R-12: We Did It!

If you hear something while reading the following text, don't worry it is only the incessant sound of me patting myself on the back.

In a previous post over a year ago I set out to win the Randonneurs USA R-12 Award, pictured above. The inspiration for the attempt came from a rider named Tom Russel from California who accompanied me at the end of my first ever 400k. Tom said that one of the best ways to get to Paris for PBP was to ride more and more consistently, and that in addition to cyclo-commuting, the R-12 was his ticket.

Because the R-12 is awarded for riding a 200k (or longer) brevet or permanent in each of any 12 consecutive months, it keeps you going. On that cold day in the winter when it's hard to get up, what gets you up in spite of yourself? R-12 does! You may curse R-12 as you're rolling out of bed, but R-12 does the trick.

And as I eventually learned, the more months you have invested the harder it is to give up. I actually had one start that I aborted in November of 2009 because I had a sinus infection. Having had just two months under my belt, is wasn't difficult to make that prudent choice. But once I had 8, 9, 10 months down, there was no way I was going to be deprived. So I planned, and stayed in touch with everything related to finishing one 200k each month: health, family and work responsibilities, weather, etc.

But really, the secret to my success was following Dr. Codfish's 10 tips published in the RUSA newsletter. You can do no better! As always, Dr. C puts it out straight.

For a peek at some of the rides that I counted toward my monthly 200k-or-better-ride (some were Brevets, others were Permanents) starting in Decemeber of 2009, select R-12 in the "topics" sidebar to the right.

But why do I say "We Did It!"? Because it is a whole family endeavor to fit in a 200k or more once/month. Much juggling to keep it going, going.... Thanks DartreDame and SingingCyclist!


Keep it going, going...,

CurioRando

Jan Heine on Bicycle Planing again...on podcast

Photo of an Albacore dinghy planing, from Wikipedia.

Planing is Jan Heine's way of describing when a bicycle absorbs some of the energy from a pedal stroke into the frame and gives it back in the form of propulsion at a later moment in the pedal stroke. At least that is my one sentence take for the uninitiated. Jan publishes Bicycle Quarterly and the blog Off the Beaten Path. Jan explains that he and his pals were inspired by a boat's planing for their naming a process that others have described in bicycles in various ways over time. He didn't invent the concept, but as he says he has attempted to synthesize the notion and test it some.

If you are at all interested in bicycle design or how pedaling techniques interact with bicycles with varying tube sets and therefore a range of flexibilities, then you have to listen to this interview podcast of Jan Heine by Georgina Terry of Terry Bicycles. Because Georgina is herself a builder, this podcast has real depth and some back and forth going on.

What I am finding I really like about some podcasts is this very depth that you just don't get in the written word alone. The interchange brings out many nuances, and in this instance we get a much clearer sense of what Jan contends as well as what he has inklings of or wonders about but wouldn't put in print because he isn't sure just yet. I really enjoyed this podcast, and I found it very informative.

I know I probably sound like an apologist for Jan, but having seen how some have attacked him, at times pretty unkindly--including really getting after him on one listserve for his remarks on planing from my interview here with Jan (Part 2 of a 3 part interview)--I just want to say a few things. First, I think folks think bicycles are very simple when in fact they are simple to ride but are pretty complicated when it comes to their physics. I believe that leads some to assume we've got bicycles figured out and what could be so new, right?

But Jan rides a lot of different bicycles and puts them through the paces, along with some of his pals. He has a perspective from having ridden so many bicycles that is hard to match. Also, I believe much of what we think we know about bicycles, like most things these days, is informed by those who try to sell us things, in this case bicycles. They are marketed to us, and the marketers convince us of all kinds of things about tire rolling resistance, frame flexibility, number of gears we need, how a certain shifting mechanism will improve our ride, etc. And just because racers ride some of the bicycles doesn't mean what they need in a bicycle is what we need.

And, when someone challenges some of the things we "know"--like Jan does--some get edgy.

Now I'm not saying everything Jan contends is right on, but I don't know anyone who has contributed as much to opening our minds and bodies to what else might be true about bicycles than what we think we knew. I admire his courage on that. And, I think if you listen to this podcast you'll find a thoughtful take, not a dogmatic one. Check it out.

For more on my interviews with Jan go to Part 1 and Part 3. For more on the whole notion of cycling podcasts, check out this previous post, especially the reader suggestions about their favorite podcasts. And for more on pedaling technique, stay tuned. I've got something fascinating on the way soon!


Keep it flexible and open-minded,

CurioRando

Bangalore's first brevet: 188 Registrants!!

Stop the Presses! I just checked the Bangalore Brevets website to see how they were coming along with their first ever ACP-certified 200k brevet in Bangalore, and they have closed registration it has become so popular!

I greet this news with a mixture of mostly extreme happiness for them tinged with a smidge of my own regret that I won't be there to ride it with them. Their brevet is this Saturday the 15th, and I left Bangalore on the 5th. Darn!

But as I said in my previous post, with a billion people and 8 million alone in Bangalore, they have a great future ahead of them. The photo above is the Start/Finish in Cubbon Park. This is where DartreDame did her fitness running/walking when we were there.

One of the organizers is Rohan Kini, with whom I traded emails but unfortunately never got to meet. He was out of town just when I was in town. Dartre and I did visit his bicycle shop and dropped off a few SIR trinkets and several copies of Bicycle Quarterly, and a few pictures from the visit are below. Rohan's blog, Bums on the Saddle, is here, and is very much worth checking out.



Sidhartha, who works with Rohan at his shop showed Dratre and me around even though the shop was closed. It is a rooftop shop up several flights of stairs. Great space, and from the rooftop you can peer around to other buildings in the city.



Rohan graciously invited me to join his group that met last Saturday to plan for the big event, but again I couldn't because I departed just a few days prior. Not that I'd have been much help. One of the things I need to do this year is start paying back to my own organization by volunteering on our brevets. To date, I've been a freeloader.



Here I am just outside the shop in the stairwell.



Well, perhaps I'll meet Rohan and his gang in Paris this August. I'm sure there will be plenty of tales to tell about their first year of randonneuring. Bonne route, all you Indian randonneurs!

Keep it growing,

CurioRando

Cycling into Christmas Day...and into India!

Was I nuts to ride a borrowed bicycle through the dark, strange streets of Bangalore with heavy traffic heading toward me on the "wrong" side of the road, and the real possibility of a milk cow, bullock or dog jumping into the mix? I don't think so. If anything happened, my riding companion was a brain surgeon after all!

Plus, every vehicle driver honks at least every 15 seconds, so I was never caught unaware of a single vehicle's presence!

Seriously though, I will confess to nervousness as I anticipated my first cycling in India. But as with just about all of the things we most fear, it's just not that bad. And in this case, I truly loved it!

I couldn't have had a better guide. Arvind Bhateja, pictured second from left above, happens to be a neighbor in DartreDame's parents' apartment building. He is also fast. He finished first in the first ever Bangalore brevet the week before (though this one wasn't ACP sanctioned, their upcoming one is!) in about seven hours. Told you he's fast. Arvind is also training for an upcoming Triathlon in Singapore.

Arvind is also very generous. Since I had no ride, he loaned me his Look 566 bicycle (after he made saddle and handlebar adjustments). And though I know he had planned to ride like the wind with his cycling pals (Roopak Suri is on the left and Mohan Kumar is second from the right), he hung with me instead.

Roopak lives in Delhi, and he too is very fast. He rides about 300k a week, I think he said. He is on the Delhi racing team. Mohan, again also fast, is newer to cycling, and he hails originally from Kerala, DartreDame's family's home state as well. My next trip to India, I hope we get to visit beautiful Kerala!

So what was the riding like? First off, you've got to visualize yourself as a corpuscle in the bloodstream. That was my strategy. You've seen those photos of cells going through an artery, right? All the corpuscles are individual, but they bob along despite obstacles and always squeezing through like one fluid unit. That was my vision from riding around in cars and auto rickshaws, and it worked for me on the bike.

In our case, we corpuscles departed before dawn so as to escape Bangalore Central prior to the arterial traffic rush. Christmas Day is an official holiday (residual from British times?), but most shops are open and traffic is still as congested, so leaving early was a good strategy. The challenge with that is seeing the road. You just can't assume the road is smooth, because it might be for a long while then...boom! There will be a deep, gaping hole. But I had taken my Ixon IQ light plus a helmet light, and I stuck to Arvind's wheel pretty tightly. And when the morning brightened, I knew I had endured the worst.

And as Arvind had planned we were nearing the outskirts as the Sun came up, and all was good. He pointed out the beautifully designed buildings at the high tech center called Electronics City. Big campus with gracefully carved, space age-looking buildings.

After we hooked up with Roopak and Mohan, we headed for the gate that sits on the border between the states of Karnataka (home to Bangalore) and Tamilnadu. The whole time we cycled on Hosur Road. And the road condition was actually great outside of Bangalore proper. It was about a 60k ride, roundtrip.

On the return we stopped for Chai Tea at a local roadside stand. That's where I took the photo below of Arvind's bike that I rode, and where a fellow traveler snapped the shot of the four of us above. I'm not a coffee drinker, so the cliched randonneuring coffee stops here in the Seattle area don't interest me, but if we had little Chai stands I'd be hard pressed to ride by without stopping. It was a sublime cup of tea, and with me cycling in India!

Then, entering back into Bangalore, the Sun really came out and so did the people. We passed by all kinds of shops just opening up. My favorite was riding by a meat stall with a butcher carving up a goat hanging from a hook just feet from us in the morning glow. It was Christmas morning, and I was cycling in India.

I wish I knew how to convey my love of India. All I can conjure up is that it is a present place, and I feel very much in the present there myself. I'm sure being on vacation and being held gently by family and friends like Arvind is part of it. I recognize that when I've been in India I've not been jammed for time between work and other demands. But still, I've vacationed other places too, and India and Indians are special. Cycling into India was beyond special! Thanks, Arvind, for your generosity.

A few other notes. Arvind's family founded a hospital in India. His wife, Anandita, is also a physician, and while we were there she ministered to the SingingCyclist's health as he recovered from a diarrhea and vomiting bout, to DartreDame and her sinus and diarrhea issues, and to Maya, Dartre's mother. She has treated lots of issues for building residents over the years, and for no compensation. She says simply: "Why have a physician in the building if you can't be cared for?" I also witnessed first hand as both Arvind and Anandita answered pesky medical phone calls from patients at all hours of the day and night without complaint. These examples perhaps get at part of the Indian spirit I cherish.

Now don't go thinking I was any kind of intrepid traveler cycling in India. Millions do every day. They typically ride Atlas or Hercules bicycles that are truly utilitarian. Built tough and heavy to last, they are everywhere. I got the impression though that serious road cycling for sport may not be viewed as such a revered thing since many regard the bicycle as a sign of the lower classes. That may explain why there are relatively so few sport cyclists. I asked Arvind whether he figured he knew all the sporting cyclists in Bangalore ( a city of 8 million residents), and he reckoned he did. And Bangalore has got the most robust cycling scene of any Indian city. With a country of over a billion people, talk about a potential audience for randonneuring and other sport cycling!

And of course I've already posted about one of the first cyclists in India. Remember Thomas Stevens?

And finally, see how visible I am in the photo above with my randonneuring reflective sash? I think I agree with (was it Jan Heine?) who said that reflective gear is more effective than lighting as for cyclists being seen. I really like my new Indian cycling pals; I do encourage them to consider seriously the complexities of being seen when cycling at night. This is one of the lessons I've learned from my nighttime randonneuring: you just can't overdo it, and reflective gear on the moving parts (legs and feet) go a long way.



Keep it present,

CurioRando

New strategy to finish PBP

Another Christmas gift, this one was from DartreDame. Ain't it great? This is my new strategy to finish: visualizing French wine!

The poster, titled The Road to Paris - La Route à Paris, is by Mike Valenti of TheVeloist.com. She bought it at BicycleGifts.com.



Keep it inspired!

CurioRando

Zimbabwian bicycle built for...me!

The Singing Cyclist with his Christmas gift for me. It is a handmade bicycle model from Zimbabwe, made with local materials. Very cleverly executed. He bought it at ZimFest, a celebration of Zimbabwean music where he and the band of children he plays with, Shumba, perform their Marimba magic.
Here's a close-up.

Keep it handmade,

CurioRando

Our Bums on the Saddles in India?!

One of the delights of my life is the opportunity to visit India. Our next trip, coming very soon, will be my third, and this time we are planning to cycle the streets of this fascinating country peopled with truly wonderful and generous folk.

But wait, there's more. We are traveling to Bangalore just as they are kicking off their first ever randonneuring brevet, or organized, long distance, unsupported ride. Not only that, but we are visiting DartreDame's parents (SingingCyclist's grandparents), and one of their neighbors who lives in their small apartment building is an original Bangalore randonneur.

Imagine the odds: there are over a billion Indians, and just over 100 of those billion participated in their first ever Bangalore brevet, and of those 100 one is a friend of my mother-in-law and father-in-law!

So yes, we plan to cycle, and we plan to visit with a few randonneurs. Another Bangalore randonneur I came upon via twitter is the blogger responsible for the Bums on the Saddle blog. Rohan apparently is the owner of a bike shop in Bangalore, and he is quite the proponent of cycling in Bangalore, and near as I can tell one of the organizers of the randonneuring community in Bangalore.

Check out his blog and you'll discover links to Bangalore Brevets Facebook pages, details on the Bangalore brevets, plans to participate in Paris Brest Paris for the first time like me, and much more. Most of all, you'll be charmed I'm sure by the enthusiasm they exhibit for their newly discovered sport of randonneuring. This spirit of enthusiasm and appreciation for the best of Life is precisely one of the aspects I treasure about my visits to India. If you'll permit me a generalization, I must say that this unselfconcious exuberance for Life is characteristic of India and Indians. One need look no farther than the the unbelievable castles, the heart-stoppingly beautiful clothing, the powerful and evocative fragrances of incense, the incomparably delicious and diverse cuisine, and iconically, the Taj Majal itself, one of the world's true wonders.

But of course, the best example of Indian beauties--Taj Majal included and that is saying something!--is Indian women. Exhibits A and B: DartreDame and her mother!

Can you tell I'm excited?

And what of the cycling there? I must admit I'm a little nervous because there are so many cars and autorickshaws and motorscooters that it is a bit intimidating. I've learned though that the bicycle rides begin early in the morning when it is pretty quiet, so one gets out of town before the craziness. That makes sense, and from another link I can't find now the quiet morning streets are a treasure of their own.

The only bummer is that we are missing the actual brevets by mere days. The launch (not ACP-sponsored) was on December 5 and the first official brevet, the 200k MG Road, Bangalore - Mandya - MG Road, Bangalore Brevet, will be on January 15, after we depart.

But if all goes well for me this year and all goes well for the Bangalore randonneurs, we will all rendezvous at our very first Paris Brest Paris come August!

Oh, and for examples of the stunning Indian garb I mentioned check out this link to my previous post. And, for street scenes of working bicyclists, see this previous post.


Keep it enthused!

CurioRando

Gotta Love Pittsburghers!

Why love Pittsburghers? For starters, I'm one. Or was one, but moved away, but still am in my heart.

For a good look into one of the things I like about Pittsburghers--that they don't take themselves so seriously--check out Ed's Pittsburgh/Beaver County Bicycling Page. The graphic at the top of this post was taken from Ed's page.

But navigate around and you'll see what I mean about Ed's style.

And I love his pics and cartoons. He's even got a photo of the Cyclo-Mower, like the one I posted about. The picture I love best though is the guy toting his deer on his back as he rides his bike. I hunted deer in Pennsylvania (who doesn't there?), and I can just see my buddy Bob doing that. If that's what it takes, why not?

Keep it not too serious,

CurioRando

Fall City, Granite Falls, Falling in Love with Fall, Part 1

Fall is my favorite season. The leaves, the smell of salmon carcasses, ripe manure, spawning, briskness, clarity.

Until Winter. Then I'm a prisoner of snow, the smell of smoke from a woodstove, getting cozy, hot drinks.

Then Spring.... You get the idea. My stepson, the SingingCyclist, often asks which I like better: this or that. I'm just not a this or that guy. I love them all!

So right now, I'm infatuated with Fall. What follows is a two-part album of Fall pictures from my weekend Permanent: the SIR #0850 UW-Granite Falls-Fall City Permanent.



A barn I happened upon.




And the horses that called this barn home.





See ya next time, pals.



Above is a sign by local police calling out why the liquor privatization initiatives in Washington State (I-1100 & I-1105) are bad news. They will cut local law enforcement by stripping millions in revenues from local communities even while they increase access to hard liquor from 315 outlets to over 3300. Bad news, indeed.

UPDATE: Initiatives 1100 and 1105 did fail. For randos, that means that in Washington State, car drivers can't buy hard liquor at a convenience store until 2am and drive on down the road after the bars close and we're out there with our faithful blinkies in the dark. A small but real consolation. Hard liquor can still be bought in State Stores that close much earlier and do a proven much better job at not selling alcohol to minors. For full disclosure, I worked hard in my day job to help defeat these initiatives. Yippee, we won!

Now that is not to say this randonneur doesn't like his post-brevet drink. Deed I do! A little Scotch can be just right!

Not everyone agrees with the way I look at things though, and this ring-nosed bull got a little irritated as I focused in on him.

Here, he's pawing the ground and feigning coming toward me.

But I backed him down with my heart forward approach, and we became friends.

Like many Fall days, this day had many moods. Here is my bicycle just after crossing the Skykomish River near Monroe. The Sun was out, the sky had blue patches, and my bicycle fairly shone. But that was just one moment.

In Part 2, we'll discern this coming Winter's weather with the help of one of our critter pals, and we'll also see whether another critter pal is in contention for a world record.

Keep it Falling,

CurioRando

Heart Forward Bicycling




This photo is from the Yoga Flavored Life blog.

My Physical Therapist has helped me a great deal on this randonneuring journey of mine. As I have pushed my body, mind and spirit farther and wider than anticipated, I have found that physical therapy has helped me learn about my body, mind and spirit. I am way more tuned in than before. Even my daily posture has improved! Well, sometimes.

I've got all kinds of exercises she's recommended for this or that ailment: Achilles, shins, back, knees, neck, other assorted body joints and parts.

But one piece of advice I really like and that applies every time I saddle up is the heart forward suggestion. It isn't a pose like the one above exactly, though that pic captures the feeling. The idea is that when I mount the bicycle I am to lower my torso toward the top tube further than I will when riding in the drops. Then gradually ease up into the riding position instead of starting up and coming down into it. And, importantly, I am to embody a heart forward posture of peeling my heart away from my backbone. It is a gentler alternative to arching my back, and I find myself relaxing into heart forward, not pushing into it.

It's also good later in the ride, when I might be tensed up, shoulders up to my ears and such. By adopting heart forward in my mind, spirit, body, I loosen up.

And most of all, if my neck is sore and I adopt a heart forward posture, my neck pain disipates. I can be down in the drops and pained in my neck if I'm not heart forward, and voila!: with heart forward my neck is all good. Try it.

Looking down the road from a dropped position with my heart forward doesn't strain my neck. Looking down the road from that same dropped position but with a sunken back does strain my neck. I'm repeatedly amazed at how well heart forward works, but it does.

And you knew this was coming: I love the way the two words capture the journey I'm about to begin as I saddle up: heart forward!


Keep it forward,

CurioRando