Ralph's Ozark Bike Blog

Monday, January 2, 2012

RUSA 5000Km Award

My goal for 2011 was to ride at least 5,000Km of RUSA-sanctioned rides. I completed 5,162Km. The 5000Km award (below) is the greatest annual cumulative distance award RUSA has established. There are lifetime distance awards: Mondial (40,000Km) and Galaxy (100,000Km). Mondial is a French adjective meaning worldwide or global. The name of the award relates to the fact that the circumference of the Earth is approximately 40,000Km. I have a lifetime total of 15,283Km, so I have a ways to go for the Mondial.

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Ash Grove

I rode to Ash Grove today with Rae, Doug and Tom for the final ride of the year. It was a little chilly when we started, but the sun was out. We planned to stop at Willy B's in Ash Grove for pancakes. Unfortunately, Willy B's has closed down. We went to Mama Loca's on Main Street instead. They don't have pancakes. They do have a a couple of traditional Mexican-style breakfasts, biscuits and gravy, eggs and muffins. The food was good. They are only open Thursday through Sunday. One of the owners said a lot of Trans-America riders stop in during the cycling season.

It was warmer on the ride back, and we had to deal with a strong south wind (20-25 mph, gusting to 30-35 mph). Seems like there is a strong wind blowing most days of late. Overall it was a good ride to close out the year.

Ash Grove Main Street

Ash Grove store front

Mama Loca's

Old building on FR 76

Tom

Rae & Doug

Saturday, December 24, 2011

PARIS BREST PARIS The long ride toward a distant dawn

This is a French documentary with subtitles. It is about 46 minutes. It has some historical footage, but focuses on the 2011 event. They talk about PBP being a race, which is how it started. I think the rider with the best time is still recognized, but most are just trying to make the 90-hour time limit. Another film is available HERE.

PARIS BREST PARIS The long ride toward a distant dawn from Poisson Lune Films on Vimeo.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

1x1 to Aurora

James Doggett and I took advantage of the great weather on Sunday and rode the Hound Dog permanent to Aurora. I rode the Quickbeam as a single-speed. This 77 miles is the furthest I have ridden it. I did not have any mechanical problems. The narrow tires (25mm) were a little harsher than I am accustom to on longer rides. It was partly cloudy with a generally south wind when we started at 9:00, and it became mostly clear later in the morning. Unfortunately, the wind shifted to the southeast on the way back, so we had a head wind on some legs both going and coming back. The traffic was extremely light, even in the afternoon. Everyone must have been home watching football or out shopping. I was surprised not to see any other cyclists. I got back at 3:10.

Christmas tree hay bales

Stone house west of Springfield on FR 115

Port-A-Potty at Republic Park on FR 156

Stone barn with fish-scale siding on FR 168

Stone store front in Marionville on Western Ave.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Rivendell Quickbeam

I bought a Quickbeam frame on eBay recently. The frame is from the last production run with silver paint and blue decals. The seller stated there were a number of scratches on the frame. He had pictures of the scratches, but the pictures were not real sharp. I was surprised when I received the frame because the scratches were not in places I expected from normal use, and they looked like they were made by a knife or other sharp-edged tool. Maybe it was revenge by a jilted lover. So I decided to have the frame powdercoated GM engine orange. Some paint suppliers call it red, but it sure looks orange to me. I called Rivendell to get replacement decals. I told them I had the silver paint scheme, but they sent me the earlier decals when the Quickbeams were painted orange or green. I am glad now that I did not stick with silver because the decals look better with orange. I currently have it setup with a 45-tooth crank and 18-tooth freewheel and fixed cog. I could go with a slightly smaller cog in the back, but will probably ride this setup for a while.


I did not think to take a photo of the frame before I had it powdercoated. This photo is from the auction.

Cork wrapped and shellacked bars.

Metropolis 45-tooth crank.

I have had the banana seat bag for some time.

Friday, October 21, 2011

2012 Brevet Schedule Posted

The RUSA brevet schedule is posted HERE. The Springfield brevets, which are run through the St. Louis region, will be:

200K - March 24
300K - April 14

The routes will be the same as last year. There is some interest in riding a Flèche from Republic to Grain Valley, MO, on April 20 or 21. A Flèche is a 24-hour, team ride of 360K (224 miles). A team is composed of three to five riders. A tandem counts as one rider. The rules are available HERE. Getting everyone back to Springfield is usually the biggest problem, although I can setup a permanent (about 200K) so we can get credit for riding back. Let me know if you are interested.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Flint Hills 225K Revisited

I last rode this permanent in August 2009. Like that time, Spencer Klaassen (#1989) got the riders together for Saturday's ride. On the drive up Friday evening, I went through the roundabout north of Paola, KS, where we almost made a wrong turn on the 400K brevet in the Spring. When I arrived at the US Corp campground on Council Grove Lake, a bald eagle flew off from a tree along the lake. After I set up my tent, I went to eat at the Hays House in Council Grove because I was not expecting Spencer and Terry Beasley (#7067) until after dark. When I got back, I read a book until the sun set as the quarter moon rose over the lake. Spencer and Terry arrived about 20:30. It was a clear, cool night-great for camping out.

We started breaking camp about 5:00 Saturday and stopped at a bakery cafe for breakfast. I told the waitress we were in a hurry, but the cook burnt part of our breakfast and had to make it again, so we were running late. Mike Myers (#413) called my cell phone while we were still at the cafe to make sure he and his wife Nancy (#414) were at the right start time and location. I told him we would be there shortly. Mike said that he was told a bridge was being replaced near Strong City. A patron at the cafe told us KDOT had been working on the bridge for some time and should be pretty well along, but there was just a short detour if we could not get across.

We were scheduled to start the permanent at 6:30, but I think it was about 6:50 before we actually got away with the clear sky beginning to brighten. I was a little cool at the start with a short-sleeve wool jersey, wool knee and arm warmers, RUSA wind vest and a balaclava. The first eight or ten miles of the route on K177 is a series of hills, and I warmed up quickly from the climbs.

The bridge was still being replaced north of Strong City, but we were able to walk across. South of Cottonwood Falls, KDOT was also replacing a couple of culverts. Signs said "Pavement Ends", but the temporary bypasses were roughly paved and we were able to ride through. It was game day in Manhattan, and we were passed by a number of cars heading north with their Wildcat flags flying. We were also passed by numerous trains along the tracks that paralleled and crossed the route.

The wind began to pick up after we left Matfield Green. It was generally out of the southeast and mostly a cross wind until we turned west into El Dorado. On the way down, we stopped at the c-store in Cassoday where a man rode up on a bicycle he had converted to run on a gas engine. He said it was his second conversion, and while we were talking another man rode up on the first one he had built. We arrived in El Dorado about noon. We had a short break at the Casey's General Store before heading back.

North of Matfield Green, Spencer had problems with one of his pedals and lost several of the bearings. He squeezed a bunch of grease around the pedal spindle to replace the bearings and was able to get back to Council Grove without further problems. We took the detour out of Strong City to miss the bridge work. It was probably quicker riding the detour than walking through the bridge construction earlier. Even though I had taken off most of my extra clothes, I began to overheat after Strong City and slowed down somewhat. I made it back to Council Grove at 17:19, about ten minutes behind the others.