Riv-related double century - DV

[Esteban]

Hi, folks.
Just did my first double in Death Valley yesterday on the Romulus. I
saw some steel bikes - a handful of fixies, a classic 80s Peugeot,
and, well... that's it. It was mostly fender-less MCRBs, even though
the forecast called for a 50% chance of rain. It rained on my for
about an hour from mile 160-175. The Romulus was more up to the task
than I:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25671211@N02/4414962251/

At a few points, I was worried about finishing under the 17 hr. limit,
but I pushed pretty hard the last 75 miles, after loligagging the
first 50 and suffering through much of the climbing.

Here's a little write-up:
http://veloflaneur.wordpress.com/2010/03/08/theres-beauty-in-the-suffering/

I think some folks are making it to Solvang? If so, write it up.

[EricP]

Good for you! Seemed to remember you mentioning this on the ride back
in August. Glad you followed through.

That Romulus looked to be the perfect bike for that sort of ride. Am
jealous of you. At least until July when my Hunqapillar arrives<g>.

Eric Platt
St. Paul, MN

> Here's a little write-up:http://veloflaneur.wordpress.com/2010/03/08/theres-beauty-in-the-suff...

[rperks]

Well Done, and motivational for the rest of us.

Side question, what has been the widest tire you can stuff into those
fenders?

Rob

> Here's a little write-up:http://veloflaneur.wordpress.com/2010/03/08/theres-beauty-in-the-suff...

[Mike]

So were you the only person who did it pedaling "free"? Congrats on
pushing through and finishing. Sounds like the early troubles were
worth it for the chance to pedal under the stars. Like I posted to
your blog, if you can complete that ride you can definitely do a 400k.
I hope things work out and you get to finish a full super rando series
this year. My first brevet of the year (http://www.orrandonneurs.org/
rba/2010/BirkieBrevet/BirkieBrevet_Info.html) is about 2 weeks away.
I'm super excited.

--mike

[Eric Norris]

Nice job. As one of the comments on your blog noted, it's just a hop and skip from a double century to a 400K ... and then a 600K. Before you you it, you'll be riding across France in 2011!

--Eric
campyo...@me.com
www.campyonly.com
www.wheelsnorth.org

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--Eric
campyo...@me.com
www.campyonly.com
www.wheelsnorth.org

[doug peterson]

Sounds like a wonderful ride, and an endorsement for the healing power
of cycling. Can't believe you tackled that after feeling as you did
earlier in the week. Congratulations.

dougP

[Esteban]

Thanks folks. I feel great now! Although at certain points in the
climbing I heard the following statements bounce around inside my
head: "Why am I doing this?" "I hate myself" and "I'm never doing this
again."

As Doug mentions, there is great healing power in cycling -- like the
ability to erase such ideas once the endorphins mix with hope. Thanks
to Mike & Eric for laying out the logical pathway toward madness :)

As EricP mentioned, the Romulus did well. I sure would have liked a
boxy bag up front - it makes eating while riding a lot easier. Rob -
these were 28mm Paselas with 35mm Honjos. I put them on when I first
got the bike, but the clearance wasn't very good. I brought them
along and put them on the night before. These fenders would work much
better with a 25mm tire. I'm not sure if Rom/Ram fits 43 or 45mm
Honjos. The front fender is attached by a clamp, and it began to
rattle and did so for much of the day.

All this being said, I wish I had Jack Browns on the bike. Even
though these are very nice roads, the asphalt is very bumpy to the
south of Furnace Creek. I'm sure that caused even more fatigue. Jack
Brown Greens with fenders would have been perfect.

Esteban
San Diego, Calif.

[rperks]

Thanks,
I am loving my jack brown greens on the Roadeo, just thinking about
how to squeeze non-ugly fenders in there too. The upcoming paul
brakes are giving me hope. The rains have been a lovely excuse to cut
back on the riding the last couple of months. The descriptions by you
and others Brevet experiences have me longing for distance on the open
road.

I could recomend the Acorn Handlebar bag as a substitute for a boxy
bag, it will hold enough to get you between breaks, and not set you
back as far $$ in accessories as well.

Rob

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[Michael_S]

Congrats on finishing the double! That's a long time on the bike but
sounds like you has some of those special moments near the end that
made it all worth it.

These are all very supportive words to some recent decision I've made
for my new Coho Randonneuse. I ended up ordering the JB greens and I
had the frame built with the braze on Paul racers so I can run fenders
and the big tires. Now I just need to decide on the wheels. I have
nice Miche cassette hubs and have to decide on rims. I'm leaning to
the DT Swiss's.

~Mike~

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