Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - SiR spring series 300k

I had a great write-up done last night and my stupid computer ate it. :mad: I'm not writing it all again, so here's the condensed version:

Chilly morning, beautifully clear.
Should have worn wool socks or shoe covers, cold toes until day warmed up.
Stashed wool baselayer and long gloves in bag at Deception Pass. Took some pix.
Rode with Narayan for a while.
Rode with Ty for a while.
Rode with Sylvia, Greg, Ruth and Linda for a while.
Rode with Peg and Narayan (again) for a while.
Rode alone and saw the same people at the controls for the second half of the ride.
Got dark, put the warm gear back on (and my shoe covers this time).
Didn't get lost, no mechanicals that stopped me; had a rattling rack bolt up front for 30 miles and I never even noticed my headset was a little loose by the end of the day. Just kept turning the cranks until I reached the final control.
Rolled into the final control at 17h 03m on my card. Ate some pizza, drank a Coke, chatted, packed up my stuff and drove home.

I have helmet strap marks sunburned into the back of my neck because I forgot sunscreen, and people at work are making fun of me for it.
My shoulders and neck feel much better for having put a taller rise/shorter reach stem on the bike last week.
Oddly enough, the stem helped with my overall position and my butt isn't as sore as it was after the 200k a couple weeks ago. Maybe I'm just learning to HTFU.
I found a lot of little glass bits stuck in my tires (28mm Gatorskins) but I didn't get a flat while riding. My front tire was flat on Sunday when I unloaded my bike. I like the feel of the Gatorskins and I run them at a fairly high pressure (110 - 113psi) but after a couple of commuting flats and this experience I'm considering going back to Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires.
I like my PI Gavia Plus tights, but the 3D-PRO padding soaks up chamois creme like a sponge. I really went through a lot of it on this ride.
I like my PI Cyclone long gloves and have to see if they make a shortie version for warm weather.
There's a burr on the plastic part of my left shift-lever and I cut my finger on it. :(
Salami and cheese sandwiches are my new power-food.
The first bottle of Accelerade is good. The 4th one, not so much :p

sucks your writeup was lost, but you did well to replace it. glad the ride went well for you!! lol about the sunburn. i shaved the beard this morning, and how have a nice red neck to complement the white that was under the beard, i'm sure it looks kinda funny. for some reason i wasn't prepared for actual sunlight either, so i just soaked it all up.

btw narayan's a great guy, i've had the pleasure of riding with him in the past.

remember how i was talking about pacing at the beginning of the ride? yeah, so much for that.. when i get out on the road with a bunch of other people, i'm like a dog chasing a car or something. just can't seem to take it easy.

what's that, another group ahead of me? time to catch up.. i spent 10 or so minutes by myself in the beginning to catch up to a fast group, and hung with them for a few hours. they were rolling at about 32 km/h give or take a few kms, a pretty fast pace for a 300k. in fact, too fast for this smoker, so i had to bow out after a little while, but it was fun while it lasted.

finished in 13:05, a new personal best. full writeup, and pics on the blog (http://cyclinginseattle.blogspot.com/2009/04/sir-300k-brevet-seattle-clinton.html).

clifton, did you post your pics anywhere? i wanna see them.

here are a few of mine from the ride. the start:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3302/3415116105_f4e0e832fb.jpg?v=0

the beginning:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3607/3415923398_5a4cb7de17.jpg?v=0

deception pass:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3559/3415124411_67b882630d.jpg?v=0

view from hwy 9:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3553/3415942312_e91cd4027f.jpg?v=0

setting sun in the last 20k or so:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3659/3415171975_55ed5cbeae.jpg?v=0

Heh, my first pic looks like it could be a copy of yours from the starting line!

I was still getting the hang of my new stem and the steering changes, so I didn't snap any pix on the fly. My last set of pix was at the Shell station at the corner of Rt 20 and Bayview, where I hooked up with Greg, Ruth, Linda and Sylvia. From then on, I just wasn't too concerned with pictures and I was just concentrating on riding strong, especially after about 19:30 on Rt 9... Not much shoulder to speak of on a twisty dark 50mph section of highway; I just wanted off that road and onto the Centennial Trail. (Never before have I wanted so much to be on a MUP!)
I had a lot of fun riding this one and chatting with everyone I spent some miles with. I'll get some pix posted up later; I got some nice shots at the bridges over Deception Pass.

Nice write ups. Matt, I think I met up with your group when the saddle bag fell off. It seemed like the group was just rolling out from a stop and that would explain how we caught up. I ended up sticking with that group till the finish for a finish time of 11:54 just a few minutes before the 12 hour mark.

Chuckanut drive just about killed me (time to ramp up the hill training) but I hung onto the group and my energy improved once things became flatter.

I was also unprepared for the sun and got a little crispy.

I also had a lot of glass in my tires with at least 5 cuts down to the kevlar belt but no flats during the ride.

Overall a great ride with a great group.

Holy moses, you guys are fast! (13h finish, sub-12 finish.)

Sharkey, did I meet you on the ferry in the morning? I was sitting with a couple guys talking about a possible sub-12h finish.

Holy moses, you guys are fast! (13h finish, sub-12 finish.)

Sharkey, did I meet you on the ferry in the morning? I was sitting with a couple guys talking about a possible sub-12h finish.

No, I came from the Whidbey side. Also, I had no idea I was in for a sub 12 hour finish when I started. I met up with the group that was gunning for the 12 hour finish at around mile 60. I learned of their plans around Bellingham and hung on. There were 2 or 3 guys in particular controlling the pace to make the 12 hour finish possible.

I was the guy in the yellow jacket if that helps :D

Nice write ups. Matt, I think I met up with your group when the saddle bag fell off. It seemed like the group was just rolling out from a stop and that would explain how we caught up. I ended up sticking with that group till the finish for a finish time of 11:54 just a few minutes before the 12 hour mark.

were you on a pinarello? i think i remember you catching up, that was shortly before i ducked out i think.

yeah that was a great group, i regret not sticking with it.. bob really knows how to keep a group in control, i don't think i've ever ridden in such an organized group. congrats on the speedy finish!

were you on a pinarello? i think i remember you catching up, that was shortly before i ducked out i think.

yeah that was a great group, i regret not sticking with it.. bob really knows how to keep a group in control, i don't think i've ever ridden in such an organized group. congrats on the speedy finish!

My friend was on the pinarello. At that point I was probably right behind him on a Cannondale.

There were a lot of strong riders in that group and a few that did a lot of work to keep the pace up where it needed to be for the 12 hour finish.

I also didn't notice Bob's jersey until you mentioned it on your blog. I might have had a better idea of what was coming if I had noticed that.

Hey Sharkey, I was in that group too. I was the one with the blue SIR jersey. :P Let's see... um, riding the gray Gunnar Sport with the OYB saddle bag. Maybe that helps. Everyone did some great work in that group to keep us rolling along at a strong pace including you and Warde. And thanks to you, Mattm for doing some great pulling while you were with us. That was my first 300k brevet (second rando event of any kind), and it's hard to imagine I'll ever ride a faster 300k than that. We had the perfect combination of good weather, an excellent group, no flats, and a relatively flat course.

Of course, the really humbling thing was to finish that ride feeling like we really smoked it, only to find out that the lead group was 58 minutes ahead of us. 58 minutes... Let's see, we can chalk off about 5 minutes to the lost saddle bag, but then the other 53 minutes difference would be them just being god-like. Good thing it's not a race, huh? :)

Congrats to everyone who came out. Finishing that ride is an achievement whether it took 11 hrs or 19:59.

Congrats to everyone who came out. Finishing that ride is an achievement whether it took 11 hrs or 19:59.

That sounds like my motto: I'll take DFL over DNF any day.:thumb:

Hey Sharkey, I was in that group too. I was the one with the blue SIR jersey. :P Let's see... um, riding the gray Gunnar Sport with the OYB saddle bag. Maybe that helps. Everyone did some great work in that group to keep us rolling along at a strong pace including you and Warde. And thanks to you, Mattm for doing some great pulling while you were with us. That was my first 300k brevet (second rando event of any kind), and it's hard to imagine I'll ever ride a faster 300k than that. We had the perfect combination of good weather, an excellent group, no flats, and a relatively flat course.

Of course, the really humbling thing was to finish that ride feeling like we really smoked it, only to find out that the lead group was 58 minutes ahead of us. 58 minutes... Let's see, we can chalk off about 5 minutes to the lost saddle bag, but then the other 53 minutes difference would be them just being god-like. Good thing it's not a race, huh? :)

Congrats to everyone who came out. Finishing that ride is an achievement whether it took 11 hrs or 19:59.

I think I actually do remember the saddlebag and I remember talking to someone who I think was you at the end of the ride....

That lead group time was a bit shocking.....:twitchy:

That lead group time was a bit shocking.....:twitchy:

btw i think that group was made up of Chris Ragsdale (yup, same one with at least one 24-hour record) and Brian Ohlemeier(?), who is also really fast, and i heard Brian was on a new bike which apparenty did him well.

so to finish a little under an hour behind them, who are way above "normal" cyclists levels, is quite the acheivement!

btw i think that group was made up of Chris Ragsdale (yup, same one with at least one 24-hour record) and Brian Ohlemeier(?), who is also really fast, and i heard Brian was on a new bike which apparenty did him well.

Yep, and Jan Heine (Mr. 50 hour PBP) was also in that group. Not sure who the fourth was.

Matt, I'm thinking the only reason you didn't stay with us was because of the additional 20-something miles you put in before the ride even started. You were riding strong.

Matt, I'm thinking the only reason you didn't stay with us was because of the additional 20-something miles you put in before the ride even started. You were riding strong.

i felt pretty good up until i ate half a bean/rice/cheese burrito while we were on chuckanut.. i think it was too much food at once, and it kind of drained the energy out of me.

and yeah the extra mileage didn't help; quitting smoking would probably help me stay with you guys next time too. =]

but i'm also not used to having to concentrate for hours on end on rides. for me that's the only downside of group riding, i can't zone out (like i like to) and just cruise. of course, when i "cruise" i end up pacing around 23 km/h, so the speed does take a hit.

but sticking with that group was definitely good training, mentally and physically. maybe we can try it again on the upcoming 400... are you guys going to that?

and yeah the extra mileage didn't help; quitting smoking would probably help me stay with you guys next time too. =]

Surprisingly, I'm not any faster after having quit about 18 months ago. It will help with endurance, though. I used to be really beat after a century ride, and now I can finish a 300k and still have the energy to hang out for a bit and then drive back home. Never would have happened 2 years ago.

maybe we can try it again on the upcoming 400... are you guys going to that?

Don't know about the rest of that group, but I'll be there.

I'm hoping you're not planning to ride to the start of that one. If so, you might want to leave now. :)

Surprisingly, I'm not any faster after having quit about 18 months ago.

don't tell me that! tell me that your love life improved, your vision is now 20/20, etc, etc...

srsly tho congrats on quitting! i do wonder what'll it'll do if i ever give up the smokes. at least i can assume it won't hurt my riding!


Don't know about the rest of that group, but I'll be there.

I'm hoping you're not planning to ride to the start of that one. If so, you might want to leave now. :)

cool, hope to see you there!

i'm tossing around the idea of riding out there on the Friday before (well, from North Bend->Ephrata which is 143 miles), then bumming a ride back.

i enjoy coming up with stupid ideas like that, but carrying them out is something else..

most likely i'll get a ride out there with someone, but we'll see.

maybe we can try it again on the upcoming 400... are you guys going to that?

The spring 400 is the same day as the Seattle Tour de Cure, and I'm my company team captain (3 years running.) It would look pretty bad if I didn't show up for that. :lol:
I'm riding to/from the start and making a 200k out of the century.

Clifton,
Can I say that you are just plain nuts? I'm mostly just kidding, but good on ya.
I'm trying to work up to a century and here you are doing much more than that.

Clifton,
Can I say that you are just plain nuts? I'm mostly just kidding, but good on ya.
I'm trying to work up to a century and here you are doing much more than that.

hehehe. The gang up here at Sam. Valley Cycle was right when they told me "it's a progressive addiction" on the day I joined the Seattle Randonneurs. I started my season last year by struggling to complete a century with barely more than 4500' of elevation gain, I tried 3 times to do a 200k before I finally finished the distance, and eventually worked myself up to completing a double century.
Now, even though a 300k is a tough ride for me, it's not a distance I had the same worries about before embarking on my double century last year (and that double was fully supported.) What's funny to me is how the experienced randonneurs start looking at longer and longer distances as relatively short.
You look at my 200k or 300k and think "What a long ride."
I was talking with another rider at one of the controls about how long a ride the 300k was for me, and she ribbed me by turning to one of the control volunteers and saying "He thinks this is a long ride." It's all relative to what else you've done. If you've done a bunch of 600k and 1200k rides, then 300k probably seems like just a warm up.