Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Vetting a new route

4.30.19
Today I rode to test a route that I created based on another rider's route which I'd recorded on my then-new Garmin Edge 820 when I'd ridden with him a couple months back. My tweaks snipped and revised in order to make for what I think is a safer route, and it came in at just over 39 miles, a nice distance for a decent workout. The route worked out well; most of the roads are light on car traffic, and go thru some nice rural parts of Gloucester and Salem counties. There are enough rollers to practice hill climbing and enough uninterrupted stretches on which to push the pace if desired, say, with interval work. At about a half-hour drive from home with free municipal parking at the start/finish in Pitman, it is a route I can see myself returning to ride time and again.

At one point, I saw a farmer on a tractor turning over the ground, and was reminded of a Stan Rogers song, with lyrics including:
Watch the field behind the plow
Turn to straight, dark rows.
Another season's promise in the ground.

I drove away from the house this morning without my water bottle, but turned back within the first mile to fetch it. Good thing I did. At one point in the ride, on Heilig Road, a dog came chasing after me in a most unfriendly way. I pulled the water bottle out of its downtube cage, held it at the ready, and when the loud pugnacious 50-pounder came close enough, I squirted it in the face, which stopped it cold. I'd heard that might work, and was happy to learn it did (this time). Hopefully Butch will think twice about chasing a cyclist again.

Early in the ride, I realized I'd dropped my favorite orange handkerchief somewhere. Damn those shallow windbreaker pockets. Fortunately, I covered the same last few miles of road on my return, and found the bright-colored rag along the shoulder. That's three times now I've lost and found that hankie while cycling!

Thursday, April 18, 2019

Stagecoach 100k randonneur ride, 4.18.19; Bright and blinky

I rode a sanctioned solo 100k ('Populaire') randonneur route this week, the Stagecoach 100k, which begins in Mercer County NJ. The roads and towns were all new to me. Starting in West Windsor, it passed thru Cranbury on the way to the easternmost point, the small town of Farmingdale NJ, then back past Manasquan Reservoir and Turkey Swamp and thru the Assunpink Creek watershed. All these places were just names to me before. Some double-digit headwinds on the return part of the loop (of course) made for a challenge, but it was a good day on the bike riding a nice route (once I got past the morning rush-hour traffic on one particularly busy road, 527A).

Again my recently-purchased Garmin Edge 820 got confused, and I had to accept Turn Off Navigation in order to get rid of the Make U-Turn message. Unlike on the recent 200k, the device did not recognize I was on the correct route so it did not continue to give me turn-by-turn instructions, alas. But it did continue to track my ride and created a nice file to download. And it helped when I came to an unmarked intersection where the cue sheet probably wanted me to turn (based on my total mileage per the separate Cateye computer still mounted to my handlebar). The Garmin confirmed the name of the road to be the road I wanted.

While riding, I was struck by the fact that the several cyclists I saw and acknowledged seemed very cool toward me, as if they didn't see me, or at least, didn't want to acknowledge me and thereby express solidarity. I then wondered if my bright yellow garb (vest and ankle cuffs) and blinky lights front and rear are a turn-off to some other riders, possibly making me a 'Fred.'

It is important to me to be very visible in order to ride safely, especially when riding solo on roads shared with cars, but maybe I am overdoing it in the eyes of others? Should that matter to me?

I do notice more riders seem to be running blinkies these days, especially rear lights. I think that is a great leap forward for cycling safety.

Batsto 200k randonneur brevet 4.06.2019

4.18.19
As planned, I rode the Batsto 200k brevet on Saturday 4/06/19.
Drove there via the AC Expressway with the wipers on intermittent setting, and arrived at Lower Bank by the Mullica in the misty gloaming around 0645. We were sent off from the Lower Bank Tavern, 1.7 miles away (due to parking concerns), at 0730.

The weather got nice and I had a decent day on the bike with no cramping (dosing regularly with Saltstick capsules and Advil), riding alone mostly, and besting last year's time by well over an hour. A lot of that was the lack of a serious headwind this year, for which I was grateful. My total time put me 2/3 down the list of 65 finishers, and I was satisfied with that, considering that I thought I might end up being last rider in. There were 4 DNFs.

My newly-acquired Garmin Edge 820 had the route downloaded to it, but somehow got confused, and I had to choose Stop Navigation in order to get rid of the Make U-Turn message. However, a few miles later somehow it recognized I was still on course, and picked right up again, tracking the whole ride and giving me a nice file to download. I am still trying to figure out the device.

Oh, and I fell once. Came up to a blind intersection where I had the Stop sign and the cross traffic did not, and thought I'd be able to roll thru the country crossroads. Got deep into the corner and saw a fast-coming pickup, so I turned back and hit the brakes, but could not un-clip the left pedal in time and fell on that side. Embarrassed but unhurt, I got up quickly as if it never happened, of course.

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Testing, testing


4.02.19
Since my first 200k brevet a year ago, I've joined Randonneurs USA and ridden four 200k Permanents, plus eight Populaires (100k). I felt I had become a solid randonneur for such distances. However, I came to believe it would be best if took a pass on riding Rick's 2019 Batsto 200k brevet on the first Saturday in April, despite having signed up and paid up well in advance.

Ever since February when I did a 42-mile ride where I pushed myself to keep up with a couple stronger riders while I was wearing SPD clip-ins for only the second time, I have been experiencing more cramping than ever. (Cramping has always been a bugaboo for me.) After riding a 100k Populaire in mid-March (the fifth of a planned P-12), I felt that a 200k was not something I would be able to tackle again anytime soon. As I put it to a co-rider at the diner afterward, there was no way I could turn around and do a second 100k that day.

But I felt badly that I was going to miss Rick's brevet this year, which is something of a party he throws annually. I like Rick as both a co-rider and off-the-bike buddy. And reading the recently-arrived RUSA newsletter American Randonneur always motivates me to ride. So I reasoned that doing a 200k is as much about mindset at the outset as anything else. If I expected to do 200k, rode my own pace and dosed myself with salt capsules and ibuprofen at proper intervals, it could go well enough.

Yesterday I tested myself with a 52-miler of my own design, fighting headwinds across the open fields of Salem County. I figured, with 4+ days to rest up (e.g.no jogging) and the right attitude, I am in good-enough shape to tackle the upcoming 200k. I think Rick was glad to learn this. And I now find that I am looking forward to the ride; with around 60 riders signed up, it should feel like a real event.