EPIC Recumbent Rides Reports

For me at least, the M5 is noticeably better at climbing than the NoCom. In fact, my riding partner rides a NoCom all the time, and he says he HATES the M5 because I can now beat him on almost any hill. That may be because the NoCom's boom isn't quite as stiff as it looks, or it might be because my NoCom is about an inch too long for me. It seems that NoComs are built for <5'10 or >5'11" but that leaves a window for which neither size fits, and I'm in that window. I plan on taking it apart this winter and seeing if I can use a Dremel to get rid of that extra inch. I don't know for sure how the VK-2 stacks up against the other two, but I always expected it to be better than the NoCom, at least. My reasoning is that it's lighter, and the straight boom makes it inherently stiffer.

 

Well speaking of epic ride reports, here's an oldie but goodie from a couple years ago, maybe my most epic ride, just for the Challenge of how it was done.

A couple of you on here saw this when I did it, don't think it's ever had wide distribution. Brings back good memories for me just looking at it again. If it comes up full screen on your Adobe Reader, hit the + or - to bring it down to 100%, it'll display better.

http://home.comcast.net/~feetfirstfella/Camping Trek Travelogue.pdf

Don
Original RocketRiders Member #6, August 25, 2004

 

EPIC! Sounds like it was big fun. I wish I could get my son back out for another bike/camp trip.

 

Don,

I just wanted to thank you for posting this "oldie but goodie" ride. I have read it three times with delight. I know nothing of these trails, so I am putting your ride in my "Future Rides" folder.

Thanks for sharing!!!

 

Well, Jon, here's one you do know something about. Another oldie, but not quite goodie, an unforgettable trip for all the wrong reasons. Be sure to read the intro to the right before starting through the pics and descriptions.

http://picasaweb.google.com/FeetFirstFella/KatyTrailSierraClubTripOctober2004#

Don
Original RocketRiders Member #6, August 25, 2004

 

TALE OF TWO RIDES - Dunes & Dudes

Story by Jon Dittrich about his 2010 Spring Break in Navarre Beach Florida.

Enjoy!

 

Wow! Jon, the sky was just beautiful and the ocean was calling to me. That must have been nice to bike that fast and not have your heart rate race like mad. I have to say the pics of the bike paths in Blackwater made me want to go out and just B...I....K....E! Ugh, locked in a office really bites right now. Nice report. I enjoyed reading it.

 

Very nice ride report, Jon. I love that part of Florida but we haven't been down there since Hurricane Dennis left us stranded at Disney World. Not a bad place to be stranded, mind you, but we had planned 3 days of camping at Fort Pickens on our way home that year and Dennis made a mess of that.

 

Nice report John. I bet you had more fun than you can tell.

 

Great Jon, now you have a taste of it. There is nothing better than a good down and out ride with a tailwind on the way home. Well, the only thing better might be a few rabbits to chase.

 

One of my previous ride was from Fort Pickens. It is riding ON THE ROAD but since I was doing it early in the morning, it was not a problem. When I got back to my car, there was a huge line of cars waiting for the ferry to take them across the water. Cool place and Fort Pickens is definitely a place to check out. Very cool!!! Civil war fort. Lots of bricks and old cannons. Cool!!!

 

No, in Tennessee is a shot of George Dickel at the end of the ride.

OK Buddy, give me grief!!! It is not on your Full Plate Diet!!!!

 

Heart of the South pt 1

2010 Heart of the South 200

This is an cycling race that is organized by the Ultracycling Marathon Association and has been held now for about 5 years. The race starts in Birmingham heads east and slightly north to Jacksonville, AL then south and slightly east into the heart of the Taladega National Forest. There it turns southwest following the national forest as it rises up to Mount Cheaha and the highest point of elevation in the state. Finally it turns west going through Taladega and finally back to the start point.
I have never considered riding this race in the past as I considered it to be too difficult for me. With 197 miles and almost 12,500 feet of climbing it is not for the weak. However, this year in particular I have been riding very strong with lots of climbing on the Weisel so I devised a test to see if it would be possible.
The Wheels of Fire Century is 100 miles with 6700 feet of climbing (that sounds like a pretty good test with almost exactly half the climbing in half the distance. I decided to ride it solo with no drafting in order to get a real test of my riding strength. 5 hours 44 minutes total time with a ride average of 17.9 mph and I felt really strong at the end. My fate was sealed.
Once you decide to ride something like this you have to think about nutrition, fluid and electrolyte replacement. I have discovered Gatorade Endurance works pretty well for me with some supplementation on hot days with V8 juice. I also use Sportlegs which are calcium and magnesium supplements to help prevent cramping. Food is more difficult with my stomach seeming to like different things whenever I ride. The good news was they provided a SAG wagon which would carry our own stuff from stop to stop so that it would be waiting on us. Crustables PBJ sandwiches, potato chips, peanut M & M’s, mandarin oranges and honey for instant energy. This worked very well with a few grapes that they supplied.
I arrived the afternoon before and completed my registration. It was set up at the Marriott on 280 in Birmingham and I had a room for Friday and Saturday knowing that I wasn’t going to feel like driving far when I finished. I made a final check of everything, loaded the bike and bags and coolers, and aired up the tires. The only thing left to do was get a good nights sleep beforehand so I was in bed by 8pm and slept pretty well.
Up at 3:30 I was in the parking lot ready to go by 4:45. It was cold, about 46 degrees so I went with warm tights and a thin jacket over my jersey. There were 18 riders for the 200 mile race and 6 of them showed up at the last minute as they rode to the start from their hotel. There were 4 recumbents, JS and SK from Kansas, JF from Georgia all of them on the beautiful new CA2 Aero. Of course me and my Dragon. JS and SK showed up last and were still unloading when the bell sounded at 5am and we were off.
The route immediately started downhill and into a series of rolling hills. The fast group dropped me which was okay by me. I am still somewhat gunshy after my wreck about riding in groups and it was pitch black dark on roads which I had never seen before. A couple of the racers were so hardcore that they had follow vehicles and I watched their tailights dwindle quickly leaving me in darkness with one other rider. We stayed within view of each other over a couple of pretty good climbs then some nice rollers and I pulled away from him.
[FONT=&quot] Staying within my plan I had an average speed of 16.2 which I heard the train whistle. Yep, there it was moving
[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]nice and slowly and in my way. [/FONT]

​

Even so, no one had caught me by the time it cleared and I was back on my way. The sky was beginning to brighten and I picked my pace up as I headed across the valley. JS passed me here and told me that SK was about 3 miles behind, she rides pretty fast so I guessed she would catch me by the first sag.

​

A small hill, suddenly there was a sound and then my chain was slack, I had broken a link. I had a chain tool so I unpacked my bag and started trying to figure out how to use it. After about 20 minutes and three links disabled I was thinking my day was over. The rider I had passed had gone by me shortly after I stopped when I was thinking that I could handle it, now here came SK. I knew she managed JS’s bike shop so I begged for help.
Within a few minutes she had the chain together and I was in business. I had to be careful about shifting due to the lost links but other than that A-OK. I told SK to repay my debt I would stay with her for the duration and provide a draft whenever I could. She replied that it would be nice to have someone to ride with and we were back in the game.

​

[FONT=&quot]The next 40 or 50 miles was pretty flat but we did have a headwind most of the way.[/FONT]

​

 

Heart of the South pt 2

About mile 70 or so we began to slowly climb out of the valley. Mile 95 and the sag wagon wasn’t where it was susposed to be. We thought maybe they had moved it up a little bit and before we knew it we were into the real climbing with no refueling.


Three of four steep significant climbs in a row, each with grades of 9-11% that would climb for 200 feet or so. The last of these has over 300 feet of climbing and less than a mile. This was the only time when I felt like I might not be able to keep pedaling.


At the top of that climb we found a sag set up with water and some snacks but not out stuff. It seems that because we had fallen so far behind the leaders that they had had to leapfrog ahead in order to supply the fast guys. They brought our bags back to us meeting at the base of the long climb up to the summit. Resupplied, they also promised to wait for us at the top so we started the three mile climb. 800 feet of climbing with an adverage grade of around 8% which just didn’t feel that bad after the last one. It was hot though, and the SUN was baking straight overhead with no shade on the road. I was pretty happy to see the summit and the sag car and we sat for a few minutes before we pulled out.
Now I could outclimb SK and had waited for her after several of the worst ones. She, however, is a terrific descender as I found out when she disappeared around the first curve and I wouldn’t see her again for quite a while. Me, I was pretty freaked out sawing on my brakes and praying. We dropped about 1000 feet in 3 ½ miles and then the grade eased off and we were playing in some of the best downward sloping rollers I have ever riden. Unfortunately SK was pretty shot by the climbs and we slowed a bit letting her legs recover.


So the next 50 miles is mostly flat with a few small climbs and we made up some time that we had lost. With so many miles on our legs we weren’t flying though. Around mile 170 as it was getting dark, we found JS waiting for us with their van. He would play leap-Frog with us till the end using his headlights to help us see on he downhills as well as jumping ahead and showing us where the turns were.
Two steep long climbs coming back into town with long sweeping downhills which would have been great in the daylight, but in the dark I was a little uptight. About mile 190 we had just a few rollers to climb and we were done but each one felt like a small mountain. Then it occurred to me that I had bonked so I started sucking down some honey and pulled it on back in.
So, we tied for last with a total time of 16 hours 23 minutes for 197 miles and a speed of 12.0. My longest ride, my longest time on the bike and I was completely shot, I loaded up my bike went to my room and went to sleep without even changing clothes. I lost 6 LBS on the ride, a new diet craze maybe?
Ward
The pictures wouldn't load so go check them out here
http://sports.webshots.com/album/577328083XqmUhO

 

Ward,

All I can say is WOW!!!