[ORRando] Asea 400

[Philippe Andre]

Thank you Kieth, Alex, Michael W., Michael R. and Susan for your help on the Alsea 400. The ne course put together by Michael Wolfe was enjoyed by all even with about 13,000 feet of climbing Per Greg Olson. I can only take credit for the Bald Mountain Lookout climb which lengthened the route, but reduced the climbing believe it or not. All the riders that started returned home safely. 15 of 16 starters finished. Here are the results:
Bill Alsup                   26:30Robert Buschman        23:20Dan Fender                23:07Sam Huffman              DNSAlbert Kong                20:04John Kramer               21:34Brian List                   23:07John Henry Maurice     23:25Marcello Napolitano     26:30Ray Ogilvie                24:30Scott Peterson            DNF     @100KThomas Russell           24:30Del Scharffenberg       19:11Paul Whitney               DNSSteve Williamson         24:35Michael Wolfe             17:49Greg Olson                 19:11Ron Himschoot            22:09




Date: Sun, 9 Aug 2009 09:35:43 -0700
From: bike2work2live at yahoo.com
Subject: Brownsville control
To: philippe_cycliste at hotmail.com; cyclotouriste at gmail.com; susanfrance at teleport.com
CC: akfencer at yahoo.com

Good morning,

That was actually fun.  Alex and I set ourselves up right on Main Street at about 7:45 and waited for the trickle of cyclists.  

The first went right by us without acknowledging our presence.  We thought it was rather odd, but we had seen him at the Chevron as we drove into town so we figured he was just intent on moving on and didn't need our support.

When the next guy on a recumbent did the same thing we started to get suspicious.  I had printed up two 11x17 signs that said "400K Control" in bold letters.  The signs were taped to the car in plain sight and we were sitting in camp chairs on the sidewalk right next to the car.  To our minds we couldn't have been more obvious.

But then two more cyclists passed us by without even a glance.  It was still early, maybe 9:45 or so, so they
 really didn't need us so there was no point in interrupting them if they were so intent on their mission.  But then, maybe we needed to be more proactive.  

We were in a position where we could see clear down to the intersection beyond the bridge.  So when the next guy approached Alex went out in the road holding one of the signs and called out to the rider.  Sure enough, it took quite a bit to get his attention.  He was grateful we stopped him because he had planned on stopping at the Dairymart but got there a minute or two after closing.

We serviced seven or eight riders and had some very pleasant if suitably brief conversations.  All were in good spirits and were riding strong.  Many commented on the difference between their definition of an easy climb and Michael's definition of an easy climb.  Not grudgingly, more as a point of reference to be noted for the future.

When the last rider
 left the control at 12:45 or so we packed up and drove down the course on Gap Road to the intersection of I-5 just to make sure there were no other riders out there.

As a point of note for the future.  There is a bar on Main Street on the left just a few buildings up from the bank called Brownsville Saloon.  It was still open when we left.  Not an ideal place for a control, but it would be a reasonable late control in a pinch.

As I said earlier, Alex and I really had an enjoyable evening.  The weather was ideal, the spot we chose was ideal, and the time between riders was spent in amiable conversation.

We need to do it again some time.





_________________________________________________________________
Express your personality in color! Preview and select themes for Hotmail®. 
http://www.windowslive-hotmail.com/LearnMore/personalize.aspx?ocid=PID23391::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WM_HYGN_express:082009
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://orrandonneurs.org/pipermail/orrando/attachments/20090810/1104fd57/attachment.htm