CliftonGK1

This was my first "real" distance with the Seattle Int'l Randonneurs, after having squeaked in just under the wire at the Big Time Urban Populaire last weekend. The weather was better, and I was better prepared (although, still not totally prepared.) I've reposted this with some minor edits from my LJ:
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Saturday was the "official" start to the 2009 brevet season, with the Spring 200k brevet and chili feed, hosted by Greg Cox of the Seattle International Randonneurs.

As I rolled up to the entrance to Greg's 'hood, I was the last car allowed to park on the street. There were already almost 100 riders geared up, milling about and doing last minute checks on their equipment. I had about 30 minutes to spare, so I quickly went about getting my gear on, and heading over to the registration table.
Much better than the week previous, I had all my stuff together and was ready to roll out with the pack when the 7am start was announced. Of course, I hadn't filled my bottles and there wasn't a cooler at the start, so I had to stop at the Circle K and buy some Vitamin Water and regular water to load up my bottles. Well, one of these days I'll actually get it right. By the time I was back on the road, I was well off the back of the group and I realized I brought but didn't drink any of the coffee I had made certain to bring. Damn! Well, no coffee wasn't going to hold me back. I headed off into the fog and caught up with some of the tail end of the group.
The weather was much better than last week. Cold fog instead of snow, and the roads were only damp instead of slushy. Additionally, the navigation wasn't nearly as difficult as the Big Time. Mostly long roads once we got outside of the Kent residential suburbs.
In comparison to last week, I felt great. I was eating enough, I drank enough water and took in enough salts that I wasn't cramping up at all. I think a big part of it was training: I was woefully unprepared last week; this week I was ready for it. OK, maybe I wasn't smiling the entire time, but I was a happy cyclist. I rode with papawizo from Bike Forums for quite a few miles and chatted about various rides in the area, and eventually picked up the pace to 14.5mph and kept rolling with another guy from the Oregon Randonneurs, and we leap-frogged each other for about 30 miles until the control at Greenwater.
The climb to Greenwater was about a 17 mile climb of over 1200' elevation gain. (I think. Does someone know what the starting elevation was before climbing up to Greenwater?) It was never steep, but it was persistent. The return down Greenwater was fun, and I made up some good time by big-ringing it and keeping a 17mph average down the hill. It's a good thing, too. We had a long stretch through the Mud Mountain Dam Recreational Area, and there was a turn that I missed. Apparently some of the upstanding citizens of the greater Mud Mountain metropolitan area have nothing better to do with their time than abscond with local roadsigns. Regardless of how it happened, I ended up taking a 2.7 mile wrong turn and hitting SR410 at 284th Ave instead of at 252nd, and I had to backtrack to find out where I went wrong. Thankfully there was a guy walking up the road and he explained the turn off 284th onto Mud Mtn. Dam Rd. SE which I missed. After that navigation error, I was back on my way and my speed was jammin'.
I was up to 112 miles by the time I figured out where the heck I was supposed to be, and picked up the pace to 15.5mph for the remainder until I got to the climb out of Green Valley and back into Auburn/Kent going up 218th Ave. Holy hell, what a hill! At the "supposed to be" 115 mile mark, and I was actually close to 122 miles, there was a sustained 1 to 1.5 mile (I didn't check, but it was long) climb at around 7% to 9% grade.
This brought me to Auburn Black Diamond Rd. where I ran into the only real problem of the day. I turned pro for 10 seconds when someone decided to pay me for my cycling efforts... by whipping a handful of nickels at me as they passed in the opposite direction at 50mph. OK, seriously... What kind of deleted insults do you have to be when the best idea the conglomerate IQ from the 4 passengers in your lifted mudder club cab is "let's throw change at the guy on a bicycle"? I feel bad that you lost a half day's pay chucking it at me and missing, because I'm sure it could have purchased a lot of Skoal and PBR to contribute to our flagging economy. Instead, it's laying on the side of Auburn Black Diamond Rd. I've scraped smarter stuff from my chamois.
Anyhow, after that incedent the remainder of the ride was great and I made it back to the final control unscathed. Much of the faster pack had already cleared out by the time I made it back to Greg's house, but I did get to see some other friends from Bike Forums and FB at the finish control. I got some congratulations, we talked about the upcoming 300k (which I just might end up doing in 2 weeks) and I headed back homeward after signing and turning in my brevet card.

Totals for the day:
134.64 miles
9150' elevation according to veloroutes (not accounting for the detour, which was under 50' gain)
9h 50m 39s rolling time
11h 10m card time

darkroast

Congratulations on finishing your 200k. Onward to the 300k I say!

bmike

well done! congrats...

mattm

huge congrats on your first offiicial brevet!!

lol! sucks they tried to hit you with the nickels... i'm always afraid of that kind of ****. glad you made it out of that ok.

posted some pics on flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/seabikr...7615805856298/

and there are more here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/seattlerando/

hope to see you at the 300! these events (starting with the 100k) have a funny way of "whipping you into shape" for the next big ride over the horizon. you know what they say, if you can finish a 200k, you can probably do a 300k, and so on.

chewybrian 

You can map your ride on https://www.bikely.com , and it will allow you to see the elevation.


The ultimate kitty kat--would not have the stones to confront you on even ground, say, standing in line at 7eleven, one vs. one. They think they'll escape retribution, but Buddha or Darwin will even the score.

Anyway, congrats on finishing. Are you going for SR? PBP?

drbianchi

Congrats on your first 200K. This was my first official brevet as well. I took off with the very first group ripping down through Russell Rd. in a blink. I backed off considerably at Dash Point as I didn't know what was ahead of me. I maintained about a 17-18 mph pace to Black Diamond. Took way too long there and the legs started acting funny. Struggled a bit solo through Cumberland were I thought that maybe running would be a better hobby. I came close to calling the wife to see if she and the child wanted to spend the afternoon in Enumclaw and pick my broken self up. But, after stopping at some convenience store, grabbing two Cliff bars and an Espresso shot I made it to Enumclaw, where I continued on up to Greenwater. That's where the legs cramps hit. Inner thigh just above the knee. Couldn't figure out how to stretch it out so I *****footed the climb. I drained both water bottles and thanked Mother Nature for the tailwind. At Greenwater, I grabbed salted peanuts, powerade, water and some sort of beef stick that I took a bite off of before I payed for it realizing it was spicy. Now, I rarely shy away from spicy but there's a time and place and this wasn't it. The turn around was breezy making it harder then the climb. Here's where I had planning on making up some time but I couldn't cut the wind. Then I experienced my first flat. Tiny little wire embedded into the tread and I couldn't find the puncture to patch, so I just changed tubes. Rolled out grabbing mattm's group and hung with them back to Enumclaw where I picked up another wire through the tire. Same deal, could not find the hole to patch and no more tubes. I rarely flat these tires so, lesson learned. I pumped up the old tube and it wasn't losing noticeable pressure so I slapped it all back together knowing I'd have to stop occasionally to top things off. Caught back with mattm's group and we rolled home together in 9:40 feeling spent but good. Knowledge is going to be key for these events. Here's what I will take with me from this route. It wasn't as hard as I made it out to be. Greenwater was harder coming down than going up, even with the leg cramps. Two tubes. This is a must. Eat salty snacks. Protein and sodium are going to be my friend. The brand new Brooks saddle is aces. Even without it broken in I never felt it, although at the start they are awfully slick. Find a group that's rolling at the pace you want to hold. Riding in a pack, even if it's small is so much more enjoyable than flying solo.

I'll have to miss the 300K due to work, but I'll be at the 400K. Until then the training will continue.

mattm

awesome work, dr. b!

next time around i'm gonna try to start slow, then speed up. (so far my m.o. is start in a blaze of glory, then burn out after 50 miles or so..)

see ya at the 400!

CliftonGK1

Since they didn't come back for a second swipe, you're pretty much spot on about the nickel throwers. Besides, mattm can vouch for the fact that even in neon green lycra and an orange hat I just don't look like the kind of guy most people would mess with.

Thanx on the congrats. While this was my first official 200k, it wasn't my first ride of this distance. I did STP as a double last year, but that's a totally different beast since you're supported and guided the whole way. The navigation and self support certainly does add a new aspect to riding; and I like it!

Yowza, that's well above my pace. I'm a 13 - 15mph guy for now.
To stretch out those inner thigh cramps, you gotta hop off the bike and do butterflies: Sit down, soles of the feet together, bring them in heels as close as you can to your crotch, and gently press down on your knees. Pay closer attention to your knee position as you climb, and you might be able to avoid these cramps, too. That was my issue last year, and it turns out I was swinging my knees outward at the top of stroke and clenching them back in as I straightened my leg.
I use Endurolytes for some excess salts, but the biggest help has been switching away from bars/gels as my main food source and bringing a couple of salami and swiss sandwiches on Dave's Blues bread. I cut 'em into quarters so they're about 2 bites and I can grab one out of my bag as I'm riding.
Too bad about the 300k, and good luck on the 400k. I might do the 300 but I'll miss the 400k because the Tour de Cure is the day before, and I'm doing the century as a 200k to/from my apartment. I captain my company team, so I can't really ditch out on it!

drbianchi

Beauty advice on the sammies. I'll try that out on the next training ride to see if the tummy handles it. 'Tis a fickle beast. I thought about the butterfly stretch but I figured that was mainly for groin and upper inner thigh. I did stop along HWY 410 and stretched out the quads with the hope of having it take a positive effect on the area above the knee. As of the knee position. I tend to ride with my knees coming very close to the top tube, especially climbing. I believe the source of the problem, besides hydration was I started a crossfit strength program for my track season coming up. Lots and lots of weighted, quick burst squats and stair climbing which pounded the Vastus medialis. Sometimes I'm my own worst enemy.

See you on the road and don't forget your coin purse next time. You might as well make some money.

drbianchi

I know. Me too. It's just so hard to start slow with all those rabbits in front. I say we reduce the tire pressure until the first control.

lonesomesteve

Clifton,

Big congrats on your first brevet! It was my first too. Actually my first official Rando event of any kind. Not sure if you'll remember this, but I stopped at the same Circle K right at the start (I needed to offload some excess "baggage"). I saw another biker buying water as I came out of the bathroom, so I'm guessing that was you.

I also made the exact same navigational mistake that you made, missing that left onto Mud Mtn Dam Rd and didn't figure it out until I got to Hwy 410, so I got the same six bonus miles.

Sorry about the encounter with the coin throwing idiots, but you're right about Buddha and/or Darwin making things straight in the end.

I had a fantastic ride. I rode most of the ride with a guy named Michael that I met up with about 40 miles in, around Auburn I think. We were riding about the same pace, so we worked together trading pulls for the next 60 miles or so. He was an animal, I hope he's there to pull me through the 300K in a couple weeks. Thanks, if you're out there Michael.

I've done quite a few long rides in the past year, so I wasn't really worried about finishing this ride, but it sure feels good to have this first brevet under my belt. I know it's early, but I feel like I have Randonneuring in my blood. Maybe a few drops of Phil's Tenacious Oil too.

My ride stats:
Distance: 134.97 miles/217 km
Time: 7:47 saddle time/8:35 on the card
Climbing: 6,153 according to the VDO MC 1.0 altimeter

Congrats to the others who were there too!

TommyL

I definitely went with the start slow and speed up method. The only time I found a group going my pace was in Green Valley; three other riders on two bikes, and I lost them after stoppping for the bathroom. DB, I had a similar experience with Black Diamond. Stopped for 30 minutes, and then was hurting through Cumberland. No more long stops at the controls for me! A fast group passed me, and I stuck with them for a while but then lost them. My <2 minute stop at Greenwater allowed me to catch up for a little while, but then we made the same mistake as Clifton with SE Mud Mountain RD. There was a sign, it was just hard to see, FWIW. I rode the rest of the way solo.

mattm

don't forget to update your SR-o-meter!

clifton, you were asking about the elevation at the start of the greenwater climb? i think it was 251m (823 ft), and greenwater was 528m (1732 ft), if i read the graph right.

the WKO+ app calculates 565m of gain in that climb alone, but then again, it also calculated 2786 m (9,140 ft) for the overall 200k route, which seems really high compared to the ~6000ft most units are showing. (i'm using a garmin 705).

i've attached the ride graph from WKO just for kicks - the blank spots are the stops along the way. the first 1.5 hours were the trip to kent, so it's not part of the actual ride. (ride start at about the 2 hr mark)

from the graph i can really see where my pacing went wrong - from the beginning!

(red line is HR, blue line is speed (km/h), and the horizontal blue line is 25 km/h)

lonesomesteve

I like the SR Meter!! I need to get me one of them.

TommyL

Thanks for the reminder. Check.

mitchel

Congratulations. I would have loved to have been there, but I was in Texas doing Hell Week. How was the Chilly feed?

thebulls

Hey, Matt, looks like you're lucky to be alive after your heart stopped at 10h45m.

Congrats to you, to Clifton, and all who finished (or tried!).

We're (DC Randonneurs) having our first ACP 200K this Saturday, though my wife and I and the RBA rode the checkout ride last Saturday. I'd forgotten how much climbing there is in the first 50 miles -- just a ton of short, sharp climbs and descents with a 1100 foot climb in the middle (then 50 miles of moderately flat before a couple of 500 footers). Both our GPS's said 9000 feet, and MotionBased's analysis of my track said 11000, which makes it the toughest 200K that we regularly schedule as an ACP brevet.

Anyway, GPS and other elevation readings seem to be pretty-much all over the map. It all depends on the accuracy of the altitude readings plus the algorithm for when something counts as a "climb". Altimiter-based readings can get wonky as the day progresses, as air pressure changes. GPS reading without altimiter are subject to triangulation error. GPS with altimiter and with the GPS set to correct altitude based on triangulation is supposedly the best. But measured climbing will still depend on when something counts as a climb. I'm told that the VBO only counts "10 foot" changes as a climb. Based on analyzing the track info from a recent ride, it looks like my GPS is using a rule somewhere between 2 and 3 foot changes. MotionBased (with corrections switched off) counts as a climb anytime your elevation increases between track points, even if it's only a foot.

Nick

mattm

hey nick, finish or die trying, isn't that what they say? =]

i think the strap was falling off at that point when the bpm's hit 40 or so.

thanks, and good luck with the rest of your season. coming out west for any rides this year?

thebulls

My daughter will be going to the Pacific Northwest Ballet school summer program. So despite the fact that all of our disposable income will be absorbed with ballet expenses, we may be coming out to Seattle in August. In which case I hope to get in a brevet/permanent.

Nick

CliftonGK1

There's a 300k on Aug 8th, a 400k on Aug 22nd and a 1000k spanning the 20th-23rd.