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The Finkboehner 400K (formerly the Tour of the Delta 400K)
http://ridewithgps.com/routes/3780060
On my way to a K-hound I consulted several fellow randonneurs about how I could get the kilometers in to crest the 10,000 mark. Rob Hawkes and Roland Bevan came up with several great ideas. At the time, I was sitting at 7,818 KM and the year was getting late. That coupled with the fact that I can only ride a permanent once a week (others can do as many as 3 or 4 depending on their recovery, although this is just a guess). I would have to repeat the 2 300K rides again and maybe again after that or do a double brevet weekend or maybe a longer ride. I had ridden the Sierra Nevada Super 600K and, at the time, RUSA didn't recognize it as a legitimate route if it was over 40 hours. Our group finished at around the 44 hour mark. Recently we all received good new from GB (route owner) that it would be accept with a 50 hour time limit and we were in. My KM total suddenly jumped into the more reasonable threshold.
I had also mentioned the fact that I was driving towards a K-Hound to Eric Larsen. Always one to help a fellow randonneur in his inexplicable and senseless obsession, Eric mentioned a route he had that needed approval. An 800 KM point to point. I was intrigued. We threw around the idea of doing it and decided it wouldn't be the best of choices. Then (Eric has a wealth of potential routes pending approval and route touch-ups) Eric mentioned a 400K route that highlighted the delta. He sent me the route and noted that I hadn't ridden a lot of those road. And I love a new adventure (despite riding through Tracy). We decided to ride it. A maiden voyage of a new route with the possibility of confusion as I found out later.
The time of start was to be 5am. Eric emailed me with that suggestion and I had to agree. Getting up outrageously early is something I have become accustomed to thanks to this obsession of riding my bike far, far past the sunset. I printed the route, got everything ready and got to bed at 8:30pm. I pretty much fell asleep right away. I was tired thankfully and there wasn't any butterflies concerning the next day that happen on occasion.
I get up to my trusty alarm at 2:30 am. Shower, breakfast and I am driving to Martinez with printed directions via googlemaps. The drive occurs without incident and I pull off on Waterford and drive towards downtown Martnez, a city I have never been to except to check out the parking location using googlemaps. Before I get to downtown I am stopped by a train. I note that I am plenty early and so I wait. The train does this move a bit forward then stop. Then move a bit backward (hard to tell which way is forwards or backwards on these trains). An eternity is passing. My time is dwindling. I try to remain calm but it is getting ridiculous. Finally, the train starts moving out of the way in a convincing manner. Upset, I continue to downtown. In the suggested parking area, I see Eric's tiny BMW. He is getting ready. For some reason I assumed that Eric might ride there from home. I later realize putting that many more miles on the ride would be brutal. Together we get ready.
Eric moves to the first control that we hope is an open Starbuck's. I finish getting ready. I start off to meet Eric with lights a blazon' hoping for some hot chocolate to start the epic saga of the day (well, can any ride be epic without weather or incidents?). I see Eric circling around. Starbuck's doesn't open until 6am on Saturday's. Damn. Eric gets a receipt from US Bank and we are on our way.
The roads are dark and not to remarkable. Just a ride out of town and the beginning of a long and wonderful ride. So I know a bit more about Martinez and the surrounding area now first hand.
We ride down Concord Blvd and take a left. We climb as an impressive climb is under-tire. Eric then says that something is wrong. He doesn't remember a giant climb at this point (or any point during the ride, really). We stop and he looks at the cue sheet. Wrong turn. We started up Kirker Pass when we shouldn't have. Extra climbing and miles. Later we will have to mentally subtract to ascertain where we are. We ride back down a considerable downhill. I fly. Eric is on a fixie and he fixes. I don't see him behind me so I wait. There was a stop on his part and minor adjustment and soon he is flying by me and I start up and soon we are on the right path continuing on Oakhurst Drive, the continuation of Concord Blvd.
We go though Concord, then Clayton and then the Marsh Creek Road climb. We pass Morgan Territory. I realize I have never continued on Marsh Creek Road and realize I had been missing out all this time. Marsh Creek Road is a wonderful and mostly downhill ride through some very pretty oak tree lands. This is before sunrise and my feet are quite frozen. Nothing I am used to though. Finally the sun comes up around a corner and it feels good. I am very happy to be flying on my bike with Eric. Adventure begun I smile to myself. What could be better?
We come up the the Byron Highway and Eric needs to stop to adjust something. I stop also and check thinks on the bike. There is an odd squeak I haven't heard before. I don't see anything and we continue on.
Byron Highway is a bland stretch of flatness. Eric leads and I take over the lead a few times. We stop again at Johnny One Stop. Familiarity breaks though my thoughts as I realize I had stopped here with about 100 of my friends. We get the usually randonneur treats and while consuming I look at my chain. I had cleaned it the night before and put it on wrong. It is routed stupidly around the cogs of the derraiieur. The chain is a site looking like it was dipped in a treating plant back in Martinez. Black lube and dirt. Eric's says, "I aint touching that!". I wouldn't inflict that on him. I go back inside and pick up some napkins. I recently put a gold link on so I could break the chain easily. And I do and reroute it correctly. It is smooth now so we continue on.
We pass through Tracy. All strip malls. A real estate agents shrine. Our hell. It seems the red lights are willing us to stay longer and take in the tragedy long as possible. Soon we extricate ourselves from said Tracy. If my life is deemed to be punishable on my death, I will stay forever in Tracy.
We continue on Kasson Road and soon we are stopping in Patterson. Eric gets a $1.00 tray of fries with a dollop of their homemade hot sauce. Eric talks with the cashier and we buy our fries. I decide to then buy a Kern Strawberry Kiwi juice and we are eating our fries by the entrance discussing politics with the cashier, a daunting task in the Central Valley. The cashier, Zak, says drugs should be legalized. All drugs. Eric and I agree. A customer who is then paying mentions that legalizing pot is not a good idea as his kids smoke pot and sit around lazy all the time. Fun conversation. Soon we are saddling up and on our way to Ripon.
There is confusion on the name as Eric seems to think it is pronounced Rip-on and I believe it is Rippin. We get to Hammett Road and make the turn. As we are going down Kiernan Avenue, Eric again gets that "not right" feeling. We stop. Eric looks at the cue sheet. We go back to the turn at Kiernan Avenue and Hammett Road. Soon Eric figures it out and we are back on track. We had failed to make the turn at Williams Road after Bacon Road (my comment to Eric upon riding towards Bacon Road, "I like bacon").
A left on Pirrone Road and into a parking area combination turn around. Before this, Eric tells me to follow the cue sheet to see if it makes sense. I fail miserably and we discuss how to make the sheet more easy to understand. We get on the bike path and follow the freeway to our left. Odd mix of nature, river and bustling traffic. Pretty and ugly at the same time.
And then we pull into Ripon Coffee shop, formerly Jake's. Eric makes a note of the name change. We order our meals, what ends up being tasty sandwiches. I order and then ask for the pronunciation of Ripon. The cashier says that she had been living there all her life (a scant 18 to 22 years) and she knows it as Ripin. So now we know. We bask in the midday sun and enjoy our meals.
I noticed previous to the ride that we will be going on Jack Tone Road. For quite a stretch. I had driven my car down this road and am looking forward to this part.
It is super flat and it seems we have a relaxing tail wind. Eric says that last time he road this was in a screaming head wind. Now it is a gentle coast, as if we are riding comfortably downhill.
Since Eric last scouted the route he decided to change the next section. Instead of riding 25 odd miles on Jack Tone Road, he decided to take a left on Copperopolis Road and continue north on Alpine Road. Great decision. Many more trees down this way and a great feel to the road. That was a fun section. On Copperopolis Road Eric jokes about street names. He thinks Bull Pine was an expression. A watered down version of Bull S***. We joke around saying, "that's a whole lotto Bull Pine!", etc. We turn on Alpine Road and then come across Finkboehner Drive and realize that is the best name of street along this ride. I suggest that Eric rename the route the Finkboehner 400K even though we merely cross the road and it isn't even on the route. We both are in hearty agreement on this and are giddy with laughter. Then I come across this: http://www.recordnet.com/article/20141014/News/141019791. Wow! Crazy stuff.
After a while, we come into Lodi. I point out the song by Creedence Clearwater Revival and Eric doesn't place it. I imaging when he hears it again he might hear what John Fogarty is actually singing and recognize it. So, that song is stuck in my head.
Lodi is a great town. We ride past the city-like area and main drag. Eric sees a torta mexican food restaurant and mentions later he had a hankering to stop. But is too late. We ride in to North Ham Lane and decide to stop in at a coffee house. We order bakery items and a couple of shakes. We talk with the 2 counter girls about our ride (I'll never tire of casually dropping in conversation with strangers along the route that we are in the midst of a 250 mile route. The reactions are always interesting). They can't believe it when Eric details our route.
We eat and then soon we are off. Riding though the streets we are struck with the amazing architecture of the houses on Lockeford Street. The ride reaches much more beautiful plateaus as we ride along the delta roads. The sun is low on the horizon and we watch the rays shine majestically through the trees. Nice. Soon the sun is setting and we ride along and soon we come to a part of the delta that we have to use a ferry to cross. The J-Mack Ferry. I didn't expect this and pictures are taken. We talk a bit with a guy in a truck crossing with us and he takes out picture in the dying sunlight.
We ride along the levees after putting on warmer clothes and our lights and reflective gear. Uneventful riding but steady. Then a large white beast of a dog starts barking and chasing us. Eric notes later that the dog hesitated from being a friendly happy dog to a viscous beast! It gives chase and we are pedaling fast! It finally lets off and we can relax.
Soon we are riding down a heavily wooded road. Pretty creepy but fun. Eric gets a phone call and I travel on. I casually note a house on the left. Suddenly a large pack of dogs is upon me and I am pedaling fast all over again and scared poodles! Finally I outride the pack narrowly missing flying down a dirt embankment! I note that I have a need to go to the bathroom and decide to stop soon. Then, out of nowhere, I see a port-o-potty. Like the almighty himself heard my easy-going plea. I am amazed and use it. While in there I hear the dogs again as Eric is dealing with the pack. He tells me that they had broken up by the time he got there but had a bit of problem getting past. We ride on noting that they must be having a marathon down this road as we note large nonsensical (in that the miles are not in order) mile markers. That would explain the port-o-potty.
We come into Clarksburg (I sing "the Last Train To Clarksburg" with Eric and we laugh only to be corrected by Clarksburgians later that the song is "the Last Train to ClarksVILLE) and get items at the Holland Market. Good chocolate milk and nut bars, a very good assortment of food there. Eric checks the restaurant to see if it is open. IT IS!!!
The restaurant is called Husicks and now under new management. They have home cooked meals and a nice assortment of micro brew beers. The place is exactly what we wanted as we were very hungry. We order tri-tip sandwiches and macaroni and cheese. The first bike was incredible. Great sandwich. They were quite large but we both managed to finish them avoiding having to pack them in our trunks. We are their entirely waaaaaay too long spending an hour of precious time. We have great conversation with the proprietor and a couple of customers. Great people but they must have said "ride safe" about 12 or 13 times. We were planning on just that.
On the road again along the levee roads and then we come to another bike path. Eric sends me ahead to test his cue sheet. It and I fail again miserably. Good thing too. Eric will make the corrections and more helpful notes for the ride commencing in a couple of weeks. We ride the bike path in the dark with our lights side by side moving single file when we see the occasional rider. I am nervous as it feels unstable and dangerous for some reason. Finally, after 5 miles we are on the road again.
We ride though Sacramento and we are taking the left turn on Lake Washington Blvd. While riding Jefferson I hear what I think is the Pretenders "Middle Of The Road". We see a Lowe's and there is a large crowd and a band doing a cover of "Middle Of The Road". Eric and I laugh realizing what a perfect song for a randonneuring adventure. Maybe we should subtitle this ride "the Middle Of The Road 400K" with a loop of said song as you read Eric's description. I say we should ride through grabbing the microphone and sing the background chorus and then drop it as we continue on. A perfect rando moment!ß
Soon we are in Davis at the Chevron Control. Items are bought and we move on. Another bike path. Eric mentions that he is annoyed at my constant head movement affecting my helmet light. "Check behind, check cue sheet, check ahead, etc." I didn't realize this and he suggests I put the light on my handlebars. I don't have a means of doing this so Eric rides behind me.
On we go and the long stretches on Putah Creek and Pleasants Vallely Road last forever. I shoot ahead and soon lose Eric. I wasn't up for the idea of riding ahead because I figured this would happen. I wanted to stick together. But it works out and we get through it. I wait for Eric at Cherry Glen Road noting that I had done this twice on the Knoxville 200 last year and again this year. A truck stops and asks if I am alright and I say I'm fine and thank him. Nice to know people care. If he only knew where I came from and how long I was riding. Probably think I wasn't alright and maybe a bit soft in the head.
Eric catches up and we stick together. Eric is getting a bit loopy, singing and making odd sounds. I'm glad I am with Eric. He understands my odd side. He has one also. I have to admit, this ride has been one of the more entertaining rides. Great conversation, humor and good fun.
On and on, we follow the route. It is getting so late it is early. We stop in at 7-Eleven at Cordilia. I have hot chocolate. It is warm. The store is warm. I feel better. We continue the last leg. We experience idiotic drivers, 12 cars passing us very fast and racing each other. Idiots. Scary at night.
RIding East 2nd Street we miss our turn at the Chevron Station that gets us to the bridge. We have to back track and soon we are on course again riding across the bridge. Weeee! Lovely. I am anxious to be finished.
Soon we are at the bank again getting a receipt for the control. Wow. What a great ride. A bit on the slow side but so much fun. Shorter breaks in the future.
Another 400K in the books!
Roy.
Page Views: | 91 |
Departed: | 8 nov 2014 05:17 |
Starts in: | Martinez, CA, US |
Distance: | 262,0 mi. |
Selected distance: | 262,0 mi. |
Elevation: | + 4831 / - 4891 ft |
Max Grade: | |
Avg Grade | |
Cat | |
FIETS | |
VAM | |
Ascent time | |
Descent time | |
Total Duration: | 22:21:57 |
Selection Duration: | 80517 |
Moving Time: | 18:04:05 |
Selection Moving Time: | 18:04:05 |
Stopped Time: | 04:17:52 |
Max Speed: | 37,8 mph |
Avg Speed: | 14,5 mph |
Pace: | 00:05:07 |
Moving Pace: | 00:04:08 |
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Nice, I hope the new name sticks!
Thanks Eric. Something about it. Just seems right.