Sunday, September 23, 2012

23 September 2012

Conversation at the gas station in Clinton yesterday.

Me: So when's kick-off?

Gamecock Fan: 3 o'clock.

Me: So it'll end around 6 or 7?

GF: That's about right.

Me: Ok, so we don't want to get back to town until after that. Thanks.

GF: What?

Me: Some people go one way for game day, others go the other way.

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Sunday, September 16, 2012

16 September 2012

More CRAP200

Went to Peak today to check out the Palmetto Trail there. The trestle across the river is accessible by dirt road, which is fine, but the RR bed is gravel. I'm thinking get off it around Hope Crossing, which is Mile 3. Gonna be a rough 3 miles.

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16 September 2012

Put together the first leg of the planned Columbia-Ridgeway-Peak 200k Permanent yesterday. Provisional name: CRAP200. Don't let it fool you.

From the gas station at Trenholm and Forest Drive its 25 miles to Ridgeway. Store in Ridgeway will be Control #2.

Out Trenholm
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A couple of turns later, on to Hardscrabble and Grover Wilson
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Then bang a left on Smallwood
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And you're pretty much there
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And as a bonus I ran into a Wayne and Josh in Ridgeway, making the ride home go pretty quickly
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And a bonus shot. Because I can.
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Friday, September 14, 2012

9 September 2012

Raced the Fools Gold 50 yesterday, and went in with the same plan as last year: don't stop until Aid 3, then see what's still in the tank. All went fine until somewhere around mile 35. Last year I slowed up on the double track right after Aid 2 and stuffed my face before the climb started. This year I figured I'd wait until I had to start hiking before stuffing my face, but by then it was too late. Though I had both food and water with me, I came back to Aid 3 in a calorie deficit, and probably not very well hydrated, and never really recovered. Managed to struggle home, helped by the knowledge that there was at least one guy in my class chasing (turns out he wasn't, but I appreciated the boost anyhow), but every little climb after Aid 3 felt like an impossible struggle.

Fortunately its mostly down hill from there. Got caught by a couple of gearies on the last two miles of pavement (dammit) and just felt like crying when I hit that bumpy grassy "trail" there at the end, especially that last little grunt. That was very nearly more than I could handle.

Crossed the line at a near standstill but managed to stay upright, ignored my lovely wife until I could see straight, and eventually jumped in the pool then got a beer and started to pull myself back together. Eddie and Namrita put on a class race, one that my only regret about is that I never really get to enjoy all that great singletrack at the end because I'm just too wasted by then. Good times though, good times.

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Photo courtesy of Regularjoe Photography
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The empty podium. What's wrong with these guys? How can we raise our arms in victory when the top step is empty? :(
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4 September 2012

Heh
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20 August 2012

Deerfield Dirt Road Randonee (D2R2).

Spectacular ride. Maybe 15 miles of pavement and the rest dirt road. Nasty climbs, screaming descents, and a really diverse group of people. This is a bucket list ride.

Rolling out
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And onto the dirt.
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A quick section of pavement -- most were less than a mile long.
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This wasn't a mass start event, so we spent much of the day as a duo. Lots of people out there though
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Typical ho-hum yankeeland views. Ride was in northern MA and southern VT.
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Course took us right through a couple of hill farms. Dairy country for sure.
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And some pretty nice places out there as well.
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Not a ride without a cemetery
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I could spend my eternity here
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A small sampling of the many, many boutique steel frames out there. Steelwool Truffle Pigs. You can Google them.
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Back on the road. Ho-hum.
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At first I couldn't figure out why everyone was all dressed up for a sag. Then I realized it was a wedding in a field. Surreal just as we crested the last hard climb of the day.
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This was the sag. Artists house for sure.
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Homeboy
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The last 15 or so miles was mostly downhill. A really nice way to end the day's riding. Not without its challenges though, as this also saw the roughest road -- I know it claimed at least one rider as he was down when we went by.
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Tent at the finish. BBQ and beer. W00t!
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And home for second dinner.
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The profile. This is the short course -- about 73 miles. The long one, on tap for next year I hope, is about 112 miles.

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