NEW RUSA Permanent in the Tidewater Area

Attention all randonneurs in South Eastern Virginia. Ron Malinauskas has gotten approval from RUSA for the 215K Nottoway Ramble permanent starting and ending in Windsor, VA.

Ron's description on the RUSA website states, "A relatively flat and pleasant ride through rural southeastern Virginia." That my friends is how you sum up 3000ft of climbing.

I eagerly await the ride report from Ron.

This is the only RUSA event currently in the Tidewater Area. I'm excited becasue I don't have to drive 3+ hours to ride. I plan to tackle this ramble in November and/or December.

Pics from Surry Century

Surry Century

Saturday we headed to Surry County to ride the Surry Century. The intention was to use this as a tune up ride for the 220 mile Wounded Warrior Unity Ride in 2 weeks. The Surry Century winds around Surry county, Prince George County and Isle of Wright County along the James River.

Riding along the James River provides great terrain for riding with some nice rollers. This is a welcome change from flat Virginia Beach area.

Randonneurs interested in riding in the area may not have to wait much longer. Rumor has it that a permanent in the Surry area is pending approval.

More photos can be seen here.

Ride to the Pond

Ron M. invited me for a TBA sponsored ride. The ride was scheduled for the bents but Ron was the only one scheduled to ride the 75 miles. I thought it would be a good way to see something new and get in some much needed miles.



We left the Sufflok, VA airport and headed towards NC. Shortly after we crossed the border, we stopped for some refreshments and some cool air. The temperatures were climbing quickly and the air was dense adding 10 degrees to the heat index.

Next stop was Merchants Mill Pond State Park. This is a beautiful park although it is covered in algae at the moment. We relaxed in the shade and looked for some critters but had to settle for reading about alligators and ticks.

In Sunbury, NC, we stopped for some lunch with the locals. We downed BBQ and hush puppies and enjoyed the cold air. The local hunters dressed in Mossy Oak gave us some strange looks when we walked in. It was the standard scene. The record scratching...silence. All eyes upon us.

As we found a seat, I heard one gentlemen say, "Them boys been doin' some ridin'."

After lunch, we continued on the route back towards Suffolk. Crossing the same road like a zipper became annoying so we change our route to a more direct course cutting 5 miles off the total distance. This turned out to be a very good idea as both Ron and I had bone dry water bottles with 8 about miles remaining.

In all we logged 70 miles on a beautiful day.

RUSA 10th Anniversary 200k

Saturday 30 riders departed Morrisville, NC on a 200k route to Siler City and back. This is a familiar route and most of the riders were familiar. It is always good to see everyone at these events. Of course, it is good to see new faces.

At the control, Chuck Lathe was sporting his RUSA 10th Anniversary Medal eagerly signing brevet cards. We talked about wheels and bicycle designs until it was time to get back on the road. Chuck rode his red Randonneuse from his house to the control.

I had the opportunity to ride with some riders experiencing the sport for the first time. Bill and another gentleman (forgot name) passed us. They mentioned they had done some bonus miles already. They must have passed Dean and I at least 6 times. It took a while to register how this was possible. Three words: More Bonus Miles. From the Andrews Store they joined us for the ride into the finish.

At the finish, an entire group of riders and supporters were waiting with some burgers, hot dogs and cold beverages. This was a fantastic way to end a wonderful day in the saddle.

What? No Lessons learned?
Of course, I thought you would never ask.

The biggest lesson that I confirmed was lack of fitness. I need to ride more rides of 3+ hours on a regular basis. (Not only when there is a brevet.)

On a very positive note I completed the ride without the aid of any NSAIDs. This is a first!

Olympic Cycling

On the eve of the Opening Ceremonies for the Olympics in Beijing I'm excited. There are hundreds of elite athletes that will compete for their countries and try to bring golden glory home. Heck, it is exciting enough just thinking about the possibilities for the medal count for swimming phenom Michael Phelps who could bring home 8 medals alone. We have a pretty strong swimming team.

On the track, we have a strong team all around in many distances. This year we even have some strong distance runners. The race I can't wait to watch is Jeremy Wariner in the 400M. Wariner has run the fastest 400m of the year. His agent and mentor is the 400m World Record holder Michael Johnson.

Of course I will be watching the cycling events as well. We have a great team road cycling team with big George Hincapie (Team Columbia), Levi Leipheimer (Astana), Jason McCartney (CSC), Dave Zabriskie (Garmin-Chipotle), and coming of a surprising TDF finish Christian VandeVelde (Garmin-Chipotle). With this team, we could bring home some hardware.

Zabriskie and Leipheimer will also compete in the TT.

Competing the track is the future of US cycling, Taylor Phinney. Phinney rides for the Chipotle development squad. He was the 2007 JR World Champion in the Pursuit and is the son of US cycling legends Davis Phinney and Connie Carpenter. He is the phenom!

So while you are recovering from a ride or a RUSA 10th Anniversary Ride, you will have something to watch.

Daily Commute -- photos

Shots of my daily commute.

First Landing State Park on Shore Drive

Up the Lesner Bridge

View of Chix Beach

Chesapeake Bay - Lynnhaven Roads

Lynnhaven Bay