I don’t know if it’s just the salt or something else, but often after 8 or more hours on the bike I crave Bubbie’s Sauerkraut.

Today a recipe for my infamous vegan rice bars. It’s based on Allen Lim’s rice cakes. I often take 1-3 of these on brevets. It’s nice to have a break from packaged energy bars and Twizzlers.

Moist Vegan Rice Bars

• 1 c. sushi rice
• 3 c. water
• 1 Dr. McDougall’s “Chicken” Flavor Ramen
• 1 packet Miso Cup
• 1/2 pkg extra firm tofu, crumbled
• 1-2 tsp Braggs Liquid Aminos
• 1 tsp dulse flakes

I make this in a pressure cooker, as I’ve mentioned before, cook rice in your pressure cooker at your own risk.

Basically put all ingredients in the pan and stir well. Bring up the pressure. Cook for 12 min at 9000 ft, (probably 9 min at 5,000 ft, or 6 min at sea level). Turn off heat. Let pressure naturally release. When you open up the cooker the rice mixture will be pretty well compressed. Once it’s cooled, it can be cut into bars. Then the bars can be wrapped in foil. I don’t bother with forming the mixture into a rectangular pan. I’ve been able to get firmer bars by cooking everything together and not disturbing the mixture after the cooking is done. I just make a square in the middle, and usually cut 8 bars from that. Then piece together the halved, rounded edges to make 4 more bars.

You can experiment with the amount of water to make firmer, less moist bars. 3 cups makes a very moist bar, that still keeps it’s shape pretty well when cool. The ramen, miso and even tofu are absorbing some of the water, along with the rice. If you cook the rice first and then add ingredients and compress, similar to the way the Lim video shows, you’ll probably want 1 c. sushi rice to 1-1/2 c. water.

Also, some people may want more salt when they’re riding. If so you could add 1 tsp salt to the ingredients. You can also try other flavors and ingredients. Lim uses cheese in his. I’ve tried using Daiya in my rice bars and haven’t been very happy with that flavor during rides.

This video best shows Allen Lim’s foil wrapping technique, unfortunately he’s making ham, cream cheese, and jelly croissant sandwiches.

I’m not sure about other uses for rice bars. They are pretty tasty. They might make a good school or work lunch or after workout snack.

Unusually for a Colorado brevet, only one control was at a convenience store. My vegan chow for the ride included 4 scoops of Unflavored (I say, marshmallow flavored) Perpetuem, an Eggless Salad sandwich on pumpernickel, a Cherry Pretzel ProBar, and a Lemon Lara Bar.

I was pretty hungry when we arrived at the convenience store at mile 110, and for the first time in my brevet-riding career, I’d eaten all the food I’d brought a few hours before. I didn’t find any of my usual choices so I ended up getting regular Coke. It seemed to give me a headache, but there were only 15 miles to go.

These are some vegan foods I can frequently find at convenience stores where I ride. There’s a longer list of common foods that are vegan on PETA’s website.

• Teddy Grahams
• Chick-o-stix
• Clif Bars
• Nutter Butters
• Twizzlers
• Fritos
• potato chips
• pretzels

My preferred convenience store beverages during long rides are Pepsi Throwback, Mtn Dew Throwback, Peace Tea, or Lipton Pure Leaf Tea. All of those have cane sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). Peace Tea wins over Lipton if both are available because it’s about half the price and the tall can is just the right size to fill my tall bottle.

After the ride I ate some black beans that I’d made at home and brought with me, and a little later, Dr. McDougall’s Chunky Tomato Soup. For some reason, I often crave that particular soup or Bubbies Sauerkraut after a brevet.

It seems once or twice a year I’m on a bike ride that makes all the training seem worth it. Often it’s an easy, relaxed ride with friends during a break in the season. High Country 1200k was not easy or relaxed, and I rode most of the 750 miles alone, but as I was enjoying the sight and sound of the raging Poudre River for miles Thursday morning I was grateful for the preparation that made it possible for me to experience this beautiful ride.

Although I’d been looking forward to the ride for weeks, on Sunday before the start I was dreading the forecast of rain. I installed fenders on my bike and mentally prepared myself for the possibility of four very wet days.

Monday morning the roads were wet, but the rain had stopped. Because I’m in “no-drafting” mode until after HooDoo I waited a few minutes after the other riders had left the parking lot before rolling out. After I’d gone about one mile I heard air leaking out of my tire, but it sealed quickly. Wet roads often mean more punctures so I’d added sealant to both tires in preparation. By the time we got to the secret control the roads were dry and the sun was shining.

A fairly flat 60 miles brought us to the checkpoint in Laporte. I’d passed a couple riders en route, but I was still near the back. Even though I’d not been pushing particularly hard, I can’t say that I felt like riding another 160 miles, but after refilling bottles and shedding clothes I headed up Poudre Canyon.

The sun was still shining and the river was high. There were lots of rafters at the lower end of the Canyon. I was thinking how nice it would be to be floating down the river in a raft, and figured it wouldn’t be a bad vacation to ride High Country 1200k and plan a rafting trip afterwards.

Around mile 85 I heard more leaking air from my back tire. Again it sealed. I could tell it was low, but I was only 15 miles from, Rustic, the next control, so I figured I would check it there.

At Rustic I bought a gallon of water and filled my Camelbak and bottles. My rear tire was very low. I added some air ’til it was around 80 psi.

From there it was a gradual 3000 foot climb to the top of Cameron Pass. A few miles from the top a light rain started and continued a mile or two over the top. After that, the roads dried quickly, and I enjoyed a few miles of fast descent.

The sky was overcast as I was riding into Walden, and I wanted to get on the road quickly to get as far as possible before the rain started. A few miles before Riverside, WY, the sky let loose. There was pounding rain and some hail. I thought about stopping because of the lightning, but it looked like it could be a long wait before the skies cleared and I was worried I’d get cold standing around. Whereas it looked clear to the north, the direction I’d be turning toward in 2-3 miles, so I pedaled on.

As I hoped, soon after I made the right turn at Riverside, the rain stopped. I rode into Saratoga before sunset and was happy to find the dinner menu included vegan bean soup! I ate two bowls of soup while I was organizing for the next day, took a shower, and got some sleep.

I awoke around 2am, ate, dressed, packed up. My rear tire was very low. The fenders made it difficult to do a good check of the tire condition so I pumped it up to 100psi and signed out at 3:30am.

As soon as I clipped in, air was spewing from my tire again. It sealed, but I had very little pressure left. I pulled over by the hardware store and tried to add more air, which caused the sealant to fail. I rolled back to the hotel for my drop bag and spare tire. After I got the old tire off I was amazed I’d gone as far as I had. There was a cut about 1/2″ long across the tread.

By 4am I left for real, but the tire change had made a mess of my very low clearance fender. I must have stopped 4 times in the first 5 miles to fiddle with it.

In spite of many nature breaks and stops to adjust my fenders and add layers, the climb up the Snowy Range was one of my favorite parts of the ride. Even in the dark it was beautiful. As the sun came up there were snow drifts and lakes that were still partially frozen over, wildflowers and rushing streams, and at that early hour, almost no traffic.

The descent into Centennial was a blast! I still had plenty of water in my Camelbak so I didn’t have to stop, but it seemed like the closer I got to Laramie the less pleasant the road and route became. A sheriff’s deputy yelled at me to “stay in the bike lane.” Referring, I suppose, to the unrideable, gravel strewn, shoulder, with broken pavement, overgrown with weeds. It was good practice riding the narrow few inches of nicer pavement between the white line and the rumble strip.

Although I’ve stopped in Laramie before when driving I-80 and didn’t think it such a bad place, the section of town we rode into was pretty dismal. I was glad to be headed away from there. As with arriving, the first few miles leaving Laramie were pretty depressing.

Just after Woods Landing was a great surprise. The route turned back into Medicine Bow National Forest, better roads, and a beautiful, somewhat steeper, climb.

Back at Walden the clouds were threatening. It started to sprinkle just as I was leaving. It only lasted a few minutes and I was too warm in my non-breathable rain jacket. I stopped and took it off even though it didn’t look like the rain was finished. After few minutes more it was raining again. I didn’t last long. Even so I was drenched and chilly. Just as I was drying out the rain started again. I could see blue sky ahead so I rode hard to try to get past the rain and I did escape all but a few drops.

The climb up Muddy Pass was much faster than I expected. It’s very gradual, and broken up with short descents along the way. Rabbit Ears is just a few short climbs from there. Rain looked inevitable as I got to the top of the descent to Steamboat Springs. I stopped to put on my rain gear. The rain began as I was chatting with a local rider who had just climbed up and was headed back in only shorts and a jersey. Brrrrr. The descent, which would have been fun if the road had been dry, was slow. I sat up as much as possible and never let my speed build up on the very wet and windy road. After seven miles of wet, cold, my knees rebelled when they had to turn the pedals again for the last two miles to the control. Those two miles were the most difficult of the entire ride for me.

The volunteers at Steamboat spoiled us. Chili (yes, a vegan option) with pasta! The first time I’d had that combo. It was very delicious, warming and filling. I spent time analyzing the weather before going to sleep, having decided to just get up at 2am and leave early if it wasn’t raining. It was a luxurious stop, but I wasn’t too pleased about spending nine hours off the bike and only five of those sleeping. I needed to be more efficient.

Wednesday morning I removed my fenders because of all the time I’d wasted on Tuesday adjusting them, and because it looked like there was a good chance of no more rain. I made a fender from a plastic bottle to protect my rear light and was glad I had. The roads were wet when I left Steamboat and there was wet, thick fog until after sunrise. My stomach wasn’t feeling all that spiffy either and I had to stop in Yampa.

In spite of all that I enjoyed the climb up Gore Pass. It was not as spectacular as Cameron Pass or the Snowy Range, but still beautiful, and it was followed by another ripping descent. After that the route followed US-40. While the scenery was beautiful, the traffic made it less enjoyable than the rest of the day.

I was expecting a climb to Grand Lake and then a coast back to the Willow Creek Pass turn. That’s not at all how I experienced it. Although the first few miles from Granby to Grand Lake are uphill, after that it’s all rollers. Since there was a tailwind to Grand Lake, the hard part was the return. Granby Lake made for some nice views and there were some little oddities along the way; like the houseboat converted to floating concession stand on an obscure little golf course.

The climb up Willow Creek Pass was superb! Very beautiful and very little traffic. It was one of several highlights of the ride for me.

The descent was not much of a descent. It was a slog, on bad pavement, back to Walden, but it was definitely worth the effort. The volunteers at overnight control #3 treated us to cold drinks and black beans and rice. Some of the tastiest beans and rice I’ve ever eaten! I got a room with a little kitchen which made it easy to get breakfast for myself. I was a little more efficient with my time; nine hours off the bike, 6 hours of sleep. I started out for Cameron Pass at 3:30am.

More spectacular scenery! I noticed some deer in a field around sunrise and thought, “Well, I’ve seen lots of deer, but here, in the Moose Viewing Capital of the World, I’ve not seen a moose.” Just then, trotting along with me on the other side of the road I saw the moose. I might have been frightened to be so close, but it was clearly looking for an escape and veered into a side road a few seconds after I saw it. Minutes later I saw several moose in the field. And two more a couple miles up the road.

The sunrise over Cameron Pass was beautiful. I pedaled easily and thoroughly enjoyed the descent to Laporte. I stopped many times for nature breaks, adjusting clothing and (unusual for me) taking photos.

From Laporte the route was basically “in town”. I was first motivated to get off Taft Hill Road which seemed to go on forever. Then I was motivated because it looked like rain was imminent.Then I was motivated because I saw a rider a few miles ahead and wanted to see who it was. After being stopped at nearly every light in Louisville, I arrived, in post-ride bliss, at the final control.

Many thanks to the organizer, John Lee Ellis, and all the volunteers! The route was well-planned, the food was incredible, and the accommodations excellent!

Photos on Friday. Can’t seem to upload any from my phone.

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stage 4

I set a goal for 2011 to ride three Super Randonneur (SR) series. I did a nice, relaxed series in Texas with the Lone Star Randonneurs this spring. I rode their January 1st 200k. That was a great way to kick off the year! The challenge with the TX series was the long drives to the rides, and completing the Goat’s Neck 600k brevet the week after racing Hill Country 600k. (Yes, it’s true. In the crazy ultra-cycling world, the Hill Country 600k Race does not count as a 600k for an SR series.) I got to visit Louisiana and see a real Bayou during the Fleas and Trees 400k. I was singing (Making the Run to) Gladewater from Michele Shocked’s 1988 album Short, Sharp, Shocked most of that day as we were passing near many of the places she names in that song, “Upsher County’s drier than an empty bottle, since the Mormons came to town … ”

The second and third series were in Colorado and New Mexico, on roughly alternate weeks. I rode the May Colorado 600k so I could do the 1000k in June. As it turned out, there was a snowstorm on Peak-to-Peak Highway the day before the May 600k so the ride was re-routed and we got to visit Raymond, which was a short, but beautiful little detour from the usual St Vrain route. I got in an extra 200k at Valles Caldera, another excellent New Mexico ride. For one of two weekends off I went to cheer the women at the Tour of the Gila and did some riding on the race route.

I was surprised by how draining it was to ride 9 brevets in 11 weeks. If all I had to do was ride it wouldn’t be so bad, but driving, packing, un-packing, bike maintenance, leaving Bonnie, and trying to keep up with work between it all took it’s toll. I was happy that the third series, and this little personal challenge, would be complete soon. So on the final day of the final 600k it would be an understatement to say that I was a little panicked when I realized I’d locked my keys in my car, along with my rear wheel, helmet, brevet card and phone (which was only working sporadically anyway, but that is another story).

The weekend had started oddly. It seemed like the 2009 front hub I’d rebuilt with scavenged 1995 parts was at it’s life’s end so I’d put a tire on another front wheel Friday morning. As I drove out of town that afternoon I heard the tire pop and hiss as it deflated. It was a used tire and had a small hole near the bead. When I got to Taos that night I swapped the tire from another wheel.

All was good on Saturday. I’d decided I was psyching myself out about the ride and it wasn’t going to be as bad as last year. For one thing I was no longer trying to fuel myself with the “Perpetuem liquid fast” to which I attributed a lot of my problems in 2010. Also, the climbs seemed less daunting to me than a year ago. My rear wheel, which I hadn’t taken the time to check after the 1000k, had lost tension and I stopped a few times to true it and finally spent about 10 minutes in Cimarron State Park bringing the tension up all around. After that it was staying true, but I still decided to swap to my spare rear wheel when I got back to Taos that night.

I set the hotel alarm clock because my phone battery was dying and wasn’t sure I could hear my phone plugged in across the room over the noise of the window air conditioning unit. If you guessed that the hotel alarm clock didn’t work, you guessed correctly. Fortunately my Sunday morning started not too much later than planned when I heard my phone alarm in the distance. I packed everything in the car, got my bike ready and ate breakfast. About 5:45am I walked to the front door of the hotel to check out, and fell while trying to negotiate myself and bike around the Harley armada that was blocking the entrance from curb-to-curb. At first I thought, “Good, I’m not injured.” Then I heard the air rapidly escaping one of my tires.

As it turned out my rear valve stem had snapped off in the fall. I went to my car and extracted my pump and toolbox. I unseated the tire and installed a new valve stem. I was going to make one attempt to reseat the tubeless tire before throwing a tube in it. When the CO2 cartridge didn’t work (of course not, in my rush I’d forgotten to lubricate the bead with soap before trying to reseat it), I decided to make a quick drive to the gas station around the corner to use their compressor. I took my bike back to my hotel room and when I returned realized I’d locked my keys inside my car. Oy vey!

My first thought was “DNF.” Then I remembered this was the last ride of the series. “OK. Call Liz and John.” Phone numbers on cue sheet locked in car. Liz had said she was planning to leave at 6:00am. It was about 6 already. I needed to try to intercept them. I’d told them I would try to leave at 4:00am and I knew they’d be worried if they didn’t find me out there.

I go back to the front desk, dial “0″ for the umpteenth time because the guy is always in the back watching TV. Me, “I need to call a locksmith.” Him, reaching for phonebook, “OK. There’s only one that can help.” He makes a call. “He’ll be here right away.”

I go stand by the road to look for John or Liz or Ryan because they have to ride by the hotel if they haven’t already left. Then I remember, my mom was worrying during the 1000k and asked for phone numbers before the 600k. Back to the front desk, dial “0″. “I need to make a calling card call…”

After I wake up my mother, I see Mike walk up in his bike gear. One of the first happy things I’ve seen all morning! He calls Liz and John and soon they drive over, right behind the locksmith who’s finally arrived 45 min after he’d be right there. Heck, it was 6:45am on Sunday morning in Taos, NM, I was lucky he arrived before noon!

I watched him unlock the car thinking, “That’s about as simple as the old coat-hanger through the window. I should have one of those things. Well no, if I had one it would be locked in the car right now.” He unlocks the car. No alarm. Great! Very reassuring. I try to get the hatch open and in the process the alarm goes off. I dive over all my gear to reach my keys at the very back of the car.

It seems to take the locksmith almost as long to write out the bill as it did for him to get to the hotel. Finally I’ve paid. He’s gone. I head to the gas station. The compressor won’t seat the tire either (see note above about soap lubricant) so I punt. Swap the cassette back to Saturday’s wheel. Get my bike together. Check out of the hotel and get on the road, just after 7:00am.

Now I had less than 14 hours to finish and to the best of my memory it took me more than 14 hours last year. One advantage of a late start is it’s warmer. I booked it over the mountain to Angel Fire, much faster than 2010 when I’d had to stop a few times to add layers. I made a quick stop at Angel Fire for more water, and before I reached Mora I was back on doable pace. I just needed to maintain 10 mph with stops to finish by the 9:00pm limit.

I’d passed Ryan in Angel Fire while he was stopped for one of his infamous restaurant meals. He rode into Mora and headed to the ice cream shop just as I was leaving the control. I knew Ryan would pace himself to finish so if I could stay ahead of him I’d be OK. I also knew he was a stronger climber than I so he might come zipping by me on any of the remaining climbs.

Sunday was hot and windy, a little hotter and windier than last year, but that could just have been because I started later. This year I was carrying a CamelBak and had plenty of water to stay hydrated with extra to stay cool. No stopping to beg water from farmhouses this time.

And I take back what I said about Sapello. The ride from Mora to Sapello is very beautiful. The checkpoint is nothing to write home about, but they do have a clean bathroom and an extensive liquor selection if you’re in for the true French brevet experience.

I made it to the Sapello checkpoint with an hour to spare, bought a bag of ice to fill my CamelBak and bottles and to implement my new cooling strategy; stuffing my shorts legs with ice. If you’re in a hot, dry climate and don’t mind some dripping in your shoes you should try it some time. It’s like icing your quads and hams and creating a mini circulating cooling system.

Climbs and headwinds back to Mora. By that time I’d started to lose my appetite, but I thought I could get by with fewer calories since I’d been eating well up to that point. A couple more long climbs, more headwind, hot, hot temps in the valley near Talpa, smoky skies and red sun. Then a long descent to Taos. I was cooked! And the ride was done!

Although I signed up because I thought I SHOULD do a 1000k, in retrospect I’m glad I rode this before attempting my first 1200k in July. For me it was very different from riding a 600k and I had a few newbie observations which may or may not prove to be true with more experience:

• Having “dead” legs the first day or two is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it’s probably not a bad thing to ride as if you have “dead” legs at the start of a long multi-day ride no matter how you feel. Feeling sluggish on day one and two limited my effort. By day three, within the context of heading out for 174 miles after having ridden 450 in the two days preceding, I felt pretty good.
• It’s impossible not to have some calorie deficit each day. As the days progress it gets harder to get enough calories. I’ve heard more experienced randonneurs talk about “topping off” or “staying on top” of calorie intake. I think it’s increasingly vital to one’s success to stay ahead of nutrition and hydration the more days you’ll be out. (My guess is this would be even more of a problem for people with extremely low body fat. A problem I don’t have.) I was eating well from the start, about an hour ahead of my calorie per hour goal and was also well hydrated. So hydrated that halfway through the last day I stopped drinking so much because I was tired of stopping for pee breaks.
• Although weather forecasting and access to weather information is excellent now compared to 30, or even 5 years ago, and one can be pretty confident of weather forecasts one and usually two days out, the weather forecast for three days out can change dramatically. For multi-day rides it’s best to prepare, at least for the later days, as if the weather is an unknown.

Next up Sangre de Cristo 600k. Hopefully I will complete that and my third SR series for 2011. Then only High Country 1200k and HooDoo Voyager. I feel like things are winding down, though there will be many hard training days before August 26.

Valles Caldera 200k Brevet from Cathy Cramer on Vimeo.

A beautiful day for a ride in the Jemez Mountains. 125 miles, 11,000 ft of climbing. The ride starts at Overlook Park in White Rock, NM, goes thru Bandelier National Monument, by Fenton Lake and turns around at Jemez Springs. For more information about the route see nmbrevets.com/id48.html

Ride with GPS route and profile-

A few images pulled from the sequence in the video-

2010 Valles Caldera blog post

More information about this brevet at nmbrevets.com.