Andrey's Amazing 1000K Adventure: Lap of the Lake 2010

The skin on my palms turned into leather. I used the entire chamois cream large tube. It was used on every part of the body, inside gloves, above ears, inside socks and of course most of it went where it is intended to go. On the third day of the ride even it did not help much and I had to stay off the seat for most of the day.

I could not sleep well the night before the ride, plus camping in a tent on an 80 degree night temperature did not help either. 51 riders started the ride at 6 am. To my surprise the pace was very fast as if it were a Sunday group ride. Within the first 15-20 miles, the group started separating into sub-groups of 5-10 people. I was very comfortable travelling in a third group. About 20 riders ahead were just too fast for me (above 20mph) and our group settled into a comfortable pace of 18 mph. At 8 am it was very humid and it felt like the temperature was in the 90s.

Before reaching the first control, I had my first flat and most of the riders passed me while I was trying to insert the valve stem into the rim. Ever tried changing a flat in a shower? That is what it felt like in a 96 deg. humid heat, as the sweat poured down my face and my body. By mile 50 I had 3 flats and I was ready to quit the event. The only hope I had was the bike shop in Oswego that may sell me a new tire and extra tubes, so I could continue the ride. As it turned out, the only tire the bike shop had in 700 sizes suitable to handle a LOL ride was a wire-beaded 700x25 “race lite” tire.

I lost all hope to catch up with any riders, thinking I was the last one, since I lost so much time. Before I reached the second control I had two more flats on the new (!) tire. I still decided to cross the border to Canada, because I did not have any bailout plans. To my surprise I was not the last rider, quite a few people were behind me. Although I think all of them DNFed because of the heat factor on the first day. I could not ride the bridges through the border, since they were way too narrow and I was too wobbly, so I ended up walking them which caused me to cramp up when I got back on the bike again.

I used my last spare tube about 20 miles into Canada. Luckily I was able to ride fast enough to pass some riders and one of them when he caught up with me let me have one of his spares. I also used his HPx pump, since my arm started to cramp up after pumping so many tires with a mini pump. I could not get the pressure high enough with a borrowed pump or maybe just because my arm was tired, but I did not have any flats with softer tire and was able to reach the first sleep stop in Napanee at 2:30 am with a help of McDonald’s cheeseburger.

After sleeping for two hours, taking two showers and installing electric tape under the rim tape of my wheel, I was on the road again. Next morning 3 other riders, Al, Brian and Dan walked into the diner at 8 am where I was having breakfast. RBA Peter Dusel soon joined them, but he was not on the bike any more and now he was in the support car. I rode with Al, Brian and Dan all the way to the finish. We were all rookies at this distance; Brian had only 150 miles as the longest ride before this event. The heat wave passed and Friday presented us with fresh crisp morning air and cloudy skies as we set into Canadian countryside. We could not work together as a group, since Al liked riding on the front all the time and Dan only in the rear. We even finished the ride in this formation.

Around noon it started raining heavily and we spend around 2-3 hours riding in the rain. Brian did not even bring a rain jacket with him and I gave him my arm warmers and vest. At the controls we were catching up with other riders, but they were leaving as we were coming in.        

  

Riding with a group made me stop thinking about quitting the ride and for the first time I was thinking I might even finish, although some parts of my body were thinking otherwise. At the end of the second day, I was struggling to stay with the group, especially on rolling hills. I realized I had the most gear and the heaviest bike and I was paying for it. I unloaded a lot of stuff including the front bag to the support car that we met at the Bowmanville control.

I soon came up with another reason not to continue the ride since during the process of unloading my stuff, having dinner, stopping at a gas station, etc… I lost my wallet and the brevet card. I thought I had left it in the restaurant on a table, but the plastic bag mysteriously disappeared. I was frustrated but decided to ride anyway, since the group was ready to take off and I needed them to feed me, since I had no money. GPS saved us on the way around Toronto, since there were a lot of turns and everybody was extremely tired to even look at the cue sheet, the spirit of the group was down, since we made one control with only 20 min to spare before it's closing time. We were finally in Toronto at 5 am and decided to meet at 10 am in a hotel lobby and I went to sleep at my friend's house.

The next morning I found my wallet and the brevet card in the bag that I thought I had checked many times the night before and my hopes were back up and we also saw a lot of riders ahead of us leaving the hotel. We filled the Camelbaks and bottles with ice and headed to US boarder at Niagara Falls. We realized that we should start riding faster since skateboarders were passing us on the road laughing at us and the speed we were travelling. Also some shirtless men on mountain bikes passed us effortlessly, but we were enjoying the lake and the beaches at Burlington.

Everybody on the team was very exhausted and we did not even stop at Niagara Falls for sightseeing.  We just went through the customs and crashed for some rest at a fast food joint on the U.S. side.

  

I lost my team on the way to the next control because of the roadwork on US side of Niagara Falls and ended up riding some “bonus” miles. But I was feeling good and stayed mostly around 20 mph till I reached Olcot. To my surprise I passed my team and saw about 10 rides that were ahead of us at that control. There were a lot of festivities in Olcot with a car show and parade of some kind. There were many nice restaurants right on the shore, but I did not visit a single one, since they were packed, limiting myself to a small “food mart” snack (I paid for this mistake later). I was afraid that my team went back looking for me as I was trying in vain to phone them since I had no reception.

Finally, 45 minutes later they arrived (Brian had a flat) and after a small rest we started the most boring and tiresome section of the ride to Charlotte. Mentally I broke this section into three 20-mile stretches but it did not work well. The road was made out of concrete and had very wide joints that the bike tires hit so hard that I wished for a spring saddle and wide tires. Also this section reminded me of the Taconic parkway with cars flying at 6o mph, but this road surface we were on was in much worse condition. It was getting late and luckily cars were rare.

By the time we reached Rochester I started to bonk. I ate all the remaining two gels and a power bar, but it was not enough. With 20 miles to go to the finish at 1:30 a.m. and no businesses open I felt pretty low and started to wobble. Dan gave me his last Clif bar and I think I ate it with the wrapper. When we rolled in on fumes at 3 a.m. to finish we were greeted with tired applause by the people who finished before us. We were the last riders in, but we still had a lot of time left (75 hours would end at 9 am).

I think I ate all the remaining food on the table, drank a bottle of beer, mumbled something like “thank you” to the organizers and crawled into the tent to sleep, but I was in trouble because of the bonk. I was freezing. I could not find any of my warm clothes, my mind was not working well at that time and I could not concentrate on the issue at hand. I caught myself talking out loud while putting 3 layers of wet cycling clothing on. I think tiredness took its toll and I fell asleep . . .

Al’s tent was next to mine and I heard him yelling to see if I was going to get up today, breakfast was ready. It was 8 a.m. I crawled out and was still shaking and wobbling when I headed towards table with food. People were asking me if I was OK. I guess I looked bad, but after a shower and 3 breakfasts I started feeling better and was able to talk to people and even drive home, pulling over every hour for a nap.

Lessons learned on the ride:

1. GPS is great, but you still need a cue sheet.
2. Very strong and experienced riders show up on rides over 600K. It is not your typical 200K ride. I need to train more for rides like this. Riders from Florida DNFed because of the heat-they had training rides in Florida heat for 5-6 hours, but it was not enough to handle the first day of LOL at 96 deg. temperatures.
3. Need to make the bike much lighter and take less stuff along, I am not sure if fenders should even stay on the bike or may get sacrificed for the weight saving. No front bag for me, jersey pockets work as well.
4. Camalbak works great on hot long days, ice stays in it for a long time. But need to make sure there is a place on the bike where it could be secured when your back needs rest. Third water bottle cage may be an option worth considering.
5. Need to put more gel under handlebar tape and the quest for a seat is not over yet.
6. One cannot have too many electrolytes and too much chamois cream on hot/wet rides.
7. Ibuprofen was only used on the last day but it does work wonders.
8. Need to make a mental schedule to eat real food 3 times a day, otherwise a bonk is inevitable.
9. Pepsi-Cola works as an electrolyte, caffeine and cure for the upset stomach.

 By Andrey Belikov

More great LOL photos can be found here.

DNS: The Lap of the Lake 1000K that wasn't

I’ve always viewed DNS as the somewhat tamer cousin of the dreaded DNF. I’ve seen it as a card to be played only in the most extreme cases, a sign of failure. But as country singer Kenny Rogers reminds us, “You gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, and know when to run . . .”  By all accounts, I should be admiring the view of Lake Ontario right now with 56 of my new best  friends on the Lap of the Lake 1000K brevet. Instead, I’m sitting here writing about why I’m not.

Knowing when to call it quits is a hard thing for most randonneurs. These are people who generally operate in that zone somewhere between crazy and stupid, courageous and insane.  When is too much TOO MUCH?  I reached my limit this week. A crash on the NJ 600K on June 26^th left me with reduced mobility and persistent pain in my left shoulder. I was able to finish that event, but the spill has taken a toll on my season. After the road rash has healed, I’m left wondering whether I’ve done something serious this time around. Unable to get an appointment with an orthopedist until next Monday, I wait and spend less time on the bike than I normally would at this time of year.  The scariest thing is, had my wife not put her foot down, I’d be out there right now figuring that things would sort themselves out (which they might). I worry that my determination to keep going no matter what may lead me into trouble down the road.

Randonneurs understand the psychological buildup that comes from training and planning for a big event. I first learned about the LOL 1000K back in the fall and it’s not been far from my mind over the past six months. While I completed the LEL 1400K last summer, this was to be my first 1000K event and I was eager to test the distance as well as achieve airtight qualification for PBP pre-registration priority next year. I keep reminding myself that, all in all, I’m pretty lucky that my crash was not more serious. Frank Schleck was in surgery deep into the night on Tuesday to repair his broken collarbone ending his Tour and we all know that much worse can happen on the open roads.

As disappointing as it is, I realize that healing is probably wiser than riding this week. I am feeling a bit better each day and with luck, I’ll get good news from the doctor on Monday. Riding itself does not seem to stress my injury all that much. I was out last weekend on a 50-mile spin through the Catskills that included some major climbs. Only once did I feel a sharp jab as I shifted my weight on the bars coming out of my saddle to add heft to my pedal stroke. With a little luck, I’ll be properly mended for the Endless Mountain 1000K in late August. For now, I’ll have to imagine the view of the lake and the adventures that my friend Andrey and others are having along the way.

Close but No Cigar (or how I almost rode 375 miles in 24 hours).

Having followed RAAM pretty closely this month, I’m humbled by what it means for some people to miss meeting an audacious cycling goal. My BHAG (or big hairy audacious goal) this season was to meet the Cyclos Montagnard R60 Challenge. Having completed three brevets (200, 300 and 400) within the time constraints, I was hoping to finish the NJ600 within 24 hours to achieve this honor. Signs looked good: the route was basically flat, the start was at 10 pm (bringing the sleepy second half of the ride into broad daylight), there were reasonably spaced controls (so not too much time would be lost there), the weather looked favorable (if a bit hot) and there were some speedy riders registered so I would likely have company. Despite all this, I was simply unable to do it. Sleep deprivation took its toll and as a result of a reduced pace and a crash in the last third of the ride, I rolled into the finish with a time of 25:50. This marks my fastest time yet on a 600K, but it was not quite fast enough for the R60. Looks like it’s R70 for me this year, but the first three R60 finish times remain on record and are transferable next year. All I have to do is slay the 24 hour 600 and I’m in. Looks like I have my work cut out for me.

The NJ600 brought out 44 randonneurs this past weekend. It was my first nighttime start and I was eager to meet and reconnect with friends and acquaintances. The organizer let the fast riders out first to spread the bikes out along the road. Within the first 20 miles, I settled into a comfortable pace, a bit slower than the two lead riders and met up with Anthony with whom I would ride the whole event. We enjoyed each other’s company, rode at about the same pace, and were willing to manage our ride with our “eyes on the prize.”

The riding on Friday night was majestic. We were blessed with clear skies, mild temperatures and a full moon. The roads were quite smooth and direct and it was pleasant not to have to navigate twisty descents in the dark and we were subsequently able to maintain a healthy pace throughout the night. Anthony and I hit the Jersey Shore at dawn which was a highlight of the day. At this hour it's possible to pedal by marshes filled with elegant shore birds and shore towns free of summer traffic. As the sun rose, though, it became hotter and more humid than was optimal. With temps around 95 on fully exposed roads and a nutrition balance a bit out of kilter, I found myself nauseated for big stretches of the day.

The NJ Randonneurs did an outstanding job of organizing support for this event. We were met at each of the ubiquitous Wawa convenience store controls by volunteers and the highlight was a mid-afternoon cold shower and a few pickles in the organizer’s home. The break was rejuvenating and we set out with fresh legs and full bottles. Chris, one of the two lead riders, greeted Anthony and me as we arrived and took off alone leaving his fellow rider Doug behind for some rest. We would meet up a few more times and trade pulls with Chris along the way, yet despite a sore knee, he was just too strong for the two of us so we let him go in search of his own 24-hour brass ring.

It was hard to stay fast and focused on Saturday afternoon and eventually this was my undoing. At mile 309, in the bright mid-day heart of the desolate Pine Barrens, I lost focus and veered off the edge of the road and into a sandpit. Unable to keep the bike upright, I fell to the ground hard bracing myself with both hands on the asphalt road. Luckily there was no traffic at that time, the bike did not sustain any damage and I was not too injured to continue riding. At that moment, though, Anthony looked at me and said, “Maybe this is a sign that we should back off that 24-hour goal.”

I thought the 10 pm start would actually help, but I think it actually made a fast time more difficult. Since I was unable to sleep during the day on Friday, by time Saturday afternoon crawled along I was mighty tired indeed. An evening start is arguably good preparation for a longer brevet for riders who plan to sleep at some point during the 600 so they get the experience of riding over two nights, but for someone trying to finish within 24 hours, the distance between sleep on Thursday night and Saturday afternoon may be too great for a fast time.

The last fifty miles were pretty brutal. At times, I was literally looking on lawns for places to curl up for a few minutes as I saw objects on the roadside and had trouble keeping focused on the matter at hand. At 11:50 pm, Anthony and I rolled into the finish as riders 2 and 3. While I knew I could have done better, I was grateful that nothing more serious happened out on the roads of southern New Jersey. I’ll need to plan very carefully for sleep and rest the next time around.

The thing about audacious goals is that they push you beyond what you think it possible. As I looked towards this season from the comfort of my winter couch, the Cyclos Montagnards R70 Challenge looked more like my speed. A funny thing happened by setting a higher goal than I thought I could reach. I rode three event distances at "personal best" times and got 3/4 of the way to a level I was not sure was possible. So while technically missing my goal, I have much to feel pleased with and learned what I need to do to go even further next time.

(Photo by Owl's Flight - Flickr CC)

A restful taper before the storm.

The school year is officially over with students on summer vacation, teachers finished with meetings and progress reports off in the mail to families. So what's a humble principal to do but hit the road to spend a few days at the beach with his family while catching up on paperwork, emails and all of the non-urgent work that typically gets put on hold as the thrill of the school year's in motion. It's been a great week: nights filled with restful sleep and days filled with family, productive work and a careful taper in anticipation of this weekend's 600K.

On Friday night at 10 pm, I'll roll out with 34 other randonneurs at the Cranbury (NJ) 600K. This event is the final step towards my audacious goal to successfully complete the Cyclos Montagnards R60 Challenge this season. My previous three brevets have been finished within the alloted time limits and only one obstacle remains. The most difficult component so far, the 24-hour 600K looms large before me. While I'm confident that I would comfortably complete the 375 miles in this time frame on a defined 24-hour racecourse like Saratoga, it's more daunting when I factor in the totally self-supported riding on open roads with navigation challenges. Riding solo also leaves some questions as to whom I might share the burdens of navigation and aerodynamics with along the way.

Tomorrow, we head back home where I'll work on preparing my Indy Fab rando bike for Friday's event. I'll attach the aerobars and swap out my 25mm Contis for the 30mm Grand Bois tires. I also owe the bike a bit of a cleaning. While the weather looks promising, I'll leave the fenders on, in part because my wired tail light is attached to the rear and just in case there is a change in the forecast. I also need to swap out my broken pedal with the new set of Times I picked up earlier this week. My disappointment with those carbon pedals is a story for another day, but I'm happy to have a reliable set up for Friday.

I'm as well trained as I'm going to be at this point. After a three-hour ride on Sunday, I've been working on sharpening my speed through short bursts of high aerobic intervals. My success on Friday will be based on several factors:  nutrition and fluid management, equipment, my need for rest and, of course, luck.

(Photo by Alex Krafcik - Flickr CC)

The Endurance Race Couch Potato

This week, I've felt a bit like an endurance race couch potato. I got out last Sunday for a 92-mile training ride, but most of my miles this week have been of the commuting (35-40 miles per day) variety. I've been checking RAAM, RAW, and Tour Divide stats and blogs compulsively, though, and wonder if this counts towards my training in any concrete way. I guess I'm picking up some tips here and there such as "pack your food high in trees when riding through grizzly bear country," and "get off your bike for awhile when you're seeing double after 32 hours without sleep." This kind of thing can save a life!

I'm simply in awe of the amazing fortitude it reflects to train for and throw oneself into the maelstrom as these racers have. This year, there are even a few racers in RAAM that I've ridden with so, while I can't see myself filling their shoes any time soon, I can remember riding beside them not so long ago.They're still in another class altogether from me. I've gotten a great kick out of following Rob Morlock, Kevin Kaiser, and Rick Carpenter's blogs in particular.

My goals this season seem paltry in comparison to racing across the country in under 10 days, or riding down the nation's spine from Canada to Mexico without any support. On the other hand, you've got to start somewhere. Maybe when my kids are a bit older something like this will seem more attainable. Hell, I might even get them to crew for me if I play my cards right. I actually like the idea of creating a mash-up of RAAM and Tour Divide, say a totally self-supported road race from Maine to Florida. No crews, drop bags only. Maybe for that mythical 50th birthday milestone.

The Beantown 400K: Three Down and One to Go!

                                    
This was my first time riding in one of the Boston Brevets and boy, let me tell you, it was fun worth repeating. This was my third brevet of the season and my goal for the day was to finish in under 16:12 towards qualification in the Cyclos Montagnards R60 Challenge. With these hills and this weather it might not be easy. On the other hand, unlike the Saratoga 300K, with its NINE controls, this event had only FOUR. While I would not lose as much time having to stop for control business, I knew I would have to forage a bit for water along the way. When I left the hotel at 3:20, the rains were steady and thunder and lightning filled the air. It did't look too promising for a full day in the saddle. In fact, it was downright biblical. Sensible people might find this plan a bit off.

As if on cue, though, the rains stopped and the clouds parted enough to allow a sliver of moon to poke through as I signed the waiver and grabbed a fresh cue sheet out of the organizer’s tailgate. I rolled out at 4:00 am at the front of the pack with Matt and Chris, two other riders with whom I would ride for roughly the the first 200K. While these two knew each other, the three of us soon found that we had ridden in many of the same events, if not always at the same time. Matt and I even discovered that we both competed in the Rapha Gentleman's Race last May. 

Living in New York’s Hudson Valley, I'm roughly 2 hours from events that originate in Westfield, Saratoga, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania so the Boston series lies just a bit out of my orbit. Too bad really, because it was well worth the drive and inconvenience getting there. The ride was well-routed and took in some simply beautiful sections of New Hampshire where we spent most of our day riding through one colonial village after another. We passed the birthplace of Franklin Pierce, the only US president born in New Hampshire as well as Daniel Webster. Not only that, we climbed right past the Canterbury Shaker Village which inspired awe in a tired old randonneur like me. It made me think that if the Shakers didn't kill themselves off with the whole abstinence thing, they might make some hearty randonneurs with their emphasis on austerity, design, efficiency and community. In contrast, we also rode by St. Paul’s School, one of the wealthiest prep schools in the nation where the headmaster reportedly makes over $500,000 per year in salary alone. Sadly I did not have a resume with me, so I’ll have to follow up with them another time.  

It was great riding with Matt and Chris but I knew that if I held their pace, I would blow up in the second half of the day. Sadly, I had to drop off the back of our little group to let them carry on with their more aggressive 15-hour goal and maintain my reserves. I needed to finish within 16:12 and anything (like riding too hard too early) that kept me off that goal needed to be avoided. On the solo "back nine," I was able to keep up a fairly steady pace, but the stretch between control 2 and 3 was pure evil. The weather was disagreeable with heat climbing into the 90s, the humidity hovering near 100% and plenty of exposed roads with TERRIBLE surfaces with which to contend. I had originally feared more roads like this, but was pleasantly surprised to find many of the surfaces superior to those I’m used to. At a few points, though, the roads were so filled with cracks and frost heaves that I realized why so few professional cycling teams are based in New Hampshire. It was also during this section that I noticed a crack in my left Time pedal. This was worrisome, but did not turn out to be catastrophic. So much for lightweight carbon!

The ride was quite hilly with around 15,000 in accumulated climbing. None of the individual climbs were all that significant, there were just a lot of them. For large stretches you were either going up or down. One of the highlights of the day was the pilgrimage to Peter White Cycles which housed Control 3. Peter and his wife Linda (both of whom I’ve spent time with on the phone over the years) could not have been more gracious. It was great to see where great rando gear is born.

Matt made a good point, as we looked up into the clear blue sky: never make plans to cancel a ride at 4:00 am. After what looked like a total washout, we enjoyed a mostly dry day with only about an hour or so of steady (even refreshing) rain. I was glad I stuck to the original plan and despite my uncertainly at a few points along the way, I rolled into the finish with 16:08 elapsed time, a full FOUR minutes inside my goal. It was a little too close for comfort, to say the least, but I was 3/4 of the way towards reaching my BHAG. Up next, the Cranbury 600K in under 24 hours.

(Photo Credit - top: Hyperboreal - CC)

Flatlander's Delight 200K Permanent Report

Managing RUSA permanents has several advantages. First, it's great to know that I can get out and ride an approved 200K at any time on a moment's notice. Second, it's wonderful to bring friends together to ride on some of my favorite roads and, three, I get to meet some very nice people who let me know how much they enjoyed a day in the saddle with kind notes like this one. The following came from a seasoned long distance cyclist eager to try his hand at randonneuring. This was his first 200K.

"Thanks for sending me on a spectacular ride! When it comes to landscape, New York has nothing to envy in any other state (well, maybe Hawaii). Our Hudson Valley is a beautiful place, and your route gets very intimate with it. 

Ninety per cent of the time I was alone on the road, without any other traffic of any kind. I don’t know where you found some of those back roads. Some of them seemed as private as driveways on some millionaire’s huge estate. I especially liked the dirty ones, like Oak Hill, but I was amazed at the intimacy (that word keeps coming up) of west Ghent Road, Snyderville Road, and even Abeel along the Rondout. The intelligence behind the cue sheet was always apparent.

I did manage to go the extra mile. The extra three miles, in fact, attributable to a wrong turn or two. Ah, well.  The weather was very kind. Had I gone in today’s dismal rain, I might not have spent so much of the ride saying “Oh, how beautiful!” over and over.

I put the card in the mail, accomplished and signed. This was my first experience of audax riding, and I can begin to feel the contours of the sport: self-determination, concentration, planning skills, and of course physical endurance. I look forward to improving my skills on longer rides.

Thanks again, George. I had a great time."

I'm off this weekend to scout a new permanent route through the beautiful Catskill mountains. Wish me luck.

A Father-Son Odyssey: The Five Boro Bike Tour 2010

Well, at least this year it didn't rain. With temps topping out at 95, our annual father-son tromp through NYC with 32,000 of our closest friends on the 5BBT was quite different from last year's washout. It was bright skies and a light breeze the whole way.



What a joy to pedal through the streets of New York traffic free for a whole day. Unfortunately, this ride involves quite a good deal of waiting. We waited at the start, we waited at several points along the way where bike traffic actually results ingridlock and we waited at the end for the Staten Island Ferry. Luckily, though, the ferry didn't crash into the dock as it did five days later.

We spent the night again this year at my in-laws apartment a few blocks from the ride start and so were able to roll out of bed, grab a little food and roll to the start without getting into the car. Eli was a trooper again this year and despite feeling a bit under the weather, he rode strong and finished the entire 42-mile route without hesitation. He even "climbed" the Varrazano Narrows Bridge at the end with steady determination. Eli had a "new" bike this time around and while it weighed more than twice my steel Bianchi, he was happy with the upgrade. When he finally gets a reasonably weighted road bike in a few years, he won't have any idea what hit him.

Of course, there's no such thing as a perfect day, and this time dad forgot to reapply sunscreen so Eli returned home with a nice little sunburn souvenir to complement his white 2010 5BBT t-shirt. We need to make mom feel needed don't we? Next up for father-son fun: the Bike the River Valley Tour on July 18 or the New York City Century Tour on September 12? Time will tell. Can't push it too hard . . .