I joined the LSR group for their 200K/300K brevet on Saturday. It was a very nice ride on a very nice day…  Although I can honestly say that 100 miles (or 101.8 at HHH) is a nice “round” number, and tacking on an additional 30 has its challenges!!!!
 
There were approximately 40 riders, about even split between the two intended distances.  Interestingly enough, there were riders that had come from New Orleans and Kansas for it!  One of the N.O. guys was on a fully faired and socked GRR, with Rohloff hub and dual headlights. The couple from Kansas were riding a RANS Seavo tandem.
 

 
 
This was my first ride with the LSR group.  I circulated around before the start, saying hello, and met several people I had only known by the internet before – RBENTer Ray Torrey, Dan Driscoll and others from the LSR group who had just returned from PBP, and several from Bikejournal -- Ort, PrinceLad, Supcom, and BryanG
 

 
I noticed that practically everyone, 200K or 300K, was carrying lights.  I wasn’t going to, since I anticipated being finished long before dark, but I got paranoid and grabbed a Cateye LED from the car and put it in my pack.
 
We headed out, going mostly downhill for the first few miles, which potentially meant a long climb at the end if it was an out-and-back route – I hadn’t checked.  We stayed together for about the first 10 miles, as I chatted with Ray and others…  then hit a series of rollers that separated people out.  I wound up riding with Todd Martin (PrinceLad) off the front, slightly behind a leading group of 6 or so, running at about 20mph.
 

 
We stayed together all the way to the first checkpoint, where everyone regrouped briefly.  At this point, people started to set their own paces for the rest of the day.  I continued to hang with Todd, hooking up with Supcom during this leg.
 
The 300K group split off from us after 50 miles, and I hooked into a group that included Dan.  He and Pam were wearing their PBP jerseys, that look pretty cool...
 

 
A group of about 12 of us arrived together at the 90 mile Mt. Calm stop, a little home-owned shop.  By this time, it was about 2PM, and starting to get warm, and from here on, the route went northward, into the wind  (Normally, I suppose there's a south wind, making this leg much easier!!!).  After we had spent about a half hour at the stop, and I decided to head out with a couple guys who were leaving, Jerry and a different Todd -- Todd Martin had had some mechanical issues that were slowing him down.
 
We headed north, and started to encounter rollers and climbs to go along with the headwinds -- the three of us decided (almost wordlessly) to work together into it, even using what draft I could give 'em...   Then, like on our Celina Ride last month, we hit a stretch of smooth non-chipseal, and I started to feel a "bump, bump, bump" from my rear wheel....
 
Yes, that Specialized Pro tire had failed again, developing a bulge in the sidewall!!!!!  Only this time, I was still 30 miles from the finish, and didn't have a spare with me...  So I just carried on, hoping it wasn't going to blow out...   (I'm changing to a different type of tire on Tuesday!)
 
After about 10 miles of wind and hills, I started to tire, and Jerry and Todd went off in front -- and I couldn't make it up.  So the last 20 or so were solo.  When I got to the T intersection of Route 77, I had to stop and pull out my cue sheet to determine which way to go -- and the five minutes in the shade felt REALLY good...
 
But, I made it back to Italy with a reading of 130.5 miles, bum tire and all, about 10 minutes behind Jerry and Todd, being the third person in just before 4:30.  My bike time was 07:27, an average of 17.5  -- but I suppose in Randonneur Terms, you count total time, which was 08:53, for an average of 14.7...  and I was definitely tired, and glad I didn't opt for the 300K!!!!!!
 
Overall, it was a fine ride, and it was fun meeting Ray and everybody involved....  
 
Lessons learned, or re-confirmed:
   1)  Carry a folding spare tire;
   2)  Re-apply sunscreen to the tops of the legs, where the bike shorts leg rubs it off...
   3)  Be sure to be with others when about to start heading into the wind
   4)  Get the cue sheet at the start of the ride