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| Riders at the start of the Orange Triple Loop. Note the Elliptigos to the right. |
There were several riders who were trying for their first 600k including quite a few who planned on using this ride as a PBP qualifier. Many of the riders I had met before but many were new to me.
Pete Eade and Nick Matyas are old friends of mine and Pete was making yet another quixotic tilt at a 600 km brevet. Now Pete is 73 and has recently had prostate surgery. He can ride 400k but has never completed a 600k brevet. Nick is a youthful 63 and is a slow and steady rider who can complete a 600k but hasn't done so since 2010. They met up by accident about half way through the ride and Nick decided he would jeopardize his 600k in order to give Pete the best possible chance of completing his first. I'm pleased to note they completed the ride together with 90 minutes to spare. I think Nick is exactly what Pete needed.
Lisa and Michelle were riding together from the start. I know Lisa from way back but Michelle had come all the way from Minnesota to ride with Lisa. It was warmer than the weatherman had said it would be so I don't know if Michelle liked the hot spring weather or not. In the end it didn't matter because she is a monster rider with a K-Hound in 2012 and pretty close in 2013 and 2014. She has done rides I can only fantasize about. Lisa has ridden many 600k brevets too and has ridden my 400k but has never ridden my 600k. They both finished looking good and with a comfortable time buffer.
Gary Feldstein is a real character. He's fairly new to the randonneuring scene but as an established RAAM and RAW competitor he has already made quite a splash. He finished the Matthew O'Neil memorial 600k last year before anyone else and made it clear he planned to do the same thing on my 600k. He pre-rode the entire course and was the first person to notice that one of the controls had disappeared. His target was a 24 hour 600k. He actually managed 25 hours which is still faster than I would have thought possible. I don't even think he slept after the ride because I saw him at the Dennys restaurant three hours after he finished as alert as ever.
Shai Shprung has ridden many of my rides on his fixie and also rode straight through. He finished in a very respectable 28:30 even though he pulled something in his knee and rode the last 90 miles virtually with one leg. I hope he can get that fixed soon.
I had three Elliptigo riders signed up who were hoping to get PBP qualified but Bill Pinnell almost didn't start because he was not feeling well. Fortunately the format of the ride gives the rider the option to bottle out after (only) 100 miles. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. In Bill's case I think he made the right decisions - start the ride and then DNF at 100 miles. He looked very pale. I'm sure he'll be more successful on Nicole's 600k later this month. The second elliptigo was Steve Cook who succumbed to the heat during the second loop. The third elliptigo rider was James Cremer who completed the 600k course in good form for a personal distance best.
Iria Pico has become a welcome member of our group with her smile and her positive attitude. This was the last ride she needed to get PBP qualified and she managed to complete the ride in good time but feeling very tired. I don't think she got as much sleep as she hoped she would. Congratulations to Iria and Luciano for getting PBP qualified on their first attempt.
Greg and Stacey Kline rode the 400k version of the route just one week after completing Willie's brutal desert 600k. They rode very relaxed and came in slightly after dark looking very happy and relaxed.
Greg Olsen and Keith Olson (who I keep getting confused for some reason) also rode. Greg I know from way back. He rides insane numbers of km as well as being very involved in bike advocacy in his home state of Oregon. Amber and I plan on visiting his neck of the woods in May to ride our 400k this year. Greg breezed in at the end of his 600k looking like he just got out of bed. Keith looked a bit more tired (that's him on the stairs) but very happy.
Jonathon Gray is another old friend. He has just purchased an orange velomobile and although he has ridden several populaires this was his first attempt at a long ride. On the first loop he had several minor technical problems and also discovered that some of the tight turns on the bike path were not navigable with the velomobile's wide turning circle. On the second loop a section of pvc tubing that houses the chain came loose and jammed up in the rear cassette which crunched the tube so that the chain could no longer travel smoothly through it. This turned out to be a ride ender. Fortunately his brother was able to collect him and return him to the end of the ride. There's no way I could have carried that thing on top of my Prius without a special rack.
Congratulations to the following riders who completed personal best distances on this ride. Apologies if I missed anyone. Feel free to assume you looked so fresh I thought you couldn't possibly have just set a personal best.
Scott Cowan (600)
James Cremer (600)
Pete Eade (600)
Andre Goeritz (400)
Luciano Gonzales (600)
Howard Marans (600)
Keith Olsen (600)
Iria Pico (600)
Kevin Walsh (400)
Foon Hoe Wong (400)
Roger Young (600)
James Yuan (600)
In addition, the following riders set a personal best time...
Bill Brier (400) 15:31
Gary Feldstein (600) 24:58
Mac Imacseng (600) 32:04
Hector Maytorena (600) 32:04
Shai Shprung (600) 28:31
Pete Eade and Nick Matyas are old friends of mine and Pete was making yet another quixotic tilt at a 600 km brevet. Now Pete is 73 and has recently had prostate surgery. He can ride 400k but has never completed a 600k brevet. Nick is a youthful 63 and is a slow and steady rider who can complete a 600k but hasn't done so since 2010. They met up by accident about half way through the ride and Nick decided he would jeopardize his 600k in order to give Pete the best possible chance of completing his first. I'm pleased to note they completed the ride together with 90 minutes to spare. I think Nick is exactly what Pete needed.
Lisa and Michelle were riding together from the start. I know Lisa from way back but Michelle had come all the way from Minnesota to ride with Lisa. It was warmer than the weatherman had said it would be so I don't know if Michelle liked the hot spring weather or not. In the end it didn't matter because she is a monster rider with a K-Hound in 2012 and pretty close in 2013 and 2014. She has done rides I can only fantasize about. Lisa has ridden many 600k brevets too and has ridden my 400k but has never ridden my 600k. They both finished looking good and with a comfortable time buffer.
Gary Feldstein is a real character. He's fairly new to the randonneuring scene but as an established RAAM and RAW competitor he has already made quite a splash. He finished the Matthew O'Neil memorial 600k last year before anyone else and made it clear he planned to do the same thing on my 600k. He pre-rode the entire course and was the first person to notice that one of the controls had disappeared. His target was a 24 hour 600k. He actually managed 25 hours which is still faster than I would have thought possible. I don't even think he slept after the ride because I saw him at the Dennys restaurant three hours after he finished as alert as ever.
Shai Shprung has ridden many of my rides on his fixie and also rode straight through. He finished in a very respectable 28:30 even though he pulled something in his knee and rode the last 90 miles virtually with one leg. I hope he can get that fixed soon.
I had three Elliptigo riders signed up who were hoping to get PBP qualified but Bill Pinnell almost didn't start because he was not feeling well. Fortunately the format of the ride gives the rider the option to bottle out after (only) 100 miles. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. In Bill's case I think he made the right decisions - start the ride and then DNF at 100 miles. He looked very pale. I'm sure he'll be more successful on Nicole's 600k later this month. The second elliptigo was Steve Cook who succumbed to the heat during the second loop. The third elliptigo rider was James Cremer who completed the 600k course in good form for a personal distance best.
Iria Pico has become a welcome member of our group with her smile and her positive attitude. This was the last ride she needed to get PBP qualified and she managed to complete the ride in good time but feeling very tired. I don't think she got as much sleep as she hoped she would. Congratulations to Iria and Luciano for getting PBP qualified on their first attempt.
Greg and Stacey Kline rode the 400k version of the route just one week after completing Willie's brutal desert 600k. They rode very relaxed and came in slightly after dark looking very happy and relaxed.
Greg Olsen and Keith Olson (who I keep getting confused for some reason) also rode. Greg I know from way back. He rides insane numbers of km as well as being very involved in bike advocacy in his home state of Oregon. Amber and I plan on visiting his neck of the woods in May to ride our 400k this year. Greg breezed in at the end of his 600k looking like he just got out of bed. Keith looked a bit more tired (that's him on the stairs) but very happy.
Jonathon Gray is another old friend. He has just purchased an orange velomobile and although he has ridden several populaires this was his first attempt at a long ride. On the first loop he had several minor technical problems and also discovered that some of the tight turns on the bike path were not navigable with the velomobile's wide turning circle. On the second loop a section of pvc tubing that houses the chain came loose and jammed up in the rear cassette which crunched the tube so that the chain could no longer travel smoothly through it. This turned out to be a ride ender. Fortunately his brother was able to collect him and return him to the end of the ride. There's no way I could have carried that thing on top of my Prius without a special rack.
Congratulations to the following riders who completed personal best distances on this ride. Apologies if I missed anyone. Feel free to assume you looked so fresh I thought you couldn't possibly have just set a personal best.
Scott Cowan (600)
James Cremer (600)
Pete Eade (600)
Andre Goeritz (400)
Luciano Gonzales (600)
Howard Marans (600)
Keith Olsen (600)
Iria Pico (600)
Kevin Walsh (400)
Foon Hoe Wong (400)
Roger Young (600)
James Yuan (600)
In addition, the following riders set a personal best time...
Bill Brier (400) 15:31
Gary Feldstein (600) 24:58
Mac Imacseng (600) 32:04
Hector Maytorena (600) 32:04
Shai Shprung (600) 28:31
Rogue's Gallery
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| Nice Bike |
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| Pete is glowing with pride |
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