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  #61  
Old 08-27-2013, 12:37 PM
bcgav bcgav is offline
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D2r2

Quote:
Originally Posted by BumbleBeeDave View Post
. . I wish my camera had a voice memo feature, because at the time I knew exactly where we were.

BBD
If you have a gpx file from your Garmin you can use a tool like these to geocode your photos:

https://code.google.com/p/gpicsync/

http://www.earlyinnovations.com/gpsphotolinker/

Having your camera's time set accurately helps tremendously but there is a time correction function.


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  #62  
Old 08-27-2013, 01:19 PM
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D2R2 - photos

Quote:
Originally Posted by BumbleBeeDave View Post
. . I wish my camera had a voice memo feature, because at the time I knew exactly where we were.

BBD
The Monty Python Knight of Ni was followed by a nice brownish home overlooking Vermont border and the survey marker. How do these peep make a living up here, and get around in the winter?

Josh Road section going left off the concrete bridge was beautiful but in the wrong direction. We met peep going back who said they also misread or went in wrong direction. Flagged down a car with very nice peep from Connecticut [ believe it or not!] that gave us good directions to covered bridge. They actually jetted down the road to the bridge area and came back to confirm. Must be transplants from NJ.

Great pics of scenery. Bike pics are coming soon I hope! I saw a bunch of very cool looking CX bikes.
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  #63  
Old 08-30-2013, 07:23 AM
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weisan weisan is offline
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Account of a first-timer at D2R2

Here's a brief account of my first-time experience with D2R2 accompanied with a lot of pictures.

The event is well-organized and seems to have attracted a huge following since its inception in 2005. I heard it has exceeded its 1000 maximum participants this year. Looking at the people who showed up, you would be surprised at just how wide a range of demographics there are among the riders. There's no fixed mold or category to put a D2R2 rider in. It's not a race for the hard men only. Some folks who came certainly wanted to live up to that reputation but most folks, as I observed, came mostly just to have a good time and to enjoy the challenge as well as the beautiful scenery and the camaraderie. Almost everyone that I saw wore a big smile all day, really just taking in all the fun. The more serious ones inadvertently wore a Rapha. Ha! Sorry, I couldn't help myself in taking a shot there but there's some truth in there somewhere. Some folks take themselves far too seriously. Relax pal, have a good time.

Before I start showing the pictures, a couple of others things I picked up from riding this event for the first time.

A) Tires - My $14-a-piece 35mm Panaracer Pasela bought on sale four years ago worked JUST FINE in those roads in the dry conditions. No issue whatsoever, zero puncture, I took some air out at Mile 2 and got them to around 65-70 PSI in the rear, that was perfect.

B) Gears/Steep Climbs - I borrowed the wheels from BBDave-pal and it got 11-32 cassette on it. With my compact setup in front (52-34), I have no problem getting up all the major climbs of the day and they ARE major, some pretty steep but mostly around 10-12% and going about 3/4 to a mile long. I know I had a good day and rode a good pace when I still felt relatively fresh near the end without any tingling sensation of a cramp. Granted I wasn't killing myself to shoot up the hill like a few - what I did was to just get into a rhythm, play a song in my head or whistle and just slowly grind up the slopes and keep my breathing under control. It was completely doable for anyone with the right gear setup. Just ride at your own pace.

C) Navigation. After all this is a randonneur event but I cheated. I hate navigating while I am riding or taking pictures so I completely relied on Dave-pal to lead me in the right directions. Having done the ride maybe twice now, he knew his way around pretty good, we only got slightly off track heading towards the lunch break but got back pretty good in less than 1/2 mile. There are so many folks on the road, it's entirely possible to wait for someone to come by if you are lost and just follow them.

D) Hairy descents. Yep, respect the hills. There's no HERO in this event. You want to bomb down that hill with aplomb, be my guest, go for it. I would rather play the little chicken or mouse, depending on your animal of choice for timidity. My theory is, with a wife and six kids at home and them letting me come to this event, my primary responsibility is to get back to them in one-piece, the last thing they want to get is a phone call. Even with the extra precaution, there's one stretch of downhill where I came close to crashing, for some reason, maybe it's because I sat up slightly above the saddle to relieve some pressure at the beginning of the run-in and it sort of sent the bike into a shimmer and boy, the whole thing was shaking so hard, and basically floating over a sheet of ice, swaying side to side. I have no other explanation why I survived other than by the grace of God. Yes, I did try to relax and not put on a death grip on the handlebars, I did avoid seizing up the brakes, more like feathering and tapping them once in a while to shave off some speed, and I did sat back down on my saddle quickly and scooped further back to shift the CG and the weight...maybe I do know a thing or two about recovering from a shimmer but it all happened so fast, I didn't even get a chance to clamp the top tube with both thighs. Fortunately, I came to a stop safely at the bottom of the hill, looked back and saw on the faces of riders that seemed to tell me they are not faring any better and just had similar white-knuckled experience. I think we were all caught by surprise just how quickly we were gaining speed and the pile of soft little gravel that was lining the road really posed a challenge to staying upright. At the place where I stopped, I saw someone had dropped an insulated water bottle, I picked it up and put it in my back pocket and rode on. Fortunately, the rest of the ride was pretty uneventful, that was the only scary moment.

Okay, picture time! LOTS OF THEM....take you time...

Also, do me a favor, I like to keep my pictures at a relatively bigger size so that my pals can feel the full impact of as close to being on scene as I did. But that also means, please...please...and I mean, please don't use "QUOTE" and repeat the whole roll of film of pictures when you comment, because that will just make the thread a lot longer than it needs to. I know people get excited sometimes, that's okay. ; )

Also please refrain from commenting until I have got everything in the post in the next 5-10 minutes. There's a fixed number of links I can include in each post and I am only allowed to submit a new post every 60 seconds...so as not to interrupt the flow. THANK YOU!

Without further ado, here's what I got in my film reels (taken with Canon S100), starting in chronological order...enjoy! :

Took a few pictures of D2R2 bikes at the tentage and met a few forumites at the beginning of the ride.















Nick (AngryScientist) showing his clogged-up road cleats.




MrMoose



My apology, didn't quite get the names and the faces were blocked.

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  #64  
Old 08-30-2013, 07:24 AM
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weisan weisan is offline
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Here we go...crossing the start line. It was around 8:30AM.




We lost the group at mile 0.2 because I was called back by Dave to pose for a picture. What are you smiling at??!! It's all your fault!



Up the first major climb, pretty rocky too, probably the most challenging section I encountered personally throughout the whole ride.



Bumped into a bunch of Aunts and Grannies on their MTBs, ended up riding with them for a while, and, boy, some of them are really strong riders, dropped BBDave like a sinker while smiling and chatting away....



"This sucks!" - that pretty much describes how the ride goes for BBDave...



We stopped briefly at the top of the hill and saw a bunch of riders wearing Cyclelodge jersey. One chap nearly ran into a dog, well actually, he was totally in control, just came up to the dog, uncleat and got off his bike, really smooth, just like another day at work, no problem.




More people coming up...this guy looked like William.




More happy people...


Red is definitely the fav. color of the year, especially Red Barns.


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  #65  
Old 08-30-2013, 07:25 AM
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weisan weisan is offline
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More happy people...notice bbdave riding back down the hill, so he can meet up with more happy people...of opposite sex no doubt.



Well, he succeeded in the end. He caught the eye of a female photographer working for Bicycling magazine. Exchange phone numbers. shall we?




"Oh, you want me to pose for the cover of the September Issue? Sure, no problem!"






Wait a second...I found someone more noteworthy to get on the front page...who's that coming up in the distance with a blinding PINK bike no less !!!







It's a bird, it's a plane...NO! It's SUPER-WEIGLE in his pink cape!!!



Soon after, other forumites came by as well, apparently, someone had taken a wrong turn, no name shall be mentioned, and they ended up behind us.



Also saw the MAN of WHEELS...no man can survive taking direct picture of his face, so, I will settle with the wheels. They speak for themselves. Nice!




Also at that crest, saw some sheeps, they are SOOOOOOO CUTE!



BBDave lost the interest of his lady friend and took aim at his next target..."Smile, that's pretty, you free this Tuesday?"




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  #66  
Old 08-30-2013, 07:25 AM
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weisan weisan is offline
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More random shots of happy people cresting the top of the hill..












On route to our first rest stop...man, i am starving!




As soon as we get there, BBDave asked for the most important question..."Where's the potty??!" And he got two hands pointing him in the right directions. (Peter B and his pal)




This is the AFTER shot of BBDave as soon as he is finished with....what a difference that makes! ; ) but soon he will return back to his grumpy old-self, seeing red with all the beautiful women walking around and none in his entourage.




Some colorful cute little houses at the rest stop.



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  #67  
Old 08-30-2013, 07:26 AM
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Saw this Boulder Bicycle at the rest stop and took upon myself to do a short followup.












Last one...my subject of focus for the day.


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  #68  
Old 08-30-2013, 07:27 AM
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weisan weisan is offline
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This pretty much is the order of the day.









Fuming..red.




On top another hill...

















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  #69  
Old 08-30-2013, 07:27 AM
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There's plenty of water to go around...




BBDave in happier mood...



BBDave nailing it...




BBDave recovering after he nailed it....


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  #70  
Old 08-30-2013, 07:28 AM
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weisan weisan is offline
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BBDave found his knight in shiny armor...




Beautiful day...temperature averaging mid-to-high 70s, it feels cooler in the shades.




Man with the double top tubes...



BBDave and Robot.

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  #71  
Old 08-30-2013, 07:29 AM
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weisan weisan is offline
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Time for lunch!











Hi Sandy!






"BBDave, I am looking at the nice-looking covered bridge, where you looking at??!"




For keeps...

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  #72  
Old 08-30-2013, 07:29 AM
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weisan weisan is offline
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I did a break from picture-taking after the lunch break because the ride along the river is just darn too nice to pass up, I want to savor every minute of it.

Climbing towards the Apex...strong female rider.






Met this guy Joshua from Singapore, a guest of Mr Moose, and using his spare bike, never trained for this event, just arrived at the States two weeks ago. I am from Singapore, can't imagine how he can do this without any formal preparation. Amazing! Found him later at an intersection with a broken saddle, helped him fixed it using a tube.




Coming close to the end of the reel...Deerfield, I will remember you like this...






If you so inclined, you can click on this link that will bring you to a Google aerial map of the 100k route on my Garmin, it's pretty interesting to see the terrain/topo changes along the route. It's a pretty big file, will take a couple of seconds to load...

http://alicehui.com/pic/d2r2_2013/map.jpg
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  #73  
Old 08-30-2013, 07:35 AM
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weisan weisan is offline
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The End

That's it from weisan.
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  #74  
Old 08-30-2013, 07:38 AM
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Weisan, thanks for the pics and recap. I am still annoyed that I couldn't make it. Next year for sure.
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  #75  
Old 08-30-2013, 07:43 AM
br995 br995 is offline
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Thanks for the photos. I never noticed the $2 Fine sign on the bridge before - pretty cool!
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