NC-DC Post (Better Late than Never)

Fleche teammate Lothar, just back from the Cascade 1200, has found the inspiration to finish his write-up from our Easter ride. Good stuff. Check it out here.

RAGBRAI Day 3 -- 57 miles to Ames, IA

Scott and I haven't been able to hook up for the interview but we have a few days left. I did ride with him for a few minutes today which was a treat for me. We reminisced about PBP and his many experiences there. The interview will happen; it just might take a couple more days.

The ride to Ames was described ahead of time by Brian Duffy, a rider and cartoonist for the Register, as a Cupcake. He pretty much nailed it. Beautiful weather, favorable winds, and a flat route except for one hill. However, the newspaper stories made that one hill sound like a killer. I guess most of these folks don't have experience on the hills we have in the Piedmont.

Ames and Iowa State University were very welcoming to the throngs of people. There were people lining the route into the city and cheering. As we came into an area called Campus City, every rider was given a Cardinal and Gold ISU bandanna. There was a great concert last night by Styx and later the Nadas, a local band that has grown in popularity. A fun night for all.

Since Team Skunk is an Ames based team, most of the riders went home for the night. Curtis and I were hosted by his (and Beth's) first cousin Carol Madsen and her husband Greg. Beth is now staying with Carol for a few days--we all had a nice reunion. A home cooked meal, a real shower, and a comfortable matress were very welcome.

Day 4 promised to be cooler but longer--and then came the wind. Ironic and foretelling that the Iowa State mascot is a Cyclone.

(I'll download pictures when I have my flash drive, camera, and access to a laptop at the same time).

Postcards Part 2: All Safely Home

As I mentioned yesterday, Byron, Mike R & Sridhar struck out on a nighttime Lake Loop last weekend. Because stores that serve as the regular controls were closed, I asked them to mail postcards from towns along the way. Byron mailed 4 vintage cards. The first, mailed from Stovall, NC, arrived yesterday.

Today's mail brought the other three, mailed from Boydton, Skipwith & Clarksville, Va. Enjoy!

Postcards from the Edge of Darkness on the Edge of Town

Byron, Mike R & Sridhar struck out on a nighttime Lake Loop last weekend. Because stores that serve as the regular controls were closed, I asked them to mail postcards from towns along the way.

Well, the first one from Byron has arrived:



Fantastic! I may have to start asking for postcards more often.

RAGBRAI -- Day 2 -- 100 miles to Jefferson

Beautiful blue skies greeted us again this morning, but they did not last. The ride went well; however, I didn't set any speed records. This is not the type of ride for that. The ride and all that goes with it are too much fun just to blast through the towns that really roll out the red carpet for us. Coon Rapids was the designated "Party Town" today. It was like the State Fair and the Circus all wrapped up. Elvis singing on a flat bed trailer, kids leading their prized heifers, pigs, and lambs through the streets, and every kind of pie you can imagine. I spent an hour or more just walking around and talking to people--ate my share of pie too.

It's a short post tonight, because we are hunkering down anticipating a nasty storm this evening. We are already seeing lightning to the northwest and the cloud formations are pretty ominous. Too bad too, Jefferson has set up for a fun evening of music and good food.

The Skunks are camped tonight on a golf course on the edge of town. The owner has assured us that he will leave the clubhouse open in case the storms become violent and we need to seek shelter. These folks know weather better than Greg Fischel so I'm listening closely. Hopefully it will bypass us, like it has every night so far.

Tune in tomorrow night for a special interview with Scott Dickson.

jp

RAGBRAI -- Day 1 -- 59 Miles to Harlan, IA

What a great day to ride a bike! Perfect weather, although it has heated up pretty well this afternoon. As is typical of the mid-west, the ride started without a lot of fan fare. We all just got on the bikes and started riding. The route took all 20,000 of us through some beautiful rural countryside with big blue sky vistas that seemed like we could view the curvature of the earth. The small towns we passed through were very welcoming with bands, lots of specators and every type of food imaginable. All sorts of bikes on the road including this pentamobile ridden by the Mable family from Des Moines.















I had one focus today--to find Mr. Porkchop and indulge in one of his delicacies. So at 9:50 AM I was chowing down on the biggest porkchop I've ever had and I was not disappointed. While there a couple of ultralites did a flyover and then seemed to follow us on the route.

Five miles down the road there was homemade ice cream at a farm house. The cream was reminiscent of the "Yodor's" rest stop on the second day of the MS150 every year.

As the temps increased and having indulged my craving I rode on to the finish of today's ride in Harlan which for Team Skunk is a day care center on the outskirts of town. Along the way lots of people including, Abbie and her brother Spencer (below), were out in force welcoming us to town.














It being Sunday, the day care is closed and we have the run of the place. Bad weather is expected tonight so we are thankful for our indoor accomodations and most importantly for warm showers and cool air conditioning. We even were able to watch the CBS coverage of le Tour and see that Frank Schleck now has a slight lead.

Just 10 minutes ago I ran into Jim Elder at the bike expo. Jim hales from Tampa, FL and some of you will remember him from the 600km permanent.














Tomorrow is a century day to Jefferson, IA. The terrain should be the same, but the weather is iffy. Check back in tomorrow night to see how the Skunks have fared.

DC-Rand 200K / July 19, 2008

I've been needing a change of scenery, so I snuck off to Virginia yesterday for the DC-Rand’s 200K. A big thanks to all for making three N.C. riders -- me, Branson & JoAnn – feel right at home. It was great to catch up with old friends – Nick, Ed, Mary, Jeff, Mary – and to put a face to so many names I’ve been reading about for years, including Bill Beck, Maile, Carol and several others. Missing in action were flechemates Lynn & Lothar & Bob. I think 45 riders started. Ed, Mary and Maile served as ride volunteers, handling the pre-ride registration and pep talk and the post-ride pizza and drinks.

The 200k course happened to be the very first route that the infamous Crista Borras ever designed, way back in 1991, and it was a beauty. She was along for the ride with tandem partner Chuck. For the first 60 miles or I taught the course a lesson as I rolled down shaded lanes, past manicured horse pastures and centuries-old country estates. If I had a piece of the fence concession in this neck of the woods I’d be a rich man.

On the second half of the day, the course pulled out the paddle and gave me a thorough spanking. We rolled through a section that the local riders call "The Three Kings." I think I see why. Kings are known to set up residence at the top of the very steepest hills in the area.

The only thing that saved me through this section was latching onto Branson and new pal Lowell, who both suffered from bouts of cramps in the heat. They dropped off the pace, and that gave me a chance to sit shamelessly on their wheels for the remainder of the day. Thanks, guys. We also rode with Paul Rozelle from Ohio, one of the many capable riders from that state, and John from DC-Rand, a skilled hill climber. For a while we hitched on to the back of the Chuck & Crista tandem train with Bill B and a few others, but I decoupled coming through a set of rollers, then stopped to search for my left lung.

The controls we used were some of the finest I’ve seen on any ride. They included country stores that put the modern 7-11 to shame. They were places where you could get a freshly made ham & cheese sandwich or a slice of homemade blackberry pie. One stop even had a cool spring from which to refill the water bottles. The DC-Rand crew bought a bag of ice at the later controls. I filled my bottles with ice and had refreshingly cool water for about 15 minutes after those stops.

The end of the day featured Cokes, pizza, a shower and a story swap in Room 132 of the HoJo. There’s no better part of a hot ride – is there? – than an air-conditioned finish where the day’s adventures can be properly sorted out and put under the magnifying glass for closer inspection.

After an hour of chitchat, I said the goodbyes and headed south to the Tar Heel state. Another fun day on the bikes.

RAGBRAI -- Day Minus 1 -- Jerry Phelps

Caught the bus to Mo Valley today and was instantly caught up in the spectacle and magic of RAGBRAI. I had no more than gotten off the bus and started to set up my tent, when I recognized the cyclist next to me pitching his as well. He was no other than Scott Dickson of PBP fame and RAGBRAI royalty, having ridden all 35 previous RAGBRAIs.













I introduced myself, after genuflecting a half a dozen times, and he instantly made me feel a part of the team and welcomed. Scott saw my BMB shirt and asked me about that ride and then asked if I rode PBP 2007. Here's the guy who literally set the standard at PBP for Americans and he is genuinely interested in my experience. What a guy! And to think that out of all the gin joints in Iowa, we happen to be on the same team. Scott has graciously agreed to a Q&A during RAGBRAI so stay tuned for something later in the week.

OK--a misconception cleared up already--Iowa is NOT flat. We will be challenged with hills tomorrow as we climb out of the Missouri River valley. Monday will be no easier and much longer (57 and 100 miles respectively). It is also pretty hot and humid here at 7:30 PM CST. I am looking forward to a nice cool dip in the municipal pool and a shower a little later in the evening.

The Bike Expo is awesome with about every major bike manufacturer displaying their latest and even offering test rides for an entire day of RAGBRAI. I may just take someone up on the offer on at least one day.

A little more about Team Skunk--they (we) are recognized as one of the oldest and largest teams at RAGBRAI. John Karras, one of the two RAGBRAI founders is on the team, so I feel a big obligation to represent the team well. In fact, during our initiation and information session this afternoon, we were told that if we feel compelled to do something silly, like mooning some of the spectators, make sure we do it wearing another team's jersey!!

Sorry no pictures, but I will update this blog tomorrow with pictures and my impressions of the first day. Thanks for reading and for all the good wishes.

Jerry

RAGBRAI -- Day Minus 2 -- Jerry Phelps

Hi folks:

I'm coming to you from Ames, Iowa less about 32 hours before the start of RAGBRAI XXXVI. Beth and I left home Wednesday and have taken three fairly leisurely days of driving to reach Ames. Tomorrow morning I board a bus at 8:00 for the final leg of the trip west to Missouri Valley, the location of the ride start.















The Bennett House in Richmond, KY--Beth and I stayed at this lovely B&B built in 1889. Owned and operated by Richard Smart it is a beautiful and comfortable inn and a real deal at $99 per night. Richmond is located 20 miles south of Lexington, KY on I-75.

Through the good fortune of my cousin Curtis Reinhardt who I will be riding with, I have joined Team Skunk--120 riders strong and a slew of volunteers. No the name isn't because we don't take a bath all week--the team is named for the Skunk River which flows through Ames. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Team Skunk and we have jerseys to show for it, which we will wear on the first day of the ride. The team motto is "Motto? We don't need no stinking motto;" however, "Tails Up" seems to be a slogan at least.

I'm looking forward to a great week; however I'm worried a little about two things. First is the weather, not so much for riding as much as camping. It's been a long time since I camped in the rain so I'm hoping for clear nights at least. The second is the "Virgin Initiation" my teammates will put me through tomorrow. More on that later.

I'll try to post a blog daily at one of the many Iowa Telecom trailers set up along the route (free of charge including the air conditioning!)

Tails Up (and off to bed for me).

JP

Share The Road

Sign spotted on the July 4 "Capitols of the Confederacy" Permanent.

"I'm Grumpy, but you don't look anything like Snow White." Capitols of the Confederacy--Jerry Phelps

Branson, Mike, Paul and I inaugurated the Capitols of the Confederacy Permanent on July 4/5. The Clif Bar, er Cliff Notes version:

Left Raleigh at 18:00 from the Capitol Building.

Beautiful route out of Raleigh—Mike knows all the back roads.

Oxford was the first control at 47 miles.



Saw backyard fireworks celebrations on Kerr Lake at Nutbush.

Saw Mother Nature’s fireworks in Drewry and had to pull over for more than an hour to wait out a storm.


Almost burned down a church with fireworks I brought. (Well, not really, but it makes the story better!)

Crossed the dam with a kicking tailwind around 0100 at about 80 miles.

Paul had a flat.

Branson got sick near Oral Oaks—projectile type sick.

No stores open anywhere.



Kenbridge–0300–Got some change for a drink machine from a motorist—drink machine was empty!

Made it to Blackstone and found heaven—a Huddle House Restaurant OPEN 24 HOURS!



Branson got sick again—more projectiles. He abandoned, and phoned Loree to come get him.

Stationed the B-man in a warm laundromat—he was shivering and couldn’t keep anything down.

Mike, Paul, and I trudged on.

Paul had flat #2—gotta get that boy some new tires.



Jerry started having wet shorts with no Lantiseptic issues.

Pulled into Amelia Couthouse and officially changed my name to Grumpy.

Mike rode like the stud he is—his name is already Sandbagger.

Left, right, left, right, and the occasional deer all the way to Richmond.

Felt like we dropped off a cliff on Old Gun Road down to the James.Thought we would have to pay the piper and climb out of that hole, but for once there was more descent than ascent.



Pulled into the Capitol at 1045—almost exactly 200 miles on the odometer.



Had lunch at a “quaint” establishment—let’s just say that the bullet holes added flair to the décor.

Booked it 8 miles to the Amtrak station.

Caught the train and home about 1800.

Phoned B from the car—he is getting better fast.

All-in-all, not a bad 24 hours, except for B.

We want to do the ride again in the fall, but start in Richmond. It will be beautiful with fall foliage.

After-Sundown Companions

"Heights by great men reached and kept were not obtained by sudden flight
but, while their companions slept, they were toiling upward in the night."

—H.W. Longfellow

Night rides are a great escape from summer's heat and are always thrilling—especially all-night brevets, where reaching the dawn serves as reward for one's nocturnal toils. On brevets, many of us find by nightfall that our group has become stretched out so sparsely along the route that the ensuing nights often grow lonesome. Those quiet backroads, deep in the Carolina woodlands, can however be truly excellent company along with the moon, wind, trees and nocturnal wildlife. Deer, with their poor sense of roadway etiquette, have proven problematic to a few unlucky randonneurs (Hi Chet! Hello Cindy!) and even much smaller critters can challenge one's bike handling skills. Thankfully the bears seem to be more elusive, but I'll wager that the tandem could take down a small one if they earnestly put their minds to it, and replace those E-6s with infrared. Keep those hunting licenses up to date!

Three night creatures offering far more pleasant company come to mind. All three of them are night birds with distinctive songs that call out their own names loudly, clearly and persistently, allowing us to connect with them while keeping our eyes on the road. They are: the bob-white at dusk and the whip-poor-will and chuck-will's-widow on through the night. If we are enjoying a full moon, mocking birds may trill the night long too. Though they do not monotonously repeat their own names, you should be familiar with diagnostic triple repeating of extensive repertoire of mimicked songs.

J. J. Audubon says of the Chuck-Will's-Widow (The 'Widow and Whip' are both "Nighjars", aka "Goatsuckers"):

"The sounds of the Goatsucker, at all events, forbode a peaceful and calm night, and I have more than once thought, are conducive to lull the listener to repose…Their notes are seldom heard in cloudy weather, and never when it rains."

I'm told that the whip-poor-will always hatches ten days before the moon is full—how's that for proof of a creature's splendid connection to the night world?

Doubtless, many of you have learned to identify these birdsongs around the time you learned to form sentences, but others riding amongst us were raised in cities, or even places outside the eastern United States, and it occurs to me that they just may be missing out on the comfortable recognition of these guardian angels of night travelers, these unseen forest dwellers who seem to follow the weary traveler mile after mile and hour after hour with audible encouragement to keep our minds clear.

Despair not, you of such pitifully deprived upbringing, findsounds.com is here to enlighten you. I've grabbed three .wav files, converted to .mp3 and saved the bobwhite here, the whippoorwill here and chuck-will's-widow here that I might serve to further facilitate your education and night-cycling enjoyment. You will never ride alone in the woods again, at least not this side of the Mississippi.

Should you ever chance to pedal on down to the deep south, Louisiana and Mississippi are possessed of the loudest nocturnal insect choruses. The neighborhoods of insects create auditory waves that run back and forth through the wood lots. I have had no entomologist confirm it, but I’d bet these choruses are a prelude to reproduction. I will leave that to the insects, but in two weeks I will be investigating whether the cacophony of insect calling and the silent phosphorescent calls of lightning bugs, so prominent in my memory of Louisiana and Mississippi, also extend to Arkansas.

Now, dontcha wanna go for a ride tonight?

Burning Stubborness As Fuel: An Interview with Gary Shaffer

Okay, folks, as promised, it’s now Gary’s turn to talk about his randonneuring season. We were delighted to have him on the series with us this year, and he says he'll be back.

Gary is vice-president of the North Carolina Bicycle Club, which has had a hand in the local randonneuring scene for more than two decades. Gary and the other NCBC leaders have been promoting our sport at the monthly meetings and in the newsletter. Our own Jerry, Dean & Lin were recent speakers. We're grateful for the club's support, and we want to return the favor. So consider this a membership drive: If you don't belong to NCBC, please join today. Here are the membership forms.

Gary got the same questions as Sara, whose interview was posted this weekend. Thanks to both for helping out.

There is some great stuff in Gary’s interview: “I came to appreciate the non-competitive randonneuring mindset.”

And: “If muscles could utilize stubbornness as fuel, I would have completed the 600K without a problem.”

And: his description of his first 200K, where he carried no “less than a dozen pb&j sandwiches.”

But enough. Read on to find all the good stuff yourself.

RTP: Tell us about your cycling background.

I started riding when I was about 5 years old. I was given the 40-year-old, hand-me-down 16-inch wheel bike, more paint than steel, and was pointed at the front lawn to teach myself how to ride. Never rode longer than 10 miles until I was in my mid 20’s (1992). First metric in 1993. First century in 1994. First back-to-back century weekend in 1995. Did a solo tour from NC to MD in 1996 (531 miles in 7 days). Self-supported two-day ride from Erwin to Wilmington in record heat July 4 weekend of 1997. Then a dark period in the late 90’s which resulted in 30 pounds of flab, but a rebirth in 2000 triggered by Cycle North Carolina and Bike Virginia.

RTP: Before this year, what was the longest ride you’d done?

The 2007 edition of the Morrisville 300K, which was my longest at the time and still stands as tied for my third longest (with the 2008 300K). I also did the 200K in 2005 and 2007, so really not many rides above the century mark, even to this day.

RTP: What got you interested in randonneuring?

I had been aware of the brevet series, but it was not real. People did not really ride 600K in under 40 hours. But having done lots of CNC’s and Bike VA’s and Peanut Tours in the 2000 - 2004 time frame, and having dabbled in a brief (and slow) racing career (2003), I came to appreciate the non-competitive randonneuring mindset. And then BAM! In 2005, it just hit me that I should ride the 200K. But just the 200K. Anything farther than that is just nuts.

RTP: Did you need any special equipment for those rides?

For my first 200K, I thought I needed a heee-uge rear rack&bag and a large handlebar bag. So I got one of those clamp-on seatpost rear racks. I already had the trunk bag and the handlebar bag. I loaded both bags up with all sorts of stuff I would not need. I believe I carried no less than a dozen pb&j sandwiches. This was a carbon racing bike with 23mm tires. Went fine, no mechanicals. Used the same bike (minus the trunk rack&bag) in 2007, adding reflectors and a single LED 4-AA battery headlight for the 300K. For this year, I built a new bikezilla complete with fenders, disc brakes, Brooks saddle, and generator hub. The generator powered light is awesome. Sara is so jealous. (I better get her one...)

RTP: What adjustments did you have to make, if any, to your bikes?

My new bike had 50 miles on it before the 200K. I would have liked to have gotten more short rides in before the 200K, but I decided to damn the torpedoes and ride the new bike anyway. No real issues except for my shoulders, which were sort of unhappy after the 200K and downright angry after the 300K. I realized that I needed to move the seat back and the handlebars out and up. No idea what I had been smoking when I had set the bike up before the 200 and 300. Much better now.

RTP: Do you think you had the right kind of bike for those long rides?

This is my first Brooks saddle. After ~1500K, I’m not sure if it’s “broken in” or not. Still hard as a rock. But I am amazed at how non-uncomfortable it is. It is starting to get little dents in it from my sit bones. I have been brutalized much worse by saddles that have holes in the middle. I really like the “wing” handlebar with double thick tape. I had absolutely zero hand numbness issues over the entire brevet series. I used the same pedals and shoes that I use on my other road bikes. I have some tweaking or replacing to do there, because big-toe numbness afflicted me on all but the 200K, I think.

RTP: Did you like/dislike night riding? Why?

Over the years, I’ve done lots of short (commute) rides after dark, but riding on rural roads in the wee hours was a new thing for me. I loved it. Cool temps, hearing nothing but the wind and a few birds and animals, riding toward the moon. Very few cars. Almost got taken out by a herd of deer on the 300 -- the disc brakes work! But I have to wonder, do dogs ever sleep?

RTP: Did your ability to ride those long distances surprise you?

It is pretty wild to look at the map and realize that you just traveled a significant portion of the state in a relatively short amount of time and completely self propelled. As Sara will attest, I am a very stubborn person. If muscles could utilize stubbornness as fuel, I would have completed the 600K without a problem. What I did find surprising was that I could complete 200, 300, 400K’s with less solid food intake than I expected, but lots of gels. Not quickly though. In hindsight, I was hurting toward the end of the 400K, and like the 600K, I probably did not eat nearly enough. Even though I came up about 66K short on the 600K, I am amazed that my body cooperated as much as it did (36 hours with zero sleep and not enough food). Just a hint of cramps in the middle of the 400K. The shoulders were a problem on the 300 especially, but I seem to have maybe got that figured out on the 600. My knees never complained. I had only a brief unhappy stomach about halfway through the 300K.

RTP: What was the biggest personal challenge about riding that distance?

Resisting my friend Paul, the Devil, when the day before the 600K he noted that I was welcome to sit and drink cold beer at his house all weekend instead of frying out on the road with no beer. He had a very good point. OK, seriously, given the extreme temperatures, the personal challenge was to use good judgment when determining how hard to push myself. Short-term pain/discomfort I am OK with. Doing permanent damage to myself I am not OK with. So I had to constantly gauge where I was with respect to that line between discomfort and damage. I could have pushed myself harder, but then I could have collapsed while riding. I was maybe a little more conservative than I needed to be, hard to say.

RTP: Your most pleasant experience during those rides?

On many rides, I experience moments of Zen. I’d have to say the night riding out of Wilmington and the fog just after dawn on Sunday on the 600K are the most pleasant memories.

RTP: Any revelatory moments (as opposed to hallucinations) after spending 24 hours on the bike?

After 24 hours: “Bah, sleep is overrated.” After 36 hours: “Food, not overrated.”

RTP: Any rookie mistakes that others should avoid?

My biggest rookie mistake was relying too much on gels. I gotta eat more than gels. Maybe that’s easier said than done. Solid food is really not very appealing to me during long rides. I will probably look into the liquid fueling methods. Also, maybe I should have become more comfortable riding 400K before attempting 600K, but nah, screw that, I had to take the shot at the Super Randonneur medal...

RTP: You rode nearly 400 miles of the 600K. That’s quite an accomplishment. What will you do differently next time to help you complete the ride?

For the record, I crapped out at ~536K. Next time I will take in more nutrients, one way or another. Intravenously if necessary.

RTP: Complete this sentence: Randonneurs are ______________.

... wackos. I mean come on, who would (by choice) ride a bike for hundreds of miles in a day? Obviously randonneurs have no common sense and should probably be locked up for their own good. Actually, randonneurs have uncommon sense, and know how to enjoy a ride. They are a really nice bunch of wackos -- and I now count myself amongst them.

RTP: Will you be back next season? If so, any goals?

I will be back next season, with a vengeance. I intend to beat the 600K ride like a rented mule. As he was driving me to the finish of the 600K, Al suggested that I’m already 2 months into a possible R12 medal. But it looks like June is going to slip by without a 200K for me. All that pedaling in April, May, and June for NUTHIN! OK, well, I guess I have 3 medals coming...

Jeff Bauer TV Interview

Jeff Bauer, who with Kevin Kaiser wrote fixed gears across the country as a two-man RAAM team, was interviewed by a Nashville TV station. You can see the video clip here.