Abondoned, yet Honored

In case you hadn't seen the results, I abandoned after Carhais on the return to Paris, unable to get my feet/shins/ankles to carry me down the roads. More on that another day.

Honored though is how I now feel about the whole Paris Brest Paris experience. It was a true joy to cycle the beautiful country roads that are France. It was a delight to be the recipient of such sweet smiles and serious cheering on by villagers. And it was such fun to connect with cyclists from around the globe.

I am well, touring Paris with my brother, his wife, and Dartre, and I am eager to tell the tales another day soon.

Thanks so much to everyone who cheered us on. Every good wish was meaningful!

The photo is of Dartre and an unknown French finisher who badly wanted Dartre and I to know that he was 74 years old! I'm so glad we went to the finish to welcome folks back. What a kick!

Keep it joyful,

CurioRando

After Three PBP'S, for Danes It's the Weather!

At dinner, I accosted a table of Danes, and inquired of their thinking about Paris Brest Paris. Jesper Ahremhont, from Dronninglund (Queen's Wood), Denmark, told me this is his fourth PBP! When I asked about  what was most memorable, he immediately went to the weather. Jesper is second from the left in the photo.

FRENCH FOOD ALERT! While my meal this evening as I compose this is not fabulous by French standards, I just have to proclaim my affinity for cheese boards, or cheese plates. Either prior to, or in lieu of, dessert. What a yummy concept.

Back to randonneuring. Oooph, Bleu Fromage! Tres bonne! OK, really back to randonneuring. The weather for Jesper's first two PBP's was great: sunny. But 2007, rainy the whole time.

He attributes the decline in Danish riders, from 182 in 2007 to 142 this year to the weather in 2007. Also at the table was a rider claiming to be the youngest Dane: on the far right in photo with his father next to him. The younger generation seems to be less engaged in distance riding, they agreed.

So why does Jesper do PBP? As a goal or motivation for training, he says. He and his companions appeared to be fit and well-trained, but each had a beer, I noted. The table of French randonneurs nearby? Why, wine, of course!

Keep it internationally sunny,

CurioRando

Fender Menders at Cycles Alex Singer

My fender was toast, and based on Dartre's phone conversation in French I thought they'd have a replacement. But no, so instead they  cleverly fastened a reinforcing piece over the area that was broken up around the rear brake bridge.

Voila! Cycles Alex Singer workers had me re-fendered. Their shop is a trip, and the bikes...tres manufique.

I'll post more pics another day, but as I asked for one more quick pic of them together they insisted I hurry as they were closing for lunch. That's civilized!

Keep it mended,

CurioRando

Wrong St. Quentin!

“By entering this mythical ride, you will test your cycling agility and your human endurance.

You will strive to obtain your Personal Best or you will try simply to rally the arrival...but you will always do your best to live this adventure while supporting each other and building friendships with those who participate in this endurance monument, which is much more than a simple hike. No place of honor, not any podium, only the pleasure of the challenge alone will help you to overcome the suffering...and the magic moment of the arrival will obliterate the doubtful moments on the roads of Brittany or of Normandy.

You will not be alone: you still be in the company of entrants from all over the world. You will appreciate the charms of France and you will be united by the same goal: to rally BREST and return to PARIS.
You will not be alone: many spectators-or rather admirers-will encourage you throughout your journey, indeed will support you in attaining the fixed goal. You will appreciate also hundreds of volunteers who will help throughout the journey."

Yes, I ended up in the wrong city--long story, but delaying me 5.5 hours. Cest la Vie!

But, I am now at the start and already in 10 minutes here meeting old friends (Dan and Terry from the Fleche this year) and new, from Virginia and California.

The quote at the top of this post is from the organizers of Paris Brest Paris 2003.

Late and tired, I cannot convey any better than what they said in 2003 as to why I am here.

If the picture posts sideways, it is poetic justice as I am posting via my phone, and the St. Quetin sign is from my train journey to the wrong city!

Keep it navigating,

Curio Rando

Track My Paris Brest Paris Progress in Real Time

Sorry not very many pictures, though we have tons of great shots to show another time. Technical difficulties and very limited internet access limit the posts and pics. Much fodder for post-trip posting, so watch out when we return!

But, if you'd like to follow my progress--and other Seattle Randonneurs as well--check out this web site. You can scroll down to find any Seattle club rider. The event begins on Sunday the 21st, though individual riders start in one of many waves so each wave has its own time limits.

France has been nothing short of spectacular so far! All worth it already, and the Paris Brest Paris has not even yet begun! Best to all who are following, and I am so very grateful for all the wishes of support and encouragement. Every one is meaningful.

And to those who'd like to be here with us this year but who were kept back by ailments beyond their control, it is for you I will be riding. I know how much this means to you, and I wouldn't be here without your early encouragement and suggestions. We will miss you!

The photo is of Dartre on the climb to the castle Fenelon from our cyclo-touring through the Dordogne River valley. Essentially, every hilltop has a chateau of some sort, and it was at Fenelon that we met an admirer of Newton (my bicycle) who had volunteered at the 2007 PBP. He had wanted to participate in 2011, but alas, Life got in the way. I have a picture and more about him later. He characterized the Paris Brest Paris event to us in his heavily accented Anglais as "mythic".


Keep it digitally tracked,

CurioRando

In Country for Paris Brest Paris 2011

Too much to see...do...eat...savor, so perhaps this picture will serve as a thousand words for now. More to come. Pardon et merci!
Keep it in that special Provencal light,
CurioRando

PBP Mini-Panic: Sore Knees

Ouch! My knees were hurting. Mostly my right.

Knees are important to cyclists, and I've come to understand that cycling is generally knee-friendly. And though I've had some knee issues over the years, I had come to a place where me knees were doing just fine.

But knee pain has struck again, and not at an opportune time just a matter of weeks prior to Paris Brest Paris. I visited the Physical Therapist this week, and we made a few tweaks. I've also been off the bike for a week, so things are settling down.

But I did panic a little. Knee pain now? Right as I'm trying to get a little faster, push a little harder?

Well, I've moved through the panic now, and I anticipate getting back on track soon. It is a good reminder though to stay focused, stay calm, and work through potential setbacks. We shall see.


Keep it bent, but not too sharply,

CurioRando

Desert Rivers 400k: Yakima Canyon Delights...as Always: Final PBP Qualifier

For some reason, the 400k has always been my favorite length of brevet. Mind you, I've only done a handful, but still it seems to suit me. This one, the Desert Rivers 400k, was one of my favorites because the route featured the Yakima River canyon.

I have loved driving our family through this canyon for years now, all eyes peeled for Bighorn Sheep (except mine as the driver, right, though yes I do peek through my peripheral vision when I can). I have loved every minute floating a raft down the Yak looking for those fat 'n happy trout. It was on such a trip that I introduced the SingingCyclist to fly fishing for trout.

I have loved bank fishing the Yak as well. In fact I remember one time in particular taking a day off work over 15 years ago to drive up to the Yak from Seattle with a fishing pal. He didn't tell me he had to be back just after lunch! I was just getting into it, but when he told me he had to get home I was shocked. I thought we had the day to ourselves. I threw out a few more desultory casts, then dragged in my line and started to step up onto the grassy bank when I spooked a monster trout lurking just under that deeply undercut grassy riverbank. Instead of working the bank for that monster's pals, I had to drive us back home. The memory of that "one that got away" moment haunts me still.

Now I have a new Yakima treat to add to my list: riding up and down the canyon in rain and sun. We had both. In all shades of exploratory dimensions, the Yakima River canyon never disappoints. Fisher folks talk about their "home waters". I know what constituted home waters for me in Colorado: the then under-appreciated St. Vrain River and it's various forks. Hardly a river by most standards, but sweet and special by those who knew it. Today, could my home waters be the Yak? I don't get there enough, but it is in the running as far as fishing goes. And for biking river valleys or river canyons, the Yak is up there as well. Though I do recall my first 300k through the Umatilla River valley, and that was pretty fabulous too. But then I can't forget riding through the car-banned upper Virgin River Valley in Zion National Park with DartreDame. That was as glorious an evening, river bicycle ride as one could have in a lifetime. Well, now that I think on it, cycling the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal towpath along the Potomac River was pretty darned special too.

I guess I've come--in writing this very post--to the inescapable and now clearly obvious conclusion that my most favorite bicycle riding is through beautiful river valleys and gorges. I suppose I've always know that, but hadn't consciously put it forward before. Well, there you go.

See that railroad track? One night--I think on the very trip SingingCyclist caught his first fish--Dartre, Singing and I were camped out behind Red's Fly Shop. Red's used to be very low brow, just a shop with places to pitch your own tent. They rented drift boats and guided sports, but that was about it. Now, it's a regular high brow lodge. Not the same.

But back to the track. We were dead asleep after a day of raft rowing, fishing and frolicking. Suddenly this freight train came down the track which was just across the river, and I'd have sworn--Dartre and I both would have sworn--that that freight train was about to barrel right through our tent and run us over. It was so loud it was unimaginable. Singing slept right through it as kids will do. 

Next morning we realized that it was the fact that the train noise carried across the river added to the fact that the track was right up against the tall canyon wall that so enhanced the roar and rumble of that train. It was like nothing else I've experienced!

Part of what makes river valleys so special is their dramatic evening lighting and soft breezes. Swallows love these rugged cliffs for nesting, and cycling through swooping swallows as the Sun's rays tinge a reddish glow onto our world is sublime. Even grazing cows and goats appear happier in the gloam. All is right and settled and patient with the world between the Sun's setting and darkness.

As you come up and out of the gorge heading South, the orchards take over again, and the sky opens up. The Desert River becomes more desert than river once more.

The photo above is of one cyclist among hundreds I encountered driving back home through the canyon the day after the brevet. This Your Canyon for a Day event opens up the canyon to bicycles and people of all kinds and ages and sizes, and closes it to cars.

Here riparian habitat meets the cycling habitat. It was festive and colorful and a true happening, this opening of the canyon to cyclists only. With my bike on my roof rack they thought I was one of them and let me through. For safety's sake, though I drove slowly, it would have been better had I avoided the canyon that trip.

But driving back through the Yakima River canyon where I had just ridden my 400k was even better because I knew that by finishing this Desert River 400k brevet I had qualified for Paris Brest Paris. I was on my way!

Much thanks to Paul Whitney and Cathy for organizing and volunteering for this brevet!!

Keep it riparian,

CurioRando

Oregon Coast 600k: Rolling Like a River to the Sea, PBP Qualifier #3

I rode out with the rest of the gang for the start of the Oregon Coast 600k Brevet, and we crossed rivers like the one above, racing it to the seacoast.

Check out the little red one!

Eventually, we made it to the shore. I hadn't seen the Oregon coast in years; it didn't disappoint.

Seastacks and salt air tempted lingering, but alas I was Paris bound this trip. Oregon coast lingering must come another day.

Bill Alsup, veteran randonneur, and I rode many a mile together, but most were decidedly not as portrayed above. First, we mainly rode together at night. Second, it was mostly either raining or downright raining hard. Or foggy. Or all of the above when we were tired.

Bill's smile, however, as pictured above was never far away.

This was my second successful 600k, and it was tough. An hour's sleep only, and I got into this rhythm of getting into the controles near the limit, then eating and resting and lingering too long causing me to get to the next controle near the limit, etc. I have to say that the tension that's built by never having the cushion you'd like is itself wearing. Not advisable.

I ended up riding in to the finish with Will Goss, another vet, and it was great riding with both Bill and Will. Really a very friendly crowd of randonneurs those two days.

Many, many thanks to Susan Otcenas and Susan France. A well-organized and beautiful route!

Keep it coastly,

CurioRando

Tom Baker's Slide Show of Paris Brest Paris

Tom Baker was an American in Paris.

Apparently, Tom, a randonneur who now lives in Arizona, has been to the Paris Brest Paris several times. He has put together this wonderful slide show aimed at newbies like me, but not just.

It is chock full of details, and I've only just begun to devour it. I know many randonneurs have seen it already as it is floating around the listserves and blogs. But I also know many of my readers aren't on the listserves, aren't going to PBP, but would like to peek into that PBP world. Here's your chance.

Whatever your level of interest or engagement, do check it out. Tom includes history, great pics, practical info so that you come away with a sense of the whole experience that is Paris Brest Paris.

The pic above is purloined from the Arizona Brevets and Randonnee website, and it is the first slide in Tom's show. This Arizona site is a real find in itself. Links to blogs from the four corner region plus picks of randonneuring in the Grand Canyon. Wowser!

Thanks, Tom!


Keep it framed,

CurioRando

The things we do for...

Why exactly am I doing this again? My physical therapist, she whom we call TheHealer, told me to shave my left, lower leg for my next visit. And so I did. Wow, is that weird.

Next visit, she taped it into what she called a "fibular lift". It seems that my Fibula isn't allowing my Talus to slide fore and aft as smoothly as we'd like. My theory is that this is the result of an injury from a little race over twenty years ago. I had taken my son to a dude ranch for a weekend of horseback riding and hiking in the foothills of the Rockies.

We had just had a grand day hiking those hills and sneaking around spying on a herd of Bighorn Sheep. We were tired, but having fun. At day's end, I remember clearly seeing my old, green Jeep across the gravel parking lot and saying "race you to the Jeep!". And so we tore off across that gravel lot. Just a stride away from the Jeep my tired ankle turned under and I heard that distinct "pop" as a tendon pulled a bone chip off of my outside bone on the foot where it connects to the fibula.

I never put weight on it as I hopped my last stride on my "good" foot, hauled myself into the Jeep and drove us into town to the ER. I wore one of those goofy walking casts for a while, and that was it.

But on my last brevet, the Nighttime 200k, I ended up the last 50k or so with very mild pain down my left shin. I had issues here before, though not often. TheHealer theorizes that this rough fore/aft motion of my talus causes the muscles in front of the shin to work harder, thus the pain.

Well, we'll find out. Meanwhile, I'm still getting over the crud...again, and I'm a little frustrated. I had planned to do my 400k this weekend, but this recurring sinus crud isn't helping me along. I'm showing restraint, and a passage from the book I've been reading, Base Building for Cyclists by Thomas Chapple, has helped:

The athlete with a commitment to her long-term goals also knows that skipping a workout when her body is not up to the task will not set her back but will actually keep her moving forward. Committed athletes know the benefit of maintaining balance in their lives. When the committed athlete asks herself, "What can I do today to make myself a better athlete?" the answer may be "Rest." The athlete who attempts to train through an injury rather than adjust his goals always believes he is committed, but he is not. He is acting obsessively rather than remaining committed to his objectives. Remaining injured is not the way to progress, and by not resting he only creates long-term setbacks. This is when obsession is mistaken as passion or commitment.



The very athletic Bighorn Sheep, per Wiki.



Keep it shaved and wrapped,

CurioRando

US-1451

I have pre-registered for the Paris Brest Paris Randonnee! As most know, the pre-registration is based on the longest brevet each rider completed in 2010. And if there is going to be a larger number of applicants than slots available--which is still uncertain--then this earlier pre-registration is important.

In any event, I'm in and I don't have to worry. That feels great. Now it's just finishing the 400k and 600k to qualify.

My Registration Number is US-1451. That means there were 1451 registrants worldwide as of when I pre-registered. I think that also will become my Rider Number that is attached to my bicycle. If so that may also be the way to track me en route. We'll see.

One thing I'm proud about is that I persevered to get my 600k done last year. I attempted the Willamette Headwaters 600k in Oregon, with more climbing than I was prepared for...and I abandoned. Some serious lessons learned then. I regrouped, cast about for another opportunity and attempted and finished the Surf City 600k out of Santa Cruz. More lessons learned, but I did it.

I know some who couldn't finish a long brevet last year--including some who were plagued with serious physical limitations not of their own making--and I wish you, my buddies, plenty of opportunity for you too to qualify this year. There is much discussion of quotas, but clearly not all those eligible are utilizing their spots. I do hope that any of you who wish to go get your shot to go too!


Keep it hopeful,
CurioRando