Why They're Populaire

Would you believe that Tarheel riders amassed 10,000 miles riding populaires this year? What is this little-known thing, the populaire, and why is it growing in popularity?

Simply put, a populaire is a RUSA event whose distance is less than 200km. There are basically two types of populaires: those scheduled by Regional Brevet Administrators (RBAs) and those scheduled by permanent route owners. RBAs schedule populaires with predetermined dates and start times just like brevets. On the other hand, because a permanent populaire is after all a permanent, it is scheduled at the request of a rider. Therefore, a rider “can ride it any time, not just on one specific date.” Permanent populaires accounted for most of the populaire mileage accumulated by Tarheel riders this year.

The only knock against the populaire is that it doesn’t count toward the coveted R-12 Award. But this issue has been offset with the new P-12 Award, which is fashioned after the R-12. The new P-12 features sub-200km rides exclusively. Additionally, populaire mileage counts toward all RUSA distance medals, including the Mondial Award.

The populaire has got a lot going for it. Last January, long before this month’s P-12 announcement, permanent populaires had already begun popping up across the Tarheel state like wild onion shoots. In all, our state boasts six permanent populaires, with more to come.

The number of populaire routes is not the only indicator of their rising popularity. In 2010, Tarheel randonneurs made 164 populaire trips accounting for over 16,000 km.

Several local riders—Alan, JayJay, Jerry, Maria, Mike D, and Sridhar—share their reasons for riding populaires which I’ve incorporated into several categories: 1) camaraderie, 2) convenience, 3) training, 4) introduction to randonneuring, 5) sightseeing, and 6) acclaim.

Camaraderie
Some place camaraderie high on the list of randonneuring ideals. While 200km-permanents are oftentimes more social than brevets, populaires, in turn, are even more so due to the fact that rider spacing is closer over shorter distances. Slow riders usually catch fast riders at controls and together can enjoy local cuisine: a bowl of “howling grits” on the Howling Grits Populaire, for example.

It has been my experience that when the populaire route owner is “along for the ride,” seldom does one need to peer at a cue sheet as the “host” guides a generally cohesive group along the route.

Convenience
Typical randonneuring events of 200km and longer are time consuming. Enter the populaire. One may have at one’s disposal more 5-hour blocks of time (populaire) than 10-hour blocks of time (200km permanent). Consequently, how about the possibility of an early-morning ride completed ahead of a summer afternoon pop-up thunderstorm or onset of triple-digit afternoon summer temperatures; or a delayed winter-morning start, allowing road ice to melt and still be home before dark?

Training
Training is a very personal matter, dependent on but not limited to one’s ability, goals, and fitness level. For me at least, the addition of populaires has helped increase my endurance level beyond that of just a steady diet of once-a-week 200km rides.

In part, Jerry designed his Howling Grits Populaire as a training route: the early steep climbs provide excellent interval training, while the latter, flat portion is conducive to speed training or recovery.

Speaking of recovery, Mike D utilizes populaires as recovery rides the day after he completes a 200km.

If one is unable to ride 200km events due to health, injury, or family and work commitments, the occasional populaire can help guard against the negative effects of detraining. Short but intense rides are known to promote healthy heart and vessel function even as we age.

Introduction to Randonneuring
Populaires provide newcomers a way to meet, ride with, and learn from experienced randonneurs. Think of populaires as RUSA incubators. Populaires might help newcomers bridge the gap to longer rides. Populaires are similar distance-wise to club and charity rides, something with which newcomers to randonneuring are already familiar.

Sightseeing
Populaires provide opportunities for close-up views of nature and special points of interest. The whirligig farm located on the The Whirligig populaire is a case in point. Year-round riding promoted by the P-12 allows aspirants to view changing seasonal landscapes and witness firsthand the evolving agricultural practices of their region.

Acclaim
No doubt, some of us ride for trinkets. In addition to the P-12, populaire mileage counts toward RUSA distance medals. In fact, each of the four Tarheel riders who completed 10,000 RUSA kilometers in 2010 used populaires to fill in the edges of their 10,000km pies. In addition to filling in the edges, I used populaires for much of the filling; in fact, populaires accounted for over a third of my mileage.

Putting it Together
Bill Bryant, whose brainchild the P-12 was, gives his reasons why he thinks populaires can play an essential role in supporting and growing our sport, bolstered by the new P-12 Award.

I’m excited about the new P-12 . . . [T]he . . . style and pace of randonneuring can be a life-long avocation, but sometimes it needs to be “consumed in smaller bites” than 200 kms due to work/family obligations, or age, harsh winters, health issues, etc.

In the end, I hope the P-12 will encourage more populaire-distance brevets and perms than we currently see, and perhaps a more diverse group of people will come to enjoy our sport?

Hopefully some of these folks will eventually want to try their hand at the longer distances once they have built their experience on the shorter rides and this will strengthen our ranks for the standard SR brevet distances.

Or, even if they don’t, the populaire distances are still a good compliment to the traditional brevets, and could get more people on their bikes and experience being out in nature in a friendly, non-competitive manner, etc.

What about new populaire routes? This is where all RUSA members can potentially make a contribution. Think about it this way: Almost everyone has a favorite route they love to ride. With a little tweaking, the route can probably be turned into a populaire and shared with others. This is how we’ve been able to get interesting routes that riders are willing, in some cases, to ride over and over, either alone or with others for whatever the many reasons there are to enjoy populaires!

Happy New Year!

Let’s ride!

Bicycle Christmas Tree

Happy holidays to all you cyclists out there!

Note: If you like this picture, here are some more interesting pictures of the same creation down under, along with a (hi)story of this particular bicycle tree.

Happy New Year!

Let's ride!

Sauratown Lite Populaire / December 23, 2010

That steam coming out of Duke's power plant on Belews Creek said it all -- the amount of steam billowng form the stack showed just how cold it was, and its furious race to the east was a visualization of the wind Joel and I faced on his 104K Sauratown Lite Populaire permanent.

Joel and I shared a big adventure this summer on Bill & Lois' Santa Cruz  1000K. A ride one-tenth that distance was a fitting way to end our riding season. Yesterday's ride was not as magical as the California one -- there was no Big Sur coastline, no valleys filled with vineyards, no convenience stores with burrito stands in the back. But it was special in its own way -- Joel crossed the 10,000K mark, making him the fourth Tar Heel rider to reach that impressive distance this year. He did it with style, too -- 10,000K exactly, none of the sloppy extra Ks to mess up all those pretty zeros. As for me, I hit 40,000 lifetime Ks, a goal I'd had in the back of my mind all year. We randonneurs  are goal-oriented. It's satisfying to reach one, then look up the road to see what's next on the cue sheet.

The first control has this Coke machine out front. When I saw it, I suspected we'd see more Dale Earnhardt paraphernalia inside. I was not disappointed. The store owner has several autographed pictures of NASCAR's legendary champion. A great champion with a tragic ending, his image stirs painful memories this time of year of another life also cut short.

We finished at the High Point marina, watched the seagulls huddle against the biting wind. We were met by Joel's dad, Richard, the former High Point RBA and one of the true leaders of our sport. 





I think Richard's 83 now, and he still gets out there on one of his many bikes. He lamented that he'd only racked up about 3,700 miles or so this year, down from the years when he logged 15,000+ miles, but impressive nonetheless. Then Joel's family joined us for an Italian meal where I'm afraid we bored them with bike talk. But in the family of such devoted riders, I suspect they're used to it.

Congratulations to Joel on his accomplishment, and thanks to all of my riding buddies for the very best year I've ever had on the bike. This sport of ours continues to transform me. I'm grateful for the company along the way.

Let It Snow / Black Creek Ride

First came the snowflakes, about the size of cotton balls. Then came the sleet and a cold rain. Another fine and frosty day on the bikes during yesterday's 204K Showdown at Black Creek. Out for a spin in the winter weather were Capn Ende, Carol, Lynn, Tim, Bryan and Chris, who carried the red lantern for us.

Our hope was that we'd be able to slide this ride in between a couple threatening weather systems. We were prepared for the cold, with a predicted high in the 30s. The forecast had the precipitation rolling in around 5. If we stayed at it, not too much lolllygagging at the controls, we might just make it.

About 25 miles from the finish, the low clouds opened the freezer door for some frozen treats, first snow and then stinging sleet pellets. It just added to the adventure, and there were no real complaints, except for a few about that country ham biscuit at Bojangles.

We'll take the holiday spirit wherever we can find it, including this fine looking tree at the first control at the crossroads just north of Bailey. We've decided to give that store the Clean Bathroom award.

A shot from the turnaround in Black Creek. Bike friendly community?

A portrait at the finish with the front facing camera.

Thanks to all for a great day on the bikes, and congratulations to Carol for her Fourth R-12 Award!

Wilkes County Rumble -- December 10, 2010

Jimmy adjusting gear as we work up a sweat...

A few years ago, American Randonneur ran a ride report of a novel New England event -- the Dirt Road Randonnée. The idea was to run a brevet-like event along many of the hilly and challenging dirt roads in Massachusetts and Vermont. Since then, I've seen reports from other parts of the country, notably the San Francisco area, where riders take it off-road from time to time, although I'm not certain whether that is during official events.

Here in North Carolina, we gots lotsa dirt roads, but I can't recall any brevet or RUSA event  purposely running down a gravel road.

That all changed yesterday, when I traveled west to Lewisville to ride the Wilkes County Rumble with Jimmy and Steve, a talented rider from Wilkesboro. 

You want dirt? Jimmy's route has it. Eighteen glorious miles. All kinds. Hard packed. Loose gravel on sweeping downhills, powdery sand on the climbs, washboard sections that shake your bolts loose.

Steve in vintage Ecuador wool. 

The route features a seven-mile dirt stretch through the woods to the top of Brushy Mountain. Throw in two other climbs -- a three-mile gravel road up and over Fox Mountain and a paved ascent over Little Brushy Mountain -- and you're in for a serious day of bike riding.

Jimmy gets noticeably excited as we approach an unpaved section.

"This road's got some really good dirt," he tells me early in the ride.

"How long is it?" I ask.

"Oh, about half a mile," Jimmy says.

It will be at least two miles before we see asphalt again. 

Climbing Brushy Mountain...

I ask Jimmy whether he went out of his way to find all these dirt sections. Well, no, Jimmy says. But he didn't try to avoid any either. By his thinking, dirt is a non-issue with the right tires and the right attitude. By the end of the day, I'm apt to agree with him.

I didn't have the best tires for the job -- I was sporting Michelin Pro Race 25s that tended to spin in the loose soil on uphill sections. On descents, I checked my speed with an eye out for the patches of gravel that often collected in the curves. But Steve and Jimmy bombed down the hills. They had bigger tires and considerably more experience on these roads and they were a joy to watch.

 I've not ridden all of the North Carolina permanents, but I have to believe this is one of the very toughest. You'll get most of the dirt and all of the significant climbing from mile 45 to 95. By the time we came out of the hills and stopped at the Amish grocery, the legs were feeling the miles. We arrived at the grocery at 4:20, which was exactly 20 minutes after closing time, but there were still folks in the kitchen and they set us up with a few sweets and sodas. Around 6 p.m., we reached a control at mile 114 and sat down for a burger and chips.

Like quiet roads? This route is for you. With the exception of a few miles each way on Shallowford Road near Lewisville, and the roads around Wilkesboro, we saw very little car traffic all day. We saw two cars, both headed in the other direction, on the seven-mile dirt climb up to the summit of Brushy Mountain.

This route is highly recommended if you're comfortable with dirt roads. Be sure you have suitable tires for those conditions. My 25s were okay, but 28s or bigger would have been better.

A couple more pix....

Video of the climb up Fox Mountain...



Video of a flat section before Brushy Mountain....



Steve burning up the downhill dirt....

Thanks to Steve and Jimmy for a great day on the bikes.

Whirligig 100K / Dec. 4 2010

Fellow NC Randonneur Andy, with an assist from RUSA web guru Jim K, recently unveiled an invaluable Google map that displays the start location for RUSA's 1,000-plus permanent routes. Rocky Mount rider Tim Lucas just put a new pushpin in the North Carolina map, with a 100K permanent, the Whirligig, which begins in Nashville, about 45 miles east of Raleigh, and winds its way down to Vollis Simpson's whirligig farm near Lucama.

Four of us -- myself, Tim, Deaner and John O -- kicked the tires yesterday with an inaugural ride. The day started cold and got colder. We finished around 2 p.m., just minutes before a snowstorm pushed in from the west. Despite the cold, a fine time was had by all.

For those interested in a recovery ride with RUSA credit, put the Whirligig on your to-do list. The roads are quiet and the route is just about as flat as a buckwheat pancake, perfect for a fixed gear or single speed spin. Plus there are plenty-o-eats along the way with multiple restaurant choices, including Klints Korner in Lucama, Hardees in Bailey and Andy's Burgers at the finish.

Tim has racked up serious miles this year -- he crossed the 14,000-mile mark on Saturday, so we rewarded this accomplishment by allowing him to pull us the entire distance of the course.  Here's a shot from yesterday's ride at Vollis' property. Interesting light.

The route cuts through the heart of sweet potato country, and the lowly yam apparently requires massive processing facilities -- you'll see three of them along the way. 

We also crossed a gun-blue Tar River...

and the impressive Contentnea Creek, cruised past Gov. Jim Hunt's home in Rock Ridge, and cut through the old neighborhoods of Bailey. Then there is the, umm, petting zoo at the final control on Sandy Cross Road....

... and, at the Lucama control, what is widely regarded as the world's finest collection of  pork rind products....

Another fine day on the bikes. Thanks to all for the great company.

Note: Tim's new permanent was among the new routes that pushed the number of permanent routes past the 1,000 mark. Here's a note from Permanents Coordinator Crista Borras:

I'm very happy to say that we now have more than 1000 RUSA permanents (1010 as of this writing)!   Many thanks and congratulations to all of you for your valuable contributions to RUSA this past year in designing and administering so many wonderful permanent routes.  Keep them coming, too.  As "all the leaves are brown and the sky is gray" you probably have more time to design new routes and I have more time to review them. 

The Whirligig -- A New NC Permanent

Nice! Tim Lucas has put together a new 100K permanent, the Whirligig, that runs past Vollis Simpson's whirligig farm just outside Lucama. This one looks fun. Let's ride! To whet your appetite, a few pix of Vollis' creations, with Vollis (now 92, I believe) in the middle.