Another "double century" thread.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

I don't want to hijack Wayner's double century thread, so here it goes.

I signed up for this:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/31456094?fbclid=IwAR26Q1o1L7WwNTwsTfifZ1X-yXq4ap4gYIfJpWQg7sypKeNUm68KyzuPLX0

212 miles, 18,000 feet of climbing.

I've ridden a bunch. Century? No problemo. Double century? On gravel? - This is new territory.

First order of business: Choosing a bike (and a strategy)

What do I ride?

1.Pee Wee Herman's big green adventure machine:


Pro's/cons:
It's the coolest freaking thing in the universe, and if I ride it, I will be the coolest rider in the pack. Very comfortable. Very slow. It can carry the kitchen sink, and it will need to... since it will make this a 3 day journey (and that's pushing it).
I rode it 60 miles yesterday, 6000 feet, at about 7mph ave over 7 hours of riding. This is long and heavy tour. The guy who wants to ride with me will be in this category. This bike would mean using campgrounds, sleeping on roots, and bringing my own wine. If this is a three day ride, I will need 2 bottles of wine, a way to transport them without the bottles breaking, and bringing all my own food, tents, sleeping bags, etc... This bike speaks to a slower happy pace, bob marley music, and sitting up, smiling, and enjoying the view.

Vs...

2.(I've never enjoyed the view....and hot showers rule... so....eff' it)
Gulf blue racing machine:



It's got the gulf blue, which adds several mph, and I can add some orange for even more speed.

Pro's / Con's- Pro's- This makes the course FAST. It drops 20 minutes off a nearby 4 mile 1700ft. climb compared to the pee wee herman bike. I won't be the coolest, but it will be fast. Fast speaks to my (biking) nature. I will be smiling because I will be kicking arse. It will make this race two days instead of three. It allows me to credit card tour by getting me to some bed and breakfast's at about 120 miles in on the first day travelling light (which means a good sleep). Credit cards are light. Hotels have "continental breakfast's" and such. Also- WARM SHOWERS!!

Cons- I've got to get 120 on day one to get to the B&B's to not pack gear and stay light. My racing companion will not be able to do this (and perhaps not me either!) , but in the end, most of these rides are solitary measures. It speaks to my competitive nature of self torment and suffering.

Both of these tormenting 1st world options will be discussed tomorrow night with some other riders over a beer after work. PPOT Input appreciated.
This thread also chimes into new year's weight loss programs and such. I will need to drop 15 lbs by this summer.

Either way, the gauntlet has been thrown. No turning back now!

[rwest]

Just another thought, plodding along on the heavy bike going that slow will mean that coasting is almost impossible, since stopping pedaling would put you at falling over speeds. It will turn the ride into a “death march” with no pedaling breaks.

120 should be no problem in a long day with your speed machine and that hot shower and soft bed will be heaven.

Good luck on your ride.

[herr_oberst]

You're going to have a good time no matter what...

My friend Maria has ridden the 200-mile Seattle to Portland lots of times. She's done the one day, the two day, the one day on a titanium road bike and the one day on a steel single speed, two days on a three speed, yadda yadda.

I guess my point is, you can do it more than once! And you have bike options!

Make a list of the good points of each (speed vs companionship, ruddy adventure vs homogenized status quo, recon vs record, mileage anxiety vs relaxed and ambivalent)
There is no wrong way to approach this event, either way you'll have fun.

(Did you do your sixty miles with any test gear in those panniers, or just water and a few power bars?)

[greglepore]

Uhhh. That's inconceivable. Stupid even
Borrow my Slate. Its faster than your touring bike, and has a mtn bike lefty fork. You'll thank me.

Seriously, while I appreciate the challenge, I think ultras are foolish in that they likely take way too long to recover from and set you up for afib late in life.
Anyway, I'm nearby and will provide any support you want. Even if I think its a dumbass idea.

[aigel]

Just skip the booze, in preparation and on the ride. It will only slow you down!

I would not do that event on that touring truck. No way. I have that type of steel touring bike for commuting and know how much slower it is than my classic road bike.

120 miles should be doable on day one. Just pace your effort, some people use a HR monitor and stay under a certain HR threshold. And I agree, you can start with your buddy but in the end it is better to go your own pace unless you have a closely matched partner. It is a supported event, so it isn't like a hike in the wilderness where you need to cover for each other. I dropped my buddy on the Death Ride a couple years ago because I was worried about running out of time. Which is exactly what he ended up doing.

Keep us posted. It sounds like a challenging event. It is great to plan on something to have to train for. You'll train a lot harder knowing you have to get fit!

G

[ckelly78z]

I was just about to suggest a nice 2 qt insulated thermos (unbreakable) for the PeeWee Herman bike, but the Golf Blue plan initially sounds more difficult, but easier in the long run...mmmm, hot shower, and breakfast rather than a wet forest floor.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Hello folks!
Just got back from meeting with some other riders.

They had some good feedback.

I pitched the idea of going 120 the first day to land in a real hotel (bed and breakfast actually). They were into the lightweight concept, and it didn't receive a lot of eye rolling either.

They pitched the idea of breaking it up into a 70/70/70 ride. The first night would be camping out, but the second night puts us strategically in a (large for WV) town with real hotels and better food options.

Between the two ideas, we merged a tenative strategy of shooting for the 70 as a known safety stop. If feeling good, we could shoot for the 120 on the first day. All the riders were dealing with the same first world problem-deciding between Lightweight gravel bike vs. paired down heavier touring bike.

The next order of business is riding the lower 50 miles of the course to get a better feel for the flow. I think once we've done that, we'll have a better idea of strategy.

I learned a lot from the other riders. While I might be the stronger rider, they have WAY more camping experience and know how.

There is also an EXTENDED version of the Extended version which is about 225 miles. This might give the stronger riders and opportunity to go longer, while the slower folks go shorter, and we all meet up at the same spots at the end of the day.

Aigel, you're right on the booze. They will have some flask, but I'm not into that. The only thing I would want is wine, and that's too heavy, so unless it's at the finish line, it's pretty much out.

Greg- Thanks for the offer! Laugh out loud- Yeah, I'm waiting for A-FIB any day now. My dad had it, and I've been checked out for it twice so far. They just keep telling me I'm okay, and I'm like- "Well, when the big one hit's I will die chuckling 'told ya so!'"

Herr/rwest. The bike was loaded with a moderate amount of crap. If I took it, I'd need to load it with about the same amount of more pertinent crap. It was at least 50-70 lbs. I need to go weigh it. It really is true, the thing is slow. Something about mass. Regardless of gravity, mass takes energy to accelerate. It just doesn't want to accelerate, even on downhills. After the ride, my knees were spent. I pay a lot of attention to that. Usually that's just a setup issue, but I couldn't pin it down. If I take that bike, I need to work that out, otherwise a great way to trash my joints. I begin to fall over at anything slower than 2.5 mph.

A big part of the fun is mulling over the possibilities. A big ride like this puts the entire year into context. I can't wait!
(p-s- I dropped the Diverge off at the LBS for a warranty issue on the ultegra shifters- so it's out for a week or two)- So tomorrow's ride will be the pee wee barcalounger again. I'm planning on doing a ride with some roadies tomorrow. They tend to go easy, so if I'm working hard to keep up, everyone should be happy!

[greglepore]

y'all need a sag, shoot, I'm sorta local. I board horses in Free Union, c'mon up and ride simmons gap with me anytime.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Originally Posted by greglepore

y'all need a sag, shoot, I'm sorta local. I board horses in Free Union, c'mon up and ride simmons gap with me anytime.

I hear there are vicious rodents that eat through piping in Free union!

I used to do the sat Free union / Boonesville/Whitehall ride out of c-ville many moons ago. Always a good time.

Is Simmon's gap accessible to go all the way up to the parkway? You got me googling. The upper section looks lightly used on the Stava heatmap, as if there are two or three "stealthers" out there sneaking up it.

If so, that would make a great ride. Crozet-Jarmans Gap- North on parkway- Simmons gap- south back to Whitehall - Crozet (or vice versa).

[greglepore]

Not sure, I know Fortuna ran a gravel ride most of the way up a couple weeks ago out of Blue Ridge school...we should check it out on a day off. My usual gravel loop is out Fox Mountain to Browns Gap/Boonesville then over Schifflets Mill.

Rodents are in Ivy...hopefully no more. Looks like it was a rat or two entering through a section of downspout that was used as a plumbing chase for ac lines-it was filled with spray foam but they make short work of that. Its now filled with that stainless wool excluder.

[mepstein]

3 days makes it a nice chatty affair with your friends. When I used to race and train with my friends, the miles flew by. Why do an organized group ride if you are going to end up riding on your own. If you don't like to camp, have a non riding friend meet you with a camper or motorhome.

[red-beard]

I suggest you find a girlfriend/boyfriend with a van who willing to haul gear.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

An update to my little thread.

I think these things are more about the journey.

Last week- family went to Bryce ski resort. Got to ski with my 8 year old daughter, show her some 1980's moves, and instead of driving home, rode home on the old bike.... (make that the NEW bike) 100+ miles started at 6:45 (daylight)- 21 degrees... an hour later SUNRISE over the MTN... south to a second ski resort (massanuntten) and on to sunset at about 5:45...
Complete adventure:




Happened upon this little (huge) 19th century gem, which (somehow) has not burnt over the passage of time.....

[LEAKYSEALS951]

After the second ski resort, headed south on skyline, past Simmons gap (Greg Lepore's road- see below) and to crozet.
In 2015/ 2016 there was a huge fire here- all trees burnt and silver/black. Undergrowth in red....camera did not do justice...




Nobody gets this pic on my little FB page, but the trees/rocks here are not like Va, up on the mtn, they are more like some place in the west, not a temperate east coast forest.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Still ( a little ) wandering between bikes- This- the barcalounger/ family truckster up above harrisonburg on superbowl sunday- on ice- on slicks.

It did just fine!


here's another of the truckster...




in alhambra south of devil's backbone...


And another of the new bike over Lexington Va (covered in clouds)




Riders from Liberty University (from Lynchburg, Va were along the ride)... This is riders from across the state touching in the middle....

some of the most interesting rides, weren't rides at all- so much as walks...




These aren't even roads.. not even on maps... Just old forest roads covered in ice.

Fun stuff.

Get out and ride.

R

[masraum]

Nice!