Cascade 1200K

I've shamelessly lifted this from our good friends at the Daily
Randonneur.

Cascade 1200 registration tomorrow Feb. 1.

Registration opens tomorrow for the Seattle International Randonneurs Cascade 1200K. For information and to sign up, click here.

Sign up right away, this ride fills up within a couple of days. It's
an awesome event but tremendously hard. Here's Capn Ende's ride report. And a photo of us at the top of the last big climb.



The Cascade 1200 features lots of long climbs. Plus rain, wind, heat. Not to mention volcanoes....

Weather for Randonneurs

My Grandpa was a meteorologist. He didn't have a degree or even any training, but life as a Sampson County farmer made him a good one. He would amaze me, out in his fields, the sky catching his attention:

“Bundle up, boy. It's gonna get cold!" Or, “Don't bother scatterin' feed, rain's comin'."

Sure, I'm impartial. But he was always right.

Maybe my grandfather's influence made me a weather geek. Maybe bicycles are to blame. We randonneurs do have an amazing amount of weather information and tools, right at our fingertips. So until I can read the sky and winds like 'Pa did, these are my favorite ways to get my weather fix.

NWS Raleigh Forecast Discussion
This is my first stop every day. It’s like a weather blog, straight from the NWS meteorologists. Highly scientific, but you can often get the gist of what they’re saying. They even give you a clickable glossary to help you figure it out. The Forecast Discussion gives you a complete picture of what they’re seeing, going beyond the official forecast to talk about what could happen, and why.

NWS Raleigh Hourly Weather Graph
A great visual tool great for short-term forecasts. Will that 9:00am headwind shift to a 1:00pm tailwind? Will rain start falling in the middle of your 300k? Now you know.

WTVD ABC11 First Alert Doppler XP
The best way to track where the rain's headed is with the most powerful radar in the Carolinas. (Sorry- shameless plug)

AccuWeather.com Extended Forecast
So the specific details may be useless 11 or 14 days out, but you'll be surprised at how often the general forecast is pretty good.

One way to tell the surf is good...

My buddy Woody, who's on an extended stay in Byron Bay, Australia, sent along this photo following yesterday's session. The good news is that the board's shaper, Michael Cundith, lives there. Funeral or repair job? Stay tuned, Woody says.

Jan 27 Kerr Lake Loop

Thirteen riders (!) showed up for yesterday’s Lake Loop. That’s our biggest crowd yet. We’re really developing a core group of dedicated randonneurs.

The conditions at the 7 a.m. start were brisk, with temperatures in the low 30s, but by 10 a.m. the day was downright pleasant. Riding doesn't get any better than days like these, cruising under a brilliant blue sky on quiet back roads with a crew of superb athletes. The banter was non-stop. A friendly ride at a friendly pace. We had one guy along for his first RUSA ride, and another on his second one. We also had six PBP veterans.




A great day? You bet. I’ll let a couple riders tell it themselves. Here are two emails I received after the ride.

The ride: Where would I ever get a chance to hang out with so many PBPers and future PBPers on this side of the Atlantic in a "pick-up" ride?

I’ve decided that The Lake Loop is kind of like the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Part of what MAKES it so great is that we've done it so many times. Our expectation is that the day will be fun and so it always is fun. And despite the sameness of the routine, I always find some new things to appreciate along the route. That certainly was a good bunch of folks today. Not sure I interact with other groups that size where I genuinely like everyone. P.S. ....I actually never saw Rocky Horror Picture Show…

Notes: Branson’s successful completion means he’s now qualified for his R-12 award. Nice work!....We lost Ed before Clarksville, when we ducked into a Subway. He didn’t see us and continued on to Oxford and was waiting when we arrived…Byron gets the prize for the most bonus miles: 8…..Dean set a personal best, breaking 10 hours (9:55). Way to go, Deano…Lin’s new bike has the best rando set-up I’ve ever seen on a carbon frame. It’s a Trek Pilot with fender eyelets. Lin had fenders, 25 mm tires and bar end shifters. Classic and modern in one package.

Bicycles & Legal News

Two news items crossed my desk this morning. Both piqued my interest because of my legal training.

The first, from Florida, involves a legal battle to require the state DOT to put in continuous bike lanes along State Road A1A from Palm Beach to Boca Raton. The case is being argued today at the Court of Appeals. Here's what the sides say:

The Boca Raton Bicycle Club and the League of American Bicyclists contend state law requires standard 5-foot bike lanes, whenever practicable, on new roads and roads that are being refurbished.

Transportation Secretary Stephanie Kopelousos argues that the department has the discretion to make exceptions and variations on adding bike and pedestrian ways in the design of road projects because of safety or operational concerns.

Five towns along A1A — Ocean Ridge, Gulf Stream, Manalapan, South Palm Beach and Palm Beach - intervened on behalf of the state. Residents say widening the road to include bike lanes would mar their small-town character and beauty of the scenic roadway.

I think I got it. The state has safety regulations in place but can ignore them when people complain that they're going to lose some shrubs.

This is one more instance of state DOTs paying lip service to bike initiatives. I'm pulling for LAB on this one, but the smart money is going to the other side.

If you want to read the full story, it's here.

The second story involves the RAGBRAI ride in Iowa. County officials along the route want the state legislature to protect their communities from liability for accidents.

The supervisors were responding to a $350,000 insurance settlement paid to the widow of a RAGBRAI rider who died in 2004. The rider was thrown from his bicycle after hitting a center-line crack on a Crawford County road.

The road was made of concrete and apparently had a joint down the center.

Here are a couple approaches lawmakers are considering, according to this story.

Some lawmakers, including Republican Rep. Clarence Hoffman who lives in Crawford County, said Thursday they want to find a way to reduce counties' liability from bicycle injuries.

Others want to address the problem by simply repairing the roads.

A bill will be introduced soon by state Sen. Bill Dotzler, a Waterloo Democrat who is a passionate cyclist and RAGBRAI rider, that would create a separate fund that counties could use for road repairs.

Specifically, Dotzler wants counties to be able to get grants through a Department of Transportation economic development program called RISE. Counties would pay 20 percent and the state would pay 80 percent, he said.

"These are public right of ways," he said. "We need to make sure the roads are fixed.

As a general rule, it makes no sense to punish a cycling event like RAGBRAI just because a county's road are not in good repair. At the same time, I appreciate the fact the cement road might have been in perfect shape but suffered from a design defect that makes it dangerous only to bicycles. So I understand why folks are looking for a legislative fix.

Phun Phud Photo.

My buddy Ende. He's like a duck in a pond. No word for days on end. Then boom, he surfaces, fires off a string of emails, then slips back underwater.

Capn has been working on an ad campaign for Lantiseptic. He's going to be a Butt Cream Spokescapn. Essentially, he's making a run at stardom through the back door.

I think this has him going through some old pictures. He just sent this masterpiece along. Check out that plate!


His caption: 'THE BEST RANDO MEAL EVER.'

Yes the place was self serve. Yes it was all you can eat. Yes it was on a brevet -- the Bonifay 1000K. Yes the food was delicious.

Capn will remember the name of the restaurant. Maybe he'll weigh in with a comment and give us the locale -- the next time he surfaces.

This is Why I Ride!

My 17 year-old daughter Emily and I went skiing yesterday. I hadn’t been on skis since she was a baby although she had been many times. I was looking forward to spending the entire day with her, but not looking forward to the potential aches and pains I would have from a day of face plants and long unused muscles.

To my surprise, skiing turned out to be, well, like riding a bike. I picked it back up pretty quickly—only fell twice, and one of those doesn’t count. I was mowed over from behind by a snow-boarder while standing in the lift line. Emily did really well too—we had a great day. It’s nice being in good enough shape at age 48 to do something out of the ordinary and not suffer afterwards and also nice to be able to keep up with Em. Next year, it's off to college for her, and who knows how many chances we'll have for other father-daughter outings.

Bike Safety Video / 1963

No riding today. Socked in by weather and finishing the RUSA newsletter. Thankfully, I saw a note from Lois Springsteen about this video, which is good for a few laughs on a dreary day... Recognize that voice? I think he was the narrator on the Bullwinkle cartoons...

"we'll do trailer rides down to -3 or -5.."

With frigid weather threatening the Research Trailer Park this weekend, here's a really inspiring piece on winter commuters in the Great White North.

http://www.startribune.com/video/12962607.html

Election Cycles

Those politicians. They'll do just about anything for your vote. Kiss babies. Eat smoked meat. And yes, ride a bicycle.

Edwards used to live in Raleigh and I never saw him on a bike. But he ran almost daily. Always nice to see Lance out and about.

Meantime, the folks at treehugger.com say Mr. Obama is the only candidate that mentions bicycle transportation in his platform:

As president, Barack Obama will re-evaluate the transportation funding process to ensure that smart growth considerations are taken into account. Obama will build upon his efforts in the Senate to ensure that more Metropolitan Planning Organizations create policies to incentivize greater bicycle and pedestrian usage of roads and sidewalks, and he will also re-commit federal resources to public mass transportation projects across the country. Building more livable and sustainable communities will not only reduce the amount of time individuals spent commuting, but will also have significant benefits to air quality, public health and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

That has apparently earned him the backing of one cycling group. Check out the post here.

Bicycles in the News

Those crazy college kids sure know how to write a headline. Have a look at this beauty:

Riding the S.L.U.T., part 2: Streetcar presents danger to cyclists

Click here for the full story.

Closer to home, some poor guy in Virginia got a reckless driving ticket for going too fast on his bicycle. That's the ticket we all dream about, isn't it? Talk about your serious bragging rights. Here's the story.

Crushed crackers

Record-high gas prices and a near-record waistline encouraged me to step up my bike commuting for the New Year. My resolution is to ride to and from work 4 days a week. A couple of weeks into it, here's a report.

It's 7.7 miles each way. 80% of it is on the American Tobacco Trail (at right.) The ride to work often becomes an interval session, the ride home a cruise. Some positives: I don't have a strict dress code at work and there is a safe place inside to park my bike. The negatives: I don't have access to a shower, it's hard to run errands, and my saltine crackers get crushed during the ride in. (Trivia alert: Sunshine Bakery was once owned by the American Tobacco Company, the conglomerate supplied by the railroad that I now use for my commute.) Whenever I start getting tired and sore, I take a look at these numbers:

1. Round trip by car, my commute takes 45 minutes. The car computer tells me I burn 1 gallon of gas. And the trip? Pretty frustrating.


2. Round trip by bike, my commute takes 70 minutes. My heart rate monitor tells me I burn 900 calories. And the trip is a blast!

Add it all up and I'm logging an additional 60 miles a week, saving about $15 in fuel, plus I'm getting in some really good interval work. And eating lots of crushed crackers.

Shocking sign..

Share the road- or ZAPP!!

Boston Article on Winter Riding

I saw this article while poking around this morning. Here's a quote:

The bicycle is a clever invention. It's both a transportation machine and a way of interacting with the world. Pumping madly over the Longfellow Bridge, I feel part of the urban hum. In winter, biking brings me closer to the city.

And the author's resolutions:

My New Year's resolution: Be less judgmental of car owners, and check my self-righteousness at my basement door before I strap on my helmet, snap up my jacket, and carry my bike through the snow.

My resolution for my fellow bikers: Buy a bike light, wear a helmet, and please stop running red lights. Respect the rules of the road and drivers will respect us.

Also, an article on a new free bike program in the Boston area.

Soul Cycling....

The riding choices today were a hammerfest with my Gyro friends, or a leisurely coffee-shop-stopping, greenway-cruising, platitude-spouting, around-town social.

Guess which ride I picked?

The Gyro lung busters are good for the cardiovascular. The city loops with riding buddy Dan are good for the soul. There’s a place for both in my cycling schedule. A soul ride features lots of generalities and the occasional pastry.


It’s hard to get in a spiritual frame of mind astride a carbon fiber wonder-bike. The better choice is this 1965 Schwinn Paramount, lovingly restored by Karl Edwards, a cycling buddy in the Northwest.


Karl is an artist on and off the bike. He worked his magic on this one, taking a rusted frame with a dented downtube and turning into the sharpest ride in my collection. This beauty doesn’t get out of the barn much, which makes its ride that much sweeter.

Dan and I did a big loop around the older areas of Raleigh, cruising the greenways that trace Crabtree Creek, then turning into Oakwood, the historic district near the heart of downtown.


Feeling the need for speed, we stopped in for caffeine at the Morning News, which in my humble opinion makes the finest latte in Raleigh.

The city’s heart is a boomtown. Lots of cranes, new condos, a new convention center, a new hotel. The downtown is being transformed right before our eyes.



Next stop: Dorothy Dix, the sprawling hilltop where the old mental hospital was situated. That’s where the next development fight looms. The developers want to slice it up like a mince meat pie. A local coalition wants to preserve it as 400 acres of park, akin to NYC’s Central Park. I'm pulling for the developers as I have to drive an unreasonable 4 miles to the closest Super Target.



We came by Central Prison (that’ll make a good Target one day) and into Boylan Heights. I'm pretty sure the neighborhood is named after the Connell’s landmark record.




From there it was an easy cruise to Cyclelogic, my buddy Ed’s bike shop. Always fun to stick the head in and see what’s up. What’s up is Fixed Gear. His delightful co-worker has a tricked-out Fuji with horn handlebars. Meantime, Ed’s selling a Raleigh fixed gear with a flip flop hub, a Brooks leather seat and leather bar tap, fenders and Vittoria Randonneur Cross tires. What's old is new again. Guess I'm not the only one doing a little soul searching.

Next up was Cameron Heights, another of Raleigh’s majestic historic neighborhoods with greenspace between the homes and lots of fun alleys to duck down. You can’t swing a cat in there without hitting a liberal. My kind of neighborhood. For the record, I'm opposed to swinging cats or hitting liberals.

We crossed Oberlin near Cameron Village and circled the Rose Garden then took several side streets through Raleigh before hopping onto the greenway through Meredith College. The greenway crossing into Meredith is THE WORST design I’ve ever seen. It’s so dangerous it deserves an AAA award: Top 10 Intersections to Run Over a Cyclist.

The Meredith greenway crosses 440 on the pedestrian bridge I mentioned in another posting, then drops into the property below the N.C. Art Museum.

I stopped for a photo, then we did a bit of off-road stuff, popping out in the back of a neighborhood. We dropped down the hill to Lake Boone shopping center, took a left and eventually picked up Glen Eden, then cut through a couple big money neighborhoods.

Dan and I parted ways on Fairview, and I angled home on the Paramount, hanging her back on her hook in the basement until the next soul ride.

This Week's Movie National Treasure 2

There's one word that will describe this movie. I'll use the politically correct tern instead:

Mentally challenged.

On the plus side, in this post 9/11 world it's refreshing to see a movie where the characters break into Buckingham Palace and also rummage around the Oval Office. Not to mention kidnap the President. I pay big bucks for that kind of escapism.

A New 200k on New Year's Day

Being somewhat ambidextrous causes me to forget my left from right sometimes, or maybe I’m slightly dyslexic. One of those has to be the reason I managed to insert my contacts into the wrong eyes at 5:30 AM on January 1st. What other reason could there be? It certainly couldn’t have anything to do with the margaritas I had on New Year’s Eve. My mistake wouldn’t register until I tried to read something small, like the odometer on my bike, and would prove to be a problem on the inaugural New Year’s Day 200km brevet.



Tony Goodnight—passing out cue sheets and rider instructions.

Back in November when the weather was still warm, the idea of starting 2008 with a 200km brevet seemed like a good idea. Especially since it was a new event and the first organized by our friend and riding buddy Tony Goodnight with mentoring by Joel Lawrence. So I was eager to sign up (although as Tony pointed out to me later, I didn't actually sign my name on the line until December 31--minor detail). I briefly studied the cue sheet and the map and saw that we would be riding through some NC towns that I’d never heard of much less ridden through. All-in-all it sounded like a good way to get the year off to a grand start.

I was out the door and on the way to Lexington at 6:00 for the 1½ hour drive mostly west on Highway 64 from my home south of Chapel Hill. As I drove through Siler City, I thought about the recent Siler City Express permanent that a few of us did in November and of course all the times we’ve stopped there on Al Johnson’s brevets. I arrived at the Wal-Mart in Lexington to see a bunch of cyclists in various states of preparation for the big event. Tony gave all the bikes a quick once-over with Joel's help, a few instructions regarding the route, and we were off just after 0800. The air was brisk, but not uncomfortable thanks to my new Joneswares woolens that my lovely and supportive wife had conned Santa out of.



Richard Lawrence (orange jacket)—The rider we should all aspire to be. At age 81, he logged 6,500 miles in 2007.(Larry Graham in the foreground).



Among the riders was Chuck Lathe and his personally hand-built and beautiful Coho Red Randonneuse.

At about mile 0.??, I realized I couldn’t get my odometer to come into focus. I could read Tony’s large print cue sheet well enough, but I couldn’t read my odometer at all. One without the other isn’t much good. My plan quickly became to hang onto someone's wheel all day.



Mike Dayton approaching the control in Gold Hill.

The first 33 miles to the control in Gold Hill were mostly down wind. What I thought was a quick stop turned out to be not quick enough to keep up with Mike Dayton. Mike had done the pre-ride about 10 days before and was just out for fun, but he was setting a pretty fast pace and was in and out of the control in a hurry. I thought that we might catch him at the next control, but alas, we didn’t see him for the rest of the day. We thought he’d ridden off the front, but it turned out his disappearance had another more sinister reason—Bonus Miles. For his explanation, check out his earlier post.

At about mile 40 the route started angling back to the northwest and the wind was showing its teeth. The roads were smooth and lightly traveled with gentle rollers—nothing steep enough to hurt. However with the ever present gale, the rollers set up a cycle of sweating on the uphills and freezing on the downhills. The second control was in the town of Landis at mile 55. Tony Funderburk and his wife were there to sign cards and offer the unwelcomed words that we’d be fighting this wind for another 30 or so miles. Tony decided to ride along on his shiny new and fast Bianchi. He set a pretty quick pace which quickly spread our little group apart. Truth be told, the other guys hung with Tony while I dropped off the back.

As we made a right turn approaching Cleveland, the head wind became a roaring tailwind and I was able to bridge back to the gang. At this point our group consisted of Tony Goodnight, Tony Funderburk, Joel Lawrence, Joel’s friend Henry McMullan of High Point, and Larry Graham of Columbus, Ohio who holds the NCBC 600km record at 22:14 set in 2006—that’s fast!!



No signs of Floyd on this Carolina Blue sky day

We hit the control in Woodleaf at 90 miles, but the next cue indicated a turn back into the wind for 13 miles on highway 801. Tony F, having fulfilled his volunteer pace setting duties for the day peeled off to cruise on home. The wind turned out to be not too bad—a quartering wind really, but enough to make me lose touch with the group again and I was soon riding alone and grumbling. A right turn on Highway 64 put the wind at my back again and just after crossing the Yadkin River, I passed the site of team “Virgins of the Fleche” 22-hour control from the 2006 Fleche. It brought back fond memories of my teammates and our frigid adventure. My euphoria must have affected my few functioning brain cells because I slid by the turn to Old 64 without noticing it and collected a bonus mile of my own! Not being able to read the odometer probably didn’t help.

Back on course, I trudged on to the fourth control in Tyro just as Tony G, Joel, Henry, and Larry were leaving. I needed some fuel and liquid and a warm spot. Actually, what I needed was a nap, but with nothing comfortable around I decided to head out.

I rolled out alone and rode the 12 miles back to the finish at a comfortable pace, just fast enough to generate some body heat. I’m not sure the forecasted 54 degree temp ever materialized, but all in all, it was a fine ride and indeed a great way to get the cycling year started. Tony’s first brevet was a rousing success with all 15 riders finishing. I for one, hope this ride becomes a regular part of NC Randonneuring.

Happy New Year to all of you and I’ll look forward to seeing you on the road—hopefully in sharper focus next time!



My companion for the final 30+ miles.

a nip & tuck for an old friend..

Hi there, my name is Branson. Mike asked me if I'd like to contribute to his blog every now and then. So if there are any complaints- it's his fault.

If you've ridden any of Alan's 200/300/400 brevets in Research Trailer Park, you know Yates Store Road. A little fuzzy? Here's a hint: that wall we hit 15 minutes after the start? The one with two county lines to sprint for? Yep, that's Yates Store Road. That short but steep hill is Yates Store's most memorable feature. Or, at least, it was.

Now thousands of homes, occupied or in the process of being built, may be what we'll remember most about Yates Store. Cary's huge Amberly development is quickly changing the landscape. Quiet, narrow Yates Store couldn't handle the traffic that comes with all of the growth, so it's gone under the knife.

The photo above is at the new intersection of O'Kelly Chapel Road and Yates Store, looking south. Technically, this part of the "nip & tucked" Yates Store isn't open yet, but as you can see, it already has traffic. I ignored the sign too, singing "Breaking The Law", and had 7 cars pass me in the next mile. Here's a map where I've drawn in the new road.

Result of all the plastic surgery? Virgin pavement for this spring's brevets, and a lot more motorists to share it with.

Weekend Movies: Charlie Wilson's War & Juno.

Kelly and I buy a movie pass each year from the great guys who own the Rialto. For $210, the two of us can go to movies at three Raleigh theaters -- the Rialto, the Colony & Mission Valley. The last two have multiple screens.

We use the movie pass as our Friday date night: dinner & a movie. We go to about 50 movies a year, sometimes seeing two or three a weekend to catch up.

I'm not interested in doing movie reviews, but this year I'm going to post what we see, and whether we liked.

First up: Charlie Wilson's War.



We were both impressed with this one. Nice to see character flaws hanging out like fat over a belt. Tom Hanks plays an agreeably sleazy congressman from Texas who likes to drink and hang out in the hot tub with strippers and playmates. Yes, we're talking the good old days in the U.S. Congress. Unlike others who slink around in the dark as they go about their monkey business, the cinematic Charlie Wilson owned his moral failings, and that earns him points on the silver screen as a sympathetic character. The movie centers on Rep. Wilson's funding of a covert war against the Russians in Afghanistan. We didn't expect much from this movie -- perhaps because we had a bad taste in our mouths from Lions for Lambs, which we saw late last year. That thing was such a dog it had fleas. So we were pleasantly surprised with Charlie Wilson's War. The movie closes with a quote from Charlie who says the secret war went well but that "we fucked up the endgame."

Saturday, we saw Juno.



Also highly recommended. We both liked. A quirky movie with some of the sharpest dialog I've heard in a while, and lots of laughs. The script was incredibly gentle with the main character's predicament. Wouldn't it be nice if all families dealt so capably with crisis? Lars and the Real Girl required a similar suspension of familial disbelief. My favorite line (and I'm paraphrasing) from Juno went something like: "You want someone who loves you so much he thinks sunshine comes out of your asshole."

Richard's Gold...

Every time I catch up with High Point RBA Richard Lawrence I learn something new. The latest revelation: he’s a beekeeper.

Following the Jan. 1 200K in Lexington, Richard gave me a small container of golden honey. "I have a million employees working for me," he said with a sly grin.


The container looks a lot like those small Hammer Gel vials I see cyclists using. And that made me curious. Was Richard suggesting that I carry his honey along on rides, squeezing out the occasional shot for quick burst of energy?

Based on a look at honey's ingredients, I could probably do that. This is from Wikipedia:

Honey is a mixture of sugars and other compounds. With respect to carbohydrates, honey is mainly fructose (about 38.5%) and glucose (about 31.0%), making it similar to the synthetically produced inverted sugar syrup which is approximately 47% fructose, 47% glucose and 5% sucrose. Honey's remaining carbohydrates include maltose, sucrose, and other complex carbohydrates.

Honey contains trace amounts of several vitamins and minerals. As with all nutritive sweeteners, honey is mostly sugars and is not a significant source of vitamins or minerals.

Honey also contains tiny amounts of several compounds thought to function as antioxidants, including chrysin, pinobanksin, vitamin C, catalase, and pinocembrin.

This morning, I'm using Richard's gold in a breakfast crepe. My own honey, Maxi, gave me a crepe pan for Christmas. She was inspired by some delicious crepes that Capn made for us at his Grandmother Mountain home. The pan comes from France and has a little wooden paddle. The paddle's main use, according to the Capn, is "to keep people back while the crepes are being cooked."

Maxi went out and bought blackberries, raspberries and whipped cream. All we have to do now is add honey. Voila! Heaven on earth.

N.C. Randonneur in the News...

Our good friend Branson is in the news again. Last year News & Observer reporter Joe Miller followed Branson's successful attempt to qualify for and participate in PBP. In the latest article Branson reveals what he has on tap for 2008. A hint: It involves a trip to Vietnam. Read all about it here. Branson is one of several people Joe followed in 2007, so you'll find him featured on pages 2-3 of the story.

Branson was one of my favorite riding companions in 2007. I was with him on his very first 200K, the Lake Loop permanent, and also pre-rode the Morrisville 600K with him for another Big Adventure.

By the way, here's a little food for thought from the Joe Miller article:

"Randonneuring is very selfish," says Kimball. "There's no other way to put it when it comes to family and time constraints. It takes so much time."

I point that out because it's the second time this week I've heard that sentiment. I'm working on a story for American Randonneur where another rider made a similar comment.

But lucky me. I have a loving and understanding wife who puts up with all my crazy rides and nutty schedules. Just one more thing to be grateful for in 2008.

New Bloggers at RTP...

January 1 marked one full year that I've been blogging on Research Trailer Park. As we enter Year 2, the Park will soon be getting some new tenants.

I've invited several friends to join in as bloggers. You'll likely see posts from them in the coming days and weeks. How often? I'm not sure, but it should be fun.

Wait...Isn't there a device that already does that?

I just saw an online article about a bike computer being developed by a company named Cerevellum.

Here's the new twist: a small video camera replaces your handlebar plug and transmits images to the small display you see in the picture. I guess it's kinda like the back-up cameras they install in some cars.

But I got a couple questions: do I really need a $299 mirror -- especially one with four hours of battery time? And when the battery dies, do the cars stop showing up?

Yes, Cerevellum notes the device will do other things -- GPS, for example. But it looks like the video feed is the feature that this unit will be built around. See for yourself.

2008: A New Year, Another Ride...

I’m calling yesterday’s ride a 200K, but the truth is the course was a bit longer, thanks to a couple wrong turns along the way.

I pre-rode the Lexington 200K two weekends ago and showed up yesterday to help Tony G out as a volunteer. My riding plan was to show up at the start, roll out to the first control, then retrace the route back to the start and head home. That would give me about 60 miles, a fine distance for Jan. 1.

I never really wrapped my head around the ride, and I wasn’t prepared, equipment-wise. For instance, I didn’t put my cue sheet holder on the bike. Wouldn’t need it, right?

Well, things didn’t turn out as planned. Cruising along with the gang, including Jerry, Joel, John B, Dean, Chuck and newcomer John M on a cool morning turned out to be … fun. Go figure. My legs felt great. When I hit the first control at mile 30, my mind was made up. I’d go ahead and do the whole loop. I struck out from the first control with Chuck Lathe and we had a fine time rolling along and chatting. So much fun that we rode about two miles past our turn. The road we missed? Klutz, of course. For a fleeting moment we were at the front of pack. Now we were to hang the red light on the caboose for much of the day.

Ironic, ain’t it? Both Chuck and I blogged about “bonus miles” in the past week. Now we were living ‘em. But that missed turn made for a pleasant hour or two of conversation.

We fought a fierce headwind until Cleveland. The shift was dramatic when we made a lefthand turn. The tailwind was so strong we had to apply brakes to keep from being pushed through a red light.

After a control at the 90-mile mark, I pushed on solo for a 13-mile stretch up Hwy 801. I caught up with Dean and John M at Hwy 64 and we rode in to the end together – almost. Fact is, I missed one more turn in Lexington and circled through the maze of warehouses in downtown Lexington until Tony called and set me back on the right path.

Another fun day on the bikes. And good to have the January century out of the way.

There were several retrorides on display yesterday. John B had a very cool and tricked-out vintage Schwinn. Very sharp. John M was on a Surly Long Haul Trucker. Also tricked out and completed by a kickstand. (It was his first night ride. Congrats on that, John!) Meantime, Chuck was on one of his handsome Cohos, and I had my Silk Hope.

As Chuck finished last night, he remarked that he'd never done a 200K in January. Thanks to Tony G for giving us that local option, and to Joel and Richard Lawrence for all they do in helping out. BTW: Richard showed up in a new ride last night: A Toyota Prius. And the rumor is that he has another new two-wheel ride on the way....