Re: 600k -- why I "sent" you on ahead without me -- Type I & Type II fun

[Martin Shipp]

Hello, again, Doug.  

[cc to the list for the Type I & Type II fun article embedded in Doug's email below the immediately following] 

 

 

First, I wish you well on your upcoming PBP adventure, which will be your 10th start of said event, and - knock on wood - I anticipate hearing of your 9th successful completion.  

 

  

I am sure that I've heard of Type I and Type II fun in regards to randonneuring, but that categorization has not been part of my usual thought or memory processing.  

 

I claim that the last paragraph regarding Type II and entirety of the Type III discussion in the linked article is a perfectly apt description of "randonnesia." 

======================================  

  

I definitely agree that my 600 this year definitely fit into the Type II category.  How quickly did "randonnesia" set in and the memory turn more toward "fun" and away from "not-fun"?  Probably the moment I realized that I would have time to stop at Lowes Foods and pick up a quart of chocolate milk. 

 

I had a very enjoyable recent rando Type I ride when I did a July-16 solo pre-ride of the July-22 "Ravenstone - Mayo Lake" 153k brevet-pop.  Including the pre and post ride cycling commutes, I logged 123 enjoyable miles for the most pleasant ride I can recall of late.  

 

Interestingly, the weekend prior, the 125k "Ravenstone - Denny's" brevet-pop was more-or-less "okay" during the ride, but the post-event cycling commute was tough, and later that day, my legs were so darn sore, and still sore when I awoke on the morning of July-9th that I skipped my "birthday ride."  In retrospect, that July-08 ride clearly should be categorized as a Type II ride. 

=========================================  

 

I think the list of North Carolina riders headed to PBP includes:  you, Chet & Cyndy, Steven and Larkin, Wes, JohnM, Luke, Ende, and perhaps another one or two from the Asheville area.  (Cyndy currently resides in / near Atlanta and Larkin resides near "the District."  Cyndy did all her qualifying rides stoking the tandem with Chet here in NC.  My recollection is that Larkin's only qualifying ride in NC was Alan's 600.  So each is not technically a current NC resident, but clearly each has deep NC roots and has done significant riding in NC this year.) 

   

Enjoy the ride, 

...Martin  

On Friday, July 28, 2023 at 09:13:19 PM EDT, Doug Kirby <doug_ki...@yahoo.com> wrote:

Hi Martin,

  Good to hear from you!  Hope your summer is going well, along with work and riding and your RBA responsibilities.

  I think you told me part of the story below, but I didn’t know how serious the situation was.  I forget if we talked about Type II fun, or not - here’s a link:  

The Fun Scale: Understanding Types of "Fun" | REI Co-op Journal rei.com

On the one hand, Randonneuring accommodates Type II fun…it’s just a bike ride with friends and a time limit.  On the other hand, so many things can go wrong…I hope you’ve been able to recover fully and you’re not feeling the tweak very often.  

  ...?  I’m aware that Chet & Cindy and Steven & Larkin are going to PBP, but none of us count as new (Larkin isn’t from Raleigh, as I recall).  

  Once again, thanks for your good company and enabling my 600K Type II fun.  Not sure when I’ll see you next, but stay well and stay in touch.  ....  

Cheers,

Doug

On Jul 27, 2023, at 11:20 PM, Martin Shipp <skif...@yahoo.com> wrote:



Hey, Doug, I hope your PBP prep is going well.   

 

I've been meaning the last two months to send you an email regarding why I "sent" you on ahead at the 600 (when there were still 80 or so miles to ride).  

 

I have imagined that you likely thought that I might have tired myself out when I picked up the pace during the night.  I did get to White Lake and waited 14 or 15 minutes for you, so I probably put almost a minute "into you" each mile after I zoomed ahead.  I was just about to leave where I was waiting and [continue] to Scothman's because the mosquitos were terrible, but you appeared just a few seconds after I had made that local decision. 

 

The faster night riding had nothing to do with "sending" you ahead -- and that faster pace did allow enough adrenaline to wake me up (and I was wide-awake the entire second day) -- it was well beyond dangerous for me at the pace we were riding because I could not stay awake on the bike; I realized what I needed to do to stay awake and keep a straight line -- ride faster! 

 

The reason I "sent" you ahead?  As we were getting ready to leave Scothman's, there was a noise or kerfuffle behind me, and I quickly turned my head and also attempted to rapidly twist my waist to look over my left shoulder to see what was happening -- one cannot "twist" one's waist very far.  Result?  I don't recall what the "happening" was, but I did slightly tweak my lower right back muscles.  I may have known that I had slightly tweaked the muscle(s) at the moment it happened, but I'm not sure about that.  Leaving White Lake, and all the way to Cedar Creek, that route is pancake flat and the tweaked muscles were fine.  However, after turning at Cedar Creek to get off the highway, there is a very slight rise, and that very slight rise, with the slightly modified pedal stroke / effort to climb that almost non-existent incline resulted in my back "yelping" in pain.  Not good. 

 

You may recall that it was only a mile or two later that I "sent" you ahead.  I tried to rest my back in a bit of shade just after we split.  I figured to stop in roadside shade every few miles to calm my back and reset my courage to ride further in pain.  

 

The real inclines on the return start with two of them on Stage Rd after transiting Erwin.  Those were not pleasant because of the "screaming" back pain(s).  (I had dealt with small pains from the control in / at Bethany to Erwin, but Stage Rd was a new level of pain for the day.) 

 

Approaching Angier, I thought I would be unable to finish the route within the required time.  I had also been unable to find any shade on the road; but I had stopped on the north edge of Bouies Creek at a church and spent some time there in the shade.  Anyway, just south of Angier, clouds moving in to slightly screen the sun, I finally sat down in the ditch (a short distance from where I changed a flat while outbound in 2011).  I called Alan to let him know that I didn't think that I'd be able to finish within the time limit -- however, I admit that I first told Alan that he was "evil" as there had been NO shade on the road since Bethany -- Alan chuckled and reminded me of the description of the route (flat, but heat and headwinds can make the route difficult).  

 

In total, including the time to chat with Alan, I sat in that ditch for about 15 or 20 minutes, finally deciding that I had 40-miles to ride and four-and-a-half hours to cover those miles.  I concluded that, even if I had to walk up some of the climbs because of the back pain, I could still finish before time expired. 

 

After Angier, there is that tough climb on Rawls Church Rd; I rode up that at 4-mph or so, paining all the way.  After a few more miles of mostly flat, one gets to the road that goes past the Sherron Harris nuclear plant -- the road changes names a few times, but it is the same road (or mostly so).  I did get off the bike and walk about a quarter mile on (I forget the name of the road and don't feel like looking it up); but otherwise, I stayed on the bike, climbing some at 4-mph and others I somehow managed 15-mph or so.  The back pain was quite substantial, but I had decided to ignore the pain. 

 

Finally, with about 6-miles to go, the route goes past a Lowes Food Store.  By then I had sufficient time-in-hand to "risk" stopping there to purchase a quart of chocolate milk.  I ended up chatting with one of the young female clerks of college age (she was on summer break from App State), and instead of taking only 7 or so minutes, I probably was at the store for 20 minutes or so.  I then got back on the bike and finished the ride (with the bag with the chocolate milk draped over my left wrist).  

 

I finished the route, and ended up sitting with Alan and Dorothy at their kitchen table half an hour or maybe a bit more, chatting about various things that included final plans for the RBA hand-off, drinking the entire quart of chocolate milk, etc..      

 

Oh, one last thing.  I asked Alan if I could take a nap in the loft above his garage.  Without pause, he responded, "yes!"  By 9:30 that night, I had cleaned up somewhat in the bathroom in that loft and I was asleep in that 90-degree loft with a large fan blowing directly on me.  Best sleep I've had in years.  I woke up once, approx 2:15 am to take a pee.  I returned to again flop atop the bed-spread to get more sleep.  I got up and got around in time to leave Alan's garage at about 7am.  

 

I pedaled the 20 or 21 miles to my abode very slowly (avg'ing about 10.5-mph as compared to the 13+ on the 600 (and the commute to Morrisville).  

 

Anyway, I can sometimes still feel the "tweak" in the lower right back muscles -- and the above is why I "sent" you on ahead without me.  

  

Enjoy the ride, 

...Martin  

[Ian Hands]

Throw me in! I'm still reppin AIR.

Hell I'm still repping Raleigh too!

Raleigh Rando class of 2010! ;-)

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "NC Rando Cyclists" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to nc-rando-cycli...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/nc-rando-cyclists/177762430.3732734.1690597439580%40mail.yahoo.com.

[Martin Shipp]

Ian Hands?  Ian Hands?  Name sounds familiar. 

Isn't he the guy that rode a Moulton "clown bike" really fast, esp. compared to others at the bottom of a climb. 

 

 

psst, Ian:  North Carolina Rando Class of 2010 !! 

(only three of us left from the original 34). 

 

Enjoy the ride, 

...Martin  

[Ian Hands]

Clown bike, fixie, hand bike....

I'm down for whatever!