Comments on: SIR 600K – auburn – westport – auburn

By: Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:55:26 +0000

Nice report! Yes, some of us do read these things. I spent pretty much all day before the overnight with Joe P. and Andy as well as a varying bunch including you at times. They do make the time pass with their stories. Then I sucked Andy’s wheel for much of Sunday. I have no shame when it comes to brevet wheel sucking but I will take a pull when it becomes too obvious. The Union Store sandwich was a highlight of day 1 that lived up to the top billing.

By: Mike R

Mike R — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:31:28 +0000

I was that rider in the white sleevless jersey! Most call me Mike but some call me Rick and I’ve been known to answer to Whatsthatsmell. It was nice to meet you on the road Robert, although I think we might have talked at that West Seattle bike shop a few times. It was good for the soul, working through that wind and chipseal with you.

By: Michele

Michele — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 14:03:44 +0000

Yay!

By: Ken W

Ken W — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:21:21 +0000

Glad you were able to recover and finish strong. WELL DONE!

I also enjoyed riding with the Joe Platzner and Andy group from Tacoma to Westport. It was a great group. Sorry I split off with Joe L, Bob and the others between Westport and Raymond. (I really enjoyed that stretch of road, scenic, and a very nice time of the day) I just was feeling real good at that point and I must have been looking forward to the bed that was waiting for me in Centralia.

Ken Ward

By: Dr Codfish

Dr Codfish — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:51:40 +0000

I’m reluctant to say “I guarantee it” so I’ll just say that for me, the post ride euphoria of a longer, muti-day brevet (1000 or 1200K) is like that …. only concentrated, like when you grab the electric fence in wet grass vs a dry day.
Oh and as if that were not reward enough, this ‘runners high’ lasts literally for days afterward. Long after I get over the aches and pains of riding for 90 hours at a stretch I still have the sense that I can handle adversity and come away successful and smiling. (the superman effect)

My boss once noticed ’something funny’ after I returned from a 1000K brevet: She remarked that she didn’t think I’d be very effective when I returned from work and so was doubly suprised when I tackled (and mastered!) that big strack of back log filing that seems ever to perch on the end of my credenza … like a buzzard, waiting for me to give up the ghost. Come to think of it, that pile totters ominously, perhaps I need to get a little more serious about training for a long brevet this fall.

For me, much of the satisfactrion comes from dealing with the meriad problems that come up in 75 to 90 hours of riding. It is long enough that you actually can work your way through or out of many problems that might be ride stoppers on shorter events.

You guys looked great last weekend, which is to say you looked like shit, but it appeared that there was little doudt that you would finish. It’s the iron will, more than the buns of steel that gets you through, really made me want to get on a bike and tag along.

Yr Pal, Dr C