This Ride: 25 miles
Month: 345.6 miles
2011: 2,553.0 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 8,672.7 miles
… don’t assume that it will be raining at 5:45 am. I woke at 4:30 and it was pouring buckets outside. Checking the radar I could see that it was an isolated cell moving north and there were rain-free skies behind it. I resolved to ride even though it would have been very easy to stay in bed. I’m way behind in miles to reach my goal this month, and I can’t afford another day off the bike with the forecast for more rain this week and Friday off the bike because of early commitments. I was prepared to ride alone if necessary.
I shouldn’t have been concerned. Dave arrived a little early. Dan came steadily up the trail, and soon after we pushed off, we were joined by Ben. The four of us all had rain gear, which served well to keep the rain at bay. Dan admired the new pavement on Jennings Road. We can hardly wait for the top coat to be applied. There were puddles in all the puddle places. Our group split in Round Bay, with Dave and Ben off the front and Dan and I riding a more comfortable pace (for me). In Round Bay, we did ride through several inches of standing water, but kept our feet dry. Soon there was enough distance between the lead group and Dan & I that we just settled in to talking and riding.
The last hill into Severna Park (on B&A Blvd) is now my “test” section. I stayed seated and kept above 19 mph on this hill. I recall when 16 mph was as much as I could muster up that hill. I’m resolving to use that short, easy hill to full advantage in coming weeks. It serves as a short, nearly invisible interval along the ride.
As we approached the end of the ride, we found Ben along side the road changing a flat on the new paved section of Jennings Road. He claimed that the flat started before Jennings Road. Dave was still with him, but didn’t seem to be offering much in the way of assistance other than a running commentary. Within minutes Ben was reassembled, and we all finished the ride to our homes solo in the lightest of sprinkles.
It was a good ride, without hard effort, still averaging 17 mph along the usual course.
Team Randy Mouri, solo racer in the Race Across America (RAAM) hosted a crew training event Friday evening into late Saturday night. There were three key goals. (1) Make sure the crew knew their tasks and had some practice at those tasks, (2) Create the opportunity for bonding between crew, and (3) provide an opportunity for Randy to get some miles in.
The training weekend was delayed an hour or two because of traffic around Washington, D.C. We arrived at crew member Troy’s summer home near Cambridge, MD between 8:30 & 9:15 p.m. As we gathered, we ate (a theme that will continue through the next month). Troy is a Culinary Institute of America (New York) graduate, and he knows how to cook. He used this training event to help calculate food portions and to develop a budget for our meals while on RAAM. Let me tell you. We will eat well, with an eye on making sure we have proper nutrition for the high stress and little exercise or sleep over the duration of RAAM. We then spent some time preparing the follow vehicle with lights and sound, and reviewing the tasks and crew assignments.
While on RAAM, there will be three vehicles for 10 crew members divided into 3 teams plus one individual. The follow vehicle is equipped to provide whatever support Randy needs, from nutrition to clothing, to spare bikes, to bike repairs. Three tasks in this vehicle include Driver (who drives and is responsible for the bike on the stops), the navigator (who navigates and communicates with Randy), and the Nutritionist (who prepares and provides the food/water/clothing needs for Randy as well as maintaining the official log). These tasks are specific, both while Randy is riding and while he is stopped to make the time on the bike as efficient as possible and to minimize time off the bike. The support vehicle is an all-purpose vehicle. Tasks while crewing the support vehicle includes scouting the route and the turns, reporting in at the controls, shopping for supplies, doing laundry, searching out shower facilities, and providing back-up. The RV is available for Randy’s sleeping, crew sleeping, food preparation, emergency restroom. The one individual that seems to be “extra” is the massage therapist, who is on call 24 hours a day, and will also serve as driver of the RV. At least, that is the plan. We will adapt as necessary.
After preparing what needed to be prepared, the crew and Randy proceeded to the Chesapeake High School where we planned to stage the training. The bike was prepared. Randy was dressed. Crew 1 (I was part of Crew 2) prepared to follow. Randy pushed off at about 12:15 a.m. Saturday morning, hardly waiting for the follow van. Crew 2 packed the RV, making sure there was room for our gear, and then settled down for a quick nap. The cycling plan was for 50 mile loops of about 2.5 – 3 hours each, so the nap would be short. I plugged ear buds in with some thunderstorm “white noise” to assist in getting to sleep, and just as I was dozing off, someone drove up next to the RV in an El Camino, and just sat for about 3 minutes. Our curiosity was peaked, and so peering out the window, we witnessed something none of us could have imagined. A man got out of the car, moved to the back of the vehicle, and began pushing it. He pushed it for about 50 yards … stopped … moved to the front and pushed it back. He repeated this about 5 times, with slightly longer breaks between pushes, then got back in the car, and drove off. Odd exercise at 1:00 a.m. Our crew chief received a couple of phone call updates from the follow team. I dozed for what was probably close to an hour with intermittent periods of wakefulness. Soon it was time to get up and prepare for the change of crew and our chance to follow Randy. But first, we had to adapt. The follow van’s oil light came on, and I went to the Royal Farms to buy some oil. While there the heavens opened up with a torrential downpour. But that was nothing compared to what Randy encountered during his first 50 mile loop.
Part of the planned course was flooded. Not only that, but the flooding was deep enough that Randy’s feet were completely submerged on the down stroke. Not only that, but the water was deep enough that there were fish in the water on the road, and one 18 inch long fish bounced off the spokes of Randy’s front wheel. Rather than ride loops through this water each time, we went back to Troy’s house for our new staging area, and switched up crew so that Troy could map out a new route as Richard wrote down the route for later and I drove. We were delayed significantly as we worked out all these logistical changes, and didn’t push off until shortly after 4:00 a.m. in what was now light, steady rain. The rain lasted until dawn.
RAAM rules state that at night, the rider must be in the follow vehicle’s headlights at all times. The driver maintains appropriate follow distance while watching the rear view mirror for passing traffic, watches the course and the rider and keeps an ear tuned to the other crew in the van. I caught on very quickly except that I often forgot to dim the headlights for oncoming traffic. The navigator did a nice job reminding me. Randy rode well. Soon we were back at Troy’s house, for a fine cooked breakfast and Randy took a nap.
The other crew then took Randy out for another 50 mile loop. After a little maintenance we settled for another possible nap. Just as I was falling asleep, a neighbor of Troy’s came knocking around checking out the odd goings on at this house. She just couldn’t figure out why all the coming and going all night, and was determined to find out what was happening. The biggest impact of her visit was destruction of a nap.
A previous crew training revealed that the crew was usually so busy that it was hard to post to Randy’s blog and keep those lines of communication open. We all tried hard to feed information to Leo, who is doing all the posting from his home. We communicate what is happening, and he keeps the blog updated. Even so, it requires us to feed him the information, take the photos, and doing this all while supporting Randy’s ride. I blew through the battery on my smartphone pretty quickly. We had a great lunch, then we received a call from the follow crew and the plan was for a quick transition. We accomplished it pretty well.
My second stint in the follow van was mile 150-200 for Randy. It was warming up, and watching his fluid and calorie intake was my job. That’s done from the back seat of the van, and organization, speed, and accuracy is key. When Randy wants twizzlers, or sports beans, or a banana, the Nutritionist needs to know where it is and record every calorie. We had a pretty good time with the team in the van, some good connections were made. At the end, we planned another quick change, practiced it, but Randy was ready for rest. He tried to nap, but with everyone in the house in the same room, he drifted into sleep and back out multiple times.
We ate dinner. Another amazing meal. We reviewed our learning. And then it was decided to try the first route again to see how the flooded roads were doing. Randy had done the new route 3 times, and it was pretty dull. We will need to find ways to keep him engaged and keep boredom at bay.
Since it was my rest shift, and I needed to get back home to prepare for church the next day, I left early (as planned). Randy was only going to do one more loop and then all would be headed back home.
This was a great event. I connected with some good people, and we learned a lot about what it is to support Randy in this ride.
I’m looking forward to our next crew meeting, the last one before we travel to California for the start of RAAM.
I’ll load some photos tomorrow.
This Ride: 21.8 miles
Month: 320.5 miles
2011: 2,528.0 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 8,647.7 miles
A thunderstorm rumbled through last night, soaking everything and weighing down the trees with waterlogged leaves. Most of the road surfaces mostly dried overnight, but puddles and low-hanging branches graced our ride this morning. Seven of us were out for a good ride. We talked about my RAAM Crew Training Weekend (that will be another post), upcoming rides, and caught up with our goings on. Brian (the Commodore) told us about his Triathalon, with a pretty strong finish.
Jennings Road is now paved, waiting for a dry day for the topcoat. It was truly a Mosey Monday as we kept the pace down and simply enjoyed the ride. I’m noticing that I’m stronger on the rollers, able to take them quicker by almost 2 mph over earlier this year. I may have to develop a plan to tackle the larger, steeper hills to improve there. They still are my downfall.
Clint developed a flat at the south end of the trail, and was disappointed with his slow 5 minute tube change. This ride was one of those rides where large sections of the ride are invisible to my memory now. I don’t recall certain sections of the route … the morning was so dominated by conversation and camaraderie.
This Ride: 32.1 miles
Month: 298.7 miles
2011: 2,506.2 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 8,625.9 miles
The day started out great. It was 60°F. We had 13 riders for the breakfast ride, including some people we haven’t seen out for rides recently. Janet, Dave M. & Chris made it out. We had a nice leisurely pace down the trail with a lot of conversation and the fluid dynamics of the group ride. (I’m always fascinated by the movement within the group ride as positions change.) At the end of the trail two riders turned back and the rest headed for breakfast with Mike and Dave M. going to meet their gang at Chick & Ruth’s while the rest of us flooded into Hard Bean trying out muffins while hoping for desert. We were not disappointed. Soon 3 large pieces of carrot cake with vanilla ice cream appeared with enough forks for all. Most of us nibbled, but Mr. Frisky (AKA Dangerous Dan) must have polished off almost two of the cakes himself.
Soon we were back on our way home, and saying adieu to riders as they neared home and peeled off the group. The “Unlucky, tragic, & deadly” part of the ride happened between Robinson Road and McBride Lane. As we are moving along at a good 16-17 mph pace, a squirrel ahead sees the group, and decided to dash across the trail ahead of us rather than waiting for us to pass. Clearly, we had the right of way. A moment of indecision and second-guessing meant that the squirrel was now slightly behind the curve, and just as my left pedal reached the bottom of the down stroke, the squirrel hit my foot, was either propelled or ran up my left leg, and I recall feeling it on my left elbow. I remember thinking that it was going to climb across my face. A quick flick of the left elbow, and the squirrel went flying off. I was relieved. I heard shouts behind, then a thump, thump, thump and people called out with groans and disgust and finally someone said, “stopping”. We stopped. Turning around, we discovered that after flying through the air, the squirrel had hit the pavement, decided to dash back from whence it came, and ran straight into the spokes of the front wheel of Janet’s bike. It had been immediately decapitated, and it’s lifeless body jammed into the fork and brakes of the bike.
Clint and I performed the extraction (after Clint took a photo). We first tried rolling the bike forward and backward. No luck. A stick wouldn’t dislodge it. Finally, the wheel was pulled off, the body of the squirrel dropped out, and I used two water bottles to clean off the gore as best as I could. Janet later wrote that she had blood and gore on her shoes and shorts when she got home, and warned those who were near her to be sure to check their clothing. What a testament to our skilled and experienced riders! No one crashed or caused a crash, despite (1) a squirrel running up a leg and onto the arm of a rider, (2) an airborne squirrel flying into the second row of riders, and (3) said squirrel committing suicide by bike and attempting to take Janet with it. Nice riding SPP! We offered to save the tail so Janet could mount it on her helmet, but she politely declined.
A photo may or may not appear here is posted below. (Click to see the unaltered photo.) Many of the riders found it particularly disgusting and there were not many offers of close up assistance with the extraction. One rider, who will not be named here, simply left rather than watch the attempts to free the body of the squirrel.
Click for unaltered image. Warning, disturbing to some.
Janet will have a very clean bike by noon.
The rest of the ride was uneventful. I added a 3 mile loop near home, but did not do a longer ride today. I was feeling good and strong, but I’ve got many tasks to take care of at home and this evening into tomorrow night I’ll be doing RAAM Crew Training on the Eastern Shore. I’ll post a description of that later.
This Ride: 23.5 miles
Month: 266.6 miles
2011: 2,474.1 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 8,593.8 miles
When I drug myself out of bed this morning I was convinced I was going to ride about 10 mph, crash into a tree, and be found about noon collapsed under said tree in a heap of nondescript humanity. The fatigue was so overwhelming I was already planning a nap for later in the day. On automatic pilot, I pulled on the same clothing (can’t we just add 5 degrees to the morning temperatures, please) and rolled out the door. I chose a lesser used route just to see if I could wake myself up, and rolled to the Rusty Bridge with about 6 miles on the Garmin. (The Rusty Bridge is 1.5 miles from my house.)
We had 6 riders out this morning and to call it a group ride would be generous. We started out as a group. At the Ranger Station, Dave turned to ride Jennings Road, which has been torn up for repaving. The rest of us stayed straight on the trail (after a near collision in a fit of confusion). We hammered down the trail at around 22-25 mph with Dan and Ben leading the pace. As they turned to go into Round Bay, I stayed straight on Old County Road. I saw a fox crossing the road. We’ve seen fox 2-3 times a week recently. I kept my heart rate between 150 & 160 for the most part, and was caught by both Dan and Ben on the trail well before the end of the trail. I overheard Dan telling Ben that when he passed Ben on the bridge, he was doing 27 mph. Dan was in racing mode this morning.
We semi-gathered at the end of the trail for the return trip, but soon were pretty strung out. I had a noise on the bike with each pedal stroke that I tried to get some help with diagnosis during our slower bits. Later, back on the trail, I checked in with Bryan and he rightfully told me that the noise was coming from the front wheel, not the pedals or bottom bracket. I tightened the front skewer at the Ranger Station, and the sound went away. There has been a rattle in the rear of the bike that has also confused me. When I got home, I discovered a broken spoke on the rear wheel, and will get that taken care of today.
It was a nice, fast morning. I thoroughly enjoyed it, even with the significant effort. I’m not planning a nap now, and I think I’ll make it through the day.
Tuesday’s Ride
This Ride: 24.3 miles
Month: 219.1 miles
2011: 2,426.6 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 8,546.3 miles
Wednesday’s Ride
This Ride: 24 miles
Month: 243.1 miles
2011: 2,450.6 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 8,570.3 miles
Tuesday was a full day. I rode with the SPP at 5:45, attended a Continuing Education Event in Frederick, MD all day, then went to support Randy Mouri’s fundraising event in Fairfax, VA. I returned home at 10:30 pm and went promptly to bed. The ride made the day possible. We had a dozen riders out, in part because the pace was promised to be relatively slow as riders were still recovering from the 300k last Saturday. It was nice to take it easy.
Wednesday’s ride promised an easy pace too, for those who desired it. We started off easy, then Dave pushed the pace and most of us couldn’t resist the challenge. I hung on tenaciously until the hill in Round Bay and then was dropped as if I were some disgusting piece of filth (or an old man who just can’t seem to climb the hill very fast). Soon the fast riders were further than the sight lines on the route and the slow guys had taken a short cut so I huffed and puffed and struggled along the way riding by myself to the end of the trail. The fast riders met me as they came back north. Two riders, Mike & Bob took pity on me, waiting for me at the turn around and we proceeded back together for what turned out to be a reasonably quick pace for the day. I like riding with others better than I like riding alone.
I’ve joined a Race Across America (RAAM) Crew to support a solo rider.
RAAM is a cycling endurance race like no other. Riders travel from Oceanside, CA to Annapolis, MD (3,000) miles in as little time as possible. Male Solo riders (under 60 years old) become an official finisher if they complete the course in under 12 days. This year is the 30th year this race has been held, and there are fewer solo male finishers over those 30 years than the number of people who summit Mt. Everest each year. The RAAM Website has plenty of information. The race begins at noon (Pacific Time) on June 15th. There are nearly 50 solo racers, and teams of 2, 4, & 8 riders.
The role of the crew is to make sure that the rider is supported and is safe.
I’m working for Team Randy Mouri, a SPP member who lives in Virginia and a fellow Randonneur. His RAAM profile is here, and his webpage is here. You can follow Randy’s progress through the webpage. I’m uncertain how much I’ll be able to post during the days immediately leading up to the race and during the race, as the demands on the crew are tremendous.
This weekend, beginning Friday evening, we will be conducting Crew Practice on the Eastern Shore. We will be rehearsing the roles of the crew until it becomes automatic, smooth, and mistakes are eliminated and we are functioning like a moving pit crew at a NASCAR race. Every minute off the bike lengthens the time it takes to get across the country … and this is a race (although finishing is the first priority).
Most of the riders use this event as a fund-raiser for a charity. Randy has chosen Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia as his charity. At last night’s fundraiser at the Dogfish Head Alehouse in Fairfax, VA Randy spun outside on his trainer for 10 hours.
Crewing for Randy is going to take me off the bike for 2 weeks in June, so I’ll have some catching up to do in my bike miles.
Watch here for more news as it becomes available.
This Ride: 21.9 miles
Month: 194.8 miles
2011: 2,402.3 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 8,522 miles
Two days off the bike seems like a long time, and it was good to get back out early this morning. There continues to be a lot more light in the morning, so that the light on the helmet really isn’t necessary once I get to the Rusty Bridge. Five riders were out. We were missing some regulars after their 300k on Saturday … or so we thought. This was a confusing morning, to say the least. Brian (Commodore) is is full prep mode for his sprint triathlon this coming weekend. Others were simply ready for a nice easy Mosey Monday pace.
Right out of the gate, I nearly collided with a pair of cardinals in flight. They veered off over my front tire, they were that close. On Jennings Road, Mike flatted, and we stopped with some light assist as he changed out the tire.
We had an easy pace going, occasionally slowing as both Jeff Scho. and Brian stopped to make some adjustments. The hill in Round Bay was tackled. As we moved south on the trail an odd sight arose. Four or five cyclists were in a group headed north on the trail. We don’t see that often, and soon, at about 35 mph closing speed we recognized them. It was part of our group. We had pushed off at the Rusty Bridge on time, did not see anyone at the Ranger Station, and no one had passed us on Jennings Road. The best guess was that they all were a bit late, stayed on the trail, and got ahead of us while Mike changed the flat.
We picked up the pace at the turn around, and especially on B&A Blvd. I accomplished something I’ve been wanting to do for a while on B&A. I exceeded the speed limit. There is a curving downhill section that I jumped out of line and pushed to just over 37 mph in a 35 mph zone. Previous attempts have tended to peak out at about 33-34 mph.
It was a good morning ride. I did miss riding with some of the others to hear stories about the 300k.
This Ride: 76.1 miles
Month: 172.9 miles
2011: 2,380.4 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 8,500.1 miles
The SPP Friendly/Fixie Friday Breakfast Ride is the high point of the week. Today didn’t disappoint. It was a nippy 42°F at the start, but at least 11 riders were out to start, with 7 going to breakfast. I wore my new SPP long sleeve jersey without a jacket, and it was just right for these temperatures, although I wasn’t sure it would be warm enough when I pushed out of the house. We’ve got daylight now at 5:45 am, and the only lights we really need are to be visible to others. That’s getting to be pretty nice also.
At the Hard Bean, we were once again treated. This time is was Red Velvet Cake and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake with vanilla ice cream on top. Yummy! I’m starting to like dessert with breakfast!
We’ve got at least 4 and maybe 5 SPP riders doing the300K tomorrow. I chose not to because I didn’t know the impact of that distance on being able to work the next day. As I think about it now, the demands on me for worship Sunday are very light, and I might have been able to do it. Other activities have now encroached and I’ll have to live vicariously through the reports of the riders. Bonne Route!
The return trip was relatively uneventful except for seeing a fox cross our path. I rode with Clint to the turn off to his house, then continued on to Veterans Highway and around the river counterclockwise. I really needed to stay alert for traffic, especially once I got back into Annapolis, but all vehicle drivers were courteous and left me plenty of room. My goal was to end up at the Hospital in Glen Burnie with about 65-70 miles on the day. After crossing the Naval Academy bridge for the third time this morning, I proceeded to St. Margaret’s Road and the out and back to Sandy Point State Park. By the time I got to the park, it was warming up nicely and I peeled off my head/ear covering and opened the front of my jersey to let some air in. I continued back via College Parkway and when I got to the trail at Jones Station, I pulled off my long fingered gloves and decided to make a quick stop at home to change jerseys (into short sleeve), pull off the tights, grab short fingered gloves, remove toe covers, eat a banana, refill water bottles, and use the bathroom.
After all that was accomplished, I pushed off again with 63 miles under my belt and hit the hospital area with 69 miles. It was 10:35 am and it made sense to ride until 11:00, so I continued on toward the airport, turning around before getting to the viewing area/park, and ended up with 76 miles at about 11:05 (green traffic lights headed toward the airport, red traffic lights coming back). It was a nice ride, with plenty of energy throughout. Skies were a nice blue. Winds started to pick up from the south mid ride, but were never a serious matter.
Throughout the ride, I thought a lot about Randy’s participation in the Race Across America (RAAM) in about 6 weeks. I rode about 1/4 of the distance he intends to cover each day … for 10 consecutive days. Amazing.
This ride put me at 286 miles for the past 7 days. That’s respectable. It is the highest distance in any consecutive 7 days this calendar year.
Lori called shortly after I got home, wanting to know how the ride went. She told her co-workers that I’d probably ride 50 miles today. Even she was surprised that I rode 50% more than that. Now … off to mow the lawn.
This Ride: 23.0 miles
Month: 96.8 miles
2011: 2,304.3 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 8,424 miles
The title says it. It was an odd morning. I awoke after a very odd dream. I simply felt quite disconnected as I prepared for the ride. I’m pretty certain that if I had not been riding with a group or on a familiar route I might have gotten lost. It was that kind of morning.
It was chilly out, but we had a good turnout and no one really wanting to push the pace much until near the end of the ride. Several riders are getting ready for a 300k ride Saturday. The next 4 weeks will see several of our riders doing a 300k, 400k, and 600k. I’ll not be looking to get the mileage award this month!
I’m looking forward to the Breakfast Ride tomorrow morning.
Rev Rider 