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rebeccmeisterOkay, here we go.
Friday evening, J,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
scrottie and I drove down to Brookshire to get ready for the brevet. S and I have been talking about reviving the sea shanty singing, so on the car ride, we listened to a set of the shanties and sang along. When we reached the La Quinta, we spent a little while getting our bicycles and clothing all set up, and then went to sleep fairly promptly, because the ride was due to start at 5 am.
On the advice of one of the Lone Star Randonneurs, J had bought a tub of Laniseptic and had good results on our training ride two weekends previous. So I decided it would be a good idea for me to use it as well, and coated my chamois with it the night before. It's thick stuff, often used on bed sores, but apparently the chemistry of lanolin tends to work well with skin and doesn't wear off too quickly when a person is sweating.
The next morning, we got up at 4:20, swigged down coffee, packed some burritos...
...and got ready to roll. Eleven of us rolled out at the start, nine riders for the 600k and two riders for a 200k. In the early stages, we hung together as a group, getting to know each other and chatting about all things bicycle. As we hit the first of the hills before Belleville, GG, the captain of a tandem, gave us the detailed specs on tandems. Apparently tandems, much like recumbents, have a hard time going up hills, but then whiz down on the downhills. This was a great comfort to me, as I tend to be a slow hill-climber and the tandem kept a nice, steady pace that was easy to follow.
A few miles outside of Belleville, someone got a flat. While the group would ordinarily all hang out during the flat change, I got to thinking that S, J and I would probably want a bit more time than most folks at Newman's Bakery in Belleville, so we struck out ahead.
We bought all of the dough-wrapped cheese pastries they had on sale that morning, plus I bought some raspberry spritzer cookies and S bought some almond thumbprint ones. Always a great stop.
Then we rejoined the rest of the group and started heading north towards Chappell Hill. The next sets of farm roads were familiar territory as well, but with a fun twist. The last time we rolled through, fields were full of bluebonnets and small, yellow flowers. This time, the next set of flowers were up. One of the riders, MW, rode ahead of the group to take a few great photos while we all still looked reasonably chipper and fresh.
Here comes the tandem!
And apparently Chappell Hill has some giant firefighters, to judge by the size of their hats:
Soon we rolled through Washington on the Brazos, and waved farewell to the two 200k riders. Our first 100k was complete, and it was time for them to turn around and head back. We traveled along highway 105 for a stretch, and then popped onto a series of back roads that would head up through Independence. Once again, I was grateful for the steady pace set by the tandem and for P's watchful eye for passing cars, as we worked our way through that set of hills.
Our next stop was in Burton, for lunch at the Burton Short Stop.
This spot has a great selection of things to fit many needs: beer, grilled cheese sandwiches, V8, chips. It was beginning to get warm, so the V8 went down especially well.
It proceeded to get so warm that D, the stoker on the tandem, started to cramp up on a big hill just outside of Industry, TX. Time for a salt break. Oh, and maybe some ice. Oh, and maybe some ice cream and chocolate milk.
At this point, a few things started to unravel a bit. One rider, RG, dropped back to ride on his own - my impression is that he's generally content to ride solo, and I can understand how the group chatter can get to be too much for folks sometimes. Meanwhile, J had started to experience some fairly serious knee troubles. P suspected it was associated with tight hip muscles and recommended a cleat shift, so J sat down and moved his cleat.
But we had to press onward. It was hot and there was a headwind, but we still had miles to cover to reach Alleyton. However, ny the time we rolled in to Alleyton, things unraveled further. We were a bit past the 200-km mark at that point, with just under 200km to go for the day. S was suffering from a combination of things. He has a hard time getting going first thing in the morning, and we hadn't budgeted quite enough time for him to wake up fully before roll-out at 5 am. He had also enjoyed perhaps slightly too much dairy in Industry, having downed a large bottle of chocolate milk and an ice cream cone. He declared a strong need to put his feet up and close his eyes for a few minutes in Alleyton, and so he did, while the bulk of the group sat in Taco Bell and ate all sorts of salty, calorific things.
It also became clear that J was hurting, badly. P continued to try and brainstorm ways to adjust J's bike, but it was time to make a tough decision. Brookshire, our origin, is a 45-mile direct ride from Alleyton. J reluctantly agreed that it would be best for him to rest a bit longer in Alleyton and then "abandon" the ride (as it's called).
Meanwhile, the group was ready to roll out, but S still needed a few more minutes to recharge - I could tell the heat and tiredness were making him cranky, but I also know that if he gets enough time to close his eyes and let his body relax, he can get back on his bike and ride strongly. So we hung out with J for a couple more minutes and then set out back towards Burton on our own.
Some miles later, S said he still felt like he needed a nap. When a person reaches that point, there isn't much point in arguing. Besides, with the heat I was starting to feel like I still wasn't taking in quite as much water and salt as I needed. When we spied RG, stopped under the shade of a building, we decided to pull over for another break.
Apparently, RG had also run into trouble. He'd gotten a flat tire and was having difficulty managing fluids and energy, and then his bike pump wasn't functioning properly, so he had decided to throw in the towel and was waiting for his wife to come along and pick him up. While S closed his eyes again for a few minutes, I downed a bottle of water mixed with a Nuun tab and chatted with RG. Soon enough, the two of us felt recharged to the point where we could continue riding. We rolled back through Industry, stopping just long enough to fill our water bottles, and reached Burton just as the sun was starting to go down.
And what a relief that was. The high temperature in the afternoon was right around 90 degrees, which didn't feel all that wretchedly terrible, but the heat had definitely sucked a lot of energy and moisture out of us. It was bad enough that another rider, MW, hit a breaking point a few miles before Burton and couldn't keep food down any longer. Fortunately, a local was kind enough to give him a lift back to the store at Burton, where he could sit in the cool air conditioning, try to start keeping small bits of food and liquid down, and wait for his wife to pick him up.
That's never a fun way to end a ride, but it made me think that S and I were prudent to stop the second time he needed a break. When a person is riding in a group, it's easy to get distracted and ignore one's body signals until it's too late.
In January, our first brevet of the season was a 200k that went out to Burton and back again. As a result, I knew we were halfway through the whole 600k by the time we reached Burton - only 100km more lay between us and sleep, glorious sleep. We shoved off and rode back through Brenham towards Chappell Hill. Another brief stop for rest and salt, then back to Belleville. By that point, it was dark and much cooler, which meant we could ride faster. My lungs had started to bother me, so the mug of hot chocolate in the Rattler's in Belleville tasted soothing. Finally, the last push of the day back to Brookshire.
As we rolled over the last set of hills towards FR 359, I started to notice that my rear tire was rubbing on the fender, but decided it wasn't too sever, so I ignored it. But then, just as we approached the intersection to turn onto 359 and cover the last 12 miles, I heard a pop and things got much worse. I'd broken a spoke. Time to pull over a fix it. I'd figured it was only a matter of time before I broke a spoke, given the other recent spoke breaks I've had with Froinlavin's rear wheel, so I'd packed two spares with me. But when I stopped to inspect things, I discovered, to my dismay, that I'd broken a driveside spoke this time. Those are impossible to replace without a cassette removal tool. S suggested readjusting the surrounding spokes to try and pull the rim more reasonably straight, so I gave that a shot and got the wheel back to a point where it was only rubbing a bit, and we took things slow and steady for the last stage back.
When we finally reached the La Quinta, it was 2:45 am. The LSR group had left us a note at the desk, saying that breakfast would be at 6:30 and roll-out at 7. At that point, I didn't know what would happen in the morning. If I was lucky, GG would have the right cassette removal tool among all the spare bike parts he said he'd packed in his truck. I wrote a message on the note to ask for one, and then S and I showered and crawled in to bed. I got up the next morning at 6:20, dressed, and headed out to the lobby to discuss my prospects. Lo and behold, I was in luck!
Not only was I able to replace the spoke, but GG shared another precious resource with me, a spare FiberFix emergency spoke repair kit to keep in my toolbag in case more spokes started to blow. Redundancy is a good idea on brevets; GG said he keeps almost an entire spare bicycle in his truck, after having broken a crank midway through a brevet once. By then, it was looking like S would actually manage to get himself up and rolling in due time, so I waved goodbye to the group and sat around for a few minutes while S got ready. I bumped into MW, looking much better at the breakfast table, another welcome sight.
Day two was an out-and-back route through Alleyton and out to Fayetteville. S and I kept our pace moderate and pacelined as best we could through the morning headwinds. By the time we reached Alleyton, it was starting to get hot. Before the ride, I'd glanced ever so briefly at the brevet's elevation chart, so I had a vague sense that the section between Alleyton and Fayetteville would get hilly. Lo and behold, it was. There was nothing to do but keep the pedals spinning. Three miles outside of Fayetteville, we spotted the LSR group making their return - a welcome sight! They gave us a few pointers on things in Fayetteville, and then we carried on in our respective directions.
When S and I reached town, ice started to sound like a really good idea, so we bought a bag at a convenience store and loaded everything we had with ice cubes. Several months back, I'd asked around for advice on coping with the heat, and someone had suggested carrying a tube sock to fill with ice and drape around my neck. Heavenly!
The beer at the arts festival in town also tasted incredible. Time to tackle the hills on the return route. Boy did those hurt, but we pushed through them. By the time we reached the outskirts of Columbus, just four miles short of Alleyton, we required more water, stat. Maybe next time I'll manage to plan a stop in at this Dairy Cone instead:
In Alleyton, S bought a 32-ounce jar of canned peach halves, which the two of us ate in its entirety, and we ate more salty junk food, too. I also took a swig of what I thought was an abandoned Gatorade left sitting outside of the convenience store, only to turn around and discover that it belonged to a Harley rider standing right there. Fortunately, he wasn't angry, only amused.
So then, the last 45-mile stretch. Steady as she goes. As we criss-crossed the countryside, heading towards Sealy, the wind alternately gave us a huge push and gave us big blasts in the face - the former more so than the latter, thankfully. We were hot, tired, and sore, so much so that I declared that we should stop at the low-water crossing to put our feet in the water. In great contrast to the 400k, there was no water whatsoever at the low point. Soaking my feet in the cool water was peaceful and rejuvenating, and gave me enough time to relax so my digestive system could catch up with my energy burn rate. We'd been keeping an eye on the time, and it looked like we'd be able to finish on time, so there wasn't a severe sense of urgency, either.
Onward. We paused in Sealy for even more water, our last burritoes, and to put on reflective gear as the sun went down. Onward. We blasted over the cracked pavement between Sealy and FR 1458. The smooth pavement on FR 1458 was a welcome sight. Onward. We reached the junction of FR 1458 and FR 359. Counting down the last five miles. Onward. We rolled in to the La Quinta at 8:15 pm, 39 hours and 15 minutes after Saturday's start time. Another 600k complete.
One of the more amazing things to me was that S and I managed to stay awake and were relatively coherent for the whole car ride back to Bryan at the end of the brevet. From our previous 600ks in Arizona, we have distinct memories of passing out very hard about 30 minutes after the end, while J drove all of us back to Tempe. That indicates to me that we were both in much better shape for this brevet. I'd also credit the energy savings we experienced by riding in the draft of the LSR gang for the first 250 km of the brevet.
I'm going to write a second post about specific equipment and bike fit things, but I suspect this is long enough for now, heh. I'm glad to have this 600k on the books, and I'm even more glad that I enjoyed it as much as I did, especially that final, peaceful foot-soak with S in the low-water crossing in the late afternoon. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about randonneuring after all I've been through so far, but if anything it feels more manageable and awesome now than before. That tells me I'm still learning new things as I ride, and putting those things to good use.
Friday evening, J,
scrottie and I drove down to Brookshire to get ready for the brevet. S and I have been talking about reviving the sea shanty singing, so on the car ride, we listened to a set of the shanties and sang along. When we reached the La Quinta, we spent a little while getting our bicycles and clothing all set up, and then went to sleep fairly promptly, because the ride was due to start at 5 am.On the advice of one of the Lone Star Randonneurs, J had bought a tub of Laniseptic and had good results on our training ride two weekends previous. So I decided it would be a good idea for me to use it as well, and coated my chamois with it the night before. It's thick stuff, often used on bed sores, but apparently the chemistry of lanolin tends to work well with skin and doesn't wear off too quickly when a person is sweating.
The next morning, we got up at 4:20, swigged down coffee, packed some burritos...
...and got ready to roll. Eleven of us rolled out at the start, nine riders for the 600k and two riders for a 200k. In the early stages, we hung together as a group, getting to know each other and chatting about all things bicycle. As we hit the first of the hills before Belleville, GG, the captain of a tandem, gave us the detailed specs on tandems. Apparently tandems, much like recumbents, have a hard time going up hills, but then whiz down on the downhills. This was a great comfort to me, as I tend to be a slow hill-climber and the tandem kept a nice, steady pace that was easy to follow.
A few miles outside of Belleville, someone got a flat. While the group would ordinarily all hang out during the flat change, I got to thinking that S, J and I would probably want a bit more time than most folks at Newman's Bakery in Belleville, so we struck out ahead.
We bought all of the dough-wrapped cheese pastries they had on sale that morning, plus I bought some raspberry spritzer cookies and S bought some almond thumbprint ones. Always a great stop.
Then we rejoined the rest of the group and started heading north towards Chappell Hill. The next sets of farm roads were familiar territory as well, but with a fun twist. The last time we rolled through, fields were full of bluebonnets and small, yellow flowers. This time, the next set of flowers were up. One of the riders, MW, rode ahead of the group to take a few great photos while we all still looked reasonably chipper and fresh.
Here comes the tandem!
And apparently Chappell Hill has some giant firefighters, to judge by the size of their hats:
Soon we rolled through Washington on the Brazos, and waved farewell to the two 200k riders. Our first 100k was complete, and it was time for them to turn around and head back. We traveled along highway 105 for a stretch, and then popped onto a series of back roads that would head up through Independence. Once again, I was grateful for the steady pace set by the tandem and for P's watchful eye for passing cars, as we worked our way through that set of hills.
Our next stop was in Burton, for lunch at the Burton Short Stop.
This spot has a great selection of things to fit many needs: beer, grilled cheese sandwiches, V8, chips. It was beginning to get warm, so the V8 went down especially well.
It proceeded to get so warm that D, the stoker on the tandem, started to cramp up on a big hill just outside of Industry, TX. Time for a salt break. Oh, and maybe some ice. Oh, and maybe some ice cream and chocolate milk.
At this point, a few things started to unravel a bit. One rider, RG, dropped back to ride on his own - my impression is that he's generally content to ride solo, and I can understand how the group chatter can get to be too much for folks sometimes. Meanwhile, J had started to experience some fairly serious knee troubles. P suspected it was associated with tight hip muscles and recommended a cleat shift, so J sat down and moved his cleat.
But we had to press onward. It was hot and there was a headwind, but we still had miles to cover to reach Alleyton. However, ny the time we rolled in to Alleyton, things unraveled further. We were a bit past the 200-km mark at that point, with just under 200km to go for the day. S was suffering from a combination of things. He has a hard time getting going first thing in the morning, and we hadn't budgeted quite enough time for him to wake up fully before roll-out at 5 am. He had also enjoyed perhaps slightly too much dairy in Industry, having downed a large bottle of chocolate milk and an ice cream cone. He declared a strong need to put his feet up and close his eyes for a few minutes in Alleyton, and so he did, while the bulk of the group sat in Taco Bell and ate all sorts of salty, calorific things.
It also became clear that J was hurting, badly. P continued to try and brainstorm ways to adjust J's bike, but it was time to make a tough decision. Brookshire, our origin, is a 45-mile direct ride from Alleyton. J reluctantly agreed that it would be best for him to rest a bit longer in Alleyton and then "abandon" the ride (as it's called).
Meanwhile, the group was ready to roll out, but S still needed a few more minutes to recharge - I could tell the heat and tiredness were making him cranky, but I also know that if he gets enough time to close his eyes and let his body relax, he can get back on his bike and ride strongly. So we hung out with J for a couple more minutes and then set out back towards Burton on our own.
Some miles later, S said he still felt like he needed a nap. When a person reaches that point, there isn't much point in arguing. Besides, with the heat I was starting to feel like I still wasn't taking in quite as much water and salt as I needed. When we spied RG, stopped under the shade of a building, we decided to pull over for another break.
Apparently, RG had also run into trouble. He'd gotten a flat tire and was having difficulty managing fluids and energy, and then his bike pump wasn't functioning properly, so he had decided to throw in the towel and was waiting for his wife to come along and pick him up. While S closed his eyes again for a few minutes, I downed a bottle of water mixed with a Nuun tab and chatted with RG. Soon enough, the two of us felt recharged to the point where we could continue riding. We rolled back through Industry, stopping just long enough to fill our water bottles, and reached Burton just as the sun was starting to go down.
And what a relief that was. The high temperature in the afternoon was right around 90 degrees, which didn't feel all that wretchedly terrible, but the heat had definitely sucked a lot of energy and moisture out of us. It was bad enough that another rider, MW, hit a breaking point a few miles before Burton and couldn't keep food down any longer. Fortunately, a local was kind enough to give him a lift back to the store at Burton, where he could sit in the cool air conditioning, try to start keeping small bits of food and liquid down, and wait for his wife to pick him up.
That's never a fun way to end a ride, but it made me think that S and I were prudent to stop the second time he needed a break. When a person is riding in a group, it's easy to get distracted and ignore one's body signals until it's too late.
In January, our first brevet of the season was a 200k that went out to Burton and back again. As a result, I knew we were halfway through the whole 600k by the time we reached Burton - only 100km more lay between us and sleep, glorious sleep. We shoved off and rode back through Brenham towards Chappell Hill. Another brief stop for rest and salt, then back to Belleville. By that point, it was dark and much cooler, which meant we could ride faster. My lungs had started to bother me, so the mug of hot chocolate in the Rattler's in Belleville tasted soothing. Finally, the last push of the day back to Brookshire.
As we rolled over the last set of hills towards FR 359, I started to notice that my rear tire was rubbing on the fender, but decided it wasn't too sever, so I ignored it. But then, just as we approached the intersection to turn onto 359 and cover the last 12 miles, I heard a pop and things got much worse. I'd broken a spoke. Time to pull over a fix it. I'd figured it was only a matter of time before I broke a spoke, given the other recent spoke breaks I've had with Froinlavin's rear wheel, so I'd packed two spares with me. But when I stopped to inspect things, I discovered, to my dismay, that I'd broken a driveside spoke this time. Those are impossible to replace without a cassette removal tool. S suggested readjusting the surrounding spokes to try and pull the rim more reasonably straight, so I gave that a shot and got the wheel back to a point where it was only rubbing a bit, and we took things slow and steady for the last stage back.
When we finally reached the La Quinta, it was 2:45 am. The LSR group had left us a note at the desk, saying that breakfast would be at 6:30 and roll-out at 7. At that point, I didn't know what would happen in the morning. If I was lucky, GG would have the right cassette removal tool among all the spare bike parts he said he'd packed in his truck. I wrote a message on the note to ask for one, and then S and I showered and crawled in to bed. I got up the next morning at 6:20, dressed, and headed out to the lobby to discuss my prospects. Lo and behold, I was in luck!
Not only was I able to replace the spoke, but GG shared another precious resource with me, a spare FiberFix emergency spoke repair kit to keep in my toolbag in case more spokes started to blow. Redundancy is a good idea on brevets; GG said he keeps almost an entire spare bicycle in his truck, after having broken a crank midway through a brevet once. By then, it was looking like S would actually manage to get himself up and rolling in due time, so I waved goodbye to the group and sat around for a few minutes while S got ready. I bumped into MW, looking much better at the breakfast table, another welcome sight.
Day two was an out-and-back route through Alleyton and out to Fayetteville. S and I kept our pace moderate and pacelined as best we could through the morning headwinds. By the time we reached Alleyton, it was starting to get hot. Before the ride, I'd glanced ever so briefly at the brevet's elevation chart, so I had a vague sense that the section between Alleyton and Fayetteville would get hilly. Lo and behold, it was. There was nothing to do but keep the pedals spinning. Three miles outside of Fayetteville, we spotted the LSR group making their return - a welcome sight! They gave us a few pointers on things in Fayetteville, and then we carried on in our respective directions.
When S and I reached town, ice started to sound like a really good idea, so we bought a bag at a convenience store and loaded everything we had with ice cubes. Several months back, I'd asked around for advice on coping with the heat, and someone had suggested carrying a tube sock to fill with ice and drape around my neck. Heavenly!
The beer at the arts festival in town also tasted incredible. Time to tackle the hills on the return route. Boy did those hurt, but we pushed through them. By the time we reached the outskirts of Columbus, just four miles short of Alleyton, we required more water, stat. Maybe next time I'll manage to plan a stop in at this Dairy Cone instead:
In Alleyton, S bought a 32-ounce jar of canned peach halves, which the two of us ate in its entirety, and we ate more salty junk food, too. I also took a swig of what I thought was an abandoned Gatorade left sitting outside of the convenience store, only to turn around and discover that it belonged to a Harley rider standing right there. Fortunately, he wasn't angry, only amused.
So then, the last 45-mile stretch. Steady as she goes. As we criss-crossed the countryside, heading towards Sealy, the wind alternately gave us a huge push and gave us big blasts in the face - the former more so than the latter, thankfully. We were hot, tired, and sore, so much so that I declared that we should stop at the low-water crossing to put our feet in the water. In great contrast to the 400k, there was no water whatsoever at the low point. Soaking my feet in the cool water was peaceful and rejuvenating, and gave me enough time to relax so my digestive system could catch up with my energy burn rate. We'd been keeping an eye on the time, and it looked like we'd be able to finish on time, so there wasn't a severe sense of urgency, either.
Onward. We paused in Sealy for even more water, our last burritoes, and to put on reflective gear as the sun went down. Onward. We blasted over the cracked pavement between Sealy and FR 1458. The smooth pavement on FR 1458 was a welcome sight. Onward. We reached the junction of FR 1458 and FR 359. Counting down the last five miles. Onward. We rolled in to the La Quinta at 8:15 pm, 39 hours and 15 minutes after Saturday's start time. Another 600k complete.
One of the more amazing things to me was that S and I managed to stay awake and were relatively coherent for the whole car ride back to Bryan at the end of the brevet. From our previous 600ks in Arizona, we have distinct memories of passing out very hard about 30 minutes after the end, while J drove all of us back to Tempe. That indicates to me that we were both in much better shape for this brevet. I'd also credit the energy savings we experienced by riding in the draft of the LSR gang for the first 250 km of the brevet.
I'm going to write a second post about specific equipment and bike fit things, but I suspect this is long enough for now, heh. I'm glad to have this 600k on the books, and I'm even more glad that I enjoyed it as much as I did, especially that final, peaceful foot-soak with S in the low-water crossing in the late afternoon. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about randonneuring after all I've been through so far, but if anything it feels more manageable and awesome now than before. That tells me I'm still learning new things as I ride, and putting those things to good use.
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wish I could have ridden also
Date: 2014-05-06 05:46 pm (UTC)Re: wish I could have ridden also
Date: 2014-05-06 07:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-05-07 03:32 am (UTC)Yeah, riding long-distance at those temps is just gruelling. As many issues as you've had with Froein's rear wheel, I'm thinking carrying a cassette lockring tool may be a worthwhile idea. (I'm actually a little surprised that every previous spoke hasn't been pulling-drive-side.)
Tandems are fantastic: easy to stay with on the climbs, and so much draft you can usually hang on the descents. I try to pick one up when I'm near the end of long rides.