Pop quiz

[TsPoet]

Fun!

1) Fixing flats. We three had five amongst us.
2) Yakima RIver Canyon. So pretty!
3) Our SECOND sunrise. <sheesh...>
4) Together to the end - Brevet organizer Paul & I rode all but the first 5 miles together.

Wow, I wish I'd known you would be there. We finally have randonneuring near me. I'd thought about going down to the start to meet up with people on that ride, now I wish I had!
re: flats - yep, flat capital of the world right here. Everyone here uses at least 2 lines of protection - liners + goop or kevlar belts + liners... Still we have flats every organized ride.

[SadieKate]

Most rando-oriented threads are.

I don't think Twinkies qualify.

[Susan Otcenas]

Wow, I wish I'd known you would be there. We finally have randonneuring near me. I'd thought about going down to the start to meet up with people on that ride, now I wish I had!
re: flats - yep, flat capital of the world right here. Everyone here uses at least 2 lines of protection - liners + goop or kevlar belts + liners... Still we have flats every organized ride.

Well, there were only 9 of us riding. 2 from PDX, one from Bend, the rest mostly from the tri-cities area I think (though I think one lives in White Salmon...)

The ride schedule for the Desert River Randonneurs is posted on the Oregon Rando website (the DRR group is not yet certified as it's own region, so our RBA administers their rides.) http://orrandonneurs.org/brevets/2011_brevets.html I think their next ride is the DRR600K June 11-12. You could contact Paul and see if they need any volunteers.

My two flats were actually the same flat. Piece of steel wire from a steel-belted-radial, I'm guessing. Missed it the first time. Second time (5 miles later) I changed the tire as well. Shoulda done that the first time!

[Susan Otcenas]

I don't think Twinkies qualify.

Good point.

[maillotpois]

Wasn't this thread about food?

And was the follow up a Sno Ball?

One of the guys I was riding with got the Sno Balls. I have my standards. The twinkles went down before a steep 4-5 mile climb and they stayed down and I got up the hill, so I was satisfied with their food-like qualities.

Susan that ride sounds great. I decided this weekend that 300-400k is really a civilized distance. 600-1200 not so much.

[TsPoet]

You could contact Paul and see if they need any volunteers.

That is an excellent idea, as I'm not ready to ride!
I hope our local rides get some shorter options for me to start with, I think 200k was their shortest.

[Susan Otcenas]

One of the guys I was riding with got the Sno Balls. I have my standards. The twinkles went down before a steep 4-5 mile climb and they stayed down and I got up the hill, so I was satisfied with their food-like qualities.

Susan that ride sounds great. I decided this weekend that 300-400k is really a civilized distance. 600-1200 not so much.

On the 600K a few weeks ago, it seems that the convenience food of choice was corn dogs. Not for me (yuk!), but they were widely and thoroughly consumed by others. At multiple stops. Another friend microwaved an entire quart of ice cream at the last control and drank it straight from the container!!

I prefer 600Ks (with stops at ~360K) over 400Ks. I've done three 400Ks in the past 7 months and it has by far been the hardest distance for me. I seem to fall apart a little after 360k or so. Not so much my body as my mind. I can't seem to discipline myself through the final couple of controls and end up taking too long in the last 50 miles. I'd bet I was off the bike at least 2 hours in the last 50 miles of this 400K. Not because I wanted to be; it just seemed to ... happen.

I have a 1000K on the calendar for June 11-12. I'm frankly a little afraid of it. The first overnight is at 400K. I *need* to get there by 22 hours so that I can get sufficient rest before the 2nd (310K) segment. But so far, my best 400K has been 22:51. The first 2 were in utterly crap weather, which didn't help, and this weekend we had headwinds, some rain and a rash of flats. But that stuff is part of the game, and I'm a little worried that I basically need a trouble-free ride to hope to have enough time in the bank to rest. I'm even MORE freaked out that my first planned rest stop on PBP is 440K (275 miles). I've NEVER ridden that far without a break!

[Susan Otcenas]

That is an excellent idea, as I'm not ready to ride!
I hope our local rides get some shorter options for me to start with, I think 200k was their shortest.

I think Selah-Ellensberg-Selah would make a FANTASTIC 100K populaire. The Yakima River Canyon is so gorgeous!

[maillotpois]

One of the stores used frequently as a control here is famous for its clam chowder. Creamy, New England style clam chowder. While I love soup on a brevet, I can't even imagine clam chowder on a ride of any length. The randonneurs here love it - it is legendary. That store also has some awesome pork tamales, which are my choice for a snack when I'm there.

It's funny trying to compare distances on events. Every ride is so different that it would be hard to say categorically (as we both have just done) that we prefer X distance over Y distance. I had a crazy fast and fun 400k this year on a very similar course to the 600k. The 600k we had issues arise with a friend who tagged along with us and it caused our sleep stop plan to go completely out the window. It seems like you have really nailed (and been able to be consistent about) the sleep stop issue. For me that's been harder.

And it's also really hard for me to do rides that go more than one day. I only have 3 years til my kid is off to college. She actually enjoys spending time with me - I spent much of this weekend's 600k feeling sad that I wasn't with her. I can bang out a 300 or 400k and be home the same day if I choose a local event. For even a local 600, that's not possible. I was considering the RM 1200 for next year, but I have pretty much ruled that out. Maybe PBP 2015.

ETA: Don't worry too much about the 22 hour 400k you need for your 1000. The weather should be MUCH better, you have a lot of good quality riding under your belt since your last 400k and you should be fine. I just can't wait to read the ride report!

[OakLeaf]

Second sunrise

Dang, Susan. Wow. Congrats.

[TrekTheKaty]

Wow. Congrats. (I was going to say salt!)

[Susan Otcenas]

Dang, Susan. Wow. Congrats.

Trust me, I would rather have been asleep when that second sunrise was happening. Although, it was beautiful!

[Susan Otcenas]

One of the stores used frequently as a control here is famous for its clam chowder. Creamy, New England style clam chowder. While I love soup on a brevet, I can't even imagine clam chowder on a ride of any length.

I had some great tomato basil soup at the Safeway at 135 miles. We had a tube patching party in the deli while we ate.

It's funny trying to compare distances on events. Every ride is so different that it would be hard to say categorically (as we both have just done) that we prefer X distance over Y distance. ... It seems like you have really nailed (and been able to be consistent about) the sleep stop issue. For me that's been harder.

It IS very hard to compare events. For me, a lot depends on weather. We have soooooooo many wet and cold brevets. And I struggle terribly with my body temperature. I didn't feel my feet for at least half this ride. It makes for some longer controls, especially at night, if I need to warm up, or change socks or toe warmers, etc. My feet are very tender today from being so numb for so many hours this weekend. OTOH, I do really well in heat. It doesn't seem to affect me. Perhaps I should move to the desert.

As for sleep stops - I've done three 600s on anywhere from 1:45 to 3 hours sleep at ~360K. I wake up feeling really good typically. I've not yet woken up in the middle of a 600K so sore or tired that I didn't feel like I couldn't go on. After this 400K, I only had 2.5 hours sleep before needing to head back to Portland. I felt totally fine and wasn't particularly sore (I'm still not sore, actually) and could have gotten up and ridden another 200K. (Though, the April 400K destroyed me. It rained for the first 180 miles and it took me a solid week to feel mostly OK again. I couldn't have ridden another 200K THAT day!)

PBP 2015! I'm going to hold you to that...

[maillotpois]

We had one of those cold rainy 300ks this year. I had rain on and off for my first 600k, but this 300 was just the worst. It never stopped raining, and we would ride through flooding so deep your foot would be submerged as you pedaled. You have my utmost empathy and respect for riding in those conditions.

I've aimed to get as close to 400k under my belt in the first push of a 600k as possible. Both times, though, I have had to have a 5 minute nap on the side of the road before that. Saturday was in a cemetery. Actually, I guess it was Sunday. But it allowed me to get to mile 265 by 5 am and get a solid 2 hours sleep before starting the second push. The "official" sleep control was at mile 230 and that just didn't feel like far enough for us. I always want to have fewer miles on the horizon for day 2, and that seems to work for me - keeping it at or around 100 miles for the second part.

Some of the faster riders got a solid 6 - 8 hours at the control point and pushed through 148 miles the next day. I just want to be farther along than that, even if it means less sleep.

Ok, ok. PBP 2015!

[Susan Otcenas]

The "official" sleep control was at mile 230 and that just didn't feel like far enough for us. I always want to have fewer miles on the horizon for day 2, and that seems to work for me - keeping it at or around 100 miles for the second part.

Here's my calculus, though. You went an extra 35 miles before sleeping. Those were probably 35 miles in the dark, after already riding 230 miles. For ME, I think I would do those 35 miles more quickly (and more likely during sunrise instead of total darkness) after getting some sleep.

On the 1000K I'm doing, the overnight control set up by the organizers is at 400K. They have sleep space arranged for us (if we want it) and our drop bags (clean clothes!). I'd prefer to stop earlier, which I could do if I wanted to pay for another hotel room, but then I wouldn't have a drop bag either. I did a solo 600K a few weeks ago (I pre-rode our club's 600 the week before the rest of the riders) and had to carry all my own stuff. It's definitely doable, but everything is extra is extra weight.... I suppose I could see about getting a hotel room at 350-360K, carry nothing but extra shorts, then just get my card signed at the overnight and move on.... ah, decisions...

Ok, ok. PBP 2015!

That's the spirit!