mile43 : Jon Muellner

My Sunrise

2011-08-26T21:06:00.001-07:00

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Twin Cities Bicycling Club Sunday Ride

2011-08-07T15:04:00.000-07:00

Just like the ride schedule said - "Beautiful quiet ride through
Washington County. Rolling hills, stops at Scandia, Marine on St
Croix." Rode to the start about 7 miles to the Mahtomedi High School
parking lot and was blown away by the number of riders. We get
surprised with 6-8 riders on a Sunday ride in Port Townsend and here
were 40-50!
Enjoyed the terrain immensely - even though I grew up here, many of
the roads I had never spent much time on, so this was a perfect way
to sample the local fare. Riders were really hospitable to this
wayward visitor and I had some good conversations with Lyle, Pete and
Steve, the latter being a member of the illustrious Gentleman
Cyclists who put on the Lake Pepin 3-Speed Tour I've always wanted to
do.
The ride itself was about 60 miles and I added my to and from and
popped off a good 75 miles all told. The sun came out midway and it
was a perfectly splendid day in the saddle! Thanks to Rebecca the
ride leader and all the wonderful folks at TCBC!
If you are in the area, check out the massive ride schedule (about
2000 rides a year) here: http://www.biketcbc.net

Snacks and conversation at the Scandia Store

Heading back on the Gateway Trail from Hwy 7

One of the amazing bridges on the trail...it's really not bent like that...

A Busy June!

2011-06-20T17:52:00.000-07:00

Lots happening this month as the weather improves (sort of) and we are getting out and around the trails and roads of the lovely and very green Olympic Peninsula. We started off with Peri and I making a hike out on the Dosewallips Trail on a beautiful Sunday!

Peri on the Dosewallips Trail

Dosewallips River was flowing really high

Peri and I have a little lunch of cherries and gorp near the riverside

Peri tries to take over driving...those days are coming soon!

The next week David, Alan and I headed to the Miller Peninsula to explore some of the trails in the new State Park. We had a great time, the weather was pretty good and the trails were fabulous. Great views of the back of Protection Island from the beach and not a soul in sight anywhere.

David and Alan take in the views

David regaining MTB skills on his huge yellow Cannondale

On Father's Day, Peri took me to brunch at Sweet Laurette's then we spent the day riding the Longest Day of Trails event along the Larry Scott Trail. Rained most of the time, but we kept smiling - I love my girl!

Damp but happy!

Also had a spectacular Quilbilly Hilly in Quilcene with a few friends spending all day riding hills - a wonderful day all around and one of the best places to ride ever and I won a bar of Jasmine soap! Check out the great photos here >>

Jasmine soap...needed after a lot of climbing

Can't wait to see what this week brings!

"Jon, you really need to get a life"

2011-03-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

An here's how it's turning out on a Saturday in March...

Union Bowl from chair - boot climb to top next

Union Bowl cornice view one

Union Bowl cornice view two

All mine...

First tracks Enchanted Forest 9AM

Now that's a life I can live with.

Thanks to Copper Mountain, the sun and a really good snow-filled weather pattern from Mother Earth.

North Ten Mile Creek Ski Morning

2011-03-23T13:06:00.000-07:00

Got out this morning for a little ski up North Ten Mile Creek...the weather was gorgeous with blue skies, puffy clouds and lots of sun. New snow the night before was perfect. A little bushwhacking after the Eagle Nest Wilderness boundary, but mainly the trail was etched out enough.

Planned on going up to the meadows below the Gore Range but saw some deep footprints and scat that were fresh and when I looked up there was a huge moose cow just above me. I stayed on the edge of the open space thinking she might amble off, but then she lay down, yawned a few times and made herself comfortable...

Very sleepy moose...

So...thinking that I wouldn't disturb her any more I just turned around and headed back. Probably could have made it by her, but at under 100 yards, and downhill, she would charge me faster than I could get by if she felt like it. Cowardly? Maybe. Respectful. Very.

I did take a little fun video on the way down - and nearly took out a dog laying in the middle of the trail, not to mention a few hikers...fortunately nobody panicked and all was well.

Music: Saltwater by Chicane

Buffalo Mountain Hike

2011-03-19T16:53:00.000-07:00

Finally got up the trail to scout out a possible ski descent of Buffalo Mountain. Decided to use YakTraks and hiking shoes, just to see if I could get past treeline. Getting to the top of the Wildernest development in Silverthorne put me around 9700 ft at the trailhead. Ran into a couple folks already having breathing difficulties (even the rescue team was called), but the thin air felt fine to me. Broke a strap on the YakTraks and had to rebend some wires to make them functional again, but they worked surprisingly well. The trail was pretty hard packed, then slowly softened and deepened as I went up. The goal was to was to get to the north side of Buffalo where there's an incredible 30 degree slope devoid of trees.

After two hours of climbing I reached it and the wind was howling, but the vews were impressive.

View of the north side of Buffalo Mountain

View toward the north

Overlooking the town of Dillon and the dam

The choice to not take gaiters made the final 1/4 mile a post-holing slog, but it was enough to get the idea of where to go next time with skis.


I met up with this fellow on the way down...

Hopefully this week we'll have a nice, calm sunny day and I'll skin up for a few runs - after doing some avalanche testing of course....

Snowy Steep Wednesday

2011-03-09T14:20:00.000-08:00

A good 4-6 inches on top of the 12" this week and things were looking up on the mountain. Headed up first chair to Copper Bowl and had the whole place nearly to myself for almost an hour. Winds were gusting over 25mph at the top of Union Peak. Took a few pics of the morning...

First run down Julie's Vision, nice soft deep powder on the leeward slope.

So good I had to do it twice...

Hike up the West Ridge to drop off the ten foot cornice just past Bradley's Plunge.

Feeling mighty good and the ice beard had not yet grown to its full extent yet!

A few diggers as the snow got heavier and the sun came out, but it was a glorious way to start the day!

Sun and Snow

2011-03-04T20:42:00.000-08:00

Good to be back in CO. Have enjoyed some tele skiing at Copper and snow shoeing up Ten Mile Creek, some productive working and hanging out with my parents. So many cool things about this place, hope to soon have some ski videos and trip reports of another winter of exploring the Rockies.

B-day Sunrise

2011-02-07T07:23:00.000-08:00

5-0 is looking good so far!

One Week to 26.2 and 5-0!

2011-01-29T17:50:00.000-08:00

The final longer run is done as of today and now a very mellow week as we get ready to fly to CA for the Surf City Marathon. Despite the emergence of a rather annoying plantar faciitis issue, I am ready. It is getting better with massage, stretching and ice bottles and I'll make it through. Big thanks to Ian Fraser for some tips to help solve it. Hey, it's just pain, which is just a subjective mental effect from what I read ;-). It won't be a deal breaker, but will make for a slower more relaxed run than I'd planned. No biggie, I'm just so happy I've made it through 4 months of training and can actually do the marathon now!

I can't say enough about Hal Higdon's Training Plans (Novice 2)...it was a reasonable way to give this endeavor a shot and I'm ready. Thanks Hal! That, and support from Carrie, Laura and my charming daughter Peri have made this process enjoyable. There's so many talented runners around here it's crazy.

The weather in Huntington Beach, CA looks like it'll be spectacular compared to Port Townsend's abysmal weather the past few weeks. Just to see actual sunlight would be a miracle. Heck, I might even be able to wear shorts! I have run through rain, sleet, hail, snow, temps from below zero to 60 degrees F and to imagine running in the sun all morning on February 6th makes me smile.

On February 7th I move into my 50th year. Whoa. Time to work on the next goals!

Wild Olympics Wilderness Meeting

2011-01-03T21:05:00.000-08:00

EMBA (Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance) will be hosting a meeting regarding the Wild Olympics proposal on January 13th from 6:30-8:30 PM at the Jefferson County YMCA in their multi-purpose room. The YMCA is located in the Mountain View Commons complex: 1919 Blaine Street, Port Townsend, WA 98368. This invitation is to any mountain bikers or off-road touring cyclists in the area who would like to join the discussion about the proposed changes to access on the Olympic Peninsula due to proposed Wilderness designations. The proposed changes can be found here: http://evergreenmtb.org/php/show_page.php?page_id=322

For more info contact: Elizabeth Salvo, Member of the Board, Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance (206) 524-2900.

This is an important meeting to get your input - the current plans call for increasing the boundaries of the Wilderness area on the Olympic Peninsula and could very well spell the end of off-road touring here...they have made corridors for existing MTB trails, but those are mainly for drive-in, vehicle access only gravity riding, not for those of us who ride in to the woods to camp and explore. While I applaud them for trying to keep out motorized access, the current Wilderness designation includes bicycles, which is archaic and lacks foresight in the human-powered access to wild places.

New Chetzemoka Ferry & Bikes

2010-12-01T19:55:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, Nov 28, 2010, Mary, Gary and I went over to Whidbey on the ferry Chetzemoka to try out the bike facilities on the new ferry. David and I had ridden on the Nov 14th inaugural sailing and had some concerns about configuration, rack choice and the ramp/door issue. We each had a regular road bike with fenders and a bag, pretty usual for what a day cyclist would have.

Going Up - The Ramp

The first step was getting on the ferry and then up the ramp. As you can see from the photo, the ramp is fairly steep. We managed to navigate it but it would be quite challenging for other cyclists. If you had a loaded touring bike that weighed more, were older or less strong, had a trailer, trike or recumbent it would be more difficult or impossible. Ferry workers did mention a couple getting their tandem up the ramp fairly easily.

Depending on which way you are traveling, the ramps on the stairs are both on the inboard side so that we entered End 2 with the ramp on our left and descended with the ramp on the left. The return was the opposite at End 1, with both up and down on the right.

Measurements made indicate 6.5" rise and 11" tread equating to an angle of 30 degrees, which is the shallow end of what is considered to be the low end of the preferred stair angle (30 degrees to 35 degrees are the preferred range in a house).

At the Top - The Door

At the top of the stairs is a large door that must be opened, but it was easier than it seemed for us. Other riders may have more difficulty. Next to the door it says "No Sports Cleats", but no one said anything to us and we would have ignored that request anyway as it was wet and 35 degrees out...Once inside we racked our bikes.

Inside - The Racks

The racks are the standard "wheel benders", which are rarely used any longer, but did hold our bikes pretty securely on the crossing. A more secure way of holding the bike frame securely against a padded bar would be preferred, especially if the crossing is rough. Looks like you could have at least 16 bikes up there without jamming them together; two on a side. The wall is close on one end, but only a longer chainstay bike would be affected.

The flooring wasn't slippery and our walkable mountain bike shoes made no marks or scratches. Not sure how it would be if it was really wet, but on all other ferries cyclists have never had much problem either. I think they are more worried about football or soccer cleats, or road cycling shoes without covers (which are deadly anywhere).

Coming Down - The Ramp

This was where things got a bit more challenging...the only way to get the bike down is to apply the brakes and preferrably both, but if you slipped on the stairway you'd have to grab for the rail and then the bike is loose on a narrow ramp and very difficult to handle. It was not easy. Mary grabbed the rail for stability and had no brakes to slow the bike. Both Gary and I rolled the back wheel off the ramp and had to continue with it bouncing down the stairs. Gary felt like the rear of the bike was trying to come around and push him down the stairs. There is definately some real liability/saftey issues with using the stairs/ramp especially on the way down. There will be problems if this not addressed, hence our feedback and input.

David determined the angles and said the ramp angle for current ADA requirements is 1" rise in 12" run which is 4.76 degrees (calculator used to determine the degree translation). Obviously ramp angles have to be much shallower than acceptable stair angles. They cannot get the ADA slope in the available space. There are probably other guides out there for ramp angles that are acceptable but don't meet ADA (wheelchair) standards.

Be very careful descending the stairs with a bike. It is by far the most hazardous part of the trip. For some it would probably be easier to shoulder your bike and walk it up or down the stairs if you are able.

The Salish is already built with the ramps and so it will be the same. This may be our only ferry we ever have again, so let's get it right!

Final Notes

All in all it was a good test for basic bikes and single riders. I want to note that the ferry workers were all very accommodating and asked for our input and suggstions on options for anyone unwilling or unable to navigate the stairs with their bike. Fortunately, it looks like there are some options in the photos below if tie-downs were available.

Ferry Chetzemoka on deck bike parking possible inside of well under stairway and passenger compartment - maybe trikes or recumbents.

On deck bike parking possible beneath passenger compartment - maybe a rack in this space?

On deck bike parking possible along inside of narrow lane (left in this photo). This space is only for small cars and drivers not paranoid about tight spaces.

With a combination of providing Barb Culp at the Bicycle Association of WA with info, talking to David Moseley's office to take up these issues and Gordon Black who consulted with the ferry designers early on in the process to see what they told him, we may be able to come up with as many choices as possible for the safe passage of cyclists on the Ferry Chetzemoka between Port Townsend and Keystone (Coupeville) on Whidbey Island.

More info on the new Kwa-di Tabil Class (64-Car) Ferries at WSDOT.

Beverages and food supplied by the fabulous Toby's in Coupeville...

Also posted at the PTBA web site ptbikes.org

Off Road Bike Touring and Wilderness Restrictions

2010-11-15T13:18:00.000-08:00

So this is what's occurring on the Olympic Peninsula: increasing the Wilderness areas...

Is this a good thing or not?

A secret place in the Olympics...

While on the surface a Wilderness designation provides certain protection for some areas, the continued inclusion of mountain biking in the "prohibited motors & mechanical transport" category prevents me from supporting any movement to take away access. I've seen this happen too many times in the past 30 years and until the criteria consider bikes as lawful users in Wilderness, we will never be on the same footing as horsepacking, hunting and other uses. It is simply not fair or equitable to those of us who are truly devoted to wild places and yet shunned from them.

With the increase in off-road bicycle touring (like the Great Divide Route and others), it seems a most natural fit to have the access across areas in a continuous manner so one could actually go from Lake Cushman to Hurricane Ridge area or along the West End without running into barriers or laws that prevent movement. Arguments that the mountain bike community is getting what they want through exempted trails is just for those who drive motor vehicles to the trails and unload their bikes for a few short hours of riding, it does not address off-road touring by bicycle at all.

What about those who ride into the Olympics or want to camp and tour by bike off-road on the closed old logging roads? Will we be prevented from crossing into Wilderness because we are "mechanical transport" by some archaic law? Crossing the drainages in the Olympics is difficult enough without adding additional barriers to connect the entire Olympic Peninsula as a continuous circular bike touring route seem short-sighted and not economically sound. Why shut down a possible revenue generator for the small, rural communities along the way? Less and less people are taking long backpacking trips into the backcountry, but "bike-packing" is increasing. Shouldn't we make our decisions based on trends that will benefit the most in the future?

I am opposed to any additional Wilderness designation on the Olympic Peninsula until bikes are removed from the out-dated Wilderness law that include them with quads, motorcycles, etc. Getting a few trails exempted does nothing for a bike-packer or our local economy. Evergreen MBA and the Wild Olympics Coalition don't want to take on the onerous legislative task of trying to change a federal law (will IMBA?) - but do we want to lose access for a complete Olympic MTB Route like the GDMBR in the future?

How can we make this work?

Now for Something Completely Different

2010-10-23T12:30:00.000-07:00

As the fall season came around, I was again drawn to help coach cross-country. This time it was for the Port Townsend High School XC team and it has been a blast! A stellar group of kids and coaches really makes it a special part of every day. Seeing my daughter run like I did in high school (and loving it) got me back to running more regularly and rekindled my passion for it. After so many years of cycling, it's been exciting to partake in a new endurance sport (and one that will help my skiing).

So, as things tend to go with me - nothing worth doing is done marginally - I have signed up to run the Surf City USA Marathon on Feb. 6, 2011, the last day of my 49th year! I'm done with the first 3 weeks of "training" and have 15 weeks to go. So far, so good and I love it more every day. My wife Carrie and friend Laura are also doing it (though they both have run 2-3 marathons), so the fun has begun!

Here's to new adventures! We're even talking about also doing Big Sur in May...but I'll try one first!

Sadie Creek Labor Day Exploration

2010-09-06T19:50:00.000-07:00

The dismal weather cancelled a planned ride for today with The Broken Spoke shop crew but as I had the time I went and did a ride I hadn't done before in the Sadie Creek ORV trails. The trailhead is about 8 miles west of Joyce on Hwy 112 past Port Angeles on the left at Twin River Rd. Got there a bit late in the morning and didn't get riding until around 10am. It wasn't too bad at the start, just a light mist. A family was there with 3-wheelers and motos and looked like they had camped for the weekend.

In the spirit of trying new routes, I opted to go out what I knew would be the less fun direction from what the topo map showed. Needless to say, it wasn't long before I was doing more hiking than biking and the rain really started to pound. I wore a couple wool jerseys, arm warmers and knickers and was pretty comfy as the trees kept the rain off some. On a dry day I probably could have ridden more of the climb, but parts were just relentless and it's doubtful whether I could have done it anytime. My low gear is 27" (32/34) and maybe a 22/34 could have coped, but mainly it just let me know I was not quite in shape for it!

Once I made the ridge after an hour the terrain became better, but the rain increased and so did the wind. Every viewpoint was shrouded in fog and clouds, but it was quiet. No doubt the weather sent most folks home early for hot cocoa and warmth. Smart. As with every ORV area, there were a fair amount of rocky sections, which is fine for a 3-4" tire, but at 2" I was getting pounded a few times on my rigid Redline, but all the better for improving my line picking skills! Could have let more air out, but was trying to avoid the chance of a pinch flat, but next time I think I can go down another 10lbs and do fine.

The ridge rolled up and down all the way to the intersection with trail/road PA-S-1300 which drops to road PA-S-1000. There I opted to cut the ride short and head down. I had already been out for over 2 hours and wanted some warmth and food...that and hitting the ground a few times was enough to make me a sissy-boy. Visibility varied from great to less than 100 feet with the fog, with a good dose of rocks and mainly a descent through a drainage creek encouraged rapt attention. There was a recent clearcut to navigate with berms dug every so often. When I finally got to PA-S-1000 I was cold and wet, so on with the Patagonia shell, which was like heaven.

The way back was just a smooth gravel road with some small bridges and a couple of big diameter rock sections where they must have put in culverts lately. It was an easy return and lots of deep puddles - one even on one of the bridges!

By the time I returned, the whole ATV family was gone and I was alone. Total time out was over 3 hours and I covered a whopping 15 miles! With stopping and photos, I think I averaged about 4 miles an hour. It was a good day though, and I was glad to have gotten out!

Can't wait to ride the rest of the trail, but I'll try the clock-wise direction. I've opted to call the counter-clockwise direction "Sadistic Creek".

At home it was time to clean the Redline...not bad once I rode through a few of those puddles!

A Quote to Ponder

2010-09-04T11:00:00.000-07:00

"Modern industrialized states [are] resentful of a few cleverly arranged pounds of tubes and spokes. The cyclist creates everything from almost nothing, becoming the most energy-efficient of all moving animals and machines and, as such, has a disingenuous ability to challenge the entire value system of a society. Cyclists don't consume enough. They can propel themselves 1500 pollution-free miles on the energy equivalent of a gallon of petrol. The bicycle may be too cheap, too available, too healthy, too independent and too equitable for its own good. In an age of excess it is minimal and has the subversive potential to make people happy in an economy fueled by consumer discontent." -Jim McGurn, 1994

--As I have tapered off the randonneuring season and moved into the fun ride season (including more dirt), I find myself caught up in planning, dreaming and thinking about bike touring. I miss that feeling of daily movement, new places and being outside. A time when the burden of making dollars and being occupied with paying for things that have limited value in a real sense become mere memories. Here's to all those who are out there now - I hope to be joining you soon!

Now, where to go?

Three Volcanoes 300km - Top Ten Ride

2010-08-09T11:28:00.000-07:00

Despite having spent the last two months basically off the bike, the motivation to ride the Three Volcanoes 300km again after 5 years was strong. It would be the final ride to complete the series and possibly the last brevet for a time as I review my goals for the coming year. It would be a fitting ride - nothing better than mountains and gravel roads for a whole day!

I made it to the Packwood RV Park around 5pm and had a nice dinner and beers at the Blue Spruce Inn. They were very friendly and I was obviously the only patron who didn't live in town, but I've always enjoyed the place. Afterward I headed back to the camp to prep for the early start and get into bed early. Joe Platzner came over and we chatted while I laid out my gear, then I headed over to his campsite (much nicer than mine!) and enjoyed the smoky fire and blueberries and cherries he brought along. We had a really nice chat and it was a relaxing way to ease into sleep mode. By 9:30 it was lights out in the orange bus. I slept well and woke up 10 minutes before the alarm. Had a nasty sore throat and knew a cold had begun, but figured it was early enough in its course that I could make it through the day. Met Ward Beebe putting a good dose of sunscreen on in the restroom and we both looked rather sleepy. Then it was on the bike and off to the start at the Shell station. Hoping to see some wildlife on the route, I was startled by an elk that ran out from the bushes behind me and could hear its heavy hoofs echo as it ran across the highway. One goal checked off and I hadn't even begun the ride!

About 50 riders were at the start, and Mike Richeson and Robin Pieper were handing out cards and cue sheets. Everyone seemed pretty psyched about the ride, as it truly is one of the best SIR has to offer and much discussion surrounded the issue of tires. I opted to just stick with the usual Michelin ProRace 700x25 tires I've been using. Some folks went pretty big, with Amy Pieper and Peg Winczewski on the Co-Motion tandem with 700x42s. They would be the first to even try this route with a tandem, but as both are "strong as bulls" (insert Russian accent), they would have no problem.

Everyone pacelined out to Randle, which seems to be the normal method of rushing to the first climb and I stopped to peel off a layer as the climb up FS Rd 25 began. I like riding alone and really wanted to revel in the whole experience, so blowing up on the first ascent was not the plan. Most everyone else was long gone as I made my way up in the quiet morning. As we came to the first control at Iron Creek the sun had risen and the day looked great weather-wise. I made sure to stock up on water at every opportunity, as the last time it was very hot. Three bottles with over 90oz. of water was just right.

Next up was Babyshoe Pass. This is my favorite part of the ride and I had enough energy to power up the front side and fly down the back. Got up to 30mph on the descent which was exhilarating. When I got back on pavement I got to see Mt. Adams towering over the road and I was all smug knowing I had enough food and water for the nice long trek to Trout Lake...except that one of my big bottles was gone! Alas, though I usually compress the cages before such rides, but obviously didn't do it and was now down to only one empty bottle and one full small one. Oh well, it wasn't overly warm, so I knew it would be OK. A while later Ian Shopland came riding up and asked if I'd lost a bottle. Yes! It was even still full, a tribute to the well sealed Zefal lid (so tight I can't even get it off sometimes). Thanks Ian!

We descended into Trout Lake where we could get some good grub and watch the annual parade. It was funny talking about how many parades most of us have been through, in and near while riding brevets. What could possibly be the connection? Time of year of course, but maybe it's just a general sense of pride each community feels when this band of merry riders comes through. Who knows. Along with the usual townies, the rando crew overwhelmed K's Corner as everyone stocked up on burgers and a variety of huckleberry shakes, pies and lemonade. I had a Mt. Adams burger in honor of the great peak. Delicious!

Subsequent climbing was pretty pleasant as the heat never quite materialized and fighting the cold that gave me chills all day. I think I only took off my arm warmers twice. The roads were mostly free of traffic which is always a joy. Felt pretty good on the bike with only my right knee acting up on occasion and a good headache. Taking it slow was the best medicine and thankfully I had some Hall's cough drops for the sore throat. Off and on during this section I would run into a few other riders while we ambled toward Northwoods. I was looking forward to another bunch of food and soon had a scrumptious turkey and provolone sandwich provided by our fab volunteers with some Cool Ranch Doritos - yum. Though I had been riding with Ian a bit, he headed off before me and I opted to get prepped for the last climb and deteriorating weather. A few raindrops and cloudy skies indicated that our run of sun was about to end.

Looking forward to the descent off Elk Summit I noodled my way to the top - most of the time was inside the clouds, so visibility was decreasing along with the light. With only 100km left I knew I'd be in before 11pm, so I was on about the same pace as 2005. Too bad we didn't have the views like last time though. I saw Dave Rowe, Jon and one other rider getting rain gear on for the descent, but I just kept going. It was another thrilling drop through the clouds and I had a blast hopping cracks and straining to see ahead. The E3 light worked pretty well, though it was crooked, but definitely was bright enough. Too soon though the end came and Kole, Jennifer and Frank all caught me on the flats, just as I knew they would. I do much better just going up and down!

I tried to stay on the "Kole Train" but couldn't jive enough to maintain it for more than a few miles so slowly I watched their lights fade away in the rain. I stopped at Bennett Rd. for a quick snack of homemade chocolate chip bars and slowly rode the remainder of the ride looking for elk in the dark. For some reason, we passed a perfectly good end of the ride at the Shell station and kept going to the Four Square Church...unknown as to the meaning of this gratuitous few kms...maybe some conspiracy of some sort. All was well though when I saw Robin and he offered me a chilly beer to distract me. My 2010 series had finished!

James and Andy showed up soon after and Andy and I headed to the pizza place before they closed - James was actually going to drive home that night! All I wanted was some food, shower and sleep as my cold would soon catch up to me full force. We ran into Noel, Ian and his girlfriend (who were now off for two days of hiking) all lounging in the warmth of the booth. The staff were very nice to us as we only got there 10 minutes before closing and I was so appreciative of their service! Soon headed back to camp and by midnight was fast asleep in the orange bus. A very good day on all accounts.

Chris Heg has some photos and a great write-up of the ride here.

Chris Ragsdale's World Record Ride

2010-08-02T17:26:00.000-07:00

What an amazing weekend! I had the pleasure of being one of the support crew for Chris Ragsdale's attempt on the 24 hour road distance record and the first 1000km road time record. Both of these are daunting for an endurance cyclist, even someone as fit and motivated as Chris is. They are basically individual time trials on the open road with just your mind, body and crew...a fairly lonely endeavor and exceptionally challenging.

Chris heading down Best Rd. on Lap 21

It was honestly one of the most emotionally and physically intense efforts I have ever witnessed and the outpouring of desire to see Chris succeed was humbling. We all love Chris - he is sometimes so nice and soft spoken you'd hardly know what he is capable of when on a bike - and to help him make this happen was really special. It felt like one huge community goal, albeit with only him to take the brunt of the suffering!

He started at 7AM Saturday July 31st on a 10.8 mile circuit in the Skagit Valley outside La Conner with the base at the Queen of the Valley Inn. The course was chosen for it's relative flatness, a combination of only four right turns and minimal places to have to stop at lights (one must follow the rules of the road) along with a good time of year for weather.

His initial laps were very fast with the first at over 25mph! While the day went on he kept a good buffer until the evening when a series of flats ate away the minutes. Tension was in the air as the crew scrambled for repairs and plans for contingencies. The spare Cervelo had no aerobars, so was a slower option, but he still could pound out the miles. The main bike was a Lightspeed TT bike with a disc rear and a variety of front wheels depending on wind issues.

As the night wore on the fatigue began to set in and it was a monumental effort for Chris to stay awake and focused. We realized he was not going to get the necessary time to beat the 24 hour record so everything switched to the 1000km. It was hard for Chris to accept - after all the planning and energy I think he felt quite down...but of course, between our insistence and his fortitude, the new goal became everyone's mission!

I became a roving cheerleader during the long dark night before dawn - always one the most difficult aspects of riding around the clock. I went from one point near Highway 20 and another back off Best Road back and forth so I could be there for him a couple times per lap. Not sure how it went as I would see him for about 10 seconds as he roared by each time, but wanted to show we were rooting for him all the way!! The orange VW bus got in some serious time in the Skagit...

Sleepy but looks good!

Morning dawned and he was still going, really amazing to see. Some laps were slower and some faster, but his biggest challenge beside physical fatigue was the need to sleep. He was so tired! At times, he would stop and we'd get to him and try to re-focus him and get him going again and he would slap his own face a few times to wake up (we would have done the same!) then he's continue on for another lap. What awesome effort! At 24 hours he'd reached 494 miles and ate a the fried egg and cheese sandwich the Jan from the inn made. Very good people there!!

Chris just kept pounding it out till he got on the last lap - as he passed my cheer spot on Best he let me know he was on the final stretch - I quickly headed to the little white line on La Conner-Whitney Rd and met up with Chris' wife Lara and his mom who came all the way from Michigan to see him. Soon others came and we all waited as Chris came up the road. Finally done!! 1000km. 31:40:10. You are the best Chris!! Congratulations!!

The official finish line.

More about Chris
Event Photos
Event Videos

600 km: Saturday & Anti-Saturday

2010-06-09T21:25:00.000-07:00

Well, for a variety of reasons, this was one of the hardest 600s I've done in the past 10 years! Partly due to a lack of mileage and just plain forgetfulness about what sort of effort is entailed in such ventures, I blindly headed out at 5AM with about 50 more prepared and motivated folks to finish this awesome route within the appointed 40 hours.

A few weeks ago after the 400 km I mistakenly felt like I could do a pretty fast time, but I only got on my bike for a piddly 100 miles in three weeks and that didn't quite do it for preparation! Decided to choose a lighter bike this time (Merckx Corsa-01) and test out some battery lights and low-spoke count wheels too. Nothing like trying a whole slew of new things at once. Risky, but you never know until you try!

I'd gotten some good sleep over the past few days and the night before, so the early start was no problem. Steve Davis was staying at the Motel 6 too and we rode the couple miles to the start. I missed a good breakfast so had to snack a bit and then collect some food early in the ride to eat. Not a great way to start, but it worked. The ride along Ben Howard was really nice and I got to the first control at Skykomish by 9:30 with Jennifer. Spent about 15+ minutes getting my act together - a long stop for an early control and she had gone on without me (smart girl). The climb up Stevens was the usual noisy traffic but I felt great and motored to the top when I noticed a little twinge in my left achilles. This being an ongoing issue, I changed to a higher cadence and lower gear and felt better pretty quickly. We had a nice reprieve on the Old Cascade Highway and Jennifer saw a bear! I missed it. Soon we were over the top but the descent is slow but the ride into Leavenworth along the river was really beautiful. What a sunny day after the whole week before was just plain wet!

I got caught at the intersection before the Subway for a long spell and chatted with some cuties in a pickup who were curious about our adventure. They were mightily impressed with it all and I felt all manly telling it. I got a half sandwich and some chips and ate with Mike who was giving updates to his sweetie. Slammed down a nice lemonade and stripped down to shorts and got on the road for Blewett Pass. That one is very gradual and pretty, with good shoulders and not too much sun. In a short while I was at the top where Amy and Robin had set-up a secret control with snacks. James had carried a sandwich to the top and was going to throw it away, but I snatched it and enjoyed a nice warm meatball sub...must have had it in his jersey....very tasty!

Another fairly slow descent - none of these passes has much in the way of a steep drop, but it was nice to rest the legs and cruise. The winds were pretty light though, so it was a good feeling to know that wasn't going to be a challenge. In Ellensburg, Noel, Ian and I stopped for something different than the usual speed grub - at a little Italian place I had a nice Ceasar salad and a root beer. It felt good after just too much bread. They headed out before me and I finally got going only to stop a moment later for some extra PayDays and nuts as there wasn't much else in the next 120 km.

As the light began to fade I came up on Jennifer, Dave and Steve heading into the Yakima Canyon. This was one of the highlights of the route for me and I should have been there a bit earlier to get the full sunset light show, but it was still pleasant. I did manage to acquire about 100 gnats and other flying creatures in my beard but the mustache kept them out of my mouth. Better to breath through the nose anyway as it's supposed to keep your heart rate down. It got really dark and I finally put on all lights (one Cateye single LED and a small Cateye 3 LED) and they did a good job. I'd never ridden with anything but a generator hub and Schmidt light before, so this was a new experience. Not sure I'd want them in a really nasty night with rain, but they were fine. Ian and I had a good chat while riding through some of the fabulous valleys around the area.

Made it to the Silver Beach Resort overnight control around 2:30AM which would give me a good amount of time to eat and sleep for a few hours. I roomed with James and Chris who both had drop bags and actually showered...they smelled good and I just crawled into the sack with a dry wool top on and crashed. Hope I wasn't too offensive, but I've never taken a shower on a 600 km and wasn't about to start - there's no sense when you have nothing clean to change into!

I was up before Don came in to wake us and got some pancakes and ham with coffee and a yogurt and banana for dessert. The rain was coming down hard, but knowing that there was only 200 km to go made it palatable. It was also not too cold with all the climbing up White Pass and the descents were much more fast and fun, so I never really got cold. Had I been more prepared I might have brought some booties and wool gloves, but it turned out I was on the inside edge of adequate.

Corey and Ian had a control at the turn for SR-123 to Cayuse and they tanked me up with a nice mocha and some water. We shared our secret CapForest MTB handshake but I didn't stay long so I could get on with the last climb of the day. That control was a nice reprieve for many - all crowded around the space heater under the tent! The climb was sweet - quiet rain in the trees and very little traffic. Waterfalls cascading from the cliffs and wisps of low clouds hanging in the vibrant green forest. It was truly magical. I rode with a number of folks on the way up, Joe Llona, Tom Brett, Mike Huber and a few more of us were all winding our way up in a long line, always getting closer to the top and speed decreasing every mile. The snow depth increased proportionately. The minute I got over I cruised down the other side and on to Greenwater for a nice cup-o-soup and some chocolate milk with Dave Harper and Mike Huber and eventually Joe again as we headed for Redmond.

The last stretch was long, I kept yawning and was feeling the previous 33 hours of effort. I finally had to let Dave and Joe go as my achilles was hurting and I was just not able to keep a reasonable pace any longer. We regrouped at the Shell station control where Dave had just flatted and Joe provided moral support. It almost happened again as the tire bead had come off the rim after it was inflated, but he saved it in time. We left for the last 16 km and finally arrived a bit after 5 or so. It felt good to be done!

Brad and his wife had plates of pasta ready to eat with beverages and snacks and a few of us sat around chatting in the driveway. Noel made sure to point out my totally useless tail light mounting which was completely blocked by my saddle bag...a well-deserved ribbing as it really was bad. 10 years later and there's still things to learn!

A big thanks to Jeff Tilden, Brad Tilden & Don Smith plus the intrepid pre-riders and volunteers who made it all happen. Hard ride for me, but very memorable!

Flat and Fairly Fast 400 km

2010-05-29T12:25:00.000-07:00

Finally getting around to writing a bit about the 400 km on May 15th! It was one of those really fabulous spring days, warmish with a hazy sun above and lots of very anxious randonneurs at the ferry terminal in Bremerton. We got a bit of a late start and everyone rolled off quickly. Poor Peter Liekkio had a flat right after exiting Hwy 3 and Wayne shot past the exit completely and had to climb over the barrier to get back.

I quickly settled into a great conversation with Mike Huber and we rolled through the first few km on our way to Shelton. He eased back and I took my usual solo jaunt. Near McCleary I got pulled into a paceline with a few folks who were attempting a rather stringent paceline routine...it was pretty functional, but these sorts of things are never quite smooth enough and required too much attention from me. When we hit the Cosmopolis control I made a quick exit and promptly overshot the first turn - I've done the route before and knew where it was, but the brain just sputtered.

Heading to the coast we took some of my favorite roads paralleling Hwy 12 and eventually made it to the Westhaven State Park control where I had a big sandwich and had to battle cars and chemically altered surfers both in and out. The next leg to Raymond is really sweet and takes me along the coast which was pleasantly calm with only some headwinds. It felt really good to be riding!

In Raymond I somehow mis-read the cue where it said "US 101 and Heath St" and proceeded to take a left and up the climb to the top of the big hill - it was then I saw Mike Richeson and a few others who I knew were ahead of me and I had to go all the way back down and get my card signed in the right place. Back up the hill for a second time I barked at myself for being too scatter-brained, but then laughed it off as another lesson.

The tailwind from Raymond and on SR 107 to Potlach was fabulous and I gained back some of the time lost. Bill Dussler and a few others caught up with me and we hung together till just before Potlach when my quads just about burst. I've never had cramps quite that bad but the sustained 46-32 km pace for a few hours had burned them up. Wasn't sure how the last 60 km would be, so I foolishly let the gang head out before me as I finished a cup-o-soup, Coke and a couple ibuprofen. Surprisingly, when I got back on the bike I felt great and enjoyed a really splendid night ride back to Bremerton along the Hood Canal's great hook.

Cruised in at 18:03, only a few minutes past my goal, but still the fastest 400 km I'd done in 10 years. After chatting with Peter Beeson, Maggie and Eric and consuming a few slices of pizza I headed home and finally flopped into bed at 4AM. What a lovely day!

NW Crank!

2010-05-04T09:43:00.000-07:00

Always one of my favorite times of the year, NW Crank in Wenatchee brings together a fabulously fun group of riders for all over to revel in the excellent riding in Eastern WA in the month of April. Last year I only did support as I was recovering from surgery, so this year I could ride! I got a room at Inn at the River too as the bus was in the shop and I needed to do some work while there, so lots of comfort this time around.

First day was the classic Colockum, Malaga, Stemilt Hill with the added bonus of Mission Ridge. Very cool ride which provides over 8000 ft of climbing in about 75 miles and the views are stupendous! Amy and Nicole provided a nice break in the woods and everyone was looking very happy with their day.

Thankfully, Bob Brudvik kept me company and the way up and there waited the whole gang anticipating the descent, which is one of the best downhills around. I was the last one up, and had to beat tail to be the first down...I love my orange Eddy!

Now that's a happy group of riders!

On Saturday I embarked on another one of my fav rides - the Rock Island Grade ascent with 20 miles of gravel road, a bit of wind and some really expansive views. We made it through numerous snow squalls on our way to the Badger Mtn. support, which I needed as I was famished. Most of the crew took off early and I needed to finish the massive sandwich that Nicole so graciously made for me. Delicious...

At the top of Rock Island Grade ready to cruise through the gravel toward Waterville.

By Sunday my arm was spasming so I took the day off and strolled along the river for a few hours, had lunch and a beer at McGlinn's Pub and came home for a nap. Drove out to the end of the 200 km to help Wayne out and haul some happy riders (Jennifer, Eric, Maggie and Bill) home before dinner and the white elephant exchange at Garlini's (what fun!). A very pleasant day all in all!

Monday I met up with the always cheerful Jennifer Chang in Leavenworth and we tooled up Chumstick Canyon to Plain where we enjoyed a break and chat with Maggie and Eric. Cruised back to our cars and then went to Red Bird Good Mood Food and ate and talked for a couple hours. A perfect end to the weekend.

A big thanks to Mike McHale for organizing this event again and all who helped make it happen. I will be back again for year 6 next spring with the orange VW bus! (And thank you Jennifer for the parrot - Peri loved it!)

Photos by Jim Rupert

Spring 200 km, Mostly about Jimmy

2010-03-17T18:50:00.000-07:00

Having to ride at 3AM for a 7Am start over 100 miles away is not really that difficult, except that I am out of practice. It was too early to eat when I left, so coffee was it and on arrival at Greg's place, the anticipation and gear check took precedence over food - needless to say, I started at a deficit that would dog me for 130 km.

It was a blast seeing all my favorite folks on the ride, but I was preoccupied with thoughts of my dear friend Jimmy who had been shot and killed in Seattle this day 20 years ago (Seattle Times). It was a somber remembrance and something I pondered all day. He would have loved this, or more likely would have been at the start with his guitar and harmonica with his dog Salvador at his feet, playing some funky tune he wrote. The ride was a good time to connect with the good memories we had. I miss you Jimmy.

This is a popular event and one that I've done since 2001 (most years). The Cox's have decided that this was the final Chili Feed though, so no way would I miss it! Their gracious hosting of this event for 11 years is above and beyond what most would take on, but I hope they know it is so very much appreciated!

Though I was happy to be riding with the gang again, I mostly wanted to ride alone and think. I told this to a few folks that came alongside and I apologize to them all for not being very social, but it was a roller coaster emotional day for me.

Next up is another 200 km from Arlington to Bellingham. I hope there's more sunshine.

Jon, Noel and Joe cruising up another hill...

100 km Populaire - what a great day!

2010-03-01T08:39:00.000-08:00

I cannot say how nice it was to be back riding with the SIR gang. Today was really stellar weather-wise and with friends David and Dwight from PT headed to Renton. A big crowd and many familiar faces greeted us and off we went in what was to be a day of dry roads and sunshine!

Lots of good climbing on the route, but nothing too taxing. The usual suspects were off the front and gone, but I took a more leisurely start and later picked up the pace first with Matt Newlin and then Bill Dussler. Fell off Bill's increasing diesel pace on the way up Tiger Mountain but hooked up with Corey Thompson, Ian Shopland and a few others for the final third of the ride at the info control. We did a few bonus miles as Corey and I talked our way right past the 224th turn and finally found our way back. Al (?) on the beautiful chromed, lugged Davidson had a map...thankfully. I need to get one of those...

The finish at the Dog & Pony Ale House was rockus and fun, with the US-Canada hockey game going on and everyone talking about the ride and the season now underway. Enjoyed a big fish and chips and pint of IPA before gawking at all the glorious bikes on the patio and heading home.

Thanks to all for a wonderful day!

Hike to Mt. Royal

2010-02-04T05:49:00.000-08:00

My parents and I decide to take a Sunday hike to Masontown on Mt. Royal near Frisco. We can just start from the house and in a few short minutes we are on the trail. It rises immediately and there are a few folks on the trail. Masontown is an abandoned mining area, with little remaining, but makes for a nice destination. When we arrive, I decide to continue to the summit while my parents head down.

The first stop is an old mining cabin and mine up the slope I decided to see before heading to the summit. There are piles of tailings still remaining from the late 1800's and great views. I can only imagine what this was like when it was a working mine.

The view here is toward Lake Dillon and the towns of Dillon and Silverthorne. The patchy clouds allowed some sun to shine and I had to add some wind pants and a shell to stay warm as the wind was more evident.

The trail was fairly hardpacked from snowshoers, but in a few spots I would plunge down to my waist and have to wrestle my way out. I was the only one up here by this time, so I reveled in the solitude.

The summit of Mt. Royal is pretty bare and the wind was howling, but I spent quite a bit of time strolling back and forth exploring. Elevation is 10,502 ft. and I could see I-70 about 1500 ft. below...if you fell you'd basically land on it....

Trees were pretty tortured on the exposed summit, but made some very interesting shapes! With the lack of snow lately I could see footprints from all the people who'd made it up here in the past two weeks.

The wind was really blowing and there was a constant stream of spindrift flying over the saddle. After about 30 minutes I headed back down for a nice warm lunch and a nap! So wonderful that this point is under 2 miles from the front door!

Frisco to Breckenridge and Back

2010-01-29T16:24:00.001-08:00

There are those times when you just have to get out and spend a day skiing in the woods. Last Saturday was it for me, a 20 mile roundtrip from Frisco to Breckenridge and back along the Peaks Trail. It's not a real difficult route, but mostly it allowed a bit of solitude, good physical effort and some truly fun backcountry skiing.

The start of the Peaks Trail, just past Rainbow Lake and about 2 miles from where I started from Frisco.

New snow left gorgeous marshmallow lumps in all the creeks.

One of the main intersections along the way - the Miner's Creek Trail heads east to Hwy 9.

Next intersection about another half mile on leads to Wheeler Junction near Copper Mountain ski area and would be a challenging 9 mile trek west. Maybe next time!

Lost the route here and had to break trail in 2-3 foot snow over downed trees and stumps in really gusty winds and blowing snow, but just enough sun to see shadows.

Middle Barton Creek crossing near Breckenridge.

Broke another trail on the way back that was more direct but still a slog.

The treat for all my efforts: a moose! I had just found a loose binding and had taken a break to eat and fix it. When I stood up, there was a moose cow about 20 feet away and I startled her and she took a few strides and made her way behind some trees before I could get the camera out. So beautiful!!

And that was my day in the snow...the 20 miles took about 6 hours, though I did a fair amount of just oggling my surroundings and chatting with the few folks I met along the way. Got lots of kudos for making the roundtrip and numerous comments about wishing they had done the same. Don't we all feel like that sometimes?

Couscous & sardine snack time!

2010-01-22T14:03:00.000-08:00

Needed after a 3 hr XC ski and a 1 hour hike...yum! What a great day...

Ten Mile Canyon Hike

2010-01-18T10:10:00.001-08:00

Took advantage of the limited snow to hike the entire North Ten Mile Canyon trail about 10-12 miles roundtrip. 17 below zero to start at 9am, but it warmed up by the time I made the turnaround point under Eccles Pass in the saddle where the trail ends. A great day in the snow.

Saw no creatures or people for over 4 hours. There was a sundog that formed overhead around noon-time but difficult to get a photo of it. So much glorious silence!

Hiking up about 1700 ft. from the trailhead near Frisco, CO. A fairly easy hike.

Amazing snow formations...also creeks had swollen and frozen into huge whalebacks of pure ice, even covering one of the bridges for over 40 ft.

Time for contemplation...and lunch.

Shadow guy...enjoyed sunshine most of the day, but still clod in the trees.

The only tracks were mine at the very end...well, the turnaround point. From here on it was post-holing, even with snowshoes.

Taking a break at the Gore Range trail crossing.

Vashon Island Boxing Day Ride

2009-12-30T05:45:00.000-08:00

Some days are just perfect for a ride and this was one of them. Beautiful sunshine, excellent friends and icy, hilly roads made for a memorable day in the saddle.

Kent sent out a note about a Saturday ride (as opposed to the usual Monday he does). One line stood out: "Vashon is hilly (damn hilly) bring low gears." Having never been there, I took this advice and brought the Canti-Rom and triple. I made the Southworth ferry to Vashon at 8:20 and met Brad Hawkins shortly after landing. He had ridden over from the other end of the island from the Pt. Defiance-Talaquah ferry. Then the Seattle ferry arrived and Mark Canizaro, Kent Peterson, Mark Vande Kamp, Liam Moriarty and his brother Tom off loaded for the start of our day. Tom just moved here from Kansas and was about to be introduced to PNW winter riding with the nut jobs surrounding him. Poor guy didn't know what was in store, but then again, neither did I.

We did a nice circuit of Vashon with a trip to the Bike Tree, then headed to Robinson Lighthouse on Maury Island. Not a real island as it is joined by a land bridge, but so be it.

The sun was beaming all day long and despite the chilly temps and relentless climbing (though always enjoyable) it was fun from start to finish.

We scooted back onto Vashon and headed south where Brad headed home and we shot up to town for burgers and milkshakes at Perry's. You've got to stop when the sign outside says "Stop and eat here or we'll both starve".

After that it was back to the ferry where I met up with another rider who'd spent the day on the island. We had a good chat and then it was home before dark. Must have been tired as I was asleep by 9PM!

Total around 40 miles with lots of excellent climbing. I'll never say PT is hilly again.

The Southworth ferry was $5.75 for a roundtrip and parking was $3 on the weekend, so it was a pretty cheap date.

Commuter for the Apocalypse

2009-12-12T08:49:00.000-08:00

I've rebuilt my 1986 MB-2 (see Sheldon's catalog scan) into a stout commuter that I can load up at the store, pull the Burley trailer and cruise around town night or day in any weather. I use it almost every day from 2 to 15 miles and though it's not fast, there's nothing that can harm it.

It weighs about 40lbs, but is comfy to ride with it's Brooks Champion Flyer and slightly upswept Nitto bars. Fat Crossroad tires, Bullseye hubs and just 6 speeds make it just right for the terrain and the roads and trails I travel locally.

If I were to go touring in a third world country, this is probably the bike I'd take. I got it about 20 years ago for $75. Now that's a bargain.

HED Ardennes Short Review

2009-12-06T09:46:00.000-08:00

Rode the 25mm ProRace 2's on a set of HED Ardennes on my MXL for a couple hours yesterday and the ride was definitely different than on the Open Pro rims.

Cornering felt more secure, cushioning was a bit better (I think I was running them around 85-90lbs PSI and I am about 150-155lbs). I liked the feel a great deal and hope to get out again after the next few days of 30 degrees and icy roads.

Never having had a low spoke count wheelset before (these are 18 front, 24 rear), I probably won't use them for randonneuring, but club riding is perfect. A very nice wheelset and maybe even a bit better than my DT RR 1.1 set. The hubs are dreamy smooth, I could coast for considerably longer in places where I've done it previously. Sweet wheels.

What a great day to ride too!

Redline Monocog 29er Day

2009-11-21T22:41:00.001-08:00

A nice 20 mile off-road day on the new SS. Works well and ready for
more! These big tires take a bit to spin up but even on technical
stuff don't seem sluggish. Just get on a ride. nice.

Jay Guthrie Fundraiser - Dec 3, 2009

2009-11-20T09:18:00.000-08:00

I'm sure most of you have heard about long time R&G club member Jay Guthrie of Jtek Engineering and his battle with cancer. Now Bikes, County Cycles, HED and Ride and Glide Club are joining together in a fund raiser to help Jay and Anne with medical bills.

We will be having a "Get Together" at Now Bikes in Arden Hills (3673 Lexington Ave N) on Thursday Dec 3rd at 7pm. We will be showing the video of Greg Lemond's 1989 TDF victory over Laurent Fignon and will have a "Guest Speaker". Steve Hed will be talking about aerodynamics and what's happening in bicycle racing and I'm sure have many fascinating stories and will take your questions as well.

We'll have pizza from Davannis, beverages and door prizes generously donated by HED, Now, County Cycles and R&G. Tickets will be $20 at the door and get you one ticket in the door prize drawing and free pizza and good times. Extra tickets for the drawings can be purchased as well. Please come over to Now Bikes, socialize with your cycling buddies, swap stories about Jay, and take some time off your trainer. You may even win one!

RSVP to Steve Thatcher at sdthatcher@q.com

You can also donate by PayPal here: http://www.rideandglide.org/fundraiser.htm

Or by sending checks to:
Steve Thatcher
12999 Keller Ave N
Hugo, MN 55038

Make checks out to "Ride and Glide"
Make a note that it's for Jay Guthrie Fund

Thanks to all in your support of Jay and his family.

ODT Adventure Route

2009-10-10T19:28:00.000-07:00

My friend Eric and I finally got together for a great ride on the recent ODT (Olympic Discovery Trail) Adventure Route on Sunday, September 6th. Nice soggy rain all day and all we could think as we began was that this is not so different from our days 20 years ago in the Capitol Forest. We might be older, but we still love singletrack baby. It was so nice to ride with my buddy who was my first friend after moving to WA and we're still having fun!

The trail is really spectacular - we did the 25 mile from the west side of Crescent Lake to the Elwha River. About 8 miles of gravel road, the rest pure trail. Despite the rain, we add a glorious day! If you don't ride in the rain you'd never ride at all...

We'll be back again hopefully before there's too much snow on the trail. More info at: http://www.olympicdiscoverytrail.com/LkCrescentElwha.htm

Widget

2009-09-11T18:50:00.001-07:00

To Tri without Training

2009-08-04T07:36:00.000-07:00

"You need to tread water at the start." What? What does that even mean? I diligently listened to the guy with the megaphone who went through the race details. About half-way through I had no idea what he was even talking about. "T1", "timing chips", "waves" (the water looked calm to me), it was all rather bizarre. I had only committed to doing this event about one hour ago and now here I was standing in the midst of some serious-looking half-naked people at the water's edge.

Goss Lake on Whidbey Island...the start of the 13th Annual Whidbey Island Triathlon. I had been here before as a spectator and support for my wife in 2008 and it all seemed sort of jovial and intriguing then; so much so that I flippantly mentioned I may be up for trying it next year, and not surprisingly my wife Carrie signed me up 6 months ago, which seemed like more than enough time to prepare. Now treading water over my head, and waiting for what seemed much too long, I flailed in my little yellow rubber swim cap waiting for the horn to signal the start of the 4th wave - "old guys and everyone else."

To preface all this, preparing for big events is not out of my ability, and getting physically prepared for arduous events is not something I am unfamiliar with. Of course, they have all been single sport endeavors revolving around cycling. I'm a randonneur, used to long periods of riding through every conceivable terrain, temperature and physical condition around the clock. I don't really mind pain or discomfort. Really. I can do one sport just fine. A triathlon though, mind you, is three of them in a row.

A therein lies the problem. I'm an OK runner: there's ground, feet, air and all the things that make my terrestrial soul feel natural. Cycling, no worries. Swimming, on the other hand, is the most un-natural activity I can think of. Born in Minnesota, you'd think it would be second nature, but it's not. I gyrated toward frozen water sports, like skiing. I loved sailing, but the only reason to swim was if you screwed up and dumped the boat and the goal was to get back to it ASAP. Swimming for the sake of swimming was not my bag.

"Training"

To prove to my wife that I was at least partially engaged in this endeavor, I went to the pool to attempt "lap swimming". This entails getting up at some obscenely early hour and undressing with other old guys and then crowding into 80 degree pool water and trying to swim back and forth in a thin corridor between sharp plastic lines for an hour. Our local pool is only about 20 meters long, so that means an hour or more of constant thrashing, gasping for air and reaching both feet and hands for some solid surface. While Carrie would glide effortlessly and click off 100 laps, I could barely make one before I would simply run out of of air. 20 meters. After the third trip to the pool I gave up. This was early June.

Running was easier. We did the 5km Jingle Bell Run in 30 degree temperatures in Seattle on icy roads. In May we ran the 10 km Deer Run on Indian Island. I did one more training run with Carrie in Long Beach for another 4 miles. Enough of that. Running is just not as efficient as cycling.

The Swim

And now, here I am, already gasping for air and we haven't even started yet. The horn blows and everyone around me easily moves through the water and the gap to everyone else widens rapidly. I see the big orange buoy marking the first turn of the triangle we are to swim around. 50 meters out I realize this is not where I should be. I have made a huge mistake. What was I thinking?? I need to quit now so I can at least make it back to shore without waving my arms in what the organizer said would be the proper sign of panic in the water. I am an idiot!

As all the little bobbing yellow heads moved away there was this calm that literally washed over me. The sun on my face, the chaos far away, and just a hint of panic when I realized that I was DOING THE SWIM. Not being a multi-tasker (and trust me - no one is), I took this as one thing I had to do. Now. Nothing else. I just had to swim to that big orange ball. That's all. I couldn't do the crawl, that much I knew. It was the thing that exhausted me in the pool. So I cherry-picked. Pick the cherry and put it in the basket (also known as the side-stroke). Carrie's girlfriend and tri buddy Laura had told me about this - she had done it in her first tri. So that's what I did. And man, I picked a lot of cherries over the next 35 minutes.

Should this have been embarrassing? It should, if I weren't constantly fearing for my life. For thirty-five minutes I knew that if I stopped moving I would drown. My heart was racing and I was trying to keep it under control. Little cramps were starting in my legs. And I was still unknown minutes from the first big orange ball.

I knew I was slow. I know what being in the back of the pack can feel like. And having also been at the front of the pack, it was even more evident. But who was I racing against? Being my first triathlon, I hadn't the slightest idea what it would be like. The last time I swam this far I was between a pontoon boat and the shore and I could touch the bottom.

One down, one to go. The second big orange ball was now the target. I rolled onto my back and just scooted like a upside-down frog. I could rest my legs and arms and the buoyant wet suit top allowed some rest. I cherry-picked my way around the second buoy and was onto the the final leg. A swarm of volunteer kayakers converged on me, shouting encouragement, alignment coordinates and distance to salvation. "60 yards. 50, 40, 30..." I knew they were thinking that I might actually make it and they wouldn't have to engage their water rescue training. In my head I just wanted to not die before the end. A simple concern. When my foot touched solid ground I was ecstatic. So were they. I was the last one in.

The Bike

The guy who had marked me earlier with my number using a a magic-marker, now stood with my "T1" (the transition between the swim and the bike) bag for the bike leg. I had foolishly left my dry t-shirt at "T2" (the transition between the bike and the run) so had to go bare or stay wet. Decided to leave the wet suit top on and just ride. I was the last bike out and the volunteers were already tearing down the racks and rolling up the flags.

The bike leg was uneventful and short, so I was simply trying to eat and drink before the run. Only one short steep hill per lap and the rest was wonderful. Volunteers were out in force, making sure we were on course and safe.

The Run

I reached T2 and nearly toppled over from not getting out of the pedals, but managed to save myself in time. I jogged to my spot and then wrestled my wet suit top off and into a nice dry t-shirt. Then I started to run, or rather shuffle purposefully up the little rise from the park leading to the trail. Having never done a transition of any sort, I found out what had been mentioned as "the brick" or making your body do something different when it would rather just keep doing what it was doing. I had to focus on getting up a stride of some sort, while other racers slipped past in increasing numbers. Of course, as I was already about as far back in the pack as possible, in a short time there would be no one passing me except volunteers cleaning up the course.

About a mile further I felt better and started to revel in the fact that I would finish! Amazing how only 2 hours ago I thought I'd be washing up on the beach like so much flotsam, but now I was only a few miles from the end. Those three training runs between November and July were really coming in handy now! I began passing a few folks and being friendly, getting water and feeling pretty smug. I ordered a margarita and 2 fish tacos at the 2nd water stop, but the volunteers just figured I was delirious.

Folks that had already finished were heading home in their cars and they waved at those of us still coming in, and that was nice. As I crested the last roller and onto the grass my daughter and her friend gave a welcome cheer and ran in to the finish line with me. I was happy to be finished after nearly 2.5 hours, now thirsty, very hungry and still reveling in having made it out of the lake.

Not sure another triathlon is on my calendar anytime soon, but for a first one, the Whidbey Island Tri was fun, challenging and despite my better judgement, not a bad way to spend a morning!

Riding the Repaired Hood Canal Bridge

2009-06-06T16:17:00.000-07:00

We made a couple trips over the new Hood Canal Bridge between Kitsap Peninsula and the Olympic Peninsula today to go to Salsbury Park for the official reopening ceremony. A number of Seattle Randonneurs including Gary Prince, Tim Hennings, Bob Weeks and Randy Shuman came and met a bunch of us from PT. There were cyclists at the event from Port Townsend Bicycle Association, West Sound Cycling, Squeaky Wheels and more cyclists out to ride the new bridge!

More pics here under "Hood Canal Bridge Opening": http://www.ptbikes.org/index.php?page=photo-gallery

Friday's Fine Ride

2009-05-24T15:03:00.000-07:00

An exceptional Friday ride down to see the bridge and revel in the
lack of traffic because it's closed for a few weeks. What a joy! 50
miles with Al and Gary, with a stop at the Port Ludlow Friday Market
for home baked cookies. What stellar weather this weekend...maybe
summer has arrived.

In Shine overlooking the Olympics.

Riding west on Hwy. 104 with the road all to ourselves!

The sign seems to contradict the purpose...

Freedom Returns

2009-05-04T17:01:00.000-07:00

Back on two wheels after three months. All I can say is thanks to some good folks in the medical community, I'm feeling better than I have in 4 years. It'll take some time to get back to normal, but having two sunny rides in the past four days feels so good!!

A huge thanks to all who've sent encouragement along - I feel lucky - when I hear of my other friends and their far more challenging issues. Thinking pure thoughts for healing all around.

NW Crank Brief

2009-04-30T08:58:00.000-07:00

Still recovering from surgery, but in the meantime, I had the pleasure of helping support riders at NW Crank in Wenatchee and enjoyed some sunshine, good friends and a good dose of positive energy from everyone. I needed it. Here's a few pics from the week:

The Saturday adventure riders tackle Rock Island Grade on a windy, cool, but beautiful day!

Another view of the first few miles climbing the grade, everyone was riding strong and having done this climb, I know it's a bit of work.

Tiny riders in the distance making their way up from the river.

A little break by the Church of Pain off Joe Miller and Stemilt Hill Rd. More climbing through the fruit trees ahead.

Every morning started out with a gathering at the Inn at the River as Mike McHale gave everyone the 411 of the days activities. It was a wonderful event in my observation and brings out a really stellar group of riders! After meeting with the surgeon I got the green light to start riding on May 1st. No long rides, but at least I can start the process of getting back...to be ready for NW Crank in 2010.

Now for Something Completely Different

2009-04-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

Well, maybe it was due to not riding for the last couple months, but somehow I have decided to try something a little different. Needless to say, my appreciation of the turn of the century cyclist has increased tenfold since I started riding a penny farthing. Figured I'd try it before surgery tomorrow...in the event something happened, I'd already be in the hospital anyway. No injuries were reported and it is the most challenging cycle I've ever ridden!

Now Surgery...

2009-04-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

Nearly 8 weeks of no riding and surgery (foraminotomy) scheduled for April 14th, so being off the bike will continue for a few more weeks. I'll be in Wenatchee at NW Crank though, if only to help where I can and maybe take a few short rides along the Apple Loop Trail...it's not much, but if all goes well I still plan on making it to Last Chance in CO this September (but not GRR in June sadly).

Hard to see all my great plans for this early season go by unfulfilled, but thankfully it's not PBP 2011 either. I've so missed riding with SIR and all my friends! See you in eastern WA.

It's Baaaack...

2009-02-22T20:25:00.000-08:00

The nightmare condition of neck/shoulder pain I dealt with in 2004 is back. Riding was going well and a big year was planned, but now I am off the bike till I can hold the bars again. Chronic pain is not the way to go and after a couple weeks it seems to be getting worse. It's like Shermer's neck times ten. Less than one mile today was excruciating. An all out assault of massage, chiropractics, stretching, ice, ibuprofen, hot baths and anything else has been not working, but I stick with it for one more week...

Taking Out The Big Guns

2009-01-11T16:06:00.000-08:00

Nice ride out to Fort Flagler on Marrowstone Island. Weather was cool
and damp, but little wind and no rain. Roads are in bad shape with
sand, tree limbs and debris everywhere; happy the Pereira is more than
adequate for the task. Even without rain, wet surfaces were abundant
and you never know what surprises lie beneath! Saw blue skies for a
brief moment, but never caught them. Eagles over Indian Island,
divers out in the bay off Marrowstone. Fairly quiet on the roads traffic-wise.
Great time trial back from the bunker above to home, a good 65
minutes of hard effort and a pleasant ride all around!

More Shop Goodies!

2009-01-06T13:25:00.000-08:00

My Dad arrived this week and brought me a few goodies for the shop!

Two directional machine vice with a little one to mount to it. This will be used with the drill press when it comes.

Huge, heavy weight vice that will be bolted to the shop bench. Have extra jaws coming, including a round one to hold fork tubes and the like.

A real Park shop stand...I've wanted one of these for over 20 years and finally it's here.

My brother Todd's old Kennedy tool chest...now I just need the top chest and I'll be set. He got an awesome stainless steel one that's huge. I'm more than happy to get the cast-off!

More on the way: drill press, bench mount grinder, TIG and heliarc welders with tanks. Maybe a cutoff saw too. Life is getting better every day.

2008 Review - 2009 Thoughts

2009-01-02T19:23:00.000-08:00

All in all this was not a year of big accomplishments, but lots of little fun ones.

Outside

Got to spend 7 weeks in CO and enjoyed many days of telemark, backcountry and XC skate/traditional skiing. Glorious trip to Meadow Creek/Chief Mountain and a banner day on Tucker Mountain. Never did much skate skiing before but it was a blast with one day of 25 km. Got some new Karhu 10th Mountain skis and Switchback bindings, perfect for my Garmont Veloce boots. Old tele boards out and new K2 World Piste skis and Hammerheads in. Now I need some new tele boots...

Cycling was erratic but I had a slew of great club rides, a Fleche, some 200km brevets and a few centuries thrown in. Best of all was going to the NAHMBS in Portland, meeting Tony Pereira and taking home my new 650b Hetre randonneur. Yay! Finally got to do a S24hO with Kent and Matt, though the weather was dampish, spirits were not. A few nice family rides were had. Need more of those.

Camping in the Bus: Needless to say, we did very little this year...that should change for 2009.

Maui-Wowie. Spent two weeks in Maui for my parents 50th anniversary and had an absolute blast. In the ocean every day, swimming, surfing and boogie boarding...followed by copious beverages and piles of food. Really fabulous.

Inside

15th year in business...back to the beginning with just me as Carrie moved on to work in school administration/management. It was odd, but I'm getting to like having a home office again and no employees. So far, so good. I have some great long-time clients and it gives me some freedom to be outside when I want.

Organized my shop, office and cleared out years worth of maps, magazines and papers from art school 15 years ago. Whew. Sold some bikes, got twice as many again, so I've given up on reducing. My only goal now is to build a bigger space for them, some machine tools and whatever else comes my way! (For instance, going from zero bike trailers to now having 4).

Life

My wife's father is dying, so there's been frequent trips to MN. That's been a lesson in many ways. My dear kitty died after 20 years. No more felines for me for awhile, I'm not ready yet.

2009 Goals

Taking my daughter on a backpack trip and a bike tour
Family camping in the Bus
Full brevet series or two starting in March
Gold Rush 1200 km (Davis, CA) July
Last Chance 1200 km (Boulder, CO) September
Some S24HOs - summer
Good ski days, especially backcountry - winter/spring
Less wine, more sleep, better food, more nights under the stars.

Memories of Snow

2008-12-28T00:57:00.000-08:00

Sad to see it all gone...for those of us who were born and raised in
real snow country, this was a glorious time.

Ridus Interruptus

2008-12-18T07:30:00.000-08:00

Well, after a couple months of regular riding, I've not ridden for 10 days! The mix of family, holiday, work and now snow and ice have really crimped time in the saddle. Yes, I can ride the rollers in the basement, but I've avoided that for now. Did the Jingle Bell Run in Seattle on Sunday, but it was only 5k. Not quite enough snow for skiing. Um...guess if you can't beat 'em, join 'em - Looks like another rum and eggnog for me!

Today's Awesome Find

2008-11-22T14:20:00.000-08:00

So Carrie calls and tells me she saw an old Burley trailer in
someone's yard uptown. I scoot over on the fixed and there it is in
great condition with a $15 price tag. Get to the door and a really
cool woman comes out and says she'll take $10. Sold! Four blocks later
and it's at our home and all set for dog hauling - Yeah!

A Nice Sunday Ride

2008-11-02T20:13:00.000-08:00

Leaves falling like snow. Solo ride along the quiet roads on the
Quimper Peninsula. Sunshine for over three hours, no rain and a
delicious lunch at the fabulous On Common Grounds in Chimacum.
Couldn't have wished for a better day!

Hurricane Ridge Ride

2008-10-20T14:40:00.001-07:00

The road to Hurricane Ridge was finally opened to bicycles this weekend after many months of road construction. A small group of Port Townsend and Camano island folks made their way to the Heart of the Hills Visitor Center to start the pilgrimage. Weather was brisk, slightly cloudy and the road was perfectly smooth from the gate entrance to the top. What a day!

Park at the Heart of the Hills Visitor Center (bathrooms and water) and ride 5 miles (chipseal and loose road edges) to the entrance gate. It costs $5 for a bike and rider unless you have a annual park pass. From there it's about 13 miles to the Ridge on perfect pavement. The Hurricane Ridge shop and store are closed this time of year, but there's bathrooms and water at the top. The road surface is brand spanking new...hopefully it survives the winter!

Permanent Debut

2008-09-25T17:48:00.000-07:00

Don Boothby urged a few fools to "usher in a great welcome to the autumn season by playing hooky on "Hump Day" and going out to play in the rain." Sounded innocent enough and I really needed to get out and grab a 200 km to keep my R-12 dreams afloat for month number two.

Of all the days this week, Wednesday was the only one predicting rain. Don picked the day a month ago to ride with Joe Keenan. Once the vacation time was booked, Joe had to have surgery that morning. So, I joined the "few brave souls," Steve Davis, Mark Thomas and Don Boothby for the Hood Canal South #84.

I learned immediately that it was imperative to get a receipt at each control - having never ridden a permanent before, I was glad to have some experienced companions. As we rolled out through morning rush hour I had the distinct feeling that I'd be the caboose on this train. Steve was on his 11th month of R-12, Don has only taken 28 days off the bike for the whole year and Mark rides more brevets than anyone I know. I barely have ridden 28 days this year!

It was nice riding through the morning and we didn't start getting rain until we neared the Canal about 11:30 a.m. This is a pretty simple route and with stops in Hoodsport and Brinnon, gave us the opportunity for some coffee and pastries along the way. I felt pretty good until Brinnon at the half-way point and then realized my seat post had sunk down and had to readjust. Unfortunately with the new bike I had not yet marked it, so I guessed. Not a good thing.

Minding the store in Brinnon

Don and Mark were off the front in minutes on the return and Steve stayed near for company. I urged him to hang with the fast boys, but we enjoyed some great conversations about the economy and freight hopping, among other things. It made the miles go by easier! At Twanoh State Park I needed to get off the bike as I knew the seat was too high and when I put weight on my leg I thought my pelvis was broken it hurt so much. A quick adjustment and a few uncomfortable miles later all was well again.

The rain increased immensely through Belfair, and we took a few wrong turns till we found the correct one, but by the time we got to Bremerton it eased up and we came in "relatively dry". Don and Mark were there about 40 minutes earlier but waited and we all had dinner together at the Fry House. Nothing like a German sausage and fries to refuel! I highly recommend the Thai peanut dipping sauce with the Belgian fries.

Thanks to these three guys who assisted the rite of passage out of permanent virginity. They were true gentlemen! Now I want to ride permanents all the time!!

Rekindled Fixedness

2008-09-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

I have always been a fan of simple bikes and recently watched a few of the urban fixie videos that are floating around. I ran fixed during 2002 and other times for brevets and club riding, but this time I merely wanted something to scoot around town with. There sat the faithful Heron Road frame and so in a brief Saturday afternoon it was transformed into a nice light fixed gear.

I had some little riser bars that my daughter used on our tandem and I flipped them forward and mounted a bell and single DiaCompe front brake ( I tried once going with no brakes, but then I came to my senses). A mix of 167.5 Shimano 600 cranks with 40t/16t rear make it perfect for Port Townsend hills.

So far I've had a great time riding and remembering what basic fun this can be!

Olympic S24O

2008-08-26T12:04:00.000-07:00

With little more than an inquiry from Kent about taking a little spin for a couple days, I was in from the start, knowing that the summer was rapidly coming to a close. Matt jumped on board while the others had commitments preventing a foray into the woods (I've been on that side enough times). The weather was cloudy and warm Sunday morning, though the NOAA forecast was less positive:

Sunday: Rain likely after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 68. South wind between 8 and 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Sunday Night: Showers likely. Cloudy, with a low around 54. South wind between 5 and 8 mph becoming calm. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Monday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 65. Calm wind becoming north northeast around 6 mph.

On the edge of being potentially epic-miserable, lesser fools might have had the sense to cancel said plan. With divine foresight, Matt said "I'll also bring a big tarp in case we're hanging out in the drizzle." Yep.

I had sort of a plan, that wasn't really a plan, to camp higher up in the Olympic Mountains and so on Sunday morning we all met up on the west side of the Hood Canal Bridge for a quick jaunt to Quilcene. The weather was good with a stiff southern wind. We met up and there was a general consensus for no hurrying - calm progress would be the order of the day.

We arrived at Logger's Landing restaurant for breakfast - tasty home-made corned beef hash and eggs, and by the time we left it was raining. We started our route up on Penny Creek Rd. to FS Rd. 27, a fairly nice old paved road which gains about 4000 ft to our overnight spot. For the next 4 hours plus we clawed our way up, "thinking pure thoughts" (ala Frank Zappa) about that next sunny morning we'd be appreciating. My idea was to get to Sink Lake below Mt. Townsend, which would require a short hike, but as adventures don't occur without a healthy dose of error, I choose the wrong trailhead turn and we ended up in basically an overgrown parking area at the dead end of a long gravel road. Oh well.

Now near 4PM and unlikely the rain would stop, we made camp. That tarp came in real handy - otherwise we'd be trapped in our bivy sacks for the next 12-14 hours. With the tarp, we had some moderate shelter from the drenching rain for heating water, eating and chatting, all very civilized. We decided two things could change this from merely miserable to horrid. Wind or cold. Either would have tipped the balance toward the less pleasant end of the outdoor experience. By 8PM we'd eaten enough, bear-bagged the food and gone to sleep. Three distinct snores were the only sounds for miles around. I woke up a few times, waiting till the last possible moment to put on my soggy cold shoes to go take a leak. (Hadn't considered the value of a few plastic bread bags until then). It stayed calm and foggy all night and kept on raining.

Sometime after 5:30AM everyone was up and the immediate decision was made to bail on the "up and over route" for the direct descent back to the Logger's Landing for hot food! There was no squabbling. I love a good fast drop in crappy conditions, so it wasn't long before we were packed and flying down. Wet road, slippery with moss and cracked pavement made it a good skill building exercise and twice Matt headed for the woods on a curve, but stayed upright! Kent was on a 60" fixed with a single front brake so he was more controlled. The Pereira did well with it's loaded lowriders and handlebar bag and I could take my hands off the bars and stretch my arms on the straight-aways. No shimmy at all.

About an hour later, we were down and biscuits and gravy hit the spot along with a few cups of coffee. The rain continued. We headed up Center Rd. north to Hwy 104 where Kent and Matt would head east, while I would continue north to PT. All in all a good effort, but much like spending 24 hours inside of Tupperware. We said our goodbyes at the bridge and I stated that without a doubt the sun would be shining in PT, and by golly, just 4 miles from my house I saw my shadow and felt the warmth. I should have brought sunglasses.

Photos by Kent here >>
Kent's blog post here >>

SIRs RUSA 10th Anniversary 200 km

2008-08-18T10:24:00.000-07:00

What a fine day for a ride! Beautiful sunshine to start the day and very alert volunteers were out in force for the once-in-a-lifetime RUSA 10th Anniversary brevet. There were nearly 50 riders ready to go and despite the previous week of hesitation on my part, I was really glad to be there. Test rides the week before took the Pereira out of the mix as an incessant creak from the front wheel was driving me crazy and I couldn't resolve it. Eddy O was the backup as there would be little need for fenders.

Eric asked me to lead out folks to the first turn but that lasted all of 10 seconds as I was swamped by the first half of the pack. With a number of friends back from bike tours and 1200s, I was out-gunned from the start. A couple of us, Al, Trudy and Lyn formed a little chase group and motored our way to the Bad Carb Control. It was a quick in and out, but I somehow got a few cookies and was conscripted into poem writing for the newsletter by the irascible Maggie...Peter Leikio and I got some time to chat before heading onto the shaded roads to Banner Forest. He flatted and that was the end of our conversation unfortunately; little did I know then I would be experiencing the same many times later on. Met up with James McKee and swapped tales of parenting...he's got a way more ambitious plan than I!

Rode too with Cindi who I met at PBP 2003 - nice to reminisce about an evening of pure adrenaline as we raced across France in the dark with a couple of BC women (which also did in my Achilles for the remainder of the ride). After the info control our group formed up again and we cruised into Belfair and the Good Carb Control at Twanoh State Park. I consumed a few potatoes, orange slices, an egg and V8 for extra go power. Started out a little slower this time and had to keep reminding myself that there was still 120 km to go and the day was getting hot already.

There was constant banter about the relative flatness of the ride. I must have been hallucinating because it sure seemed like a fair amount of climbing to me! I did enjoy going down Newberry Hill Rd and the generally rolling terrain though. Crossing north of Poulsbo I stopped to see the caveman at Valley Nursery who did not complain while I soaked my head under the water can. The mist was cold and very refreshing - it also amused the people in their cars who gave me a thumbs up. Hopping onto Bond Rd. and then Big Valley brought on more heat and a good headwind, plus the start of flats. None were blowouts, just a constant stream of leaks that kept me on the side of the road more often then I like. Made it to the Liquid Carb Control at Hood Canal Brewery and enjoyed some delicious brats and spuds with a handful of chips. What a perfect location! A regular outdoor BBQ with a shady spot to sit for tire changing too.

Even making it to the Liquid Carb Control was no respite as my tire went flat soon after leaving the control. This time I was out of tubes and then an angel on a Colnago landed nearby and graciously gave me a new tube - thank you Dan Turner!! That made all the difference and heading back into Bremerton on Central Valley Rd. and Tracyton Beach Rd was a joy. I didn't even know Bremerton had a bridge until I rode over Manette Bridge. What a spectacular end to the ride and I was good and tired.

Big thanks to all the volunteers: Peter Beeson, Catherine Monro, Eric Vigoren & Maggie Williams for organizing and providing such cheery support! I will try to write a poem...really....

Handling Adversity

2008-08-13T19:44:00.000-07:00

Watched the very riveting women's gymnastics last night and thought about a few randonneuring challenges as the US hopes for gold turned to silver. As I saw Alicia Sacramone teeter off on the beam at the very start of her routine, you could see every bit of anquish at what that meant for her, the team and the country. The look on her face was of such contained emotion I thought she would burst. Amazingly, she held it together as millions of people were watching her every move with cameras from all angles. She didn't break, and even after falling on the floor routine, kept it pretty together emotionally. That is the part that really stuck with me, her ability to maintain composure, however tenuous, despite what I would consider to be the most pressure a human could stand outside of combat. Bravo.

I thought back on what effects a problem or challenge in randonneuring seem to have on different folks, when numerous flats, physical ailments or simply the tiring efforts a long ride take on your mental control. Before I got to Mortagne au Perche in PBP and was beyond the time cut, I felt like I was done, but unlike Alicia I didn't have hundreds of cameras and viewers all over the world focused on my agony. I can't imagine what that was like and would rather not. What I did feel was that whatever it takes to keep focused on the goal is what matters, you can't do anything about some of the circumstances, but you do have control over how you handle the adversity. May I continue to have the fortitude to maintain when the going gets rough. There are some role models out there.

Goodbye Sweet Kitty

2008-07-27T22:45:00.001-07:00

Our dear sweet cat died this morning after over 20 years of letting us share her life.

Ariadne Saduri Sunflower, aka "Schmoo", was a mercurial kitten from the animal shelter, who reached out of her cage and grabbed C's sleeve as if to say, "hey, over here, your search has ended!" As a kitten she was prone to extreme activity once the lights went out. This lead to episodes in a large box with dictionaries stacked on top, but she would still escape frequently. Schmoo spent many nights wrapped around the top of my head until she was large enough to start taking the whole pillow, causing many stiff necks. She always smelled like perfume and I thought that was somehow magical until I found that she was sleeping in C's sweater drawer during the day. She ignored two other cats that came into our lives and eventually a dog. She was always the first - the pretty princess always made sure that was not forgotten.

It's a sad day here and the universe must have understood something was not right as it started raining when she finally let out her last breath. I miss her more than I imagined and life will never be the same without her.

Circling the Hood Fleche

2008-04-19T15:09:00.000-07:00

It started out innocently enough…what first was an inquiry from Mark Thomas’ about his team’s route, within a week became “We have room. Join us!” By 7PM on Friday the final team was assembled. The team name was “Circling the Hood”, to which I imagined more like “circling the drain”, thinking of past fleches…not to mention that I echo Kent Peterson’s statements each time with “This is stupid, I will never do this again”. Our team was Amy Pieper and Greg Cox on a tandem, Rick Haight, Tom Martin, Mark Thomas and Jon Muellner on single bikes. It was Tom’s first fleche and every one else had done a few, but it was a fairly odd group in that we all are generally pretty different in our riding pace and styles; enough that my wife Carrie thought the team name should be “Island of Misfit Toys”. I knew this was true when everyone there was on 700c tires and they looked at my 650b stated “you do have tubes for that thing, right?”
Having ridden nearly 100 miles in the past six months, I felt my preparation might be less than adequate, but I’ve done harder events with less riding before. Turns out Rick and Mark had similar base miles so we would suffer if need be. Amy softened the blow by handing us each a slice homemade banana bread at the start! This was soon followed by Tom’s realization that his light was dead, but that was sorted out and we were off.

Our route would take us from our start in Hadlock and out the smooth roads of Jefferson County across the Hood Canal Bridge and south on Hwy 3. The pace was energetic for the first couple hours, then reality set in as Tom lost his light (and found it) and Mark suffered the first flat in Gorst on the nasty highway there. He walked to where everyone was waiting and we did a nice group fix; i.e., everyone stands around and watches Mark battle with the tire and makes witty commentary amidst the occasional foul word. Another flat before the cabin was unsettling but with true grit he fixed it again and actually pulled the offending wire shard out with his teeth – now that’s the spirit!

A late night nap at Greg's cabin on Mason Lake was planned, so we rolled along Belfair Valley Rd. to East Trails End Rd. At this point we received the first shock of a serious climb and the group splintered. Actually, that was the general pattern of the whole ride, so it was not unanticipated, but as we’re all good sorts, we just did our thing and still remained a team.

At Greg’s cabin we all piled in and woke up his charming family, ate a few delicious muffins made by his daughter and sacked out for an hour. We were back on the road before 2AM and it was cold!! A nice clear night with a lemon wedge of a moon greeted us and we shivered until the blood started flowing again. We just had to stay awake for a few more hours until the sunrise and this event occupied our thoughts as we rode through Shelton and Kamilche to our furthest point in Montesano.

Most of the route was quiet and peaceful and the only sounds were Greg and Amy who never ceased talking for the entire ride. You would have thought they were sitting in a coffee shop rather than riding many miles in the cold dark. Tom was often off the front, speeding along while Rick hung with the tandem and Mark and I somewhere abaft.
We stopped at the Bee Hive Café and enjoyed some warmth, coffee and huge breakfasts, a perfect mid-ride break. By 7AM we were back on our bikes as the glorious sunshine poured down on us. We headed north from Brady and for nearly 50km enjoyed some of the best roads of the whole ride. Bodies were tired, but the warmth of real sunlight was enough to rejuvenate everyone as we headed for Hwy 101 and the final leg back north.

We all agreed to meet in Hoodsport at the café to regroup and enjoy a few pastries before starting the most hilly portion of the route. Amy and Greg decided to switch positions and have Amy captain the tandem so they did some quick adjustments. Mark headed out early for Brinnon, making sure he would be where there when everyone else was. Rick appeared unfazed by the lack of sleep or distance! Tom was soon gone and I moved out too. The team was getting a little stretched out as some got tired and others anxious. It would be about 80km till we were at our 22 hour point and it was just a lot of lumpy climbing until then.
Everyone made it to Brinnon and Mark and I arrived last. I only stayed for a moment and headed back out for Discovery Bay, knowing that even though we basically had time in the bank, the team had know spread out to absorb all of it. The Canal was beautiful with the sun glinting off the water and kingfishers swooping from tree to tree. Traffic was moderate this time of year, mainly thundering motorcycle groups came by, some of who waved as they passed. Mount Walker was fairly shady on the first part of the climb and wasn’t bad at all. Tom came by me and then Rick and I rode together. It was very warm and the headwinds after Quilcene were increasing. I began wondering how I had agreed that taking the most difficult way to PT was a good idea….

When we got to Discovery Bay at 4PM there was no Tom. We were going to meet at Fat Smitty’s (closed of course, and a surprise to the many people who also stopped to eat there). Amy and Greg arrived and then Mark, but still no Tom. I figured he was down at the little store, but then Mark figured he had gone further up to the turn on Discovery Rd. where we had mistakenly calculated would be a better 22 hour mark (it was not even close once we actually thought about it). Finally Mark found the number for the store and Tom had to return to where we were by 5PM. Here’s where the rules of the fleche get dicey. We all have to be here at 22 hours, and hoped he could get here in time!

At 4:55PM he rode in and we all signed cards. Mark informed us that he might not make it and that we should go without him. Turns out he was leaving bits of lunch along the way from Quilcene. Being the team we were, we totally voiced our disagreement with that decision and then promptly took off, leaving him to battle it alone. That’s the spirit!

I know these roads well, so I led Tom and Rick up the Hwy 20 climb (2 miles long) to Discovery Rd, then the climb up Cape George (1 mile +), then up a few more lumpy bits to my house as the final control. Within minutes everyone had made it! The Circling the Hood fleche team had successfully taken 5 very different riders, most lacking any miles, and transformed them into one cohesive cycling machine. Well, maybe that’s stretching it a bit, but we finished and everyone still likes each other!

A huge thanks to Greg’s lovely family for putting us up, the sun for making us feel good about living and my wife Carrie and friend Laura who shuttled vehicles at the start. It was a great team but maybe next year we should do the route in reverse?

240 mile Pereira Road Test

2008-04-15T07:44:00.000-07:00

After many months I've finally got a decent ride in on the new Pereira!! I picked the bike up from Tony after the NAHBS on Feb 10 and rode about 20 miles over the week before I headed to CO for two months. Poor thing sat in the basement waiting patiently...

I got back the first week of April and rode three days on club rides, about 20, 25 and 35 miles. Then, on Wed. I was invited to join a 24-hour team ride called a fleche (an traditional spring randonneuring event) and I decided to go for it. Of course, choosing to ride 240 miles in 24 hours is not necessarily wise, but it sounded like fun and I'd done 3 or 4 others in past years, so why not?

I decided to take the Pereira of course, though again, choosing a new bike for a long ride is not always wise either...but it really wanted to get out there and prove itself like a faithful companion, so off we went! This is what the bike was built for and it was really nice having it all ready to go; no zip-tie doohickys holding fenders, lights and other bits in place, no electrical tape holding things together, no funky bag mounting. Everything is as it should be. I swapped out the new Brooks Pro for a used Swift as I knew the new one was not broken in, otherwise all was set. Hetres pumped to about 50psi, chain lubed.

We left at 7PM on Friday night from Hadlock and rode down around the east side of the Hood Canal and out toward the Pacific coast to Montesano arriving at 6AM, then back along the west side back to Port Townsend to finish near 7PM Saturday. The first third was fairly flat and fast, the middle third lumpy and the final third was very hilly. (Why we plan things this way I'll never know...). The Pereira not only did admirably climbing and descending, I could change jackets while riding no hands, and best of all, finished feeling not nearly as beat up as I normally would. We fit together well and I felt confident in it's handling, so there were no nervous moments. Even with the fat tires, the bike feels fast and smoothes out the road, there were no flats despite riding over some brutal debris strewn highway stretches.

The bolts on the handlebar bag decaleur and all three cages had to be tightened, but that was the extent of the fiddling for the whole ride. I need to move the saddle ahead a tiny bit and level the handlebars a smidge, but otherwise the fit was perfect. I can see many happy miles ahead and I can't wait to get it up in the Olympic Mountains for some forest road exploration.

After some sleep and food, I'm ready to go again!

Meadow Creek/Chief Mountain

2008-03-26T14:15:00.000-07:00

A gorgeous Easter morning for exploring some new places with my recent friends Jon and JC. A pretty nice climb up from the Meadow Creek trailhead through the aspens in the beginning. I opted for a lighter set of gear and leather boots which worked better uphill than down!

We came out into an open area with views of the Gore Range and Lake Dillon below. The weather was unbelievably perfect with blue skies and fairly warm temps, but oddly cooler than late March should be.

Jon and JC at the top, about 11,300 feet with the dogs, Sally and Charlie yipping and ready for the descent. Peak 1 & 2 near Breckenridge in the background.

I also got a picture of me, but no dogs to make it more glamorous...

The descent was awesome at the top, nice and powdery but the skinny skis were out of their league in the tighter trees below. The trail down was pretty luge-like in places, but I got a few good turns in despite a few crashes and near misses. My huge GS turns weren't quite right for the terrain, so next time it's plastic and fat boards!

A big thanks to Jon and JC for taking me out, it was a perfect day!!

Tucker Mountain Day

2008-03-21T08:45:00.000-07:00

Copper Mountain had a fabulous amount of snow last week and I did some hiking to the west ridge of Copper Bowl and some snow cat skiing on Tucker Mountain. Ah, bliss. The day was all sunny in the morning and I was on first chair most of the time. The busy spring break time is all but forgotten once you get to the top.

This is looking at the saddle between Copper Bowl and Tucker Mountain with Jaque's Peak in the background. Mostly untracked whiteness...a perfect playground if you're willing to hike. Next week I'll bring skins for a speedier ascent.

A month gone already?

2008-03-16T16:10:00.001-07:00

Wow, time flies in the land of whiteness. Just a spectacular amount of fun these days with more snow each week making the days a blur of ski time and shoveling. Took a trip to Ski Cooper where the 10th Mountain Division practiced during WWII and enjoyed a family day in the sun. Leadville is a perfect little town if you're priced out of all the boutique spots. Access to backcountry skiing is close and there's lots of bars to hang in. 10,700 feet and there's no better altitude.

Neighborhoods are a cool collection of folks who aren't wearing fur and Uggs looking for a cocktail. I could see myself here in a heartbeat.

Between some telemark days there's always some XC to be had and Saturday was cold and sunny so I went out for almost 25km. Truly beautiful.

This week is spring break for loads of kids, college and otherwise, so I get out early and get back early. Backcountry weeds out most pretty quickly and a hour or two hike or skin provides some untouched white.

This week is just one continuous day of skiing with some friends in town. It's snowing again and we can only hope for more! One more month of this and things will be OK again...

Ah, Colorado at Last!

2008-02-23T19:29:00.000-08:00

My first week in CO concludes with a fabulous showshoe trip up near Rainbow Lake with snow falling everywhere and sunshine coming through the flakes. This is heaven!

5 days of XC skiing, telemarking and snowshoeing so far and another two months still to go. Life is good. I work at night everyday, but it's manageable so far and this is just the place I want to be. Teaching my daughter Peri to ski has been both a joy and a challenge, but she seems to be liking it more as she gains confidence and experience...and it's fun to just have a few weeks of Dad and pre-teen kid time.

Peri is a master sculpter of "cheese wax", the stuff that cheese is wrapped in...today she made a few characters for the table:

The "snow" is salt she poured on the table. Yep, two little skiers out on a run. Wednesday she was out on 190cm XC skis, so she's learning the old-fashioned way; on hand-me-down gear. More fun is in store for next week!

Pereira 650b Hetre Randonneur arrives!

2008-02-14T09:01:00.000-08:00

First meeting...I love it!

I've got my new bike! An exciting time at the Handmade Bicycle Show in Portland capped off by taking home my Pereira. It is truly a beautiful bike and everything I imagined when Tony and I started talking about it. He was very patient with our voluminous email correspondence.

It started in March 2006 the day after the show ended after having seen the randonneur bicycle he built for the show and won Best of Show with. I had already been working on modifying a canti-Romulus for the brevet season, but knew I wanted something much more substantial for some of the off-road touring I had in mind too. I also wanted to have 650b tires for something new and they seemed to be well worth building my idea around. Word was that there were going to be some new Gran Bois Hetre 650b x 42mm tires available and that's what I wanted Tony to design for. Problem was, they didn't even exist when we began and only came to the US in November!

It all came together and I wanted some specific elements in addition to the fat tires: stem with bell and removable faceplate, removable low-rider racks, minimal to zero TCO, low trail for better handling with a handlebar bag, triple water bottle mounts, light mounts front and rear and really perfect confident handling.

Test rides this week have proven that it does all I wished for and I can't wait to take it on further trips and rougher terrain. I'll be skiing for the next two months and then back riding in April!

Built with Columbus Life tubing with a custom double plate crown fork (60mm rake/40mm trail). Rides so well I may not need other bikes! More pictures here. The color is a green/grey with a sort of mossy brown logo and box lining - hard to photograph but really nice. The polished bronze brazed-on head badge looks awesome.

Too many bikes?

2008-01-29T10:31:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a month since I've written anything here and I felt it was time. Work and home issues have absorbed most of life and riding has been limited. I pick up my Pereira at the NAHBS 2008 in Portland February 10th. I'm very excited to hit the road on such a beautiful purpose-built bike; finally something I don't have to kludge together to work well. It'll be my 47th b-day present to myself.

So that leaves the eternal question of what to do with all the bikes I still have. Do I need them? The Pereira will take the place of the Heron Road, Canti-Rom and the Heron Tour. So what to do? I enjoy them all, but do I need them? Right now I'll hang onto them until I've ridden the Pereira enough to know, but if it fulfills what I want, I may be reducing the inventory...the only bike I won't get rid of is one of the Merckx', which I still find incredibly fun to ride and unlike anything else I have. Just have to decide between the Corsa 01 and the MXL. (Sheesh, I feel like a greedy, rich bike slut for even saying that). I have regretted selling other bikes in the past (1982 Schwinn Paramount), so I don't want to do anything without thinking it through.

I'll be in CO till April, working on new business opportunities and skiing of course. I love cycling, but miss being in the snow too much. I like to take a break from riding in the winter and cross-country/telemark skiing are perfect complimentary sports. There's nothing better than powder days in the high mountains. I won't get back to randonneuring until July with family trips and home remodeling to do.

If you're interested in a Fuso FR-1 or a Bob Jackson 50th jubilee frame, let me know...it's unlikely I'll have any time to play with those sweet bikes in this lifetime.

Pereira Front Lowrider Racks

2007-12-28T17:04:00.000-08:00

So here's the first shot of the low-rider pannier racks. They are removable with three allen bolts so that I only need to put them on for some tours or long rides. I would use something like Madden Lizards on them, but they should be able to mount a variety of bags.
The bike will be at the North American Handmade Bicycle Show on Feb. 8-10 in Portland, OR. It'll be the first time I see it all complete and I will take it home from there. Come join the fun and see it!

Pereira 650b Custom in Progress

2007-12-01T13:58:00.000-08:00

Tony Pereira has been working on my frame this fall and I've got some photos taken at the Portland Handmade Bike Show by Alex Wetmore and Micheal Huber (thanks guys!). It's coming along really nicely!

The concept behind the design was to create a light-weight 650b randonneuring and fast touring bike that could use the new 650b x 42mm Gran Bois Hetre tires. It's a big set of rubber, but I've been so happy with my 700c x 30mm Gran Bois tires I knew it was worth the effort to go for something along the same lines. The fork is a custom double-plate design with a front rack and removable low-rider pannier racks. No rear rack.

Mafac Raid centerpull brake calipers will provide stopping power and do so with a bit less weight than other options. I debated whether to go with canti's, but figured I'd do something less ordinary.

The stem is also custom and will include a bell and some option for supporting the Ravena handlebar bag. I have some Madden front panniers for the time being when the low-rider racks are mounted.

The Pereira "pear" badge looks nice on the headtube and I'm leaning toward a mossy green single color for the frame. I can't wait for it to be on the road!

A bit more work on racks and details and we should be getting very close to having this beauty in full riding mode. I plan on bringing it into the Olympics and Cascades on gravel adventure routes, and the big Hetres should be a welcome change from the 30mm I have been using.

I plan on posting more as things go along, so stay tuned!

Chartres Cathedral

2007-10-20T20:02:00.000-07:00

After PBP, Bob and I decided to take a trip to Chartres and visit the cathedral there. We bought train tickets, but soon found ourselves on the wrong train. We solved it by riding a different line and just getting off where we needed to, so all was not lost.

We stopped for some Greek lunch and strolled through the quiet streets to the cathedral that dominates the town's skyline. The weather was absolutely perfect. A sculpture park is nearby and provides a sharp contrast to the ancient buildings nearby.

As a very important pilgrimage and dating originally from the 4th century, this cathedral was one of the most impressive human-constructed and awe-inspiring places I have ever been. The current visible structure actually dates from around 1194, with the crypts from much earlier with some of the 6th century remains under the choir.

The main entrance is on the West Front and we entered through the right door which represents the seven liberal arts and the Virgin Mary of course. I felt like I should have paid better attention when I got my humanities degree...

From the moment you enter, the interior simply swallows you whole and it amazes with every glance. It doesn't matter that there are numerous other people there; the space is so vast that all sound is mainly respectful silence.

Chartres is known for it's stained glass, but from inside I found that taking any photo of them never did them justice. On a sunny, bright day like this they were glowing.

The choir screen was most interesting to me, an immense story told in panels, intricately carved and overwhelming in scope. These were done between the 1500 and 1700's. There are 41 niches in total. This photo is just one of the pillars between them!

In the nave there in an immense labyrinth in stone. It represented the path one would take to salvation, but also made me think of what a timeless shape the circle makes, whether mandala or bicycle wheel.

Bob and I spent a few hours inside and then strolled the grounds, soaking up the sun and reveling in the views. The areas around complement the cathedral and on a day like this really made us want to stay.

We spent more time walking around the cathedral, but realized that we could spend weeks here and barely scratch the surface. next time, an extended stay will be included! Highly recommended to all who make their way to PBP.

"Suck it up mate, ride it in"

2007-08-30T04:33:00.000-07:00

And so begins the saga of Paris-Brest-Paris 2007...

Perseverance

steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.

continuance in a state of grace to the end, leading to eternal salvation.

Getting to France was a fairly easy experience, inexpensive plane tickets for Bob Brudvik and myself and a little hotel arranging and we were on our way. We arrived on 17 August, fairly rested after the long flight (where I met my friend Angelica and her husband Scott on their way to South Africa - big surprise!). We met my father at the CDG airport and he helped us schlep bike boxes and luggage from Terminal 1 to the RER B, then Metro 10 and to RER C into St. Quentin en Yvelines (under 10 euros for the trip).

Arriving at 11:30 a.m., we were ready to get on with the tasks before the ride, including rebuilding bikes and eating a copious amount of food. The first dinner was with the "doctors"; Ken, Vic and Tom at Pizza Pino, our usual hangout at the Campanile. The wait staff were all wearing Paris-Brest grey and black jerseys, so you get the idea that this event has some real impact on the local economy. First night's sleep was welcome.

Group ride to Montfort l'Amaury

Had breakfast with Bob, Ray, Peter and Mark, then headed out for a nice ride to Montfort l'Amaury, a beautiful little town on the route about 25 km west. We pillaged the boulangerie and strolled the wonderful church next door, then headed up to the ancient castle at the top of the town. (Cell towers up there were camouflaged as pine trees; why can't such ideas be used in the US?) We then headed back and I got a bit lost on the run in to the finish, but no worries. Met my Dad for lunch, a delicious bacon and pasta cream dish. Later, we found a room for my him and we were set. Later on we met Emily and Jake from Boston area (riding fixed) and we had some beers in the lobby. My Dad was also the proud owner of a white and lemon green fendered city bike we'd gotten at GoSport for him to cruise around on.

Dad's new cruiser

Sunday 19 August - Breakfast with Steve and Peggy Rex along with Mark, Bob and Peter was an amusing start to the day. A little rain caused the organizers to forgo the bike check, so we got our papers and brevet cards in the massive cavern of the Gymnase des Droits de l'Homme. I finally ran into Martin Newstead from the UK who I'd met on Raid Pyrenee 2003 and he was looking fit and ready. (I hadn't ridden more than 100 miles a week and typically much less for the preceding 8 weeks, so my fitness would come in the first two days of PBP I figured).

Martin signs in

Loads of bikes of every sort covered the track outside. Saw Gregg Bleakney who had the cool job of taking photos of all the US riders during the event and meeting Rob Hawks on his Dave Yates from CA. Lots of excitement in the air and I could hardly think straight with all the people and input! We took our SIR group photo, which took dozens of attempts, but we did it. The topic for many was weather, but I rather enjoyed the prospect of rain knowing that heat would be far more challenging for me.

Many group photos ensued outside the hotel and I was happily surprised by Steve from Australia, another droggie from the Raid. We scoot up for a few Pelforths with Michael Huber and my Dad and then head out for food. Pino was packed and Peggy's invite to dinner proved impossible to accomplish. We ended up at a little bar/cafe Steve had been to before and had a really wonderful, humorous evening! A perfect pre-ride night.

Monday 20 August - Couldn't sleep past 4 a.m., so I got up and watched the wind-lashed rain pounding down in the courtyard. This was not going to be the nice weather ride many wanted. I felt good and was more than prepared for nasty weather, so it was fine with me. Took a 3 hour nap and then started to get anxious for the first time when the start was about 4 hours away. Steve, my Dad and I ate dinner and then it was time to go. The start for the 80-hour riders was pretty dry, but by the time we entered the field around 9 p.m., rain was threatening and within 10 minutes of our leaving at 10:30 p.m. it was pouring. C'est la vie! I lost all the SIR folks I was with, but that's par for the course and I ride alone anyway, so I kept in with the Russian, Danish, Swedish and British riders. Met a CA rider named Dan (who I told we'd meet again) and we headed out into the long, wet night.

Looking back at the 10:30 p.m. starters

Tuesday 21 August - I felt great. Numerous languages created a cacophony of sound amid the hissing tires and brake squeals as the wave snaked its way from St. Quentin to the first unofficial control in Mortagne au Perche at 140 km.

Tuesday morning's wet streets

I had enough food stashed to get to Villanes la Juhel, so I only stopped to top off bottles and kept going. Enjoyed the company of Ralph and Carol on their tandem since Fresnay sur Sarthe where I had stopped for a "planair" pastry and a Coke. Carol had calculated all the hills, gradients and heights, so they knew what they needed for each leg. I just hung on for the downhills! Arrived in Villanes la Juhel before 9:30 a.m. and had skipped the main food lines for a petit dejeuner of soup and jambon sandwich in the bar. Rode out with Emily and Jake, but their fixed and my multiple gears soon separated us.

First control madness in Villanes la Juhel

Leaving Villanes la Juhel

Rode hard to Fougeres, thinking about getting a little rest there before continuing to Carhaix. The rain continued off and on and I was thoroughly soaked, but the wool SIR jerseys did their magic and I was comfortable. Very fortunate that the air temps were never cold, even at night and no booties were needed, my feet were wet but never chilled. They even dried out a bit in the wind when it wasn't raining! My "plan", loose as it was, was two-fold. One, finish the ride. Two, don't get hurt. To accomplish that I never pushed myself very hard so as not to blow up. The first 20 hours I could feel my left Achilles acting up, and that tempered any out of the saddle sprinting I might have entertained in the first day's excitement. After that period, I didn't have any problems with it. Quick stop in Fougeres.

Rain riders

On the way to Fougeres

Made it to Tinteniac in the day time and was feeling great still. The 84 hour riders were already showing up and I had the pleasure of seeing Amy, Lola and Robin at the tent where we shared some soup/mashed potatoes and a good chat. Joel Metz was there too and the rain had stopped. Robin and I rode together from there and flew for the next 40 km pulling a stack of riders toward Loudeac, but I had to beg off and return to my "safe" mode to save the body. Robin was looking fab and caught a fast train as it came by. The last hour or two into Loudeac I was feeling very sleepy, so I was happy when the control came.

Somewhere near Dinge I had the pleasure of running into Jan-Olov Jansson from the iBOB/Touring lists and we had a few nice kms of chatting about all things bike-related, including the Audux PBP he rode in 2006 with 6 other Swedes. A very nice experience and of all places to meet! We would see each other a few times during the ride. Below are a few of the cafes I stopped at along the way. This year, the goal was to enjoy the ride and that included many stops for treats...saw Owen a few times and it was nice to meet his friend Andy from Atlanta (who could be my twin according to Owen!)

"Ok, one pastry"

"I need a cafe au lait with that"

"Jambon et frommage, oui!"

Wednesday 22 August - In Loudeac I ran into Shane and Matt while eating my riz et poisson. They were looking a bit road weary, as did we all. They headed off for sleep and I laid down for a nap on the table. An hour or so later I woke up with every limb asleep!! I felt like a block of wood and it took a good fifteen minutes to get up. I must have looked pathetic, flailing my useless arms like some rag doll. Saw Peg and Steve and they were looking good. More rain through the night, but I still felt good though tired. The sleep had helped to get my brain focused and so it was just a matter of turning the pedals. The night was wet and a little windy.

Navigating roundabouts: very amusing

Carhaix-Plouguer was busy, but I made it through pretty quickly...things already getting a bit foggy memory-wise. Greg Bleakney was out taking photos on the moto and we had a good chat as he took shots through the night. It was very cool and must have been interesting for him to see all the different facets of riders and conditions in a short time. It's what makes a long ride like this fascinating, as during any hour of the night or day, riders go though all sorts of changes in attitude, health, and weather. What you see or feel at one point will be totally different the next. I hooked up with some folks for the run into Brest and a rider came by saying that Jason Wenstrom was just a bit behind me on one of the climbs. We finally met up and I met Tom from PBP 2003 again too! What a surprise. He was looking really fresh and asked about Bob who just then passed us on his way back from Brest on the downhill from Roc Trevezel! Coincidence?? Anyway, Jason, Tom and I did a steady pace up the climb and down the other side, anxious to get to the turnaround point.

Normandy countryside

I forgot about the 40 km of riding after the climb, so I used too much energy and had a vicious cramp in my right thigh. I have never had one of those before so I pulled over to drink and eat some Tums. A couple of grandparents and their grandkids had stopped for a picnic and we garbled our way through the language barrier. The grandpa just loved America! I gave them a pin from Port Townsend and took their photo:

Picnicking grandparents

Enter Brest on Wednesday

Made it to Brest about 2:30 p.m. - far later than the 9 a.m. from 2003. I ran into Damon Peacock (who I'd met in 2003) and he did some video of me coming into Brest and also some shots as I sent some of Steve Hameister's ashes into the sea from the bridge. Well Steve - you made it this far with me!

Control at Brest

Beautiful Sizun

Felt good and grabbed a quick drink before heading back out to get some real food back in Sizun, one of my favorite towns on the route. There I stopped and got some smoked ham, good cheese and fruit from the grocery. (This after ordering a few items that they could not heat for me, but I didn't understand until my savior Isabelle came by to ask if I needed help! She got me through it and I finally had some food). I met Isabelle and Jean-Philippe Battu on their Follier tandem and we had rode together and chatted for a long time. They knew Max from SIR from eight years ago and were absolutely delightful to ride with. Heck, I'd make a special trip over here just to do that! I hope to see them again soon.

Isabelle and Jean-Philippe Battu

Now the return...back to Carhaix-Plouguer and Loudeac. I was tired, but still felt quite good physically. A little more rain, of course, but that was par for the course. Nothing I had was dry anymore, so any attempt at getting dry was fruitless. Somewhere along the line I met up with Dan from the start again and had a pomme crepe, cafe and some pizza with him and his friends, which was an enjoyable break in the night.

Thursday 23 August - By the time I arrived in Loudeac at 2:00 a.m. all I wanted was food and sleep. The carnage was everywhere. Every possible warm and dry spot was taken by a wet body, and I had a difficult time even finding a place to park my bike. Finally stuck it behind the semi trailer near the bar. After getting my control cards signed and swiped, I made my way to the self-serve food and got a pear and soup to consume. I found a table near the door that idiots kept walking in through and leaving open. It was irritating and when Martin and Jim Churton showed up we had a serious conversation about certain riders lacking social skills. Exhaustion is no excuse for inconsiderate behavior!

Martin and Jim were off to a camp Jim's wife set-up about 20 km down the road for a rest and I would have stayed indoors except for the door issue. Too wet, cold and tired to try and find another spot inside, I grabbed my space bivy and headed for the far side of the building where only one other rider was. I pulled the rubber entry mat over to a darker spot out of the rain and crawled in. Already shivering, I hoped my food would soon add some heat. At least I had my wool cap and that helped as it was the only thing not totally drenched. Unbelievably, I slept for two hours. Woke up very cold, disoriented and still very wet. It took every once of energy to fold the blanket, gather my helmet and gloves and stumble awkwardly to the food line inside.

Carnage

I ran into Joel and he looked beat. I stood shivering while waiting for some bangers and mash with an orange juice to wash it down. It took me a long time to get back to the bike and head out. At the time I thought this was my most difficult time on the ride, my brain was so slow. When I finally headed out all I thought of was making it to Fougeres and nothing else. It was a half hour before I began to warm up and could start to think again. The cold, wet sleep I had must have helped as I felt much better arriving in Fougeres; I don't remember Tinteniac at all!

The rain had ceased in the early afternoon and I pulled into Fougeres slightly drier than the day had begun. I met Martin and Jim again and we had dinner with Eric in the cafeteria. Omelet and frites, fruit cocktail with cafe au lait. Jim and his wife are the only foreigners to have ridden all the Diagonales de France; quite an accomplishment. The idea was intriguing to Eric, and a spirited discussion arose as to what it would take to be the first American to do so. Final consensus: know French. We all headed out to our bikes and I was about to leave when it dawned on me that I actually had one set of dry shorts and socks!! Yeah! I felt great and was ready to finish the 320 km back to St. Quentin.

Cow crossing halts progress!

The ride was going nicely, not as fast as last time, but I was physically in good shape and fairly rested. I ran into a BC rider and we motored along taking photos of each other before Le Louroux where we stopped at the famous La Tanneire crepe and cafe stop. Ran into Mike Norman and we chatted a bit. Then off again as evening approached.

La Tanneire crepe stand

And so it begins...near Gorron I started to feel a little queasy, which I just thought was normal for the length of time on the bike and all the food. In another few km I was really starting to go downhill and was overcome with waves of nausea. It was dark by now and the hills were getting more difficult as more effort meant feeling sicker. It started to rain. My body was telling me news I didn't want to hear and I couldn't even drink water without feeling like throwing up. In Loupfougeres I hurled violently while riding along a descent all over my right sleeve. I quickly pulled over and spent ten minutes dispensing every once of sustenance out on the side of the road. I overheard someone say in English, "oh, that doesn't look good", and by then I thought I was done with it. My head hurt, but I wanted to continue on, being so close to Villaines la Juhel. I needed to lie down and try and regroup.

Wrecked. That's all I felt. At the control I was shattered. From feeling so good to this in only 50 km. Dazed I found a place for my bike and stumbled into the control at 10:39 p.m. to get the card signed. I couldn't eat or drink and the smell of food in the facility made me feel worse. I propped myself in a corner and slept, but woke up stiff-necked and cold soon after. I went outside to be sick again and got my bivy. Back inside I found a place at a table and crawled inside the bivy, where I went to sleep immediately. Sometime later I woke up and quickly left to get some air; I didn't want to be sick inside. I knew I had to make it to Mortagne au Perche before the time cut, but once on the bike I went from moment to moment either getting sick or dry-heaving as I was already empty. Every sip of water came up with a vengence, so I stopped trying anymore. I was so very thirsty and could hardly talk to anyone.

Things get weird

The struggle for the next control became epic as I could only pedal with enough effort to move forward, but any more I'd feel terrible. I was glad only for the rain which seemed to wash me clean every hour. During this time I ran into Jake Kassen from Boston and we rode together a bit. I couldn't talk much and always felt like barfing. He was doing well and being with him took my mind off my stomach. At one point we were flying down through a small town and he mis-judged a corner and caught the curb near the cobbles. Down he went and a few of us stopped to see if he was injured. A few scrapes, but nothing major and very lucky not to hit the steel rails a few feet in. I stayed with him a while longer to make sure he was feeling OK, then had to go alone as I needed to use the downhills to recover some time.

Morning light came and I finally pulled into Mortagne au Perche at 6:26 a.m., nearly an hour after the close. Not only did I feel like shit, I'd also been knocked out of the ride officially. The control worker made the sign of getting my head lopped off, which I wouldn't have minded at the time actually. I decided to throw caution to the wind and ordered three Oranginas which I drank one after the other, not caring whether they came up again or not. Then I crawled into my bivy and slept for two hours straight.

When I awoke, control workers were tearing down everything and I wandered a bit aimlessly till I came upon Jeff Tilden who had broken a pedal a few kms out of the control. He was looking for a replacement or some way to make it in and I offered him my cleats and pedals, thinking I was done and would be taking a train anyway. We couldn't get his cleats off, so he called his brother Brad who would trade him his pedals and forgo his own ride to get Jeff to the finish. Bravo.

The control workers were very nice and I got the number for the Campanile to leave a message for my Dad with Jeff's cell phone. It was a cryptic message about looking for a train and not being on time. I found out later he got it from Peter and he and Bob hung out at the train station waiting for much of Friday. That was the part I felt worse about...my Dad waiting for me at the finish and me still 140 kms away. I felt I let him down and was still trying to imagine how this ride could have spiraled down so far. I stood with a few folks talking about trains when the defining moment of the day came.

An Aussie rider from the 84 hour group came up with a 90 hour friend he was nursing in and overheard our conversation. He looked me in the eye and just said "Suck it up mate, ride it in". And that was it. The perfect answer right there. Sure, I couldn't eat anything or drink much, but I sure as hell could still ride. Everything still worked. So, off I went.

The beauty never stops

The road to Dreux is rolling and the terrain becomes easy as you head back to the finish. I was emotional and went through bouts of feeling really bad about things, to anger at not making the time cut. Some tears, some pain, interspersed with nausea and a growing problem with the runs. Great: two exits, no waiting. The time plodded on as I went from fast paced time-trialing to stops in the woods, to moments of dry-heaving. It was like a nightmare that would never end, but the rain had pretty much ceased, so my clothes started to dry. Not all is lost.

I met up with a very tired looking Frenchman and we traded pulls into the control. They were pretty much closed up by then, about 3 p.m., but managed to sign cards. I ate an apple, a pear and a banana; my first food since Fougeres nearly 250 km ago. I could drink small sips of water every half hour and keep it down, so that at least helped. I ran into Mitchell, who was mad at the world and basically told him to keep moving. There was not much else to do. The end was in sight and I just wanted to be finished. A woman in Marsanceux clapped as I went by and gave me an apple.

Lonely Dreux control

Despite the troubles, I enjoyed the final kms, knowing that I had actually ridden in and did not quit. The final 25 km went quickly till a flat in the Rambouillet forest and another only 2km from the finish. I pulled in the Gymnase des Droits de l'Homme to some applause from the few folks left at 9:51 p.m. and was done. What a journey.

Sleepy riders litter the roads

Found Bob and Michael helping someone pack their bike, they were all clean and happy. We strolled back to the hotel, where I wanted to see my Dad and let him know I was OK. I finally found him in his room and he treated me to some bread, cheese and a glass of wine. It was my first sustenance in many hours and felt good, even if I knew it might not stay down. I showered and went to bed. It was nice to have my Dad there and I know he felt better too. It's hard to be a parent sometimes...

The final sweet towns

Thanks to the unknown Aussie for putting it all in perspective. I owe you one mate. And to my father: thanks for sharing some of this grand event with me, I Love You.

Was it a difficult ride? For me, only the food poisoning or whatever it was really made the ride challenging. The rest is all part and parcel of a 1200 km. They are long events and present issues you can never totally plan for. The temperatures were warm and I'd rather be wet than too hot. As my 2nd PBP finish, I was much more comfortable with everything and the 3rd should be another good time!

Follow the dog...

Lessons Learned: no more need for saddle balm; just good fitting shorts. Gloves are not always your friends. Riding within your means is just good sense. Write down rider numbers when meeting folks and be better about note-taking (though I improved on this ten-fold compared to 2003). Learn to speak more French!

Equipment: I rode unsupported with my modified Rivendell Canti-Romulus with 9sp DT shifters and front Berthoud bag and rear Jandd Mountain Wedge III. Everything worked perfectly. The Gran Bois 700x30 tires were awesome, only my stash of tubes were bad! I carried a small umbrella for the whole ride, but never used it....

A small quiet ceremony with me, Michael Huber and Bob Brudvik as we place Steve Hameister's ashes in the flower beds of Rond-Point de Saules at the PBP finish. He finished the ride and his spirit lives on.