tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64542030940869673052024-03-13T20:18:32.443-04:0052 VincentsBeating the odds - June 2012, six cyclists, having come together as a team less than a day before, would accomplish what many thought to be impossible: race tandem bicycles for 10 hours through biblical thunderstorms, up and down gnarly steep dirt roads, and finish as friends.Fixie Pixiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12932022188247682078noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6454203094086967305.post-12645702975147719462012-06-28T16:55:00.004-04:002015-01-04T17:37:23.422-05:00Bravery... continued from <a href="http://52vincents.blogspot.com/2012/06/perfect-storm.html">The Perfect Storm</a><br />
<br />
A little background: The Rapha Gents Race is a team event, where a
team of 6
riders must do a prescribed route and cross the finish line together and
as a complete team of 6. The
best way to do this, of course, is to ride together all day, working
together, helping each other out and, of course, having fun. To make it
a proper <i>Rapha</i> ride, it also must have lots of climbing and loads of dirt and gravel, and of course, something extra to make it <i>epic </i>- like a blizzard or a grizzly bear!<br />
<br />
To quote from the Rapha blog, describing the recent Gent's race in
Australia, "there's no better way to find out if you're a true team,
pulling
together through the difficulties and attrition to get each other to the
finish, or just six individuals racing the clock." This was certainly
our theme for the day. <br />
<br />
Captain Todd and stoker Patria met for the first time Friday night in a
motel parking lot. John had met Rebecca a while before at the cafe, but
the first time they actually rode together was Friday afternoon! Dena
met Rebecca and Todd for first time this weekend. Dena and I had the
advantage of being long-time friends, although it
could be a disadvantage, since we'd run out of things to talk about
years ago, and had thoroughly exhausted any potential new topics of
conversation doing the Green Mountain Double last weekend. Our fellow
tandem captains and stokers, on the other hand, had plenty to talk about
as they got to know each other throughout the day!<br />
<br />
But despite our barely knowing each other at the beginning of the day,
by the end of this ride, we were like soldiers who had been to battle
together. In the end, we were a solid team: now all good friends that we could depend on to overcome some pretty big odds. <br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />
The first time we all came together was at breakfast a few hours before
the ride. Fueled by breakfast burritos and other such delights, we
headed over to the start to get tandems set up and ready to go. Since
Todd and Patria had just met, they finished getting the bike was set up,
and had their first ever ride together! They were instantly riding
together like old-pros. Of course, the rest of us had our first rides
together <i>hours before</i>, making us old-pros already!<br />
<br />
Now this is what lay ahead of us, a Chris Milliman route that would take
in every steep dirt climb and descent that he could jam into a 120 mile
ride from Hanover, NH. To top it off, Chris has a bad track record with
the weather gods, having attempted a similar ride in the spring the
last two years, only to be snowed or rained on both times. We had
figured we'd be safe from snow today, since we had just experienced a
brutal heat wave in Boston. It was mercifully cooler today, but still
with a forecast high in the 80s F. Little did we know...<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />
The Rapha boys brought <a href="http://www.rapha.cc/rapha-mobile-cycle-club-north-america-" target="_blank">Hennie</a>,
the mobile cycle club, complete with a pro espresso machine and
barista. I had a most excellent espresso just before the start!<br />
<br />
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<br />
The race is handicapped, based on the team's racing resume and prior
experience. We were placed in the middle of the field this year, based
on the original team make-up and our results from last year. With our
recombobulated team, we probably should have had an early start, but so
be it. We lined up at the start, looking sharp in our white and cream
jerseys, half of which were borrowed. Little did the lenders know the
abuse the jerseys would see later in the day. Actually, we were all
pretty naive about that too!<br />
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<br />
Rebecca, the PR maestro at <a href="http://www.rialto-restaurant.com/" target="_blank">Rialto Restaurant</a>
in Cambridge, MA, and organizer of the Rialto/Trade cycling team for
the upcoming Pan-Mass Challenge, loaned out several jerseys from the PMC
team for the day. It was only a little ironic that all our substitute
riders had the word TRADE embroidered on the back of their jerseys. But
what were these jerseys saying? Were they looking to <i>trade</i>? Had we acquired them in <i>trade</i>?
We were certainly thrilled to have them. I mean really. Who in their
right mind would agree to do this a day before. It's probably good that
we got them at the last minute. Had they had any time to actually think
about what they'd just committed to, they might have had themselves
committed!<br />
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<br />
We started out making reasonable time, but it was inevitable that the
strong teams who started after us would catch us. We weren't counting on
our sibling team, from the <a href="http://ridestudiocafe.com/" target="_blank">Ride Studio Cafe</a>,
leading us off course when they caught us, but that's precisely what
they did. Fortunately Dena and I noticed the error before the big
descent, but we couldn't get the attention of the others. We waited, as
they got to the bottom of the hill and then turned to climb back up!<br />
<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">The Bailey Turkey Farm...</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aWHp3uTOFB4/T-cUzp-xVtI/AAAAAAAAMPc/XozhRneaO14/s1600/DSC01669.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aWHp3uTOFB4/T-cUzp-xVtI/AAAAAAAAMPc/XozhRneaO14/s400/DSC01669.JPG" height="320" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy Hill, indeed!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YU8ZJ70VMgY/T-fdLhCTeYI/AAAAAAAAL14/AmtLpPER7iY/s1600/R0012331.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YU8ZJ70VMgY/T-fdLhCTeYI/AAAAAAAAL14/AmtLpPER7iY/s400/R0012331.jpg" height="476" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Todd Holland and Patria Lanfranchi on the yellow-taxi tandem</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fBUX8xWwNMc/T-fdgTi_D5I/AAAAAAAAL2Q/GHFu2mehgQw/s1600/R0012344.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fBUX8xWwNMc/T-fdgTi_D5I/AAAAAAAAL2Q/GHFu2mehgQw/s400/R0012344.jpg" height="476" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A ride-by shooting</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mrxAz4xeKwE/T-fdaoMG3QI/AAAAAAAAL2A/PFQJyTMiXpA/s1600/R0012340.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mrxAz4xeKwE/T-fdaoMG3QI/AAAAAAAAL2A/PFQJyTMiXpA/s400/R0012340.jpg" height="640" width="476" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Bayley checking to see if stoker Rebecca Fetner, is smiling!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_0B9fjoRWM4/T-jpbgnhbVI/AAAAAAAAMBU/5zpjYKa5gRA/s1600/P1000718.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_0B9fjoRWM4/T-jpbgnhbVI/AAAAAAAAMBU/5zpjYKa5gRA/s400/P1000718.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John and Rebecca, on Bond, our 007 tandem.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PeAR62OASmg/T-jrgCoiUoI/AAAAAAAAMF4/kuEZDawWno0/s1600/P1000748.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PeAR62OASmg/T-jrgCoiUoI/AAAAAAAAMF4/kuEZDawWno0/s400/P1000748.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Todd, making sure that the Tall Trees team doesn't pass us!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hKzF0AGhNgA/T-jtDsURKaI/AAAAAAAAMJA/_dQ_b7WBUEM/s1600/P1000769.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hKzF0AGhNgA/T-jtDsURKaI/AAAAAAAAMJA/_dQ_b7WBUEM/s400/P1000769.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a TEAM!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gpdPBqMHGzA/T-jrGcc03YI/AAAAAAAAMFI/7C7w4m9lADY/s1600/P1000743.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gpdPBqMHGzA/T-jrGcc03YI/AAAAAAAAMFI/7C7w4m9lADY/s400/P1000743.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The calm...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5ivggEUhw3g/T-jrVkAr9vI/AAAAAAAAMFk/3Bdb5qBq_xg/s1600/P1000746.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5ivggEUhw3g/T-jrVkAr9vI/AAAAAAAAMFk/3Bdb5qBq_xg/s400/P1000746.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dena Cohen and Pamela Blalock. Dena never tired of me warning folks to watch out for the girl driver!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J5blo6FhOlo/T-jsXX9smVI/AAAAAAAAMPQ/_Owh8mfKiOI/s1600/P1000759.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J5blo6FhOlo/T-jsXX9smVI/AAAAAAAAMPQ/_Owh8mfKiOI/s400/P1000759.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rapha Ambassadors, including the ladies of the Ride Studio Cafe team, Lauren Kling, Cait Dooley and Joy Stark</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
I included a little foreshadowing in the previous post when I mentioned
that I had forgotten about some of the shifting issues John and I had
last time we rode the Mocha on D2R2.<br />
<br />
But before I go any further, I must say this. Warning: <i>sappy, mushy</i>
paragraph ahead. Dena Cohen is the bravest, most amazing person I know.
She barely hesitated when I asked her to save our quest by agreeing to
captain a borrowed bike that she had never ridden, on a 120 mile dirt
road race, with a gazillion feet of climbing. There aren't a lot of
people I'd trust to captain me on a tandem in these conditions. Dena did
a phenomenal job. She took on the reponsibility for me as stoker, and
showed no signs of the stress that must have caused. She also never
complained (out loud at least) that we had saddled her with a less than
perfectly tuned tandem. And I'm struggling to find the proper words to
express how amazing, special and brave she is and how lucky I am to call
her my friend. OK - this concludes the sappy, mushy part of the post.
Back to the regular programming...<br />
<br />
Our first sign of trouble was in the form of chain-suck. This is when
the chain doesn't release from the chainring and gets sucked up into the
space between the bottom bracket and chainrings. One must quickly
back-pedal, or risk jamming and potentially destroying the chain. The
first time it happened, we hit zero miles per hour and fell over. I
realized that John and I have have mastered the technique of
back-pedaling and freeing the chain without saying anything aloud. Dena
and I planned to try to do this next time it happened. We actually got
very good at it by the end of the day, because it happened a lot. <br />
<br />
But early on, while we were still perfecting this maneuver, we managed
to have the chain drop - and get past the chainwatcher, so that we had
to loosen and move the chainwatcher to get the chain back on. The others
had somehow gotten ahead, but thought we were ahead of them and were
chasing our phantom tandem to Royalton. When I had thrown together a
toolkit at the last minute, I had foolishly included a multi-tool,
rather than my usual separate allen keys. I had to push the bottle cage
out of the way to get to the bolt for the chainwatcher with the very
awkward to use multi-tool. I then loosened the less-than-effective
chainwatcher enough to move and free the chain, and left it loose,
planning to have John readjust it. Fortunately we had a long <i>descent</i>
into Royalton, and no other shifting issues on that leg. John took over
as mechanic and readjusted the chainwatcher while we grabbed drinks in
the shop at Royalton. We suddenly remembered all the chainsuck from
D2R2. Not much we could do now, other than be very cautious shifting and
then order new chainrings when we got home!<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J_BqwHC7tMk/T-fd0d5pCzI/AAAAAAAAMOo/ypEwf1ol9ik/s1600/R0012354.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J_BqwHC7tMk/T-fd0d5pCzI/AAAAAAAAMOo/ypEwf1ol9ik/s400/R0012354.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Epic Avengers are still laughing and smiling in Royalton. The mandatory Rapha B+W shot.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P4Ydvzq5aKU/T-fd5QHLN9I/AAAAAAAAL3A/srTnUnDA4iw/s1600/R0012356.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P4Ydvzq5aKU/T-fd5QHLN9I/AAAAAAAAL3A/srTnUnDA4iw/s400/R0012356.jpg" height="476" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two chicks on a tandem is not a common sight!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zl4kb7SO2_s/T-feL5CiROI/AAAAAAAAL3g/y21G-dUr94w/s1600/R0012358.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zl4kb7SO2_s/T-feL5CiROI/AAAAAAAAL3g/y21G-dUr94w/s400/R0012358.jpg" height="476" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Tall Trees lads sitting on some short stumps</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YejYposcTOc/T-jtO6zZMEI/AAAAAAAAMJQ/XW0IrAboJBg/s1600/P1000772.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YejYposcTOc/T-jtO6zZMEI/AAAAAAAAMJQ/XW0IrAboJBg/s400/P1000772.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John and Jed Kornbluh get reacquainted as they discuss meeting 20 years prior in London! And it was captured on video.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bwVh6NzY2IY/T-jtck8L-cI/AAAAAAAAMJs/0C2Oq9S73iQ/s1600/P1000775.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bwVh6NzY2IY/T-jtck8L-cI/AAAAAAAAMJs/0C2Oq9S73iQ/s400/P1000775.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dena, Pamela and Todd enjoying ice cold sodas!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The hottest climb of the day brought us to the very welcome tent, manned by the lovely ladies of <a href="http://www.strava.com/" target="_blank">Strava</a>,
who were handing out ice cold sodas. While I often freeze in conditions
that Dena considers comfy, Dena suffers greatly in heat that mildy
annoys me. After sucking down three sodas, her core temp was starting to
come down. We chatted with the video folks about how much fun we were
having and how great it was being on the tandem together. They asked if
we felt we were over the hump. I said we had a ways to go. Little did I
know how true this was!<br />
<br />
Thunder could be heard in the distance, so we gathered the troops and
tried to get moving. I think all our cameras got packed away in safe dry
places at this point. There aren't any photos on the next section.<br />
<br />
We descended briefly and then started up the biggest climb of the day,
just as the rain started to fall. Next, flashes of light were quickly
followed by rumbles of thunder. I could feel the temps dropping, but it
had been hot, so this was almost a relief. But then the thunder started
coming really soon after the lightning, until, just as we crested, the
thunder practically preceded the flash of light. I could barely hear the
thunder over my scream, and Dena couldn't hear my scream over her
scream as she saw the lightning crackle a few hundred meters up the
road. There was nothing to do at this stage, but keep moving and get
down off this mountain. We'd been scanning the road for shelter all the
way up, but there was none. Dena also commented out the tiny hail stones
all over the road! Good thing I was blinded by the rain and hail and
really couldn't see a thing!<br />
<br />
John and Rebecca were nearby and we started heading down together. We
were happy that Todd and Patria were not hanging around waiting for us.
We all just bombed down the mountain and were never so relieved to come
to a store as when we arrived in West Fairlee. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6oF-v8MhzM0/T-feQ3ZkACI/AAAAAAAAL3o/UxDP0zLw6jM/s1600/R0012359.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6oF-v8MhzM0/T-feQ3ZkACI/AAAAAAAAL3o/UxDP0zLw6jM/s400/R0012359.jpg" height="476" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Celebrating being alive! Really!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fOfWUGg-dOw/T-feRjGE58I/AAAAAAAAL3w/1ckFvg9kvEQ/s1600/R0012360.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fOfWUGg-dOw/T-feRjGE58I/AAAAAAAAL3w/1ckFvg9kvEQ/s400/R0012360.jpg" height="640" width="476" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A wee bit dirty. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The euphoria of being alive was quickly replaced with chills from being
soaked, as we had descended and the temperature had plummeted back into
the 50s F. I dashed into the store to buy trash bags to serve as rain
jackets. We poked holes for head and arms and crawled inside enjoying
the insulation and warmth. We joked about the box of 20 raincoats for
$3! We figure Rapha will soon come out with a Rapha logo version complete with a white stripe, and a slightly higher price! <br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7Hm1ccA_RKw/T-feYAquZ5I/AAAAAAAAL4A/Po4gh9oWsZY/s1600/R0012364.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7Hm1ccA_RKw/T-feYAquZ5I/AAAAAAAAL4A/Po4gh9oWsZY/s400/R0012364.jpg" height="640" width="476" /></a></div>
<br />
Patria and Rebecca (and several others) bought wool socks, which they
turned into arm warmers. We also overwhelmed the hot chocolate machine
and did our best to get to a state of non-shivering. Dena looked on
slightly amused. She was finally comfortable with the temperature!<br />
<br />
The rain seemed to stop while we were there but someone must have
acknowledged that out loud, because soon the thunder came back. We
decided we needed to get moving, both to get warm, and to try and stay
in front of the storm. Rain started up again in earnest soon after we
hit the road.<br />
<br />
The most gnarly technical section awaited. Dena and I got caught in a
bit of traffic on one of the uphill rocky sections and had to walk
briefly, but managed to remount and ride for a while, before it got so
muddy that we just sank. The other tandems managed to ride most of it,
and impressed all the riders and walkers nearby. Dena and I had plenty
of company on foot though.<br />
<br />
Dena told me that we would be also walking the descent if it was like
the climb, but fortunately it was not as bad. However, the front (disk)
brake lever was starting to bottom out as she pulled it to the bars.
Between the rain and mud, we were wearing through the brake pads
quickly. We stopped to tighten the brake and Dena was much happier -
that is until we hit a bump and suddenly the rear brake was locked on. I
couldn't see quite what was causing the issue, but the pads on the back
looked fine, and weren't hitting the tire. We managed to free things
enough to get the bike moving and continued down to the next crossroads,
where with John's help we realized the lever had slipped on the bars
and was now pulling the cable tight. A quick readjustment to the lever
had us moving again.<br />
<br />
At the next turn, Gerben, the race director, stopped us and told us to
continue straight down the main road. I thought at first it was just
some flooding issue on the route ahead, since we would rejoin the route
in less than a mile, and it was only cutting off a very short section. I
later came to realize that we had hit the time cutoff, along with about
half the teams.<br />
<br />
Shortly after this we crossed the river back into NH, and as we saw
shafts of light coming from the sky, Todd let loose with a tirade about
the cruel and unwelcoming Vermont that may see him banned from that
state for life!<br />
<br />
Just as we approached the next store, our front brake made an awful
metal on metal sound that we soon diagnosed as complete lack of brake
pads - the sound was coming from the now padless bit of metal rattling
around and banging against the disk rotor. We looked at the remainder of
the route on the GPS. We had done all the truly hard stuff, and all
that remained was a short loop in NH to get the full 120 miles, or a
direct route back that would bring us up to 105 miles. It was an easy
and unanimous decision - and one that would have been mandated by the
race director had we tried to take the full route. We headed straight
back.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XeAgSQJxxdo/T-juDaEknUI/AAAAAAAAMK4/h9c38Q5NzuI/s1600/P1000783.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XeAgSQJxxdo/T-juDaEknUI/AAAAAAAAMK4/h9c38Q5NzuI/s400/P1000783.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wvj6lLjIfaE/T-juNfBJNCI/AAAAAAAAMLM/4joTPSCpFeE/s1600/P1000785.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wvj6lLjIfaE/T-juNfBJNCI/AAAAAAAAMLM/4joTPSCpFeE/s400/P1000785.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caption contest anyone... What are we thinking?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GSMvhabboX0/T-juuyg985I/AAAAAAAAMMM/EftVVZwZUpw/s1600/P1000793.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GSMvhabboX0/T-juuyg985I/AAAAAAAAMMM/EftVVZwZUpw/s400/P1000793.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bond, our new 007 tandem, performed flawlessly!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-55SQne__Y0A/T-ju09Y60kI/AAAAAAAAMMc/p8dR2i8Eelk/s1600/P1000795.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-55SQne__Y0A/T-ju09Y60kI/AAAAAAAAMMc/p8dR2i8Eelk/s400/P1000795.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Patria's view...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
So we finished together and under our own steam, and, given the previous
48 hours, we were all pretty psyched with our accomplishment. About
half the teams did the full route, riding fast enough to miss the storms
in Vermont and mostly got the rain at the lower elevations in NH, while
the other half, like us, experienced the epic conditions in Vemont and
then missed that bonus loop in NH. <br />
<br />
We lived, and we got some <i>epic</i> dirt ground into our bikes, clothes and bodies! <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--V1AY3NiBgI/T-ju7PU-bQI/AAAAAAAAMMo/ARYK0hTHMzw/s1600/P1000796.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--V1AY3NiBgI/T-ju7PU-bQI/AAAAAAAAMMo/ARYK0hTHMzw/s400/P1000796.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm trying to retrieve my camera from the safety of the bar bag to get some pictures of our white jerseys!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tB40Av4mu-o/T-jvNaSY3kI/AAAAAAAAMNM/WnkjZkOFfGg/s1600/P1000800.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tB40Av4mu-o/T-jvNaSY3kI/AAAAAAAAMNM/WnkjZkOFfGg/s400/P1000800.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seriously happy to be back! Epic Avengers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-km-6idorNpk/T-cWCztmS0I/AAAAAAAALy4/Z06a3DY8kf4/s1600/DSC01677.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-km-6idorNpk/T-cWCztmS0I/AAAAAAAALy4/Z06a3DY8kf4/s400/DSC01677.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our heroines - the three gals who stepped up and saved our ride!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tJn4uZvgB6k/T-cWP19nIHI/AAAAAAAALzA/WrMejCmOHxQ/s1600/DSC01678.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tJn4uZvgB6k/T-cWP19nIHI/AAAAAAAALzA/WrMejCmOHxQ/s400/DSC01678.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The coating of Vermont muck on my seatbag.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZZUrUvqd3Rw/T-cWgywTlpI/AAAAAAAALzU/zONpXSHgoSM/s1600/DSC01680.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZZUrUvqd3Rw/T-cWgywTlpI/AAAAAAAALzU/zONpXSHgoSM/s400/DSC01680.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It took two showers to get the sand out of my hair!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yqyJYsTpv64/T-cW1HXSt5I/AAAAAAAALzg/Y_cAtfmMAwg/s1600/DSC01681.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yqyJYsTpv64/T-cW1HXSt5I/AAAAAAAALzg/Y_cAtfmMAwg/s400/DSC01681.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poor baby!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GjJwWpFkkR8/T-cW6Ay_UHI/AAAAAAAALzo/gcpxmuRn7NE/s1600/DSC01682.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GjJwWpFkkR8/T-cW6Ay_UHI/AAAAAAAALzo/gcpxmuRn7NE/s400/DSC01682.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mud inside my shoes</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
Wow!<br />
<br />
I'm not one to lightly use the word <i>epic</i>. Our team name was
conceived to make fun of the tendency to overuse that word in
conjunction with Rapha events. The biblical weather certainly added to
our adventure, but what made this event amazing was how 6 new friends
came together and took on not just a physical challenge, but a mental
one that required sacrificing personal goals for the sake of the team.<br />
<br />
I won't soon forget.<br />
<br />
Last year's ride was almost boring in comparison. Everything fell into
place perfectly. Nothing went wrong. We crossed the line first. Kewl!<br />
<br />
This year, we have some amazing memories and stories to share. Almost
nothing went according to plan. Well not entirely true - we did have
appropriately low gears and fat tires and no punctures. And we had good
brakes for <i>most</i> of the ride. We finished together, under our own
steam. We improvised. We rose to the challenge. We survived to ride
another day! We are the Epic Avengers! <br />
<br />Fixie Pixiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12932022188247682078noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6454203094086967305.post-75307035038389447112012-06-28T16:48:00.000-04:002015-01-04T17:13:36.918-05:00Just Keep Pedaling<div class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name">
<i>This report was written by Patria Lanfranchi, aka The Cafe Stoker </i></div>
<div class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name">
<br /></div>
<div class="post-header">
</div>
It wasn't that long ago that I was freaked out by riding on dirt.
Saturday, I was bombing down dirt roads at 45+ mph with my eyes closed.<br />
<br />
What happened to the good ol' days of riding for hours upon hours on
smooth pavement? It's been months in the making, as I've been very
fortunate to have been introduced to great off-road trails not far from
home and not too technical in nature. Being in the woods, lit by a
headlight and surrounded by plants, trees and grasses growing over the
trail wildly, is indescribably cool. Saving it for a blog another day.<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.rapha.cc/ne-rapha-gentlemens-race-2012-" target="_blank">Rapha Gentlemen's Race</a> this year was Epic with a capital E. It was all things packed into one innocent-enough looking day. I know <a href="http://blayleys.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Pamela</a>
will be blogging the full story and she'll do the story justice. I want
to see what she had to say as the race was different for everyone out
there.<br />
<br />
I got invited on a tandem team, the <a href="http://52vincents.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Epic Avengers</a>:
this is a team of 6 people, with three tandems among us. I had a total
of one day of prep time and considering my work schedule, that meant I
didn't even have time to get to the grocery store to buy food for the
race. Somehow a single load of laundry got done, but that was it.<br />
<br />
For the first time in years, I wished I'd been training all winter &
felt a bit of regret at that. I don't love being this out of shape and
away from the race scene (it's by choice), but when I got an email
telling me I could do this race, I almost leaped out of my bike shoes (I
was on a casual bike ride at the time). <br />
<br />
The course was 60% dirt roads for 120 miles (for those who finished). I
hadn't met the pilot or tandem I'd be riding with until the night before
the race. Piloting a tandem is no small job and for a course like this,
experience is key. <br />
<br />
Trust is as well. Trusting the guy who's picking the line and handling
the brakes is just about the most important thing. Second most: pedal.
The stoker has to help the bike go and let the pilot do his job. I
promised the pilot, Todd, that I would do just that. I was told that
Todd was an experienced pilot, he came with an impressive resume, but is
nicknamed The Jokester. So at what point does he take things seriously?
I'd have to find out.<br />
<br />
Pamela & John, tandem partners in life (though they rode different
tandems for the sake of the team this weekend) are rider extraordinaires
in countless ways. I know them pretty well as we've spent hours
chatting at the <a href="http://www.ridestudiocafe.com/" target="_blank">Ride Studio Cafe</a>, first having met at Mt. Washington for the hillclimb last August (I was there to man the <a href="http://www.ciclismoclassico.com/" target="_blank">Ciclismo Classico</a> tent but definitely <i>not to </i>race.)
We've been able to ride some together, but nothing like what we did
Saturday. Pamela has logged 9,000 miles for the year so far and takes 2
days off the bike each <i>month</i> or something like that. John rides
like he was born on a bike. He was part of the men's winning Green
Mountain Double Century team last weekend.<br />
<br />
Dena, a friend of Pamela's and co-winner w/Pamela of the Green Mountain
double century last weekend (yes, just last weekend), knows no distance
barriers. She's an engine, a terrific pilot and fun to suffer
with...actually, she doesn't suffer while the rest of us do. Superhuman.<br />
<br />
Then there's Rebecca who is a relatively new cyclist compared with
everyone else and was so eager to be there. I was wondering if she could
comprehend the distance or dirt as I didn't know what her background
were with either. She hadn't ridden a tandem until the afternoon before
this race. It was impressive watching her on the back of the tandem as
she and John flew down hills during the day. On command, she stood
smoothly, as if she'd been a stoker her whole life. She looked fresh and
happy all day long. What's even more shocking is that she was both of
those things right through to the finish. <br />
<br />
Not knowing all that much about this race as I'm new to the area and to
the world of long-distance racing & this particular race, I had to
get schooled on it quickly. According to Rapha: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The point of Rapha’s Gentlemen's Races is to inspire a different type of
racing. Being unmarshalled, unsupported and unsanctioned, there's no
better way to find out if you're a true team, pulling together through
the difficulties and attrition to get each other to the finish, or just
six individuals racing the clock. </i></blockquote>
The day started off cool, an absolutely perfect temperature with clear
skies in a gorgeous part of the country (2 hrs by car north of here on
the NH/VT border). We were thrilled that it didn't look like overheating
would be an issue. Nor would rain. Hahahahahaha. We stayed hydrated and
none of us got too hot, except for Dena who was happy when the temps
dropped much lower later in the day at which time she was smiling and
told us of her overheating earlier. We were shaking from the cold. I'm
jumping ahead.<br />
<br />
We started on smooth pavement at 8:09am. Breakfast was at 5:30 and I'm
happy to report I was wide awake and ready to go early. Adrenaline is
powerful, though I felt most of my pre-race jitters the day before. No
coffee for me until a minute before the start when the Rapha espresso
machine was serving up very tasty shots. <br />
<br />
The whole ride up until mile 60 or so was fun, beautiful, the dirt
sections were great and time flew by with the miles. Todd and I had a
couple of early mechanical problems with the chain jumping into the
spokes. We got that fixed on a nice uphill section. An extra section we
threw in as we'd gone off course, taking us down a screaming descent
just to learn that we had to return up that hill. Teammates Dena and
Pamela had some mechanicals on their bike, at a point where we were all
at separate parts of the road. Fortunately, the ladies are quite the
mechanics and were able to get going again to roll into the "lunch"
stop. Other than that, we didn't have a flat all day. The new <a href="http://www.sevencycles.com/" target="_blank">Seven</a> titanium tandem steed that John & Pamela just bought for their anniversary worked flawlessly all day long.<br />
<br />
Climbing was fun on the tandem. Much more so than when I'm climbing
alone. I think much of that had to do with my knowing that I'd get up
the hill because if I couldn't do it, someone else would be able to
provide the power. The riding itself never made me nervous since I knew I
had someone to work with. I don't like being in on scary rides by
myself. Anytime I've ever shared a stupid riding experience with
someone, I feel much more at ease & fortunately, that doesn't happen
often. (Sentence inserted for benefit of family members.) <br />
<br />
Around mile 65, the weather changed. Dark clouds hovered overhead and we
were climbing. It started raining. Rain isn't a big deal, though I was
wondering if it'd cause mud and what that would do to the slipperiness
of the roads. I'd love to say I can remember every mile of the whole
ride, but I don't. Thunder and lightning freak me out like nothing else.
I descended like a mad woman down Mt Evans after seeing a single bolt
of lightning setting a personal best descending time...aborting the
whole ride w/o a second thought. So I am not afraid to bail when safety
is at stake.<br />
<br />
To shorten the story, we were poured on and pictures weren't possible.
We crested the hill as the storm reached us at the same time. The
descent was very fast, wet roads didn't seem to slow us down. Later I
found out how much breaking hurt Todd's hands and how miserable he was
up front (not that he said it in those words as he was still in what
appeared to be a good mood. I got quiet, Todd wasn't freaked out like I
was as we were under trees. He said that as long as we weren't in a
clearing, he wouldn't be worried. Moments later we arrived in a
tree-less part of the road. Didn't take much to pedal faster than we had
all day long at that point. Luckily, it didn't last long, but the rain
did. Temps dropped and he was shaking badly. The stoker is protected
from the elements so much more than the pilot. Finally, we arrived at a
general store where they served hot chocolate. Dena treated all of us.
She was the only one who really didn't need the hot chocolate as she was
smiling and happy at the coolness that the rest of us would classify as
cold.<br />
<br />
Plastic garbage bags were supplied by Pamela, she made each of us a
jacket. Warm, comfy, happier. At one point, John started laughing and
couldn't stop, the rest of us followed suit. It was funny, but who knew
why. Maybe because we looked funny! The normal people in street clothes
at the store were great. I'd love to know what they thought about the
freezing, wet, silly cyclists. <br />
<br />
The rain subsided and stopped, it looked like we'd gotten out of the
storm. Still milling about at the store and recuperating, we didn't
treat any of the last rest stops like race ones. The first ones we'd
tried to make good time in getting in & getting out. Being fast was
futile toward the end. Then the thunder started up again, my heart sank
when I heard it roll up. It had caught us. We got going and the rain
came down again, it was significantly harder for me to keep going at
that point. Again, rain isn't a problem, it's the lightning that I don't
like. <br />
<br />
Mile 85 was soon after the hot chocolate stop. Muddy, rocky, rooty, the
most technically challenging off-road portion of the course was here
& we'd awaited this point all day. Thanks to the garbage bag on
Todd, I couldn't see anything. I just kept pedaling on cue and he got us
through. There were a couple of spots where the tandem was stopped by
the mud or other obstructions. I put a foot down and sank into the mud. I
hadn't realized before that that we were even riding in mud. Keeping
the stoker clueless is a key to success.<br />
<br />
On we rode until the course took a turn into the heart of the storm. At
that point, we stopped and took shelter under someone's garage &
waited for our teammates to show up. The race director gave us an
alternate route so we could avoid the storm and ride to the finish
cutting some miles out. Finally, we were all back together again and we
rolled to the finish easily. The sky cleared as if nothing had ever
transpired in those wild, remote hills of Vermont. Upon crossing the
border back into NH, Todd let Vermont know what he thought about it. We
all needed him to say the things he did to shake off what we'd just been
through. We were bold enough to take off the bags and relax. Pedaling
on... suddenly we had 1 mile left to go (I thought we still had 10+
remaining). What a pleasant surprise!<br />
<br />
We pulled into the parking lot 10 hours after we'd started the Epic
Avenging and we were smiling almost as much as we had at the beginning
of the day. It was fun. I would do it again. I hope to do it again.<br />
<br />
According to Todd, I was "well behaved." But he assured me that since I
had taken on that course and the challenge, that I wasn't one of the
well-behaved women who doesn't make history.<br />
<br />
And what did I learn about Todd? That he doesn't take anything where it
comes to riding seriously except an open field with lightning overhead
and the sharp turns at the bottom of steep descents. Oh, and pre-race
nutrition. He was quite concerning about eating popcorn and drinking
beer the night before the race. Maybe he knows something the rest of us
(me) don't. He knows how to handle a bike (with my weight on it), pedal
(again, with my weight on it) and keep a good disposition even when he's
shivering enough and has cold enough hands that most people wouldn't be
able to keep a bike going straight and fast. <br />
<br />
There's one for history: the Rapha Gentlemen's Race 2012 is in the
books. The Epic Avengers didn't officially finish, but we officially
lived and had a great time on the road together. I got back in the
saddle to do the hardest ride of my life after not much riding at all
for the past year.<br />
<br />
Huge thanks to all of my teammates who worked so hard for each other
throughout the long day. Thank you to everyone who brought bikes &
equipment (which will never be the same again after all of that mud
& grit), those (Pamela!) who organized us all at the very last
minute and who had faith that we could accomplish this race together
though odds said there was no way we could pull it off at the last
minute.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498387738436826387noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6454203094086967305.post-63119791877127026322012-06-28T16:44:00.000-04:002015-01-04T17:13:45.379-05:00First Tandem Century<div class="mbl notesBlogText clearfix">
<div>
<i>This report was written by Dena Cohen, aka The Mad Scientist </i><br />
<br />
On Thursday evening, I
agreed to captain a tandem that I had never ridden on a 120 mile race
course with 13,000 feet of climbing on mostly dirt roads. Of all of the
crazy things that Pamela Blalock has ever suggested that I do (and
there have been many), this was by far the craziest. Although I’d
certainly captained a tandem before, and ridden dirt roads before, I’d
never done both at the same time, and never with Pamela as my stoker.
Nonetheless, team Epic Avengers was desperate for one more captain after
some last minute cancellations, and I love a challenge.<br />
<br />
On
Friday afternoon, I headed over to Pamela’s for a quick test ride
before departure. For better or worse, but mostly better, we couldn’t
get the cockpit of Ride Studio Café’s ultra-light titanium Seven Cycles
tandem to be small enough to fit me, so we ended up riding on John and
Pamela’s Comotion Mocha, which is a much heavier machine but has the
advantage of an extraordinarily low gear, which featured prominently in
our experience of the race itself. We took the bike around the block
twice and didn’t die, which we took that as evidence that all would be
well on race day. Using the strength of three people we hoisted the
bike onto the roof of Pamela’s car, and headed to New Hampshire.<br />
<br />
On
race-day morning at 5:30, the full complement of Epic Avengers
assembled for the first time, for breakfast at a local diner. I had my
stand-by cycling breakfast of eggs, toast, homefries, and hot sauce with
plenty of salt. I had a feeling I would need every calorie and every
gram of sodium, and I was not wrong. After fooling around with the
bikes in the parking lot at the start and doing some last minute test
riding, we rolled off the race start and through some paved roads
towards the first dirt section.<br />
<br />
It became clear
immediately that Pamela and I were going to have to give it absolutely
everything we had not to be completely left in the dust by our stronger
teammates. We frequently experienced the optical illusion of Todd,
Patria, John, and Rebecca getting smaller when the road turned up-hill.
This illusion was enhanced by the fact that we were having some issues
with chain suck, and had to stop a couple of times to sort out our drive
train before moving on. We were working far too hard to talk, which
was fine since Pamela and I ran out of things to talk about on bike
rides about five years ago.<br />
<br />
From the day I met him, I have
been in awe of John Bayley’s cycling skills, but never more so than on
this race course. Staying in control of a huge, heavy bike that has a
tendency to shoot like a missile down hills, and is remarkably slow to
respond to subtle obstacle-avoidance maneuvers, is incredibly hard. Add
to that the fact that you have a helpless passenger whose safety you
really care about clinging on for dear life behind you, and you find
yourself in a state of constant hyper-vigilance, trying to see around
every bend and to interpret every subtle change in color of the road
surface for clues about what is going to happen next. John does this
with such grace, skill, good humor, and seeming effortlessness, and at
such an incredible rate of speed, it really boggles the mind. Todd
appears to be cut from the same last. In other words, I was a hack in
the company of professionals. Luckily, Pamela is an expert
stoker—strong, smooth, patient, trusting, and calm—and that saved us on
multiple occasions.<br />
<br />
My nearest miss of the ride came
relatively early on, when I carried a little too much speed into a
left-hand bend at the bottom of a hill, and hit a patch of sandy gravel
that was looser than it looked. I felt the rear wheel start to skid
away, which is really not the best feeling in the world. Somehow, I
managed to hold onto it, straighten out of the turn and bring the bike
to a gentle stop in the upright position on some grass beyond the edge
of the road. Pamela must have hit the emergency eject button because I
swear she was off the bike before we’d even come to a complete stop. A
fellow cyclist who was standing nearby yelled out, “Nice save!” Pamela
and I breathed a sigh of relief, pointed the tandem back in the desired
direction of travel, and headed on.<br />
<br />
Those of you who have
ridden with me know that I am generally a conservative cyclist, and
like to take it slow out of the start to save energy for whatever might
lie ahead. On this ride, I was burning matches from mile one. That
combined with the rising temperatures and the difficulty of drinking
enough water while captaining on rough roads (I wasn’t about to take my
hands off the bars!) had me over-heating and a bit dehydrated pretty
early on. The first rest stop at mile 33 didn’t provide much relief
since they had sold out of chilled water before our arrival and in any
case we only hung around for about 30 seconds, or so it seemed. From
there the climbing seemed absolutely relentless and I was fantasizing
about cold Sprite and smoothies constantly.<br />
<br />
All the heat
and climbing came to a head for me on a huge paved climb out in the sun
around the midpoint of the ride. As we came to the crest of the climb, a
little tent appeared, full of nice people from Strava with coolers of
ice-cold orange soda. Having downed two cans in about 3 minutes, I felt
quite a bit better. Since the clouds were gathering, we hopped back on
the bikes quickly and made for lower ground. I should point out that
“lower ground” was a relative and transitory concept in this ride, since
we never actually stayed at any one elevation for longer than a moment
or two anywhere on the course.<br />
<br />
The skies opened up and unleashed with one of the most severe thunderstorms I’ve ever ridden through. Intense rain,<br />
hail,
wind, and lightening were all around us. The road turned into a rocky
stream bed, just in time for one of the biggest descents of the ride. I
hung onto the brakes and tried to keep us out of the biggest puddles
and on the road, not always the easiest combination of goals. Somehow,
miraculously, we made it to the bottom where there was a store and about
40 other wet, insane people on bicycles. Pamela and I got of the bike
and both spontaneously shouted “We lived!” Moments later I was sipping
hot chocolate and trying to remember why it was that I had been craving
cold soda earlier in the day. I was so thrilled not to be hot anymore
that I didn’t mind being wet. Unlike the rest of the Epic Avengers, I
have what we refer to politely as “enhanced thermal mass,” so I wasn’t
cold and shivering. In fact, I felt better than I had all day, except
for an overall sense of unease about doing more dirt descents in that
weather. Everyone else put on Rapha rain vests (ie, trash bag ponchos)
and we moved on.<br />
<br />
This whole portion of the ride was such
blur of wetness, dirt, hills, rocks, and mechanicals that it’s hard for
me to keep straight in my mind the order in which things happened.
There was one section that was so muddy and rocky that, after sort of
falling into a ditch that was where the middle of the road should have
been, we decided to walk until conditions improved. I burned through so
much of our front brake pads on the subsequent descents that we had to
stop and have John help us tighten up the front brake. Then only
minutes later I hit a hole that was much bigger than it looked, and the
rear brake lever locked up completely. When we caught up with John he
figured out that, since I had been riding with my hands on the brake
hoods, the force of the impact had actually forced the entire brake
lever assembly down the bars by over a centimeter, thereby jamming it.
We got that adjusted and then headed on, searching for Todd and Patria
who were somewhere far ahead of us, probably writing a novel or
performing ancient weather-related ceremonies.<br />
<br />
Finally, as
we came up to a left turn, the race organizer popped out of a car and
told us that he was closing the course and sending all the riders back
to the start along a direct, paved route. Todd and Patria emerged from
the garage of the house they had built while waiting for us, and we all
made our way over to a gas station to fuel up for the final push for
home. Riding up to the gas station, the bike started making yet another
noise, a sort of soothing metal-on-metal screech. John, who was by
then heartily sick of looking at our brakes, diagnosed the problem as a
complete lack of any sort of brake pad material on the front disc
brake. Fortunately, the brake-shoe-on-rotor combination proved
sufficient for all our remaining stopping needs, since somehow we’d
neglected to pack spare pads.<br />
<br />
Just in time for the paved,
relatively flat ride back to the start, the rain lifted off and it was
like the whole nightmare in the woods never happened. I remembered that
riding a tandem could be fast, fun, and easy—a set of concepts that I’d
forgotten about entirely during the previous hours. Todd had some
choice words for the state of Vermont as we sailed across a bridge and
back into New Hampshire. We rolled back into the starting area at 100.7
miles and about 10,000 feet climbed/descended. We were indescribably
filthy, relieved, exhausted, and happy. And that, in summary, was how I
captained my first century.</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01498387738436826387noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6454203094086967305.post-79026043009378752572012-06-23T16:53:00.000-04:002015-01-04T17:13:55.467-05:00The Perfect Storm2012 has been an intense year of cycling for us. We've had some amazing rides. And while I wouldn't say that the <a href="http://www.rapha.cc/ne-rapha-gentlemens-race-2012-" target="_blank">Rapha Gent's Race</a>
was the focus of our early season, it was a big goal. We had such a
blast on the ride last year, when we pulled together a very strong
tandem team with experience on both dirt and with long distance, who
brought 3 tandems with fat tires, low gears and good brakes to
Pennsylvania and surprised more than a few folks, as we crossed the line
first and earned some pretty nice swag.<br />
<br />
Initially I had assumed that John would like to ride a single on the
2012 edition, but he was so stoked from our ride in 2011, that he wanted
to ride tandem again. In fact, he loved it so much that he ordered a <a href="http://blayleys.blogspot.com/2012/06/magic-faerie-dust.html" target="_blank">new tandem</a>
just for this year's event. Well that might be pushing it a bit, but we
did get a new tandem, and it really was designed to do Gent's Race type
roads. We got it just before Memorial Day and headed up to Vermont for
the christening on some amazing dirt roads around East Burke. Those were
our RGR shakedown rides, per se, to make sure everything was perfect on
the brand new bike.<br />
<br />
Regular blog readers are aware that we've also been doing a bit of
climbing, as well as some longer events, like brevets and fleche rides
and a few dirt roads events, like DROVES and Green Mountain Double.<br />
<br />
John and the other lads on the Ride Studio Cafe Enduro Team had scorched
the GMD course last weekend, while Dena and I had taken a more casual
approach. We were both pretty tired from the 211 miles and 21,000 feet
of mostly dirt roads, but we also felt confident in our ability to do a
few more dirt roads this weekend. <br />
<br />
So John and I came into the week before Gents Race, a little tired, but
well trained and well prepared. We had our tandem fully set up and ready
to go on Wednesday night, and even managed to get to bed early. What
could go wrong now?<br />
<br />
The first email came in around 7:30 Thursday morning. Kristen, our
Cat-1, had spent the previous evening in the ER having a bit of minor
unexpected surgery. Nothing life threatening. She's OK, but no way could
she ride a bike. She felt horrible and offered to help find a
substitute. John and I started to brainstorm. Who did we know, that
wasn't already doing the race, that could tolerate Todd's sense of
humor, and would be available on Saturday. I fired off an email to
Patria Lanfranchi, curator at <a href="http://ridestudiocafe.com/" target="_blank">Ride Studio Cafe</a>(RSC), and Rob Vandermark, her boss, asking if Patria would like to stoke for Todd, or if they knew anyone who would.<br />
<br />
The second email came in at 8:00 AM. This one was from Emily. She'd been
having some back issues, had seen a doctor earlier in the week, and was
due in for a followup in a few hours. The initial reaction from all of
us was not to risk further back injury. Todd was starting to think it
was time to scrub the mission, but John and I still had a few more folks
we could contact. Don't panic yet.<br />
<br />
The next email went out to Rebecca Fetner, PR maestro at Rialto
restaurant. Rebecca is a tiny spitfire, who's been riding and training
lots for the PMC later this summer, and is also a regular at Ride Studio
Cafe. She's similar in size to Emily, so we would probably would be
able to swap her in, without much trouble. I
knew Emily had ridden a tandem lots with a captain that wasn't David,
and she and I had recently had a conversation about being able to ride
and share rooms with people who aren't your spouse, so I didn't foresee
any issues with partner-swapping.<br />
<br />
I headed over to RSC to do the Thursday ladies ride. It was part of my
tapering plan, have a nice relaxed ride on Thursday morning, then write
the blog post about GMDC in the afternoon, and then pack. I was a <i>little</i>
preoccupied, still trying to think of other potential riders, but
holding back on getting too worried at this stage. Sometime near the end
of the ride, Patria came sprinting to the front of the group to say
she'd gotten an email from Rob saying she could go. I believe her bike
was hovering 6 inches off the ground! She was so excited. Matt O'Keefe
would cover for her at the shop, and she'd just need to get someone to
cover for the women's clinic Saturday morning. She did later manage to
find a sub for the clinic, but then mother nature intervened and
cancelled that event entirely. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I tried
to climb on the cloud of pixie dust that Patria was floating on, as I
told her all I could about the race. I also figured out that she must
have a special ring tone for emails from Rob. She read that email while
we were riding! <br />
<br />
We got back to RSC and I read my email from John that Rebecca was also
game, and was cancelling a weekend trip to Miami - it was only later
that I saw the news about Hurricane Debby, making that trip rather
unappealing. But I then worried that we now had too many stokers. <br />
<br />
An hour or so later Emily reported that the doctor advised against
riding. We assured her that we all understood, and agreed it simply
wasn't worth the risk. And we did have an understudy - Rebecca. <br />
<br />
A short while later, David said he would not feel comfortable riding without Emily.<br />
<br />
Pffffffft. That's the sound of the wind coming out of my sails...<br />
<br />
Marital harmony - OK, not worth causing any issues there.<br />
<br />
But now things get complicated. We came up with names of a few tandem <i>teams</i>,
but we already have stokers who have rearranged schedules, so we just
need a captain and a tandem. I didn't want to disrupt any more tandem
team harmony by asking for half a team. <br />
<br />
In anticipation of finding a captain, I emailed Patria and Rob again,
and asked if we could borrow the shop's demo Seven tandem, promising to
put it into the hands of an experienced rider. Rob and Matt O'Keefe had
already loaned out their personal Sevens recently to the Endurance Team
for GMDC, and <a href="http://www.sevencycles.com/home.php" target="_blank">Seven Cycles</a>
may be getting worried about just becoming a bicycle library, where
folks just come to borrow bikes and beat the crap out of them on dirt
roads, but they readily agreed to let us borrow the tandem - anyway.
Wow! <br />
<br />
We emailed a friend in NH who lives in the area, had ridden the course,
and had some interest in getting a tandem. But he'd already committed to
helping his wife with an event she was running Saturday. When he asked
her about changing plans, even <b>I</b> could tell from her reply that marital harmony dictated that he not become an <i>Avenger</i>.<br />
<br />
Oh have I mentioned our team name. Last year we were the <i>52 Vincents</i>,
named for Richard Thompson's most famous ballad about cafe' racers.
When we didn't get an automatic invite back for the race this year, but
instead were required to apply, we changed our name to the <i>Epic Avengers</i>. We put together this <a href="http://52vincents.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">blog</a>, as part of our application. <br />
<br />
So now it seems, somebody's been slipping Kryptonite into the coffee of
some of the Avengers. Never one to go down without a fight, I decided to
try my friend, Dena! Yes, Dena, that smart chick from the <a href="http://blayleys.blogspot.com/2012/06/green-mountain-double-century-signs-of.html" target="_blank">Green Mountain Double Century</a>,
who almost never turns me down when I ask her to join in on some
over-the-top adventure. Dena has a tandem, although it's more a cruiser,
not quite ready for this ride. But she has captained it quite a bit,
although nothing quite so long or challenging. But she has lots of long
distance and dirt road experience. She's in great shape. And most
importantly she is <b>INSANE</b>. I talked to John about swapping around
teammates. I'd ride with Dena. Rebecca could stoke for him. Patria
would ride with Todd. This would put one veteran on each bike, and was
probably the only way Dena would agree to the crazy last minute plan.<br />
<br />
So around 4:30 Thursday afternoon - I sent Dena an email asking if she
had any weekend plans. And I could not believe it when she replied -
Sure, sounds like fun.<br />
<br />
At this stage I stopped to take a breath. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale.<br />
<br />
We sent out word (to old and new team members) at 8pm that we
again had 6 riders and 3 tandems. David and Emily had already paid for a
room in White River Junction and offered it up to the new substitute
riders as incentive. Rebecca arranged for some loaner jerseys from the
Rialto/Trade team, so we could all have somewhat matching white/cream
jerseys. We also got saddle/pedal preferences and measurements from
everyone, so we could set up bikes ahead of time.<br />
<br />
So bright and early Friday morning, I headed over to Dena's to pick up
her saddle and pedals, and then to RSC to get the tandem. Once home and
armed with Dena's measurements, I tried to set up the loaner Seven
tandem for her to captain, only to realize it was just too big. We
simply could not get her saddle low enough, at least not with the stoker
stem attached. I figured she would probably like me to have handlebars.
So I set the nice lightweight tandem aside, and pulled out our
neglected (much heavier) Mocha. The last time we'd ridden the Mocha was
D2R2 almost a year ago. I'll admit now that I'd forgotten about some of
the drivetrain issues we'd had on that ride, but did remember deciding
our tires were too skinny for conditions after a couple of high speed
blowouts, so the first thing I did was mount some new 2" wide tires. We
had put on a new chain after D2R2, but that was about it for recent
maintenance.<br />
<br />
I then mounted Dena's pedals and Brooks saddle and set the saddle
height. At this point John was taking a break from work and came down
to help out. We measured the reach to the bars and decided to swap out
for a shorter stem. It's handy having lots of spare parts lying around
on other bikes. Amazingly we got the bike set up almost precisely to her
measurements. I removed the lights, rack and fenders - trying to
eliminate unnecessary things that might rattle or break. I then tried to
sort out the toolkit, and set up a secure seat bag and handlebar bag.
We've had some issues with Ortlieb bags coming off mounts recently and
had ordered some new straps, but they weren't in yet.<br />
<br />
John had also started taking off pedals and saddle in the stoker
position on our Seven in anticipation of Rebecca coming by to take her
first ever tandem ride. Once the saddle was positioned for tiny Rebecca,
there was definitely no room for our large seat bag on the back, so I
spent a little time finding a smaller bag that would work and and found
another bag to mount off the lateral tube so they could carry spare tire
and several tubes and tools. <br />
<br />
Rebecca and John headed out for their spin around the block, which went
quite well. Then John went back to work, while Rebecca headed off to get
Patria and head north. I continued to sort out tubes and toolkits, and
even found some time to pack my clothes. Then Dena arrived and we
managed to ride around the block twice and decided we would probably
survive the 120 mile race. <br />
<br />
This is all poetic justice I suppose. Last year, I made a big deal about
being prepared, having experienced folks who had ridden together, and
not doing one's first ever tandem ride as RGR. So now we had one stoker
who had never ridden a tandem - paired with a very experienced captain;
one stoker who had about 100 miles of stoking experience - paired with a
very experienced captain; and one rider with lots of dirt riding and
long distance experience, who had captained a bit, but never this
distance or terrain or conditions - partnered with a stoker who at least
had! This after losing half the team less than 48 hours before the
race. To even make it to the start line was going to be an
accomplishment. <br />
<br />
The Epic Avengers would simply readjust our goals. Dena is strong and
fit, but we are pretty similar in speed and there is just no question
that we are not as fast as Todd and John. And we would definitely be
much more cautious on the descents. So even with their brand new
stokers, John and Todd would have to hold back a bit for us all to ride
as a team. But this is what the Gentlemen's race is all about, right?
To quote from the Rapha blog, "there's no better way to find out if
you're a true team, pulling
together through the difficulties and attrition to get each other to the
finish, or just six individuals racing the clock."<br />
<br />
Just getting to the start, we had already overcome many difficulties and
attrition. Getting around the course and back to the start could well
be easy in comparison... or it could get even more epic...<br />
<br />
Stay tuned...Fixie Pixiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12932022188247682078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6454203094086967305.post-19331092237244205652012-06-22T09:23:00.003-04:002015-01-04T17:14:05.527-05:00Thank you!Thank you to Dena Cohen, Patria Lanfranchi and Rebecca Fetner, our newest superheroes, who have stepped in to replace the injured (felled by kryptonite) Kristen, Emily and David! And special thanks to Ride Studio Cafe for loaning us a tandem, and giving Patria a day off. Thanks to Rob and Matt, who are covering for her! This is going to be fun!Fixie Pixiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12932022188247682078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6454203094086967305.post-63893773377976076112012-06-08T09:13:00.000-04:002012-06-08T09:13:41.071-04:00New TandemWith events like the Gents Race in mind, John and Pamela, got a new custom Seven tandem. Read all about it <a href="http://blayleys.blogspot.com/2012/06/magic-faerie-dust.html">here</a>.The maiden <a href="http://blayleys.blogspot.com/2012/05/droves-day-1.html">voyage </a>was over Memorial Day weekend. Training continues...<br />
<br />
<br />Fixie Pixiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12932022188247682078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6454203094086967305.post-20072859105418213122012-05-21T23:50:00.002-04:002013-03-12T15:43:02.439-04:00We're in!Got our invite today!Fixie Pixiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12932022188247682078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6454203094086967305.post-67992890789623028242012-05-10T21:22:00.001-04:002012-05-10T21:23:08.784-04:00Favorite Cyclist<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G5CygR8hsBc/T6xmyXGa1RI/AAAAAAAAKew/WNVIJ18xtwQ/s1600/souza.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G5CygR8hsBc/T6xmyXGa1RI/AAAAAAAAKew/WNVIJ18xtwQ/s400/souza.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="st"><a href="http://www.animatedheroines.com/Souza.html">Madame Souza</a> from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Triplets_of_Belleville">Triplets of Belleville</a></span><br />
<span class="st">beloved for her... </span></div>
<ul style="text-align: center;">
<li><span class="st">Active Coaching Style</span></li>
<li><span class="st">Innovative Massage Techniques</span></li>
<li><span class="st">Wheel Truing Skills</span></li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="st"></span><br />
<span class="st">We want to recognize the great woman behind every <i>Champion</i></span>!</div>
<span class="st"></span></div>Fixie Pixiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12932022188247682078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6454203094086967305.post-71421979675844765242012-05-10T21:07:00.000-04:002012-05-10T21:07:12.958-04:00It's an Election YearWho on the team is most electable? Hmm, good question.<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://epicavengers.blogspot.com/p/steel-bike-man.html"><i>The Fixer</i></a> - Too young (according to the Constitution)</li>
<li><a href="http://epicavengers.blogspot.com/p/vampire-slayer.html"><i>Vampire Slayer</i></a> - Too young and outspoken (you should have seen her reaction to our snubbing)</li>
<li><a href="http://epicavengers.blogspot.com/p/jokester.html"><i>The Jokester</i></a> - Is Al Franken still funny? Humor and politics don't mix. Keep the funny guy funny!</li>
<li><a href="http://epicavengers.blogspot.com/p/bat-whisperer.html"><i>Bat</i> <i>Whisperer</i></a> - No outspoken whacko left wing liberal like her could ever get elected...</li>
<li><a href="http://epicavengers.blogspot.com/p/shammyrocker.html"><i>ShammyRocker</i></a> - He's certainly diplomatic. But it is Irish Diplomacy - the ability to tell someone to go to hell and have them look forward to the journey. Lack of citizenship would have the birther's up in arms.</li>
<li><a href="http://epicavengers.blogspot.com/p/mother-of-three.html"><i>Mother of Three</i></a> - Well there was no such thing as democracy when I tried it on my mother, but maybe she could use that powerful mother's withering look to get Congress in line!</li>
</ul>Fixie Pixiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12932022188247682078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6454203094086967305.post-38046723040699537932012-05-09T23:24:00.001-04:002012-05-09T23:28:39.672-04:00Defining Epic<span style="font-size: large;"><b>ˈɛpɪk</b></span><br />
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<b>Epichondriac</b>- One who suffers from <i>epichondria</i>, insisting that everything that is even the least bit interesting is "EPIC!"<br />
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<b>Epic Adventure</b> - A long journey usually consisting of you and your best buds doing one or more of the following: Killing a large and dangerous animal, finding large amounts of weed, and discovering the lost ark. (partially borrowed from urban dictionary.)<br />
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Example - Todd killing that woodchuck with his bare hands and then eating it -
fur, bones and all, really made that gent's race an <i>epic adventure</i>, but may have prevented us from being invited back.<br />
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<b>Epic Fail</b> - A mistake of such monumental proportions that it requires its own term in order to successfully point out the unfathomable shortcomings of an individual or group.<br />
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Example - Rapha not inviting the 2011 winners of NE Gent's Race back the following year was an <i>epic fail</i>.<br />
<br />Fixie Pixiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12932022188247682078noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6454203094086967305.post-42961256833237623812012-05-09T16:15:00.000-04:002015-01-04T17:38:23.528-05:00Top Reasons that The 52 Vincents, Winners of the 2011 Rapha NE Gent's Race didn't get an automatic invite to the 2012 Race<ul>
<li>Only three gentlemen - what's with this <i>Gender Balanced</i> Team stuff ! No more neutralizing the testosterone. </li>
<li>No <i>Visible </i>Tattoos - I told the guys it was pointless to have Rapha tattooed on their balls, since no one wants to see those photos !</li>
<li>Took the race too seriously - showed up with fat tires, low gears, good brakes, and lots of long distance and climbing experience !</li>
<li>Didn't take the race seriously enough - spent the day making rapture jokes !</li>
<li>No grimaces - actually smiling in all the photos ! </li>
<li>Rode too damn fast, the videographer couldn't even catch us ! </li>
<li>Had too much fun !</li>
<li>Showed up all the single bikes by finishing first on <i><b>tandems</b> </i>!</li>
<li>Didn't use the words, <i>epic</i> or <i>sufferfest,</i> in the ride report ! (but seriously over-used the exclamation point)</li>
<li>Finished the 2011 event before the Rapture - so maybe we don't actually exist in this post-rapturous world ! </li>
</ul>
Today, we bring you the <b>Epic Avengers</b>, a reprise of the 52 Vincents Gender-balanced team with very few visible tattoos, who have been training all winter, and even came up with a brand new theme, in hopes of getting one of the extra invites to the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20%20%20http://www.rapha.cc/ride-the-rapha-ne-gentlemens-race">2012 Rapha NE Gentleperson's Race</a>, so we can <i>defend </i>our title. Come on Rapha. We want to prove it wasn't a fluke!<br />
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<br />Fixie Pixiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12932022188247682078noreply@blogger.com1