I initially thought I might name this entry "Warm It Was, But Breezy".
But on Doc Nichols I spied a cyclist ahead of me. At first I thought, where did that person come from? Then I thought, I think I'm catching them -- yep -- they aren't pedaling all the time, so I'm catching them.
Then I thought I recognized the position of the cyclist on the bike, but I wasn't sure. When I got closer, I saw that they had a little round blinkie (turned off), and that was consistent with whom I thought the person might be. But the legs, in long black tights, didn't seem quite right. But the upper-body position on the bike was absolutely spot-on for the person whom I had in mind.
Those that ride with me know that I can ride down Doc Nichols pretty quickly, and today was no exception. Still thinking the legs weren't quite right, I pulled out wider to pass the person -- as soon as I saw the water bottles, I knew for sure who the rider was. There is only one person with that upper-body position AND THOSE bottles. Bottles that have been just about every ride since . . . I can't remember when. Bottles that have ridden several MS-150 New Bern events. Bottles that rode the Tour de Cure. Bottles that have ridden near countless 100+ milers in the last three years. Bottles that have ridden x-country in 26 days. Bottles that rode up Brasstown Bald and two days later rode up Mt. Mitchell. Bottles that rode the Tejas 500 last year.
Lively conversation ensued.
"I thought that was you."
"Yep."
"How far are you riding today? 70?"
"130."
"Where are you now?"
"82."
"Had any help?"
"Nope."
"Where you going next?"
"Down Baptist and back up, I guess."
"I can probably do that. Want some help?"
"That would be nice. This wind is killing me."
We zipped easily down Baptist, soft-pedaling at 19.5 with a tailwind and mostly downslope course. Oh, that all courses were all downslope and all with the wind at the back.
We moved pretty dang good back up Baptist, too -- even if I do say so myself. However, not being a complete masochist, we turned onto Southview as "Serendipity" had never ridden on Southview, and although it is a shorter than continuing on Baptist all the way to the highway, it was not head-on into the wind, and a change of scenery is always nice, now or in the future.
The extra serendipity rider we had picked up in the State Recreational Area turned toward Coley when we got to Kemp; we turned toward Virgil. I think I climbed up to Virgil better than I did on Thanksgiving Day when we were trying to do a "time-trial".
At the top of Virgil we turned toward Shady Grove Rd as I was going to lead across Shady Grove and back across Olive Branch to Carpenter Pond. However, the riding (with a tailwind) on CP was so easy that within 50 yards I said I would lead on Shady Grove, Olive Branch, and then Carpenter Pond and Leesville all the way to Doc Nichols. I pulled over just after the turn onto DN, and emptied the contents of my untouched water bottle into her water and gatoraid bottles. All I had left was about 4 or 5 ounces of diluted gatoraid to make my last 12.5 miles back to BJP.
I think Lynn was hoping I would continue on with her for a bit, but I explained that I had been riding a bit harder than I would have if I had been alone, so I was taking the easy way back to BJP.
That sums up my 19-mile cycling gift today. Pulled for 19 miles, bringing my avg pace from just under 15.0 mph after 12.4 miles to 16.0 mph in those 19 miles. (The average had been 16.3 when we reached the marina at the bottom of Baptist.)
The tailwind on Leesville, CP, MVC and Pleasant Union Ch roads blew me back to BJP.
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My darn Cateye has been measuring long ever since the first of the year. I find it quite annoying. Today, the Cateye claimed 46.5 miles, but I knew it had measured long from BJP to DocNichols and I knew it had measured long on the return to BJP from DocN. The miles reported below were developed using "veloroutes dot org".
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Jan-28:
BJP: DocN-BaptistMarina-Southview-Virgil-ShadyGrove-OliveBranch-CP-Leesville-U-turn @ DocN; 45.9 m.; 2hrs, 47min; 16.4 mph.
Jan tot: _4 rides; 208.5m.; 12 hrs, 54 min; 16.1 mph.
Although the monthly mileage is much less than I had hoped / planned for (due to COLD and the SNOW coming this weekend), I still got a personal record for January miles. And got in two 100+ km rides -- which is two more than the total for all previous Januaries combined (only have to go back to 2006 to confirm that -- it is not as if I have been riding for years and years).
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Serendipity. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query Serendipity. Sort by date Show all posts
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Jun-12: DNS the planned ride
DNS
JayJay was unable to ride with her usual "R-partner" on their usual first Saturday of the month. I offered to ride with her and do the Showdown at Black Creek Permanent. "Paperwork exchange" with route owner MikeD was accomplished; JayJay had chosen to start 45 minutes before me, and let me "chase" her.
I arrived at the start about 5 minutes before JayJay's scheduled start time. JayJay DNS -- Did Not Show(down).
I decided to check out the actual opening times of all the potential "open control" stores in the shopping center.
I got myself ready to ride. I got a receipt from McD's. I stood next to the bike, hands on the handlebars, bike leaning toward me, thinking of the heat I'd experienced the day before, thinking of the HEAT expected Sunday afternoon, thinking of the expected SW sirocco-breeze/wind I'd be riding in the afternoon, considered the lack of shade on most of the Black Creek route. My leg just would not "swing over".
I finally removed the front wheel and returned the bike to the back of the CRV. DNS -- Did Not Start.
Putz-about from Finley Y
That became the new plan. Drive over to Findley Y, and go for a putz-about using Carpenter Pond Rd as the "backbone" for the ride, with side-trips down-and-up Coley, and a side loop on DocNichols-KempRd, and whatever else caught my fancy.
Slow. But fun. Still cool on the well-shaded roads.
On Old Creedmoor / Carpenter Pond Rd, I saw horde from a particular "recovery ride" coming. I probably could have picked up my pace and stayed ahead of them -- I took the chance that they wouldn't fall off their bikes as the passed me nor that they would run into me. They actually passed me, in their double pace-line, looking reasonably safe. There must have been at least 30 of them. I decided to hook-on to the back of the line and let them pull me along until their course diverged from mine. Riding behind them, it was easy to see the accordion in full action. Although I enjoyed the free ride, I was not sad to see them turn off CP onto Kemp Rd. I stayed straight on CP -- headed for Coley.
Serendipity #1
A long quarter-mile before I got to Hickory Grove Rd, I saw Irregular Norris riding toward me, obviously with his wife Brin, and a third person I did not know. Although I was pretty sure that they were headed for home (and since I don't know where Norris and Brin live, it might have been only two or three miles back to their house), I decided to U-turn and ride with them for a bit. A couple passing cars delayed my U-turn, I was a short half-mile behind. I used the slight downslope to help me hit the "after-burners" and charged after them at 22-23 mph, then continued chasing by sweeping upslope on CP to Kemp Rd; I didn't catch Brin and then Norris until the second upslope on Victory Ch Rd (Kemp Rd becomes Vct Ch Rd at the county line). I tacked on to Norris; he introduced me to his neighbor; of course, I have forgotten the neighbor's name. Onto Norwood, then Macon ... and it seemed Norris hit the after-burners ... we had fallen well behind Brin and the neighbor as we chatted at my preferred SLOW pace for the day. At Ray Rd, I thanked Norris and Brin and neighbor for the ride and chat time as they turned left while I turned right.
Coley Rd
Ray, Norwood, Leesville, Hickory Grove, Carpenter Pond roads to Coley. Downslope, SMOOTH surface, no traffic. Near the end / bottom of Coley, I saw 72 year-old Dick doing his usual ride on Coley Rd (it was the first time I had seen Dick since we crossed paths a year earlier; Dick's usual routes are the same, but mine have changed somewhat). I continued on to the bottom / end of Coley at NC-98 and U-turned to ride the Coley upslope back to Carpenter Pond. Putzing along, I didn't catch Dick and his neighbor Jack until we were nearly to CP Rd.. We all three pulled over and chatted for 10 or 15 minutes. Dick is an interesting character, cycling-wise. He's ridden crits and long distances and tours in his time, still enjoys cycling, but these days he looks for routes devoid of traffic, and devoid of cycling groups that tend to fall off their bikes a lot. Eventually, Dick and Jack headed left on CP; I headed right.
Serendipity #3
I took CP to its end at Leesville Rd, the took Leesville for a long mile-and-a-half to Panoramic Dr. There, I nibbled on some food and took a good drink, then started back retracing my route on Leesville and Carpenter Pond roads.
I spotted the very large (about 20 or 25 riders) north Raleigh "Touring" group waiting at Doc Nichols Rd to turn on to Carpenter Pond. I decided to pull over 50 yards up the road, and either wait for them to pass me or so that I could tack on to their tail -- I'm not sure which -- even at the time I wasn't sure which. Exchanged "hello's" with their leader (one of the "other" MikeD's around town) and then fell in at the end of the group; I immediately found my non-Irregular, non-rando cycling friend JimW. Or rather, he found me. We hadn't seen each other for several months, and hadn't had a good chat in quite a while. I told Jim that I was quite SLOW as I had ridden 150 miles the day before; he told me that he was on only his third "road-bike" ride of the year since he had been mostly doing 20-mile rides around Bedford / Falls Village on his fixie. We could have easily maintained position sucking the last wheels of the "Touring" group, but they slipped away as we (primarily me) continued to putz along enjoying the morning and the conversation. We putzed / chatted away the entire 10 miles to PUE and a bit more toward BJP. Then ...
Serendipity #4
I saw a long-time friend, and told Jim to send me an e-mail if he wanted to ride, and U-turned to tear after local rando sensation LynnL. (I have known LynnL since LONG before she was a cyclist -- local readers will know -- non-locals: you're "out in the cold".) I had to work hard to catch her. I managed to convince her to ride over to Bayeaf Fire Station #2 to get some cold water -- she didn't get any additonal water as she claimed "I'm on my way home". I tried to show her a spot she probably didn't know about to get chilled city water at no cost -- but she is stubborn -- part of what makes her a strong randonneuse. We rode Norwood toward Six Forks; upon reaching Six Forks, she mentioned that she would need to add 3 or 4 miles to her trip home, because she wanted to get at least 80 miles on the morning. \:roll-eyes:\ We rode to about a half-mile past Bayleaf Ch and then U-turned, and took Six Forks all the way to Findley Y. There, we chatted about her knees and other issues that I will not blog about. Then she headed for home, and put my bike back into the CRV.
Conclusion
It was a joy to do 50 putz-about miles in the cool morning, interspersed with riding / chatting with four separate cycling friends -- probably none of those four know any of the others -- hmmn. I managed to get in a couple "hot intervals", loosened up the legs, and finished before noon.
I sent an e-mail to rando and route-owner MikeD for not doing the Showdown route after he had taken the time to prepare a card. I confident that he won't hold it against me -- at least, not too much.
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Jun-12:
Findley Y: putz-about; 51.2 m.; 3h,37m in-motion; 14.1 mph.
Q-1 tot: _23 rides; _1822.2 m.; 123 hrs, 05 min; 14.8 mph.
Apr tot: __7 rides; __793.8 m.; _52 hrs, 28 min; 15.1 mph.
May tot: _10 rides; __894.1 m.; _63 hrs, 45 min; 14.7 mph.
Jun tot: __6 rides; __398.4 m.; _26 hrs, 44 min; 14.9 mph.
YTD tot: _46 rides; _3908.5 m.; 264 hrs, 06 min; 14.9 mph.
_
JayJay was unable to ride with her usual "R-partner" on their usual first Saturday of the month. I offered to ride with her and do the Showdown at Black Creek Permanent. "Paperwork exchange" with route owner MikeD was accomplished; JayJay had chosen to start 45 minutes before me, and let me "chase" her.
I arrived at the start about 5 minutes before JayJay's scheduled start time. JayJay DNS -- Did Not Show(down).
I decided to check out the actual opening times of all the potential "open control" stores in the shopping center.
- McD's website claims that they open at 0530 seven days a week -- they lie; they opened at 0600. I walked completely around McD's twice looking for hours posted on or near one of the doors, or on the drive-thru thingy -- found no posted hours. Don't count on a receipt from McD's prior to 0600.
- Food Lion. Opens 0700, seven days a week.
- Forgot-the-name gas station / convenience store next to McD's. Looked like it was open prior to 0600. It wasn't. Posted hours indicated that it opens at 0600, seven days a week.
I got myself ready to ride. I got a receipt from McD's. I stood next to the bike, hands on the handlebars, bike leaning toward me, thinking of the heat I'd experienced the day before, thinking of the HEAT expected Sunday afternoon, thinking of the expected SW sirocco-breeze/wind I'd be riding in the afternoon, considered the lack of shade on most of the Black Creek route. My leg just would not "swing over".
I finally removed the front wheel and returned the bike to the back of the CRV. DNS -- Did Not Start.
Putz-about from Finley Y
That became the new plan. Drive over to Findley Y, and go for a putz-about using Carpenter Pond Rd as the "backbone" for the ride, with side-trips down-and-up Coley, and a side loop on DocNichols-KempRd, and whatever else caught my fancy.
Slow. But fun. Still cool on the well-shaded roads.
On Old Creedmoor / Carpenter Pond Rd, I saw horde from a particular "recovery ride" coming. I probably could have picked up my pace and stayed ahead of them -- I took the chance that they wouldn't fall off their bikes as the passed me nor that they would run into me. They actually passed me, in their double pace-line, looking reasonably safe. There must have been at least 30 of them. I decided to hook-on to the back of the line and let them pull me along until their course diverged from mine. Riding behind them, it was easy to see the accordion in full action. Although I enjoyed the free ride, I was not sad to see them turn off CP onto Kemp Rd. I stayed straight on CP -- headed for Coley.
Serendipity #1
A long quarter-mile before I got to Hickory Grove Rd, I saw Irregular Norris riding toward me, obviously with his wife Brin, and a third person I did not know. Although I was pretty sure that they were headed for home (and since I don't know where Norris and Brin live, it might have been only two or three miles back to their house), I decided to U-turn and ride with them for a bit. A couple passing cars delayed my U-turn, I was a short half-mile behind. I used the slight downslope to help me hit the "after-burners" and charged after them at 22-23 mph, then continued chasing by sweeping upslope on CP to Kemp Rd; I didn't catch Brin and then Norris until the second upslope on Victory Ch Rd (Kemp Rd becomes Vct Ch Rd at the county line). I tacked on to Norris; he introduced me to his neighbor; of course, I have forgotten the neighbor's name. Onto Norwood, then Macon ... and it seemed Norris hit the after-burners ... we had fallen well behind Brin and the neighbor as we chatted at my preferred SLOW pace for the day. At Ray Rd, I thanked Norris and Brin and neighbor for the ride and chat time as they turned left while I turned right.
Coley Rd
Ray, Norwood, Leesville, Hickory Grove, Carpenter Pond roads to Coley. Downslope, SMOOTH surface, no traffic. Near the end / bottom of Coley, I saw 72 year-old Dick doing his usual ride on Coley Rd (it was the first time I had seen Dick since we crossed paths a year earlier; Dick's usual routes are the same, but mine have changed somewhat). I continued on to the bottom / end of Coley at NC-98 and U-turned to ride the Coley upslope back to Carpenter Pond. Putzing along, I didn't catch Dick and his neighbor Jack until we were nearly to CP Rd.. We all three pulled over and chatted for 10 or 15 minutes. Dick is an interesting character, cycling-wise. He's ridden crits and long distances and tours in his time, still enjoys cycling, but these days he looks for routes devoid of traffic, and devoid of cycling groups that tend to fall off their bikes a lot. Eventually, Dick and Jack headed left on CP; I headed right.
Serendipity #3
I took CP to its end at Leesville Rd, the took Leesville for a long mile-and-a-half to Panoramic Dr. There, I nibbled on some food and took a good drink, then started back retracing my route on Leesville and Carpenter Pond roads.
I spotted the very large (about 20 or 25 riders) north Raleigh "Touring" group waiting at Doc Nichols Rd to turn on to Carpenter Pond. I decided to pull over 50 yards up the road, and either wait for them to pass me or so that I could tack on to their tail -- I'm not sure which -- even at the time I wasn't sure which. Exchanged "hello's" with their leader (one of the "other" MikeD's around town) and then fell in at the end of the group; I immediately found my non-Irregular, non-rando cycling friend JimW. Or rather, he found me. We hadn't seen each other for several months, and hadn't had a good chat in quite a while. I told Jim that I was quite SLOW as I had ridden 150 miles the day before; he told me that he was on only his third "road-bike" ride of the year since he had been mostly doing 20-mile rides around Bedford / Falls Village on his fixie. We could have easily maintained position sucking the last wheels of the "Touring" group, but they slipped away as we (primarily me) continued to putz along enjoying the morning and the conversation. We putzed / chatted away the entire 10 miles to PUE and a bit more toward BJP. Then ...
Serendipity #4
I saw a long-time friend, and told Jim to send me an e-mail if he wanted to ride, and U-turned to tear after local rando sensation LynnL. (I have known LynnL since LONG before she was a cyclist -- local readers will know -- non-locals: you're "out in the cold".) I had to work hard to catch her. I managed to convince her to ride over to Bayeaf Fire Station #2 to get some cold water -- she didn't get any additonal water as she claimed "I'm on my way home". I tried to show her a spot she probably didn't know about to get chilled city water at no cost -- but she is stubborn -- part of what makes her a strong randonneuse. We rode Norwood toward Six Forks; upon reaching Six Forks, she mentioned that she would need to add 3 or 4 miles to her trip home, because she wanted to get at least 80 miles on the morning. \:roll-eyes:\ We rode to about a half-mile past Bayleaf Ch and then U-turned, and took Six Forks all the way to Findley Y. There, we chatted about her knees and other issues that I will not blog about. Then she headed for home, and put my bike back into the CRV.
Conclusion
It was a joy to do 50 putz-about miles in the cool morning, interspersed with riding / chatting with four separate cycling friends -- probably none of those four know any of the others -- hmmn. I managed to get in a couple "hot intervals", loosened up the legs, and finished before noon.
I sent an e-mail to rando and route-owner MikeD for not doing the Showdown route after he had taken the time to prepare a card. I confident that he won't hold it against me -- at least, not too much.
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Jun-12:
Findley Y: putz-about; 51.2 m.; 3h,37m in-motion; 14.1 mph.
Q-1 tot: _23 rides; _1822.2 m.; 123 hrs, 05 min; 14.8 mph.
Apr tot: __7 rides; __793.8 m.; _52 hrs, 28 min; 15.1 mph.
May tot: _10 rides; __894.1 m.; _63 hrs, 45 min; 14.7 mph.
Jun tot: __6 rides; __398.4 m.; _26 hrs, 44 min; 14.9 mph.
YTD tot: _46 rides; _3908.5 m.; 264 hrs, 06 min; 14.9 mph.
_
Friday, November 13, 2020
Jul-18: In Which I Again Meet "Serendipity"
Wracking my gray matter for a title, I recalled several prior "Serendipity" blog posts, so ... a title.
I set out a little after 8 am to do the 40-mile "TT" course I'd been riding.
Either that, I would add side-trip down and up Coley Rd, and possibly more.
Two Coley side-trips would make a 55-mile ride.
Essentially the same course as on July 9th, but without the two visits to Blue Jay Point County Park.
The opening mile on the usual sidewalks,
Then down Honeycutt Rd to the stop-sign at Durant.
Left onto Durant, approx 1.45-miles to Brassfield Rd.
Right onto Brassfield and a fairly quick left onto Coachman's Way.
Coachman's is a winding, down-and-up, rinse-repeat, shaded "main" road thru an established neighborhood.
A pleasant ride in and of itself.
Or possibly a chore at the end of a ride as the short but steep inclines can feel tough.
Anyway, a peaceful way, with a couple connectors, to Norwood Rd.
A now retired from cycling acquaintance once told me that "they" used to refer to
One of the climbs on Norwood Rd as "Cow Mountain."
The farmhouse of what was once a large cow/milk farm is still there.
I know (perhaps should type "I've met") the people that live in that farmhouse.
The wife is the daughter of the last man to run the dairy farm on those pastures.
Those pastures are now just a collection of faux mansion housing developments,
With an interesting passage of the creek at the bottom.
[Lots of description above. Maybe one day I'll snap some photos.]
Right turn at the stop-light at Mt Vernon Ch Rd,
Drift downslope to near Pleasant Union Elementary,
But follow MVC to the left before reaching PUE (in order to follow the "TT" course).
MVC drops 120+ feet in 0.7-miles, and then climbs back up to stop-light at NC-50.
Cross NC-50 and it is another mile till MVC "T's" into Old Creedmoor Rd.
Left onto Old Creedmoor, which becomes Carpenter Pond Rd in Durham County.
Old Creedmoor / Carpenter Pond is not flat, but not hilly -- a good ride except during rush hours.
I decided to ride down-and-back-up Coley Rd -- 3.65-miles each way.
There are some places worth photographing on Coley Rd;
There are some snaps of some of those places in previous blog posts, but
I took no new ones on this day.
Upon reaching the top of Coley Rd, i.e., the corner with Carpenter Pond Rd,
I had ridden 16.1-miles in 1:12 time-in-motion (avg 13.3-mph).
I was looking forward to the false flat decline of the rest of Carpenter Pond,
Followed by the false flat decline of Leesville Rd, and
Then the 1.9-mile drop on Doc Nichols Rd.
 |
| I started my ride at 0819 -- the time-stamp on this photo is 0931. Therefore, this is the pond at the corner of Carpenter Pond and Coley roads. I took this photo just before doing the down-and-back-up on Coley. And as such, I should have inserted this photo before the text regarding riding the 7.3-miles on Coley. |
 |
| The time-stamp on this photo is 1002. That suggest I took this on Coley just before returning to Carpenter Pond Rd. So, again, this should have been inserted in the text earlier than it is. And I should have mentioned this turtle rescue to Lynn -- maybe I did -- maybe she had done several turtle rescues before our paths crossed -- but once my attention was drawn to the click-click-click coming from her bike, turtle rescues were driven from my thoughts. |
However, after only nine-tenths of a mile, just after turning onto Leesville Rd,
There came riding toward me a woman.
I should note there had already been quite a few single riders, two-somes and maybe three-somes,
None of whom did I recognize.
Back to the solo woman riding toward me.
It seems quite strange, but at first I did not recognize the woman.
Then I thought, "hmmn, that 'jersey' looks exactly like one of Lynn's."
Then, "oh, that is Lynn."
I decided to turn around and ride with her for a bit -- if she would allow it.
I had ridden a total of 17.0-miles in 1:15 time in-motion (avg 13.5-mph).
I.e., I had covered the last 0.9-miles in 3-minutes (avg ~ 17.8-mph).
Lynn, sometimes referred to as "Serendipity," realized I was coming, and slowed to wait for me.
Turned out she had an ulterior motive: there was an annoying clicking coming from her machine.
I dropped in behind her to listen and look, hoping I might figure out the source of the clicking.
Lynn led the way onto Coley, and we pulled over so I could carefully look over her drive train.
I attempted to fiddle with the rear derailleur and cables, and we got back underway.
No impact on the clicking.
Down and back up Coley, chatting or expressing mutual annoyance regarding the clicking.
We stopped again just before reaching the top of Coley (just before Carpenter Pond).
Again fiddle with the drive train, and checked for loose spokes and what-not.
No impact on the clicking.
I decided to follow Lynn back toward "home."
She turned onto the flat Harrington Grove Rd -- flat, but it does have the high elevation of the ride(s).
Then the bike lane on Leesville Rd toward I-540, but
Left onto Farless / Norwood Rd before reaching the interstate.
Norwood for a mile or so, then right onto Ray Rd.
Ray Rd drops down and then climbs back up to Strickland Rd.
That climb can be tough, esp. if riding it near the end of a Triple-L 205-km Perm ride.
Lynn soared up that climb -- I struggled up.
Left onto Strickland for 100 yards or so, then another left onto Baileywick Rd.
Baileywick "parallels" Strickland, but
Whereas Strickland is more-or-less flat or flattish,
Baileywick drops 150 feet or more, crosses NC-50, and then climbs back up.
Of course Lynn soared up that Baileywick climb.
I "crawled" up, eventually losing track of Lynn.
So ... I rode through the shopping center at the top of the climb, and
Then ended up waiting / broiling in the blazing sun and heat,
Waiting to make the turn from Six Forks Rd onto Strickland for the final 1.1-mile decline to my place.
I admit I was kinda' cursing Lynn for her routing to get "home."
Shorter than my routing would have been.
One less climb.
But two of my climbs would have been shaded.
And there would have been NO WAITING in the broiling sun and heat.
At the time of the ride, after I posted something to Facebook,
An acquaintance commented to the effect "the price we pay for the ride partners we choose."
Total 36.5-miles, 2:26 time in-motion (avg 14.9-mph).
Therefore, the last 19.5-miles were 1:11 time in-motion (avg 16.4-mph).
Since Lynn waited or rode tiny circles in two or three places waiting for me,
She clearly averaged faster than I did for those last ~ 20-miles.
She still thinks she is slow (resulting from being bashed into in February-2016),
She still complains that "everyone passes her."
I think this 20-miles proves that her speed has increased increased significantly in recent years.
If only I could convince her.
-----------------------------
Epilogue:
It took Lynn two trips to local rando Byron to find and fix the clicking sound.
Locals understand Byron's skills as many of us have benefited from his help during brevets.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Aug-15: A Play in 3 Acts
Aug-15:
PUE: Act 1: short lake loop; w/ Ba-room!; 32.60 miles; est 1554 ft climbed; 2hrs, 5min; 15.7 mph avg pace;
- - - - Act 2: Rolling View boat launch; w/ serendipity Bill; 33.64 m.; est 1344 ft climbed; 2hrs, 1min; 16.7 mph;
- - - - - Act 3: BJP-Coley-L'ville U-ShadyGr; 34.97 m.; est 1160 ft climbed; 2hrs, 9min; 16.1 mph;
- - - - - - Total Ride: 101.2 miles; est 4058 ft climbed ---> effort index = 141; 6hrs, 16min; 16.1 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: 5 rides; 378.7 m.; 23 hrs, 45 min; 15.9 mph
YTD: 84 rides; 3990.5. m.; 251 hrs, 19 min; 15.9 mph.
Rolling 12-mos.: 118 rides; 5691.5 m.; 355 hrs, 18 min; 16.0 mph.
Just the facts, ma'am. Oh, I decided to categorize this as "group ride not-Irregulars" ride; because nearly 2/3 the ride was with someone, and because more distance was with a non-Irregular than with an Irregular.
Thanx to Ba-room! for the company and proper pacing during Act 1.
Thanks to serendipity Bill for pulling me through all of Act 2.
No thanks to the wind which was really playing up during all of Act 3.
PUE: Act 1: short lake loop; w/ Ba-room!; 32.60 miles; est 1554 ft climbed; 2hrs, 5min; 15.7 mph avg pace;
- - - - Act 2: Rolling View boat launch; w/ serendipity Bill; 33.64 m.; est 1344 ft climbed; 2hrs, 1min; 16.7 mph;
- - - - - Act 3: BJP-Coley-L'ville U-ShadyGr; 34.97 m.; est 1160 ft climbed; 2hrs, 9min; 16.1 mph;
- - - - - - Total Ride: 101.2 miles; est 4058 ft climbed ---> effort index = 141; 6hrs, 16min; 16.1 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: 5 rides; 378.7 m.; 23 hrs, 45 min; 15.9 mph
YTD: 84 rides; 3990.5. m.; 251 hrs, 19 min; 15.9 mph.
Rolling 12-mos.: 118 rides; 5691.5 m.; 355 hrs, 18 min; 16.0 mph.
Just the facts, ma'am. Oh, I decided to categorize this as "group ride not-Irregulars" ride; because nearly 2/3 the ride was with someone, and because more distance was with a non-Irregular than with an Irregular.
Thanx to Ba-room! for the company and proper pacing during Act 1.
Thanks to serendipity Bill for pulling me through all of Act 2.
No thanks to the wind which was really playing up during all of Act 3.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Sep-6: BR #1 to US-158 'n back
Sep-6:
PUE: BR #1 to US-158 'n back -- w/ "bonus" miles because I missed the turn @ Grissom; w/ "serendipity" Nancy, i.e., Becky's neighbor; 64.1 m.; est 2599 ft ---> effort = 90; 3hrs, 56min; 16.3 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: 11 rides; 709.7 m.; 45 hrs, 0 min; 15.8 mph.
Sep tot: 2 ride; 131.1 m.; 8hrs, 14 min; 16.0 mph.
YTD: 92 rides; 4453.2 m.; 280 hrs, 50 min; 15.9 mph.
Rolling 12-mos.: 119 rides; 5761.4 m.; 360 hrs, 37 min; 16.0 mph.
Lynn had told me that two "Y groups" were leaving from PUE @ 7:00. One was doing 100 miles @ a "Lynn pace"; the other 50 or 60 @ an unknown pace. The 60 mile group turned out to be 3 women.
I managed to ingratiate myself by pointing out to both groups that the intended turn off NC-96 on Philo White Rd would put them on top of the recent "chip", i.e., "gravel". The work-around? Just stay on NC-96 (BR #1) all the way to Cannady Mill Rd.
One woman in the 60-mile group, Nancy, aka, "Becky's neighbor" regarding whom Becky had asked me the day before "Do you know Nancy Last-name?" "Nope." Well, as of today, the answer would be "Yep".
The other two women in the 60-mile group were faster climbers and just all-around faster than Nancy, or me. Nancy "let" the other two "go" on the climb from Falls Lake up to Purnell Rd when she realized they were too fast for her. When I caught up to Nancy, I asked "Have the climbers left us behind?" "Yep."
So, I took the lead pulling Nancy along as we started conversing regarding a number of subjects. Paying more attention to the conversation than where we were, I didn't realize that we'd missed the turn onto Lawrence Rd @ Grissom until we were passing the store at Mays Store Rd. Oops. Bouns miles. About 3.1 bonus miles. We reversed to Wayside Farm Rd to NC-96 and at the Brassfield / Horseshoe Rd intersection, where NC-96 took a 90 degree right hand turn, we were back on course.
Nice ride outbound. Into the slowly awakening breeze, which then built itself all the way to a wind. 15.6 mph when we got to US-158.
The turn-around helped our average pace considerably, and we were soon clicking miles off, often at speeds of 18, 19, or even 20 mph.
Climbing back up from the Tar River took something out of our avg pace, as did climbing back up from the creek on Lawrence Rd. Even so, when we passed Ghoston Rd (we finished New Light / Six Forks as that was the original route of the "Y group"), the avg pace was 16.4 mph. We had avg'd 17.6 mph from US-158 to New Light / Ghoston.
Both Nancy and I had good rides. I had gotten in the distance & effort & pace I had hoped for. I think having Nancy there with the conversation and just being there to help keep me focused had kept me pedaling. Nancy set a distance PR (per previous distance PR was 48 miles). Nancy is training for the Beach to Battleship Half Iron. Good luck to her. Good luck also to Becky from yesterday; Becky is also training for Beach to Battleship.
PUE: BR #1 to US-158 'n back -- w/ "bonus" miles because I missed the turn @ Grissom; w/ "serendipity" Nancy, i.e., Becky's neighbor; 64.1 m.; est 2599 ft ---> effort = 90; 3hrs, 56min; 16.3 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: 11 rides; 709.7 m.; 45 hrs, 0 min; 15.8 mph.
Sep tot: 2 ride; 131.1 m.; 8hrs, 14 min; 16.0 mph.
YTD: 92 rides; 4453.2 m.; 280 hrs, 50 min; 15.9 mph.
Rolling 12-mos.: 119 rides; 5761.4 m.; 360 hrs, 37 min; 16.0 mph.
Lynn had told me that two "Y groups" were leaving from PUE @ 7:00. One was doing 100 miles @ a "Lynn pace"; the other 50 or 60 @ an unknown pace. The 60 mile group turned out to be 3 women.
I managed to ingratiate myself by pointing out to both groups that the intended turn off NC-96 on Philo White Rd would put them on top of the recent "chip", i.e., "gravel". The work-around? Just stay on NC-96 (BR #1) all the way to Cannady Mill Rd.
One woman in the 60-mile group, Nancy, aka, "Becky's neighbor" regarding whom Becky had asked me the day before "Do you know Nancy Last-name?" "Nope." Well, as of today, the answer would be "Yep".
The other two women in the 60-mile group were faster climbers and just all-around faster than Nancy, or me. Nancy "let" the other two "go" on the climb from Falls Lake up to Purnell Rd when she realized they were too fast for her. When I caught up to Nancy, I asked "Have the climbers left us behind?" "Yep."
So, I took the lead pulling Nancy along as we started conversing regarding a number of subjects. Paying more attention to the conversation than where we were, I didn't realize that we'd missed the turn onto Lawrence Rd @ Grissom until we were passing the store at Mays Store Rd. Oops. Bouns miles. About 3.1 bonus miles. We reversed to Wayside Farm Rd to NC-96 and at the Brassfield / Horseshoe Rd intersection, where NC-96 took a 90 degree right hand turn, we were back on course.
Nice ride outbound. Into the slowly awakening breeze, which then built itself all the way to a wind. 15.6 mph when we got to US-158.
The turn-around helped our average pace considerably, and we were soon clicking miles off, often at speeds of 18, 19, or even 20 mph.
Climbing back up from the Tar River took something out of our avg pace, as did climbing back up from the creek on Lawrence Rd. Even so, when we passed Ghoston Rd (we finished New Light / Six Forks as that was the original route of the "Y group"), the avg pace was 16.4 mph. We had avg'd 17.6 mph from US-158 to New Light / Ghoston.
Both Nancy and I had good rides. I had gotten in the distance & effort & pace I had hoped for. I think having Nancy there with the conversation and just being there to help keep me focused had kept me pedaling. Nancy set a distance PR (per previous distance PR was 48 miles). Nancy is training for the Beach to Battleship Half Iron. Good luck to her. Good luck also to Becky from yesterday; Becky is also training for Beach to Battleship.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Apr-25: It's still my solo Saturday ride
Apr-25:
PUE: lake loop + Coley + Redwood + Northside + Strawberry + Dove + BeaverDam/RockSprings + a bit; 62.2 m.; est 2835 ft climbed --> effort index = 90; 3hrs, 58min; 15.6 mph avg pace.
1st Qt. tot: 20 rides; 755.3 m.; 47 hrs, 31 min; 15.9 mph.
Apr tot: 12 rides; 603.4 m.; 38 hrs, 55 min; 15.5 mph.
YTD: 32 rides; 1358.7 m.; 86 hrs, 26 min; 15.7 mph.
No one showed for the 7:00 am ride, so I left solo @ 7:02. To vary things a bit, I started across Norwood instead of the usual MVC "fall"; I intended to turn onto Victory Church Rd, but I had to wait so long for the light at Creedmoor Rd, that a serendipity rider appeared and I rode with him (John ?) all the way to Leesville Rd and then Hickory Grove and down and up Coley. It was nice to have someone to chat with. And that start, with the diversion onto Coley, set the plan for the ride.
I decided to do the "standard" lake loop, but with all the small extra loops I know.
Thursday, I pedalled the bike. Hard.
Today, I let the bike do the pedalling and let my feet have a free ride just making circles riding on top of the pedals. Nice way to do a "recovery" ride.
I forgot to take my pulse at the end of the ride. But I am willing to bet that it was no where near the 122 bpm that it was 5 minutes after the end of Thursday's ride.
PUE: lake loop + Coley + Redwood + Northside + Strawberry + Dove + BeaverDam/RockSprings + a bit; 62.2 m.; est 2835 ft climbed --> effort index = 90; 3hrs, 58min; 15.6 mph avg pace.
1st Qt. tot: 20 rides; 755.3 m.; 47 hrs, 31 min; 15.9 mph.
Apr tot: 12 rides; 603.4 m.; 38 hrs, 55 min; 15.5 mph.
YTD: 32 rides; 1358.7 m.; 86 hrs, 26 min; 15.7 mph.
No one showed for the 7:00 am ride, so I left solo @ 7:02. To vary things a bit, I started across Norwood instead of the usual MVC "fall"; I intended to turn onto Victory Church Rd, but I had to wait so long for the light at Creedmoor Rd, that a serendipity rider appeared and I rode with him (John ?) all the way to Leesville Rd and then Hickory Grove and down and up Coley. It was nice to have someone to chat with. And that start, with the diversion onto Coley, set the plan for the ride.
I decided to do the "standard" lake loop, but with all the small extra loops I know.
- Coley + 7.3 miles.
- Redwood + 2.2 miles.
- Northside + 1.7 miles.
- Strawberry Fields Forever + 1.6 miles.
- Creedmoor-Dove + ~ 2.9 miles because I used the recently discovered shortcut which means I did not go ALL the way up into Creedmoor (I'm calling the shorcut loop "Dove".)
- Beaver Dam +5.9 miles.
Thursday, I pedalled the bike. Hard.
Today, I let the bike do the pedalling and let my feet have a free ride just making circles riding on top of the pedals. Nice way to do a "recovery" ride.
I forgot to take my pulse at the end of the ride. But I am willing to bet that it was no where near the 122 bpm that it was 5 minutes after the end of Thursday's ride.
Monday, April 15, 2019
August-2018: Fun on Some Pops
My first ride of August 2018 was the worker's pre-ride of the RUSA Birthday Brevet + Picnic observation. I managed to get through that ride with the help, really the PATIENCE of rando buddy BobB #5843.
The remainder of August, I did several perm-pop rides, and also volunteered at the RUSA Birthday Brevets + Picnic. The rides of August were enjoyable; but I can recall little in the way of details; I probably couldn't have told another much in the way of details if I had spoken with someone the day after each ride. I guess one could assume that I did each ride "in the moment," enjoying each ride as it came. Not a bad way to do some bicycling about: "enjoy the moment," "enjoy the ride."
During the summer of 2018, I did quite a few "Raleigh - Berea - Raleigh" 109-km perm-pops. Most of them I started at 0430, 0500, 0530, or thereabouts. That meant at least an hour of riding in darkness. However, in the middle of the summer, the time in darkness was not quite an hour, which proved nice -- not so much because riding in daylight is better (which it probably is), but because the summer early daylight allowed me to watch the gradual construction of a couple houses / homes on Dove Rd. I could also see the houses / homes on the return legs (which were obviously always in daylight), but the dynamics of the terrain meant it was much easier to glance over at the houses-under-construction outbound while going up slight inclines than it was to look over those houses when rocketing down the return declines. That's my opinion, and I'll be sticking to it.
On a couple of the August perm-pops, I serendipitiously crossed paths with the same friend, and rode at least some together. On the August 12th "Bay Leaf - Oxford - Bay Leaf" 104-km ride, with pedaling along chatting with serendipity, Paul "the Mallet" caught up to us, and then slowed for a few minutes to chat, before he powered off with the intent of completing his 100-mile training ride before noon. I recall Paul mentioning that the 100-miler was his long-ride training for the upcoming August 18th Brevet.
The other perm-pop I did in August 2018 was the "Bahama Beach" 103-km 'free-route.' My first ever route, and one that has been quite popular over the years. Partially because, for quite a while, it was the only north of Raleigh perm-pop. Partially because there were several active RUSA members pursuing K-Hound awards that liked the route. Partially because "Bahama Beach" is a good half-day hill training exercise. And finally, partially because it is a nice ride.
Anyway, the only thing I recall from the August 22nd "Bahama Beach" ride is that IvaHawk #7702 expressed the desire to do the standard route instead of "winging-it" on one of the popular variants. IvaHawk wanted to keep the ride a bit shorter than any variant versions would have been, and the standard route has less climbing than the variant we would have done.
The above outlines the memories I do have of my August 2018 perm-pops. Other than I enjoyed my rides, that is. Although I recall next to nothing, the rides are noted in my Excel log (with almost no annotation) and of course the rides are recorded on the RUSA website: two rides on my "Oxford" route, one ride on my "Bahama Beach" route, and two rides on "Lynn's" "RBR" route.
August was an enjoyable month -- well, at least the perm-pops were enjoyable.
Did I mention that before?
The remainder of August, I did several perm-pop rides, and also volunteered at the RUSA Birthday Brevets + Picnic. The rides of August were enjoyable; but I can recall little in the way of details; I probably couldn't have told another much in the way of details if I had spoken with someone the day after each ride. I guess one could assume that I did each ride "in the moment," enjoying each ride as it came. Not a bad way to do some bicycling about: "enjoy the moment," "enjoy the ride."
During the summer of 2018, I did quite a few "Raleigh - Berea - Raleigh" 109-km perm-pops. Most of them I started at 0430, 0500, 0530, or thereabouts. That meant at least an hour of riding in darkness. However, in the middle of the summer, the time in darkness was not quite an hour, which proved nice -- not so much because riding in daylight is better (which it probably is), but because the summer early daylight allowed me to watch the gradual construction of a couple houses / homes on Dove Rd. I could also see the houses / homes on the return legs (which were obviously always in daylight), but the dynamics of the terrain meant it was much easier to glance over at the houses-under-construction outbound while going up slight inclines than it was to look over those houses when rocketing down the return declines. That's my opinion, and I'll be sticking to it.
On a couple of the August perm-pops, I serendipitiously crossed paths with the same friend, and rode at least some together. On the August 12th "Bay Leaf - Oxford - Bay Leaf" 104-km ride, with pedaling along chatting with serendipity, Paul "the Mallet" caught up to us, and then slowed for a few minutes to chat, before he powered off with the intent of completing his 100-mile training ride before noon. I recall Paul mentioning that the 100-miler was his long-ride training for the upcoming August 18th Brevet.
The other perm-pop I did in August 2018 was the "Bahama Beach" 103-km 'free-route.' My first ever route, and one that has been quite popular over the years. Partially because, for quite a while, it was the only north of Raleigh perm-pop. Partially because there were several active RUSA members pursuing K-Hound awards that liked the route. Partially because "Bahama Beach" is a good half-day hill training exercise. And finally, partially because it is a nice ride.
Anyway, the only thing I recall from the August 22nd "Bahama Beach" ride is that IvaHawk #7702 expressed the desire to do the standard route instead of "winging-it" on one of the popular variants. IvaHawk wanted to keep the ride a bit shorter than any variant versions would have been, and the standard route has less climbing than the variant we would have done.
The above outlines the memories I do have of my August 2018 perm-pops. Other than I enjoyed my rides, that is. Although I recall next to nothing, the rides are noted in my Excel log (with almost no annotation) and of course the rides are recorded on the RUSA website: two rides on my "Oxford" route, one ride on my "Bahama Beach" route, and two rides on "Lynn's" "RBR" route.
| RUSA-T83518 | RUSAT | 104 | 2018/08/12 | NC: Bay Leaf - Oxford - Bay Leaf | 04:40 | ||
| RUSA-T83590 | RUSAT | 109 | 2018/08/17 | NC: Raleigh - Berea - Raleigh | 04:57 | ||
| RUSA-T83694 | RUSAT | 103 | 2018/08/22 | NC: Bahama Beach | 05:13 | ||
| RUSA-T83736 | RUSAT | 109 | 2018/08/25 | NC: Raleigh - Berea - Raleigh | 05:06 | ||
| RUSA-T83779 | RUSAT | 104 | 2018/08/26 | NC: Bay Leaf - Oxford - Bay Leaf | 04:38 |
August was an enjoyable month -- well, at least the perm-pops were enjoyable.
Did I mention that before?
Wednesday, November 4, 2020
Jul-09: 64+ for 64
Once a year, July 9th rolls around.
It was 10.5-miles from my start to the water fountain.
I usually try to get in a ride on the 9th, but
I don't always succeed.
My "cycling lifetime" is rather short,
The "lifetime" for which I have records is a bit shorter, as it dates back to only 2004.
With luck, the following chart extracted from my Excel records will be readable.
The chart shows what I've recorded for each July 9th beginning in 2004.
| 2020 | Jul | 9 | -> H'cutt-Norwood-BJP-"old'TT'course+2xColey-BJP-N'wd-Durant-H'cutt | 1105, solo -- 80-90 F -- 5h28 | 64.9 |
| 2019 | |||||
| 2018 | Jul | 9 | Raleigh - Berea - Raleigh (RBR) 109 | 0500, solo -- 4h54 -- temp 60F@ start, chilly | 67.8 |
| 2017 | Jul | 9 | Bahama Beach 103 (3-Hayes, 65.9-m) -- 61st birthday ride | 0600, solo -- 4h45 | 65.9 |
| 2016 | Jul | 9 | PUE: Irregulars Falls Lake Loop | w/ Ags, Iva, BobH -- elapsed 2h44 | 38.4 |
| 2015 | Jul | 9 | --> Oxford 104 --> | w/ LL (until Lawrence Rd inbound) -- Oxford 4h21 | 77.0 |
| 2014 | Jul | 9 | --> Oxford 104 --> | 6 am start, Oxford 4h14 | 77.0 |
| 2013 | |||||
| 2012 | |||||
| 2011 | Jul | 9 | --> PUE: Long AFR --> Char Grill --> | w/ Smitty, Mallet + G + W, Doug + Karen, Kim | 71.2 |
| 2010 | Jul | 9 | BJP: Coley-(DocN-Bap-view-Virgil)-(DocN-Kemp-Virgil)- 2/3 of Coley | 54.1 | |
| 2009 | Jul | 9 | BJP: Coley-DocN-Kemp-Virgil | northish breeze | 37.1 |
| 2008 | |||||
| 2007 | |||||
| 2006 | Jul | 9 | home: Crdmr, Stem, Hester Rd, Wilton, Old Frnk, Evans, Pokomoke | coxis pain from < 30 m to 48 m | 68.3 |
| 2005 | Jul | 9 | PUE: Falls Lake Loop | 41.2 | |
| 2004 |
[Okay, the above chart was readable when drafting / typing this post, but
is decidedly not readable once published.]
If I blogged a ride in the above chart, there is a link to that blog report.
Note that the blog was begun in 2009.
[There was a time when I blogged every ride -- within hours or days of the ride.But then "Serendipity" indicated strongly "leave me out of your blog."And another indicated that they were afraid to say anything lest that make into the blog.On that immediately above, I can keep a secret.Regardless, I've typically not blogged certain rides because of "them peoples."]
[Blogger has certainly made some/many of the edit functions more difficult. And these are supposedly improvements.]
=================================
This July 9th, I didn't get around to riding until 11:05 am.
Was I waiting for the heat to set in?
That would have been stupid.
So there must have been some other reason for the late start.
A reason that is not being revealed here.
The plan was to ride the downslope on Honeycutt Rd and turn left on Durant Rd.
Then take Durant to Brassfield Rd and then use Coachman's Way, etc. thru the neighborhood.
However, when I got to the Durant intersection,
there were a couple cars behind me that were signalling that they were turning onto Durant, and
there were two or three cars on Durant at the stop-sign ready to proceed my direction on Durant, and
there was another brace of cars on Durant heading the opposite direction.
But there was only one car on Honeycutt facing me.
So, I decided to continue straight on Honeycutt with apparently less traffic.
Durant is smoother and wider than Honeycutt, and has the 1.4-mile long incline
Whereas Honeycutt has two or three climbs, each shorter than the one on Durant, but significantly steeper.
But the thing that threw the balance to riding Honeycutt was the prospect of less car traffic.
In case you're curious: there was only a couple cars that passed me on the 3 addtnl miles of Honeycutt.
Honeycutt T's into Possum Track Rd a half-mile from where the neighborhood route
Crosses Six Forks Rd to get onto Norwood Rd proper.
And making that left onto Possum Track, a straight quarter mile later, one is on Six Forks Rd.
Distance until getting onto Norwood Rd proper is the same for the two options.
Down and up on Norwood to Mt Vernon Church Rd to (near) Pleasant Union Elementary (PUE),
Then straight onto the "flat" couple miles of Pleasant Union Ch Rd to Blue Jay Point County Park.
Blue Jay Point County Park is the traditional start/finish of my old "TT/cadence" route.
I snapped a pic of the water fountain at BJP to provide proof that the fountain was operating.
It was 10.5-miles from my start to the water fountain.
That allowed me to confirm my pre-ride calculations:
- 10.5-miles to BJP, plus
- 29.6-miles of the "TT/cadence" course, plus
- 7.3-miles, twice down and up Coley Rd -- once outbound, once inbound, plus
- 10.5 miles from BJP back to the start/finish location.
- That would give me just over 65-miles for the entire ride, and that would suffice.
I noted that I covered the 10.5-miles to the water fountain in 45-minutes in-motion.
Four climbs in that 10.5-miles had reduced my avg pace to only 13.8-mph.
[Well ... the first mile had been on sidewalks, where the avg pace had only been ~ 11-mph.
So, I had likely avg'd approx 14.2-mph after that "sidewalk mile."]
Following the "TT" course, I retraced the 2.5-miles to get back to PUE and Mt Vernon Ch Rd.
MVC is a short mile down, followed by some steep up and then a more gentle(?) incline to NC-50.
[My friend "Snapper" used to complain about that when Irregulars rides started from PUE.]
After crossing NC-50, the "TT/cadence" route is flat-tish for 8-miles until Doc Nichols Rd.
["Flat-tish" -- ha! I grew up in a true FLAT-land, would have thought it wasn't flat-tish back then.]
However, that 8-miles was interrupted after 5+ miles for the side-trip down and up on Coley.
On this ride, that meant turning onto Coley Rd after riding 20.2-total-miles in 1h27 in-motion:
Avg pace to that point therefore 13.9-mph (and the 9.7-miles from BJP avg'ing that pace).
It took half-an-hour for me to ride the 7.3-mile round-trip on Coley.
That suggests and avg pace of 14.6-mph for that segment, and
The avg pace for the total 27.5-miles to that point was 14.1-mph.
[You might be thinking that this report is all about the distances and avg pace of the ride.
Well, that is the case.
Because that is what I was paying attention to during the ride.
That is, I was trying to push my pace a bit to get in better habit of going a little harder/faster.]
On the "TT/cadence" course, it is right at 10-miles from Coley to get back to Coley Rd.
That 10-miles includes:
- The false-flat slight decline on Leesville Rd, then
- The fun downslope 1.9-miles on Doc Nichols (in 6-minutes or slightly less), then
- A one-mile gentle incline on Olive Branch Rd -- gentle(?) -- sometimes not so gentle, then
- Half-a-mile flat section on NC-98, followed by
- 1.3-miles of Kemp down and UP (the UP being 100 ft in one-half mile), then
- 2.3-miles on the incline which is Virgil Rd, and finally
- The flat half-mile to get back to Coley Rd.
- Hmmn, I think of that 10-miles as having only 3 or 4 turns, but
- It is actually 6 turns.
Depending on one's abilities and in-shapeness,
That 10-miles can be an opportunity to improve one's avg pace, or
To lose it completely.
When I got back to Coley Rd, my cycle confuser indicated 37.6-miles with 2h40 in-motion.
I.e., it had taken 43-minutes to cover those 10.1-miles -- an avg pace of 13.9-mph.
The second time down Coley was as enjoyable as the first time.
However, on the return, at about 42-total-miles into the ride,
I realized that the heat, etc. had gotten to me, and
The last 22 or 23 miles were going to be a slog.
I didn't keep track of any further intermediate mileages / time in-motion.
I did complete the "TT" course, returning to the water fountain at BJP.
Knowing I could refill my 2 bottles at the fountain, I consumed most of my remaining water, but
I did pour the last few ounces onto my head and neck once I got to the fountain.
I refilled both bottles, but only after pouring some additional water on my head, neck, and shoulders.
The water from the fountain wasn't the best tasting water I have ever experienced.
It wasn't very chilly water, either.
But it was cooler than the air temperature, which was roughly 90F by then, and
The water was wet.
Cooler than the air temp and wet -- those were all I needed to complete the ride.
Retracing, again, across Pleasant Union Ch Rd to Norwood Rd, then
Down and up to get to the intersection with Six Forks Rd.
The eastbound climb on Norwood is longer but not as steep as the westbound climb.
My plan on reaching the stop-sign at Six Forks Rd was to cross over and
Ride through the Coachman's Way neighborhood, which would be nicely shaded all the way.
However, the traffic on 6-Forks was ping-ponging me.
Car from the left -- car from the right -- car(s) from the left -- car(s) from the right.
Rinse, repeat.
Finally, although there was traffic coming from the right, there were no vehicles coming from the left,
So I modified my planned route and turned right onto Six Forks Rd.
That would give me a long mile-and-half on Six Forks to get to Durant Rd.
Then Durant would be about 2 miles of gentle decline to the stop-sign at Honeycutt.
[Sometimes, to keep to the "one-line" per sentence or clause,To maintain the "verbose Haiku," I have to replace words or phrase with less elegant choices.]
Honeycutt would be one-mile of non-trivial upslope mostly without shade, then flat, and
Then the mile on the sidewalks.
Somewhere during the last few miles, I decided to stop by TLC-for-Bikes
To tell Gary that I expected him to get in his 64-mile ride ten days after I got in mine.
I did manage to do that although the shop was CROWDED with customers and bikes.
As I left the bike shop, I ended up in conversation with someone a couple years older than me.
He was originally from Edinburgh, Scotland, but had lived in the U.S. for 20 or more years.
We chatted about bikes and riding them and also about soccer.
I mentioned that I had had no interest at all in soccer until the amazing result from the
Leicester City club when it won the 2015-16 Premier League title after 5000-1 odds.
I forget the gentleman's name (maybe we never exchanged names), but
I was surprised when he indicated that his club was Liverpool.
I was expecting either Celtic or Rangers.
Maybe Liverpool is his English PL club, and he also supports a Scotland PL club?
My cycle confuser indicated 63.97-miles when I got the bike shop.
So when the above-mentioned fellow asked about my prospects of getting to 64-miles on the day,
I told him that I only had a flat one-mile on mostly sidewalks to ride, and
I was already at 63.97-miles, so I figured I would easily make at least 64-miles.
The fellow agreed.
Upon reaching the end of my ride, my cycle confuser showed 64.9-miles, with
A total in-motion time of 4h49.
That means I covered the 27.3-miles since the beginning of the second Coley loop
(the final 22 or so miles which were a slog)
In 2h09, for and avg pace of 12.6-mph.
Final / total stats on the day: 64.9miles, 4:49 in-motion, 13.5-mph avg pace.
A very lame story, but one that I'll be sticking with.
Monday, July 3, 2017
NC Mondial Awardees
Several days after my Memorial Day rescue of my (recently restarted) R-series, I realized that the kilometers credited for that ride put me over 50-thousand credited kilometers for all RUSA events. Although 50-thousand is 10-thousand more than the Mondial, surpassing 50K-kms got me to thinking about the entire North Carolina Mondial Awardee peloton.
I don't have much to type, except maybe a comment or two for some of the 16 North Carolina residents plus the 3 Tidewater randonneurs. [Tidewater RBA Keith used to do almost all his brevet riding at the Raleigh Region brevets, before he created the Tidewater Region. Ron has done a fair number of Raleigh brevets; even Jacob, too. Additionally, as I understand it, many of the Tidewater area Permanents have more distance in North Carolina than they do in Virginia, so most of the Tidewater randonneurs are likely spending more time in North Carolina than in Virginia on many or most of their rides.]
First North Carolinian to Mondial? Mike Dayton, of course, late in 2010. Certainly every NC rando, perhaps most RUSA randos wherever they live, and many randonneurs from around the globe know Mike. So many firsts in NC rando history. Although I personally have not seen Mike on the bike since Feb-20-2016, I know that he has done some "get back in the saddle" rides, some rando rides (perm-pops), and that he has registered for a local, large, non-rando ride in mid-August.
Dean and Jerry attained Mondial status in 2012. Joel and Rex in 2013. Dean was tackled by a dog in late 2015, which resulted in the breaking of his K-Hound streak, and it appears that Dean is now mostly concentrating on a couple other hobbies that he loves, esp. chess. Jerry seems to have backed off this year on collecting a lot of rando kms. Joel has backed off on his rando riding -- a couple years ago he did five Super Rando series in one year -- crazy. Rex seems to be taking a bit of a hiatus since earlier this year.
Mary, Tim, Mick, and Ron all attained Mondial status in 2014. Mary and Mick each appear to have retired from rando. Tim and Ron each appear to have recently cut back on their rando riding.
Lynn, Jacob, Ian, Bob, Keith and I all attained Mondial status in 2015. Lynn is riding again, subsequent to being bashed into on Feb-20-2016; however, she says she has no plans to do any randonneuring in the future. Jacob has been sidelined since late last year due to a multi-use path encounter; but I hear that he may be getting back into the swing of things, cycling-wise. I don't know what to type regarding Keith. Ian is a riddle wrapped in an enigma -- reduced rando riding with a one year old child the focal point of his life -- but I suspect that he might rip off a few 1000-k brevets any time, anywhere -- or some other silly, long ride or combinations thereof. Bob continues to accumulate rando kms, training for PacTour tours. As for me: no comment, except I cannot recall whether I planned it, or if it was just serendipity, but the ride that put me beyond Mondial status occurred on my birthday.
Okay, I do know something to type concerning Keith. If one carefully looks at his history, one can see that he arranged his rides such that when he completed the ride that got him to Mondial status, his Lifetime RUSA kms came to exacly 40-thousand.
Robert, Byron, and Bryan all attained Mondial status in 2016. Bryan arranged Perm rides in order to get to exactly 40-thousand kms, and then go on hiatus as he spends time as a father for his one year old child. Byron has been doing this rando thing longer than any of the others mentioned in this post, but he has always had a rational approach to time spent randonneuring. Byron is also the second youngest mentioned in this post. Ricochet Robert, along with Byron, is planning to do the Land's End - John O'Groats ride in Britain this summer.
Geof is the only North Carolinian so far in 2017 to attain Mondial status. Geof seems to have been hibernating of late, but appears to have recently gotten back on a rando bike at least once or twice.
Of note is that six of the above mentioned randonneurs are members of the NC-2010-rookie-class. However, only four of us are currently active.
I don't know who might be the next North Carolinian(s) to Mondial.
I don't have much to type, except maybe a comment or two for some of the 16 North Carolina residents plus the 3 Tidewater randonneurs. [Tidewater RBA Keith used to do almost all his brevet riding at the Raleigh Region brevets, before he created the Tidewater Region. Ron has done a fair number of Raleigh brevets; even Jacob, too. Additionally, as I understand it, many of the Tidewater area Permanents have more distance in North Carolina than they do in Virginia, so most of the Tidewater randonneurs are likely spending more time in North Carolina than in Virginia on many or most of their rides.]
First North Carolinian to Mondial? Mike Dayton, of course, late in 2010. Certainly every NC rando, perhaps most RUSA randos wherever they live, and many randonneurs from around the globe know Mike. So many firsts in NC rando history. Although I personally have not seen Mike on the bike since Feb-20-2016, I know that he has done some "get back in the saddle" rides, some rando rides (perm-pops), and that he has registered for a local, large, non-rando ride in mid-August.
| Kms as of | |||||||
| Name | RUSA # | State | 07/02/17 | First Ride | Mondial | ||
| Mike D__ | 1609 | 82,809 | 4/13/2002 | 12/23/2010 |
Dean and Jerry attained Mondial status in 2012. Joel and Rex in 2013. Dean was tackled by a dog in late 2015, which resulted in the breaking of his K-Hound streak, and it appears that Dean is now mostly concentrating on a couple other hobbies that he loves, esp. chess. Jerry seems to have backed off this year on collecting a lot of rando kms. Joel has backed off on his rando riding -- a couple years ago he did five Super Rando series in one year -- crazy. Rex seems to be taking a bit of a hiatus since earlier this year.
| Kms as of | |||||||
| Name | RUSA # | State | 07/02/17 | First Ride | Mondial | ||
| Dean F__ | 4070 | 76,909 | 2/23/2007 | 6/16/2012 | |||
| Jerry P__ | 3525 | 77,107 | 4/8/2006 | 8/29/2012 | |||
| Joel L__ | 692 | 68,346 | 4/3/1999 | 3/9/2013 | |||
| Rex C__ | 4015 | 50,736 | 3/31/2007 | 8/21/2013 |
Mary, Tim, Mick, and Ron all attained Mondial status in 2014. Mary and Mick each appear to have retired from rando. Tim and Ron each appear to have recently cut back on their rando riding.
| Kms as of | |||||||
| Name | RUSA # | State | 07/02/17 | First Ride | Mondial | ||
| Mary F__ | 3459 | 44,400 | 4/15/2006 | 3/15/2014 | |||
| Tim L__ | 6016 | 66,458 | 2/6/2010 | 5/3/2014 | |||
| Mick H__ | 6169 | 54,100 | 11/5/2010 | 6/1/2014 | |||
| Ron M__ | 2916 | VA | 50,074 | 9/24/2005 | 9/20/2014 |
Lynn, Jacob, Ian, Bob, Keith and I all attained Mondial status in 2015. Lynn is riding again, subsequent to being bashed into on Feb-20-2016; however, she says she has no plans to do any randonneuring in the future. Jacob has been sidelined since late last year due to a multi-use path encounter; but I hear that he may be getting back into the swing of things, cycling-wise. I don't know what to type regarding Keith. Ian is a riddle wrapped in an enigma -- reduced rando riding with a one year old child the focal point of his life -- but I suspect that he might rip off a few 1000-k brevets any time, anywhere -- or some other silly, long ride or combinations thereof. Bob continues to accumulate rando kms, training for PacTour tours. As for me: no comment, except I cannot recall whether I planned it, or if it was just serendipity, but the ride that put me beyond Mondial status occurred on my birthday.
Okay, I do know something to type concerning Keith. If one carefully looks at his history, one can see that he arranged his rides such that when he completed the ride that got him to Mondial status, his Lifetime RUSA kms came to exacly 40-thousand.
| Kms as of | |||||||
| Name | RUSA # | State | 07/02/17 | First Ride | Mondial | ||
| Lynn L__ | 5519 | 52,789 | 4/4/2009 | 5/23/2015 | |||
| Jacob A__ | 7199 | VA | 48,295 | 12/4/2011 | 5/30/2015 | ||
| Ian H__ | 6176 | 54,677 | 4/10/2010 | 6/6/2015 | |||
| Bob B__ | 5843 | 64,133 | 1/2/2010 | 6/19/2015 | |||
| Martin S__ | 6218 | 50,999 | 4/10/2010 | 7/9/2015 | |||
| Keith S__ | 3721 | VA | 49,301 | 3/15/2008 | 9/5/2015 |
Robert, Byron, and Bryan all attained Mondial status in 2016. Bryan arranged Perm rides in order to get to exactly 40-thousand kms, and then go on hiatus as he spends time as a father for his one year old child. Byron has been doing this rando thing longer than any of the others mentioned in this post, but he has always had a rational approach to time spent randonneuring. Byron is also the second youngest mentioned in this post. Ricochet Robert, along with Byron, is planning to do the Land's End - John O'Groats ride in Britain this summer.
| Kms as of | |||||||
| Name | RUSA # | State | 07/02/17 | First Ride | Mondial | ||
| Robert B__ | 6628 | 46,097 | 1/15/2011 | 3/6/2016 | |||
| Byron M__ | 621 | 43,642 | 2/6/1999 | 7/9/2016 | |||
| Bryan R__ | 5746 | 40,000 | 11/1/2009 | 12/3/2016 |
Geof is the only North Carolinian so far in 2017 to attain Mondial status. Geof seems to have been hibernating of late, but appears to have recently gotten back on a rando bike at least once or twice.
| Kms as of | |||||||
| Name | RUSA # | State | 07/02/17 | First Ride | Mondial | ||
| Geof S__ | 5350 | 40,259 | 5/24/2009 | 5/7/2017 |
Of note is that six of the above mentioned randonneurs are members of the NC-2010-rookie-class. However, only four of us are currently active.
I don't know who might be the next North Carolinian(s) to Mondial.
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