Apr-11: Lillington Lilliput 123

To complete our respective NC-P-12-Explorer-Challenges,
Iva and I each needed one more unique Populaire.
[Bob had completed his Explorer Challenge the previous month.]

We had two possible routes in mind:

• DaveG's "Buckhorn Boonies" route [I had noticed a sign pointed toward Buckhorn when we had done "The Whirligig" route in March], and 
• Deaner's "Lillington Lilliput" route.  

We chose Dean's route because we were confident that midweek traffic would be acceptable,
Whereas, even though Dave had opined that traffic would likely not be an issue,
We were unfamiliar with the traffic situation near the start/finish of the "Boonies" route.
["Lillington Lilliput" shares its start with a couple other Perms with which we are familiar.]

[Hmmn, after I type the above, it does seem that we perhaps did not adhere to the Explorer concept. 
I expect that we'll give the "Boonies" route a try on a Saturday sometime in the next year. 
I hope so. 
The schedule does sometimes get crowded. 
Heck, for nearly two years, 
I've been trying to take Crista up on an invite to come ride her 4-state-perm or 3-state-pop, 
But local rides, riding them or volunteering, combined with "life" has repeated gotten in the way.]

The following is a copy of Dean's RWGPS map of the route:
[Come to think of it, I think I may have made that map for Dean; 
Maybe I should ask him about that.]
Anyway, a RWGPS map, embedded:



We didn't take any photos.
I recall that a couple of us were struggling a bit all ride long.
More likely, it was just me that was struggling.
So taking time for photos, with the need to rewind the legs, etc. back to cycling rythum,
Was not on the agenda.


It was a bit chilly with a slight wind out of the west or northwest.
[I wanted to get the facts by referencing "weather underground," but it was so slow to load, ... .]
We spent some extra time at the turn-around control in Lillington,
Standing in the sunshine, out of the breeze, gently warming ourselves before beginning the return.
We also loitered at the indoor seating at the control in Erwin,
Probably for the gentle warming in addition to just chatting,
But it could have been that one or two of us were playing for some extra recovery time. 

 
Here's hoping that the I can copy in the chart of the rides we did to complete our Challenges:

	Rider Name  /  Explorer-Challenge-Pop Ridden
Month	Bob, #5843	Iva, #7702	Martin, #6218
Apr-2017	Ala Orange	-------------	-------------
May-2017	Get 'er Dunn	Get 'er Dunn	Get 'er Dunn
Jun-2017	Bunn Wash Caper	Bunn Wash Caper	Bunn Wash Caper
Jul-2017	3M	Bay Leaf - Oxford - Bay Leaf	3M
Aug-2017	NCBC 100	NCBC 100	NCBC 100
Sep-2017	NOB Lite	NOB Lite	NOB Lite
Oct-2017	7-Cs	Bahama Beach	7-Cs
Nov-2017	Denny's Store	Denny's Store	Denny's Store
Dec-2017	Bay Leaf - Oxford - Bay Leaf	Ala Orange	Bay Leaf - Oxford - Bay Leaf
Jan-2018	Raleigh - Berea - Raleigh	Raleigh - Berea - Raleigh	Raleigh - Berea - Raleigh
Feb-2018	The Whirligig	The Whirligig	The Whirligig
Mar-2018	Taylor's Gin	Taylor's Gin	Taylor's Gin
Apr-2018	Lillington Lilliput	Lillington Lilliput	Lillington Lilliput

 
[It appears the chart copied in from Excel more-or-less as intended.]  
Routes not previously ridden by each respective rider are in red.
Routes shown in black were previously ridden by the rider.

I had the fewest "new to me" routes.
Iva the most -- which makes sense since Iva has many fewer RUSA rides than Bob or me.


During the thirteen months shown above, we did manage to get a few other riders to respond to advertisements of the rides:

	Month	other riders
	Apr-2017
	May-2017
	Jun-2017	BWC:  Sridah
	Jul-2017	3M:  Sridah
	Aug-2017	Hope Springs Eternal:  Dave McD
	Sep-2017
	Oct-2017	7-Cs:  Brad W
	Nov-2017
	Dec-2017
	Jan-2018	RBR:  Daniel R
	Feb-2018	The Whirligig:  Bridget J
	Mar-2018	TG:  Bridget J
	Apr-2018

We didn't get a lot of takers, but each route was new to the rider that joined us.
[Note:  I've included McDave on the the "Hope Springs Eternal," even though HSE was not counted by any of us as one of our Explorer rides, because I want to recognize those that responded to advertising of a ride.]

Some may think that I'll stop with this Explorer-Challenge foolishness now that Bob, Iva, and I have completed one Challenge -- that would be wrong thinking.

• I will continue to encourage advertising rides, Perm-Pops and 200+ km Perms. 
• I will continue to encourage camaraderie rides with others not one's usual partners.  

Permanent Route Name / #	Distance	Date	Finishers	DNF
NC: Lillington Lilliput / 2009	123	2018/04/11	3	0

Cert#	RUSA#	Name	Club / ACP Code	Time
RUSA-T80508	7702	A__, Iva C	Randonneurs USA / 933095	06:43
RUSA-T80509	5843	B__, Bob	Randonneurs USA / 933095	06:43
RUSA-T80510	6218	S__, Martin	Randonneurs USA / 933095	06:43

Mar-17: Seven Cs 108

Clyde's Curious Critters Chatham County Cycling Circuit
Owner:  Raleigh RBA Alan Johnson

Thinking it a good idea to celebrate Alan's 75th birthday,
I put out a call / invite on the NC Rando list-serve and Facebook group,
To ride Alan's Perm-Pop and then share a low-key meal with Alan and the other riders.

Riders on the day:

• BobB, #5843, 
• me, #6218, and 
• MikeO, #215. 

The three of us had a fun ride on a nice weather day in the middle of March.
I don't recall much from the ride.
I didn't recall much from the ride even just moments after we finished.
That's because nothing epic or similar happened all ride.
It was just a pleasant time riding.
And, in the end, don't we all hope that all our rides are NOT filled with "epic" moments,
But instead, are simply enjoyable outings on a decent day and course with friendly companions.
That's what I think, and I'll be sticking to that.

After the ride, we joined Alan at the Mexican food joint in the shopping center where the route starts/ends.
We talked about several things.
Of most interest to the readers of this blog (all one or two of them),
Would likely have been our respective plans to prepare our individual selves
For the upcoming Raleigh Region 200k Brevet.

Bob was in shape, of course,
I was in shape to get into shape.
Mike had a ramp-it-up plan for the three weeks to the brevet.
Each of us knew that we would finish the 200, even though two of us were not int the best of shape.
[Fast-forwarding:  the weather for the 200 was atrocious (by central NC standards),  
And none of us rode the brevet, each figuring it was just a ride, and we didn't need 
To risk hypothermia, nor did any of us need to prove anything to anyone, 
Most especially to our individual selves.]

Permanent Route Name / #	Distance	Date	Finishers	DNF
NC: Clyde's Curious Critter Chatham County Cycling Circuit / 1861	108	2018/03/17	3	0

Cert#	RUSA#	Name	Club / ACP Code	Time
RUSA-T79841	215	O__, Michael	North Carolina Bicycle Club / 933045	05:43
RUSA-T79842	5843	B__, Bob	Randonneurs USA / 933095	05:43
RUSA-T79843	6218	S__, Martin	Randonneurs USA / 933095	05:43