NC 2010 Rando Rookies -- Revisited

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 us eventually got credit for at least one RUSA ride).  [I used to 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 low RUSA numbers starting with RUSA #1 – I didn’t need to look up RUSA #2 in order to experience an epiphany.]  
• 
  
• During the “free period” in late 2009, four of us accounted for 1,808 RUSA credit kms.  
• 26 of us accounted for 49,859 credit kms in 2010 (an avg of 1918 credit-kms).  
• 18 of us accounted for 73,329 credit kms in 2011 (an avg of 4074 credit-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 and completed 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 2011; Tim tripled-up.   [Some of 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 accomplishment in and of itself.  Ian completed PBP – but he, along with the others riding with him, “messed up” and failed to qualify for 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 in American Randonneur.  Tim's report on Texas is also on MikeD's RTP blog.]  
• Bryan also completed the Taste of Carolina 1200.  
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• JohnO and BikerBob started the Taste of Carolina, but had to bail.  [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 and informs me of a mistake, I will correct same.  
• At least 8 of us have snagged an R-12; as I compose this, I understand that 6 of us still have intact streaks of at least 12-months.  
• As of the close of 2011:  BikerBob was at R-24 – having overcome a hernia operation in late Jan-2011 and some 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 on Jan-01.  
• BikerBob, Tim and Bryan at TonyG’s 200-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-2010 or 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 (he broke 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 
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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" 

I thought there were seven

I thought there were seven of us – seven 2010 NC rando rookies.  That was the number that stuck in my head – seven.  Even though, if I thought about it, I knew there were at least nine of us – seven was the number indelibly etched in my gray matter. 

During the Morrisville 300 km brevet, between Seagrove and Siler City, I met Denis R, and learned he was also a 2010 NC rookie.  Okay – eight. 

In Seagrove, chatting with Ian (one of the “seven”), he pointed out that he had recruited Moshe, who had joined RUSA in 2010 – that would make nine.  I began to wonder how many 2010 NC rando rookies there actually were.  While riding the second half of the 300k brevet, I hatched a plan to find out.  It didn’t take much to “hatch” the plan – I already knew where I could (mostly) find the information:  the RUSA website. 

Hidden in the bowels of the RUSA website – I won’t tell you where and spoil your investigative fun by doing so – there is a list of all RUSA members since “the beginning of time” -- "RUSA-time", that is.  A little sorting and culling out the non-NC members, and viola, a list of all NC randos, by RUSA number.  A glance at the new preliminary “database” I was constructing informed me that I should have never thought that “seven” was the magic number – there were the names of Cole and Isaac right in front of me.  I knew that they had joined RUSA and had done quite a few RUSA rides, but my mind had never readjusted from “seven” to “nine”.  [Nine would also have been incorrect, as discussed above.] 

Then came the tricky part.  There does not appear to be information on the RUSA website that indicates when someone first joined RUSA.  Therefore, I had to employ some personal knowledge and make a decision or two. 

The main decision to be made:  if someone joins up to be a RUSA member in year X, but does so late in year X-1, that person gets three “free” months of membership late in year X-1.  I decided that if someone’s membership became effective in that “free” period, I would count them as being part of the rookie class for year X, i.e., the first full year.  [The prior sentences make perfect sense to me, even if they don’t make sense to you.  But, after all, I am an actuary, and we study things where referring to year X-1, year X, year X+1, etc. makes perfect sense, and helps to clarify meaning as well as shorten the references.  It is the same as why the Arabs invented algebra with symbols, etc., instead of writing everything out in long, difficult to follow sentences.] 

That still didn’t help me determine whether certain people were year X-1, year X, or year X+1 rookies.  This is where the personal knowledge came in.  I knew that LynnL had joined RUSA in Apr-2009.  I knew that JohnO and Maria (two more of the "seven") had joined RUSA in late 2009, and fit into that “three-month window” mentioned above.  That left three people “in between”.  (It is hard to imagine that only three North Carolinians joined RUSA between Apr-2009 and Oct-2009; but that is what the data indicates.)  I looked up the results for each on the RUSA website:  two first got credit for a RUSA event in Feb-2010; the third first got credit for a RUSA event in Nov-2010.  (… “two first” and “third first” … and a certain former President thought he was clever with “… is is.”)  Rightly or wrongly, I decided to assume that the three were actually 2009 rookies.  [I initially decided to put the three with the 2010 class because I couldn’t imagine anyone joining a cycling group, and then waiting months, or even a whole year, before riding.  Later findings regarding some that were clearly 2010 rookies have opened my eyes on that point.] 

The above describes how I “defined” the first members of the 2010 NC rando rookie class.  I still had to define the last members of the class, or, if you prefer, define the first members of the 2011 class. 

I knew from meeting ChrisW last October, and riding with him in February, that he had joined RUSA and gotten the “three free months” at the end of 2010 for his 2011 membership.  Therefore, I knew he was 2011.  Moshe’s first credited ride was the same as Chris’s; Moshe’s RUSA number is only 4 less than Chris’s; it was an obvious decision that they should be recognized as two entrants in the 2011 NC rando rookie class [as it would turn out, the first two entrants].  Having met and ridden 200k with Denis, I knew he would be one of the last entrants in the 2010 rookie class.  I looked at the NC data I had previously prepared, and lo-and-behold, there was Denis, in the middle of three consecutive RUSA numbers.  I had to assume that DonH had assigned all three numbers in the same working session, and therefore, despite anything that first RUSA credit ride might suggest, all three belonged in the same rookie class. 

I had now “defined” the 2010 NC rando rookie class.  How many were there?  Thirty-four. 


The thirty-four of us: 

• accounted for 1,808 RUSA credit kms in 2009, 
• 49,859 credit kms in 2010, and, as of when I looked up results, 
• 24,373 credit kms so far in 2011. 
• Eight attained SR status in 2010. (One doubled up and completed two series-es in 2010.) 
• Three completed 1000 km brevets. 

Interesting tid-bits:

• The top three NC rookie credit kms hounds ended up first second, second third and fourth fifth among all RUSA rookie credit kms hounds in 2010.
• At least four of the class already have their 2011 SR status in hand.
• One has duplicated his 1000 km feat already in 2011.
• Five have completed an R-12.
• Memberships of seventeen of the thirty-four expired at the end of 2010.
• Seven of the thirty-four never completed (got credit) for any RUSA event.  (One of those seven is still a RUSA member.)  [I was quite surprised to find that people “joined-up”, but never rode – or at least, never got credit for completing a RUSA event.  On the other hand, have you ever looked up the results for RUSA #1?] 

I had thought there were seven in the 2010 NC rando rookie class, even though I should have realized that there were at least nine.  Now I know that there were actually thirty-four.
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Edit, Nov-07-2011:  

"The Seven" that I knew of were / are (in no particular order): 

• JohnO, 
• Maria, 
• Biker Bob, 
• BryanR,
• TimL, 
• Ian, and 
• me. 

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