The sound of lightning

Lightning sounds like electric arc welding.  It's a steady coarse buzzing sound.  It's exactly like you remember from old Frankenstein movies.  And if you're close, it's really loud.

Jayjay and I heard it 'REALLY LOUD' today while riding the RUSA Tar Heel 200K in eastern North Carolina.  We had just ridden into a squall, the lightning was getting closer, and we were totally soaked.  Oh, and we were the tallest things around as we rode through barren farm fields on both sides.  I was getting a bit concerned.

Then it happened.  Cloud-to-cloud lightning from far to our left, passed directly over our heads, to some destination far to our right.  "Dzdzdzdzdzdzddz".   I got a little more concerned.

Luckily, we were a short distance from the Averasboro Battlefield Museum.  Our bikes took flight on their own, the fastest they did all day, and got us to the museum pronto.  We sheltered there for 15 minutes as the storm passed.

The rest of the day, however, both before and after this event, was gorgeous.  Continuous overcast.  Intermittent warm rains.  Wonderful tailwind on the return.

And we passed Rando Ian near the turnaround point at Tar Heel, NC.  (Click the thumbnail photo to enlarge.)

A great day on the bikes.

Weather Wonderland

I rode the RUSA Belmar-Princeton-Belmar 200K solo on Saturday in central New Jersey.  Thick soupy fog,  four torrential rains, beastly hot sunshine, and delightfully cool cloudy winds.  All in one day.  It was great.

I rode the four miles along the ocean to the 6am start.  Dozens of police, vendors, and organizers were setting up for the day's Belmar 5K foot race.  Luckily, I was able to bike through the cordoned-off road, rather than have to detour even before the start of my ride.

I rode the first three hours without eyewear since it was so foggy.  Fog instantly condensed on the lenses.  I missed my rear-view mirror.

The housing market is booming back.  I saw several new housing developments since I rode last summer.

Roadside poison ivy is booming too, vines hanging from trees over the road, and lush ground growth encroaching along the fog line.  Be careful.

As I rode through Fort Dix and McGuire Air Force base, I heard lots of booms, but encountered no black helicopters this year.  A few miles later, a huge lumbering four-engine propeller plane passed directly overhead to a landing.  Neat.

A first: As I passed one of many horse farms, I saw two harness-racing rigs racing around a track.  It looked like two large men in little  recumbent chariots getting mud kicked up in their faces from the hooves.  I laughed.

Firemen were collecting donations at the main intersection in Hightstown.  I got stopped at the traffic light next to a friendly fireman.  He chatted me up, and asked my route.  He immediately interrupted me, incredulous, as I started listing towns.  "Wait, Belmar at the shore???"  Excited conversation followed.  Yay rando.

One of the checkpoints is at a pizza restaurant in Cranbury.  I couldn't resist.  I sat for a slice.  Delicious.

As a kid, I loved biking in the rain.  I especially loved riding through lakes that formed in a nearby park (where the only hazard was bumping into a submerged picnic table, but that's another story).  Saturday's rain was a throwback.  Each time I rode through a storm, I got totally soaked, raised rooster tails through shallow puddles, and the rain temperature was comfortable and not freezing.  Yay.

I did zen cycling most of the day.  I had memorized the route and its recent updates, never looked at cue sheet or GPS.  And no odometer.  I 'woke up' several times wondering where I was, and always recognized my location shortly.  Fun!

This is a great route.  Many thanks to Rando Paul for creating and maintaining it.

Click here to see a few boring checkpoint photos

My bike climbed Mt Mitchill

Hopefully no one will notice the unique spelling and fine print...

(For my non-cyclist friends, this pokes fun at a famous hill climb in North Carolina with similar name: Mt Mitchell)

200K meets 600K redux

Three years ago, Jayjay and I rode the RUSA Tar Heel 200K in North Carolina and crossed paths with riders doing a 600K.  Here is the original blog post.

History repeated itself yesterday...

First, we passed a lone cyclist at the post office in Wade, NC.  He seemed like a rando: front bag, conspicuous clothing, cheery confidence.  He said 'good morning' before we could greet him.  We didn't think about the 600K until a few minutes later when we remembered some recent newsgroup chatter.  Could he have been on the return route of the 600K?

Shortly thereafter, our hunch was confirmed.  We passed and recognized rando Rick with another rider.  They stopped to chat.  Then we passed rando Byron who recognized me.  Then a group of six randos: Geof, John, Mike, Keith, Tom, and Jacob.

Finally, on our return stop at the checkpoint in Erwin NC, the cashier said "Oh I just signed one of these cards ten minutes ago".

They were everywhere.  Wish I had brought my cow bell!

Great day on the bike.  Photos

Update:  Thanks to Rick and Martin filling in the missing names.  The first mystery rider was Rando Gar.   Congrats to all.

Bike Kayak Trailer

I designed and built this trailer for a friend. 

I spent a good bit of time thinking about the hitch.  My favorite part is using a short piece of automotive heater hose to wrap around the bike seat post.  It flexes a little, absorbs small shocks, and attaches and removes quickly with no tools.  I like it.

The trailer has a wooden frame with low-speed low-pressure wheels, slightly smaller than wheelbarrow wheels.  They roll nicely and absorb minor shocks.

It's all connected by a long piece of black iron pipe, bent to the contours of the rear bike wheel and the bow of the kayak.  And the pipe swivels in the frame so everything moves.

Here's the instructable:  http://www.instructables.com/id/Bike-Kayak-Trailer/

and the 16-second video:  http://youtu.be/GovHLDrF2eU

With a little paint, and some red blinkies for those full-moon cruises, it'll be all set.  I just hope she doesn't try to back it down the boat ramp...

RUSA Rando Roulette 200K - Abbreviated

I was in Las Vegas Nevada on business last week.  After my conference was over, I stayed for the weekend, rented a bike, and rode the first 80 miles/128 km of the RUSA Rando Roulette 200K last Saturday.

The route is a loop around Las Vegas.  I started in the town of Henderson to the south, rode east and then north along Lake Mead, then west through the city of North Las Vegas.  Scenery along the lake was desolate and gorgeous.  Riding through the city in traffic was fun.  The route continued through the Red Rock Canyon to the west, but I didn't make it.

Determination vs Temptation:  I didn't finish the official ride. It got hot mid-day (around 95F/35C), and I was not acclimated.  I totally melted in the sunshine.  Now the route just happened to pass by the Bonneville Bus Station in North Las Vegas, and I just happened to know there was an express bus back to my hotel in Henderson, with bike racks and air conditioning, every 30 minutes, for only $2.  Two dollars!  All this immediately flashed through my mind in an instant as soon as I saw the bus station.  I knocked that devil off my shoulder and shouted 'keep pedaling!'

But after biking 5 miles further and finally realizing I really could not make the next checkpoint in time, I decided to end my ride.  (Oh, and shivers, cramps, and a few 'bad decisions' in traffic from dehydration helped confirm my decision too).  Back to the bus station!

A fun memory:  As I waited at the bus station in my rando reflectivewear, a bicycle policeman on patrol shouted out and complimented me as the 'most visible cyclist' he has ever seen.  Yesss!

Many thanks to Utah Rando Richard for designing the route and sending me a card.  And many thanks to NC Rando Rick for recommending the route and recommending the Fiesta Henderson Hotel.  I would love to try again some day with better preparation and/or during a cooler time of year.

Enjoy my unusually large set of photos from the ride with lots of little vignettes: http://goo.gl/ieOOZ

And enjoy my tourist photos from Las Vegas with particularly snarky captions:  http://goo.gl/AWMcV

Another great day on the bike...

Snaps of the commute

I was in no hurry to get to work this morning, so I stopped several times...

I took photos of crumbling pavement for the city maintenance website.

I took photos of trees encroaching into a roadway.

I carried brush and branches out of a bike lane.

And I practiced flicking my ID badge at the corporate security checkpoint and squeezing past the gate in one smooth motion, just to postpone going into the office.

Meh.

Photos