I had originally signed up to do the Fall 1000, but decided to opt out and do the Carbon River Permanent as a way to redeem myself, with Erik Andersen and Dave Read, but as the weather on Sunday was slated to be much worse than Saturday - where we would get a few rain-free hours at least- I chickened out and did the Three Rivers Cruise, a route that I was very familiar with. An easy way out to further my quest towards my first R12 award. Shane, Don Boothby, Jim Jensen and Mark Jackson were the other culprits, on a cloudy, rainy and at times cold day. We could see our breaths, and that remained true for much of the day.
This group had not seen each other for a while, and we all exchanged pleasantries. Don asked me if my Immigration mess would be cleared up by 2011, and if it did, he would see me at the start of PBP 2011. He has not yet done a 400, and wants to be all prepared before then. He also promised us a lot of bald eagles and warned us to get receipts at all the controls. This "get receipts or else" was news to me, as all I had done on prior permanents was to get a signature and then mail in my card at the finish. Have randonneurs started cheating? What is up with this?
We started a bit late, as I incorrectly mounted my front wheel. Some help from Shane and Mark, and we were off at 7.10a. Jim waited for a while, but decided to take off ahead of us: we would see him one more time, with him heading West on 20, a tad before Marblemount, and that was it. The four of us set off to sunny skies - yeah, right! - and rode together for the first little while, but our relative speeds quickly split us up. Mark and Don rode together, while Shane and I rode a bit ahead (but not by a lot).
Shane is a newly minted PBP ancien. A tough gent and your quintessential randonneur. Having carpooled together, I began the process of peppering him with an endless barrage of questions: the weather, the food, the people, ahem the hills, SIR's surprisingly high DNF rate, and the experience. It was fascinating to listen to him talk. We talked a lot about Paris-Brest-Paris, which he successfully completed in August in 89:47.
It was not raining when we started, but the cold hit first. About halfway into 530, is a beautiful mountain laden with snow, and the temperature drops here usually. My toes and fingers froze here, but we still plodded on. The rain started shortly after this stretch, but not threateningly so, and stayed with us until a few kilometers before the first control. Shane remarked that this was how it felt when the rain let up, on PBP, and that shut me up pretty good. A fine data point! I had brought along a fine complement of rain clothing, in the hopes of warding off the rain gods: 3 pairs of gloves, a synthetic long sleeved jersey, and the SIR Blue Jersey on top, with thick gloves and wool leg warmers. I had other accoutrements in my bag: A helmet cover, a short-finger glove, and my rain pants.
We reached the Darrington Shell gas station around 9.15a, which was control #1, and found out that Jim had left about 15 minutes earlier. After getting receipts and signatures, and fuelling ourselves, Shane and I left. Just as we were leaving Don and Mark rolled in, looking good. A blissful tailwind guided us all the way to the turn on to 20, as it usually does, and we enjoyed the scenery of the Sauk river as it flowed at levels considerably lower than when we had done this same ride in March. There were quite a few fishermen out today. Fall foliage was rich, with yellows and reds dotting the roads along Highway 530. Fog blanketed the mountains nearby, and rendered everything beautiful. I just love riding in fog!
We saw Jim shortly after we passed the Cascadian farms store, and that was the last we would see of him. A short little dalliance with the rain later, we were in Marblemount. Don and Mark rolled in shortly after we did, and declined an invitation to have soup with us at the diner down the street. Shane and I took off for the diner, and had some delightful soup: Tomato Basil for me, Squash for him, and Pomme Frites for the both of us. A delightful 45 minute stop, and definitely recommended. Shane had some coffee to warm himself up, and not wanting to upset the delicate balance that is my stomach these days, I drank warm water. Yuck!
The winds along 20 heading west can be brutal, but today was a gentle enough day, that we could see the falling leaves corkscrewing their way to the road below. Temperatures warmed up, the rain stopped, and no drivers harassed us, a first for me on this stretch. This stretch was also our latest nice pavement for quite a while, as South Skagit Highway was a 23-odd mile long beast, with the nastiest chipseal you can imagine.
We spotted Mark's and Don's bikes at the store just before the Concrete turn off, but didn't see them: they were probably in the store getting refreshments; this was the last we would see of them. Traffic was low, the foliage was again rich, and the chipseal was ever nasty, but we made it through S Skagit Highway in one piece, but not before enjoying a nice tailwind for the most part of that stretch.
A little stretching session before turning onto Highway 9 relaxed our muscles, and shortly after the turn, the rain began in earnest. I had stowed my rain jacket, but the rain was not as bad as to require a stop-and-don-serious-rain-gear, but the headwind was brutal at times. Proves that the wind on rides is a zero-sum game, and often times negative sum game. I thought of the folks doing the 1000, on 3 days worth of rain, and consoled myself.
I stopped to get some refreshments at a little store about halfway down Highway 9, and was sure that Shane had passed me in that time, so I started hammering away in the hopes of catching him. But as it turned out, he had not passed me, but was close by. A few rollicking descents later, I was on the home stretch to the control, but spotted Shane not 40 yards behind. Powerful rider that he is, he effortlessly caught me on the bridge above the train tracks, just before the finish, and we rode in together. A nice scenic, not too long ride. And I truly (really) never used the granny.
I had a Cinnamon Pastry, and Shane had an all-american Hamburger and French fries. Apparently Shane craves real food on rides, and recounted the pain he felt at Carhaix when he found out that the McDonald's was closed. Another funny story was of how Chantel (Mrs Balkovetz, and tri-athlete) bought 2 Hamburgers for Shane at the finish of PBP, and Jeff literally gulped one of them with this eyes. Shane gave him one. So, Jeff Tilden if you are reading this, you owe Shane a Hamburger. Just teasing.
A fun ride with not so great conditions. Perfect training! Maybe Carbon River for October?
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
Mountain Populaire results: Scandal
As (countless?) loyal readers of this blog might have noticed, I pre-rode and completed the recently concluded Mountain populaire event with more than 5500 feet of climbing, in 6 hours and 45 minutes. I was immediately inundated with fan mail, all of them congratulating me on my, and I quote, "awe-inspiring" accomplishment, which said readers may also remember, was done using nothing but my middle chain-ring, in an attempt to one-up a certain Mr. Bob Brudvik. News about my pre-ride spread like wildfire, and more riders showed up on the ride than otherwise would have, to witness the terrain that I had performed said miracle over, and possibly also to see me in the flesh.
Readers, I advise you to sit down, as you read the following paragraphs; it just may be better for you.
I am deeply saddened to inform you that my aforementioned accomplishment has been nullified by the decision of the SIR RBA (who shall not be named to protect him from the wrath of my fans) to not ratify my ride on the grounds that it was not completed within time limits. Or maybe it was the RUSA results website. I thought Karl Rove had vanished into the woodwork, but no, he has reappeared as the SIR RBA.
How can this be? Well, apparently there is a way this could be. When this event was entered into the RUSA calendar, it was entered as a 100k and not as a 110k. This means that the time limit for this ride was 6:40 and not 7:xx. When the RBA went to enter this information, the problem came to light. All 4 pre-riders and another rider were DQ'd because of this. Oh well, that stop at Sandy's espresso for muffins and coffee was costlier than I thought.
I would like to counsel patience and forgiveness to my loyal-but-incensed fans; E-mail me if you can hack into the RUSA results database. In his defense, the RBA has promised to enter this event as a 110k next year, so that slowpokes like me can get some breathing room. Safe to say, you shall see my mug at the start next year.
Congratulations again to all the finishers.
Readers, I advise you to sit down, as you read the following paragraphs; it just may be better for you.
I am deeply saddened to inform you that my aforementioned accomplishment has been nullified by the decision of the SIR RBA (who shall not be named to protect him from the wrath of my fans) to not ratify my ride on the grounds that it was not completed within time limits. Or maybe it was the RUSA results website. I thought Karl Rove had vanished into the woodwork, but no, he has reappeared as the SIR RBA.
How can this be? Well, apparently there is a way this could be. When this event was entered into the RUSA calendar, it was entered as a 100k and not as a 110k. This means that the time limit for this ride was 6:40 and not 7:xx. When the RBA went to enter this information, the problem came to light. All 4 pre-riders and another rider were DQ'd because of this. Oh well, that stop at Sandy's espresso for muffins and coffee was costlier than I thought.
I would like to counsel patience and forgiveness to my loyal-but-incensed fans; E-mail me if you can hack into the RUSA results database. In his defense, the RBA has promised to enter this event as a 110k next year, so that slowpokes like me can get some breathing room. Safe to say, you shall see my mug at the start next year.
Congratulations again to all the finishers.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
That's crazy talk, aka the Mountain 100K pre-ride.
Mark Thomas and I pre-rode the season-opening 100k route, this past spring. Somewhere there, before we got slammed with 5" of snow, I mentioned to Mark that I didn't show up at last years Mountain 100, because I was not sure I would be able to finish it. This, after completing last years 3 pass 1000k. Mark's response, and he is pretty quotable, was, "That's crazy talk!".
I took that vote of confidence with me as I pre-rode the 100K route with Kent Peterson, Shan Perera and Matt Newlin, all of whom have spent some time shelling me out in the past. We left at 9.40a from Tibbets Field Parking lot. My front tyre was low, and I stopped to pump it up, as my riding buddies went ahead, but waited for me at the Zoo hill climb.
That climb was long, but not Washington-pass-going-west long, but I was the last to get to the top. The descent was something though, and quite worth the lung-busting climb. It comes early in the ride, and so, you don't feel like you are done. There was a lot of up and down, but the notable ones (to me), were the Tiger Mountain climb, the climb to the Issaquah highlands, Tolt Hill, Duthie Hill and the last murderous climb, that completes the ride. The last climb (Squawk Mountain?) completely took me out, and made me cry for stronger legs or a lower gear, and I got neither. We finished on the dot: 6h 45m.
This really is a fantastic ride; people who have ridden with me know that I get shelled out the back at the first appearance of a climb, and this was no exception, except that my riding buddies waited for me at every turn, and offered encouragement. The stop at Sandy's was fabulous, with all of us getting something cold to drink, and nourishing ourselves for the 3 hills (Tolt, Duthie, Squawk) ahead. I think eating at Sandy's is a good idea, as the last 22km kick serious butt.
There is a surprising amount of flat on this ride, so much so that Kent at one point leaned to me and asked, perfectly innocently, "Do you think there is enough climbing on this ride?", this just before we did Tolt Hill. I was about to tell the man to have some mercy. However, doing this ride a few times, will certainly help my climbing. An enjoyable ride, and I shall definitely do it again. I also plan to do this ride to train for the hills.
Kent's Pictures and mini-report
I took that vote of confidence with me as I pre-rode the 100K route with Kent Peterson, Shan Perera and Matt Newlin, all of whom have spent some time shelling me out in the past. We left at 9.40a from Tibbets Field Parking lot. My front tyre was low, and I stopped to pump it up, as my riding buddies went ahead, but waited for me at the Zoo hill climb.
That climb was long, but not Washington-pass-going-west long, but I was the last to get to the top. The descent was something though, and quite worth the lung-busting climb. It comes early in the ride, and so, you don't feel like you are done. There was a lot of up and down, but the notable ones (to me), were the Tiger Mountain climb, the climb to the Issaquah highlands, Tolt Hill, Duthie Hill and the last murderous climb, that completes the ride. The last climb (Squawk Mountain?) completely took me out, and made me cry for stronger legs or a lower gear, and I got neither. We finished on the dot: 6h 45m.
This really is a fantastic ride; people who have ridden with me know that I get shelled out the back at the first appearance of a climb, and this was no exception, except that my riding buddies waited for me at every turn, and offered encouragement. The stop at Sandy's was fabulous, with all of us getting something cold to drink, and nourishing ourselves for the 3 hills (Tolt, Duthie, Squawk) ahead. I think eating at Sandy's is a good idea, as the last 22km kick serious butt.
There is a surprising amount of flat on this ride, so much so that Kent at one point leaned to me and asked, perfectly innocently, "Do you think there is enough climbing on this ride?", this just before we did Tolt Hill. I was about to tell the man to have some mercy. However, doing this ride a few times, will certainly help my climbing. An enjoyable ride, and I shall definitely do it again. I also plan to do this ride to train for the hills.
Kent's Pictures and mini-report
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Unofficial SIR results at PBP 2007
(Updated April 28th, 2008)
HIGHLY UNOFFICIAL RESULTS FOR PBP 2007
These results were obtained by searching the PBP tracker page for each rider listed on the SIR list. If I have wrongly classified somebody, or you have more information about a rider, let me know, and I shall update this page. The official results, unfortunately, have to come from ACP. There are two extra names: Carole Bernhardt and Ron Himschoot, who both rode with SIR, but did not list SIR as their parent/home club.
40 Finishers, 2 finishers out of time limits (DNQ), 17 DNFs/Unknown, and 2 DNS. 2 out of 3 known vegetarians finished! ;)(Krichman and Wright). SIR DNQ/DNF rate: 32%. As if the distance and the terrain were not challenging enough, the atrocious weather took the fun out of a lot of people, if one were to believe the reports that I have read. The Internet was rife with rumours of riders being allowed to ignore the control closing times as long as they met the 90 hour cutoff, and of 2 to 3 hour extensions to most people to allow them to deal with the conditions.
Finishers
ANDERSEN ERIK 3415, 24/08 à 11h02 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
BALKOVETZ SHANE 3317, 24/08 à 16h58 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
BEEBE WARD 6881, 24/08 à 11h50 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
BEESON PETER 7475, 24/08 à 14h48 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
MAXON MAX 7474, 24/08 à 14h55 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
BLACKER RICK 4900, 24/08 à 15h06 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
BRUDVIK ROBERT 1496, 24/08 à 01h52 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
CARTER KEN 1977, 23/08 à 18h26 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
COX GREGORY 3380, 24/08 à 08h33 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
DUSSLER WILLIAM 4733, 24/08 à 12h18 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
HAIGHT RICK 3413, 24/08 à 15h46 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
HAMILTON RYAN 1485, 23/08 à 14h40 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
HEINE JAN 1498, 22/08 à 22h00 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
HIMSCHOOT RON 4774, 24/08 à 16h55 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
HOWES NOEL 4710, 24/08 à 16h33 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
HUBER MICHAEL 3360, 24/08 à 11h14 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
HUMPHREYS KEVIN 6892, 24/08 à 10h30 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
JAMESON ELAINE 7467, 24/08 à 14h45 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
JAMESON DON 7468, 24/08 à 14h45 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
JENSEN ANN 7479, 24/08 à 14h47 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
JENSEN JAMES 7480, 24/08 à 14h47 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
JOHNSON PAUL 4770, 24/08 à 16h23 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
KAPLAN MARTY 3378, 24/08 à 16h28 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
KRICHMAN KENNETH 3305, 24/08 à 15h38 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
LLONA JOE 4695, 24/08 à 11h15 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
MCFALL RAYMOND 3396, 24/08 à 15h42 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
MCKAY PETER 3300, 23/08 à 12h29 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
MEERSCHEIDT ALBERT 4685, 24/08 à 16h03 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
NGUYEN THAI 3358, 23/08 à 11h44 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
OHLEMEIER BRIAN 1955, 23/08 à 05h42 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
PIEPER ROBIN 6877, 24/08 à 01h52 à SAINT QUENTIN (15
RICHARDS OWEN 3324, 24/08 à 15h41 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
ROBERTS MARK 4775, 24/08 à 14h56 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
RYAN JIM 3339, 24/08 à 09h33 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
THOMAS MARK 4849, 24/08 à 11h00 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
TILDEN JEFF 3410, 24/08 à 18h43 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
TURNER DANIEL 4644, 24/08 à 15h53 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
VIGOREN ERIC 4642, 24/08 à 16h37 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
WENNSTROM JASON 4639, 24/08 à 15h48 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
WRIGHT DUANE 4636, 24/08 à 17h34 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
***** Finished: But outside time limits (DNQ) *****
BAILEY ALLISON 3312, Sick, 24/08 à 23h35
MUELLNER JON 4679, 24/08 à 20h51 à SAINT QUENTIN (15)
************* DNFs/Abandonné/Unknown *************
ACUFF JAN 6880, 21/08 à 18h43 à FOUGERES (3)
BAROCAN THOMAS 4814, 23/08 à 18h31 à FOUGERES (11)
BERNHARDT CAROLE 4822, 22/08 à 18h20 à BREST (7)
DALTON MATTHEW 4729, 24/08 à 01h35 à VILLAINES (12)
HARMAN AMY 3304, 21/08 à 23h03 à TINTENIAC (4)
MAGYAR ROBERT 3303, a abandonné le 21/08 à TINTENIAC (4)
HOFFMAN CHARLES 3296, a abandonné le 22/08 à LOUDEAC (5)
MARTIN THOMAS 3337, a abandonné le 22/08 à LOUDEAC (9)
MCKEE JAMES 4688, 23/08 à 17h17 à FOUGERES (11)
NORMAN MICHAEL 3359, 23/08 à 16h50 à FOUGERES (11)
NUSSBAUM CAROL 7483, a abandonné le 22/08 à CARHAIX (6)
NUSSBAUM RALPH 7484, a abandonné le 22/08 à CARHAIX (6)
SANDERS JAMES 1482, a abandonné le 21/08 à LOUDEAC (5)
SCHOENFELD MITCHEL 4826, 24/08 à 01h11 à VILLAINES (12)
SMITH DONALD 4655, a abandonné le 22/08 à CARHAIX (6)
TILDEN BRAD 4646, 24/08 à 06h00 à MORTAGNE (13)
- Sacrificed Pedal to brother Jeff.
VINCENT JOHN 4796, 22/08 à 05h58 à LOUDEAC (5)
************* Did not start (DNS) ****************
KRISHNAMOORTHY, NARAYAN,3431, DNS
SPRAGUE JAMES 4653, DNS
<<-- end of results -->>
A PBP I was forced to watch from afar, I have learnt one thing: one has to be strong in the face of wind and rain (as I am most often, NOT), if one has to see these events to the end. Riding many days in the rain requires a level of mental toughness that I have to build up to.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Never do a 400k when you are out of shape.
Take a bow, Susan France! I had a fun time on the Poor Man's PBP 400K Pre-ride. Riders are in for a treat!
Dan Fender, Brian List, Peg Winczewski, and myself completed the Poor Man's PBP pre-ride. Dan didn't BBB (Brevet, Barf and Bail!). It was my first ever pre-ride where the content of the route sheet was in some doubt; I was quite amazed at the amount of work required of the people creating the route sheet and those doing the pre-ride, to ensure route accuracy. Susan France (OR Randonneurs RBA) created a great route with some new roads that I had never been on, and some utter beauties (Blue Slough Road, S Bank Road, Devonshire road), and some tried and tested (testy? Monte-Elma Road. UGH!) routes such as SR 105, SR 109, and 101 out of Aberdeen. The route sheet was pretty good, and when it wasn't the talents of my fellow riders, helped us get through. I was no use in this endeavour of course, but Brian, Peg and Dan were experts are figuring out things. My hat is off to them. I would have gotten lost countless times if it were not for the route finding and navigation skills of my partners.
We set out at 6a, to some showers, and climbed a short hill (Cooks Hill) which offered some fantastic fog-covered views of the surrounding valley. I got teased for getting excited about seeing deer. Traffic was of course very light at the time of day that we started, and was true of most of the roads that we cycled on, except SR 105, but even on that road, there was minimal traffic on the way back. SR 105 is heavy on debris and traffic. We even saw some Team Time Trials out on S Bank Road, a bike race of some kind. Lots of women teams, some of them said hi, others were just stone faced.
Weather was sporadic rain at the start, beautiful scenery and sunshine for much of the ride, and a deluge of epic proportions along a 3 mile stretch less than 5 miles from the finish. We were all soaked completely. I suffered a slow leak flat on the way to Pacific Beach, but caught up to Peg and Brian, who were camped out at Montesano market getting food. That bakery in Montesano seems to be closed always. We lost Dan Fender in that little excursion, and he finally caught us at the control in Pacific Beach. I got my rear tire slashed (with less than a 1000 miles on it) on SR 109 towards Aberdeen and never found the cause. It did leave a 1" gash on my sidewall. I improvised a $1 bill as a boot and rode gingerly (ka-thump, ka-thump, ad nauseum) to Swanson's market in Aberdeen, where Peg saved my rear-end by lending me her spare tire. Second time this year, I have had to borrow a spare tire. I shall never got out without a spare tire from now on.
The route was great for the most part, and riders are in for a treat, with some very lightly travelled roads and unavoidably, some heavily travelled roads. Susan France is the queen of finding lightly travelled roads, I think. Some dogs tried to chase us, but they were all quite overweight and were half-hearted in their chases and growls. Conversation was great, with Dan and Peg displaying a fantastic sense of humour. Dan is a fellow computer geek, and we had some fun discussions about PC's, Mobile Development, India, China and Prolog. Brian was navigator general, figuring out several tricky route cues. I, as usual, was the guy who can never navigate right.
I had not done a single long ride since the Tahuya 600, and it showed. I constantly brought up the rear, and my companions had to wait for long periods, in the rain at times, which delayed their finish times. Finished very weakly and am not very proud of that. My left knee hurt a little at the end, but as of Tuesday, my condition has greatly improved.
Here are some of the notes that I made. Peg made detailed notes, no doubt already mailed to Susan, and you shall see a very accurate route sheet.
- MP 54.8. Devonshire Road has some massive 1" wide cracks on the road running parallel to the direction of travel, filled with grass at places, not in others, that could be really dicey if you aren't paying attention. Make sure you watch where you are going.
- MP 73.2: Don't get confused by the left turn to go to Pacific Beach (a major highway) with the turn you ACTUALLY need to make, Ocean Shores Road, which is a beautiful, low traffic alternative.
- Pacific beach Control: The market is up the road and the folks there were nice, but their Teriyaki was a bunch of fiction; the food place immediately to the right is a better option. Don't expect great service, or copious refills of your water, if they are busy. They were fast, have Veggie Burgers, and their Onion rings were great. The sun was out, and it was a beautiful place to just sit and enjoy being outdoors.
- MP 109.5: The route sheet was a huge mess at the end of SR 115, but Peg and Brian figured this out. You will have an accurate route sheet, so don't sweat it.
- MP 116.7: The turn to Greenview Road seemed longer than 0.8 miles to me, so don't fret if you don't see it for a while.
- MP 120.3. The road morphing into Discovery is not very obvious, and you may be tempted to stay on Discovery, but you need to make a right turn here. Brian set me right pretty quick, here.
- MP 134.7: Narrow shoulders on SR 109 make it a challenge. I lost my rear tire here, so be careful and ride to the left of the white line, despite traffic. Otherwise you have thorns, and glass, and metal shards to contend with. Pick your poison.
- Aberdeen: The bridge to go over the river, just after Swanson's Market is a pain. No shoulders and high traffic. Take the lane, and pedal with all your might.
- MP145.3: It is not Industrial way, but Earley way (sp?).
- MP 189.8: The quiet section of the ride begins. We encountered very little traffic past SR 105, and whatever we encountered was very courteous. Relax, and enjoy. This is where we started seeing some ominous clouds ahead.
- MP 242.4: Keep a weather eye out for this one. A Right on Old 9 (at what looks like a huge roundabout), an immediate L on Tea St, immediate R on Grand Mound Way. Blink and you will miss this. So watch out. I certainly would have, if it were not for my companions waiting for me on Grand Mound.
- MP 243.5: You better pray for better weather along this stretch. The last 15 miles featured very light rain, but for a 3 mile stretch on 99, the faucets opened up, and we were drenched. But, the finish is nearby. I was ruing my very existence here.
- MP 249.8: The most welcome sight ever. The Travel Inn. After the right turn onto Lakeshore, pay attention to the bumps on the road. I almost wiped out here, and you don't want to crash 100 yards from the finish, do you?
Not that it is important, but our time was ~ 22h 28m. We had 3 big stops of at least a half hour or more, and if you keep your control stops short, you will do much better. Peg said this is an "easy" 400. When you ride as much as Peg does, every course is easy.
Dan Fender, Brian List, Peg Winczewski, and myself completed the Poor Man's PBP pre-ride. Dan didn't BBB (Brevet, Barf and Bail!). It was my first ever pre-ride where the content of the route sheet was in some doubt; I was quite amazed at the amount of work required of the people creating the route sheet and those doing the pre-ride, to ensure route accuracy. Susan France (OR Randonneurs RBA) created a great route with some new roads that I had never been on, and some utter beauties (Blue Slough Road, S Bank Road, Devonshire road), and some tried and tested (testy? Monte-Elma Road. UGH!) routes such as SR 105, SR 109, and 101 out of Aberdeen. The route sheet was pretty good, and when it wasn't the talents of my fellow riders, helped us get through. I was no use in this endeavour of course, but Brian, Peg and Dan were experts are figuring out things. My hat is off to them. I would have gotten lost countless times if it were not for the route finding and navigation skills of my partners.
We set out at 6a, to some showers, and climbed a short hill (Cooks Hill) which offered some fantastic fog-covered views of the surrounding valley. I got teased for getting excited about seeing deer. Traffic was of course very light at the time of day that we started, and was true of most of the roads that we cycled on, except SR 105, but even on that road, there was minimal traffic on the way back. SR 105 is heavy on debris and traffic. We even saw some Team Time Trials out on S Bank Road, a bike race of some kind. Lots of women teams, some of them said hi, others were just stone faced.
Weather was sporadic rain at the start, beautiful scenery and sunshine for much of the ride, and a deluge of epic proportions along a 3 mile stretch less than 5 miles from the finish. We were all soaked completely. I suffered a slow leak flat on the way to Pacific Beach, but caught up to Peg and Brian, who were camped out at Montesano market getting food. That bakery in Montesano seems to be closed always. We lost Dan Fender in that little excursion, and he finally caught us at the control in Pacific Beach. I got my rear tire slashed (with less than a 1000 miles on it) on SR 109 towards Aberdeen and never found the cause. It did leave a 1" gash on my sidewall. I improvised a $1 bill as a boot and rode gingerly (ka-thump, ka-thump, ad nauseum) to Swanson's market in Aberdeen, where Peg saved my rear-end by lending me her spare tire. Second time this year, I have had to borrow a spare tire. I shall never got out without a spare tire from now on.
The route was great for the most part, and riders are in for a treat, with some very lightly travelled roads and unavoidably, some heavily travelled roads. Susan France is the queen of finding lightly travelled roads, I think. Some dogs tried to chase us, but they were all quite overweight and were half-hearted in their chases and growls. Conversation was great, with Dan and Peg displaying a fantastic sense of humour. Dan is a fellow computer geek, and we had some fun discussions about PC's, Mobile Development, India, China and Prolog. Brian was navigator general, figuring out several tricky route cues. I, as usual, was the guy who can never navigate right.
I had not done a single long ride since the Tahuya 600, and it showed. I constantly brought up the rear, and my companions had to wait for long periods, in the rain at times, which delayed their finish times. Finished very weakly and am not very proud of that. My left knee hurt a little at the end, but as of Tuesday, my condition has greatly improved.
Here are some of the notes that I made. Peg made detailed notes, no doubt already mailed to Susan, and you shall see a very accurate route sheet.
- MP 54.8. Devonshire Road has some massive 1" wide cracks on the road running parallel to the direction of travel, filled with grass at places, not in others, that could be really dicey if you aren't paying attention. Make sure you watch where you are going.
- MP 73.2: Don't get confused by the left turn to go to Pacific Beach (a major highway) with the turn you ACTUALLY need to make, Ocean Shores Road, which is a beautiful, low traffic alternative.
- Pacific beach Control: The market is up the road and the folks there were nice, but their Teriyaki was a bunch of fiction; the food place immediately to the right is a better option. Don't expect great service, or copious refills of your water, if they are busy. They were fast, have Veggie Burgers, and their Onion rings were great. The sun was out, and it was a beautiful place to just sit and enjoy being outdoors.
- MP 109.5: The route sheet was a huge mess at the end of SR 115, but Peg and Brian figured this out. You will have an accurate route sheet, so don't sweat it.
- MP 116.7: The turn to Greenview Road seemed longer than 0.8 miles to me, so don't fret if you don't see it for a while.
- MP 120.3. The road morphing into Discovery is not very obvious, and you may be tempted to stay on Discovery, but you need to make a right turn here. Brian set me right pretty quick, here.
- MP 134.7: Narrow shoulders on SR 109 make it a challenge. I lost my rear tire here, so be careful and ride to the left of the white line, despite traffic. Otherwise you have thorns, and glass, and metal shards to contend with. Pick your poison.
- Aberdeen: The bridge to go over the river, just after Swanson's Market is a pain. No shoulders and high traffic. Take the lane, and pedal with all your might.
- MP145.3: It is not Industrial way, but Earley way (sp?).
- MP 189.8: The quiet section of the ride begins. We encountered very little traffic past SR 105, and whatever we encountered was very courteous. Relax, and enjoy. This is where we started seeing some ominous clouds ahead.
- MP 242.4: Keep a weather eye out for this one. A Right on Old 9 (at what looks like a huge roundabout), an immediate L on Tea St, immediate R on Grand Mound Way. Blink and you will miss this. So watch out. I certainly would have, if it were not for my companions waiting for me on Grand Mound.
- MP 243.5: You better pray for better weather along this stretch. The last 15 miles featured very light rain, but for a 3 mile stretch on 99, the faucets opened up, and we were drenched. But, the finish is nearby. I was ruing my very existence here.
- MP 249.8: The most welcome sight ever. The Travel Inn. After the right turn onto Lakeshore, pay attention to the bumps on the road. I almost wiped out here, and you don't want to crash 100 yards from the finish, do you?
Not that it is important, but our time was ~ 22h 28m. We had 3 big stops of at least a half hour or more, and if you keep your control stops short, you will do much better. Peg said this is an "easy" 400. When you ride as much as Peg does, every course is easy.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Goal Change: PBP to Poor Man's PBP.
Regrettably, my quest to ride P-B-P, ended last night. I sent off a cancellation letter to the RUSA folks informing them of this unhappy event. Mark has graciously promised to help me retrieve my Super Randonneur medal and my jersey. I shall sell the jersey. I do not deserve to wear it.
I have known for quite a while now - maybe a week- but kept hoping that maybe I would get lucky... That hope vanished today when I found out that the USCIS had not yet finished processing applications filed on the 2nd of July. I flunked my final qualifying brevet!
I have decided to do the Poor Man's PBP (unlucky man's PBP ?). I might ride the 400k pre-ride with Peg Winczewski and Dan Fender on August 19th, and then do the 600k on August 25th. I am also planning to volunteer on the 400, the day after finishing my 600.
I have not done anything more than 40 miles since the Tahuya 600, so I better get off my butt, and start riding some. I guess being on the bike is the only to get over my French disappointment.
I wish everyone heading over to Paris, the very best of luck, tailwinds and weather. I shall be eagerly watching you all.
I have known for quite a while now - maybe a week- but kept hoping that maybe I would get lucky... That hope vanished today when I found out that the USCIS had not yet finished processing applications filed on the 2nd of July. I flunked my final qualifying brevet!
I have decided to do the Poor Man's PBP (unlucky man's PBP ?). I might ride the 400k pre-ride with Peg Winczewski and Dan Fender on August 19th, and then do the 600k on August 25th. I am also planning to volunteer on the 400, the day after finishing my 600.
I have not done anything more than 40 miles since the Tahuya 600, so I better get off my butt, and start riding some. I guess being on the bike is the only to get over my French disappointment.
I wish everyone heading over to Paris, the very best of luck, tailwinds and weather. I shall be eagerly watching you all.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
USCIS capitulates, and my position worsens.
Bowing to pressure from all quarters, the USCIS has gone back on its rejection of Adjustment of Status applications. So, I am back to where I was 15 days ago. Meaning, I wait for a receipt notice from the USCIS to enable me to travel.
We sent our application in to the lawyers today, who will file our application on Monday. And then the big wait begins. Receipts usually take 3-4 weeks, which would cut it pretty close to PBP, but, it is expected to take longer as the number of applications PILES up at USCIS.
This has been a very nasty emotional roller coaster for me and my wife. I am not very hopeful at this point. I posted on the randon mailing list asking if anybody there is from the USCIS or knows anybody from the USCIS. What the heck? Might as well give it my best shot.
I have called around and found nobody who will insure immigration related travel problems. :)
We sent our application in to the lawyers today, who will file our application on Monday. And then the big wait begins. Receipts usually take 3-4 weeks, which would cut it pretty close to PBP, but, it is expected to take longer as the number of applications PILES up at USCIS.
This has been a very nasty emotional roller coaster for me and my wife. I am not very hopeful at this point. I posted on the randon mailing list asking if anybody there is from the USCIS or knows anybody from the USCIS. What the heck? Might as well give it my best shot.
I have called around and found nobody who will insure immigration related travel problems. :)
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