Traffic speed detector on the PBP200

We are such geeks. My cycling buddy Jayjay and I would never dream of sprinting toward a state line boundary sign during a bike ride. There is no allure. But put an electronic traffic speed detector on the side of the road, and watch us go...

We were riding the RUSA Princeton-Belmar-Princeton 200k today in New Jersey. We were hot and tired, and consciously metering our energy consumption so we would have enough to finish within the time limit. And then late in the afternoon, about mile 100, we spotted a police SUV parked with one of these thingies up ahead.

I watched it mindlessly clocking the speed of cars as they sped by, 40, 50, 60mph, in a low speed zone. Then the cars were suddenly gone, and the sign alternated between 13 and 14mph. I thought nothing of it, but Jayjay instantly recognized that the device was tracking us. "Hey, that's our speed!", came her urgent voice from behind me. "Go, go, go!" she yelled. Once again, I had one of those moments where I jumped into action before giving proper consideration to the situation, and I was sprinting like crazy. Equally afflicted, Jayjay kept yelling "Faster! Faster!", louder and ever closer behind me.

Up, up, up, went the sign, 15, 16, 17. It finally got up to 19mph before we passed. "Aw rats", Jayjay said. Her delerious mind wanted to get to 20. Luckily we were only a short distance in front of the sign before we started sprinting, else who knows how fast we might have gotten. As a result, we only had to spend a few minutes stopped beyond the sign, hunched over handlebars, gasping for air, and guzzling water, before we continued on our way. Such geeks.

As for the rest of the day, the weather was beautiful, but traffic was horrendous. Most roads were filled with cars, they were all in a hurry, and most left little space alongside us. (The side of a towed boat came within inches of both our heads.) I suspect it was the gorgeous weather on one of the last weekends of summer which had everyone out and about, especially near the shore. The first checkpoint at a Dunkin Donuts at the beach in Belmar was filled to capacity with people glistening in sunblock. We waited forever on the long line, the clerk didn't want to waste time signing our cards, and then we had to wait on line to get into the bathrooms. Temperatures got really hot in the afternoon. We coped by filling socks with ice and draping them around our necks; this worked well again. We also drank cans of V8 juice, trying to address the needs of the 'Hydration Triangle', carbs, salt, and liquid. But the route itself and the scenery was delightful, and the dozens of other cyclists we passed were all super friendly. We finished the ride with 15 minutes to spare, woo hoo. All in all, a great day.

Many thanks to the owner of this RUSA route. I look forward to riding it again some day when I am back in New Jersey.

Randonneur bike candidate

It's got fenders.

And plenty of storage space.

I would have to practice making sound effects.

http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/fail-owned-bike-repair-fail.jpg

"Oh, nice."

"Oh, nice." That's what I said to three bicyclists this morning after they told me they were riding 100km. My tone of voice must have been patronizing, because they all gave me a highly indignant look.

The threesome was parked outside the Wawa at Pemberton, NJ, as I pulled in. They were all lean and attractive, had fine bicycles, and were dressed to the hilt. I had my overloaded dumpster bike and was wearing a t-shirt, shorts, sneakers, and reflectivewear. I had just locked my bike (a joke in itself), and was walking past them to go in the store. I made a small-talk comment about the glorious weather for riding, and everyone agreed.

Then one of the guys said they were riding 100km today. My first impulse was to say "Oh, nice, I am riding 200km". Knowing it would be rude as well as completely unbelievable, I truncated it at "Oh, nice". But there must have been something in my tone or the look on my face which delivered the complete message anyway, because they sure gave me the indignant look back. I didn't mean to minimize their accomplishment, and I am sorry it came out that way, but I knew instantly I had just experienced the 'defining moment' of today's ride. I kept thinking about advice from blogstress MG Thursday about socially acceptable bragging, and how I had just blown it. Oh well...

I rode most of the RUSA PBP Permanent today, a 200km loop connecting Princeton and Belmar NJ. I rode it in reverse, and not for credit. My bicycling partner Jayjay is passing through NJ next weekend, and we plan to ride it for credit toward our R-12. I have this thing about memorizing routes before we ride, but this one has so many twists and turns that I needed to actually ride it again to refresh my memory before Jayjay gets here. It also provided some much-needed saddle time.

The weather was absolutely glorious. It started in the mid 70s (F) and could not have risen more than the mid 80s. There were spotty clouds and mild variable winds all day, and not one drop of rain. It was a wonderful ride.

I also took a ton of random photos with my cellphone camera, since I was not on the clock. Hope you enjoy them... http://picasaweb.google.com/sagittandy/PBPLite?feat=directlink

There were two annoying sections of bad pavement which rattled my teeth. Just past Roosevelt (around MP16), the road was scratched and torn up in preparation for paving. This is a temporary nuisance and should be beautiful soon. The other is on West Farm Road (MP33) just past Georgia Tavern Road, where you will find a stretch of potholes, loose chunks of asphalt, and failed patches. It must be less than 100 yards long, but it seems to be a permanent condition. Be careful.

Tweedonneurs

I have been trying to come up with a catchy phrase to describe our style of slow randonneuring. Jayjay and I average about 10mph. We don't train, we don't race, and we seek flat permanents. It's an accomplishment when we finish a 200Km ride within the time limit.

We have made a conscious tradeoff between investment of time and money for training and equipment and are comfortable where we are, right at the entry-level of randonneuring. We can buy our medals after a 13 hour ride, just like the fast guys do in seven hours. I considered the phrase '80-20 Randy', to convey that we get 80 percent of the benefit from only 20 percent of investment, but nobody would understand without a long explanation.

I considered 'Flat Randy', since we can't finish hilly permanents in the time limits yet, but that seemed too negative. I want something positive.

I thought up 'Ten Mipper', a play on '10mph rider', but that was dismissed quickly. It made me think of the RCA Victor dog.

Then I happened to be looking at the Tweed Cycling clubs. They ride classic bikes, dress in period clothing, and emphasize style over speed. They host events where people ride slowly, with a positive spin. I remembered that Jayjay has already worn a red plaid skirt on one of our rides. Then I thought of the phrase 'Tweedonneur', contracting Tweed and Randonneur. Hmm, it does have a nice ring to it.

Perhaps I need to hit the thrift stores. Watch this space...

Cycling and Swimming

Jayjay and I rode an 80-mile portion of the RUSA Kerr Lake Loop permanent in North Carolina and Virginia today. The full permanent route is shaped like a lollipop, with the loop portion going around the lake, and the stem heading down toward Raleigh. We only rode the actual loop portion today, both for fun and to learn the route. Unofficial rendering on gmap-pedometer: map

The fun part was knowing what awaited us at the end of the ride. Earlier this morning, we had driven to the Satterwhite Point Recreation Area on the lake, which is conveniently located adjacent to the bike route. We paid the day-use fee and parked the car near the beach. When we returned after a long hot bike ride, diving into the lake was wonderful.

In between, we enjoyed a full day of bike riding in the heat. The weatherman had predicted cloudy skies for the day, but no such luck. The day was absolutely beautiful, sunny, and hot, which about wore me out. Oh, and the clouds finally arrived late in the afternoon.

Mid-morning, when the weather started getting steamy, we filled some tube socks with ice and tied them our necks. I'm not sure if it was wishful thinking or reality, but they seemed to make us more comfortable. Plus, carrying a supply of ice and drinks in an insulated cooler on my back rack helped me have faster descents going down hills.

This ride was Jayjay's and my first ride across a state line, going from North Carolina to Virginia and back. Neither one of us showed any interest in sprinting at any time during the day today, nevermind at some sign on the side of the road.

The dogs were out in force this morning. I was amazed how many 'dog families' raced out to greet us, each having one big grizzly dog along with two or three other little yappy dogs racing alongside. Luckily, their energy dropped off as the day got hot.

We were looking forward to stopping at some yard sales today, since we were not doing an official timed RUSA event, but we were out of luck. Surprisingly, we didn't pass one yard sale today.

Jayjay was our photographer today. She definitely takes nicer photos than I do: photos

The designer of this route did a marvelous job. The scenery is wonderful, most roads have light traffic, the hills are challenging for us, and there are abundant convenience stores along the way. I look forward to riding the whole route some day.

Research Trailer Park

I had the day off work today and went for a nice bike ride. I discovered this elusive RTP sign (see http://ncrandonneur.blogspot.com/ for additional references).

Welcome Back Youth

I was ready to drink the Kool-Aid when I first saw this sign. My bicycling partner Jayjay and I were finishing a hot and humid 120 mile bike ride, the RUSA Tar Heel 200, and I could have used a jolt of youthful energy. Luckily I realized the true meaning before I went inside and embarrassed myself.

Overall, today was a perfect summer day for riding in North Carolina. The first third of the trip, from Benson to Stedman, was cool and overcast. It started getting warm on the next third, from Stedman to Tar Heel and back, but remained partly cloudy. It only got uncomfortable on the final third, where scattered rain showers left the roads foggy and steamy. Luckily, we missed the rain itself.

We ate, drank, and stretched well throughout the ride, the bikes worked well, no flat tires, and traffic was extremely cordial. It was a delightful day. Random photos are here: photos

Unfortunately, our spirits were dampened later tonight to learn that one of our local safe-bicycling advocates, Bruce Rosar, had been killed today in a bicycle-car accident. His influence was everywhere, teaching classes, interpreting laws, and lobbying for change. He will be missed.