A 400k brevet
As a charter member on the Island of Misfit Toys I'm doing a brevet series this spring; yesterday was the 400k. This one was held In New Jersey, starting in Hightstown. 4AM flag, so lights are a must: I run a Planet Superflash taillight, an Ixon battery-powered headlight and A Dinotte 400L strapped to my helmet for reading the cue sheet and powermeter. Coming via UPS: a new front wheel with a generator hub, built up by Rich at Wheelbuilders; he rolled the wheelset I'm on now and it's proven bombproof.
New sport, new toys, right?
One more thing: I'm as addicted to my powermeter as anyone in EN, dependent on the screen to tell me how I'm faring power-wise as well as time, distance, and temperature, not to mention critical pacing information. At 3:45 I looked down to see the bottom bracket sensor dangling from the chain, a severed cable telling a gruesome tale of woe. No options but to take the stance of Blanche DuBois: I would be dependent on the kindness of strangers. The cue sheet for this ride contained over 200 cues; all of then distance-related.
Man plans, God laughs.
40 of us rolled out in the rain; the guy who would eventually finish first jetted off the front right away, never to be seen again. A nice group formed right away; there were 12 of us mostly taking turns on the front. We all arrived at the first control (65 miles) together, a chaotic scene. I took care of all my details, looked around for someone else to ride with, and rolled out first with an older gentleman. We rode very easily together for an hour until we were caught by four faster riders; i joined them and their agreement: 1 minute pulls apeice, hold a tight paceline. We went fast!
The countryside was beautiful; perfectly flat farmland with superb soil; not a rock wall in sight. A remarkable variety and abundance of crops were being grown; I was in plant ID heaven! I live on an island so the opportunity to see new places and experience new roads is one of the big draws to brevets.
I kept slamming the salt caps and the food and the water; gotta keep the motor humming! The two times I had rough patches were both remedied by the application of calories, even though I didn't feel like eating at the time. For me, the essence of endurance athletics is working through low spots; it seems to happen to all of us.
After the turnaround the rising headwind became a divine tailwind; it felt like the Hand of God at our backs. Happiness is a randonneur homeward bound with a 10-15mph wind at his back!
As usual I'm the first one ready to leave controls; usually I ride on easily, eating and enjoying the rolling view until the speedy riders catch me and then off we go. With 75 miles to go this whittled down to one rider, an affable fellow named Tim. All the others had blown their aerobic loads too early and were slowing down, both over the road and in the controls. Tim and I were well matched; taking turns at the front, sharing navigation duties, alternately pulling and pushing each other along. Now mind you brevets are not races per se, but everyone pays attention to times and placings. We knew we were second and third on the course; at the last control with 38 miles to go I was desperate to be out of there quickly: I didn't want the following riders to catch up to us and get any "ideas". Tim begged me to wait for him; I relented and instantly regretted this: here they were! Dammit! Tim knew the score, packed up lickety-split and we hit the road, looking over our shoulders at the end of every long stretch, expecting to see those two guys catching us. Funky little rando games.
We knew we'd have to fire up our lights if we went much past 8:20PM so our goal was to finish before then; we were cooking right along, strong to the end. As usual at the end of any long endurance event, time and distance start to disconnect, compressing and expanding in odd and unexpected ways. 2.4 miles? We've been on the stretch for hours! Then, of course, the final home stretch is a happy blasting blur, suffused with triumph and relief. We rolled into the final control at 16:06 total ride time, a seriously fast time for a 400k. The guy in front of us? 13:45, a new course record by over an hour! Those two we were worried about finished 25 minutes behind us; a combination of us riding well and them fading led to this yawning gap.
I'm having loads of fun with this sporting diversion; I'll be back in NJ for the 600k in four weeks. Although I never rode more than 60 miles in training this winter the OS served me well. I joined the January OS crew and successfully completed the beginner's schedule; a boon to my middle-aged recovery systems. Hats off to RnP and the EN OS!
Comments
Well rode and well told, Bill
Sounds like you had fun and it felt like I was there with your telling of your adventure.
Tell us more about the generator hub front wheel once you get it.
Vince
That power generating hub is quite intriguing. How much does it weigh?
Yes, how much TSS???
Do you have a link to the race? Would love to see where you rode. You might have been in my backyard.
The power generating hub is Schmidt SonDelux, the current standard of excellence. It will power a Schmidt Edelux LED light; again, the current top o the heap. You can read all about this setup at Peter White's website.
I wore the same shorts I race IM in: Oomph Kialuah. I've owned 'em all, including Assos; the Oomph shorts work best for me. My old 1:1 coach turned me on to them; thanks KP!
The bike I use is a Cervelo R3, kludged into a brevet bike. A front rack clamped onto the carbon fork (horrors!) supports a Velo Orange canvas box. I also employ a big bento box. 28c Grand Bois tires run at 80-85psi are a fast, comfy setup. The crown jewel of comfort is the saddle; a Selle Anatomica. I also strap/clamp a frame pump to the rear bottle cage.
Nice work!
P
EN training will make you a killer in brevets; our ability to pace ourselves and be patient makes for real fun late in these rides; we're strong at the end!
I'll post a report on the 600k; with a 10pm start it'll be a real challenge.
Outstanding ride, outstanding report. This weekend during my run I finally did the math and converted 400k into miles...holy moly!
It sounds really fun, hmmm now you've got me thinking....
OK, I'm done thinking
Mike
Wow Bill, Super fun with your fitness on these brevets. Where were you in NJ, where is the next one? Nice report and thanks for sharing