It had been nearly four weeks since my last ride. I had a command duty phone over Thanksgiving week (no riding with this phone and its associated briefcase) and then I had riding conflicts with either rain, cold, school programs or holiday parties. Regardless, I had let my friends know that NOTHING was going to stand in the way of finishing my R12 endeavor! Last weekend’s weather was forecast to be questionable with heavy rain on Saturday and light rain on Sunday morning. The forecast for the following weekend was not looking good*. I could either ride early in a little rain at 40-50 degrees or risk having a really crappy ride later in December. I opted for an early ride. So did four other riders, Brent, Jacob, Tom and Keith. Continue reading “R12 Success! Hertford-Edenton Permanent (128 mi)” →

The first weekend in November was beautiful! I was hesitant to hit the road for a permanent since I had been off the bike recovering from a knee injury for two weeks. I also felt I needed to get my legs back into shape before tackling a long ride. An initial proposal to start the ride at 6:00 am on a Saturday and a slight chill in the air were both playing head-games with me. Once the ride moved to Sunday at 7:00 am, I decided to join with short notice since the end of Daylight Savings Time would give me an extra hour of sleep before the ride. I also did not want to risk having to compete with upcoming holiday weekends and/or bad weather to achieve my R12 goal later in the month. I went to bed early and, when considering the time change, still awoke 30 minutes later than I normally do during the week. I even arrived to the starting point quite early. It was going to be a good day so long as my knees held up. Continue reading “Windsor-Woodland Permanent – Run #2 (126-mi)” →

I’m getting closer to my R12 goal. I didn’t make an attempt at a permanent on October 5/6 due to the Sea Gull Century. It was raining almost continuously for the next week or so. As a result, I opted to skip October 12-14. With only two weekends left in October, I knew I had to jump on even a less-than-desirable Saturday to knock out a perm. Rain was in the forecast; but thunderstorms were not. A rainy October ride seemed fitting since that’s how my very first permanent turned out last October. Brent, aka “RecumBrent,” was the only rider to accompany me. There are only three control points on this out-and-back route. The stop at Boykins Beans & Ice Cream was used twice. We had ridden through some heavy mist and even encountered wet roads. Mounting the fenders was a good move even though it did not rain. I snapped this radar image on my phone at our first stop in Boykins around 41 miles into the ride. Brent said he would have stayed home had he seen so much rain ahead of us. It seemed like a miracle that we weren’t drenched. We were headed almost due west toward Skippers, VA. The rain system was moving northeast which put us constantly in the dryer areas. We followed the rain as we returned east. However, the roads were dry for the rest of the day. Continue reading “Suffolk-Skippers 205 km (132 miles)” →

Although I’ve done a few big rides lately, my ride consistency has been lacking. I had ridden just three rides between the Two Rivers Perm on August 22 and this ride on September 15th. One of those rides was the Civil War Century. Although my local friends think I’m riding a lot, my saddle time has been really limited for a randonneur. Regardless, that was not going to stop my pursuit of an R-12. I planned this Sunday’s ride with good notice because my local bicycle club, Peninsula Bicycle Association, was hosting its annual Surry Century the day before. I had no plans to ride. Instead, I spent the day volunteering to support the ride. My Saturday/Sunday plan worked out well. In fact, it worked out better for a pair of co-riders. Jacob, Tom, Brent and I rode this run of the Wavorly-Smithfield Perm. Jacob and Tom rode a 400 km perm on Saturday, slept for about 4-5 hours and then joined Brent and me for this 200k. They are training for the upcoming 1200k Taste of Carolina grand randonee and needed to train under sleep-deprived conditions. Continue reading “Wavorly-Smithfield 209 km Permanent – Run #2 (130 miles)” →

It’s been a while since my last permanent. I’ve been fighting a skin problem along with a bad reaction to medication. However, I was insistent upon keeping my R12 endeavor alive. My weekends have been shot. So I planned a day of leave to ride the Two Rivers 207 km permanent on Thursday the 22nd. I chose this route because it’s relatively close to home and because I had not ridden it before. I was not fond of the prospect of riding in the hills. Still, I figured it was a worthwhile trade-off for being near home. I had the added benefit of a surprise guest rider, my cycling buddy Jennifer. We’ve ridden thousands of miles together over the past two years. She joined RUSA two weeks ago and was tackling her first perm. Carpooling and loading bikes took longer than I planned. We arrived at the starting control point in West Point, VA at 6:50 am. The route organizer met us to deliver our control cards (thanks, Tom!). Continue reading “Two Rivers 200k Permanent (129 mi)” →

It’s been a week since my third run of the Southern Sojourn 204 km permanent.  My new job has kept me focused on things other than blogging.  My first two runs were in October where I encountered plenty of rain and November where I rode mostly solo and in much cooler weather.  This run was in the heat with dry, ideal weather.  This was also my first time to ride this route on my Domane.  Three of us rode: Jacob, Keith and me.  We left promptly at 7 am.  I was hoping to keep up and was confident the warmer climate would help.  The most obvious difference between this ride and the others was the temperature.  I think it was in the upper 70’s when we left.  I wore summer attire and plenty of sunscreen.  It was very humid. Continue reading “Southern Sojourn Permanent – Run #3 (127-mi)” →

My attempt at a Super Randonneur award for 2013 did not end  successfully.  Sure, I could probably piece together another attempt by finding late season 400/600 km brevets.  But I’m starting a new job in July and may have large demands on my time, especially at first.  Therefore, I would rather wait, plan and make a new attempt in 2014.  That doesn’t mean I’ve abandoned my pursuit of an R-12.  Therefore, I had been waiting for a June permanent to be announced.  Sure enough, I saw an announcement to ride the newly-approved Wavorly-Smithfield route.  Despite a fantastic forecast, only three rode: Jacob, Ron and me.  This was also the “maiden permanent” of my new bike, a 2013 Trek Domane 4.5.  Continue reading “Inaugural Wavorly-Smithfield 209 km Permanent (130 miles)” →

I had been looking forward to riding in my first ACP event, the Tappahannock 200k, from Ashland, VA on February 16th.  It was rescheduled to the 23rd due to snow and ice.  The 23rd was still cold and rainy.  No snow, though.  The advice I received regarding how to dress for a cold, rainy event left me a bit apprehensive.  My winter wardrobe is limited, especially for my legs.  I didn’t want to find myself 100 miles from home, hypothermic, unable to complete the ride and in need of distant rescue from home.  Luckily, the local rando group opted to ride a 200k permanent the day after the Tappahannock 200k.  It was forecast to be much warmer with no rain after 10am.  I opted to make this ride instead of the ACP event.  I’ll have other chances to ride an ACP 200k.  To clarify for my non-rando friends, I must complete ACP-sanctioned events of 200km, 300km, 400km and 600km in order to complete the Super Randonneuring series.  Permanents do not count. Continue reading “Windsor-Woodland Permanent (Reverse, 126-mi)” →

I never imagined a time when I’d complete my year’s first century in JANUARY.  Forecasters were abuzz about the wonderful weekend ahead with temperatures in the 70s and almost no chance of rain.  What cyclist can resist riding on such a weekend?!  I rode 42 miles with Chuckatuck Chainring to loosen up on Saturday.  It was foggy and damp, but expected to warm to 67.  Then the fog got heavier and the roads got wetter.  We didn’t see the sun or dry roads.  The observed high was only 55 degrees.  “Curse you, Weatherman!”  Sunday’s inaugural Windsor-Woodland 203km permanent was forecast with a high of 70 degrees and almost no chance of rain.  I cleaned up my bike, lubed the chain and washed my gear.  You know the drill!  😉 Continue reading “Inaugural Windsor-Woodland Permanent (126-mi)” →

I had been off the bike for a couple of weeks due to rain and minor medical issues.  It was nice to get another ride toward an R-12 award on November 4th.  Jacob Anderson was leading his 204-km Southern Sojourn.  The weather was clear but cold at 40-degrees.  I figured this was a good chance to try the ride again without the rain.  🙂  It was also a great opportunity to shake down my new handlebar bag, run my lighting system, and to try dressing appropriately before the weather was too cold to manage any clothing selection mistakes.  I wore tights, knee warmers, toe warmers, two summer jerseys, arm warmers, and a lightweight jacket.  I thought it was too much.  But I was initially cold and then warmed up… just the way it’s supposed to work. Continue reading “Southern Sojourn Permanent – Run #2 (127-mi)” →