50 States and 13 Colonies Ride, 2016

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Viewing 13 posts - 31 through 43 (of 43 total)
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  • September 11, 2016 at 8:59 pm #1056971
    BobCochran
    Participant

    @wheels&wings, Thank you! As you say, there is always next year.

    Bob

    September 11, 2016 at 11:37 pm #1056972
    KLizotte
    Participant

    BobCochran,

    50 States is a rather brutal ride for most people. Lots of stops and starts, slow riding for the first 5-7 miles, lots of turns, and lots of hills. Many people find it harder to do than some centuries in the area. Add in the exceptional heat and humidity yesterday and it would have been a trial even if you had better prepared.

    Biking is a long learning experience. It takes a long time to build up not only the physical stamina but the internal “know how” that comes with understanding the routes and whether you are up for some or all of a particular route. If you are persistent, it will come.

    Personally I find the learning aspect of biking makes it more interesting. I don’t understand how some people can run/jog the same exact route day after day after day. Don’t they get bored?!

    September 12, 2016 at 12:21 am #1056973
    BobCochran
    Participant

    KLizotte,

    Thank you! It was a very challenging ride. I’ll follow the advice in your avatar: Keep Calm and Bike On.

    Bob

    September 12, 2016 at 12:40 am #1056975
    Rod Smith
    Participant

    Yep, it looks like most of the riders on my Strava feed cut the ride short. Nice ride in with Bob Cochran, he rolls at a good pace but it might have been a better idea to Metro in. Sorry Bob for talking you into the extra miles. I figure he got over 50 miles in. Good job Bob!

    Slowtriguy set the pace for me and did the route finding for the tough last five miles as lack of sleep over the previous couple nights was catching up to me. It was the first time we met. Also got to ride with leprostystudygroup up the MLK climb, another forum member I hadn’t met before. Also rode short segments with other friends, among them Sarah B, surprise visitor Boomer2U. Flybys with several others forum members who I unfortunately didn’t recognize.

    Hard ride and fun! Thanks WABA, ride volunteers, marshals, especially the one who towed me around Hanes Point and tried to drop everyone he encountered.:D

    September 12, 2016 at 1:16 am #1056978
    lordofthemark
    Participant

    @dbb 145714 wrote:

    The ride yesterday was, well, toasty. I switched from the map mode to the Garmin dashboard and it showed 110F. Because I’ve not done much in distance this summer, I was marshaling the 13 colonies. That turned out to be a particularly good decision.

    Your “marshalees” appreciated it, even if some of us found a better, if less vehicular, way around unexpected construction.

    BTW, I know getting a flat on 50 states is a thing, but I guess it is not so much on 13 Colonies. Personally I could have done without the honor.

    September 12, 2016 at 1:24 am #1056980
    BobCochran
    Participant

    @Rod Smith 145720 wrote:

    Yep, it looks like most of the riders on my Strava feed cut the ride short. Nice ride in with Bob Cochran, he rolls at a good pace but it might have been a better idea to Metro in. Sorry Bob for talking you into the extra miles. I figure he got over 50 miles in. Good job Bob!

    Hi Rod, I wanted very much to ride in with you — how else would I learn the District without an experienced leader like you? It made a truly good impression on me when I noticed you were talking to some of the people we encountered on our way in. Evidently you were giving them some quick help on-the-go. And for yesterday I did ride just under a metric century, 61.9 miles in all. I just need more training. I need to train in adverse weather conditions too.

    On a side note — I am incredibly impressed with the number of streets in the District that have bike lanes. They generally seemed to be unblocked, too. It makes a lot of the Maryland localities look backwards. The presence of bike lanes convinces me that it is worth donating to WABA — surely all the members have a lot to do with obtaining better bicycling support in the area, through the power of membership and donations.

    @Rod Smith 145720 wrote:

    Slowtriguy set the pace for me and did the route finding for the tough last five miles as lack of sleep over the previous couple nights was catching up to me. It was the first time we met. Also got to ride with leprostystudygroup up the MLK climb, another forum member I hadn’t met before. Also rode short segments with other friends, among them Sarah B, surprise visitor Boomer2U. Flybys with several others forum members who I unfortunately didn’t recognize.

    I think there was someone in a distinctive red-yellow-black jersey trying to talk to me. I think I surprised the poor guy with an unexpected hard stop. Then he went on to talk to you, Rod.

    @Rod Smith 145720 wrote:

    Hard ride and fun! Thanks WABA, ride volunteers, marshals, especially the one who towed me around Hanes Point and tried to drop everyone he encountered.:D

    I too want to thank all the WABA volunteers and marshals. They really went to a lot of hard work. There was a deaf WABA volunteer at Pit Stop #2, but I didn’t catch her name. I thought she was a sign language interpreter until she corrected me. I think she told me her husband was riding in the event, but I’m not sure.

    I also want to thank the ride marshal who took a photo of me at pit stop #1. He was really friendly and nice. Also there were two other marshals who seemed to ask me if I was okay. Whoever you folks are: thank you!

    Bob

    September 12, 2016 at 1:44 am #1056981
    BobCochran
    Participant

    Photo of me taken by a friendly ride marshal at Pit Stop #1. I didn’t catch his name. Thanks!

    [ATTACH=CONFIG]12412[/ATTACH]

    September 12, 2016 at 1:54 am #1056982
    SilverSpring
    Participant

    Bob, you’re a far heartier fellow than I. I bailed on 50 States at PitStop #3, feeling the pull of home only a few miles away. I was feeling the heat, couldn’t climb worth a d**n, and had to concede that–at least this year–the ride kicked me in the keister. I had a nice chat after Haines Point with Kitty, who at that pace has likely completed half of the RAAM.

    September 12, 2016 at 4:47 pm #1057004
    KLizotte
    Participant

    Seriously Bob Cochrane?! 61+ miles in Saturday’s horrid heat?! That is freakin’ impressive. I feel rather confident saying that you could have finished the ride if 1) the heat and humidity were cooler and more comfortable, and 2) you hadn’t ridden to/from the start.

    I do recommend riding with someone or a group that goes at your pace for this particular event because navigating the streets is really difficult in some places. The last time I did it the GPS directions led me in the wrong direction, trying to read a cue sheet in big traffic was a PITA, and there are some places along the ride that are not bike friendly (most of it is fine). Fortunately another forum member (Vin) let me tag along with his family and led the way. It is a challenging ride in many ways: lots of turns, traffic, hills, and sometimes crappy roads (potholes, glass, etc.). I’m glad to have done it once but I can’t say I’m tempted to do it any time soon again. I love riding thru DC and exploring different neighborhoods but prefer to chart my own course.

    September 12, 2016 at 6:08 pm #1057011
    Rootchopper
    Participant

    That was brutal. I finished but it nearly finished me. It was about the same level of difficulty as 2007 which was held in an August heat wave.

    https://rootchopper.wordpress.com/2016/09/11/four-hundred-states-and-counting/

    I overshot 3 turns, had to improvise a detour in SW, and became totally frustrated by not being able to find Tenley Circle which I have been through 100 times. (It was just over the hill I was climbing on Wisconsin.) I didn’t miss a single state though. I was one hurtin’ unit at the Tacoma rest stop. They had ice and a sprinkler. Saved my butt.

    September 12, 2016 at 8:01 pm #1057023
    drevil
    Participant

    The 50 States was harder than I expected. My nemeses on this ride was the heat and my shoes/socks. For the latter, I mountain bike all the time with them, but I don’t usually spend 7 hours in the saddle like I did for the 50 States and the seam of the socks somehow seemed to align with the hard plastic of my shoes and eventually rubbed my feet the wrong way.

    I’m happy I pre-downloaded the GPS route onto my phone and Garmin and had both running. There was at least 5 times that the people in the lead (of whatever group I was in) either overshot or took a wrong turn, but my phone and Garmin told me not to follow :)

    All whining aside, I’m glad I went. I was on a bike, got to see old friends, and ride different parts of DC that I don’t usually. Thanks WABA, organizers, volunteers, and fellow bikers :)

    29528511012_3f89a72acb_c.jpg
    At the end of the 2016 WABA 50 States Ride by ricky d, on Flickr

    September 16, 2016 at 11:17 am #1057203
    Kitty
    Participant

    That was definitely the hottest 50 States I’d ever done… but it was also the driest! For the first time ever I was able to follow the cue sheet (my first year I didn’t know how to attach one to my bike, in subsequent years it disintegrated with the rain), which was really helpful when I found myself riding solo in the last quarter.

    Before then though I got off to a late start when I went to drop off my lock at the Mushroom, arrived at the park at 7:45 and discovered the spiral uber-queue (I seem to recall there being two registration tents in the past). In the first quarter I was all city streets I know well enough and was able to enjoy the “rolling conversation” that mirrors the 13 Colonies experience. A lot of stop-and-go, but a lot of nice “single-serving friends.” Near the end of the Anicostia section I think I might have been riding with Rob (big orange jersey that said DC Ride Marshal?) but I’m not sure. At lunch I had the pleasure of running into Ed, Reba, Leprosy Study Group and others at lunch time and we were able to roll-out together into the NE hills and traffic. Sadly we had to break-up after Michigan, which always gives me a second wind. 4th quarter I was on my own, but considering the hills, heat, and fatigue (say nothing of new bike I’m still figuring out gearing on), it was good to go at my own pace.

    All told, I think the lessons of riding all summer in the nonsense heat (hydrating days in advance, installing a second water bottle cage, embracing electrolytes) served me well… plus I’m glad I opted to keep the bike in full commuter mode. The 32″ cross tires were needed in some stretches.

    @BobCochran 145706 wrote:

    I wasn’t able to complete the ride yesterday. I think the main problem for me was lack of training. My short daily bicycle commutes and 3-4 mile trips to the grocery store were not enough; I need to complete longer rides. Also my pre-ride nutrition in the days before the ride wasn’t real great. Then I lost my cue sheets somewhere after pit stop #2. I tried tagging along with several groups but all those riders were much fitter, especially on hills, and I lost them. I noticed at least 3 folks had flats. I will train more. There is always next year.
    Bob

    Others have said it already, but this ride is HARD. Case in point, it took the same amount of time to complete 50 States on Saturday as it did for me to complete a full century on Monday. At the same time though, its one of those ones were this is acknowleged, and its understood that riders will go as far as they feel like in a given year and that’s a-ok. The fact you rode all that way there BEFORE the ride is amazing! You are well on your way my friend.

    In all honesty, its been an incremental challenge for me. I originally started riding distance just to be able to attempt this ride. Each year has had its own challenges, but the lessons from the year before have made each subsequent year easier! That said, this ride, while fun, is stressful. (Largely due to HOURS hyper-alert city riding)

    @SilverSpring 145727 wrote:

    Bob, you’re a far heartier fellow than I. I bailed on 50 States at PitStop #3, feeling the pull of home only a few miles away. I was feeling the heat, couldn’t climb worth a d**n, and had to concede that–at least this year–the ride kicked me in the keister. I had a nice chat after Haines Point with Kitty, who at that pace has likely completed half of the RAAM.

    Aww, I’m not there yet. Some day maybe. 😎 Last year I was dropped hard at Haines Point, so it was so cool to meet you on the road–I had no idea you were a fellow Spartan! GO GREEN!

    September 18, 2016 at 1:49 pm #1057278
    BobCochran
    Participant

    Thanks, Kitty! You make good points about hydration and getting electrolytes that I too am starting to appreciate now. I will pay attention to these and to training.

    I hope your new bicycle is working well for you. You can always change the stock gearing to something that feels better for you. One of the people at Proteus suggested I change out my smaller 34T chainring for a new 36T. I said sure, and the new ring plus the suggestion that I need to use the smaller chainring as part of learning how to use the gears has helped me.

    Bob

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