While not as exciting as Kevin's RAAM last week, several of

us Audax Atlanta alumni will be participating in this year's

Gold Rush 1200K.  Riders include:  Alan Gosart (3rd time!),

Peter Lee, and Steve Phillips.  Mary Crawley and I will be

riding together on the tandem; I rode it with Alan in 2005.



We appear to have excellent weather for the Gold Rush this

year, about 10F cooler than 2005.  The Davis Bike club was

also able to schedule the ride during a full moon, which

should light up the desert nicely, along with some stunning

sunsets.  Services are very remote on this ride, with almost

no markets between controls.  However the organizers do a

wonderful job with support, so I'm looking forward to our

ride.



--

Jeff Bauer

Nashville, Tennessee

----- Original Message -----

From: Steve

To: GARandon E-mail List ; HBC Ultra

Sent: Saturday, July 04, 2009 10:56 PM

Subject: RE: [garandon] Gold Rush 1200K

Hi Steve Phillips here from Davis, CA. I arrived this afternoon from Birmingham, AL, and I am so blown away for a number of reasons. 1st - this is my very first time to CA, and I am loving the lack of humidity. 2nd - the number of bicycles I've seen and the number of people out riding them is absolutely staggering.

It will be fun to meet up with Alan, Jeff, Peter and Mary for the GRR. My plan is to Twitter some to let family and friends know how things are going. www.twitter.com/fixedgearsteve

Happy 4th everyone!








Sent from aPhone

---

From: Jeff Bauer <jbauer@rubic.com>
Sent: Saturday, July 04, 2009 6:56 PM
To: GARandon E-mail List <garandon@yahoogroups.com>; HBC Ultra <hbc-ultra@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [garandon] Gold Rush 1200K

While not as exciting as Kevin's RAAM last week, several of
us Audax Atlanta alumni will be participating in this year's
Gold Rush 1200K. Riders include: Alan Gosart (3rd time!),
Peter Lee, and Steve Phillips. Mary Crawley and I will be
riding together on the tandem; I rode it with Alan in 2005.

We appear to have excellent weather for the Gold Rush this
year, about 10F cooler than 2005. The Davis Bike club was
also able to schedule the ride during a full moon, which
should light up the desert nicely, along with some stunning
sunsets. Services are very remote on this ride, with almost
no markets between controls. However the organizers do a
wonderful job with support, so I'm looking forward to our
ride.

--
Jeff Bauer
Nashville, Tennessee

---

No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 8.5.386 / Virus Database: 270.13.3/2217 - Release Date: 07/03/09 18:11:00

Many thanks to Jeff Sammons for providing context via email

updates to our Gold Rush 1200K last week.  The cooler temps

made it a more enjoyable ride than 2005.  I think our ride

strategy of sleeping in Adin, then subsequently Susanville

inbound worked out well.



As they only offer it every 4 years, the Davis Bike club

provides exemplary support for its riders, including

pleasant controls with well-stocked provisions.  Hammer

Nutrition donated gels, electrolytes and drink mixes to

provision us between controls.



The Gold Rush was the first 1200K for Steve Philips and

Steve Gobey.  Alan Gosart is one of a handful of people

who have rode it three times.  It was Mary Crawley's first

Gold Rush, but our third 1200K ride together on a tandem.

Peter Lee's second 1200K.  For most of the climbing

sections, Mary and I would ride alone, then ride with

Peter and Alan.  We all came into the finish together

along with some other riders we'd picked up in Oraville

inbound to Davis.



Thanks to Bill Bryant's work on my dérailleur at the

Grasshopper water stop, Mary and I were able to climb up

the difficult Janesville grade (19-20%) without walking,

though we did have to walk *down* the steepest portion

to avoid overheating our rims.  (In 2005, a tandem couple

had to bail due to this descent.)



I felt well-prepared on this ride, and fortunately packed

enough warm clothes for the cooler evening temps.  The Adin

control ran out of cots, so we slept on the floor, but

that's a minor inconvenience for a randonneur.



Once past Oraville, the navigation was easier.  It's a

marked course, but the markings are easy to miss at night.

We collected 9 bonus miles while outbound from Taylorsville,

the cue sheet stating "continue on Main Street", which my

naive state of mind interpreted as "continue on Main Street",

rather than "retrace your route backwards on Main Street." ;-)



Overall, we didn't have to worry about our control times.

Although we kept our non-sleep stops reasonably short, we

never felt compelled to push our pace.  I think even if

you're a slower rider, you can finish this ride by keeping

your off-bike time to a minimum.



Many thanks to the Davis Club, riding companions (Alan,

Peter, Steve) and my stoker Mary Crawley for a fine 1200K

ride.



--

Jeff Bauer

Nashville, TN

Ian Flitcroft wrote:

> Jeff, congratulations to you and Mary and also to Alan (who has ridden

> all 3 editions), Lee, and Steves G and P.  Sounds like it was one of

> your more relaxed endeavors - enjoying the scenery, company etc.  Did

> you wish for disk brakes when walking downhill?



Actually a drag brake might be more practical, though I've only used

it (borrowed) once -- the first time I rode a tandem down Hogpen Gap.



The downhill walk consisted of less than a 1000 meters over the

steepest section of the Janesville grade and was actually somewhat

relaxing on the leg muscles.  Many, if not most, of the remaining

descents (Adin, Jarbo Gap) were completely brakeless and a blast.



-Jeff

"... a blast"? Pun intended?





Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry



-----Original Message-----

From: Jeff Bauer <jbauer@...>



Date: Mon, 13 Jul 2009 08:19:19

To: Ian Flitcroft<iflitcroft@...>

Cc: GARandon E-mail List<garandon@yahoogroups.com>; HBC

Ultra<hbc-ultra@googlegroups.com>

Subject: [HBC Ultra] Re: [garandon] Gold Rush 1200K







Ian Flitcroft wrote:

> Jeff, congratulations to you and Mary and also to Alan (who has ridden

> all 3 editions), Lee, and Steves G and P.  Sounds like it was one of

> your more relaxed endeavors - enjoying the scenery, company etc.  Did

> you wish for disk brakes when walking downhill?



Actually a drag brake might be more practical, though I've only used

it (borrowed) once -- the first time I rode a tandem down Hogpen Gap.



The downhill walk consisted of less than a 1000 meters over the

steepest section of the Janesville grade and was actually somewhat

relaxing on the leg muscles.  Many, if not most, of the remaining

descents (Adin, Jarbo Gap) were completely brakeless and a blast.



-Jeff



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