Partially Avenging the Mass Murder on the Interurban Trail

No mass murder of crows, but not a great deal to crow about either.

In my earlier post about Mass Murder on the Interurban Trail, I translated a murder of crows to be a flock of crows, like the thousands we saw roosting at dusk on King County's Interurban trail. A week later, John Vincent and I tackled RUSA Permanent 0531 Mercer Island-Redmond-Orting-MI again, but we saw no crows.

Becasue we departed an hour earlier and made initially better time than DartreDame (my wife, Pramila) and I had the week before, John and I passed through "Crowville" well before dusk. Hence, no crows in the trees.

The day had began inauspiciously, however, when John flatted within the first 8 kilometers. I saw the giant pothole in the beam of his light just as his front wheel fell into it, and soon enough his pinch flat exposed itself. It did make me consider the relative visibilities for upright and recumbent riders. I wondered whether the sitting back position of John's recumbent handicapped his ability to see the pothole. Not sure.

Later, after nearly 13 hours of riding and seven hours of rain, I know that visibility became the issue. We'd made it at last to the final leg of the trip, and it was dark and rainy and our glasses were rain-spattered and opaque. Neither of us had a dry snippet of cloth with which to wipe our glasses, and it was getting cold.

I've been riding pretty steadily this Winter so while I wasn't comfortable I still had enough in the tank to push through, round the Mercer Island Loop and finish. John, unfortunately, had had to scrap a few rides in the past few months, and really hadn't ridden a long ride since October. Finishing was on John's mind, but the visibility and toll of the conditions made it feel a little less than safe. Sadly, he had to pull the plug, but sensibly and reluctantly chose safety over recklessness.

For me, knowing what John endures just to be on the bicycle he loves--see my earlier post here about John's transition to the recumbent so he could continue riding despite neurological damage--I have tremendous admiration for his tenacity, finish or no. He's taught me a great deal, and I know he'll be out there again...and soon.

The uncanny thing is that it was the same issue for Dartre the week before as for John this time. In each case, they hadn't ridden much since October. Give that seemingly easy Permanent 0531 a dose of nasty conditions and a recent paucity of riding, and it seems to find a way to frustrate.

Looking back over my shoulder as I rode along Lake Sammamish as the sun rose much earlier that day.

.

So there you have it. The Interurban Trail, unassuming and seemingly minding its own business, once again hosted mayhem, but at least not a mass murder this time.

Lots of lessons learned or relearned. Training matters. Visibility cannot be taken for granted. Failing to finish isn't failure. Coming back to try it again can work (this ride gave me my second consecutive month or R2 of R12). Take nothing for granted on endurance rides. And plenty more.

My next ride, come February 6, is with a small rascal of randonneurs, so I am looking forward to the larger flock sensibilities that accompany clusters of riders. It feels already--even though it hasn't come yet--as if it is a little more Springlike (did I just jinx us all?!) in its sociability. A pair of Winter randonneurs is like the solitary pair of Mergansers we've ridden past. But a whole rascal of randonneurs in February begins to feel like that flock of Starlings that will settle into our back yard soon.

Tell me, am I just delirious and overly desirous of Spring, or does riding in groups in some Winter sun-like vague way conjure up the insinuations of Spring?

Top photo courtesy of King County.

Keep it learning and yearning,

CurioRando

Dartre's First 200k: The Three Rivers Cruise!

We didn't hunt and we didn't trespass. And sadly we didn't fish, even though the sign didn't exactly say we'd get shot if we fished. Problem is there isn't much of a remedy for being shot unfairly. But we did pass through some of Western Washington's most beautiful river valleys: the Stilligaumish, the Sauk and the Skagit. As steelhead fishers, Dartre and I certainly checked out some prime fishin' spots.

The Three Rivers Cruise is Seattle International Randonneurs Permanent #4089, and it was 200k via Arlington, Darrington, Rockport, Marblemount, back through Rockport, Concrete and returning to Arlington. In the pre-dawn light, this blue barn stood watch. Is the barn saying "Oh!" (top two windows as eyes, double-X doors as nose, and open area as mouth)?

Our companion, John Vincent (see Part 1 here and Part 2 here for John's interview about his recumbent experiences), and Dartre stopped as the sun was emerging. If you look closely you'll see the frost is indeed still on the punkins. It was 27 degrees.

The Sun emerges with its special first light.

John rode ahead of us as we headed upstream along the Stilly toward Darrington. Fire trucks and aide cars sped past us at a very fast clip, and our brains couldn't shake on this quiet Sunday morning a nagging dread that perhaps John had been hit. We were relieved/sorry to see the equipment stopped for a house fire. Hope all ended up relatively OK there!

Heading up the Skagit hoping for Bald Eagles. About three months too soon I'm guessing. A few years ago on a frigid float trip we spotted about 300 one day. Note the fabulous shoulder for cycling!

In Marblemount, John displays...I can't remember what the conversation was exactly, but he was displaying hardiness of some kind! Perhaps he was demonstrating how he wasn't the object for the aide vehicles' speeding so. John let me sit on his recumbent and pick it up. Damn, that is a light bicycle!

Here, Dartre displays...what can I say: a smooch heading my way as I practice my behind-the-back-with-my-phone photography skills. Only on deserted stretches of road, I promise.

The Skagit with snowcaps in the background.

Our day warms as Autumn settles in.

Feet planted in Concrete.

The Skagit is a powerful river, colored by glacial till.

Typical Skagit gravel bars.

On the bridge over the Skagit just before turning onto the South Skagit Highway, and miles of chipseal.

Even chipseal roads can capture the special light of a late afternoon sun.

It was about 3000 feet of total climbing, about all we needed.

And for Dartre, it was her first ever 200k! No small feat.

Congratulations, DartreDame! You are a Randonneur!

Keep it flowin,

CurioRando

Recumbent Bicycles for Randonneuring, Interviewing John Vincent, Part 2: Builders, Relative Merits, Peering into the Future

Here is Part 2 of my interview with John Vincent, newbie recumbent rider and intermediate randonneur (he cringes when I call him a veteran randonneur). Part 1: Eliminating Pain can be found here. Though I do explore John's recent episode of being nearly run over by a car, I want to be clear that neither John or I are suggesting his accident was in any way related to the kind of bicycle he was riding. The accident had occurred just before the interview so it was topical.

Wouldn't have mattered what John was riding. The driver didn't look. A good reminder: stay vigilant!

Thanks, John for taking the time and being thoughtful about the answers and tuned into the audience's needs! By relating your own particular circumstances very openly you have graced the interview with greater depth and truth than if you'd kept it generic.


Keep it upright-even if it's not an upright,

CurioRando

Builders, Relative Merits,

Peering into the Future

CurioRando: Who are the best recumbent bicycle builders?

John Vincent: First of all I am no expert when it comes to bents. But there seems to be two styles of bikes: short wheelbase or long wheelbase. Long wheelbase, the most popular, is the one that won the four-person team at Race Across America (RAAM). All four were Rans X-Stream. It is about 23 – 25 pound bike and it is a long wheelbase bike. It won the four-person RAAM. It beat all the upright bikes.

So there is a lot of excitement about that being a good brevet bike. It is a little more upright, not as reclined. It’s got a big back wheel and a smaller front wheel, and it is a longer wheelbase so it’s more comfortable. Easy Racer makes the Gold Rush Racer which David Cambon up in British Columbia rides. He’ll give the advice to buy these ultralight recumbents, but for himself he rides a heavier bike and he does it successfully. Many people love their Gold Rush bikes.

On the other side--the short wheelbase bikes--there is Bacchetta Carbon 2.0 (as well as a whole lineup of other bents), and they make a bike similar to the Carbent. The Carbent makes theirs with 700c or 650c wheels. The Carbents are under 18 pounds. You can get a 17 and a half pound recumbent. The Bacchetta Carbon 2.0 is very light. Those are the two high racers that people are talking about. Both have good speed, and both are ultra light.

There are numerous recumbent companies besides Carbent, Rans, Bacchetta, and Easy Racer. Everyone has an opinion and individuals need to test ride and read about them first. There are numerous reviews of various bents.

My bent is very fast on rolling terrain and is doable going up hills. A lot of people on the heavier recumbents avoid hills because they are just too difficult. So they just ride flat rides.

The short wheelbase bike does not have a fairing attached, while the long wheel base often has a fairing and a body sock. There are some people out there doing some pretty amazing things on recumbents. They aren’t the slow heavy bikes you’ve seen in the past.




CR: Anything you miss about the uprights?

JV: You know, I had set my heart (laughing) on a Tony Pereira bike or a Steve Rex or a Stevenson or a Thompson bike (see previous post on Pereira bicycles here). There are so many different builders out there. I had set my heart on a lightweight steel, randonneuring bike, and I wanted to be into that mode. All of my friends are. I like to join the flock; I don’t like to fly alone. I miss just being one of that group. When you are riding a recumbent you are riding alone, or you kind of separating yourself from the group a little bit. I love the way upright bikes look.

I also have to carry my own tires because I ride 650c. Some of the things about recumbents are rather unique, and so you relearn everything. I miss what I know. While uprights were physically uncomfortable for me, I miss the comfort of knowing bikes. The recumbent world is its own little group. I didn’t choose to be in that group. My body told me I needed to be there.




CR: I think for people that are thinking of going ‘bent this is very useful information. I know you had this car essentially run you over the other day. Can you tell me what happened, and can you tell me the degree to which, if any, being on a recumbent had to do with it?

JV: Yeah, I’m coming up a one percent grade road, and I’m probably going 8 miles/hour…




CR: Where was this?

JV: First Avenue South and 160th (in Burien, WA). Someone drove past me and drove up to this light, and the light turned green. Now I’m probably 50 feet back. Typically, a driver will look in their rear view mirror, signal, and turn right. There was plenty of time to turn. They didn’t have their turn signal on, and they were stopped at the crosswalk, not moving. I’m watching them. I’m watching them, and I’m progressing up this road. I watched the SUV because I’m very aware of what they were doing. We’re both going North and it is a green light and I’m in the bike lane. The green light is both for going straight (North) and for a right turn (East), and as I get to the passenger side door the SUV begins to turn right. It was probably seven feet away from me. I’m looking in their window. My head is about to the bottom of her window, looking into her front window of her SUV.

My eyes are peeking over her window sill. I’m looking at black—their SUV is black—coming at me and their front right wheel turned into my front wheel and crushed it. It tore my wheel out of the dropouts and broke the drop outs. Crushed them. I didn’t slide at all; I just got jack hammered to the ground. I just went Wham! My wheel went spinning off someplace and I’m on my side. There were three 911 calls, two cop cars, and a fire truck.

Someone is screaming at me: “Are you OK? Don’t’ get up!”

And finally two guys come along and I do get up (nothing broken), and I’m hearing a voice: “Did I do that? I’m so sorry.”

And I’m saying “Lady, do you not look into your rear view mirror? Do you not see cement?”

If you’ve only got your mirror pointed at the sky, you’re goanna miss cars and bikes. Honestly, when I look in my rearview mirror I see cars, and I see some road and I see a wide range top to bottom. She didn’t look in her rear view mirror. She was probably talking to someone, conversing with her mother who was in the passenger seat, or was lost, or didn’t know where to turn. All of a sudden, she turned. I was, by that time, in her blind spot.

She admitted to the police that she remembered seeing me as she came up to the light but she must have forgotten that I was still there. She didn’t have her turn signal on. It was over $1000 damage to the bike and I was lucky.



CR: So the cops determined it was her fault?

JV: She tried to say it was mutual, it was joint responsibility. The policeman said, “No ma’am, whoever is in that bike lane is your responsibility. If there is somebody in that bike lane and you hit them it is your fault. They have a right to that lane.”

That was clearly stated. Now I’m waiting for the investigator from the insurance company to give final whatever. I sent him pictures, and he didn’t even know what a fork was, or what it looked like. (John has since received full payment for bike repair and a payment for pain and suffering).

CR: I saw a film called Veer that I posted about previously. One of the stories they told in the film is how bike advocates won a new law in the Oregon legislature this last session that I think is called a Vulnerable Operators law. If someone hits a cyclist, who as a class are considered a vulnerable operators, the person who hits the cyclist gets an extra fine and/or points because of the disparity of vulnerability. They showed hearing testimony in the film in which husbands or kids were killed or severely injured. Typically what happens in the current law is that you get a citation for going thru a stoplight or…

JV: Basic criminal law, basic traffic infraction.

CR: Yep, could be $1000 or $700. Whatever it is, if you kill somebody there is no other penalty. So the advocates are layering on a much stiffer additional penalty because you could kill somebody who is in a much more vulnerable position. The movie is worth seeing just for that story alone (it covers a wide range of Portland bicycle subculture activities besides the Vulnerable Operator law). The film portrays the statements of a legislator who is a retired State Patrol officer. He is strongly opposed to the law, talking about cyclists insisting on riding on the road instead of the shoulder due to punctures. He was just absolutely—he’s a legislator so he has power—righteously opposed, but the advocates won due to the compelling testimony of the families who survived their loved ones’ deaths at the hands of automobile operators.

JV: I understand that, first hand.

CR: Back to recumbents more generally, I assume from riding with you on a couple brevets this year and from my riding with Tom Russell on his recumbent on this last 400k brevet that you’ll probably zoom ahead next time we ride together. I might catch you again on the hills?

JV: Exactly, if I’m riding as the bike is designed for riding: at 18 – 20 mph. Obviously, given wind, slope, terrain I could be going a lot slower. But generally speaking, I ride much faster on the level to rolling ground than I did on my upright. Nothing remarkable up hills. I would envision a yo-yoing effect.

CR: The future of recumbents? Do you think that they are going to grow for a certain group? Do you think they will overtake uprights? Do you have a sense?

JV: Here’s the thing. In terms of marketing when you look at the advantages and disadvantages, the recumbent is built for comfort and long distance. Most people I know do lots of 30 mile rides in the Spring and Summer. There is a lot of out-of-saddle riding going. Uprights are probably better for that kind of riding but that doesn’t mean a bent can’t stay with the pack.

There are some I know who are really athletic who ride lightweight recumbents who are able to stay with uprights and pass them. This is even odder: there are recumbent riders doing crits in California racing 30mph (laughs) and placing in their community crits. They are very fast and accomplished riders.

The world is changing. There are some upright groups that don’t want any recumbents with them. A little discrimination going on there. Some people think recumbents don’t belong. That’s going to change. When a recumbent group wins RAAM, you see them beating uprights over the Rockies and over the Appalachians. They simply beat upright teams by averaging 20+ mph 24/7. There is something to be said for that, and that is going to draw some people. When a good bent and a good athlete are coupled together amazing things happen. They can be faster than upright riders. On the other hand you take old, fat guys and put them on recumbents and they don’t do much for the industry.

The other thing is when you see the performances at PBP. There is this Frenchman who has finished in the top five every time he rides, sometimes he is winning. In 2007 he didn’t set a record but he finished first, again. And the past two years he has been doing nothing but riding a recumbent. He did a 600k this year in France and he did it in 19 hours and some minutes. Tell me that that isn’t going to say something. There are some riders out there that are going to make themselves known. You get a feeling that recumbents have been slowly proving themselves as speed machines.

Talk to recumbent manufacturers and competitors. The guy who built my bike did the Furnace Creek 508 and he’s done some other rides, and he thinks that they are the best option for ultra distance. For me it’s just (laughing): “Please let me finish the ride”. (Laughing) I just want to be in under 90 hours. If I can complete a 1200 that includes a significant amount of climbing, man I’d be so thrilled. That’s where I’m at. I think that’s where it’s going. As you see more people being successful, it changes people’s perspectives.

CR: Yep, makes sense. What would you like folks to know?

JV: You got my email about your calling me an experienced randonneur (in an earlier post), and I just have to giggle at that. There are a lot of guys in the Seattle club (Seattle International Randonneurs) who have done so many 1200’s. In comparison to them, I’m pretty much a rookie.

CR: So you want to set the record straight?

JV: I’m one or two seasons ahead of you.

CR: So, if I call you more seasoned than I am you’re OK with that, but…

JV: I’m OK with that. I’m still trying to figure out how to finish out the longer rides. I have been around the block a few times though. Next year my goal is to do a 1200k.

CR: Do you know which 1200k ride you want to ride next year?

JV: I know the Cascade 1200k (in Washington State) is next year. That is pretty much long climbs. Most of the hills on that are looong mountain pass climbs. You’ve got White Pass, Chinook Pass up and back down, across the desert which has its own mortality, I guess. Then up through Mattawa and Quincy, And then Loup Loup Pass, and over the North Cascades Highway from Mazama. So there are some significant distances and some are long steady climbs in open spaces with different but doable terrain, but it is not easy. Who knows what is going to be next year? (CR: Since the interview, both SIR and ORR have released tentative Brevet Schedules for 2010.)

I’d love to do the Colorado Last Chance 1200k. It is probably the easiest with the fact that you’re still going to face winds, thunderstorms, and rattlesnakes on the road. I don’t know what’s being offered next year. Sometimes the Van Isle 1200k. The Van Isle up on Vancouver Island might come back. That one heads up from Victoria to Port Hardy and back. You’re kind of out in the wilderness. There is a marvelous story by Kent Peterson who did a 1200k up there.

CR: Well I might have to try and make that my goal for next year: one of those 1200k’s.

JV: This is the time to do it. What I’m doing right now is I’m focusing on weight loss. I don’t eat as much. I stop eating in between meals. I let myself get hungry and about the time I get hungry I go out for a 15 – 20 mile bike ride. I ride empty, and that is my goal to lose some significant weight. If you carry an extra 30 pounds mile after mile, at 300 miles it has a way of affecting your body and your brain. You’re not thinking 30 pounds, you’re thinking: Oh my God, am I ever going to make it? The two long rides I’ve done have had moments of crisis for me: partly because I got sick, not feeling well, and all of a sudden I’m short on time. I hit a crisis moment. I want to hit controls a little quicker, with less weight. I can and I want to take full advantage of a recumbent which is a comfortable ride. I want to get up hills a little faster. We’ll see, that’s my challenge: lose some weight and ride more hills.

Recumbent Bicycles for Randonneuring, Interviewing John Vincent, Part 1: Eliminating Pain

Recumbent bicycles? What do I know? I've never ridden one.

I've seen them race past me, or more accurately charge ahead in a group start never to be seen again, by me at least. Except when it comes to those hills. Sometimes I catch one there.

But I do see them more often now, so I asked my randonneuring pal, John Vincent, to shine some light on the subject of recumbents. Who better than John, a newbie recumbent rider?

I met John on my first 200k this year, the Birkie 200k organized by the Oregon Randonneurs. John is also a member of the Seattle International Randonneurs. The day we met, a very soggy day indeed, John was still riding upright or diamond frame bicycles, and spent much of the brevet regaling me with this whole recumbent thing: the bike he was going to get. At the time, I was so focused on just figuring out the whole randonneuring thing I didn't focus on his recumbent obsession.

But let's hear about it from John who has just made the transition from an upright bicycle to a recumbent bicycle. What I think is most valuable about this interview is John's clarity about the choice to go recumbent. He is not what you might expect. He switched for a purpose, but he is clearly not one of those overzealous converts (I'm not just talking recumbents, I'm referring to all kinds of converts) who is on a mission to convert us.

He just tells it like it is. Refreshing, I think.

What follows is Part 1 of my two-part interview with John. Photos are of John on his new recumbent taken, I believe, by his wife Sandy. The second and final installment of this interview series, Recumbent Bicycles for Randonneuring, Interviewing John Vincent, Part 2: Builders, Relative Merits, Peering into the Future, is here.

After you've read his interview, check out this site about recumbent videos at the 2007 Paris Brest Paris that John suggested as a good resource.


Keep it reclined,


CurioRando

Eliminating Pain

CurioRando: How long have you been riding a bicycle?

John Vincent: 17 years. Since ‘92

CR: About how many miles a year?

JV: Between 5000 and 8000 miles/year.



CR: How many brevets or organized rides?

JV: A couple of 600’s. Went to Paris Brest Paris (PBP) and Glacier 1000, but didn’t finish either. I’ve done a bunch of 200’s, 300’s and some 400’s. Two Super Randonneur years. This is my third SR year.

CR: What do you like most about Randonneuring?

JV: I love the goals. I love the challenge. Love doing something that seems a little bit impossible…that scares me a little bit. I’ve done enough long rides to know that the more rides you do, the better you become.

I’m not really a great long distance rider. There are tons of riders who are truly skinny, long distance riders and who are just exceptional. So I’m just one of the duffers in the back who manage to finish most of my rides. I love the whole preparation. I like to obsess a little bit, it’s fun, and addictive. It is a challenge that an average person can accomplish. It’s part of my nature.

You have to really focus on this. It has to be more than a hobby. The commitment to do a long ride like a 1000k or PBP is just really over the top. It’s far longer than regular people normally ride. I love the whole thing about it. I find that without a goal I don’t really have a reason to ride on a rainy and cold Saturday morning. I think that’s what’s missing from a lot of people’s lives today. They don’t have a goal, don’t have a passion. I’m pretty passionate. I spend a lot of money on it. I don’t have a cabin or a boat. I have a bike. That’s what I do. That’s what I like.

CR: Planning to ride PBP in 2011?

JV: Oh, yes.



CR: I know you recently made the change over to a recumbent, why a recumbent and what got you going in that direction?

JV: I had an MRI on my shoulder a couple years ago that indicated I have Osteoarthritis. Over a period of time I had gotten to the point where every ride I was on was painful in my right shoulder. To top that off, I also have a case of Spinal Stenosis, and they were prescribing Vicodin. I’m just going to be honest about this: I’d be on a ride, and when my shoulder would hurt I’d take Vicodin. I was surviving that way. I’d literally be on a 600k ride and all of my effort went into pain management, not working my legs or my lungs. I was just trying to survive and hang in there, mostly with a lot of shoulder pain. I couldn’t sleep on a 600k. I’d doze for 20 minutes, toss and turn and get up finally, and go. But I couldn’t ever really rest.



CR: What is this diagnosis exactly?

JV: Spinal Stenosis. The kind of Stenosis I have is like an old guy you’ll see. Bones get bigger as you get older, and some of those bones that get bigger and thicker are your vertebrae. If your vertebrae close up a little bit, you’ll eventually have your toes go numb. If you see an old man in a three-wheeled motorized cart at Safeway because he can’t stand up straight or is bent over when walking…that’s what I have. At times, I can hardly walk. I just don’t walk very well. I can do basic things, but I can’t hike anymore. So a number of things are going on at the same time. While that wasn’t really painful, it was causing weakness in my legs. Serious weakness. All of a sudden when I got a recumbent I felt like I had a lot more strength in my legs. I don’t depend on my back as much to support it, and I don’t have any shoulder pain. It’s like a freeing experience. Anything over 15 miles, I’d start to hurt. For years I’ve endured it, and it’s kind of made it a slugfest on longer rides.



CR: Any particular recumbent riders inspire you to make this change?

JV: There was a change in recumbents about five years ago. There was this guy, Dave Karcher, who built carbon fiber recumbents. One of the things that had kept me away from recumbents was their weight. I just couldn’t envision myself riding a heavy bike. I could certainly afford to lose a lot of weight myself, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to go out and get a 25-30 pound bike. And I wanted something fast. I enjoy buying lightweight bikes. Even though I’m not fast, I didn’t want something to make me slower. So David Karcher came out with a carbon fiber recumbent he called a Carbent. He started manufacturing them, and he was a one-man operation. At the same time there was Bacchetta. Bacchetta produced a Carbon Aero and a Ti (titanium) Aero bike. They stopped making the Aero because (from what I heard) of supply problems. These were all high racer styled bents. High racers meaning that you’re sitting up above two normal-sized bicycle wheels when you ride. Plus you are significantly reclined.

I started watching some of the speeds and some of the comments of other riders. In the Northwest we have some incredible recumbent riders. One of them is Michael Wolfe. He is a member of Team Bacchetta and he has a Ti Aero and a Carbent. (Dana Leiberman bought David Karcher’s operation in California and he builds Carbents now down in Van Nuys California). Michael has shown that bents aren’t slow, and that they can climb. Further, at one point I realized my dream of owning a custom upright bike was gone as this pain wasn’t going away. You’re buying a Tony Pereira which is an awesome bike. (See previous post on CurioRando's next Randonneuring bicycle: a Pereira.) I considered a Pereira, but I realized there is nothing I could do on a regular bike without a certain level of shoulder pain, so I made the decision to step up to buy a carbon fiber recumbent bike. I bought a Carbent.



CR: Cool. What do you think are the recumbent advantages and disadvantages for randonneuring?

JV: One advantage is that over the long haul of a ride—this is not uncommon to hear—is the pain that you suffer in your body parts is only in your legs when riding a recumbent. I want all that pain to be in my legs. I don’t want it to be in my shoulders, my hands, my neck and my back. As a person feels more pain, more energy is put into staying comfortable and relieving pain.

On a recumbent there is only one kind of pain. Legs get a huge workout, but I have no pain in my neck, shoulder, hands. Some of the recumbent riders at PBP noticed that when they were 1000k into the event, they were passing riders on upright bikes who had passed them hundreds of miles before. This is because those upright riders were now dealing with various seat and neck problems.

Climbing is a challenge for me, but it has been said that when you can get your legs conditioned you can climb as fast as a seated bike rider. You just have to get used to it. I’ve got a long way to go on this regard. And then going downhill, riding into the wind, and riding on flat ground I’m faster. For me those are advantages for the long distance rider.

Then there have been examples of recumbent success: the four-man team on RAAM (Ride Across America) won this year on 23 pound aluminum recumbents. They beat all the other 4 man teams. Four guys in their mid to late 40’s beat all the diamond frames. They climbed as fast going over the Rockies as all the other bikes. They actually took over first place while going over the Rockies!



CR: Great. Let me ask you…

JV: Let me tell me about what I think is a problem with them. I’m pretty inspired about recumbents, and I’m a little defensive, internally, about recumbents, because I love upright bikes. It’s almost like I’ve had to go against my natural instinct toward upright bikes. Getting a recumbent is almost like moving from being a Boston Red Sox fan to a becoming a New York Yankees fan. I’m rooting for the other side or something. It’s a major change. People--I include myself--have a lot of basic prejudice against recumbents. Now the con side: at this point, I’m just not that fast uphill as I could be because I’m uncomfortable leaning back.



CR: You’re uncomfortable because you feel like you’re going to fall back over yourself or…?

JV: Your feet are up where your head is when you’re climbing. And you can’t use your upper body. On a regular bike I can fight, pull back, and scrabble with the handlebars. When I pull on the handlebars going up hill I end up all over the road. I have to separate my upper body from my lower body. I have to get it in a lower gear because I can’t use my shoulders and arms. So it’s going to take some time for me to stay relaxed and just lean back and push a lower gear. I sometimes feel like l’m upside down. It’s an uncomfortable position and it just doesn’t feel safe. But, I know that people get used to it. Some people say that drivers can’t see you and that‘s why people don’t like them, and I think that is part of why people don’t trust them. I just think that they’re just another form of transportation, and they are as safe as you want them to be. I try to ride defensively.



CR: Advice to those considering going recumbent?

JV: Well, I think there is a fellow up in Canada, David Cambon, and he made a good recommendation: get the lightest bike you possibly can. David has an excellent article about lightweight recumbents that can be found with a Google search. In the randonneuring world, typically carbon is not recommended for upright bikes. But if you’re going to go recumbent, shelling out the money to get a carbon fiber bike gets you a lightweight bike. There is a great deal of difference between a 25 pound bike and an 18 – 19 pound recumbent. I think that is big for any rider.

And then I think I heard a comment from John Kramer who was on the 400k brevet that you just rode on (see this previous post about the 400k per CurioRando), and he rode it on his recumbent. Kramer said “It may take a season." You don’t just hop on a bike as a whim and say this is good or bad. It takes a certain level of commitment to ride a recumbent successfully. I don’t expect to be fast on a recumbent, but I expect to be comfortable and I expect to finish, and it's taking me some time.

For a new person transitioning, give yourself time, maybe a season to improve. I figure I’m at about 80% there right now.



CR: Any realizations you hadn’t anticipated going recumbent?

JV: I didn’t realize the level of commitment that it’d take to become a good recumbent rider. I’d say I’m a much, much better rider now and I can hold a straight line. I can climb some hills, but when I look at the confidence of riding an upright, I look at a hill and I think: no big deal. I can shift into a little gear on an upright, and I can go up slowly, or I can go up in a bigger gear and work harder. On a recumbent there are some hills on which I lack confidence. On an upright I’m not intimidated by any hill. Getting to the point of looking at a hill and thinking it’s no big deal on my recumbent will take awhile. I still have some anxiety on a recumbent when I look at some steeper hills.



CR: Would you go back to an upright bike?

JV: Not anymore. I can’t do it. When I had my recumbent bike being repaired (See Part 2 of this interview where John details the car-bicycle accident he endured) I ‘d sit on an upright bike and go for a 15 mile ride. I wasn’t comfortable. I had such shoulder discomfort that after 15 miles it just didn’t feel good. There are all these pressure points that I had kind of forgotten about.

For me there is no turning back. When my recumbent is being repaired I ride my Glen Erickson singlespeed or my Eddy Merckx Titanium, and they are fine to ride but I just don’t feel the same. When I ride my recumbent I have no discomfort (laughing). Zero pain! So when I’m doing a 20-miler on my recumbent and I’m just doing a little lap around the community and back to the house, I just feel great. I ride faster and recognize its benefits. Sometimes I get into discussions with dedicated upright riders and they just roll their eyes at me.

Once I can stay on my bike and not get off on steep hills, and once I gain some of the confidence that I have on my other (upright) bikes, I’ll be fine. To me the advantage of a recumbent is you don’t have any of the things that distract: sitting on a saddle for 20, 36 or 40 hours tends to have its impact. I also know that my shoulders, neck, toes and hands don’t get numb. I don’t wear gloves any more. I don’t’ need padding from vibration. I hold my handlebars lightly. No weight is being applied there. For me it is a no-brainer: I make it on the recumbent or I don’t ride. There isn’t another way for me. It’s too nice a ride to go back to the pain I was having.

Critters, Conditions, Consumptions & Companions or The Oregon Randonneurs Alsea Falls 400k Ride Report

I'm betting you'd guess this is a picture of me AFTER the Oregon Randonneurs Alsea Falls 400k Brevet. Reasonable assumption given my countenance, but no, this is me right before our 6am start. I seem incapable of taking a photo of myself without blinking. I tried more than once. They all look like this.

My lids seem to want to protect my lenses from the light. Lenses are precious. They help us focus, to truly see. But they also eliminate the other in order to focus on the this. So for this ride report, I am choosing four lenses through which to view the Alsea Falls 400k: Critters, Conditions, Consumptions and Companions.

Critters

Oh, the critters. What a delight! Especially the night critters. I've camped out, backpacked, stayed up late, thrown green apples at bats to watch them invoke their radar, hunted until the sun set, played flashlight tag, and even fished once for most of the night for catfish, but I never penetrated the wild places through the night--awake all night long--before. The Alsea Falls route was really wonderful. While it wasn't the wilderness, it was for the most part forested or rural, and the wilderness creatures were present.

I saw all the usual--but each with its own charm--suspects: jays, herons, squirrels, hawks, deer, bunnies, butterflies, bees, and other unnamed-to-me insects. Knowing the names is important though. Check out this story about naming critters, about taxonomy, from last week's New York Times. One of the cited studies of taxonomy reveals that cultures worldwide almost invariably use two-word descriptions. For example, when the Mayans first encountered the Spaniards they called them village peccaries, for the Mayans were familiar with the pig-like peccaries and the peccaries provided a point of reference.

To further grasp the importance of naming, note that scientists have discovered that patients who have lost use of that part of the brain that names things, and hence know the names of no objects though their brains are otherwise fully capable, are wholly lost. As the article states, if you don't know a carrot from a cat, you don't know which to pet and which to grate.

That is the sad fate of the brain damaged, but what of our collective and voluntary naming atrophy? Carol Kaesuk Yoon writes in her story:

"No wonder so few of us can really see what is out there. Even when scads of insistent wildlife appear with a flourish right in front of us, and there is such life always — hawks migrating over the parking lot, great colorful moths banging up against the window at night — we barely seem to notice. We are so disconnected from the living world that we can live in the midst of a mass extinction, of the rapid invasion everywhere of new and noxious species, entirely unaware that anything is happening. Happily, changing all this turns out to be easy. Just find an organism, any organism, small, large, gaudy, subtle — anywhere, and they are everywhere — and get a sense of it, its shape, color, size, feel, smell, sound. Give a nod to Professor Franclemont (her Taxonomy professor of old) and meditate, luxuriate in its beetle-ness, its daffodility. Then find a name for it."

So as I was saying, I saw all the usual suspects--named and not--but I also saw some I don't see so often. I saw a few Vultures feeding on roadkill deer carcasses. Below is a photo of one--he is in the top middle of the frame--that I found feeding. I tried not to get too close, hence the poor photo, though really he wasn't obviously bothered by my approach. As I was taking this photo, a rider I had met but didn't know, Marcello (see Companions below), cycled by and we exchanged hellos.

I also saw a very large owl fly from a tree up into the top opening (for hay loading?) at the apex of the end of a barn. I'd sure be scared if I were a little field mouse and saw his shadow or heard his wing feathers whistling. I saw what I believe to be a Bullock's Oriole too.

And bats of course. Doing their best to keep the insects in check. But the highlight had to be the Bobcat that crossed in front of my path when it was fully dark. He bounded across the road on the edge of a small rise. Once he had crossed safely and was about to enter back into the foliage he stopped and stared back at me as I turned my bike and my lights lit up his eyes. Then off he went to do his/her Bobcat night thing leaving me to do my night thing.

Well, one of my night things turned out to be running over a critter. I had wondered about making critter contact earlier when I'd seen a deer cross my path a ways ahead. Having hit a deer once with my car, I got to wondering...what if I hit a deer with my bicycle. I've heard it has happened. What would I do?

Well, I found out what I would do. Not much. Tom (see Companions below) and I were riding through some backroads that snaked through farmers' fields when I heard a scrit, scrit scrit and at the same time saw a long, low critter entering the road from the brush alongside the left road edge. It just kept coming--scrit, scrit went its claws on the chipseal--until its trajectory met mine and bump went my front wheel. It happened so fast I'm not even certain whether I rode over it with my rear wheel too. I think not. I think it skedaddled fast!

It wasn't squishy. It was like running over a full fire hose: all muscled and tough. I first called it a weasel though the truth is I never saw its surprised face. Could it have been a pack rat? Also long and furry tailed (I've become all too familiar with them in Eastern Oregon). I certainly know what it wasn't. It wasn't a "regular" rat: no hair on the tail. It wasn't a porcupine: no flat tire! Not a squirrel: too small and are they nocturnal? Not a skunk: I wasn't stinking afterward any more than about 300k would normally induce. Not a mouse: way too small. Not a peccary: no tusks or villages around! Not a turtle: too fast and I didn't fall over from hitting a shell. Not a rabbit: it scurried, not hopped. Not a fox: no scampering, and besides no self-respecting fox would be so un-clever. Not a snake: no slithering. Not a cat: it was low to the ground. One indicator it wasn't a weasel is that it didn't go Pop! I went back to see if I could find it, and it was long gone.

I stayed upright, but it nearly upset my bicycle and me. And as a I said in my previous post, I doubt I hurt it much. From my experience running over my stepson's arm, it doesn't seem to do any damage. I also know from the recipient's point of view. I once had my foot run over by a car tire on a picket line, and despite only wearing tennis shoes I wasn't injured. So there you have it. Unless someone makes a better argument, I'm thinking it was something in the weasel family.

Other ideas?

Conditions

Starting off, I felt pretty darn good. In fact, I had enough in the tank as we approached the summit finish for the first controle that I surged ahead when another nameless-to-me randonneur called out "Eleven minutes!" as he rode past us indicating that the controle closed in eleven minutes.

I reminded him that the organizers relented to pre-ride protests that the controle couldn't be made in time due to the toughest climb being first up. The organizers replied that they'd not hold anyone accountable for missing the time limit on that mountaintop finish first controle. In short, there was no time limit.

He called back to me, between rhythmic deep breaths: "Do it honest!" And so I grabbed his wheel and hung on. I don't know if it was my Presbyterian upbringing and the call to honesty or a more base instinct like the predatory and unconscious but instant swat at a fly that happens by. For whatever reason, despite the voice in the back of my head telling me to pace, pace, pace, it is early, early, early, I stayed with him and we made it together at 8:40. Exactly on time with not a minute to spare as they do say.

The descent was a blast! A little while later I found myself really struggling. I attributed it to the wind and my foolish early push. Everything just seemed hard. At one point, I stopped to take off some clothing and as I pushed my bicycle back onto the road the rear wheel caught tight. Huh?

I noticed that my rim was rubbing the brakes. So that explains the difficulty. But why? Then it flashed on my mind and I thought my brevet was finished. The week before the ride I broke my freewheel on my 34 year old Fuji. My LBS replaced it with another used freewheel. They'd order a new one they said, but I'd forgotten to see whether it had arrived. Now I might be paying the price.

Investigating, I discovered that no, the freewheel was OK. It was just that the wheel was out of true. That accounted for the brake rubbing. It is at this point that the so-called "Curious Randonneur" wasn't so damn curious after all. I didn't seek out the cause of the untruthfulness of my wheel. I loosened the brakes to avoid the rubbing and rode on figuring I'd true up later.

As it got hotter, I felt tireder and listlesser, and the wheels turned slowerer and slowerer. I stopped to check whether the brakes were still rubbing--funny little sound--and at last I discovered the broken spoke. I also now recalled that funny big sound a while back that I attributed to a hard getting-into-gear but even then knew that it wasn't. That must have been when the spoke broke! Again, I hadn't been curious enough to check.

I was feeling less than self-congratulatory when I discovered the offending spoke, but all that soon changed. I reached into my toolkit and pulled out Fiberfix, a Kevlar-corded replacement spoke. The first words on the Fiberfix instruction sheet soothed my ego: "Remain calm and congratulate yourself for carrying Fiberfix in your tool kit."

Right. This isn't a crisis, this is a PBP preparation gold mine! I set up shop in a weedy but shaded gully. As I went to work other randonneurs popped in to check out the condition my condition was in as randonneurs are wont to do. Two, Brian and Dan, stopped to give me a few tips and graciously gave me some space too as there is nothing worse than performing bicycle surgery with more than a few helpful surgeons/chefs. In my haste, I failed to notice that the spoke was frozen to the nipple and I ended up driving the spoke through the rim tape and into my tube. Flat tire now too.

By now though everyone had passed me, or so I assumed. But I was rolling again with a new spoke. The picture below shows the Kevlar replacement in place but with the excess cord still uncut. Remarkable invention, Fiberfix is.

For the rest of the ride, my Fuji's condition was fine, and she got me through. My body was paying a price, however. Mostly little aches around the ankles, but also a deep pain in my left groin. I'd not had it on previous rides, but my physical therapist has certainly uncovered that weakness on her PT table so I wasn't surprised. Advil masked most pain, but I occasionally felt piercing pains there.

By the end of the ride I was tired. My groin hurt a good bit. But my spirits had remained pretty good throughout. I'd even thought up three jokes per my stepson's request (see Companions below) on the way to the first controle. Not great jokes, but you could tell they could be funny if you kind of squinted your eyes and cocked your head a little.

My true bodily condition was revealed after the ride. My outside right ankle, right on the bone that sticks out (Lateral malleolus muscle?) was bright red. Scarlet. So was my left front shin (Tibialis anterior muscle). My left groin was so weak I had to pull my left leg up by my hands, as when I got into a car. My pinky fingers were numb and tingly, and also up along the outside heels of my hands. Finally, I discovered butt welts that hadn't been bothering me. Especially on the right side, the side where I had a shimmed shoe. Perhaps I'm really getting some power from that right side now?

Today, a week later, all is good excepting residual tenderness on my left shin.

Actually, I think that's pretty good considering I had my bicycle fit pretty drastically altered just a week prior to the ride. I had two wedges installed under my cleat on each shoe to adjust my over-pronation. Also, it appears I have a cycling leg length differential (I'd suspected as much since my saddle rotates the post clockwise inside the seat tube). Therefore, my cycle fit physical therapist installed a shim under my right cleat. He also raised the saddle and moved it forward in order to close the cockpit. Finally, he moved my cleats forward to move my feet rearward on the pedals.

All together, quite a bit of adjustment. Just like you're not supposed to do. I will say though that my knees essentially did not hurt as they often do!

Consumptions

I'm a Perpetuem man myself. Mostly. I also take Hammer Nutrition Endurolytes for electrolyte replacement. Hammer Gels too. But I do get these salt cravings and I can devour potato chips like nobody's business. I don't eat chips regularly. "No Meats, No Sweets, No Frits" is my non-randonneuring mantra, but on brevets the chips fairly fly into my mouth.

I also took in some caffiene in the form of Hammer Gel and one cup of coffee at the Brownsville controle. I may have also done two Excedrin tablets for the caffeine.

I drink plenty of water I think. And I bought Tums for the first time, and took three or four of them. Oh yeah, and Advil. Too many, I'm sure, but it is tough to stay to the recommendation if you're going 24 hours without sleeping.

The other thing I tried to take in was the sights. I did stop at Alsea Falls after first riding right on by. I turned around chastising myself: "How could you ride hundreds of kilometers on the Alsea Falls 400k and NOT visit Alsea Falls?" It was hard to discern just how far from the main road the Falls were, but I coasted down and parked the bicycle. Walking down, then up the steep steps actually felt good. There was one couple cavorting on a log that spanned the river and another with two children who used their camera and tripod to take posed photos of themselves as in the one below. The Falls were beautiful and I'd have loved to pause longer, but my inner clock urged me on.

The photo below shows a covered bridge that I'm guessing all Oregon randonnuers know from their Covered Bridges 400k, but it was new to me. Oops, just learned this bridge is not on the Covered Bridges 400k!


Then there is this Victorian home I took in. I wasn't the only one. As I pulled up, two men stood back admiring their work. One was the owner--who wouldn't stand back and admire if you lived in such a fine home?--and he told me it was built in the 1890's.

I also took in much of the subculture of fast food stores and modern day mercantile shops. Folks were friendly and helpful, and the air was clean and honest. I passed by many great photo spots but regrettably didn't stop in my haste. A lesson learned for next time.

Companions

My first companions are Philippe Andre and Michael Wolfe, the mad creators of this route. See Michael's very desriptive pre-ride report here. It was much studied prior to this new route.

As others have noted, the idea that we'd talked ourselves into that all the climbing was over after the first major climb up Bald Mountain was folly. It was 13,000 feet of climbing all told I'm told. For me, that means this was the longest, steepest and darkest ride I've done. Bravo! Thank you Philippe and Michael. I'd also have to say this was the most beautiful route of any brevet to date for me. I'm told that Keith and Alex Kohan, Michael R. and Susan France also helped. Many thanks to all!

It was well organized with good spirit. What more could one ask?

My next companions were my wife, Pramila (aka DartreDame when she posts here) and her son, Janak, my stepson. They were incredible. They volunteered to join me for this ride just to be supportive, and I'm ever grateful. Pramila drove most of the five hour (backups out of Seattle, out of Portland, toward McMinnville, out of McMinnville) trip each way, but best of all was their planned food drop at the first controle atop Bald Mountain. Despite their getting lost and my getting there much faster than I anticipated, I only had to wait for them for about...five seconds. I topped the mountain dismayed to confirm (for they had not passed me) that they weren't there. As I was asking at the staffed controle how to deal with a later food drop, in they came. I delivered to Janak my three goofy jokes, and I was positively elated to be able to share with them my giddiness at not having such a bad time with what was the first and highest (3000 feet or so, I think) climb of the brevet.

Janak came out of the truck with a bottle of water for me in one hand and his stuffed animal (yet another Critter sighting!) in his other. They also gave me my three pounds of Perpetuem that I didn't have to haul up Eagle Mountain. Yahoo! This explains the secret of how I was able to push up toward the summit so easily.

I bid them a hasty farewell as I descended with many verbal good wishes tucked into my jersey pockets. Our good friends Aaliyah and Vesteinn (Vesteinn who completed his first century with Pramila) and their children Raisah and Kian had also made a point to wish me well because they knew how nervous (maybe grumpy is a more apt description?) I'd been. Their support carried me through the night!

Other than my critter companions, I rode alone all day and into the night. I can't remember where it was (somewhere between Monroe and Brownsville) that I once again met up with randonneurs. I recognized one, Marcello, whom I'd met at an earlier controle. When I Helloed them outside a convenience store he asked if I wanted to ride along. Boy did I! I can't convey how badly I wanted company.

His companion was Tom Russell hailing from California and relaxing on a recumbent. (Coming soon to this blog will be an interview with newbie recumbent rider but veteran randonneur, John Vincent, about his recumbent observations.) We struck out together, and it was a new ride for me. This is not to say, however, that I didn't enjoy the solitude. In fact, I did. And I was proud of my wayfinding in the night too. But I was ready for companionship.

As we started in I realized they were going a little faster than I would have liked. I made up on the hills as Tom on his recumbent naturally slowed there, but I've never been very fast on the flats. We rode along though pretty well until at one pont we were uncertain of our whereabouts. Tom volunteered to pedal back a half mile or so to double check while Marcello and I made small talk. He indicated he was wearying despite having just taken a 200mg caffiene tablet. He also had the resourcefulness to whip out his iPhone and verify we were in fact on the right road. Good going!

As we pulled into Brownsville, guess who we encountered? Pramila and Janak! What a surprise! Again with the water and the stuffy, Janak hugs and greets me. I had no idea they were planning to visit another controle. Turns out their Garmin navigated them to a small car ferry that was closed for the night, and they ended up driving around lost for hours!

Nonetheless, it was great to see them. Apparently, other randonneurs arriving before us had seen them too, and I'm getting the picture that randonneurs thought they were the "staff" at the staffed controle at Brownsville. Since randonneurs encountered them first, most ignored Keith and Alex who had in fact volunteered to staff Brownsville. Pramila told me of helping one randonneur remove his jacket because he was so spent he couldn't accomplish that simple task on his own. Turned out they were unbeknownst-to-them controle volunteers!

We rolled out of Brownsville with the end in sight, but Marcello was apparently still tiring. A little while later he told me he wanted to rest for "15 minutes". I turned around and there was no Marcello. Tom and I found his bicycle on the ground and Marcello is flat on his back on the side of the road, already half asleep. We offered to wait for him to finish his nap. We gave him a Tums tablet, but he insisted we go forward.

This was a new deal for me. Though I had read about randonneurs flopping any old where on the PBP and other long rides, I'd never done it nor seen it done. I had this odd feeling of deja vu when Marcello repeated he only needed "15 minutes" and then he'd catch up with us. It was as if Tom and I were buddies in the First World War overlooking our platoon mate who'd been mortally wounded. When our wounded pal said he'd meet us at Yankee Stadium for Opening Day next year we assured him knowing he wouldn't last another hour: "Sure, Marcello, we'll save you your usual seat behind the dugout old buddy."

I just had this sense that Marcello was done for. He couldn't finish, despite our acknowledging that we'd see him later on the route. Marcello had also told me of this other randonneur who had started late Saturday morning and was still behind us on the route. I was dubious, since I had been bringing up what I thought was the rear with my broken spoke delay, and surely such a randonneur would have caught up to me.

In the end, Tom and I pedaled off leaving Marcello on the ground somewhere just before the stop sign at the crossing of a highway.

Tom and I continued and I peppered Tom for some tips and lore. He gave it up. Randonneurs who commute every day to and from work, he said, had an edge. That constant riding, even if not long mileage, adds up and keeps you strong. He also believed that the R-12 program, riding a 200k or longer brevet every month for 12 consecutive months, builds the kind of strength a randonneur doing longer brevets needs. I logged each of these tips in my randonneur training memory bank.

When we reached the Salem controle, it became evident that we might finish in under 24 hours. Amazed though I was, I was also tired. I put it to Tom that if he wanted to push on at a sub-24 hour pace he was free to do so, but that I didn't think I could sustain it. He may have been disappointed, but Tom didn't show it. Instead, he graciously cooled his jets and stayed with me. Thanks, Tom!

Eventually, the dark was peeled away by a determined morning light. Instead of just hearing critters dart off in a rustle of weeds when they heard us pass, we could actually see the morning birds as well as hear their calls. Navigating got easier. Our spirits perked. And we made it in.

My first 400k! And with time to spare. Why was I rushing so much after all? Why didn't I cavort more at Alsea Falls? Next time, I kept thinking. Next time, I will stop to savor even more.

We checked in with Philippe and learned that indeed there was another rider out there: Bill Alsup who provides a crisp ride report here. I really like his report, and his pictures are excellent and remind me again what a great ride it was. Below is Tom on his recumbent as we cross the City line.

And what of Marcello? Of course he made it! Why had I ever doubted? Marcello is a veteran of four years randonneuring. He plans brevets. He finished with Bill Alsup and they had time to spare. Oh me, of little faith!

And this was my biggest lesson: no matter how you feel now, it can change, and better: you can change how you feel yourself. Marcello knew exactly what he needed and it worked. Now that I've seen a flopping randonneur with mine own eyes I just may have to adopt the strategy myself!

There are many lenses, and as a newbie each brevet is an overload of information. I learned a little about what I consume, and I'm learning more about conditioning with each brevet: body, mind and equipment. But most of all, I really delight in the Critters and Companions. Critters and Companions are powerful lenses through which to focus, name and take in this wonderous world.

Keep it flopping,

CurioRando