The milestones piled up in October for me.
- Accomplished the around the world miles since 1/1/2010. (24,902 miles)
- Longest ride event (617 k or 384 miles)
- Highest 30 day mileage (1,152 miles)
- Highest monthly mileage (1,007 miles)
- The Kona bike passed 20,000 miles
I’m amazed at all of these mostly because riding 8 miles or 30 minutes was a supreme effort in 2009 & 2010. Persistence has paid off.
This morning’s ride was like most morning rides. It was dark. We went fast for a while. I slowed down and rode with a couple others who didn’t really want to push the speed. When we finished riding, it was still dark. The trail was scattered with wet leaves, still damp from yesterday’s rain. It has been a week of temperature changes. Monday the low was about 35° F. This morning it was 55. I’ve had to consult my clothing chart every single day. This morning I rode with bare arms.
Clearly we are moving into the most challenging time of the year to continue riding. November has not tended to be bad. I look at it as a month of adjusting to the cooling temperatures and preparing for the months of December, January, & February, when riding consistently is so much more of an effort because of snow, ice, cold, and darkness. We will see how it goes this year.
This ride 21.7 miles
Malaria Campaign: 3,322 miles
Funds Pledged: $1,746.46
Contributed in support: $4,150.10
Total = $5,896.56
Sometimes goals have been very helpful for me. Witness this post from the end of 2010, the first real year of cycling for me. Lately it hasn’t been as much fun.
My goal for October is to exceed 1,000 miles on the month. I’ve had 30 day periods when I’ve exceeded 1,000 miles, but never in a calendar month. With plenty of base miles already in October, this seemed like the month to achieve this milestone.
That meant that the last week of the month I needed to log about 200 miles. That was going to be relatively simple. I would ride 100 miles on Friday (25th) and just a little longer than usual on each of the remaining days between October 28-31.
The 100 miler on Friday wasn’t much fun. It was chilly. It was windy. I was bored. I was breaking in a new saddle. To top it all off, my saddle slid back without me realizing it and my efficiency on the bike went downhill. I didn’t understand why those 100 miles were such an effort! An inch or two on the saddle position makes a huge difference. Sixty of those miles were solo miles.
On Monday of this week, I could have stayed on the bike all day … but instead rode just 35 miles. That’s about 10 miles longer than usual, and it felt good. This morning was a fast morning and I got in the minimum number of miles required to stay on track. It was quite a bit of work.
Two more days of this. I’m closing in on the goal. I will make it. It has become work and has stolen some of the fun out of riding. I’ll be glad when that one is accomplished.
Malaria Campaign: 3,124.4 miles
Funds Pledged: $1,725.06
Contributed in support: $4,150.10
Total = $5,875.16
I know basic physics and cycling. If I get hit by a car … I lose.
Maryland has a 3 foot rule. Drivers are to give bicyclists 3 feet of clearance at all times under all circumstances.
Evidently, some drivers are anxious to get to work in the morning. Witness the northbound driver on Highway 2 at White’s Road this morning. At White’s road, Highway 2 goes from 3 lanes to 2 with a very short merge lane after the intersection. Many drivers use that lane to speed through the intersection and get ahead of one or two other vehicles (who have the right of way) in their game of passing as many cars as possible before they get to work. This morning, one driver chose to add another car to the notch on his belt, and used the shoulder to pass that additional vehicle, a dump truck. In order to do that, this point-keeping driver squeezed between me and the traffic on the shoulder of the road, giving me at least 6 inches of clearance at about twice the speed I was going. He roared past the dump truck, cut in front of the truck, slamming on his brakes because the traffic was heavy and going slower than this Y%$Y^%*&. The driver of the dump truck generously used the air horn before immediately turning right into the construction area that was his destination. Granted, the truck driver did not use a turn signal, but I can only imagine the carnage had the driver of the dump truck turned right into the passing on the shoulder driver in the much smaller car. It would have been almost as ugly as what might have happened to me had this Y%$Y^%*& clipped me with a mirror or the dump truck driver made a right hand turn into me at the construction site.
Sigh.
Having gotten that off my chest, it was a beautiful, cold, dark ride this morning. I watched the sky lighten and then tinge with color. We held a nice steady fast pace on our way back north thanks to Jeff S and his steady quick pull. There were a few fun sprints scattered within the ride. I put in 23 miles, closing in on a possible 1,000 mile month. We are in the days when the first part of the ride is cold. The second part of the ride is warm. The hot shower is the best part of the ride.
This ride 23 miles
Malaria Campaign: 3,124.4 miles
Funds Pledged: $1,647.41
Contributed in support: $4,150.10
Total = $5,797.81
When looking for a handlebar bag solution for randonneuring several friends recommended Ortlieb bags. After looking online at their offerings, I chose the Ortleib Ultimate Pro-M handlebar bag.
I was initially worried about the mounting system (it is not to be used on carbon fiber handlebars). It mounts by way of a cable running through a plastic mounting bracket and onto the handlebars with the cable crossing the stem. In no way did this seem like it would be secure. Once the system was installed and the hex bolts tightened, I could easily lift the bike with the mount without the mount moving. This mount was very secure.
My first difficulty came when I attempted to install the bag itself. I had brake cables running from the sides of my shifters and crossing in front of the handlebars. For me, the solution was to upgrade my shifters so that I didn’t have cables running where the bag was. Few of those I ride with have shifters with the incorrect configuration.
The bag pops on to the mount quite easily. The bag will also lock to the mount. It is also easy to remove. When it is on the bike it is stable and there is no up/down or side to side motion.
The bag closes tight with two magnetic closures and clicks shut with a satisfying audible click.
This bag is roomy! The specs say it’s volume is 7 liters and the weight limit is 3 kg. I had no trouble filling it to its weight capacity with food and essentials for a long ride, and only half of the volume was consumed. That means there is plenty of room for clothing one might remove during the course of a ride. The velcro dividers are similar to that which you might find in a camera case, and helpfully divide the space into three sections. There is an inside zippered bag for small items or items you may want to keep out of sight when the bag is opened. A very handy key lanyard is also included, missing on so many bags.
The top features a waterproof slot for a phone or other touch screen device. Placing something in that slot is not convenient or easy. It is a little small for cue sheets.
Where this bag shines is in its usefulness when on the bike. The lid lifts from the side facing you and once it is open the lid serves to prevent wind from throwing the lighter items around. Access is wide and convenient. With a little pre-ride organizing, and maintaining the organization through the ride, everything you need is at your fingertips. When it is time to close it, one just moves it back and the magnetic closing system simply works. It is truly a one-handed operation, and easier to use than a water bottle in a frame rack.
I doubt I will ever use the included shoulder strap. The map case might be a nice accessory to have. It connects near the front and would cover the top of the case, making a great cue sheet holder.
The top photo above shows the inside of the lid. The slot you see is the entry into the space under the clear plastic top. This lid is made of a rigid material and a piece of foam sits between the clear plastic top and the inside of the case. I used this slot to paperclip some notes to the top and found that to be a very useful (although I suspect not planned) feature.
Also unused so far is the front mesh bag mounted outside the bag, and not waterproof. I’m not yet sure what I would use that space for.
I have no qualms recommending this bag. Many friends who saw it were impressed by its volume and internal organization as well as its secure closing with magnets.
Note: I purchased this bag and write this review without remuneration from either Ortlieb or any dealer. The opinions are mine. Images are stock images.
- Dimensions: 8.3″ x 9.3″ x 5.5″ (H x W x D)
- Weight: 800 g / 28.8 oz
- Volume: 7L / 427 cu.in.
With all the excitement about the 600k last week, I failed to mention the achievement of another milestone.
I have now ridden the distance around the earth.
In January 2010 I bought a new bike and started keeping track of miles. I had ridden about 800 miles the summer before, but January 2010 was when I decided to get serious about riding and to keep good records.
Since January 2010:
- I’ve ridden 25387 miles (around the earth is 24901.55 miles)
- My Kona has nearly 20,000 miles on it.
- I’ve ridden 783 of the days in 1386 total days for 56.5% of the days.
Today’s ride was the breakfast ride and after a good breakfast with 7 riders, I carried on around the airport to log a total of 54 miles on the day. That makes 93 for the week.
These rides 93.2 miles
Malaria Campaign: 3,053.2 miles
Funds Pledged: $1,612.11
Contributed in support: $4,150.10
Total = $5,762.21
Check that milestone off the list and schedule the next one! Now that was a lot of fun!
October 12-13 saw 4 SPP riders participating in Taste of Carolina 600k that was held in conjunction with other rides, including 200k, 300k, 400k, 1,000k and 1,200k. Tony designed the route so that people could ride together even though they were riding different distances. Mike B and I drove to NC together on Friday after our very wet morning ride, arriving in time to get a quick dry ride in on the first part of the planned route.
Regular readers of this blog will know that I’ve tended to write “ride reports” that are somewhat chronological in nature. That’s not going to happen this time, in part because it has been quite some time since the ride and that level of detail on such a long ride just doesn’t make sense to me today. I’ll offer this report from what I hope are interesting perspectives.
I will say in advance that this ride exceeded my expectations and was better than I could have hoped for. Our finish time was 33:28 which included an amazing 7 hours off the bike for the overnight stop! Our average rolling speed was 17.9 mph!
Conditions
If I were to design the perfect conditions for a successful first 600k, this ride couldn’t have been better.
The route was flat. It was almost too flat! Whenever we encountered the slightest hill, it was an unusually large effort. One route profile shows 4744 feet of climbing. My Garmin showed 3,051 feet of climbing. That works out to about 8 feet per mile. Minuscule!
Temperatures were just as favorable. We had about an 8-10 degree temperature range, from 60 to around 68° F. Combine that with thick cloud cover (we saw the sun once for about 10 minutes) and winds that rarely were headwinds and never got to the forecast 20 mph and I couldn’t ask for anything better. I never used leg or arm warmers. Short fingered gloves were sufficient. I did use the reflective wind vest part of the time, but usually only in the dark mainly for the safety, not the warmth.
We had some light mist leaving the beach on Sunday morning. The road surface was wet for a few hours. It began a heavy mist about 30 minutes after we finished on Sunday.
Hydration and Nutrition
Before setting out on this longest ever ride, I knew I needed to dial in my nutrition and hydration plans better than ever before. The conditions helped here, but I was more attentive to hydration and nutrition than ever before.
My pre-ride reading indicated that I needed to consume about 80 grams of carbohydrates per hour and that my body likely would not be able to process more than about 100 grams of carbohydrates per hour. That became my baseline. I had snacks packed that consistently gave me about 20-25 grams of carbohydrates that I used about every half hour. I supplemented that with Rocktane sports drink. When we stopped for food, I made sure that I ate only that which would keep me within my limits. I ate far less than anyone else I was riding with. At Subway (our preferred stop) I ate a 3 inch flatbread sandwich or soup. Regular Coke rounded out the calories at the stop. Sometimes I purchased chocolate chip cookies and used them as food on the bike. I was also attentive to loading up with about 100 grams of carbohydrates immediately (within 15 minutes) of stopping for the night. My research indicated that this was most helpful for multi-day rides. I also made sure that my food intake began from minutes before the ride started for the day and continued throughout.
Hydration was simpler. I drank every 15 minutes. I split the hydration between water and Rocktane, depending upon what I could tolerate. Usually I consumed half a bottle of Rocktane then diluted it with water at a stop. I still did not drink the amounts that would have been necessary on a sunny or warmer day, but my output indicated that I was doing an acceptable level of hydration. In any other conditions, I would have likely been much more dehydrated.
My gauge for all of this was my heart rate, and I couldn’t be more pleased. I know that when I’ve not consumed enough fluids or fuel, my heart rate spikes. I intended to watch that carefully. My average heart rate for the entire ride was 117! On day 2 that average actually dropped. I think on most 200k rides, my heart rate average has been about 135! For me this was affirmation that I was getting more things right.
After 225 miles! Time for sleep.
Dogs
The dogs kept us alert. Several were descendants of Cujo. Most dogs were not fenced or restrained in any way. There were two strategies for dealing with the dogs. The first was to never be the last rider in a paceline. The other was for several of us to shout commands and loud noises when they attacked. The closest a dog came to getting a piece of me was after we had successfully outmaneuvered one particularly determined dog late in the ride. As we relaxed, another dog approached fast and silent until he was only a couple of feet away. I’m lucky he misjudged my speed and that I immediately accelerated. They kept us alert!
Vehicle Traffic and Drivers
On previous long rides, particularly the Fléche, vehicle drivers have cursed at us, thrown things at us, dropped us in a cloud of diesel exhaust, skimmed by close enough to touch the vehicle and otherwise made our ride dangerous and challenging. That was not to be in North Carolina. These were the most courteous drivers I’ve encountered yet. They often gave us a full lane, passing completely over the center line. Friendly honks sometimes were used to alert us to their presence. At no time did I feel a vehicle driver put us at risk, whether it was daylight or dark, or rural or urban. Thank you North Carolinans! It more than made up for the dogs.
The paceline
Mike and I were prepared to ride the entire route as a duo if necessary. We hoped that our other two SPP partners would be riding a pace that worked for us and the four of us could ride together. When we started, it seemed like tradition for this ride was for everyone to ride together to the first control (40+ miles) and although that didn’t work perfectly, it worked well enough that the 4 of us were in the lead group at that control and feeling good. Some strong riders took long pulls and no one seemed to mind that some took short pulls or none at all. Most of the ride distance, Mike and I rode in groups of 5-9 people. There was a stretch of 20 miles midway through the first day where we just could not keep up with the strong riders we had been riding with and we rode as a duo. On the second day, we intentionally pulled ahead and rode about 10 miles together just for a break and to continue to push ourselves a little more than the group riding allowed.
The pacelines we rode were of mixed experience. Some riders would pull too long and gradually lose speed, frustrating the rest. Others couldn’t hold a steady pace, no matter if they were in the front or at some other place in the line. A couple of riders were uncomfortable drafting closely and rode off to the side reducing the advantage to those who were behind them. By day two, I was much more comfortable being in the paceline in the front 4-5 positions and after a pull would drift back to a gap rather than to the very end of the paceline.
I discovered something I had not noticed before about the paceline. If the leader pulled for quite some time, it was a real effort for me for the first half mile when it was my turn to pull. My speed dropped. My heart rate increased. After that half mile or so, I got in my rhythm and was able to increase my speed and watched my heart rate drop into a comfortable zone. I think that a more frequent rotation would have minimized this effect.
Incidents
Luckily there were few incidents. Gardner and I both flatted on a “closed to thru traffic” road in Jacksonville. I got a piece of wire in my rear tire and as it was deflating also got a pinch flat. It was kind of nice that our group divided and helped repair the flats at the same time. Gardner later flatted again on day two. That’s it. We had no other mechanical issues.
Super Short Stories
In Surf City we were able to get permission to take our bikes out on the pier for photographs. It was a nice change of pace.
In Jacksonville at a Subway, Theresa was coached on how to save$0.59 on a Coke by a young man who appeared to have some developmental disabilities. He later told me that he knew I was a biker because my calves were well-defined. It didn’t seem to occur to him that a helmet, spandex, and a bicycle were other clues.
One Subway clerk in Wallace served us, saw us on the road returning from Surf City as she drove there after work, and served us again the next day.
Most riders were a little nervous crossing the causeway onto Emerald Isle. The railing on the bridge came to about our top tube, and everyone I spoke to about it seemed to have imagined themselves hitting that railing and tumbling over it into the water. Most riders gave that railing wide berth.
With 44 miles left to go, we took a group “selfie” in the mirrored window of a convenience store.
On Sunday, it was tough dodging the little lizards running across the road.
The Numbers
Total distance = 383.85 miles
Official Elapsed time = 33:28
Moving Time = 21:28
Average Speed = 17.9 mph
Maximum Speed = 29.6 mph
Fastest 5 mile segment = 21 mph
Slowest 5 mile segment = 15.2 mph (the first 5 miles)
Average temperature = 64° F
Time off the bike overnight ~ 7 hours
Miles suffered = 0!
ELCA Malaria Campaign Pledges = $1,596.50
The route
Big thanks to Mike, Gardner, & Theresa as ride partners and new Super Randonneers. Thanks to Tony for a well-planned and supported ride.
Last evening, I received a text:
Tomorrow: rule 9, or drive to breakfast and hit the road early. Then spin the knots out in a short ride around Lumberton. Thoughts?
I replied:
I’m bailing if it is still raining. If dry, riding. Spin in NC makes a lot of sense.
At 4:30 am the radar looked promising and it wasn’t raining. I texted:
I’ll ride if you are.
Reply:
Radar shows a nice window so I’m going to ride the fixie. See ya at the bridge.
I pulled out the fixie and gear I’m not taking to North Carolina and met Mike on the bridge. Three others were there. A light mist hung in the air, but with all the rain we’ve had, it could have simply been moisture stirred up by the wind.
About 2 miles into the ride drizzle started. About 2 1/4 miles into the ride the rain started. By 2 1/2 miles into the ride it was pouring. I stopped and pulled on the “just in case” rain jacket I brought. The rain kept coming. Our conversations grew shorter. By the time we got to the end of the trail we were simply enduring the rain. We all decided to turn around and go home. No breakfast. The thought of dripping through breakfast and then getting back into wet clothes for the ride home was not appealing on a voluntary ride.
We splashed through sections of 4 inch deep water. We rode through rapidly moving water. When I got home I rang the doorbell and asked for a towel.
Half a cup of water was squeezed out of my socks and shoes.
I looked at the radar when I got home. This is what I saw:
May nothing on this weekend’s 600k be that “epic”.
Malaria Pledges for the 600k now total $1,276.50
This ride 17.6 miles
Malaria Campaign: 2,564.9 miles
Funds Pledged: $1,367.96
Contributed in support: $2,453.60
Total = $3,821.56
Last night, before going to bed, I decided that if it were raining for the 5:45 ride I would stay inside. Regular readers know that I will usually ride in the rain. With the 600k coming up in 2 days, the rest is actually more important than riding. I also didn’t want to soak my shoes and have to get them dry before Saturday. (Yes, I know how to do that … it is just a hassle.)
So it was raining … hard. I didn’t ride. That also means that the around the world milestone will happen on Saturday, not Friday. I would have liked to been able to get out and test ride a few of the adjustments I made, but I wasn’t going to take a clean bike out in the rain this time.
Knowing the rain was coming, I put the bike on the maintenance lift and did some work yesterday afternoon. Chain & cogs cleaned/lubed. New rear tire installed. Adjusted handlebars. Checked brakes. Installed new battery on the cadence/speed sensor. Adjusted the handlebar bag mount. Lubed the pedals (the drive side was “sticking” a little). Checked the front tire. Installed a new cadence sensor (the old one had fallen off somewhere). Just as I finished, the sprinkles started. It was good timing. After updating the maintenance log, I headed back to work and got home late.
Two of my SPP friends just stopped by the house to drop off something. They had ridden this morning and were shivering and soaked. My decision was a wise move.
I know I’m pushing the boundaries of new equipment before the 600k on Saturday, but it needed to be done.
I got new shifters installed yesterday, freeing up room for a front bag on the bike. This morning was my shakedown cruise for the new shifters and bag. Minor adjustments are required.
- The handlebars need to be rotated up a bit. The bike shop put them where they are supposed to be. I like them angled up just a little so I don’t have to stretch so far when I have my hands on the “hoods”. That will also mean adjusting the bag mount on the front. Time needed to complete these adjustments: about 5-10 minutes.
- I had to determine the best location for the headlight battery. I finally figured out that attaching it to the stem of the light bar makes the most sense.
This new bag looks like it will work well, and it will be very convenient. It does block the headlight beam out to about 15 feet, but my helmet mounted light covers that dark area fine. I’ll be looking into alternative mounting options for the headlight after the 600k.
I also learned yesterday that ACP rules about time limits are different than RUSA rules for time limits. We get 40 hours for the 617k since this is an ACP route. If it were a RUSA route, we would get 41:08. We just increased the effort required to complete this ride!
I was completely focused on dialing in the equipment this morning. I couldn’t tell you much about the ride except that I rode and tried to ride relatively easy.
It looks like I will need to do the planned bike maintenance today rather than tomorrow … at least the cleaning of the chain and cogs. Tomorrow’s forecast is for rain all day. I will also install a new rear tire. The present tire has over 3,000 miles on it and is showing obvious wear. I want to reduce the chance of flats on the 600k.
Am I preoccupied with the upcoming ride? Absolutely.
Am I running out of time to get ready? YES!
This ride 19.9 miles
Malaria Campaign: 2,547.3 miles
Funds Pledged: $1,359.16
Contributed in support: $2,453.60
Total = $3,812.76
This week I’m in countdown mode:
After this morning’s coffee ride there are 65.3 miles to go for me to reach the milestone of riding the distance of the circumference of the earth (at the equator) since January 1, 2010. That milestone will happen near the end of Friday’s ride.
I’m also in countdown mode in preparation for my longest ride, a 600k beginning on Saturday and ending Sunday. There are a lot of logistics for me in preparation.
This morning’s coffee ride was an easy spin, which meant that I rode alone, well behind the others for part of the ride. But it was a pretty morning. It was cool and delightful, and another 21 miles closer to the goals.
This ride 21 miles
Malaria Campaign: 2,527.5 miles
Funds Pledged: $1,349.26
Contributed in support: $2,453.60
Total = $3,802.86
Rev Rider 