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

 
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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.