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rebeccmeisterLast week, J let me know that, with his current work situation, he thought it was unlikely he would be able to go to the 300k, so I'd be out a riding partner for it. I could totally sympathize, and was grateful that he let me know with enough advance notice to send a message to the Houston Randonneurs list and give them a heads-up on my situation (riding by my self, a general slowie).
But then, I was fortunate on yesterday's brevet to have the fine company of MW, an A&M graduate and veteran of no small number of rides. You never quite know how things will shake out on a brevet. Six of us signed on for the 300k, and a seventh rider signed on for the 200k instead (he said he had a date with his wife, which seems like good justification). At the starting line, amidst the chaos of a time trial, I chatted a bit with the other riders to get a feel for how things might shake out. One guy, B, said that while he didn't want to respond to my e-mail and volunteer to ride with me, he had a feeling that's how the ride would wind up going, which was comforting news to me.
Preparing at the starting line. The photo is blurry because it was too early in the morning, so the camera wasn't awake.
Three of the other riders were guys who I know are quite fast. There was an out-and-back section on the 400k, and just as J and I were preparing to head out, two riders came through on the "back" part, which meant they were about 4 hours ahead of us. The third fast rider hung out with the pack of riders on the 400k, but I've also seen him take off ahead when he has felt so inclined, and I also learned from MW that he once completed a four-hour century ride (do the math; that's an average of 25 mph for four hours).
So. As we pulled out of the La Quinta, six of us stuck together as a group; B fell off the back of the group quickly, but on the flat early stages, I felt like I could hang with the other five guys, so I did, up until we started hitting the hills about 6 or 7 miles outside of Belleville. At that point, I said "peace out" to the super-fast guys and fell back to take my time climbing. To my surprise, MW hung back with me! He pointed out that the other guys were riding with power output that he knew he couldn't sustain, but said that my pace seemed just fine.
We caught up with the fast four briefly at the Belleville control (who can resist the lure of Newman's bakery, eh?).
The fast four rolled out while MW and I ate a few bites of delicious things (raspberry thumbprint cookies, yum, and some breakfast burrito, too), so that was that.
The next segment of the ride took us from Belleville up through Chappell Hill, and then further north to Navasota, along a series of farm roads. There was a large Saturday farmer's/art market in downtown Belleville, which looked awesome (at a quick glance as we rolled past), and there were banners up in Chappell Hill about a bluebonnet festival happening the following weekend. It must be spring in Texas.
The stretch of roadway between Chappell Hill and Navasota is one of those areas where people drive out to photograph themselves and loved ones and babies and weddings and ponies* and chupacabras** among the spring wildflowers. That meant traffic and lots of parked cars along the side of the farm road, and big fields edged with people carrying cameras. Also, tons and tons of pollen in the air. Our eyes watered and our noses streamed. Altogether, the spectacle was a pleasant distraction.
There were bright-yellow fields full of some yellow flower, bright-blue fields full of bluebonnets, and bright orangey-red fields full of indian paintbrush. These guys aren't my favorite wildflowers (the paintbrush is all right), but the colors were still pleasing among the green grass and trees, and we were definitely riding through during Peak Wildflower. I'll still take a field of golden-orange California poppies in Arizona well before any of the Texas stuff.
Obligatory bluebonnet photo
The section from Navasota up to the corner store in Carlos featured even more wildflowers, of the sort I more strongly prefer; mixtures of all different kinds of things whose names I don't know, short and tall and pale blue and hot pink, interspersed with interesting rock formations and the occasional patch of prickly pear cactus. I might have to go back out there to re-ride that section, since it's reasonably close to home.
There isn't a whole lot to say about the return trip; this was an out-and-back ride, so the scenery was just as grand on the way back. MW continued to provide great company, swapping tons of stories of bicycling adventures and other travels. He also works for TxDOT, which means he has lots of useful insights into road infrastructure and how to go about getting things done around the state. With all of his help with pulling, we managed to finish the brevet at a reasonable hour, too, arriving back at the La Quinta at 10:20 pm, 15 hours and 20 minutes after the start. I think it also helped that we never stopped for much longer than 20-30 minutes at controls. My theory is that it's better to keep rolling, even at a slow pace, than to spend too much time sitting.
I went back to look at my finishing times from the 300k's in Arizona, though, and was reminded, once again, of the incredible toll that chipseal takes. I feel like yesterday's brevet was a strong and fast ride for me, and yet I finished both of the Arizona brevets even more quickly, in 15 hours or under. I just have to hope that all of the time I am spending on the Texas roads and hills will continue to help me be a confident randonneusse.
*Yes, there was a PONY FARM along that section. Ponies for everyone!
**No, there weren't really any chupacabras. Oh, but we did spot a big, dead wild pig at one point, later on.
But then, I was fortunate on yesterday's brevet to have the fine company of MW, an A&M graduate and veteran of no small number of rides. You never quite know how things will shake out on a brevet. Six of us signed on for the 300k, and a seventh rider signed on for the 200k instead (he said he had a date with his wife, which seems like good justification). At the starting line, amidst the chaos of a time trial, I chatted a bit with the other riders to get a feel for how things might shake out. One guy, B, said that while he didn't want to respond to my e-mail and volunteer to ride with me, he had a feeling that's how the ride would wind up going, which was comforting news to me.
Preparing at the starting line. The photo is blurry because it was too early in the morning, so the camera wasn't awake.
Three of the other riders were guys who I know are quite fast. There was an out-and-back section on the 400k, and just as J and I were preparing to head out, two riders came through on the "back" part, which meant they were about 4 hours ahead of us. The third fast rider hung out with the pack of riders on the 400k, but I've also seen him take off ahead when he has felt so inclined, and I also learned from MW that he once completed a four-hour century ride (do the math; that's an average of 25 mph for four hours).
So. As we pulled out of the La Quinta, six of us stuck together as a group; B fell off the back of the group quickly, but on the flat early stages, I felt like I could hang with the other five guys, so I did, up until we started hitting the hills about 6 or 7 miles outside of Belleville. At that point, I said "peace out" to the super-fast guys and fell back to take my time climbing. To my surprise, MW hung back with me! He pointed out that the other guys were riding with power output that he knew he couldn't sustain, but said that my pace seemed just fine.
We caught up with the fast four briefly at the Belleville control (who can resist the lure of Newman's bakery, eh?).
The fast four rolled out while MW and I ate a few bites of delicious things (raspberry thumbprint cookies, yum, and some breakfast burrito, too), so that was that.
The next segment of the ride took us from Belleville up through Chappell Hill, and then further north to Navasota, along a series of farm roads. There was a large Saturday farmer's/art market in downtown Belleville, which looked awesome (at a quick glance as we rolled past), and there were banners up in Chappell Hill about a bluebonnet festival happening the following weekend. It must be spring in Texas.
The stretch of roadway between Chappell Hill and Navasota is one of those areas where people drive out to photograph themselves and loved ones and babies and weddings and ponies* and chupacabras** among the spring wildflowers. That meant traffic and lots of parked cars along the side of the farm road, and big fields edged with people carrying cameras. Also, tons and tons of pollen in the air. Our eyes watered and our noses streamed. Altogether, the spectacle was a pleasant distraction.
There were bright-yellow fields full of some yellow flower, bright-blue fields full of bluebonnets, and bright orangey-red fields full of indian paintbrush. These guys aren't my favorite wildflowers (the paintbrush is all right), but the colors were still pleasing among the green grass and trees, and we were definitely riding through during Peak Wildflower. I'll still take a field of golden-orange California poppies in Arizona well before any of the Texas stuff.
Obligatory bluebonnet photo
The section from Navasota up to the corner store in Carlos featured even more wildflowers, of the sort I more strongly prefer; mixtures of all different kinds of things whose names I don't know, short and tall and pale blue and hot pink, interspersed with interesting rock formations and the occasional patch of prickly pear cactus. I might have to go back out there to re-ride that section, since it's reasonably close to home.
There isn't a whole lot to say about the return trip; this was an out-and-back ride, so the scenery was just as grand on the way back. MW continued to provide great company, swapping tons of stories of bicycling adventures and other travels. He also works for TxDOT, which means he has lots of useful insights into road infrastructure and how to go about getting things done around the state. With all of his help with pulling, we managed to finish the brevet at a reasonable hour, too, arriving back at the La Quinta at 10:20 pm, 15 hours and 20 minutes after the start. I think it also helped that we never stopped for much longer than 20-30 minutes at controls. My theory is that it's better to keep rolling, even at a slow pace, than to spend too much time sitting.
I went back to look at my finishing times from the 300k's in Arizona, though, and was reminded, once again, of the incredible toll that chipseal takes. I feel like yesterday's brevet was a strong and fast ride for me, and yet I finished both of the Arizona brevets even more quickly, in 15 hours or under. I just have to hope that all of the time I am spending on the Texas roads and hills will continue to help me be a confident randonneusse.
*Yes, there was a PONY FARM along that section. Ponies for everyone!
**No, there weren't really any chupacabras. Oh, but we did spot a big, dead wild pig at one point, later on.
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no subject
Date: 2014-04-06 05:52 pm (UTC)!!!
I'm proud to have done a sub-5. That's cooking.
I'm glad there weren't any chupacabras.
also I've never seen the word randonneusse before and I love it. Maybe when you're averaging 25mph on the whole 400k you'll be a randonnetrix?
no subject
Date: 2014-04-06 06:00 pm (UTC)I'm also glad there weren't any chupacabras. :-)
"Randonneur" is a French term, so "randonneusse" is the feminine equivalent. It's an unusual word mostly because there aren't too many women who do long-distance cycling! All of the ones who do are awesome, though. But yes - if I managed to hold that pace I would upgrade to randonnetrix. I'd probably need to lose the pannier and slim down the burrito stash to ever have a chance at that.
no subject
Date: 2014-04-06 08:16 pm (UTC)Maybe it's just a fluke, but of the six randonneurs I know/follow, four are female.
no subject
Date: 2014-04-07 08:34 pm (UTC)On the Arizona brevets, there would generally be 3-4 women. The Dallas contingent seems larger, which is fun, because women tend to approach sports differently than men. But I was the only woman on this brevet. And that's not to mention the fact that this is still very much a white guy sport.
no subject
Date: 2014-04-08 12:21 am (UTC)Loved your story
Date: 2014-04-07 01:44 am (UTC)GoLong
Re: Loved your story
Date: 2014-04-07 08:28 pm (UTC)Thoughts about being a slower rider: sometimes I think it's useful and encouraging for others to hear that it's still possible to accomplish big things even if one isn't the fastest in the bunch. Also, I am incredibly grateful when another rider who might be just a little bit faster manages to slow down and prioritize camaraderie over speed. Not everyone is able to actually do that.
The first time I ever hiked the Grand Canyon, friends and I did the whole hike in one day. On our way back up to the top, a guy passed us and paused to chat for a minute. He had flown out from Tennessee for the sole purpose of doing a "rim-to-rim-to-rim" run: start at the top of the south rim, run to the bottom, run up to the north rim, back down to the bottom, and finish at the top of the south rim, all on the same day. All of us spent way too much of our time looking at the dusty trail because we were so focused on the places we "had" to be. I was fortunate enough to be living in Arizona, so I could go back and do a proper hike, camping out in the bottom and taking in the incredible sights, but the Tennessee runner...well, I hope he felt like he got his money's worth.
300K
Date: 2014-04-07 06:29 pm (UTC)Re: 300K
Date: 2014-04-07 08:38 pm (UTC)I kept wanting to check the weight of my bike versus the weight of MW's bike, but would forget whenever we were stopped. I suspect they were fairly close in weight. I'm definitely going to shop for a trunk bag and a lighter helmet before the 600k. All that said and done, things didn't feel especially heavy. But then again, this was my load going to and from work last week:
Bike Load to Work Last Week
Date: 2014-04-08 01:56 am (UTC)Holy Fishsticks!