Sonomarin 300k permanent, ride report
Fabrice Medio
I finished my first 300k on Saturday, on my second attempt. Many great stories have been written about this ride, Jenny Oh's epic write-up inspired me to start randonneuring in the first place. My first attempt two weeks ago failed because of a nagging knee issue.
It was a beautiful day in the saddle, one of the first sunny weekends after a rainy winter of superlative scale. The flora was erupting in all sorts of exuberant shades of green, fruit trees were heavy with dense blossom covers, redwoods were overlooking think mattresses of dense ferns with a deep emerald color. There was water sprinkling from every trench. fast whitewaters rushing down full rivers. Nature was having a huge party. Erosion patterns showed how brutal the winter had been, some cliffs showing deep brown mudslide scars, remnants of downed trees on the roadside.
The lower part of the Russian River got cold and windy, and I got overtaken by fatigue right as I rolled into Duncan Mills. Fortunately the Gold Coast bakery has the best croissants and a lovely sunny patio. I took a fifteen minute nap and I was good as new. Soon afterwards I was greeted by the epic coast vistas on the road to Bodega Bay, I felt invigorated by the fresh breeze, as a group of cyclists seeing the San Francisco Randonneurs jersey cheered me on. Night feel as I approached Point Reyes Station. The wide shoulders made the roads feel safe in spite of the light traffic. The nature party continued through the night, a thin waxing moon crescent made the stars unusually bright, while toads were calling loudly at each other. I never thought toads could be this loud.
Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge on the way back is always my least favorite part on San Francisco Randonneurs brevets. The quiet valley breeze gave way to irregular gusts of cold and wet wind, just as my legs reminded me of the previous 295kms on the last Sausalito climb. If nothing else it was a good exercise in active Zen meditation. One final sprint to Safeway in the Marina to obtain a proof of passage. I've never felt so proud to buy a bottle of beer.
A few things did go wrong, tho. I forgot to bolt the front rack to the fork after removing the fenders. The bike passed the test ride unloaded, but the rack started leaning
intermittently on the wheel one hour into the ride. I had to jury rig the rack to the steerer tube with a bungee cord. The right knee started hurting between the patella and the tibia 66km into the ride, and the pain never really went away. I managed it with high-dose ibuprofen and stretches every 40kms or so, but I'm getting another bike fit this week. Also, the Garmin 820. I took a wrong turn 20kms north of Petaluma, It looks like the software struggled to find an alternate route, apparently pegging the CPU and causing the unit to become unresponsive. The problem went away when I went back on course approaching Santa Rosa, but it was a good thing I knew the route. None of these issues took away the sheer fun of the ride, tho.
Eric Walstad
> I finished my first 300k on Saturday, on my second attempt.
> A few things did go wrong, tho... The right knee started hurting
> really went away. I managed it with high-dose ibuprofen and stretches every
> 40kms or so, but I'm getting another bike fit this week.
FTW, blahblahblah>
Pain sucks, suffering sucks. Hope you heal-up quickly!
> I'm now looking forward to the 360k Fleche in two weeks with Krist, Ann &
> team.
Eric
Roy Ross
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