The hill before home...

Kids, Don't Try This at Home...Depot

Breaking news from http://www.nwfdailynews.com/

Boy sneaks into Sears to use tools for bicycle maintenance

MARY ESTHER (Fla.) — A 15-year-old boy was charged Sunday with larceny and trespassing after he walked into Sears, used the store’s tools to fix his bike and then left.

Full story here.

On Curing Neck and Hand Pain

On my first two PBPs, and on nearly every ride I've done of 600K or longer, I've suffered severe neck pain somewhere along the way. I don't think I'm too unusual in that regard. Some of my buddies have complained of the same thing.

Neck pain came become so intense that it takes you off the bike. That happened to one NC rider in 2007. On the latest PBP, Ian saved the ride for Ivan, a rider from eastern Europe who was apparently suffering from Shermer's neck. We met Ivan along the way when we stopped to take this picture...

Ivan came riding up in obvious pain. He was suffering miserably, and his finish was in doubt. Ian to the rescue. He took a bungee cord off his rear rack and attached it to Ivan's helmet and jersey to hold his head upright. Here's a picture of Ivan riding off into the sunset. Note the green bungee.... I'm happy to report that we saw Ivan at the finish.

I vowed to solve my own neck issues before heading to Paris and knock on wood I may have done so. Here's what I did:

* New stem. For two years, I've been riding with a 110 mm stem with a fairly shallow rise. I came to the conclusion that it put me too far forward and down on the bike. Not a big deal on the shorter brevets, but for the longer rides, my neck strained, leading to mile upon mile of pain.

My solution was to install a shorter (90 mm) adjustable Forte stem and set it at a 20 degree angle. The net result was to put me in a more upright position and shift my weight back on the bike and off my hands. Voila -- I had probably 30 minutes of neck pain on Day 2 of PBP. Hopefully, I've found the cure. As to the stem itself, I'd advise shopping around for another brand. While the Forte one was adequate, the four attaching bolts have a smaller diameter than those used by other makers, and I could not get rid of a creaking  noise when climbing.

* New gloves. With a more upright position on the bike, I took some of the weight off my hands. But that's not all I did to relieve hand pressure. Before heading off to Paris, I stumbled across a pair of  Bontrager Crochet Gloves at a local bike store. One online marketer takes a couple pokes at their look. Check this out:

Remember these? Yep, these Bontrager Crochet Gloves are just like the old-school ones you used to wear. Hand knotted cotton tops, genuine leather palms with light padding, even the absorbent thumbs, every detail, just like they were. Grab your old clunker, pull on a wool jersey and slip these on, retro never looked so good. (Also compatible with carbon fiber.) 

Well, haha la de da. But you know what?  Those gloves had padding in all the right places -- and at about double the thickness of similar gloves I've used. I brought two pairs to Paris. At $15 a pair, they're hard to beat for long-distance comfort.

Coming Soon: Cycling on Capital Blvd?

Sure, all roads except the Interstates and the freeways are open to two-wheeled vehicles. Good in theory, but bicyclists who know Raleigh's roads avoid Capital Boulevard and its 6 or 8 lanes of haul-ass cars and trucks.

 

Capital Blvd, which runs north and south, also does a fine job of blocking east-west bike and pedestrian traffic, especially near Raleigh's downtown, which has few suitable bike-ped crossings.

Our city is taking steps to change that, with an ambitious plan to overhaul and update the entire corridor. One goal will be to make it more hospitable to bike and foot traffic. 

Have a look for yourself. There's an Open House tonight describing the various options that are being explored. Details in the flyer below. Show up and see what the future could look like....

I Love My Label....

Fun Wilco show in Raleigh last night. Me and the boy figured the best way to get there was by bike, where you can park it 50 feet from the main gate. Highlight of the show, for me, was Wilco's cover of Nick Lowe's song, I Love My Label. It didn't hurt that Mr. Lowe himself was on hand to sing it.....

Vote Yes for Raleigh Bonds on October 11

Time for a little advocacy, folks.... If you're interested in safe and effective cycling and pedestrian routes in Raleigh, show up and vote on Oct. 11. This is an important issue and it affects YOU. More information and yard signs are available at RaleighBonds.com.

Vote YES for $40 million in Transportation Bonds that will:

• Keep things running smoothly by resurfacing streets and repairing potholes.
• Build and repair sidewalks.
• Improve our bus stops, shelters, benches and transit stations.
• Create more bike lines giving commuters another option for safe transit.
• Widen roads and plan new corridors making it easier and faster to get from place to place.

Also in the ballot: Vote YES for $16 million in Housing Bonds that will:

• Help our neighbors continue to repair their homes after the April tornado.
• Revitalize our neighborhoods and preserve historic architecture.
• Build housing for seniors, families and persons with disabilities through public-private partnerships.
• Make homeownership possible for first-time buyers like young professionals, fireman, policemen and teachers.

Voting on these bonds is an easy way to make a difference in our community. Please, walk, run, bike, bus or drive to the polls on Tuesday, Oct. 11.

Wilco.....

An hour's worth from Wednesday night on Letterman...can't do anything about that commercial at the start....

Moving Planet Bike Rides, Saturday, Sept. 24th

Lots of rides are lining up this weekend.  On Saturday, I've signed up for  a 78-mile Moving Planet ride from the N.C. Art Museum to Durham and back... Sounds fun. Details below. If you're wondering about the Moving Planet day itself, it's billed as "a worldwide climate solutions rally taking place on September 24th — a single day to move beyond fossil fuels." More information on the Moving Planet site. Clearly the perfect day to ride a bike and leave the fossil-fueled vehicle in the driveway....

Ride with us from Durham, Chapel Hill or Raleigh to Durham Central Park!

Our routes are in, and we are really excited about our bike rides coming up on September 24th. We (the East Coast Greenway Alliance) have partnered with the Triangle Commuter Bike Initiative and will lead three rides from South Durham, Chapel Hill and Raleigh/Cary to the 350.org Moving Planet event which will be held from 2-5 PM under the Pavillion at Durham Central Park (where the Farmer’s Market is held).


ALL rides are FREE!! Please RSVP to info@greenway.org and let us know what ride you’re doing so we know how many people to expect.
Here are the ride details:

Family Friendly / ATT Ride – meet us at our rest stop (Bull City Running Company) at the South Durham ATT trailhead, ride ~7 miles to Durham Central Park, and back,total of 14 miles. This ride will be almost entirely on trail, with a short on-road segment from downtown Durham ATT trailhead to Durham Central Park.

Time: Meet at 1:30, we’ll return back to the location by 5.

Location: Bull City Running Company store by Kroger, will be along the ATT, email Debbie at info@greenway.org for info.

NOTE: Will include short segment on public roads. Children must be accompanied by parents. 
Chapel Hill – meet us at University Mall, ride 16.6 miles to Durham Central Park, and back, total of 33 miles.Time: Meet at noon, ride at 12:30. We’ll return to University Mall around 5:45 or 6.

Location: University Mall, on Estes Dr. SW corner (near Wachovia/Wells Fargo).
There may be two feeder rides from Carrboro and UNC that will meet earlier and ride to join us at University Mall. Stay tuned for details on those!

NOTE: The CH route goes on several roadways, including 751. We will make this as safe as possible, but this ride is not recommended for children or riders inexperienced in riding on public roads. http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/48632298/
Raleigh – meet us at the NC Museum of Art, ride 39 miles to Durham Central Park, and back, total of 78 miles.

Time: Meet at 10:15, leave at 10:30. We’ll return to Raleigh around 7, bring lights for the ride home unless you plan to take transit back.
Location: NC Museum of Art, 2110 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh, NC. Meet in the back of the upper parking lot.

Cary Option – for a shorter ride, meet us in Cary at Bond Park, ride 25 miles to Durham Central park, and back, total of 50 miles.

Time: Meet at 11:30, leave when Raleigh ride comes through (11:30 – 11:45). We’ll return to Cary around 6, bring lights for the dusk ride home.

Location: Meet us at Bond Park in Cary, 801 High House Rd. in Cary, NC. Meet at the Boathouse / Buehler Shelter, which is at the end of Bond Park Dr.
The Raleigh/Cary ride will be ~80% on greenway trails! Please note that several miles of the Southern portion of the ATT is on hard packed crushed gravel, fine for most bikes, may not be great for some road bikes.http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/44110500/
NOTE: These rides will only be minimally supported – the CH ride will have a brief rest stop with water/light snacks at approximately 9 miles. The Raleigh ride will have a stop at Bond Park for water/restrooms and a brief rest stop with water/light snacks at mile 32 (mile 18 if you start in Cary). There will be some snacks at the ECGA table at the 350.org event.

We hope to see you there! Please RSVP to info@greenway.org so we know how many to expect!

Bike Route Progress In Raleigh

Good news for Raleigh area cyclists! At the Monday night meeting of the Raleigh Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission, the city staff discussed upcoming striping / sharrow initiatives. Commission member Steve Waters prepared the map you see above. The red and blue markings show the projects that are in the works. They include striped bike lanes (red) and sharrows (blue) along routes that will link North Raleigh to the downtown area. 

Raleigh is in the preliminary stages of implementing a comprehensive bike plan, but as you can see from the above map, connectivity among various biking routes in our city is beginning to take shape.

Oberlin Road, which runs from Glenwood to Hillsborough Street near N.C. State, will be getting sharrow treatment. Lassiter Mill, which runs past North Hills to Glenwood at St. Mary's Street, will have a mix of lanes and sharrows. Note that the Lassiter Mills project  allows connection to Oberlin via a new lane on Glenwood -- or you can continue toward downtown on St. Mary's, which also has sharrow markings. Clark Avenue near N.C. State and two streets in downtown are also getting sharrows.

Sharrows are a relatively new marking on cycling routes. From Wiki: 

This marking is placed in the center of a travel lane to indicate that a bicyclist may use the full lane. The name "sharrow" was coined by Oliver Gajda, of the City and County of San Francisco Bicycle Program, and is a portmanteau of "share" and "arrow.

And their stated purpose:

• Assist bicyclists with lateral positioning in a shared lane with on-street parallel parking in order to reduce the chance of a bicyclist’s impacting the open door of a parked vehicle;

• Assist bicyclists with lateral positioning in lanes that are too narrow for a motor vehicle and a bicycle to travel side by side within the same traffic lane;

• Alert motorists of the lateral location bicyclists are likely to occupy within the traveled way;

• Encourage safe passing of bicyclists by motorists; and

• Reduce the incidence of wrong-way bicycling.

Note that sharrows are intended to "assist bicyclists with lateral positioning in lanes that are too narrow for a motor vehicle and a bicycle to travel side by side within the same traffic lane." In places where the road narrows and cars might be tempted to squeeze past, cyclists are encouraged to use the full travel lane, as indicated by the sharrow's placement.

PBP Report -- Speed Equals Sleep

Chris Kamm sent along this report of this year's PBP. Enjoy!

After we completed PBP, my wife, Annette, and I traveled around France and Switzerland for a couple of weeks. I wrote parts of this account in my head while vacationing, but the theme of our ride and of this account came later when I chanced upon a comment from Rob Dayton. He spoke of mistakes and difficulties that caused the clock to expire before he finished the 1230 kilometers. It reminded me of my own ride in 2007. We made it that year, barely. And a succession of mistakes on my part made it a close shave. This year was different, and I will use a favorite quote from Greg LeMond to encourage us all:

It does not get easier, you just go faster.

Racing or randonneuring, it is true in all ways.

We returned for another go at PBP, and, unlike the last time, Annette and I made a plan and made it work. I took from an idea of a several-time ancien, Steve Kabielski. He wrote of the strategy to ride as hard as possible for the opening 24 hours, so as to get out ahead of the congestion one encounters at control points. We also arranged hotel rooms in Carhaix, and in Fougeres on the return. This committed us to a schedule as well as giving a base to my brother and Annette’s sister who crewed for us with meetings at those points in both directions. Paul handed me our heavy fuel each time, a bag of four ham and cheese sandwiches.

Annette at AHS / NC Rando gathering...

With the 6PM start, we wanted out of SQY as soon as possible. Thanks to Wes Johnson, we got a good position and rolled out with the third wave, at 7:15. Beaucoup daylight remained and we reached the plains west of Ramboullet before nightfall. Prior to that I had a chance to ride in the first hour with Damon Peacock. He unknowingly relieved me of soggy memories of 2007, when, as we discussed that ride, he proclaimed that all his memories are in living color. That set my mind in a better way for the rigors ahead.

We lost track of Wes at dusk. (He would turn up again at Brest,) As we reached elements of the two proceeding waves, the ride selected out and we found harmony with riders from many countries, careening through darkness toward Villaines and Fougeres. The second control was reached in 12 hours. I have taken longer to ride stand alone 300K rides in daylight. We would pay for this opening effort for the rest of the route, and would also reap the benefit of never encountering anything but empty bike racks, and sparsely populated cafeterias. We continued after a 30-minute nap, and enjoyed good conditions all the way to Carhaix. This was our first hotel stop.

There are different theories on randonneuring, and I have slept under cafeteria tables in wet, dirty clothes. For me, it is better to use a hotel room. In fact, some memories I have of Loudeac argue the case that it is actually faster to use a hotel.

Chris with Jimmy at pre-ride gathering...

We spent four hours off the bikes, three of those in full sleep. The low ebb of our morale followed as we exited the Carhaix hotel into wind and rain at 12:30AM. That quickly went away as I recalled Damon Peacock’s exhortation. Brest came onto the horizon soon enough, and we were done there after a 20-minute snooze on the bleachers. As we were heading for the return, we saw Wes briefly. He was headed for the dormitory. We also saw John Morris’ bike in the racks. This is a funny thing. We saw John himself from tine to time, but without fail we saw his bike at every stop. Such a simple thing can raise the morale, like a postcard from home.

Heading back to Carhaix was surprisingly easy. We were two thirds of the way up Le Roc before I stopped wondering when we would reach the base of that climb. The fog lifted beyond the summit, and we rode the Swedish express all the way through the rollers into Carhaix. I use a ten-speed 14t-25t cassette. This is nice on the way up with a near straight block of climbing gears. However, on repeated high-speed descents such as this sector, it was some work to stay with the Swedes as they poured on the coals. Thanks to their efforts, we returned to the hotel in time to use it again before check out. That included a ninety-minute catnap.

My brother and Annette’s sister headed for the laundromat as we set out for Paris. Showers were forecast, and they would arrive later, but we were thinking of Branson as we left the hotel. Paul had looked up his progress, and his ride was heroic. We plodded off on our twenty-speed bikes, in awe of the fixed gear ride Branson was making. We saw John Morris himself in Loudeac, and a bit more news filtered in regarding Branson’s whereabouts. People that know me know I love racing the track and riding fixed gear on the road. But this, it was too much to even think about what Branson was doing.

Tuesday was a beautiful day. There were showers, but they lasted not long, and we found great people to ride with all day. The flat areas between Loudeac and Fougeres prompted us to keep a good pace, and we reached Fougeres by evening. A check of the control window cushion allowed us to make a long stop that included five hours of full sleep. This is as much as we had managed for the entire ride in 2007. (I would fall asleep on my bike that year in Ramboullet …yes I tipped over.)

Wednesday was a day even more beautiful, with perfect conditions. It all went by like a dream as Annette and I filtered in and out of different groups of riders. On this day in particular I am sure Annette made about ten French boyfriends to go along with the men from Spain with whom we rode all morning. The Spaniards kept the pace lively and we reached Mortagne in time for a 30-minute nap in the grass in the sun. And it was there we remembered they always have mashed potatoes and green beans. We were fueled and ready for the last bit to come.

We met Wes and John in Dreux, ate some pastries, and got out of there like horses sensing the barn. These last 65 kilometers took us from one end of the time cone to the other, and before long we were cresting the last real climb at the exit of the forest. Clumps of supporters appeared along the roadside, and here one of the funniest anecdotes fell upon us. In the streetlamps one could see that Annette and I were in matching NC randonneur jerseys. At the top of the climb I was perhaps 50 feet behind my wife. A voice came out of the crowd of well-wishers:

“Bonne chance monsieur, vous etes derriere la femme.” Yes, nicely said.

The final 20K were like a victory lap. We were elated at having achieved our goal. This goal was not arriving in this time or that, but rather to complete the course in the allowed time, and to be able to get enough sleep to enjoy it. We did.

To repeat LeMond: It does not get easier, you just go faster.

Jennifer Wise on the importance of Paris Brest Paris

Jennifer Wise, one of RUSA's co-founders and the current VP, talks about the meaning of PBP in this official video. Her comments begin at 3:45. Enjoy....


Au coeur du Paris-Brest-Paris by ParisBrestParis

TC 1200K Riders Under Way

Riders for North Carolina's Taste of Carolina's 1200K hit the course Saturday morning at 4:00 a.m. and are now into their second day of riding.

We were on hand for the start but opted for a 200K option, riding the first 100K with the 1200K group before retracing our steps to Greensboro. The two dozen riders going the full distance struck out at a blistering pace. We had an average of 17.5 through the rolling hills to Salem Fork. I imagine the pace slowed a bit as riders climbed up to the Blue Ridge Parkway and into the mountainous terrain of western North Carolina.

The TC 1200 riders will do most of their serious hill work in the first 400K before heading to North Carolina's pancake flat coastal region. However, even as they head to the coast, riders will have some hills to negotiate  -- someone mentioned that Flint Hill Road is on the cue sheet. That road has a 16 percent grade in one section, and any roads through the Uwharrie Mountains are certain to test riders' tired legs.

Riders attempting this inaugural ride include: Mary Florian and Nancy Guth, who completed RAAM earlier this year (John Guth is also riding); Tim Lucas and Geof Simmons, who both participated in the Texas Stampede 1200K; Joel Lawrence, who is back on the bike and logging big miles after breaking his hip in July;  the Olsens, who can be counted on to show up anytime a 1200K is put on the schedule; and Henk Bouhuyzen of Canada, who also has multiple 1200Ks to his credit. N.C. riders attempting their first 1200K (I think -- corrections welcomed) include  John Pertalion, Vance Ricks, Bob Bingham, Bryan Rierson, John Olmstead and Lynn Lashley.

Jerry is working the overnight in Ocean Isle and said he would attempt to post updates. Rider and route information is on Tony Goodnight's site.

 Bonne route to all.  

1200k Riders

1. Vance Ricks - Greensboro NC - Greensboro Velo Club
2. Bryan Rierson - Garner NC
3. Charles Sather - Charlottesville VA - Bicycle for Life
4. Rob Welsh - Apple Valley MN - Twin Cities Bicycling Club
5. Mark Olsen - Rochester MN - Twin Cities Cycling Club
6. David Nixon - Commerce GA - Audax Atlanta
7. John Pertalion - Boone NC
8. William Olsen - Califon NJ - Western Jersey Wheelmen
9. Henk Bouhuyzen - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
10. Curt Brandt - Brandon FL - Gainesville Cycling Club
11. Bob Bingham - Graham NC - Alamance-Burlington Bicycle Club
12. Tim Lucus - Wilson NC
13. Donald Jagel - Germansville PA - Pennsylvania Randonneurs
14. Geof Simons - Cary NC
15. Joan Donohue - Columbia SC - Carolina Cyclers
16. Mary Florian - Lumberton NC
17. Gator Cochan - GA - Audax Atlanta
18. John Olmstead - Rocky Mount NC
19. Micah Fritzinger - Georgetown IN - Louisville Bike Club
20. Joel Lawrence - High Point NC
21. Lynn Lashley - Raleigh NC

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1000k Riders

1. 1000k - Nancy Guth - Stafford VA
2. 1000k - John Guth - Stafford VA