Or, No. of "Successes" Now Equal No. of "Failures",
Or, Racing the Sun Across North-Central North Carolina
"Failure" no. 1 -- June 13th.
"Failure" no. 2 -- July 24th.
Are they really failures if you learn things?
What's the old adage? "You only learn from failures."
"Succuss" no. 1 -- Oct 9th.
"Success" no. 2 -- "today" (well, yesterday, Nov. 21st).
Official start time -- 0700. ("Sunrise" was 0658.)
Official finish time -- 1722. ("Sunset" was 1702; but I was still within "Civil Twilight" ... barely.)
It was the tail-end of dusk when I went into the gas station / convenience store at the finish ... when I came out it was DARK.
I was MUCH slower on the bike this month compared to October. But I was faster through the controls.
Lesson learned on this ride -- "Triple-L" is for Saturday's, when the legs are fresher.
(I should have learned that lesson back in June -- but I chocked that experience up to the HEAT, a flat tyre, and thunderstorm, and my cycling partner - a seasoned randonnuer, btw - did not have a head light!)
Personal milestones reached or passed on this ride (other than "successes" on L-L-L catching up with the "failures"):
- passed 3000 RUSA credit kms for the year,
- passed 7000 total miles for the year.
So much for cash register receipts. The receipts from "Hollow Ridge Grocery" (atop Mt. Tirzah) are problematic. The cash register is still on "Daylight" time, and is also 23 to 24 minutes fast. The store clerk and I each knew that it was 10:16 a.m. when I purchased my V-8; the receipt was / is stamped 11:40 a.m.. Once again, a human was more reliable than a machine. Btw, the outbound control closed at 11:38 a.m. E.S.T.
The cash register at "Leasburg Grocery" is still on "Standard" time, as it was all Summer. It is also 19 or 20, or 27, minutes slow. The clerk and I each knew it was 12:17 p.m. when I purchased my Pepsi; the receipt is stamped either 11:50 or 11:58 a.m. -- the printer in the cash register is nearly out of ink, and even with my reading glasses and under a bright light at the end of the ride, I couldn't be sure of the time stamped on the receipt -- it just wasn't readable.
Byron knows about these flaws in the receipts, and I certainly do not fault him in any way. I don't fault any NC rando, nor any RUSA rando. I don't fault the clerks at the store ... they don't have the ability to correct the cash registers. I just think that absolute reliance on time-stamped cash register receipts is ... sometimes misplaced.
On positive notes, the clerk in Leasburg Grocery, and both clerks at the Redmill Quick Stop, knew the routine of getting a receipt and marking the control card. The clerk at the outbound Redmill control was outside [smoking of course :-( ], and asked about all the cyclists stopping and getting cards signed. She didn't mind -- she was just curious. I hope I caused no damage with my explanation that we are essentially on a bike rally, and need proof of where we've been.
The time-stamps at Redmill and at the BP at the start/finish seemed to be accurate.
The autumn colors are fading fast. But the bright red trees and bushes seem to be hanging on best. (I don't have a dawg in the UNC / NC State / ACC contests, but it seemed that the bright reds were proclaiming the Wolfpack's incredible victory over the Tarheels in Keenan Staduim the day before.)
Btw, my alma mater won on Saturday. You may have seen or heard of that unusual game that was played in Wrigley Field. I'm still irritated that those silly special rules were put in place -- half the fun / point of a throw-back game in a throw-back venue is to have to deal with the limitations that most college and pro football teams used to have to deal with. Oh, well, at least my blue and orange team won the game.
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Nov-21:
Leesville-Leasburg-Leesville Permanent; 128.8 m.; 9 hrs, 2 min in-motion; 14.2 mph; rando-time: 10 hrs, 22 min elapsed clock time.
Q-1 tot: _16 rides; __938.2 m.; _60 hrs, 39 min; 15.5 mph.
Q-2 tot: _31 rides; 2,263.3 m.; 151 hrs, 29 min; 14.9 mph.
Q-3 tot: _37 rides; 2,293.2 m.; 156 hrs, 31 min; 14.7 mph.
Oct tot: _13 rides; 1,050.6 m.; _58 hrs, 44 min; 15.3 mph.
Nov tot: __6 rides; __465.7 m.; _30 hrs, 52 min; 15.1 mph.
YTD tot: 103 rides; 7,011.0 m.; 467 hrs, 18 min; 15.0 mph.
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