PA rando 600k

373.5 miles. About 20,000' of climbing. Lots of that climbing being typical sawtooth up and down leg breakers. And Milbrook which is about a mile long and 14.7 percent grade.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/29920291

This is why I wasn't going to do this ride! But I am glad I did.

We left Easton, PA at 4am and were headed to Philly. The group got rolling out quick. I was at the front with folks until the Philly control. There I linked back up with the Gaffney's who made a pit stop at home. From there we rolled to Phoenixville and sat down to eat. Continued out the boring SRT toward Reading. I absolutely loved the switchback climb up to the pagoda. Although I should have not went up in my big ring during a 600... Gavin's talk of the climb beforehand had me excited to steady pace up it.

I don't recall much of the ride beyond this point. Just being wishing I could see all the sights while riding through the Poconos. We did stop and rest at the laundry mat and then took chilly naps at the gas station in Promise Land. Finally we made it to the overnight and I got a shower and not great sleep for about 2 hours. Altogether I think we were at the overnight for 4+ hours including breakfast.

Leaving at 5am the area out of the overnight was real nice and we saw lots of deer. We did stop and eat again before climbing up to El Dred, NY. It was starting to HEAT up now. I was struggling through the Water Gap section. Greg was nice enough to ride with me and stop when I needed to. We did managed to dunk our heads under some running water to cool down for a minute. Len's unoffical stop at the base of the Old Mine climb was a savior. I took my shoes off and cooled my feet in the river followed by a quick lay down.
We rode up Old Mine and then I refilled water again at the restroom before heading up Milbrook. This would be the second time this series that I will walk up this climb. I was not the only one. I know of 7 and I am sure there were more. It's a very tough climb for a second day of a 600 and the heat was not helping at all. Very tough to walk up it with a bike as well! HA.

Arrived at Blairstown needing ICE COLD beverages.

From Blairstown to Easton... the worst 30 miles I've had in a long time. The temps reached up to 101 degrees according to the GPS unit. I was riding very slow and stopping all the time to cool down or dunk my head in the random stream I passed. The last sharp little climbs were tougher than usual. I almost threw up and was down to not enough water. Once I got to Easton I got water and tried to make the last 3 miles without dying.

Many thanks to the volunteers and riders. All said and done, I came out of this ride feeling great about my riding and recovery has been better than any other 600 or even 400.

PA 600K prep

Due to the leg breaking hills on this route, I've put on a cassette with a low gear of 30 giving me a 1 to 1 ratio. Hopefully that will help ease the pain.

The first 200k looks pretty easy, so I am planning on trying to get through this part quickly. I haven't used supplements vs. real food in a while now. My plan is to use a mix of Jet Fuel and Maurten's drink mixes, Shotblocks, and some gel's to get through the easy parts. I'll eat some wraps later in the ride before the climbing and overnight stop. The last 200k I hope to make it with Larabar's and more drink mix.

As with rando, all this could go out the window during the ride. We'll see.

Fingers crossed for a 36 hour finish.

Lu Lacka Wyco Hundo 2019

The 7th running of the LLWH. This was my 3rd go at this mixed-terrain ride. It features some singletrack, gravel farm roads and lots of hills! 5,000+ to 8,000+ feet of climbing depending on which route you do.

The other years I've done this ride it has been very warm and sunny out. Not this year. We showed up to temps in the 40s and rain all day.

The rain was pretty light and most peoples computers showed an average of 37 degrees.

For whatever reason, I do not have rain gloves. I wore my long finger 'pre-winter' gloves and they soaked through. It was cold enough that I couldnt ride without them. Lessons learned.

Around 300 riders took off at the start. I am not sure how many finished the ride. LOTS of mechanicals and the weather had riders calling it a day early into the ride.

The Gaffney tandem and I did the 60 mile route. We figured we've done the hundo before and this was going to be a good training ride no matter what. Pat is banking on a very rainy PBP.

This was the first really bad weather/conditions I've taken my new bike through. A proper test. Aside from the drivetrain grinding along all day and the grit killing my brake pads, the bike stood up to the test. A few disc brake 'gravel' bikes were dead in the water out there it seemed. I am very happy with how my nod to the 1940s rando bike did.

Due to the weather conditions, I did not take any photos of the ride. Check out https://www.instagram.com/lulackawyco/ for more info!

PA Randonneurs 400K

Another hilly PA brevet. The course was much more forgiving than the 300K, but still really climby. The course designers love to add hills. And multi-use bike trails. These trails are awful for the flow of a brevet.

Early in the ride I tried to hang with the tandem, they quickly pulled away, so I ended up riding with a group of the stronger riders(i.e. they are usually pretty quick and finish before most). Cruised with them for a bit and then eventually rode with the tandem most of the ride. I really like Pat and Cece off the bike, so of course riding 250 miles with them helps the miles go by.

My body felt gross and sore by the end. I think the heat and humidity highly contributed to chaffing and 'saddle sores'. I might try vasoline instead of chamois cream. Also may switch out my cutout Brooks C15 for my non-cutout one to see if a stiffer saddle may help. Anything over 300K is when I seem to have these issues.

I came into this ride with a 22 hour finish time goal, I finished in 20. We did sit down to some food at mile 117 for maybe 20 minutes and 195 which took around 25 minutes. Otherwise, tried to keep the control stop times down.

400K brevet meal prep/nutrition/recovery

I've been making mini burritos for my brevets lately. These seem to be working out well for me.

They consist of quinoa mixed with peanut sauce, sweet potatoes cooked in Bragg's aminos, and then topped off with Trader Joe's kale pesto and a little bit of coconut butter before being wrapped up. I wrap them in wax paper and a rubber band for ease of eating while on the bike. Aluminum foil is way too much of a hassle to use.


For this ride, I have my burritos and I've added a few more items to get me through the 250 miles. We've got a protein shake drink that I'll have on my drive to the start. An yerba mate for mid-day to get some caffeine and a mushroom/b vitamin/yerba mate energy mix that I'll take later in the night.
To add some calories throughout the ride, I've got Larabar's, cashew butter, and trail mix/banana chips to snack on. I've also got these Amazing Greens tablets that are watermelon flavored, have a serving of greens in them and will help with electrolytes.

I'm sure I'll also be grabbing candy and gatorade/lemonade at the control stops to keep my body going.


For post-ride recovery I'm bringing a NuGo protein bar and some CBD.

The blog is back(for now).

A lot has happened since my last post. I moved back to Philadelphia and still ride, just not as much.

After leaving San Francisco, I have flown out for the BQ un-meeting a few times and ridden a handful of PA brevets. I also had a custom rando bike built that I am excited to take it to France, as it purposely is an homage to Rene Herse's bikes.

Being that it is a PBP year, I've been in full rando mode since early March. We've completed our 200 and 300K rides. The 400 is in two days.

I was emotionally not 100% into the idea of going back to France without the support I had previously, but focusing on the ride has been such a nice feeling. We'll see how I feel after this 400...

Santa Cruz mountain overnighter

I mapped out(not very well) an overnight trip from Milbrae BART to Big Basin, but the route ran into a dead end or giant fence in this case. I was on the amazing Old Haul Rd., a dirt road starting in Pescadero and ending in Portola Red Woods SP. My not paying close attention to the map had it going further south, nearly into Big Basin. 

It comes to an end at a normal park/fireroad gate. So I of course skipped the warnings and went under the fence only to come around the corner into a really big chain link fence. My route was a no go.

The reason for it not connecting the two parks is a logging company. Hopefully El Niño strikes fiercely and takes out said logging company.

So I ended up going into Portola and got a hiker/biker camp site. It was a nice and quiet spot. No other hikers or bikers. 

In the morning I rolled out and climbed my way out of the valley and descended Alpine back to Pescadero. Very pretty road! Then I climbed La Honda(84) into Woodside.

A guy rolled into the Woodside market at 10am and got a coors light, a pint of vodka and a pack of malboros. surviving rough times in Woodside. We chatted a little bit while I had dolmas and falafel for breakfast and he had his coors and a swig of vodka for his. 

From there I went back up Skyline to descend Old La Honda. On my outbound I descended the western side.

Back to Canada Rd and the bike path that lead me to the Milbrae BART.