302		4	868		4	868
Sauratown 200K / 412		6	1,284		1	214		1	214
Brushy Mountain Lassooo / 1013		6	1,236		4	824		4	824
Carthage Coffee Run / 952		6	1,206		6	1,206		6	1,206
How I ... Love the BOMB / 1290		6	1,200		4	800		4	800
Natty Greene 200 / 958		5	1,070		5	1,070		5	1,070
Kerr Lake Loop / 143		5	1,040		3	624		3	624
Siler City Express / 257		3	603		2	402		2	402
Tread of Tears / 1606		2	600		1	300		1	300
Coffeedence / 1629		2	412		1	206		1	206
Blackbeard's Permanent / 58		1	283		0	0		0	0
Wilkes Foothills 200K / 924		1	203		1	203		1	203
Triple Mountain View / 926		1	201		0	0		0	0

Total

347

71,181

261

53,362

202

41,308

 
Removing the route-organizers from their own route stats gives the middle set of above columns; I note that:

• Dean did LOMBD 11 times and Tar Heel twice.  LOMBD still comes in as the favorite perm, and Tar Heel would move up to third on the list. 
• Byron did Triple-L 10 times.  But Triple-L would still be the second most-favored perm. 
• I did Egypt Mtn 9 times. 
• Mary did her Ammons route 16 times, and her Ellerbe route 11 times.  See additional comment below. 
• "Skinny" Joel did Sauartown 5 times. 
• No one else did any of their own routes more than 3 times. 
• Looking only at the Perms of 200+ kms, it seems that JP's joke might have been better applied to Mary than Dean (but only regarding 2012).  Additionally, Mary was not at the year-end-party, so the joke would not have been "fair".  Furthermore, I have a sneaking suspicion that the Perm-Pops (100-199 kms) might very well change the impression left by the above chart -- Mary doesn't organize any populaires; Dean does, and he rides the heck out of one of them in particular. 
• Route organizers did their own 200+ km perms 86 times in 2012, and collected just under 18-thousand RUSA kms.  

Removing the remaining completed circuits of the 2012 North Carolina 10K-Hounds gives the right-most 2 columns above: 

• There were five NC 10K-Hound-Klub members in 2012.  In order of kms:  MickH, Dean, Mary, Ricochet Robert, me.  Only Robert is not a route-organizer.  Perhaps there is a lesson there:  organizing your own route(s) might be a considerable help to attaining 10K-Hound status.  (That definitely seemed so in 2010 in NC, but not so much in 2011.  More later?) 
• 10K-Hounds accounted for another 58 circuits and nearly 12-thousand more RUSA kms on routes organized by others. 
• We can see that 10K-Hounds do ride routes other than there own.  
• Route-organizers and 10K-Hounds accounted for ~ 41.5% of the circuits and kms completed / credited on Permanents (200+ kms) in 2012.  
• It's good to know that non-route-oranizers and those not infected with the 10K-Hound virus still acounted for forty-one-and-a-half thousand RUSA kilometers on Permanents in 2012. 
• 
  
• On routes they don't organize, 10K-Hounds accounted for: 
• 15-circuits of LOMBD (11 of those by MickH, 3 by me, 1 by Ricochet); 
• 24-circuits of Triple-L (16 by Ricochet, 5 by me, 2 by Mick, 1 by Dean); 
• 6-circuits of Egypt Mtn (4 by Ricochet, 2 by Mick); 
• 5-circuits of OakElmOak (3 by me, 1 each by Dean and Mary);
• 4-circuits of Black Creek (2 by me, 1 each by Mick and Ricochet); 
• 3-circuits of Carolina Crossroads (1 each by Mick, Dean and me); and 
• 2-circuits of the Tar Heel 200 (1 each by Mick and me). 
• Therefore, one can see that the K-Hounds "spread themselves around pretty well", although most of them had clear favorites. 
• [I keep flipping between referring to the 2012-NC-10K-Hounds in third person and first person.  I'm confident that I'll fail to edit them all to the same tense and "person".]   

The above seems enough for a single post.  The Perm-Pops will be addressed in a separate post.
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[For the next post in the series, click-here.]   

I Like This

It is rather as if I'm patting myself on the back, but ...

-----Original Message-----
From: Hans 
To: Martin 
Sent: Tue, Jan 22, 2013 9:49 pm
Subject: Much ado about nothing...

Sunday afternoon I had a dental crisis of sorts and so Monday morning the Porsche driving good dentist worked me into his schedule.  (I'm sure I've made at least 3 of his car payments over the last two years.)  Anyway, $300 lighter in the wallet, and with a follow up scheduled for another $300 dollar wallet lightening, the morning rando was out of the question being 11:00 am by the time I got home.

But, I did manage to ride the first segment to the intersection of Rocky Ford and Epsom.  Being mid afternoon I turned left to ride home on Epsom rather than turning right to continue on the course.  Gawd!  I love Sims Bridge Road!  I [had] never been in that direction.  ... I dead reckoned my way back to Raleigh by getting over to Fairport and then the usual Cannady Mills headwind route back home.  (now there is another [bleeping] dog near the same place where you were attacked)  Ended up with 90 miles and it was dark by the time I hit my driveway, but the front and rear "blinkies" made all the difference with traffic.

So I now have 9 days to get a 200KM ride in for January.  Tues/Wed/Thurs of next week are looking good (warmest) so ... .  I can't wait to ride the full route.

Later,

Hans 

The reference by Hans to me being attacked by a dog is NOT the one (or pack) I mentioned in regards to my recent Egypt Mtn ride.  Instead, he refers to Aug-08-2010 and a location that is on U.S. Bike Route #1 (and the rando Kerr Lake Loop).  

Jan-19: Bahama Beach 103-km Pop

What to type?
What to type?
Nothing really grabs me.
BobB and I were committed to perm-pop.
We had hoped to do the Denny's Store route.
But switched to Bahama Beach, with a 10 am start, when the forecast temps dropped.
We've each ridden 200+ kms in chillier stuff, but all we were looking for was a P-ride.
(We each had done our respective R-rides earlier in the month.)
So we chose 5 hours in the chill, rather than six-and-a-half.

We thought Ricochet Robert might join us.
But "life" or whatever, he chose not to ride.

We tried to drum up some similar paced additional partners,
But, no-go.

But Saturday morning, I checked my e-mail.
Found a request, that had been sent at 10:01 Friday evening,
For an 0800 Saturday or Sunday perm-pop.

Alternative idea:
Meet us for a 10 am start, and there will be a card and a waiver.

The route-organizer (me) was a bit late.
I could make an excuse or two.  E.g.,

1. I rode more slowly to the start than expected, possibly partially because 
2. I caught every light save one on RED.  Long reds. 
3. umm, that's enough of that. 

Anyway, BobB and MikeD and me pushed off for a BB.
[I know that "BobB and MikeD and I" is gramatically correct; but "and me" rhymes.] 
Bob and Mike actually had cue sheets.
Imagine that:  BB cue.

Yeah, fixie-mounted Mike rode with us for about a mile.
Then he drifted off our front.

We almost caught him at the turn off Kemp onto NC-98.
I was within 20 or 30 yards.
Bob another 10 or 20 back.
But ... we caught occasional glimpses.
The last glimpse being on the first sweeping left-hander on Red Mill Rd,
Just after Bob and I had passed Byron's Triple-L Red Mill control.

I don't know if Mike enjoyed himself or his ride.
I don't know if he answered the info controls correctly.
I'm pretty dang sure he knew all the roads on the BB cue.
From non-rando club and / or JRA rides.

Bob and I had an enjoyable ride in the sunny, chill.
Neither of us had any legs, but one doesn't always need great legs to have a good ride.

We took 33-minutes for the "half-way" control stop in Stem.
Sitting inside while chatting about NC rando issues,
Shaking our heads at the prospect of the next weekend's COLDDD-brevet-fest,
Mentioning which newish RUSA members had renewed and which had not.
Wondering if something could be done to improve "retention".

Then we remounted and worked our way down Brogden Rd into the increasing headwind.
"Light and variable" had been the forecast.
That had been correct until about 1 pm.
Then I would guess at least 10 mph, mostly from the south.

I don't recall transiting Creedmoor,
Except for walking the bikes around the road destruction crew on Church St.
I recall nothing from Brassfield nor Horseshoe nor even Lawrence Road.
I do recall that the headwind, and lack of legs,
Caused me to ask Bob to take more time on the front coming in on Bruce Garner / New Light.

Yep.  That's right.  No faux time-trail on BG / NL.

I know we also rode up Ghoston and Peed and Mt. Vernon Ch roads.
But I recall nothing.

I do recall enjoying the sunshine on the west side of the CVS.
And also the sunshine streaming through the front doors of the CVS.
And I recall Bob and I each sitting on the very low curb,
Each commenting on always wondering if we'd be able to get back up,
Whenever / wherever we do a similar sit or lie-down.

Bob and I finished in 5h20.
Mike's e-mail indicated 4h11; but I haven't seen the card, yet.
I guess Mike got in his nearly-the-last "training" before the COLDDD-600 next weekend.
And as for my arriving late -- I got a "bonus" out of it:
If I'd been on time, etc., Mike would likely have snagged the route's fast-time record.
;-o
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Jan-19:   

--> Bahama Beach 103-km Perm-Populaire -->; 74.0 m.; 5h12 in-motion; 14.2 mph; BB elapsed time:  5h20.   

Jan tot: _2 rides; _209.4 m; _9h03; 14.7 mph; _313 RUSA kms. 

YTD tot: _2 rides; _209.4 m; _9h03; 14.7 mph; _313 RUSA kms.

Only two rides for me this month (so far).
But enough to have snagged R-30 + P-13 (also C-35 + M-47).

Bob snagged P-3.  But I doubt he is counting. 

N.C. Perms -- What Have People Been Riding?, # 4

For previous posts in this "series", click here.

• The list of routes is quite different from the list at the end of 2011 -- lots of new routes. 
• The order of the routes is significantly different (except for "Get 'er Dunn"). 
• Many of the changes in the list of routes and in the order can be attributed to near complete turnover in North Carolina 10K Hound Klub members and aspirants. 
• One noticable change is because three-time 10K Hound Dean created the LOMBD route, which starts only a kilometer from his home, so that he wouldn't have to drive 24-miles to the start of the Tar Heel 200. 
• I think I may have to ask MaryF, the route-organizer for routes Ammons-1380 and Ellerbe-1391, if the difference in the avg kph between those two routes is actually indicative of the difference in difficulty.  Perhaps much of the difference is explained by other factors:  e.g., more "camaraderie / recovery rides" on the Ellerbe route, better lunch food thus engendering longer lunch stops).  [I've done neither route.  Sniff, sniff.]
• Similarly, I may have to ask Joel if Big Bike-803 is tougher than the Sauartown-412.  [I've not done the Big Bike route, nor its reversed version; I did do the Sauartown route in 2010, but it was only 203-kms then, and I was "Hors Delay".] 
• Other than the above two comments, I wouldn't try to judge comparative difficulty of the other routes by "kph".  The mix of randonneurs that did each route varies considerably. 
• You may notice the unusual "k/circuit" (i.e., avg distance) of the Egypt Mtn-1444 route.  That is explained by the route being officially changed during the year due to a key bridge being out-of-commission for about six months. 
• I've switched to "completed circuits" terminology instead of "rides".  Seems potentially less confusing.
• I shudder to think how many times Al P might have ridden his Eureka route if he had gotten it approved in March or April.  I understand that, despite good intentions of some, all 32 of the Eureka completed-circuits were by Al.  And all after the middle of September. 
• Based on a joke JP made when introducing the 2012-NC-Randonneur-of-the-Year (Dean "Phun Physio" F), I intend to re-make the following two charts, but remove the route-organizers from their own routes.  Publication date?  Maybe 2 or 3 days. 
• Might also be interesting to remove the 10K-Hounds, and see what the charts look like.
• I've done every fourth route "in color" solely and only to make it easier to read across the charts.

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[For the next post in the series, click-here.]  
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Permanents Ridden in 2012 (sorted by # of credit-kilometers -- that way my route sneaks ahead of Mary's route ;-) ): 

2012 -- Perm Route "Name"	circuits	kms	hrs	k/circuit	kph
Lookin' Out My Back Door / 1468	77	15,477	798.2	201.0	19.4
Leesville-Leasburg-Leesville / 831	60	12,240	619.6	204.0	19.8
Warrenton & Egypt Mnt / 1444	26	5,548	280.6	213.4	19.8
Ammons-Whiteville / 1380	27	5,454	265.4	202.0	20.5
Tar Heel 200 / 589	26	5,200	277.3	200.0	18.8
Lumberton-Ellerbe 200K / 1391	25	5,075	271.3	203.0	18.7
OakElmOak / 1551	17	3,553	186.1	209.0	19.1
Carolina Crossroads / 1279	12	2,400	123.5	200.0	19.4
Showdown in Black Creek / 481	10	2,040	101.1	204.0	20.2
Lake Gaston 210K / 1242	9	1,890	92.7	210.0	20.4
Yanceyville Ramble / 480	8	1,664	79.9	208.0	20.8
Big Bike to Performance Bike / 803	6	1,302	76.4	217.0	17.0
Sauratown 200K / 412	6	1,284	63.0	214.0	20.4
Brushy Mountain Lassooo / 1013	6	1,236	71.3	206.0	17.3
Carthage Coffee Run / 952	6	1,206	64.6	201.0	18.7
How I ... Love the BOMB / 1290	6	1,200	66.6	200.0	18.0
Natty Greene 200 / 958	5	1,070	65.2	214.0	16.4
Kerr Lake Loop / 143	5	1,040	48.2	208.0	21.6
Siler City Express / 257	3	603	28.1	201.0	21.5
Tread of Tears / 1606	2	600	35.0	300.0	17.1
Coffeedence / 1629	2	412	23.7	206.0	17.4
Blackbeard's Permanent / 58	1	283	12.2	283.0	23.2
Wilkes Foothills 200K / 924	1	203	12.3	203.0	16.5
Triple Mountain View / 926	1	201	8.4	201.0	23.9

Total Permanents

347

71,181

3,670.7

205.1

19.4

Permanent-Populaires Ridden in 2012 (sorted by # of credit kilometers):

2012 -- Perm Route "Name"	circuits	kms	hrs	k/circuit	kph
Get 'er Dunn / 878	141	14,382	777.9	102.0	18.5
Bahama Beach / 1404	66	6,798	323.8	103.0	21.0
Eureka 100 / 1651	32	3,232	158.9	101.0	20.3
Howling Grits Populaire / 770	26	2,678	137.5	103.0	19.5
Hope Springs Eternal / 1636	17	2,380	125.5	140.0	19.0
Sauratown Lite Populaire / 977	19	2,318	98.7	122.0	23.5
Bunn Warmer / 1583	9	972	53.5	108.0	18.2
Cameron-Carrboro-Cameron / 1399	7	791	39.5	113.0	20.0
Ham and Yam Populaire Jam / 1178	5	540	23.4	108.0	23.0
Hillacious 100+6.5 / 1554	5	530	25.5	106.0	20.8
Benson Mule Pull / 792	4	420	21.5	105.0	19.6
Natty Greene Lite Populaire / 966	3	318	18.0	106.0	17.7
The Whirligig / 1006	2	200	11.0	100.0	18.2
L'Societe d'Adrian Hands Pop / 1377	1	102	6.0	102.0	17.0
NC: State Capitol Bailey Pop / 1289	1	102	4.3	102.0	24.0

Total Permanent-Populaires	338	35,763	1,825.0	105.8	19.6
Grand Total	685	106,944	5,495.7	156.1	19.5