Conference noted::bicycle

    It was "dry" in Capron.
    
    Like Bud "dry" or something.
    
    ed

    
    	Sounds like congratulations are in order, but why is
    it that two guys from the *east* coast have to go to
    Illinois for the *mid west* quilifier?  Isn't BMB a RAAM
    quilifier also, or did you guys just do this one for fun?
    
    						_Jerry

    Jerry,
    
    Yes, of course we did it for fun!  (Bicyclists are crazy that way.)
    
    Ed drove over 1000 miles to get there; I drove "only" 880.
    
    BMB is a randonneur event, and kind of a PBP qualifier, but it's not
    a RAAM qualifier.  The three RAAM qualifiers are this one, the one
    out West (California), and the East (Johnstown NY to the Canadian
    border and back).  Ed's done Johnstown countless times, I believe.
    For some people, once a year isn't enough, I guess.   :-)
    
    The Midwest is not very convenient to Southern dwellers such as myself.
    I think Johnstown may be closer, but I'm not sure.  People at Capron
    mainly came from the midwest, but there were a couple from Texas, one
    from Denver (for the 24-hour ride), and New Mexico (ditto?).  Oh, also
    one from Philadelphia.
    
    People will travel far to do the Midwest one, though, because it's the
    only one left that doesn't require a PSV (personal support vehicle)
    accompanying you.  It's a 28.8-mile circuit.  The others are now
    out-and-back or one large loop.  That's why I chose this one to start,
    so that I wouldn't have to impose upon someone for vehicle support.
    Oh, and because it's supposed to be warm and dry.  Ahhh...
    
    -john
    
    PS: Thanks, Jerry.

    I envy you guys for having the time to go do that... I've been
    riding, but not hard enough or enough miles to be really satisfied
    with my fiteness.

    I'll do BMB again; I doubt if I'll keep up with the animals tho.
    [this year you can ride as you like so there will be some hammerheads
    trying to go nearly non-stop according to Charlie.]

    Next year is PBP and I want to be really fit for that, so hopefully... :-)

    - Jim

    .4> "I doubt if I'll keep up with the animals tho."
    
    Ahh, Jim, I've got news for you.  :-)
    
    Wasn't there also an Oregonian in Capron?
    
    If I could fit it into my schedule, I'd do BAM, too.
    
    ed
    

    
    Yes, hmmmm, there was an Oregonian - the second women's finisher 
    (and thus RAAM qualified).  Sorry to overlook her.  A very good rider.
    
    -john

    
>>    (and thus RAAM qualified).  Sorry to overlook her.  A very good rider.
 
    	Are you guys going to post a list of who qualified and from
    what State.....bet a lot of readers would be interested.
    
    					_An_Interested_Reader :-)   
 

    
    RE: "Are qualifying times broken into age groups?"
    
    No.  The results noted one "age class winner" in the qualifier
    (a 20-year-old).  But the race that this qualifies you for has
    traditionally seen contestants in the 20's all the way to their 50's,
    and typically been won by people in their 30's or early 40's.
    
    You will note (when I publish the results) that the three men
    who qualified were aged 18, 34, and 43 - and their times weren't
    that much different.
    
    So I guess that's why they don't have age classifications as such.
    
    -john

    
	Here are results from the RAAM qualifier, courtesy of Ultra Week's
	Macintosh.  There are separate divisions for tandems, women, and
        men. (Ed and I are down there somewhere...)

	    Time   Rider(s) Name(s)       Age Sex   City/State

	   32:53   Breedlove & Charleville .. MM Des Moines IA   1st tandem     

	1. 40:00   Jennifer Viland         24 F  St. Louis MO    1st qualified
	2. 43:50   Susan France            34 F  Newburg OR      2nd qualified
	3. 45:02   Debra Breaud            33 F  Burleson TX     3rd qualified  

	1. 31:41   Tom McKenna             18 M  Capron IL       1st qualified
	2. 33:58   Bill Wassler            36 M  Cincinatti OH   2nd qualified
	3. 35:27   Bob Cadwallader         43 M  Sioux City IA   3rd qualified  
	4. 40:35   John Applewaite         40 M  Omaha NE
	5. 40:54   Gary Bowman             33 M  Dayton OH
        6. 41:48   Trent Herbst            20 M  Kiel WI         Age Gp.Winner
        7. 42:00   Gerry Tatrai            26 M  Dundas AUS
        8. 42:33   Roger Mankus            33 M  Burbank IL
	9. 43:53   Jet Townley             40 M  Boyce VA
       10. 46:02   Jay Readey              18 M  Columbus OH
       11. 47:53   Paul Bacho              35 M  Maple Hts. OH
       12. 47:57   John Ellis              37 M  Charlotte NC
       13. 49:43   E. Thomas McFall        31 M  Columbia MD
       14. 50:12   Louis Branz             39 M  Edwardsville IL
       15. 50:20   Kevin Bryan             26 M  Indianapolis IN
       16. 50:21   Brian Thomas            31 M  Muncie IN
       17. 52:08   Ed Fisher               44 M  Hudson NH
       18. 42:28   Kenneth Pokora          41 M  So. Milwaukee WI
       19. 54:23   Ken DeLong              32 M  Johnstown NY
       20. 55:09   Carl Perpich               M  Grand Prairie TX
       21. 55:50   "Pirate Bob" Friend     43 M  Griffith IN
       22. 57:??   John Zenter             34 M  Glen Burnie MD  Last Finisher

	The above is from a starting field of 44 men and about 7 women,
	I believe.  (Some tend to drop out when they sense they won't 
	qualify, which is the sole reason they've come.  This realization
	may come fairly early in the event.)

	-john
    

    John,
          Thanks for the clarification.
    
>>    You will note (when I publish the results) that the three men
>>    who qualified were aged 18, 34, and 43 - and their times weren't
>>    that much different.
  
    	Being in the over 40 (over the hill?) group it's interesting
    to find a sport where the old guys can still keep up with the
    young guys :-)
    					_Jerry

    
    RE: .-1
    
    True, true.  And, as you will see from the Results (now viewable
    in .8), the ages should have been 18, 36, and 43.
    
    -john
    
    PS: Actual event description to follow soon...

    Yeah Jerry, but the difference between some old guys is quite amazing,
    even though I did finish.
    
    ed

    
    	Heck Ed,
    
    		Your time was nothing to be embarassed about
    
    	At your age that is :-)
    
    	All kidding aside you guys deserve a medal for your
    accomplishments.  Why don't you do a lunchtime seminar 
    around the RAAM qualifiers to see if you can spark more
    interest in this area.....I'd like to start thinking about
    something like that next year, but I don't like getting
    burried on training rides with guys that are already doing
    this stuff and wouldn't want to hold anyone back.  But I 
    would be willing to train for the longer stuff (now that my
    knee is recovering nicely) if there were more slowfolks 
    (~ 15 mph/pace) involved on a regular training basis.
    
    	As an aside you could title the seminar "RAAMing with Ed Fisher"
    as a tribute to your last title "Racing with Ed Fisher" :-)
    						
    							-Jerry

    
    Both my preferred goal (as distinct from the 48-hour one) and Ed's
    were noticeably shorter than what we ended up with.  Most of our
    times were lost, I believe, after midnight on Sunday morning - that is,
    in the final stretch.  It looked for a long time that I would finish
    between 1am and 3am on Sunday, rather than just before 8am.
    
    The weather and probably metabolic aspects added up to an exponential
    "decay" of performance in the final half day.  (Both Ed and myself were
    consistently back up to an average 15mph pace in the final laps.)
    BTW, Ed and I looked set for a photo finish for much of the race.
    
    So, I'd agree with Jerry - not a shoddy performance.  As an added
    bonus, in the couple of hours separating Ed and myself, Ed got to
    ride through solid, torrential rain (which I missed), which only
    cleared up about a � hour after Ed finished.  :-)  Of course.
    
    -john

    I lost a couple of hours early Saturday.  I got caught in a downpour
    surrounded by lightning and had to change my clothes and dry up.
    I think I had just changed my clothes so if my meteorological staff
    had been awake I could have saved a change.
    
    ed

	[This is the account I started when I got back.]

	Last Wednesday evening in Capron, Illinois was brilliantly clear,
	the lush green of those endless cornfields set off by the setting sun.
	Monday was also one of those brilliant, sunny days out on the prairie,
	as I drove back through Indiana.  In between, the three days of
	Ultra Week 1990 were another story.  :-)

	I've just unpacked the car from the 880-mile trip back from the
	RAAM Midwest Qualifier (part of Ultra Week).  Here are some brief
	remarks, before sleep deprivation takes hold again.

	                            *   *   *

	The RAAM Qualifier was 21 laps over a figure-8 loop, crossing
	at the town center of Capron.  These totalled 604 (604.8) miles.
	The course is basically the same one they've used for several years,
	but new to me, since I'd never done this event.

	The weather?  It started sunny, 50's, on Friday for the 8am start,
	complete with 20mph NE winds.  This soon turned into grey overcast,
	highs in the 60's, 20-25mph NE winds (broken only by the approximately
	three dozen trees on the route - ok, maybe there were more).

	This was succeeded, after nightfall, by a series of spotty showers,
	an average of 1 or 2 on each loop of the course.  Frequently, the
	riders could dispense with their halogen lighting set-ups, due to
	the lightning from the southwest (kept at bay by the wind).

	Saturday morning (pre-dawn) brought a change of pace: solid, unbroken 
	rain, temps in the 50's, winds increasing, straight northerly.  It 
	got to be broken overcast later in the day, winds again relentless at
	20mph NE.  Evening: drizzle, succeeded by showers.  By early Sunday 
	morning light, when I finished, it was not raining for the moment.
	(Later riders were treated to torrential rain.)

	One reason I chose this event instead of the RAAM East Qualifier
	(Johnstown NY) was that it was supposed to be warm and dry, unlike
	Johnstown.  Hmmm...

	The cyclists persevered quite well, though.  As Sue Notorangelo
	pointed out, while everyone complained about the weather slowing
	them down, that didn't prevent the male winner, hometown boy
	Tom McKenna, from setting a new course record (31:41).

	What was the ride like?  

	     o	The route was not dead flat, as I had feared.  It was
		very slightly rolling everywhere except about 6 miles 
		flat-as-a-board at the south end, followed by one moderate
		hill coming back into town.

	     o  The road-surface included some very nice new asphalted
		segments; a few miles of rough and broken pavement; and
		quite a lot of smooth surface with bumps (ice heaves).
		These bothered me the most.  I'm glad I was riding tubulars,
		which I'd in fact brought just for this purpose - comfort.

	     o  There was virtually no traffic, day or night - and the
		traffic was quite sedate.  As is traditional, people who
		live on the route had welcoming signs in their front yards,
		and kids camped out and cheered us on, at least for the first
		day or so, 'til they were worn out.

	     o	I very rarely saw the front runners.  You get really spread
		out on a 28.8 mile loop.  I was passed occasionally by the
		tandem, sometimes with a fast single bike nearby.

	     o	The 24-hour ride and the Boone Docks Double (200 mile) ride
		started 6am and 9am on Saturday, and they used the same course.
		As Ed had forecast, you'd be passed by these energetic, fresh
		riders, and would wonder, "Are they in my event???  Arrrgh!"
		Fortunately, you could infer the rider's event and sex from
		the rider-number - so, as they passed, 95% of the time, you'd 
		see that they were the "young whippersnappers."

	     o  One of said riders turned out to be a former RAAM contestant,
		and I talked briefly with her.  I was of course honored to be
		talking to an actual RAAM person, but she was, too, when she
		found out I was one of those NPC (National Points Challenge)
		guys - she wondered if we only existed in black-and-white
		newsletter photos.  Well?

	     o  Most (85% or so) of the riders had aero handlebar equipment.
		Mine was most useful fighting the Big Wind (which is why I
		had attached the clip-ons).  About 30% had rear disk wheels or
		wheelcovers.  All this is typical of races today, I guess.

	     o  I ate sandwiches and granola bars, plus Exceed (and coffee
		at night), and stopped for a 10-minute warm meal (pasta or
		rice) at lunch and dinner, which my support person thoughtfully
		obtained from the tent.

	     o  I slept 45 minutes at 4am Saturday, and about 1 hour at
		midnight on Sunday.  Rested about 3 hours Sunday morning
		after my nap, because I'd fallen behind on nutrition,
		and spent the time eating chicken soup.

	     o  Most of the time I wore a short sleeve jersey *and* two
		long-sleeved ones, the outer being wool; lycra tights at night.

	     o  I *really* enjoyed the hot shower at the fire station after
		the ride.  

	Some of my "splits" were:

	01:34 -  28.8 miles (18.5 mph average on first lap - not extraordinary)
	05:54 - 100.0 miles
	12:14 - 200.0 miles
	24:00 - 350.5 miles - new personal best (347 previous)
	39:30 - 522.0 miles
	47:57 - 604.8 miles

	-john
    

    
John,
    	
    >>	24:00 - 350.5 miles - new personal best (347 previous)
	    
    	Congratulations on the new PR.  Does this mean that
    next year your goin to ride to and from the race in Capron :-)
    Do most ulta riders use tubulars?  I'd think under most
    circumstances you'd use clinchers since you can pack several
    tubes for an unsupported ride and save the space and bulk associated
    with carrying several tubulars.  I imagine that even a tiny bit
    of extra comfort is well received after that many miles though.
    I didn't see Ultra Energy on your nutrition list.  Isn't UE
    now considered standard equipment for Ultra events like this
    (Or is it just marketing hype that all of the RAAM riders used
    it last year).
    
    	Gee...too bad about Ed getting caught in the rain...explains
    why he won't even ride down to the grocery store without his 
    rain gear :-)
    						_Jerry

    
    
    Jerry,
    
    Thanks... next year I may *fly* (then again, the drive up was ok).
    There was one guy there, Ed Ward, who one year had biked from his
    home in Kentucky, done the 600 (in less than stellar time, he said,
    not being fresh), then biked back!  This year he had only biked in
    from Chicago (about 80 miles?).  He was a curious fellow - friendly,
    said he felt a bit singular in his area of Kentucky; few cyclists
    there; wary attitude towards lycra, etc.
    
    I don't know how many riders used tubulars.  Patricia Jones, the RAAM
    veteran did (in the 24-hour event).  Ed Fisher did.  His were aero rims 
    with bladed spokes, no less.  I'll try to look up in the UMCA newsletters
    to find out what people use on the actual RAAM.
    
    For non-RAAM-like Ultra rides, yes, clinchers are preferred.  BMB would
    be an example; also the standard double-centuries, and the open doubles.
    In RAAM and in RAAM East and West, you have a Personal Support Vehicle
    ready to switch out your wheel if the tire punctures.  At Capron there 
    was no close support, but I figured it was worth the risk. I did 
    carry one spare.  The course did not demand the superb cornering
    that tubulars offer, but the nicer ride really helped.
    
    -john

    I carried 2 spare tubies all the time.  The Tuesday before the event
    I did 3.5 laps on the course and got 2 flats on my clinchers.
    
    I have now done 81 laps on that course, not much by crit standards.
    
    ed

    
    Oh, and about Ultra Energy.  It was on sale there for $7 a packet,
    I believe.  I was thinking about using a high-carbo drink like the
    carbo-replacement version of Exceed.  
    
    I think that type of drink can make a difference, yes.  Apparently
    you have to get used to it, though, and still you can have side
    effects (bloating, etc.).  The big plus is you can keep a constant
    energy level, yet avoid the disruption of digestion.  I figure that
    would be most important at night, when it's all too easy to become
    drowsy as it is.
    
    Anyway, that's one more card up my sleeve - since I didn't use it,
    I can claim that it could make that critical difference in performance
    that will catapult me into the higher ranks.  ;-)
    
    -john