I drove up from San Jose (Branham & Meridian)
did you live in Canada or were you just on vacation north of Quebec City?
I am Canadian

BTW - my wife wouldn't be bothered to wake up & say good luck --- only "why do
you do this" afterwards when I hobble around after the ride

plenty of us down here to help you prep for any Brevets

marqlin <marqlin@...> wrote:
My day started at 3:50AM. It seems terribly strange to wake up at
such an hour to then go ride for 14+ hours. Although I silently moved
about the house, eating 2 packets of oatmeal while dressing in a dimly
lit kitchen, my wife did wake up and wished me luck as I headed out.
She is not a cyclist, although we did a 160k ride around some lake on
a whim north of Quebec City a few years ago over 2 days, so she has
some idea of what 300k is... crazy. Everything was already packed in
my car so I just had to head to the car and pull out of the driveway
at 4:15AM. The drive from Campbell to the GG bridge is long enough to
really zone out and prep mentally for the ride. My biggest concern
for the day was injuring my knee again, or other soft tissue injuries
that take one off the bike for months. I've prepared and changed many
things this year from a failed 200k last year, that I don't know what
one thing provided success, or if not a combination. $100 bike
fitting, extra layer of knee warmers, steady slow intake of ibuprofen
during the ride, improved form, keeping stops as short as possible
along with super thick heavy tubes to prevent flats in the cold of the
night ...

The ride started very similar to the 200k; however, there were quite a
few new people I was riding along with. I managed to hang on to the
wheel of Bob? for quite some time out to the secret control and then
for some time out to the 1st control and a couple times to Healdsburg,
even though he was a much stronger rider it is amazing what a draft
can provide and I thank him for those miles. At the first control I
headed into the Safeway and purchased a nice sized bottle of Gatorade
or some other red liquid drink, removed my wind vest, and promptly
headed onward. I was a bit surprised at how cold it still was at this
hour, but quickly warmed up even though it was flat.

The wind started to pick up between Petaluma and Healdsburg and all
alone I was struggling to get somewhat aero against the headwind.
Then in the last 10 miles or so, Rob and Bruce and another rider came
along and I sucked their wheels to Healdsburg, although I was ready to
take the lead if Rob pulled off in those last few miles. In
Healdsburg I nearly made a wrong turn and caused a collision with my
riding companions, but luckily all our handling skills kept us moving
along despite my bizarre maneuver. At the 2nd control, I purchased
some water that I then topped off with a larger bottle Rob had
offered. I sat down and ate a few bites of a sandwich I brought and
headed out.

The 3rd section was the longest and I rode this pretty much tout seul
as the riders were getting much more spread out as the day went on and
there were not many flats to draft any of the stronger riders who
passed on by. The first section of Westside had some rough road, but
luckily it improved. I stopped in a small town somewhere along Hwy 1
to purchase a bottle of Gatorade, a 3rd water bottle cage would come
in handy on these longer sections. The toughest part mentally were a
couple hills in the last 15 miles to Marshall. You make a turn and
then there is a hill facing you heading straight up. Then another. I
made a somewhat quick stop at Marshall, scarfing down a poppy seed
muffin, a root beer, and more water and again topped off my water
bottles with a large bottle that was passed around the group.

The last section was the same as the 200k so I was more mentally
prepared for the various hills and maze of turns at the end. It was a
bit cooler than I had anticipated and I was shivering a bit heading
down White Hill sp?. Once I reached Fairfax I started to make the
twists and turns and have to slow quite a bit to read the cue sheet
and look for cars and pedestrians. I rolled up onto a group of teens
walking in the middle of the street and one thought I was a car
approaching. Then somewhere in the midst of the turns Willy, Lisa,
and the reigning lantern rouge Phillip pulled along and I followed
them home.

Overall it was a very nice ride. I almost felt guilty that the
weather was so nice compared to last week, but realize that it's best
to probably conquer ones first 300k in more pleasant weather. Now I
need to somehow convince my wife to let me ride the 400k in April out
of Davis. My ultimate goal is PBP 2011, but I am taking this one step
at a time with my family.







Richard McCaw
richard.mccaw@...
Cell: 408-838-9863
Home: 408-448-2899


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]