Weasels Ripped My Fleche

 

The Seattle International Randonneurs Fleche is all set for April 16th-17th.  Ralph and Carol have been herding cats, and they mentioned that some of you may not have signed up yet.  Are you kidding me?  Don't wait.  Order before midnight tonight. Carol will throw in free powder coated mini-donuts at exactly the right secret time.  I promise. 

Last year was my first fleche, and you just can't have more fun freezing, throwing up, emitting greenhouse gasses, and generally goofing off with your friends for 24 hours.  It's not possible.  Robert's ride report gives a fair summary of the Painted Fleche experience.  

Here's just a taste, an amuse bouche, if you will:

"Greg and Joe were harassing each other most of the way and everyone in the group seemed to have problems with gas. I suppose I should say that they didn’t have a problem letting it go. Honestly, this is the smelliest ride I have ever been a part of. That includes my trips through farm counties."

But wait.  There's more!  

 

After the finish, we camped out in a nice comfy hotel.  The next morning, we relived the whole thing while listening to live church revival singers.   I tried desperately to replenish the calorie deficit from the day before.  Bacon was involved.  Serious bacon.  There were eggs as well; I'm sure of it.  I may have seen a fruit. 

At brunch, everyone told lies stories about the ride.  Everyone from escargot to montagnards got medals.  I know!

So, if you are on the fence, sign up already.  You'll want to get a start on the planning; the only thing that takes longer than riding a fleche is planning a fleche.  

We hope to see you at the finish.  We will be out there, as will all the zombie truckers. 

Weasles Ripped My Fleche

(Greg, Bill, Don, Ken, Joe)

As the Wikipedia entry reports, quite nicely:

"Frank Zappa recruited artist Neon Park to create a subversive image based on a cover story from the September 1956 issue of Man's Life, a men's adventure magazine. After showing Neon a copy of the magazine, Zappa inquired, "This is it. What can you do that's worse than this?"   

Neon's answer was to craft a parody of an advertisement for Schick brand electric razor based on the "Weasels Ripped My Flesh" theme.

PegoRando

So there are a few bikes in the garage, and I decided to make one of them a lighter rando bike. Dario Pegoretti might just say, "No soup for you!" if he saw this. Or he might just smile and say, "Good on 'ya." I'm betting the latter, except he'd probably say it in Italian.

I'll put some better pictures up later, but she's a great ride. Thin wood fenders. Schmidt hub. Berthoud bag. All-weather all-day goodness.

Did the Alps again today with Vinnie, Kole, and Greg. It was a stunningly nice day for February in Seattle. Last time I rode the Alps, I had a tough go of it, so today was especially rewarding to clear my head.



I managed to hold back early and save something for (Lake) Alice (Road.) Alice and I have a bit of a stormy relationship. Last time I visited her, she was not so nice. Today she decided to play Good Cop so that I will come around again. I think she's toying with me, but I'll take it.

We just got back from a week in Calefornya, and when I got home, I had a nice surprise from Ron in NJ. He sent me this most excellent jersey, which I decided would feel right at home on The Alps. At the finish, I could swear I heard the jersey say something. It sounded like, "Yeah, Buddy, do that ride five more times in oppressive heat, and then you can wear me."



One of the riders in this picture did the ride. I think he's the one pulling the group through the night with a creaky bottom bracket.

Who knew that wool jerseys handle drool really well. I suspect there will be a few more Seattle Randonneurs at the next iteration of the ride.

Thanks Ron!

Oh, and it just wouldn't be a blog post without a shot of the little one.



Great day.

New Year's Resolution

Well a few of us headed out on New Year's day for a 200K from Olympia that went out and back along the Hood Canal. Once again, it was wet.

We are pretty sure people in cars thought we were doing our one ride of the year as part of some some quickly fading new year's resolution.

Dr. Codfish set the hook, and we all rolled out in good spirits.

Codfish and Boothby beat me to the Blog.

It never ceases to amaze me how comfortable one can be in lousy conditions with the right clothing. Some clothing, however, is just not right.

One really really rotten piece of clothing are my Gore Bike gloves. They have a small issue when they are wet.

No big deal, but when wet, you simply can not put them back on.

The liner gets so sticky it's just impossible to get your hand back in. Well not impossible; you can work your hand back in over, say, a couple of hours. Perhaps I'm not using them as intended, I mean who would ride Gore Bike gloves on a bike in the rain; that's just crazy.

Ok, whining out of the way.

The guys at Hoodsport Coffee Company win the best coffee control award. They are just the friendliest folks ever.

The control in Brinnon was a little less cozy, but they had this beverage that sure seemed like it would get you home; I went with the microwaved Frappuccino instead.



It was pretty windy, and at one point a big branch came crashing through the trees and landed on the road in front of me. Luckily, only this moss landed on my cue sheet. For you kids on Facebook, you already know that it's only rando if I ate it or used it as insulation in my shoes.



I was well fed on bagels at this point in our little adventure, so I didn't even think to eat it. Perhaps it would be a good substitute for the miracle trace elements found in Endurolytes? In the Pacific NW, the moss grows on all points of the compass. Sadly, you can't navigate by moss.



Boothby was a bit smug about his dry clothes in Hoodsport. He was smug enough that Ken, Lyn, and Chris attacked on this hill when they realized that his pannier, avec wet clothes, weighed about as much as Don.





The Boothby is the official winner of That's Rando! Congratulations, Don!

I almost didn't have a winner because I couldn't take my hand out of my glove to get a picture. At this point Ken took pity on me and lent me these really cool gloves that you can actually use in the rain. I know!

Anyway, here's to Don's 60 pound pannier. Good on you Raleighdon!

Winter Solstace 200K.

No, Munchkinhead didn't ride the 200k, but she did play in the snow. With the requisite kid picture out of the way, we return to our regularly scheduled ride report.

Mark sent out an innocent enough e-mail, and 13 or 14 of us showed up at Peet's Coffee ready to roll at 9:00PM.

Mark:

"Do you always watch for the longest day of the year and then miss it? I always watch for the longest day in the year and then miss it." - Daisy in the Great Gatsby.

"I'd hate to wait for the longest night of the year and then miss it." - Me

"Here we go (all night long)" - David Byrne

"You know the night time is the right time." - John Fogerty

Enough already, you get the point. All night permanent Sunday night to greet the winter solstice at 9:30 Monday morning.

Easy pace; hang out at Denny's (80km) and Shari's (140km). Like a fleche in the winter.

Meet at Redmond Whole Foods for a 9:00 PM departure. Permanent #606-Redmond-North Bend-Leschi-Redmond.

BYO route sheet, registration/waiver, warm clothes, and good lights.

Leave good sense at home. Won't be helpful.

(There was a complete lack of Photoshop this year. All of these images are straight from the camera.)

TRFKAF did a nice report here.

We rolled out into a pretty good rain. I'm always amazed how comfortable one can be in nasty conditions with the right clothing. If you read the rabbit's report, I also overcooked the descent to the valley; it was an odd mixture of not enough breaking with a fear of applying too much breaking with no visibility. It turned out OK, but I think I'd carry oh, about half as much speed, next time.



We had a guest along for the ride -- world famous blogger and wet weather clothing tester, TRFKAF. Cecil came too. I had not ridden with Cecil and Floyd since the Berkie 200 in the Spring. Believe it or not, we agreed that the Berkie was much wetter. Yeah, no kidding.



TRFKAF likes to snuggle with a Planet Bike Superflash. Seems reasonable.

We spent a bit of time stinking up the grocery store in North Bend. I think this was just after midnight. Robin looks tired, which I don't understand; he checked the "go fast" box on his Waterford order form. Somehow I missed that box. I will need to talk to Richard about that.



The researchers at Very Big Sports Food Company Of America would not be happy with Vinnie's food selection here. Real food; it's for controls.



We later stopped at a less luxurious gas station control in Newcastle. We made up for the food with extra stink. This stop was a bit odd. It felt like we were in a movie about all the strange things that go on at a mini-mart in the middle of the night. We did our part to contribute to the scene.



We've been talking about these burritos all fall. I have not tried one twice yet.



Mark brought along a weather appropriate pen. "Rite in the Rain."



Robin brought along his "go fast" pen. He claims this is the secret to his speed. I'm going to buy one and attack!



It didn't matter what kind of pen Steve had. His control card was a bit moist.



And now let's play, That's Rando!



When we got to the finish, there was no question, no question at all, who today's winner was. Vinnie isn't one for records, but he likes riding his bike with his friends. I did spy a tiny little extra smile as he handed in his card.

From Geoff to the SIR List:

Congratulations Vincent !

Monday morning Vincent broke the legendary Dan Driscoll’s 2007 record of 21,244 K in RUSA rides. Vincent now has 21,307 K of RUSA rides for 2009… and he’s not done for the year! It is fitting that Vincent broke the record on a truly rando ride – the first annual (?) Winter Solstice ride … riding through the night, in the rain, with a dozen other odd ducks.

When you then add in his international riding – the Granite Anvil 1200, t he Sydney-Melbourne 1200, his riding in the Pyrenees – and the PAC Tour Mountain week, it is simply astounding.

It’s been great riding with you this year !

Geoff

Chapeau, Vinnie!

When is 480 = 200?

I wanted to get my December R12 in the books early this month. It rained yesterday, and then it dropped below freezing. The roads were pretty darned icy, and they were icy for a long time. I left the house with a normal bike, but it was so slick driving, that I went home and grabbed the freshly built 1971 Roberts with studs shown here in repose.







Greg pointed out that quite a few people signed up. Most showed up. Some started. A few finished.

He is going to make a nice flow chart illustrating the decision process and the relative brightness of the different choices. I don't suspect the finishers will come out on top.

Vinnie, with a killer jersey, had not ridden since the 1200 in Australia that finished the day before yesterday, so he was in.



We ate healthy as usual.







There was a beautiful sunset over Lake Sammamish.



It was a great day. A couple of riders went down in Renton on the ice. After everyone checked out OK, some smarty pants told Greg that he was really glad he crashed because he needed to stop and pee. Said smarty pants does not take credit for this line, as Greg has heard this before.

I was really really slow with the studded tires, but my 480 studs helped me feel safe on my 200K. Yeah, I'm sort of a belt and suspenders guy.

Today's That's Rando! winners are everyone who thought about riding, didn't ride, rode, DNF'd, or finished the ride. Group hug.

This Just In: Brad Still Out Of The Office!

Sometimes on rides, blackberries and iPhones come out at controls. Today was no exception. People check up on news, wives, facebook, etc. Sometimes people even navigate with these things.

Today, we checked in early and often just to make sure Brad was still out of the office. He is. We refrained from calling his assistant and asking if he could come out and play. Hopefully we will see you soon, Brad.

The parrot is thriving, and there are hats near the university.

Mark likes to ride his bike.



One of the best things about the convenience stores -- besides the rotating hot dogs (for display purposes only) - are the things posted on the bulletin boards. Heck, you can find real estate agents, tire chains, and lost dogs on these boards, but today we found this.



Pretty much sums it up.

Vinnie and gang, if you check in before the big ride, give 'em hell.

Y'all have a great Thanksgiving, OK?

Hors Categorie

So Kent offered to lead a mixed surface ride. He knows dirt; it says so right on his jersey. After a Metro bus brushed me back on Newport Way -- what's up with that? -- four of us rolled out at 10:00 sharp from Issaquah.

It was windy here a few days ago.



Kent said something about being on I-90 for one exit. At each exit ramp, however, Kent would check the traffic and cross over to stay on the highway.



The three of us in the back were cracking ourselves up as we just kept heading up to the pass.

"I wonder if he's going over the pass?"
"Which pass? There's more than one pass if you keep going."
"I think he will bang a right in Polebridge."
"Nah, I think he needs to start in Banfff this year."
"I think it's a test to see who complains first."



Perhaps 4-5 miles from the top, Kent pulls over and lets us know we missed the turn. Everyone was really upset. It took a while to recover. Well, not really.

Before we knew it, we were bundled up and buzzing down the Iron Horse trail.



Which took us to coffee in North Bend.



And back to the brew pub in Issaquah.





There were two Stumpjumpers of different vintage on the ride. They both roll about the same.



Now let's play "That's Rando!"

There was some serious competition today. From just a few players, there were many worthy entries. I'll highlight just a few.

This pink beverage like substance had a list of ingredients that went on like a grand randonee. If your body needs it, it's in there. It matches Rapha colorways and Pedro's pink tire levers. Lizzie voted for this one. Bravo.



There's not much that good Chicago blues can't cure. I imagine Hound Dog Taylor could write a few mean blues on any number of rando issues. Most days, this would be a clear winner. But this was not most days.



Kent's cheese wedge won hands down. It's an "Hors Categorie" entry. Many state transportation departments have even placed signs on the road honoring Kent's cheese wedge. They typically put them on the hardest climbs to salute the effort. Well played, Kent.