Jul-18-2021: non-rando "Denny's Store Sortie"

Cuz I always said / wrote / typed that the Denny's Store route was my favorite perm-pop. 

And to at least pretend that I was checking out the route for possible re-activation. 

And also, I knew that I would soon want to check out possible Mayo Lake routes, 

And that makes sense since 

The Mayo Lake route is simply the Denny's Store routes with a loop up to Mayo Lake. 

 

Following a pattern of reporting what is in my Excel ride log: 

• essentially "Denny's Store Sortie" (but starting / finishing at my sleep quarters), 
• 0504 start    --    overcast, some sprinkles, 
• 93.4-miles in 6:24 in-motion meaning 14.6-mph avg in-motion (elapsed time unknown). 

 

Photos on the day: 

Statue of Vietnam era soldier at Butner Gazebo Park.  Timestamp 0636 -- so an hour-and-a-half after starting.  

 

Banner advertising the Granville County 275th Anniversary celebration.  The aforementioned statue in the background.  Timestamp also 0636. 

  

Turtle before "rescue" timestamped 0812.  Given the timestamp on the next photo, taken at the Allensville Store, I have to think that this turtle was warming itself on Old Allensville Rd approx one mile south of the Allensville corner.  [I "have" to rescue the turtles encountered, else my friend LML might skutch me out.] 

 

Timestamp 0824.  Allensville Store.  More of Lynn's "peeps" than ever seen before or since.  The 2nd or 3rd "peep" from the left edge did actually ask me about "that woman that used to ride up here with you."  If one were look through all the "Denny's Store" posts, I'm confident that other photos taken of men sitting on those benches would reveal which of the two it was that inquired.  In response to the inquiry, I gave a pretty good descriptive answer regarding Lynn.  Proof that if a cyclist will take the time to chat with locals, even locals that are quite over-sized, cyclists can make friends among the locals that will pass on positive messages about cyclists to the other "good ole boys" (regardless of ethnic background). 

 

Iconic photo location on the Denny's Store rides.  This is just about the perfect angle / background for Denny's Store photos.  Too bad it was mostly overcast.  Timestamp 0852. 

 

 

And that completes this photo-journalist post / story.  

And to make use of the oft used or modified tag line:  "I reckon I'll be sticking to the story." 
    

Jun-27: Modified Denny's Store Sortie

Jun-27, modified Denny's Store Sortie  
0600, solo -- 70-88 F -- 7h51 elapsed -- V-150 #1
93.4-miles -- 7:01 in-motion

The plan was to use the "Denny's Store Sortie" 138-km perm-pop as the core for a 100-miler.  Started at 0600 from my abode (that was probably too late -- shoulda' started at 0500 or 0430).  The ride started well, but the increasing heat and headwind outbound followed by more heat and the wind shifting from NW to SW (on a hot day, it always backs around to be from the SW) made for a headwind all the way back to Raleigh.

The first 33+ miles in faux single-speed 39/15 mode, including the climb up the "Range Wall" huffing and puffing the entire way.  Just after 33-mile-mark, I reflexively shifted to the 39/14, and I decided I'd use gears the rest of the ride.

Before I got to Shoofly, approx 63-miles into the ride, I had bailed on doing a 100-miler and was instead in "survival" mode.

Although this was my Hudson Valley Randonneurs Virtual Spring Brevet V-150 #1, the way I feel right now, I think I'll count it as V-100 #6.  [Someone had an insane plan going into the weekend: 100-miler Saturday + a 200k on Sunday + another V-100 on Tuesday -- those would have meant a successful V-50 campaign, a successful V-100 campaign, and a V-SR. Hahaha -- THAT is definitely not happening.]

So, I'll finish the virtual brevet season with 10 x V-50 and 6 x V-100.  However, having cleaned out the house of my mother-in-law and separately my father-in-law, I collect VERY FEW awards (to gather dust and for someone else to have to dispose of at a future date).  In other words, I won't be filing my results nor applying for the associated bumper stickers (?).

Camp Butner was a United States Army installation in Butner, North Carolina during World War II. It was named after Army General Henry W. Butner.  Part of it was used as a POW-Camp for German prisoners of war in the United States and this site eventually became the Federal Correctional Complex, Butner. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Butner

This "prop", across the road from the previous sign for Camp Butner, sometimes used to take photos en route, usually the "Bahama Beach: perm-pop.  I think the most recent use of this location was last September when John + Ann J agreed to pose.

NC State Farm across from the Camp Butner sign.

More NC State Farm.

Looking Deep into the Creek.

NW corner of the modified route -- I didn't do the mile out and the mile back, down-and-up-and-down-and up, to the Control at the Allensville Store and back to this location.

Strange! That flag was luffing about some, and showing that the direction of the wind was becoming variable, but I'm surprised to see a "sad Flag" in this photo. 

The iconic location for photos on this route, the actual Denny's Store x roads, is just visible in the middle of that curve in the background.

This year, tobacco in that field.  Some years, cotton. Some years, essentially lying fallow with an alfalfa crop.

Berea c-store. [I unintentionally took a mirror selfie.] 

Oct-02: Too HOT It Got 138

My original plan was "Denny's Store" at 5 am. solo.
Then, wanting to ride with IvaHawk, it became "Oxford" at 7:30, also with BobB.
However, Iva has been trying to get a roofing contractor to his place for a couple weeks,
And the contractor changed his visit from Monday to Wednesday.
No IvaHawk.
And that put paid to my plan to spend only one or two dollars during the ride (for cold drinks).


And the plan became BobB and me doing "Denny's Store" starting at 7:30.
I figured two to three dollars during the ride (for cold drinks and maybe an Oatmeal cookie). 

 
I had two goals on the day:

1. complete "Denny's Store Sortie" 138-km route in under 6h30 elapsed, 
2. get in a 100+ mile ride (including commutes to and from). 

"Half-way" through the commute ride to Bay Leaf for the ride,
I realized that I had forgotten my water bottles.
They were still in the refrigerator, water still chilling.

Not to worry.
I was on schedule to arrive at the CVS at about 7:15.
Plenty of time to get Bob's wet ink signature on the waiver
And go across the road to the gas station and find a bottle of cold water.
Got lucky on that:
Found some Deer Park bottles with re-seal-able flip-tops, on sale 2 for $2.22.
But that did put an end to the two or three dollar plan.

One issue:  the bottles were just a bit too small to fit properly in the bottle cages.
The bottle in the cage on the part of the frame beneath the saddle was fine.
But the cage on part of the frame from the bottom bracket to the headset,
Well, the bottle in that cage was pretty loose.

I had drunk a few ounces from the loose bottle,
But when hurrying, standing, pedaling quickly to make the light at NC-50,
The bottle slipped and started pouring water on my right foot and onto the ground.
I pulled over before crossing the highway and grabbed the bottle,
Thus rescuing at least a third of the water originally in that bottle.
Heavy sigh.
I closed the flip-top and put the bottle in my left jersey pocket.
[Wish I had done that first thing. 
Because it turned out that being in the pocket 
Kept the fluid chilled longer than the fluid(s) in the bottle in the cage. 
Apparently the jersey provided protection from direct sunlight?]

We arrived at the Allensville Store Control after 2:49 in-motion, 2h54 elapsed. 
The difference being roughly 3 1/2 minutes at the light at NC-98 plus
A short minute at the aforementioned NC-50 stop-light.

12 minutes at the control.
Including the clerk asking "how is your ex-wife doing?"
That clerk always asks.
She remembers Lynn from rides prior to Feb-20-2016.
[Sometimes, if certain locals are sitting on the outside bench, 
One of them might ask about "that woman that used to ride up here with you." 
However, being 10:30-ish, with the temperature rising toward the mid-90's, 
There were no locals on this day.]

Oh, because of the heat, and the increasing temperatures expected,
I got a large Gatorade (~ $2.50 with tax) instead of my usual 99-cent Arizona Tea.

On the ride to Allensville, I realized that Bob was wearing a new jersey, or at least a different one; that is, one I did not recognize.  So, at the Control, where I was close enough to "study" the jersey, I realized that, once again, Bob was wearing a PacTour jersey.  Trying to intimidate me, again?  [That's a running joke, ya' know.]  I got Bob to pose for a photo; that revealed it was a "Notorangelo Midwest Camp" jersey -- I decided to feature the shoulder pic of Susan.  Bob explained that the jersey had been one of the Richard Lawrence collection -- which jerseys Joel had parceled out after his father had died.

So, off for the Berea Open Control, 12.8-miles in an easterly direction.
It appeared we would have a tailwind -- at least until the road curved to a southeasterly direction.
By which time I figured the wind would have back around to be from the SW instead of the west.
[Turned out I was correct regarding the shift in the wind direction.
It is no great feat to forecast that wind shift to the SW. 
It happens almost every time the temperature reaches "hot" in central NC.]

En route Allensville to Berea,
Probably between the Denny's Store crossroads and Berea,
We were stopped by a flagman for some sort of road construction.
While waiting, I commented to the flagman that it was certainly getting hot out here on the asphalt.
The flagman definitely agreed, commenting that he didn't understand why
He wasn't stationed about 50 yards behind Bob and me,
Which would have been in the SHADE.

We waited for several minutes.
All the while "melting" under the unrelenting sunshine with no apparent breeze.
Finally, the flagman indicated that he couldn't legally stop us,
That we were free to continue at our own risk.
We immediately continued on our way.

It was a mile or more to the other end of the flagged section of road.
Half or two-thirds of the way across, we encountered the "pilot truck"
Followed by one, count 'em, one vehicle.
There were traveling on our side of the road.
So, we crossed over to the other side, intending to pause while the pilot went by.
However, it was clear those vehicles were going to stay on the wrong side of the road,
So we did not pause, but kept on pedaling, returning to the correct side after safely passing.

We arrived at the Berea Control at 4h04 rando elapsed time.
In other words, it was more-or-less 11:30 am.
4h04 elapsed with 3:42 total in-motion time.
I.e., it had taken 58 elapsed minutes, 53 in-motion minutes
To get from Allensville Store to Berea.

The six-and-a-half hour elapsed time goal appeared to still be easily within reach.
If, repeat IF, one didn't consider what the increasing temps might mean.

I failed to note the time when we actually left the Berea Control.
That is unusual.

It usually takes me a little less than an hour in-motion to ride from Berea to Creedmoor.
But on this day, the heat started to get to me, and I was sure I was slowing.

Approaching Creedmoor, having finished most of my two bottles of fluids,
I informed Bob that WE would be stopping at the BP in Creedmoor,
To refresh cold liquids and to sit at one of the inside tables to cool off.
I admit -- I was adamant.

We took a full 30 minutes at the BP.
And then we left for the last 15-miles.

The only thing I recall from those 15-miles is this:
Climbing Mt. Vernon Ch Rd, just a couple miles from the finish,
I noted it was now 6h58 elapsed since the start.

I commented to Bob that I had had two goals on the day:
Finish in 6h30 or less, and by cycling to and from the ride, sneak in a 100-mile ride.
"It is now 28 minutes beyond the time goal, and
Are you willing to give me a lift home?"

Bob chuckled and agreed.
Total 7h09 elapse, 6:05 in-motion.
I.e., 2:23 in-motion from Berea to the finish.

If I hadn't needed that extra 30 minutes in Creedmoor,
We would have finished in just over six-and-a-half hours.
But if we hadn't taken that 30-minutes in Creedmoor,
The ride time from Creedmoor to the finish would likely have been significantly more.

2019/10/02 finishers=2 DNF=0
RUSA-T93021	5843	B_, Bob	Randonneurs USA / 933095	7:09
RUSA-T93022	6218	S_, Martin	Randonneurs USA / 933095	7:09

Aug-10: Discomfort 138

About 1 pm on Friday-the-9th,
On my way back from an errand at the bank,
I suffered a single-bike crash.

I was riding on the sidewalk alongside Strickland Rd (a busy east-west road in northern Raleigh),
When suddenly my bike became a bucking bronco!
As background, I should mention that I was standing while riding;
I always stand when riding for / during short errands -- one-way commutes of a couple miles or less. 

I tried to get the bronco back under control.
I was desperate to NOT go down into the street, where I could get hit or run over.
 
The rear wheel came off the ground,
Probably made easier because standing, my weight was shifted onto the front wheel.
The bike lurched to the left,
I think from the dynamics of me being in the midst of a left downward pedal stroke
When the rear wheel came off the ground.

I thought I had gotten the bike under control, but suddenly I was thrown into the roadway.
No road-rash resulted.
I must have landed with my weight on the fleshy area of the palm side just below my thumbs.

I was EXTREMELY lucky that there were no cars alongside me when I crashed.
I was also EXTREMELY lucky that there were no vehicles for a couple hundred yards.

You can guess that because I had no road-rash that I wasn't too badly off.
I looked up, down the road, and saw traffic coming.
I was standing and off the road within seconds.
More embarrassed than hurt, I thought.

I got back on the bike and continued the errand commute ride to my abode.
I took a shower, put on fresh clothes, and then rode the 1.1-miles to work.
The bike seemed undamaged.
Then I realized that the chain was skipping as I pedaled along.
It was especially prone to skipping if I stopped pedaling and coasted for a bit.

When I got to work, I called my mechanic at TLC-4-Bikes.
[He spells out the word "for," but I think using the number "4" would be better marketing.]
I arranged to go by the TLC shop at approx 7:30, to see if I could get the drive system fixed.

Turned out that 3 of the 8 or 10 teeth on one of the jockey wheels were BADLY bent.
And the teeth on each side of the three was were also bent.

My mechanic indicated that the only times he's seen bent jockey wheels is as result of a crash.
However, as I think about it, I think the jockey wheel didn't bend as a result of the crash,
Instead, I think the bending of the jockey wheel cause the crash.

The thing that makes sense to me is that a pebble from the sidewalk was "kicked up"
Into the chain, and when the pebble reached the jockey wheel,
The pebble became jammed between the chain and the jockey wheel,
With the result that the "weak link" of the plastic jockey wheel gave way, 3 teeth bending, and
The jamming resulted in the chain suddenly stopping its travel,
And since I was still trying to pedal,
And with my weight well forward,
There was nothing holding down the rear wheel, and
VIOLA!!  CRASH.

The jockey wheel was replace by 8 pm, and the bike was fine.

My hands, particularly my thumbs, were a different story.
No visible damage, such as road-rash.
But the trauma of landing heavily landing on my hands
Messed up the soft-tissue of fleshy area of the palm side just below my thumbs.
The traumatized area combined with the usual arthritis / tendonitis in my thumbs
To make considerable pain and discomfort. 
[By the next morning, bruising appeared on the aforementioned fleshy areas, and 
Within a couple or three days, the bruising had spread up to my wrists.]


So that's the condition I was in come the morning of Saturday-the-10th.
A day on which I had scheduled a ride my friend Bob on the Denny's Store Sortie,
The 138-km perm-pop that I've mentioned more than a few times is my favorite route.
 
 

Bob and I met for a start time of a quarter past the 6 am striking of the clock.

While Bob took care of some before the ride business,
I snapped a photo about which.he was unaware -- at least for a few days. 

I later arranged to forward the above photo to Susan Notorangelo, tagged with the line "Bob trying to intimidate me, again."  [For the new readers out there, Hahaha Hohoho, new readers?  Anyway, for anyone that might read this, Bob intimidating me by wearing a PacTour jersey or his PacTour cycling cap has been a running joke for at least a couple years -- perhaps since the day I was doing the "3M" perm-pop with Bob and Sridhar and realized that Sridhar was wearing his Northern Tier PacTour jersey and Bob was wearing one of his Taste of Carolina jerseys.]

Bob had recently completed the PacTour "Ridge of the Rockies" tour.  Susan responded to my photo / comment that she was glad to see that Bob was riding again.  [For those that don't know, sometimes, some riders, upon completing a multi-week PacTour, have trouble getting motivated to ride their bikes again, at least for a long enough period that they lose much of their fitness.]


23-miles into the route, just after climbing up the "Range Wall,"
Which, as I understand it, is likely one of the more noticeable places to see the "Fall Line."
Anyway, at the 23-mile mark, just as one begins to ride past Camp Butner,
There is a decommissioned self-propelled artillery gun.
Over the years, several ride companions used that gun for a photo opportunity.

• The first to do so, in my presence, was my friend Harvey, on a 2009 non-rando ride. 
• Next BradW, in late May-2013, riding either the "Bahama Beach" route or the "Denny's Store" route. 
• A long hiatus, then Aug-06, just four days before this Denny's Store ride, Brad repeated, but he must have not liked the over-the-head photo because he didn't publish it. 
• So, perhaps to give my aching hands a rest -- if you've forgotten why my hands were aching, see the long introduction to this blog post -- I suggested that Bob take a turn reproducing Harvey's pose.  [At 67 years of age, or is he only 65?, Bob was not entirely at ease as he clamored aboard the artillery gun nor was he at ease while posing, and most assuredly, he was not at ease as he eased himself off the gun and back to the ground.  I learned a lesson.]  

Resuming our ride after the Camp Butner photo session, I again searched for a comfortable hand position.

Traditionally, although I move my hands around quite frequently while I'm cycling,
I typically don't ride "in the drops" very much.
But this day, the combined impact of arthritis and injury trauma, made for a lot of hand discomfort.
I eventually found that getting into the drops, and staying there, resulted in the least discomfort.

So, I went to the drops, which also slightly modifies my position on the saddle.
Maybe it also modifies your position, but I won't assert that because I don't know "for sure."

So, I'm in the drops, perhaps effectively better transferring energy to the pedals,
Perhaps reducing the weight on my hands,
Leading Bob for the entire ride.

Now that last, "leading Bob for the entire ride," used to happen quite frequently,
But in the last few years, with Bob in great shape, and me not,
I've lead very little, or if I led a lot, it was with a tailwind.
And Bob would end up doing virtually all the leading into the headwind.

So, on this ride, to minimize the hand discomfort,
I'm in the drops for 50-miles or more of the nearly 86-mile course,
Leading,
Perhaps more effectively transferring power to the pedals,
More aerodynamically positioned on the bike,
Riding faster than I've done for quite some time.

We kept the control stoppage times (there are only two intermediate controls) somewhat short.
But we stopped at the Denny's Store crossroads to take a usual photo.

 I also decided to take a photo looking to the SW into the field that is sometimes cotton, but most usually planted with tobacco.

[Hmmn, nearly cloudless sky.  Compare that to the sky seen in the photos of Bob atop the Camp Butner artillery piece.  It appears that, early-on, there had been a typical almost not noticeable thin overcast, but a few hours later, by the time we got to the Denny's Store crossroads, the thin overcast had almost disappeared.  I did not notice small things such as that on this ride; instead I was concentrating on minimizing the discomfort in my hands.]

We finished the ride in fine fashion. 
That is my story, and I'll be sticking to it.

Permanent Route Name / #	Distance	Date	Finishers	DNF
NC: Denny's Store Sortie / 1795	138	2019/08/10	2	0

Cert#	RUSA#	Name	Club / ACP Code	Time
RUSA-T91844	5843	B__, Bob	Randonneurs USA / 933095	06:26
RUSA-T91845	6218	S__, Martin	Randonneurs USA / 933095	06:26

This was my 37th time doing the Denny's Store route.
And was Bob's 11th circuit.

Jun-04: Denny's Store 138

I know that I have told some that the Denny's Store route is my favorite among my rando routes.
And I reckon that is true.

 
Except maybe in the Autumn when certain sites along the Bahama Beach route are colorful.
And maybe except when I might prefer a flatter route for "cadence practice."
Then the "Bay Leaf - Oxford - Bay Leaf" is the option.

But I reckon that the Denny's Store Sortie is my favorite among my rando routes.
I'd like to get to ride it more often than I do.

But at 138-kms, it does take me roughly an hour-and-a-half longer, or more,
Than it takes me to ride the Bahama Beach mini-hill-fest and
Maybe as much as two hours longer than it takes me to ride the mostly flat Oxford route.
So, when the available time window has a tight-ish back-end constraint,
I end up riding the Bahama route, or the Oxford route,
Or, the last couple years, the "Raleigh - Berea - Raleigh" route.

Understand that the RBR route is essentially the last 40% of the Denny's Store route.
Well, the last half of the RBR route is essentially the last 40% of the Denny's route.
The first half of RBR is the reverse of the second half.
And since RBR starts / finishes only half-a-mile from my hovel,
There is no extra commute time when I do the RBR route
Whereas there is a half-an-hour cycling commute to and from the other routes mentioned above.

What has the above got to do with the ride I did on June 4th?
Not much.
But the fingers just starting typing away, and the above resulted.


I did the 5.6-mile commute from my hovel to the Denny's start in 25-minutes.
It usually takes me 21 to 24 minutes, in-motion, for that pre-ride commute.
So, I obviously was "taking it easy" on the way to the route's start.

Starting more-or-less on time at 6 am,
I got to the first intermediate control, at the Allensville Store, 42.3 miles into the route,
After roughly 3 hours.
That's usual.

The clerk that always asks about Lynn #5519, asked her usual question:
"How's your ex-wife?"
I told her, "okay."

Then, I got into a conversation with the clerk and a vendor that was delivering something.
Topic was the "vagaries" of cycling and careless drivers.
Conversation must have lasted 10 or so minutes.


That was the only interesting thing regarding this rando rodeo.

I didn't even take a photo at the Denny's Store crossroad.

I did finish the route in 6h35 elapsed, 5h54 in-motion.

Surprisingly, according to my Excel log,
Instead of taking the usual 6.7-mile afternoon post-ride commute route,
I rode back to my place via the 5.6-mile morning pre-ride commute route.
The 5.6-mile route is safe enough in the morning, when there is no traffic.
But the usual 6.7-mile afternoon route is safer, the road being wider and smoother.
According the Excel log, I did the afternoon 5.6-mile post-ride commute in 22-minutes.
I must have been motivated.

That's my story for this ride.
And since I have no other memories of this, my 36th Denny's Store ride,
I'll be sticking to the above story.

Sep-09-2018: Denny's Store 138

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Comment having nothing to do with this ride:

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

Fin.

Feb-24: Party of Seven 138

NCBob, #5843, and I decided to ride the "Denny's Store Sortie."


I advertised on the NC-rando-list-serve (for full email, click here), extract follows:

Bob and I are doing the [Denny's Store Sortie 138-km Perm-Pop]. 

Expecting warm temps with a SW wind 10-15 on the way back; i.e., a quartering headwind.

Should still be a fun, warm time. 

I must have also advertised on the NC Rando Facebook group 'cuz ... see below. 

• Ricochet, #6628, contacted me via email:  he and Byron, #621, wanted to join the outing. 
• Tom, #8423, contacted me via FB:  he and Deanna, #12439, would join the ride.  
• Finally, Harvey, #11802, who was scheduled to do the "Bay Leaf - Oxford - Bay Leaf" route, decided to switch to Denny's Store to have people to ride with, although he thought he wasn't in shape for the extra distance. 

Party of Seven -- that's a pretty big Perm group for central NC these days. 

There used to be relatively frequent large / largish groups for Perm rides, 

But that was when there were only a handful of Perm route options available in the entire State. 

Interesting combination of randonneuring experience in the seven riders: 

• Four Mondials, and 
• Three others whose combined RUSA kms totaled less than 1200.  

Another interesting set of experience stats:

• Four riders "officially" Irregulars -- the group rides this blog was originally about; 
• (there is a definition of "official," but I'm not going to explain) 
• One additional rider that has joined one or a few Irregular rides, and 
• Two riders I had never heard of previously.  

Riders I've never heard of is not unprecedented joining me (or not me) one one of my Perms.
Even riders doing their first ever rando ride.
The most well-known "I've never heard of" rider, who did her first ever RUSA Permanent
On the "Bahama Beach" route, was RUSA #12 (her story here).


The Party of Seven met at the start.
Everyone signed the group waiver.
And received control cards in return (and some also got cue sheets).
[Me handing out cue sheets is not the norm.] 
We started riding.

A warming up pace across Norwood Rd to Mt Vernon Ch Rd to Pleasant Union Ch Rd.
But at the turn onto Six Forks Rd,
Which is an immediate downhill to one of the arms of Falls Lake,
I took the lead because I usually descend faster than most,
And I did this ride, too.


Unfortunately, the two people whom I had never met,
Appeared to take my downslope pace as the new average pace for the ride.
Frequent regatherings en route, we mostly stayed together.

The Allensville Store was rather crowded when we arrived.
Often there are numbers of locals hanging about, usually on the benches,
But this day, there seemed to be about half a dozen locals inside the store, purchasing things.
Combined with seven randonneurs, you can imagine it was a bit crowded, and
It took a bit longer than hoped to get moving again.

Immediate return down to the creek and back up to the Allensville Methodist Church corner.
Several rollers and usually around 19-22 minutes after leaving the control,
I typically arrive at the Denny's Store corner.
[Best I can recall is that on this ride, it was more on the order of 24 minutes.]

Denny's Store, left to right:  Bob, Deanna, Tom, Ricochet Robert, Harvey, Byron.  [Photo by me -- Tom and Deanna thought we should take another photo with me in the frame -- I said, "no, I've got plenty of photos of me at this spot."] 

Immediately after Denny's Store, there is a non-trivial climb up a hill.
Note:  that's up a hill, not a climb back up from a creek.
Note #2:  that's non-trivial by my standards; your thought my differ.
After that climb, the route flattens out, but is not flat, to the second control at Berea.

We did the quicker option for the control in Berea.
Better food at the other option; but we opted for quicker.

Some wanted to be quicker than others.
Ricochet, Byron, Bob, and Harvey got underway first.

Tom and Deanna seemed to want to take a few extra minutes.
I hung back to chat with them regarding their randonneuring plans, and
Mentioned that the NC rando peloton was happy to have Tom in the mix,
But were very excited that Deanna might become a regular.
"Why?" asked Tom.
"Because we currently have very few females in the group."

I did suggest to Tom and Deanna that, as they had a cue sheet (each),
They might prefer to just ride ahead, complete the ride, and
Leave their completed control cards on the windshield of Bob's truck.
No dice -- they wanted to stick more-or-less with the group.

Harvey had been moaning a bit approaching Berea.
I figured I would catch him by Creedmoor -- roughly half way between Berea and the finish.
And although I could not hang on to Deanna and Tom,
I did almost catch Harvey.
I got within 150 yards on Dove Rd, about 3-miles south of Creedmoor.
I figured I might lose a little distance on the climb on Whitt Rd, but 
I was sure I would catch him going across Falls Lake on Old Weaver Trail.

Surprise:  when I got to Old Weaver Trail, I couldn't even see Harvey!
Oh well.  Just pedal it in and save some energy for later in the day.

Permanent Route Name / #	Distance	Date	Finishers	DNF
NC: Denny's Store Sortie / 1795	138	2018/02/24	7	0

Cert#	RUSA#	Name	Club / ACP Code	Time
RUSA-T79354	6628	B__, Robert D	Randonneurs USA / 933095	06:55
RUSA-T79355	621	M__, Byron E	Randonneurs USA / 933095	06:55
RUSA-T79356	11802	H__, Harvey F	Bicycle For Life Club / 933057	06:55
RUSA-T79357	8423	P__, Stephen Tom	Bicycle For Life Club / 933057	06:48
RUSA-T79358	12439	S__, Deanna F	Bicycle For Life Club / 933057	06:48
RUSA-T79359	5843	B__, Bob	Randonneurs USA / 933095	06:48
RUSA-T79360	6218	S__, Martin	Randonneurs USA / 933095	06:59

For anyone "concerned" that the results are not in last-name-alphabetic order.
 1.  Get over it.
 2.  One needs to rebel against strict discipline every so often.

Nov-15-2017: Denny's Store Sortie 138

Another "back-fill" post.
---------------------------------------------------------
Continuing our pursuit of the NC-P-12-Explorer-Challenge,
Iva #7702, Bob #5843, and I did Denny's Store Sortie 138-km perm-pop for our November Pop.

Gosh, I just realized that I recall nothing from this ride.

Weather conditions estimated from the weatherunderground historical report for RDU.
The low temp we encountered would have been roughly 32F.
The high temp around 50F.
Breeze / wind from the NNE would suggest a mostly headwind outbound, and
A crosswind / somewhat tailwind homebound. 

This is the important item from that ride:

Iva and Bob posing at the Denny's Store sign.  The timestamp indicates we were there at 11:54 am.  That suggests that we started our ride at 8 am.  [Photo by me.]

Permanent Route Name / #	Distance	Date	Finishers	DNF
NC: Denny's Store Sortie / 1795	138	2017/11/15	3	0

Cert#	RUSA#	Name	Club / ACP Code	Time
RUSA-T76973	7702	A__, Iva C	Randonneurs USA / 933095	07:09
RUSA-T76974	5843	B__, Bob	Randonneurs USA / 933095	07:09
RUSA-T76975	6218	S__, Martin	Randonneurs USA / 933095	07:09

Jul-04: Up a Deep Creek 138

How to start, how to start?
That is the problem.
Perhaps just jump in without an introduction.
But first, an embed of the RWGPS map:   

Photo sucks, but I followed through on my previous "promise".  [Photo by me.] 

Between Surl and Allensville, I pointed out the "Deep Creek" sign to Harvey.
Probably only the second time I've ever been able to do that.
Harvey reacted as one would hope:
"as in 'up a deep creek without a paddle'."
Some classic, old-time sayings still survive!

Between Allensville and the Allensville Convenience Store,
We crossed yet another creek, this one labeled Mayo Creek.
Harvey commented, "that last creek was labeled Christina Creek,
"this one is labeled Mayo Creek,
"but they've got to be the same creek."

Some post-ride research led to the following email from me to Harv:

If one zooms in on the road between Surl and Allensville and again between Allensville and Denny's Store, and then follow the paths of the creeks, one can learn some interesting things:

1.  Deep Creek.

Deep Creek that we crossed while on Mollie Moonie Rd feeds into the Flat River.  The Flat River and the Little River make the Neuse River; but the merge of those two rivers is flooded by the man-made Falls Lake. 

The creek we crossed on Johnnie Jones Rd just before turning onto Mt. Tirzah - Surl Rd is that same Deep Creek.  The first creek we crossed on Johnnie Jones feeds into Deep Creek.

2.  Christina (?) Creek

I recall that is the name of the last creek just before we got to Allensville.  It feeds into Mayo Creek about a quarter-mile west of where we crossed it.

3.  Mayo Creek

You'll recall mentioning that you figured Christina Creek and Mayo Creek were the same creek, but see immediately above, or zoom in on the RWGPS map.

Mayo Creek is the main water source for Mayo Lake.  Mayo Creek & Lake feed into Dan River / Kerr Lake / Roanoke River.

4.  Tar River.

The Tar River appears to originate about two-and-a-half miles north of Denny's Store Rd.  It obviously is the main river / creek of the Tar / Pamlico River watershed. 

 

That makes that area near Allensville rather interesting:  we were in three different major NC watersheds in less than seven miles of our ride.  Take out the 2-mile round trip to the store and back, and it is three different major NC river systems in less than five miles.

Harvey was impressed when the clerk at the Allensville control asked,
"How is your ex-wife doing?"

Outside, we made use of the bench for a few minutes,
While I explained that Lynn had befriended the clerks and many of the locals,
And a couple of them enjoyed teasing me when I would arrive 5 to 10 minutes after Lynn.
Most memorably, one bench-peep remarked, "here he is, only half-an-hour later."
Making local, non-cycling friends:  an irreplaceable side of using paper brevet control cards. 

Nineteen or twenty minutes after leaving the Allensville control:

Not quite the perfect angle for that shot, but close.  [Photo by me.]

The Denny's Store shot was the last intended photo of the day,
However, on Old Roxboro Rd, about half a mile before the turn onto US-158,
There was a large turtle on the road.

I called out to Harvey, who was leading, "turtle rescue time!"

Risky road position.  [Photo by me.]

Moving.  [Photo by Harvey.]

Turtle rescued.  [Photo by me.] 

On to the control in Berea.
Where we each took advantage of the 2 hotdogs for $2.
Also took advantage of the air conditioning since the overcast had burned off
And it was getting hot.

Onward to the finish.
Interrupted by stop in Stem for Harvey to get some water
Because he had gotten a Coke in Berea, but forgot to get any water.

Harvey hammered the last 8 miles.
Those 8 miles hammered me.
=================================
This was my 29th time completing the rando Denny's Store Sortie.
[There's also about 3 times I did the route pre-rando.]

Harvey probably first rode with me and the Irregulars circa 2008,
But he only joined RUSA this year.
His RUSA history is completely revealed here:
 
H__, Harvey F | Bicycle For Life Club | 933057

Cert No.	Type	Km	Date	Region	Route	Time	Medal
2017	Annual Total: 543 km
RUSA-T69494	RUSAT	205	2017/02/11		NC: Road to Hicksboro	10:32
567449	ACPB	200	2017/02/18	NC: High Point	Lumberton - Roseboro - Delway 200k	11:05
RUSA-T73185	RUSAT	138	2017/07/04		NC: Denny's Store Sortie	07:08
Grand Total	543 kms

But don't be confused:
Harvey completed the Assault on Mt. Mitchell for the 4th time earlier this year.
He messed up his rear derailleur on Bill's Hill, but
Lucky for him, someone there knew how to transform his bike into a single-speed, and
He completed Mitchell thusly.

Photo refuses to flip to the better landmark orientation.  [Photo by Harvey.]