RecumBum

I know very little about cyclocross, but with the National Cyclocross Championships taking place in Kansas City, KS this weekend, I figured this was a good chance to learn. I arrived at Wyandotte County Park a little after 1pm, and found the the Masters Women’s 40+ race already in progress. I stayed through that, and watched the Masters Women’s 30-39 race as well.

The course wound through the park, snaking up and over hills, along steep embankments, across a creek, over a set of railroad-tie stairs, and across some short barriers. While I was there, the temperature was just above freezing, and the course was a gloriously sloppy mess, with the majority of the 1.91-mile route consisting of various consistencies of soupy mud. I saw a lot of slipping and sliding, some corner wipe-outs, and a few spectacular crashes. Between the riding, running, falling, and general squishiness of the course, the riders were soon filthy with grime.

Spectators could watch from anywhere along the course, but you had to choose with care, or risk getting splashed with mud or bowled over by someone wiping out on a tight corner. Most of the course was marked off with plastic ribbon and fiberglass posts, but some of it was bounded by sturdier steel fencing.

Watching cyclocross was an interesting experience, and much different than the blink-and-it’s-gone nature of a road race. Is it something I’d like to try? To be honest, I’m kind of tempted. Not that being cold, wet, dirty, and exhausted sounds like all that much fun, but I can see the attraction. It seems like one of those things that, while you’re going through it, you’re questioning your sanity, but looking back, you can’t wait to try it again.

Here are some pics of the cold, muddy fun, and some dirty, dirty women:

Tried taking my Django onto a mountain bike trail at a local park. The trail didn’t seem too tough: a singletrack trail through the woods, relatively flat and open, a few tight turns, some largish rocks.

I took it slow and did alright at first. Had to put feet down a few times, and the handling was very tipsy at the low speed. But still, I was making progress, and it was kinda fun.

I got a couple hundred yards into the trail, then I went down. It didn’t seem to be much of a crash – I was going slow, and it was really more a matter of falling over than actually crashing. “No problem”, I thought. I picked myself up, got back on the bike, and tried to pedal.

Tried. Didn’t work. The pedals wouldn’t turn. Got off the bike. Checked the pedals, checked the chain, checked the rear wheel. There’s the problem. The rear derailleur was stuck in the spokes. Not good.

Turned the bike upside down and started to fiddle with it. It was jammed in there pretty good. I eventually worked it free and hand-torqued the derailleur into a semblance of straightness. Now at least the wheel would turn, but shifting seemed to be messed up.

I righted the bike and walked it out of the woods the way I’d come, and took it back to the parking lot. After a bit more messing around, bending and adjusting, I got it back into some semblance of proper operation.

That is, it worked fine in the middle gears of the middle chainring. The top and bottom of the range was out, and I didn’t trust it on the big or small chainrings. But at least it was rideable.

I nursed it the sixteen miles home, then took it to the bike shop the next day, where they straightened the bent derailleur hanger and got everything working smoothly again.

So, what did I learn?

I learned that even with fat tires, my SWB recumbent doesn’t make much of a mountain bike. The handling is just not stable enough at slow speeds. It works fine as long as I can keep the speed up, but once I slow down due to tight turns or obstacles, I just can’t keep it upright very long.

If I really want to ride this kind of trail, I’ll need a real mountain bike Oh well, it was worth a try.

I bought this t-shirt off the clearance rack at Target (only $3.00!). It truly is the perfect recumbent T-Shirt design:

It’s funny: I’ve had the Sun EZ-Sport for over three years, and the Burley Django for over a year, but it’s never occurred to me to test them against each other. I suppose this is mostly because I’ve been using the Django almost exclusively since I got it, and hadn’t given much thought to the older bike.

But awhile back I got to thinking about how the two bikes compared. I’d always assumed that the Django was faster, based on my average speed, but I’d never actually tested that assumption. Was the Django really faster than the EZ-Sport, and if so, how much?

Only one way to find out – run an experiment – in this case, a time trial.

I moved the pedals to the EZ-Sport, along with the pump, tools, and water bottles, and took it out for a short 16-mile out-and-back over a largely flat course. The bike was still set up just as I’d left it, and yet it felt strange to ride it again. I remember when I first test-rode this bike three years ago, it felt so natural, so easy to ride. Now, the lower bottom bracket, higher seat, more upright seating position, and outstretched arms felt awkward. But I completed the ride, and it was feeling more comfortable by the end.

I then moved the pedals, pump, tools, and water bottles back to the Django and rode the exact same course.

The results: 14.41 MPH for the EZ-Sport, and 16.01MPH for the Django. That’s a pretty significant difference – the Django was 1.6 MPH (11%) faster. OK, so why?

• I weighed myself plus each of the bikes on my bathroom scales, and it came out to 205.8 pounds for the EZ-Sport, and 200.4 for the Django. That’s a difference of only 5.4 pounds (about 2.6%), so that’s a big part of the difference, though certainly not the whole story.

• The pedals on the Django are quite a bit higher than on the EZ-Sport, so I’d expect that I’d use slightly different muscles, and since I’ve been riding the Django almost exclusively, my muscles are optimized for that bike.

• The EZ-Sport has a more upright riding position, whereas the Django’s is more reclined. Perhaps the windy conditions gave a significant advantage to the more aero riding position.

• The EZ-Sport uses Kenda Kwest tires, and the Django uses Primo/Serfas tires, which are lighter weight. (Note: This test was performed before I switched the Django over to fat tires.)

All those factors favored the Django. However, I rode the EZ-Sport first, so I had fresher legs, and rode the Django when I was already tired.

So, bottom line I’d say that the Django is definitely faster. Perhaps not 1.6 MPH faster under all conditions, but probably at least 1 MPH faster the majority of the time.

That basically validates my earlier assumption about how the two bikes compare.

The bigger question is whether moving another 5 pounds down in weight would result in another 1.0-to-1.5 MPH speed increase – perhaps. How about if I could save 10 pounds? 15 pounds?

How about when I’m touring and am hauling 30-40 pounds of excess weight? What will that do to my average speed?

These questions are still to be answered….

I recently had a chance to revisit the Prairie Spirit Trail and spend a day riding most of its length.

My first visit to Prairie Spirit Trail was in August of 2005, when I rode from Ottawa to Richmond and back, which is about half the trail’s length. This time I was able to see more of the trail, but frustratingly, still not all of it.

The Prairie Spirit Trail State Park is the longest existing rail-to-trail project in Kansas. It covers 33 miles from Ottawa to Welda, also passing through Princeton, Richmond, and Garnett. It was selected as the Rail-to-Trails Conservancy’s Trail of the Month in January 2004.

The trail is soon to be extended southward to Iola, to make a total of 50 miles. Sadly, although construction of the last section of the trail is apparently complete, it’s not open yet. So it’ll have to be another trip to see the new part of the trail. Oh well, an excuse for another visit!

In addition to the unopened section of trail, June floods caused extensive damage to an existing segment, taking out a bridge and washing away some of the trail. About 2.5 miles of the trail is closed, and probably will be for some time.

We (a friend and I) started at the Old Depot Museum in Ottawa. I’d never visited this museum before, and was quite impressed. The two-story limestone building was constructed in 1888 as a depot for the Kansas City, Lawrence, and Southern Kansas Railway, and was converted to a museum in 1963. It houses a great collection of information about the history of the railroad, the civil war in Kansas, and the history of the town and surrounding communities. They have some great displays, including recreations of a one-room schoolhouse, a general store, a dentists office, and a Victorian parlor.

My favorite part of the exhibit was a very large model railroad, complete with a very detailed scale reproduction of the town, including the depot itself. There were so many things to look at that we could have spent hours examining them all, but we’d gotten a late start and the day wasn’t getting any longer, so we eventually exited the museum and hit the trail.

We cycled across the Marais Des Cygnes River on the old railroad bridge, then onto Ottawa city streets for a few blocks until hitting the trail itself. After stopping to pay the daily permit fee at the trailhead, we slipped out of town and were onto the hard-packed limestone surface.

Even though it was late morning, it was quite cool, with a strong headwind from the south, and we were wearing several layers of clothing. But as we cycled along the trail, the exercise and bright sun warmed us, and we stopped after a few miles to remove some clothes.

The surface of the trail was in good shape for the most part, though there were a number of places where we encountered small holes or longitudinal washouts in the trail. The biggest problem we found was at the road crossings – it looked like the gravel roads had been recently plowed, and the graders had pushed material to the edges of the crossings, perpendicular to the trail. This made the crossings slow, rough, and a little treacherous, but we made it through them all without incident.

We stopped at the trailhead in Princeton for a short break, and then again at the Richmond trailhead, where we admired the large and imposing Beachner Grain Elevator before continuing south into the relentless wind.

After a few miles, we found the trail blocked, and (very small) signs marking the detour around the washed-out bridge over the Pottawatomie River. The modified route took us east on a paved road through the village of Scipio, then north on gravel roads to Garnett. The gravel was slow going, and we were a bit unsure of the route, as it wasn’t marked, but we eventually passed by the historic Garnett Cemetery and on into town.

Once in Garnett, we found the paved trail and took it a few blocks into the town center, then once around the town square before we found Denise’s Country Cafe, and decided to stop there for lunch. It was quite good!

Afterwards, we returned to the trail and headed home, going off-route a bit for a visit to the nice little Garnett City Lake, then back onto gravel.

Ah, but this time we had the wind at our backs, and that made all the difference!

The gravel roads and then the trail itself didn’t even feel like the same path. We positively flew. Well, it felt like it, anyway. Riding at 15 MPH may not sound like much, but on a flat gravel trail, with fat tires, it’s more impressive than it sounds, and that’s about what we averaged on the return trip, compared to about 12.3 on the first half.

By the end, we were tired, and happy to finish, but we both agreed that it had been a fun and memorable ride.

Perhaps, once the remainder of the trail is opened, and the bridge is repaired, I’ll be able to ride the whole thing end-to-end. It’s something to look forward to, anyway!

I’ve now done two decent gravel-road rides on my new off-road tires (see Getting Fat), so I have a few results to report:

• The fat tires work very well for softening out the rough surface of gravel roads. Compared to the j-j-j-jarring r-r-r-ride I was getting on my 100 PSI tires, these feel positively cushy.

• Riding on paved roads, I run my my middle chainring 95% of the time, except for big uphills or big downhills. For gravel roads, I need to be more willing to drop into the small chainring, and not try to muscle up the hills.

• I didn’t really have any trouble climbing hills, as long as there was something of a rut for me to follow (and once I learned to gear down quicker). There’s always the chance of spinning out on a hill, but it hasn’t happened yet.

• The recumbent seems to handle the gravel just fine. I never really felt in danger of going down, though control can get a bit squirrelly in loose small gravel or when there’s a solid layer of bigger stones. The worst section I found was a half-mile of fresh gravel – loose, with some fairly big rocks.

• Speed is lower. On my first ride (15 miles) I had an average of about 12 MPH. On my second ride (25 miles), I had an average of 12.8 MPH. Then I realized that I’d forgotten to recalibrate my cyclocomputer when I swapped tires. I did a roll-out, and found that my front tire is about 4.5% larger than it was before. So I wasn’t quite as slow as I first thought, with revised speeds of 12.5 and 13.4, respectively.

• The back tire can have some trouble with bigger rocks, kicking to the side once in a while as it hits them. Not a big deal, but it’s an odd feeling the first few times it happens.

• I wonder about the bike’s durability over longer rides (and longer periods). Even with the softer tires, there’s still a fair amount of shock transmitted to the bike. Over time this may lead to component failures – wheels, spokes, the rack, fender, seat, and eventually the frame. Am I shortening the life of the bike by subjecting it to such a beating? Probably.

• Would suspension help? It may be possible to swap out the rigid front fork for a suspension fork, but is it worth doing? Rear suspension would probably be more significant (since more weight is on the rear wheel), but that would require a new bike, as a retrofit is unlikely.

• Less traffic: Sunday, riding about 20 miles of gravel, I saw a grand total of eight motor vehicles – three passing me, and five coming towards me.

• Cars more considerate (or at least more careful): Most cars on gravel roads seem to move at a slower pace, and take care when passing, some are even considerate enough to slow down to minimize the dust they’re spewing.

• Speaking of dust, there can be a lot of if. This will mean more care needs to be taken in keeping the bike clean and well-lubricated.

• I haven’t ridden in the rain yet, but I imagine that it turns many roads into a soupy, sloppy mess, with ruts and rocks hidden by water, and mud coating the tires, frame, drivetrain, and seat (and probably the rider).

Overall, I see the ability to ride gravel as a huge plus. It should certainly make planning a route easier – not being limited to paved roads increases the number of possible routes by an incredible amount. In my immediate vicinity, perhaps 50% of the roads are paved, but the further out into the country you go, the amount of pavement declines. Why limit myself to just paved roads when I can have them all?

In the two rides I did last weekend, I never got more than ten miles or so from home, yet I covered roads I’d never ridden, or even driven, before. Imagine, finding something totally new only a few miles from my front door!

After my recent adventures riding my recumbent on gravel roads, and thinking that perhaps I should try it with wider, lower-pressure tires, I decided to take the plunge.

The key realization was that I could switch to fat tires without messing up my existing tire setup. How? By using the wheels off my EZ-Sport.

The EZ-Sport has the exact same wheels as the Django: 20″ front and 26″ rear, with an 11-32 8-Speed cassette. So, if I took the wheels off the EZ-Sport, changed the tires from the stock Kenda Kwests to something fatter and softer, I could easily change the Django back and forth from fast to soft tires.

And a further realization, that I already had a fat 26″ tire (from my Katy Trail ride) and tubes, made the decision even easier.

I went ahead and pulled the rear wheel off the EZ-Sport, swapped the Kenda Kwest for the Kenda Komfort (26″ x 1.95″ (50-559), 40-65 PSI), and used one of the tubes I had lying around. Unfortunately, the EZ-Sport was set up for Schrader tubes, while the Django uses Presta. I used the tube anyway, aired it up, and all seemed well. Then a few minutes later, while I was busy with other tasks, I heard a loud explosion from behind me, and turned back to find the tire blown off the rim, and the tube shredded near the valve. Hmmm, I only pumped it up to 40 PSI, so the pressure wasn’t too high. Must have pinched the tube as I was putting it on. Sigh.

I’d also noticed, while I was putting the wheel back on the bike, that the rear brake pads were worn down to nubs and needed to be replaced. Rather than make a trip to the nearest bike shop (12 miles distant), I ran to the local Wal-Mart (4 miles away).

They didn’t have my size of brake pads, but I did pick up a cheap 20″ tire for the front wheel, along with a 20″ tube. Unfortunately, all they had was Schrader valves. So I went ahead and bought a 26″ Schrader tube as well. Might as well have the two tires match.

The 20″ tire is sold under the “Bell” brand name, but the nameplate on the tire is actually “Heng Shin Tire”. The box identified it as a “Freestyle” tire, but I didn’t really care about that. I chose it because it seemed to be midway between a mountain tire and a road tire – some tread, but no huge knobbies.

Got back home, installed the new tubes and tires, and all was well except for those darn brakes pads. So I had to make a run to the bike shop after all. They set me up with some Avid Wrangler 2 pads. Once home, I got those installed and adjusted, and they seem to work fine.

I did run into one problem with the front tire: after installation it was rubbing against the fender – not enough to stop the wheel from turning, but enough to cause some friction and make some noise. No amount of fiddling with adjustments seemed to improve the situation, so ultimately I just took off the fender entirely. So now I have a fender on the rear, but none on the front. Oh well.

Once everything was all back together, I took the bike out for a short spin, and all seemed well – a very cushy ride.

In the picture on the right, you can see the big difference between the road and off-road tires. Question: How much will this affect my speed? I’ve read conflicting reports, ranging from “none” to “huge”, but I’m anticipating at least a 10% hit. Guess I’ll need to run a test at some point.

But for now, I need to do some longer rides on some rougher roads, and see how well these fat tires really work!

The afternoon was chilly, but offered brilliant sunshine, and I decided that it was too good of a day to waste indoors. Further, I decided that rather than riding the rural roads like I normally do, I’d try a bit of off-road riding.

In fact, I’ve been doing a bit of that anyway, recently. Twice within the last week I’ve ventured from paved roads to gravel roads for short distances on my Django. It’s been fun, but as currently configured it’s not exactly ideal for gravel, much less real off-road riding. I could switch to fatter, lower-pressure tires (front and back are now 1.25-1.35″ 100 PSI tires intended for smooth pavement), which would help a lot as far as cushioning the ride, but certainly wouldn’t turn the bent into a mountain bike.

So today I broke out my wife’s mountain bike and gave it a go. It doesn’t have suspension, but at least it has fat tires.

First, I headed to Hillsdale Lake, and attempted some singletrack. The trail there is a multi-use trail, but is apparently used primarily for horseback riding – I saw lots of horse tracks (and manure), but no bike tracks.

The trail proved extremely tough. I entered it at it’s northernmost point, and found the going very slow. The trail may have been passable by horse, but in many places it wasn’t by bike. Lots of rocks, lots of mud, roots, and downed trees across the trail meant I was spending nearly as much time on foot as I was on the bike. Then I reached a stream, and didn’t feel like wading through the the water and across the mud on both sides, so I turned back. At most, I did a mile on this trail, probably less.

This was my first experience of any kind with singletrack, and I think the trail I happened to choose was simply too challenging for my limited skills. Oh well, it was still fun to be out in the woods.

Next, I decided to head south to the Flint Hills Nature Trail.

The Flint Hills Nature Trail will eventually be a 117-mile rail-trail connecting Osawatomie in the east and Herington in the west, and passing through Ottawa, Vassar, Osage City, and Council Grove, as well as passing near Pomona Lake. The trail will also connect to the 50-mile Prairie Spirit Trail in Ottawa, and to the 38-mile Landon Nature Trail to Topeka.

Currently only three short sections of the trail are open: a 6-mile section near Vassar, a 3-mile section near Allen, and a 3.75-mile section near Osawatomie, which is what I rode.

Although this section of the trail has been open for over a year, this is the first time I’d visited. The first challenge was finding it. The section begins and ends out in the country, and there are no signs pointing the way. Once I’d found the eastern terminus on Pressonville Road, the next challenge was finding a place to park. There are two nearby houses, which are private property, and there is the abandoned railroad right-of-way heading east, but there is no clearly-marked place to park. I ended up parking along the county road.

Once I got on the trail, I found it in very good condition, for the most part. The surface is crushed limestone, which makes for a reasonably smooth and gentle ride, although in a few places the underlying railroad ballast (which consists of larger rocks which could be a problem for skinny road tires, but were not an issue for my fat rubber) were showing through. There were also a few very small wash-outs where a recent rain had formed little ditches, but these were not a big deal. There was evidence of recent activity along the trail, as downed trees appeared freshly-cut and moved out of the way.

I was alone on the trail, and it seemed to be largely unused, with only one or two sets of bike tracks preceding me, which looked several days old.

The scenery was outstanding, with trees growing right up to the trail, forming an arch over the trail in places. The leaves are beginning to turn, and the woods were a glimmering mixture of greens, browns, and yellows. For a good distance, the trail runs along the Marais des Cygnes river, and at one point a bridge passes over a small creek that empties into the river. I saw a number of squirrels, several types of birds, and a deer running off into the trees.

Really, the scenery reminded me of the Katy Trail – it’s that good.

By the time I got back to the truck, the rear tire was nearly flat, but otherwise the bike held up well, and shifted and braked reliably. My tailbone was hurting a bit from the seat, but other than that I felt fine. Admittedly, this wasn’t a very long time on the bike – perhaps an hour between the two rides – but it wasn’t bad at all. Not recumbent-comfortable, but not bad.

There is apparently some controversy regarding the trail (see Troubles on the Trail and Response Letters), with Miami County insisting on a ridiculously large bond, which the trail conservancy doesn’t have. So it seems the Miami County section of the trail is in some sort of legal limbo, though that shouldn’t stop people from enjoying it, because it is open for hikers, cyclists, and equestians.

From what I’ve seen, the trail is already a wonderful resource, and will only get better as more of it is opened, and eventually as it is joined with trails. Rather than obstructing it, Miami County should be doing everything it can to encourage completion of the trail.

I can understand why property owners adjacent to the trail would have some concerns about possible trespassers and littering, but it seems to me that a fence and a few signs would do the trick.

I hope that the trail can continue to progress, and look forward to the day when it is finished, and connected to other Kansas trails and the regional Quad State Trail Project.

It had been rainy, cloudy, and cool for the last several days, but Sunday afternoon was a welcome break, with brilliant sunshine and warm temperatures, marred only by a strong and gusting wind. I headed south to Hillsdale Lake, bucking that stiff wind for nearly the entire journey. It was slow going, and that was just fine by me. It was a day to be savored.

The trees are not really showing it yet, but we are just on the cusp of real Autumn. I stopped at one of the public areas around the lake, parked the bike behind a line of cedars, and ventured into a stand of native tallgrass, and after a few dozen feet it was like I’d stepped into another realm. The wind was calmed, sound was muted, and all I could see was the grass that surrounded me.

Standing there for a few moments, my perceptions changed. From what had at first looked like an undifferentiated wall of grass, details began to emerge. Individual plants could be seen, in a great variety of sizes and colors. As I moved toward the verges of the grass, other species appeared. Different types of grasses: Brome, Foxtail, Sandreed, Silver Bluestem, Squirreltail, Windmill Grass, Witchgrass, and many more I can’t name. Flowers such as Azure Aster, Goldenrod, Showy Partridge Pea, Sunflower, and numerous others I don’t recognize, or that have already dried and gone to seed.

Past the tallgrass, there are sections of field corn and sunflowers planted for the wildlife. The sunflowers are all dried up, with their heads drooping and heavy with seed. The corn is also ready for a harvest that won’t come.

Monday, after a late-night rainstorm and a cool morning, the sun broke free in the afternoon, and I decided to head over to the Prairie Center, a 300-acre tallgrass preserve with trails winding through remnant and restored prairie and woodlands. I’ve lived in this area for many years, and have driven by Prairie Center many times, but had never visited. But after my brief excursion at Hillsdale, I wanted to see more, and thought this might be a good opportunity to see what Prairie Center offered.

With the weather still iffy, I drove there, rather than cycling, and parked in the small lot. I was the only one there, and slowly made my way along the gravel trail, and was soon in the grass. Like at Hillsdale, once you’re in the grassland, even following the trails, you soon feel you’re immersed in a different world.

Unlike the small stand of tallgrass I explored at Hillsdale, the prairie here was larger and more diverse, and there was more diversity of terrain as well, with a prairie-covered ridge, woods, and small ponds, with trails meandering among all these settings.

Unlike a pasture, which is usually planted in a single type of grass, the prairie here is made up of many different species, all mixed together. There are many types of grasses, flowers, and plants I could not identify. There were butterflies and grasshoppers, and several species of birds in the sky, trees, and grass. At one point I came across a fast-flowing stream, blocking the trail with the remnants of the early-morning rain, and I had to turn back and take another path.

But I didn’t mind the detour, as it was simply an opportunity to follow another trail, and witness the incredible richness of life on this little preserved bit of native prairie. It’s an awe-inspiring thought to realize that at one time this entire part of the world was covered in a nearly unbroken sea of grass, stretching from Missouri to the Rockies, from Texas up into Canada.

I can’t even describe all the things I saw here, so I’ll simply share a few pictures (which don’t do the experience justice, but are better than nothing):

If you’re ever in the Olathe area, a visit to the Prairie Center is well worth your time. It’s simply an amazingly soulful place.

Sunday was the 38th edition of a ride that has become a late-season classic in this part of the country, the Octoginta, hosted by the Lawrence Bicycle Club.

This was my first Octoginta, and it was a fun ride. A friend and I drove from Olathe to Lawrence and arrived at about 7:30 am, got ourselves checked in, and waited around for the mass start at 8:30. The sky was overcast and there were occasional hesitant sprinkles. It was at this time I realized that I’d forgotten to bring a plastic baggy to store the camera in case of rain. So rather than risk ruining the camera in the event of a downpour, I elected to leave it behind. So no Octoginta photos for me, alas.

And that was a shame, because there was certainly some beautiful pictures to be had as the route crossed Clinton Lake dam, Lone Star Lake, and rural Douglas County.

I especially enjoyed Douglas County 1029, Shawnee Heights Road and Shadden Road, and the five-mile stretch on Rafner Road. The one thing these three sections had in common was that they all had a tailwind.

Yes, the wind was a major factor all day long, with a strong, and occasionally gusty, 15 MPH wind coming from the south. And as the route twisted through the hills of Douglas and Shawnee Counties, we’d spend a long period pedaling into the teeth of it, then an all-too-short period with the wind at our backs.

The section on Shadden Road was particularly thrilling, with perhaps two-and-a-half miles of mostly downhill riding and a friendly wind. I entered that section with a cumulative average of 14.4 MPH, and ended that run with a 14.9 MPH average – I was cranking pretty hard, and hitting a maximum speed of 42.0 MPH.

The road surfaces were hit-and-miss, with a mixture of smooth blacktop, rough chip-and-seal, and in places an even rougher surface that was nearly as loose and rough as a gravel road.

Traffic was generally light, with the exception of a few tough miles at the eastern end of Clinton Lake and heading back into Lawrence. This also happened to be when the rain started. It never really rained hard enough to break out the rain jacket, but it was enough to make me take off the sunglasses, turn on the taillight, and take special care with stops and turns. The streets in Lawrence were especially treacherous – one cyclist ahead of me nearly went down as he tried to stop at a light, his back wheel skidding out from under him on the wet pavement. He kept his balance, but was unable to stop. Luckily for him, there wasn’t any high-speed cross-traffic bearing down on him.

The Sunflower Bike Shop provided a big breakfast of scrambled eggs, french toast, and coffee at the first SAG, and the Lawrence Bicycle Club provided a late lunch at the end of the ride, with a think and rich minestrone soup and some wonderfully hearty bread from the Great Harvest Bread Company.

The 80-mile route came up a little short – my cyclometer showed it as 77.69 miles, and a ride time of 5 hours and 22 minutes, for an average speed of 14.47 MPH. Other than that short section on Shadden Road, I wasn’t really pushing it, so I was happy enough with that speed, particularly considering that I was having some knee issues towards the last third of the ride. I think my seat was set just a bit too far back, and that eventually caused some pain under my left knee.

But it was still a nice ride and a fun day. I’d like to go back and ride some of those roads again, perhaps parking at Clinton lake and try some of the paved side roads we passed – there’s plenty of beautiful country to explore!

More Octoginta info:

• Lawrence Journal-World: 600 set to ride in Octoginta, A ride in the country
• Bicycles and Icicles: Octo what?, Bluto was my role model, One in a million
• Dave’s Good Stuff: 2007 Lawrence Octoginta
• Flickr Photos: Octoginta, Octoginta Time Trial