A Brief Hiatus

If you have been following this blog for any length of time, you know that the Waynesville, N.C. Adventure begins tomorrow. I’m going. I’m not taking a computer. I know! There are others who post while on cycling events. Some of them even post while on the bike. (Yikes!) I am not one of these. Posts to this blog will return on Monday, 5 October.

At the core, I am a cyclist. It’s all about riding. I don’t encourage cell phones, computers, or music playing devices on the bike. When I ride, I want to ride, undistracted by other “stuff.” I find the world far too fascinating and do not feel the need of distraction or “entertainment,” while riding.

I’m really looking forward to this, to riding the roads, the long climbs, the terrific descents, the vistas, and the camaraderie with few stout hearted friends.

So, to the mountains! Perhaps some of us will meet “on the road.” If so, all to the good.

To all of you, for the next four days, Bon chance, bon courage, et bon route!

Nights Under Lights

Sooner or later, every tourist, endurance cyclist, or utility cyclist is going to find themselves out after dark. Some events just about make this impossible to avoid. Some tour legs are difficult to complete during daylight hours. This is particularly true during late Autumn, Winter, and early Spring.

Then too, there is the unexpected. I mind a time I was doing a fairly simple leg. It was mountainous country, but the plan for the day was a leg of mostly valley riding, and only about 80 miles. Then I got lost. (this was before GPS) Then I had a flat. Make that two flats. The chain broke while I was climbing the mountain that shouldn’t have been there. I found a nice little tavern, and stopped for a late lunch. I met some nice people. Lunch ran long. I needed a nap. I slept for about four hours. (I’d only intended to catch a one hour nap.) I took another wrong turn, and didn’t realize it until the road, first became dirt, and then ended. This after about a ten mile trek, thus adding another 20 miles to an already long day.

By the time I was back on course, it was getting dusky. I’d had fourteen hours of good daylight available, and had estimated a total time on route of about seven to eight hours. I was still 20 or so miles away from my intended overnight stop, and it was in the middle of nowhere.

Boy was I glad I had lights!

More importantly, I was glad I was familiar with riding at night with lights. Make that, headlights, tail lights, reflective vest, reflective ankle bands, and a helmet light to read my map with.

It’s a good skill to master. Besides, it increases your capabilities as a cyclist.

Nights Under Lights will start soon. We’ll probably start with some Tuesday night rides of about an hour. These will start at about 7:00 PM. Keep watching this space for dates. We’ll do some shorter evening rides to start with. Then we’ll mix in a few Dawn Patrols. We’ll stick together on these rides. Safety in numbers.

Requirements: You must have a reglective vest or sash. You must have reflective ankle bands. You must have a good, bright tail light. You must have a good headlight. (Remember, stopping distance should never exceed visibility.) You must be wearing a helmet. Dress for the weather.

This should be fun.

Randonnuering Anyone?

I’ve mentioned the 2010 Randonnuerring season and semi local rides as possible activities. This post will address that in a brief way.

There is an old joke that goes like this. You can do three things on a bike; Have fun, go fast, carry a lot of stuff. Pick two. The idea of Randonnuering seems to be that you can negate that statement. Randonnuerring is all about self supported touring, usually with a time limit. So high speed, self supported touring. Going fast (kind of), while carrying a lot of stuff (sort of), and having fun doing it (usually).

There are many types of Randonnuering Events and activities. For a lot more information on the topic, please go to the official Randonnuers USA site at

http://www.rusa.org/index.html

It should be noted, there is a peculiarity about the scheduling of sanctioned brevets and other “Rando” events. Schedules of events are put together and submitted for approval in October. So each Regional Brevet Administrator, or RBA, will be able to post the events they are hosting in late October.

At this writing, there are two very decent series available to us. These are the Audax Atlanta series, hosted in the Atlanta and Augusta areas. Information on them is available at

http://www.audaxatlanta.com/

Likewise, there is a very nice series in the Gainesville, Florida area. For information on it, go to,

http://gainesvillecyclingclub.org/

Hope that gives you all something to think on and dream about.

More on the Future

In my last post I mentioned some upcoming events and activities. Here’s a bit more on some of them.

The Cheaha Fall Colors Ride: Date to be announced soon. This won’t be a tour, in the strict sense. We will drive to a rally point in Alabama, and then ride to the summit of Cheaha. We’ll enjoy the summit, refresh ourselves, and then ride back to the rally point. Pace will be, “whatever gets it done.” We won’t have to stick together, but we won’t leave anyone out there.

Triple Gap (or Fort Mountain) Ride:

Here are two possibilities, we only get to do one. I’m planning to do one or the other of these on an upcoming, mid October, Thursday.

Triple Gap:

We drive to Dahlonega and meet at a rally point. We start riding at 9:00 AM. We do the “south triple,” consisting of Neels Gap, Wolfpen Gap, and Woody Gap. It’s about 53 miles, with a gain of close to 6,000 feet.. We go in almost any weather. (We’ll cancel if it looks like snow, or violent weather.) We will likely stop briefly in Suches, before the last climb.

Fort Mountain:

Start finish is in Elijay. This one is an out-and-back. We start riding in Elijay (about 100 miles from PTC), go over Fort Mountain, descend to Chatsworth, take a break, then return the same way we came out. It’s spectacular scenery, with fairly light traffic. A side trip into Fort Mountain State Park is possible. Distance is about 50 miles with close to 6,000 feet of gain.

Nights Under Lights:

Let’s get some night riding done! We’ll do some weeknight road riding, likely

Around 7:30 to 8:00 for starts, and do one to two hours of riding. We’ll also bring back the popular (with some of us crazies) Dawn Patrols. The Dawn Patrols start early hours of Sunday mornings. We’re out for between three and five hours. We time it so we make a coffee stop at dawn, and get back to the start for breakfast about 8:30. We start/finish these at either the IHOP in Fayetteville, or the Pancake House in PTC.

We’ll be announcing times and dates for all of these soon.

Ride when you can, stay safe, be happy.

The Shape of Things to Come

Tourists, Randonnuers, Longriders, Utility Cyclists, the season ends, and the season begins!

What’s coming?

• The Waynesville, N.C. Four Day Tour
• Cheaha Fall Colors Ride
• Triple Gap Ride
• Nights Under Lights
• Penance 100
• Winter Training
• Tundra Time Trial
• The 2010 Randonnuering and Brevet Season
• Spring Audax Ride

It’s been a while since I posted to this blog. That changes now. It’s time, and past time to think about what we’re going to do this Winter, next Spring, and next Summer. The list above should give you some ideas about where we’re heading.

For now, I’m just going to put up a few words on a couple of these.

The Waynesville Four Day Tour is going. We’re going to be a small group, much smaller than I’d hoped. We are, however, going! Sorry, it’s a bit too late to join at this juncture. Reservations have been booked, plans made. Watch this space for ride reports.

The Cheaha Fall Colors Ride: Date to be announced soon. This won’t be a tour, in the strict sense. We will drive to a rally point in Alabama, and then ride to the summit of Cheaha. We’ll enjoy the summit, refresh ourselves, and then ride back to the rally point. Pace will be, “whatever gets it done.” We won’t have to stick together, but we won’t leave anyone out there.

Penance Ride: This one is to keep us honest. It goes on January 1, 2010. That’s a Friday. We’ll leave PTC, ride to Pine Mountain (the town), ride over Pine Mountain (the mountain), through Warm Springs, and back home. It’s a full 100 miles, on the first day of the year. Pace is, “Get it done before dark!”

I’ll be putting up more info on the other activities, and on training, bike selection, touring tips and tricks, lighting and night riding, and much more. Stay tuned, and enjoy the fall weather.

I hate to Nag

Honest I do. On the other hand, I am either to assume that a bunch of you are seriously procratinating, or that you aren't going along on the Waynesville N.C. Four Day Tour.

For logistics reasons, I need to know if you are planning to go. The deadline for this is tomorrow, Wednesday, September 9, 2009, at 5:00 PM. I'll be in the shop until then. You can email me. If it's there, I'll acknowledge it. If not, you aren't on board.

Now that that's over with... Let's talk about something a bit closer. This weekend is, of course, the Cox Atlanta Bike MS event. I can hardly wait. Good food. Great riding. Astonishing support. And those of us with a touring bent can look at this as a training ride with training wheels. Do 100 miles on Saturday. Get up on Sunday and tackle the 60 mile route. Don't worry if things aren't going well. You can always bail, rely on the numerous SAG drivers, plentiful, awesomely stocked rest stops, and beyond compare support.

Honest folks, it's a Rolls Royce grade event. And it supports a valuable cause. MS is an autoimmune disease. Too many precious and valuable people gradually lose the use of their bodies to this progressive disease. We need to stop this thing!

So come one down. It's going to be a wonderful weekend bicycle ride party with a few thousand of your closest personal friends.

See you there!

Tour Test Ride Report and Touring Update:

A good Labor Day all.

It is now about two and a half weeks until we leave for the Waynesville N.C. Four Day Tour.  Time is short.  Are you going?

Yesterday we rode the Tour Test Ride.  We used the Audax 65 Mile Tune Up route.  This was chosen for its hilly nature.  Before going on, I must confess, this ride is a lot more fun on a light bike!

About the ride itself, what can I say.  The weather was wonderful.  Warm, but not hot, with a sky dotted with just enough high clouds to be interesting and pleasing.  We had gentle breezes and only a bit of traffic near Peachtree City.  In short, almost perfect conditions.

I have not heard much in the way of folks confirming interest in this tour.  Perhaps you are all focusing on the Bike MS event next weekend?  At any rate, it’s time to step up, or let the ride go by.  I am ready to make reservations at the Dillard House for the second overnight stop, and I need to know how many cue sheets to prepare, etc.  Please do let me know if you are planning to go on this tour.

I am puzzled about the lack of contact from potential riders.  Is it the mountainous terrain?  Or are we having difficulty recruiting support drivers?  I would appreciate some feedback, even if it is negative.

Have a good, happy, and safe Labor Day, and do let me hear from you.

Packing for the Tour

My apologies for not getting this out yesterday.  I had a classic.  One of my cats decided that the DSL data line would be better if it weren’t connected.  The fact that this occurred coincidentally with my making some modem and router connection changes led to a long and erroneous troubleshooting.  Oops!

 Here are the basic principles to remember as you begin your packing for the Waynesville, N.C. Four Day Tour.

·      It will be early Autumn.

·      We will be riding at elevation ~ sometimes in the 4,000 to 6,000 foot above sea level range.

·      We will be riding in the southern Great Smoky Mountains.

·      Expect at least one rainy day.

·      We are being supported by drivers carrying the luggage.

If you combine those first three points, you can roughly translate them to this,  “Prepare for anything.”

It could be warm and sunny, it could be cool, it could be cloudy, it might rain.  We could see all of this on the same day.  I don’t think snow is very likely.

Generally, in that region, at that time of year, it’s fairly dry and sunny.  The norm is overnight lows in the upper 50s to low 60s, with day time highs in the mid 70s.

Our plan has us riding during daylight hours, but I would recommend a good strong tail light on general principles.

Think Layers:

When planning for any given day, a combination of arm warmers, a wind vest, a rain shell, and possibly leg or knee warmers makes a lot of sense.

A Few things you might bring:

• Light tights
  
• One long sleeved jersey
  
• Wind jacket
  
• Rain jacket
  
• Hat with a bill (can be worn under helmet in rain
  
• Helmet cover
  
• Wool socks
  
• A hat that can be worn under your helmet
  
• A pair of light full fingered gloves
  
• At least one more pair of shorts than you think you will need
  
• Spare pair of cycling shoes
  
• A cue sheet holder
  
• Zip lock baggies
  
• Shorts lube
  
• Sucreen
  
• Camera

To dry wet cycling clothing quickly,  first fold the item as small as possible and and squeeze out most of the water.  Then open I tup and lay it our flat on a towel.  Roll it tightly inside the towel, and wring the towel.  Finally hang the damp item overnight.

To pack cycling clothing very compactly, first roll it up tightly.  Then place in an appropriate sized zip lock baggie.  Insert the crevice tool of a vacuum cleaner in the baggie and zip it mostly closed.  Use the vacuum cleaner to pull the air out of the clothing and the baggie, and then pull the tool out, while the vacuum is still running. Finish closing the baggie.

Give some thought to the idea of carrying extra clothing on the bike.  We are planning to do this on lighter bikes, but you will need to have some way to carry rain shells, arm warmers, etc while riding.  Likely, you won’t want to be wearing everything you carry at any one time.  A very light, small back pack could be the answer.  Possibly you have a very capacious seat pack.  Do consider it.

On Monday:  A Ride Report and an Update

Odds N Ends

Allow me to clear up a misconception.  This coming Sunday is The Touring Test Ride.  However, this ride is optional.  It is not a requirement for this Waynesville tour.  We’re doing it solely as a means of preparing and testing our readiness.  Participation is completely at your discretion.

Touring Test Ride Details:Start/Finish:  Bicycles Unlimited, Peachtree City, GA

Start Time:  11:00

Date:  Sunday 6 September

Distance:  65 miles

Route Conditons:  Mostly semi-rural roads.  Hilly terrain.

Ride Conditions:  Go in any weather.

Pace:  Touring.  Fast enough to get it done, but relaxed enough to allow group to stay connected.

Notes:

Weather outlook for Sunday is partly cloudy with a high in the mid 80s, and only a 10% rain chance.  Looks pretty good.  Plan to bring clothing appropriate to cover the full range of passible conditions.  Carry some cash for the stops. You will need more water than is easily carried, and you may want a munchie along the way.  Expect to stop at approximately 15 and 40 miles.  We may stop more frequently if needed, but we’d prefer to keep moving steadily.

Planned stops for the Waynesville, N.C. Four Day Tour.

These are the locations of the stop points and Rally Points for the Tour.  Note:  I’ll have exact driving directions for our SAG drivers before we depart.  I’ll also make cue sheets available to all riders, at the beginning of the trip.

Day One:

Break/Lunch  Veterans Memorial Blvd and Maple St.  Cumming, GA

End of day Rally Point  Court Square    Dahlonega, GA

Day Two:

Break/Lunch  Yonah St and Unicoi Tpke.  Helen, GA

Break/Lunch  441 conn and Old 441   Tiger, GA

End of day Rally Point  Dillard House.  Franklin St.  Dillard, GA

Day Three:

Break  Depot St and Main St.  Franklin, NC

Break/Lunch  Shulman St and Savanha Rd.  Sylva, NC

Day Four

Start/Finish  Allens Creek Rd. and Main St  Waynesville, NC

Break  Water Rock Knob, Blue Ridge Pkwy

Housekeeping Note:  It would be good if we could have a Driver’s Meeting between me and prospective SAG drivers.  I’d like to do this sometime during the week of September 2 – 26.  My intentions is to keep it very brief.  I can hand out driving directions, and answer any questions or concerns. 

Further, if you have a prospective driver who needs info, please have them contact me.  I’ll be happy to answer any questions they might have.

Tomorrow:  Tips on packing for the Tour

The Itinerary & Other Details:

For Let’s dream a bit.  To help with that, below is an itinerary for the Waynesville N.C. Tour.

Day One, Thursday 1 Oct:

Features ~  Escape from Atlanta.  Rural north Georgia.  Appraoch to the Southern Smoky Mountains.  As the day progresses we will encounter increasingly more scenic vistas.  Yes, it’s hilly, but we continue to leave the city and the traffic behind us.

09:00  Leave Bicycles Unlimited at a civilized hour

10:30 12.9 miles   board MARTA at College Park

11:30 Depart MARTA at Sandy Springs

13:30  27.9 miles    Lunch in Cumming, GA

14:30 Depart Cumming

17:00  32.0 miles    Arrive Dahlonega, GA Rally Point

Total Day Milage = 72.8

Dinner and overnight lodging individual responsibility

Day Two, Friday 2 Oct:

Features ~ We’re traveling through the mountains, but not over them.  We do encounter some significant climbs.  The run along Seed Lake and Lake Burton is spectacular.  After Tiger, we are in decidedly more rural and more scenic country.

09:00  Assemble at Dahlonega Rally point

09:15  Depart Dahlonega

11:45  30,0 miles    Helen, GA  Break

12:45  Depart Helen

15:15  31.0 miles   Tiger, GA  Break

15:45  Depart Tiger

17:00  11.0 miles   Arrive Dillard Rally point (The Dillard House)

Total Day milage = 72.0

Dinner and overnight lodging individual responsibility, but strongly suggest Dillard House

Day Three, Saturday 3 Oct:

Features ~   We enter North Carolina.  Several significant climbs today, along with an honest gap climb as we cross Balsam Gap to reach Sylva.  It’s a pretty good descent from there into Waynesville.  We’re enjoying the beauty of the Highlands and Cashiers mountain region.

09:00  Assemble at Dillard Rally point

09:15 Depart Dillard

11:00  (Approximate)  Franklin, GA  Break

12:00 Depart Franklin

14:30 Sylva, N.C.  Break

14:45 Depart Sylva

16:45  Arrive Waynesville, N.C. Rally Point

Total Day milage = 62.0

Dinner and overnight lodging individual responsibility

Day Four, Sunday 4 Oct (bonus ride):

Features ~   We leave Waynesville and ascend Balsam Gap.  Once in the gap we turn onto the Blue Ridge Parkway and go south to Water Rock Knob.  “The Knob” is the highest point on the Parkway.  This is a fifteen mile climb.  At the “Knob” we have a 270 degree view of the Smokies.  We break here.  From here it’s fifteen miles of quality descending back to Waynesville.  Wow!

09:00 Assemble at Waynesville Rally point

09:00 Depart Waynesville for Water Rock Knob

11:00  15 miles   Arrive Water Rock Knob, Break

12:00  Depart Water Rock Knob

13:00  15 miles   Arrive Waynesville Rally Point

Total Day milage = 30.0

13:15 Split up and and motor vehicle return to home.  (Trip back is approximately four hours.)

NOTES: 

·      All times are approximate.  These will depend on our actual, on road progress.  It should be noted that we’re allowing ample time for the terrain.

·      We can stop as needed to replenish supplies, but we really need to keep stops to a minimum.

·      Carry at least two water bottles, three would be better.

·      Be prepared to dress for a little cooler temps.  It will not be as warm at the higher elevations, and the descents can make temps feel kind of brisk.

Lodging & Dining Information:

Dahlonega, GA

            Use this site to find hotel and dining. http://www.dahlonega.org/

Navigate the “Where to stay” and “Where to Dine” buttons

Dining opportunities abound.  I recommend Caruso’s for some great Italian post ride food.  (Their fettuccini al fredo is superb!)

Dillard, GA

            I strongly recommend the Dillard House. Use this site to find out more… 

http://www.dillardhouse.com/   Their restaurant serves both dinner and breakfast.  You won’t need a menu, and you won’t go hungry.  It’s an experience.  One of my favorites.

Use this site to find other lodging in Dillard. http://www.visitdillard.com/index.html

Navigate the”Merchants” button.

Waynesville, N.C.

            Use this site to find lodging in Waynesville. http://www.waynesville.com/   Navigate the “lodging” button.  I suggest that you keep your lodging choices near the center of town, say within a few miles of the intersection of US-276 and Main St.

Dining is readily available all over Waynesville.  The choices range from modest to spectacular.  One establishment you might otherwise miss is Maggie’s Galley.  The locals eat there.  It’s often a bit crowded but well worth the short wait.  They have great sea food, an absolutely killer chowder, and their twice baked potato is to die for.  Oh yes, and absolutely deadly deserts.

Tomorrow, I’ll post info on specific locations for rally points in each of the lunch/break, and overnight stops.

Waynesville Tour Bike Suggestions:

The basic idea of this trip is a semi-supported multi-day tour.  The “supported” part means we recruit a few folks to drive motor vehicles that carry the luggage.  That means we don’t have to pack the whole load ourselves.  That means we can ride lighter bikes, with only the minimal gear needed on the road that day.

 Why minimal gear?  Well, we don’t want the support vehicles to shadow us all the way.  Support drivers will be free to travel on their own.  They would meet us at a pre-arranged lunch stop, and at the overnight rally points.  Otherwise, they can play tourist, and we can ride.

Without the support vehicles riding in close support, we will need to carry the daily essentials.  That means rain jackets, minimal tools and spares, cash, and little else.

That all adds up to a much lighter bike requirement.  I would actually recommend riding something that is pretty light.  Each day’s legs are only about 65 miles long.  So absolute comfort is not essential, and carrying capacity is not a priority.

What I would recommend, strongly, is something with good climbing gears.

The first day, from here to Dahlonega, with a trip through Atlanta on MARTA, will be surprising.  Locally, it’s not too hilly.  From the north side of Atlanta, through Cumming, and on up to Dahlonega, is mostly up hill.  The last leg, up Auraria Rd, and into Dahlonega itself, almost measures as a “gap climb.”  A good low gear, something that yeilds a ratio of 1 to 1.2 would be a great idea for this trip.

That ratio can be obtained with a 39 tooth chainring and a 32 tooth low gear on the cassette.  Or a “compact double” with a 34T chainring and a 27T low on the cassette.

You will want some higher gears too, but they won’t be essential.

On the other hand, you’ll want to be riding a rig that descends well.  Trust me, part of this trip, the “payoff” is some of the finest, most prolonged, quality descending available east of the Mississippi.

Yee!  Haw!!