Monday, May 4, 2009

300k take 2

That's a big hill and we keep getting closer!
It took me 2 tries but I completed a 300k this year; it was a long road and a short story. Last week I “headed down south to the land of the pines” and participated in Alan Johnson’s 300k starting in Morrisville, NC. I rode hard and had fun but in the end my feeble mind got the best of me and I got a DNF. My buddy Jon P. said, “Bro – just finish.” Aye Master Chief! So I cowboyed up and hopped back on the horse for another 300k.



This time it was the DC Randonneur’s Warrenton 300k. Friday evening I registered and completed the bike inspection. While operable headlights and taillights are important, I think they really wanted to get a look at Chuck’s craftsmanship. After the early Saturday morning safety brief we were off into the abyss.

Stanton & George
The ride was truly enjoyable. I rode with some hardy randonneurs like aciene George Winkert. George passed along wisdom whether or not he realized it. Of course I’ve probably heard it a thousand times ‘ride your ride.’ I believe this is the key to successful randonneuring yet it is easy to loose focus. I also rode with Stanton for a while, who is freaking hilarious. Stanton is not in a hurry but finishes his rides. Gentlemen, it was a pleasure.


Old Fence
The merchants at the controls were all courteous and thought we were a few fries short of a happy meal. A few of them had some mean Virginia country jambon sandwiches. I highly recommend.


Information control at Civil War Museum
The crew from DCR that set up the ride, did registration, worked the secret control and stayed until we all safely returned were top notch. The pizza was good too!

3 comments:

dean furbish said...

Nice story. Nice presentation. And most of all---nice doin'.

Doctor on a bike said...

Those DC guys are great. I'd still be ridin' with them if it weren't for the traffic I have to face to get up there. Plus the NC group is terrific. Congrats on the 300K

Bob O. said...

Thanks Dean, Thanks Doc.

True, the traffic getting up there is insane! The worst part is getting out of Norfolk.