Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Eric Peterson on June 29, 2009 at 4:24am

Joe, if you were with Jay and Ron then I was right behind you with Mark and Rich. I was fortunate to be with them when I flatted in the dark as their light power was much appreciated.

Sunday I was iffy until Jim mentioned there were 3 DNFs - well I did not want to add to that number so I went out at the civilized hour of 8:30 knowing what lay ahead. The rest must have helped, I passed Mike and Jeff early and then David (TN) just before the half-way point. David was not doing well, he said he had no energy and everything hurt, and the bumpy roads were bothering his hands. After the turn-around I passed three more riders - Dan, XX (Madison), and XX (TN).

Of all the riders out Sunday I think David would be the last in, I think he would have made the cutoff time if he managed to keep riding. The other TN guy said that David's brother did RAAM last year on a fixed-gear team.

Here's the list of riders that I've been able to piece together. I cribbed some names from the cards turned in Sunday. One question: who was the rider named "David" whose wife was following him around?
Another: who were the DNFs? (Rich Becker was one.)
1. Eric Peterson (me)
2. Joe
3. Jay Marshall
4. Ron
5. Mark Pernitz
6. Rich Becker
7. Bill Weston
8. Jeff (TX)
9. David (TN)
10. Tom Bardauskas (SC)
11. Jim House (OH)
12. ?? (TN)
13. Dan (Black River Falls)
14. XX (guy from Madison)
15. Mike Feirstein
16. ?? (slightly heavy set guy)

Permalink Reply by Joe on June 30, 2009 at 1:28am

Leaving at 8:30, now that is civilized! You could have gotten a whopping 6 hours of sleep and everything....only have to ride a few hours in the dark too. Maybe that's the way to go...getting up at 2:30 was, um, unique I guess...

So I'm glad I'm not the only person that felt like the roads were pretty bumpy. I guess I thought I was pounding the everloving crap out of my hands by the end....even my toes felt every bump by the end. I'm thinking maybe fatter rubber? And a steel fork with some rake LOL :)




Eric Peterson said:

Joe, if you were with Jay and Ron then I was right behind you with Mark and Rich. I was fortunate to be with them when I flatted in the dark as their light power was much appreciated.

Permalink Reply by Eric Peterson on June 30, 2009 at 7:45am

Actually I got five hours sleep, which gave me three 90-minute REM cycles, which was enough to get me through the day. I try to ride fast enough to build up time for sleeping. Having ridden through the night a few times I know that this makes a big difference for me, and I saw no need to push myself that hard. Even riding tired and saddle sore I managed to catch up to other riders who no doubt were less rested. As I rode out I'm sure I gave a boost to those on the return leg.

The guy on the blue Ramboulliet said the bumpy roads were bothering him as well, so I don't know about steel soaking up all the bumps.

Joe said:

Leaving at 8:30, now that is civilized! You could have gotten a whopping 6 hours of sleep and everything....only have to ride a few hours in the dark too. Maybe that's the way to go...getting up at 2:30 was, um, unique I guess...

So I'm glad I'm not the only person that felt like the roads were pretty bumpy. I guess I thought I was pounding the everloving crap out of my hands by the end....even my toes felt every bump by the end. I'm thinking maybe fatter rubber? And a steel fork with some rake LOL :)

Permalink Reply by Joe on June 30, 2009 at 3:49pm

Do you think anybody made it and didn't have some saddle pain? What do you think about bigger tires (30-40-50mm wide?) A comfy saddle and something to ease the bumps would help a lot!

Eric Peterson said:

Actually I got five hours sleep, which gave me three 90-minute REM cycles, which was enough to get me through the day. I try to ride fast enough to build up time for sleeping. Having ridden through the night a few times I know that this makes a big difference for me, and I saw no need to push myself that hard. Even riding tired and saddle sore I managed to catch up to other riders who no doubt were less rested. As I rode out I'm sure I gave a boost to those on the return leg.

The guy on the blue Ramboulliet said the bumpy roads were bothering him as well, so I don't know about steel soaking up all the bumps.

Joe said:

Leaving at 8:30, now that is civilized! You could have gotten a whopping 6 hours of sleep and everything....only have to ride a few hours in the dark too. Maybe that's the way to go...getting up at 2:30 was, um, unique I guess...

So I'm glad I'm not the only person that felt like the roads were pretty bumpy. I guess I thought I was pounding the everloving crap out of my hands by the end....even my toes felt every bump by the end. I'm thinking maybe fatter rubber? And a steel fork with some rake LOL :)

Permalink Reply by Eric Peterson on July 1, 2009 at 3:14am

In my case the saddle pain was chafing, developing rash - uncomfortable but not as bad as my first 600K when on the last leg it took a force of will each time I lowered myself onto the saddle. This time it was probably preventable but I did not take time for the, er, cleaning and lubing along the way as I was hustling to get out of the controls quickly.

Not intended as a product endorsement, but I have used Terry saddles almost exclusively. I had been training on a narrower Terry saddle but noticed I got uncomfortable after 4-5 hours, so I switched to my beat-up Terry that I'd used on previous brevets. It's a little wider and that made the difference for me.

Usually I run Pasela TG 28s on the back and Conti 25s on the front but this year I tried a lighter bike (Ti + Carbon fork rather than steel frame +fork) and ran Conti 25s. But I ran them at the same pressure (~100 PSI) so doubt there was much of a difference. I do think a steel fork with some rake would be a definite improvment, and I would not have to worry about the carbon snapping going downhill and hitting bumps at 40 MPH.

I now keep a Ramboulliet in Seattle (I have family there) which I bought used, and it came with Michelin carbon tires which I rode at 87 PSI on a few rides out there. Very comfortable, but again it may have been due to the tire pressure. Check the "randon" Google group for tire discussions. The wider the tire, the lower the pressure, the more comfortable (but also heavier).

You just need to try different stuff and see what works for you. There is probably always something better and something worse out there.

Joe said:

Do you think anybody made it and didn't have some saddle pain? What do you think about bigger tires (30-40-50mm wide?) A comfy saddle and something to ease the bumps would help a lot!

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