Tour de Cowichan 200K…

The route...

The two biggest challenges in successfully completing this ride were:

1. getting out of bed at 4:30am on a freezing cold morning with no Rando Buddy waiting to shame me for sleeping in.
2. the last 50kms where my lack of training put the hurt on me big time.

When my alarm went off Saturday morning I wasted 10 valuable minutes pondering the existential dilema of riding the 200K or staying in a warm bed. I had prepared just about everything the night before including 2 cups of tea and breakfast. So Getting out the door wouldn’t be too hard. The forecast was for warm sunny weather which was helpful. The route was through a lovely area of Vancouver Island which got me stoked. Even better the start was at a bakery and the finish was at a pub. How could I say no?!

Thank you Weather Gods!

Even with my preparation the night before I got out of the driveway 15mins later than I had wanted to. That meant driving very fast the whole way to the start at Chemainus while hoping the police had some crack dealers to bust at 5am on a Saturday rather than set up speed traps. I got to Chemainus with about 15-20mins to spare before the ride started. I rode leisurely over to the start only to find it closed. Hmmm…the ride started at The Dancing Bean last year and I guess I hadn’t read the ride page closely enough to pick up the change…=( I slowly rode around town looking for signs of life and men in tights! It didn’t take too long to spot the start at the Utopia Bakery and some familiar faces.

Jeff & Steve getting registered...

My first problem showed up around this time when I powered up my GPS and tried to load the route. My lame-ass Garmin tells me it can’t navigate the route because there are more than 50 way points. For the love of God! My phone can hold the entire contents of the Great Library of Alexandria and my GPS can’t sort out a 200K route? I had forgotten how pathetic the Garmin operating system was since last year’s rando season. Oh well – I loaded up the track of the route that I had put on the GPS and used that instead. A track is basically a trail of dots showing where someone had gone before. Not as nice as turn by turn directions, but it was better than a punch in the head!

Martin addresses the riders at the start...

The 20 odd riders rolled out onto the course in very chilly temps. I was starting to doubt my clothing choices as it was a lot colder than I had expected, but I didn’t want to stop and put on a jacket because I’d lose the Rando Train! As it turned out my wool layers were ideal for the cold to warm weather we ended up with. I was trying to stay with a slower group that wouldn’t kill me on the ride. I tend to go out too fast and then suffer at the end. I settled into a larger group that was going my speed on the flats, but they really slowed on the climbs. I had to decide if I wanted to push on to a faster group that climbed at my pace, but that would probably go faster than I would like on the flats or stay where I was. I didn’t want to ride alone so I needed someone to stick with. I ended up leaving the larger group and finding a smaller group up the road.

Jeff - photo: Melissa

That group got whittled down to Jeff and I. He was going a fast pace that I could manage in his draft, but I started to feel guilty after a while. I wasn’t sure how long I could wheel suck before I went from Rando Buddy to Rando Jerk. Eventually Tobin rode up to us and we were three. This 50km stretch  to the  first control had a lot of climbing in it. [You can click on the route map at the top and get an interactive ride map.] I was climbing pretty well and managed to hang on on the flats. I did take a turn at the front to assuage my wheel sucker’s guilt, but it was tough enough that I knew that wouldn’t be happening a lot on this ride! We eventually caught up to John [who as it turns out is a blog reader] and he motored along with the three of us in tow to the first control near Lake Cowichan at around 50kms. It hadn’t warmed up much to this point and we started to doubt the forecast for sunny skies.

Photo: John M. - See I wasn't kidding about eating a lot at the controls...

I was keen to keep my stops as short as possible on this ride and the first control set the right tone for me:

1. stop
2. put some food in your mouth
3. pee
4. get control card signed & put away
5. eat some more
6. adjust clothing
7. adjust bike [leather tension on my saddle]
8. eat some more
9. get rolling

I’m guessing we were in and out of the control in 7mins or so. One thing that helped is I was wearing fairly flexible clothing that I could vent while riding to adjust for changes in temperatures, wind and effort levels. I also had lots of food on the bike I could eat while riding. I made a conscious effort to eat a small amount consistently throughout the event. I also had something to drink every time I thought of it and every time anyone else pulled out a bottle I grabbed mine for good measure. So when I rolled into a control I wasn’t trying to recover from the damage I had just inflicted on myself. I was simply adding some extra calories to the tank and taking care of tasks I couldn’t do on the bike.

My Rando Rig taking a rare break...

I was feeling good leaving the first control and I knew if I could get the next 50kms done easily than I would have conquered a good chunk of the climbing and I could roll the last half of the ride with less power in the legs. We did great getting over the lumpy bits on the way back from Lake Cowichan towards Duncan. I was starting to think I might not get crushed like I usually do on these rides due to my non-existant training regime. I got on the front and took a pull on the Trans-Canada Hwy section of the second leg trying to contribute something to the group. As we turned off the highway and headed to the Kinesol Trestle I was getting pretty low energy. I don’t think I was bonking simply because I had been eating pretty solidly on the ride so far. I suspect my body was just reaching the end of my typical long workout timeframe at 4-5hrs and was starting to wonder what the heck was going on!

John walking back from the Kinesol Trestle...

Happily control #2 at the Kinesol Trestle [~116kms]  was well stocked with provisions. I repeated my routine from control #1, but took an extra 5-6 mins to sit down and rest. I didn’t waste this time though and I kept a constant flow of food entering my mouth without gorging. Jeff and Tobin had gone up the road during the climb to the trestle with John and I following a bit behind. We regrouped at the control, but didn’t ride together too much more as our speeds kept diverging. I totally appreciated the company thus far and the ability to draft some stronger riders. It was way nicer than the solo death march I had envisaged earlier in the week! So thanks guys!

Tobin, Lazy and John at the Secret Control @~ 130kms...

Not shockingly [to me] my energy levels kept dropping from this point onwards. I can’t really be upset or surprised when I don’t put in a reasonable amount of preparation for these rides. John and I stuck together on the ride to control #3. He was stronger on a lot of the sections and went ahead to wait for me at key spots. It was still nice to have some company even if I didn’t have the speed to stay with him all the time or to do much chatting when we were together. There were a couple fun fast downhills on this section that put a grin on my face. The 3rd control was at 151kms so this was a short leg. I was happy about that as I needed the morale support, food and to feel like the finish was at had.

Control #3 @ ~151kms...

The last 50kms to the finish was really hard for me. I eventually lost contact with John completely and got passed by Gary Baker. The KMs ticked down very slowly – very slowly! I just kept the pedals turning and kept eating. So far in the ride I hadn’t got off the bike between controls and I wanted to stick with that strategy so I ate a sandwich while coasting down a couple long gradual hills. I did eventually have to stop for a brief pee break, but my general plan to keep moving and keep control stops short did contribute to a low overall time for me. I know when I am suffering looking at the odometer is a bad thing as it seems to be broken it’s counting so slowly! The fact the finish was at a pub meant I could look forward to a pint and a Rando Burger. That helped keep me pedaling along. Eventually I got to a pub and I thought it was “The Pub”, but I didn’t see the control sign or any bikes. I took a moment to consult the route sheet and I knew my brain wasn’t at 100% so I didn’t rush the cognitive process! While my neurons fired very slowly Martin Williams [friendly neighbourhood brevet organizer] came out to let me know I was done.

Photo: Melissa

Happy Happy! I got my route card signed and was handed a finisher’s pin. I immediately grabbed a seat and started looking at the menu!

Stats:

• Total distance = 202kms
• Total ride time = 9:30
• Avg speed = 22.9kph
• Riding time = 8:49
• Time off the bike = 41mins

Tobin at the finish...

The Good

• got out of bed at 4:30am!…=-)
• great weather
• great route
• enthusiastic friendly club volunteers at the controls
• ate and drank well
• good folks to ride with
• no bonus KMs
• finished middle of the pack
• no flats or mechanicals
• wore the right clothes for weather conditions
• bike was comfy
• 650B tires were ideal for all the rough pavement and gravel patches

Photo: John M. - Jeff, Tobin, Lazy and John @ the Secret Control....

The Bad

• shifting needed tweaking
• saddle needed tightening
• GPS route didn’t work
• lots of rough pavement needed my full attention [especially when drafting]
• low energy on the last part of the ride
• didn’t take many photos

The Ugly

• nothing! – sweet…=-)

Photo: John M. - ready to roll out of Control #3...

What I should do different next brevet?

• check out the bike a little more carefully [shifting, saddle, ect...]
• turn on GPS at home and load route to ensure it will navigate
• pack food that’s easy to eat on the bike [open some packages in advance]
• train hard – hahahaha…yeah right!

Photo: John M. - Let's get this party started!

Related Links:

• John McGillivary’s ride report [The Denman Randonneur]
• Martin’s Report [Ride Organizer]
• BC Rando event results page
• BC Rando ride info page

Route sheet and finisher's pin...

Why I ride…?

Slowing down to enjoy a sunset is so easy...

Riding a bike to get around has a lot of benefits. I was on my way to a pub this week when I took a few moments to appreciate the beautiful sunset on a bridge over the Gorge Waterway in Victoria, BC.

My trusty Bike Friday Tikit...always a good choice for urban rides...

Santa Cruz Custom Color Choice Program…

Loving the purple...

For some of its aluminum bikes Santa Cruz is now offering 12 custom colour options as well as 4  decals in 4 different colours and two finish choices. That rocks! I really like the purple and white Nomad combo shown above…with some white rims it would be killer…=-) There are two downsides to this program: cost [$300 for a FS bike] and extra time. There is often a long wait for a SC bike if you don’t want the colours in stock…having them paint a frame a custom colour will of course add more time to that process.

So many choices!

The white powder-coat on my Nomad is holding up well, but if I was starting over I’d be tempted to get a purple frame for some bling! These bikes last a long time so they are worth a little extra initial investment if a custom colour would make you smile.

When you are on the Santa Cruz site looking at a bike builder and see a CCCP box, like the one above next to the purple Nomad, just click on it to get choose a custom colour for your bike.

Typical Vancouver Island Winter Riding…

Click on image to jump to Pinkbike and watch video...

We don’t ride quite that fast or jump as big, but it’s pretty close…=-)~

Llama Trail – Sedona, AZ…

It's good to be back!

After a long, long, long drive we rolled into Sedona Sunday morning in time to have a delicious espresso at the Bike and Bean.  Not only do they have great coffee they are also the local Santa Cruz dealer. So I was able to get the spare derailleur hanger for my Nomad that was proving so elusive to source in Victoria.

Just follow this wiggly line...

We had a few hours to kill before we could checked in to our hotel. A fun shakedown ride was in order.

A-Man ready to ride....

We cranked across the highway to the Bell Rock Path and rolled north to Little Horse Trail. This isn’t hard riding, but Aaron and I are both fighting off colds not to mention our pitiful sea level lung capacities so there was some huffing and puffing.

Aaron staying legal...

It was a warm and sunny day with glorious singletrack spiced up just enough with rocky technical sections. It only takes 5 minutes of riding to remind you why the crazy long road trip was more than worth it.

Blue sky mine...

Little Horse Trail took us to a super fun ride down Llama Trail back towards the Bike and Bean. Fast curvy singletrack with bermed corners and traction galore. Pretty much the exact opposite of riding around Victoria!

Dusty...

I’m happy to report that all my technical suffering at the Hartland MTB Park has paid off with some displays of skill on the grippy rock steps and drops Sedona threw at us.

Crocs meet their match!

Crocs 0 - Thorn 1

I’m leaving these bad boys in Mexico where their lack of tread isn’t such a problem.Wet wooden decks and treadless Crocs are not a good match!

Yup that hurt!

 

Selle Anatomica Sale…

The colours of SA...

Rob turned me on to a SA Black Friday saddle sale. Steel Titanicos are 50% off. Not sure how long the sale will be on for.

New Surly Evil Rack…

Enough with the Surly Nice Rack..time for an Evil Rack!

I guess with Surly’s move to the darkside following the unleashing of the Necromancer Pugsley it makes sense they wouldn’t expect you to put a Surly Nice Rack on an undead bike so the fiendish minds at Surly came up with the Pink Devil Horn Pentagram Rack for Necromancer owners. That was too hard to type/say so they’ve called it the Evil Rack.

I’m not sure when they’ll be for sale, but their going for $333 each.

If this sounds too bizarre to be true it’s because I made the whole thing up. Click on the image to read the real story behind this cool rack, but don’t let the internet get boring so please spread an interesting story!

FatBike Outdoor TV…

Click on image to watch video....

It’s been a dirty summer…

Hartland MTB Park is our second home...

I lamented not going mountain biking as much as I wanted to last year. Well I got my wish this summer. We’ve been out to Hartland as much as 3 times per week and I bet we’ll fit in a 4 session week before the year is through.

The trails are world class and the park is free – well not free, but it was constructed and is maintained from our tax dollars.

Cranking up the rocks...

You’ll notice that all these photos are tagged with the blog URL. I don’t plan on doing this to every photo posted, but I wanted to try it out and see how it looked so that when I do have some photos I want to tag I’ll have an idea what to do.

Aaron adding air...

Aaron was discussing the pros and cons of riding a hardtail mountain bike. One of the key things is getting the air pressure in your tires correct as the rear is needed for both traction and a bit of suspension.

Good times...

I do miss the longer less technical trails in Alberta. I miss the sunshine because we are almost always deep in the forest at Hartland. When it’s slick after a rain I’m a crash monkey here in the rain forest. Having said all that I now have amazing mountain biking 10 minutes from my door and can ride 11 months of the year. That’s pretty cool. I also suspect that after riding all the wet techy trails here when I go to Alberta or Moab to ride I’ll be a stronger rider so that will be nice.

BC provides free trailside snacks!

We took a few breaks to catch our breathe and eat berries. If we got lazy the mosquito hordes reminded us we were here to bike!

Resting while the mozzies began to attack...

BF Tandem Traveller XL Update…

Parking the Bike Friday tandem takes some ingenuity...

It’s been a few months since the Raspberry Rocket showed up at our house so I thought I would take a moment to provide an update on our experiences with her. First off I should note that she is the only bicycle allowed to live in the house! Not just in the house, but in the dining room so it’s like we eat dinner with her every night…=-) She’s a bit too long to easily fit into our garage through the side door we use and we don’t want to leave her outside so she has the honours of being our only house bike.

Mechanically she has been perfect. I found the idea of assembling a box of tandem parts a bit daunting the first time, but following the Bike Friday instructions was easy and within 2 beers I had her rolling. Since that day I haven’t had to make any adjustments or work on her beyond tweaking the position of the bars. When I was doing my tandem research a few folks warned me that a folding tandem would be a headache to maintain and it would not be reliable for us. Having had great service from my other Bike Fridays I ignored those people [especially since they didn't own a folding tandem!!] and decided that I would just trust the fine folks in Eugene to build me another awesome bike. I’m glad I did.

I should note that ~30% of our riding is on dirt and gravel as well a long rough decked wooden bridge we tackle nearly every ride so this bike sees some bumps and abuse beyond buttery smooth pavement. We ride her like a bat out of hell or at least as close a replica to a bat out of hell as two middle age recreational cyclists can muster! Sharon loves passing people instead of being passed and I don’t mind the strange bewildered looks from other cyclists when they see a strangely shaped small wheeled pink and purple-ish beast go by..=-)

We ride the tandem for 80%+ of our rides together not counting dirt excusions to Hartland Mountain Bike Park. It just makes so much more sense for us to be on one machine where we can chat and stay together without any effort. We arrive at our destination in much better spirits and there has been no downside so far compared to riding two singles. Since we both do a fair bit of solo riding we each get to ride single bikes enough each week that it’s not like we have to choose to dedicate ourselves to the tandem 100% of the time in any case. The steel multi-part travel friendly frame is stiff enough that I can ride without thinking I’m on a tandem that fits into a suitcase and it has enough vertical compliance that combined with 40mm Greenspeed Scorcher tires we don’t slow down for lumps, bumps or other rough surfaces and we don’t get beat up. It’s a very impressive bike design given the challenges a tandem faces compared to two single bikes. Nice work Bike Friday!…=-)

The only problem we are having with the tandem is that Sharon is not adapting to drop bars well at all. We had to pull them from her Surly Cross Check commuter bike and we had to pull them from the tandem. I’ve swapped in some flat bars with bar ends I had lying around. If she likes them in general I’ll work on a flat bar setup we’ll keep for the long haul that gives her enough hand positions for all day comfort. It’s too bad that the drop bars can’t stay as they suit the bike and provide lots of hand positions, but we tried all sorts of variations in position, tape, padding and hood position with no success. Once I get a permanent solution I’ll post some photos of it.

 

It began with a KLR650…

Kawasaki KLR650...

I used to ride motorcycles. I spent about 15yrs on various bikes. My favourite was the one shown above – a Kawasaki KLR650. Interestingly I think this bike got me started in online review posting that eventually morphed into blogging. Back in the day I hacked around with HTML to build some basic sites and put my KLR650 related reviews on them. I found two that I think are my very first online reviews. I don’t know why somebody took the trouble to copy them and rehost them on a new site as I think the products must no longer be available, but I guess it might have some historic/archival value to folks who are into that sort of thing.

KLR650 Reviews:

• Touratech GPS mount review
• Touratech IMO 100R3

Sharon’s friend Laura wants to get a motorcycle and we went with her to look at them. I have to say I got a bit of stoke back for my old KLR650. They still make ‘em and they are still a killer deal for a fun versatile bike. I kept all my expensive KLR650 accessories [ie. Ortlieb motorcycle panniers] because I figured one day I’d get another bike. We’ll see how my will power holds out…=-)

It finally happened…=-(

So comfy - so tight!...=-(

I’ve been really careful not to let any of my lovely wool garments to make it into the dryer, but my streak of success came to an end today. One of my MEC LS wool tops that fit perfectly ended up in the dryer. Luckily I dry my clothes on low and for a short time so the top went from a perfect fit to a slightly tighter than I’d love fit. I can still wear the top as a layer under something else, but not by itself unless I want to show off my scrawny physique and beer belly!

So while I’m loving the wool on for how it feels and how it works, but this Achilles’ heel of shrinking it in the dryer is a real problem preventing me from getting 100% behind it.

Epic 2011 Fleche Report

Photo: from The Daily Randonneur...

I guess the weather was pretty epic on the east coast for the DC Rando Club’s fleche ride. The Daily Randonneur posted a report from Team Four Guys and Another Guy that is worth reading – just make sure you are warm and dry with a hot cup of tea first! Click on the image above to jump to the report.

Randonneur Light Rant…

Awesome a brighter bike light - just what we need!

The Curious Randonneur posted a fender rant recently which is a sentiment I fully share. I also would add flashing rear lights to the list of rando rants. I’ll give civilians a break because they may not have ever had to follow someone on their bike for a few hours who has a flashing ultra bright rear LED light. But, I would expect everyone on a brevet to know that a flashing rear light is hard on the eyes of everyone behind them and that in many cases the folks to the rear have no choice, but to follow them for a good while. Unless you are well and truly on your own please run your rear lights on steady.

One time you know you won’t be alone is at the start of a brevet where the group may spin along for 10-20kms before they split up and there will be many people behind you to enjoy your flashing light show.

I position my rear light below the seat so that I can toggle from steady to flash to off without missing a pedal stroke. That way if it gets dark and cloudy during the day I can turn on my light and then turn it off when I don’t need it.

BTW – flashing ultra bright LED front lights are equally irritating when looking into your rearview mirror at someone who is following you for mile upon mile.

Almost done!

I love towing through a marsh!

I’m nearly done…=-)! By the end of the week I will have hauled that 30-40lbs of gear a minimum of 40kms through snow, forest, marsh, uphill, downhill, across slopes, while it was snowing & raining, while the wind was howling, etc…

I just hope to God that there is some crossover fitness benefit for my upcoming brevets…well other than the ability to suffer while physically exerting yourself for long periods of time!…=-)

Bicycle Karma…

Photo: Axel Buhrmann from Flickr...

This great story was posted to the Randon Group recently by H.R. and shows how being a bike angel can pay off in unexpected ways…

“In 1996 at age 40 and weighing 487 pounds I had a heart attack. They wanted to do quadruple by-pass the next morning. Having also smoked for 25 years I knew I could not survive it. I opted not to have the surgery. To make a long story short – I stopped smoking that day completely and with the help of my bicycle – I lost 250 pounds over the next 18 months. I ran a couple marathons. I was released by my cardiologist 3 years after the attack. But I kept riding my bike.

On one group ride, the Cross Florida ride I ended up pulling a large group for miles.  I even had one rider come up to me near the end, after about 175 miles that day and ask me “do you take American Express” I always enjoyed pulling because I knew the benefits I was getting personally.

Again long story short. I ended up having a bout with lung cancer 10 years later.  Again I beat it – thank God.  But I stopped riding for a couple years with the distraction of the treatments.

Recently I decided to get back on my bike.  I worked myself up to thinking I was ready again for a century ride. I found one and registered. The day of the ride I did struggle after about 50 Miles. While at a sag stop, I was literally trying to decide whether to finish or not.  A rider came up to me and said “hey not sure if you remember me but you have pulled me 200 miles across the state of florida into that relentless head wind a couple of times a few years ago.”  It was Mr. American Express!  I told him how I was feeling that day and he said “if you want to ride on my wheel to the finish I will consider it an honor!” I did and I finished that ride.

It might not be today or this particular ride but someday you might need a bit of help. I consider cyclist a big family and just cannot understand the mentality of “get out of my space” between each other. Even from our selfish little brothers and sisters.

As my father would say. “Just play nice you all!”"

Seattle March 5th Weekend!

 

See you soon Seattle!

My plans for the SIR 100K populaire in Seattle on Saturday March 5th are on track.  I’ll be taking the ferry over from Victoria on Friday the 4th and leaving Monday the 7th in the morning.  If hooking up for the 100K or just for a coffee ride Sunday is of interest drop me a line and we’ll sort out the details.

 

SIR 100K Route Map...

Someone offered to let me stay with them in their place downtown, but I’ve managed to lose the contact info!!  If that offer is still open and you read this please drop me a line…=-)  Otherwise I’ll have to find a bike friendly hotel in Seattle.

Hollywood Sign Hike

Our goal...

My friend Christina Pasadena near the bottom...

The sign from behind...

These grasses are all over LA and are really beautiful...

Proof I made it to the top...

Meeting other hikers on the way down...

Christina givin'er...

Team Hollywood!

Westfalia Freaks?

1989 VW Westie...

On the off chance there are some readers that are VW freaks…how much would you pay for a VW Westfalia that:

• was in average condition
• 1989
• 250,000 miles
• as shown above

How much would you set aside to upgrade it to trouble free operation?  I’m assuming that would mean a rebuilt engine, new clutch and transmission.