Dark Skies 200K

Why is it called the Dark Skies 200K? Because it goes through Cherry Springs State Park, on the top of this Ridge that Mount Broadhead is on (see photo below). Cherry Springs has an astronomy field, where you can rent for the night one of the domes to set your telescope up in, and view the skies. It's considered a Dark Skies area, with very little light pollution from cities and towns, and is said to be one of the best places on the eastern seaboard for stargazing and astronomy.

Bill Fischer and I left Wellsville at 7:30AM on Sunday March 11th. It was about 26 degrees out, but promised to get up to 60 degrees with 15mph winds. It did both unfortunately. The 60 was nice.  I could have done without the wind! This Permanent has 4 climbs that are quite nasty. The first one is at mile 10, and is about 1.8 miles long climbing about 500 feet then you stay on top of the hill for the most part with some rollers followed by a screaming downhill into Whitesville, NY at the 19 mile point.  After that it continues on pretty flat for another 6 miles to the control in Genesee, PA. At the top of the descent the temperature felt like 34 degrees and seemed to be starting to warm up nicely.  At the bottom it felt as if it was about 24 degrees, and warmed back up as we covered the remainder of this segment. We had seen 2 coyotes out hunting at different points in this first section. We had been on the road 2 hours.

At this point, it's important to mention that Bill was on what is considered a "fixie". There are no shifters, no options of an easier gear for climbing or a bigger gear for descending. His has a freewheel on one side, and can be flipped to true fixed on the other side.  It was like the old school bikes we grew up on, where you just pushed back on the pedal, and that was your brakes! This sounds great, but when you're screaming down a hill, and your legs are flying around at 150rpm, it's not fun. That's what I hear anyways.  Bill said it's also harder to get moving, balance, etc.. Obviously the bike is simpler and lighter, but I don't know that I am quite ready to buy one.. Not this year anyway.

OK.. So NOW it's important to mention the second thing. I bought a great book on Endurance Cycling Food - Feed Zone Cookbook by Allen Lim who was the main guy keeping Team Radio Shack in the Tour De France last year. There was a recipe for Cashew and Bacon Rice Cakes which Kris made the night before, we wrapped in Reynolds parchment and foil wrap, and I ate at the first two, and fourth stops. They were awesome! About 275 calories.  We edited the recipe a little, skipped the cashews (which I wouldn't do again), they didn't sound that great the day before, but I was craving the salt and protein later in the ride. We also didn't have nut butter, and I didn't want to use peanut butter, so we went with agave nectar, which was awesome. I was able to pack 4 of these in my pockets of my jersey. Each was about the size of the packs of Winstons that Dad used to smoke.

Back on the road - we left Genesee rolling down the beautiful PA roads. There wasn't really much traffic, and the little we came across was friendly. We rode along Route 6 with our first tailwind, and a slight downhill grade, and enjoyed making good time. We turned south in Galeton, and started up rollers, and dealt with the headwind. At mile 50 we started what was a 5 mile climb going up over 800 feet, with the last 1.3 miles of this climb covering half of that, and then dropping to our second stop in Germania, PA.

We arrived at the Germania Country Store with probably an hour to spare. We weren't breaking any records but we were solid, and I knew our next leg was the worst. This is a cool little old country store, in this little Adirondack style town, that makes you wonder what caused people to settle here so long ago. I had my second rice cake, and some lemon heads (my favorite) from the store, and some of the Mango strips I had dried the night before. We were almost 6 hours into the trip, and I actually felt pretty good.

We left the Germania Store, took a quick right, and headed up a little climb which topped out, and Bill mentioned "this doesn't look good", I asked what he meant and he said, all I see is hills, BIG hills, and this road drops down into the valley, and there's no way out but up. I explained that we were at mile 56, and by the midway point of our ride, the worst climb would be over. See, coming up out of that valley is a stretch of road that climbs 850 feet in just over 3 miles. What does this mean ? Well, if you've ever watched the Tour De France, the climbs have categories. The lower the category number, the steeper the climb. The Categories are from 5 to 1, with a HC meaning Hors Category (I think the first part of that is self explanatory), the old story that goes along with it, says that in the old days the cars would be parked along the side of the climb, because they couldn't get up it, but the bikes had to. Those were when men were men though. Heavy bikes, limited gears, and they smoked to "open their lungs" while riding.! This hill we were doing is considered a Cat 2 climb. A good one!

What probably saved me a lot on this ride was the fact that with limited gearing, Bill would walk his bike up the real steep parts of the big climbs. This gave me the opportunity to catch up, or in the case of this hill, to jump off my bike and walk it up also, giving my legs a little break, and keeping my heartrate down. I think the problem I was having in the past had to do with nutrition (more on this later), but also when my heartrate gets above 160 and stays there for extended time, on the endurance rides, its too much for me. I need to keep it from staying up there, or worse yet above there. For now, getting off the bike worked, in the future my conditioning will likely eliminate this problem. Here's hoping! Anyways - we got to the top of that hellion of a climb, and Bill was waiting for me AT the midway point which happens to be a sign:

After this picture was taken, the road FAR from flattens out, and there are killer rollers 'til mile 74, where you start  to descend to Coudersport. On the map it's 8.5 miles downhill!  Sweet, right? Nope! This is where the wind picked up. After the first mile which is the steepest part, it flattens out and the wind buffeted us for the next 7 miles. I was barely able to keep my average speed over 15 mph, and that was on a slight downhill grade. The wind was just killing me. So, I rolled into the Sheetz in Coudersport around 3:30. 44 Miles remaining, and I was starving! Craving a burger and fries, but I settled for a tuna salad sandwich. This was a mistake, I was to find out over the next 44 miles. It was nowhere near as bad as other rides, but it was stomach discomfort just the same. I mentioned it to Bill, and he said "yeah, I wondered about that. Mayo never sits well with me, especially on the bike. I figured you knew what you were doing". Well, Bill was wrong. I didn't know a danged thing!

So - we kept going, wind in our face till Singlehouse, PA. I was feeling slightly better, got some water down, and a grapefruit juice, and half of my 3rd rice cake (shoulda gone with a rice cake in Coudersport!). We got back on the bikes. Bill said he was shooting for getting back to Wellsville by 7:00 (it was a little after 5:30), and I figured I would be behind him a bit, but was shooting for more around 7:30.

Bill finished the ride (126 miles) in around 11:24 on a Fixie, and would have finished much faster had he not been waiting for me at the last couple of stops. I finished in 11:36, but I felt pretty good. I went home and was able to eat (first time), and though at the end of the ride I couldn't imagine putting myself through more distance than this, I was ready to get on my bike the next morning, and wished I had gone on the group ride with the Team on Tuesday evening, but I wasn't ready yet. My legs weren't fully recovered.

All in all, I had a pretty good ride, on one of the hardest rides I have ever done. I had little pain or discomfort, and little stomach issues, but I knew what caused them (I think). My legs are getting stronger, and I am starting to get in better shape. I ran 9 miles today at lunch, and had no problems there either, so it seems that all this long distance training is really starting to pay off.

It did have me re-think some things though. As much as I do in fact feel that I am gaining some ground, I have decided to back off my initial intended schedule for the year, dropping the Flesche (a 24 hour, 360K+ ride, with a 5 man team all counting on working at the same pace, and dropping the 600K in Boston, which would make me eligible for the "Super Randonneur Award" from RUSA. In order to get that award, I need to complete a 200, 300, 400 and 600K brevet in the same calendar year. Maybe next year. I believe I have a couple more 200K's to get my legs, and then hopefully my pace will pick up, and I might be able to do a 300K and a 400K before the end of the year.

Thanks for reading..  I am learning..

Bloody Sunday

No. Nothing as dramatic as that.

So - This past Sunday I did a 81 mile bike ride, on a great day, through the southern tier of NY. It was a beautiful course, not super difficult, not too easy..  When I am riding any distance, I figure a decent ride is 50 feet of climbing per mile travelled. If it's 100 feet a mile, which we used to shoot for in our race training, I would consider that a serious amount of climbing.  This was 81 miles, and over 4200 feet according to RideWithGPS.. Addison 80 is the ride we did.

Four of us left from the Acorn parking lot in Addison on Sunday morning. Bill Fischer, Mark Sheehan, Mark Hogan, and myself. The first 25 miles of the course are a very subtle climb, not really noticeable to speak of. There was a little headwind, and I kept looking at my tires to see if one was going flat. They were fine, but my legs were just having trouble pushing me. 35 miles into the ride, while talking with Bill, I mentioned giving blood the prior Friday, just 2 days earlier. He asked me what the hell I was thinking, and the truth is, I wasn't.. I figured that 36 hours would be plenty of time to recover. Bill said "do you know why you can't give blood more than every 56 days? because it takes 30 to recover the blood you gave!"

Hindsight is hindsight, and I struggled on a ride that wasn't that hard.  Sure, we had some climbs, and a headwind, but neither of them were anything I hadn't been up against before. Research after the fact between reading and talking to friends says it can take anywhere from a few days for sprint recovery, to multiple days to a week for distance or competition recovery. I believe it. One of my friends jokingly mentioned - "you know, blood doping is ADDING blood".  It was funny, but honestly, yeah, that makes sense.. When you donate blood you give 10% of your blood. Think about this... 10% of the blood that carries oxygen and glycogen to your muscles..  So yeah, it's going to affect performance, DUH! The following is from the Red Cross site :  "The plasma from your donation is replaced within about 24 hours. Red cells need about four to six weeks for complete replacement. That's why at least eight weeks are required between whole blood donations." Yeah, that's right, red cells, the one's that carry oxygen. Oops!

So - basically, this whole blog post is about one great big lesson learned.

Well, Maybe two lessons, I may have also learned something about the stomach issues I am having riding also, but I am not positive. I think it's conditioning. The fact that I am not in as good of shape as I need to be, and I push right near my limit. Keeping my heart rate just high enough to push, but those times when I go over that limit, long or steep climbs, it pushes me over that edge. Sunday this happened exactly at 3:15 into the ride. I remember looking at my watch and thinking damn! It just happened! It's going to be a rough second half of the ride. I was only a little over 3 hours in, suffering, but still keeping an OK pace, considering.

It was probably one of my all time worst rides. The kind of ride that makes you want to quit riding forever. You finish ready to give it all up. Then you wake up the next morning, look at your bike in the back of the car, and start planning for the next ride. Even to go as far as to book a bike rental for your business trip to Seattle in late April, so that you can get a 200K in on Saturday and a 100K on Sunday of the weekend, before the course starts.

The important thing is to learn from your mistakes. I need to condition more, follow my rules, and work on Obeying the Rules. I need to drop 15 lbs, and work on my diet (not dieting, food intake).  I need to stick with a workout program, and ignore my loving wife when she tells me to "skip the workout this morning and get some rest". She means well, but it's not doing me any good.. I know how to pace myself during my workouts, I need to keep pushing.

Weather is supposed to be decent this coming Friday, so I think I'll be riding in from Bath in the morning. That'll give me about a 45 miles day. Time to get cracking! I have a half marathon to run in about 4 weeks! Got to get running those roads also.

Take care..   Obey the Rules.

Beyond Hope 200K - Blairstown, NJ

SO ! My 3rd 200K, and my second of 2012 is completed. I am writing this 3 days after the ride, but am sure I should be able to recall most of the ride. The ride date was 2/4/2012, and a link to the results can be seen here: PA Randonneurs: Beyond Hope to New Hope 200K

I woke up, well actually I went to bed around 8:30PM on Friday, alarm set for 2AM, and woke up at 11, 12, and 1AM, when I finally just got out of bed. Knowing I had to meet up with Bill Fischer at 4AM, and that he would be counting on me to show up had me a little jumpy with an hour and 45 minute drive to get to the Park and Ride. I had slept well, just less than I would have liked, but this didn't bother me, because I figured in a few months, in May, when I am doing the 24 hour ride, I will be functioning on little or no sleep, so might as well get used to it.

I double checked everything, had a bowl of oatmeal, and a cup of coffee, filled my water bottles, and headed out. I had packed the car the night before. Of course I forgot something. Since my previous ride, we had purchased a food dehydrator, and the dehydrated Kiwi, and Mango's got left in the fridge, ah well, I still had the "Trail Mix" that Kris had bought with yogurt covered raisins, nuts, chocolate covered nuts, dates, figs, and raisins in it, so I would be fine. On the road at just after 2!

I rolled into the Lowman Park and Ride about 5 minutes early to find Bill of course ready to roll! We had decided to take my Impreza, and figured both bikes would fit in the back end - which quite amazingly they did. Yes folks, that's 2 - 60 inch bikes with the front tires removed, helmets, change of clothes, shoes, etc.. Plus - two guys over 6 feet and 200 lbs each! NICE!

We got back on the road immediately, and headed to the Blairstown Diner in Blairstown, NJ just across the creek from where the ride would start, arriving around 6:30AM.

Bill was pretty psyched to see a good friend of his - Chip Adams, who he had ridden with multiple times, who had also ridden PBP with Bill the previous year. They don't live close together, and met riding and became fast friends, and only see each other on rides. But, sometimes that's the way it is. See Chip's PBP report here! Good reading : Chip Adams PBP 2011 report

We sat down at a table in the corner with a guy Bill introduced as Geoff Brunner. Geoff had done RAAM the previous year (Ride Across America), which is a 3000 mile race across the country with a 12 day time limit. Yes, that's 250 miles a day minimum!! Geoff had done it in the alotted time, which was his goal, and is hoping to cut a few DAYS off his time this year! Holy Cow! Also met big George Metzler who crewed for 2011 RAAM second place finisher Mark Pattinson, who finished in 9 Days and 41 minutes!!  That's over 330 miles PER DAY!!  I can't imagine riding an event like that, and crewing it is almost as hard I am sure! Anyways - both of these guys are super nice, and it was my pleasure to get a chance to meet them. You can see Geoff's website and follow his progress here: Geoff Brunner - RAAM

Chip showed up shortly after we got there, and we shook hands, chatted, and downed some food. We headed out the door of the diner shortly after 7 to head to the parking area of a nearby park where the ride would start, and get the bikes ready to head out. 28 folks showed up for the ride, and it was a crisp morning, but not too cold. As always, I scrambled to get everything together, get my SPOT started, and my computers zeroed, and make sure I had my keys, some cash, my brevet card, phone, water bottles, check check check check..  We listened to the pre-ride pep talk given by Tom Rosenbauer, and got on our way at 7:30. I think I remember the sun shining, and I always forget, because I feel so good at the beginning, to remember the terrain in the first 10 miles - because this is the last 10 miles also, and you're going to want to know exactly how much pain you're going to be enduring in 10 hours when you come back through.

The ride was great. It was a direct out and back on fairly flat roads. I had made a saddle adjustment prior to the ride, because I had been having knee pain, so I had raised it about 1/4 of an inch to see if that would help. About 10 miles in, I realized it was too high, and putting pressure where I didn't want pressure. I should have stopped immediately and lowered it. It would have taken me only 2 minutes, and saved me what ended up being groin pain, leg fatigue, and other discomforts that we won't mention. But, I figured I could handle it till I got to the Control at 42 miles. Heck, that's only about 3 hours..

We get to the Control, and we're doing OK. Along the first portion I had lost Bill and Chip, and rode with Rick Collins, who was riding more my pace. Rick was a super climber who would pull away from me on the climbs, and then I would catch back up with him on the downhills and flats. We ended up riding together all day. The control was in Milford, NJ and was a cool little bakery. I popped in, got my card signed and dated, grabbed a chocolate covered biscotti, walked out and ate that, took a few photos with the iphone, and got back on the road, of course forgetting to adjust my saddle.. Ah, I will just get it at the next stop, which is only 20 more miles.

 The next part of the ride was along the Delaware River, and passing through Frenchtown, NJ which was another cool little town, heck, they were all cool little towns, that I would love to come back and visit some time with my family.

We continued to ride along the river, with an appreciated slight downhill grade, and crossed the river in Stockton on a steel bridge that you have to walk the bike across on the sidewalk. It was nice to stretch the legs a bit. Once we got across the bridge, it was only 4 miles to the next Control which was also the midway point. We met up with a couple of local guys doing a "long ride of 50 miles", and chatted for a while, talking about this and that, and dreams of future rides. It was a nice distraction. We got to the 3rd Control (second stop) and had some lunch, and met back up with Bill there, who was graciously waiting to ride the second half with me. I felt a little guilty that he was missing ride time with Chip, as he would be graced with my presence in the car on the way home. So - I downed 3/4 of a banana (I have to repeat here that I really don't like bananas..), they're fine in a shake, banana bread or whatever, but as a fruit I just don't care for them. So, the Banana, 1/2 a turkey wrap, and washed it down with electrolyte drink. Topped off both of my water bottles with electrolyte drink, remembered to adjust my saddle back down, and headed back towards Blairstown!

My legs at this point were pretty shot. I was 5 hours into the ride, and knew that the return ride was more of an uphill grade and that I was going to suffer. Bill was great as always and attempted to pull me (allow me to draft), but I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep the pace without bonking, so I just did what I needed to, kept the pace I could maintain, and got to the next Control. Between the mid-point and the finish I developed nausea, and a lack of appetite, which is NOT what you want at that point in the ride. I had trouble keeping my head up because of just not feeling well. Bill was waiting for me at this Control with Rick. I had mentioned earlier to Bill to take my keys and I would meet him at the finish, and he took me up on it and left the control about 5 minutes after I arrived.

Rick and I left for the last leg about 5 minutes behind Bill. I have a new bottom bracket generator and B&M Lumotec IC CYO light on the bike now, and was looking forward to getting to try it out. We got another 15 miles before I had to engage the dynamo and was glad once engaged that I only had 10 miles. I probably dropped 2 miles per hour (15+%) of my speed immediately, and probably ended up with a 1.5 mph drop once I got used to the dynamo. It was added drag on the wheel, and felt like alot of added work. I may have to consider a hub dynamo as a replacement, as they're supposed to be a little less resistance. I didn't choose to use battery powered lights when I chose my lights, just because over a full night, I might go through 3 sets of batteries, and it seems not the best for the environment. I am no tree hugger, but figure I should try to do my part in some aspects.

Anyways - I rolled into the final Control at 6:15PM, 10 hours and 45 minutes after I had left the area. I was shot. Bill had pulled the car up to the front of the Blairstown Inn, and I was glad of that, and he graciously had filled the tank and offered to drive the 2.5 hours back to his car. I got my brevet card signed, handed it in, changed my clothes, and got in the passenger seat, and just relaxed. Bill had finished the ride in 9 hours and 50 minutes, so in the last 25 miles, he had finished 50 minutes faster than I had. Of course, I was dragging, but he was humming right along too.

It was a great ride, and before I was home, I was looking forward to my next brevet in March, and possibly even doing a 200K permanent with Bill before the end of February!

Here's a shot of the SPOT tracking..  IT seemed to lose track of me between 2 and 3:30, but I was along the bottom of a bluff wall along the river, and that likely had something to do with it, must have lost GPS signal.

What I learned -
1) don't adjust the saddle before a long ride (btw - I already knew this)
2) give yourself enough time to get ready (I never do this)
3) nutrition slow and easy. Wash real food down with water, and use electrolytes between real food.
4) train more - real training -with Randonneuring spinning class doesn't cut it.
5) do NOT fill both bottles with a mix or electrolytes. Make sure one bottle is straight water.

PA Dutch 200K - My First Brevet

Friday evening, the 30th of December, I piled in the new Subaru Impreza with Kris and the boys, with the Xpedition Rack on the top, slightly modified to hold my bike, and headed for Summit, NJ to stay with Kris's cousin Chris and his wonderful wife Brenda, who happens to also be 5 months pregnant. Amazingly we were able to smash everything we wanted to take into the car! Being that the only trips we have made as a family have all been in a Suburban or a pickup truck with a cap, this was truly impressive! I used my new seat cover, to cover my Brooks leather saddle, and some Saran Wrap worked for the time being on the leather handlebar wraps till I get my Bike Skinz in.

We arrived in Summit some time after 10, being notified along the drive by Chris that they're flight was delayed, and we were given instructions at how to get into the apartment. The apartment was 2 hours from the start of my ride, but it was a long weekend, it was a great opportunity to see Chris and Brenda, and have the boys see NY City for their first time, including Times Square on New Years Eve Day! Anyways, we got in, got unpacked, and hit the hay. Chris and Brenda got home some time during the night, and we all caught up in the morning and headed out for a day on the town in NY! Fortunately, the apartment is only a block from the train station, and the trip was uneventful, and fun. We were out of the city and back by 5, with stops at Times Square, Toys R Us, Rockefeller Center, Lego, FAO Schwartz, and Penn and Grand Central Stations. Kris got to check an item off her bucket list with Roasted Chestnuts from a street vendor, and we all had a great time! In bed by 9:30, after watching Mr Poppers Penguins with the kids.


The morning of the ride, I woke up at 4, about 1/2 hour before I planned, and decided there was no use in trying to get back to sleep, so I grabbed what I needed and headed out the door. 2 hours later, I arrive in the parking lot of the first control for the ride - the West Penn Diner, to find that the other fools there that early were Bill Fischer, and Blaine Chamberlain, two guys I ride with from NY! Bill made a comment about the NY guys always showing up early, and we got things ready, and went in for some breakfast.

Nearer to 8AM we went outside, parked our cars where we wouldn't be a nuisance, and listened to Andrew Meade give us the lowdown on the expectations of the day. The weather man said it would be a 50 degree day, and Andrew said the start of the ride was actually warmer (about 36-37 degrees out) than any time during the pre-ride that he and 3 others had done on Thursday. We were warned of possible ice spots in the shady areas near the beginning of the ride, and sent on our way.

17 of us left the diner at 8AM, and 17 returned at different times throughout the afternoon and early evening. 100% of us finishing! The course record was broken, and the riders saw a lot of sun, some rain, and a little wind, but nothing to slow us down too much. RESULTS 

I had purchased a new toy a couple of days before the ride and was trying that out. A SPOT personal tracking device. It worked well, but it missed tracking me in the beginning of the ride, because I am pretty new at operating it. But, it sends a signal every 10 minutes of my location, and gave some friends the opportunity to watch my progress from home, while recovering from their New Years celebrations.

The ride was great. It seemed like a lot of downhill at the beginning, which I remembered thinking I would be paying for near the end, if only I knew to pay more attention to just how much down hill! The course is a 124 mile loop, which starts and ends on the same stretch of road. There were farms along the route and I rode most of the first half of the ride with Ron and Barb Anderson and Bill Fischer, with Doug Haluza doing indian sprints around us for most of the ride. That guy reminds me of the Tazmanian Devil!

At the Second Control (first stop), I was feeling great! I got my card signed and signed in, took a leak, grabbed a chocolate milk and a couple of payday bars, eating one, and drinking half the milk, and saving the rest for about 45 miles into the ride, because we were at mile 23.5, and the next stop was at mile 68.5, a pretty good stretch.

Right around that 45 mile mark, I was really feeling the effects of the ride, a little nausea, starting to feel some leg fatigue, and getting hungry. We were just coming into Intercourse, PA, and Bill and I were commenting on how they could have been more creative with the name for the fire department.  I was falling back a bit, so I passed on the payday, which I would have had to stop to dig out of my bag, and drank the 1/2 bottle of milk I had left. Hindsight says next time to stop and eat the damned Payday, but I probably wont. Hindsight also says to bring a couple of Banana's no matter how much you don't like them, because they save your ass! Well, the milk hit the spot, the wind subsided some, and the train kept rolling. Bill held back with me, and we crested one rise to see Ted Straub a volunteer with some snacks and water to top off our tanks at the Conestoga Wagon Wheel at mile 55. I have to say, I am not a huge fan of pitted dates now that I have had them, but much like Banana's, the stuff that I don't like is normally a big help, so I forced a couple down and we got on our way.

Pretty much right after leaving Ted, we started a 2 mile descent towards the Conestoga River. I knew what was coming, because nothing is free. If you're riding down hill, you have to ride uphill. Sure enough, right after crossing the river, you start a 1.8 mile climb ascending 431 feet. (4.5% grade average), but after that, it's pretty much all down hill to the Control at Columbia, PA at mile 68.5

 During that stretch, after passing the Turkey Hill plant, the route follows along the Susquehanna River, where I truly enjoyed the flat terrain.I remember looking at the river, seeing the chop on top of the water from the wind, and seeing a kayaker, thinking, that guy is crazy! Then laughing at myself thinking that if he looked over at me, and knew what I was doing, he would undoubtedly be thinking that same exact thing!


The ride along the river was peaceful, and as I mentioned, I enjoyed the opportunity to relax a little and just pedal without much wind or climbing, being super satisfied that over half of the ride was behind us, and we were making decent time. 


We rolled into the Columbia control at 1:25. Blaine Chamberlain was already there with some others, and he went inside with us while we grabbed supplies. He found me the "perfect" sandwich, which actually was perfect! It was a turkey wrap, and it was delicious. I also grabbed two banana's, thankfully, and a Dr. Pepper and got my card signed by the cashier.


I went outside to sit in the sun with the others, and a group rolled in behind us, with Ron and Barb on the Tandem. They had stopped along the way for nutrition, and we had passed them unknown to us.


Blaine was wanting to get on the road and try to get in without too much riding in the dark, and Bill told me that he was going to join him. I told him I was going to relax for a few minutes, so I sat down, ate half my wrap, the banana, and half the Dr. Pepper, the other half of which I poured in one of my half empty water bottles. As the next stop was less that 20 miles away, I decided to get on my way. I told the others I would likely see them soon enough when they caught up to me and pulled out of the parking lot.

As you can see in the pictures, Columbia was sunny with very little sign of rain. Well that stopped not 5 miles out of town, after climbing back up away from the river, the skies darkened and the rain began.

It spat and sputtered for the most part, and then there were a couple of good bits of rain. I reached back shortly after it started and turned on my taillight since I wasn't wearing any reflective gear at the time,  and I didn't want to get run over, and I continued on down the road.

I felt great! I had taken in good nutrition at my previous stop, and I was making decent time, going at the pace that I expected for the most part. I enjoyed my solitude, and though I love riding with others, I always feel like the anchor, and that I am holding them back. So a little guilt free me time was welcome.

I pulled into the Control in Lititz just 2 hours after arriving at the stop in Columbia. I was feeling great, and the others pulled in just minutes behind me. I signed in and got my card signed, and skipped going into the store, ate a bite of my wrap, took a swig of Dr. Pepper and got back on the road. Heck, it was only 36 miles left, how bad could THAT be. I was about 3/4 done, and flying high!

Shortly after leaving Lititz, my Garmin quit giving turn by turn directions, because I was now overlapping with the Route that we took on our way out in the morning. It was then just using the fastest route back to the finish line, so I had to resort to my cue sheets for directions (these rides have very specific routes, that have to be followed EXACTLY) while using the Garmin for distance cues.

Bill had told me to save something for the Hilltop around mile 100. He said it's the other doozie of a climb, like the one on River Road that we had already completed. I kept pedaling, and watching my cue sheet for the upcoming turns, and right around mile 105 I hit the hill Bill must have been talking about. It was a mile long and 205 feet of climbing. I pushed up it, and when I crested it, I thought whew! That's it! All clear sailing from here on in!

Wrong..   I turned the page on the cue sheet and saw up ahead, at mile 109, there was a turn onto a road called "Hilltop Road". Ugh..  Oh well, there's no stopping now.

I should have stopped right then and had the other banana, and the rest of the sandwich, but I did what you're not supposed to do, thought about the fact that I was still slightly ahead of the others, and I should keep pushing to stay in this position. Mind you - this is NOT a race. Well, not in the concept that it's against anyone else. You're racing the clock, and I was WELL within my time limit. Anyways, I turned onto Hilltop Road, and started to climb..  2.5 miles and 463 feet in elevation later, with a couple of 13 and 14% grades in there, I topped out, and breathed a sigh of relief! That's it! only 12 miles left, and it has to be all flat, right?

3 wrong turns later, all demanding me to backtrack to the course, I came across a headlight coming towards me while backtracking. Doug was rounding the corner and we chatted for 30 seconds, and he slogged on. He told me that the Tandem was behind me, and at the next T in the road I waited.

I was at mile 122, and pretty sure there were no turns left, but I just to make sure I wasn't going to go any "extra" distance. Ron and Barb were cheery, but Ron was also whooped, Barb was quiet, and I was doing all I could to keep going. We were quite the group!

I remember saying something about, heck, we're only 2 miles from the finish, and we should be able to EASILY finish by 7:00, which would be under 11 hours. There was no response, which I thought strange, but I figured it was just because we were all shot. Then at mile 122.5 I knew why. For the next mile we climbed, and climbed, 288 feet to be exact (well according to RWGPS). It was slow climbing, SLOW, but I knew how close the finish was, I knew that in less than 10 minutes I would be off my bike and sitting down to have something to eat in a warm Diner, but it was tough. When we crested the top I had trouble keeping the bike straight. I actually went off into someones gravel driveway, and then back onto the road. I quickly regained my composure, and fell in behind the Tandem, and then slowly watched it pull away. I just didn't have anything left to keep up.

About 2 tenths of a mile before the finish, I saw Ron and Barb pull over and wait for me. Really? WOW!

This wasn't a race, it was a ride with friends, old and new, and though it was what seemed like a small gesture, I greatly appreciated it. It kept me from riding in alone, and we rolled into the last Control together at 6:59..  My Garmin said that I had been riding for 10:59:48, when I shut it down.

I remember sitting down at the bar and ordering a milkshake, and then another, and then a Bison burger and fries and a water..  I was asked to join the others, Ron and Barb were in a booth with Bill Olsen, but I couldn't move. I was spent. So I respectfully declined. Though this meal looks amazing, I only finished one of the shakes, and part of the second, most of the burger, and half of the fries. I was congratulated by everyone still there, Maile took a picture of me signing my brevet card after my very first brevet, and I actually was smiling in the picture. I personally wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see the photo. It was truly a great ride.

Maile's photo album is posted on Flickr. I hope she doesn't mind me linking to it. Maile's Flickr PA Dutch 200K

Now - what I learned.. 

Nutrition is KING - even though I know this, and don't know everything I need to eat that will and won't bother me, I refused on this ride, while I had the opportunity to eat something that would have made the finish of this ride much more enjoyable. I should have stopped at Control 4, eaten the whole remaining sandwich, and forced myself to finish the banana. Not only because of the upcoming terrain, but after 7.5 hours of riding, you don't have anything left in the tank. I have to get it straight, and I will. Each time I suffer it reminds me a little more. I will have to get it figured out before I do a 300K, 400K, and 600K that I hope to do this season.

Though you have to train for these rides, and train some more, as the old saying goes with respect to how hard it is, 80% of it's mental, and the rest is just in your head.

My next ride is with the PA group on February 4th, and is promised to be a somewhat flatter route, on roads with wide shoulders in case of inclement conditions. It's for the most part an out and back on the same roads, so you will see riders going the other way that are ahead of or behind you. Sounds like fun!

First 200K - Saturday December 10th 2011

(All photo's taken with my ContourRoam camera..  Which I had set to take pictures every 30 seconds, mounted to the bottom of my handlebars. Not sure if the cold weather zapped the batteries, or if they're just not going to last for more than 4 hours.)

Saturday I did my first 200K ride - a "permanent" which is a predefined route that can be done at any time with the approval of the route owner, in this case Bill Fischer. I arrived at the Painted Post Sugar Creek at 6:10AM, with a planned departure of 6:30. I met Bill Fischer (who decided to ride with us) and Brian Harpster in the parking lot of the hotel out back, and Bill handed Brian and I our Brevet Cards. The cards, on some rides would be signed or stamped with a time and date stamp at each control, or like in this ride we would get receipts at each control. This was to be slightly more than a 200K, with 5 Controls (the first and last being Sugar Creek). At each Control, you go into the store, and either get your card signed, or purchase something and keep the receipt with time and date stamped on it. Each Control has an opening and closing time, based on your time of departure, and the RUSA approved pace for the distance you are riding, which for this distance was no faster than an average of 18.7mph, and no slower than 9.3 mph. Our first control 25 miles into the ride would be open from 7:50 until 9:10AM. The Sugar Creek control - our final Control would be closing at 8:02PM, plenty of time!!

Bill was ready in minutes, and Brian an I scrambled to get everything organized and together for our ride. Being completely new, we didn't know what to take and what to leave! We took our best guess, and headed towards the doors of the Sugar Creek to get our first receipt and get this ride under way!

I pop in the store, buy a Reeses Peanut Butter Tree, ask for my receipt and head out to my bike. Receipt stamp was 6:38AM. Lets roll, we're already behind!! Brian and Bill are pulling out of the parking lot, and I go to get on the bike, get the back of my cycling pants caught under the lip of my seat, and stat pedaling, looking like one of those high school kids with his pants around his thighs! I start laughing, reach back, pull them up, and follow the taillights in front of me, laughing all the way. What a perfect start.

It's a balmy 25 degrees, and would only end up warming to about 34-35 as a high throughout the day, the road had a wet surface, but no ice, so it's all good. The moon is bright, and our lights are working great. Drivers passing us give us a good berth, and we pedal on as the sky begins to get gray with the first sign of dawn. We had a bit of a headwind, and stay together pretty well for the first 15-20 miles. We exchange lead some, and all in all, just enjoy the day. Bill is a very strong rider, and Brian and I are exchanging places following him for the most part. Some flurries are blowing around, but the road conditions are good, and we're dressed for the weather, so we're good. Brian and I are loving the new Bar Mitt's that we bought ourselves before the trip, and commenting on how amazed we are that just a light pair of gloves is sufficient to keep the hands warm. (Goben was right!!) About 20 miles in, we start to separate a bit, and pull into the first control with Bill in the lead, myself about 2 minutes behind him, and Brian about 2 minutes behind me.

Feeling warm, and hands feeling great, I pop off my gloves and lay them on my seat and head inside. I grab a Starbucks Double Shot and a Breakfast Sandwich and head back outside to enjoy it in the 27 degree weather. My insulated water bottles are still at a good level, and though cold, the water is still completely liquid. I drank about 1/2 of one bottle, and should be drinking more. I make a mental note, eat the sandwich, drink 1/2 the Double Shot, and pour the rest in the water bottle. I grab my gloves, which are now frozen solid (dumbass), won't make that mistake again.. I throw them on, hop back on the bike, and start pedaling. We're doing fine..

The next portion of the ride has more climbing, but it's good, and we're enjoying our ride. Brian has dropped back some, but is still strong, and pulling his own. We check back and make sure he's in view, and continue on. A little ways down the road we take a right on 12 Mile Creek Road towards Naples, and talk about future rides. I am picking Bills brain, and am already talking about PBP (Paris Brest Paris a 1200K in France) in 2015. Bill is encouraging, and we talk about equipment, nutrition, riding techniques, etc.. My feet have started to get cold at about 30-35 miles in, but that is no surprise to me. We talk footwear a bit, and get "chased" by two dogs. One too small to bother with, and the other too old to give chase. The Windmills near Cohocton are on our left, and Brian has caught up, just in time for us to yell back ICE as we cross a bridge. This was the only major ice sheet of the trip, but fortunately doesn't go across the whole road. For the next 3 miles, the road has an intermittent ice crystal surface, and we proceed with caution.

Not much longer and we're descending into Naples. It's a big descent and we're flying (and freezing). We decide to stop for a warm up, fill bottles, grab a chocolate milk, and eat a couple of the Banana Muffins Kris made me for the trip. My bottles had frozen solid (I thought) on the last portion, but when I take the top off I realize that just the lids had frozen. I note that and leave the tops completely open for the rest of the trip, and make sure I drink more. I top them off with hot water from the coffee maker in the store.

We roll out of Naples, heading towards Canandaigua to our next Control. This next 20 miles has some pretty serious rolling hills, and some good climbs. Bill decides to avoid one of the side routes for safety sake, as when we're climbing one portion near it, the road in the shade of the guardrails is somewhat icy. I don't mind, because it was a severe descent, likely to be covered with sand and gravel and not safe. It takes a portion of riding along Canandaigua Lake out, but we're riding the ridge along the lake, the view is great, and we have some sun! Of course we have probably about a 10mph average headwind, but Bill, always looking at the positive, says "won't be long and it'll be a tail wind! We'll be happy to have it.", so we just deal with it, with the knowledge, that later in the ride it'll be something we'll enjoy. (these are the last of the photo's, the camera batteries died between Naples and Canandaigua)..

When we get into Canandaigua, we're in decent shape. The control closes at around 1:30 PM, and it's about 12:30, so we're doing OK. We all grab banana's, chocolate Milk, and I grab a Payday bar. We relax a bit, eat up, and get back on the road heading to our next stop in Penn Yan.

It's at this point that Bill and I mention the obvious. Though my dream goal was having this take about 10-10.5 hours, in the last segment we figured the new pace probably leaving things a little more realistic around 12 hours, but Brian is suffering some on the climbs, he mentioned that he hadn't been on his bike since August, and though he's a spin instructor, long miles are different and taking their toll. Bill says to me, this is going to take over 12 hours, but I am not sure. I know Brian, and he's a hardhead. He'll push through.

Our next stop is Penn Yan in 22 miles, and we get there shortly after 2:30. The control closes at 3:55, so we're fine on the clock, but there is some severe climbing ahead of us, I have some lateral knee pain that has been bugging me all day, and Brian mentions severe knee pain that is making climbing near impossible for him. The next 40 miles has some climbs in it, and a lot of rolling terrain. We get out of the control at 2:40, and go about 2 miles till we start our climb up the Old Bath Road. The next 10 mile stretch takes 72 minutes, and the one following that 63. We've gone 1/2 the distance we need to, but it has taken 2 hours and 15 minutes. We're ok, but we have 20 miles left to go, and it's after 5:00, the sun has set, and it's starting to cool down. Brian is still slogging, not giving up, suffering big time, but still with us. My heartrate has dropped to about 110-120 average, and it's not enough to keep me warm in sweat damp clothing and my feet are cold, very cold, and I have started to shudder some, however, there is only 20 miles left, and 3 hours to do it in! We only have to average about 6.7 mph to make it! We're golden.

5 miles further, and Brian tells Bill and I to go on without him. He's going to try to finish things up, but we're going to head in, get the car and come back and see if he wants to throw in the towel. Bill gets behind me, and we use his light (my headlight is stuck on blink mode, and though entertaining, isn't much for seeing hazards!) and pick up the pace. Amazing enough I can see Brian not falling off as fast as expected in my mirror, though he has fallen back. In Savona, with just over 10 miles left we take the turn onto 415, and Bill pulls in front, I ask if it's OK to grab on to his wheel, and I drop in behind him for the next 7 miles. We're now humming along at about 17-19mph, and I am giving it all I have to just stay on his wheel. I am about 8 inches off his back tire, turned my blinking headlight off because it was bugging me, and I am warm now. Except my feet of course. With about 3 miles left I tell Bill I am falling back a bit. I am whooped, I know I am going to finish, and it's not worth killing myself to try to make the last 3 miles with every last ounce of energy I have, and still have over an hour to spare. Bill says, OK, and he's going to go get his car and head back for Brian.

I drop back some, and Bill stays in sight for 2 of the remaining 3 miles. I enjoy the distance, pedaling fast enough to stay warm, but looking at the obnoxious christmas lights, and smiling. BIG TIME.. I can see the stoplight next to the Sugar Creek in the distance.

With 1/2 mile left, Bill pulls up on the other side of the road, yells at me that he'll be right back, and I head in. at 6:58PM I get my final receipt, for a chocolate milk, a can of pringles, and a 6 pack of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale to celebrate. 12hours and 28 minutes.  128.5 miles.

3 minutes later Bill pulls in, and says Brian is only 2 miles out and doing awesome!  I get changed out of my cold wet clothes, and down the milk and we round the corner just in time to see Brian pedal into the lot. He looks like hell, drool running down his face, and Bill helps him off his bike. Brian shuffles into the store and has trouble making sentences. I get from him to grab his money out of his jersey pocket, and buy him a chocolate milk and get the receipt. I do so, and open it for him. His hands aren't working well, and he's not moving around great. Bill pulls Brian's van up, and loads up his bike for him, and he says he's heading home, and not sticking around for the beer. Brian scratches out his signature on the Brevet Card, and hands it to Bill with the receipts, shimmies in his van, after promising Bill and I that he was OK to drive the 3 miles home, and pulls out of the parking lot, with his bike helmet still on.

Bill and I sit in the front of my truck in the heat, and drink a beer and toast to my first 200K! I can't wait for the next one! It's in Reading PA on January 1st with over 10,000 feet of climbing! I sign my Brevet Card, and give it and the receipts to Bill, and we part ways.

3 days later my feet are still numb. I ordered some winter cycling shoes today. Hopefully they do the trick

Lessons Learned:
Train adequately - I was glad I had done the 85 miler a few weeks back, and continued some longer mileage training.
Get Warmer footwear - my shoe covers just held the moisture in, and my feet were soaked by Naples.
When you've ridden for 12 hours, don't drink a Chocolate Milk followed by a beer. I had to stop on my way home and throw that up! Dumbass....

Countdown - 200K tomorrow.

So,
Tomorrow I do my first 200K, my first brevet (sounds like brevay) as a Randonneur, well, even though I am registered as a member of RUSA (Randonneurs USA), it will become official tomorrow! It's exciting and slightly nerve racking. I believe that I am physically and mentally prepared and am sure that in 24 hours I will have an answer.

I have spent the last weeks trying to amass what I feel might be necessary for this ride. I have a tendency of over supplying myself for things like this, so it's likely that I will have more than necessary, and be carrying more weight than I need to which will make things more difficult, but live and learn!

I will be taking my ContourRoam camera, which I have set to take a still shot every 30 seconds of the ride. Which means, on average, if we can do our moving part of the ride averaging 13mph, will be a picture every 572 feet. (about every 200 yards). So - 1200 photo's!

My Garmin Edge750 GPS is set up with the route in it. I have my cue cards laminated. The bike is all set up with Bar Mitts, insulated water bottles, lights, pump, saddle bag, fenders.. I will be wearing my backpack full of stuff like extra gloves, maybe jacket and wind pants, water, and more! Wearing my Rogue winter cycling jacket and a balaclava, along with shoe covers, gloves, cycling tights, etc.

Weather is expected to start the day at 6:30AM at about 24-25 degrees. A bit nippy, but up from the predicted 20 degrees from earlier this week! Supposed to top out around 31 for the route we have chosen with slight chance of snow flurries. Wind is supposed to be in the 10-20mph range from the West, hopefully less. The route is a 127 mile loop, from Painted Post, NY through Avoca, Naples, Canandaigua, Penn Yan, and back to Painted Post. Riding along Canandaigua Lake, Above Keuka to the East, along the West side of Waneta and Lamoka, and back. RidewithGPS states 6600 feet of climbing. Should be a beautiful ride.

My major concerns right now are my hands and feet staying warm. They always get cold, and this ride will be chilly. I have ridden colder, but only for a couple of hours, not my own predicted 10+!

Well, 3 of us depart tomorrow, 2 of us on our first brevet of many I hope, the other is the route owner, Bill Fischer, a guy who is a seasoned veteran of this ride, and many more including an event that is done every 4 years (including 2011), called Paris Brest Paris, which is an out and back 1200K (744mile) ride! I don't remember what he told me it took him, 70 something hours maybe??

Anyways - here goes nothing!

Southwest Steuben County - Two Wolves and an Eagle

This was the first over 50 mile ride on my new CoMotion Cascadia in preparation for my first shot at Randonneuring. I have scheduled to do a 200K Permanent on December 10th or 11th, weather dependent.

It was not my longest ride, it wasn’t fast, it wasn’t the most climbing I have done, or the coldest ride I have ridden. What it was, was a great time, with new found friends, 85 miles of riding with 5000 feet of climbing on an unexpectedly warm November day. It was touted to be a nice ride in Southwest Steuben County with the opportunity to burn off that Thanksgiving turkey, and I believe that goal was indeed accomplished!

Saturday my day started with a drive to Addison from home. Typically I wouldn’t even bring something like this up, but the reason I mention it, is that while driving through Wellsville, I pass a guy on a mountain bike, riding down the main drag, in full blaze orange, with a gun case strapped across him, headed out for the days hunt.  Interesting enough, in my whole drive and ride, this was one of only 4 hunters I would see.

The ride left the Acorn in Addison at 9:00AM, and headed through town out the Addison Back Road towards Freedom, and then jumping on 417 for a short bit, to turn left and head south towards Borden, rounding into Woodhull, and then on to Austinburg, PA for our first stop. The roads were amazing. Absolutely Amazing! On the turn towards Austinburg out of Woodhull, there is a nice climb, this was about 22 miles into the ride, and where I realized and mentioned in passing that with my lack of conditioning, if we kept up this pace (90% of my max HR for nearly half of the miles we had ridden thus far) I was going to have some trouble.  I pedaled on, now spinning more, using higher cadence, and slowing to a pace that was more around 85% of my Max HR, and we reached our first stop in Austinburg 25.5 miles into the trip at 1:55 hours. A short stop and rest, off the bike, about 10 minutes, just long enough as I could feel the lactic acid starting to settle, and legs starting to feel some major fatigue. I was feeling guilty for dragging, but just like a ride with the Rogues, no-one ever complained, or mentioned anything about it. So I got back in the saddle and pedaled on, still enjoying the trip.

Back on the bike, and we head north on 36 towards Troupsburg, but turn left on Squab Hollow Wileyville Road, and take that over to 98, where we turn north and head towards Rexville. Here we hit the highest point on our ride, just over 2300 feet, and it was awesome. At the top of this climb, I finally pull up and tell the group to go on ahead without me. I was dragging, and figured my best bet would be to continue on, on my own, without feeling that I was holding the group back. We were at 38.8 miles (3:10 hours), and the average for miles 30-40 was 10.2mph. Mind you, that 10 mile stretch also had over 1000 feet of climbing. So – they tell me basically to shut up, and stick to Bill Fischer’s wheel, and we were heading down through Rexville, Greenwood, and into Canisteo for lunch (3:53).  This was unknown to me 15 miles of downhill. We averaged over 25 mph for the next 10 miles, and likely held that pace for the whole 15, but my Garmin is set for 10 mile “laps” and in the middle of that second lap is where we stopped for lunch.  Another interesting thing is that for the second part of that descent, from mile 47 on, my heartrate averaged over 163 (85% MaxHR), this is still in aerobic, and I knew I shouldn’t do it, but I knew lunch was coming and figured it was the least I could do for the guys pulling me. 50 minutes for lunch, Turkey Club, Coffee, and much water. Good conversation, and the nagging in the back of my head that we still had many miles to go. From here it was 30 miles to be exact. The next 10 miles included 800+ feet of climbing, with heavy legs, but in this 10 miles we saw a bald eagle just next to the road, and enjoyed a headwind as we headed slightly south again, through South Canisteo, out County Route 21 through South Cameron, and getting on 119 east of Rathbone. That descent to Route 119 was the most beautiful part of the trip, whether it was the knowledge that we were nearing the end of the voyage, or the fact that it was a spectacular downhill, lined with pines and a creek on the right if I remember right, but it was sure pretty.

The light was starting to dim, as it was now nearing 4:00, during that final 6 miles there was a bit of traffic, and we popped our taillights on and I watched the computer to see if we would beat the 6 hour mark on the bikes.  We hit a stoplight in town, and pulled back into the Acorn at 6 hours and 46 seconds.  I say “we”, that would be myself and Mark Hogan.  Bill Fischer and Blaine Chamberlain were 30 seconds in front of us, and I am sure that Jack Chaney and John? (forgot his last name) from north of Watertown, but a Horseheads native, made it in under 6 hours.  Total time from Acorn to Acorn was 6:48 hours.   Garmin said I burned 5700 calories, and considering my average HR was 163 (85%), I can believe it. Average riding speed was just 14.1 mph, but I didn’t feel bad about that, as the 200K I do in two weeks has a limit of 9.3mph, including stops.  This ride including stops (one of which was a 50 minute lunch) was 12.6mph.

Anyways – if you didn’t enjoy the read, so be it.  I did enjoy the ride, rode with 5 guys who were all (except for John maybe) at least 10 years my senior, and who all were very capable of burying me riding. They also all mentioned that it would just be a matter of time in the saddle, as similar guys who have pulled me on the Rogue Team have also told me. I loved the new Co-Motion, the Brooks Saddle, and after 6 hours had less discomfort than most 30 mile rides on any of the road bikes I have ridden. The weight of the bike cost me, but no more than the extra weight I am carrying on my body.

Catch you guys later.  Hope your weekend was Epic.

By the way, on the Austinburg Road, we saw two wolf looking dogs in a kennel next to the road, and I mentioned this to Bill Fischer. It was only after coming back to work on Monday that I learned that they were wolves. 100% pure wolves. The guy has owned them for 15 years. Very cool!
 

Calves.


WHAT I LEARNED! :  more what I was reminded of.  Lack of conditioning is not necessarily lack of nutrition. Drink 1 bottle of water (something) per Control (30 miles).  Dr. Pepper and water (mixed) isn't nutritionally optimal, it's just sugar and caffeine, which feels good initially, but doesn't do much nutritionally.