[OrRando] Re: Boston 300K Report
Michael Rasmussen
mikeraz at patch.com
Wed May 31 08:52:32 PDT 2006
All, full quoting of Emily's question below so you respond to her with corrections
or further insights.
Emily,
We don't have quite the fixed gear presence as you've recently observed. In any
Portland, Seattle or Vancouver BC based brevet there will be a couple of fixed
riders and maybe up to four or five. The SIR fleche each spring sees some
incarnation of the Shiftless Bums, though I understand this year's group included
a couple of coasty bikes.
Portland fixed riders include Nate Armburst and John Spurgeon. They are also a
couple of the strongest riders in the area.
I'm still working up the _______ to ride a populaire fixed.
And yes, we do have a few hills around here.
Emily O'Brien wrote:
> This has got me wondering: How common is it to see fixed gear riders on
> brevets in other parts of the country? The Boston 200k had seven; the 300k
> had four (and since there were somewhere between 40 and 50 riders, that's 8
> or 10%!), and I know that barring any unforseen circumstances there will be
> at least three for the 400k and 600k. At least two of us are planning on
> riding fixed in BMB. I know that this many is rather anomalous, even in
> the Boston area where fixed gears are kind of trendy these days. However,
> I know that BMB has been done fixed, and there are a couple of other
> riders around the country who do long distance events fixed, and there
> have been five fixies in the Furnace Creek 508 since they added a fixie
> category in 2004. Do brevets in less hilly areas than ours have more
> fixed gears? Is it a trend? Is it a short-lived fad? Or is it just a
> momentary fluke? Any thoughts? Emily O'Brien
>
>
> -------Original Message-------
> From: Kris Kjellquist <kjellquist at comcast.net>
> Subject: Boston 300K Report
> Sent: 30 May '06 14:25
>
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> Boston 300K Report
> May 27, 2006
>
> After what seemed like endless rides in the cold and rain of 2005, the
> weather this year has been stellar. I was up at 2am and after some
> breakfast and coffee I headed out to my car to find a warm and muggy
> morning. It’s such a welcome treat after last year.
>
> I loaded up my fixed gear Rivendell Quickbeam and made the short drive
> to the start. Upon arriving at the Hanscom Civil Air terminal I
> reviewed the clothing and equipment I had chosen based on the current
> temps and the forecast. Every forecast on the web called for clouds and
>
> showers throughout the day. They were wrong. I went with no leg
> warmers, wool base layer, wool jersey, and arm warmers. Once in a while
>
> you get the clothing decision just right!
>
> The eastern MA RBA, Tracey Ingle, sent the riders off at 4am in loosely
> organized waves, with the quicker riders sent off the front. A medium
> and steady pace was my plan so I waited a few minutes before heading out
>
> to the dark morning. A row of red LED’s stretched out ahead of us as we
>
> pedaled through Concord, Lincoln and other historic Massachusetts towns.
>
> I linked up with Emily O’Brien and Jake Kassen, who were also riding
> fixed gear bicycles. Riding a fixed gear machine tends to put you at a
> slightly different pace than geared riders, so riding with other fixed
> riders is nice. You climb faster, descend slower, and you end up
> leapfrogging with geared riders. Emily and I are pretty close in
> ability so we would ride much of the day together.
>
> As we reached Framingham and Hopkinton, the sun was rising. I stopped
> for a bathroom break, and removed some of my reflective gear. After the
>
> very quick break I picked up my pace ever so slightly and caught up with
>
> the group. We cruised through the morning with several other riders
> keeping a steady 15-17mph pace and arrived at the first checkpoint
> around 7:15. I am trying to keep my checkpoint stops shorter this year,
>
> so after checking in, refilling my bottles, and downing some chocolate
> milk we were off again after 10-15 minutes.
>
> We left the Oxford control with a larger group and headed towards
> Connecticut. So far this was the slowest pace I had maintained on a
> brevet, but after 50+ miles my legs were very fresh and I was feeling
> great. The bulk of this section is a 30 mile stretch down Rt 169 with
> constant rolling hills. Riding fixed this year I found this stretch
> much easier. At one point the group split up, with a mile or so gap
> between. I found myself with the second group and feeling good, so I
> put out a good 15-20 minute effort to bridge the gap.
>
> At the end of rt.169 you take a left on rt.138 and after 9 miles you are
>
> at the second control of the day. Once we got off the bike I realized
> it was really starting to warm up. I made sure to drink a lot of
> fluids, get some salt back in me via potato chips, and enjoyed a great
> turkey sandwich. After the 200k I bagged my short lived idea of using
> Perpetuem and limiting solid food. I have an iron stomach and can eat
> pretty much anything on the bike, so I am taking advantage of the “free”
>
> food at the controls. I don’t carry much food on me, and stock up with
> bananas and peanut butter and jelly. I do carry a couple homemade
> energy bars some homemade gel, but that’s about it these days.
>
> At the second checkpoint we met up with Ray Coffey, who turned out to be
>
> the 4th fixed gear rider of the day. Ray rides a late 60’s Raleigh
> which just oozes character. It was by far my favorite bike of the day.
>
> Ray left a few minutes ahead of us, but we would catch him later in
> Rhode Island.
>
> If memory serves four of us left the control together, but Emily and I
> were quickly off the front and making our way out of Connecticut. After
>
> some incredible views in Sterling and 11 miles later we were making the
> turns to head back north through Rhode Island. There are some decent
> climbs on this stretch, nothing too serious, we kept a good pace and
> worked together well. We caught Ray after a while and it was nice, and
> rare, to have 3 fixed gear machines together on a brevet. With the heat
>
> blazing down we were all going through water quickly and stopped for
> some refueling near Glocester, CT. I had a Coke, but I think Emily and
> Ray’s ice cream would have been a better choice!
>
> Jake caught up with us at the store and it was very cool to have the
> whole fixed crew together. Oddly enough, I was the only one not on an
> old Raleigh frame! Luckily Ray packed a camera and took a few pictures.
>
> Jake elected to stay behind while the three of us headed out feeling
> fresh.
>
> Almost immediately we all noticed a large, isolated, very dark cloud
> ahead. With temps well in the 80’s a thunderstorm sounded pretty good
> and the 10 minutes of cool rain was very nice. Only 14 miles later we
> were at the final checkpoint in Uxbridge, MA. After another chocolate
> milk, some chips, and very tasty jerky we were off to knock out the
> final stretch.
>
> Our group had dwindled to Emily and me for the last stretch. The final
> 43 miles was fairly uneventful, but enjoyable. On this particular route
>
> I always end up spending the last miles dreading Lincoln Hill, which
> comes just a few miles from the finish. It’s short steep climb which is
>
> the last real challenge of the day. Oddly, this hill I hated last year
> wasn’t so bad on the fixie.
>
> Overall, I found the 300K much easier and enjoyable this year. I think
> there are many factors involved. I am riding smarter, pacing better,
> eating right, and experience does play a significant factor. I am also
> finding the fixed gear to be an advantage in keeping the pedals moving
> and myself rolling down the road. It’s hard to understand unless you
> ride fixed.
>
> Emily and I actually sprinted the last ½ mile or so and finished in 13 ½
>
> hrs. I didn’t break any speed records, but I felt good and I could have
>
> continued. Longer rides are in store. After a couple more Cokes and a
> call home I was off and really looking forward to the 400K in 3 weeks.
>
> As always, big congrats to all the riders and bigger thanks to the
> volunteers!!!
>
>
> [LINK: http://kjellquist.blogspot.com] http://kjellquist.blogspot.com
>
>
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Michael Rasmussen, Portland, Ore, USA
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