Saturday’s ride was particularly hot so I took my time, made extra stops, had a milkshake break, and ate a steak for lunch. Not sure what role the steak played but I’m sure it was important. I’m sure the potatoes and slaw that went along with it, and sweet tea, were also essential (all from La Tori’s in Sumrall, just a few feet from the trail).

Ran across Wiley at Sumrall who was looking for the cell phone he’d dropped. He used my phone to call his wife and ask her to continuously call his cell. We then rode back along the trail listening for the ring. 15 miles later we reached Jackson Station, still with a lost phone. While getting water a runner came up and said “Is this yours?” She had heard the phone ringing a few feet past our stop, answered it, and talked to the wife who apparently gave her Wiley’s description. What luck. Here’s Wiley with the wayward phone.

Coming up over the crest of a hill at a pretty good speed I had this guy on a road bike pulling up beside me for a pass. I knew that at the crest of the hill I would take off for a fast and long downhill run and it might appear that I did so because I objected to him passing. So, I wanted to say something to let him know my sprint had nothing to do with his passing and I said “You need to pass me going up hill because these things are fast downhill.” He said something like, “I wasn’t interested in passing you, just getting some exercise.” I was out of sight by the time it occurred to me how much of an a** I may have looked like. I waited for him at the next stop for a bit to explain but he must have turned around before the stop. Oh, well. Just a crazy old guy on a funny bike with a bad attitude.

Looking back over the month of October I see that there were several rides I had not posted about. Here is a little catch-up on some of them, principally those with photo opportunities.

	Oct 4, Sunday: Birthday Ride, Carlson and back 70.25 miles, 15.5 mph avg, 134 bpm avg
On your birthday, or on the day of its celebration, it is biking custom to ride your age in miles or kilometers. On the 4th I turned 67 years old and rode 70 miles (round trip). Riding exactly 67 miles  would have meant turning between two rest stations, i.e. Bassfield and Carlson in this case, so I rode a little further and turned at Carlson. Took a little breather there and noticed that a group of scouts had camped in the camping area and were holding Sunday service in their uniforms (the photo is dark because of the trees and my distance from the scene - it was  really a bright and sunny day). I often run into people returning from an overnight camp but they usually stay at the Jeff Davis Lake near Prentiss. You can see some photos of the lake at the Long Leaf Trace Site. After the short pause at Carlson  I headed on back to Bassfield for a more substantial lunch break. The small store where I usually buy chocolate milk and a banana is closed on Sunday, so I looked around. Actually, I’d previously been told there was food available at the Texaco station just one block south of the trace.  Surprise, surprise! The chicken was delicious and the vegetables were expertly prepared. The tea was strong and sweet, good southern tea.  Afterwards, I was too full to ride, so I sat out front with John and talked for awhile. He was there, in the same spot, when I first arrived. We greeted each other briefly then but had a somewhat lengthy discussion after my meal. John said that he had lived in Bassfield all his life; I said "Not yet". He then gave me a hearty, polite laugh and we talked about how things had changed. He had questions about my bike which I’m always glad to discuss. The ride home was just as pleasant as the ride out. I was a little slower at first despite my aero belly being a little more aero, or maybe because of it.

Oct 8, Thursday: Sumrall and back 32.54 miles, 13.9/17 mph avg, 133 bpm avg

Nice day, a good ride on the X-Stream. Ran into Ronald at Sumrall and rode about 9 miles back with him, to his turn off. He has a nice looking metal leg, a replacement for the one he lost when a train jumped the track (he worked for the railroad). He does well on a bike, especially considering he pedals with just one leg, very little help from the other. We rode a little slower and enjoyed more details of the view. I’ve said before, "Ride faster, go further, and see more, or ride slower and see more of it." My average for just the solo-miles on the trace was about 17 mph.

As I wrote on Facebook:

Rode 70 miles on my birthday ride yesterday; I guess that means I only have to ride 67 miles on my 70th birthday. I turned at a station (Carson) instead of in the middle of nowhere, thus 70 miles.

Had a really good chicken lunch at a service station in Bassfield. Or, is any lunch really good in the middle of a 70 mile ride?

Had Domino’s pizza and some beer for my birthday dinner. Haven’t done that in a long time. I guess I was wanting the carbs. The kids came over and everyone honored my gift requests, i.e. either consumable, small, or extremely functional and in all cases not require much shelf space. The casket is already full, I can’t take anymore with me. The trike folds; that’ll be the bike I take.

32 miles to Sumrall and back. The spokes are still an issue; had to adjust several at the 5 miles point. However, they were then good little spokes for the rest of the ride. Had to adjust the seat forward several times. Not sure if it is slipping or if I just can’t find the sweet spot. Too far to the rear and my legs/knees become sore. And speaking of sore there is another issue, my tail bone. I may try the seat laid down a little more. This will move more weight to my back. I’m currently thinking that I will not change out the seat, it is wider and more comfortable than the Euromesh on my Strada. Maybe as I loose more weight the spoke and seat-comfort problems will go away on their own. These last two issues showed up on my other rides but I was too preoccupied with the spoke problem to mention them.

Those were not the only issues, two more. My wrists tired because of the high handlebar angle that I initially set. During the ride I rotated them down which made a big difference. You can see in the photo above how the bars are practically horizontal; this was before the ride adjustment. However, I now have to watch out for knee strikes in anything but a gradual turn (my knees now move between the hand grips). I had the bars turned up just to limit the number of things I had to get use to on the new bike. The last thing is that the stock idler is really noisy. I’ll be replacing that, most likely with a Terracycle one.

About the photo:

My new seat bag came from AngleTechCycles.com, the AeroPod. This was my first ride with it and I like it, a lot.

I’ve also converted a tablesaw helper to a bike stand for the X-Stream. You can see the bike mounted on the stand in the photo.

17 miles this time. Adjusted the spokes once or twice within the first 5 miles but then they were OK. After about 9 miles Jeanne called and asked me to come home; took a short cut at the end. A friend had died.

10.5 miles this time but, otherwise, same story. On the way home I stopped at the trace bike rental and tightened a spoke. I thought I had packed a spoke wrench. Didn’t.

I’m thinking about replacing the wheels, doing an upgrade. That would cost about $500, or I could spend more for something like the ones on the left, or right for an extreme upgrade. I like the red ones to the right that are on my Strada but they don’t make these exact ones in the size I’d need.

Didn’t ride this morning, but did this afternoon for all of 7 miles. At about 3.5 miles the back spokes started squeaking. Not knowing the exact nature of the problem, I came home. At home I found some loose spokes along one side of the wheel. Tightened them. Blogged on BROL for support.

Morning:

Jeanne felt like a short ride but didn’t feel like riding to the trail; there are more hills across campus. So, I put her bike in the mini van; well, after a couple of failed attempts I did. I finally took the front wheel off and it went in OK. I did have to apply a little pressure to get her 1.5 inch wide front tire out from between the brake pads but slow-and-steady did the trick. I rode my Stratus XP over and she drove. I beat her there although she didn’t know we were racing. She should have armed herself (I believe that is a line from “Unforgiven”).

After taking her bike out of the van the wheel was a little stubborn going back on, i.e. the tire didn’t want to squeeze back through the brake pads. Just needed a little more push, right? Pushed the rubber pad right out of its metal channel on one side. I did manage to get it pushed back in and it appears to be alright. But, gee, Jeanne’s new bike; I hate that. Next time I’ll let the air out first.

Then, right after we got started I had a flat. The patch I made on my recent ride to Prentiss failed. I re-patched it. We’ll see if it holds.

The ride was OK but short. Afterwards, I had to repeat the wheel-deal to load her bike. Then she beat me home. I should not have bragged after beating her earlier.

I just posted this on BentRiderOnLine. It refers to a ride back in the early spring.

[Quote]
I was riding along on my Stratus XP having a great time, doing about 16 mph on a flat section of the Long Leaf Trace. As many of you know, 16 is not a big deal on the XP, not with a fairing, Q-rings, and Aerotrunk. I was looking around, watching out for rabbits and squirrels, taking in the spring weather, and checking my mirror now and then although there were not too many people on the trace that day.

During one such glance in the mirror I noticed a speck, way back. Didn’t remember passing anyone. A little later I noticed the speck was a lot closer, looking more like an inverted exclamation mark; coming up fast. I mean really fast, too fast for me to outrun on the flats. I figured I’d been wabbitized and decided to have a carrot. When the rider was about a hundred yards back I started easing it on up. I was in 3-7 so had two gears to go and a long ways from max heart rate. I shifted, leaving one more gear, and concentrated on circular foot work and a higher cadence. I wanted it to seem that it was just taking a little longer to catch me than he’d anticipated. My heart rate was going up but he was still too far back for my move, i.e. too soon for my sprint and, thus, too soon for the cherry gear (you know, the sweet one on top). The right time would be when he moved over for the pass but before he announced it. I wanted him to think he had it made, a piece of cake. I also wanted him close enough to hear the gear change. He was almost there and I was ready, doing 20+ by that time. I figured I could hit 23 or 24 as he passed but would not be able to hold it very long on the flat. My heart rate was way beyond zone 3, probably getting close to zone 5. I could see his smiling face in the mirror, looking like a friendly guy. I think he figured something was up. I shifted, pushed and pulled on the petals and brought his closing speed to a creep. I think he had spent more than he had intended. I’m sure he had no idea how close to the red line I was. Funny thing though, I was not hurting, no discomfort, and was not breathing too hard. I was going to be able to great him with a calm, matter-of-fact “Nice Day”, except that is not what I was to say. As he slowly passed me looking over with a big grin at my big grin:

Me: I thought I’d make you work for it.
He: Thank you.

I dropped back to cruising speed. It was a great day for a ride. There was a speck ahead of me on the trail, getting smaller.

(Mostly as I remember it with some creative editing to fill in the details)
[UnQuote]

We met again later at Bassfield, after his turn around. I enjoyed meeting, talking, and riding with him, even if briefly. I keep looking for him on the trace, I’m a little faster now.

On our ride Saturday Jeanne and I met Jackie and June at Jackson Station and again at Clyde Depot; they beating us there. We had a nice conversation and then they continued on as Jeanne and I turned. The two seem like strong riders. I’ve ridden with June before and know she is very much at home on a bike at speed. June reminded me about posting some photos from a previous ride as I had said I would do but had not. So, here are the most interesting 3.
	Dudley introduced June to me when we all rode together on 30 May. It was Dudley’s first significant ride on his new Greenspeed GT-3 trike and he invited us along for the event. I had a chance to ride his 80+ gear machine (has overdrive) at the Bassfield turnaround (left photo). That ride was the impetus for me to order one of the same model for myself, minus the overdrive. His was a special order because of the extra gears and other features, taking a month or two to be delivered. My order was for just the typical 27 gears but was ready within a week. I would have liked the extras but we were too far into the riding session for me to wait.

And just so you know, here is a picture of my new trike. I was not riding it on the above ride, even though you can tell I was on a trike at the time, i.e. you can see my feet in one of the photos. That was the Catrike Speed I recently sold to a young girl I met during that ride. Oh, well, that is yet another story that needs telling.

This is the next biking mini-vacation on our schedule in the same vein as the Georgia trip last month and the Ohio trip last year (see the 2009 calendar in the sidebar). However, this time Jeanne and Kurt plan on riding some with me, as they did in Ohio but not in Georgia. One of the main enjoyments for them is the opportunity to shop and visit flea markets which I do enough of to share the experience. So, these trips are more than just riding a bike; they are social events and family vacation times. This next one is for the weekend of 17 April. We’ll probably go down on Friday and return on Monday with, most likely, a side trip to see Bill and Lucy. Lucy is Jeanne’s younger sister and she and Bill live in The Villages.

One of the reasons I put schedules like this on the blog is for my own use away from home; I can read them with my Iphone.

The following is from an email by the organizer “Jose Hernandez”.
NOTE: This is a loosely organized weekend schedule. All events are OPTIONAL but you are required to have FUN & SMILE!!!

Jackson to Hattiesburg: A 115 miles supported ride. I added a little at the end for a total of 122 miles. There were 75 miles of Hills and then 40 miles on the relatively smooth LongLeaf Trace, and finally, a short, 7-mile, cool-down ride with Jeanne.

Most of this is a post I made on BROL but with added photos and comments for here.

Rode the RideSouth signature ride Saturday and had a great time. The hills on the first 75 miles were a big challenge to me since I have no hill climbing experience and the bike was heavy. I had over-packed both food (which I could have bought at many rest points) and gear; second guessing weather and contingencies.

Actually, I also over-packed myself, i.e. “carbed up”. The night before the ride Jeanne and I went to Jackson on sort of a date. We stayed at the Hyatt in Ridgeland. The room was large with a partition dividing a sleeping area with a king-sized bed and a working/sitting area with a large lounging couch (which would fold out into a second bed, if needed). The large LCD TV on the wall was nice but we didn’t watch it. We arrived about 4:00 PM, checked in and then headed to the RideSouth bike shop to browse until the 6:00 pre-ride briefing. It was about a 30 minute drive. Not too many at the meeting; I guess the regular riders already had the particulars. (writing in process)

We started out from the RideSouth shop near the Jackson, Ms, reservoir approximately 7:00 AM Saturday morning. We then rode back roads ‘til we hit the LongLeaf Trace in Prentiss. There was a patrol car in front and one at the rear of the pack. There were also two motorcycle-mounted Officers keeping tabs on everyone as we grouped according to our individual speeds. And, they all were with us until we hit the trace in Prentiss. Thanks guys.

We left in a warm drizzle, 50 to 60 degrees warm. I wore short pants, short sleeve shirt, a light-weight rain jacket, and my wonderful sandals with wool socks. With the wool socks my feet can get wet and I don’t even know it; I love them.

Wool socks: I have 12 pair of wool socks. I bought them at Sam’s for $5 a pair. I bought my wife 3 pair which she wears around the house with her pj’s on and sometimes to bed, and always on the bike. I think she wears some of mine. I should have bought her more or bought me more since she seems to have access to all she wants.

I rode the Stratus XP. What a super bike for a long ride. After 10 hours I had no issues, no sore butt, no hot feet, no sore knees, no nothing; maybe a little stiff from the same position but less so than if I had driven a car for that long. I had the fairing and it was worth its weight; the coast-down on one hill hit 35 mph.

I had a small weather-proof bag on the handlebar-crossbar for convenient items. Then, behind the seat, the Aerotrunk; it holds too much, like in “you can put too much in it”. I had the tools you might imagine (tubes, pump, multipurpose hex/screwdriver/etc, pliers/knife, chain tool/links, patches, first aid), weather jacket and gloves, nutrition (fruit, e.g. apple, banana, grapes; Boost, two or three bottles; GU, 6 packs; a can of nuts; etc.), extra AA/AAA batteries, and two sausage biscuits from McDonalds. I was determined not to boink, and I didn’t. I also didn’t eat everything. Elsewhere on the bike I had a cell phone, front light, blinking tail light, Garmin GPS, and a Pocket Power DC-DC converter with USB connection to recharge the Garmin Edge 305 (On a single charge my Garmin is good for about 80 miles+). Oh, and a 32 oz water bottle, and a Power Aid bottle and a Camel-Back water bag. The bare bike weighs about 31 pounds and I, also bare, 240 pounds (but not bare on the bike); no idea what all that other stuff weighed. Would you believe that I was last up the hills?

About one half mile from the start the back tire started rubbing the underside of the Aerotrunk, maybe after a couple road bumps. By the time I stopped and tightened the straps the crew was out of sight and I didn’t catch them until the 15 mile rest stop. I didn’t get a rest, actually didn’t need one, and left the service station when they did. I managed to stay out of last place for a while, for about 10 miles, dropping back on the climbs but flying past some on the down side; thanks to the fairing and my somewhat strong legs. After that the hills became more frequent, with some in the rolling category but many challenges. I never did push the bike up a hill but did pass one rider taking a walking break. My only slightly negative thought about the Stratus is that at 4 mph it is not real steady with me as the engine but may get better as I practice hills; of course I understand that many LWB bikes tend to be a little wobbly at low speeds.

All alone but with fewer curves and hills later on in the ride.

I became consistently behind but usually in sight of 3 other riders. I was always aware of the trailing Highway Patrol car and SAG behind me. I remember passing two guys fixing flats; don’t remember them passing me later but they must have. I was focused on keeping up and it was starting to lessen my enjoyment of the ride. At about 50 miles I decided not to focus on the group ride aspect and to ride alone. I pulled over. The Patrol car passed, the SAG driver didn’t want to but I took her phone number and she then went on; I already had numbers to call but not necessarily her’s; we had multiple SAGs.

There was one guy way back but he had his wife following in a car and by his choice was pretty much on his own. He put forth the most heroic and admirable effort. He may have been older than me, not sure. I’m 66. He said before the ride that his average speed was normally about 10 mph. I would not have taken this challenge at that riding level. I am impressed. In my mind, I was last, he was ahead of us all. I noticed a Motorcycle Officer going back to check on him several times and asked about him when the Officer came back by. He always seemed to be doing fine. I saw him at the 75 mile lunch stop, Prentiss, but did not see him after that. That might have been his designed stop. At least 5 other people rode from Hattiesburg, joining us in Prentiss for lunch or meeting us on the way and, thus, limiting their ride to the trace, an 80 mile round trip.

After I let go of trying to keep up with the others, the ride became much more enjoyable; although I was already having a good time. So, now, I took some pictures (but not nearly enough) stopping on one bridge and shooting a movie of the ragging waters, talked to a very nice couple in a truck who did a U-turn to get a better look at the bike. They confirmed my well written directions (NASA always uses more than one computer to do their calculations, I like to have complementing instructions). I stopped on a small country road, almost single lane, to eat a banana and a young woman walked across her yard to talk.

Later, I pulled over and talked to 3 other guys getting gas at a station just to reassure myself that the hills were mostly over with. The joker in the bunch first told me the worst was yet to come but then he just laughed and said it should be smooth sailing all the way into Prentiss. It was, mostly. You get the idea, a much more relaxed progression.

I arrived at Prentiss, the north-west end of the trace. Some were still eating lunch, some had already left. There was a lunch box there for me. I ate it, sans the box. Went to the bathroom, got back on the bike. It still felt good. When I left there were some organizers still at the station but I think all the riders had gone. I went fairly slow up that incline out of Prentiss, about 4 miles of it. After that I pressed and spun hard. I was not tired. (Nutrition is important.) This is my trace. I may actually put more miles on it than anyone else; well maybe, riding a recumbent anyway. After the last 75 miles the trace’s hills didn’t even look like hills anymore. I started running at 18 to 22 mph and started passing other riders. I am always strong at the end of a ride. It was 40 miles to Hattiesburg and I only stopped once to refill my water. While at the fountain 4 riders passed me and I had to re-pass them again. The GU helped but the fairing and Q-rings did most of it.

This was an outstanding event. It was extremely well organized. Thanks to Jim Snider, owner of RideSouth, and all his associates (wife) for all the hard work. The route was great. They, i.e. Jim and a few regulars, rode the route 4 or 5 times to proof it. The people at the stops were all expecting us and at one grocery store when I walked in a clerk told me where the bathroom was without me having to ask. The Highway Patrol was wonderful. Even after I stopped riding with the group an Officer would come back to check on me, every 15 to 30 minutes. Once I came over a hill and an Officer was sitting there waiting to make sure I didn’t miss an obscure turn. If you want a century, and a challenge but one not dangerous to your health, this is a ride for you.

Of course, there is a little more, such as afterwards eating at Leatha’s BBQ (3 or 4 stars) but I need to go work on my new bike barn.

All according to a Garmin 305

[URL=”http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Ride-South-Signature-Ride”]RideSouth Signature Ride Map[/URL]