Captain Overpacker

DC Randonneurs (DCR) hosted the Firefly 400k from Warrenton on May 18th.  I charged into my first 400 km brevet just one week after completing my first 300 km brevet.  I drove to Manassas on Friday and was asleep by 7 pm.  I awoke at 2 am, loaded the car, picked up breakfast and was signed in and ready to ride by the 4 am event start.  I was tired, but eager to go.  Little did I expect as I rode into what would become a wet and cold day that I’d have to terminate my ride, a “DNF” (Did Not Finish).  I abandoned to prevent my ride from turning out like this restaurant (photographed during my transit back to the start).  I’m inclined to have little to say.  But, as I posted in Why Read My Blog, I’m here to write about my shortfalls as well as my triumphs.  Here it goes… Continue reading →

Tidewater Rando hosted another ACP event, the Suffolk-Lake Gaston 300 km, on Saturday May 11.  It’s essentially the same out-and-back route as the Suffolk-Skippers 200 km with an additional leg to Lake Gaston.  It was forecast to rain with WSW winds.  I really didn’t want to spend up to 20 hours riding in the rain.  But this ride was among my last of chances to get a 300 km documented before attempting the 400 km and 600 km events.  I don’t mind being caught in the rain.  But I really don’t like starting a ride in it.  Continue reading →

Our small, informal group of randonneurs, “Tidewater Rando,” had the privilege of hosting the inaugural Suffolk to Skippers 200km brevet on April 13th.  Organizer Keith Sutton put on a great ride and route.  If you’ve read about my equipment changes, then you know I’ve been anxious to see if my overall finishing time was going to improve on this ride, particularly with the use of “faster” tires.  My 200km finishes so far in 2013 were done on new rain tires.  My times for these rides were 12:38, 12:45 and 11:34.  There were some bonus miles on the first two rides.  But they still would have been 12+ hour efforts.  The tire article I presented last month said a “fast tire” rolls up to 20% faster than a “slow tire.”  That could knock a 12:30 ride down to 10-hours.  Put differently, that had the potential to improve my average rolling speed from 13-mph to 16-mph.  My local rides had improved by an estimated 20%.   So I really had to know.  I’m analytical that way!    I figured I’d be pleased to finish in less than 10 hours and be tickled if I finished in less than nine. Continue reading →

I finally participated in my first ACP event after being a member of RUSA since October!  The ride began at Caribou Coffee in Bristow, VA, about three hours from my home.  That’s a little too far to manage without spending a night.  Therefore, I opted to spend Friday night near Bristow so I could get a good night’s sleep and arrive at Caribou Coffee nice and early.  Of course, that was easier said than done!  Continue reading →