Nov-03-2018: Neuse River Trail 201

Consistent with the relatively new "start at any timed control" protocol, Bob and I decided to request approval to do the relatively new "Wilson to Falls Lake via Neuse River Trail" Permanent starting from the Falls Lake "turn-around" instead of driving all the way to Wilson just to ride back to approximately 5-miles from where I rest my head at night.  Starting from Falls Lake was a benefit for each of us:  5-miles for me to the turn-around, and a 55-mile drive for Bob instead of a 100-mile drive to Wilson.  Mutual agreement reached. 

Route owner Tim suggested we use Electronic Proof of Passage (EPP), taking photos with our phones and texting same to him from each control.  Mutual agreement reached.  

The route, from Wilson, has the advantage of finishing heading east; i.e., finishing with the setting sun behind you instead of in your eyes, and more to the point, not in the eyes of any vehicular traffic on the same roads.  

Neither the setting sun nor the rising sun is an issue if one starts from the Falls Lake end of the out-and-back course ... because ... one starts and finishes with approx 50-kms on the Neuse River Trial:  no vehicular traffic and lots of trees blocking early and/or late day sunshine. 

There is another advantage for everyone that starts from Falls Lake.  After 50-kms on the greenway multiple use path, one has to climb a very-non-trivial climb to get up to the control in / near Clayton and then connecting to the roads of the next 50-kms.  If one starts in Wilson, that climb comes after 150-kms.  Need I type more about that climb and why it is easier to do after only 50-kms as opposed to doing it after 150-kms? 

Bob had previously done the route twice.  Once with route owner Tim; once with rando Daniel.  Each of those rides had started in Wilson.  Therefore, although I have not encountered the above referenced climb after 150-kms of otherwise quite flat riding, Bob has, and he confirmed that not only did he prefer the shorter drive(s), he also preferred doing that climb earlier in the ride. 

I might insert a link or an embed of the route here, if I can locate either Tim's original RWGPS map or the copy that Bob made so that he could study the route and produce an alternative route cue sheet that fits Bob's style better than that which may fit Tim's style.  I might insert a link or embed.  Or not. 

As all the regular readers of this blog, all one of you, will know, 200+ km Perms were quite a struggle for me all of 2018, and this ride was no exception.  

Also as the regular readers will know, Bob has been patiently slowing and waiting for me all year (since he's been staying good shape so that he could enjoy several one-week PacTour events the last couple years).  One of these days, I HAVE GOT TO FIND MY CYCLING MOJO, and turn the tables back such that sometimes I'll have to be the patient one, sometimes each of us will feel good on the same ride, and only occasionally will Bob have to be the patient one. 

One more thing about starting the route from Falls Lake, and perhaps the only thing in this report that is actually about this particular ride:  if anyone starts from Falls Lake in the Autumn, wait until at least 7:30 am to start; there were places early in the ride that we could barely make out where the path was and where it wasn't, because the entire surface of the path and surrounding grassy grounds were completely covered in leaves.  We concluded that if we had started at 0700 (as originally planned), we would likely have had to stop for about half-an-hour to wait for enough daylight to be able to discern the edge of the pathway. 

Permanent Route Name / #	Distance	Date	Finishers	DNF
NC: Wilson to Falls Lake via Neuse River Trail / 3580	201	2018/11/03	2	0

Cert#	RUSA#	Name	Club / ACP Code	Time
RUSA-T85537	5843	B, Bob	Randonneurs USA / 933095	11:13
RUSA-T85538	6218	S, Martin	Randonneurs USA / 933095	11:13

September-2018: More Fun on Some Pops

A day or two after completing the Denny's Store ride (see previous post), Hurricane Florence made landfall in southeastern North Carolina / eastern South Carolina as a Cat 1 hurricane.  [For any cyclist that might read this and is not familiar with hurricane ratings, hurricanes are categorized according to the sustained winds of the storm.  Unlike racing cyclists, Cat 1 is the lowest ranking and Cat 5 is the highest ranking.]

Usually, once a hurricane makes landfall, or comes near the coast but remains offshore, the steering currents of the jet stream and associated weather patterns quickly accelerate the hurricane and within a couple or three days the storm is leaving Maine or even Newfoundland behind.  However, Florence made landfall and stalled out, wandering in a small circle, bringing rain, rain, RAIN and MORE RAIN to southeastern North Carolina and nearby areas.  The Cat 1 storm brought so much rain that SIGNIFICANT flooding resulted which inflicted more damage than Cat 3 storms and even some Cat 4 hurricanes.

Florence finally moved out of southeast NC on about September 17th.  Rando buddy BobB, #5843, and I undertook the "Bay Leaf - Oxford - Bay Leaf" 104-km perm-pop on the 19th.  My Excel log includes a note "check roads after hurricane."  I wonder if I actually thought that was one of the purposes of the ride.

We started the ride at 0600, and rode a passably camaraderie pace, taking 2h15 in-motion for the outbound / northbound leg.  Sorry, but neither Bob nor I use a GPS device; we do not record / keep track of our rides on RWGPS nor Strava nor anywhere other than the RUSA database and our personal logs -- actually, I'm not sure that Bob keeps any personal log records.  My personal log is an Excel workbook where I record total distance, time in-motion, perhaps a comment or two, and often note the rando elapsed time (but that last is not really necessary as the elapsed time is what RUSA keeps).  Neither Bob nor I keep our control cards as souvenirs or whatever -- the result of each of us having attained RUSA Mondial status (and K-Hound status) -- in other words, we've done so many RUSA rides that keeping the paper would be ridiculous.  So, since we do not keep our control cards, I can't be sure how much elapsed time it took to get to the outbound control (which is just east of Oxford, NC).

[Let me be clear:  although I have been the beneficiary of being allowed to use EPP (in the form of pics taken at the controls and immediately texted to the route-owner), I prefer the paper control cards to the EPP methods for proof of passage.  Using the paper, signed or initialed by store clerks, or obtaining store receipts, forces one to get off one's steed and interact with the locals -- clerks and visitors -- becoming an ambassador for all cyclists, and possibly forming a type of acquaintanceship with the clerk(s) and / or locals (click here for an example).  I just don't keep the paper after the ride -- neither does Bob.]

The return leg took 2h13 for a total in-motion time of 4h28.  The RUSA website indicates a total elapsed time of 4h57.  Most of the 29-minutes of stoppage / pausage time was almost certainly time taken at the turn-around control; the remainder of the stoppage time would have been from the several stop-lights and stop-signs en route.

Not much of a story, but it is mine, and I'll stick to it.  After all, I reckon that Bob and I had an enjoyable half-day on our respective steeds.

Permanent Route Name / #	Distance	Date	Finishers	DNF
NC: Bay Leaf - Oxford - Bay Leaf / 2259	104	2018/09/19	2	0

Cert#	RUSA#	Name	Club / ACP Code	Time
RUSA-T84355	5843	B, Bob	Randonneurs USA / 933095	04:57
RUSA-T84356	6218	S, Martin	Randonneurs USA / 933095	04:57

=======================================

Bunn Wash Caper 108-km 'free route' on the 22nd  

Bob, IvaHawk, and I had done the "Bunn Wash Caper" earlier in the year,
July 18th to be exact.

Amazing, I thought I had written a blog post about that July ride.
But, no.

Well, then, just a few words about July 18th.
Bob, IvaHawk, and Sridhar had enjoyed riding the Bunn Wash Caper on Jun-07-2017.
So, Bob and IvaHawk and I decided to do the route again.
In 2017, we had ridden on a Wednesday morning, with an 0700 start.
We thought there had been just a bit more traffic early on that we would have preferred. 

Permanent Route Name / #	Distance	Date	Finishers	DNF
NC: Bunn Wash Caper / 2122	108	2018/07/18	3	0

Cert#	RUSA#	Name	Club / ACP Code	Time
RUSA-T82874	7702	A, Iva C	Randonneurs USA / 933095	05:42
RUSA-T82875	5843	B, Bob	Randonneurs USA / 933095	05:42
RUSA-T82876	6218	S, Martin	Randonneurs USA / 933095	05:42

 

So, for the July-2018 ride, we started at 0600.
That earlier start led to a significant decrease in the traffic for those first half-dozen miles.
A lesson learned. 
[Btw, the traffic in 2017 -- I'm confident that those from more urban regions 
Would have thought there was next to no traffic. 
But our routes here, or most of them, are quite rural with VERY little traffic, and
That is what we like.] 

When Mick, #6109, and I created the Bunn Wash Caper route,
I recall mentioning that I had never ridden Pilot-Riley Rd, and
Looking at the map, we judged that taking Pilot-Riley would give the
Same distance as taking Johnsontown Rd,
So we routed the Bunn Wash Caper standard route on Pilot-Riley
To NC-39 to Maille Pearce Rd and thence onto Pine Ridge Rd.



However, I'm quite sure that each of the previous times that I had done the BWC,
That I had not turned onto Pilot-Riley, but had continued on to Pearces Rd,
Then onto Johnsontown Rd, then straight across NC-98, and
Then onto Pine Ridge Rd.

After doing the above referenced July-2018 ride,
I looked carefully at the standard documents, cue sheet and the RWGPS map, and
Discovered I had recalled the route incorrectly.
[I had thought that Johnsontown Rd was the standard routing, and 
I had never bothered to check the cue sheet to confirm.]

Not only was I incorrect in recalling the correct standard route,
It turned out that the Johnsontown Rd routing is shorter than the Pilot-Riley routing.

However, I get ahead of myself.
Bob and I did this ride with several purposes,
One of which was to ride Pilot-Riley Rd and see what it offered.
Another was to thus to ride NC-39 on a Saturday and see what the traffic was like.
[The immediate above because on the July-2018 ride, a Wednesday ride,
It had taken several minutes to cross NC-39 because the morning rush hour traffic 
Had "ping-ponged" us, coming first from one direction, then the other, repeatedly.]
We may also have been riding for P-12 purposes, and / or K-Hound accumulation.

The Saturday morning traffic onNC-39 was okay, but
I concluded that I'd rather just worry about crossing straight across,
Especially on a weekday.

So, I traded a flatter Pilot-Riley Rd with some quite nice homesteads
For Johnsontown Rd with a noticeable valley crossing,
Reducing the official length of the route.

Another reason for riding was to find out if the detour due to bridge re-destruction
On Seven Paths Rd just north of Spring Hope was still in effect.
It was.
So, once again, we rode the Spring Hill Rd detour around the 7-Paths bridge out.

And when checking the RWGPS maps after this September ride,
I definitely concluded that Spring Hill Rd is shorter than staying on Seven Paths.
So, I changed the routing of the standard course to use Spring Hill Rd.

The combined changes have reduced the official distance for
The Bunn Wash Caper 'free-route' from 108 to 105 kms.

However, next time I ride the BWC,
I figure I'll ride Seven Paths the entire distance, and
I'll recommend the same to others that decide to give the course a go.



Oh, just a word about the ride that Bob and I had:
It was an enjoyable ride.
I recommend the Bunn Wash Caper to everyone looking for a fun half-day on the bike.
  

Permanent Route Name / #	Distance	Date	Finishers	DNF
NC: Bunn Wash Caper / 2122	108	2018/09/22	2	0

Cert#	RUSA#	Name	Club / ACP Code	Time
RUSA-T84415	5843	B, Bob	Randonneurs USA / 933095	05:07
RUSA-T84416	6218	S, Martin	Randonneurs USA / 933095	05:07

  
=====================================

Sep-23rd "Bay Leaf - Oxford - Bay Leaf" 104-km Ride. 

I was feeling good after the Bunn Wash Caper on the 22nd,
So I did a solo "Oxford" ride the next day.

Solo, except that I picked up a local serendipity rider for some of the ride.

I recall NOTHING from the ride,
Except that lights and reflective gear were needed for the 6 am start, and
That I enjoyed the ride.

Recalling NOTHING is why I need to get back to blogging my rides immediately afterward.

My Excel log indicates:

• 2h12 in-motion time outbound, and 
• 2h01 in-motion time on the return, and 
• a total rando elapsed time of 4h24, 
• Meaning only 11 minutes of control and other stoppage time. 

  

Permanent Route Name / #	Distance	Date	Finishers	DNF
NC: Bay Leaf - Oxford - Bay Leaf / 2259	104	2018/09/23	1	0

Cert#	RUSA#	Name	Club / ACP Code	Time
RUSA-T84454	6218	S, Martin	Randonneurs USA / 933095	04:24

I enjoyed these three late September rides.
One might expect that October would filled with more / similar rides.
 
However, I didn't do another rando ride until October 29th.
A "Raleigh-Berea-Raleigh" 109-km ride that I started at 0445.
I recall that almost the entire outbound 54.5-kms were in darkness,
Which was fine, even interesting.

And then I snuck in a reversed "Road to Hicksboro" 205-km ride on the 31st.
I just can't get comfortable with doing Hicksboro reversed.
And that is all I'm going to type about that ride.


The next ride I will blog about is the November 3rd reversed Neuse River 201-km
Ride that Bob #5843 and I did.
How long before I get around to typing that?
I dunno'.

Sep-09-2018: Denny's Store 138

I have written in emails and mentioned in person that the Denny's Store Sortie, 138-km perm-pop, is my favorite route.  Not too hilly, but not flat.  A couple non-trivial climbs in the first half (riding clock-wise), but nothing devastating.

In 2018, I rode the Denny's Store route five times.

• Feb-24, "Party of Seven" -- see blog report. 
•  
• There are no blog reports for the next three Denny's Store rides.  The following information is taken from the RUSA website, my Excel ride log, or my possibly faulty memory. 
•  
• Jun-04, solo.  6h34 elapsed, 5h56 in-motion, i.e., 38 minutes stopped en route. 
• Jun-27, with Bob #5843.  7h19 elapse, 5h53 in-motion, i.e., 1h26 stopped en route.  I know that Bob and I actually stopped at the better place in Berea to get some lunch as opposed to me just grabbing a quick snack at the lesser food / restful place on Jun-04, but that still leaves an hour of not advancing.  Why?  That's a good question.  
• Jul-04, with Bob #5843 and Harvey #11802.  7h12 elapsed, 5h44 in-motion, i.e., 1h28 stopped en route.  I know we had to go the "snack place" in Berea as opposed to the "lunch place," so that should have saved some time as compared to Jun-27.  We also stopped at Moriah to refresh our supplies of cool beverages -- I recall that Bob and I also did that on Jun-27 -- so that shouldn't have added that much stoppage time as compared to the previous ride.  Typing the prior, I recall that we ended up wasting a lot of time at the Allensville store:  I had indicated that I wanted a camaraderie ride, which to me means a pace at which it was comfortable to do some chatting as rode, but which Harvey and Bob (?) interpreted to mean "take our time at controls."  Aargh.  

Obviously, the fifth time I rode the Denny's Store route in 2018 was on Sep-09.  A solo ride, perhaps with some serendipitous company for part of the ride.

Often / usually, the clerk at the Allensville store control will ask about "[my] ex-wife," whom she recalls riding with me on quite a few Denny's Store rides -- others, even reasonably close friends, have been surprised when the clerk asks about Lynn.  However, on this trip, the clerk at Allensville was the "other one" that does not recall Lynn -- the "other one" is not on duty as often as the clerk that inquires about Lynn, so that explains the difference in the clerks' interest in Lynn.  I'll just note, as I have previously in this blog, that if one will get off one's bike at the controls and talk, er, make that chat with the locals, one can make friends on one's favorite rando routes -- being an ambassador for all cycling is definitely a worthwhile activity, and worth a few minutes delay and few pennies expenses in creating and using control cards.  That is my opinion, and I will definitely be sticking to that opinion.

I grabbed a quick snack for the Berea control, and got on with the ride.

I don't recall anything from the ride.  I apparently took no photos, or at least, if I did take some, I've misplaced them.  I'm confident that I enjoyed my ride.

6h20 elapsed, 5h52 in-motion, i.e., only 28 minutes stopped en route.
Looking back at the last four Denny's Store rides during 2018,
There was very little variation in the in-motion times, but
The stoppage time varied hugely.
Keeping the stoppage time to a minimum makes a large difference in the total ride time.
Sometimes it is preferable to take one's time at the controls,
Other times, get back on the bike and get going ought to be the plan.
That, too, is my opinion, and I'll be sticking to it.

2018/02/24 finishers=7 DNF=0
RUSA-T79354	6628	B, Robert	Randonneurs USA / 933095	6:55
RUSA-T79355	621	M, Byron	Randonneurs USA / 933095	6:55
RUSA-T79356	11802	H, Harvey	Bicycle For Life Club / 933057	6:55
RUSA-T79357	8423	P, Stephen	Bicycle For Life Club / 933057	6:48
RUSA-T79358	12439	S, Deanna	Bicycle For Life Club / 933057	6:48
RUSA-T79359	5843	B, Bob	Randonneurs USA / 933095	6:48
RUSA-T79360	6218	S, Martin	Randonneurs USA / 933095	6:59
2018/06/04 finishers=1 DNF=0
RUSA-T81634	6218	S, Martin	Randonneurs USA / 933095	6:34
2018/06/27 finishers=2 DNF=0
RUSA-T82204	5843	B, Bob	Randonneurs USA / 933095	7:19
RUSA-T82205	6218	S, Martin	Randonneurs USA / 933095	7:19
2018/07/04 finishers=3 DNF=0
RUSA-T82435	5843	B, Bob	Randonneurs USA / 933095	7:12
RUSA-T82436	11802	H, Harvey	Bicycle For Life Club / 933057	7:12
RUSA-T82437	6218	S, Martin	Randonneurs USA / 933095	7:12
2018/09/09 finishers=1 DNF=0
RUSA-T84102	6218	S, Martin	Randonneurs USA / 933095	6:20

 
====================================

Comment having nothing to do with this ride:

On Feb-19-2016, Bob #5843 and I did the "Fish Pop" out of Lumberton, NC.
I took a lot of time on that ride.
Not because I needed the rest, but
Instead, as I mentioned to Bob that day,
Almost always when I do a 100 to 110 km perm-pop,
I'm under significant time pressure because I'm due to work in the afternoon, but
On that 2016 "Fish Pop," it was a sunny day and I was not under time-pressure,
So I was intent on enjoying every moment of the day that I could. 

Fin.

Sep-06-2018: Egypt Mtn 210

Keeping Bob's (#5843) R-streak alive,
Mine I no longer worry about,
We did my "Egypt Mtn" 210-km Perm for Bob's R-ride.

This made Bob's 12th time doing EM.
My 33rd time.
So we know the route; we are comfortable with and on the route.

I don't bother to carry a cue sheet; I also do not use a GPS unit.
Bob almost always carries a cue sheet, but he might forego that when with me on the EM route.
I'm not sure, because I don't look all that carefully at the paraphernalia on his bike.
Except maybe to see if he is on the bike with the magic air horn (anti-dawg defense).

The only major decision that usually faces us is this:
Do we lunch at the Hardee's in Warrenton, or at the Subway.
This ride, we chose the Subway.

I was struggling, again, again, again!
Bob was just putzing along, be patient with my lack of pace.

I finally got frustrated enough that my saddle was just far enough off being straight,
That I stopped a mile or so before getting to Egypt Mtn Rd,
To straighten the darn thing -- the saddle, I mean.

And then, I found out that the saddle having been just a few degrees off-kilter,
Had clearly been throwing my body position off just enough
That I had been throwing away power.
Aargh!

Egypt Mtn Rd is about 5 miles long.
My friend Lynn used to comment that sometimes it seemed interminable:
There was always another curve ahead, another incline to ride.
Sometimes I find Egypt Mtn Rd interminable,
But only because I'm wanting to get to the west end already.

This ride, just after turning off Egypt Mtn Rd onto Charlie Grissom Rd,
I noticed an extra bump-bump coming from the rear tyre.
So, I pulled over at Wilton / Gray Rock Rd, there's a picnic table under a shelter there,
To look at the rear tyre.
And that led to swapping out the tyre.
Somewhere I have a photo of the bad places on that tyre,
But I'm choosing to publish without the photo.
If I find it in the next couple days, maybe I'll insert it into this.

That tyre, that I carried with me to the end of the ride in order to properly dispose of it,
Was the tyre I had put on the bike during the July 14 "OakElmOak" perm.
That tyre was a well used spare, but I don't know how many miles were on it when put on in July.
My Excel records show that I got an estimated 832-miles out of the used "OakElmOak" spare.

That's the only memories I have of this "Egypt Mtn" ride.
Except that, at the end, Bob did note that we had managed to keep the elapsed time under 13 hours.

My Excel log indicates 10-hours in-motion.
12h59 elapsed, 10h00 in-motion -- WHY did we have 3 hours of stoppage time??
Okay, why did I inflict 3 hours of stoppage time on Bob?

August-2018: Fun on Some Pops

My first ride of August 2018 was the worker's pre-ride of the RUSA Birthday Brevet + Picnic observation.  I managed to get through that ride with the help, really the PATIENCE of rando buddy BobB #5843.

The remainder of August, I did several perm-pop rides, and also volunteered at the RUSA Birthday Brevets + Picnic.  The rides of August were enjoyable; but I can recall little in the way of details; I probably couldn't have told another much in the way of details if I had spoken with someone the day after each ride.  I guess one could assume that I did each ride "in the moment," enjoying each ride as it came.  Not a bad way to do some bicycling about:  "enjoy the moment," "enjoy the ride."

During the summer of 2018, I did quite a few "Raleigh - Berea - Raleigh" 109-km perm-pops.  Most of them I started at 0430, 0500, 0530, or thereabouts.  That meant at least an hour of riding in darkness.  However, in the middle of the summer, the time in darkness was not quite an hour, which proved nice -- not so much because riding in daylight is better (which it probably is), but because the summer early daylight allowed me to watch the gradual construction of a couple houses / homes on Dove Rd.  I could also see the houses / homes on the return legs (which were obviously always in daylight), but the dynamics of the terrain meant it was much easier to glance over at the houses-under-construction outbound while going up slight inclines than it was to look over those houses when rocketing down the return declines.  That's my opinion, and I'll be sticking to it.

On a couple of the August perm-pops, I serendipitiously crossed paths with the same friend, and rode at least some together.  On the August 12th "Bay Leaf - Oxford - Bay Leaf" 104-km ride, with pedaling along chatting with serendipity, Paul "the Mallet" caught up to us, and then slowed for a few minutes to chat, before he powered off with the intent of completing his 100-mile training ride before noon.  I recall Paul mentioning that the 100-miler was his long-ride training for the upcoming August 18th Brevet.

The other perm-pop I did in August 2018 was the "Bahama Beach" 103-km 'free-route.'  My first ever route, and one that has been quite popular over the years.  Partially because, for quite a while, it was the only north of Raleigh perm-pop.  Partially because there were several active RUSA members pursuing K-Hound awards that liked the route.  Partially because "Bahama Beach" is a good half-day hill training exercise.  And finally, partially because it is a nice ride.

Anyway, the only thing I recall from the August 22nd "Bahama Beach" ride is that IvaHawk #7702 expressed the desire to do the standard route instead of "winging-it" on one of the popular variants.  IvaHawk wanted to keep the ride a bit shorter than any variant versions would have been, and the standard route has less climbing than the variant we would have done.

The above outlines the memories I do have of my August 2018 perm-pops.  Other than I enjoyed my rides, that is.  Although I recall next to nothing, the rides are noted in my Excel log (with almost no annotation) and of course the rides are recorded on the RUSA website:  two rides on my "Oxford" route, one ride on my "Bahama Beach" route, and two rides on "Lynn's" "RBR" route.

RUSA-T83518	RUSAT	104	2018/08/12		NC: Bay Leaf - Oxford - Bay Leaf	04:40
RUSA-T83590	RUSAT	109	2018/08/17		NC: Raleigh - Berea - Raleigh	04:57
RUSA-T83694	RUSAT	103	2018/08/22		NC: Bahama Beach	05:13
RUSA-T83736	RUSAT	109	2018/08/25		NC: Raleigh - Berea - Raleigh	05:06
RUSA-T83779	RUSAT	104	2018/08/26		NC: Bay Leaf - Oxford - Bay Leaf	04:38

August was an enjoyable month -- well, at least the perm-pops were enjoyable.
Did I mention that before? 

Aug-18-2018: Raleigh Region RUSA 20th Anniversary Rides + Picnic -- Part 3

For Part 2, see the previous post.
For Part 1, see the post before that, but it isn't really worth the read. 

Under RBA Alan's (RUSA #306) leadership, probably instigated by MikeD (RUSA #1609), but I don't actually know, I'm just guessing, the Raleigh Region has been doing annual RUSA Anniversary Brevets + Picnics since RUSA's 10th birthday in 2008.  In PBP years, the Anniversary rides have been pushed back into September or October, and they've been RUSA brevets instead of ACP/BRM brevets, but any way one cuts it, 2018 was the eleventh consecutive year that Alan has put on a RUSA Anniversary ride + picnic.

Interregnum #1.

The 200 riders were off.
Another two or three hours before the 100 was to start.
What to do in the meantime?

Alan cleverly arranges for his brevets to start only a quarter-mile from his house.
Alan went home.
Maybe to eat breakfast.
I never asked.

I live roughly 20-miles by road from the starts.
A "crow-fly" distance estimate is 14 or so miles,
But there's an airport and / or large state park in the direct path.
I decided to go up the road a mile

[To the shopping ctr where Alan's one perm-pop starts. 
A couple other perm-pops also start at that shopping ctr. 
But these pieces of information add nothing to this story, 
And there is no useful reason to include them here, but ... ] 

To the McD's to grab something from the $1 menu.

However, it seemed everything on the $1 menu was priced well above one dollar.
And / or nothing on the menu seemed appetizing.

[Hmmn, breaking another composition rule? 
One sentence split between two paragraphs.] 

So I walked around the shopping ctr, checking out the potential eateries.
None of which were open.
Well, the doughnut shop was open,
But that didn't appeal, dollar-wise or appetite-wise.

So I checked out the shelves of the large retailer in said shopping ctr.
Boring, so I walked around for a bit,
Then headed to the start location of the 100,
Where I hung out until Alan and then the riders began to arrive.

100 check-in and start.

I recall nothing interesting during the check-in and prior to the start,
Except for this:

Joel, #692, former Highpoint RBA,
Though you won't find his name on the list, 
As officially Richard, #174, was listed as the RBA,
Has a history, almost a reputation, for showing up late for brevets.

So, trying to inject some humor in the lead-up to the picnic rides,
I asked, on the list-serve and / or Facegroup group,
What was the over / under on Joel arriving for the picnic 200.

Joel was pre-registered for the 200, but
If you look at the previous post, in particular the list of those that rode the 200, 
You won't find Joel's name.

So, when I saw Joel signing in for the 100,
I mentioned to him that no one would have picked two-and-a-half hours
For the over / under.  LOL.

Joel responded, indicating that when the alarm went off
To get up, get around, and come east to Raleigh for the 200,
He shut off the alarm, said "no way" to himself,
Rolled over and went back to sleep.

Smiles all around. 

NC: Raleigh RUSAP 100 km 2018/08/18 finishers=8 DNF=0 North Carolina Bicycle Club / 933045
RUSA-P14565	6628	B, Robert	Randonneurs USA / 933095	05:18
RUSA-P14566	7794	D, Thomas	North Carolina Bicycle Club / 933045	04:57
RUSA-P14567	11802	H, Harvey	Bicycle For Life Club / 933057	05:18
RUSA-P14568	2618	H, JoeRay	Carolina Tarwheels / 933047	04:57
RUSA-P14569	692	L, Joel	North Carolina Bicycle Club / 933045	05:09
RUSA-P14570	215	O, Michael	North Carolina Bicycle Club / 933045	05:28
RUSA-P14571	95	S, Paul	Randonneurs USA / 933095	05:18
RUSA-P14572	8024	T, Michael	Carolina Tarwheels / 933047	04:57

 
Interregnum #2.

I had some more time "kill,"
So, noticing that there was some festival going on more-or-less
Across from the park where rides were to finish / where the picnic would take place,
I went exploring.

As best I can recall, the "festival" was essentially a farmer's market.
Not clear if it is a once-a-month or every-Saturday event during the warm months.

Actually, I'm not sure if I explored the "festival" between the two ride starts, or
If the exploring was done after the start of the 100.
Either way, come Picnic 2019, the "festival" could be a place to check out,
If one is volunteering and has some time on-hand between rando duties. 

I do definitely know that the important things done after the 100 start
Was going to the Harris Teeter grocery store
To get supplies for the picnic.
Followed by transporting Alan's grill to the park, and
Setting up for the post-rides picnic.

Hmmn, after typing the immediately above paragraph, 
I'm convinced that I did the festival exploring between the two ride starts. 

Picnic.

No photos.
No worthwhile stories - that I'm comfortable typing.

After the picnic, we cleaned up the site and returned Alan's possessions to his house.

Not my most interesting volunteer experience,
But interesting and fun enough.