Sep-25: Oxford 104

Today, I intended to do "Denny's Store," but after a comedy of errors, I did the "Bay Leaf - Oxford - Bay Leaf" 104-km route.  After the errors, all committed by me, I "had" to be at the start to meet the New Hampshire tandem team, JohnJ #2190 and AnnJ #10504, for them to sign the "Oxford" waiver, and since I, as route-owner, was also obligated to sign the waiver, I switched to the "Oxford" route.
 

John and Ann were scheduled / planned to start at 0830, and that is what they did.  All the interface requirements were completed and I was ready to ride a few minutes before 0815, so I elected to start at 0815.

I'm not sure when this photo was taken.  After the Sep-22nd "Bahama Beach" ride?  Before that ride?  After the Sep-23rd "Bahama Beach" ride that John and Ann did without me?  Before that ride?  After the Sep-25th "Bay Leaf - Oxford - Bay Leaf" ride that this blog post is ostensibly about?  Before that ride?  [Also, I think I likely snapped this photo, but maybe they got a stranger to take it?  Ha!  Before Sep-21, I had never met John and Ann, and more to the point, I had never heard of them!  As I type this on Mar-25-2020, I think it may be that it was not me that snapped this photo -- it doesn't really matter, it is a good photo of smiling people that I'm glad I can now call friends.]

 

With the 15 minute head start, I wondered when John and Ann would catch me.  I considered whether they might catch me by or at Grissom, 20-kms into the route.  After all, they would average 30-kph or better whereas I would likely only average 20-kph.  However, as I quickly pedaled and gave the matter some thought, I realized that 20-kph (which is 3-minutes per kilometer) would be the result including pausage and stoppage time (stop-lights, stop-signs, peeing, control interaction, eating), so it was likely that I they wouldn't catch me until perhaps 25-kms into the course.  I didn't look at my confuser when they caught and passed me, but I know where that occurred, approximately that is -- and it was pretty close to the 25-km mark.

I guess I was motivated by the visitors from New Hampshire, repeat Charlie Miller finishers at PBP, and concentrated on keeping a good cadence, even though my legs were complaining about the high cadence / high effort / "high" pace for much of the ride. 

Permanent Route Name / #	Distance	Date	Finishers	DNF
NC: Bay Leaf - Oxford - Bay Leaf / 2259	104	2019/09/25	3	0

Cert#	RUSA#	Name	Club / ACP Code	Time
RUSA-T92863	6218	S__, Martin	Randonneurs USA / 933095	04:09
RUSA-T92864	2190	J__, John	New England Randonneurs / 921005	03:28
RUSA-T92865	10504	J__, Ann Benoit	New England Randonneurs / 921005	03:28

I had to wait 4 minutes, FOUR, at the stop-light at NC-98 outbound.  

I know I have mentioned waiting for what seemed eternities at that light, but 

Today I actually looked at the clock on the confuser and KNOW it was 4-minutes (rounding). 

[Sometimes I get to that light on the green -- yippee! -- sometimes I have to wait. 

But today's actually measured 4-minutes, certainly a record wait time.] 

 

I had to wait 1 1/2 minutes at the stop-light in Wilton outbound. 

[Sometimes I catch that light on green, but not today.  Sigh.] 

Some slight pausage times at a couple stop-signs outbound. 

 

Total elapsed time outbound:  2h04. 

In-motion time outbound:  1:57:30. 

 

There was a "neutral" side-wind coming from the East during the outbound segment. 

There is a house on Fairport Rd, about 15-minutes before the turn-around 

That always flies a large American flag.  

Outbound, that flag was proudly pointing due West, indicating an East wind.  
 

5 minutes at the control to pee, buy an ice tea, pour into bottle, get going..  

I had to wait 1 1/2 minutes on Ghoston due to road work / one lane / follow-car.  

As I approached the "flag-man" with his stop-sign, 

I was saying out loud, "no, no, no, no." 

The legs had accepted the effort of the ride and climbing on Ghoston Rd; 

I did not want to risk what might happen if I had to stop for several minutes, and then restart. 

[As it happened, the legs were fine after the short wait -- I was relieved.] 

 

A couple other small pausage times in-bound, not accounting for much. 

 

Total elapsed time in-bound:  2h00.  

In-motion time in-bound:  1:59:00. 
 

There was a non-neutral Southeast wind during the return. 
The aforementioned flag had moved during the 35-minutes between my passing of same. 
The flag clearly indicated that Southeast wind. 

I.e., Southeast was a quartering headwind coming into my left shoulder for much of the return. 

The wind may have continued to "back-around" and was possibly a South wind by the end. 

In summer and fall, regardless of what direction the wind start the day, 

It almost always eventually backs-around to the Southwest 

When the temperature rises during the day.  

There is also more climbing on the return leg. 

Ghoston, Peed, and Mt. Vernon Church roads make up the last 6-miles of the return. 

Each with a non-trivial climb. 
 

Outbound, the course traverses Pleasant Union Ch, Six Forks, and New Light roads; 

Although one faces a couple climbs to get to the Ghoston / New Light corner, 

There is less outbound climbing, AND it is not as steep.

Total elapsed time:  4h09. 

Total in-motion time:  3:56:30. 

64.7 miles. 

Avg pace:  16.4 mph. 

A full 1.2 mph faster than my second fastest ride this year! 

 

[The second fastest ride so far this year?  The Raleigh Picnic 100 I did on Saturday past. 

Third fastest ride so far this year?  Sep-13 "Raleigh-Berea-Raleigh."

Cooler weather, less humidity, I've lost some weight, what other reason(s) can I come up with?] 

I did not know I could do what I did this morning! 

That's my story, and I'll be sticking to it.