The youth of old age

On less than a day's notice Rick, Christine, and Janice responded to my email by agreeing to join me on a 100K ride that visits locations used as stops on the underground railroad in south Jersey. 

Rick later sent an email that reminded us all that, 10 years ago, to the day, the four of us rode together on a 200K south Jersey route and he sent us a link to this blogpost about that ride. He called it our 10th anniversary. 

The Asterisk* ride (aka Montezuma's revenge)

Randonneuring offers many medals, but the R12 award has a special meaning. Earning it takes one year of monthly rides of at least 200K in length. Unlike a single event medal, the R12 awards consistency, perseverance - in short, commitment. Miss one month, and a year's worth of effort is lost. Other riders may be faster, more traveled, may cover greater distances but even a below average rider with above average perseverance can build a streak of R-12 awards that literally takes years to accomplish.

Living in the northern U.S. adds another level of challenge to the R- 12 as winter can close roads with ice and snow.

I have ridden at least one 200K rando ride every single month since my first randonneuring event in April 2010. This March would make 48 months straight - four years - without fail. But February comes before March and, weather wise, February in the northeast United States is no gimme. That was especially true this February.

In my part of the world, the polar vortex of 2014 brought arctic temperatures and layers of unrelenting snow. New snow fell on old snow and, in between the snowfalls, the temperatures dropped to single digits.

There were a couple of windows of opportunity. The Pa Randonneurs rode on February 1 and got the February ride done. I passed on the ride for a family event. Then there was my birthday weekend when the temps rose into the balmy 50s for a brief spell. I chose not to ride that day either. By the time the last week of February arrived, I had not been on a bike for over 5 weeks.

But I had plan. I had a work trip to San Diego in the last week of February. Just add a day, take a bike and *boom* problem solved. I would just ride my 200K in the Golden State where winter meant sunny 65 degree days. In fact, I would ride a 100K and a 200K! I made arrangement to ride a 100K permanent called Old Town to Carlsbad and two days later, the Montezuma to Mesa Express permanent. All together it would be 195 miles up and down the beautiful coast north of San Diego. Ha! Take THAT Polar Vortex! Life is good!

Since it was the first time I was going to fly with a bike, I decided to take the fixie. I figured that if a bike was going to get damaged by either my bad packing or someone's bad handling, the fixie was the bike I wanted to risk.

 {For those who may not know, a "fixie" or fixed gear bike has one gear. That gear turns with the wheel. If the the bike is moving the pedals are turning.No changing gears and no coasting - ever. To ride it is to keep pedaling. Always.} 

I hadn't ridden the fixie on a 200K since September but hey, the ride descriptions made the course sound relatively flat. No problem!

The first ride was just about as good as I imagined. Better in fact.

Coffeeneuring day one: "Junetober"

The third annual casual caffeinated cycle challenge called Coffeeneuring  (click for rules!) is underway. Once again my wife and I are stepping up to the plate mug.

 

Independence Hall 200K - crossing paths

This weekend would be the final training weekend before my big ride for the year - the Last Chance 1200K. To prepare for the multi-day ride, I've been training on a three days on, one day off schedule. Friday was an hour run on the treadmill with 45 minutes of mile repeats after my 12 mile bike commute. Saturday was strength training - primarily 3x12 heavy reps  on the v-squat machine and leg curls to failure. Sunday would be the long bike ride. I figure that this schedule would simulate riding on the tired legs of the second or third day of a Grand Randonnee.

Earlier in the week, I sent an email to the usual suspects to see if anyone wanted to ride over the labor day weekend. Janice, with whom I rode on this year's fleche, was up for it. The others opted for a shorter ride or no ride, so Janice and me it would be.

She agreed to ride the Independence Hall 200k. It's a relatively new Permanent that starts at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. I chose it because I can ride to the start and, if I also rode home, that would add about 25 miles to the 128 mile official ride giving me a solid 150+ mile day. To keep the effort honest, I chose to ride the fixie. No coasting. It was a choice I would later second guess.

coffeeneuring dates - Trip 7

November 11, 2012

Flatbread 200K, sweet and scenic

The DC Randonneurs Flatbread 200K is a flat course that twice crosses the northern end of the Delmarva Peninsula by first going east from Centreville, Maryland, near the Chesapeake Bay, to Slaughter Beach, Delaware, on the Delaware Bay then making a short trip south to Milton, Delaware before heading west back to Centreville.

I rode this course for the first time last year. Then, the incessant wind made for a memorable experience. Despite that, one year later, I decided to give it another go. As the weekend drew near, I realized that I had missed a few highlights of the route the last go around. I vowed to not let that happen again.

October 200k in Central Jersey (or what wouldn't I do for a hot cup of coffee.)

I guess I could blame the RBA.

Just before the start of the NJ Rando's October 200k, the "Ron Anderson Special", she explained the alternate procedures for the final controle:

If you finish before 5 pm, the coffee shop will be open and there will be a sign in sheet and envelope inside.

If you finish after 5 pm, you will have to drop your brevet card in the window of a parked car. (No coffee, no baked goods.)

The ride would start at 7:30 am. I took off my gloves and did the math - 9.5 hours to get in before 5 pm. Before arriving at the start, I was convinced that I would ride a relaxed pace - just enough to check the October R-12 box and get in before dark. I even brought the fixie to discourage any thoughts of a hard paced ride. But, hmmm, I have ridden a 200k on the fixie faster than 9:30 - just once - last year - when my friend Joe pulled me around the course. Joe wasn't riding today. Then Katie really put the carrot on the end of the stick - she said it was a fast course. And then we were off. 

Guess what happens when you give a group of Randoneurs - people who ride long rides to beat essentially arbitrary time constraints - a time constraint that involves possible coffee and baked goods at the end of a ride? 

Shore by Night 200k

The NJ Randonneurs "Shore By Night 200k" began at 10 pm. Fourteen of us would take an overnight bike ride from Cranbury NJ to the Jersey Shore and back - 130 miles. A simple description of a simple event. So why was it that doing that simple thing felt so dreamlike, surreal, inverted?

Philadelphia to Phoenixville

Philadelphia to Phoenixville is a 102 Kilometer RUSA permanent (#1472) that begins in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia and loops through Center City, Philadelphia,  before going through Valley Forge to Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. The mostly flat course has a few climbs (one pretty steep) mixed in to keep it interesting. It uses bike lanes, bike paths and low trafficked streets.

These are a few pictures taken during my ride of the course on Sunday July 22, 2012 (click on any picture to zoom):

April Fool's Day 200K

The NY/NJ Randonneurs opened their 2012 season on April Fools' Day, a Sunday, with the revised Cranbury 200K. Three mornings later, on Wednesday, I woke up to realize "hey, I'm not tired anymore." Three mornings later.

The course was not particularly hard. I read Laurent's thorough, funny and descriptive pre-ride report before riding the course (click HERE to read it). However, my brain only seemed to register the words "flat route." So I decided to ride it on the fixed gear bike. Now, after riding the course on the fixie, my brain agrees with the comment that "there was a hell of a number of hills on this flat route."

But I can't blame the course alone for the long recovery time. The night before the 200k, I rode the brand new 102K Philadelphia to Phoenixville permanent on the fixed gear. And, instead of taking it easy - knowing that the 200k would follow - I rode the 102K at a "spirited" pace - (spirited is a Randonnese term which loosely translates to hauling ass.) Then, after sleeping four hours, I drove out to NJ to ride the 200K. Hmm, after laying the sequence out, it's probably pretty easy tell why just getting out of bed was a big deal for the following three days . . . but the whole thing seemed like a good idea at the time.

Mantra of the metal mala.

Mananaat traayate iti mantrah*

On a fixed gear bike, the chainring teeth engage each link of the chain.  

Mananaat traayate iti mantrah* 

Legs turn chain, chain turns wheel, wheel turns chain, chain turns legs.

Mananaat traayate iti mantrah*

The madhyama sound of the drive train resonates through the rider.

Mananaat traayate iti mantrah*

 Rosary beads. Komboloi. Japa Mala. Bike chain.

Mananaat traayate iti mantrah*
 

*That which uplifts by constant repetition is a Mantra.  

R24

On the way to the start, I could barely see.Thick damp fog clouded the Princeton Junction area, the starting place for the 200k permanent. Air suspended water vapor shrouded the street signs and veiled oncoming headlights. Despite my early departure, I arrived 12 minutes late. Those 12 minutes would matter only to me since this was to be a solo ride.

Sunday morning commute

Three scenes from a Sunday morning in February

Holiday ride

Now isn’t that just craptastic! As I make the left turn into the parking lot, I see the group of riders just starting out. The last rider disappears behind a building just as I pull into a parking spot. I’m late. Again.

My bike is ready to go in the back of the van, but I still have to put on a few layers before heading out into the 20 something degree weather. I try to quickly pull on my neoprene booties and sweater, gloves and jacket. Leroy, the former NJ RBA, notices and walks over. He is not riding today, but he dropped by to see the group off. We talk as I get ready.

Leroy asks if I know about the route change in the first mile or so. I don’t but I tell him I’m sure I’ll figure it out. The route is Joe’s Great Adventure Permanent. I’ve ridden it once before and I know that I can ride it at a good clip. I figure that the group will ride the first few miles at a moderate pace and I may be able to catch up if I hurry.

In minutes I am on the course, my cue sheet in a baggie clipped to a brake cable, quickly turning the pedals on the fixie. According to my cue sheet, the first turn is 1 mile away (0.8 to the bridge then 02. and LEFT onto Township line Road). Did I mention that one of the rules of Randonneuring is that the official cue sheet is the one that is up to date as of the day of the ride? That cue sheet may NOT be the same as one you printed up days ago and placed in the baggie clipped to your brake cable. If I didn’t mention that, I should. It’s important.

The bridge is right where it’s supposed to be. However, Township Line Road is not.

Flatbread 200K - the wind blows

November 12, 2011

Randonneuring is not a race.  

Friendly camaraderie, not competition, is the hallmark of randonneuring.

I tried to keep my growing desperation and disappointment out of my voice. 

"Joe, I really appreciate your riding with me and all the pulling you've done. But if you want to go ahead, I understand."  It was my attempt at a "leave me here, save yourself" offer.

We were approaching 100 miles in what would have been a personal best century time for me when a left turn put us back into a stiff unrelenting headwind for the umpteenth time.  This time, I couldn't hold the pace. I was bonking and cramping and the freaking WIND was IN. MY. FACE. AGAIN!! 

Over thirty miles left. Riding a fixie for the first time on a brevet didn't help. No gears to change and no coasting. Go or no go. Those were the choices. I steeled myself to suffer through the end of the ride alone. And the day had started so innocently . . .

N + 1 - Fixing what ain't broke.

According to Rule #12 -  "The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.While the minimum number of bikes one should own is three, the correct number is n+1, where n is the number of bikes currently owned.  This equation may also be re-written as s-1, where s is the number of bikes owned that would result in separation from your partner."