a couple of fun rides

The Whirligig-

several riders lined up for this 100k populaire put on by Tim. it departs from nashville, and rambles about the area, but the highlight is the namesake: acid park- home of vollis simpson's amazing whirligig sculptures. we cyclists don't like the wind, but it's what makes the sculptures come to life. enjoy the breeze! dogs make the only climb a goody too :)

Carthage Coffee Run-
Branson's trek for java is tougher that it looks on paper. bryan and I broke this one in last fall and I rode it again with jerry and branson in feb days after Adrian's passing. we had a great time. the roads were good, the sun shined, but the coffee shop in carthage was closed :( we controlled at a C-store and headed back. the grilled cheese was fine at the diner but in the spirit of Yo-A! we had fried pickles too! another neat option on this ride is the american tobacco trail. we passed this day, but bryan and I indulged on the retour of our ride in the fall. it's a great way to dodge cars, and beat the wind too. you can do it on a road bike as long as you're on sturdy tires :)

you really should eat at the fairview dairy bar. friendly and fun, perfect on a 200k..

happy birthride

just a few days after the last post I headed to lumberton to ride the 400k out of 2,3,4,600, and 1000k brevets happening under the watchful eye of tony goodnight. how one guy throws 4 or 5 rides is amazing!!  I felt it (400) would be a good distance to see how I was fairing this winter. fri. feb.18 was a non-event birthday, and rando-pal Bryan R. came over about midnight so we could leave from here 'bout 5am. running just a tick behind we loaded my car and headed out and got to the start about 15min 'til. precision!!

the start was a little chilly, probly about 40, but looking like a fine day ahead overall. lots  (50?) of riders at start and off we went. all was well with a big bunch up front zipping along and: squish! rear tire going down. see ya everyone. the tire was cut by a big piece of glass, and thanks to brother rob for the tire boot. into the wind I finally solo'd. passing a few small crews, Alan and MikeO threw b'day salutations. biker bob and dean too. two guys from baltimore! caught me and I had a little help to the 1st controle. Tony gave me a tire to carry, and off we went. at 100k controle, I found Ian and Tim and john o too. yay! I came to enjoy, not do a solo soul searcher, so I felt much better.

ouch! that's a glass shark tooth..

the route rolled some from here and we cruised along peeling off the warmers as we warmed up nicely. it was off and on with other riders, but tim and I stayed together for 300k to the end. tony had a suprise truckload of subs and sodas in the middle of nowhere before we reached golfland (pinehurst) and army territory. we filled bottles and got cards signed again around the base, then Erwin. here the sun was dropping and out came reflective wear. just after dark, the rear tire finally gave up. tim stayed with me as Ian and crew went up the road. three rounds of pumping and pulling the stem out of the valve, arghhhhh! let's go! into fayetteville and we found more riders, felt like a good thing, 'cause it was a little funky 'round there. I jumped on the wheel of the recumbent, he had the route in his GPS. we stuck together and jammed all the way to lumberton. the temp fell 20degrees when we left the city and I was freezing. the warm room felt good, so did the hot pizza! also bryan and colonel mike were waiting for us. 


everyone looked like eskimos heading out for the final 100. except me. I had no top layer and we were heading back into the 30's. about a mile out, tim said he had a shell in his pack and i tried it on. bingo. now to stay awake! one more quick stop for a jolt. pedal pedal, riders on retour. pedal pedal, bryan and mike. four again. good. dogs. bad. shouting rednecks, very bad. more retours. stay awake! finally in clarkton. coffee. let's get back.
the pace is not too brisk and I have to make a few bursts up the road to get some heartrate going. I barely keep my eyes open the last few k's..I am so glad to get back. 5hrs  sleep is not enough for rides this long. that's all. it was a 20hr ride. thanks tony and fellow riders for a great (long)day!

note: I gave tony the loaner tire back, and haven't ridden the serotta since then.

bike plans for 2011

i've decided to ride the new Texas Rando Stamped 1200k in may. pal Tim Lucas, and Mark Thomas from WA (yes RUSA guy) will be there too. looks like a great time and challenging route! I'll be riding a new bike too, stay tuned for deets on that.

let's train! see ya on the road.