Awsome start to the year, great job making it to the end of the ride. Be sure to share how you work out the bugs on you loading and fendering etc. with your Roadeo. I am going through some of the same issues and hope to get back into some longer distances this year, that was part of why I bought the Roadeo last year.
On Jan 2, 9:18 pm, Anne Paulson <anne.paul...@gmail.com> wrote: > As of last night, I'm averaging 200K per day for 2011. > > Thanks, everyone, for the brevet advice. As promised, here's the report. > > The forecast was for rain all morning, SE wind 5-15 mph in the > morning, rain stopping and wind dying down in the afternoon; almost > ideal for an out-and-back that went northeast for the first half. I > was worried about being cold and wet, so I packed up an extra pair of > socks, a pair of gloves, and an spare wool undershirt (those Ibex > woolies are *fantastic*). I also brought rain pants. I planned to wear > an Ibex wooly undershirt, a jersey, a rain jacket, polarfleece tights > over shorts, and wool socks with booties over them. For food I brought > some brownie bites with peppermint patties in them, and a meat pie, > plus a flask of gel. > > I overslept yesterday morning, so I had to rush to get out of the > house. Luckily, I'd packed up everything the night before. In the > rush, though, I probably didn't eat enough breakfast. > > I arrived in plenty of time, with a good chance to check out the other > bikes. I didn't see any other Rivs, though I think there may have been > an orange one I missed. Several riders had beautiful Steve Rex bikes. > Several riders were using Rivish canvas handlebar bags, some with > decaleurs. Oddly, about a third of the riders didn't have fenders, > even though rain was predicted and it was in fact raining. > > Since it was raining steadily at the start, I donned the rain pants. I > stopped a couple of times near the start of the ride, so ended up > riding alone, but with a tailwind that didn't matter. The rain tailed > off after about an hour, and the wind picked up. I was zipping right > along, not working too hard. What a delight it was to ride an empty > Highway 1. > > I stopped for a pitstop and snack just north of Pigeon Point, maybe 30 > miles in, but didn't eat very much. Between Pescadero and San Gregorio > I was catching up to a tandem. I had visions of that tandem being my > new best friend on the way back into the wind, but then at the base of > the hill just north of San Gregorio, I was feeling a little bonkish so > I stopped for a peppermint, and I didn't see the tandem couple again. > That hill is pesky-- it's only about three or four hundred feet, but > it always seems more difficult that I think it should. Perhaps it > always comes at a difficult time in a ride-. Usually I approach it > after having climbed Page Mill, Haskins Hill and the two little hills > on Stage Road, so I'm tired. There are three ways to climb it, and the > one I was doing, north on Highway 1, is the easiest. Still, I was glad > to summit and ride the rollers to Half Moon Bay. After Half Moon Bay, > it was only a few miles to the turnaround. > > I reached the turnaround four hours in, feeling strong, and took the > last parking spot at the end of the line-up of bikes stretched out > along the wall of the market. I was hoping for hot soup or a tasty > sandwich, but the convenience store had only nasty-looking premade > sandwiches and no soup. I had a chocolate milk, a banana, a brownie > bite and a couple of bites of meat pie-- not really enough. The people > still left at the rest stop when I was ready to go looked strong, like > I wouldn't be able to stay with them, so I headed out alone. > > It was tough. That happy dream of the wind dropping was a > weatherliar's fantasy. The wind continued just as it had been all day, > with whitecaps out on the ocean, only now I had to ride into it. I > figured on stopping every fifteen miles on the way back. The first > stop was a random beach, where I was the only one enjoying the cold > windy picnic tables. I didn't linger, and again I didn't eat enough. > > My second stop was at Gazos Creek. I had just leaned my bike against > the wall to go in the convenience store when I noticed a group of > cyclists passing. I jumped back on the bike and with my last strength, > bridged to join them. The benefit was obvious; I could sit in for a > while and stop fighting the wind I'd been fighting for thirty miles. > The cost became clear; I needed to eat and to get more water, but I > didn't. But three angels riding Steve Rex bikes babysat me for the > rest of the route, as I got weaker and weaker. We stopped in > Davenport. One of the angels handed me a Coke. I slurped it down, but > I was still draggling as one of my angels escorted me, slowly, to the > end of the ride, ten and a half hours after I started. > > Reflections: > > The ride was harder than I expected, and the challenge was different. > I expected to be cold and wet, but in fact it rained only for about > the first hour, with a few sprinkles near the end. But the wind was > tough. The main problem, though, was my (stupidly unrecognized at the > time) lack of food. I didn't drink enough, and I didn't eat nearly > enough. My stomach was hurting for the last twenty miles, and if I had > had two brain cells to rub together I would have remembered *it always > hurts when I have low blood sugar.* One problem was not having a setup > where food was easily available when I was riding. With gloves on, I > couldn't reach under my jacket into my jersey to get pocket food, and > the rest of the food was in the saddlebag where I couldn't get it. > > The group consensus to fender the Roadeo was exactly right. It was the > perfect bike for the task. My non-touring Atlantis seems like the > obvious brevet bike, since, for example, it has a dynamo, and of > course fenders, but right now I have the riding position on it set up > more upright than I think optimal for a brevet. We have wind around > here! So I need to fiddle the bikes around somehow. > > My clothing selection was perfect. I never wore the spare dry clothes, > but if it had been rainier I would have, so in the same situation I'd > bring them again. > > I used two Planet bike headlights mounted on the handlebar, a 2 watt > and a half watt. They were fine-- but I was only in the dark for about > three quarters of an hour, with no significant downhill, in a built up > area with plenty of ambient light. For a brevet with more darkness, > I'd use a dynamo. > > My Carradice saddlebag worked well, but I need something up forward to > hold food so I can reach it while riding. It's a conundrum. I use a > handlebar bag when touring, but I'm not a fan of the handling of the > bike with a handlebar bag and not much else. Plus the bag blocks the > light. I might make a banana bag, then use a dynamo light mounted at > the fork crown. > > The brownie bites with peppermint patties inside turned out to be > inviting-- I should have eaten more of them. The meat pie was also > appealing, though I need to fix the crust so it's not so crumbly. Both > of those foods will come with me on my next brevet. AND NEXT TIME I'LL > EAT THEM. > > -- > -- Anne Paulson > > My hovercraft is full of eels -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. 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