I’m still on
a high from yesterday’s century. I’m
overjoyed to have reached my goal of riding 12 centuries for A Year of
Centuries, but I’m a little sad that the year is drawing to a close. Have you ever been in the midst of something
that you know is very special, and so you try to savor every moment? That’s what this whole year has been like for
me. What a tremendous blessing.
My centuries
themselves may be complete for the year, but I still have the rest of this
month to show my support for Heifer International. In case you’re not familiar with Heifer
International, it’s an organization that works to end hunger and poverty around
the world while taking care of the Earth at the same time. Heifer International provides animals and
training to impoverished people in over 30 countries. Any month would be a great one to support
Heifer, but I chose it for my December charity because a gift of an animal to a
needy family makes a true difference during this season of giving. Yesterday during my ride, I saw the perfect
decoration that simply made my day:
RUSA
Yesterday’s
ride may have been my last century in A Year of Centuries, but it was only my
first in a new type of cycling that I am undertaking: randonneuring! Randonneuring is not racing; it’s about
finishing the prescribed route within a set period of time and enjoying the camaraderie
of your fellow cyclists. Its roots go
back to the early 1900s in France. The
American organization to promote this style of cycling is Randonneurs USA
(RUSA). Yesterday’s ride was put on by
Audax Atlanta, a chapter of RUSA.
The
particular type of randonnée that I did yesterday is called a brevet. A
brevet can be 200, 300, 400, 600, or 1,200 km long. A 200K brevet is about 124 miles. This is a little more than a century, and so
I knew that it would be slightly more challenging yet doable. A 200K brevet has a 13.5-hour time limit, and
it’s the only route length that is considered a daytime ride. (Lights and other considerations must be
taken into account for longer distances.)
I’m going to do some more 200K rides and a 300K ride. From there I’ll decide whether I want to
tackle any of the longer distances. Actually,
I’ve already decided that years from now, when (if) I retire, I’m going to
celebrate by riding a 401K.
It’s kind of
interesting how I found out about randonneuring and RUSA. When I did my June century (Wheels to the
World), I rode a portion of it with a couple of guys. I told them about A Year of Centuries, and
they said I might like to get involved with RUSA, of which they are members. It sounded interesting, but at the time, I
just mentally filed it because I still had half of my centuries to go in A Year
of Centuries – plenty to focus on for the time being. Well, a few months later I started looking
for an organized ride for my December century.
A great resource has been active.com.
(FYI, another good one is the Southern Bicycle League.) On active.com I found several of this year’s
rides by searching for “century.” At
first I didn’t find anything for December, but this didn’t shock me because there aren’t as many organized
rides during the colder months. However,
when I searched for “bicycle,” I found the Silk Sheets 200K, hosted by Audax
Atlanta. I read more about the ride and
remembered what my June cycling companions had told me about RUSA. Not only did the Silk Sheets 200K fit
perfectly into my schedule, it seemed like the ideal introduction to this new
type of cycling. So, as I look back on a
wonderful Year of Centuries and anticipate many more RUSA brevets in the
future, it’s appropriate to think of Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and
transitions. (By the way, January is
named for Janus – looking back and looking forward):
Getting
Started
The ride
started from Waffle House in Sandy Springs, which is north of downtown
Atlanta. I arrived in plenty of time to
get my gear in order, meet the other riders, and – very important – get my brevet
card.
A brevet has
designated checkpoints, or controls, along the route: convenience stores,
restaurants, etc. The rider has to stop
at each control and have a store employee initial the card and put the time of
the rider’s arrival. At the end of the
brevet, the rider turns in the completed card to the ride organizer, who
certifies it and forwards it RUSA headquarters.
If the brevet is also an ACP (Audax Club Parisien) event, the world
headquarters in France certify the results as well.
There was an
unexpected bit of jollity before I got on the road. Santa Claus was at Waffle House!
I think this
particular Santa rides a hawg instead of a sleigh. He said that all of the bikers he knows wear
black leather.
About a
dozen people did the brevet. As we
gathered outside, I knew that I would stick out as a newbie. I had read in the RUSA handbook about bicycles
that randonneurs use. Having several
types of bicycles myself for various types of riding, I was not surprised to
learn that randonneurs’ bicycles typically are a little different from my trusty
road bike, which is built for racing. My
handlebars are pretty low, even for a road bike (I tend to ride in a fairly aggressive
position), and they certainly are lower than most randonneurs’ bicycles. Still, my road bike has served me well on all
of my centuries, including this one. Additionally,
randonneurs usually have a bag on their handlebars or elsewhere on their
bicycles. I can see where this would be
helpful, even necessary, on a brevet longer than a 200K. However, I managed just fine yesterday by
putting everything in my jersey pockets as usual. By the way, I included some seasonal treats
in my food supplies, including an Iced Gingerbread Clif Bar and some fruitcake
(don’t laugh – it’s terrific bike food!):
Although my
regular cycling habits served me quite well on yesterday’s ride, I know that I
still have a lot to learn, particularly if I do longer brevets. Adopting aspects of the culture particular to
the randonneuring form of cycling will make my rides more successful and
comfortable. This reminds me of Heifer
International’s work in other countries.
Heifer workers don’t just go in and tell recipient families what they
should do. The workers learn about the
culture of a particular area, listening to the people and helping them make their
own decisions about what is best for their communities. It’s a wise strategy that is much more
effective in the long run.
The Route
The route
was a lollipop, out and back for most of the way with a loop at the far end. The first part of the route went through one
of the most luxurious sections of metro Atlanta. I’m glad that this homeowner has a sense of
the whimsical:
I also had
this lovely view of the Atlanta skyline:
Next, I went
through a more industrial area.
Particularly because it was Saturday, traffic was light. Toward the end of this section, I went right
by Six Flags!
As much as I
love roller coasters, my bicycle offers an even better ride.
From there,
the route entered the area known as “Silk Sheets.” It’s a wonderful place to ride in the
southern part of Fulton County. Metro
Atlanta cyclists love to ride here because the roads are very good with light
traffic. It’s pretty rural, making it hard
to believe that you’re in the same county with downtown Atlanta.
I was
familiar with a portion of the Silk Sheets section because it overlapped a section
of a time trial (TT) course that I have done several times. For the last couple of years, Peachtree Bikes
has sponsored a TT series in this area, including the state championship TT this
year. (By the way, Peachtree Bikes suffered a devastating fire at its Peachtree Road location last week. Prayers for healing and rebuilding go out to
them.) On my way out on the lollipop “stick,”
I entered the TT course at its northwest corner. There was a turn there that I have raced
through four times. On my ride
yesterday, I was amused to discover that there is a big house right on that
corner that I had never noticed before!
TTs are so intense that you miss all kinds of scenery, even otherwise
obvious things like a big house.
Shine On
The part of
the route that coincided with the TT course went through a crossroads called
Rico. As I rode through, I thought of
Claude “Shine” Bryant, an elderly friend who passed away earlier this
year. He was originally from Rico. I also thought of him because he was a World
War II veteran, and yesterday was Pearl Harbor Day. Although Mr. Shine actually fought in Europe,
I still thought with gratitude of his service.
Mr. Shine moved to a nursing home in another town before I began A Year
of Centuries, and so I never told him about my project. Still, I imagined him smiling down on me
yesterday and encouraging me to keep going.
Information
Control
Besides the
control at the Waffle House start/finish, there were four other controls. Three of these were at stores, but one was an
information control. The cue sheet instructed
us to write the name of the place at mile 61.3, North Newnan General Merchandise:
Chattahoochee
The “stick”
part of the lollipop route paralleled the Chattahoochee, a major river in
Georgia. I crossed the Chattahoochee
several times:
I couldn’t
help but think of Sidney Lanier’s poem “Song of the Chattahoochee,” which
begins:
Out of the hills of Habersham,
Down the valleys of Hall,
I hurry amain to reach the plain…
The part of
the Chattahoochee that I was on was a lot closer to the plain than to the hills
of Habersham or the valleys of Hall.
I also
thought of Alan Jackson’s toe-tapping country song “Chattahoochee,” particularly
the chorus:
Yeah, way down yonder on the Chattahoochee
Never knew how much that muddy water meant
to me
But I learned how to swim (ride?) and I
learned who I was
A lot about livin’ and a little ‘bout love.
This month
I’m writing a lot about giving alternative gifts of animals, but Heifer also
helps provide clean water in many communities.
Clean drinking water is something we easily take for granted here in the
U.S., but millions of people around the world don’t have this basic
necessity. Many families don’t have
running water or even a well, and so they must spend a great deal of time and
effort fetching water both for drinking and sustaining their crops. Fetching water is often left to girls,
leaving them no time for school. Heifer
helps lift this burden by providing treadle pumps, which provide drinking and
irrigation water. You might want to
consider a Gift of Clean Water ($300) or a Gift of Irrigation Pumps ($150) as a
meaningful gift in honor of your own loved ones.
You
Animal
Of course, I
also thought a lot about Heifer animals during my ride. I definitely wanted to get a picture of some
cows along the route. I finally found
this herd, munching on hay at feeding time:
In addition,
I saw some other animals that Heifer provides to impoverished people, including
goats and ducks. I even saw a pig:
Sprayberry’s
BBQ is famous in the Newnan area. I had
heard about it for years, and yesterday I finally got to to there; it was one of the brevet controls. Also, a BBQ sandwich hit the spot and gave me some
good protein, necessary on a long ride.
I had
planned my fueling pretty well, but shortly before I got to Sprayberry’s, I
could tell that I needed to eat. I must
have been channeling Maverick from Top
Gun because I started thinking, “Talk to me, Goose.” Fortunately, Goose didn’t actually talk to
me.
Party
Time! Excellent!
I rode more
slowly than I had hoped, but I was still thrilled simply to finish. I felt good physically, and I was elated to
reach my goal of 12 centuries! I got an
extra boost because my mother and stepfather were there to greet me at the end :) They even brought me some flowers:
I wasn’t
able to stay with them long because Robert and I had plans to go to a Christmas
party in Macon. Because I finished later
than I thought I would, I didn’t have time to go home first. At least I had a good change of clothes – my Heifer
International shirt!
When I
called Robert after my ride, he suggested forgoing the party, but I told him
that I really wanted to go. The people coming
to the party were primarily my cycling friends, and I couldn’t think of a
better way to celebrate the day than by being with them.
I made one quick stop after I left Waffle House. I'm not a coffee drinker, but Starbucks has a few non-coffee drinks that I like, and a warm beverage sounded just right after my long, cold ride. Currently, Starbucks has a seasonal drink, butterbeer, inspired by the Harry Potter books. It's steamed milk with several flavorings, including a toffee one that's only available during the holidays. (That's why butterbeer is a limited edition drink). Then, it's topped with whipped cream and caramel sprinkles. Not a bad recovery drink!
I had a
great time visiting with everyone at the party, but the festivities weren’t quite
over. When I finally got home, Robert
had some more beautiful flowers for me!
I’m enjoying
all these fresh flowers in my kitchen.
Robert also
got me a very special memento: a century medal from 1901. Earlier this year I enjoyed reading a book
entitled Wheels of Change: How
Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom (With a Few Flat Tires Along the Way). It describes the early days of cycling in the
late 1800s and early 1900s. People rode
centuries even then, but they used much heavier bicycles and wore much more
cumbersome clothing than us modern cyclists – quite a feat. At the end of a century, a cyclist often
would receive a medal to commemorate his/her accomplishment. It’s kind of hard to read, but this medal
reads “3rd Annual New York Journal Century Run”:
Passing
on the Gift
One of the
most important aspects of Heifer International’s work is Passing on the
Gift. A family who receives an animal
and training from Heifer pledges to give one or more of their animal’s
offspring to other neighbors in need. In
this way, entire communities can become stronger and more self-sufficient.
I don’t have
a cow, sheep, goat, or other animal to pass along, but I do offer my thanks to
Robert, my family and friends, my doctors, and people I don’t even know who
have followed my blog. All of you helped
me in my journey through A Year of Centuries. In addition, I hope I can pass along inspiration for you to set and reach your own goals. I also offer my
encouragement if you’re facing difficult circumstances of any kind. Things WILL get better, and you are strong
enough to make it through.
My 12 routes in A Year of Centuries
By the way, yesterday I got my first ever Strava suffer score of Epic! (a.k.a. You Cray Cray)
