Oct-21: Cotton Pickin' 204 km Perm

Better known as:  Showdown at Black Creek.

Don't recall any cotton fields in Wake or Franklin counties.
Although there was a great hay field in Franklin county,
Dotted with those huge round bales of hay.
In combination with the severe-clear morning light,
And the slightly rolling terrain ... it caught my eye.

But the main repeat attractions today were the cotton fields.
Some fields appeared to almost be covered with snow.
The cotton balls have come in very nicely.

Some fields were "completely" harvested.
The machines leave up to 20% of the cotton behind.
If you want to see a pic of a completely harvested field,
Go to "crazyguyonabike", and find a journal of someone that went through Central Asia.
Those fields appear to be picked clean.

Anyway, some fields as yet untouched by the harvest process.
Some fields completely harvested.
And some, and this made for two or three interesting moments,
Were in the process of being harvested.

I am from northwest Illinois -- corn and soybean country.
I am familiar with HUGE combines in midst of harvesting the crops.

At one field, I forget exactly where, a HUGE combine was just beginning
The harvest of a small field.
As I approached, the operator was jockeying the machine around
And began his first pass down the field as I slid past.
That was reasonably interesting.

More interesting was the field where a "hopper" from a not-quite-so-huge harvestor
Was being dumped into the ... for lack of knowledge and a better word ...
The bale-compressing machine.
They were filling the bale-compressing machine towards it second bale in that field.

I found that process interesting.
I didn't slow down, though.

There was also one field with three of those HUGE bales lined up,
Ready to be transported to ... I presume ... "Harvey's Gin and Mill".
I presume "Harvey's" because that is what it said on the plastic wrap
Across the top and around the top half of the bales.
Interestingly, the bottom half of the bales were not swathed in plastic.

For those that don't know how large those bales are ...
Those bales are designed to fit nicely on the flat-bottom of an 18-wheeler's trailer.
Yep, that big.

Great day to ride.
Despite the headwind for ~ 52 miles of the homebound part of the route.
I've done a really good job picking routes this week.
All three times -- headwinds the whole way home.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
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Oct-21:  Showdown at Black Creek 204 km Permanen; 127.0 m.; 8h,00m in-motion; 15.9 mph (I had legs, today); rando elapsed clock time:  9h51 (too bad I started 45 minutes late).  

Q-1 tot: _23 rides; _1822.2 m.; 123 hrs, 05 min; 14.8 mph.
Q-2 tot: _30 rides; _2604.9 m.; 174 hrs, 22 min; 14.9 mph.
Q-3 tot: _29 rides; _2479.2 m.; 161 hrs, 05 min; 15.2 mph. 
Oct tot: __6 rides; __545.6 m.; _36 hrs, 53 min; 14.8 mph. 

YTD tot: _88 rides; _7451.9 m.; 497 hrs, 25 min; 15.0 mph. 

"Interesting" stat:  After today's ride, and after the approval signifying I did the course correctly, or whatever, I will have 7451 miles AND 7450 RUSA credit kilometers.  I doubt the miles can stay ahead of the kms for very much longer. 

Link(s) to RTP Phun Physiology

It seems that it gets harder and harder for me to find the Phun Physiology posts over on Research Trailer Park.  As a partial solution ... this post ... with a link to all the posts I found "over thar'" that have the Phun Physiologist label.  After all, I'm confident I'll be able to re-find this post when I want to ... .

Label:  Phun Physiology


I wonder if there are other Phun Physio posts, but without the Phun Physio "label".


Also, I wonder if the Phun Physiologist has been so busy riding the last year-and-a-half that he hasn't had time to write??  May have to talk to him about ... balance.

Oct-18: Tour de Flat River 204 km Permanent

Better known as:  Leesville-Leasburg-Leasville (L-L-L).

Kind of deja vu all over again.  Or,
Groundhog Day, 1 day removed though.

• Bright sunshine (but not a "severe-clear" day). 
• Shadow panda on Patterson Rd. 
• Strongish southerly wind. 
• Time-in-motion within one minute of time-in-motion from two days ago. 

Differences / Causes of the slightly longer elapse clock time: 

• much more traffic in Raleigh, on NC-98, and on Red Mill Rd. 
• Stopped at Bahama Fire Station, outbound, to lube chain. 
• Stopped at Bahama Fire Station, inbound, to lube certain sensitive parts of me! 
• The southerly wind was stronger. 
• More locals in Mt. Tirzah and Leasburg wanting to chat --> more "ambassadorial" time. 

Most interesting new thing seen today: 

On Hester Store Rd, outbound, just as the first descent is ending ... 

A herd of Bison ... American Buffalo ... in a pasture on the north side of the road, 

Trotting away from the road. 

Did the approaching cyclist scare them?

The herd was a dozen-and-half strong, maybe an entire score, or more. 

Haven't seen so many bison in one location since Yellowstone Park in 1973. 

Or maybe Yellowstone Park in 1966. 

The bison in the field today, however, were obviously "meat on the hoof" ... not a wild herd.

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Oct-18:  Leesville-Leasburg-Leesville 204 km Permanen; 127.1 m.; 8h,53m in-motion; 14.3 mph; rando elapsed clock time:  10h15.  

Q-1 tot: _23 rides; _1822.2 m.; 123 hrs,05 min; 14.8 mph.
Q-2 tot: _30 rides; _2604.9 m.; 174 hrs,22 min; 14.9 mph.
Q-3 tot: _29 rides; _2479.2 m.; 161 hrs,05 min; 15.2 mph. 
Oct tot: __5 rides; __418.6 m.; _28 hrs,53 min; 14.5 mph. 

YTD tot: _85 rides; _7324.9 m.; 489 hrs,25 min; 15.0 mph. 

Oct-16: Leesville-Leasburg-Leesville 204 km Perm

Or, You Can See For Forever On A Severe-Clear Day 

Today would have been a great day for Dean to break in his Triple-L shoes.  [Phamous 10k Hound, headed for back-to-back 10k-Hound status (linking just for the clear pic), and he still hasn't ridden this hill fest known as "Leesviile-Leasburg-Leesville" ("L-L-L", or "Triple-L" -- even route-owner Byron is now referring to it as "Triple-L").]    

Today would have been a great day for Dean to break in his Triple-L shoes ... that is what I was thinking as I approached Leasburg, anticipating that the NW wind that had kicked up at about 10:15 as I approached Timberlake from Mt. Tirzah would provide a great tailwind for the homebound leg.  Then the wind changed! ... becoming a SW to S-SW wind.  Triple-L coming home, is mostly a "go south" affair ... headwind the entire way back.   

Regardless of the wind, it was a beautful, severe-clear day to ride ... unlimited clear views.  Hints of things turning color.    

As I approached Leasburg, anticipating a nice homebound tailwind, I even thought I might finish in 9h30.  That was not be.  I finished in 10h02.  However, that did best Irregular buddies Robert, JohnA, and route-owner Byron's time from last week by 6 minutes -- a little bit of bragging rights there vs. the Irregular buddies -- darn little actually since the best Triple-L times for Robert + JohnA are 9h58 in the HEAT -- and Robert had done Alan's picnic brevet the previous day in 7h46!  Sheesh!  [Fyi, all three -- Ricochet, JohnA and Byron can ride me off their wheel whenever they might chose to do so.]  

I had no legs to push-it-in and get under 10h00.  I tried as I really wanted to go sub-10; but no-go.  I think maybe that phamous Phun Physiologist article on using-it-or-losing-it may have come home to roost on me.  Only two 200k rides since Sep-01; not enough to keep the engine tuned for that distance. 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
A moment from the ride:   

0755 -- On Patterson Rd. -- PERFECT shadow for a "shadow panda" shot.  Unfortunately, no camera. 

There were other moments ... but none as memorable as the one mentioned immediately above.  
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Looking over the paperwork after the finish ... the cash registers at Hollow Ridge Grocery and Leasburg Grocery ... the time-stamps are even more inaccurate than last year.  Hollow Ridge is now off by 33 or 35 minutes instead of the 22 or 23 minutes it was last year.  Leasburg ... at 11:52 am, the cash register time-stamp indicates ... wait for it ... 1950 ... only off by 8 hours  :-O .   

The afternoon clerk at Hollow Ridge must have gotten confused.  She wrote that the time was 2:50 ... I know it was 2:03 pm when I re-mounted to leave the store.  :-o 
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It was a great day for a ride ... homecoming headwind notwithstanding.  I limited the off-the-bike time pretty well ... this was one of my slower in-motion efforts on Triple-L, but my fastest ever elapsed time.    

Did I mention that I was 6 minutes faster than Irregular buddies Ricochet Robert and JohnA were the week before?  Oh, I did.  Well, it is worth mentioning again.  :-)
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Oct-16:  Leesville-Leasburg-Leesville 204 km Permanen; 127.1 m.; 8h,54m in-motion; 14.3 mph; rando elapsed clock time:  10h02 - PR.  

Q-1 tot: _23 rides; _1822.2 m.; 123h,05m; 14.8 mph.
Q-2 tot: _30 rides; _2604.9 m.; 174h,22m; 14.9 mph.
Q-3 tot: _29 rides; _2479.2 m.; 161h,05m; 15.2 mph. 
Oct tot: __4 rides; __291.5 m.; _20h,00m; 14.6 mph. 
YTD tot: _84 rides; _7197.8 m.; 480h,32m; 15.0 mph.  

Assuming it gets approved ... this ride made R-15 for me.  (Also C-20.  M-32 was earlier in the month.) 

Oct-15: Morrisville Rando Picnic

There was also a 200k brevet.
 _ Click here for Robert's version of the brevet.
 _ Click here for Doc-on-a-bike Keith's version of the brevet (with photos and video, no less!).
 _ Click here for "sag's" version of the worker's ride the week before.
 _ _ And click here to for the brevet turn-around control story from the same author.
 _ _ The immediately above post also has some good to excellent picnic photos.
 _ _ _ All photos that may appear below are courtesy of Andy, btw.   Thanks, Andy.

There was also a populaire, but I doubt anyone will write about.
 _ Though Byron did tell mention that the wind was rather nice on certain legs of the populaire.
 _ He apparently was doing 29 mph on a flat section or two -- barely pedaling.

I volunteered to help RBA Alan with the cookout.
I, however, did not do the worker's ride the previous weekend.
Due to certain physical complications.

Oh, wait, this is supposed to be about the Picnic ...
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It was a great day for a picnic!
Sunny, reasonably warm, but not hot.  No humidity.
A bit breezy.  The wind kept blowing out the flame on the side-burner of the grill.

At some point during the festivities, Andy remarked to MikeD that he was concerned about what kind of blog entry I would be forced to make regarding the day's event(s).  I hadn't figured that I would blog the picnic (since I was pretty sure Robert would write something about the brevet (see above) AND that IvaHawk would write something about the day's Irregular ride -- Bahama Beach - Reversed).  However, given the remarks wondering about what statistics / metrics I would include in my picnic post, I decided to "play along" -- after all, I can deal with, and sometimes enhance, being on the short end of the humor stick -- or, sometimes, I can turn the tables, at least a little ... re-direct them, anyway.

Before going on, a word about Irregular randonneurs:  Robert rode rando on the 15th.   Wilmington Rick rode rando on the 15th (he was  / is actually a randonnuer before he became an Irregular -- and as he lives in Wilmington instead of "The Triangle", he is quite "irregular", indeed).  The other Irregular rando was signed up for the brevet, but did something else, instead (see IvaHawk's post referenced above; I personally think that doing 200k on a lack-of-sleep basis would have been good training for future 400's and 600's; anyway, Ags missed a great picnic.


Back to the picnic.


Picking up on Andy's suggestions for stats / metrics:

Number of burgers I flipped:  zero.
 _ _ Reason:  Mike would let no one else touch the flipper.
 _ _ _ (His story is much better than this one. btw.)

Number of burgers Mike flipped:  no idea.

I'm not convinced Mike knows, either.
There is some doubt that he can accurately count that high.  :-O

Number of hotdogs flipped by me:  a couple.
 _ _ Mike wasn't quite so attentive to the hotdogs.

Number of cans of baked beans opened with my handy-dandy punch-and-cut can opener:  two.

I may have to sharpen the "cut" part of that tool after struggling with those two cans.
Most difficulty I've ever had using said tool to open a can.
And it is true what Andy indicated on his blog / picasa ... I carry that tool on my bike. 
The knife blade(s) and the screw-drivers have come in very handy.  

Amount of left-over beans consumed (cold) at the end of the picnic:  one helping.

I think I'm still suffering certain effects from that last helping.
The above is NOT just that last helping! 

Number of veggie burgers consumed:  no idea. 
Number of veggie burgers left-over:  more than zero. 

Number of meat burgers consumed:  no idea (see above). 
Number of meat burgers left-over:  more than zero. 

Number of bags of potato chips consumed:  at least two. 
Number of bags of potato chips left-over:  less than two. 

Number of cold drinks consumed:  no idea. 
Number of cold drinks left-over:  probably around 24. 

Number of stories swapped at the picnic: countless.  

Number of people fed:  approximately 40. 
Number of people who had a good time at the picnic:  approx. 40. 

I do NOT understand how Robert got his PBP story  pics to be side-by-side
and put text between them
and get a reasonable looking result.
I blame blogger / google. 

  Number of RBA's at the the picnic:  two.  Alan and TonyG.

TonyG in cycling kit at the Siler City turn-around control!

Alan at Snow Camp during the worker's pre-ride. 

Oct 15 -- Bahama Backwards

Last Saturday, BobH, Martin, RedRocket, and Iva did Martin’s Bahama Beach route. This Saturday, Ags, BobH, Norris, JohnD, and Iva did the same route backwards. Ags was a surprise welcome addition. He had planned on the rando brevet, but didn’t get enough sleep the night before and decided to join us.

One may ask is one direction “better” than the other Not surprisingly, it’s not a clear call. Both are equally difficult but differ in the way the difficulty is achieved.

The route ranges in elevation from 270 feet at various points near Falls Lake to 520 feet at Bahama, the high point of the route. The route has four high points:

Kemp at Carpenter Pond
Bahama
Little Mountain Road near Stem
Grissom

This is the order the rider reaches these points for Bahama. Reverse these for Bahama Backward. Obviously, the route direction determines from which direction these high points are achieved. This is the basis for comparing the two routes – the direction which determines the nature of the climb and at which point in the ride the climbs are encountered.

Bahama:
Mt Vernon Church leaving PUE to get to Carpenter Pond
Stagville Road to Bahama. I think this is the toughest of the climbs.
Lake Michie east of Bahama to Ellis Chapel (riding towards the east)
Brassfield Lake (SE of Creedmore) up Lawrence to Grissom
Our old favorites Ghoston, Peed, MVC

Bahama Backwards:
New Light from Falls Lake to Grissom (we bypassed GPMVC to go all the way on New Light)
Brassfield Lake to Creedmore
Brogden Road from Creedmore to Stem (we usually go the other way)
Lake Michie to Bahama (riding towards the west)
Patterson to Kemp at Carpenter Pond.

The two Lake Michie climbs are about the same. Going east is steeper but shorter than going west.

I think the main difference between the two is Stagville on Bahama and the tough Kemp, Victory Church Road climbs at the end of the ride on Bahama Backwards. Of course, you do Kemp on Bahama but at the beginning.

Summary, Bahama you get the tough Stagville Climb and the famous GPeedMVC finish. Bahama Backward you get to the high point of the course later in the ride – at 39 miles vs 26. I kinda like that. It’s easy high speed cruising after that especially on Red Mill going into Durham until you get to Kemp. Bahama backward gives you the difficult Kemp Road climbs at the end followed by a cool down stretch on Norwood back to PUE.

In conclusion, both are fun, difficult routes where one shouldn’t be considered “better” than the other.

10/15/11: 200K Brevet Morrisville to Siler City

Setting
Wheels away from Morrisville at 6am and 50 degrees. First decision of the day - add leg warmers? Yes and smart move...90% of the people can't be wrong. They were not removed during the ride. Dark, lights, reflective gear then off we go. My guess.... there were 30 to 40 riders.

Goals
I can ride long just not fast yet, so lets work on improving my speed.
Another goal was the get thru the controls quickly.

Results
PR...total time was 7:46 hrs with 17 mph avg speed....that's good
PR.... for 126 miles only 22 minutes off the bike....that's good

The Ride
I rode behind but with the fast group to the Jack Bennett hill at about 17 miles. Then I hung in there with the third group. Knowing I am at 90 to 95% effort and others are probably 60 to 80%, did not bother me, but what did is the normal question.... am I going out too hard and will blow up later?

First control - stamp, eat banana get on bike. Came in with third group, left with second group. Jerry and Joel lead us the next 13 miles to the turn around /control in Siler City.

Second control - The first group was still there. After a quick sandwich, refilled water bottles and stamp back on bike. This time it was Jerry, Joel and John leading with me off the back but keeping them in sight most of the time.

Third control - Arriving at last control, I was quick and left out with JJJ group.

Jerry on his single speed hammered it so off the back I go again....but still pushing it, trying to keep my effort in the uncomfortable range, keep them in sight and rode about 30 miles solo. Joel and I connected and I was fortunate to have enough legs to keep up with him the final 25ish miles. The real story... he was handicapped as he just finished his 1000K on Monday this week, but a guy has to take advantage of any opportunity. :-) This maybe my one and only chance to ride with him.

I was on the edge of bonking when we finished as it took me awhile to think and talk right, so I must have pushed...that's good.

Alan had a great cook out and social afterwards. Thanks for the volunteers.

So question for the day... Why was my face the only one coated with salt? Any ideas, please provide via comment. Dean?