As of last night, I'm averaging 200K per day for 2011. Thanks, everyone, for the brevet advice. As promised, here's the report.
The forecast was for rain all morning, SE wind 5-15 mph in the morning, rain stopping and wind dying down in the afternoon; almost ideal for an out-and-back that went northeast for the first half. I was worried about being cold and wet, so I packed up an extra pair of socks, a pair of gloves, and an spare wool undershirt (those Ibex woolies are *fantastic*). I also brought rain pants. I planned to wear an Ibex wooly undershirt, a jersey, a rain jacket, polarfleece tights over shorts, and wool socks with booties over them. For food I brought some brownie bites with peppermint patties in them, and a meat pie, plus a flask of gel. I overslept yesterday morning, so I had to rush to get out of the house. Luckily, I'd packed up everything the night before. In the rush, though, I probably didn't eat enough breakfast. I arrived in plenty of time, with a good chance to check out the other bikes. I didn't see any other Rivs, though I think there may have been an orange one I missed. Several riders had beautiful Steve Rex bikes. Several riders were using Rivish canvas handlebar bags, some with decaleurs. Oddly, about a third of the riders didn't have fenders, even though rain was predicted and it was in fact raining. Since it was raining steadily at the start, I donned the rain pants. I stopped a couple of times near the start of the ride, so ended up riding alone, but with a tailwind that didn't matter. The rain tailed off after about an hour, and the wind picked up. I was zipping right along, not working too hard. What a delight it was to ride an empty Highway 1. I stopped for a pitstop and snack just north of Pigeon Point, maybe 30 miles in, but didn't eat very much. Between Pescadero and San Gregorio I was catching up to a tandem. I had visions of that tandem being my new best friend on the way back into the wind, but then at the base of the hill just north of San Gregorio, I was feeling a little bonkish so I stopped for a peppermint, and I didn't see the tandem couple again. That hill is pesky-- it's only about three or four hundred feet, but it always seems more difficult that I think it should. Perhaps it always comes at a difficult time in a ride-. Usually I approach it after having climbed Page Mill, Haskins Hill and the two little hills on Stage Road, so I'm tired. There are three ways to climb it, and the one I was doing, north on Highway 1, is the easiest. Still, I was glad to summit and ride the rollers to Half Moon Bay. After Half Moon Bay, it was only a few miles to the turnaround. I reached the turnaround four hours in, feeling strong, and took the last parking spot at the end of the line-up of bikes stretched out along the wall of the market. I was hoping for hot soup or a tasty sandwich, but the convenience store had only nasty-looking premade sandwiches and no soup. I had a chocolate milk, a banana, a brownie bite and a couple of bites of meat pie-- not really enough. The people still left at the rest stop when I was ready to go looked strong, like I wouldn't be able to stay with them, so I headed out alone. It was tough. That happy dream of the wind dropping was a weatherliar's fantasy. The wind continued just as it had been all day, with whitecaps out on the ocean, only now I had to ride into it. I figured on stopping every fifteen miles on the way back. The first stop was a random beach, where I was the only one enjoying the cold windy picnic tables. I didn't linger, and again I didn't eat enough. My second stop was at Gazos Creek. I had just leaned my bike against the wall to go in the convenience store when I noticed a group of cyclists passing. I jumped back on the bike and with my last strength, bridged to join them. The benefit was obvious; I could sit in for a while and stop fighting the wind I'd been fighting for thirty miles. The cost became clear; I needed to eat and to get more water, but I didn't. But three angels riding Steve Rex bikes babysat me for the rest of the route, as I got weaker and weaker. We stopped in Davenport. One of the angels handed me a Coke. I slurped it down, but I was still draggling as one of my angels escorted me, slowly, to the end of the ride, ten and a half hours after I started. Reflections: The ride was harder than I expected, and the challenge was different. I expected to be cold and wet, but in fact it rained only for about the first hour, with a few sprinkles near the end. But the wind was tough. The main problem, though, was my (stupidly unrecognized at the time) lack of food. I didn't drink enough, and I didn't eat nearly enough. My stomach was hurting for the last twenty miles, and if I had had two brain cells to rub together I would have remembered *it always hurts when I have low blood sugar.* One problem was not having a setup where food was easily available when I was riding. With gloves on, I couldn't reach under my jacket into my jersey to get pocket food, and the rest of the food was in the saddlebag where I couldn't get it. The group consensus to fender the Roadeo was exactly right. It was the perfect bike for the task. My non-touring Atlantis seems like the obvious brevet bike, since, for example, it has a dynamo, and of course fenders, but right now I have the riding position on it set up more upright than I think optimal for a brevet. We have wind around here! So I need to fiddle the bikes around somehow. My clothing selection was perfect. I never wore the spare dry clothes, but if it had been rainier I would have, so in the same situation I'd bring them again. I used two Planet bike headlights mounted on the handlebar, a 2 watt and a half watt. They were fine-- but I was only in the dark for about three quarters of an hour, with no significant downhill, in a built up area with plenty of ambient light. For a brevet with more darkness, I'd use a dynamo. My Carradice saddlebag worked well, but I need something up forward to hold food so I can reach it while riding. It's a conundrum. I use a handlebar bag when touring, but I'm not a fan of the handling of the bike with a handlebar bag and not much else. Plus the bag blocks the light. I might make a banana bag, then use a dynamo light mounted at the fork crown. The brownie bites with peppermint patties inside turned out to be inviting-- I should have eaten more of them. The meat pie was also appealing, though I need to fix the crust so it's not so crumbly. Both of those foods will come with me on my next brevet. AND NEXT TIME I'LL EAT THEM. -- -- Anne Paulson My hovercraft is full of eels -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
