antimonysarah

There's also the central NY one (same weekend as NJ -- I'm doing NJ because my friends are, but otherwise I'd be back for another loop around the CNY one). Edit: see you in NJ! I'll be the fat woman on a white-and-blue Seven.

I was pleasantly surprised that I managed to keep myself cool enough on the Florida rides; I did hit a bunch of points where I suddenly HAD TO SIT IN THE SHADE RIGHT NOW but I did so and was fine. I did get a little salt-short the first day in the heat, mostly notable because I got horrible hotfoot, then ate a pile of salt at the next control and put my feet up, and that solved that.) I'm hoping it's not too hot in NJ, but it's flat enough I can afford to take my time cooling off when I need to.

I missed the NER 300k because I had made a dumb error putting my bike back together, had failed to shake it down after, and couldn't figure it out in the parking lot. Sigh. I did do the Vermont 200k on my gravel bike, which was a blast. Definitely recommended, even when (like this year) there's a LOT of mud on the dirt roads. Next ride is the 200k/300k I'm organizing in Burlington VT -- I'm going to ride the 200k and my husband will sign cards until I finish (given who's signed up so far, I may be lanterne rouge for the 200k but should be back before any speedy 300kers show up...) If anyone still needs a 300k, it should be a fun ride (8k of climbing, neither flat nor mountainous, as many gorgeous lake views as you could possibly want).

unterhausen

Of course, just after I made hotel reservations for DC, I got notification that I can ride the NJ 600. Fortunately, I can cancel the reservations.

I wasn't really sure of the bike I rode on the PA 600k. I just put new tires on and was riding them tubeless. I thought they would probably hold air, and they did. Didn't really stress me out too much, but it wasn't great. I was carrying 4 tubes and had another 2 in my drop bag, so if they let go I could cope. I also made a front rack but not a decaler, and that was almost a mistake. Hit a big bump and the bag started dragging on the front wheel. Not enough to be dangerous, but I didn't want to wear a hole in the bag either. Fortunately, there is a strap on the bag that I could wrap around the back of the stem. It's really secure now, but I need to make a decaler.

Registered now for NJ, yay! Hopefully I can find a hotel. Got hotel rooms for friday and sunday, so I'm good

rhm

Well that's good! Looks like your spot opened up as soon as I relinquished mine, so at least my misfortune benefited someone.

I'm just back from a long drive to adopt my ailing mother's dog. So now I'm home with three dogs who don't exactly get along yet. They'll be fine in a week or two, but right now, this seems a poor time to go for a 400 km ride.

unterhausen

Sorry you can't ride. We had the 3 dog problem when we adopted my mom's dog. She has finally settled down, but at first there was the occasional threat of violence. She's an Elkhound, which is a small dog, but not particularly safe around other dogs.

clasher

I’m doing the Ontario devils week rides, we started with the 300 on Saturday and it was 8 hours of heavy rain, we even got a bit of hail tha forced us to seek shelter on a farm for 15 minutes. I ended up doing my fastest 300 since we didn’t want to stop longer than necessary. Riding with wet kit all day I ended up with some pretty major chafing. Doing the 200 today probably didn’t help that but it was a gorgeous day, mild winds and temperature with some sun and some clouds, not a lot of humidity so nearly perfect riding weather.

I’m really on the fence about doing the 400k since I did one two weeks ago and the weather is supposed be cool and rainy for the entire ride. The 600 looks decent so far, weather wise.

unterhausen

nice. Might be worth it to take a break

brockd15 

I finished up my first Super Randonneur series last weekend with the Santa Cruz Randonneurs Surf City 600k. I did the same ride last year so I knew what I was getting into and that it would be tough. I DNF'd the SFR Fort Bragg 600k a couple weeks due to calf issues and unrelenting nausea, so I needed this one to wrap up the series and qualify for PBP.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/29720174

The hard part of the Santa Cruz 600 is that there's quite a bit of climbing in the first 100 miles, then a strong and steady head wind for a good portion of the last 200k. For the nausea, I changed my diet to be really carb heavy and light in protein/fat and it worked really well, I had no problems for the whole ride. Otherwise, it was in the upper 40's / low 50's and raining for several hours on the second day, and I think the rain combined with the head wind led to about a 50% DNF rate (there were only 13 or so people on the 600k and about the same number on a concurrent 400k on the same roads). For me it's mostly a mental battle, being at a control and knowing that there are ~60 miles ahead of almost non-stop, strong head wind that will mean an average speed of probably 10-13mph, with rain on at least part of it...but I'm really glad now to have gotten through it. I rarely get muscle soreness from cycling, but after this one I'm pretty sore, like I was doing squats and lunges!

unterhausen

Congratulations, sounds like a tough ride.

atwl77

Haha, that first 100+ miles looks like it was specifically designed to maximize the elevation of the course. But at least it comes early, those are usually way easier to deal with than the big climbs that come near the middle or end of the route. Headwinds, yeah those suck completely. Arguably more that climbs, in some cases. Congrats on the finish.

clasher

I DNF'd my 600K after 396km... I had the meanest saddle sores by the time I got back to the starting motel so I went to bed and decided to stay there instead of risk serious infection. I had 19:47 left on the clock to finish the last 210km on the 600k too which was my fastest time ever for that distance. I had a flat 10km from hotel too which was lucky enough to happen near a construction site with a big light and a comfortable spot to sit and work. There's a few more 600k rides on the calendar so I can probably still qualify for PBP but if I continue to have saddle sore issues I won't bother going. I've been putting Povidone-iodine on the area since I got home and it's really made a difference so I might start carrying iodine prep pads on long rides so I can disinfect the area occasionally. I also want to find some sort of rain pants or just pack a change of shorts if it's gonna dry out.

skiffrun

Try lantiseptic. ( https://ncrandonneur.blogspot.com/20...ic-debate.html )

unterhausen

I agree with lantiseptic. Has gotten me through a lot of rides. I carry 3 levels of saddle sore protection. First is chamois cream. But you don't want to use that if you already have sores. Next up is bag balm (for cows), which is pretty much just lanolin. Then I have lantiseptic. Just carrying chamois cream would probably work if I would use it at the first sign of trouble, but that's not how I usually do things. I'm probably okay without anything right now, unless it rains.

clasher

I'll look for something like lantiseptic since they don't seem to sell that exact product up here. I've seen bag balm at tsc too. I'm thinking of doing a 600 next weekend and there is rain in the forecast so I need to come up with a plan.

antimonysarah

I am currently waiting for 300k riders to arrive at a 200/300 I organized—I rode the 200k while my husband ran the finish; it is so much more challenging to think about staying awake that long even if I would be fine riding the 300.

unterhausen

Lantiseptic is a lot like diaper creme. Definitely has zinc in it. But you might ask around to see if other Canadian randonneurs have ideas of a substitute. I always had good luck with Vaseline, but some people cite problems with it. Bag balm seems like a good compromise. I put both the bag balm and chamois cream in refillable squeeze tubes intended for hikers

clasher

One of the guys I was riding with left me a tube of Lanacane Anti-Friction Gel to try next time, it doesn't seem to have the same antiseptic qualities as lantiseptic does though, it seems more like a chamois creme to use as a preventative. Next time I'm at the drug store I will look at all the salves they sell and see if there is something comparable.

unterhausen

the advantage of lantiseptic over the other two cremes I use is that it's like glue. When you have actually lost skin, you don't want relative movement. But I know people that have had success with numbing gels.

skiffrun

Raleigh Region 600 is this coming Saturday, June 8.
HIlly for 40 miles.
Some gentle inclines for 10.
Dead flat for 285 miles.
Gentle inclines for 10 miles.
Hilly 40 miles to finish.

I'm tellin' ya', come on down.
I know you'd have to drive Friday, but ...

Oh, I have to work so I can't do the ride.

unterhausen

I"m doing the New Jersey 600k this weekend. I wanted to come down to NC earlier this year, not sure about right now since I know my heat tolerance isn't that great yet.

vintagecycleguy

Hey guys

I'm new to the forum but I have a lot of interest on training for long rides and maybe competitions in near future.

I have a steel vintage bike and am looking for another one for this project.

If you can share other threads that I can find more info I'd appreciate all the help.

Safe ride everyone and best of luck fulfilling your cycling goals!

unterhausen

there are lots of threads in Classic and Vintage that talk about using vintage bikes for long distance. There was a recent thread in here, can't remember what the title was though. Here is one from C&V that pops up occasionally https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ear-sport.html

If you have a more specific long distance bike related question, feel free to start your own thread about it, you will get plenty of discussion

gecho

My legs and knees feel better after this weekend's 400 then probably any of my 200/300s, so I think I finally found the perfect saddle position. But my neck was very sore at least half the ride, something I need to fix before a 600 in 2 weeks. I'm going to try Specialized's Hover bar which has a 15 mm rise, and 5 mm shorter reach than my current bar.

The 400 was my first ride with a SP PV-8 dynamo and edelux 2 headlight. If they could double the light output of the edelux through a more efficient LED I think it would be perfect. The light from one of them is ok, but when two of us were riding side by side the amount of light was very nice.

It was also the second ride with my Velo Orange Randonneur bag. I really appreciate the huge size and that it isn't connected to the bars, but I try to keep bulky but light items such as clothing inside it. Without that bag I might have opted not to take a sweater, and would have been very cold after 1 am. With any heavy handlebar bag you have to get into the habit of never letting go of the bars while off the bike unless the bars are turned sideways or supported against something. The first time I used it last year the bars swung around while I was stopped and slammed my bar end shifter hard into the top tube dislodging the shift ring. I thought it was broken not simply dislodged, so I spent the rest of that ride in friction mode.

I really should get around to sewing some external straps onto my trunk bag so I can carry stuff like a jacket on the outside instead of needing to squeeze it inside.

downtube42

Memorial weekend was the Oregon Randonneurs 600k, and my final PBP qualifier. The forecast called for rain Saturday with lows in the low 40's and highs only in the 50's. Sunday's forecast was a slight chance of rain with high near 80. I had some scary cold experiences with the Kentucky Randonneurs a few years ago, so I take cold/wet forecast seriously. I used this as a gear check for PBP; I'll carry a bit more clothing for more days, but not really that much. I wore a wool jersey and rain jacket, shorts and leg warmers, On my feet were wool socks, with light covers over my shoes. I wore poly ear warmers and gloves. On the bike I had an extra poly jersey, arm warmers, leg sun sleeves, rain pants, a second pair of gloves, socks and shorts for the 2nd day. The extra clothing was both a potential additional layer for warmth, and 2nd day clothes. I typically bring a baseball cap for rainy rides, but forgot it at home. It will make the trip to France. The temp dropped when we crossed the coastal range, and the rain continued. At the stop in Neskowin, on the coast at mile 150, we all got pretty chilled. A rider who'd been there for a while looked seriously cold; he'd just purchased and donned a fleece pullover from the store. As is typical on cold rides, I got colder sitting in the control drinking coffee. When it was time to to I put on my rain pants for warmth; within 10 miles I was overheating so they came back off. Climbing back over the coastal range warmed us all up, and the other side had warmer temps and perhaps even less rain. My riding buddy had taken a low-speed spill on slick pavement back on the coast, and he was dragging a bit. At mile 220 we rolled back into Newberg, the start town. It was 12:30 AM. Our sleep hotel was another 25 miles down the road, but my buddy decided to DNF due to issues from his fall. I wasted a good hour having late dinner with him at a 24-hour restaurant, then continued solo down the road. I was thinking I might be in bed by 3AM, but a flat 1.5 miles from my hotel changed that story. I pulled a shard of metal out of my tire, picked up from a railroad crossing. Someone actually drove by, turned around, and came back to see if I needed help. I was good, I said, and waved him on. At my hotel, the clerk informed me my prepaid room had been forfeited since I didn't show before midnight, and was occupied - as was the entire hotel. Evidently one has to inform hotels, even if a room is prepaid, of a late arrival. Dumbfounded, I said I'd just ridden 240 miles and was going to sleep somewhere. She gave me a blanket and pillow, and pointed me to a quiet area outside the conferences rooms. Without a shower, I changed into the next day's clothing, laid down on a sofa, and went lights out in about 5 seconds. Slept like a baby.
Day 2 started with a hotel breakfast, and I was quickly on the road. 2nd breakfast was the day's first control, just about 20 miles down the road. Delicious french toast at the Blue House Cafe in Independence, OR. I saw a couple other riders coming into town as I left my restaurant, but I didn't think they saw me. Most people had slept back at Newberg, and I had no idea who might be ahead or behind me. The next event was a short 5 minute ferry crossing. The weather was worlds apart from Saturday - it was warm and sunny, and would eventually get almost hot. Sunday was mostly flat, with a bit of headwind for the last 70 mile northward push, but not too punishing. I was solo all day long, just passing a few slower riders who'd evidently opted for less sleep, and occasionally seeing faster riders departing controls as I arrived. Three miles from the finish, on the busiest section of the route, I flatted. I botched the first repair, ruining a tube due to rushing. While patching a tube for the 2nd repair, some riders I'd passed earlier went by. Finally rolling again, the last 3 miles seemed to go on forever. The finish was open control at Newberg. Burgerville was the stop of choice, so I joined the other finishers for a meal and some conversation. We were all pretty wiped out. It had been a tough ride, with the rain and cold of day 1 really zapping our strength. My buddy who DNF'd also decided to forego PBP this year, despite his preregistration and booked travel plans. He and his girlfriend will have a nice vacation in France instead. I'm in, going for my 3rd time. I feel like this 600k was a good test of my gear as well as my will. PBP here we come.

vintagecycleguy

Thanks a lot my friend. This is a good starter!

atwl77

Congratulations on the finish. I don't have any experience with cold weather, so your account and clothing load out was helpful. Ear warmers... I probably gotta look into those...