tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32813417961424067982024-03-13T03:00:41.553-07:00449 kmrob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281341796142406798.post-44740521508678355682023-08-11T09:37:00.016-07:002023-08-14T10:13:16.767-07:00Where is Rob?<p> Every four years, the Audax Club Parisien (ACP) will hold their <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris%E2%80%93Brest%E2%80%93Paris" target="_blank">Paris-Brest-Paris</a> (or PBP) Randonneur event. There has been an amateur version of PBP since 1931. However, PBP has existed in some form since 1891, though back then it was a race, held about every 10 years until 1931 with a gap for the war, and then for the last time as a race in 1951. The take-away though is that PBP is no longer a race, there is no first and last place and the only metric to assess riders really is one of pass/fail. You either finish in the time limit, or you don't. Currently, PBP offers three start groups: 80 hours, 90 hours and 84 hours, in order of start. Each group will broken up into start waves with somewhere north of 200 (250?) riders in each wave.</p><p><br /></p><p>Under the direction of the ACP, Randonneurs USA (RUSA) sanctions qualifying events for PBP of 200, 300, 400 and 600km, each with a time limit. RUSA administers regions through out the US and there are five of those in Northern California, one in Central California and two more in Southern California. Each of those regions held their qualifiers this year and the state of California will be sending well over 100 riders to France to participate in PBP, and the US sending roughly 450 riders. All those riders will have completed the quartet of qualifiers earlier this year.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXLEz-Xnt5mkfD1zwdCt3gXBBLNlhx9qZhOeRPOSi-1DhIeKCnIE9ReNG0MZ69-SSgYEwU44hh6R9SB6MEp6vgXsqNLBk526MNWk52p8gAXA-7j5GNEyLMHUEZ-793JsBqrjzl6ccwrqBb3leKEHNAlhZX0h6f-HpRNonWw5kUEIfuYvX0lok3ZazT4lk/s960/florescent_army.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXLEz-Xnt5mkfD1zwdCt3gXBBLNlhx9qZhOeRPOSi-1DhIeKCnIE9ReNG0MZ69-SSgYEwU44hh6R9SB6MEp6vgXsqNLBk526MNWk52p8gAXA-7j5GNEyLMHUEZ-793JsBqrjzl6ccwrqBb3leKEHNAlhZX0h6f-HpRNonWw5kUEIfuYvX0lok3ZazT4lk/s320/florescent_army.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rob at the start in 2011</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p>I'll be one of those qualifiers and this will be my 5th trip to participate in PBP. This very blog was begun in the aftermath of my first attempt, which ended in a DNF. The blog name comes from the distance I was able to manage before pulling the plug, barely more than one third of the overall distance. Rather than walk away from PBP after that, I came back in 2011 determined to finish, which I did. I've now finished PBP 3 times (2011, 2015 and 2019).</p><p><br /></p><p>If you wish to follow my progress on this attempt, <a href="https://track.rtrt.me/e/CC-2023#/tracker/RTMDZFA6" target="_blank">you can do that at this link</a>. I will be starting in the 84 hour group on August 21st, at 05:15 in the X wave.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1V9KX9lwSoKYrwrNYmBxMQnebeH1Ejp91FPsoskET00m1PqGm9eB0RJyrOHGCZO7sO-HhygCvHf_W7UPamgA6NJpdeb6Jktdihon2dfMs3fzYIXH89_vxO2LwdXHwF12ziXtsi9xETP56mHEZJ02BRvmAnDg3ShrX3vdGHp8HqSrRKS_wPvPcyEHPLKA/s4608/P1010841.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1V9KX9lwSoKYrwrNYmBxMQnebeH1Ejp91FPsoskET00m1PqGm9eB0RJyrOHGCZO7sO-HhygCvHf_W7UPamgA6NJpdeb6Jktdihon2dfMs3fzYIXH89_vxO2LwdXHwF12ziXtsi9xETP56mHEZJ02BRvmAnDg3ShrX3vdGHp8HqSrRKS_wPvPcyEHPLKA/w400-h300/P1010841.JPG" title="Rob in Brest, France" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>I've started PBP on three different bikes: the first a semi-custom 2001 <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/Hk2RsrMjTQa1XvQM6" target="_blank">Dave Yates Randonneur</a> frame, purchased 2nd hand; the second a full custom <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/7Xrh6H7jEpR6rH3a6" target="_blank">Ed Litton built in 2007</a>; and the current a newer, slightly revised full custom <a href="https://photos.app.goo.gl/t1uEqjynBVMhofh58" target="_blank">Ed Litton</a> that hit the road for the first time in 2017.</p><p><br /></p><p>In 2007, the average age of starters was 49, and that year I was 50. Since then, the average age crept up a year but has remained at 50 for the last three iterations. I have not remained 50 years old however, and I can tell you that I can certainly feel the difference now at 66 [Editor's note: Rob has felt the difference for quite some time, so this is no new sensation for him.]. Having finished 3 times in the past, I'm still not 100% certain that will happen this time. Each time I've ridden, I've never been hands down 100% certain to finish, though in 2011, I recall while on the ride imagining myself crossing the finish line. In any case, having finished before is no guarantee of finishing the next time, and I am fully aware of the challenges ahead of me for PBP 2023.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4L11a3r51mVTuMV9aFZBbqgKTUrBRnfw1JVXLkke3srGr_2H7jmtdx45glw0pvMngGU3-x9FOS0b9adziveQgl3-ga2axy3vuq_nsVE0WpQAFarIzuvNBsQARcHq74eNBQltGL8A257CUyHQIpgv9EuJOns35kTdBN38j6DR5Qnwog_xuAHmdHPeJvEg/s4608/P1010903.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3456" data-original-width="4608" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4L11a3r51mVTuMV9aFZBbqgKTUrBRnfw1JVXLkke3srGr_2H7jmtdx45glw0pvMngGU3-x9FOS0b9adziveQgl3-ga2axy3vuq_nsVE0WpQAFarIzuvNBsQARcHq74eNBQltGL8A257CUyHQIpgv9EuJOns35kTdBN38j6DR5Qnwog_xuAHmdHPeJvEg/w640-h480/P1010903.JPG" title="On the Galibier with Mark" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>As in 2019, I'll be spending another 10 days in France going to Ventoux in Provence and up into the Alps for more cycling.</p>rob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281341796142406798.post-30806284915679314992022-03-19T12:20:00.003-07:002022-03-22T18:34:10.957-07:00A history of the SFR Healdsburg (nee Russian River) 300 from 1999 through 2022There are only two routes that SFR currently uses that stretch back to our first year (1999) as a RUSA region, and of those two (Mendocino Coast (formerly Fort Bragg) 600 and Healdsburg 300) only the Healdsburg 300km has been held every year SFR has held brevets.
<p>
<header>
<h2>History</h2></header>
First run in 1999, this route and all SFR events, took a break while the region was inactive from 2000 through 2002. Once an active region again in 2003, this 300km route has then been held every year since, now through 2022 and SFR has hosted 21 iterations of the Healdsburg 300km. The name for this early season 300km was once the Russian River 300km. Other SFR routes have been named for the point furthest from the start, for example the Hopland 400km so following that convention, many SFR members, past and present refered to this route as the Healdsburg 300 and that is how it now appears in both the RUSA database and SFR website. Another problem with the old 'Russian River' name is that it wasn't unique. There is a 200km also named Russian River, and that route actually dates back much further in SFR lore, back into the 1980s when members of an East Bay recreational cycling club organized the PBP qualifiers, which was when when the <a href="https://uia.org/s/or/en/1100012348" target="_blank">International Randonneurs</a> served as the link to the Audax Club Parisien. The route, #214 in the RUSA database, is officially named the Healdsburg 300km.
<p>
<header><h2>The route</h2></header>
The <a href="https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36475496" target="_blank">route</a> has undergone some minor tweaking since its first iteration but is largely the same as in 1999. Riders leave the Golden Gate Bridge visitor's plaza and head out to Fairfax and then travel through Samual Taylor State Park before looping around the west end of the Nicasio Reservoir before making a bee-line toward Petaluma where the 2nd intermediate control is located. From there the route heads north through Santa Rosa and Windsor on the way to the northern terminus in Healdsburg. Riders most often make this control their main food stop. The tables outside the Safeway are no longer there, but many riders still pause for a tray of sushi before heading out through the vineyards along Westside Road to River Road on the way out to the coast near the mouth of the Russian River south of Jenner. The next control is in Bodega Bay which offers a short rest before tackling the mega-rollers on the way past Valley Ford and Tomales.
<p>
In earlier years the next control was at the Marshall Store, but this control became overwhelmed by the tourists, and the Marshall Store often closed before the control itself would so the control was moved 10 miles south to Point Reyes Station where there are many more options for riders to refuel. From there, the route back follows the well used path through Olema, over Bolinas Ridge, through the redwoods, across the San Geronimo Valley and over White Hill and on to Fairfax and then lower Marin and on back to the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge. With the final return being through Olema in recent years, the shortest route from Bodega Bay to the Golden Gate Bridge is the route listed so soon the Olema control will disappear. Riders will still likely pause in PRS before making the final push to cover the last 35 miles of the route.
<p>
Comparing the difficulty of this route to other routes, Ridewithgps suggests there is about 8,200' of elevation gain on this route. The 200km routes used for the rides that not preceeds this one on the calendar every year range from 7,000' to 7,500'. Given that, the Healdsburg 300km is in some ways considered a treat. On the route from the point where riders are coasting down the last big roller before Petaluma, there are no significant climbs at all until riders reach the coast south of Jenner. As well, there is often a healthy tailwind as riders head south on CA 1.
<p>
<header><h2>Weather and scheduling</h2></header>
In the early years, this 300km was always held in February, once as early in the month as the 14th. As SFR began to list more brevets the ride date moved toward the end of February and then frequently into the next month of March where it has settled on the calendar on the weekend of the annual time change. The latest it has been held was March 18th until the 2nd year of the Covid Pandemic when in 2021 SFR opened the season very late, and the Healdsburg 300 was held in late June. In 2022, the date returned to early March. Despite the date variations over the years, it is a near constant that this brevet has been held solidly within the rainy season, and rain has factored into more than one event.
<p>
While there has been rain on several of the dates over the years, a few years stand out on the misery index. In 2007 rain began about 60-70 miles in and just kept getting worse through the day and was joined by high winds after sunset. In 2016 the rain began earlier and was also joined by gusting wind, but the difference between the two dates is that there were far fewer starters and finishers in 2016 to tell the tale afterward. The 2022 version was a chilly one, and one year riders had to watch out for black ice as late into the ride as Petaluma when the brevet was held just a day after a big rainstorm and freezing overnight temperatures. The total finishers dropped from 126 in 2015 to just 25 in 2016, just to show the difference between a fair weather year and one less than fair. Following behind on the scale of wet Healdsburg 300ks behind 2007 and 2016 are both the 2019 and 2020 editions, both of which were quite soggy.
<p>
<header><h2>Participants</h2></header>
<p>
SFR was a smaller club in the early years, so it is no surprise that the number of starters was lower. In 1999, there were 21 finishers and the total of finishers dropped as low as 13 on the 3rd running in 2004. In 2010 ridership on this event seemingly exploded and from 2010 through 2015 there were never fewer than 101 finishers, peaking with 126 finishers in 2015 (later exceeded in 2022). For a period of years, participation dwindled owing to several factors. Rain at the start and rain that begins much later in the ride have different effects. For 2007 the rain only began for most riders as they neared Windsor, close to 70 miles into the ride. Even though that is the most epic year for weather for those that have ridden multiple iterations of the Healdsburg 300, the number of starters and finishers that year (2007) is higher than in some subsequent years. 2021 may look odd with the weather having been so great but with one of the smallest starting rosters, but that was a pandemic year and turnout would only rebound much later that year.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyebPiqgtq3jRHNZbXti1gvbcf4xATKgUWRumy4cK8DzHCdEh6KJjTLy224_ZAJmDmqmCJBeqo-_ikEHmhbAOYxV63gH-jqBQgHgvJA_0S-qQW-n0zRMIS6yCbuMMszWdYyT2U9ltrF_2vrxpRn_aumL3D3qDBD3B_NB-T7VVfgRrqAxmulSjbwVlF/s847/image.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="847" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyebPiqgtq3jRHNZbXti1gvbcf4xATKgUWRumy4cK8DzHCdEh6KJjTLy224_ZAJmDmqmCJBeqo-_ikEHmhbAOYxV63gH-jqBQgHgvJA_0S-qQW-n0zRMIS6yCbuMMszWdYyT2U9ltrF_2vrxpRn_aumL3D3qDBD3B_NB-T7VVfgRrqAxmulSjbwVlF/s600/image.png"/></a></div>
<p>[Editor's note: for some context, <strike>no other RUSA region has had even 100 starters for their 300km</strike> Whoops! that is wrong. Before 2008, RUSA records did not include the field for # of starters or # of DNF so for 1999 through 2007 we can only use # of finishers. In 2003 CA: Davis had 162 *finishers*. One can assume the # of starters was higher than that.]
<p>
<p>
No one rider has participated on all 21 events since 1999, and no rider is all that close. In the last few years this particular leader board has been jumbled a little and a new leader has emerged.:
<p>
<style type="text/css">
.tg {border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0;}
.tg td{border-color:black;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;
overflow:hidden;padding:10px 5px;word-break:normal;}
.tg th{border-color:black;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;
font-weight:normal;overflow:hidden;padding:10px 5px;word-break:normal;}
.tg .tg-fd62{background-color:#32cb00;text-align:left;vertical-align:top}
.tg .tg-0lax{text-align:left;vertical-align:top}
</style>
<table class="tg">
<thead>
<tr>
<th class="tg-fd62">Rider</th>
<th class="tg-fd62">No. of finishes</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">Holmgren, John</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">15</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">HAGGERTY, Tom</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">14</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">HAWKS, Rob</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">14</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">BUNTROCK, Robert</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">13</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">CLARKSON, Bryan</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">13</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">HASTINGS, Geoff</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">13</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">DUQUE, Carlos</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">12</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">JOHNSON, Ken</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">12</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">MCCAW, Richard</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">12</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">PIERCE, Jason</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">11</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">Houck, Timothy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">10</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">UZ, Metin</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">10</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">Haas, Stephen</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">9</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">Andersen, Gabrielle</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">BEATO, Greg</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">BEATO, Keith</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">BERG, Bruce R</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">BRIER, Bill</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">BUDVYTIS, Gintautas</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">Chun, Brian</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">EMERSON, Ken</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">KILGORE, Bryan</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">KOSS, Brian</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">NEVIN, Willy</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">TEACHOUT, Todd</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">8</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>
There has been 1431 finishers over the course of the 21 versions of the event.
<p>
<header><h2>Ride times</h2></header>
In the last few years some astonishing finish times at one end of the scale have been turned in with the total elapsed time of 9:49 being turned in when the brevet was run in 2021 (In perfect June weather). Since 1999, no one has bettered the mark at the end of the scale of 19:59 however. That mark was possilby achieved with insider knowledge as it was set in 1999 by the creator of the route. You have one and only one possibility to break that version of the record.</span></div>
<p>
For riders with at least 3 finishes, Andrea Achilli looks to be the most consistent with his shortest and longest finishes within 40 minutes of each other (followed by Russ Fairles' 44 minute difference). Riding the event on a particularly rainy date (2007, 2016, 2019, 2020) can easily lengthen your elapased time by over a hour, and more. Glancing at the results we can find a number of riders with three or more finishes with a four hour difference between shortest and longest ride, but Bob Buntrock's 6 hour and 13 minute delta stands out. Bob's two bookend finishes were 11:36 in 2011, and 17:49 in 2004.
<p>
Here are the groupings of finishers by hour:
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD0GWvhpjhaM9IfDAnYnBWMqU2_LT3ewuFb9CtjL_c1IuqBL-t7K4pYrCA8noELbSyrASuHin4ToanpEh8HUsgNrUGQ4iuHEcdNcipMZvx5c3g2R7EQHcSRO84083d24G-Q6pLQcrFBfLk6uHc5pBAbye2a_rzOsHCA31VNigWxIs9jfDe4anBN_j4/s752/image%20%281%29.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="600" data-original-height="452" data-original-width="752" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD0GWvhpjhaM9IfDAnYnBWMqU2_LT3ewuFb9CtjL_c1IuqBL-t7K4pYrCA8noELbSyrASuHin4ToanpEh8HUsgNrUGQ4iuHEcdNcipMZvx5c3g2R7EQHcSRO84083d24G-Q6pLQcrFBfLk6uHc5pBAbye2a_rzOsHCA31VNigWxIs9jfDe4anBN_j4/s600/image%20%281%29.png"/></a></div>
<p>
Finally, here is a table of the starters per edition from 1999 through 2022, NB: RUSA doesn't have DNF numbers available to RBAs prior to 2009:
<style type="text/css">
.tg {border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0;}
.tg td{border-color:black;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;
overflow:hidden;padding:10px 5px;word-break:normal;}
.tg th{border-color:black;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;
font-weight:normal;overflow:hidden;padding:10px 5px;word-break:normal;}
.tg .tg-0lax{text-align:left;vertical-align:top}
</style>
<table class="tg">
<thead>
<tr>
<th class="tg-0lax">Date</th>
<th class="tg-0lax"># of Starters</th>
<th class="tg-0lax"># of Finishers</th>
<th class="tg-0lax"># of DNF riders</th>
<th class="tg-0lax">First Finishing Time</th>
<th class="tg-0lax">Mean Finishing Time</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">1999/02/20</td>
<td class="tg-0lax"></td>
<td class="tg-0lax">22</td>
<td class="tg-0lax"></td>
<td class="tg-0lax">14:00</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">17:32</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">2003/02/15</td>
<td class="tg-0lax"></td>
<td class="tg-0lax">30</td>
<td class="tg-0lax"></td>
<td class="tg-0lax">13:44</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">16:20</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">2004/02/14</td>
<td class="tg-0lax"></td>
<td class="tg-0lax">13</td>
<td class="tg-0lax"></td>
<td class="tg-0lax">13:49</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">15:57</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">2005/02/26</td>
<td class="tg-0lax"></td>
<td class="tg-0lax">33</td>
<td class="tg-0lax"></td>
<td class="tg-0lax">11:46</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">13:52</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">2006/02/25</td>
<td class="tg-0lax"></td>
<td class="tg-0lax">56</td>
<td class="tg-0lax"></td>
<td class="tg-0lax">11:19</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">14:25</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">2007/02/24</td>
<td class="tg-0lax"></td>
<td class="tg-0lax">75</td>
<td class="tg-0lax"></td>
<td class="tg-0lax">12:03</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">16:04</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">2008/02/23</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">33</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">31</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">2</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">11:55</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">14:17</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">2009/02/21</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">71</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">68</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">3</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">11:20</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">14:38</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">2010/02/27</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">117</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">110</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">7</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">11:27</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">14:54</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">2011/02/26</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">118</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">108</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">10</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">11:36</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">15:02</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">2012/03/10</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">105</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">101</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">4</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">11:30</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">14:16</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">2013/03/09</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">111</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">107</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">4</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">11:03</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">14:36</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">2014/03/08</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">125</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">122</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">3</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">11:05</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">14:34</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">2015/02/28</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">126</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">126</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">0</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">11:15</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">15:02</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">2016/03/05</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">32</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">25</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">7</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">14:00</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">16:38</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">2017/03/18</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">58</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">55</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">3</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">10:40</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">14:18</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">2018/03/10</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">92</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">87</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">5</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">10:50</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">14:14</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">2019/03/09</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">72</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">61</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">11</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">13:06</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">16:17</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">2020/03/07</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">54</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">40</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">14</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">12:02</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">14:57</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">2021/06/26</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">26</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">26</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">0</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">9:49</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">13:27</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-0lax">2022/03/12</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">140</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">135</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">5</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">10:10</td>
<td class="tg-0lax">15:07</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>
NB: The data used all comes from RUSA databases. SFR data is not uniformly stored (different columns, different name varients, missing rows) so was not used. Names have been normalized as much as possible, but if members changed how they submitted names as they renew memberships (including middle intial or not, spelling middle name vs. initial, changing last name) these variants need to be collected then normalized. It is possible that some variants were overlooked during this manual step.</span></div></div></div>rob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281341796142406798.post-88006915972381093432019-09-07T07:54:00.000-07:002019-09-10T10:32:14.309-07:00The fourth time is a charm? PBP 2019 part 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEips1BIbkLl8FkkzIaRCoPCds5Np24rz5gFqEKlTle-8xjwNyQ5GmlrCIlA82hULONwbU3PKu0mkGy0KF_nkIbfzvGXQaCiyEVrlNCD-NgXWyaZqfib3XNrT1CcoVAzzPIXmLmhSAV8Evc/s1600/P1010828.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEips1BIbkLl8FkkzIaRCoPCds5Np24rz5gFqEKlTle-8xjwNyQ5GmlrCIlA82hULONwbU3PKu0mkGy0KF_nkIbfzvGXQaCiyEVrlNCD-NgXWyaZqfib3XNrT1CcoVAzzPIXmLmhSAV8Evc/s640/P1010828.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
"I'm cured!". This was a posting I made within hours of having finished Paris, Brest, Paris 2015, hinting that it would be my last PBP. <b>BS</b> was officially called within seconds of that post hitting the interwebs, and this was not the first time that I was wrong (nor I suspect the last time I will be wrong). It is impossible to separate my experiences of riding PBP 2019 from any of those of past editions and the reader will have to forgive those moments of personal context that will follow below.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw88WrPi3Nm6vC4mmS5Ap6qGZiRt-z5gCAUJgy6WDpB5iPPmsD0poX8idBgJ5nnOwnfMyD0jXjYuyZpJhTacMHW9YscECCLphurjz1gz_l2PqIcurJKJ7K6vF8P7uRXrGI2xeL7Jec6C0/s1600/20190815_124215.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw88WrPi3Nm6vC4mmS5Ap6qGZiRt-z5gCAUJgy6WDpB5iPPmsD0poX8idBgJ5nnOwnfMyD0jXjYuyZpJhTacMHW9YscECCLphurjz1gz_l2PqIcurJKJ7K6vF8P7uRXrGI2xeL7Jec6C0/s320/20190815_124215.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chartres Cathedral</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
For the number of <a href="https://www.strava.com/athletes/4435486/posts/6102003">roadblocks</a> I faced during the four year run-up to PBP 2019, as things transpired I led a somewhat charmed life once landing in France this past August. On the day before my flight, I received an email from Ed Felker inviting me to join Mary and him on a shake down ride out to Chartres. I had heard Craig Robertson describe the sight of the cathedral up on it's hill as he and Lori Cherry approached by bike from the west on a pre-PBP ride in 2015, and it immediately became a bucket list item for me and I had been wistfully thinking about wanting to do that ride just 24 hours before Ed's email hit my inbox. As logistical details about the trip were being ironed out in July, I got an offer to be picked up from the airport (the US travel agent had cancelled all plans for airport/hotel shuttles which were always on offer in the past).
<br />
<br />
Brian Koss drove out from SQY to pick me up the day I arrived (Brian, I'm not sure I can describe just how much I appreciated that gesture. It was huge!) and I had the afternoon on Wednesday then to assemble my bike. The next day, Brian, Anson, Roy and I met Ed and Mary as well as Jerry at their hotel for the ride to Chartres. The company was great, the distance and pace exactly what I needed to test the suspect Achilles tendon that halted all PBP training a month before. On the ride I found some rattles on the bike to chase down and Ed got a flat tire out of the way so neither of us had to deal with <i>those</i> issues on PBP itself. In the 'it is a small world' category, while we lunched in Chartres, Robert Chung stopped by to chat. I hadn't seen Robert in years, and when he came up to our table, seeing someone completely out of context left me literally speechless.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrvD1w7IfGOyRLRyT5X7Y6CFd_A2QqZ8GNTVnpIZFG1whfC9zik5k47kELMNIld_y5a21OQthNSOmlDWS_PeXrOMTQUUov-iuHSccbnMHy3WVR7dPIKbe9XA9k7mTPCqzohyl56s_RZTo/s1600/20190816_173234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrvD1w7IfGOyRLRyT5X7Y6CFd_A2QqZ8GNTVnpIZFG1whfC9zik5k47kELMNIld_y5a21OQthNSOmlDWS_PeXrOMTQUUov-iuHSccbnMHy3WVR7dPIKbe9XA9k7mTPCqzohyl56s_RZTo/s640/20190816_173234.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Over the next few days, other San Francisco Randonneurs showed up at the Campanile along with riders from elsewhere in the States and around the world. Groups would organize to go out for dinner each evening, and before that each day yet other groups would organize for day trips to one of maybe three destinations: Paris, Versailles, and Rambouillet.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuQYMMz_axbjlP9rNvwT5RNrXHmtmjTh1S82m-zmd3RFlGMTWnc0scB6eN6LAvhE1VaRY-kRr-VNP5QXb8JD-pc0Hy0KVE1YOz_MV03GIJ2VsjJHXjKLyZ1YBJM6hGeQhQXpT02gImBMY/s1600/20190818_173809.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuQYMMz_axbjlP9rNvwT5RNrXHmtmjTh1S82m-zmd3RFlGMTWnc0scB6eN6LAvhE1VaRY-kRr-VNP5QXb8JD-pc0Hy0KVE1YOz_MV03GIJ2VsjJHXjKLyZ1YBJM6hGeQhQXpT02gImBMY/s400/20190818_173809.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Passing time with bike people, talking about bikes, bike rides, bike injuries and bike clubs was the order of the days. Anson, Brian, Roy and I made the trip to <a href="http://www.cycles-alex-singer.fr/">Alex Singer Cycles</a> on Friday, a place I had last visited in 2011 and got a replacement for the cycling cap I got back then that is now nearly in tatters. We ran into east coast randonneurs George Swain and Nigel Greene at the shop and it was good to see them after at least 4 years.<br />
<br />
Saturday was transfer day for many of us and given the rain most opted to take the train from SQY (or Paris!) to Rambouillet. The turnstiles were overwhelmed and in the end the staff at the station just opened them up to let riders and bikes through. The route from the train station to our hotel was very short, but included a section of cobbles that a) were more like boulders and b) seemed to lack grout and the gaps between the wet rocks worried me. Sunday began wet, but cleared through the day and was warm and dry for the departure of both the 80 and 90 hour groups. Before heading over to watch those riders leave, some late shopping was done but really, there was little left in town to buy. What I collected to serve as a 4am breakfast for the next day was some sorry looking cheese, and a loaf of what was labeled as 'American' bread, which bore an unhealthy similarity to a Wonder Bread knock-off.
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZ4w-mlMfnREgk8DFCQ1m53DGZDfw-dlwSe8idkuVnvK5VkSMoKdJr6QgZ8MW9Fw9cGpKfFCyLyBieKR1ojWaLeOcs6DPCAzBy9qlNq25MK5f5ebThtB_XzdPWOxAniMWBhofpyqCSVA/s1600/P1010827.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkZ4w-mlMfnREgk8DFCQ1m53DGZDfw-dlwSe8idkuVnvK5VkSMoKdJr6QgZ8MW9Fw9cGpKfFCyLyBieKR1ojWaLeOcs6DPCAzBy9qlNq25MK5f5ebThtB_XzdPWOxAniMWBhofpyqCSVA/s400/P1010827.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ed and Mary lead the train!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sunday night I got just shy of my usual night's sleep of 7 hours and early in the morning I finished packing, checked out of the hotel and headed over to the start. I got there ahead of most of the 'X-men', those SFR members who signed up for the first wave of 84 hour riders. Finally we got our cards stamped, moved to a new location to stand and wait and then rolled out from Rambouillet into the dark roads through the forest. The initial pace seemed more on the sedate side for quite some time, but finally the pack got strung out as the route threaded through the first of so many small villages. Amidst all the shuffling in the dark I found Jerry Seager and we rode together for a while and then caught up to Ed and Mary on the tandem. I had simply not eaten enough that morning and for most of the daylight hours I was behind on nutrition and had the stomach issues one might expect.<br />
<br />
The first step in reversing the bad stomach issues was stopping in Mortagne au Perche to eat. This was not a formal control, but at ~80 miles into the ride it might be the first place riders would stop to eat. The highest mountain I had to climb on the ride was not <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roc%27h_Trevezel">Roc'h Trevezel</a> between Carhaix and Brest, instead it was the enormous plate of mashed potatoes I was given at this control. I can only say I did my best, but it was not good enough. Hoping to connect with Anson, Roy and others at this stop turned out to be in vain as they hit the counter at the front of the room and left without sitting down to eat. I rode off and on with Jerry, Mary, Ed, Sourav and others until the first real control in Villaines, which is my personal favorite. Along the way, Sourav admitted to being overwhelmed with culture shock. I had no help to offer, and there was no <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2_Wld8P4UA">PBP Tips</a> installment on that aspect of riding PBP.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ZWnJDzzoDVWsqHZQO6rdbYuac99eWffU4ldqzhH4QNwfOMmeDn3zFcHaJz8wTh081_LkJmY31BC1f9WGjXxykl9TjjIWASwzNLz9srOmlGbFb5puEKkBQ4gL69GIif-VEB3YVWbP5lk/s1600/P1010832.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="809" data-original-width="1600" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-ZWnJDzzoDVWsqHZQO6rdbYuac99eWffU4ldqzhH4QNwfOMmeDn3zFcHaJz8wTh081_LkJmY31BC1f9WGjXxykl9TjjIWASwzNLz9srOmlGbFb5puEKkBQ4gL69GIif-VEB3YVWbP5lk/s320/P1010832.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No thanks, I think I'm good now.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The control stop in Fougeres brought a sighting of RUSA #s 7 and 8, Bill and Lois, and another chance to stem the tide of a bad stomach. Alas, no frites on offer but I did eat heartily and was beginning to win the battle. The memory begins to blur, but I think it was between Fougeres and Tinteniac outbound that our group hit some rain, dashing my hopes of a rain free PBP on the 4th try. In Tinteniac, I was greeted by Jean-Michel who had taken my photo there on PBP 2011 and posted it on Facebook where someone found it and forwarded to me. He had invited me to stop at his house to eat, rest, shower perhaps but organizing the group I was riding with was difficult. Instead, he bought me a baguette with cheese and <a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Red%20ambulance">a little red ambulance</a> with which to wash down the sandwich. I was enjoying food completely at this point and it was good to finally meet Jean-Michel in person. He had hosted at his house a group of 90 hour riders earlier in the day. I was touched by his generosity toward me and to a number of other riders passing through his town. It is these connections to the residents of the towns PBP passes through that make the experience so great.<br />
<br />
I had been silently dreading the section between Tinteniac and Loudeac, largely because how my stomach had put me on the defensive so to speak. I knew that stretch to be long, seemingly endless and at night largely featureless. My charmed life, stomach notwithstanding, continued though because I had the wheel of the tandem to myself and Ed and Mary were killing it on that segment. This fine run helped put all three of us back in the game. I had hoped to arrive in Loudeac around 1:30am but had also hoped to leave Tinteniac before sunset in order to do that. It was dark before we had reached that previous control. My arrival time in Loudeac fell between my two previous PBP rides. Less sleep than I wanted, but more than I had in 2011 I think. First food shoved through the <a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Pie%20Hole">pie-hole</a>, then sleep.<br />
<br />
Click <a href="https://449km.blogspot.com/2019/09/the-fourth-time-is-charm-pbp-2019-part-2.html">here to go to part 2</a>.<br />
<br />rob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281341796142406798.post-72341064681733457722019-09-06T07:53:00.000-07:002019-09-10T10:32:38.535-07:00The fourth time is a charm? PBP 2019 part 2<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5FE1MwN5TueBXycjNDay9UxnPQ2ezToFbfArh9towxat1-QUU0n9PwTQazgjBe5Gc288bD2zZvsIcwuIdjF-Hnsm4kgqJSjCcWZCpl9t1N-kHWv53jLfcqikdRikZuzM_24lCkWV4-_o/s1600/P1010839.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5FE1MwN5TueBXycjNDay9UxnPQ2ezToFbfArh9towxat1-QUU0n9PwTQazgjBe5Gc288bD2zZvsIcwuIdjF-Hnsm4kgqJSjCcWZCpl9t1N-kHWv53jLfcqikdRikZuzM_24lCkWV4-_o/s640/P1010839.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RUSA #1349</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
For riders that take PBP in three parts, Loudeac is often the control that cleaves the route into those three parts: Part 1, start to Loudeac: ~275 miles; Part 2, Loudeac-Brest-Loudeac: ~210 miles; Part 3, Loudeac to the finish: ~275 miles. On paper Part 2 looks to be a cake walk with it being a big chunk shorter. Well. No. It isn't a cake walk. One reason is that this section just feels hillier. Way more hilly, and in fact just getting away from Loudeac requires climbing a series of big rollers. Ironically, Roc'h Trevezel, the major climb on the ride, the highest point on the ride, and the location that provides the greatest unobstructed vista is much easier than so many other, shorter climbs. But it is in Part 2 and a focal point of that part.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6VcrAQyWNvGz5DBqv9y5KVtzubKMhoNckOjr-BvS0v5GbelTiSFtqQth3IWih4eUQU_ISzDaza4_-qEx0YBOE1WAc-0Q36-rnSuO7nNfUNwF1HF1FDGc3Hp9GQhLcm_zGm7_UVdCPLIs/s1600/P1010837.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6VcrAQyWNvGz5DBqv9y5KVtzubKMhoNckOjr-BvS0v5GbelTiSFtqQth3IWih4eUQU_ISzDaza4_-qEx0YBOE1WAc-0Q36-rnSuO7nNfUNwF1HF1FDGc3Hp9GQhLcm_zGm7_UVdCPLIs/s320/P1010837.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
The band (Mary and Ed on the tandem, Jerry, Anson, Roy and Brian K.) are all together as we leave and negotiate those first big rollers. Overnight, fog and appeared and settled in the lower laying areas and the early hours after sunup are spent going into and out of that fog. Our group alternately splits and coalesces as we find our own rhythms. Because the foggy sections are punctuated with crisp and clear hilltop sections the weather really has to be placed on the positive side of the ledger. Either the headwind hasn't kicked up yet, or those sunny hilltops are blunting the force of the wind, adding yet another reward for climbing on this morning.<br />
<br />
At one point Brian rolls on ahead of the group which is largely trying to match the pace of the tandem. This is familiar behavior to me. Brian is just a stronger rider and rolling a little faster affords him greater space on the road. A couple of the roads we ride at this point are a bit more busy at this time of the day. On the return we will have that section of the road to ourselves. Prior to Carhaix, the next control on our cards, I know there is the option of food at St. Nicholas du Pelem. Before I knew that it was a required (and secret) control I just knew I wished to stop there to eat and I'm pretty pleased that the tandem team felt the same way. Though I ate a fairly large breakfast, this is where I would keep from going into a nutritional deficit later in the day. The break is much longer than I expected, but I really didn't care. I was feeling good, I had the time to address what needed addressing without being rushed, and it was a really pleasant morning. An attempt was made to leave as a group, but I sensed the tandem wanted just a little bit of alone time and when we all split up in the rollers that followed I thought that was a good thing that was probably only temporary. I ended up riding with Jerry for a long stretch on the way into Carhaix and we chatted about the nature of the riders surrounding us. I had no clue ahead of time that we would still be in the middle of a huge number of 90 hour riders at this point. Two things about that: it really was not like this in 2015 with so many 90 hour riders encountered so early in the ride for us, and it would only become more so later on this day as we caught more and more 90 hour riders.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYj3vG1bTuBKFTM2qcEB4hqdj_feTQ5vhzm-yN0aFhyphenhyphenYV0gBR9BGZRju66RzucJAWXQUzzvzROhYvg23ypR8MnVy3HHC9uTDDQTCgeQVWw4JJCbMqvHhZAyajj6mX1yzOh0NhWtZ4wUTM/s1600/P1010836.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYj3vG1bTuBKFTM2qcEB4hqdj_feTQ5vhzm-yN0aFhyphenhyphenYV0gBR9BGZRju66RzucJAWXQUzzvzROhYvg23ypR8MnVy3HHC9uTDDQTCgeQVWw4JJCbMqvHhZAyajj6mX1yzOh0NhWtZ4wUTM/s640/P1010836.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even the public art finds the terrain hilly</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Again upon leaving that next control, we are a group. Like Brian had earlier, I began to feel like I really needed more space all around me, front, back and to the sides and the pace of the tandem on these longer climbs makes the group bunch up a little tighter. After Carhaix, the route diverges from the main motorway heading west and instead takes a quieter road through a national park. This is one of my favorite segments of the PBP route. Unlike the less hilly, but still very rolling agricultural terrain of Day 1, with the repeated transits of small villages, this segment seems like one long climb through forested land. Spending so much time in the woods only adds to the sense of openness we'll experience at the to of Roc'h Trevezel.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdDGRqWs6bGnxuRafbvLBFRbsKSLiyEv47A0G_xPOmne-02cHvoCCFEwg_xdxvk-DvfbOQHqHWr5bqIr2Ri0NlGv0ECZpkTUITvs9xlb_boYYVPlxbjP8tsTCHI6vkNWic9VmufqzRolE/s1600/P1010838.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdDGRqWs6bGnxuRafbvLBFRbsKSLiyEv47A0G_xPOmne-02cHvoCCFEwg_xdxvk-DvfbOQHqHWr5bqIr2Ri0NlGv0ECZpkTUITvs9xlb_boYYVPlxbjP8tsTCHI6vkNWic9VmufqzRolE/s320/P1010838.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I had only meant to gain a little space on the road when I slipped around the tandem, but the gap got big and kept growing and I felt really good riding at my pace on the climb. Leif B. from Montana passed me here, rolling along very strongly. Before I knew it, the route made a right turn and the final leg of the 'major' climb began. It was here that our outbound route coincided again with the return route. For the longest time the stream of riders going down hill opposite me were riders I did not know. After quickly stopping at a discreet place to 'shift fluids' before the summit, and then regaining the road, I spot Irving across the road who has Ben and Dan with him now on their return. They look so happy that it is infectious. Around the huge traffic circle just below the summit I go and then I'm gaining speed downhill and yelling out to everyone I recognize on their way back. I puzzle only briefly at spotting Ian and then Carlin well back from the rest of the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/boyzonthehoods/?hl=en">Boyz</a>. They too look happy and call out in return.<br />
<br />
At the bottom of the hill I'm surprised to catch up to Metin who was stopped at the edge of Sizun at an impromptu roadside stand. Metin is riding fixed and riding it strongly. He had found himself behind his 2015 pace to this point, but there is little surprise here given the headwinds we've all faced. A regroup in Sizun forms and as we work our way toward the left turn that will again split us off from the return route we get stuck behind a truck with a large, slow load. The left turn off this roadway is busy, but it brings immediate relief. We have more of the roadway to ourselves on this quieter road and that feels better. Brest is by far the biggest city we enter on the entire route and there is a much, much longer segment of residential terrain we pass through on our way to the crossing of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89lorn">L'Elorn</a> river on the Pont Albert Louppe. Reaching this point has brought me to the place I had been focusing on for much of the ride up to then. Among all the many items I had packed on the bike and carried with me was essentially a promise I had made.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuCsUBzdP_IK0IaXmwkQIAKuUqXsqPu5FPYaVHKlWgLQBipQuSWZYXcrK8LOuHqRJb-MN7vsRXW510j6l6V-Q9ESBdDzM-HbNphyphenhyphenOwFgeAVqyhBaHbsCjaAKgDdX-Wb0aPubaaKD_tfE4/s1600/P1010841.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuCsUBzdP_IK0IaXmwkQIAKuUqXsqPu5FPYaVHKlWgLQBipQuSWZYXcrK8LOuHqRJb-MN7vsRXW510j6l6V-Q9ESBdDzM-HbNphyphenhyphenOwFgeAVqyhBaHbsCjaAKgDdX-Wb0aPubaaKD_tfE4/s200/P1010841.JPG" width="200" /></a></div>
RUSA #1349 is who got me into long distance riding, and who brought me on my first randonneuring event, and who supported me in many ways when I became RBA for the CA: San Francisco region of Randonneurs USA. Bruce Berg had passed the previous December, and on this ride I carried a small container of his ashes. The crossing of this river, with it's view of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pont_de_l%27Iroise">Pont de l'Iroise</a> is a milestone for PBP riders, most of whom stop to take photos here. The cable-stayed bridge here is iconic. Bruce was an architect and it seemed doubly so the right place to release his ashes. The wind was not my friend, blowing directly back at me where I had stopped so I leaned over the railing, held the container below the cement siding and then poured the ashes out of the wind. As they fell a gust from below caught them and formed a ghost of the finer particles which rose up as the heavier ash fell. No doubt I am projecting, but that struck me as a kind of freedom, for his soul and for mine.<br />
<br />
Over the last two editions of PBP, 2011 and 2015, I had come to the conclusion that food and facility wise the Brest control was the low point, which stood in contrast to it's meaning as a turning point on the ride for the participants. My arrival there was toward the very end of my allotted time and as in 2011, the restaurant portion of the control had run out of food and was closed. What was left was the 'quick' option of baguette sandwiches, soup and drinks. No matter, I was with friends and I had a sense of accomplishment that 24 hours earlier I had worried I would not achieve.<br />
<br />
As we left Brest and its busy streets, I made a traffic light while the rest of the group with the tandem had to stop. I chose to ride on knowing I would be gathered up by the group later, but not expecting that 'later' would not be until arrival at Carhaix many miles ahead. On the way there, I was catching and passing many riders. My legs felt good and it was pleasing to open up and roll hard for a while. I knew I'd back off before I dug a hole for myself. One rider I passed decided to hang with me. Eduardo had been riding solo, and as a 90 hour rider he was quite a bit behind schedule and no doubt looking to regain some of the time he had lost. Neither of us spoke much French, I knew zero Portuguese but Eduardo was able to use some English and led the conversation. It was clear he wanted some company and the barrier of language would not stop him. He was from Brazil and managed to convey not just the city where he was from but also the unique provenance of that town (settled by Germans). When he asked me my name he had trouble figuring it out and 'Rob' somehow became 'Rafe'. I tried to correct him and he tried to figure it out. Finally, he said "No. Not your name. New Name!"<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-yWkxMKC9FvE3seX4By8f6q6KpOQ4HwIyM_KYj2wS36AVo-Bys48ukwVonNYhmhDlkfLfln5ukIYMlJADtcD4ohw8eDwJ5n0LAgNGxiO-fsKarut3I6UH-4i4_EtbsmvPApiBZEiqKoE/s1600/P1010845.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-yWkxMKC9FvE3seX4By8f6q6KpOQ4HwIyM_KYj2wS36AVo-Bys48ukwVonNYhmhDlkfLfln5ukIYMlJADtcD4ohw8eDwJ5n0LAgNGxiO-fsKarut3I6UH-4i4_EtbsmvPApiBZEiqKoE/s640/P1010845.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
We reached Carhaix before sunset which put me a tiny bit ahead of my 2011 pace, but well behind that of 2015. No matter. By now the certainty that I would complete the route had taken hold. Even what was to follow could not undermine that. Our group had reformed for the departure from Carhaix, with Eduardo there hoping to join us, and off we all went. On the approach to Carhaix there were still many riders heading out toward Brest. I could not figure out how any of them would ever finish within the time limits, and the riders already returning from Brest were quite spaced out.<br />
<br />
Leaving Carhaix though it was much different and large groups were forming to ride into the darkness toward Loudeac. As mentioned earlier, most of these by far were 90 hour riders all needing some form of minor miracle to get back on schedule. The appearance of a tandem coming up from behind must have seemed an answer to silent prayers. To them maybe. For our group, it was the end of our riding partnership. Overly tired riders drifted laterally, with some staying to the far left directly in the path of any oncoming traffic. They were scaring the crap out of me. Ed and Mary called one time out under the pretext that they needed to stop to add a layer but it was solely to split us off from the crazy pack. That worked only briefly and one by one we all figured out we needed to jump way ahead or fall off to get away from the danger. The tension of riding in this pack just drained me, so I chose to fall off and ride solo. As expected, despite approaching Loudeac separately I did spot most of the others at the control and the hotel and we made plans for a morning regroup and departure. A 07:00 departure was the agreement, but Anson was quite happy with my request for a 07:15 time. More stuffing of the pie hole with food and then more blessed sleep to end part 2 of the ride.<br />
<br />
Click <a href="https://449km.blogspot.com/2019/09/the-fourth-time-is-charm-pbp-2019-part-3.html">here to go to part 3</a>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixBc0-Za-s19i7hFB3MyIY0uGWqOLoBhoMYHFIVHRSN05lcoD8_tfEOiFGogRMTxKnAsoeT_ko-l-jhDIoeCfVrAJGzRXrAIVb9i665m7ZnJT8bh-VoriPZZqHpK7DUqJWeMLTnv715Og/s1600/P1010847.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixBc0-Za-s19i7hFB3MyIY0uGWqOLoBhoMYHFIVHRSN05lcoD8_tfEOiFGogRMTxKnAsoeT_ko-l-jhDIoeCfVrAJGzRXrAIVb9i665m7ZnJT8bh-VoriPZZqHpK7DUqJWeMLTnv715Og/s640/P1010847.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sizun</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />rob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281341796142406798.post-8501197527542060042019-09-05T16:13:00.000-07:002019-09-10T10:32:51.738-07:00The fourth time is a charm?, PBP 2019 part 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBJx_2YlkqdP4D6jyajJS5tPDhZu1o5gV9_zHnaLP375PXbjEpmS0oLHXEJ6TaKOQOkPc6c-pGY1Y5aMfl-yVVi8g643W_J8a-B2VQeCqsrdztpFxDWetaqicE4Ogz7ATGmUFaQC-Rp_Q/s1600/P1010857.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBJx_2YlkqdP4D6jyajJS5tPDhZu1o5gV9_zHnaLP375PXbjEpmS0oLHXEJ6TaKOQOkPc6c-pGY1Y5aMfl-yVVi8g643W_J8a-B2VQeCqsrdztpFxDWetaqicE4Ogz7ATGmUFaQC-Rp_Q/s640/P1010857.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Anson and I leave Loudeac on Day 3 behind the other riders in our group and a little later than the 07:15 projection of the night before. As we depart, the control would be officially closed (07:37 for the last 84 hour wave), but in fact remain open to handle the steady stream of all the late arriving riders. Though the others are ahead, Anson and I each felt no sense of urgency. The experience of the previous two days taught us we'd absolutely reconnect with the others, somewhere up ahead. As on the morning of Day 2, the large breakfast I ate at the hotel was only part one of a <a href="https://www.webstaurantstore.com/blog/1786/hobbit-meals-to-celebrate-hobbit-day.html">Hobbit's Breakfast</a> and nutritional insurance was purchased later that morning in <span style="background-color: white;">Quédillac for 'second breakfast'. Anson and I were clearing the food purchasing area just as the Tandem Team was departing. As in 2015, as I was leaving this food stop I encountered a videographer documenting Paris, Brest, Paris but this time it was the other half of the <a href="http://www.damonpeacock.com/">team</a> (but not Damon Peacock himself) and we spent a bit of time chatting before Anson and I rejoined the ride. Day 3 was becoming a really nice day and it might be the warmest of the three days so far. Ahead of us was a climb up to the church in </span><span style="background-color: white;">Bécherel </span><span style="background-color: white;">and a descent from there toward </span><span style="background-color: white;">Tinténiac</span><span style="background-color: white;">. The pattern of town and village names has changed since the night before, as well as how they appeared on the signs at the edge of town. No longer were the towns listed in two languages, such as at Carhaix, and now many of the towns ended with a 'iac' or 'ec' (</span><span style="background-color: white;">Bécherel notwithstanding).</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvSUVonuEuozXjs6tCtAtPgNc9nAf2SdKOktuaR_lWZVtsFBmMAObkyZvmRyh1S1c-A_wKVMoZCv8ubIrJ6Mv4O_piKhUbRctr8xEZCr-D8DIks-EGW373SQGJSVenrRGnjjg18_5GvQw/s1600/P1000856.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvSUVonuEuozXjs6tCtAtPgNc9nAf2SdKOktuaR_lWZVtsFBmMAObkyZvmRyh1S1c-A_wKVMoZCv8ubIrJ6Mv4O_piKhUbRctr8xEZCr-D8DIks-EGW373SQGJSVenrRGnjjg18_5GvQw/s320/P1000856.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Tinténiac was the next stop where we would present our cards to receive a stamp and, unlike in previous editions but just like outbound on this edition, I skipped the cafeteria and got food from the tent adjacent to the bike parking areas. Post ride, participants will often tally up the wounds and injuries suffered along the way, but I think little attention may be paid to the food related injuries that might afflict riders. It was two full weeks after PBP 2019 concluded before the corners of my mouth healed after the damage caused by the large number of baguettes I ate. It is hard for me to argue that I'd have wanted it any other way however, and one of the hardest elements of reintroduction to civilian life after PBP is the scarcity of a good baguette. I am being too harsh of course, but while there are in fact <a href="http://acmebread.com/bread">good baguettes to be had</a> here, they just are not the same. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Anson and I left </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Tinténiac</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"> behind the others, having arrived as they departed. Despite the third meal of the day already (or perhaps because of it?), I was just a little sluggish at first on this segment but soon that cleared. We traded turns pulling the other rider along before settling in to a side by side cycling style to better allow for conversation. Along this stretch we decided to up our game with handing out the SFR pins. Nearing yet another small town there was a family sitting in their driveway with what must have been both their own children and several more from the neighboring houses. Anson took one half of the group to hand out pins to and I got the other, there were so many. As we hand out the pins a familiar pattern is followed. At first the recipients are unsure of what we are handing them, then they get a closer look and without fail there follows the moment of realization of where we are from, with an enthusiastic 'Ah, San Francisco!' spoken. The smallest in the group of kids gets a pin from me, checks it out and then slips into Anson's line unnoticed by him collects a second pin, grinning at pulling that trick off.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicBv8iJEA6cyDMutyedTe0nGw4_3ZNbp4tXLkZQZDnt2Zh-osIIOBmWW-m0X1i7ZbafG3UemdZ_08fi88Swax6O4U0QQBXraCheqoUr4AcGt6MKOfAmk-oglI-Y0dlcYt4wFPsELyMqsM/s1600/P1010855.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicBv8iJEA6cyDMutyedTe0nGw4_3ZNbp4tXLkZQZDnt2Zh-osIIOBmWW-m0X1i7ZbafG3UemdZ_08fi88Swax6O4U0QQBXraCheqoUr4AcGt6MKOfAmk-oglI-Y0dlcYt4wFPsELyMqsM/s320/P1010855.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Fougères comes next and we finally link up with Ed, Mary, Roy, and Brian. A long lunch break, a quick nap under the trees and then we roll out. The landscape is more open here and the vistas just a tiny bit broader. Up ahead is the crepe stop, i</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">n the little town of La Tanniere, where Paul Rogue serves crepes to passing riders, asking for only a postcard mailed to him in return. For those counting, this is the fifth food stop of the day, and there will be more. Our group meets Metin here who chooses not to linger but does stop to say hello. The pace of a fixed gear rider won't be matching that of a tandem-led group especially with the hills up ahead. I am happy to stop of course, but I forgo the food and just rest.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Having rejoined the tandem team, we've also rejoined the swarm of less skilled riders that forms in the tandem's wake. On day three I don't have the reservoir of strength to spend any of it on staying out of trouble with riders on both sides of me as well as in front and behind. I dropped back to the tail of the group and still could not find any relief. Finally I accept that I have to give up the company of all my friends here and ride my own ride. First order of business however is to grab a cat nap after saying my goodbyes. In the little town of </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Ambrières-les-Vallées there is a small park on the banks of the river, near the eastern edge of town. A perfect place to rest. I was off the bike for about 20 minutes, asleep for maybe 15 of those and when I got back on the bike the difference was stark: I was less tense, more alert and found a well of energy to use to tackle the big rollers and hills before Villaines.</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_7E-Xu6bEqAuyGiD4EUjit0GsH61aePbm6AS05J6FXvTPefJfLv_yLv67EsyfmS0pjKZ6s1S0YN9zKhuxw5PNtpDD63_vS-klear4ao8k8sV9rzXw2dEfQ-kZkvtbHTwHPLKQjh8P8iI/s1600/P1010860.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_7E-Xu6bEqAuyGiD4EUjit0GsH61aePbm6AS05J6FXvTPefJfLv_yLv67EsyfmS0pjKZ6s1S0YN9zKhuxw5PNtpDD63_vS-klear4ao8k8sV9rzXw2dEfQ-kZkvtbHTwHPLKQjh8P8iI/s320/P1010860.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Just as I was falling into rhythm, I caught up to Brian F. I had heard he had a tough time around Tinteniac outbound and was happy to see he was back on the road and had made great progress. As we chat he tells me about reuniting with a local who had offered him help when he had to DNF in 2015. Brian is upbeat and looks to be riding well. My nap has done wonders and on the next hill I decide to let that boost take me toward my own pace. In both 2011 and 2015 I knew what was ahead on this section: some long climbs, all steeper than most of the rest of the route but also like in 2011 and 2015 I was feeling great on this section. 2015 was perhaps my best PBP ride. I felt strong nearly the entire ride then, and right now I have that same feeling and it feels like I am crushing the climbs. My guess at this point is that I will arrive at the next control in civil twilight so I made a quick stop to put on my reflective vest and turn on lights. While I'm doing that someone in an ultra-light plane flies above the PBP riders, occasionally dipping down to buzz them. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">The energized feeling I got after the nap helped me almost catch the tandem-led group at Villaines and I'm only slightly behind as I join them in the cafeteria to eat (yet again). At this control, a great many of the locals eat at the PBP restaurant, but riders not only get to jump the queue, we also get one of the school kids to carry our tray while they practice their English. My French is on par with my tray-carrying companion's English, which is to say neither of us are exactly good at the other's language, but nevertheless we have a conversation of sorts. Just that interaction gives me a boost though. Somehow, we lost Brian K. in the jumble of the bike parking area and Jerry and the tandem team leave as a group. I ride out with Anson and Roy and on the climb, there are riders climbing at all different paces. During the points where a group forms around Anson and Roy, I drop to the back of that group to keep the stress low which works very well. Just like the time after sunset on Day 2, this stretch will end up being a very tough stretch for me, and I know I'm not alone in this assessment. Early on though I feel good. Certainly this is not the case, but it feels as if the entire leg from Villaines-la-Juhel to the next control at Mortagne-au-Perche is uphill and that is what will wear me down.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggnhHjk0h2KU2drFxHVAhTE_9KerM9jMwNPU2BGAiVTr91B4PXBPzjqiPyA7RJz_kijuEw1_KcgYcn53_l-oCKxgIXhfJLfigIwJQxpYcZU9KErAYkign2z0H9s18-4qWqQXYoU3ac88g/s1600/P1010834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggnhHjk0h2KU2drFxHVAhTE_9KerM9jMwNPU2BGAiVTr91B4PXBPzjqiPyA7RJz_kijuEw1_KcgYcn53_l-oCKxgIXhfJLfigIwJQxpYcZU9KErAYkign2z0H9s18-4qWqQXYoU3ac88g/s200/P1010834.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Twice I needed to stop to pull something from my handlebar bag. Both times I urge Anson and Roy to roll on, and the second time they listen to me. I'm still riding the boost I got from that earlier nap and the party atmosphere at the last control, and just like in 2015 I felt I could let riding companions roll ahead when I stopped and I could catch them. Ironically, though I do catch Anson and Roy no sooner does that happen then I have to stop to pee! This time, when I catch them again they had stopped to take some on some caffeine to help with alertness. A short time later, it was Roy's turn to need to stop when an issue arises with his gps device. I could tell Anson would do better if he kept moving, so I stopped with Roy and told Anson to keep going. Far from any other light sources, it becomes clear that a) Roy's equipment issues won't be solved quickly, and b) they really weren't show-stoppers in terms of riding progress, so Roy agrees to work on the problem when we next find adequate light. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Bob Cauthorn had organized a group purchase of reflective vests from a vendor other than the one that supplied the ACP with vests given to all riders. A dividend of that different source was that the SFR vests used a different pattern for the reflective material, one that could easily be spotted from a long distance. Additionally, the SFR logo was on the back in a big white oval. I was scanning for this as Roy and I caught and passed riders once we were moving again. In short order we catch a rider with the SFR vest that I automatically assumed was Anson, and I begin explaining what Roy and I had worked out about his Garmin device. No response. Hmmm. I rolled up closer and then discover that it is not Anson at all, but Arnel D. It takes a bit to get a response from him. He is suffering mightily with alertness and I ask him when was the last time he had taken any caffeine. In his weary state it turns out he had forgotten he even had any with him. I guided him to an open spot on the side of the road out of the way of the riders going past and he sets about digging out his pills.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg8JL9DdHgzG9LvMdNSJniJmo0vkqIQm5YhWduCAYjg4j2KAna4Qjq1LNQt432CIIh6kTe65ujBd2XE3nctDGsneR8TPsPbg0X24-fSYWwBBTjg8728t__doImDsD7aQHoUpSSBoB-hBM/s1600/68902009_349447432666641_7862041024266793613_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg8JL9DdHgzG9LvMdNSJniJmo0vkqIQm5YhWduCAYjg4j2KAna4Qjq1LNQt432CIIh6kTe65ujBd2XE3nctDGsneR8TPsPbg0X24-fSYWwBBTjg8728t__doImDsD7aQHoUpSSBoB-hBM/s320/68902009_349447432666641_7862041024266793613_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">There are a few villages we pass through, most closed up for the night but we still hear locals cheering us on as we pass through town. For the first time I stopped at the tents set up in the center of Mamers and Ed, Mary and Jerry are already there. Inside, exhausted riders spill over from their chairs onto the tables in front of them, some trying to find ways to warm themselves up. Our break is short and after a few cookies and for some a hot beverage, we roll on. Mortagne-au-Perche never seems to arrive, and the climbing never seems to let up. This is the section that takes the most out of me. Conversation seems to have ceased and each of us has retreated to that space inside our heads for the duration of this leg. Anson has gone quiet, Roy remains quiet. At various points along the way I've wondered if Roy was enjoying his ride, glad he made the trip, whether he was cruising or struggling. In the dark or in daylight, Roy just kept riding along with the expression of the Sphinx. I guess I'll have to wait for his write up to know, as he wasn't sharing thoughts yet.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">One thing I notice along here is the vast amount of newly paved roads, and the super smooth surface mitigates against the ongoing climbing we do. Finally, at long last we reach another town and while we don't see the city we want listed on the sign at the edge of town, it seems we all know we are very close. Upon arrival, the control is abuzz with activity, and a few riders are showing that hang-dog posture of the Shermer's Neck sufferer. Our group gathers at a table for yet another meal but this will be the last time the full group is together. Ed and Mary and I think Jerry all decide to sleep for multiple hours here. Knowing that there are no cots available I convince Anson and Roy to join the dozens of other riders here in just grabbing floor space in the cafeteria and napping here. It ain't pretty, but it works.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Click <a href="https://449km.blogspot.com/2019/09/the-fourth-time-is-charm-pbp-2019-part-4.html">here to go to part 4</a>.</span>rob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281341796142406798.post-88888101531763396852019-09-04T16:24:00.000-07:002019-09-10T10:33:00.566-07:00The fourth time is a charm?, PBP 2019 part 4<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0w_etg0BlgmEcSPz-VadMOYxdeG1ZNPJtPNXqpp6qoLfqTOZR0Xo9_TH2AT8eO5Z2TSZCD-rFA-dNwJqpGJCIj1QDET-srTZylK7ltoJ4yyqRmHWurJyqsycXAzSYzhXHzMR74hh8zMQ/s1600/20190822_115329.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0w_etg0BlgmEcSPz-VadMOYxdeG1ZNPJtPNXqpp6qoLfqTOZR0Xo9_TH2AT8eO5Z2TSZCD-rFA-dNwJqpGJCIj1QDET-srTZylK7ltoJ4yyqRmHWurJyqsycXAzSYzhXHzMR74hh8zMQ/s640/20190822_115329.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just one left to fill</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Unlike the fog that descended on the landscape overnight on Monday, the fog forming on Thursday morning was mental. But the chill was real. One downside to leaving Mortagne is that so much of the early terrain is down hill, and the coldest part of night was taking hold on that terrain for both the 84 hour riders and many if not most of the 90 hour riders. In the dark, it seemed that so few riders had gotten on the road, but as the kilometers clicked off the frequency of passing riders increased and packs were again forming, and as the sky lightened there was again a steady stream of red tail lights ahead. Foggy headed and chilled by early morning air that was nudging 40F, many riders reacted with indecision when navigational decisions were to be made and a simple left turn on the route that wasn't within a village caught 95% of the riders and large groups would have to navigate a u-turn amid the chaotic scene.<br />
<br />
At long last, the undulating landscape smoothed out on this segment and just when I could begin to raise my pace and keep it there, my front tire began to get soft. The slowness of the leak allowed me to quickly jump ahead and tell Roy and Anson that I was dropping off to fix the tire and that they didn't have to wait for me. I found a spot on the opposite side of the road where I could pull off and be out of PBP traffic. No sooner had I stopped and pulled out my repair gear than another rider pulled over next to me, but not to fix a flat. He proceeded to drop his bike, plop down and lower his head while sitting up. When I fix a flat tire, I like to find what caused the leak so I don't put in a new tube that just gets pierced by the wire or glass that remains in the casing and to do that I inflate the punctured tube and listen for the leak. It had quickly become impossible to hear any leak. The rider next to me was snoring so loudly I wondered if the occupants of the house across the street would come out to complain. The instant I finished my task was the same instant the other rider woke up and jumped back on his bike.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS6P9Z3UWu21CVAC8dRZvTwQGE_VbM9VArDpdmyOIv-qblwttJ9uVSShj-PXZF9eGWpbG0GejQFnLns3wHmInDV1wEdRA1vRKfDNLy4lUYmxNFFcvKAferXSx_ey4cdLIUCmfUwwGKQk4/s1600/20190822_115504.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS6P9Z3UWu21CVAC8dRZvTwQGE_VbM9VArDpdmyOIv-qblwttJ9uVSShj-PXZF9eGWpbG0GejQFnLns3wHmInDV1wEdRA1vRKfDNLy4lUYmxNFFcvKAferXSx_ey4cdLIUCmfUwwGKQk4/s320/20190822_115504.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Boyz, plus Charly Miller rider Bryan K.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Once back on the road I was able to raise my cruising speed and keep it there. There no longer were any hills, big, small, short or long that would break up my pace and I was catching and passing many of the riders that had passed me as I was fixing the flat. Only a very few riders I passed were doing more than staring ahead and pedaling. Stacey K. and another rider were engaged in an animated conversation that was recapping their ride up to this point. I pushed on, knowing my own tale was not yet complete.<br />
<br />
As the next control at Dreux neared I was surprised to see I had caught Anson and we rolled into the bike corral together with plans to roll out together after eating. After getting my card stamped I went in search of a sink to wash my hands before eating. I was directed to the women's locker room at the sports facility that hosted the control and before I could rinse my hands and face there was pounding from the door behind me. A rider from Japan had become locked inside the WC when the door handle just would not work. Back out in the cafeteria area I found the Boyz on the Hoods roaming free, just finishing up their breakfast, and I heard several stories about the Human Exclamation Point, and the World's Weirdest AirBnB rooms. Fatigue may have made it hard to see this on their faces, but everyone was energized by the prospect of a mere 25 or so more miles til the finish of the route.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMvWFBveTsiokNVu8GL-Q9KyA15ZKUhJgp1CIKw5B6PXMNcMeNx_6DHlxFCDMmWCsxjwzidHw4zMWbSIA0Qnof1rRg-mYynvxCFg2Vdm-XC5fDRKFmYJy5klpzGbybRFl2EKciNor5GTU/s1600/20190907_150400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1049" data-original-width="1600" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMvWFBveTsiokNVu8GL-Q9KyA15ZKUhJgp1CIKw5B6PXMNcMeNx_6DHlxFCDMmWCsxjwzidHw4zMWbSIA0Qnof1rRg-mYynvxCFg2Vdm-XC5fDRKFmYJy5klpzGbybRFl2EKciNor5GTU/s400/20190907_150400.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
For the second time on this edition, but for the first time over all the kilometers I've ridden on PBP (including 2007) I was sent off route when someone has vandalized the route signs. Those signs were placed everywhere on the route and had allowed me to never once need to consult a cue sheet, map or even a gps device, but here someone had stolen the signs at a crucial spot. At the 11th hour before the start a route change had been issued, and at the very spot where the new route would diverge from the old route, the signs with reflective arrows were missing. This sent riders in several directions, some with 100% certainty they knew the way (they were wrong) and some others with far less certainly actually picking the correct route. Our own quandary was solved by course officials arriving on motos with new signs to install, and hand gestures about which way to get going!<br />
<br />
We are all weary, and the full sun of mid-morning can only generate half-hearted conversations when normally the full body would be awakened and the mind bursting to retell all the things seen, heard and done. I know only so much of this route from Dreux to the finish because the new start town plus the last minute re-route have mixed things up. The crisp, clear weather has had some beneficial effects. The first small town on the route after Dreux was normally one that stimulated senses other than sight, sound and touch, and on this day it did not have an agricultural smell to it. Halfway along to the finish, I let Anson and Roy gap me. I'm fine at this point, but wanted a little space around me and a clearer view ahead. I know they are only a minute or two ahead and I'm rolling well. Past the fields already cleared of crops, the route entered the <span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Forêt Domaniale de Rambouillet and trees cut off all views. One last village in the middle of the forest to clear and we were on the final run into Rambouillet and the finish. After such wonderful roads we had to negotiate a few sections of enormous cobbles, then wend our way toward the back of the property to reach the actual finish and the final chip reader that would mark the end of PBP 2019.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqBL8hFnnbmwrmSg_q0MsD4Zsy1mREfuMFf_mq2tr4fruPdgIUmkKgiwufQWfKCFqYbkq8W-iUqEecxfrmqizb9CoFlVcqmDSjtGrkFYKVU6hi3x8u6_WfysmvPc5gxtcaJC0GRPfZsXE/s1600/20190822_121051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="1152" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqBL8hFnnbmwrmSg_q0MsD4Zsy1mREfuMFf_mq2tr4fruPdgIUmkKgiwufQWfKCFqYbkq8W-iUqEecxfrmqizb9CoFlVcqmDSjtGrkFYKVU6hi3x8u6_WfysmvPc5gxtcaJC0GRPfZsXE/s320/20190822_121051.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Starting out ugly limits how ugly one can get after 78 hours </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">My first few steps off the bike made me wonder if I still knew how to walk. The day was getting hot and the chaos of the finish control grounds made the job of reaching the control tent so much harder. I found my way in and began the ceremony that most riders have imagined more than once over the last few days. Despite all the hubbub going on outside, the line to get cards stamped was quite short and moving quickly. No words were exchanged in the transaction here, but deep meaning and understanding was conveyed. After carefully marking my card with the time and day, and stamping the final control box the control official stood up, gently put my finishers medal around my neck, looked directly into my eyes and shook my hand. There was no doubt he knew what it took for me to be standing in front of him right then.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5D5b-BnJzMIxoWzvsaVr9hYTv4OXjB11dn0djRgTGP2843t50M8fV2W7PZ2DGYiruRB0pqwAy31AUoXHv35OG0XnpmjH__NxPn5ZMGBbeahWsW5nf84VpeTJ6PIxR2SmCSYNfjG-_Gs/s1600/20190822_115714.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5D5b-BnJzMIxoWzvsaVr9hYTv4OXjB11dn0djRgTGP2843t50M8fV2W7PZ2DGYiruRB0pqwAy31AUoXHv35OG0XnpmjH__NxPn5ZMGBbeahWsW5nf84VpeTJ6PIxR2SmCSYNfjG-_Gs/s640/20190822_115714.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Despite how wrecked I was, what will make the finish of this PBP so special was having Bryan Kilgore greet me at the finish, Theresa L. calling out to me as I crossed the final timer, Deb Banks giving me a huge hug as I got off my bike, and seeing all the Boyz on the Hoods soaking up the full experience of now being an ancien.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGVdLFHChgkTbDPTjhxNHqYbLuPjCtfwNDpNSpzJ0vLKuQDQnXRAohv8SFQ1Ys8l-2spAGiD-2x3cP9RnsMpxEolTO263uXfN8Mp5sSuPNPmBm30IHinGstpOxpwRfP9RcX6oDPjf0Bo4/s1600/Screenshot_20190824-002245_Chrome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="779" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGVdLFHChgkTbDPTjhxNHqYbLuPjCtfwNDpNSpzJ0vLKuQDQnXRAohv8SFQ1Ys8l-2spAGiD-2x3cP9RnsMpxEolTO263uXfN8Mp5sSuPNPmBm30IHinGstpOxpwRfP9RcX6oDPjf0Bo4/s320/Screenshot_20190824-002245_Chrome.jpg" width="155" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>rob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281341796142406798.post-35200951699636793042018-05-23T07:26:00.001-07:002022-03-19T09:40:32.058-07:00The San Francisco Randonneurs' Fort Bragg 600km brevet: A history and stats<p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtosx6LS-fYnOG_OwVggzU95d-KqusJMKWFzHzP2VIgmlW9mcCb-rlnLY5aCLDidbqlgVfxQ0y5dqo66EPL65maP1ZWj_v0gG_y5PN7f0iBtjfLOv34zt9MGt947IBdGGrcFxxOCfPvB8/s1600/37-P5190078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtosx6LS-fYnOG_OwVggzU95d-KqusJMKWFzHzP2VIgmlW9mcCb-rlnLY5aCLDidbqlgVfxQ0y5dqo66EPL65maP1ZWj_v0gG_y5PN7f0iBtjfLOv34zt9MGt947IBdGGrcFxxOCfPvB8/s640/37-P5190078.JPG" width="640" height="480" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" /></a></div>
<p>
The Fort Bragg 600km is not the most frequently run SFR event and it isn't the one with the most participants in a given year, but as there is a notion of progressively longer events within our 'PBP Qualifiers', the Fort Bragg 600km has some luster as a 'signature' brevet.
<p>
<header>
<h2>History</h2></header>
The <a href="https://ridewithgps.com/routes/2444171">route from SF to Fort Bragg and back </a>is attributed to Daryl Skrabak though it is listed on the RUSA site as submitted by Todd Teachout who was the SFR RBA when route numbers were first assigned to existing and new routes. According to RUSA records, this route was first run in 1999 with Daryl Skrabak as RBA. Much like PBP itself, though not for the same reasons, the Fort Bragg 600km was not run every year. Daryl ran the brevet once in 1999, and after that it was next run in 2004 under 2nd year RBA Todd Teachout. Todd listed the event again in 2005 through 2007. After a gap year in 2008, the event was again run, this time by 2nd year RBA Rob Hawks with subsequent versions run from 2010 through 2018 (which was the longest consecutive string of years for the event).
<p>
The FB 600k has been run as early in the year as April 10th (1999) and as late as July 7th (2004). Since 2009 it has always been held in May.
<p>
The start time varied in the early years, with a dual start time in 1999 of midnight or 04:00 depending on the speed of the rider. Though the start time in 2004 is unknown, as of 2005 the start time settled in as a morning start, varying between 07:00 and 09:00 until 2009 when it was changed to 06:00. In 2012, to avoid conflict with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Tour_of_California">Amgen Tour of California</a> the start time was 05:00. In 2013 the event returned to the 06:00 start time where it has remained.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIP8fSttZgmg0T12TYFBMiLC2gAvIRJ7yxBwVo4tOrLk4JzZj7tc0oJMacE2jZ1tg0-_4GgKUV_1rMBJOjFRGU0ohEBL7cTp5jhTuBUTw8cnuYZAUGENMnJg5X9ozDNKinZZDQ7gxFSa0/s1600/34-P5190069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIP8fSttZgmg0T12TYFBMiLC2gAvIRJ7yxBwVo4tOrLk4JzZj7tc0oJMacE2jZ1tg0-_4GgKUV_1rMBJOjFRGU0ohEBL7cTp5jhTuBUTw8cnuYZAUGENMnJg5X9ozDNKinZZDQ7gxFSa0/s400/34-P5190069.JPG" width="400" height="300" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" /></a></div>
<p>
<header>
<h2>The route</h2></header>
The route has been changed little since 1999, but thankfully, many of the miles of highway have been repaved in those years including long portions of CA 128, including the famous <a href="https://www.fortbragg.com/highway-128-west-the-redwood-road-to-fort-bragg-california/">Tree Tunnel</a> section. Two changes to note are that until 2015 the start and finish were at the Golden Gate Bridge visitor plaza at the south end of the bridge. In 2015 the finish was moved to East Beach at Crissy Field which allowed for a much nicer reception for the riders and much calmer place for those waiting to greet the riders. In 2016 following a widening and repaving of Sir Francis Drake Blvd, the return from Point Reyes Station to San Geronimo changed from a route through Nicasio to a route through Olema and over the Bolinas Ridge via Sir Francis Drake Blvd. This actually shortened the route enough so that the start was also moved to East Beach at Crissy Field.
<p>
The route is rumored to be the most difficult (paved) 600km route among the four Northern California brevet clubs (Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Davis and San Francisco). Ridewithgps lists the total climbing at 19,353'. This reputation seems to hold true if one looks at finish times as they are generally longer than those on other local 600km routes, but the elevation gain on the Fort Bragg route may not be as much as Ridewithgps advertises as many riders record between 17,000 and 18,000 by the finish of the route.
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBMDv3j_6zWiSrO-Bw3mKoZwFXWnzU4NOPWpOC4psTGfntqVI78iTVONudU4OEJtdnm4aoaPfDaqFpSDVBsyCfi-DOlERkpicrjIC145lUy4nkiQWIbls3AwAOQdkaFt1tB4cE-GZ8bEI/s1600/27-P5190060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBMDv3j_6zWiSrO-Bw3mKoZwFXWnzU4NOPWpOC4psTGfntqVI78iTVONudU4OEJtdnm4aoaPfDaqFpSDVBsyCfi-DOlERkpicrjIC145lUy4nkiQWIbls3AwAOQdkaFt1tB4cE-GZ8bEI/s320/27-P5190060.JPG" width="320" height="240" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" /></a></div>
In the early years, there were no staffed controls on the course. Since 2007 there has been a staffed water stop. In 2007 this was so unofficial that it was not listed on the route sheet and was only organized the morning of the start. Since 2009 a staffed water stop has been an official feature of the brevet though it is not a timed stop. Until 2013, that stop was at Paul Dimmick Campground, less than 7 miles from the coast. Since then the official water stop was 15.5 miles further east, near Philo, CA at the Indian Creek campground. Now, the term 'water stop' pretty much undersells the true nature of that course feature. When first set up in 2007, it was not much more than a water stop, having been devised and deployed on the fly the morning of the event. Two volunteers pretty much asked the riders what their favorite ride food was and made a list of the answers, did their best while shopping at the Healdsburg Safeway and then drove up to Paul Dimmick campground. In 2009, that water stop was formalized as noted above and began to offer both hot food, and tents and sleeping bags for those riders wanting to punctuate their ride with some sleep. Even though the location did move, the 'water stop' is as deluxe as a campground can be with a wide menu of hot food and drink, a campfire and multiple tents for sleeping. In 2016, the radio podcast Nocturne recorded a two part episode that does a <a href="https://nocturnepodcast.org/ep-23-proof-passage/">deep dive into randonneuring</a> in episode 23, and then in episode 24 visits the Indian Creek campsite and features how the <a href="https://nocturnepodcast.org/ep-24-kindness-others/">randonneuring community</a> works together to see riders finish.
<p>
<header>
<h2>Weather and scheduling</h2></header>
Weather is always an issue on this ride if for no other reason than that the riders are out for roughly 25 to 40 hours. Day time vs. Night time temps always range widely even on good weather days. Weather was likely most a factor on the 2007 version when it began raining on the riders around the 50 mile mark in Petaluma and it continued for perhaps 20 more hours. Since 2009 the event has generally been favored by 'good' weather (no rain, moderate winds) but even then the temperatures ranged from ~100F to 45F on the same day. This can happen quite quickly too. In 2012 in the span of less than 35 miles (from the Yorkville Highlands to the junction of CA 128 and CA 1) the temps ran that complete range as riders left temps of 99F at the Sonoma/Mendocino County line and 49F when they reached the coast in wind blown fog as the sun set. Wind is often present at some point on the route and most typically so on the stretch between Healdsburg and Cloverdale where riders get 'relief' from the wind by climbing up to the Yorkville Highlands. Headwinds return for the crossing of the Anderson Valley and then riders once more get a break, this time from the Tree Tunnel. Once clear of the Tree Tunnel headwinds return once more where the route meets the coast at the mouth of the Navarro River and slow the riders on the run up to Fort Bragg at the nornern terminus of the route.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEhRM9l3OkNU_JgeJLA2K85TDEFV6phjirKhX_B-dplzuzqUl6Pl1ADRYkNd5HFtxz0qGkoKzRyRTlYqAtoaT2M31rawmtkINK1YWZliEuFi1FpnH7QUfbogZyZffqVNWhoiPLLxyBmPk/s1600/30-P5190064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEhRM9l3OkNU_JgeJLA2K85TDEFV6phjirKhX_B-dplzuzqUl6Pl1ADRYkNd5HFtxz0qGkoKzRyRTlYqAtoaT2M31rawmtkINK1YWZliEuFi1FpnH7QUfbogZyZffqVNWhoiPLLxyBmPk/s400/30-P5190064.JPG" width="400" height="300" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" /></a></div>
<p>
In 2018, the date for the event was pushed later in May hoping for a little better overnight temps and possibly less wind. That effort was a failure. While the very early morning temperatures were not any lower than in any previous year, they were low for a much longer period of time. Similarly, the wind was no stronger than any other year, but it was strong for much longer.
<p>
<header>
<h2>Participants</h2></header>
There have been 447 participants on the event through 2018. Since 2016 when this history was last published there has been a bit of a shake up on the list of most frequent participants. Bob Buntrock broke the tie with Richard McCaw as the riders with the most completions, but Bob had to miss the event in 2018 owing to a broken hand and everyone moved a little closer to him on the list. Here are the most frequent riders of the FB 600km:
<p>(
There are 15 riders with as many as 4 Fort Bragg 600 finishes, and 25 more with 3 completions.)
<p>
<style type="text/css">
.tg {border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0;}
.tg td{font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;padding:10px 5px;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;overflow:hidden;word-break:normal;border-color:black;}
.tg th{font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:normal;padding:10px 5px;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;overflow:hidden;word-break:normal;border-color:black;}
.tg .tg-thls{background-color:#009901}
.tg .tg-yw4l{vertical-align:top}
</style>
<table class="tg" style="undefined;table-layout: fixed; width: 325px">
<colgroup>
<col style="width: 262px">
<col style="width: 109px">
</colgroup>
<tr>
<th class="tg-thls">Name</th>
<th class="tg-thls"># of finishes</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">BUNTROCK, Robert</td>
<td class="tg-031e">10</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">MCCAW, Richard</td>
<td class="tg-031e">9</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">HAGGERTY, Tom</td>
<td class="tg-031e">8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">HAWKS, Rob</td>
<td class="tg-031e">8</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">CLARKSON, Bryan K</td>
<td class="tg-031e">6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">POTIS, John</td>
<td class="tg-031e">6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">MASON, Aron</td>
<td class="tg-031e">6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">HASTINGS, Geoff</td>
<td class="tg-031e">6</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">ROSS, Roy M</td>
<td class="tg-031e">5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">UZ, Metin</td>
<td class="tg-031e">5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">GERNEZ, Raphael</td>
<td class="tg-031e">5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">KILGORE, Bryan</td>
<td class="tg-031e">5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">FITZPATRICK, Kevin</td>
<td class="tg-031e">5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-yw4l">DUQUE, Carlos</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-yw4l">LYNCH, Theresa</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-yw4l">BRIER, Bill</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-yw4l">TEACHOUT, Todd</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">5</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
For women completing the Fort Bragg 600km route, here are those with the most finishes:
<p>
<style type="text/css">
.tg {border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0;}
.tg td{font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;padding:10px 5px;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;overflow:hidden;word-break:normal;border-color:black;}
.tg th{font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:normal;padding:10px 5px;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;overflow:hidden;word-break:normal;border-color:black;}
.tg .tg-qpvr{background-color:#009901;vertical-align:top}
.tg .tg-tibu{font-weight:bold;background-color:#009901;vertical-align:top}
</style>
<table class="tg" style="undefined;table-layout: fixed; width: 371px">
<colgroup>
<col style="width: 262px">
<col style="width: 109px">
</colgroup>
<tr>
<th class="tg-tibu">Name</th>
<th class="tg-qpvr"># of finishes</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">LYNCH, Theresa</td>
<td class="tg-031e">5</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">COLEMAN, Juliayn Clancy</td>
<td class="tg-031e">4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">MCCUMBER, Kaley</td>
<td class="tg-031e">4</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">BANKS, Debra</td>
<td class="tg-031e">3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">GOURSOLLE, Kitty</td>
<td class="tg-031e">3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">HONDA, Nicole</td>
<td class="tg-031e">3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">ASTRUE, Elaine</td>
<td class="tg-031e">3</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">FREITAS, Kim</td>
<td class="tg-031e">2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">ARNOLD, Megan A</td>
<td class="tg-031e">2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">ANDERSON (nee FRIEDLY), Gabrielle</td>
<td class="tg-031e">2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">DEITCHMAN (nee GRANT), Joan</td>
<td class="tg-031e">2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">TUNUCCI, Veronica</td>
<td class="tg-031e">2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-031e">BONNETT, Karen</td>
<td class="tg-031e">2</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><header>
<h2>Ride times</h2></header>
The Fort Bragg 600km brevet has been ridden by a wide range of randonneurs. Of the 447 finishers, 55 have been women (12.3%). The youngest rider to finish was 18 years old and if I recall correctly he had celebrated that milestone event in the weeks just before participating. No data is available for oldest rider but I know several that were in their 60s at the time of finishing.
<p>
Max Poletto, Bill Brier and Carl Anderson hold the shortest elapsed time at 23 hours and 33 minutes. This is the only finish time under 24 hours, and there are only 4 other finishes under 25 hours (three of those occuring in 2018) and a grand total of 13 finish times under 27 hours. Tom Haggerty holds the current longest elapsed time and he is unlikely to ever relinquish that time. <a href="https://groups.google.com/d/msg/sfrandon/HOuuon2JGbs/ds5bAg5SsWwJ">There is a story behind this time</a> and Tom's record is 40:00.
<p>
Geoff Hastings and Peter Burnett used to hold the record for multiple finish times with the largest difference in time. Both have their shortest and longest times over 9 hours apart and that spread is still noteworthy, however Tom Haggerty now holds the record of widest margin between shortest and longest finish times: 28:53 done in 2014 and the above mentioned 40:00 from 2007. Michael Bloomfield is perhaps the most consistent finisher. All three of his finish times are within 7 minutes of any other of his finish times.
<p>
Here is a chart showing the break down of finish time ranges for all 447 participants:
<iframe width="716.5" height="443.03583333333336" seamless frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRVQPwDphlIX6pKriNLOmtABmNi5_-4m3NnUaZsqf1KrPI2ZFg5ABftfolQqC5I5nfqAaPY5LRZLp_s/pubchart?oid=975656763&format=interactive"></iframe>
<p>
Finally, here is a table of the starters per edition from 1999 through 2018, NB: RUSA doesn't have DNF numbers available to RBAs prior to 2009:
<style type="text/css">
.tg {border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:0;}
.tg td{font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;padding:10px 5px;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;overflow:hidden;word-break:normal;border-color:black;}
.tg th{font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:normal;padding:10px 5px;border-style:solid;border-width:1px;overflow:hidden;word-break:normal;border-color:black;}
.tg .tg-yw4l{vertical-align:top}
</style>
<table class="tg">
<tr>
<th class="tg-yw4l">Date</th>
<th class="tg-yw4l"># of Starters</th>
<th class="tg-yw4l"># of Finishers</th>
<th class="tg-yw4l"># of DNF riders</th>
<th class="tg-yw4l">First Finishing Time</th>
<th class="tg-yw4l">Mean Finishing Time</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-yw4l">1999/04/10</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l"></td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">13</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l"></td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">33:15:00</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">37:10:00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-yw4l">2004/07/10</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l"></td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">5</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l"></td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">32:23:00</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">33:35:00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-yw4l">2005/06/04</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l"></td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">13</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l"></td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">28:50:00</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">34:56:00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-yw4l">2006/04/22</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l"></td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">9</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l"></td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">26:51:00</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">34:03:00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-yw4l">2007/04/21</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l"></td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">24</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l"></td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">28:18:00</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">35:33:00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-yw4l">2009/05/30</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">33</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">32</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">1</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">29:12:00</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">34:16:00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-yw4l">2010/05/22</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">58</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">52</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">6</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">28:06:00</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">34:49:00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-yw4l">2011/05/07</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">67</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">58</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">9</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">24:50:00</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">34:46:00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-yw4l">2012/05/12</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">35</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">28</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">7</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">27:34:00</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">34:05:00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-yw4l">2013/05/11</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">40</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">39</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">1</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">28:36:00</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">35:09:00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-yw4l">2014/05/10</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">52</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">44</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">8</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">26:22:00</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">34:00:00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-yw4l">2015/05/09</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">66</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">53</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">13</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">23:33:00</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">33:40:00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-yw4l">2016/05/14</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">29</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">23</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">6</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">27:50:00</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">32:42:00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-yw4l">2017/05/13</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">28</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">21</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">7</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">28:25:00</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">33:37:00</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tg-yw4l">2018/05/19</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">39</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">34</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">5</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">24:15:00</td>
<td class="tg-yw4l">32:45:30</td>
</tr>
</table>
rob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281341796142406798.post-90065807576453169232017-11-01T19:39:00.000-07:002017-11-02T08:39:57.063-07:00Lots and nothing at once<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW4l-RyXLvMR68P4z_bmji7QyM6qEZyGc_97nJ9N3Akwi1eiaPmnzjUwqh2NUr4uBAUVkJrrB_KZLPXUZle3X7tSqH-dOxjyqdNpylIiddDJos7rJV4W7ASpbySItm793UtYbS0BJ98CM/s1600/P1000934.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW4l-RyXLvMR68P4z_bmji7QyM6qEZyGc_97nJ9N3Akwi1eiaPmnzjUwqh2NUr4uBAUVkJrrB_KZLPXUZle3X7tSqH-dOxjyqdNpylIiddDJos7rJV4W7ASpbySItm793UtYbS0BJ98CM/s640/P1000934.JPG" width="640" height="480" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" /></a></div>
<p>
Looking back, it has been a dog's age since I've last posted to this blog, and in the intervening time a lot has happened. Mostly, that 'lots' that has been happening has caused kind of nothing to happen from the perspective of a a largely cycling oriented blog, and there I probably tip my hand as to what that 'lots' will mean.
<p>
So the last post prior to this one was a write up of Paris-Brest-Paris 2015. In spite of the episode of hives taking away some of the luster of the last kilometers of that ride, or rather shortly after getting that all of out my system (head included) I came back to California and continued to ride and by the end of the year I hit my annual mileage goal of 10,000 miles. 2016 began well with good rides on the early season brevets in January, in particular a pretty good time on the Napa 200 for a day that was rainy for most of the day and especially on the San Francisco Randonneurs' (SFR) Pierce Point 200km. That ride has always been tough for me. It has 8,500' of elevation gain even though there are no monster climbs that stretch for miles which means you are climbing frequently. Death by a thousand cuts? For that route I had seldom finished under 9 hours (one time I finished in 8:55). In January of 2016 I managed to finish in exactly 8 hours, feeling really great so 2016 was off to a really great start. Or so one would think.
<p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ObmO-wQPlHf1fQveVV0LEm7a2tjKUFKYa6Pa_Wy1p7sYp3Nt1bQf3CxmMnHg4eWbbC-bdYUuTnaRwlBt8DzLIvc3FXK3IaQ8R0v2gLL2m18A_VDWRn2oRBqGOYXQZM37z0nB114Mq4I/s1600/IMG_20160201_101749.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ObmO-wQPlHf1fQveVV0LEm7a2tjKUFKYa6Pa_Wy1p7sYp3Nt1bQf3CxmMnHg4eWbbC-bdYUuTnaRwlBt8DzLIvc3FXK3IaQ8R0v2gLL2m18A_VDWRn2oRBqGOYXQZM37z0nB114Mq4I/s400/IMG_20160201_101749.jpg" width="400" height="300" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" /></a></div>The day after riding the Pierce Point 200km, I had one day left to get my highest January mileage. At that time, it was (and remains) 938 miles in the month of Janaury. I needed a nice recovery ride, and I had Sunday afternoon, the 31st, free so I took off to ride in the Berkeley/Oakland Hills on a really nice, warm winter day. My <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/483257762">route </a>was up to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redwood_Valley_Railway">The Steam Trains</a>, and a bit beyond. I was trying to get 25 miles in. On the way down from The Steam Trains there is a section of swoopy S-curves. On my way around the first big bend just as the roadway temporarily straightens out there is a dirt section on the verge where a number of motorists have pulled off the road way over the years. I still had some speed going, but I was riding the brakes out of caution. As I arrived at that spot, a truck is off the road and perpendicular to the pavement and in the next instant the driver guns it and begins to cross the road. I assume he had looked my way (his left) and then looked to the right and then pulled out but by that time I had cleared the curve. He stopped short, blocking the entire roadway and I had two options: go down on the pavement and hope I stop before hitting the truck, or, well, hit the truck. I hit my brakes, and I recall working to control the rear wheel trying to squirm away, and I tried to steer to my left at the only spot that might get me around. It did not work and it really had no chance. I slammed into the drivers side door, busting off the entire mirror and leaving a Rob sized dent in the door panel.
<p>
My bike was wrecked, my knees were in agony, my chest hurt from the impact of the mirror, and I was having trouble assessing if I had more injuries than those which were making themselves most known right then. Turns out everything I noted then would be ok in a *relatively* short time frame, and only the next day did I realize my right wrist was damaged and feeling worse. X-rays the next day showed nothing broken but an MRI several months later revealed fraying of the tendons with an increase in 'noise' on the imaging of that area, and to this day I still have some periods of pain in that wrist, but mostly I can manage things ok. I rode much of the rest of the year with a brace on my wrist til the point came when the brace was actually holding the strengthening back.
<p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSUAaX0dgHEYlMOfn8zdvp0qbfcLwkLpbiVUysxjUkvOtqhhvKghtpq99PAC1w0FnbycgZTklVXb_PB9cOXdIOLaVKbj4dDRcZ_dUr_rEU33FS4TgctaKqx3o1SxvipRZN-Cj0Cb3bVUA/s1600/tioga.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSUAaX0dgHEYlMOfn8zdvp0qbfcLwkLpbiVUysxjUkvOtqhhvKghtpq99PAC1w0FnbycgZTklVXb_PB9cOXdIOLaVKbj4dDRcZ_dUr_rEU33FS4TgctaKqx3o1SxvipRZN-Cj0Cb3bVUA/s640/tioga.JPG" width="640" height="223" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="558" /></a></div>
<p>
Even with the brace on my wrist, I had some good rides through the spring and summer including my first sub 28 hours 600km and first sub 12 hour 300km. Through August of 2016 I had continued my R-streak and had gotten up to 92 consecutive months. That September I had a four day weekend show up on my calendar so I convinced two friends to join me in going up to Yosemite to ride Tioga Road on the weekend after Labor Day weekend (when our guess was that there would be much less traffic, but still some good weather. We were right.) The ride up from Hogdgon Meadow to Crane Flat and then out and back to Tioga Pass via Tuolomne Meadows was fantastic. So was the hike the next day. What wasn't fantastic was that on the drive home I developed excruciating pain in my right heel. There had maybe been some warning signs with stiffness in the heel in the mornings before hand, but the ride folowed by the hike followed by sitting in the car for several hours triggered a full blown case of plantar faciaitis (PF). Labor Day weekend and the Tioga trip passed and it is now getting late in the month. SFR had a populaire planned for one of the remaining weekends and just like that I was out of options to fit in another month with a 200km RUSA event. So ended my streak of 92 straight months with at least one 200km a month. That really didn't bother me so much, but all this was a rather rude welcome to turning 60.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHcgO6RYE6t_sthGie42qDaMTLWJ6raCSMYLK35wErhkljO9bEWGe6gFaOcPkHIOmzrN9ICjy8fniIN4Emw4lQ5Kvl6JwuddNBlA6JPvM1OvMwGep0f_FjvWigu-zPk3qxFtr2G2g2Vg8/s1600/P1010191.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHcgO6RYE6t_sthGie42qDaMTLWJ6raCSMYLK35wErhkljO9bEWGe6gFaOcPkHIOmzrN9ICjy8fniIN4Emw4lQ5Kvl6JwuddNBlA6JPvM1OvMwGep0f_FjvWigu-zPk3qxFtr2G2g2Vg8/s320/P1010191.JPG" width="320" height="240" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" /></a></div>
<p>
At the end of the year I was still getting PT for my wrist, and now I had to get my heel treated. My primary care doc recommended wearing a cam-boot to follow up all the other changes I was to make to address the PF: better shoes, more stretching. I was skeptical of the boot, it just didn't make sense and it really didn't feel better to use it. In fact, it felt worse, but when I conveyed this I was told this was the best option. Through the first four months of 2017 I juggled treatment on my foot with riding and trying to stay in shape. I was loosing fitness slowly, even though I would still have a number of pretty good rides. In fact, through that time riding was my only relief from the heel pain. The pedaling motion was gentle enough to not put much strain on the heel and with my heel never touching the ground I was never antagonizing the inflamed plantar facia. Alas, in late April while on a short walk with our dog I had an misstep crossing the street and a blinding pain began in my foot. I was unable to walk at all for days and finally got sent to podiatry where I got a cortisone shot. The idea was the cortisone would give me a break from the pain and allow the PF to heal. For a week it was great, for the next week it was still pretty good and after that it went right back to square one nearly overnight. With that development, I was ordered back into the boot (despite my arguing against that) for a minimum of 6 weeks. I managed to keep riding, even with the boot, by putting an over-sized pedal on my commute bike, but my daily mileage was dropping fast.
<p>
Dropping fast. I was about to find out how fast. And how hard. In late May, on a commute home from work on a Friday I stopped short of crossing an intersection to wait for the next light cycle and in circling back my rear wheel got caught and while my bike stopped dead, I did not and I landed hard on my right elbow. X-rays confirmed a non-displaced fracture of the radial head. Now I could not ride and I could not walk, and this is where the 'nothing' part of the title comes in. For the next two months I could find no outlet for exercise and I began to gain weight at a rate of more than a pound a week. The only silver lining in this is that the forced time off the bike allowed my wrist to get a bit better (still pain every once in a while). All this coincided with an absolute shit environment at work that caused a lot of lost sleep and a lot of stress. The only positive development during this time was that I was finally beginning to get some relief from the constant heel pain. I had started <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extracorporeal_shockwave_therapy">EPAT </a>treatment and felt immediate lessening of the severity of pain. The pain never went away totally though and after many treatments I reached a plateau that was short of complete healing.
<p>
It is safe to say that May, June, and July pretty much sucked. Out the other end of that meat-grinder, I was finally cleared to begin riding a bike in mid-July. This was a mixed blessing though because while I was clearly happy to have the medical restriction removed, I had to confront a distinct loss of fitness, and some pretty intense elbow pain after only five miles of riding. Each ride saw the threshold for pain pushed further out, and some PT addressed the loss of range of motion in the elbow (I still can't straighten my arm as fully as I could before). I had missed doing the full <a href="https://rusa.org/award_sr.html">Super Randonneur series </a>again this year (I'm stuck at 9 and have been since 2015. I missed my 400km last year and missed the 400 and 600 this year) and missed the Double Brevet weekend trip, and missed a whole bunch of other rides but getting back on the bike, albeit slowly, in July meant I still had a shot at recovering enough to do the 2nd annual Tioga Road ride. My friend DHK helped by riding with me on one of those first short rides, and I joined Scott, Anne and Mark for my first 200km after the injuries in late August. I did make the Tioga Ride and while I was the slowest rider there, I still had a good time. The Davis DART at the end of the month was my return to brevet riding via a team event, and slowly but surely I'm putting the puzzle pieces back together. I still am concerned though that I won't get back all of what I've lost. My best days on a bike may no longer be ahead. That is sobering and saddens me. rob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281341796142406798.post-87304774638840332272015-10-01T20:47:00.000-07:002015-10-01T20:47:09.989-07:00The third time around<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghguAkRUv-iYpREfk9Dij1ctoZRBz8a6ZXIhlWI_EQ-R2-mjLlFaqA0oLSPjUWnnFm74rs3stBq-pJlVcb8B8b56sMdZeuVFGynKPD46IluKUCGAXPol4AOB1v1PuO5irtymQ0_EZnPWk/s1600/P1000795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghguAkRUv-iYpREfk9Dij1ctoZRBz8a6ZXIhlWI_EQ-R2-mjLlFaqA0oLSPjUWnnFm74rs3stBq-pJlVcb8B8b56sMdZeuVFGynKPD46IluKUCGAXPol4AOB1v1PuO5irtymQ0_EZnPWk/s640/P1000795.JPG" /></a></div>
<br /><hr color="black" noshade="" size="4" width="75%" />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoABvQPAVLa356qP9oSDUdbIivB5mbr254VATYk8JoL4FgM27X8Hgcvj4qrAA0Cn4iCorqhJdhihzy_nKFfu6QEzeAfjptV2ECJ5uZ4rnxwsfeJQvYSQBAQR2zbpLIbD9NbKmPa-PhsiI/s1600/P1000672.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoABvQPAVLa356qP9oSDUdbIivB5mbr254VATYk8JoL4FgM27X8Hgcvj4qrAA0Cn4iCorqhJdhihzy_nKFfu6QEzeAfjptV2ECJ5uZ4rnxwsfeJQvYSQBAQR2zbpLIbD9NbKmPa-PhsiI/s200/P1000672.JPG" /></a></div>
<br />
I had been planning this trip to participate in Paris, Brest, Paris (PBP) since August of 2011, and back then, still buzzing from the experience of completing the full PBP route for the first time I had no idea of what would change for me before PBP 2015 would arrive and what I'd have to go through to get there. On the departure day for the trip, I found I was way behind in preparing despite ample time to get ready, and a mountain of good intentions to be ready. That left me feeling very stressed and uncomfortable.<br />
<br />
Elaine Astrue had promised to do all the route finding for a pre-PBP shake down ride out to Rambouillet (a destination I hadn't visited on past trips, despite trying) once I arrived in France, and Jim Bradbury joined us for the day. That ride was fantastic. All the built up stress washed away and the route took me on entirely new-to-me roads and had the advantage of getting us out into rural landscape so much more quickly than does the official PBP route.
<br />
<br />
Despite that wonderful ride, plus another short ride over to Versailles (checking off another new experience) during the days leading up to PBP I felt off, so much so that I skipped joining the big group that rode out to Gambais along the official route on the Friday before the start. I had noticed some small bumps on my arms which at first I thought was poison oak or the French version of that and over the next few days those spread to my ankles and shins. I found out much later that there is no such French equivalent to poison oak, and at the time I did not directly connect this to my feeling "off". Mid-afternoon on Friday I finally roused myself from the torpor I was in and got out on the bike for my own short, Garmin directed recon of the first part of the course. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2BHQULlAEHgvtSGUSHqtj4AH27bgO2zuRdTMKktZL5Az7I6jwFdIwVehTKA_37x0wMaG13_YzcimBNNlTs6Yhe1DzKV5cCktHVKwkc9VhLP5ISoXRiaCk_gcgk92_7GTpv_20OQIojfI/s1600/P1000729.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2BHQULlAEHgvtSGUSHqtj4AH27bgO2zuRdTMKktZL5Az7I6jwFdIwVehTKA_37x0wMaG13_YzcimBNNlTs6Yhe1DzKV5cCktHVKwkc9VhLP5ISoXRiaCk_gcgk92_7GTpv_20OQIojfI/s200/P1000729.JPG" /></a></div>
I was treated not to the sunshine of earlier in the week but instead to a passing storm cell, but it was timed such that I could wait it out in a small bus shelter out near Jouars. I was not alone in taking a late ride that day and ended up sharing the bus shelter with another rider, Robert, who was also from the Bay Area. I didn't mind the rain so much because I could see it would pass in minutes and I also had noticed that I wasn't enjoying direct sunshine so much anyway. Another data point that I'd fail to connect.
<br />
<br />
As in 2011, the bike check on Sunday was dramatically calmer than that the day before held for the 80 and 90 hour riders. The 84 hour riders are a much smaller group, and all the details of processing the riders had been worked out by then. I would spend the day resting, watching the day time starts for the 80 and 90 hour groups, eating a leisurely meal and then packing and getting a full night's sleep before my own 05:00 start on Monday. All the excitement of that Sunday was something I could watch and record but I was not compelled to participate, which was just fine with me.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu9nYZilEx6mNHJCPH0YHhY8dZU_039BtspozKQCl-WD9uTCw28u2Ed2_gIfjPoZQ-_2J1-uY6cqmCps72Kchaqjolu4x3vQQSLckduXjg5IWJnBQCwjOe4fZaBsbsfKUfqm1EY4FuLZY/s1600/84_start_rgernez_2015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu9nYZilEx6mNHJCPH0YHhY8dZU_039BtspozKQCl-WD9uTCw28u2Ed2_gIfjPoZQ-_2J1-uY6cqmCps72Kchaqjolu4x3vQQSLckduXjg5IWJnBQCwjOe4fZaBsbsfKUfqm1EY4FuLZY/s320/84_start_rgernez_2015.JPG" /></a></div>
Early Monday, a fair sized group of SFR riders gathered for the first wave of 84 hour start. Todd Teachout, Metin Uz, Gabrielle Friedly, Barry Schwartz, Rafael Gernez, Grant Haidinyak, Kris Jones, Elaine Astrue and possibly others were all in the same group, all close together, not quite at the front. In the dark we rolled out of the Velodrome driveway, on a tangent off of the traffic circle and through a sleeping St. Quentin and were cheered not by the hundreds and perhaps thousands of spectators of yesterday but by a few scattered dozens of spectators. I know this lack of fanfare will pay many dividends later, but while I see this as an advantage others see it as missing out on the very nature of what PBP has grown to become .<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Despite best intentions of riding as a group, our knot of SFR riders got spread out among the other 300 riders in our start wave and we lost contact, then found only a few miles down the road that we were within yards of each other all along. I felt ok, but not great. I could certainly roll along and keep up with others but there was no spark to my riding. My legs weren't dead or leaden, just lacking an ease of motion that should have been present on a peak event.This didn't alarm me because I knew that on a ride of this length, there will be many low points all followed by high points, both emotional and physical. There is always a high point ahead. I could have used more to eat early on that morning but I made it to Mortagne-au-Perche where riders wouldn't need to get a stamp in their brevet card but where I knew there was food. A bowl of Purée, a plate of Potage and a Jambon and I'm topped off. Barry and Kris were outside ready to roll and I hurried to join them and we three rode together for many more miles.
<br />
<br />
I'm not really keen on the segment between Mortagne and Villaines la Juhel (seemingly busier, less rural roads) and I found I needed to work just a little harder to keep the pace but it wasn't above a level I couldn't manage. One thing on my mind was the anticipation of the food. On a particularly hard ride my body may burn up to 10,000 calories a day. Food, and tons of it, will be very important for the next several days on PBP. In 2011 I had arrived in Villaines with the memory of 2007 and expected not to find anything to my liking. In 2007 I had left there not having eaten enough by half and it made the rest of the ride harder. Well no, it made it impossible. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7KOo5l4jM4t2VdBlShqtmzWuc0HLzVsUXhzEuZUwwoSS8mW9TM6npjg3EvlbmHO7bv7y67Fj2pj4LHzYhGoFgjpk36SLF5Y__dWa0qU4GD3uVHPaavzT8nMGPbi07pNlq4XHZheEFdDQ/s1600/P1000792.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7KOo5l4jM4t2VdBlShqtmzWuc0HLzVsUXhzEuZUwwoSS8mW9TM6npjg3EvlbmHO7bv7y67Fj2pj4LHzYhGoFgjpk36SLF5Y__dWa0qU4GD3uVHPaavzT8nMGPbi07pNlq4XHZheEFdDQ/s200/P1000792.JPG" /></a></div>
In 2011, to my utter delight, I found the food to be fabulous and (discreetly) ate piles of it. The difference between 2007 and 2011 was me of course, by 2011 having set aside my narrow food tastes in favor the need for fuel. In 2015 I was so looking forward to eating well again there and that is exactly how it turned out.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Up til then I had only handed out one or two of the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/121749826842/photos/a.10151424761846843.1073741825.121749826842/10153143372551843/?type=3&theater">SFR pins</a> but from this point forward I kept a supply handy in a pocket and took the opportunities to pass them out when they came. In Villaines the dining hall set up is that local school children are tasked with carrying the tray for the rider and finding them a place to sit and using the opportunity to practice speaking English. I look forward to the controls as a place to interact and observe riders from around the world and Villaines has become my favorite control town for this reason of course but also because of the interest the town shows toward the riders.<br />
<br />
<div>
Between Villaines and the next control in Fougeres I knew the terrain would get hillier but it also got much more scenic. Cost and reward. Before leaving town I had to stop though to put on a cover for the leather saddle as it had started to lightly rain. I never did don full rain gear, only the saddle cover. Leaving Villaines after a few kilometers there is a pretty long climb and I was happy to trade a small amount of being damp for the freedom of not wearing rain gear. Before Fourgeres I got caught in about 45 minutes of very mild rain, never falling hard enough to convince me to stop to put on a jacket or rain shoes. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijlucSduOvrhuVOGjCQdum0iFhXbbpBZ7_RRXvFD8WEcesy-5MbZDUBvSZ95KTR_qgNCImjsQgescBDuObCkDc0UIviYe7e8IWCtXwQ6OBfkzj1VHjJLvWJzS5RECaeGhOhB8-TJPelwY/s1600/P1000798.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijlucSduOvrhuVOGjCQdum0iFhXbbpBZ7_RRXvFD8WEcesy-5MbZDUBvSZ95KTR_qgNCImjsQgescBDuObCkDc0UIviYe7e8IWCtXwQ6OBfkzj1VHjJLvWJzS5RECaeGhOhB8-TJPelwY/s320/P1000798.JPG" /></a></div>
I could tell that the rain would stop soon if I could just get out from under the edge of that little rain cell. The rain gods just toyed with me for some reason. I recalled as I tried to ride out from under that cloud that for three editions running, I had experienced rain on that same segment, but this time was the easiest to deal with. <b>2007:</b> hours of dreary, wet skies before and after with the rain never heavy, never light. <b>2011:</b> Biblical level downpours with enormous rain drops vaporizing upon impact with the pavement and black clouds and lightening showing you exactly which way the route would turn. <b>2015:</b> light rain and the clear edge of the rain cell just 200 meters ahead. An ever moving 200 meters. It took 45 minutes to ride those 200 meters, as if Lucy Van Pelt controlled the clouds.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In many controls, the actual recording in the cards (handwritten times and a control specific stamp) is done in one place which might have a small cafe adjacent, but the main cafateria and dining for larger crowds of riders would be elsewhere. The Fougeres control might be where there is the most physical separation between those key locations. Most riders would get stamped first and then ride back to the cafeteria, but not all. I did not keep that in mind and on the slight down hill roll back to the cafeteria I began my left turn into the bike parking area just as another rider was speeding up to pass on the left. A small nick on my elbow and scuff on my shift lever was all that resulted from my fall, with the other rider staying upright. In the middle of his apology he stopped to say 'hey, nice bike by the way'. The collision was certainly half my fault and I feel I got off easy with the nick and minor scuff. Once upright and sorted out, I went in to the cafeteria and through the food line, ate and then decided to go through once more. Doing that allowed me to eat with Elaine, Michael Sokolsky, Barry, Kris, Gabby, Eric Norris and others who all arrived in Fourgeres a bit later than me.
<br />
<br />
Eric and I left together after what was for me an 2+ hour stop and we picked up Elaine at the edge of town and we three kept more or less together till well past dark. Fougeres is a long way from the half way point and yet very quickly we 84 hour starters (frame plate groups X, Y and Z) began to pass a number of riders from the S and T groups which had started 9+ hours before us. There were quite a number of them and they all were wearing what must have been every garment they had with them. They did not acknowledge us as we passed. The 'Thousand yard stare' would have been an improvement over the expressions they carried on their faces. And yet they rode on, and we would see many more of them later as we put Brest in our rear view mirror the next day. By Tinténiac, the weather had cleared more completely and I stopped just short of the control to perform a costume adjustment and to don reflective gear, letting Eric and Elaine go on while I got picked up by Kris passing by moments later in the last kilometers before the control. Another meal, of slightly larger than modest proportion, and we kitted up for night riding and set off in twilight with a very slight crescent moon setting.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioKYO744qlv60gbTujNhahkC_McLL8wVLAviFmj5vkHsmnfrfR0m6Wg881ayRHKevjog0vVvccQgcfXxD1-vbn3og5pybuRsgJf6gbht6800wbcBfhgR81V7rBTT5VOoCuph0Tz4dQip0/s1600/P1000809.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioKYO744qlv60gbTujNhahkC_McLL8wVLAviFmj5vkHsmnfrfR0m6Wg881ayRHKevjog0vVvccQgcfXxD1-vbn3og5pybuRsgJf6gbht6800wbcBfhgR81V7rBTT5VOoCuph0Tz4dQip0/s320/P1000809.JPG" /></a></div>
We all skipped stopping at the non-control food stop in Quédillac and in the darkness a larger, international group formed. Conversation died off as both the group grew larger and the darkness became more complete. Riding at night always feels faster than you actually travel and I kept invoking the back light on my Garmin just to be sure. We did have a fairly nice pace going though, thanks in large part to two members of the group that filtered up to the front and were content to stay there and pull the pack at a pretry good clip. I credited Elaine for finding just the right peleton for this leg of the route. Robert Sexton had joined us earlier and after Eric had stopped to shift fluids Robert dropped off too and I tailed off the back where I felt a little safer and less of a hazard to others, but keeping Elaine in sight the whole while. Things would get a little chaotic when our pack would catch another and we would need to sort things out as we passed. This always required a short sprint each time when I would suddenly realize a gap had formed. In 2011 this segment was the scene of very intense and troubling thunderstorms for the group I was in (Jack Holmgren, David Walker, Ed Yu and myself) but this time the sky was littered with stars. Four years before this segment hammered me, but this time I rolled along much more at ease. Around about La Chèze Kris and Barry caught our group. First Barry and then Kris would roll off ahead and then fall back and rejoin us. We were much nearer to Loudeac now and I was content to maintain a steady pace for the rest of the leg. Part of that contentedness mentioned was because I knew I was well ahead of 2011's pace. Once in the control at Loudeac we split up with Barry and I getting drop bags and heading off to rooms at the Hotel Voyagers, spotting Andrew de Andrade and Anton Brammer before leaving. Those two were on their way out of the control around 01:30. This arrival time for me was several hours earlier than four years before and I intended to spend all that time gained by sleeping longer this time.
<br />
<br />
After nearly six hours off the bike I returned to the control just after dawn to see if I could find any familiar faces and Eric and Elaine were there and we left town as a group. I continued to use my arrival and departure times from 2011 as a yardstick of my progress and while I was leaving Loudeac a little later than in 2011, I felt confident that I'd make back all the extra time that I had spent sleeping. Perhaps the hardest leg on PBP is the segment between Loudeac to Carhaix in either direction, because the hills are more frequent and while never long using Bay Area standards, they are steep. Our group handled them well. In Saint-Nicolas-du-Pélem we needed to stop as this was anot outbound secret control and I took the opportunity to have another Jambon. Finishing up business before departing I ran into Theo Rolfe who was on his return to Paris. Theo gave me an update on several other SIR riders that I knew and after wishing each other well we each went our own way.<br />
<br />
For what seemed to me to be the only time on the entire ride it began to warm up a bit as the fog of the morning began to clear. Carhaix, the next control, was another chance to eat which we took and our group left town and passed the point where the outbound and inbound routes separated. Though hillier, this portion of the route was a big (and welcome) change from the agricultural landscape we had traveled through before. From Carhaix we went northwest toward and through Huelgoat which passes park land along the way. Elaine challenged me to pronounce the name Huelgoat, but I knew better than to even try. Chris Selby Smith from the UK, who had joined us earlier came through though and nailed the pronunciation. The route would later rejoin the inbound leg as the outbound leg began the modest climb up to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roc%27h_Trevezel">Le Roc Trevezal</a> in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monts_d%27Arr%C3%A9e">Monts d'Arrée</a>. Earlier in the day I had finally noticed the return of the spark in my riding and I decided to let it fly on the climb and then descent into Sizun. On the climb and descent is where the 84 hour riders can catch a glimpse and yell hello to friends doing the 90 hour start. I saw quite a number along here including Lois Springsteen, Peg Miller, Kitty, Gabe and Ian riding together, and several others whose jersey I could spot but I wouldn't make the connection until comparing notes long after the finish.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimENk-ygOLgUbo_jmE9IecC6IB3PjwyzBdq65eMs78C16aKFUEGnNYjOtk142ZnVmPhAKexYzTKp2BR0KAF2wBt7ZTFmdTdqD5mgzur3u1lbVNEVaUpjPysIZrBhGlxuw-2UZhyphenhyphenQO9_P4/s1600/P1000816.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimENk-ygOLgUbo_jmE9IecC6IB3PjwyzBdq65eMs78C16aKFUEGnNYjOtk142ZnVmPhAKexYzTKp2BR0KAF2wBt7ZTFmdTdqD5mgzur3u1lbVNEVaUpjPysIZrBhGlxuw-2UZhyphenhyphenQO9_P4/s400/P1000816.JPG" /></a></div>
That spark I now felt in my legs would stay with me the entire way back to Paris, and I flew on the way into Brest. It all seemed downhill but it was a little maddening being able to see the destination from the hills outside of town and then have it take an eternity to finally reach the control as the route seemed to meander through the outlaying villages. Crossing the foot bridge with the landmark <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pont_de_l%27Iroise">Pont de l'Iroise</a> to our right was a kick but there was still more miles to ride before I could stop. In 2011 I was pretty disappointed with the control set up in Brest, and even though this was a new location (I think actually a return to a location used in the past) it was a lackluster dining experience. The food was the most expensive at this control, and by far the least appealing (though keep in mind I did say I was a fussy eater). I found Kris and Barry there, just ahead of me in the food line and Eric, Elaine and Chris S.S. came in just a bit later. The latter three and I left the control as a group and climbed back out of town together. After a few miles though it was clear we weren't climbing at the same rate so I let my legs find their comfort zone and I pushed ahead. I had a motive for doing so. In 2011, riding with Ed Yu, I had stopped in the town of Sizun and had a beer at the Cafe. I had arrived in town with that one thought which baffled me then but it turned out to be the perfect thing. This time, I was unsure I could convince any of my fellow riders to stop for beer so going ahead allowed me to zip in, down a glass and hopefully exit in time to catch them for the climb up Le Roc. Chris and Elaine managed to get by as I stopped but Eric was outside when I came out of the cafe. He wasn't quite ready to drop into the rolling pace so I went ahead to catch the others. By the time I reached Elaine though I had a good head of steam going and I just kept at it. The climb was just as easy this year as in 2011, but this time I knew where the summit was whereas in 2011 the ease of the climb was a surprise.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgYwMA2YfvnyV4QIS0E1jk5usBuL0AZ_8rQWh4AoQ3Nll6rJBWD5rNcG70YuAq9k7mR85FXJC3zKAfNXMNN_91k_H3Vfi3NjAWYaDuArPB4agrYcfxe9J3gL2AwSEhan8erp_b8rSi42k/s1600/P1000838.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgYwMA2YfvnyV4QIS0E1jk5usBuL0AZ_8rQWh4AoQ3Nll6rJBWD5rNcG70YuAq9k7mR85FXJC3zKAfNXMNN_91k_H3Vfi3NjAWYaDuArPB4agrYcfxe9J3gL2AwSEhan8erp_b8rSi42k/s320/P1000838.JPG" /></a></div>
On the descent I passed a group of riders and noticed one I had supported when I worked the last DBC Gold Rush Randonee two years back. I had set as a goal the objective of seeing more, interacting more, doing more on this PBP so I slowed down to let the group catch up and I chatted briefly with the rider from St. Petersburg. It was only much later that I realized that a couple of riders in her group were from Ukraine (make of the mixing of Russians and Ukrainians in today's Eastern European international climate what you will) but down the road when I next saw the iconic Ukrainian trident on a jersey I slowed down again to chat. (My wife is Ukrainian-American, and had only days before returned from a trip to Ukraine). Yaroslav informed me that owing to my wife's heritage she must be the perfect wife. We exchanged information about the groups we were with and I then rolled on.<br />
<br />
Going into Carhaix I finally caught Chris S.S.. We rolled into the control together and then exchanged intel on the other riders we had spotted that we both knew. Chris decided he really wasn't hungry and took off and Kris, Barry and I later rolled out together to ride across a landscape painted in the light of the golden hour. Four years before it was full on dark when I left this control so I had regained time those extra hours I spent sleeping the night before. The stretch ahead was the reverse portion of what many consider the hardest section, which would be made harder by it being dark. I was still feeling really good and after a time our group spread out and lost contact with each other, first as we caught other packs of riders, then as our respective paces became out of synch. As the rollers hit and then got bigger I left behind a number of packs and for a while I'd be concerned that the groups behind were using my tail light to inform them of the route while I myself was only 80% sure I was going the correct way, so I had to pay much more strict attention to the route markers. After a while I bridged the gap between the large clumps of riders and could then follow their lights. There became so many riders that it was slow going trying to pass. In the dark tired riders began to let their guards down, too much in my estimation. Very often, I'd see a rider far to the left, well over the center of the road and invariably they'd turn out to be from the UK, Japan, Australia or some other country that drives on that side of the road. Perhaps in their weariness they sought comfort in that placement on the roadway, forgetting they were no longer home. Other riders, too tired to think properly, would just stop in the middle of the road and become the boulder in the middle of a stream as the current of moving riders flowed around them.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJz4QPZUjx6hJGHWjhPB-NwxmV9Otc9ugKk-2WBHcouY2j21ZYSpd93d3cefzj3Vk_ELxdjvhf1ztvobHsHk6YgWQY6ZlbqYQm0OdIr7GNKBmEmONaEj_IVaCu5Ewodz7Ht22XvzhZoDw/s1600/P1000855.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJz4QPZUjx6hJGHWjhPB-NwxmV9Otc9ugKk-2WBHcouY2j21ZYSpd93d3cefzj3Vk_ELxdjvhf1ztvobHsHk6YgWQY6ZlbqYQm0OdIr7GNKBmEmONaEj_IVaCu5Ewodz7Ht22XvzhZoDw/s400/P1000855.JPG" /></a></div>
I arrived in Loudeac at 00:40, nearly four hours ahead of my 2011 pace and headed straight to the hotel. I was surprised to find Kevin in our shared room. With Kevin in the 90 hour group, and me in the 84, we assumed we'd never meet. Coming into town I had noticed that there was a welt on the back of my neck and one on my right cheek. I thought Kevin said it looked like a sty which confused me as I thought those were related to eyes. Either way, it was getting painful. Once he left and I set about cleaning up I found that I had red welts all over my arms and legs and across my lower back, basically anywhere there were gripper bands on my cycling clothes or a particular point of close contact with clothing. I wasn't happy about this, but the thing was I still felt strong and was riding well so I crashed for the night.<br />
<br />
The next morning I dropped off my bag and rolled out of town feeling pretty good. I mis-played a couple things with my Garmin and had to restart it once more (restart in Brest because I thought I had very little power left but in fact had 82% charge, and a reset in Loudeac when I hit the stop button in error and could not remember how to back out of that). I passed Kris and Barry along the way and heard they had gone off course the night before adding 9 miles to their total. Our paces were not a great fit so I rode on. Early in the day I came across Yaroslav, the Ukrainian rider from the day before. He was looking very forlorn and was convinced he would not make the finish. We spoke for a while and I offered him a caffeine pill which at first he declined and then realized it was silly to pass on that. Within about 15 minutes I could tell he was a different rider. In a short while were were hopping on to pace lines and he had much more spark in his riding. We stopped at the food stop in Quédillac and while topping of the tanks we were interviewed by Damon Peacock, again this year making a video of PBP. He recalled my name as a Facebook friend and we spent some time chatting. A short while after leaving the control we were passed by him on motorcycle filming along the way.
<br />
<br />
Yaroslav and I parted company after the Tinteneac control and from there on I would ride solo though I'd see other SFR riders along the way. I had hoped to have a meal with someone at Fougeres but no luck, and took a quick nap on the berm between the bike parking and driveway outside the cafeteria. This need for a nap happened much earlier than in 2011, but I felt it would do me good. I recall from 2011 having a huge burst of energy leaving Fougeres and charging up the hills as the route leaves town. It took a bit longer but that same fire came back this time too. I looked forward to the unofficial crepe/postcard control up ahead, and even though I wasn't hungry it was a chance to mingle and interact. A crowd of riders were there and I convinced Andy Stockman and Elaine to stop and enjoy it. I found the SFR postcard I had sent years before among the other US postcards. That was sort of a kick spotting that. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxaDdf9hJ2e4zm5gRPJyLTutIHsZrIrxxNBqXTIMXjif-FOQq8JwaeE-c2bIZ64hyphenhyphenBBVPHAGT5m-j9ghqAfT0kGAyhPmlUgoKix1mgCy3U3BGXC696D5Kk8qDqF03vmKtYLQ0ZQpCYRz0/s1600/P1000881.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxaDdf9hJ2e4zm5gRPJyLTutIHsZrIrxxNBqXTIMXjif-FOQq8JwaeE-c2bIZ64hyphenhyphenBBVPHAGT5m-j9ghqAfT0kGAyhPmlUgoKix1mgCy3U3BGXC696D5Kk8qDqF03vmKtYLQ0ZQpCYRz0/s320/P1000881.JPG" /></a></div>
The route from Fougeres makes its way back to Villianes via the same big hills encountered out bound and this terrain had a tendency to first bunch up the riders and then spread them out on the ensuing descent. I had passed and called out a hello to Greg Merritt along the way who looked to be having a fine ride. The closer I got to the control though, the more my thoughts turned to food and once there I found Ryan Thompson and Bill Green in the dining hall and sat with them for the meal. Upon leaving, I decided I needed some sleep even though it was full daylight out. I had a big time buffer over my schedule so spending an hour sleeping was an easy sell. In 2011, I left that control in the dark along with hundreds of other riders. This time I was nearly alone in the late daylight. After a modest climb there are a couple of small villages that we passed through, each with hand made signs of support for the riders, some offering a cot or refreshments. There were also groups of locals clapping as riders passed by. Like all the other spectators I had seen before, I waved and greeted them which always caused an increase in their animation. It was like magic and it gave me energy right back. I rode up the somewhat steeper hill leaving the second of those small towns and partway up the climb realized that there were a couple of things I could address back in the village that I might not get a chance to do for a long while. So I turned back down hill and upon arriving I totally confused the group I had just waved to minutes before. I tried to convey to them my needs, totally botching the pronunciation of Toilette, but I really knew where to find it from passing through moments ago and I went there as I heard them tell me Paris was in the other direction. Once all that was taken care of I rode past once more and this time simply said "doublivee say" and this time there was mutual understanding.<br />
<br /></div>
</div>
I didn't like the stretch ahead when outbound because of the traffic, and even with out the traffic I didn't much care for it in the darkness so I focused on finding a good pace and interacting with other riders when I could. The latter proved unattainable as conversation diminished the later and more dark it became. I knew it would get hillier the closer I got to Mortagne-au-Perche but this time there were many more locals on the side of the road, which I attributed to it being earlier in the evening than when I passed there four years before.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOgR3x2WZDHcZblpyeTOPfB41KvFxi9cfoa0UFY4Pobuvie9HShS8uMj0ILZAchMU6npdTGAOGmMbf9Ma8xYwpesNUtYeYZdzqAQa-L68IyP4-65eFZAwm_lm0TmJGqFeLnddo8lTRDXc/s1600/P1000895.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOgR3x2WZDHcZblpyeTOPfB41KvFxi9cfoa0UFY4Pobuvie9HShS8uMj0ILZAchMU6npdTGAOGmMbf9Ma8xYwpesNUtYeYZdzqAQa-L68IyP4-65eFZAwm_lm0TmJGqFeLnddo8lTRDXc/s200/P1000895.JPG" /></a></div>
Along this stretch I figured I passed 30-40 riders for each rider that passed me. It was only upon reaching the control and stopping that I realized the cool night air was what kept my skin from driving me nuts. I spent quite a while at that control eating a pile of food, chatting with Tim Woundenberg, Ron Smith, and <a href="http://www.plattyjo.com/paris-brest-paris-2015-the-highs-the-lows-and-the-highs/">Jenny Oh</a> and trying not to scratch my arms and legs. This control was packed and there was a line for cots and simply no space on the floor in the cafeteria or hallways to lay down. I did two circuits of the entire indoors before I finally found a spot at all and it really turned out that it was perfect: no light and enough space for me to lay down and still be well out of the way of foot traffic. I got a fairly long nap and that plus all the food was plenty to get me to the next control. I recall being pretty hammered upon arriving in Dreux in 2011, as well as having an extremely tender behind. This time though I was far more alert and energetic relatively speaking and I had no saddle issues, just this maddening rash and welts to deal with. That was beginning to get the better of me, and is what prompted me to ride on with out eating (I wasn't hungry at all but wasn't turned off by food). I had bought two big cans of Orangina, but only drank one and gave the other back. I returned to my bike and left Dreux before daybreak and got outside of town before it became light enough and just outside of town I was up high enough to spot a weather cell chasing us. I could tell it was rain and wanted so badly to outrun it but that didn't happen. The drops were minimal at first and took a long time to build but build they did.<br />
<br />
Just before Gambais I came up on a group of SFR riders, including Jenny, Eric Larsen, Metin, Theresa and perhaps someone else. My skin and the rashes were ruining my mood and if I stayed with them the only thing I'd talk about would be the rash and who the hell would want to listen to that so I sped around and decided to try to reach the medical tent at the finish as soon as I could, thinking that might provide relief. I met Jon Beckham along the way and we briefly chatted before I rolled on again. The closer to the finish I got, the more it began to rain and the more we'd go through villages with cobbles and traffic islands and other hazards so I slowed down a bit to better and more safely traverse those sections. At one traffic circle I had caught up with a group and knowing full well they were going off course I still followed them as if I were linked to them, but with just a little uncertainty that I might be wrong. Nope, they were, and my impulse was right. They all turned around when they saw me do so but I never saw them again after I regained the route. Out once more in open fields on straight roads I noticed the motorists passing the other way would wave and salute the riders they knew were so close to the finish of a very long ride.
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha4zttPZUS9mha5MM068mP0vK9QtXW-VXztKZcAVi8xkZ_VCljmXdVTwpTPVb4PJQ-Ln9G0vMxMq4g-fhYfhtfPi_jdHBIJYbIsELeLXKiWovWlAlhQUeotKT0xQy-VMfHd0iaVvrXpyk/s1600/P1000896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha4zttPZUS9mha5MM068mP0vK9QtXW-VXztKZcAVi8xkZ_VCljmXdVTwpTPVb4PJQ-Ln9G0vMxMq4g-fhYfhtfPi_jdHBIJYbIsELeLXKiWovWlAlhQUeotKT0xQy-VMfHd0iaVvrXpyk/s400/P1000896.JPG" /></a></div>
The final section into the finish is considerably different than in years past, and considerably better. The route heads through a park of sorts and uses a closed road to reach the velodrome from the backside. At the very end, down a gravel path on the way to the bike corral was the chip reader that would record my finish but just as I turned on to that path I saw Julia Walker. It was good to see a familiar face and know that someone I knew would see me finish. Beyond the chip reader the bike parking area was chaos. It was raining hard and everyone was trying to find a place under the roof to park their bike. I could only find a spot on the sloped ramp for the BMX bikes and didn't know first what to do. I solved that dilemma by sitting down to have a good cry. Getting that out of my system, I went over to the velodrome, got my stamp, surrendered my card and looked around for someone I knew. Gabby and Carl and several others were on hand but soon I was on my own again and after figuring out how to get out of there I found the medical tent. Earlier, I had been told by others that what I had were bed bug bites and that I'd need to boil my clothes if I wanted to save them and toss out my luggage. I had dark visions of all the work I'd be doing before leaving for home and the hassle I'd have in getting a new room and the worry I'd have thinking I was just exposing myself to more bed bugs. The rash turned out to just be an allergic reaction, possibly triggered by stress (remember the departure from the Bay Area?) and heat and humidity which I'm unused to in the Bay Area.
<br />
Days later, the welts are healing and I only had a few marks to show for that small misery, but all the good memories of my riding companions over the days and even more so all the people I interacted with along the way will last a lot longer. Seeing the kids out there supporting the riders was a huge boost. I loved that. I also got a big charge out of waving hello to *all* the spectators along the way.
<br />
I posted on Facebook that I think I'm cured, cured of wanting to do PBP again. Nobody bought that then, and less than a week later I was pretty sure I'll be back for at least one more go at it. Today, I'm certain of it.<br />
<br />
<hr color="black" noshade="" size="4" width="75%" />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ10q2z7smmy5FWhjkz_dTa22Ddtgx5bYzbIS_3uxhO-OaDNOD4GCj1bxyZnxeqC0AKGo3ZMgzLTspw9Z0JeZNv507x4jfjB7JWnHgn9Dsnug7WEsU6SWQZccIPxgweQF7pugHr6zSnpY/s1600/pbp_courage_horizon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ10q2z7smmy5FWhjkz_dTa22Ddtgx5bYzbIS_3uxhO-OaDNOD4GCj1bxyZnxeqC0AKGo3ZMgzLTspw9Z0JeZNv507x4jfjB7JWnHgn9Dsnug7WEsU6SWQZccIPxgweQF7pugHr6zSnpY/s640/pbp_courage_horizon.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This banner absolutely worked! (photo by Jenny Oh Hatfield)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<hr color="black" noshade="" size="4" width="75%" />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzXg0WrwYFJxDdiNT1vodxbsLhVg6vCngIbeHuLyr_cfCvX3ve7MJNTaPXI2ZdBkWN67j0Vnnv_MGVwSwwKW1ZhLt-rcY8iGvavM7Hh8prRnSXhMbMRGRtVuuazH2mu8VMX_qmt5bVclU/s1600/P1000737.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzXg0WrwYFJxDdiNT1vodxbsLhVg6vCngIbeHuLyr_cfCvX3ve7MJNTaPXI2ZdBkWN67j0Vnnv_MGVwSwwKW1ZhLt-rcY8iGvavM7Hh8prRnSXhMbMRGRtVuuazH2mu8VMX_qmt5bVclU/s640/P1000737.JPG" /></a></div>
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />rob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281341796142406798.post-14885321871925917492014-08-20T16:52:00.000-07:002014-08-22T15:15:44.248-07:00A Model ride<p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLlkyEZkwVjzbEEwN_nRNLGUe_TUjXUMnUBJ0BRaXVcYVRx3NGUcQqhA7g4qQdGwflQw8yRbtfEWRUOIHs9ZywBxLr4uHeLtm_uoV_jO9NqEyT7ddlxtJTKsq5oC_aBCjnl5ZvVONLuJU/s1600/eb2davis.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLlkyEZkwVjzbEEwN_nRNLGUe_TUjXUMnUBJ0BRaXVcYVRx3NGUcQqhA7g4qQdGwflQw8yRbtfEWRUOIHs9ZywBxLr4uHeLtm_uoV_jO9NqEyT7ddlxtJTKsq5oC_aBCjnl5ZvVONLuJU/s640/eb2davis.PNG" /></a></div><p>
It is now April and I've managed to go more than three months without riding a permanent route. That is three months in Winter! The San Francisco Randonneurs and Santa Rosa Cyclists offered nearly a dozen different rides in those months, keeping me so busy I didn't need to ride a perm to get any RUSA events in. A while back Kirk had suggested a camping weekend up in Mendocino to ride a perm route along with a bunch of other friends. That never came to be, but we kept the idea of riding a perm together alive and in the end we settled on the one way route from El Cerrito to Davis via St. Helena and the <a href="http://www.themodelbakery.com/">Model Bakery</a>,and a return via Amtrak. The route first began life as a DART route when <a href="http://www.davisbikeclub.org/annual_events/ultra-distance-brevets-randonneuring/brevet_series">The Davis Bike Club</a> hosted their first ever DART event in November of 2012. The route morphed into a permanent route later that year and in the coming year it will be a brevet route, part of another SFR double brevet weekend (used mostly to help train up for PBP).
<p>
The route has some nice stretches, once it clears the residential sections of the East Bay and Vallejo, CA. Wooden Valley for one is a gorgeous stretch, and Napa Valley can be scenic. CA 128 from the Valley all the way to Winters, passing by Lake Berryessa is both challenging and a treat for the eyes. Food wise, the center piece is the Model Bakery in St. Helena. Fantastic pizza there, to be sure.
<p>
On April 12th, Kirk, Marisa, Barbara, Erik, Mark and myself met up at the Starbucks in El Cerrito and with a slightly late start we rolled off under cover of the marine layer of fog. Barbara and Mark both signed up just days before as RUSA members in order to participate. Mark took things at face value, but Barbara took most of the ride to convince her there was a point to these rides. At one point she and we too pretend we've done so. The group was a revolving array of riders with some riders rolling off in front, others tagging behind and then a reshuffle. The Bakery is met with enthusiasm and everyone found something on the menu that met their needs and after a long lunch we rolled off to tackle the more remote part of the ride.
<p>
Estimating what time our current pace would deliver us to Davis, I figured we'd miss the next to the last train and then need to wait around for a bit and not arrive home until 10pm or so. Barbara had other plans and the tougher part of the ride was tackled with more ease than anticipated, so much so that we had extra time to hang out at <a href="http://berryessabrewingco.com/home/">Berryessa Brewing Co.</a> for a pint or two. Even with this stop our pace had quickened enough that we had just enough time to catch the early train after first grabbing some food in downtown Davis to take on the train.
<p>
Ride date: 4-12-14
<p>
Host Club: RUSA
<p>
Total km: 212
<p>
Km remaining needed for K-hound: 7,888kmrob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281341796142406798.post-61671865748460438142014-08-20T14:41:00.000-07:002014-08-20T14:41:45.531-07:00It might not be raining up ahead<p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjylwHwl_-E81bLRFZfkoP0gSNaZr9m__OFR5IreKbUyFoxU_o1_6PSSUksnILrGhUKDMk6efVVNJYIF-WlXb4pWxVo5uCSAsDZ61r3fMsZQnRdkbN1ZDlQQRqVy9vHlqXH5PI2gfvqzKk/s1600/hoplandmoss2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjylwHwl_-E81bLRFZfkoP0gSNaZr9m__OFR5IreKbUyFoxU_o1_6PSSUksnILrGhUKDMk6efVVNJYIF-WlXb4pWxVo5uCSAsDZ61r3fMsZQnRdkbN1ZDlQQRqVy9vHlqXH5PI2gfvqzKk/s640/hoplandmoss2014.jpg" /></a></div><p>
Despite the threat of rain, 75 riders lined up to do the 2014 version of the SFR Hopland 400km. As per usual, my goal is to ride with someone for the day rather than spending time alone, and yet in the hubub of the start I can't locate my intended riding partners. In the early miles of the Lower Marin maze I follow Max and Aron through the chain of small towns but various traffic controls work to set me back and they speed on ahead. The threat of rain became more ominous as we climbed Camino Alto and turned into a reality as we were still in the very early miles of the route. By the time most riders cleared White's Hill, the rain was pelting down pretty good. So much for skirting by the weather cell.
<p>
Northwest Marin is mostly open grazing land and without the obstructions of suburbia we can often catch glimpses of the other riders on the brevet. I was impressed by Jon who seemed to not even notice the rain and powered along Chilenos Valley Road not yet wearing a rain jacket as most others seemed to have put on. In that regard, today was an experiment for me in that I was using a Mavic Vision rain jacket. The rain jacket version of this garment has the same reflective patterns but is intended to be water proof. Alas, instead this kept water from leaving my body as well as keeping the rain out and instead of heating me up, I felt chilled all during the rainfall. As we splash along there is far less chatting and far more focus in staying out of the rooster tails of water coming off un-fendered bikes in the various pacelines. Beyond mile 50, the Valley Ford rollers even on nice days never make me all that happy and this day I was not getting any less grumpy at the one-two punch of rain and pointless climbing.
<p>
Food is a magical substance, hot food doubly so, as it has the power to change moods and the Bodega Country Store serves a nice bowl of chowder. I sort of lingered here quite a while and the loose group of riders that arrived at the control has fragmented and a much smaller group leaves for the roll up to the signature climb for the day: Joy Road. This road always seems to just go on and on and today is no different. I wondered as I always do if I'd reach the top without stopping. Today: yes. As most hills do, Joy Road spread out our group and I ended up alone for the long run into Guerneville where the next control and lunch was. The rain had slowed almost to a halt as we had reached Bodega, and on the early part of the climb up Joy, before the trees closed in, we could see of to the west that the weather would be improving and this left us with a rain free descent and general drying conditions all the way to G'ville. The Safeway deli was not yet overrun so the wait for Spicy Asian Chicken and potato salad was not overly long. Michael and I joined up again at this point and ended up riding the rest of the event together.
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTv3UH3ATf3qU_KkaSP0gES2pi5gaCI7vfutoy1pqQiRpZtsUb2tpXcx1sv-iQh-KZCWt9h9_W56k_DJ9s7OfF35gUgLydh-PurWd_yYuYVeNxCjv4TUvQYSGjG0YNnFdH0GeZeS9cFWM/s1600/DSC04029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTv3UH3ATf3qU_KkaSP0gES2pi5gaCI7vfutoy1pqQiRpZtsUb2tpXcx1sv-iQh-KZCWt9h9_W56k_DJ9s7OfF35gUgLydh-PurWd_yYuYVeNxCjv4TUvQYSGjG0YNnFdH0GeZeS9cFWM/s400/DSC04029.jpg" /></a></div>
Once clear of River Road and now on Westside Road we are afforded views well off to the north and east. The skies don't look so bad. Not clear mind you, but we so no evidence of active rain cells and the cloud ceiling seems to have risen nicely. Our stop in G'ville was not that long ago but nevertheless I can't seem to go through Cloverdale without stopping at the mini mart just north of the city limits. Erik was fixing a flat at that very city limit sign as we passed, and alas, we'd pass him at least once more as he dealt with flat tires. The climb up CA 128 is going fairly well, but at one point I had to stop to eat rather than doing so as I rolled along. Despite the stop back in C'dale I seemed to have gotten behind on my fueling, not hard to do on rainy rides. We regrouped as we began the segment on Mountain House Road. Just a few weeks before we had passed through here in the opposite direction and the landscape showed all the signs of California's drought. On this day, though, water was gushing everywhere with impromptu water falls dotting the climb up to the ridge and infusing the landscape with green. I wouldn't kid myself though that this rain fall would do anything to put a dent in the drought, as wet as I had felt earlier.
<p>
Somewhere along the way before Hopland Michael and I caught up to Todd, who would be part of our group all the way to the finish. As we arrived at the Hopland Valero, the third group was making noises about saddling up and leaving. There seemed to be a lead group of two (Max and Aron), a chase group of two (Carl and Bob) and then this sizeable next group with Jesse, Megan, Metin, Greg, Matthew and Roy. I could not get through there without consuming some of the cheese pizza they sell and keep warming on racks at the checkout counter. The stuff is crap and is always just want I need at that moment: warm, salty and full of calories. I am not the only one falling off the nurtitional bandwagon here, but Jason, who arrived just behind us, is not one of those joining me. He heads off on his fixie as we clean off our plates. South of Hopland there is a very short warm up run along another River Road, then a crossing of US 101 just where it transitions into a town road, but in our southward direction it is a limited access highway with a wide paved shoulder and a general downhill slant.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaQ28lNSf7nXQ6ojnnPeYdWvlmrfpQ1G0UTrnYbWGAZg5JF6aGAuocNYmuVtsYXMATniVOE5AabCx72pAWFIObfFJiH7B1vXUiMZuT08zV0JOjQ-grIOurRpIFUZamIVoTa0jQoWTmtAg/s1600/hoplandrussianriver.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaQ28lNSf7nXQ6ojnnPeYdWvlmrfpQ1G0UTrnYbWGAZg5JF6aGAuocNYmuVtsYXMATniVOE5AabCx72pAWFIObfFJiH7B1vXUiMZuT08zV0JOjQ-grIOurRpIFUZamIVoTa0jQoWTmtAg/s400/hoplandrussianriver.jpg" /></a></div> Along the way here we catch glimpses of the Russian River, a river we've crossed many times during the day. The river is hugely swollen with rain water runoff and rocks and stony shores normally in view are all under rushing water. The skies still haven't yet cleared and yet we can still see what seems to us as progress in that direction. After 8 miles we leave the wide paved shoulder and resume riding on country roads that finally flatten out near Cloverdale. It is in these miles that I have two flat tires, and after the second one Michael and Todd insist I change out the tire with Todd's spare and use a cartridge to inflate the tire. I seem to gather they can't stand the old man noises I make as I use a pump on the tire. Past Geyserville, we leave CA 128 once more and head up Chalk Hill. At this point we are treated to the best light show of the day. The setting sun and clearing skies to the far west have joined forces and cast golden hour light on the still wet hillsides north of Windsor. This display is just stunning.
<p>
Chalk Hill has some climbing before a final run down toward suburbia and Windsor where we begin our circumnavigation of Santa Rosa. Michael can't get his headlight to work as he rides along and even with stopping to deal with it it proves problematic. I've ridden this route each year since 2007 and this is the first time I have made the outskirts of Santa Rosa in daylight. Considering this is a March date, and not April there would be even less daylight so the accomplishment is not lost on me. The sun does indeed set though and after getting pipped for the Petaluma city limit sign, we cross the freeway and head toward McDonald's for more calories. Jason rolls in after us, shoves food down his piehole, and then leaves ahead of us. Our group makes the stop in Petaluma official by stopping at the control at Safeway where we once again meet the same fellow we've met each of the last several years who is just getting off work, stopping off for a few things along the way and chatting about riding with us. The last 50 miles until the finish begin with a double climb out of Petaluma and the climb once again spreads us out. From the top of the climb before Hicks Valley I can see a large swath of sky dotted with stars and yet on the run down to the valley we are pelted by ice cold rain, lasting long enough to chill us. Nicasio Valley allows us to regroup as we roll and Dixon Ridge causes no problems this night. As we roll toward White's Hill we tell stories of past rides in the dark through that area. Despite having close to 20 miles yet to ride, the crest of White's Hill signals to us all that we are done. I'm not sure why this happens because there is the little matter of Corte Madera Grade and the climb out of Sausalito, each long enough and steep enough to more than get your attention.
<p>
Todd, Michael and I finish after Midnight, after 19 hours and 15 minutes of riding. This is the best I've done on this route, and I'm sure the rain added significant time to our day, not to mention the multiple flat tires.
<p>
Ride date: 3-29-14
<p>
Host Club: San Fancisco Randonneurs
<p>
Total km: 400
<p>
Km remaining needed for K-hound: 8,100kmrob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281341796142406798.post-72929464462304213342014-07-30T08:04:00.000-07:002014-07-30T08:04:15.248-07:00Cycling mileage spreadsheet (using google docs)Several years back I was looking for a good way to keep track of my annual cycling mileage and a little Googling resulted in finding this <a href="http://www.pankin.com/miles.htm">website </a>and it's link to a downloadabe Excel spreadsheet for keeping track of cycling mileage. Mark Pankin, who created that Excel doc annually updates the document and makes it available to the public. I think the document is great and I've used it for several years. One issue I did have with it though was gaining access to the document remotely. I kept it on my computer at home but sometimes I wanted to update it when I was not at home or just pull data from it, again when I wasn't at home.
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipUW_Vx5JzsFXjdMo84bC_icsHJWxxNzpf5OWwwkFjhyphenhyphenh0hJ4uB_oFXYD-tIDTPNLYLVzhzoVRYETMvODpicp0eZF7YgBI2WcH0GpezSIwCoGqPNKtflb9FiYb3R5juzV8NlDm9KkrjvA/s1600/mileageSS.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipUW_Vx5JzsFXjdMo84bC_icsHJWxxNzpf5OWwwkFjhyphenhyphenh0hJ4uB_oFXYD-tIDTPNLYLVzhzoVRYETMvODpicp0eZF7YgBI2WcH0GpezSIwCoGqPNKtflb9FiYb3R5juzV8NlDm9KkrjvA/s400/mileageSS.bmp" /></a></div>
I had had some email exchanges with Mark to ask about certain features of his document and this led to a discussion about porting the document over to Google Docs. Mark was not a Google Docs user but he didn't mind at all if I created a document using his Excel spreadsheet as a model. While there is some ability to import and export Excel format documents on Google Docs, Mark's spreadsheet was too complex to import intact, so I started from scratch, but as mentioned used Mark's Excel version as a model. I've added a number of features to the Google Docs version on top of what Mark had in place, and for a number of other functions, I had to recreate them using the Google Docs syntax. While Google Docs spreadsheets are not as robust as Excel, I think a very functional document emerged from the work.
<p>
In the <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-LqTK2U1qiQXEO-B6Q97bcrMXUz_XjrkhKvqRhskDHU/edit?usp=sharing">Google Docs spreadsheet I created</a>, there is a tab for 2014 mileage, and also I've gone ahead and created the 2015 tab as well with links between the tabs so that the previous year and previous best columns are auto populated beginning with 2015. It is fairly easy to create a new tab for each year. There are a handful of functions to either move from one cell to another, or to update. The demarcation between months was done by using thick borders in the Excel version, but on the Google Docs version I've used shading. Either works, but for each new tab I'll need to edit the shading for each month first (as Mark did with the borders).
<p>
The enhancements I've made include the table and chart of average weekly mileage at the bottom of the document, as well as some automatic shading in column A, the current monthly totals column.
<p>
I retain all rights to the document. You are free to make personal use of a copy of the document. No commercial use of this is allowed without permission.
<p>
Below are some details about the document and how to use it.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzISoAeAQIbuYAgRSdrykmIPOKyY_OK0yHoih5sJWcva8ispc_sXWoB_FCrAZkqu8MDH_mMKRmRRLf35RWgbLBobpdokMX0mm_lqSZnVRQMRLroFrZaoSPzxkT5TM4-CgYol1-BSI67g/s1600/monthly.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzISoAeAQIbuYAgRSdrykmIPOKyY_OK0yHoih5sJWcva8ispc_sXWoB_FCrAZkqu8MDH_mMKRmRRLf35RWgbLBobpdokMX0mm_lqSZnVRQMRLroFrZaoSPzxkT5TM4-CgYol1-BSI67g/s400/monthly.png" /></a></div>
<p>
The Google Docs Spreadsheet is presented in view mode to anyone with the <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-LqTK2U1qiQXEO-B6Q97bcrMXUz_XjrkhKvqRhskDHU/edit?usp=sharing">link</a>. You can copy the document to your own Google Docs and begin test driving it. You only need to add your daily mileage under the appropriate dates (except columns C and D on the '2014' tab where you'll enter some historical data if you have it). All the rest is automatic.
<p>
Take a look at the two tabs, '2014' and '2015', that come with the initial version of the document. Both tabs will initially have all the formulas and functions active, but no data has been entered. On the '2014' tab, find cell H4 (this is where your mileage for January 1, 2014 would go), and enter the value 52 there. Note that not only did the contents of that cell change, but also all of the following:
<ol><li>
the weekly total for that week (cell M4)
<li>
the running totals for the year (columns N and X)
<li>
cells A7, A8 (current month's tally and # of rides)
<li>
values in column B (cumulative miles)
</ol>
Note also that the shading of cell A5 is now Yellow, and A7 is now Green. In Column A, the name of the Month is highlighted when the total for that current month exceeds the total for the same month in the previous year. The total mileage for the month is highlighted green when it exceeds the previous best total for that month. In this case, the previous year's total for January (column c) and the historical best (column d) were both initially set to zero. Take a quick look at tab '2015' and you'll see that columns C and D have changed, with the data from tab '2014' carried over to tab '2015'. If you change those zeros on tab '2014' in cells c7 and d7 to 53, you'll see the highlighting in column A disappear and cells in columns C and D change on tab '2015'.
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjLj-Flk29X7vTYU2fck1Wb-invkYSha9m3zqegY537f51govJt4_amymlriWanFFA1cNJnyF1KAt9pe6Esw0FsqhVVcvhoXfBSCkBN4nlIfo4hScSYlLhuLe0Wx7ENrCw1yYtjwEKzWE/s1600/weekly.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjLj-Flk29X7vTYU2fck1Wb-invkYSha9m3zqegY537f51govJt4_amymlriWanFFA1cNJnyF1KAt9pe6Esw0FsqhVVcvhoXfBSCkBN4nlIfo4hScSYlLhuLe0Wx7ENrCw1yYtjwEKzWE/s400/weekly.JPG" /></a></div>
At the very bottom of the spreadsheet, there is a table and a chart which include data about weekly averages. When tab '2014' cell H4 was set to 52, you saw that the table had averages calculated through the end of the year and the chart showed the graphical representation of those averages. While cell H4 is 52, go to cell G4 (the last day of the previous year) and enter 10. If you look at the values in M4 and N4 (total for the current week and cumulative total respectively) you'll see that those still show 52. However, on the table of weekly averages beginning in cell B61, you'll see the averages start with 62 miles. It only makes sense that any given week for the weekly averages is comprised of 7 days, so we will count mileage from December 30th and 31st, 2013 for the first 'week' in the table and chart at the bottom of tab '2014'. For these weeks that split over two years, I include the 'week' in with the year which has the most days of that week, so for the last two days of 2013 and the first 5 days of 2014, the 'week' is included on tab '2014'.
<p>
Please feel free to comment. Thanks.rob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281341796142406798.post-90504851321283272072014-06-25T20:03:00.000-07:002014-07-03T07:58:42.160-07:00Early repolarization, or, in other words, a change of plansYes, I admit, I'm way behind on entries for the K-hound series on this blog. I plan to catch up, and maybe even continue. About that maybe part. Well, there has been a change of plans forced on me. Here is the deal. In late May I rode a permanent on the 24th with a bunch of SFR club members. The next day I came down with a very bad cold that kept me from work a full week, and worse still, I then missed the SFR Dart (and a great opportunity to ride with Deb and Drew and Ken and Daryl), then I was still too sick to even volunteer, much less ride, the Santa Rosa 600km. Right there 800km of planned RUSA events missed and the clock ticks on.
<p>
Finally I get close to healthy again, and then the bottom really drops out. Last Saturday I went to volunteer for the <a href="http://srcc.memberlodge.com/TT">Santa Rosa Terrible Two Double Century</a>. My son and I have volunteered there every year since 2008, and I also volunteered in 2006, all at the Fort Ross rest stop, just across CA Highway One from the <a href="http://www.fortross.org/">historic fort</a>. This year we were all set up and the first riders had come and gone, and then I had a terrible pain in my lower abdomen, followed by nausea, profuse sweating and dizziness. Next thing I know my vision is closing down like the screen fades in silent movies and I'm on the ground surrounded by people, one of which is an EMT who is giving me a saline IV and is hooking me up to an EKG machine. I'm later told my BP dropped to 60 over 30 and I had no <a href="http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_distal_pulse">distal pulse</a> (nothing in the wrists but of course a pulse in my neck). The EKG readouts alarm him and a med-evac helicopter is called in to transport me to a hospital with a heli-pad and Cardiac Center. Once at the hospital a 5th (at least) EKG test is done and the cardiologist reads it and sees this event for what it is. I have an abnormality in my heart that displays itself in an EKG as <a href="http://en.ecgpedia.org/wiki/Early_Repolarization">early repolarization</a>. The condition apparently (after some Googling) is present in 1% of the population, and more commonly found in athletes (a group in which I do not feel I number) and is benign.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhvZYcHs2pQbafCt4D_fQN6V2iVL0XARflcnRr8o6eNo-X-2MiiU5JTlL5V7y91qmEke5jlY9ZTJAFceiP9OrQwO56FPzFmsZtJFm6fNCKjQ_8oiuCE6h5rF77lWZVySLOMtuaMIALJ3Q/s1600/300px-Projects_repolarization_1.svg.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhvZYcHs2pQbafCt4D_fQN6V2iVL0XARflcnRr8o6eNo-X-2MiiU5JTlL5V7y91qmEke5jlY9ZTJAFceiP9OrQwO56FPzFmsZtJFm6fNCKjQ_8oiuCE6h5rF77lWZVySLOMtuaMIALJ3Q/s400/300px-Projects_repolarization_1.svg.png" /></a></div>
<p>
Phew!
<p>
Nevertheless, there is still cause for close medical observation of the condition because I also have aortic valve regurgitation, but I've had that all my life. I was released about 2 hours after I got to the ER and was home by 8pm. Not surprisingly though, I just didn't feel like riding the SFR Lucas Valley Populaire on Sunday. Now I'm 900km short of my planned rides and a full month has disappeared from the calendar, and after tests and dr. appointments on Monday and Tuesday, I know I'll be missing another full month of riding when I have (minor) surgery to fix the source of the abdominal pain in August. I'll miss at least 900km before I get to the point of regaining the fitness I will lose during that layoff. Hopefully the stone I'll be pushing up hill toward the goal of the K-hound award will weigh less than 15 lbs, because that is what I'll be limited to in mid-August. Wait, I'll need to get a new and very lightweight bike for medical reasons!
<p>
The work toward clarifying the heart conditions is just beginning. I had an echo done today and tomorrow I'll get a Holter Monitor for a 24-hour EKG. I'm guessing I'll be cleared, but we still need to confirm that.
<p>
<b>UPDATE:</b> The Holter Monitor and Echocardiogram results have come back and all is clear. I've had a heart murmur all my life and that will continue to be monitored but is *not* an issue. I'll have an echo done every two years or so going forward, but there was no 'cardiac event' that happened. I'll have surgery to fix the abdominal issue, but not until August and until then I'm clear to ride.rob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281341796142406798.post-18299999411117914362014-04-25T21:12:00.001-07:002014-04-26T10:21:13.262-07:00Boontling can't describe it<p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho731jiEzyH3FYK_zzg5T3W0WXC_Oki3HN08lH40ZiQcoyFBcfS0_iRy2GxXrxouZk3VA84KNSh90k3_axGkD6O2z-AThlJ4Ny7FpPovUkWY2RL7Lim_7t5sDtCkHTqUibz3SktmipNwE/s1600/DSC00063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho731jiEzyH3FYK_zzg5T3W0WXC_Oki3HN08lH40ZiQcoyFBcfS0_iRy2GxXrxouZk3VA84KNSh90k3_axGkD6O2z-AThlJ4Ny7FpPovUkWY2RL7Lim_7t5sDtCkHTqUibz3SktmipNwE/s1600/DSC00063.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>
Certain hills are forever defined by your first experience climbing them by bike. Try as you might to overcome this, each subsequent climb of that hill is (at least a little) ill flavored if that first experience did not go well. Irony is often best illustrated when the hill in question is a simple one for fresh legs but fate always provides you with a set of tired ones. Dixon Ridge, the final climb on Nicasio Valley Road, a feature of so many San Francisco Randonneurs brevet routes is a case in point. I never know if that mere bump will crush me. The Santa Rosa Cyclists brevet calendar for the last three years has featured a ride affectionately known as the 'Hubba' that is nothing if not heavy on long climbs, traversing twice the mountains that separate the Anderson Valley from the middle landscape of the Russian (nee Slavyanka) River Valley. Upon first hearing of the new route from Bob, the Santa Rosa RBA, I felt more than a little intimidated. <a href="http://www.fishfriendlyfarming.org/otherwatersheds/navarro-river.html"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0mioTBMENj_UwckiuM0xT1f-fAwbJdgOs7pXflV0gPtYFMNz1xOFyV30OZczRbovqijHYyDCOMhz598qZTo_h-qXxhyphenhyphen2sT_zqM_tLkt1yysqy60NJUheezJD78AZ565Ss6biZ9mZNtEw/s1600/Navarromap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0mioTBMENj_UwckiuM0xT1f-fAwbJdgOs7pXflV0gPtYFMNz1xOFyV30OZczRbovqijHYyDCOMhz598qZTo_h-qXxhyphenhyphen2sT_zqM_tLkt1yysqy60NJUheezJD78AZ565Ss6biZ9mZNtEw/s400/Navarromap.jpg" /></a></div></a>The first two versions of the event passed without my joining in or even considering riding it. I knew too well that in February, when the ride was usually held, I'd not be in very good climbing condition, and I'd be over-matched by the west bound climb on CA-128 and by Mountain House, let alone the Boonville-Ukiah climb (in that direction). In 2007, I was having a pretty good year on the bike, better than in the previous years. That year I did the Davis 600km, which traversed Boonville-Ukiah in both directions, and it wrecked me. I remember, with over 200 miles in my legs already, nearly passing out on the return to Ukiah, twice feeling lightheaded and wobbly on the climb up 'homebound', so my 'Super Randonneur' series that year ended with a less than stellar ride. (This was my last shot at the final <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris%E2%80%93Brest%E2%80%93Paris">PBP </a>qualifier in 2007, so there was no second chance.)
<p>
Last year, in 2013, I finally overcame my hesitation in doing this ride and signed up, traveling up with Kevin and Jack. It likely was the fantastic start to the year on the bike I had had up to that point that convinced me the idea of finishing this ride wasn't fantasy. As per usual, Bob had great weather for the event and thus a great turnout. Similar to the Napa 200km brevet, this route needed to meander a bit in the early miles outside of Healdsburg in order to reach the 200km distance requirement, so the route heads east-northeast through the vineyards at the north end of the Alexander Valley before any of the climbing even begins toward Cloverdale. Beyond Cloverdale though is the real climbing, first up CA 128 and the county line between Sonoma and Mendocino Counties, followed by more climbing through the Yorkville area on the way into the Navarro River Watershed. Arrival in Boonville leaves the riders perplexed that there wasn't much more of a downhill coast to enjoy and in fact county road crews seem complicit with the fraud, with 'official' road signs suggesting an 8% downhill lasting two miles. Lies, simple lies those. After the control in Boonville riders reverse course for less than a mile and then hang a left past the <a href="https://avbc.com/">solar powered brewery</a> where the longest but perhaps not steepest climbing begins over the Boonville-Ukiah road. From early on in the climb riders can look back out over the Anderson Valley, a place rich enough to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boontling">have it's own language</a>, but ironically the language is not itself rich enough to have the vocabulary to describe the views. The peak of the climb is one that is not clearly defined and in fact the road undulates for some distance before the double descent (the first at 8%, the second at 10%), dumping riders in the southern outskirts of Ukiah, CA. A control at the Safeway in town gives riders one last official stop before the route heads south for good, and the finish 50 miles later back in Healdsburg. Along the way riders first meander downstream on the east side of the Russian River, then cut west through Hopland heading for the ascent of Mountain House. This is where the steep climbing is, but fortunately the scenery is so stunning that you are distracted slightly from the agony in your legs. From Mountain House Road and CA 128, there is the (mostly) downhill run into Cloverdale, followed by a run along Dry Creek Road past vineyards then on to ride's end at <a href="http://bearrepublic.com/">The Bear Republic Brewery</a>.
<p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9smKtkeJX-ThXUVoJAC_gDTPU5ML7kwk5vYWLStga1O-NIkX3smV5sznxJarxbbw2WMHvPpG1gDG6482IjocnSitr0rFTPbJ95B1TfNWr8p1JV4yuf-uXUsOtVVstYO0lbEyL5aiB_A/s1600/DSC00043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9smKtkeJX-ThXUVoJAC_gDTPU5ML7kwk5vYWLStga1O-NIkX3smV5sznxJarxbbw2WMHvPpG1gDG6482IjocnSitr0rFTPbJ95B1TfNWr8p1JV4yuf-uXUsOtVVstYO0lbEyL5aiB_A/s320/DSC00043.jpg" /></a></div>While the ride for me on the 'Hubba' in 2013 was a great ride, maybe some mistakes were made, so this year I wanted to improve upon the success of last year. Out of Healdsburg it was easy to hang with the lead pack which may have had more than half of the riders in in it from the start. On the lead in to Geyserville though the greyhounds took off and I happily let them go. Last year I tried to chase that group all the way to the switchbacks on CA 128 leading up to the county line. This year I kept to *my* pace, and avoided a repeat of becoming overcooked before the real climbing began. There still was a sizable group going through Cloverdale but on the last little bump going out of town I drifted ahead and ended up riding from the turn onto CA 128 and pretty much on into Boonville solo. The pack, led by a tandem, was never far behind and at the end of each long downhill section they would have nearly caught me only to drop back on the climbs. I admit that I knew they were there and I was doing my best to delay when the would finally catch me, but this turned out not to be until the control in Boonville. I did not want to rush through there, and while Matt and Michael were there I chose not to rush and leave with them. My feeling was that trying to keep their pace would overextend me. Patrick and Megan were at the control too and they looked to be ready to leave at about the time I was, but no sooner did I ask them if I could ride with them but they disappeared. I thought they had slipped out but it turns out it was me that slipped out. I missed spotting them around the corner of the building.
<p>
Leaving town I trailed Metin past the corner onto CA 253, aka Boonville-Ukiah road. The road name put me in mind of the country roads between small towns in southeaster Michigan, named for the two towns the road connects when between the two towns, but by the name of the 'other' town while the road is within one town. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv2847jsAs3o6cBDF37qUH8CduD1fQfHKJSXz6cjBVN1-3bLUXoAS6AHRTyynw2rxI7vuAeOd5t2y_3pK_Ng6Odo-8Pk9nyVo4uPaBFgsVfyFFh5E1Tt2HrYdS0e62n6bQZ6J5YW8B2Vk/s1600/DSC00069.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv2847jsAs3o6cBDF37qUH8CduD1fQfHKJSXz6cjBVN1-3bLUXoAS6AHRTyynw2rxI7vuAeOd5t2y_3pK_Ng6Odo-8Pk9nyVo4uPaBFgsVfyFFh5E1Tt2HrYdS0e62n6bQZ6J5YW8B2Vk/s400/DSC00069.jpg" /></a></div>Leaving the center of town in East Treestump, MI you'd take Boondocks Road, which became East Treestump Road when you reached Boondocks, MI. Of course, the comparison falls apart here as the road in question remains Boonville-Ukiah for its full length. No matter the name, this year I was finally not in over my head on the climb and was able to thoroughly enjoy the views along with Metin's company on the way up. As previously mentioned, once at the top the road rises and falls repeately over the course of a couple miles, then rushes downhill in much more of a hurry with two distinct segments to the descent. Weighing possibly twice what Metin weighs, I was able to fly downhill under the influence of Aristotelian gravity rather than Galilean gravity and I reached the bottom of the hill far ahead of Metin. Mike and Matt had arrived just ahead of me and were just acquiring lunch at the Safeway deli counter when I came in but they turned things around quickly and left while I still sat and ate. Jason pulled in a short while later but he doesn't spend long at controls so he and Bob and a few others organized a small group to leave town and we set up a paceline for the run along River Road with the Russian river just to our west. Partway along there the tandem with Craig and Lori came roaring along with Sue and several others, and we had possibly 15 riders in a pack heading into Hopland. Just past Hopland of course is Mountain House Road, a favorite of mine and a simply beautiful stretch of challenging roadway. Even with the lack of winter rains, this portion of the world looked lovely. The group formed by the two earlier pacelines began to split up and I held back in order to ride with Bob, and Lori on the back of Craig's tandem, in order to form a trio of RUSA RBAs (Bob/Santa Rosa, Lori/Fresno, and me/San Francisco). The conversation was meandering along with the road, often funny, often about the difficulty of the climb. Toward the very end Bob sprung to life, rushing by me gasping 'don't lose, huff, huff, the tandem'. Only a few beats later did I put it together. We wanted to be with the tandem when they reached warp speed on the down hill into Cloverdale, and we especially wanted to be in the lee of the tandem along Dutcher Creek and it's rollers and on Dry Creek for the final run into town.
<p>
As we passed the Dry Creek General Store I tried to remember how we would get into Healdsburg and make our way to the finish control, but just could not remember. Bob had to explain it twice before the penny dropped but then I had it. As happened on so many brevets this year, as the group I was with approached the finish, Carl would be riding back out for more miles, having finished long before us. After all my 'hard work' trying not to keep up with Matt and Mike, it turned out our group arrived barely five minutes behind them, with our group finishing the 125 miles in 8 hours, 11 minutes. Despite finishing more than an hour faster than it took me last year, I felt far, far better after this ride than I did last year. Regardless of how I felt after either ride though, Bear Republic beer made everything even better anyway.
<p>
Ride date: 3-15-14
<p>
Host Club: Santa Rosa Cyclists
<p>
Total km: 200
<p>
Km remaining needed for K-hound: 8,500
<p>
Photos by Metin Uz, and a full gallery can be viewed <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/+MetinUz/albums/5992724718567318977">here</a>.rob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281341796142406798.post-90379935437157978182014-04-08T12:11:00.001-07:002014-04-08T12:12:03.366-07:00and mere oblivion, sans teeth ...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1KEQav9q-ab5NdasQDPwp1HjgURgNxo_B_6Sb-bIzCNzDoazIa1aXbzdtLJusMBAamqI2q33Uu7qSKQ-s4BqnN808Tyggokj6UIVDx0mUhzHguVl8Z0kB3fuu7q0h1MZkuxx9XNx86Ig/s1600/time_lapse_ggb_300k.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1KEQav9q-ab5NdasQDPwp1HjgURgNxo_B_6Sb-bIzCNzDoazIa1aXbzdtLJusMBAamqI2q33Uu7qSKQ-s4BqnN808Tyggokj6UIVDx0mUhzHguVl8Z0kB3fuu7q0h1MZkuxx9XNx86Ig/s640/time_lapse_ggb_300k.JPG" /></a></div>
<p>
<center>Photo above copyright Jim Hsu
<p>Additional photos by Patrick Herlihy</center>
<p>
With a longer sweep of time as a yardstick, perhaps the second most popular <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brevet_(cycling)">brevet</a> route for the <a href="http://www.sfrandonneurs.org/">San Francisco Randonneurs</a> is the Russian River 300km, an event and route hosted every year since 2003, and first held as a RUSA brevet in 1999 and there is reason to believe the route was used as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris%E2%80%93Brest%E2%80%93Paris">Paris, Brest, Paris</a> qualifier before even that year. The 300km distance is the first level of selection, where most but not all of the riders successfully completing the introductory 200km events move up a notch on the difficulty scale. Half again as long as the 200km, that third 100km tests riders in a way the first two do not. The route the Russian River 300km follows is not in and of itself a difficult one, with barely more climbing overall than some of SFR's 200km routes have. Instead, the late February or early March date when the ride is held often has dished up weather that can severely challenge riders. Most notable of the 'weather' dates was the 2007 version of the ride, where riders left the start under cloudy skies and only as the first riders approached the 'mental' half way point in Healdsburg did the skies open up, tentatively at first and then with gusto. By ride's end, participants had to dismount and cling to the railing of the Golden Gate Bridge in order to keep from being blown down. The event in 2011 narrowly missed a snowstorm by 24 hours and instead faced 100-year record cold temperatures. In other years, it was merely hours-long rain, or simply strong winds.
<p>
Through 2013, I have done this route seven times, missing the event owing to illness in 2009 to break what would otherwise be a long string begun in 2006. In the early years for me, with only one outlier, the route would take me well over 15 hours to complete. Sometimes early season lack of fitness or a winter respiratory illness would be the defining reason, other times the weather, and still other times I would put myself in a hole from the start through some stupid move such as the time I left my wallet on the dashboard of the car and then 8 miles into the ride it dawned on me that I had done that, then having to return to the start and throwing away more than an hour. In 2013, all the usual impediments fell by the wayside and I had an outstanding ride, finally finishing a 300km on any route in under 13 hours. Best of all on that ride, second only to the company I had all along the route, was the way I felt at the finish, which in a word was fantastic. Approaching the 2014 version of the Russian River 300km, I had zero expectation that I could meet or exceed my experience in 2013. In fact I had doubts I'd even be able to keep up with Michael and Matt along the way.
<p>
At the start, held at the Golden Gate Bridge Pavilion plaza, under the watchful eye of <a href="http://www.inetours.com/Pages/images/GGB/J_Strauss.jpg">Joseph Strauss</a> an SFR record turnout of riders gathered, ready for the day. The weather is and will be wonderful for this day. I'm feeling a little bit more frazzled with all the pre-ride duties and with a little more confusion than is usual we get started late. Mike and Matt asked me to join them but they left with the first riders and I'm off the back. Once off the west sidewalk of the bridge there is more room and I'm able to work my way further up the pack, looking for Mike and Matt and checking in with riders along the way. The first fifteen miles of the route are ubran/suburban with way too many traffic controls to really get and keep a good rhythm. Somewhere around Ross I've finally caught them and shortly after that our trio finds Jason, riding fixed, and Carl. For roughly the next 200km some permutation of these five riders will be together. In order to reach 300km, the route follows Sir Francis Drake Blvd. out past Samuel Taylor Start park to Platform Bridge Road and then to the not-so-secret control.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicyifkGNpnDJh_QEe8XvqdO1kpl-wPvJtEJVRHPk7BCZ_z1V2Hx6Ev16kIVzOPF7FkNwQPg86S5btB-ZbtL7bOvzuliDvW__0O2KSgYxxTUqLv8bSa6fira2O5Y9dbaEq_a310gEczpOw/s1600/P1000786.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicyifkGNpnDJh_QEe8XvqdO1kpl-wPvJtEJVRHPk7BCZ_z1V2Hx6Ev16kIVzOPF7FkNwQPg86S5btB-ZbtL7bOvzuliDvW__0O2KSgYxxTUqLv8bSa6fira2O5Y9dbaEq_a310gEczpOw/s320/P1000786.JPG" /></a></div> This is no hardship at all. After so many years of brutal pavement surfaces through the park, the State found some money to reconstruct the roadway and the experience now is dreamlike: a smooth, undulating and winding road through Marin redwoods. Our group, which has picked up Steve along the way is the second pack to reach the control, where things are calm for now. Later reports noted that very large groups converged on the control, even with it being over 30 miles into the route. We pushed on toward Petaluma and the Safeway control on the east side of US 101.
<p>
This stretch, between the Petaluma and Healdsburg controls suffers by comparison to what precedes and follows, and has been mentioned as front runner for the least favorite portion of the route, largely because of the transit of Santa Rosa and Windsor. Still, there are scenic portions and our group worked well through this flatish section and managed to catch (with the help of <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/106734738449712481100/albums/5989338844844299297/5989339667935767330?pid=5989339667935767330&oid=106734738449712481100">that great leveler</a>) the lead group on the edge of Windsor and we arrived in <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/106734738449712481100/albums/5989338844844299297/5989339774336218306?pid=5989339774336218306&oid=106734738449712481100">Healdsburg </a>together. Many riders, especially in the lead group, chose to make short work of the control at the Safeway, grabbing something to eat and drink on the fly. Others still decided to sit down on something other than a bike saddle and take a bit more time to partake of 'lunch'.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHGU_mKllrlK9uhxtLNNLUsyUWIs6hg_7f60OTFvGrTwUXIWewr-gve8NMGlhruCa8NmK2ijeGQ8IQT3ACa_LfZmB_M2kGXuOcBOWzq5nVjSrcu70rWuMiPKdbJp4hATfIai7cCOzfhfA/s1600/hburg_control.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHGU_mKllrlK9uhxtLNNLUsyUWIs6hg_7f60OTFvGrTwUXIWewr-gve8NMGlhruCa8NmK2ijeGQ8IQT3ACa_LfZmB_M2kGXuOcBOWzq5nVjSrcu70rWuMiPKdbJp4hATfIai7cCOzfhfA/s320/hburg_control.JPG" /></a></div>
<p>
I'm feeling pretty good at this point, perhaps better than I have a right to feel, but there is no need to complain. The wind is light, skies clear and Westside Road and River Road will take us through vineyards and redwoods out to the mouth of the Russian River at the coast just south of Jenner, CA. Though not nearly as extensive as the rebuild of Sir Francis Drake Blvd, Westside Road featured a mile long section of reconstructed road where there once was the most notoriously bad pavement. Quite likely because our strict attention was no longer required in avoiding potholes and cracks in the pavement, each of us now could enjoy looking across the vineyards with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayacamas_Mountains">Mayacamas Mountains</a> as a backdrop to the east. Paralleling the Russian River downstream, there was little in the way of climbing as you might expect, but the mileage and that last, annoying bump before the river crossing tends to split up the group. I'm left in no-man's land between the faster, stronger riders I just can't seem to catch, and a trailing group who perhaps have more sense than I do as I still try to bridge up to Carl who disappears on the climb up toward <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goat_Rock_Beach">Goat Rock State Park</a>. This stretch of coastline always gets a reaction from visiting riders from out state, or out of state and even from me as I have yet to tire of landscape and views here. Ten miles further south is our next control in Bodega Bay, and the fragemented group only temporarily reassembles. Not wanting to lose the flow I've reached on the ride so far, after a very short break I roll off, promising to soft pedal. Why is this a promise so often broken? On the way toward the Valley Ford mega-rollers, in the canyon just south of Bodega Bay Carl blows by me and it is the last I see of him until after he has finished and turned around to ride the last bit of the route in reverse. 300km won't be enough for him this day.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjytJArj5lhimR2pMr3yoQBp9Stms357V5h7-iypA7Q_ot24Bx33P6tG3zL2NgoOGHaHY_jijmo-W5jwYmJIZtAKqG_nPrlfJWqCnNMGAioBz9-RLtpwCRM5elmKnw31EQmHsvoXn-ULjs/s1600/P1000835.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjytJArj5lhimR2pMr3yoQBp9Stms357V5h7-iypA7Q_ot24Bx33P6tG3zL2NgoOGHaHY_jijmo-W5jwYmJIZtAKqG_nPrlfJWqCnNMGAioBz9-RLtpwCRM5elmKnw31EQmHsvoXn-ULjs/s320/P1000835.JPG" /></a></div>
<p>
Each year, riders new to this route worry about arriving at the next control before the Marshall Store closes. Tony's just south in Marshall is open later but it isn't nearly as inviting as the Marshall Store and it's chowder (and beer!). Both options are favorable to the last option of mailing a postcard from the post office across the road. Having stopped along the way from Bodega Bay to eat, Matt and Mike have caught up and we arrived at the Store well ahead of closing time, the earliest I've ever reached the store, and this allows me to relax as I enjoy what I consider a well earned bowl of chowder and a cold Blue Moon. On my first visit to the store as a control on a brevet, I was skeptical about indulging in that menu. Now however, I've elevated the choice to a requirement for the ride. The store management has agreed to stay open a bit later than is normal to allow later riders to stop and eat, offering just the chowder and what packaged foods there is usually for sale and nearly all the riders today make the 'cutoff'. Jason and I rolled off at a leisurely pace to allow the food to better settle, and this becomes a crucial smart decision for me. Without the need to try to match a faster pace for the next so many miles, I'm in a better position to enjoy the last 40 miles without stomach issues.
<p>
Upon reaching the turn off, before Point Reyes Station, returning riders are faced with the following climbs: Nicasio Reservoir (mild, short), Dixon Ridge (double climb, annoyingly placed), White's Hill (in the easy direction), Corte Madera Grade (newly repaved on the uphill, still potholed and ragged on the downhill) and lastly the climb up Alexander to the Golden Gate Bridge. Steve, Jason, Mike, Matt and I roll along ticking off these climbs, each with our own reaction to each hill. For my part, all the climbs through the Corte Madera Grade are painless in a relative way. While some are tiring as we inch closer to 300km, we regroup more than once so that the pack stays together. Until that final climb however. I think because I had managed the other climbs with somewhat relative ease, the others assumed Alexander would pose no problems for me. On the first part of the climb while still in town too many wheels were too close together and in order to stay upright I had to pull off and the other riders moved along. After restarting I made it most of the way up toward the final road cut before I gave in to the need to eat one last time before the finish. Matt too had fallen off from the others but on his part it was by design as he needed to stop at his car parked on the north end of the bridge and he waved me on as I called out. Saved from meltdown by my brief stop, I regrouped and crossed the bridge feeling much better even though I lost sight of the riders I had been with all day. A milestone of sorts for me was having to cross the bridge on the west sidewalk, required because the sun had not yet set, and after looping under the bridge on the south side, I pulled in to the finish only a minute behind the others, at 18:04 for a ride time of 12:04. Despite the unplanned stop in sight of the bridge towers, I felt great, better than I've ever felt after finishing this route. From the beginning of the string of times I've done this ride, it has presented itself to me in a progression of stages as first new and full of promise, then at times raging in an adolescent way with stormy behavior, then later still with a more reasoned expression with a hint submerged threat, and finally without the teeth to bite. Still, the climate at the bridge at sundown nearly always includes a cold breeze if not a hint of fog and I was chilling fast so we all broke up to get our cars and head to the post ride meal at Marin Brewing Co.
<p>
Ride date: 3-9-14
<p>
Host Club: San Francisco Randonneurs
<p>
Total km: 300
<p>
Km remaining needed for K-hound: 8,700
<p>rob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281341796142406798.post-63868841274874512072014-03-20T19:31:00.001-07:002014-03-21T09:19:05.080-07:00Two rocks, no waiting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivw-6H3rQDEnScT_hD4ZdNkYpqGlkb0_53JpNUmmuu2_vhsaMp4484sCelux01DNuiWvQB6_O9j1BFVvMeeM_Ocr7qPP0JdENncMnFSrkWnox-Vqyf8io45wdT0dF8mJbq6pFlksXrNa4/s1600/P1000611.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivw-6H3rQDEnScT_hD4ZdNkYpqGlkb0_53JpNUmmuu2_vhsaMp4484sCelux01DNuiWvQB6_O9j1BFVvMeeM_Ocr7qPP0JdENncMnFSrkWnox-Vqyf8io45wdT0dF8mJbq6pFlksXrNa4/s640/P1000611.JPG" /></a></div>
<p>
<center>Photos courtesy of <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/106734738449712481100">Patrick</a></center>
<p>
In the gentle landscape between the growing town of Petaluma and the coastline, there is a small, and perhaps mostly forgotten community named <a href="http://www.uscg.mil/Petaluma/tcpet/tworock.asp">Two Rock, CA</a>. Two Rock never became a commercial center, never became the western seat of finance, and in fact the road doesn't even widen as you pass through. Most people can travel along the highway here and never realize they've passed through a town, and never even notice the <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/106734738449712481100/albums/5983634205742532625/5983634429726742242?pid=5983634429726742242&oid=106734738449712481100">three </a>rock outcroppings that gives Two Rock it's oddly singular name. An oft quoted American author once commented on the attributes of cycling and the resulting understanding of the true contours of the landscape, and should you be riding west on Petaluma-Valley Ford road in the early months of any year, you'll have time to look around at the rolling green hillsides and wonder what it must have been like 100 or 200 years ago, and if this is where the photo for the Windows XP desktop was taken. (No, but <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bliss_(image)">darn close</a>.)
<p>
Each year since 2010, the San Francisco Randonneurs (SFR) have held the Two Rock-Valley Ford 200km brevet in Feburary. The original motivation for creating the event was to take pressure off of the Point Reyes Lighthouse 200km (PRLH) event, always held a few weeks earlier and which is unique for SFR in that there is a rider limit. Riders who couldn't make the roster for the PRLH could then get their early season 200km in a few weeks later. What came to be instead though for this event is that many randonneurs sign up for both rides, and more often than not, there are more names on the Two Rock roster than for the PRLH. On this day in February, my <a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/busman's_holiday">busman's holiday</a> (two SRCC brevets in a row) is now over, and I'll be both administrating and riding the Two Rock 200km for the club. We have nearly 160 riders on hand at the start at East Beach in The City, and it is already shaping up to be a great day. The pre-ride meeting covers various notes about the route and who will be riding this day, and as a bonus we learn from a local just what the rabbit should have done upon arriving in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8TUwHTfOOU">Albuquerque</a>. This latter bit could be wisdom one can barely live without.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkrm5oVQh86bKiYbX4tSQw98G7W95KR-OdSAr7yX_TpFCyNuOJDn4a_niVlcHUT0fpJAH9vCFpEp3LAJ7_w0yXJfehz81eROgCzo4MjgUFHuqPa34gauG6flW3NECQLjrdfXqSdP_zkA0/s1600/P1000616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkrm5oVQh86bKiYbX4tSQw98G7W95KR-OdSAr7yX_TpFCyNuOJDn4a_niVlcHUT0fpJAH9vCFpEp3LAJ7_w0yXJfehz81eROgCzo4MjgUFHuqPa34gauG6flW3NECQLjrdfXqSdP_zkA0/s400/P1000616.JPG" /></a></div><p>
Many of the SFR brevets that start in San Francisco start more specifically at the Golden Gate Bridge (GGB) Pavilion plaza but this route today only reaches that location after a northern transit of the former Presidio and warm up climb to Lincoln Blvd. Some how I end up as the first rider onto the west sidewalk on the Bridge so it falls to me to lead a group through Sausalito on toward Bothin Marsh and Mill Valley. The climb up Camino Alto does its usual task of spreading out the riders, only some of which will regroup into smaller packs on the way to Fairfax and the next climb on White's Hill beyond. I made the climb up Dixon Ridge, away from the San Geronimo Valley ahead of the tandem. My plan was to get far enough down hill to be able to grab on to the tail end of the tandem-led paceline on the far side. It is a near thing and I just make the last position for the run past Nicasio and on past the reservoir. Between here and Hicks Valley and beyond to Petaluma there is a minor climb and along the way I gamble that I can jump ahead, take a bio break, and then catch up again to the pack. I lose that bet and the Paul and Paul manned tandem pulls the pack over the crest ahead of me, and I end up riding solo all they way through Hicks Valley and over the climb toward the Petaluma River watershed.
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjpxa4czPm1Bat_AAccxCaS7C7CRcWSC1UqU8fFG6G54aMJarXiN5S6fJ6sl4AbiCFi6C26MuR96JvCnpF8dheIsvOUceWlx4f-PHnuLs5s-b5TZC-D5XmOrTbPydmzplgCRByJDOIYbc/s1600/P1000621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjpxa4czPm1Bat_AAccxCaS7C7CRcWSC1UqU8fFG6G54aMJarXiN5S6fJ6sl4AbiCFi6C26MuR96JvCnpF8dheIsvOUceWlx4f-PHnuLs5s-b5TZC-D5XmOrTbPydmzplgCRByJDOIYbc/s400/P1000621.JPG" /></a></div>
Though I kept a few of the riders in sight along the way into the first control at the 7-11 store, when I roll into the parking lot Max and most of the other riders were already leaving, rushing to catch Paul and Paul, and Carl who were already gone. I still boggle at this, how quickly they are in and out of the control an I only see the stragglers. One rider, Craig, is not rolling out with the group and instead he waits for me to be ready and we are joined by Brian, who was stalking me along D Street on the way into town. We three chat a bit as we finish the ride through town and then settle into a rotating paceline past the turn to the inland Coast Guard Station and on out past <a href="http://town.blogs.petaluma360.com/11875/sense-of-place-how-two-rock-got-its-name/">Dos Piedras</a>. On the last rotation before Valley Ford I tell (beg) Brian not to surge. I'm beginning to feel the effort and I'd get dropped if he upped the pace at all. Still, I feel great and enjoy the sun on the porch in front of the Valley Ford General Store. Lunch here was potato salad washed down by some mineral water. A few riders come in and then leave ahead of us, and the first riders, including Matt, Vidas, Gintautas, the aforementioned tandem, Max, Morgan and still more, were long gone before we ever stopped at the control here. Brian plans to ride off course and on up to Sebastopol for an art exhibit with a couple other riders before returning to the course and resuming the ride. My goal is to take it a bit slow at first to let lunch properly settle. A brief moment of wooziness surprises me but it passes along with the climb up the first roller on Highway One. By the time we pass Tomales I'm feeling my old self again and under the sunshine of a perfect riding day we finish the run south to Point Reyes Station (PRS), Craig telling me stories of long ago brevets along the way.
<p>
We haven't seen many riders on the run south but out front of the Palace Market Erik, a rider from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothenburg">Gothenburg </a>shows up, looking for a bike shop to deal with a mechanical issue. Erik is a much stronger rider than I am, and it is only because of his mechanical, and my tagging along with Craig that I leave before he does. The route from PRS takes us east toward the canyon that holds the spillway that drains the Nicasio Reservoir. The climb is a modest one and the Point Reyes-Petaluma Road here frequently has a tailwind in the afternoon. The right turn south on Nicasio Valley takes us further around the reservoir and two things, the preceeding drought which has lowered the reservoir, and the clear skies combine to give us a view of the partially submerged old bridge on the former road through the valley. Dixon Ridge, usually a problem for me isn't such of one this day and the west side of White's Hill isn't one either. Now that we are in the suburban section of the ride there will be plenty of traffic controls. Through this area we picked up several riders: Matt, Steve and Vernon. Some how they managed to get in and out of PRS much quicker than Craig and I. It must be their youth.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-39z0qx1xS_g90oCnvqNoqQY4jP4jfj71WIzPf3ZyX-PK5gjoQkGDjXkMzAcAvmWOKBdCcICp9iG0TXsXDH5BOmr7J6dHGB0OXXnP0b8gA2hhfrv7v09ijdTOXw_vFs0oBAjIzuD9ZHk/s1600/P1000646.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="1" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-39z0qx1xS_g90oCnvqNoqQY4jP4jfj71WIzPf3ZyX-PK5gjoQkGDjXkMzAcAvmWOKBdCcICp9iG0TXsXDH5BOmr7J6dHGB0OXXnP0b8gA2hhfrv7v09ijdTOXw_vFs0oBAjIzuD9ZHk/s640/P1000646.JPG" /></a></div>
<p>
From Fairfax to the finish at East Beach the major impediments are the Corte Madera climb (aka Camino Alto from the south side) and the climb out of Sausalito to the GGB sidewalks. The cracks in the edifice begin as leg cramps as we climb up the Corte Madera grade and though the road is rough on the downhill, that and the long flat path across Bothin Marsh allow me to stretch my legs out and overcome the cramps. I think I am feeling pretty good here as we make the trek past the tourists in Sausalito and begin the climb out. The climb is not fabulously steep, and is broken up into several segments by a series of 90 degree turns. I make the first turn fine but at the point of the second one going left I crack. Matt checks on me here and offers me a homemade rice cake from the batch he has used to fuel his ride. Like spinach to Popeye, the rice cake does it's magic while Craig patiently waits for me to recover and then we tackle the next 90 degree turn and the longest segment of the climb up to the tunnel under US 101 and the west sidewalk across the bridge. Craig and I negotiate the short trip through the Presidio and down toward Crissy Field and the finish picnic at East Beach. We arrived at 14:58, for an elapsed time of 7:58. This was the first time ever that I've finished an SFR 200km brevet under 8 hours.
<p>
And because the whole point of these write-ups is really Jason, I am honor bound to mention that Jason came steaming in to the finish a short while later.
<p>
Ride date: 2-22-14
<p>
Host Club: San Francisco Randonneurs
<p>
Total km: 200
<p>
Km remaining needed for K-hound: 9,000rob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281341796142406798.post-12323710311483152692014-03-20T11:59:00.000-07:002014-03-20T19:35:44.076-07:00Pushing the plow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrMspK5or7cwuNtNVjgcg0Me7Y6ugb3JNmRzH2JQa0JJyJXKMt_TZ4mkJZDTFQ_gBc15aMvQ_APtDPuYRZ1w_kdP9vSRPU8BdlCU2Ev7yuw4JG-LCdUo9byqoJdGsJ8H5AcLjorkak364/s1600/Wilson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrMspK5or7cwuNtNVjgcg0Me7Y6ugb3JNmRzH2JQa0JJyJXKMt_TZ4mkJZDTFQ_gBc15aMvQ_APtDPuYRZ1w_kdP9vSRPU8BdlCU2Ev7yuw4JG-LCdUo9byqoJdGsJ8H5AcLjorkak364/s640/Wilson.jpg" /></a></div>
<p><center>
All photos courtesy of <a href="http://2m2t.wordpress.com/">Megan</a>
</center><p>
To date, the 2013-2014 winter in Northern California has been a very dry one, and with only one or two notable exceptions January was dry in a worrisome way all month. By the end of the next month, February 2014 would be saved from being the driest on record, though barely, by what has now become rare rainfall. So, what then would be the odds that the 'R' word would be in the forecast for the date when the <a href="http://srcc.memberlodge.com/Brevet">SRCC</a> would hold it's second 200km brevet for 2014? As the day drew nearer, the forecast (though not the weather) became clearer: Overcast, fog, with the chance of rain spiking around 3pm. So the plan now becomes: Ride, of course, but do what can be done to be near the finish not long after 3pm!
<p>
Despite the irony of rain during a drought not one of us participating in this brevet, it should be pointed out, would ever begrudge the rain if it came to be. While the rest of the country dealt with prolonged cold spells, huge snowfalls and all manner of other nasty weather, we would be faced this day with at worst, uncomfortable riding conditions. Plus, we all knew too well that the region needed the rain. The year before, when Bob first presented the route to the randonneuring community here, I had planned to ride but instead spent the weekend in bed with a cold. The route components were familiar to me for the most part, but the exact configuration was all new. Bob was brief in his pre-ride presentation and a few miles down the road I could now say I'd ridden all of those roads at least once.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNlCpKyBL1Yb7CcaXRMAI9W0rQeMG12E1id2eCLOF4HlX_xusFN2f99e8otWX_PjnA59SA_kNx-6i6whDWiohjuPWzc_UGp2ZKPNd-4CjJVqdyLB1DgcuKgobRPW1OAE1H0CusC4bvu5g/s1600/start.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNlCpKyBL1Yb7CcaXRMAI9W0rQeMG12E1id2eCLOF4HlX_xusFN2f99e8otWX_PjnA59SA_kNx-6i6whDWiohjuPWzc_UGp2ZKPNd-4CjJVqdyLB1DgcuKgobRPW1OAE1H0CusC4bvu5g/s320/start.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>
Some days the ride just flows and on other days the air feels thicker, every incline is magnified and you are disappointed to find that your tire pressure isn't too low and your brake pads aren't rubbing because that would have meant that it wasn't just you as the reason. The route today begins in Novato and like all other SRCC routes, it quickly reaches rural terrain. Over the whole of the course there is only one significant climb, Wilson Hill, and one set of mega-<a href="http://www.ilovebicycling.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/rolling-hills-cycling.jpg">rollers</a> to challenge you (though we'll do them both in both directions). The rest of the route is made up of relatively gentle grades of short duration. So I could not blame the route profile nor could I blame the bike for this ride to shape up as the latter type.
<p>
As is usual, the only thing that breaks the group of nearly 80 riders into smaller segments in the early miles is first traffic controls, and then later an incline, and the gaps caused by those aspects could have been only temporary if not for the option some riders took to push the downhill. On the approach to Wilson Hill, the first notable climb, I decide to fuel up while riding but I do an awkward job of it and get dropped as a result. Everything seems to be slightly more work today than usual. I can't seem to gain on the group on the Hicks Valley rollers, but I know Wilson Hill just around the next corner will shake things up. That it does and though I do gain a little ground here, I couldn't close all of the gap and the riders ahead are out of sight over the crest.
<p>
The descent ahead includes one spot that if I don't control my speed it will cause me at least a moment of mild panic so I don't push it here to catch up. Well above that tricky spot though, I come across a rider down in the ditch on the far side of the road, his bike further down hill than he. The rider is alert and we do an inventory and when it is clear nothing is broken or even cut I walked uphill to warn the next riders approaching. Martin is next and he pulls off to take over traffic control and Bob shows up as well. Most of this day's riders pass by before we all get on our feet. Once upright e can see an ugly bulge on the back side of the injured rider's right knee. Martin, Bob and I all get on our bikes and guide the rider downhill only to stop at the next crossroad to work out a plan for his return to the start. It is clear he should call it a day. (Later on we found out that he was able to ride all the way back to the start, reversing our outbound route and by the next day he was sore but otherwise fine.) While we were stopped making those alternate plans the very last it seems of all the riders have now passed and Martin, Bob and I once again start riding and we quickly catch up to Deb and her rolling <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salon_(gathering)">Salon</a>. I would have been happy to hang for a bit but I was also happy to follow Bob's wheel around the pack and off the front and Martin hesitates only for a moment before he bridges up to us and Bob pulls us past Laguna Lake and through the valley named for the <a href="http://www.tworockfire.com/history_tworock.html">son-in-law of the first European land owner here</a>.
<p>
The first control for the route was in Tomales. Most of the riders made a bee-line to the bakery but a few of us chose the general store instead. In the general commingling of riders in town, Bob hears some intel that suggests it is much better to not assume our fallen rider had made it back to his car safely so he calls the volunteer who had earlier agreed to come pick the rider up and it then that we learned he rode back with her following him. The extra time here helped me feel less rushed once we finally push off toward the rollers between here and Valley Ford.
<p>
Despite feeling off, when I thought I'd fall off on the first huge roller north of Tomales, instead I pulled a bit ahead, but several miles later on what is at best a puny roller before the turn toward Freestone, I run out of oomph and truly do fall off but Bob and Martin slow a bit and I catch back up. A few riders pull off in Freestone to pick up a little somthing at the <a href="http://www.wildflourbread.com/">Wild Flour Bakery</a> but our group rolled on. I know that for myself, I'd crash upon the rocks if I heeded the siren song of a stop there. From here Bohemian Highway meanders for a while before reaching the redwoods and the town of Occidental. Along the way we happened upon a rider who tells us he is a cast off from the <a href="http://www.grasshopperadventureseries.com/">Grasshopper </a>training ride. He looks spent but in good spirits, having gained some useful experience to build upon and happy with some conversation with us. As we passed through town though I began to worry that I had acquired a slow leak but annoyingly I can't confirm that. The Bohemian Highway from Occidental is downhill so riders can hold a pretty good pace, unless of course they lose tire pressure and eventually it is clear I should pull off and mentally prepare to swap out the rear tube. What I find isn't definitive. The tire pressure is not so low that I need to take the wheel off, so to avoid delaying Martin and Bob who stopped with me, I pump up the tire and trusted that we could then do the 15 miles to the turnaround control. I'm not too far wrong and only need to stop once more to re-inflate with a plan to do the full repair at the control.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjli8sSp_blDr-HFaeLR-wXVFEIXGAKsjkYXvsUwFyptbYrwg8tMgsaS8R1CvycYKAD71Mg4t3so9TWz1cDN5ch2ctYGnWM4WqcQOsnqT_ZiAk_oqz0IPm2vF3vQNIUatTcBFmosBwEs4w/s1600/caz_general.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjli8sSp_blDr-HFaeLR-wXVFEIXGAKsjkYXvsUwFyptbYrwg8tMgsaS8R1CvycYKAD71Mg4t3so9TWz1cDN5ch2ctYGnWM4WqcQOsnqT_ZiAk_oqz0IPm2vF3vQNIUatTcBFmosBwEs4w/s320/caz_general.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>
Sure enough there is a large crowd on the porch at the Cazadero General Store when we get there and while Bob and Martin head inside, I set to work on my task which I finish as Bob and Martin are ready to go. As Martin rolls his bike toward the roadside he finds his tire is completely flat. With a chuckle he insists we roll off (we later found out it was the tire change from hell as he broke 3 plastic tire 'irons' and nearly some of his fingers in finally defeating the tire). A few riders join us as we head south back toward Highway 116 and the Russian River, but along the way into Monte Rio they pull back and let us go.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijjoxW71374XhIjjmnumrzRjMjY-CgkGz923_kRpfsajJCkpDvy-5nTvK-9zkt7eylMV1f_44W2HmhPuggdyKDTpvXGNO3kc5pca2Qz0c_ohe0hhMPbE2T2s33ZksMhyccqnwa2B6ZdXo/s1600/caz_porch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijjoxW71374XhIjjmnumrzRjMjY-CgkGz923_kRpfsajJCkpDvy-5nTvK-9zkt7eylMV1f_44W2HmhPuggdyKDTpvXGNO3kc5pca2Qz0c_ohe0hhMPbE2T2s33ZksMhyccqnwa2B6ZdXo/s320/caz_porch.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>
Two centuries ago, a French mathematician defined work as weight lifted through a height. There is no doubt I am feeling the weight today and to get to Occidental then, we need to do some work as that town and the next downhill are a ways uphill. Earlier, the skies were overcast and once past Freestone they look more than that. The landscape from Freestone until Wilson Hill has changed from the wooded and closed in feel back north of us and now is open and rolling, offering the chance to glimpse features of the land many miles distant. Any chance we get to look across the landscape shows what looks like rainfall as a backdrop. We've gathered up a couple more riders past Valley Ford but the monster rollers before Tomales break up the group again.
<p>
As it was on the outbound run, Tomales is a control inbound which suits me. I want a rest. Every so often now it begins to rain, and then abruptly stops but this pattern gets more pronounced back on Chileno Valley Road. Jason and then Becky, both on fixed gear bikes, have joined us on this stretch but everyone gets spread out on the climb back up Wilson Hill. That sinking feeling of a slow leak is the blackest cloud on the horizon along Hicks Valley Road and finally it feels too much like I'm pedaling a plow. This time the slow leak is my front tire and 10 miles out from the finish I stop to pump it up, and luckily that lasts the rest of the ride. Each time the light rain begins again I am sure it is here for good, but as quickly as it starts it then stops and once we are within the Novato city limits we actually catch a glimpse of blue sky. That is merely a tease though. Our group finishes at 16:29 for an elapsed time of 8:29. We ducked inside the pub for some warm food and cold beer and outside the skies opened up and a rainfall settled in after threatening all day. Many riders are already at the table when I made it inside and it is good to hear the stories of how their ride played out, and I contemplate how having great company on a ride when I'm not feeling the flow can really put that part well down the list of what I'll remember about the day. It really was a good day after all.
<p>
And I guess Bob *doesn't* get all the good weather.
<p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTIZ4AH6CGkaP4-x9QNbfpSY05h_EV0i0t-zXylvSajMjdmPW6e1BwpddE1FkrOYHMhU_h7ejYr5-NQAGKi52htgS5QOoNFf_yCmSFowN61Q5ln_omiZBO5eTF8N3mBJkyjD3sJ9dag54/s1600/route.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTIZ4AH6CGkaP4-x9QNbfpSY05h_EV0i0t-zXylvSajMjdmPW6e1BwpddE1FkrOYHMhU_h7ejYr5-NQAGKi52htgS5QOoNFf_yCmSFowN61Q5ln_omiZBO5eTF8N3mBJkyjD3sJ9dag54/s400/route.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>
Ride Date: 2-15-2014
<p>
Host Club: Santa Rosa Cycling Club
<p>
Total km: 200
<p>
Km remaining needed for K-hound: 9,200rob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281341796142406798.post-45298502686171979542014-03-18T18:19:00.000-07:002014-03-20T19:34:50.740-07:00Bob gets all the good weather<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPt-UdArWvZ515ywzFXBfsPOGXOzVCcyBS7hfBzn3WYBb3OOrfDVhzg4lz_rBLD3kLflxfOZwpcRSFxspnhzoXoADr3grDqHoMiKvosTxC7ZGaMjKv5YoY8MTE1kC_DKOs4EZ2B6LHIZo/s1600/card.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPt-UdArWvZ515ywzFXBfsPOGXOzVCcyBS7hfBzn3WYBb3OOrfDVhzg4lz_rBLD3kLflxfOZwpcRSFxspnhzoXoADr3grDqHoMiKvosTxC7ZGaMjKv5YoY8MTE1kC_DKOs4EZ2B6LHIZo/s400/card.JPG" /></a></div>
<p>
RUSA's (unnamed) route # 300 is one of the Santa Rosa region's most popular routes. The route has routinely been offered each year in January and for the last so many years the turn out has always topped 100, sometimes going well beyond that. What is the attraction? The topography of the route is perfectly matched for legs in early season form, which is to say there is a dearth of hills. The route also is short on controls. The start is in Healdsburg near the City Hall, but the turn around is less than 100km so the morning route does some 'bonus' miles to the west and north before heading to the real destination to the southeast in the outskirts of the town of Napa, CA. Those bonus miles require a control and Bob Redmond, the Santa Rosa region's RBA usually makes it an info control and one that relates to, well, lets say it is <a href="http://bearrepublic.com/beers/#.UyirC9KceuI">one of his other passions</a> while off the bike and a seeming competitor to the main agricultural product of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napa_Valley_AVA">terrain we'll pass through</a> all day. Also a plus for attracting ridership is that there is a staffed lunch in a quiet park in the rolling hills to the east of town. Few hills, and those are small. Few controls, and those are easily processed. All there is left for riders to manage is turning the pedals.
<p>
As luck always turns out for this ride, the 2014 version was also held under the threat of fabulous weather, and except for the very early morning chill, the threat became reality. I always worry that with this ride consistently a week or two before the San Francisco Randonneurs opening season 200km, that Bob will have stolen all the good weather because he always gets it for this ride, but this year both dates and clubs lucked out. At check-in that morning I'm joined by 115 other riders all ready for a great ride, and at 08:00 the pack rolls out. The previous year, I found myself still with the lead group led by a tandem and I was able to draft behind the pack that was led by that tandem all day, finishing a 200km brevet for the first time ever in my life in under seven hours, and more to the point finishing hardly feeling taxed by the day's exertions. While I feel good again on this morning, I have no expectations that I can repeat the experience of last year, but even still I work my way up toward the front on West Dry Creek Road and settle in behind the tandem with Mike and Matt on it. As always happens there is a group that turns right way too early and this breaks up the group a bit and strings out the riders, which really isn't a bad thing as it leaves more room for each rider on what is a narrow road. Finally we reach Yoakim Bridge Road and we cut east over to Dry Creek and the zig-zag over to Canyon road and the only hill of any note in the first 30ish miles. This hill is not long and not steep but it is sufficient to further spread out the pack of riders. Today the riders are more than spread out, they are actually separated into many much smaller groups with huge gaps between each group. Mike and Matt have dropped off on the incline but tide turns at the crest and they fly out to the front with riders frantically taking position in the lee behind them.
<p>
Just before Geyserville, we gain <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_State_Route_128">CA 128</a> which we'll stay on til well past Calistoga. Further on as we pass by the entrance to River Rock Casino, the casino itself well hidden behind the oak forested hills, I take stock of the group I'm with. Many of these riders are well above my skill level, and I wonder what the hell I'm doing here with them. But the happy fact is that I'm feeling great and not at all outside my riding abilities on this day, so I settle in and chat with Todd or Mike or Matt as we roll through the Alexander Valley. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjedzWW6ynuNlelYf2Wil7FppkO2LP6S-O_f91Y8CjtQRWPoxvvx5F2H0oZtMMulBsWQTnv23AX75vnNBcPQXs5bYQr8GM4RFi0b_QO5pwu-q1VkWXb652sqBb3jp3N1fkpA8nnmvSMFe0/s1600/alexander.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjedzWW6ynuNlelYf2Wil7FppkO2LP6S-O_f91Y8CjtQRWPoxvvx5F2H0oZtMMulBsWQTnv23AX75vnNBcPQXs5bYQr8GM4RFi0b_QO5pwu-q1VkWXb652sqBb3jp3N1fkpA8nnmvSMFe0/s320/alexander.JPG" /></a></div> The pack stays intact and protected behind Mike and Matt as we dip down to cross over <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maacama_Creek">Maacama Creek</a>, but on the climb up from there trouble begins for the tandem and a short bit further on they pull over to inspect things, and it is only much later we find out what befell them mechanically speaking. The pack rolls on, no doubt assuming it was simply a nature break on their part and that we'd see them later on. The old saying goes that one man's ceiling is another man's floor, and this pace I decide is my ceiling while others in the group decide to dance ahead on their floor and a sub unit of our pack organizes to up the cadence at the county line climb. Surprisingly though I stay near the front up the climb until I decide I will only be in the way over the crest and four riders sprint off. An equal number of others are just as content as I am to remain at our current comfortable pace, but the hill has done it's work and save for that lead group of four everyone else ends up spread out and alone. No worries, though as I know this route so very well and what it will take me to reach the lunch stop control.
<p>
Graham and Todd are up ahead in sight, but I decide they are not reachable even if I hammer for a bit, but later I see Graham all alone and looking back to spot other riders to join him, and it is only because he eases off that I catch up to him. We chat for several miles and negotiate the left on to and right off of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bale,_California">Bale Lane</a>. Despite the enjoyment of conversation on a bike under superb skies, I decide I'd be much more comfortable after a bio-break and I let Graham ride off. He later caught up to Todd but would suffer a mechanical just before the turn around control. Just as I return from the bushes on a side road Carl comes rolling along and invites me to grab his rear wheel. Carl, another rider well above my skill level is happy for the company and while he does most of the work leading us south, I jump out front to pull several times along the way until we start the last set of miles before lunch along the left-right-left-right path into the foothills.
<p>
Todd and Graham are stopped on the side of the road just off of the Silverado Trail figuring out Graham's mechanical predicament but they wave us on. Five or so miles on we roll into the control, and I'm greeted by shocked volunteers, each wondering what the hell I am doing arriving so early. References are made to PEDs as the explanation but that is of course meant as a left-handed complement and I take it as such. After years of riding brevets and all to often battling stomach issues and paying the price of carrying <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overweight">extra baggage</a> it is a joy to be 70 miles into a ride and feeling just great. I have an appetite, I'm barely tired and I know I have plenty in the tank still for the 55 miles back to the finish control. Bobbi chats with me as I finish a turkey sandwich and before I get back on the bike I grab a dixie cup full of nuts and raisins. That smidgen of food will play a vital role 25 miles down the road. I decided I didn't want to eat it right then so I stuffed it in my back pocket and head to the bike. Todd is there and Carl and another rider is there ready to go and I mention to Jason that the train is leaving. Jason just laughs at the idea of joining us and 20 miles down the road I will know exactly why.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYFxjX5PVvToerLsAyEdUY9BDIAN5JxOQktxeQQJoRI3kiNaowWNj9x6nhMSQBziGU4CSqJX2Oc8Rff5Ove4WSGQALoM4TFtfyruqgRPJI1dDhpBj6uiZid0GjsgOTNzbz9sSlRhl9rWw/s1600/P4030354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYFxjX5PVvToerLsAyEdUY9BDIAN5JxOQktxeQQJoRI3kiNaowWNj9x6nhMSQBziGU4CSqJX2Oc8Rff5Ove4WSGQALoM4TFtfyruqgRPJI1dDhpBj6uiZid0GjsgOTNzbz9sSlRhl9rWw/s640/P4030354.JPG" /></a></div>
<p>
After five or six miles the other rider drops off and Todd and I settle in behind Carl. When Carl first began riding, he set in on a paceline and asked the group how it would work. The simplicity of the answer surprised Carl, but he held to that principle. At the time, he was told that 'a turn at the front' lasted until you felt you needed a break, and on this day, with a tailwind behind us Carl just never needed a break all the way to the outskirts of Calistoga where we came up on a really large group pulled by a tandem. I had missed that group coming in to the lunch break and then leaving ahead of us. Catching a tandem-led paceline is just a little unreal just thinking about it, but the reality was that we had a locomotive at the head of our train that was pulling us along on the Silverado Trail at speeds ranging from 21 to 28 mpph. Once we hit Bale Lane for the run across the valley I heard Carl tell Todd he was headed for the front to pull for a while. In my experience tandems had never benefited from or wanted other riders to pull the paceline and few riders really could get out there and stay out there. Carl proved to be the exception here, and while Carl pulled the group, I sat in back munching the trail mix I had stashed in my pocket when leaving lunch. Calistoga and the most obvious place to pull off to rest is just past the 100 mile mark on the route and I have always stopped there because I always needed the break. Not so today though and with Carl at the front we rolled on through town and off to the county line climb where Carl takes off uphill. Only two riders tried to go with him and only one rider managed it and everyone else spread out, with the tandem and one other rider at the back. I passed the tandem with Paul and Sarah on it partway up the hill, with the thought in mind that if I was behind them at the top, I'd never hold their wheel. I raced down the back side trying to get a lot of space between us so that they wouldn't be going quite so much faster than me when they passed. Amazingly, that strategy worked, but largely because Paul and Sarah slowed partway down when they spotted Paul's brother riding along. The whole group save for just a few riders regrouped before the re-crossing of Maacama Creek, and I settled in at the back to try to hang on. The <a href="http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/smell_the_barn">smell of the barn</a> took hold just before we passed Jimtown when Todd jumped out front and upped the pace to 28mph! and four times I fell off the back of the pack and three times I made it back, so I rode solo the last four miles or so.
<p>
Certain decisions are the telltale signs of pure genius, and the mind that concluded that the finish control of this particular brevet should be at the Bear Republic Brewery is one that qualifies as belonging in that category. I arrived in six hours and twenty four minutes after the start, feeling like I had earned (though just barely) a post ride pint plus burger and fries. Mike and Matt are there and I'm momentarily puzzled until they tell me their freehub failed and they had gingerly rode back to town and rented a loaner rear wheel to get 80 miles in for the day.
<p>
Ride Date: 1-19-2014
<p>
Host Club: Santa Rosa Cycling Club
<p>
Total km: 200
<p>
Km remaining needed for K-hound: 9,400rob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281341796142406798.post-70894666783608934712014-03-18T10:11:00.001-07:002014-03-20T19:33:50.210-07:00Add water and mixIn the interests of chronological accuracy, this addition to the 'chasing K-hounds' series will be about the Worker's Ride version of the San Francisco Randonneurs (SFR) Point Reyes Lighthouse 200km, held the same day as the SFR Point Reyes Populaire. The latter is a subset of the former and covers the same routes save for two different out-and-back legs, one to the lighthouse which lends it's name to the 200km route and the other up to Marshall, CA on Highway One. Worker's Rides, according to RUSA rules, are held sometime within 15 days prior to the main event, to allow those volunteers that make the main event happen a chance to ride the brevet themselves. Trying to pack in enough rides to reach 10,000km this year will be a challenge. I can't justify riding two days out of the weekend on all day rides and there were only two weekends prior to the main event, and on the 2nd weekend in this time frame was a ride I really did not want to miss (more on that in the next post).
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzl0v_b9h_DwKYCYv0dQOlbP0_8qhlSBlaNxo-CfmwzkSipyU6TPskb2wfsOTLdrSA0HqxowU4OF8H3ZElqKprPpWWC6GVrj6Uyzx7TVkTSn1FWPcJdvxqmr5nIBLlYb1xnkoA9bbGU7U/s1600/sanandreas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzl0v_b9h_DwKYCYv0dQOlbP0_8qhlSBlaNxo-CfmwzkSipyU6TPskb2wfsOTLdrSA0HqxowU4OF8H3ZElqKprPpWWC6GVrj6Uyzx7TVkTSn1FWPcJdvxqmr5nIBLlYb1xnkoA9bbGU7U/s200/sanandreas.jpg" /></a></div>
After much too long a time without any significant rainfall in California, Saturday the 11th day of January began under the threat of rain. Given the forecast detail I was hoping the rain would hold off until at least after the Populaire riders had finished and maybe I could sneak in later in the afternoon before the rain might begin. John had volunteered to work the start of the Populaire ride to check in riders and I had a number of things to cover with the riders before they left on their ride and all that, combined with Carlos being a few minutes late we three could not leave with the Populaire riders, but this was completely expected. Nevertheless, John, Carlos and I began to catch up to Populaire riders somewhere after going through Ross. Given the generous time allowances on brevets and populaires, there is no need to hurry if you really don't want to and the riders we passed were all in great spirits enjoying the socializing that a large crowd of riders presents. Many SFR brevets run the route from the Golden Gate Bridge out to Fairfax and beyond White's Hill but only a few go further on Sir Francis Drake Blvd past Platform Bridge Road. Those that do get to climb Bolinas Ridge where from the crest of the ridge you can get a full 180 degree view across the valley to the near side of the land mass of Point Reyes across the San Andreas Fault line.
<p>
Getting to the top of the Ridge is not that long of a climb but is made to seem longer because the crest is around a curve near the top and out of sight during most of the climb. By this time I had caught up to a number of riders, spending a little time with Deb as the route ducked under the redwoods and later on the climb up the Ridge along with Roy. Shortly after we would reach the bottom of the descent off the Ridge, my route would go left out past Inverness and on out to the point itself where the Lighthouse was, but the Populaire riders would continue north toward Point Reyes Station and the delicacies found at the Bovine Bakery in town. I did not get a big enough gap ahead of the next riders. Roy and another rider must have figured that since I was RBA I should know the populaire route and the best ting was to follow me. They followed me a short bit until I slowed and called back that I was on a different route this day. I thought Carlos and John were somewhere very close behind and riding together and that they should catch me soon, but for the moment I'd be alone headed out toward the Point. I stopped briefly in Inverness to eat and readjust some things but during that time Carlos and John did not roll by. Just after Inverness the route climbs the Inverness Ridge on it's way out toward the beaches and the Lighthouse. The mist that began near Olema was now drizzle in Inverness and the drizzle became more than drizzle on past the Life Saving Station Cemetary. On such a day as this, tourist traffic fades to next to non-existent so I largely had the road to myself. The few cars that passed by had me wondering what they might think as they passed me on my bike as rain blatted against their windshields. Charged with being stubborn at this point, I would have to plead guilty as I never stopped to put on rain gear. I could claim that the rain was just drizzle and would pass but the fact is that by the time I reached the Lighthouse parking lot calling myself damp wouldn't even qualify as an understatement.
<p>
The only overhead protection out there was the eaves of the roof over the restrooms but they did offer room enough there to get out of the wind and the rain while I pulled gear from my front bag. I ended up wearing the Showers Pass rain jacket the rest of the ride. Rain was falling in the Bay Area, finally, and I was happy for that and pretty well content at the moment too. I pushed off for the return run back toward the North American Plate. Along the way I first see Carlos on his way out to the Point and as we are stopped John comes along too. Like me, they both seem in fine spirits, barely noticing the rain, so after a few moments discussion we each head off in our own direction. The climb over Inverness Ridge is quiet and simple, with none of the difficulty I've experienced on past versions of the ride and on the way to Point Reyes Station (PRS) I only slow down enough to eat a bit while riding along. On this day, with the weather as it is, PRS is empty of the usual crowds of tourists and cyclists. Between me now and the next control are a series of mild rollers as CA 1 travels north in sight of the shores of <a href="http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/traveler-magazine/photo-contest/2012/entries/130592/view/">Tomales Bay</a>. I often wonder about the upheaval that could create this body of water and how what I see is only a piece of the long string that travels far to the north and south from this point. All that upheaval is in both the past and the future, and as I near Marshall, CA, the immediate present is that tiny little sliver of blue sky off to the northwest that portends clear weather and maybe even dry roads.
<p>
<a href="http://www.themarshallstore.com/">The Marshall Store</a> is one of my favorite places and linked directly to cycling in my memories. Even on this lackluster weather day, the store is busy and I find only a place to stand to eat at the counter inside. That is fine with me though as I concentrate solely on the bowl of warm chowder and the bottle of Blue Moon in front of me, surrounded by the empty cellophane packages of oyster crackers littered all around my bowl. With no one to chat with, no one to slow down by my dithering and no one to slow me down with a belated run to the porta-johns, I am gone and heading south just 12 minutes after arriving. The sun has in fact started to poke through the clouds with a little more determination and as I near PRS once more I see Carlos, and then a while later John still heading north toward lunch and the Marshall Store control. My route will go inland before PRS and will then circumnavigate the Nicasio Reservoir before dog-legging through Nicasio itself on the way to Dixon Ridge. Dixon Ridge has always been at best a question mark for me, and at worst a hill that will make me crack. In terms of grade and length it is puny, but it's threat to me lies in its placement on the route, too near the end and always coming between the peaks of my energy on the ride. The roadway is dry here and there and traffic is no worse than otherwise so the climb is done and I'm back on Sir Francis Drake Blvd. heading toward Fairfax. The lower Marin cycling maze is next and though it is well after noon, it seems the area is on the verge of both coming to life and packing it in for the day, with people just trying to get some outdoor time in before sunset.
<p>
The climb out of Sausalito is once more counter-flow to the stream of tourists on Blazing Saddles rental bikes both on Alexander Road and also on the west sidewalk of the Golden Gate Bridge. I arrive at the finish control location 8 hours, 41 minutes after our start. Elapsed times often don't tell the full story of how well the ride went and on this day I recall having taken much, much longer to complete the course and felt much, much worse than this. While this is my second shortest elapsed time for the route, it is perhaps one of the best rides in terms of how I felt at the end: happy, comfortable and hungry for a good sit down meal earned by the day's exhertions.
<p>
Ride Date: 1-12-2014 (worker's ride for main ride on 1-26-2014)
<p>
Host Club: San Francisco Randonneurs
<p>
Total km: 200
<p>
Km needed for K-hound: 9,600rob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281341796142406798.post-56430593225053957892014-03-01T08:41:00.000-08:002014-03-20T19:32:42.804-07:00First chance, first stepWay early on a Wednesday morning on the first day of the new year, I'm waiting and shivering in a shopping center parking lot along with 47 other riders. We're all there to ride the <a href="http://www.davisbikeclub.org/annual_events/ultra-distance-brevets-randonneuring/brevet_series/2014-brevet-series/first-chance">Davis Bike Club's</a> (DBC) First Chance 200km brevet which will take us from the western edge of Davis, itself on the western edge of the great Central Valley up through the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaca_Mountains">Vaca Mountains</a> over to Calistoga where we'll retrace our steps back to Davis. Earlier in December the Bay Area had experienced a longish stretch of really cold weather and on this day it seemed to have come back for a curtain call. Despite wool gloves under my cycling gloves my hands are painfully cold on the first few miles out. Out of the parking lot, the pace was very sedate and only gradually picked up. I had made my way up to the front of the first group and hung around there, sitting in comfortably (pace wise) with the group.
<p>
My very first ever brevet, save for a team event the prior year was a DBC 200km in March of 2005. The most enduring memory of that ride was how fast the lead group rode right from the start. I was quite green as far as how to ride those events then and I made the effort to try to stay with my riding friends who were determined to stick with that lead group. I just figured that was what you do so I better do that too. Dumb. Really dumb. 20 miles into the ride I was way overheated and way off the back of the pack, and on the return leg that day I really paid the price. This year on this brevet though, the pace was easier, or at least it seemed so. It could be that I had learned a thing or two and as a smarter rider it was easier. I sure wasn't as nervous as I was nearly nine years before.
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRi6RvJU1oQighNi4rw044zDd4YKUNZKToEoesq0AUjlUGcPwuJ5jzT6Kh_XDZ9Eflx_eqm5zuN5Cb8zmGv0VYJYFKFuqHvEsoHHp-i0uZekOAEm5VBC32yURZEZz6FkjJ4iLH0WtaLJU/s1600/first+chance.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRi6RvJU1oQighNi4rw044zDd4YKUNZKToEoesq0AUjlUGcPwuJ5jzT6Kh_XDZ9Eflx_eqm5zuN5Cb8zmGv0VYJYFKFuqHvEsoHHp-i0uZekOAEm5VBC32yURZEZz6FkjJ4iLH0WtaLJU/s320/first+chance.png" /></a></div>
Around about the point where the route took us through the town of Winters, westbound, I checked back as we climbed an overpass over the Interstate and saw that groups were forming and this lead group had gapped the next group behind. I hung with Todd one or two riders from the front and we chatted and I tried not to think of how painful and immobile my fingers felt. Everything else was fine but I was quite disappointed in the performance of those wool gloves. An old joke from TV sitcoms and old movies has the guy decide to distract his friend from the pain of a bad tooth by stomping on his foot. To distract me from the pain in all my fingers, the fates decided to give me my first flat tire of 2014. I let Todd know that I needed to pull out of the pack and deal with the tire and he is immediately torn between sticking with me and helping me, and hanging with the pack. I let him off the hook immediately and we say our goodbyes because I know I'll *never* catch up with him and the group again.
<p>
I used the parking lot of the defunct 95 Food Mart (nee Pardesa Store) to work on the flat and it is quite some time before the next group of riders comes along. I quickly discover though that while I have a spare tube, it is the wrong tube for the tires I have and one I just can't use so I have to instead patch the hole in the tube that punctured. This takes time of course, longer than a simple tube change and amazingly the task allows my hands to warm. A lot of the passing riders don't even see me, but others call out a hello as they roll by. I never see Drew and Deb and only later do I find out that Drew has pipped me in the honors of first flat of the year, which explains why he doesn't roll by as I work on my own. Finally I'm on the road again and quickly catching small groups of riders. It was actually a fun way to get to ride with nearly everybody in the field that day as I would catch a group, chat for a bit and we'd compare notes on where other riders might be. Some of that info would turn out to be pretty off, but mostly it good intel.
<p>
I arrived at the turnaround point on the far side of Calistoga while most all the riders were still there. Todd and a few others were already headed back as I came in, but Peter and Russ were still there and agreed to wait a couple minutes more to allow me to roll off with them. The day never really warmed up like I had expected it to, but still this was the best part of the day in that regard. Later a haze would dull the blue sky but at this point it was still clear and we three chatted as we worked our way back to Highway 128 and the trip up past the various reservoirs in the area. Along the way we had caught up to another rider, Jamaica, but not far from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Register_of_Historic_Places_listings_in_Napa_County,_California">Nichelini Winery</a> but Russ flatted and Jamaica rolled on by. Peter urged me to go catch up to Jamaica as he would stay with Russ so off I went, and it took quite some time before I did catch up. I was able to catch up just before the climb locally known as 'Cardiac'. While the climb itself is over a mile long and steep enough to get your attention it is not the hardest climb in the wider area. I was told though that it got it's name from the fact it appeared late in a race route when riders were particularly tired and spent.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJWu6wdOyl0eR5jfxB3xRcaLRAyGlFuvYYNtRElzzMuOeN3JtzrRA2_cZVK0dBIrfLpkl87_aJWmJrTB2bJheSSR0o8DljgFQXr_72icLeqmhALE7DACcji_Oy3pXUPEBoPVfuX_41Gw/s1600/nichelini.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNJWu6wdOyl0eR5jfxB3xRcaLRAyGlFuvYYNtRElzzMuOeN3JtzrRA2_cZVK0dBIrfLpkl87_aJWmJrTB2bJheSSR0o8DljgFQXr_72icLeqmhALE7DACcji_Oy3pXUPEBoPVfuX_41Gw/s320/nichelini.JPG" /></a></div>
<p>
While we chatted we passed the Monticello Dam and dropped down through the rolling downhill terrain where the Vaca Mountains transition to the Central Valley. Along the way we passed Don who had taken a short break and was just getting back on the road. We three rolled along trading off leading the pace line until we neared Winters. Jamaica had fallen off at one point and I could not spot him behind us and at about that time we ended up picking up another rider who was completing his first brevet and longest ride ever. The sky had hazed over at this point and the chill had begun to return as the daylight was fading. With just 6 miles to go, I began to run out of steam and when I pushed harder, cramps would begin to take over my legs.
<p>
Our group arrived at the finish control at 16:10 so our elapsed time was just over 8 hours. My son was headed back to Sacramento for the upcoming semester and he and my wife met me for pizza as a post-ride meal. Hard to beat a fun day riding with friends topped off with some hot pizza and a beer.
<p>
<p>
Ride date: 1-1-2014
<p>
Host club: Davis Bike Club
<p>
Total km: 200<p>
Km needed for K-hound: 9,800<p>rob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281341796142406798.post-56772836023124801122014-02-28T17:01:00.000-08:002014-03-20T10:11:52.169-07:00A simple planQuite some time back, I created this blog as a place to record my progress in getting prepared for PBP 2011. The title of course refers to the distance I attained in my attempt at PBP in 2007, which is the distance from the start to Loudeac where I had to abandon the ride owing to a host of issues. The most asked question in late August, early September of 2011 that I answered was 'Are you going to change the title of your blog?' I did not as you can see, and I kept at it, though at a reduced rate of postings. PBP 2015 is drawing near and I have been committed to riding PBP 2015 since before I got off the plane when returning from France in 2011. I've been at work preparing to return and participate in 2015 in a host of different ways, and for 2014 it will be a foundation year. I've let a few people know that I am trying to take a run at the K-Hound award, which will require me to complete 10,000km in RUSA events in the calendar year. In laying out my brevet season, I see that I'll fall far short so clearly I will have to bulk up that calendar of events. In any case though, I hope to add new life to 449km by recording my progress toward 10,000km in RUSA distance.<p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSkhjXtKHhFIy0l32pyjhnkj91cquMD0mGPPuQkaIsO5e76aKIA8V1EWtz6tfH473CcG0Xvqs5StFiSu0rStm77FK7ZaOONgVqI8f30azv14pTSY6UAkgbpzILmwuznOnlHRCS8weBVgU/s1600/2011+Khound+wMoon-Title3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSkhjXtKHhFIy0l32pyjhnkj91cquMD0mGPPuQkaIsO5e76aKIA8V1EWtz6tfH473CcG0Xvqs5StFiSu0rStm77FK7ZaOONgVqI8f30azv14pTSY6UAkgbpzILmwuznOnlHRCS8weBVgU/s400/2011+Khound+wMoon-Title3.png" /></a></div>rob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281341796142406798.post-66948561624501362722013-09-13T12:08:00.000-07:002013-09-22T11:39:37.643-07:00NumbersThose that know me, know that data, and numbers are part of my make up. One of my favorite sports, though one I can't play much any more, is baseball (and in later years softball) and numbers form a very important way of looking at that sport. As a ballplayer, I was never good enough to generate numbers that might superficially define me as a good player, that just wasn't the reason why I played. There were many other reasons why. However, while numbers are not at all the <b>motivation</b> for my involvement in cycling, they are a way I have of marking my participation in cycling. In other words, I don't ride to achieve a number, say miles ridden in a day/week/year, but I do use the numbers as a way to look back on how things were at a given time with cycling, and often when I'm looking back, it is to find that 'oh, gee' moment that shows up when the numbers become less consistent and show a change of some kind.
<p>
When I look at the following chart which represents my weekly cycling mileage for the last 3.5+ years, I find a number of those 'oh, gee' moments, such as easily spotting the week when I rode PBP, or the week I rode the Central Coast 1000km, or a month when I was repeatedly under the weather.
<p>
It might be easy to see and say why the lines would not match up better at the beginning of the year, and yet at the same time I also wonder why they didn't come closer than they did. I find it interesting too to note that the lines generally converge at about this time of year (late August, early September).
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKi4AdflEGTvP6q6uq03xaVlsBM_mMzXr5pNZkltJlTg0_RdFImS8H1Vlop4bAx7ADLVgV3NGKdQ6lRgg4RDcdN9YtHYN9-Z-U6aR7peIeVhTinBaodN7c6smHwMPvlOB4Q_FNeOTVLJo/s1600/chart_1+(2).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKi4AdflEGTvP6q6uq03xaVlsBM_mMzXr5pNZkltJlTg0_RdFImS8H1Vlop4bAx7ADLVgV3NGKdQ6lRgg4RDcdN9YtHYN9-Z-U6aR7peIeVhTinBaodN7c6smHwMPvlOB4Q_FNeOTVLJo/s400/chart_1+(2).png" /></a></div>rob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281341796142406798.post-26569087997427807112013-09-10T11:53:00.001-07:002013-09-10T11:53:49.041-07:00San Francisco Randonneur's "Davis Nighttime Brevet"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizqrEctswVEzih-LWDlr5ekZLpn9sc_nmeaiWt3MGB2bEu5h6yQOydjUDZG3Pa0g49aEUvk0RCrWPKYUfDXv5aQcPUlk6ePwN_Mhz2h49JRRuFBusT9BIp3zlAVzQOBD__ZYBEdVv21tc/s1600/9706472412_2772b6cd35_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizqrEctswVEzih-LWDlr5ekZLpn9sc_nmeaiWt3MGB2bEu5h6yQOydjUDZG3Pa0g49aEUvk0RCrWPKYUfDXv5aQcPUlk6ePwN_Mhz2h49JRRuFBusT9BIp3zlAVzQOBD__ZYBEdVv21tc/s400/9706472412_2772b6cd35_o.jpg" /></a></div>
<p><center>Photos by Masayoshi KOBAYASHI</center><p>
A number of years back, I recalled hearing stories of a 200km night time brevet run, I think, out of Davis and organized by Bill Bryant. The concept of a night-time brevet stuck with me, the main appeal being acquiring the experience of riding through the night, but being fresh at the start plus also knowing that come sunrise the ride would be done. So in 2009 I shamelessly stole the idea from Bill and created <a href="http://sfrandonneurs.org/">SFR's </a>Davis Nighttime 230km. As I created the <a href="http://ridewithgps.com/routes/1712449">route </a>I wanted to route it to go past some services and thereby allow for bailout options, but to also include as much rural terrain as possible. Davis was chosen as the turn-around point because of all the services there late at night, including hotels and public transportation for the return the next day should one need that.
<p>
That first year, there were <a href="http://sfrandonneurs.org/2009-results.htm#200k-night">17 riders</a> and every year since we've had a few more each time. This year we had 38 starters and 35 finishers. At 20:00 we rolled from the Park and Ride lot on Willow and as the group passed through the town of Rodeo (and also later in Vallejo) many of the locals, out enjoying the balmy weather called out and hooted as the pack of brightly lit cyclists rolled by. As we crossed the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carquinez_Bridge">Zampa bridge</a> between Crockett and Vallejo we could see a slight finger-nail shaped moon just setting behind Mt. Tam across the bay. The lack of a moon later would mean prime star gazing past midnight out away from city lights.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdK6P76bvrlTpCdOZkEABfM5XRcMN0PS7pW5DyEVO0sAAjLbsk3msIwPQBENlS7jFvC_oRZCkPG4xjC31qbNQC8cUa8k4Th2oH67w1LnhCvmwkQKLzA0W2jhvCM_2OXvu0KEqK3uIMqKw/s1600/9706471044_88eae672ac_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdK6P76bvrlTpCdOZkEABfM5XRcMN0PS7pW5DyEVO0sAAjLbsk3msIwPQBENlS7jFvC_oRZCkPG4xjC31qbNQC8cUa8k4Th2oH67w1LnhCvmwkQKLzA0W2jhvCM_2OXvu0KEqK3uIMqKw/s320/9706471044_88eae672ac_o.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>
The group began to spread out as we climbed Columbus Parkway and then more so was we hit the descents on Lake Herman road. Bicycle lighting itself has improved so much in the last 4 years or so in terms of the products on offer, and it was pleasing to see that the riders this night were serious about seeing the road as well as being seen. The better lighting helped pick out the bad sections on the middle portion of Lake Herman where longitudinal cracks present some hazards. The remaining riders in the lead group were down to 8 riders, and once the turn onto Lopes appeared that group then split into four groups of two each, and then accordion-ed back into two groups, one of four and another of five when Richard had bridged up to the 2nd pack. As usual though many more riders were on hand at each of the controls as over the course of only a few minutes the various packs would arrive.
<p>
The Cordelia to Vacaville stretch alternates between suburban and rural landscape several times and the suburban stretches were well lit, largely car-free and quieter than in the daytime. Once past Vacaville, the terrain itself quiets down too and becomes mostly flat all the way into and then back out of the Davis Safeway control. Out in the agricultural area away from town and after making the turn off of Meridian on to Silveyville we began a double paceline and immediately conversations sprung up, punctuated briefly as we spotted and avoided a large wolf-like dog wandering in the road. The pup seemed startled and frightened by us and kept to the tall grasses on verge and we all resumed our conversations once past. Remembering the turns on this stretch always give me a little worry, but that worry was for naught as it all came back to me correctly. Along the way here I recounted the story of the first time I rode that section in the dark, guided only by the distant taillights of the group I was trying to catch.
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRBisH6MGlQwO_QFN9VBME6p_8qFtW9buCiD_hzglYelubNw8OlU-lYPW3LKGSy9_nYk_UtbImITEiXhs869AHpXL1FBmwEBYnM1PtlxuoXvb8vkb_nqJgPjQuIhurdVYIPHjbIEWbGU0/s1600/9703238753_9703c1538d_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRBisH6MGlQwO_QFN9VBME6p_8qFtW9buCiD_hzglYelubNw8OlU-lYPW3LKGSy9_nYk_UtbImITEiXhs869AHpXL1FBmwEBYnM1PtlxuoXvb8vkb_nqJgPjQuIhurdVYIPHjbIEWbGU0/s200/9703238753_9703c1538d_b.jpg" /></a></div>
Once on Russell, the last road into Davis on our route, the pace picked up and then exploded just before the city limit sign. While I was perhaps in part at fault for increasing the pace just before, I had nothing left and could not participate in the sprint. Serves me right I suppose. The Davis Safeway, as with the controls before was where several groups overlapped, and in the exchange our group (Barley, Toshi, Masa, Richard, Bryan C., Greg and Jason and me) picked up first Jim Poppy and then later Roland. Covell road is a bit bumpy for my tastes so it was with relief that we turned onto Road 95/Stevenson Bridge as we left behind Davis.
<p>
While I know those next roads well enough, at night I'm still not 100% certain we've made the correct turns where Road 95 crosses Russell from the north but once past the <a href="http://daviswiki.org/Stevenson_Bridge">painted bridge</a> I know we are on course, and I'm more certain of where I am and can enjoy the newish pavement on Putah Creek Road. The revelers outside the bar on Winters Road were the source of the last man made sounds we would hear, other than our own for many miles. We saw no cars on Putah Creek nor on Pleasants Valley (or at least that is how I remember it). The Pleasants Valley stretch seems to be over in a heartbeat which I think is the result of being in the large group. Constant conversation and the benefit of a draft are what makes that so.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPy8Z70Hnv2Xuuvq16AO4r7t2FmcF96gg4HPujkiYMTSyTKdm8gSafxHRvgjDf9weWyjcjBTASxO8P08-Yeb2z49EuygXElooDBOT5SpF_78lZjDriJaz7JU4G_8O8ZT6OHR-4vYs3HGI/s1600/9703242583_954ea48f8d_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPy8Z70Hnv2Xuuvq16AO4r7t2FmcF96gg4HPujkiYMTSyTKdm8gSafxHRvgjDf9weWyjcjBTASxO8P08-Yeb2z49EuygXElooDBOT5SpF_78lZjDriJaz7JU4G_8O8ZT6OHR-4vYs3HGI/s320/9703242583_954ea48f8d_o.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>
The only event that interrupts the steady nature of our pace was on a slightly down hill section past Cantelow Hollow where our temporarily increasing pace alarmed a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skunk">puant </a>into thinking we were more than a passing oddity, and the visible white strip disappeared behind a raised and bushy tail. Either it was a particularly bad aim, or the gesture was only meant to threaten us, but we evaded any spray and any bad odors on our part were of our own doing.
<p>
The route leaves Pleasants Valley where it ends at Cherry Glen and Cherry Glen leads us to Lyon Road and the return to Fairfield surburbia. Before we can reach Fairfield though the route was blocked first by an amazing amount of man-made and natural debris, then by the hulking presence of an overturned SUV quietly ticking as it dissipated heat. The path to it's temporary resting place clearly marked by a gouge in the earth and a section of destroyed fencing and guardrail between Interstate 80 and Lyon Road. A group of maybe three bystanders who had arrived first on the scene warn us in time not to ride through and as we pass on foot several of us turn on headlamps to search the brush on the side of the road and the inside of the wrecked vehicle. We are solemnly told that the driver first walked, and then ran away from the scene, the latter action prompted by the trigger word 'police'. The police arrive and we are excused from the scene when it is clear we have not witnessed the crash.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhohfRp5LwHHnN09xymqEQ9mA-PlmZmfj2zf9cMnWhvysi_DCdosLtWaeBuCSg6YkW5Bqu2iUQFdpZ8UwmMlmET2o_fjBZjJXGOK-zENacT8znQ5DzoAYOmtBmXXDMn1RBz8cHqcJlwA24/s1600/9706483916_079d996a58_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhohfRp5LwHHnN09xymqEQ9mA-PlmZmfj2zf9cMnWhvysi_DCdosLtWaeBuCSg6YkW5Bqu2iUQFdpZ8UwmMlmET2o_fjBZjJXGOK-zENacT8znQ5DzoAYOmtBmXXDMn1RBz8cHqcJlwA24/s320/9706483916_079d996a58_o.jpg" /></a></div><p>
The terrain north east of <a href="http://www.met.sjsu.edu/cgi-bin/wind/windbin.cgi">Suisun Bay offers nothing to slow or block the winds</a> and riding south on Abernathy gives us all the clues we'll need that the right turn onto Suisun Parkway and Business Center Road will be windy. Being in a large group though mitigates the wind and we arrived at the penultimate control in Cordelia shortly after 03:00. The ridge of hills along Lopes somehow turns the winds into less of a detriment and nearly an advantage but it could also be that the lack of a strong headwind seemed like a tailwind to us. All that ended though with the right turn onto Lake Herman. The climbs there plus the winds caused the group of 10 to split up into 6 different groups but we were able to reassemble most of the original group as we rolled into and through Vallejo.
<p>
This was the first time that I finished this ride in darkness, pretty much 30 minutes faster than the only other time I've finished it in less than 10 hours. Bruce, Tim and Vidas were waiting for us at the finish with a spread of bagels, danish, juices and coffee. For all the other runnings of this ride, I would stay until the last rider arrived. This time though I had not remembered to bring the bag I packed with a change of warmer clothing. The sun still was not up yet and I was cooling off quickly so I left for home. I got brownie points for arriving home three hours sooner than I said I would and a 3 hour nap had me up before noon to enjoy the rest of the day.
<p>
Thanks to all the volunteers (Libby Subers, Jack Holmgren, Roland Bevan, Michael Bloomfield, Bruce Berg, Tim Houck, Vidas Placiakis and Richard McCaw) for making the ride happen. Thanks as well to the large group of riders with whom I spent nearly 10 hours of riding (Barley Forsman, Greg Merritt, Jason Pierce, Bryan Clarkson, Masa Kobyashi, Toshi Tajima, Richard McCaw, Roland Bevan and Jim Poppy).
<p>
<P>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt4Xo2NXlgy1VHTuZe4QXGdbQt-gYoKqmy7AlE0fDfbTF9_MoqRKsN0r5PNw8y2Xa91V8eicmCunFbHFY4SwGAQZSBU_lVkmGGxJjxiwutvb-rU58KlqBLLvcgNlxiIrkgma14FLD01qI/s1600/9703263553_caa14a02a4_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt4Xo2NXlgy1VHTuZe4QXGdbQt-gYoKqmy7AlE0fDfbTF9_MoqRKsN0r5PNw8y2Xa91V8eicmCunFbHFY4SwGAQZSBU_lVkmGGxJjxiwutvb-rU58KlqBLLvcgNlxiIrkgma14FLD01qI/s400/9703263553_caa14a02a4_b.jpg" /></a></div>rob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281341796142406798.post-53145404337673638992013-05-30T08:54:00.000-07:002013-05-30T08:54:54.564-07:00SF Randonneurs Summer Populaire<a href="http://www.sfrandonneurs.org/summer-2013-115k-populaire.htm"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-o47M8GKn5iHzQj2XFaeDoUvnu-zqBlCZqJFsZYBuAiihHlKQ1rjaOKSrgopFOwMeowIH4vBUHEw7TJ5AKRFuiBlE4hVOwBybLj27PHxCuLm0Gfjqoyqr-E_-PqP1XkTDh3qc8gEdqRo/s1600/6.22+Populaire+poster+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-o47M8GKn5iHzQj2XFaeDoUvnu-zqBlCZqJFsZYBuAiihHlKQ1rjaOKSrgopFOwMeowIH4vBUHEw7TJ5AKRFuiBlE4hVOwBybLj27PHxCuLm0Gfjqoyqr-E_-PqP1XkTDh3qc8gEdqRo/s320/6.22+Populaire+poster+7.jpg" /></a></a>rob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3281341796142406798.post-76260103813665199382012-12-31T19:00:00.002-08:002014-02-14T07:22:57.138-08:002012 on a bike<script type="text/javascript" src="//ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/static/modules/gviz/1.0/chart.js"> {"dataSourceUrl":"//docs.google.com/spreadsheet/tq?key=0Aj1JO5l5E1iIdEpPRVVvWHctcjhxN0NxbjUzRzhRc2c&transpose=0&headers=1&range=A1%3AC54&gid=1&pub=1","options":{"series":{"0":{"pointSize":2}},"curveType":"","animation":{"duration":500},"width":1039,"lineWidth":2,"hAxis":{"titleTextStyle":{"color":"#222","italic":true,"fontSize":"15"},"title":"Week","useFormatFromData":true,"minValue":null,"viewWindow":{"min":null,"max":null},"maxValue":null},"vAxes":[{"titleTextStyle":{"color":"#222","italic":true,"fontSize":"15"},"title":"Miles","useFormatFromData":true,"minValue":null,"textStyle":{"color":"#222","fontSize":"12"},"viewWindow":{"min":null,"max":null},"maxValue":null},{"useFormatFromData":true,"minValue":null,"viewWindow":{"min":null,"max":null},"maxValue":null}],"booleanRole":"certainty","title":"Weekly cycling mileage","height":371,"legend":"right","useFirstColumnAsDomain":true,"tooltip":{}},"state":{},"view":{},"isDefaultVisualization":true,"chartType":"LineChart","chartName":"Chart 1"} </script>
rob hawkshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10884613886419587605noreply@blogger.com0