The new  year started with a first: the Missus and I together in FL. Twas very relaxing and greatly enjoyed our together time. Didn’t get out and do a bunch of touristy things although did go walk around a couple of Lakeland’s namesake: Morton and Hollingsworth. Instead, we finally purchased furniture and ceiling fan for our lanai.

Kicked off the ’24 Rando season with the Central Florida 300/200K weekend, Tavares – Flagler Beach and Tavares – Lakeland and. It was the first randonneuring events since the same double the previous January – that whole eye thing put quite the damper on the ’23 season. Always enjoyable riding with others. Had decent weather with no mechanicals and a positive start to the season. Legs responded fairly well although the rollers on the return trip of the 200K were rather sluggish. Incorporated higher intensity training to include SST and VO₂max intervals to address a couple of deficiencies in the training plan. Pleasantly surprised with the outcome and performance during these sessions.

As a Christmas present for the parentals and provide a respite to the North Coast winter, purchased first class airfare and hosted them for a week later in January. Didn’t get out and do a bunch of touristy things as their mobility isn’t the best but did go see the manatees at the Tampa Power Station and drove through the Safari Wilderness. Far more manatees than the last visit and first time to the Safari although ridden passed it dozens of times. Took them to one of our favorite dining places – Keel and Curley Winery. The Missus returned for a weekend with the parentals and even had room for the Brit from NoVA who was in the area for business. More opportunities to have company on training rides is always a plus.

On the culinary side of the ledger, had to replace our 15-year old bread maker. This one has two mixing paddles and can make a 3-lb loaf! New items added to the menu included Bill Blass’s meatloaf and Peanut Butter Delight (a very decadent trifle dessert). Returning to the menu after a couple year’s absence, and a few weeks late, was New Year’s Pretzel. For whatever reason, this version was the best and closest to the memory of the pretzel eaten every year growing up in northern Ohio.

Returned to NoVA at the end of Jan through the first half of February. Had the initial appointment with the head of the ophthalmology department at Walter Reed Medical Center regarding the corneal irritation and blurred vision. Confirmed the corneal scarring and threw out a new diagnosis: conjunctival pyrogenic granuloma. According to NIH, it’s a benign vascular proliferation of immature capillaries that usually denotes incomplete surgical or traumatic wound healing. Small ones may go away on their own but treatment usually begins with steroids, antibiotics then more invasive measures such as cryotherapy, electrocautery, and laser surgery. True to form, back on prednisolone eye drops four times a day for the next five weeks. 

All of the miles in FL were great for building the base but woefully insufficient for building climbing legs and the 200K had more elevation (8,300 feet) than 10 days of outdoor riding in FL.  All cycling activities for 15 days, except one, was limited to Zwift rides. Yea, completed the 2024 Tour of Zwift. The only outdoor ride was a 200K ACP Brevet from Glen Echo, MD to Shepherdstown, WV and back. The only other participant was the NVR and NEVR RBA, which meant another solo ride. Not a bad ride though. Mostly quiet roads but did run into a little moisture crossing over into WV. Legs were definitely not accustomed to the climbing. Good thing it’s still early and plenty of time to prepare for my 60^th birthday gift to myself – Trek Travel’s Classic Climbs of the Tour in late June/early July.

Went with the Missus to a local French restaurant, L’Auberge Chez Francois, and had an outstanding meal. Every course was excellent. Just don’t ask what they were but cheese tart, salad, seafood medley, and raspberry souffle for me and chive crepe, salad, rainbow trout, and chocolate souffle for the Missus. We both preferred her appetizer and my dessert but neither were bad; only higher on the delicious scale. Highly recommended but definitely bring your wallet.

Separately made a more healthy dessert for one of our weekly Sunday family dinners, strawberry trifle. Although to have as many layers as the recipes call for, need a larger trifle. Larger would be fine for the strawberry but it would be too much for the peanut butter variant. 

Returned to FL mid-Feb and stayed, except for a quick return to NoVA for a couple of medical appointments, until the last week in March in order to participate in several rando events from both the Central and NorthEast chapters. NEFR Brevet Week was 17 – 24 Feb and scheduled for 200K on Saturday, 300K on Sunday, 400K on Wednesday, and 600K on Saturday and Sunday. All of the rides started in Middleburg, FL with routes staying south but covering both eastern and western sides of the state. The 200K, Touch the Alachua, was generally southwest to the town of Alachua. The 300K was an out-and-back down to Umatilla. The 400K, The Chiefland, was essentially a squiggly isosceles triangle tipped leftward around Gainesville. The 600K day 1 covered similar roads as the 400K minus the tip of the triangle while day 2 headed south then east toward St Augustine but turned around at Vermont Heights. A couple of the days included tens of miles on paved trails and two days had FL gravel (i.e., sand) segments. Thankfully the segments weren’t much longer than a mile and were hard-packed unlike my experience at the Dirty Pecan several years ago. The turnout was small which meant all of the rides were solo. The 200K on Saturday had periods of wet – no downpours but enough rain to make and keep the roads wet for several hours after the precipitation stopped. Heavy rains were forecasted for Sunday and in-step with the Daytona 500, the event was pushed to Monday. Didn’t need either the 200 or 300 to satisfy the Super Randonneur Award having completed both in January with the Central Florida Randonneurs, decided to head back to southern training camp HQ and return Tuesday afternoon. A 0400 start for the 400K and just a long, solo day. Eating solid foods, primarily protein, makes a huge difference. Just not enough in the SiS gels, fig bars, Uncrustables, etc. to maintain a steady pace. Not the healthiest but a gas station hot dog or 2 does the trick a bit before the 300K mark. Departed then returned for the 2-day 600 comprised of 350K and 250K respectively. More solo riding with nothing particularly noteworthy along the routes although day 2 had a detour due to road construction early in the day that added nearly 12 miles to the route and over 50 miles of paved trail.

Took a few days off after completing 1200K spread out over a week’s time. Completed Central FL Randonneurs 400K, Dunnelon – Branford – Citra, the first weekend in March. Riding with others makes such a huge difference. The group started with 6 and ended with 3 of us. Great to ride with Recumbent Man again as that too, had been more than a year ago. Finished the nearly 251 miles above a 20 mph average in under 13:50 total time, less than 12:30 moving time, without crushing the legs. Winds were mostly favorable and having others to share breaking the wind is a huge advantage over solo efforts.

Attended the Florida Strawberry Festival in Plant City, FL on opening day. Not a lot of activity yet and not nearly as enjoyable without the Missus. Great place for people watching with reinforcing views of the sad state of American health in the general population. Anything fried is readily available. Limited myself to one corn dog and some strawberry cheesecake. Rando events precluded attending any of the musical entertainment (ZZ Top, Foreigner, Black Eyed Peas just to name a few) but two years ago saw Sammy Hagar.

Short return trip back to NoVA for a follow-up with the corneal ophthalmologist at Walter Reed and blood work at DC’s VA Medical Center. The Missus accompanied for the visit to Walter Reed and we both were able to observe the thick, pasty substance expressed from the lower eye-lid tear ducts: Meibomian gland dysfunction. Warm wash cloth applied twice a day followed by lid massage accompanied by omega-3 supplements and continue use of non-preserved artificial tears (gel). Also place on a stronger anti-biotic, doxycycline, for 60 days. Discussed possible surgical excision of lesion if conservative methods aren’t effective. Certainly not brimming with confidence that doxy, fish oil, and lid hygiene are going to be the magical trifecta. Mentioned tendency to “over heal” and the potential impacts it could have on any surgical procedure. Shockingly, with 48 hours of the new regimen, the irritability is reduced to a level not experienced in nearly a year. Not saying everything is hunky-dory and back to new but from an eye irritation perspective, it’s close to tolerable. Still haven’t addressed the disruption to the visual field or what happens once the Rx is done.

Back to FL in time to drive to Jacksonville area for the Golden Falcon 1200K pre-ride. The RBA warned me the pace would be considerably slower than my typical efforts and suggested the experience may not be a positive one. Appreciated the candor but informed him intent to give back to the sport and support the events. Besides, if it really sucks, I’ll never do a pre-ride again but at least I’ll know. RBA also provided home-cooked Persian meals for 3 nights to each of the pre-ride members that included, a pasta, kabobs, and rice options. All were good and very appreciated.

Day 1 started on 0500, not the 0400 initially planned, curious, and nearly 19:20 (0018) and 240 miles later, we returned to the starting location. Yea, worse than expected. Don’t enjoy riding in the dark, better with others, but certainly not a fan of starting and ending in darkness. Completed days 2 and 3 with special dispensation and able to actually start and finish during daylight hours. Day 4 was a DNF with about 35 miles to go. Noticed the rear tire was losing air during Day 3 but made it back without any issues although did exhaust one of the CO2 cartridges. Added a little more sealant after the ride and observed a small pinprick on the tread. Held air overnight but wouldn’t after about 60 miles during the ride. Used up the second and last CO2 cartridge to limp into the Circle K in Florahome, FL. Had a tube and intent was to insert, figure out a way to get air into it and make it back to the finish. Unfortunately, a number of complications developed: unable to loosen the valve stem nut; for whatever reason, Cannondale uses a different size allen wrench for front and rear through axles and only had the larger one on hand; even if those obstacles were overcome, still had challenge of getting air into presta valve without an adaptor or pump. Decided to throw in the towel and call it a day. Whooa! Not so easy. Spent next 2 ½ hours attempting to get an Uber or Lyft back to the start point. Eventually successful but very frustrating – not every place is like Northern VA in terms of share ride availability. Loaded up the bike and drove back to camp HQ. Received a call on the drive back from one of the supporters who mentioned I should’ve reached out and requested assistance. Honestly, that never entered my head. Besides – randonneuring is self-supported kept repeating in my head. Oh, well.

Took a few days off then returned to easy riding leading in to the actual Golden Falcon 1200K, 11 days later. My track record for remembering to bring everything, both essential (water bottles) and supportive (portable charging brick), was less than stellar over the past 30 days and didn’t want a repeat performance. What to do? Create a list and check it off when he packed in a bag or loaded in the vehicle. All set to go and departed for the drive back to Middleburg early enough that traffic through Orlando wasn’t an issue and arrived at the start hotel with a couple of hours to spare before bike inspection window opened and event overview started. Brought the full size cooler and packed it with meals for the next 4 nights to reduce out-of-pocket expense and enjoy my own cooking after long rides. As a result, removed the front wheel to provide more space for the additional food items. What critical item was missing from the list? No, the front wheel was resting comfortably in the back. However, after removing the bike and placing the front wheel in position to secure it, my head drops and scream internally, “You bloody moron!” Yep, I had forgotten the through axle. So much for a stress free, relaxed time on the day before the 1200K starts. But then thought, how tough is it going to be to obtain a new through axle? Way more of a challenge then anticipated. Bike manufacturers use wheels with different through axle lengths and thread pattern (thick or thin). Unsuccessful at the first bike shop but on-site owner had another shop in Jacksonville, managed by his son, that after they spoke on the phone, appeared to have a solution. Well, the solution didn’t work – the through axle had the appropriate thread style, it was just too short. Called another bike shop that actually carried Cannondale bikes and even had the same model on the floor but the ninny on the phone wasn’t willing to sell it and re-order one. Great customer service. Couldn’t imagine either of the LBS in NoVA not helping out a forgetful rider with a big event starting the next day. Was even willing to just borrow – pick it up and return it on Monday if he wouldn’t sell it. No deal. The local REI shop was more helpful, they just didn’t have any bikes in stock or through axles in inventory. By sheer happenstance, the store manager happened to be driving around for the last several years with an old through axle in his vehicle that fit. It was still 1-2 mm short of perfect but long enough to thread enough of the axle for a firm, secure fit. The store had a rear axle that fit so purchased the pair to have as a spare, just in case! Made it back to the hotel  to catch most of the event overview and prepare for the start of Golden Falcon 1200K. Night and day difference between the pre-ride and official event. Introduced to two new, strong randos from Chicago and now GA/MI area along with Orlando man. The four of us rode together for the first 1000K averaging 19+ on each day without putting in big efforts. Taking turns at the front with 4-mile segments and rotating out. First day, 400K was only one that had true dark riding since it was a 0400 start. The following two days were 0610-ish starts, to take advantage of the free hotel breakfast as the staff was super accommodating at started breakfast around 0545 instead of the normal 0600. Later morning start also meant it wasn’t true darkness although lights were required. Day 1 was the coldest with temps dropping after the start into the mid 30s. Had moisture on Days 2 and 3 but not a lot of precipitation but plenty of wet roads and spray. Thankfully, the weather was much better than the forecast with minimal precipitation. Wind conditions were mostly favorable and the rides went pretty smoothly finishing well before sundown each day. The only real downside was the bike required a cleaning at the end of each day – road spray and debris make a messy combination. Only had three of us on the final day as one only registered for the 1000K and wasn’t interested in the stand-alone 200K. Started the final day after 0700 and was dreading the return trip as weather apps indicated a headwind for the final 50 miles. By silent agreement, final day was a relaxed pace – not that the first 3 days were strenuous efforts with big power numbers – as the route included nearly 50 miles of paved trail riding. Things were going great until they weren’t. Relatively early on the trail we were approaching another riding heading in the same direction and we all approached a cross street together. Some intersections actually had cross traffic while most of them did not. Unfortunately, this one did but trees and foliage obstructed the view to the left until nearly in the intersection. Riding in the second row and not nearly as attentive as appropriate, unable to brake under control when lead rider called, “Car!” Managed to squeeze between rider in front and a sign post but think the left pedal got hung up on the post and stopped the bike launching me over the bars and hitting my head on the pavement just beyond the grass. Rung the bell a good one but had no visible signs of a crash other than a cracked helmet and ruptured gels in the back left jersey pocket (which absolutely made a mess of the jersey and shorts). Never lost consciousness or became dizzy or nauseous and never considered anything but getting back on the bike and finishing the event. Bike dropped the chain but no other indication of a fall either. Rode 15 miles or so to a McDonald’s in Palatka to take advantage of the restroom room and clean up a bit – mostly determining which gel flavors erupted and wiping as much of the sticky goo off as possible. Riding companions asked repeatedly about my condition through the rest of the ride. Headache mostly went away and only the stiff neck remained. Finished the day and 1200K around 1420 with a total time of under 82.5 hours. We were not the fastest finishers of the event but will wager we had more sleep and less total riding time than anyone else. Event placing doesn’t matter but being sub 84 hours with only one day riding in real dark for a few hours and at least 7 hours of sleep every night was the goal and mission accomplished.

Chilled for the rest of the day, had a good night’s sleep, leisurely breakfast then drove back to southern camp HQ. Neck a little stiffer in the morning and very uncomfortable getting up out of bed from a supine position. Significantly less strain on the neck to roll on a side first, then get up. Initial plan was to relax for a day before making the long drive back to NoVA. No reason to hang out as wasn’t getting on the bike any time soon anyways so prepped for departing the following day. Awake before the alarm and started the trip northward before 0500. Experienced a little traffic near Jacksonville and a slow down in North Carolina due to construction but made pretty good time. Unfortunately, the drive wasn’t beneficial physically as headache roared back, neck stiffness remained unchanged, tired, stomach felt off, and temperature regulation was problematic. 

Made it home by 1830 which was excellent time and included a couple of extra rest stops. Didn’t completely unpack the vehicle, greeted the Missus and had a slice of her magnificent cherry pie. Shortly thereafter, lost the nausea battle then went to bed and covered up to get warm. Slept a bit then woke up, discussed with the Missus and decided to go to the local ER to get evaluated. Checked in at 11:10 and drove away around 0630. During that time had X-rays, CT scan, MRI, and IV with for pain and nausea. CT scan confirmed a concussion and MRI revealed a fractured T1 transverse process (wing-like protrusion at the back of the vertebra). Who knew? Broke my friggin’ neck! Track record over the last 5 years isn’t very good and unnecessarily racking up broken bones (tibial plateau, 3 ribs (confirmed; likely more), acromion process, humeral head, and now T1. Don’t feel as if preceding actions are reckless but consequences of bike falls are more severe and it’s taking a toll on the Missus. Luckily, bubble wrap isn’t a practical option. More down time than planned but head/neck injuries are serious business. Will negotiate with the Missus for an acceptable return to trainer and outdoor riding.Informed the RBA of the incident – who was completely unaware that any mishap occurred. Let’s just say it caused quite the kerfuffle with most likely, unintended takeaway.