That's right - I'm now a Super Randonneur! 600k: done....finally.
06-18-12, 03:36 PM
#1
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That's right - I'm now a Super Randonneur! 600k: done....finally.
The third time was the charm! What's different this time? Well, this was the Salt Lake Randonneurs' Triple Loop 600 - a route that will become known as a beautiful ride in a state where we were treated extremely well.
The weather forecast was spectacular as compare to the AZ Tombstone 600 where we endured continuous rain, freezing temps, hail and wind. In actuality, the temps were well into the 90's and we suffered a little but nothing that a couple of boys from AZ can't handle.
The route was also much, much simpler than the OC 600. I enjoyed the bike paths there and the other riders we encountered were as well-behaved as the traffic. A missed turn put us and five other riders too far off course. It was our mistake and we learned from that lesson too.
I left Phoenix at 10 AM last Wednesday. The plan was to make the drive to Nephi UT in two days and really enjoy the trip. I spent the night in Panguitch where I've been twice before on motorcycle trips. I arrived in Nephi around 1 pm and started prepping my recumbent for the ride.
Part of that prep involved making a new seat pad. When I left the office in Phoenix, I was distracted and forgot to remove my seat pad. I realized what happened way outside of Flagstaff. I didn't panic – instead, I stopped in Parker AZ and purchased a camping foam mat at WalMart along with a utility knife and some velcro strips.
I quickly trimmed out two pieces to lay back-to-back and then used the velcro to keep them in place. I was quite irritated at having lost a seat pad and having to 'make do' for a 600k.
My riding partner showed up late that night and quickly got himself organized. We set our alarm for 3:30 AM to eat and prepare for the 5 AM start on Friday morning.
Richard Stum is the local RBA and one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. There were only five that signed up for the ride, 4 on the 600k event and one on the 400k event.
The first 60 miles were uneventful - we knew that the biggest climb of 2100 ft started outside of Sigurd and it went on for about 10 miles but we also knew that the reward was a nice long gradual decent - not enough to coast all the way but enough to lighten the load.
The rest of the day was uneventful - just turn the pedals, watch for vehicles and talk to folks at our stops. This is rural Utah and in these small towns, I imagine most of these are LDS - we were treated extremely well. As we progressed towards evening, we found ourselves closing in on Big Rock Candy Mountain which, if you know the song, was named after the song came out. US 89 runs here and the route put us on a 12-mile bicycle path. Riding beside the Sevier River in a late daylight was pretty cool - literally.
On the bike path:
The worst part of the ride put us back on US 50 outside of Aurora for another longish climb towards I-15 and Scipio. That road had a bit of truck traffic headed to the interstate and not much of a shoulder to ride on either. Luckily, it was dark and I was comfortable riding the lane and could see well enough behind me to move over for traffic. As typical in Utah, most of the uphills were two lanes up. I only recall a few instances were we were short of traffic lanes - mostly, it was good shoulders and wide lanes plus the scenery was beyond spectacular on Friday.
Once we cleared the Scipio control, we headed up the access road beside the interstate and then took a slight turn to the east where we cycled by Yuba State Park. It was getting fairly late so the park was quiet – everyone else was asleep. We headed a bit to the north were we enjoyed a fast ride on I-15 for about 5 miles or so. I was worried about this part but due to the hour, traffic was low and very respectful. I don't recall a single vehicle that failed to move over to the other lane!
The rest of the night was kind of cold – probably in the mid-50's which felt good after the heat of the day. We had picked up another rider who was slowly but surely getting sick. We spent that last 20 miles with her throwing up every few miles. That slowed us down a little but there was no way I was leaving her out there by herself in that condition. We arrived back to the hotel around 2:45 AM which gave us enough time to sleep until 5:45. I fell asleep at 3:30 and got just over two hours of sleep. I had sent my wife an email and told her we'd be up at 5:45 and of course, she called at 5:48 to give us some encouragement! We managed a good breakfast and hit the road by 7 AM. That gave us an hour in the bank for the remaining 200-km which was reported to be flat. The plan was simple - enjoy the last 200 k and be safe.
As we headed out of Nehpi towards Mona, we turned a little west and enjoyed a little canyon riding towards Goshen. As I made the turn into Elberta, my front wheel washed out in gravel and I went down hard. There were some Jeepers waiting on their friends and they asked if I was ok. I laid there for a few seconds to do a quick inventory of my feelings and pain. Nothing felt broken and as I got up, I didn't seem any worse for wear. Nothing on the bike was broken – I adjusted the handlebars a bit and got ready to go.
Then, I noticed something was wrong with my left shoe – the quick-release buckle was broken. OK – not a big deal. I fished out some duct tape and did three wraps around my shoe. Not quite “Breaking Away” but it enabled me to continue the ride!
Our goal today was essentially to cycle around Utah Lake. The west side isn't really developed until you get up to the northwest corner of the lake. David and I rode together a lot but for the most part, I ended up well in front of him and would wait at major turns until he caught up. Our route took us through a housing development so I waited at this turn for him. In fact, I found a nice, shaded sidewalk, parked my bike so he could see it and laid down to rest.
An older lady walked by and asked if I was ok – I confirmed that I was and she went on her way. 15 minutes later, she was back and asked me again. I guess I looked more “homeless” than “cyclist” and she was truly concerned. David rode up literally seconds later and the lady relaxed knowing that we were on a event together. I was touched and grateful for her concern though!
One thing that struck me about Utah was the economy – it really seems to be booming. Every other vehicle was a huge 4X4 puling a ski boat. Unbelievable. For the most part, we didn't have any issues – it was just a typical summer Saturday near a major lake!
Richard Stum was all over the place. We couldn't ride 50 miles without seeing him on the route. And seeing Richard meant access to a cooler full of drinks, fruit and snacks. Man – you couldn't have asked for more from an RBA.
When we were cycling in Provo, someone stopped us for directions – I didn't stop but David went to school there and clearly knows his way around. When he caught up with me, I asked him about the stop. “She wanted to know how to get to BYU.” His response? “Study hard and get a good SAT score.” And then, he laughed and gave her directions.
We were stopped by Richard again a bit north of Payson and had yet another drink and snack. Richard gave a heads-up about the next climb and of course, we missed our turn, went up the hill for about a mile before I realized we were off the course. We talked about it and decided to go back to the wrong turn per the rules and to insure we didn't mess up completely. Now, I hate getting off course but I'd rather ride downhill to get back on track than have to go uphill! Unfortunately, we went down the hill just to discover we had to go back uphill only a block over! Oh well, we were within the rules and this second hill wasn't quite as steep.
By this time, we were both ready to finish - I did my typical ride-ahead of David and flew back through Mona at close to 20 mph. When I reached the final turn 5 miles from Nephi, I waited on David. He came along shortly and we rolled into Nephi at 7:15 pm. That put us at 38:15 total – not a fast time but that wasn't our objective – we only wanted to finish and we accomplished that.
I drove back to Phoenix yesterday - fairly sore but nothing major. My wife scheduled a massage for me this morning so I went to a local spa and used their jacuzzi and pool before the massage. I'm a little sore but nothing major.
Next up is the CO Last Chance. I have a lot of work to do between now and then and I'll likely stay on South Mt every Sunday until then. It'll do me good and this kind of training help me on this 600 also. I never rode more than 50 miles since the last 600 attempt and I was fine – not the fastest but plenty of strength. Right now, I can't quite wrap my head around a 1200 – but, I'll figure it out with the advice here and on other sites!
The weather forecast was spectacular as compare to the AZ Tombstone 600 where we endured continuous rain, freezing temps, hail and wind. In actuality, the temps were well into the 90's and we suffered a little but nothing that a couple of boys from AZ can't handle.
The route was also much, much simpler than the OC 600. I enjoyed the bike paths there and the other riders we encountered were as well-behaved as the traffic. A missed turn put us and five other riders too far off course. It was our mistake and we learned from that lesson too.
I left Phoenix at 10 AM last Wednesday. The plan was to make the drive to Nephi UT in two days and really enjoy the trip. I spent the night in Panguitch where I've been twice before on motorcycle trips. I arrived in Nephi around 1 pm and started prepping my recumbent for the ride.
Part of that prep involved making a new seat pad. When I left the office in Phoenix, I was distracted and forgot to remove my seat pad. I realized what happened way outside of Flagstaff. I didn't panic – instead, I stopped in Parker AZ and purchased a camping foam mat at WalMart along with a utility knife and some velcro strips.
I quickly trimmed out two pieces to lay back-to-back and then used the velcro to keep them in place. I was quite irritated at having lost a seat pad and having to 'make do' for a 600k.
My riding partner showed up late that night and quickly got himself organized. We set our alarm for 3:30 AM to eat and prepare for the 5 AM start on Friday morning.
Richard Stum is the local RBA and one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet. There were only five that signed up for the ride, 4 on the 600k event and one on the 400k event.
The first 60 miles were uneventful - we knew that the biggest climb of 2100 ft started outside of Sigurd and it went on for about 10 miles but we also knew that the reward was a nice long gradual decent - not enough to coast all the way but enough to lighten the load.
The rest of the day was uneventful - just turn the pedals, watch for vehicles and talk to folks at our stops. This is rural Utah and in these small towns, I imagine most of these are LDS - we were treated extremely well. As we progressed towards evening, we found ourselves closing in on Big Rock Candy Mountain which, if you know the song, was named after the song came out. US 89 runs here and the route put us on a 12-mile bicycle path. Riding beside the Sevier River in a late daylight was pretty cool - literally.
On the bike path:
The worst part of the ride put us back on US 50 outside of Aurora for another longish climb towards I-15 and Scipio. That road had a bit of truck traffic headed to the interstate and not much of a shoulder to ride on either. Luckily, it was dark and I was comfortable riding the lane and could see well enough behind me to move over for traffic. As typical in Utah, most of the uphills were two lanes up. I only recall a few instances were we were short of traffic lanes - mostly, it was good shoulders and wide lanes plus the scenery was beyond spectacular on Friday.
Once we cleared the Scipio control, we headed up the access road beside the interstate and then took a slight turn to the east where we cycled by Yuba State Park. It was getting fairly late so the park was quiet – everyone else was asleep. We headed a bit to the north were we enjoyed a fast ride on I-15 for about 5 miles or so. I was worried about this part but due to the hour, traffic was low and very respectful. I don't recall a single vehicle that failed to move over to the other lane!
The rest of the night was kind of cold – probably in the mid-50's which felt good after the heat of the day. We had picked up another rider who was slowly but surely getting sick. We spent that last 20 miles with her throwing up every few miles. That slowed us down a little but there was no way I was leaving her out there by herself in that condition. We arrived back to the hotel around 2:45 AM which gave us enough time to sleep until 5:45. I fell asleep at 3:30 and got just over two hours of sleep. I had sent my wife an email and told her we'd be up at 5:45 and of course, she called at 5:48 to give us some encouragement! We managed a good breakfast and hit the road by 7 AM. That gave us an hour in the bank for the remaining 200-km which was reported to be flat. The plan was simple - enjoy the last 200 k and be safe.
As we headed out of Nehpi towards Mona, we turned a little west and enjoyed a little canyon riding towards Goshen. As I made the turn into Elberta, my front wheel washed out in gravel and I went down hard. There were some Jeepers waiting on their friends and they asked if I was ok. I laid there for a few seconds to do a quick inventory of my feelings and pain. Nothing felt broken and as I got up, I didn't seem any worse for wear. Nothing on the bike was broken – I adjusted the handlebars a bit and got ready to go.
Then, I noticed something was wrong with my left shoe – the quick-release buckle was broken. OK – not a big deal. I fished out some duct tape and did three wraps around my shoe. Not quite “Breaking Away” but it enabled me to continue the ride!
Our goal today was essentially to cycle around Utah Lake. The west side isn't really developed until you get up to the northwest corner of the lake. David and I rode together a lot but for the most part, I ended up well in front of him and would wait at major turns until he caught up. Our route took us through a housing development so I waited at this turn for him. In fact, I found a nice, shaded sidewalk, parked my bike so he could see it and laid down to rest.
An older lady walked by and asked if I was ok – I confirmed that I was and she went on her way. 15 minutes later, she was back and asked me again. I guess I looked more “homeless” than “cyclist” and she was truly concerned. David rode up literally seconds later and the lady relaxed knowing that we were on a event together. I was touched and grateful for her concern though!
One thing that struck me about Utah was the economy – it really seems to be booming. Every other vehicle was a huge 4X4 puling a ski boat. Unbelievable. For the most part, we didn't have any issues – it was just a typical summer Saturday near a major lake!
Richard Stum was all over the place. We couldn't ride 50 miles without seeing him on the route. And seeing Richard meant access to a cooler full of drinks, fruit and snacks. Man – you couldn't have asked for more from an RBA.
When we were cycling in Provo, someone stopped us for directions – I didn't stop but David went to school there and clearly knows his way around. When he caught up with me, I asked him about the stop. “She wanted to know how to get to BYU.” His response? “Study hard and get a good SAT score.” And then, he laughed and gave her directions.
We were stopped by Richard again a bit north of Payson and had yet another drink and snack. Richard gave a heads-up about the next climb and of course, we missed our turn, went up the hill for about a mile before I realized we were off the course. We talked about it and decided to go back to the wrong turn per the rules and to insure we didn't mess up completely. Now, I hate getting off course but I'd rather ride downhill to get back on track than have to go uphill! Unfortunately, we went down the hill just to discover we had to go back uphill only a block over! Oh well, we were within the rules and this second hill wasn't quite as steep.
By this time, we were both ready to finish - I did my typical ride-ahead of David and flew back through Mona at close to 20 mph. When I reached the final turn 5 miles from Nephi, I waited on David. He came along shortly and we rolled into Nephi at 7:15 pm. That put us at 38:15 total – not a fast time but that wasn't our objective – we only wanted to finish and we accomplished that.
I drove back to Phoenix yesterday - fairly sore but nothing major. My wife scheduled a massage for me this morning so I went to a local spa and used their jacuzzi and pool before the massage. I'm a little sore but nothing major.
Next up is the CO Last Chance. I have a lot of work to do between now and then and I'll likely stay on South Mt every Sunday until then. It'll do me good and this kind of training help me on this 600 also. I never rode more than 50 miles since the last 600 attempt and I was fine – not the fastest but plenty of strength. Right now, I can't quite wrap my head around a 1200 – but, I'll figure it out with the advice here and on other sites!
06-18-12, 07:23 PM
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Congrats on a great ride. sounds like a lot of fun!
06-18-12, 07:55 PM
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I love reading stories like this, thanks. I have experiences where people thought I was homeless and they tried to give me money. I got a haircut and shaved since then though
06-19-12, 07:28 AM
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I enjoyed reading both your stories. Congratulations on a fine ride.
06-19-12, 11:12 AM
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Good job! Enjoyed your ride report. As to riding a 1200, that's impossible! But if you ride to the first control, then to the next, and so on, sometimes you'll find that you've gone 1200 or so km in 90 or so hours.
Nick
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06-19-12, 12:05 PM
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Congrats!! I have to admit that the 600 is still daunting me -- think I'll do a couple more 300s and 400s before tackling it.
07-02-12, 10:32 AM
#8
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A few pictures - from https://www.saltlakerandos.org/
The beginning - I'm the second from the right, the big duffus - don't let the little lady in the middle fool you - she's reportedly done 10 or 20 of these. She'll ride you into the ground! In fact, the guy on the right did the 400 and of the other four, three finished. The lady on the left had severe GI issues - I lost count of the number of times she threw up on the first night.
Early morning, day 1:
Second morning:
At the finish - I was done - ready to get a shower and some real food that is meant to be eaten slowly and enjoyed!
The beginning - I'm the second from the right, the big duffus - don't let the little lady in the middle fool you - she's reportedly done 10 or 20 of these. She'll ride you into the ground! In fact, the guy on the right did the 400 and of the other four, three finished. The lady on the left had severe GI issues - I lost count of the number of times she threw up on the first night.
Early morning, day 1:
Second morning:
At the finish - I was done - ready to get a shower and some real food that is meant to be eaten slowly and enjoyed!
07-02-12, 11:46 AM
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Great work and determination to finish the series. Once an SR, always an SR is the tradition..................but keep on riding.
07-02-12, 01:22 PM
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You bet - we'll keep on keeping on. All I've accomplished is setting the bar a bit higher!
07-03-12, 08:30 AM
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Great ride and ride report . . That event, sounds like, has the ideal setting for me. I will look at the event page to find out more
07-03-12, 07:26 PM
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James, I can't say enough about the job that Richard did in his support of the event. The scenery is, in places, spectacular too.
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