Wayne Andresen's 2016 Coast 2 Coast Bicycle Ride Blog

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Equipment:

The bicycle I rode and crashed in last year's C2C was a 10 year old carbon framed Trek Pilot with Shimano Ultegra components. It was inspected by a Trek dealer after the crash for damage. What appeared to be a crack was found around 40% of the seat tube diameter. Pictures were taken of the crack and sent to Trek. Trek looked at the pictures and determined the crack was only cosmetic and the bicycle was still safe to ride. Not understanding the technology Trek used to determine from a picture that the crack was only cosmetic, I decided to ride a different bicycle this year. I chose my eight year old, custom built carbon and titanium frame Serotta Ottrott. Last summer I upgraded the Serotta's original drive components to a new 11 speed Shimano Ultegra groupset. In the upgrade, I changed the standard-reach rear derailleur to a medium reach derailleur which will smoothly move the drive chain over a 11-33 tooth cassette rather than the standard 11-28 tooth cassette. The higher number of teeth allows lower gearing (and thus easier pedaling) which will be appreciated when riding over some of the steep hills and mountains that will be climbed during the C2C ride. I am reusing the same set of wheels used last year which were custom built with Velocity A23 rims and White Industries hubs with 32 spokes, designed to hold up well for long distance riding.

Serotta Ottrott set up for 2016 C2C. Note the click-stand used to support the bicycle. It is a handy little device!

Four other bicycle items were changed or added to the Serotta compared to last year's Trek bicycle. First, for added safety, I added a high lumen front blinking white light to improve rider and bicycle visibility for approaching cars. (Bubba currently, as well as in the past, requires a bright red rear flashing light to enhance your visibility for rear approaching vehicles.) Second, I am bringing along a set of lightweight SKS Racerblade Long bicycle fenders with pre-installed mounting clips that can be quickly installed if when we hit wet weather riding. I ride 700 x 25 Gatorskin tires and SKS recently modified their Racerblade fenders so they comfortably fit these slightly wider tires. Third, I added a Tubus lightweight titanium bicycle rack (8 ounces) which adds the capability to carry clothing items like rain gear, gloves, arm warmers, and any other items that may be needed (or shed) during a day's ride. Finally, I think most riders would tell you a major physical problem on long rides can be sore buttocks. In fact, one person last year developed blisters that became infected and caused her to miss many days of riding. Fortunately, since last year, I found a saddle made by Selle Anatomica that is basically a piece of leather suspended on a metal seat frame. This seat when set up correctly forms to your butt and immediately provides seat comfort. Brooks also makes a leather saddle that is much firmer which I have never found comfortable. I believe this new bicycle saddle may prove to be the best long distance bicycling equipment addition I made this year!

Selle Anatomica X saddle.

This year, the total weight of my bicycle set up ready to go with all accessories and gear is 26 pounds (Bare weight of bicycle before accessories was 17.8 pounds.) Not quite a sleek 16 pound racing bicycle, but a far cry from the 93 pound bicycle I rode in 2010 for 1331 miles on a self-contained ride!

Training:

Residing in the state of Washington for six months a year and in the Tucson, Arizona area for the other six months, one could say I am fortunate since I am basically in training all year long. Specifically, since January 11 to the end of February this year, I have ridden a few miles short of 1200 miles. The specific C2C training preparation I did within these riding miles was to ride mileages of 40 to 80 miles periodically on 3-4 consecutive days. I believe this riding cycle helps acclimate your body for the C2C daily average distance of 66 miles each day, within the daily range of 32 to 95 miles. I will know shortly how well prepared I actually am!

Introduction to the 2016 C2C Ride

About the blogger

Your blogger's name is Wayne Andresen, a 68 year old retiree who worked for 38 years in manufacturing, specifically the pulp and paper industry. Although at this point in life my favorite past time is bicycling, I am also an avid reader, and, I am sure my wife Cheryl, if asked, would also say I spend too much time each day in front of my electronic devices. Cheryl and I reside for six months each year in the Spokane, Washington area, and the other six months at Dove Mountain, about 20 miles north of downtown Tucson, Arizona. Living in those two geographic areas allows me to enjoy bicycling all 12 months of the year.

In 2010, the year I retired, a retired coworker and I took a self-contained bicycle trip from Spokane, Washington to Itasca State Park, Minnesota, the site of the headwaters of the Mississippi River. This ride, my first long distance bicycle ride, lasted 23 days and covered 1331 miles. The blog for this ride can be found at this link: Rick and Wayne's Retirement Tour

In 2015, I signed up for Bubba's Pampered Pedalers Coast to Coast (C2C) ride along with 42 other riders. The ride started at the Pacific Ocean in San Diego and was scheduled to be completed 52 days and 2909 miles later at the Atlantic Ocean in St. Augustine, Florida.

The ride was an outstanding experience until April 4th, 29 days and 1570 miles from San Diego, I crashed my bicycle. I chose to deliberately lay my bike on its side at 12 mph to avoid crashing with another Coaster. The accident resulted in a compound fracture of my right arm adjacent to the elbow joint and 4 weeks in a wheelchair due to a badly bruised right hip joint. The elbow was surgically repaired and I was released to begin riding again in July, about three and a half months after the accident. The blog for the first 29 days of this ride can be found at this link: 2015 Coast 2 Coast

Your Blogger Wayne Andresen (2015)

My thoughts shortly after the accident were to join this year's C2C ride on Day 29 and complete the ride to St. Augustine. However, it didn't take much time to realize I would not be content without completing the ride as a single event. Consequently, one year later, I am back in San Diego and ready to start the entire ride again!

About Bubba and the C2C Ride

I will let Bubba, our tour company owner and leader, introduce himself in his own words:

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I'm Bubba of Bubba's PAMPERED Pedalers and host of your 2016 Coast 2 Coast Tour.

Born and raised in St Louis, I currently split my time between the St Louis area, Cocoa Beach, FL area and on the road wherever one of the many bike tours take me.

I am a retired police sergeant retiring October 2000 after serving the fine folks of St Louis for 28 years. Even though I choose to live my life looking out of the windshield instead of the rear-view-mirror, there may be a time or two when I will look in the rear-view-mirror and tell a story or two along the way.

I became a serious-casual bicyclists in 1992 meaning I was doing a lot of riding however was never what many call a "gear-head". I recall as if yesterday while using the copy machine in the detective's office a fellow police office came up to me and said, "You should try a week long bike tour, they are fun". That was November 1992 and little did I know how that sentence would change my life.

A week long bike tour was tried, Cycle Across Missouri Parks, 1993. I was hooked and have ridden in over 60 week long tours from 1993 thru 2000.

My retirement gift to myself was a fully-loaded solo bicycle tour across this beautiful country. What an incredible experience it was. It was while doing this cross country tour I decided to start Bubba's PAMPERED Pedalers with hopes of opening the joys of bicycling touring to others.

I am looking forward to meeting each of you and welcoming you to the Coast 2 Coast family.

Being the C2C Tour Director is a hair raising experience!

It's ALL Good!

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Bubba does a fantastic job catering to his riders. For last year's 43 riders, there was a staff of 19 that took care of the needs of every rider. Each day's ride was mapped out with a cue sheet along with physical arrow markers attached to the road surface at every turn. Additionally, for riders with a Garmin bicycle computer capable of mapping, GPS files were made available that provided turn by turn navigation for each day's ride. SAG stops with water, Gatorade, soda and snacks were set up every 20 to 25 miles if commercial stops were not available. Also, if there were no restaurants on the day's route for lunch, a lunch was provided. A professional cook also traveled with the group and provided outstanding quality food at breakfast and dinner. Laundry service was provided every 3-4 days. Other staff included a bicycle mechanic and a very capable massage therapist. We stayed in either a Bubba provided tent, gymnasiums, or motels every night. Our luggage was always waiting at our sleeping spot along with an inflated air mattress when sleeping in a tent or gym. It is very easy to see why Bubba's business name is Bubba's Pampered Pedalers!

Friday, February 26, 2016

Blog Housekeeping

The 2015 C2C blog I published during the first 29 days of my ride last year was time consuming, but even with the time required, I did enjoy the effort. The feedback I received also said it entertained some of you, and it certainly will provide me with a future memory treasure of this event. Because of that, (and family pressure!), I am doing a blog again for my 2016 C2C ride. This year's blog, at least thru the first 29 days, will include a link to the same day's ride from the 2015 C2C blog. There will also be new material each day in the 2016 blog, but exactly what will be included so it is not a repeat of 2015 will evolve each day with each new post. Also, if there is content I am not including that you would like me to consider, please let me know.

Although visually I was satisfied with last year's blog product and blog site, www.crazyguyonabike.com, I am switching this year to Google's blogger, www.blogspot.com. The reason for this is that blogspot's interface appears more user friendly for the type of blogging I do. There will be a learning curve with the new blog, so please be patient with me at the start while I develop a new work flow for using blogspot!

The 2016 C2C ride is scheduled for 52 days between March 5 and April 25, 2016. Blog postings will be made when wifi is available. You can either check back to this site periodically for new postings, or, to avoid manually checking the site, you can subscribe to receive a notification by email whenever a new post is posted. See the "FOLLOW BY EMAIL" sign-up box in the right hand column of the blog when on a web browser. The "FOLLOW BY EMAIL" sign-up can not be done on the mobile version of the blog. If you chose not to sign up for email notification, regular postings should start around March 6, right after the actual ride begins.

Thanks, and I hope you all will enjoy this year's journey! I know I will!

Wayne Andresen

P.S. The picture in the background of the blog was taken on Day 3 of last year's ride, on the road to Calexico, California. The dark ribbon going through the middle of the picture (sort of looks like a train) is a section of the wall that has been built between California and Mexico.