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May 8, 2010
by Susan Plonsky
I learned 2 things on the Mines to Pines:
1. There are flying insects by Lake Roosevelt so wear protective eyeglasses and keep your mouth shut while riding.
2. If you quit too early, you may miss an opportunity to learn something.
Life was good until the nausea set in just as I was leaving Payson. Fortunately there was a lot of downhill because pushing the pedals only made me more sick. I thought about calling Tom Baker for a ride from the Tonto Basin Market, but it bothered me that I often get sick on the ride and I don’t know what causes it or how to solve it. I had time to think before the Tonto Basin Market. I remembered my sister told me once to try Alka Seltzer. It worked and I filled my water bottles with the fizzy cocktail and continued on.
I was flying again but my luck ran out at the visitor’s center and the last huge climb (Is it 6-10 miles uphill?) More Alka Seltzer only made me more nauseated. On those long climbs my mind gives out before my legs ever do. It’s boring. The only thing to think about is how bad my stomach feels. I stopped once to rest. Far below and behind me in the darkness was the inky black lake and the string of lights which was the marina. Above me were a billion stars. And it was quiet. No traffic. No pool pumps. No lawn mowers. No cell phones. It was heaven. I thought about parking my travel trailer there in the shoulder, but I suppose the authorities would ask me to leave after awhile.
I got through the ride, and tried not to barf on Tom Baker at the finish. (We should probably make that a rule – no vomiting on the Trail Boss.) Tom loaded my bike in the truck and offered to go to the drug store for me.
I don’t know why I got sick this day. Did I eat enough? Drink enough? Or was I just completely exhausted? I still don’t know but I’m glad I pushed through it. If brevet riding is about finding your limits and pressing on, then I got my money’s worth on the Mines to Pines.
May 8, 2010
by Mike Sturgill
It’s time for another ride report chronicling the exploits of someone who is apparently too dense to know when enough is enough. The one thing I’ve learned in my years of long distance cycling, is that I feel more inclined to write a report when things have gone wrong than when things go right. So, I’m feeling all article-y right now. Please enjoy my trip through some of Arizona’s best.
Where should I start? I could start at the end because that’s where my current memories lie. One usually remembers that which had the greatest impact on their soul. The last 20 miles had me digging very deep into my reserves to finish under my own power. Or, I could start from the beginning and fill the pages with flowers, blue skies, and rainbow sprinkles. For me, the contrasts in this ride are vivid. In honor of Teddy Roosevelt, for whom Roosevelt Lake was named, I think I’ll rename this brevet “Ride hard and carry a backup motor.”
The Mines to Pines 300k brevet encompasses a route that I’ve wanted to ride for a long, long time. It starts in the historic section of the copper mining town of Miami. Calling an area “historic” conjures up thoughts of an area proud of its history and renovated to showcase it. I saw little of either there. The start location was at the “Miami Memorial Park in Historic Downtown Miami,” reported to have a restroom with running water. Sounded noteworthy. I need to report that that potty room was so gross that riders drove 2 miles down the road to find other facilities. You just have to love it when marketing gets involved in naming things. It did have running water, so technically speaking, truth in advertising was upheld. But I digress…
The weather was nearly perfect at the start. It was 55 degrees and no wind to speak of. The forecast was for temperatures to rise into the 90s and the winds to pick up. That’s what weather.com said and, really, who believes that pile of drivel? Note to self here: never think that the weather Gods will be merciful when you use words like drivel to describe their forecast. Check! For now, though, it was bliss.
From the bucolic Memorial Park, we almost immediately headed north on SR-188. For those who have never ridden this road, you’re missing one of the best cycling roads in AZ. It really is wonderful. We mostly climbed for the first 14 miles, but the climbs were relatively small, especially compared to what was to come! When we reached the Salt River Peak Pass (el. 3883′), we were treated to a 6 mile, 1600′ descent. Did I yet mention that this route is an out-and-back? Keep this thought in the back of your mind.
After the descent, we rode along the shores of Roosevelt Lake for 20 miles or so. That is one big and beautiful lake! The terrain undulated with small rollers, and there was very little traffic. The lake was dotted with fishermen getting an early start and enjoying the serenity Teddy had set aside for us. I was making great time and feeling exceptionally well. Our first control was located at the Roosevelt Lake Visitor’s Center. I arrived 5 minutes before it opened and took the time to look around and enjoy the grandeur of this man made marvel.
After getting my brevet card stamped by Ranger Susan, I was again on my way north. SR-188 remains relatively flat along the shores of Roosevelt Lake. After the lake, it starts a gentle climb of about 1200′ to the Beeline Highway. 70 miles down, feeling good, blues skies, all systems go! It was a quick descent into Rye and then the much anticipated climb up to Payson. This was the climb I was most concerned about. Every time I’ve ever climbed it, it has been oppressively hot. This time, however, temps were moderate and the winds were picking up. The wind direction didn’t matter to me. As long as there was a breeze, it felt good. Onward and upward.
I reached Payson and thought, “wow, that was a lot easier than I expected. I feel great and will be home before dark to have dinner with Cindy.” Um, knock, knock, hello McFly. We rode through Payson and after a couple miles made a right turn onto Houston Mesa Rd. This was a friendly looking road in the pines. I had never ridden it and was looking forward to it. I was a bit surprised, correction, I was way surprised at the difficulty of this 20 mile out-and-back. There were a number, maybe 3000, very steep hills with no flat terrain to speak of. Ouch! I was still doing great, but starting to think dinner might be after dark tonight. That’s ok, I like candle lit dinners.
We rode Houston Mesa until the pavement ended. There was a church there where we had to write down the Sunday School time on our brevet card to prove we endured that torture clinic. I decided to just take a picture of the sign and head back. I would write in the time later. The coolness of the pines there really enticed me to lounge for a while. But, I was getting hungry and I knew Ronald McDonald in Payson had a couple burgers waiting for me. I decided to stop at the fire station on the return to fill a water bottle. I was starting to suck down liquid like a sponge.
I made it to Mac’s Steak House* about 1 pm, just the perfect time for an epicurean delight – 2 hamburgers. Yum! I just put them in my jersey pockets, filled my bottles with lots of ice and my powdered potions, and was on my way down the hill. Yippee! It’s all down hill from here. Um, hello, McFly! I ate one of the burgers on the ride out of town. It really hit the spot. I was feeling great.
I finally made it to the big descent out of Payson. I was concerned about this stretch of road. I had never descended this road, but have driven it many times. I never thought there was enough space for cars and bicycles, but I was pleasantly surprised. The road and shoulder were very good. The one thing that happened on this descent, though, was that the reality of living in the desert southwest was rearing its ugly head. Heat! The 2000′ descent was significant. The temperatures, all of a sudden, topped 90 degrees and weren’t done rising.
No problem, though. I still felt good. Oops! I had forgotten about that stupid climb from Rye back up to the SR-188 turn. It was along in here, somewhere, that I could tell things were starting to change. There was nothing dramatic, and certainly no cause for alarm. But that “superman” feeling was now just a memory. By now, the winds were blowing strongly directly into my face. Surely they would change. weather.com is never right, are they? Gulp.
The gentle descent on SR-188 was severely marred by the imposing winds. It was 20 miles to the control, and I was looking forward to stopping and resting for a few minutes. I didn’t feel hungry, but was still consuming liquids in mass quantity. Since my bottles did contain “food”, I assumed that I was getting enough calories. That may have been a mistake in judgment, but I’m not sure. I finally reached the blasted control store. It was a slice of Heaven at the far north end of Roosevelt Lake. I took a few minutes to sit in the shade and enjoy the breeze while rehydrating.
I was soon on my way. I carry 2 – 32 oz water bottles and had planned to make my next stop at the store just prior to the last big climb. That was 28 miles distant to this particular store. I found myself consuming my bottles inordinately quickly. By the time I reached the Visitor’s Center (only 19 flat/rolling miles!), my bottles were nearly empty. I knew I had to stop there to “recover”. By now, I knew something was wrong. I was starting to cramp pretty severely, and I very rarely experience any cramps whatsoever. Was it dehydration? electrolyte imbalance? calorie deficit? overworked muscles? I just didn’t know.
I laid on a shady bench at the Visitor’s Center for about 20 minutes while downing some electrolytes, calories, a soda, and some more water. None of this made me feel any better. I took a quick peek at my thermometer, which was in the shade, and it registered 96 degrees. Well, this certainly wasn’t helping. On the road, it went up to 100 degrees. I stopped looking at it then.
I finally made it to the Spring Creek store, at the base of the 1600′ climb. “Only” 20 miles to go. I’ve never felt quite so apprehensive about a climb. I was in full blown cramp mode now. My feet, calves, thighs, and hands were all cramping. I had to hold the bars just right, otherwise my fingers would curl and lock up. I had to sit on the saddle at just the right location and angle, with just the right pressure on the pedals, otherwise some part of my legs or feet would cramp up. Oh, this is going to be a fun climb! I was still thinking about dinner with Cindy. But now I was thinking I’d heat up the leftovers and sit with her while I ate.
Onward and upward, mostly upward. I knew this climb would be a challenge when I had descended it earlier in the morning. I had no idea, however, that it would be this kind of challenge. I needed a spare motor, for my pistons were shot. I didn’t time it, but I think it took me about an hour. I was relieved when I finally did get to the top. It was still daylight and I was pretty sure I’d still get back to Miami in the daylight so as to enjoy more of its {ahem} rustic {cough} beauty.
I sure thought the descent back to Miami was more than what I experienced. It turned out that after the nice descent off of Salt River Peak Pass, there was climbing to do to get back to Miami. I’m sorry, but getting back to Miami didn’t seem worth the effort of the climbing. I hit a stretch with about 5 miles to go where my legs were cramping to the point that I had to stop. I tried the Artie G trick of chewing an Endurolyte to get the cramps to stop. It had zero effect. This led me to believe that electrolytes weren’t my problem. Hmmm. Now what? Just pedal and shut up.
Somehow, I made it back to Historic Downtown Miami and registered a perfectly fitting completion time of 13:13 (Mockingbird Lane?) With visions of buzzards hovering over my head, I managed to get my bike put in my truck, endured the vile restroom to change clothes, and then called to leave Cindy a message telling her that I wouldn’t be making it home for dinner nor leftovers. I headed to Taco Bell to get myself some sustenance. After 1 burrito, I felt almost human. I had another awaiting me, but decided to eat it on the way home.
By the time I got home, I was feeling pretty ok. I still felt the urge for my feet to cramp, but they weren’t severe. I showered and went to bed. When I awoke, I felt amazingly good. I had no nasty remnants of the day before. So, what happened? I honestly don’t know. I thought I was doing everything right while on the ride. I was consciously trying to give my body what it needed, but I never figured out what that magic element was. It is indeed a mystery.
All in all, it was a very good ride. I really liked the route. There are plenty of stores and resources to ride this route self supported, which is how we all rode it. The Houston Mesa Rd. stretch was also fun, but difficult. I think that if the temperatures had been about 10 degrees cooler, I would have felt good enough to not even write this report. So, for good or bad, those are my experiences. Thanks for reading!
-Mike
P.S. I almost forgot the numbers: 190 miles, 11,500′ climbing.
*McDonald’s
by Paul Layton
May 8, 2010
Despite my best efforts to be a cheapskate it would turn into an expensive day. My original plan was to eat solid food at a few stops in the afternoon and get water to mix my energy drink with at the visitor’s center and the campground. Unfortunately it was not the food that would be the major expense.
More at Randocommute…
April 2010
by Rebecca Clark
Once again, I phoned in live blog updates during the ride, and also wrote a ride report at the end of it. You can listen to and read them over at my blog,
http://rebeccmeister.livejournal.com
The full ride report is here:
http://rebeccmeister.livejournal.com/666256.html
Tammie’s ride report and pictures are on the Colorado Brevet Series blog.
April 2010
by Lonnie Epic Wolff
It’s been 3 years since I had ridden this route and I was looking forward to doing it again. This time I was accompanied by two of my riding friends from Utah, Joe and Lasse. Both are excellent riders but neither had ridden this distance before. It should be interesting!
(More at The Utah Randonneur)
April 2010
from Rob Welsh
Ride Summary – Rob Welsh
Casa Grande 600k – April 24-25
25 riders were at the start at 5:00a for the Arizona 600k brevet on Saturday, April 24th in the Casa Grande Walmart parking lot. Paul Danhaus and I had driven over from his place in Yuma the day before. We planned to do the ride together straight through and go for a fast time if conditions were good. As is usual on brevets, things didn’t go according to plan.
After leaving our drop bags and getting a ride briefing and send off from Susan Plonsky, the Arizona RBA, the ride started fast with the first 40 miles nearly dead flat. About 10 riders were in the front group but this filtered down to four (Lasse, Mike Sturgill, Paul and I) by the first control in Marana. After this, the group spread out a little, with Lasse showing his hill climbing ability through the Saguaro National Park and the long uphill on Mission Road, and had pulled ahead by the second control in Green Valley.
After a short stop for a flat after Green Valley, the next set of climbing started on Sahuarita Road; 16 miles of gradual up, then SR-83, 13 miles up the Sonoita Hill, reaching over 5,000’, then over several rollers and on to Elin/Elgin for the next control and the lunch stop. Things were going well, but as we were leaving the control, Paul’s seat post cradle broke. Fortunately, Paul was able to borrow Susan’s car and drove to Sierra Vista to get a replacement part. When he returned 2 ˝ hours later to resume his ride, Lara Sullivan had arrived. Lara is a very experienced randonneur from Minnesota and was on Paul’s RAAM team in 2009 so they rode together the rest of the ride, finishing in 29˝ hours, a great personal best for Lara.
In the meantime, Mike and I left Elin/Elgin together, but Mike wanted to take it easy for a while and sent me on so I moved ahead to the turnaround in Tombstone and was back to Elin at sunset with 230 miles completed and 145 to go. After a good meal and clothing change, including adding a couple of layers, I headed out. It was already turning quite cold, with temps in the low 40s, high 30s. At the top of the Sonoita Hill, I found a very chilled Lasse, who had been waiting there for nearly an hour with a broken headlight bracket. I left a voice message for Susan and recommended to Lasse that he backtrack two miles to a Border Patrol station where he may be able to fix the bracket, make a phone call and at least get warm.
I continued, with all layers on, down the Sonoita Hill, down Sahuarita Road, up Helmet Pass Rd and down very rough Mission Road to the next control. The next 33 miles through Saguaro National Park went slowly as I was feeling tired with the miles already ridden and the long hours it had taken to get this far.
Sometimes though, when you are out there on your own, you can experience a special sense of connection with where you are. For me it was 3 am, no traffic in the quiet desert. A nearly full moon near the horizon showed the outline of the hills, cacti and trees with a spectacular display of stars above. The generator light illuminated the next 100 feet of road as I rolled along. It was very relaxing and awesome at the same time. Randonneuring is very cool at a time like this.
After the second last control in Marana, with 43 miles to go and a breath of a tail wind, I felt a surge of energy (it could have been the Dr. Pepper too) and cranked it up. Just before dawn, on my aero bars on a stretch along the I-25 frontage road near Picacho Peak, a semi went by and blasted his horn several times to encourage me on. It worked – I covered the last 43 miles in just over 2 hours, finishing in 25:06, a personal best. Lasse, Russell and Mike came in about 40 minutes later. Lasse was able to fix his headlight bracket with two Border Patrol handcuff zip ties, and continued with Russell and Mike. Unfortunately his light failed again after a short distance. He then decided to continue and followed the other two riders down the hill and through the night, which earned him a DQ at the finish for having no headlight and unsafe riding. Other riders filtered in over the next few hours, but it was heating up quickly so the later finishers had to deal with a pretty warm day after a very cold night.
Overall this was an excellent, well run event and a great experience. The roads were rough in places, but the course was fun and the lunch/supper stop was top notch. My thanks to Susan Plonsky for making this work.
April 2010
by Dick Wiss
Writing a report on the Tombstone 600K after reading Mike’s and Susan’s is about like volunteering for the next club meeting show and tell after Alan’s.
If you want to ride through the night on a 600K use caffeine. The effects and benefits of using caffeine are proving scientific fact. The rest of what I am writing is opinion, delusion and midnight rambling. I have been doing brevets for 6 years with 5 SR series to date all in Colorado where we live most of the year. I also have been riding in Arizona during the winter for even longer but only a few weeks a year and no organized rides. This year I decided to ride the brevet series in Arizona to get a jump start on fitness and for some new experiences. My wife and I have been retired for two years and decided to buy a place in Phoenix so we could spend more of the winter down here. We both still have interests and obligations in Colorado through the winter so we are spending about two weeks here and two weeks there each month. Things have really worked out well for both of us. My wife Lynnda is a triathlete so has been able to bike/swim and run down here as well as spend time with her parents who live down here year round.
Since the beginning of the year I have met and ridden with many new people which is something I really look for and enjoy. So when Richard Stum contacted me about riding the 600K together in under 28 hours I agreed to join this effort (read his blog). I had some reservations as it wasn’t really my goal and I like to take the path that the day offers. Colorado brevets are very different in that the climbing comes sooner and in much bigger chunks so the group tends to break up early and seldom gets back together. So I was looking forward to riding with Richard and Carlton, who I had ridden a lot of the 300K with and also wanted to include Russ Cummings, who I had ridden most of the 400K with, in the group. Russ is new to Randonneuring. He is a great person to ride with as some of you might know and I suspect more will find out. He is a stud rider, good conversationalist and very easy going. He rode with me the whole way and I got the benefit of the latter two traits mostly because he dialed back on the first one.
I always like to look around at everyone at the start, as best as I can in the dark, and see who is throwing down what. Some have the latest techno, who’s wearing the PBP jersey, who is the biggest pack rat, who is hauling the least. Well at the start of the Tombstone 600K I am parked right next to Paul Danhaus who is throwing down big time with his official Paul Danhaus RAAM vehicle. Looks like the first 43 miles are going to be a tail-busting, glycogen afterburners road riot. Well they always are anyway (did I mention the effects of caffeine?) so off we go. I personally drink decaf coffee and save the caffeine as a life preserver so I pop the chute after Pichacho. Each of us is spotted about 3000 calories of glycogen to start with and can only absorb at most 270 cal per hour from whatever we eat. The rest comes from fat, something I have plenty of, probably make it around the world if only it worked that way. You definitely won’t see me bidding up Mike’s FA that he talks about in his blog. However we burn maybe 600 to 800 cal per hour. The problem is that fat burns best at lower heart rates and muscle/liver glycogen best at higher heart rates. You do the math and it means that if you go out like a lion you are going to come crawling home for sure. I can always tell if I have blown out my glycogen reserves if I can’t get my heart rate over 120 late in the day. I could tell that I had played it right later in the night although my heart rate wasn’t always over 120 for other reasons.
So you can read Richard and Mike’s blogs and see how most of the riding went. Hills would break our gang of four in ganglets and danglets but we were regrouping at checkpoints or intermediate stops(not a big fan of the intermediates but I can go along with the crowd). I am having a few stomach problems and some lower back issues but these happen occasionally for me and I know I can handle them. Richard separated from us at Elgin on the return. We thought we would catch him on the climbs but he was ridding strong through the whole night and I knew he would easily make his goal. Russ and I caught up with Mike as he was looking for some company and we spent the rest of the ride together like it was a guy’s night out. Maybe a little less alcohol and a little more suffering (did I mention the benefits of caffeine?). It always seems to be that everyone in a group goes through a low spot and I have learned that getting through the night can be a rewarding team effort or a miserable disintegrating sufferfest depending on how supportive the other riders are. Sometimes you don’t know these other people but I believe you can take the measure of a man based on this experience. I really enjoyed the last 100 miles thanks to Russ and Mike and got through my little low spot without thinking about it too much. The time went quickly and I learned a few things and even remember one or two. Mike, now that I can think clearly I remember Katherine Shenk telling me about running into you at PBP – and the circumstances.
The hallucination part didn’t come until after the ride was over (well, if you don’t count the “pockets of cold, pockets of warm (air)” on Sahuarita Rd. to Bob Dylan’s “Buckets of rain” tune I was throwing out and the perfect tracks through the powder we were all skiing on Mission road with Elton John singing “Ripping down the Mission, be alert to stay alive”). First though, about three weeks ago I sent in my registration to SusanP and 3 days later got a confirmation email. My name never appeared on the list however so I finally sent Susan an email last week. She said she couldn’t find my registration but that she might have gotten it after finishing her 600K pre-ride and then misplaced it in her post ride stupor. I got a copy of my cancelled check so no problem but I failed to see the omen. So Sunday morning I give her my card (note going to her state of mind: she was in the process of telling Lasse he was DQ’ed, he took it graciously but a tough job being an RBA). So Susan is going through my checkpoints and tells me I was outside of the closing times for one or more of the latter checkpoints and she was going to have to DQ me too (she was serious). My mind had abandoned me, asleep in the car I think, so I knew I was hallucinating and I was just trying to figure out if I was in an episode of “Lost” or “Flash Forward”. We got that straightened out as she had thought my AM times were PM times (in the future, no less)and I can see now that providing the support that Susan does for this ride is probably just as taxing as riding it. She is the greatest for all that she does on each brevet.
Ten reasons to ride through the night:
Better to ride tired than to ride sore and tired
You can see the moon and the stars but can’t see your odometer
That hot foot that was plaguing you all day goes away in the cool of the evening
Very few cars on the road
When you get out of your bike clothes you know you aren’t going to put them on again for a long time
Everything is really quiet You can’t see the dogs that are barking and running at you (oops, wrong list)
You need less water and don’t get dehydrated
Besides, who really gets any sleep when stopping for the night anyway?
I still owe you one….but while I am thinking about it – riding the Tombstone 600K through the night has some special challenges. 70 miles with no support, no cell phone service, nothing in the way of help if you have a problem that you can’t fix. It can be very cold and once you stop riding you can get hypothermic very fast. Best not to be riding alone. Also consider carrying a space blanket.
Susan S. – very creative the ice bag in the shorts. Got one word for you – lidocaine. I have never used it but know several people that have and swear by it. Probably ranks up there with caffeine – proven scientific benefits. In fact I am making a note to myself to call my doctor when I get back to Colorado.
Sending kudos to Bullshifter and other first timers. It seems everyone was well prepared and just did it despite all the challenges. It is always a nice lift to see other riders coming or going along the routo. Thanks Susan S. for the “hello Dick” in between Tombstone and Elgin. I am still learning to associate faces with bike outfit/rigs. Major kudos to my wife, Lynnda, for driving me to the start and being back there waiting to pick me up early Sunday AM, literally, off the ground, at the finish. Major kudos to Mike Snow for riding all of these rides, mile for mile, with Susan. That takes a great partnership and you two certainly have my respect. Major kudos to Mike Sturgill, not just for being the uber Randonneur, but also for all you give back to the sport and your team. I look forward to riding with the Bullshifters again and getting to know more of you.
April 2010
by Steve Atkins
It was a busy week before the 600 so I packed most of my gear earlier in the week. Friday night, the Corona High School Band and Arizona Wind Symphony held a concert lakeside at Tempe Town Lake. Since my son Michael plays in the Corona Band and my wife is a flute player with the Arizona Winds, I knew I would be rushing around after the concert, packing last minute items, and trying to get some sleep. With a 3:30 am wake-up; I only got a few hours sleep, and my story begins:
With a coffee in hand, I pointed the Suburban towards Casa Grande and reached the WalMart parking lot just before 4:30am. I was together and ready to go for the pre-ride meeting where Lonnie Epic Wolfe and I were visiting and comparing lighting systems. Lonnie and I rode together on many brevets, including the Epic 400.
(M0re at CycleWhitney)
April 2010
by Richard Stum
Last April, during the Zion 200K brevet, Lonnie “epic” Wolff, my local Utah RBA and rando mentor, introduced me to a site called Cyclos Montagnards. If one completes a brevet series (200, 300, 400 & 600K) within a percentage of the cut off time for each ride, you get listed on their honorary page on the site. Big deal as few people know of this site, right? But somehow it seemed intriguing t me. New item to my bucket list. This concept is not endorsed by RUSA, as it can turn a “ride” into a ”race” and brotherly love and helping fellow riders can go out the window! (more at http://www.randorichard.com/2010-tombstone)
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