Jul-06: Johnson Mill Jaunt w/ an Irregular Crew

  

Johnson Mill Rd has the reputation as "hilliest road in Durham county."
My opinion is that it certainly deserves that reputation.

Hopkins Rd has the reputation as "most scenic road in Durham county."
It certainly has some nice scenery, but if it weren't for Johnson Mill Rd,
Hopkins would likely have the reputation as "hilliest road in Durham county."

Durham County, North Carolina isn't all that large,
Has an historic place in North Carolina history, but
Nowadays, it seems most people think only of Durham "city" and Duke Univ. and the Durham Bulls
When they think of Durham.

Johnson Mill Rd and Hopkins Rd and the nearby area
Seem more like the hills around the Sauartown Mountains, north of the Triad.
When cycling that area, it is hard to realize just how close one is to
Downtown Durham, Duke University, etc..

It would be really pleasant,
IF the cycling wasn't so darn hard.

I recall thinking, on the second hard section on Johnson Mill Rd,
"Oh, I need to come ride this more often."

 
Later in the ride, I told Ricochet that the next time he does the 'Road to Hicksboro' perm,
He has my permission to turn off the route, ride the length of Johnson Mill Rd,
Then turn-around and ride back to the course.

Ricochet thought that was extremely generous of me.
NOT. 
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Due to family requirements,  when we got to Durham Tech on Snow Hill Rd,
The Mallet and Ags had to turn-around and
Head back to the meeting ground of PUE

It was good chatting with them until then.
------------------------------------------------------------------
IvaHawk, LT, Ricochet and I continued on (up) Snow Hill Rd
Toward our appointment with Johnson Mill Rd.

Somewhere on Snow Hill Rd, LT commented that we'd have to drag him to the finish.
However, on Red Mtn Rd, Hampton Rd, and Robert's Chapel Rd,
None of which are flat,
I noticed that Dave looked very comfortable in an easy-ish gear and high cadence.

I assume he finished the last 14.5-miles the same way, but I don't really know.
It seemed that either LT or Ricochet may have needed a throne break, but
They never indicated that to Iva and me.
So, when LT and Ricochet pulled into the BP in Stem,
Only 17 or so miles after we'd stopped in Rougemont,
Iva and I decided to just keep pedaling, although we didn't pedal as if in a hurry.

We'd barely cleared the last houses of Stem when LT and Ricochet rocketed past us.
Iva and I followed them, usually at about 100 yards, all the way to Creedmoor.
Then, in downtown Creedmoor, LT and Ricochet again peeled off -- into the BP in Creedmoor.
That's what makes me think that one of them needed a throne break.
[I've always found the restroom at the BP in Stem to be disgusting. 
The restroom at the 'Stem Grill' in Stem is no prize either; it is usually pathetic. 
But the restroom at the BP in Creedmoor is always CLEAN.]

Iva and I just kept pedaling on.
We chatted about -- I absolutely cannot recall what we chatted about --
The entire length of Dove Rd.
I do recall mentioning to Iva that there would be no repeat of Dove Rd from last week,
When we popped all the poppers on Dove AND rode the one non-trivial incline with panache.
Each of felt significantly more tired than when we'd ridden Dove Rd the Saturday before.
[The result of Iva having done the Fireworks 100k in Cary, NC on the 4th, and
me having done Bahama Beach on the 4th.] 

We certainly did not work the declines to pop the poppers, and
I don't even recall riding up the one non-trivial incline.
I guess we were distracted enough by our chatting that Dove Rd was no effort at all.
------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
Backing up in chronology:
On Hopkins Rd, Lt. Dave told Ricochet Robert to be aware that there was a county line up ahead.
It was on an upslope, but the CL sign was likely to be missing.
"However," LT explained, "Martin knows where it is, so watch for when he makes his move."

I chuckled quietly to myself as I also recalled the last time we had ridden
The entire length of Hopkins Rd -- I had been a bit cheeky in how I took that Orange CL "sprint".
Sneaky break-aways are certainly the easiest way for me to "get" a CL.

Since Dave had brought the subject up,
I determined to do my best to repeat the Orange CL stealth.
The only problem was that I didn't actually recall where the CL was situated.
Therefore, I had to slip into leading, and surreptitiously increase my cadence on every incline.

The CL was on the incline, but so close to the crest of maybe-more-than-a-popper,
That it was hard to detect.
The sign for entering Orange County is still missing, but
The sign opposite, for entering Durham County was there.
However, the sign for entering Durham County was difficult to see coming from the east.
Nearly blending in, and somewhat hidden by some small branches for small trees or bushes.
I first detected the CL by the slight change in color of the road.
I increased my incline cadence, and Ricochet did not react.
Perhaps he thought I was repeating the same thing I'd done on the previous three or so inclines.
Well, I was, and that likely hid that I increased my cadence much more than the previous three.

Ricochet tried to claim that that CL point should not count,
Due to the hidden nature of it.
I was having none of that.

After all, I've been tricked / beaten by Raleigh RBA Alan when there was NOTHING
To indicate a county line.
I've similarly been snookered by Dean, the "Phun Physiologist."
I've seen JerryP take county lines and a state line when
The potential competition did not know the placement.
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Later, after the turn off Hampton Rd onto Range Rd,
LT mentioned the next CL, also on an upslope, was just ahead.
Ricochet Robert, who had been dropping all of us on all the non-trivial inclines,
Was immediately enthusiastic.
"Where," he asked.
 
Dave repeated the just-ahead, probably only three-tenths of a mile line.
I interjected, "it's farther than that, Robert.  It's on the other side of Cassam Rd."
"You rode through it Tuesday," I continued, "when you did the Bahama Beach route."
"You know I can't recall what I rode yesterday, let alone something from four days ago," retorted Robert.

I was confident that Robert would recognize it when we got closer.
He did.

However, I had somehow gotten in the lead,
Robert directly behind me,
Lt. Dave on Robert's left,
Iva directly behind Robert.

When he saw or otherwise realized the CL was coming,
Robert exclaimed, "I'm boxed in -- I'm boxed in!"
Sighing to myself, I picked up my cadence to draw a little further ahead,
Giving Robert room to maneuver.

However, I kept an eye on R in my mirror, and
A couple seconds after he got out of the saddle to go for the CL,
I did the same.
Turned out I was in the wrong frickin' gear.
39/11 is NOT the best gear to be in on a slight upslope if you're trying to quickly increase your speed,

After the CL, when Robert passed me as I sorta' coasted along,
I told Robert that he was wearing the correct jersey for climbing well,
It was the wrong jersey to help him win CL sprints.
Eskatel is full of climbers, but no sprinters.

"What jersey should I be wearing," Robert asked.
"Omega Pharma or Lotto or even Cannondale," I responded. 
We all knew it would make no difference.
At 135 pounds, Robert is a climber.
He has no "punch" for rapid / sudden accleration.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Iva and I thought surely Ricochet Robert and Lt. Dave would catch us
While we on Old Weaver Trail if not before.
When they didn't, I made a joke,
I'm not going to explain, nor am I going to find the appropriate links,
Irregulars will understand, but likely no one else:
"Maybe Dave had to repair the commode after he used it, or maybe before he could use it."

Back at PUE, Iva and I checked the time stats of his two computers.
5h33 in-motion; 5h54 elapsed time.
We were each pleased with only 21-minutes of stoppage time.

Iva climbed quite well all throughout the day.
The result of those 3 weekends in a row doing mountain training rides and
The "Blood, Sweat and Gears" 53-miler, I think.

The "Blue Ridge Brutal" isn't until at least the middle of August.
I think he'll have plenty of time to get his legs ready for the 100-mile distance.
He has plenty of time to get his legs ready for the distance in the mountains.
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A good ride, with good people, on a challenging-enough course.
That's my story, and I'm sticking with it, even though it may not be what I started out to type. 
====================================================
Jul-06: 

--> PUE:  Johnson Mill Jaunt -->; 104.8 m.;  7h07 in-motion; 14.7 mph.  
 ____ pre-ride commute: _10.0 m.; 0h40 in-motion; 15.0 mph. 
 ____ Johnson Mill route:  81.9 m.; 5h33 in-motion; 14.7 mph; elapsed time:  5h54. 
 ____ post-ride commute:  12.9 m.; 0h54 in-motion; 14.3 mph. 

Q-1 tot: _11 rides; __940.3 m; _64h42; 14.5 mph; _1275 RUSA kms.
Q-2 tot: _18 rides; _2293.9 m; 158h18; 14.5 mph; _3142 RUSA kms.
Jul tot: __2 rides; __192.8 m; _12h26; 15.5 mph; __103 RUSA kms.
YTD tot: _31 rides; _3427.0 m; 235h27; 14.6 mph; _4520 RUSA kms.
    
According to RWGPS, the Johnson Mill Jaunt is the fifth climbing-est route I've done this year (or the last 2 or 3 years, for that matter).  I haven't done any mountain rides the last few years, and of course, those would "break the bank" as far as climbing per mile.  However, the local routes, based on the RWGPS estimate of climbing, stack up as follows, on a climbing per mile basis:

	Route Name		miles	RWGPS	ft/m
1	-- errand ride --	Raleigh, NC	48.2	3,257	67.6
2	Rp - L-L-L Permanent	Raleigh, NC	127.1	8,093	63.7
3	R - NCBC 400k Brevet (2013)	Morrisville, NC	249.4	14,981	60.1
4	R - NCBC 300k Brevet (2013)	Morrisville, NC	189.9	10,818	57.0
5	IR - Johnson Mill Jaunt	Bay Leaf, NC	81.9	4,625	56.5
6	Rpp - Bahama Beach	Bay Leaf, NC	64.6	3,587	55.5
7	Rpp - Howling Grits	Chatham, NC	64.3	3,567	55.5

  

Jan-01: Tar Heel 200 km Permanent

Dean Gets R-48!
John O Begins 2011 Assault.
Fearless Leader Alan demonstrates discretion.
I get my first Jan-01 ride since 2005.

Gathering just before 7 am, Dean, John O and I were just trying to get a good start on the year.  Alan was going for a "kinder, gentler 400" as the ride would make his second Tar Heel in as many days.  Morning temps were moderate, although there was still quite a bit of snow piled in ditches and shady spots.  Morning breeze was not noticeable. 

I had thought John O would be going for back-to-back Tar Heel rides with Alan.  I thought that would be good because John might be a bit slower than usual.  However, he informed that he had decided to skip the ride on the 31st, but also claimed he had ridden nothing of consequence since a Whirligig ride four weeks earlier. 

So that defined our starting crew: 
 _ John claiming to be out of shape;
 _ Dean claiming to be out of shape;
 _ Alan, our 400k man;
 _ Me, hoping I was mostly over a cold. 

Not too long after the ride began, Alan changed his plan.  I have tried several ways of trying to be clever, but I can't come up with anything that looks and reads "clever" or "humorous" after I read what I've written.  So ... I'll just write it as follows.  Alan decided that discretion was the better part of valor, and turned back.  One of these days, I expect I'll get to ride an entire ride with Alan when he hasn't spent the entire previous day walking around the NC State Fair or doing a Permanent.  And maybe I'll be the one struggling, and I'll finally get to hear some of the many stories of previous brevets and permanents in Alan's war-chest. 

John, Dean and I pedaled on through the cool air on the damp roads.  Not too fast, though.  After all, each of was claiming to be a bit under-trained or dealing with residual health issues.  We got to the Strickland Marathon about 10 minutes later than previous rides.  We judged that pretty good, considering.

I decided to get a biggish breakfast:  biscuit with gravy, scrambled eggs, a big sausage link.  Stick to your rids food.  Dean was next after me in the food line; I heard him order grits; I didn't hear what he ordered to go with the grits.  Grits!  I think John did not eat "breakfast".  We were back on the bikes at 10 am ... 20 minutes after we stopped. 

Cautious pacing continued.  We were somewhere near Cedar Creek when the southwesterly wind made its appearance.  Our pace was cut considerably.  My confuser had indicated 14.9 mph avg pace at Strickland's; the avg pace was down to 14.3 mph when we reached Tar Heel at 12:05 pm.  (Side note, on Dec-22, Dean and I had LEFT Tar Heel at 12:05.  However, on the 22nd, we had a headwind once we got north of Strickland's on the return leg.)

John headed for the Subway to eat lunch.  Dean and I grabbed quick eats/drinks at the gas station / convenience store.  Dean and I were beside our bikes at 12:22 when we saw John hurry past.  We tried to attract his attention with a wave.  We probably should have shouted.  But ... for the first time all day, John looked like himself on the bike -- he looked quite comfortable with his patented high cadence.  It would have been a shame to stop him. 

John appeared to think that Dean and I had done a really quick turn-around stop and that we were already miles up the road.  Dean checked with the clerks at the controls during the homebound 100k; the clerks confirmed that he asked for / about us at Strickland's and in Erwin.  He never did "catch" us.  Instead, we were able to intermittently follow his tire tracks most of the way back on the mixed damp and dry roads. 

Dean and I were delayed leaving Tar Heel for a few extra minutes because while removing some clothing, I ended up with a wardrobe malfuntion -- no, no, nothing similar to Janice Jackson at the Super Bowl a few years ago -- just that when I had removed a base jersey layer, I had lowered the "suspenders" of my bibs, and then failed to put them back up BEFORE putting my outer jersey and windvest back on.  So ... I had to strip off again, put the bib strap/suspenders in their proper place, and put jersey, etc. back on.  We left Tar Heel at about 12:30 pm. 

However, we were secure in the knowledge that we would have a helpful tailwind almost every centimeter of the homebound trip. 

We arrived at Strickland's at about 2:30 (some 25 minutes behind our Dec-22nd ride), but were officially registered at the Erwin contol at 4:05 (which was the time we had left Erwin on the 22nd).  We left the Erwin control before 4:10 with me hoping that maybe we could still catch a 5 pm finish (my cold symptoms were diminishing and my legs and butt felt great).  Of course, hopes were dashed while still in Erwin:  although we caught the light at the control on green, the light at the big intersection in Erwin was red, and red, and red, and red, and still red.  Finally, we were underway again. 

Leaving Dunn, I had the scent of the barn now only about 10 miles away.  Dean was in the rear, using his gazonk-a-zonk taillights on overtaking auto traffic.  I was up front, still thinking about 5 pm, and thinking more about how there had been so very little traffic all day, the "New Year resolution" runners and walkers we had seen, and most importantly, the lack of annoying dogs  the whole day.  I also think I was thinking about deeper issues, but I don't actually recall bacause I kind of zoned out.  I came to just before reaching "RoscoeLand", and realized that Dean was not just behind me, but had fallen back.  I didn't slow for that, but I did slow significantly when Roscoe came out to play.  I unclipped my left foot and was prepared to administer Roscoe a more serious "life-lesson" than I administered a couple months ago; however, Roscoe veered off once he saw my left foot move clear of the pedal; we repeated the dance a couple more times.  I hoped that Dean would have his "Halt!" ready.  I didn't get a clear picture of Dean's encounter with Roscoe and Roscoe's "mom", but I'm pretty sure Dean was not able to administer any "Halt!".

A quarter-mile after Roscoe, just at the turn off Old Fairgrounds Rd, the dog on the corner decided to be a pest.  At least that owner seemed at least mildly displeased with the dog.  Wish they would try actual training.

The ride finished without futher incident.  I got off my bike at 5:05 pm; it was 5:08 when I got my receipt and my card signed.  Homebound tailwinds are an excellent ally.

Although the above is a boring ride report ... it was a great day for a ride with good company.  We had a great ride.

I got in my first ride on Jan-1st since 2005.
John got a good jump on his 2011 goal.  (He mentioned what it is, but it is not my place to "spill the beans".)
Dean got his R-48.
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Jan-01: 

Tar Heel 200 Permanent; 125.1 m.; 8 hrs, 16 min in-motion; 15.1 mph; rando time: 10 hrs, 8 min elapsed clock time. 

Jan tot: __1 rides; __125.1 m.; __8 hrs, 16 min; 15.1 mph.
YTD tot: __1 rides; __125.1 m.; __8 hrs, 16 min; 15.1 mph.
 _
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Meanwhile, Some Irregulars Played on Some Hills and With A "Cow"?

Martin,

Four of us rode today ushering in the New Year.  Tito, Wendy, Gary, and I had a nice ride leaving from Ravenstone Plaza doing the Johnson Mill, Rougemont, Range Road, Butner, Will Suitt route.  [route map, Iva's actual route skipped approx the first 11 and last 11 miles]  What a nice and difficult route.  I don't think I've done it before.  [Iva's memory has apparently blocked out certain things from the past.]  We were slow and stopped for long periods.  61 miles took us 5 and 1/2 hours to complete.  It started cold and then warmed (well, warm is not the right word).  Cool and dank is a good description.  I couldn't decide if it was perfect riding weather or a bit too cool and damp.

The scenery along Johnson Mill, Lowell, and Hopkins was spectacular.  We overtook three cyclists on McBroom.  Gary made contact with more potential customers because we rode with them up to McKee.

On Hampton Rd, we stopped to take some photos of a bull, which I later learned was a cow. 

One of the locals rode up on his ATV straight off the set of Deliverance.  You won't be surprised to learn that Tito found him interesting. 

Tito described it best today.  He said he felt like a rhinoceros trying to ride a bike.  I felt like an out of shape rhino trying to ride a bike.  But, anyway, we had a big time.  It was a good way to start the new year.

Iva
----------------------------------------------------------------- 
Some conversation followed receipt of the immediately above "Irregular" ride report:

Me:  I don't understand why Tito should feel like a rhino, or you should feel like an out-of-shape rhino.  Each of you got in more exercise in December than I did, and neither of you had a head cold the last week.  I must be failing to comprehend something. :-}

Iva:  It was just it was just so hard to turn the cranks.

Me:  Perhaps you should have tried using the 39 for awhile instead of the 53.  Or a cog with more than 11 or 12 teeth.

Iva:  I can never remember whether the easy gear is big crank - little cog or little crank - big cog.
 _

Aug-29: Johnson Mill Run (no Ghoston)

Aug-29:

PUE: Treyburn-SnowHill-JohnsonMill-Hopkins-Rougemont-Butner-Patterson-Kemp-CP finish; w/ Lt. Dave, Iva, LeeD, DeanD + (after Rougemont) BobH, NT; 83.9 m.; est 4555 ft climbed ---> effort index = 129; 5hrs, 19min; 15.8 mph.

1st Qt. tot: 20 rides; 755.3 m.; 47 hrs, 31 min; 15.9 mph.
2nd Qt. tot: 43 rides; 2124.3 m.; 134 hrs, 59 min; 15.7 mph.
Jul tot: 16 rides; 732.2 m.; 45 hrs, 3 min; 16.2 mph.
Aug tot: 10 rides; 664.1 m.; 38 hrs, 53 min; 15.8 mph
YTD: 89 rides; 4275.9. m.; 265 hrs, 33 min; 15.9 mph.

Rolling 12-mos.: 119 rides; 5714.6 m.; 357 hrs, 23 min; 16.0 mph.

At the end of Johnson Mill Rd, Lee pleaded "can you please find some roads with some hills, I'm getting bored with these flat roads."

A couple miles later, after the more scenic parts of S. Lowell and Hopkins roads were behind us, Iva commented "I sure hope this is classified as a hilly route."

No one tried to continue straight on Bill Poole Rd on to the rough gravel. Maybe I should deliberately start putting in some mistakes or confusion into the cue sheets?

Norris and BobH found us at the Refueling Station in Rougemont, after Lee had already commented "3 hours to the first stop!?"

Did everyone see the really tiny box turtle? -- I think it was on Will Suitt Rd (I think it was on Will Suitt Rd because that was the only place I was in the lead for the last half (plus) of the ride). It would take several thousand turtles that size to make one of Tito's VW-sized Galapagos turtles. (See the link to Tito's Galapagos blog on the right side panel.)

Norris, BobH, Lee and Dean were in rocket mode the last 40 miles -- except on Boyce Rd where they seemed insistent on riding only 12 or 14 mph until the road flicked up -- then they started pedaling again -- guys, I need to use the flat, slight downslopes and dips to build up speed BEFORE the flick-ups. Otherwise, instead of Will Suitt Rd, we get what happened on Boyce.

On the other hand, my being caught out by the tiny-bodied, instant accelerating climbers meant that I was in position to help Lt. Dave, whose body, after ~ 66 miles was finally succumbing to the squashed position and lack of gears of his 30+ year old 10-speed Raleigh "something". Iva, too, may also have appreciated the slightly slower pace on Cheek and Patterson.

I learned a very important thing from Lt. Dave at the corner of Patterson & NC-98 -- there are picnic tables there (if one knows at which store to stop).
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Alternative description # 1, OR, things I forgot to include above:

To: Snapper
Sat, Aug 29, 2009 3:18 pm

It drizzled and sprinkled and made like it was gonna' really rain -- at the beginning of the ride. Then it stopped precipitating and the roads dried out and later the sun came out, and it got hot.

Lee wondered aloud if I could please find some hilly routes because the flat ones were getting boring.

Lt. Dave, riding his 30+ year old Raleigh, came to appreciate modern cycling technology.

I believe everyone finished -- and some that finished did not "start".

It was definitely a FUN route.
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Alternative description # 2, OR, more things I forgot to include above:

Sat, Aug 29, 2009 4:46 pm

Hey, Tito -

On today's "Irregulares" ride, we went past a tiny turtle (tortoise) on the road. This feller was smaller than your thumb (maybe as small as half your thumb) -- well, my thumb. Little box turtle. I hope he made it safely to the side of the road after we passed -- saw him too late to "rescue" him, and I was in front so it would have been dangerous to suddenly stop.

We had a good ride, today. I put "just the facts" up on the "irregulars" blog -- intend to write "something" when my brain can function a bit better.

Oh, we also went by a house with fifty pink flamingos in the front yard. Plastic. Not like the real one pictured on your blog the other day -- very pretty.

(Fifty pink flamingos -- someone had turned age 50 -- there was a sign in the yard -- and obviously, some "friend" had "flamingo'ed" his front yard.)

Iva kept getting caught in "no man's land" today, between the Norris/BobH & Lee & Dean hammers and me dropping off the back, esp. when the road turned UP. The hammers kept seeming to pick up the pace, but not at times when all the rest of could hold on. So Iva and I, and eventually also Lt. Dave (riding his 30+ year old Raleigh with only 5 gears on the cassette, because the bottom bracket bearings on his S-works started failing a week or so ago), kept dropping back. Eventually, about 70 miles into the ride, we three just decided to "drop them off our front".

Jul-11: Johnson Mill Rd

Jul-11:

PUE: Kemp-Burton-SnowHill-JohnsonMill-Hopkins-Rougemont-Butner; w/ Lt. Daaave, Levi, BobH (& Baroom for 9 m.); 69.9 miles; est 4316 ft climbed ---> effort index = 113; 4hrs, 17min; 16.3 mph avg pace.

1st Qt. tot: 20 rides; 755.3 m.; 47 hrs, 31 min; 15.9 mph.
2nd Qt. tot: 43 rides; 2124.3 m.; 134 hrs, 59 min; 15.7 mph.
Jul tot: 6 rides; 306.2 m.; 18 hrs, 33 min; 16.5 mph.
YTD: 69 rides; 3185.8 m.; 201 hrs, 3 min; 15.8 mph.

Rolling 12-mos.: 116 rides; 5549.8 m.; 345 hrs, 40 min; 16.1 mph.

After I realized that the intended route was too long, I figured some short-cuts to get a route that I hoped would be 72 miles and thus commemorate the 72nd anniversary of my father's birth, but I didn't guestimate the distance very well.  (For the originally intended route: http://veloroutes.org/bikemaps/?route=35460 )

For the actual route:  http://veloroutes.org/bikemaps/?route=41287 .

New roads from about the 20 mile mark until about the 48 mile mark.  Snow Hill is long with stair-step climbing.  Johnson Mill has some tough climbing.  Hopkins and Bill Poole were scenic, and had a bit of climbing.  Hampton Rd has good rollers, but was not very scenic.
Upon leaving PUE, it seemed that Dave and Levi were in a hurry.  Bob commented "it takes me an hour to warm up."  I responded "it sometimes takes me two hours to warm up."

I managed to sneak into the lead at the turn onto Carpenter Pond in an attempt to slow the pace half-a-mile-an-hour or so; the gambit was working until I decided to slide back and inform Levi of the "excellent" road conditions we would encounter on Kemp Rd.  Immediately, the pace went up again.

I was trying to warm up slowly and to keep the five of us together for a dozen or 15 miles so that warm-up for me would be easier and also so that Barry would have a reasonable pace.  Baroom was sweating and breathing hard when we got to NC-98; he announced he was going to drop us of his front, after only 8.6 miles.

It seemed we had a bit of tailwind on NC-98 and Red Mill Rd -- Stallings and Burton just had rollers. I don't like those two roads, and remember nothing worthy of comment from today's ride.  I managed to sneak into the lead again by the turn onto Red Mill -- did I back the pace down a bit?  Or did I pick it up?  It was quick, but maybe that was the tailwind?

We got to the turn off Red Mill onto Teknika without being caught by the Gyrating A squad.  Maybe we could relax the pace a bit?

Old Oxford Hwy was flat.  Snow Hill Rd was not.  Neither was Johnson Mill Rd.

Hopkins Rd was scenic -- and the sign for the Orange CL is non-existant (but the Durham CL sign is there on the other side of the road).  Bill Poole Rd was definitely not flat and was scenic for the the first half-mile or more (maybe the entire length we were on it).

Dave and Levi seemed to be in a hurry again -- and then Bob seemed to decide to join them.  Ha!  I knew the road turned to nasty gravel just ahead -- they did not.  Irregulars rule # 3.  I was suddenly in the lead as the others U-turned to see what I would do at the corner they had blown through with gusto.

After a "flo-max" assisted regrouping, we turned onto McKee Rd which soon became Cothran Rd and then merged with a road from the right and we were back on Bill Poole Rd again, heading into Rougemont.  We stopped to refuel in Rougemont and exchange banter.

After only about 8 minutes, we remounted and headed off on Red Mountain Rd, all of us with added lead in our legs from the inactivity of the previous 10 minutes.  My leaden legs began to come back to life just in time to see Levi signalling / questioning if we were supposed to turn left onto Moores Mill Rd -- if any "irregulars" read this, they may recall that Moores Mill Rd and Red Mountain Rd intersect about 1 1/4 mile east of Rougemont and about 4 miles south of Mt. Tirzah.  Dave and I each ignored the apparent plea to turn onto Moores Mill, and when I caught Dave I suggested that he should have told Levi "sure, go ahead and ride up that road to the top; we'll wait for you here."  (That isn't exactly how the conversation went; I am using artistic license to combine my half of the evil thought with Dave's half.)

We continued on and made a right turn onto Hampton Rd; I heard Levi mutter to Bob something about his leg(s) starting to "cinch up."  I didn't snicker -- out loud.  I caught Dave's wheel as he hammered up and down the rollers into the headwind.  We turned onto Range Rd for the downward sloping run back to Old-75, taking long turns into the wind.  Bob caught us.  Levi did not.  Too bad, really, that Levi was out of gas and that his legs were cramping on him; I had finally gotten really warmed up only 40+ miles into the ride.

We tried to nurse Levi in the last 25 or 30 miles, but the guy was toast.  Somehow, I am confident that Phil did a better job nursing Levi back to PUE when we did the "Range Rover 66" ride.  Levi made it back to PUE and managed to hide his fatigue from a group of 4 or 5 riders that finished their short ride just before he finished.  He spent a long time stretching and trying to get life back into his legs.  I suggested that on his next ride, he needs to commit himself to doing the entire ride staying seated on the saddle to try to break his habit of standing and trying to overpower the rolling climbs; thus saving more energy for later in the ride.  Once he figures out how to parcel out his energy, there will surely be another rider in the group whose wheel I cannot hold.

I made a "Levi adjustment" to the time for this ride to represent the probable time if we had not had to slow down trying to not completely drop Levi.  If Levi's spouse should happen to read this:  we put a hurten' on the boy.  Actually, he put it on himself.  He simply must learn to NOT attack every hill early in the ride, but instead, parcel out the energy, leaving enough in the tank with which to get home.
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From: Levi
Sent: Sun, Jul 12, 2009 10:00 pm

Just wanted to say thanks for waiting around and making sure I didn'tcroak on Saturday.  I'll do my best in the future to not slow down the end of the ride that much.  I can't remember ever having cramping problems in both legs like that before.

Lessons learned by me on Saturday:
1. DO NOT try to hang onto Dave's wheel too early in the ride, no matter how good you think you feel.  The man can crank...all day.
2. DO NOT listen to Martin when leaving the convenience store when he says "hey, we can go faster than this, can't we?"  That man too, can crank...all day.
3. Keep my butt on the seat most of the day instead of standing on the pedals unless the ride is shorter than 50mi (or you see a PAVEMENT ENDS AHEAD sign.)

The punishment for these transgressions:
1. You get passed by some "big" women when crossing the lake at the end of the ride. And they say "coming by on your left" and ring a bell, to sort of rub it in that they are passing your puny 165lb body and bike with aerobars with their bodies of at least 180 to 200+ and bikes that have bells on them.  If I'd been a little less whipped, I could have tucked into their huge slipstream and let them pull me up Ghoston.
2. Martin gets your wife in on the action to pick on you on his irregular blog.

All that being said, its fun to have a laugh at yourself as long as you don't die.  I had some tired legs on Saturday afternoon, but the weirdthing is that I'm not even sore today.  Had a great time and looking forward to the next epic.

From: me
Sent: Monday, July 13, 2009 10:43 AM

Levi - you were only doing 10 mph when I pleaded "hey, we can go faster than this". My legs needed more than one revolution per minute.

I thought you and Dave were both "in a hurry" at the beginning of the ride.  Bob "It-takes-me-an-hour-to-warm-up" H agreed with me (at least initially, then he too left my sorry "it-takes-me-two-hours-to-warm-up" butt behind).  Dave later claimed he was just trying to keep pace with you.  Luckily for me, rule # 3 was much in force (no one had a cue sheet) -- I especially benefitted when the three of you raced onto the very nasty gravel.  Aah, I love a "well-planned" course.

From: the Mallet
Date: Mon, Jul 13, 2009 10:56 am

Oh, man, that should lead to wonderful nick name possibilities for Levi.  Sounds like the fat ladies sang on his ride. How about Bell Man.