What a day, what a day. Yesterday was the second ride in the Morrisville brevet series; my 3rd longest single day ride, and, as it turns out, the second time I really thought about quitting. The first time I thought about quitting, I really did DNF. Unlike the first (and only so far) DNF, I didn't have as obvious physical reasons for quitting, I was just exhausted [either because of the really busy week OR because I dreamed I was a muffler]*, probably dehydrated and, even though toward the end I gagged at the thought of eating or drinking one more thing, was probably underfueled. As I drink my 3rd litre of water this morning while writing this, I'm fairly certain I was dehydrated. Despite all that negativeness spewed out onto the page just now, it was a really good ride for 3 reasons - (I) riding companions, (II) bucolic and at times entertaining scenery and (III) course volunteers.
(III) Thanks to the ride volunteers: Andy (also Andy's wife, Nanci, for helping), JayJay, Bob (also Bob's wife, Deane, for baking) and to Alan, aka Fearless Leader and Dorothy for running the series. Ya'll = awesome!
(III) Thanks to the ride volunteers: Andy (also Andy's wife, Nanci, for helping), JayJay, Bob (also Bob's wife, Deane, for baking) and to Alan, aka Fearless Leader and Dorothy for running the series. Ya'll = awesome!
(I) North Carolina marketing gurus like to tell us that the triangle area is the land of "Tees, trees and PhDs." It seems you can't swing a dead cat around here without hitting several of those three things. I was reminded of that today as I learned more about my riding partners, the group of 4 that congealed for the first half of the ride. Gary [PhD in robotics], Sara [PhD in epidemiology], Vance [PhD in philosophy] and I [PhD in physics] share some characteristics common to randonneuring and PhDing.: Both activities (1) have their highs and lows, (2) allow you to follow and lead and, most importantly for today's report, (3) can leave you with frustration that makes you think (or utter aloud), "*$^% this, I quit, this isn't what I signed up for." Luckily I didn't bail and we finished together after picking up another rider in Seagrove, Al P., whose GPS thought extra miles would be good for him.
The ride went mostly without any mechanical problems. Early in the ride, after Andrews store, I heard a fairly loud rubbing sound that I thought were fenders or brakes. The crew stopped while Gary and I adjusted the brakes and checked the newly installed fenders. We rode on, but the whining-rubbing noise continued and I could really feel the extra effort pedaling. Vance and I stopped and Vance noticed that the rear wheel was hitting the chainstay. We reseated the wheel and went on. But it happened again. After some consultation with the group, we thought it was probably a problem of not having the quick release tight enough so that when I pushed hard on the pedals the wheel was being pulled forward out of the dropouts (horizontal). Girl strength is sometimes not enough to get the QR tight enough, but it should be. Gary gave me some advice about what to do that I'll check on this week. I'll also have to fiddle with the front derailleur...I couldn't shift into my granny ring very often even when I tried shifting well before any hill so that I had light pressure while turning the pedals. Since I've been riding mostly flat stuff, I haven't tried this kind of shifting enough. With so many hills and a 53 pound loaded bike, this was a perfect ride to learn that lesson ;-P. My knees and quads will be sore for a while. One bright spot though is that I was able to downshift before that last short but steep hill into Morrisville. It took us 17 hours and 40 minutes, but we finished. The other 4 members of the group were great support to me and I really appreciate that. You guys = awesome x 2! That's all I got to say about that.
(II) After all my planning to be stormed upon, the weather was fabulous. Overcast, then sunny, then overcast, then a light, refreshing, and not too cold rain for the last 50 miles....and there were only tailwinds, as far as I could tell. The route is the same for the first 100K as the 200k and I kept a lookout for all the things the Fearless Leader pointed out on the 200k pre-ride - the unique architectural round house, UFO on the farm, the waterfall, Lindley Mills signage, and Millie the cow. See some picture of these things on the RTP site here. In addition to the UFO Fearless Leader had pointed out, we saw another one on the second 50K to Seagrove. We also saw a lot of cows and they frolicked, yes, that's right, frolicked, for us. It was unusual to see cows frolic. Sara also found this little guy on the side of the road, now the ride mascot.
Other local-ish randos have reports here[Kieth], here[Branson], here[Vance], here[Bob], here[Martin] and here[Saggitandy]. I'll add more as they appear. My photos are here. By the looks of things, it was another great ride in the great state of NC for all who participated. [EDIT4.27.10: One of the sights that makes me claim it was a great ride was seeing all the smiling and waving riders approach us as they were on the return leg. Since the course is out and back, we saw everybody pass us head-on in a blaze of color that only cycling jerseys can manage. It probably helped that most of them were on the downhill when we spotted them.] I'm off to enjoy a well deserved treat at Mad Hatters. Cheers!
* On the 200K pre-ride Fearless Leader suggested we tell stupid jokes after the 100 mile mark. We did, this was one of mine via Aaron. "Last night I dreamed I was a muffler. I woke up exhausted."
The ride went mostly without any mechanical problems. Early in the ride, after Andrews store, I heard a fairly loud rubbing sound that I thought were fenders or brakes. The crew stopped while Gary and I adjusted the brakes and checked the newly installed fenders. We rode on, but the whining-rubbing noise continued and I could really feel the extra effort pedaling. Vance and I stopped and Vance noticed that the rear wheel was hitting the chainstay. We reseated the wheel and went on. But it happened again. After some consultation with the group, we thought it was probably a problem of not having the quick release tight enough so that when I pushed hard on the pedals the wheel was being pulled forward out of the dropouts (horizontal). Girl strength is sometimes not enough to get the QR tight enough, but it should be. Gary gave me some advice about what to do that I'll check on this week. I'll also have to fiddle with the front derailleur...I couldn't shift into my granny ring very often even when I tried shifting well before any hill so that I had light pressure while turning the pedals. Since I've been riding mostly flat stuff, I haven't tried this kind of shifting enough. With so many hills and a 53 pound loaded bike, this was a perfect ride to learn that lesson ;-P. My knees and quads will be sore for a while. One bright spot though is that I was able to downshift before that last short but steep hill into Morrisville. It took us 17 hours and 40 minutes, but we finished. The other 4 members of the group were great support to me and I really appreciate that. You guys = awesome x 2! That's all I got to say about that.
Other local-ish randos have reports here[Kieth], here[Branson], here[Vance], here[Bob], here[Martin] and here[Saggitandy]. I'll add more as they appear. My photos are here. By the looks of things, it was another great ride in the great state of NC for all who participated. [EDIT4.27.10: One of the sights that makes me claim it was a great ride was seeing all the smiling and waving riders approach us as they were on the return leg. Since the course is out and back, we saw everybody pass us head-on in a blaze of color that only cycling jerseys can manage. It probably helped that most of them were on the downhill when we spotted them.] I'm off to enjoy a well deserved treat at Mad Hatters. Cheers!
* On the 200K pre-ride Fearless Leader suggested we tell stupid jokes after the 100 mile mark. We did, this was one of mine via Aaron. "Last night I dreamed I was a muffler. I woke up exhausted."
Odd -n- ends
Temp Range: 59-81 deg F
Wind: Mild
Clothing: Zoot tri-tank under SS poly jersey. Novara bike skirt. Smart wool socks. Long fingered gloves, arm warmers. Arm warmers came off in the middle of the day and once the temps dropped into the low 70's with drizzle I put 'em back on with the O2 jacket. Once night fell with soaking rain I put on the LS midweight wool top over everything with the O2 jacket over that. Also the skullcap, wool glove liners and poly mittens. This was just right for the climate.Feet were soaked, but not too cold.
Cals burned: 5551 AHR: 116 bpm MHR: 165 bpm Distance: 191.6 miles
Pace: 14.3 mph
7 comments:
Awesome ride!! I have named our new mascot Millie - thought that was fitting. :) It was great riding with you!
Very cool report. I saw those frolicking cows, too. What bugged me was them chasing after my riding companions but running away from me(the vegetarian).
Maria, thanks for riding with me! It made the whole experience more enjoyable (and subjectively faster).
I wondered why Al P. drifted so far back. We were leapfrogging each other to Siler City. I left Siler City before Al.
But I thought that surely he had arrived in Seagrove and left while I was still inside Hardees, eating and monopolizing JayJay's time sharing stories about one of her co-workers who happens to be one of my most frequent cycling partners.
Then, as I was coasting down 705 from Seagrove, there was Al climbing up the mount. Glad to hear it was only GPS induced bonus miles, and not something more dreadful.
...Martin
Way to go Maria! You may have seen me pass your group a couple of times after Snow Camp. The last time was just before you turned onto Yates Store Rd around 12:15 a.m. I reported back to Alan that everyone was looking good so I didn't hang around. I should have stopped and stood in the rain, yelling encouragements, but I might have been attacked by a neighborhood dog. Next time you feel you can't eat anything, try putting a little ketchup on it.
Hi, Maria!
Hmmm. . . three 300km events in the past couple of months . . . Wow!
@SH and V: Back at ya.
@Bob - Ketchup? Seriously? Ok. Maybe. Mustard for cramps and ketchup for nausea. I see a theme here....
@Kieth - As I recall, they started running from us too!
@Martin - funny that it happened because we'd just finished talking about someone who'd had the same thing happen last year...turns out it was Al!
@Dean - I know. You'd think I'd learn. Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. A. Einstein
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