Irregular Velo Adventures

Inaugural Bahama Beach 103 km Perm-Populaire

2012-01-29T17:20:00.001-05:00

MikeH and I "opened" the new Bahama Beach 103-km Permanent-Populaire today (Jan-29-2012).
The third Musketeer from yesterday, Dean, cancelled due to a sinus issue.
Oh, well. I hope Deaner will be able to do the route in February.
&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;This site does not support embedded trip maps. View the trip &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href='http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/1007011'&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;here&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; instead.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;

Local randonnuers may notice that the first 25-miles of this new route are identical to the early route on Byron's Triple-L (except that the two routes start from different locations). Byron and I had discussed that issue in early to mid-2011; there are only two ways to get to the north side of Falls Lake from north Raleigh. Although there are then a plethora of options, they all branch from those two road "across" the lake. Further, although there are a plethora of options leading to great riding, not all those options make for a sensible rando-route, e.g.: stores for controls in the wrong place, no stores at all for 40 or more miles on some routes I've designed and ridden in winter.

This route has no real hills to climb; instead it has many creek/river valleys (and 4 man-made lake valleys), deep and shallow, to ride down-and-up. Those wanting some climbing training, but without time to do Byron's Triple-L on a given weekend may find the route useful ... and much of it is also easy on the eyes and ears.

I figure even Byron will ride this route more than once. After all, he told me that Ellis Chapel Rd is his favorite road to cycle upon, but he couldn't fit it in to logical-looking Triple-L. MikeH enjoyed the scenery along Ellis Chapel so much that he remarked that he didn't even realize the number of down-and-ups we did on that road. I'm not lying, and even if I am -- that is my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Mike and I did not push the pace. Mike had no idea what to expect after the first 25 miles or so, and was therefore being conservative. I knew what to expect, but knew we had about 6h50 to complete the course, and I am not in as good a shape as I was a month or two or three ago. I also knew Mike would want to conserve something for the unknowns en route AND Mike had mentioned early-on that he legs felt a bit tired from yesterday's effort. We concentrated on enjoying the ride, the day, the (mostly) good roads, and the mankind-assisted-nature's scenery that was on offer.

In contrast to yesterday's ride, there was very little traffic on today's route. I think we were on Robert's Chapel Rd when a car passed us, and Mike made a big deal of it. He was having me on (a bit).

However, when on Brogden Rd, headed for Creedmoor from Stem, after we were passed by 9 or 10 cars in a two-mile stretch, Mike complained that the he was finding the heavy traffic annoying. He was not having-me-on nor otherwise joking. After so many miles of NO traffic, his internal traffic-tolerance-gauge had reset itself.

No ducks nor geese nor wild turkeys today.
We did see horses and ponies and (probably) beef cattle.
One hawk.
Quite a few ponds.
Four lakes -- one of them twice.
Two dogs -- one an ankle biter that never made it to the road, the other larger, but turned back when its owner called. Amazing! Someone has actually trained their dog to come when called.

We also encountered one Little Mountain Rd.

At one time I had considered naming the route "Four Lakes and a Little Mountain (Rd)", but that is hard to fit nicely on a control card. I also considered "Mt. Bethel and a Little Mountain (Rd)", but again ... . Finally, I figured Bahama Beach would confuse enough people, local as well as non-locals ... so that's what I went with.

Oh, yeah ... the Beach was submerged under Lake Michie today.

It was great to be outdoors on a bike, on (even if I do type it myself) a pretty dang nice route.

Inaugural Cameron-Carrboro-Cameron 113-km Perm-Pop

2012-01-28T18:40:00.001-05:00

New route owner / organizer MikeH, Dean and I "opened" the new Cameron - Carrboro - Cameron 113-km Permanent-Populaire today (Jan-28-2012).

The route starts about 1-km from MikeH's abode.
Very handy for him.
&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;This site does not support embedded trip maps. View the trip &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href='http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/1415950'&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;here&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; instead.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;

The route features sufficient Piedmont rollers to give most anyone some good climbing training.
It also passes Meredith College, the NC Museum of Art, NC State (particularly their football stadium), the North Carolina State Fair Fairgrounds and, knowing the previous, locals will also surmise that the route gets quite close to the RBC Center -- home to the NC State Men's Basketball team and the NHL Carolina Hurricanes.

The route then passes into Cary, traversing same in a more-or-less East-West direction on High House Rd.
After Cary, there is some pleasant riding between Raleigh / Cary on the East and US-15/501 on the West.
A mile or two on that US highway, then one takes Smith Level Rd (more-or less) up into Carrboro.
The UP is particularly noteworthy after one passes under NC-54 just south of Carrboro.

For the non-locals, Carrboro is cheek by jowl with Chapel Hill.
Yes, THAT Chapel Hill -- home to UNC.

As indicated above, the route has more climbing than one might expect.
Some interesting man-made "scenery", and some nature-made (more-or-less) scenery.
The rollers are a result of where the "fall line" from the mountains in the western part of the state, and
The FLAT coastal plain is located.

We saw sheep and goats on the NC State farms.
We saw an obviously pregnant pony.
We saw twelve wild turkeys cross the road and start up a farmstead driveway.
We saw geese and ducks, horses, beef or dairy cattle.
No dawgs.

We also saw more automobile traffic than I care to encounter on a cycling adventure.
Traffic on both ends of the ride.
Based on Mike's previous mid-week rides, and
The check-out ride Mike and I did on a Sunday in September ...
Saturday may be the busiest traffic day for this route.

MikeH grew up in Brooklyn. His tolerance for traffic is quite a bit higher than mine.
And the route starts and ends only 1-km from his abode.
I expect he will "ride the heck out of it".
Will he ever catch Dean for most times riding one's own permanent?
Highly doubtful.
Dean already has 99 complete Get 'er Dunns in the books.

One redeeming feature of the ride, or two, depending on how one counts,
Is the ability to sit down, possibly in the sunshine, at the turn-around, and shoot the breeze.
AND, there is the same possibility as the finish.

In fact, Dean, MikeH and I enjoyed quite a nice conversation, not all of which was about cycling,
Sitting outdoors in the sunshine at one of the establishments at the finish.
That was very nice.

Get 'er Dunn 102 km Perm-Pop

2012-01-20T18:31:00.000-05:00

Route-organizer, MikeH, me.
Got 'er Dunn, again.
Good ride with good company.

Appears to have been the ~~ninety-ninth~~ ninety-eighth Get 'er Dunn for Dean.
99 98.
No wonder he cannot recall details from a specific ride.

Appears to have been the thirty-third Get 'er Dunn for MikeH.
33.
I doubt he can recall details from a specific ride.

Appears to have been the twelfth Get 'er Dunn for me.
12.
I can still recall some specific details from some specific rides.

Oh, almost forgot.
MikeH became the first RUSA member in 2012 to cross the 1000-km "barrier".
Maybe not the first to cross it, but certainly first to have his results up:

1 members were eligible for the RUSA 1000 km distance award in 2012

RUSA#	Name	Club / ACP Code	Dist (km)
6169	H____, Michael A	Randonneurs USA / 933095	1019

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Jan-20:

Get 'er Dunn 102 km Perm-Populaire; 63.8 m.; 4h,35 in-motion; 13.9 mph; official rando time -- 5h39.

Jan tot: __2 rides; __190.2 m.; _12 h, 28 m; 15.2 mph.
YTD tot: __2 rides; __190.2 m.; _12 h, 28 m; 15.2 mph.

Consecutive Riding Days, Part-3

2012-01-18T12:30:00.000-05:00

All rides	kms	# rides	miles	Hours	mph	m. / r.
"irregulars"	0	40	2,892.1	186.9	15.5	72.3
	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
other grps	0	4	295.3	20.8	14.2	73.8
Brevets	1,500	4	940.9	64.0	14.7	235.2
Permanents	3,492	17	2,240.2	149.6	15.0	131.8
	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
solo Perms	2,048	10	1,302.2	87.8	14.8	130.2
Perm Pops	1,128	11	721.6	50.9	14.2	65.6
	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
solo Pops	102	1	65.2	3.9	16.7	65.2
	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
city/errands	0	16	279.9	18.8	14.9	17.5
other solo	0	10	467.4	31.6	14.8	46.7
Total	8,270	113	9,204.8	614.3	15.0	81.5

[There is just no way around it -- blogger insists on left-justifying words from an Excel cell, AND insists on right-justifying numbers from an Excel cell. Sigh. I'll try "shoving" the column headers to the right by inserting some blank characters -- looks like it might improve the final result. Btw, on "looks" ... these three posts -- the charts -- look significantly differently on Google-Chrome than they do on Microsoft Iinternet Explorer. IE keeps the chart when drafting the post; Chrome does NOT. IE keeps the internal and border lines, and as a result, the charts look better; Chrome eliminates all the internal and surrounding "border" lines. Other than the pitiful handling of Excel charts being copied into the draft, Chrome generally seems to work better with Blogger -- they ought to, as each is a Google product.]

Observations / comments:

I'm faster with the Irregulars than when doing rando permanents; but the permanents are twice as far.
Not much difference between my solo permanent performances and those with others.
The permanent-populaires were my slowest rides; but I happen to know that all of them were either in cold-cold January, camaraderie / recovery rides, or "whew-yesterday-beat-the-heck-out-of-me" recovery rides.
The one solo permanent-populaire was an attempt to go all-out (on the third day of consecutive riding), staying in 50/17 faux-single-speed gearing as I tried to better Dean's best time on "Get 'er Dunn" -- I failed.

Consecutive days, sorted by type of ride.

consec	kms	# rides	miles	Hours	mph	m. / r.
irregulars	0	29	2,089.5	135.5	15.4	72.1
	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
other grps	0	4	295.3	20.8	14.2	73.8
Brevets	600	2	374.5	24.9	15.0	187.3
Permanents	2,268	11	1,450.0	96.5	15.0	131.8
	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
solo Perms	1,028	5	666.8	45.0	14.8	133.4
Perm Pops	1,128	11	721.6	50.9	14.2	65.6
	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
solo Pops	102	1	65.2	3.9	16.7	65.2
	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
city/errands	0	10	191.2	13.0	14.7	19.1
other solo	0	8	365.9	25.1	14.6	45.7
Total	5,126	81	6,220.0	415.6	15.0	76.8

Observations / comments: Essentially the same distances per ride and average pace as in the total chart.

Stand-alone" days, sorted by type of ride.

non-consec	kms	# rides	miles	Hours	mph	m. / r.
"irregulars"	0	11	802.6	51.4	15.6	73.0
	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
other grps	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Brevets	900	2	566.4	39.1	14.5	283.2
Permanents	1,224	6	790.2	53.1	14.9	131.7
	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
solo Perms	1,020	5	635.4	42.8	14.9	127.1
Perm Pops	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
solo Pops	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
city/errands	0	6	88.7	5.8	15.2	14.8
other solo	0	2	101.5	6.5	15.6	50.8
Total	3,144	32	2,984.8	198.7	15.0	93.3

Observations / comments: Essentially the same distances per ride and average pace as in the total chart. The mix of rides is different, and that causes the apparently significant difference in "miles per ride" of the total-stand-alones.

Conclusion(s):

In 2011, whether the ride was a "stand-alone" or part of a "series", there was no difference to my average speed. Either I don't get tired OR I was moderating my pace at the beginning of a multi-day effort. I know I get tired. But there is so little difference between "stand-alones" and "consecutives" that, if I was moderating my effort, it doesn't appear to have been much.

Three days. Three boring posts. All to conclude that I'm just as "fast" ("slow" might be a better fit) whether rested or fresh, whether anticipating riding more the next day or not.

Consecutive Riding Days, Part-2

2012-01-17T12:30:00.000-05:00

	kms	# rides	miles	Hours	mph	m. / r.
1 of 2	1,024	23	1,801.3	118.6	15.2	78.3
2 of 2	1,839	23	1,819.2	124.4	14.6	79.1
	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
1 of 3	408	9	396.3	25.6	15.5	44.0
2 of 3	412	9	824.2	53.9	15.3	91.6
3 of 3	1,032	9	859.6	59.0	14.6	95.5
	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
1 of 4	0	2	85.6	5.2	16.5	42.8
2 of 4	102	2	147.1	9.7	15.2	73.6
3 of 4	207	2	132.8	8.6	15.5	66.4
4 of 4	102	2	153.9	10.6	14.6	77.0
	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Total	5,126	81	6,220.0	415.6	15.0	76.8
non-cons	3,144	32	2,984.8	198.7	15.0	93.3
Grand Tot	8,270	113	9,204.8	614.3	15.0	81.5

The above is a chart that is auto-generated from within my Excel log; however, to make the above chart, I re-coded from the usual to categories specifically and only to obtain the above chart. You'll notice three series of data-rows: the first is for the front and back ends of a back-to-back series; the second is for the first, middle and last of three consecutive days of cycling; the third is for the two "quads". At the bottom are the totals for all the consecutive days (to double-check that I've got the same totals as in the previous charts), the totals of the "non-consecutive" days, and the "grand total" of all my rides.

Observations:

The average distance of first and second day of a two-day-series is almost the same; but the second day is considerably slower (3.7 % slower).
The second day appears to have been more likely to have been a rando ride -- that would be consistent with my intent for much of last year to ride Irregularly on Saturday and rando on Sunday -- I'm still not sure if I actually accomplished that, or if I just intended that, but ... .
The average distance of the second and third days of a three-peat are about the same; but the first is considerably less. That would be consistent with the first day often having been a Friday that included a short "spin-out" or errand ride.
The average pace got slower over the course of the three days; but the second and third day averages are almost the same as the averages from the first and second days of the back-to-backs. That might suggest that the first day of the three-peats had little to no impact on the following two rides. The majority of the rando rides included in the three-peats was on the third day.
The average distance of the first day of the "quads" was about the same as the first day of the three-peats, but the pace was considerably faster. But with only two sample points for the "quads", ... .
The average pace of the second and third day of the quads are about the same as the second day of the three-peats and the first day of the back-to-backs. Also, it is very interesting that the average pace of the fourth day of the quads is the same as the last day of the three-peats and the last of the back-to-backs, but ... as there are only two sample points for the quads, ... .
Looking at the Total, non-consecutive line, and the Grand Total line ... the non-consecutive rides did have more than "their fair share" of the rando rides. I probably should amend the above chart to include a non-consecutive line that excludes the three longer brevets; I think the non-consecutives would then appear to be more in-line with the consecutive rides (as far as "share" of the rando riding is concerned).

Conclusions:

None other than those included in the observations above.

Consecutive Riding Days

2012-01-16T16:15:00.000-05:00

Spoiler alert / geek alert!

The following is just a comparison of some boring stats from my 2011 rides. Even I think the resulting stats and the short discussion boring. This is so boring that I might delete the post even after publication -- if I bother to publish. You have been warned.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cycling buddy Ricochet sometimes cracks me up.

Between Christmas and New Year's, he mentioned that he'd figured out that a 1200 km Grand Randonnee was essentially a four day ride, and since he wanted to complete at least one of those, maybe he neede to do some cycling on 4-consecutive-days as practice. Sounds like a good idea to me.

In another conversation he expressed ... I guess the word would be ... amazement ... that I was planning so much consecutive riding from just before Christmas through New Year's Day. I didn't think it was so much -- certainly it was less than at then end of 2009.

But that got me to wondering ... how much cycling do I do on consecutive days?

I know that the most days I've ridden consecutively was in 2010 when I did the Blue Ridge Parkway, north-to-south, with Lt. Dave and his family ... 7 days; but other than that ... ? I decided to do a little magic with my 2011 Excel cycling log, and see out what I had done.

All it took was a little jiggering things around to use existing auto-generated reports to generate the following, somewhat informative, although boring, summaries.

First, total cycling in 2011, sorted by day of the week. (Note that the 400-km brevet and the 600-km brevet are entirely included in Saturday stats -- not split between Saturday and Sunday.)

All rides	# rides	miles	Hours	mph	m. / r.
Saturday	44	4,257.1	280.4	15.2	96.8
Sunday	36	3,014.3	205.1	14.7	83.7
Monday	3	308.4	20.9	14.8	102.8
Tuesday	5	351.3	23.5	15.0	70.3
Wednesday	6	492.9	33.5	14.7	82.2
Thursday	7	469.3	30.7	15.3	67.0
Friday	12	311.5	20.3	15.3	26.0
Total	113	9,204.8	614.3	15.0	81.5

That chart certainly indicates that I did the "lions share" of my cycling on the weekends. 71% of my total rides, 79% of my total miles and 79% of my total time in the saddle were done on Saturday or Sunday. Add in the (mostly) Friday afternoon short rides, and its 81% of the rides and 82% of the miles and time on the Friday to Sunday weekends.

Next, consecutive days, sorted by day of the week.

consec rides	# rides	miles	Hours	mph	m. / r.
Saturday	31	2,881.8	188.9	15.3	93.0
Sunday	28	2,128.4	146.5	14.5	76.0
Monday	3	308.4	20.9	14.8	102.8
Tuesday	1	65.2	4.3	15.0	65.2
Wednesday	3	112.1	7.6	14.8	37.4
Thursday	5	440.6	28.8	15.3	88.1
Friday	10	283.5	18.6	15.3	28.4
Total	81	6,220.0	415.6	15.0	76.8

The above chart includes the data from 23 back-to-back "events", 9 "triple-events" and 2 "quads". There were no times last year that I rode more than four days consecutively -- and I only did that twice.

The "consecutive days" still add up to 72% of my rides and 68% of my miles and time-in-the-saddle. It is interesting to note that the avg pace of the consecutive-rides was the same as the avg pace of all rides. The avg distance of the consecutive days was within 6% of the avg distance for all rides -- close enough, I think, to think of them as "the same".

No chart is shown for this, but if one removes the Friday rides from all the ddata / charts, the avg pace remains at 15.0 mph (to the nearest tenth-of-a-mile), and although removing those "short" Fridays would bump-up the avg distance shown in each of the above charts (and also the following one), the relative relationships remain almost exactly the same.

Leaving the non-consecutive riding.

non-consecutive	# rides	miles	Hours	mph	m. / r.
Saturday	13	1,375.3	91.5	15.0	105.8
Sunday	8	885.9	58.5	15.1	110.7
Monday	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Tuesday	4	286.1	19.2	14.9	71.5
Wednesday	3	380.8	25.9	14.7	126.9
Thursday	2	28.7	1.9	15.0	14.4
Friday	2	28.0	1.7	16.1	14.0
Total	32	2,984.8	198.7	15.0	93.3

The above chart may be a bit skewed because I only did one 300-km, one 400-km and one 600-km ride last year, and those three rides are included immediately above. Removing those three rides would give:

remove 3, 4 + 6	# rides	miles	Hours	mph	m. / r.
Saturday	11	748.9	47.8	15.7	68.1
Sunday	7	696.7	46.0	15.1	99.5
Monday	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Tuesday	4	286.1	19.2	14.9	71.5
Wednesday	3	380.8	25.9	14.7	126.9
Thursday	2	28.7	1.9	15.0	14.4
Friday	2	28.0	1.7	16.1	14.0
Total	29	2,169.2	142.5	15.2	74.8

Removing the three longer brevets brings the avg distance for the non-consecutive rides into alignment with the earlier two charts, and avg pace of those "stand-alone" rides does pop-up a bit -- a "whopping" 1.4% -- I think it safe to ignore the inclusion / exclusion of those 3 rides for comparison purposes.

Initial conclusion(s):

On average, I rode almost the same pace regardless of whether I had ridden the day before,or if I was going to ride the next day.

Of course, if I had actually done any intentionally short, fast rides targetting bettering my speed ... maybe the results would look considerably different.

Based on the above: What advice can I share with Robert regarding the value of riding multiple days in a row? Anwer: I don't know; probably nothing; my results are probably only an indication of my riding style / ability.

Other thoughts?

I can segment the consecutive-rides data by "1st-day", "2nd-day", etc.. That may show something more interesting than what I got from looking at the above.

But I won't include those charts / discussion in this post.

NC 2010 Rando Rookies -- Revisited

2012-01-13T18:00:00.000-05:00

I joined RUSA in 2010 and by happenstance became part of a pretty amazing group of NC rando rookies. I thought it might be interesting to check into what the group has been up to lately.

You may recall that I originally thought there were only seven NC 2010 rando rookies. But,

There were 34 of us that made up the NC 2010 rookie class.
7 never got credit for any RUSA ride.
26 of us got credit for at least one ride by the end of 2010.
1 of us first got credit in early 2011 (therefore, 27 of useventually got credit for at least one RUSA ride). [I usedto be incredulous that one would join-up but then wait a year before riding –but then, for kicks, I decided to look up the results for those with really lowRUSA numbers starting with RUSA #1 – I didn’t need to look up RUSA #2 in orderto experience an epiphany.]
During the “free period” in late 2009, four of us accounted for1,808 RUSA credit kms.
26 of us accounted for 49,859 credit kms in 2010 (an avg of 1918credit-kms).
18 of us accounted for 73,329 credit kms in 2011 (an avg of 4074credit-kms).
Eight attained SR status in 2010. (JohnO, Maria, Bryan, BikerBob, TerryT [never met him], Tim, StephenB [never met him] and Ian. Bob doubled-up andcompleted two series in 2010.)
Eight attained SR status in 2011 (JohnO, Bryan, Bob, Tim, Stephen, Ian, me, and Denis). JohnO, Bryan, Bob and Ian doubled-up in 2010; Tim tripled-up. [Someof my fellow NC 2010 rando rookies are just plain crazy! Very nice, but crazy! In a good way -- but crazy!]
JohnO, Tim and Ian completed 1000 km brevets in 2010.
The most RUSA credit kms by any of us in 2010 was 7,050 (Tim).
Ian completed two domestic 1000k brevets in 2011.
Ian and Denis went to France and started PBP – an accomplishmentin and of itself. Ian completed PBP –but he, along with the others riding with him, “messed up” and failed to qualifyfor the Adrian Hands Society – maybe next time. [edit Jan-18-2012: there seems to be some more recent information regarding entry into LSAH -- see below.]
Tim completed two domestic 1200k Grand Randonnees in 2011 –Texas Stampede and Taste of Carolina. [Tim’s report on ToC was recently published inAmerican Randonneur. Tim's report on Texas is on MikeD's RTP blog.]
Bryan also completed the Taste of Carolina 1200.
JohnO and BikerBob started the Taste of Carolina, but had tobail. [As noted above in regards to PBP, I think just having the guts, etc.to start is an accomplishment.]
The most RUSA credit kms by any of us in 2011 was 15,061 (Tim).
Two others attained 10K-Hound status in 2011 (JohnO and Bryan).
Four others finished in the top-100 RUSA k-hounds in 2011 (me,Ian, MikeH, BikerBob).
I didn’t check the R-series stats very carefully. If someone reads this and identifies andinforms me of a mistake, I will correct same.
At least 8 of us have snagged an R-12; as I compose this, Iunderstand that 6 of us still have intact streaks of at least 12-months.
As of the close of 2011: BikerBob was atR-24 – having overcome a hernia operation in late Jan-2011 andsome broken and cracked ribs thanks to a dog in the road in late-May-2011.
Super-crazy-man Tim and almost-as-crazy Bryan were at R-23.
Also, Ian was at R-21; I was at R-17; MikeH was at R-14.
Five of the aforementioned six snagged our Jan-2012 R-rides onJan-01.
BikerBob, Tim and Bryan at TonyG’s200-km brevet.
MikeH and I snagged ours doing the Tar Heel Permanent.
Two others may have re-started their R-streak recently.
Maria (whose previous R-12+ steak ended in late-2010or early-2011) also snagged her January-R-ride on the Tar Heel on the first.
Stephen completed TonyG’s Jan-01 brevet, and may have restarted his R-series (hebroke his previous R-series after getting to R-13 in March-2011).
I wonder what slacker Ian was doing on the first?

Btw, other NC randos did some noteworthy stuff in 2011, but this post is about the 2010 NC rookie class, so I won't mention all the PBP finishers, etc..

...Martin
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Edit Jan-18-2012:

I received an e-mail from Ian ... he claims that the following photo is proof that he got a time of at least 88h55 stamped on his PBP time card. I dunno'.

Accompanying the above pic, was some official-looking verbiage, supposedly originating with Cap'n Ende -- leader of the LSAH:

"According to statute #88 in the official rule #55 located on the
8855th page of the official LSAH rule book (aka some neurons in La
Capitaine's head) a rider with a card time >= 88:55 should be granted
entry into LSAH.

See attached photo. :-D"

The Decline of Sport

2012-01-11T13:30:00.000-05:00

E. B. White,
Preposterous Parables,
New Yorker Magazine,
Oct-25-1947

http://instruct.uwo.ca/kinesiology/378/files/essays/sport.pdf

E. B. WHITE

The Decline of Sport

In the third decade of the supersonic age, sport gripped the nation in an ever tightening grip. The horse tracks, the ball parks, the fight rings, the gridirons, all drew crowds in steadily increasing numbers. Every time a game was played, an attendance record was broken. Usually some other sort of record was broken, too - such as the record for the number of consecutive doubles hit by left-handed batters in a Series game, or some such thing as that. Records fell like ripe apples on a windy day. Customs and manners changed, and the five-day business week was reduced to four days, then to three, to give everyone a better chance to memorize the scores.

Not only did sport proliferate but the demands it made on the spectator became greater. Nobody was content to take in one event at a time, and thanks to the magic of radio and television nobody had to. A Yale alumnus, class of 1962, returning to the Bowl with 197,000 others to see the YaleComell football game would take along his pocket radio and pick up the Yankee Stadium, so that while his eye might be following a fumble on the Cornell twenty-two-yard line, his ear would be following a man going down to second in the top of the fifth, seventy miles away. High in the blue sky above the Bowl, skywriters would be at work writing the scores of other major and minor sporting contests, weaving an interminable record of victory and defeat, and using the new high-visibility pink newssmoke perfected by Pepsi-Cola engineers. And in the frames of the giant video sets, just behind the goal posts, this same alumnus could watch Dejected win the Futurity before a record-breaking crowd of 349,872 at Belmont, each of whom was tuned to the Yale Bowl and following the World Series gamein the video and searching the sky for further news of events either under way or just completed. The effect of this vast cyclorama of sport was to divide the spectator's attention, oversubtilize his appreciation, and deaden his passion. As the fourth supersonic decade wasushered in, the picture changed and sport began to wane.

A good many factors contributed to the decline of sport. Substitutions in football had increased to such an extent that there were very few fans in the United States capable of holding the players in mind during play. Each play that was called saw two entirely new elevens lined up, and the playerswhose names and faces you had familiarized yourself with in the first period were seldom seen or heard of again. The spectacle became as diffuse as the main concourse in Grand Central at the commuting hour.

Express motor highways leading to the parks and stadia had become so wide, so unobstructed, so devoid of all life except automobiles and trees that sport fans had got into the habit of traveling enormous distances toattend events. The normal driving speed had been stepped up to ninetyfive miles an hour, and the distance between cars had been decreased to fifteen feet. This put an extraordinary strain on the sport lover's nervous system, and he arrived home from a Saturday game, after a road trip of three hundred and fifty miles, glassy-eyed, dazed, and spent. He hadn't really had any relaxation and he had failed to see Czlika (who had gone in for Trusky) take the pass from Bkeeo (who had gone in for Bjallo) in the third period, because at that moment a youngster named Lavagetto had been put in to pinch-hit for Art Gurlack in the bottom of the ninth with the tying run on second, and the skywriter who was attempting to write "Princeton O-Lafayette 43" had banked the wrong way, muffed the "3," and distracted everyone's attention from the fact that Lavagetto had been whiffed.

Cheering, of course, lost its stimulating effect on players, because cheers were no longer associated necessarily with the immediate scene but might as easily apply to something that was happening somewhere else. This was enough to infuriate even the steadiest performer. A football star, hearing the stands break into a roar before the ball was snapped, would realize that their minds were not on him and would become dispirited and grumpy. Two or three of the big coaches worried so about this that they considered equipping all players with tiny ear sets, so that they, too, could keep abreast of other sporting events while playing, but the idea was abandoned as impractical, and the coaches put it aside in tickler files, to bring up again later.

I think the event that marked the turning point in sport and started it downhill was the Midwest's classic Dust Bowl game of 1975, when Eastern Reserve's great right end, Ed Pistachio, was shot by a spectator. This man, the one who did the shooting, was seated well down in the stands near the forty-yard line on a bleak October afternoon and was so saturated with sport and with the disappointments of sport that he had clearly become deranged. With a minute and fifteen seconds to play and the score tied, the Eastern Reserve quarterback had whipped a long pass over Army's heads into Pistachio's waiting arms. There was no other player anywhere near him, and all Pistachio had to do was catch the ball and run it across the line. He dropped it. At exactly this moment, the spectator - a man named Homer T. Parkinson, of 35 Edgemere Drive, Toledo, O.- suffered at least three other major disappointments in the realm of sport. His horse, Hiccough, on which he had a five- hundred-dollar bet, fell while getting away from the starting gate at Pimlico and broke its leg (clearly visible in the video); his favorite shortshop, Lucky Frimstitch, struck out and let three men die on base in the final game of the Series (to which Parkinson was tuned) ; and the Governor Dummer soccer team, on which Parkinson's youngest son played goalie, lost to Kent, 4-3, as recorded in the sky overhead. Before anyone could stop him, he drew a gun and drilled Pistachio, before 954,000 persons, the largest crowd that had ever attended a football game and the second largest crowd that had ever assembled for any sporting event in any month except July.

This tragedy, by itself, wouldn't have caused sport to decline, I suppose, but it set in motion a chain of other tragedies, the cumulative effect of which was terrific. Almost as soon as the shot was fired, the news flash was picked up by one of the skywriters directly above the field. He glanced down to see whether he could spot the trouble below, and in doing so failed to see another skywriter approaching. The two planes collided and fell, wings locked, leaving a confusing trail of smoke, which some observers tried to interpret as a late sports score. The planes struck in the middle of the nearby eastbound coast-to-coast Sunlight Parkway, and a motorist driving a convertible coupe stopped so short, to avoid hitting them, that he was bumped from behind. The pile-up of cars that ensued involved 1,482 vehicles, a record for eastbound parkways. A total of more than three thousand persons lost their lives in the highway accident, including the two pilots, and when panic broke out in the stadium, it cost another 872 in dead and injured. News of the disaster spread quickly to other sports arenas, and started other panics among the crowds trying to get to the exits, where they could buy a paper and study a list of the dead. All in all, the afternoon of sport cost 20,003 lives, a record. And nobody had much to show for it except one small Midwestern boy who hung around the smoking wrecks of the planes, captured some aero news-smoke in a milk bottle, and took it home as a souvenir.

From that day on, sport waned. Through long, noncompetitive Saturday afternoons, the stadia slumbered. Even the parkways fell into disuse as motorists rediscovered the charms of old, twisty roads that led through main streets and past barnyards, with their mild congestions and pleasant smells.

Jan-01: Spanish Moss 200 km Perm

2012-01-02T18:45:00.001-05:00

Crew of nine for the 7 am start in Benson.
I didn't know, still don't know, what the group-riding plan may have been.
I do know that one Irishman, who came to NC by way of Harrow and Brooklyn,
And numerous other spots, had expressed concern about the dark-monster
Finding us while still on Dawg Avenue (aka, Fairground Rd).

The "Crazy Irishman", MikeO, zoomed off the front just after clearing Benson town limits.
I.e., one mile.
Those of us in the "mid-pack-5" saw him as we crossed paths near the bridge outside Tar Heel.

We mid-packers drifted off the front of the pack-with-the-most-Determination
Before the first info control.
I hate to admit it, but I may be the one that caused that split.
I was also concerned about the dark-monster.

Those in the pack with the most Determination
(I'm borrowing that description from "Determination Over Speed";
The person who came up with that description will recall,
And I hope she, Andy and Maria accept that description as the honor here intended) ...
I know they are not fond of the dark-monster, either.
But ... what can I type? -- I am without knowledge.

Perhaps the dark-monster was not too bad on the Determination-crew.
Andy mentions not-at-all.
But then, he only ever covers one subject / angle per blog post.
(He is Determined about that.)

We crossed paths with the Determination-crew on River Rd on our return,
Near the outcropping of lichen known as Spanish Moss.
Only a little bit south of where we earlier crossed paths with the Fayetteville cycling crew.
I heard MaryF call out to us; I think I recognized her compact form.
Didn't notice TomF in the mass of mostly males, though.
I think it better to notice Mary than Tom.

We mid-packers did a pretty good job of sticking together
While maintaining a relatively high pace (for us).
Some occasionally drifted off the back or drifted off the front.
But upon realization of what had happened,
The pace up front was adjusted to allow regrouping on the road.

Except once.
One person drifted off the front, and
Apparently upon realizing the same,
Kept going to the home-bound Erwin control.
(I heard he was wanting to do a "hot-interval".)

We shed clothing along the way in the morning hours.
Never needed to put it back on later on in the day.
The temps did reach the upper 60's, after all.
Warm enough that Alan was dumping buckets of sweat from his helmet at each control,
And also when we stopped for ... see the next "stanza".

Byron's rear fender broke -- we stopped so he could remove the back half
And he strapped that half to his rear bag and carried it to the finish line.
Fender only about a year old.
Velo Orange -- I think I heard.

At some point during the day, I overheard a snatch of conversation
Between the route-owner of this "Spanish Moss" route (Dean)
And the route-owner of the Leesville-Leasburg-Leesville Perm (Byron).
Couldn't quite make out what Dean was saying though.
Something about a New Year's Resolution.
Probably that he was resolved to make it through another calendar year
Avoiding doing L-L-L.

Dean later claimed I must have mis-heard,
As he claimed he told Byron that he was committed to doing L-L-L this year.
MikeH claimed that I had finally come up with the appropriate full-court-press winner:
Recruiting the owner of L-L-L to come do Tar Heel for the first time in over two years.
I can claim no credit for Byron's presence.

There were few dawg-encounters on the day, and
None on Fairgrounds Rd late in the day (that I recall).

Also, unlike last year when Dean and I did this route on Jan-01
(And JohnO well ahead of us on the return leg),
Only one or two joggers all day -- maybe none
(I recall quite a few last year).

With the good tailwind that found us on the return,
The dark-monster never got close to those of us in the mid-pack.

Great day for a bike ride.

Great company for a bike ride.
Alan always has a story or two.
Dean points out the sights or the flora or fauna.
Byron had cute stories about his 2-year-old son.
I found MikeH indispensable this ride -- I got a ride with him from Raleigh to Benson, and back.
What did I offer in return?
Probably just a boring story or two.
Aah -- I did tell Alan one fun cycling story
When we were well ahead of the other three, soft-pedaling, waiting for them to regroup.

Great bike ride (even though the course is a bit on the FLAT side).
&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;This site does not support embedded trip maps. View the trip &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href='http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/1461482'&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;here&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; instead.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;
All of us in the mid-pack definitely did lichen the ride.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Dean is reportedly working on a new Permanent.
One that would start a bit closer to Raleigh / Garner, and
Turn around at Cedar Creek.

I was worried that he'd lose the opportunity to wax knowledgeable about certain lichens.
Then I remembered,
Dean found more Spanish Moss last year.
Farther north than he'd ever found it before.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Jan-01:

Tar Heel 200 Permanent; 126.4 m.; 7h,53 in-motion; 16.0 mph; 9h28 official rando time (at least that was the time that RBA Alan called out when we dismounted -- who knows what time the receipt showed -- I got one "right quick", but I didn't look at it).

Jan tot: __1 rides; __126.4 m.; __7 h, 53 m; 16.0 mph.
YTD tot: __1 rides; __126.4 m.; __7 h, 53 m; 16.0 mph.

Eddington Cycling Number:
After this ride: 82.
Meaning I have ridden at least 82 miles on at least 82 different occasions.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Other stats that may be of more interest to the avg RUSA member (please note that I did a quick check of some of the results for the following, but I could have mis-counted, etc.):

Dean -- R-60.
Janis -- R-34.
Andy -- R-34.
MikeO - R-34.
Alan -- R-31.
Byron -- R-20.
Me -- R-18.
MikeH -- R-15.
Maria -- I don't know if she is counting after restarting recently after a year of fewer kms.

Dec-31: Irregular End to the Calendar Year

2011-12-31T15:00:00.000-05:00

I had been looking forward to an excellent Irregulars group ride to cap the year.
The ride was supposed to be my New Year's Eve celebration.

I did have an enjoyable ride with guest cyclist, rando Biker Bob.

As for the group ride ...
I guess it was too hard for the other 10 to slow down 1 mph so we could all ride together.

Cheers!
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Dec-31:

--> PUE: Stem-Mt.Energy 100k --> ; 72.2 m.; 4h,38m in-motion; 15.6 mph. I had intended to ride another 10-miles so that I would end the year with career 82 rides that had been at least 82-miles long; didn't have the interest after the lack-of-a-group ride. Oh, I set a career high in miles ridden this year: 9204+. The 8270 RUSA credit kms make up a good portion of that total mileage.

Q-1 tot: _23 rides; 1822.2 m.; 123 h, 05 m; 14.8 mph.
Q-2 tot: _30 rides; 2604.9 m.; 174 h, 22 m; 14.9 mph.
Q-3 tot: _29 rides; 2479.2 m.; 161 h, 05 m; 15.2 mph.
O-N tot: _20 rides; 1591.3 m.; 105 h, 56 m; 15.0 mph.

Dec tot: _11 rides; _707.2 m.; _47 h, 49 m; 14.8 mph.

YTD tot: 113 rides; 9204.8 m.; 614 h, 18 m; 15.0 mph.

Dec-29: Allensville - Dennys Store 80-miler

2011-12-30T08:40:00.000-05:00

Apparently, the Alamance Bicycle Club goes into semi-hibernation during the cold months.
Why is that of interest to this blog?
Because rando buddy Biker Bob usually does his non-rando riding with said club.
But, with their semi-hibernation, he thought maybe some Irregulars might be riding this mid-week.

He contacted me about doing the Mayo Lake 100-miler.
Luckily, I convinced him that the Allensville - Dennys Store 80-miler would be a better option.
More likely to get Irregulars other than Ricochet and myself, and
Given the forecast wind direction,
Only 40 miles finishing into a head wind,
Instead of 50.
This site does not support embedded trip maps. View the trip <a href='http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/1048765'>here</a> instead.

Ricochet decided he was rather Ragged, or had family / house duties,
So he did not show for the ride.

Tried to get another one or two of the longer-riding IRs to come, but
No luck.

It was just Bob and me.

A frosty start.
Steam drifting up from Falls Lake as we crossed it Old Weaver Trail.
More traffic on Cash / Gate #2 Road than I can recall encountering previously;
Possibly the result of riding on a Thursday instead of a Saturday or a Sunday.

Excellent roads until Central Ave Ext. leaving northwesterly out of Butner.
Same rippled bumpiness as always.
Just that Bob didn't know the only smooth line:
On or to the right of the fog-line.

I don't like riding that far to the right.
Not as safe ... for several reasons.
But when it is a low-traffic road,
Smooth is much to be preferred to jarring.

Range "Wall" done at an easy spin.
Range and Bahama roads smooth.
Little to no traffic.
As always.

A 10-minute stop in Moriah.
Bob wanted to use their RR.
None to be found.
(I've stopped at that store before, but never tried to use the RR.)

Increasing rollers on Mt. Harmony Rd; still smooth and no traffic and reasonably scenic.
Cut over to Surl-Mt.Tirzah Rd, which changes name once or twice north of US-158.
Smooth road, gentle rollers (but more than the usual closer to Raleigh), no traffic.

At Allensville, we turned east on Dennys Store Rd.
Into the headwind.
40 miles still to ride.

Dennys Store Rd makes a slow bend to the south and becomes Old Roxboro Rd..
And we were seriously into the teeth of the headwind.
Luckily, it was only a North Carolina wind;
Not a northern Illinois wind;
Nor a Great Plains nor a Texas wind.
Still ... enough of a headwind that we enjoyed a 30-minute stop in Berea.

Then on to Culbreth, Stem, Creedmoor and points south,
30-miles into the wind.
Irregulars will appreciate this:
Zooming down Brogden Rd at 15 to 17 mph.
Not 20 to 25.

Recrossing Falls Lake, the sun was casting eerie reflections off the wind-driven rippling wavelets.
Very nice effect, actually.
We did not stop to try to capture a photo.
Almost certainly would not have "come out", anyway.

81.5-mile core ride completed in just under 6 1/2 hours.
That includes the 10 + 30 minutes stops mentioned above.
Also a couple flo-max stops.
And assorted stop-sign and a couple stop-light pauses.
5h34 actual in-motion time for the core ride.
That was Bob's time.
I finished a minute or so later.

One last thing:
It was delightfully sunny in / near Raleigh at the beginning and end of the ride.
Heavily overcast from about Mt. Harmony to at least Stem.
I didn't notice the sunlight streaming between the tree branches until we were on Dove Rd.,
Only about 12.5 miles still to ride.

The headwind coming back wore me out.
Bob ... not so much.

Good ride.
Wish there had been more sun and less wind.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Dec-29:

--> PUE: Allensville - Dennys Store 80-miler; 86.3 m.; est. 5h,51m in-motion; 14.7 mph; we avg'd 13.9 for the ~ 30 miles from Berea to the finish.

Dec tot: _10 rides; _635.0 m.; _43 h, 11 m; 14.7 mph.

YTD tot: 112 rides; 9132.6 m.; 609 h, 40 m; 15.0 mph.

Dec-28: 9000 / 35000

2011-12-28T14:50:00.002-05:00

Red-Rocket's Ride

Being the week between Christmas and New Year's, sometimes people can ride in the middle of the week. Several Irregulars had indicated that they might be interested in a mid-week ride. One rando contacted last week to indicate that he was interested in riding Irregularly (he didn't put it that -- that's the way we "insiders" refer to it --LOL) late this week.

Biker Bob is coming tomorrow to ride the Allensville / Denny's Store 80-miler (there's a link to a map on the "Route Maps" page). Ricochet says he's riding tomorrow, too -- something about needing to learn to ride several days in a row to improve his potential at 1200's. Bob says he is also coming back Saturday. I must remember to ask if the Alamance Bike Club has gone into hibernation or something.

Anyway, back to today's ride. Red-Rocket indicated that he wanted to ride at 0900, but not for more than 3 1/2 hours. That last was probably to keep-me-in-check so I wouldn't try to trick him into a 5 or 6 hour tour or something. Everybody always seems to think that I ride a lot, and always long. I'll acknowledge that until the middle of November, the average length of my rides this year was ~ 85 miles; the average has fallen considerably without the usual three or four or five 200-km rides a month. But I've never been one of those four or five (or more) times a week riders. The most rides I ever did in one year was 126 rides -- that was in 2009 -- the year I chased getting to 10 thousand kilometers of total riding (no RUSA kms). I didn't make it. But then, LT decided that I could not stop short.

Anyway, back to today's ride, again. Ricochet Robert decided he'd ride, also. That made three of us. Lee picked a route: Six Forks, etc. to Pokomoke; then NC-96 --> Brassfield Rd to Creedmoor; then Elm St. --> Northside Rd to Cash Rd to OWT and back to PUE. That would include / did include some stretches on 96 that (I think) I had never ridden before -- turned out it was probably less than two miles of stuff I had never ridden. Ricochet commented, while on 96, "hey, I don't recall ever riding past here before!" Several miles of new road for Robert.

Typing of Robert, during most of today's ride, Ricochet was no where to be seen -- it was mostly "Ragged Robert" today. However, Ragged did find legs once or twice; once just in time to stop for a flo-max break.

Lee was clearly fueled by rocket fuel, today. No - no - not THAT rocket fuel! It is just that compared to Robert and me, Red-Rocket-Lee had good form and speed today. We rewarded him in two ways: (1) we let him lead almost the entire ride -- and almost the entire ride was into the wind -- we got quite lucky in that the wind shifted during the ride -- usually right on cue as we turned to change out "major-axis" direction. (2) late in the ride, with the tailwind finally in evidence, and Ragged and me wanting to save some legs for tomorrow, and Red-Rocket quickly drifting off our front, we cut the bungi-cord and told him to hammer on home ... to nap and prepare for the trip tomorrow to go see the distant grand-babies.

That about sums it up, really. It was a pleasant day to be riding -- around 50 degrees Fahrenheit when we finished. SUNNY the entire ride. Ragged and I were back in PUE before noon (that's according to the clock on my cycle-confuser, which might be two or three minutes slow); R-R-L may have been back home before we got to PUE.

Oh, one more thing. Well, two actually. The title of today's post.

9000 -- just after leaving PUE for the core section of the ride, I crossed 9000 miles for the year. Many thanks, previously noted, but it probably never hurts to repeat thanks ... so many thanks to those that rode with me, or volunteered, or RBA'd, or whatever. It was definitely done "with a little help from friends".
35000 -- about 1.4 miles after passing the 9000-miles-this-year marker, I passed the 35-thousand-lifetime-miles marker. That's miles that I've documented starting in 2004 -- a fairly short "lifetime", but it is my adult cycling lifetime.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Dec-28:

--> PUE: Pokomoke-Creedmoor-CashRd-OWT --> ; 51.2 m.; est. 3h,20m in-motion; 15.3 mph.

Dec tot: __9 rides; _548.7 m.; _37 h, 19 m; 14.7 mph.

YTD tot: 111 rides; 9046.3 m.; 603 h, 48 m; 15.0 mph.

Top-7 Adventure Moments of 2011

2011-12-26T06:21:00.001-05:00

This accidentally published before it was supposed to. I decided I would prefer it to be published closer to the year-end; therefore, I'm going ~~to force it re-publish on Christmas Day~~ Ha! -- once again blogger changes its protocol and doesn't do what it would have done a few weeks earlier. ~~Not much of a present for any one but me, however,~~ ...

This is a cycling blog; the following are some highlight moments my cycling year. The number applied to each moment might be meaningless, but some are meaningful, and there are other moments that could easily replace "Number 7". Some may actually represent a larger "moment" or activity; some identified moments ostensibly represent only that moment; however, all but one of the "moments" actually seems to be a highlighted moment of camaraderie and friendship. And after all, of the ingredients that are usually referenced as making for a great bicycle ride (weather, route, friends), only the third really matters, I think. Hmmn, that previous sentence seems more akin to philosophy than cycling.

Number 7: Dec-03. Fifty head of bison on the Leesville-Leasburg-Leesville Permanent. Twice.

Number 6: Nov-25. Badgett Sister's Parkway. The moments on the actual Parkway were the highlight, but the entire ride was a pleasant sinecure.

Number 5: Jul-04. The feelings of triple-double success, etc. at the moment of cresting "Stovall Mountain" on the Kerr Lake Loop Permanent.

Number 4: Jun-18. Ten miles before completing the Youngsville-to-Youngsville 100-miler portion of the Solstice Whirligig Tour, IvaHawk "threatening" to bring his ex-Marine skills out of retirement and hurt us if we didn't slow down.

Number 3: Jun-15. Turning the discovery that my long-serving pale-blue "Bike Rack" water bottle had developed a hole in its side into a moment of mirth by squirting water out of the side of bottle onto Dean and Janis. "That felt good; do it again!"

Number 2: Aug-20. Paused just yards after the crest of "Stovall Mountain", looking around BikerBob and seeing Fearless Leader RBA Alan flat-on-his back, as if in mid-rando-ditch-nap, clearly intent on a SERIOUS rest.

Number-1: 3:30 am, May-15. Robert waking me from a fantastic sleep on the floor of the Currie, NC post office lobby; seeing the quintessential I-can't-wait-for-the-next-adventure look on Robert's face.

Dec-24: 4th Annual IR Holiday RRR

2011-12-24T14:30:00.000-05:00

2008 - pre-dating this blog. Dec-27th. Lt. Dave and me. First time doing the entire Range Road "loop" for each of us. (In 2008, we did the ENTIRE length of Range Road. Since then, we have almost always turned onto Little Mountain Rd to get into Stem. Shorter, flatter, safer, and we can claim we went for a "little mountain ride".)

2009 - Dec-24th, it was cold. Lt. Dave, Red Rocket, IvaHawk, me. Funny thing, on today's ride, Lt. Dave could only remember the fun parts.

2010 - Dec-24th, I think it was mild. Biggish group for us. I'd have to look at the blog post to recall everyone; but I'm pretty sure the cast included Lt. Dave, Red Rocket, IvaHawk, Gary, Levi, Robert, me. As this is now a memory test -- I guess I'll now have to check and discover ... the facts.

2011 - Reasonable temps. Maybe around 38-F when we started at 0800; about 50-F when we finished at about 1230.

The cast:

short-cutters: Mallet and Tito. Each had family obligations, with dire consequences if they were late. They took the Robert's Chapel cut-off. No subsequent information available at this time.
full course: Lt. Dave, Red Rocket, IvaHawk, his guest Shane, Ricochet Robert, BobH, Norris, me.

A reasonable ride, I think. However, as I type this, I can't recall much. I may have to come back later and turn this into a "story". Wonder if I'll recall enough FACTS to write a story, or if I'd have to mostly FABRICATE.

In the meantime:
Merry Christmas to all, and to all A Goodnight.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Dec-24:

--> PUE: Range Road Rover --> ; 73.8 m.; est. 4h,53m in-motion; 15.1 mph.

Dec tot: __7 rides; _468.2 m.; _32 h, 01 m; 14.6 mph.

YTD tot: 109 rides; 8965.8 m.; 598 h, 30 m; 15.0 mph.

Confirmation

2011-12-23T11:35:00.000-05:00

Just before 10 this morning, I opened an e-mail with a "sent" time-stamp of 9:01 this morning. The e-mail was informing that the author would meet me at PUE at 10 to ride.

Here's the thing: I never indicated that I was definitely riding at 10 or so today. I had indicated that I could imagine riding at 10 am today. No one indicated that they had an interest in riding this morning, and as no one had indicated an interest, I certainly did not feel committed to doing something I had only imagined I might do.

Even if I had intended to ride solo at 10 this morning: when I'm riding with just-me-and-my-shadow, and not on a on-the-clock ride, I may leave late or early (more likely late) and I may change the route on a whim -- that's assuming I even have an intended route. Therefore, even if you KNOW that I'm going to ride solo (and that is problematic as I have "cancelled" three or four intended solo rides recently -- mostly on Sundays), but if I don't know that you want to ride with me (at least 12 hours in advance) ... don't count on seeing me where and when you thought you knew I would be.

Maybe Robert will do an amusing blog post about not finding me where he was certain I would be.

I will see some of you Saturday morning, to ride the Holiday RRR from PUE at 0800.

Merry Christmas to all, especially those I will not be seeing on the 24th,
...Martin

Rabies in Orange County

2011-12-21T17:23:00.000-05:00

http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/12/21/1725979/two-rabies-cases-confirmed-in.html

And since newspaper links have a way of disappearing faster than ice in summer ...

Two cases of rabies have been confirmed in Orange County.

Orange County Animal Services received two positive rabies results for a skunk and a racoon on Dec. 20.The skunk was found dead in the pen of a dog at a residence on N.C. 57 north of Hillsborough. The other was submitted because two household dogs had a deceased raccoon in their mouths at a Hurdle Mills residence near Hawkins Road and Highway 86.

In the skunk case, the dog was not vaccinated and surrendered by the owner for euthanasia.In the case of the raccoon, both dogs were currently vaccinated and only need to receive a booster shot within the next five days.These are the 10th and 11th positive rabies results for Orange County in 2011. There were a total of 11 positive cases for Orange County in 2010. The number of rabies cases in 2010 and 2009, where there were 12 cases, are far fewer than in preceding years.

Hurdle Mills ... near Hawkins Rd and NC-86 is awfully close to the route of the two recent Hurdle Mills Irregulars rides.

NC-57 north of Hillsborough. That could encompass at least as far as Schley.

More reasons to keep one's eyes peeled for loose dogs.

Dec-18: Horses, Ponds, Ducks, Geese

2011-12-19T10:00:00.000-05:00

Bahama Beach cut short
With 2011-NC-Randonneuse-of-the-Year Janis.

She'll want to hit me for mentioning her award, again.
But I have no problem trumpeting someone else's achievements.

A couple months ago, Janis had indicated that she wanted to do "Bahama Beach".

Once she got to 6000+ RUSA kms for the year,

With R-33 safely in the bank,

And having gotten her P-12,

She regained her interest in "going to the beach".

And sent a mid-to-late-week message suggesting she'd like to ride "Bahama Beach",
Or part of it anyway.

She had learned the trick from her usual pedal-pal, Andy,

Of testing out new, possibly challenging routes, a bit at a time.

And that is what she wanted to do.

I, on the other hand, am absolutely convinced that JJ could do / can do "BB",

If properly advised on the location, number, and severity of the climbs.

And, more importantly, I knew that a ride with JJ on BB

Would be fun and camaraderie filled.

And she would be less likely to try to "reverse-dump" me on unfamiliar terrain.

She did try to "reverse-dump" me --

The day before the ride,

Before we began riding, and

Her last attempt was on Old Weaver Trail, just after crossing NC-50.

I was having none of it!

Early-ish in the ride, Janis commented that the two reasons

That she seems to prefer the Mule Pull over Get 'er Dunn are:

_ _(1) all but one of her Mule Pulls have been solo, and
_ _(2) there are a lot of ponds with ducks and geese and also pastures with horses ... and mules.

Hmmn. I had an idea ... to add at least a scenic vista.

But crossing the RR tracks just before the store on Red Mill, next to I-85,

It became painfully obvious to Janis that her rear tyre had gone completely flat.

Luckily, we were only 80 yards from that store.

I was a completely superfluous and useless person as concerns changing JJ's flat.

We could find nothing wrong with the tyre, inside nor out.

We could find nothing wrong on the rim or rim-tape, and

We could not find the leak in the tube,

But it clearly did have a slow leak.

Janis decided to use a fresh tube, and

Try to find the problem with the tube when she got home.

Her tyre and new tube performed to an excellent standard the rest of the day.

Horses. A GREAT Pond, with Geese and Ducks.

Given JJ's comment on enjoying the sights on a ride when they exist,

I decided to detour off Stagville Rd and onto Wiley Mangum Rd.

There is a nice vista from the corner of Wiley Mangum and Joe Ellis roads.

Looks good to great in the Spring,

Nice in the Summer,

Can be GREAT in the Autumn, and

Still interesting in the Winter.

(Special note to Irregulars, especially Snapper + IvaHawk: neither of us lost a cleat or a pedal.)

JJ spotted some horses just a bit further down from the corner.

I couldn't see them because the trees were blocking my view.

Some of the horses were keeping a keen watch on a flock of vultures.

Never did figure out what was attracting the vultures.

I followed JJ, drifting down to the horses.

Several standard horses, and one Shire horse (I don't know the specific breed),

Were interested in JJ almost as much as the vultures.

Janis figured the horses were hoping she had some apples for them.

When I had drifted down to JJ,

I had seen an interesting pond well back from the left side of the road.

The horse pasture was on the right.

I asked Janis if she had noticed the pond on the other side of the road.

No, she had been giving full attention to the horses.

We had to go back some 30 or 40 yards up the slope to get a good view of the pond.

Domestic geese and wild ducks and perhaps some wild Canadian geese, too,

Most swimming in the pond,

Also keeping a keen watch on the vultures.

No fake ducks in that pond.

We eventually continued our ride.

Pausing in Bahama,

So Janis could check out the hysterical marker, and

I could check out a particular headstone in the cemetery.

Same last name as a prominent local randonneuse.

Down to Lake Michie (Flat River),

Across the bridge, the Beach hidden beneath the surface of the lake.

(Janis thinks I should change the name of the route to "Bahama Bridge".

But I dunno' -- that might not confuse non-locals as much as "Bahama Beach, + a Little Mtn Rd".)

Janis climbed back up from Lake Michie (up "the wall") in style,

Or at least she wasn't breathing all that hard when she reached the turn onto Ellis Chpl Rd.

Ellis Chapel Rd had a pond or two, and more horses.

Janis reported that she saw none of them.

She did see the large open pastures on the left, with cattle,

Just before reaching Cassam Rd.

We decided to short the "BB" route,

Taking Range Rd down the "wall", and

Then thru Butner, to Cash Rd. and Old Weaver Trail.

I was making sure to point out all the ponds.

Even ones I had never noticed before.

I think the only pond Janis claimed to have noticed was the really large one ...

Falls Lake.

OWT to New Light,

Up Ghoston. (Janis didn't mind the climbing -- but was not too pleased with one or two cars.)

Over to and onto Peed Rd.

JJ remarked that she thought the steep part of Peed was tougher than the Michie-Wall.

MVC to finish at PUE with exactly 54.00 miles, round trip (not out-and-back).

Janis accomplished her mission:

Some climbing, checking out part of a new route, seeing new places, having FUN on the bike.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dec-18:

--> PUE: Bahama Beach, short-cut --> ; 63.4 m.; est. 4h,50m in-motion; 13.1 mph.

Dec tot: __6 rides; _394.4 m.; _27 h, 08 m; 14.5 mph.

YTD tot: 108 rides; 8892.0 m.; 596 h, 37 m; 15.0 mph.

Dec-15: Gone 'Splorin'

2011-12-17T07:16:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago, a coupla' guys I know didn't like riding on NC-62 from Burton Chapel Rd to Overview Loop Rd. Something about going up a hill, into the sun, and noticing that two of their buddies just 100 yards or so ahead of them disappeared in the shadows -- the jersey colors and the deep shadows resulting from bright sun -- and riding more or less right into the sun -- made them think that finding an alternative routing to get from Gunn Poole Rd to the Badgett Sisters Parkway before the next Irregulars outing that direction would be a good idea. [I'm pretty sure we'll be doing that route again. Nice rollers across creek valleys and up actual hills -- no real hills north of Raleigh -- just valley crossings; no traffic; smooth roads (for the most part). And maybe we'll do lunch at Yoder's instead of Subway.]

Anyway, these two guys wanted to find and check-out an alternative routing.
You might call it "exploring".

In Cedar Grove. Going or coming? Yes.
Can you imagine the locals, having come to town for business, taking a sit on that green bench?

Two alternatives in mind.
The first turned out so well that they didn't check the second one.

Rumor is that someone used to work for Corbett.
Sign before and after Gunn Poole Rd.

No NC-62, climbing into the sun.
And the alternative is flat, or so I heard.

Excess clothing was removed at the turn-around under the watchful eyes of the local beasts.
Note the white mule.
Note the flat terrain in the background.

I heard that the one guy might have taken some photos.
If so, and IF he makes a post ...
I'll take this one down. ;-)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Edit Dec-18-2011: Turned out there were some photos -- but ... the guy that took them claimed he liked this post, and the photos should just be woven into the above.]

Dec-10: IR Falls Lake Loop + Dragon's-Head

2011-12-10T15:16:00.001-05:00

Almost had a ride perfect for a repetitious title:
Rule #3, Rule #3, Rule #3.

Thinking to entice some Irregulars that haven't ridden for awhile,
The suggested routes were:

Basic Falls Lake Loop, 38-miles, and
Falls Loop, plus the Dragon's-head, for about 50-miles.

It was also requested that the crew advise regarding the start time:

1 suggestion for 8:00 or 8:30,
5 suggestions for 8:00.

Nine of us met at PUE prepared for an 0800 wheels-away.
Seven Irregulars + 2 guests repeating from last week.
Those that it was hoped might come out for a quick 40-miler?
None of those came out.
Better mention those that did come out, now,
Because who knows if they'll get mentioned otherwise?

IvaHawk + guest Shane (this Shane "came back"),
Tito, Ags, Ricochet, me.

Also Snapper + guest Ken, and BobH.
But regarding those three ... I think a previously unheard of corollary to Rule #3 applies:
If you don't REALLY know the course, or which course we're doing,
Don't fall behind by over a mile,
To do an interval time-trial (or whatever).

I cycled to the ride, and found the other 8 mostly-ready to ride.
I had my yellow shell on over a short-sleeved and a long-sleeved jersey.
IvaHawk directed my attention to something about the other eight:
All were in yellow jackets or shells.
Resulting in nine cyclists in bright yellow tops.
Might have made an interesting peloton-in-motion pic.
We certainly had to be VISIBLE.

We started on time
According to the clock on my cycle-confuser, which might be two minutes slow.

Ags, eager to finish the ride ... yeah, that's the best description ...
Eager to finish the ride before it even started,
Led the way out of PUE.
Left onto Pleasant Union Ch Rd, but
Instead of the usual swoop-down Mt. Vernon Ch Rd ,
We continued to Norwood Rd and took that across to Leesville Rd,
Then right on Hickory Grove Ch Rd to get back on the usual course.
Darn -- just realized -- I better check the actual mileage.
This alternate start not only has fewer noticeable climbs,
It MAY be about 0.2 miles shorter.
[It was actually 0.4 miles shorter. Sigh.]

One thing I do know about Hickory Grove Ch Rd.,
Although it is flat, that stretch traversed the high elevation for the day.

On Doc Nichols Rd, Snapper and Ken scooted ahead
To the CVS at NC-98 and Patterson,
While the rest of us moderated our pace
So we would not be standing around in the cold at the CVS
Waiting for the completion of certain business inside.

Nondescript crossing of Patterson and Cheek and the "loop" back up to OWT.
Except Ricochet tried to stir the pot crossing the causeway to the CL at the bridge.
The pot did get stirred.

Ags commented on the yard in front of that particular house on Stool Tree / Munns Rd.
Which is a reason I like taking Stool Tree across to Northside Rd.
I remember that yard when the lawn under those trees
Was an incredible tangle of scrub-brush.

Across Northside to Cash Rd (btw, we found NO money).
Three riders gone missing.
IvaHawk informed that Harv + Ken wanted to do a "time-trial" on Northside,
So were planning to wait for the rest of us to clear from their path ahead.
Hawk also mentioned that he had heard BobH tell Harv + Ken to continue straight
Once they got to the stop-sign.

With that information, I decided I wasn't waiting, nor was I going to worry about the three.
Hawk and I concluded that there certainly must be an unwritten corollary to Rule #3
That deals with miscreants that purposefully fall of the back to do something "special"
And then follow a different course.

After crossing NC-50, I found I was up-front with Ricochet.
He asked where the next turn was.
We were operating sans cue-sheet,
Even though it had been pointed out that the Basic Falls Loop was available ... on-line to IRs.

Ricochet and I got to the turn ... no one else in sight.
Turned out they had stopped or turned back to try to take some photos of a fox
In a field west of NC-50.
I'll note here that it was Ricochet that had pointed out the fox
Visible in daylight, crouching in a field, and causing havoc among the nearby birds.

Wonder if I will get a photo of the fox?

Six re-grouped and cruising up Beaver Dam / Rock Springs Ch Rd.
At the top (corner with Bruce Garner Rd), the unanimous response was in favor of
53-miles rather than 50.
Okay ... we're adding the "Horn" to the Dragon's-Head.
[To see the Dragon's Neck and Head -- click here.
Nothing available for the "Horn", though.]

I figured to give oral directions once we turned onto Lawrence Rd.,
But Ags and Tito seemed intent on riding a pace in which I was not interested (today).
Ricochet set out after them with information to turn onto Bold Run Hill Rd..
[Before starting his "chase", Ricochet asked "which way on Bold Run?"
My answer: "there is only one way to turn onto Bold Run Hill."]
Shane pursued and bridged to Ricochet.
IvaHawk and I enjoyed a more leisurely 17 to 20 mph drift down Lawrence to BRH.

Into the valley of the Bold Run Hill we rode, just the two of us.
Although Iva was certain he had seen a glimpse of the other four, well up the road.
Despite that, I figured the foursome would go all the way to Purnell Rd.,
Thus missing the turn onto Powell Rd..

Hawk and I discussed whether he could/should call Tito.
"Mr. Nice Guy" opined that if they missed the turn,
"It will be the really good Rule #3 lesson that they need".
Iva and I were plotting the blog post we could write.
Unfortunately, the foursome was waiting at Powell Rd.
Sigh.

Across Powell and Garffe Sherron, back to Mangum Dairy Rd.,
Just in time to do the nice climb on Mangum Dairy.

Iva missed a shift just at the bottom of the climb.
He thought he had somehow thrown his chain,
Despite installing an anti-chain-throwing device on Friday.
But, turned out it was completely an operator error -- no mechanical problem at all.

Across to Woodlief Rd..
The other five raced up the Woodlief climb up to New Light Rd..
I took it easy as my lower back was bothering me.
Always a sure sign that I had pushed too hard earlier.
Strange when one compares the effort today to my recent rides on Triple-L.
That rando course has many more climbs, and tougher, than anything we did today.
And I had not one moment of lower back discomfort on any of the recent Triple-L trips.
In fact, I can't recall any lower back issues since ... I can't recall.

New Light, Ghoston, etc., and Robert "skutches me out".

Ricochet Robert decided to try to tire the fast three-some still with us,
Tito, Ags, Shane,
AND build a lead on New Light that he might be able to carry to the top of Ghoston.

I was still resting my lower back as we started on New Light, and
IvaHawk and I were soon further back from the fasties than Robert was ahead.
Robert did build quite a lead.

I told Iva, that after half-a-mile or so, my back would be fine, and
"We'll go get 'em."
Iva was game.

That's what we did.
I pulled Iva up and past the kibitzing fasties,
Closed to and went around Robert without a problem.
Robert weighs 135 lbs. I weigh just under 160 lbs.
The road on that stretch is mostly down-slope (heading for the river / lake).
I generate more power that Robert.
So, it was not difficult to make up the (nearly) quarter-mile to Robert.

The problem, in Robert's view, was me passing the fasties.
Because they picked up their pace from putz-kibitz to grab Iva's wheel.
And the six-some was all back together well before reaching Ghoston.

Robert can climb.
But Ags, Tito and Shane can climb the little hills around here faster than Robert.

Robert enjoyed skutching me out when we all got back to PUE.

My defense?
Everyone knows it is indeed a rare day that I fail to time-trial in on Bruce Garner / New Light.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This was supposed to be a short post.
Not a blow-by-blow retelling of the entire 53-miles of the core ride.
Deep sigh.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dec-10:

--> PUE: Norwood - basic Falls Lake Loop - Dragon's Head + Horn --> ; 61.8 m.; est. 4h,01m in-motion; 15.4 mph.

Dec tot: __2 rides; _188.9 m.; _12 h, 47 m; 14.8 mph.

YTD tot: 104 rides; 8686.5 m.; 577 h, 16 m; 15.0 mph.

Dec-03: Bison 204km Permanent

2011-12-04T09:54:00.001-05:00

Just after the turn off Howard onto Ray, half-a-mile into the course, John said "see you next weekend" as he waved and took off.

Being an out-and-back course, we knew we would see him at least once later in the day. We did. On Gordonton Rd., but much closer to Hester Store Rd than we had expected.

Of course, we had stopped to take some photos:

I counted 50 head.

Since Robert foolishly refused to be in a photo outbound ... when the bison were still in the field (or had returned to it) inbound:

Robert insisted on a "group shot":

While taking the inbound photos, a small commercial van with the slogan "Eat More Buffalo" went by. I suspect that a restaurant in Roxboro may be getting their buffalo-burgers locally.

R-6 for John. R-4 for Robert. R-17 for me.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Dec-03:

Leesville-Leasburg-Leesville 204 km Permanent; w/ Ragged Robert - he had "no legs" after having spent the previous day helping his son move ; 127.1 m.; est. 8h,46m in-motion; 14.5 mph; 10h55 official rando time -- JohnA finished in 9h16.

Dec tot: __1 rides; _127.1 m.; __8 h, 46 m; 14.5 mph.

YTD tot: 103 rides; 8624.7 m.; 573 h, 15 m; 15.0 mph.

Dec 3 -- Brogden Rd Freight Train or The Case of the Missing Glove

2011-12-03T22:33:00.002-05:00

Everyone was on time just about for 8 AM wheels away. Irregular members: Harvey, BobH, Tito, JohnD, Norris, IvaHawk. Guests: for Harvey – Lou and Ken triathlete buddies. For Iva – Shane from Australia O2 fitness and spinning buddy. 35 degrees or so at the start gave way to warm temps the last half of the ride. Many wanted to finish by 11:30 AM to watch the Heels play UK at noon.

Plan was modified Range Road Rover with the modification being to turn right on Robert’s Chapel. It was a mostly uneventful ride until we got to Stem and Creedmore. Outbound the buddies kept up with the Irregular climbers up the Range Road Wall. IvaHawk brought up the rear. Norris kept me company part of the time because he was executing a training plan that required him to stay aerobic.

Shane is an experienced mountain biker but needs some road training because he is going to France during next year’s tour for three or four weeks! I told him he should talk to The Mallet who was there last summer during Le Tour. Shane had no trouble hanging with the faster guys as I suspected he wouldn’t.

Lou and Ken rode well which one would have figured if they ride much with Harvey. I disapproved of their all black Ninja cycling clothes as I know Martin would have. The rest of us had on the de rigueur bright yellow jackets.

Up Little Mountain Road to the highest point on the course (510 feet), through Stem, and out onto BobH Road known locally as Brogden Rd/Stem Road. I saw Harvey the Steam Engine go to the front and said uh oh, here we go. Later, I found that Harvey, Tito, and BobH swapped leads on the team time trial as we sped towards Creedmore. I don’t know where, but somewhere, I dimly recollect seeing 26 mph just before I was ejected off the back like a watermelon seed at a picnic. The leaving speed reminded me of those times when motorcycles speed by us then goose the throttle.

By the time, I got to Creedmore, I was warm if not hot. I stopped at the top of Stem Rd and took off my gloves and jacket. Norris was there and went on ahead. By the time, I got up to Hwy 50, via the back way, I noticed I only had one glove. I had dropped it between Stem Rd and there. Crap. I hollered to Norris but he had on ear muffs. I saw the guys who had been waiting coming towards me on Hwy 50. I hollered at them that I was going back and not to wait. My return trip to Stem Rd was not successful. However, by the time I got into the Christmas Parade traffic on my return trip, there it was lying in the dirt having been run over a few times by cars. It was fine.

I continued on my own down Dove Rd when I saw Tito (of Amazing Race fame) coming back towards me. He and I rode on to PUE. Thanks for the comeback, Tito. We got back at 11:55 with 53.5 miles for me. 2,194 climbing feet and 3,877 calories. From there to my house for tea and scones and UNC b-ball on the tube.

An excellent day of riding. Thanks to all.

Nov-30: R-Series Rescued

2011-12-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

Enjoyably sunny in Raleigh it was -- morning and afternoon.
COMPLETELY overcast in Hurdle Mills and Leasburg.

The course: Byron's Leesville-Leasburg-Leesville Hillfest.
This site does not support embedded trip maps. View the trip &amp;amp;lt;a href='http://www.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip/1008714'&amp;amp;gt;here&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt; instead.

High temp about 50 degrees F lower than an epic ride from July-2010.
Remember that one, Bob?

High temp about 47 degrees F lower than a certain July-2011 tour.
Remember that one, Robert?
I didn't re-read the text of the recent July post, but I wonder if there is mention of a rooster?

As hinted above, Me-and-My-Shadow early on.
Then Just-Me, into the W wind from Mt. Tirzah to Leasburg.

Tailwind the entire return trip.
Though sometimes the wind seemed a bit confused.
Probably bouncing off things.

And My-Shadow rejoined Me late in the ride.

It is amazing how much the weather conditions can vary over a 102-km stretch.
And, regarding this ride, I refer only to the amount of sunshine enjoyed, or lacking.

About 6 weeks ago on this same course,
I noted that I worked hard to try to get a time of less than 10 hours.
Didn't have the legs for it.

On this ride, I didn't have much legs at the end.
Legs felt worse finishing a 200k than they've felt for a long time.
The result of working hard for most of the ride.

But ... this time ... official time under 10 hours.
And ... R-16.
:-)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Nov-30:

Leesville-Leasburg-Leesville 204 km Permanent ; 127.1 m.; 8h,21m in-motion; 15.2 mph; 9h42 official rando time -- I MUST get back into the habit of starting solo perms ON-TIME.

Q-1 tot: _23 rides; 1822.2 m.; 123 h, 05 m; 14.8 mph.
Q-2 tot: _30 rides; 2604.9 m.; 174 h, 22 m; 14.9 mph.
Q-3 tot: _29 rides; 2479.2 m.; 161 h, 05 m; 15.2 mph.
Oct tot: _10 rides; _924.0 m.; _61 h, 54 m; 14.9 mph.

Nov tot: _10 rides; _667.3 m.; _44 h, 01 m; 15.2 mph.

YTD tot: 102 rides; 8497.6 m.; 566 h, 29 m; 15.0 mph.

For the first time in what-seems-like eons, the YTD avg pace is actually slightly MORE than 15.0.
15.0007 mph. Who measures to that precision?
Certainly not me!
But that is what 102 rides with nearly 8500 miles covered in 566h29 gives.

Eddington Cycling Number:
After this ride: 81.
Meaning I have ridden at least 81 miles on at least 81 different occasions.

Oh, for something completely different (at least as far as this blog is concerned):
Next adventure:
R-17 with Robert and JohnA on Saturday, Dec-03.
On Triple-L.
Again.
Will make 5 times on this course in the last 6 weeks.
_ Plus one more time I rode it ... just for practice ... as Andy and JayJay sometimes say.
Will make 5 of my most recent 7 perms on this course.
Compare that to how difficult it was for me to complete this course the first time.

Nov-26: On US Bike Route #1 -- sorta'

2011-11-28T14:00:00.000-05:00

After the Thursday and Friday rides, there wasn't much interest in a Saturday ride for 60 miles at 0800. Just BobH, JohnA and me. Bob and I like to ride early. John has a young son; he likes to get his cycling done early enough to do "dad stuff" and other activities.

I had publicly suggested the Mitchener's X-roads Cruise, but I couldn't locate the cue sheet (who needs cue sheets?) and my heart + mind weren't really into that -- I don't know why -- it is a perfectly good course with some climbs and low-traffic roads and all that. I suggested privately to John (because I mistakenly thought he was the only other person interested in a ride) that maybe it would be good to just take US Bike Route #1 from PUE to US-158, turn-around without stopping, and retrace our route for about 61 miles. John e-mailed back that he didn't care as long as it was less than 6 hours. I guaranteed it would be less than 6 hours.

On the way to Grissom, I had a thought that I'd like to ride Flat Rock Rd northbound as I couldn't recall ever having done that. So ... we continued straight for another 2 1/2 miles past Grissom [note to self: need to mention to Branson that the BR#1 sign at Grissom for the left turn onto Lawrence Rd has gone missing] to Wayside Farm Rd, then to Kelsey's Western Wear, then Suitt's Store Rd, etc. to Flat Rock Rd.. I think Flat Rock Rd may be easier northbound than southbound -- it could have been the tailwind, though.

Philo White Rd to get back to Cannady Mill Rd and BR#1, having added a little extra climbing.

Cruising along Cannady Mill, John and Bob in deep conversation(s). It seemed like a repeat of Thursday; only with John substituting for Robert, and I wasn't singing aloud to myself.

Then ... another idea: BR #1 to US-158 and come back is really a 60-mile TT -- not a "let's have an enjoyable time" ride. How about ... when we get to Dickerson, we turn right onto Dorsey Rd and take that up to US-158, ride 158 for a short mile to the east, then turn south (right) onto Old Watkins / Peaces Chapel Rd to Fairport. Then Fairport Rd to Charlie Grissom / Green Hill Rd to Olivet(?) Chpl Rd to NC-56 to Gordon Moore to Pokomoke, and then on in.

Adds some climbing and the scenery is more interesting. (BR #1 is a great route from Raleigh up to Oxford, but it mostly runs along a wide, flat ridge; not much in the way of vistas. Get off a half mile or so in either direction, though, and things change dramatically -- maybe not vista-wise, but certainly down-and-up-wise.)

Bob and John were willing to follow. Actually, I had to follow across 158; and they didn't slow for me once on Old Watkins until they'd covered at least a mile -- maybe more. They waited for me at a nibbles and drink and maybe something else roadside pause. Then we continued on toward Fairport. [It is always farther from the creek to the county line than I recall -- all upslope or some uphill.]

Bob and I were taking all the pulls starting at that creek on Old Watkins, all the way to the Tar River, and up Olivet Chpl Rd, and then continuing on Gordon Moore Rd. I had mentioned possibly stopping in Grissom for a break, and as we got within a long half-mile of Pokomoke, John asked "how far to Grissom?"

Bob pulled all the way from Pokomoke to Grissom. We stopped in Grissom for the pause that refreshes. John was appalled or something when upon leaving I noted that we'd stopped for nearly 25 minutes. [We'd gotten to Grissom at 12:02, and left at 12:25.] Bob continued pulling ... all the way to the bottom of Ghoston Rd. then John left us in the dust as Bob and I made our way up Ghoston and Peed re-passing each other several times. [I'm sure the only reason I was staying with Bob was the 8 1/2 mile pull (with Grissom in the middle) that he took to get to Grissom. I had sat on the back, wondering if / when John would go to the front. He never did. Until the climb on Grissom. At least he didn't try to swipe the Wake CL. I didn't either. I did, however, consider how the dynamic would have changed if Smitty and a couple others had been along at that point.]

Gary + Wendy + Karen(?) were just coming out of the Peed Store as Bob and I zipped off NC-98 onto Peed Rd.. We were going 20+ mph, so all I did was give them a shout-out, and we kept going. Gary gave a shout-out back.

I got into PUE at 1:05 pm; 5h05 elapsed clock time for what Bob reported as 69-and-change miles; well under the 6 hour limit. John claimed to have gotten there only a couple minutes before. I don't believe "only a couple minutes"; probably at least "a few minutes" and maybe "several minutes" as Bob and I took 20 minutes to do Ghoston-Peed-MVC; John never takes more than 16 or 17 (the latter only when he is really putzing it in).

A little chat. John left to go home to be a dad. Bob and I chatted a bit more about nothing very important -- I certainly no not recall the topic(s). Then he got in his truck to drive home and I remounted to complete my journey.

Well ... I did have to make a necessary stop en route. Luckily certain people live at just the right place.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Nov-26:

--> PUE: US BR #1 out-and-back, but with enough modifications that even LT would not have though it an out-and-back course --> ; 78.0 m.; 5h,08m in-motion; 15.2 mph.

Nov tot: __9 rides; _540.2 m.; _35 h, 40 m; 15.1 mph.

YTD tot: 101 rides; 8370.5 m.; 558 h, 07 m; 15.0 mph.

I was avg'ing 15.6 or better when we turned onto Ghoston, and 15.5 or so when I got to PUE.
I've been taking it very easy all year coming back up the "other MVC climb" toward Raleigh all year. I wonder what that extra cool-down mileage and pace has done to my annual avg pace?

I figured out an answer to the above question. I've been riding back from PUE in about 6 more minutes than I've been riding out to PUE prior to the rides. Just over 1/3 of my rides this year have entailed that putz-cool-down back to town. That 6 minutes has cut an average 0.2 to 0.3 mph off the avg pace of all those rides. And has cut 0.1 mph off the total average mph for the entire year. If I was starting and stopping all my rides from PUE (as in previous years), I estimate that my avg overall pace YTD would be 15.1 mph. As MaryF alluded while on the Kerr Lake Loop near the end of September -- I'm probably faster than last year.

Google Search Results Can Be ... Weird

2011-11-28T07:06:00.001-05:00

For kicks, I checked the behind-the-scenes stats for the blog this morning.
In particular, I checked the "Traffic sources" for the last "day".
One of the Google-searches that brought someone to this blog was "cyclotouring georgia".
I entered that into a Google-search just to see what would happen.
Third result listed by Google:
_ http://irregularveloadventures.blogspot.com/2011/08/if-i-had-cyclo-touring-company.html

Google picked up on "Cyclo-Touring".
Apparently completely ignored "georgia".

Somehow, I think there is a flaw in the algorithms that ignore the location.
Because cyclo-touring is probably similar to real estate.
It is all about three things: location, location and location.

Nov-25: Badgett Sisters Adventure

2011-11-27T10:00:00.000-05:00

A Desire

I've wanted to ride the Badgett Sisters Pkwy (or as the locals refer to it: Old-62 (Gilbert of North Road Bicycle Imports filled me in on that a couple years ago)) for at least two, maybe three years. Never worked out.

Another Desire

Monday, Lt. Dave, er, Capt. Dave, or as half his fire department crew calls him, Capt. LT, e-mailed to inform me that he was interested in doing an EPIC ride on Friday -- maybe mountains, maybe the Uwharries, maybe "that Warrenton ride" we once did (when Dave bonked BADLY), maybe something new -- as long as it was EPIC. I immediately jumped on the opportunity to suggest the Badgett Sisters.

Not really.
I was quite depressed on Monday.
Had no interest in anything EPIC or even just epic.
I made some half-hearted suggestions, but mostly tried to get Dave to suggest a route.
(Look, Robert -- actual FACTS. See what happens -- the story can become a "downer".)

As I lay not-sleeping, an idea came to me (more actual facts):

Start in Leasburg ...
No, Hurdle Mills would be better because that would mean 14 miles less driving ... each way.

Take Walnut Grove Ch Rd toward Schley Rd, but
Cut over on whatever that road is that leads to Carr Store Rd and whatever-it-changes-name-to.

Then Gunn Poole Rd.
Find out what all local rando hub-bub about the "Triplets of Belleville" is all about.
I knew they were referring to the three climbs back up from the three creek valleys,
Not the animated feature.
Although, I suppose it might be easier do stiff climbs if one is a bit animated (*) with one's pedaling.
(*) animated -- def'n 1.,c.

Then whatever-is-that-road to get to NC-62,
62 to Badgetts Sisters into Yanceyville.
Stop and see Gilbert.
Eat lunch.

Yanceyville to Leasburg by reversing the Roxboro to Yanceyville route from April last year.
THAT was an EPIC (Dave informed that, to him, EPIC means memorable. More later -- maybe.)

Leasburg to Hurdle Mills via the Triple-L rando route.

How many miles is that?
Skipping the mental calculations ... I estimated 70 to 75 miles.
Some flat to warm up on.
Some nice climbs.
Scenic in some places.
And I'd finally get to do The Sisters.

Tuesday morning, I drew a map:
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Mental calculations while not-sleeping confirmed.
My dad would likely say I'm in danger of breaking my arm with that previous sentence.
I think I'm in danger of breaking my arm with that sentence.
But ... I do come up with some pretty good courses.
I'm not the only one that says that.
Of course, the others could just be laying-on-the-compliments so
That I'll keep coming up with new Irregular combinations.

Some people like doing the same courses over and over.
Maybe because they are "training".
But I don't "train", and when it is an Irregular ride, the others aren't really "training", either.
They might be "building base".
They might shoot off the front for a hot interval.
Or they might hammer in the last 6 or 12 miles.
Even I sometimes do virtual hot intervals -- not on purpose, and almost certainly not planned.
Mostly, I ride.
To enjoy the ride.

Anyway, some people like doing the same courses over and over.
And, while I freely admit that I enjoy doing repeats on the various rando courses,
I like finding new roads at or just beyond the ... what is word I'm looking for?
And almost every Irregular has expressed joy at rides that have gone new places on new roads.
Most of the time those new places and new roads are within cycling distance of north Raleigh.
Only seldom do we do "remote starts".

I like having a plethora of routes to ride.
Some I like to do only once or twice a year.
Others I like to do once each season.
And some, I'll gladly do at the drop of a hat.

Planning

Having developed the route, and secured my place in Capt. LT's vehicle,
I insisted the others handle their own logistics.
Except that I did end up suggesting the following:
Leave PUE at 0700.
Arrive Hurdle Mills by 0800.
Start pedaling by 0815.
Anticipate five hours in-motion.
At least an hour for lunch, and flo-maxes, and chatting with Gilbert.

There was NO unnecessary "faff time"!
Those that were meeting at PUE were there, loaded, and ready to go ...
So we left at 0655 -- five minutes ahead of schedule!!

Dave and I arrived at Hurdle Mills at 0748.
IvaHawk was already there, and had secured permission to park in a particular location.
JohnD and Robert arrived a couple minutes later.
Tito arrived straight from Chapel Hill in a couple more minutes.

Some pre-ride chatter while putting on gloves and shoes and helmets and such.
And then we started the ride ... at 0806 ... nine minutes ahead of schedule!!

The Ride

With all that build-up and off-topic stuff above ...
Will the ride write-up be able to stand-up to it?
Will the ride write-up do justice to the ride?
Will the ride be EPIC?
Will the ride be as memorable as the last time we rode to Yanceyville? (see above for a link)

The name of this blog is Irregular Velo Adventures.
And I named the route Badgett Sisters Adventure.
Those of us that were on the ride ... we think it was an EPIC Adventure.
Will that come across?
You'll have to decide for yourself.

The Ride - Really

With help from a friend -- here, finally, is the report:

great company, great ride, great weather.... new route, lots of hills,
LT, IvaHawk, Tito, Robert, JohnD, me.

Frost on all the grassy surfaces at Hurdle Mills and for the first half-dozen miles.

Little to no breeze early.

Then a southerly wind -- that was really only a nuisance on Solomon Lea Rd.

Climbing on Gunn Poole, Burton Chapel, Badgett Sisters, Osmond, Gordonton and Hester Store roads.

That chip seal near the Rock of Ages Winery continues to deteriorate!

Tito told me a story of visiting Rock of Ages, 20 years ago, in the middle of a bicycle ride.

The purpose of the ride had been to go wine-tasting at Rock of Ages.

Tito reported that his legs were as lead-weights after the tasting.

He never did that again.

Tito, Martin and LT had legs and did most pulling and helping those off back.
I just rode.

LT informed that he and Tito just rode up all the climbs; chatting.

Dave did acknowledge that he "had legs".

Robert kept expressing dismay at the downslopes.

Especially on The Sisters.

One time, a minute after Robert had exclaimed, not for the first time, "I don't like this"

As we continued another descent/

(Robert was concerned that every foot of down meant a foot of UP.)

Anyway, a minute after Robert had exclaimed regarding more descending,

JohnD, riding next to me, and IvaHawk just behind, pointed ahead

Up, really, to Robert climbing away from us, and commented

"Robert was concerned about the descending?"

3 people dropped chains going up hills, Iva was most spectacular

I didn't see IvaHawk's incident.

I did see the state of his tights and jersey.

With evidence of his fall.

Dropped his chain on one of the two STEEP sections on Gordonton Rd.

JohnD's dropped chain did not lead to a fall.

I think the other dropper was Robert -- nothing bad must have happened (?).

nice visit with Gilbert,

What are you looking at, Gilbert?
L to R: IvaHawk, JohnD, Robert, Gilbert, Tito, LT.

Almost the same photo, but Gilbert's attention has been diverted from the bike in front of him.
And JohnD and I have switched places.

splitting subway's subs

Out of order here.

We got to Gilbert's North Road Bicycle Imports shop at 10:50.

He wasn't there.

We rode across Yanceyville to the Subway.

Split 3 foot-longs among the six of us.

Then, as we were leaving the Subway, someone asked:

"Are we going to see if Gilbert is in?"

My response: "Well, it's not like it's out of the way."

11:40. Gilbert was in.

Tito and Gilbert first met 20 or more years ago. Gilbert painted Tito's bike.

IvaHawk bought 3 tubes and a tyre about 18 months ago.

Robert bought his Carradice bag (for P-B-P) from Gilbert in early August.

Me? I just trade occasional e-mails with him.

First directed toward Gilbert by one Adrian.

I never met Adrian -- just swapped some e-mails several years before I considered "going rando".

lots of spirited sections of ride, attacking hills, fast pulls on flats,

I don't know who Robert thinks was attacking hills.

(The emboldened-green text came from Robert.

I'm using his suggestions as an outline.)

I know I didn't attack any climbs.

I did try to carry as much momentum as far as I could.

I will admit to taking a longish pull on NC-62 with a bit of gusto,

There was a mostly-tailwind,

And it is quite flat for that part of the state.

Tito came to the front on 62 to finish off that section.

Not sure if he thought I was starting to "flag",

Or he was trying to back it down a notch.

I'm not sure how fast we rode across 62 north of Yanceyville.

But I thought we ought to try to make up a bit of time,

After I'd talked too-long to Gilbert about the virtually new, blue Surly Long-Haul Trucker he currently has in shop: If I recall correctly, $850 price tag.

Iva and Tito - demonstration

IvaHawk and Tito have gotten the idea to try to get on "The Amazing Race".

They recently drove down to Wilmington for an open casting call.

To give their 1-minute skit / presentation to impress the producers.

57-seconds.

They reprized their skit for us in front of Gilbert's shop,

Just before we left Yanceyville.

Ran out of Robert-text to use as an "outline".

What more is there that needs to be said than the following?

great company, great ride, great weather.... new route, lots of hills,

Tito, Martin and LT had legs and did most pulling and helping those off back.
3 people dropped chains going up hills, Iva was most spectacular
nice visit with Gilbert,
splitting subways subs
lots of spirited sections of ride, attacking hills, fast pulls on flats,

Iva and Tito - demonstration

Maybe only this:

Let's do it AGAIN !!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Edit, Dec-16-2011: JohnD sent a link to his Garmin report:]

[Looks like I might have shorted myself a mile or so on the ride length.
My confuser wasn't working at the start of the ride.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nov-25:

Hurdle Mills: Badgett Sisters Adventure; 75.2 m.; 4h,50m in-motion; 15.5 mph.

Nov tot: __8 rides; _462.2 m.; _30 h, 31 m; 15.1 mph.

YTD tot: 100 rides; 8292.5 m.; 552 h, 59 m; 15.0 mph.

You may notice that this was my 100th ride this year.

100 adventures. Mostly enjoyable. Some were slogs.

I'm not going to get to one, mostly not-admitted, goal.

But as my rando friend JohnO, who did get to that goal, noted:

"I [JohnO] got you in RUSA kilometers, but you [Martin] are way ahead on total miles."

Each mile contributed to an adventure.

If not on the ride in which it was ridden, then on a following ride.

Many friends, both Irregular and rando, have contributed to my adventures this year.

Thanks to each of you.

Nov-24: Make Room For Turkey

2011-11-25T17:20:00.001-05:00

Virtually the same route as on Thanksgiving morning last year.

Fewer partants this year as only Ricochet Robert, BobH and I "signed up".

Bob and Robert had met at about 0730 and ridden to the start together.
With only the three of us expected, and everyone present and ready to ride,
We started the ride about 10 minutes early.

Robt and Bob immediately resumed the deep conversation(s) they had started on the way to PUE.
I concluded that they didn't a third party messing up the conversation dynamics,
So I rode ahead and sang songs as I made them up,
Or sang the notes as I made them up, or borrowed from unknown songs.

Eventually, I backed off my pace, and the three of us rode the last 15-miles or so together.
We continued the guy-conversations.
However, I could not tell you one single thing that we talked about.
Not because they are forbidden topics,
But because I simply do not recall.

I doubt that Robert or BobH recalls any of their subjects, either.

Great day for a ride around the lake.
Early on, crossing the lake on Old Weaver Trail Rd,
The lake was as a mirror.
Too bad all the leaves were already off the trees.

Later, crossing the lake on Cheek Rd,
There were ripples on the surface,
Too small to refer to it as a "chop".

Great quickie ride.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Nov-24:

PUE: Falls Lake Loop, counter-clockwise, + Pottery Loop and the "Shaw 'Shortcut'"; 40.7 m.; 2h,31m in-motion; 16.1 mph.

Nov tot: __7 rides; _387.0 m.; _25 h, 40 m; 15.1 mph.

YTD tot: _99 rides; 8217.3 m.; 548 h, 08 m; 15.0 mph.

Nov-19 + 20: Choices Made and Unmade

2011-11-21T11:59:00.000-05:00

Saturday, Nov-19, was the NC Randonneur year-end party. This year it was here in Raleigh, at Natty Green's, instead of in Greensboro at Natty Green's (as per the previous two years).

Choices to ride Saturday:

200k Carolina Crossroads Permanent -- part of the rando party extravaganza (many attending the party would be there, and at least one person had e-mailed to ask if would be doing the ride);
105k Benson Mule Pull Permanent-Populaire -- part of the rando party extravaganza (a dozen or so chose the friendlier start time and the lesser time commitment, and at least one, maybe two or three inquired as to whether I would be doing the ride);
Irregulars 45-mile "Shadow Ride" at 0830 -- no takers :-(
Ricochet decided he and Ags needed at least a 60-miler, so they would need to start at 0730 because Ags had a hard back-end time limit (in order to make it the NC State vs Clemson football game). I reluctantly signed on for the 0730 ride -- and people think I dictate the rides and times -- but then had a bit of a coughing fit, so
I wrangled a breakfast invite with Capt. LT and then we'd ride something -- probably about 4 hours worth, probably starting around 0930.

When I figured to ride with Ricochet and Ags, I'd suggested an easy-ish 60-miler: NC US BR #1 out to US-158, turn-around without stopping at a particular KLL control, and ride NC US BR #1 straight back to the start. We used to do that a couple times a year. Not too hilly, simple and straightforward. But with quite a few options to mix-it-up / add distance (with climbs, of course). Ricochet and Ags were game.

After I dropped out of riding at 0730, Ricochet sent me an e-mail: "what is the hilliest approx 60-miler we have?" Meaning what Irregular's route. Immediate response: "Bahama Beach (+ a Little Mtn Rd)" for 103k. A few minutes after sending that response, I followed up with "Long Assault on Flat Rock" for 55 miles. (The LAFR has more climbing per mile according to Trimble (a whole 0.1 foot per mile more climbing).) Ricochet chose Bahama Beach, and dragged Ags along with him.

Dave and I started our ride at 0930 +/-. MUCH warmer than it was at 0730. My throat was thankful. Not a single cough during the ride -- I wasn't expecting any. And quick application of large mugs of hot tea at the finish led to no coughing fit after the ride, nor any time later during the day or evening. Dave and I covered 65.2 hilly miles in 4h04 in-motion, 4h20 total elapsed time. (Dave had wanted to take a long break at the corner of Range and Robert's Chapel roads, but I knew that if we did, I would have a coughing fit; we only took long enough for Dave to maintain his 12 miles per pee average. Funny thing: after that point, Dave didn't need another pee break. Guess he finally got the contents of the pre-ride pot of coffee discharged.)

The "Shadow Ride" that Dave and I did wasn't quite as hilly as the Bahama Beach route, but as we shared several of the same roads, you can guess that our route was not flat. Saturday evening, at the NC rando party, I learned that Ricochet and Ags had shorted the Bahama Beach route -- Robert informed that they needed the 16 or so minutes thus saved to ensure they stayed within John's time-limit.

I dunno' though. I'm not sure that it is quite kosher for the guy that was to be named "2011-NC-rando-rookie-of-the-year" a few hours later to be short-cutting a route.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Choices to ride Sunday:

Get 'er Dunn Permanent Populaire to be on-hand for the second year running when Dean would pass his 10k RUSA kilometer mark, or
Shadow Ride with IvaHawk.

I told Dean that I'd already agreed to ride with Iva on Sunday morning. I do not like backing out of such commitments.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the forum, er, to the ride with Iva: (1) I was late and (2) Iva waited at the wrong rendezvous point. That is my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Iva went on to do a 40-miler around Falls Lake. I wasn't feeling much if any love for the bike, so after trying to ride past Iva's (I'm not actually sure where he lives, but I can get close), I decided to just ride back "home" and call it a day. I must have started to enjoy my ride though, because I went out of my way to ride the "Carrington Wall" in the 39/15 gear in which I had done the entire ride. That seems to be the perfect gear with which to loosen the legs early a the ride, and I was bound and determined to get up that short, but steep road in that gear. Standing on the pedals, pulling up as well as letting gravity pull my weight down on the pedals, I am confident that I was NOT doing a "Jerry impersonation". But I got up it, and enjoyed the next half-mile upslope on Whitestone Rd, too.

Just as I was putting things up (at about 0930), the clouds disappeared and warm sunshine became the order of the day for hours and hours. I could have remounted, but I had made the choice to stop.

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After Nov-20:

Q-1 tot: _23 rides; 1822.2 m.; 123 h, 05 m; 14.8 mph.

Q-2 tot: _30 rides; 2604.9 m.; 174 h, 22 m; 14.9 mph.
Q-3 tot: _29 rides; 2479.2 m.; 161 h, 05 m; 15.2 mph.
Oct tot: _10 rides; _924.0 m.; _61 h, 54 m; 14.9 mph.

Nov tot: __5 rides; _328.3 m.; _21 h, 57 m; 15.0 mph.

YTD tot: _97 rides; 8158.6 m.; 544 h, 25 m; 15.0 mph.

Q: So why did I bother to pseudo-blog these rides at all?

A: So I would be able remember them some day in future.

Excellent Cycling Companions, etc.

2011-11-20T13:52:00.001-05:00

Two Excellent Cycling Companions

Thanks to "sag" (usual Permanent pedal-pal of the one in mostly-blue) for use of the photo.

The above photo, with an interesting comparison of the two subjects (I'm admittedly occasionally biased in favor of the author of the comparison -- on the other hand, I frequently think the stuff from that author is just pure dreck -- is that a word?), appeared on this blog just a month ago. I believe that the two subjects had met for the first time just minutes before the photo was taken.

Last night, at the NC Randonneurs year-end party, I was honored to be in the audience when the guy in the yellow jersey was named 2011-NC-Rookie of the Year, and the gal in the mostly-blue was named 2011-NC-Randonneuse of the Year.

Robert was on-hand to accept his award and congratulations from all. One word to describe Robert (other than "Ricochet", I mean): exuberant.

JayJay was out-of-town; in-person congratulations to her will have to wait until she gets back to North Carolina. In the mean time: Congratulations! (I might have to find a way to do a Permanent or a Perm-Populaire with her to deliver the in-person congrats; either that or it may be awhile before I see JayJay.) Two phrases to describe JayJay: filled with rando tough spirit, and Dr. Codfish has nothing on her, neither speed-wise nor humor-wise (but you'll have to ride with JayJay to experience her humor).
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I don't have photos of the 2011-NC-Volunteer of the Year (TonyG) nor 2011-NC-Comeback Randonneur of the Year (JoelL) nor 2011-NC-Randonneur of the Year (Ian). [Three bad jokes redacted.]

Tony, maybe I'll make it to one of your brevet-fests this coming year, or maybe the Fleche.

Joel, anyone that rides a 1200 within two months of breaking their hip, and follows that up a month later with a 1000 ... is way too crazy.

Ian, you are just plain crazy.

Thank-you and congratulations as seems more appropriate to each of you.

Today in the Raleigh News and Observer

2011-11-16T08:59:00.001-05:00

On-line anyway (I haven't had a chance to check the hard-copy rag, yet.)

A few weeks ago, fellow Irregular cycling buddy IvaHawk, contacted the N&O columnist behind the "Who's Got Game" column, regarding another fellow Irregular (+ rando) cycling buddy Ricochet Robert.

Iva (who has a nice list of recent cycling accomplishments, btw -- many from the last three years can be found on this blog) was quite impressed with Robert's cycling progress from never having done a bicycle ride as an adult prior to Apr-24-2010 to attempting P-B-P this past August. As noted, Iva contacted the columnist regarding Robert, and ... after some back-and-forth ... Robert and one MikeD (a local rando with "some" national and international connections) met with Teri Saylor with the following result:

"Who's Got Game" -- Nov-15 or 16-2011

Well done to Robert and MikeD.

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Since on-line "newspaper" links have a tendency to disappear rather quickly ...

Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011

Local cyclists pedal across France in historic excursion

BY TERI SAYLOR - CORRESPONDENT

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If Robert Bergeron had ever dreamed of a big adventure, even a vivid imagination could not have topped reality when he experienced a bicycle ride across France.

"Randonnee" is a French word that translates into "a mighty long bike ride," and if adventure was what Bergeron sought when he signed up for the historic, 750-mile Paris-Brest-Paris excursion, he got his money's worth.

Never mind that he didn't quite make it to the end.

Robert Bergeron is ready to ride at the start of the Paris-Brest-Paris Randonneur. It's a 750-mile excursion that must be completed in 90 hours. - COURTESY OF ROBERT BERGERON

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Did your recreational team have a great season? Is your neighbor an amazing athlete? Tell us about it. Send your news to nrnews@newsobserver.com.

Bergeron and fellow cyclist Mike Dayton sat in a Raleigh coffee shop recently, swapping stories about their epic, late-August cycling journey.

More than a month after stopping 62 miles from the finish line, Bergeron was still recovering from repetitive motion injuries he suffered after his bike went out of alignment in a minor accident.

Bergeron would later turn disappointment into inspiration and discover the true spirit of the adventure.

The PBP, as the race is known, started in 1891 as a 750-mile race, but over the years, it evolved into a recreational excursion, strictly limited to amateur cyclists, according to the event website. The ride, every four years, is an out-and-back course starting and ending near Versailles. The turnaround point is at Brest, near the French coast.

Riders must finish in 90 hours.

"Sleep is optional," Bergeron said.

Dayton agreed.

"You don't stop the clock to take a nap," he said. "Sleeping and eating times all count toward your goals."

Along the way, cyclists stop at 15 check points or controls, where course monitors stamp cards that resemble passports. Each control is timed to keep track of the riders and to make sure they stay on schedule.

Bergeron reckons he slept three hours in four days.

Dayton, who completed the entire distance in just more than 88 hours, managed to snag 10 or 11 hours of shut-eye.

Riders may sleep at shelters set up along the route, but they often nap by the side of the road or wherever they can find a comfortable spot.

Bergeron even curled up in a gravel pit for much-needed rest.

A longtime marathon runner, he had just completed the 2010 Boston Marathon when a friend convinced him to take up cycling. Less than a year later, he was looking at registration materials for the August PBP ride.

"I had never ridden farther than 125 miles, and thought, 'Well this is a little farther than that,' " he said. "I thought the PBP would be fun to do in the future, but I saw that it takes place just every four years, and then I considered my age."

Bergeron is 63.

Dayton, 55, is a lifelong cyclist who owns a dozen bicycles.

"I have been riding 40 years," he said.

He has ridden the PBP three times and is active in the Randonneurs USA distance cycling organization.

In December, he will celebrate 10 years of completing at least one century ride each month. A century is 100 miles.

To qualify for a spot in the PBP, cyclists must complete a series of four distance rides, from 125 miles up to 375 miles, in the months leading up to the excursion.

Besides bragging rights, cyclists return home with stories of adventure and scores of new friends.

French people living along the route have been rolling out their own special brand of hospitality for generations.

"The people set up food stations and rest stops," Dayton said. "It is a huge celebration along the route, and the meals they serve are always memorable."

Bergeron remembers a Russian family that picked him up as he limped along the side of the road after dismounting from his bike for the last time.

"They took me to a train station and waited to make sure I got on a train back to Versailles," he said.

Dejected over not going the distance, he concluded his journey, but when he arrived at the finish line, he could not believe his eyes.

He described the scene that greeted him in a report he wrote about his adventure.

"A smile came to my face; my world just changed. How could this be? My Russian friends were waiting outside the gate just to ensure I made it back. I was overwhelmed," he wrote. "What a way to end the ride."

Dayton is already planning his next big adventure, lining up a 125-mile ride. In the coffee shop, he tried to convince Bergeron to join him. Dayton can't help himself. He loves cycling.

"Even after all these years, I feel the same enthusiasm and excitement when I get on a bike today as I did as a kid," he said.

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[For Robert's report on the adventure, click ... here.]