In 2006, two riders—Brannon Oates and Eric Vigoren—reached the rarified air of 10,000K in RUSA-sanctioned events. Vigoren topped 12,000K, while Oates logged 10,160K. In an e-mail Q&A with American Randonneur, they told us how and why they did it—and about the bumps along the way.
—By Edward Robinson—
Brannon Oates
Texas rider Brannon Oates, RUSA #2817, is a computer programmer by day. He enjoys visiting his sister and her family once or twice a week. He also enjoys reading, mainly fantasy and science fiction.
Q: Did you start the year with a 10,000K goal in mind?
A: No, but I was shooting at first for 3 series. That didn't quite happen (at least not officially with ACP brevets).
Q: What was your hardest ride in reaching 10,000K, and why?
A: Probably the 162k perm I did the day after a 300k. The 300k was pretty cold (mid 30's to start) and windy (15+ mph) and wore me out pretty bad. It was all mental, because I had a hard time even getting out of the car for the 162k. It wasn't quite as cold as the previous day, but the wind was a lot worse.
Q: Any DNFs?
A: I had 3 this year if you can believe it. Two were extreme weather related — 1 hot and 1 cold. I was still trying to figure out how to deal with both situations. The third is a longer story, explained later.
Q: How much riding did you do apart from the certified events that contributed to your 10,000K?
A: I just about did the same amount of riding apart from certified events because I'll probably end up just shy of 12,000 miles for the year.
Q: How much traveling did you have to do to find the events?
A: I drove up to Dallas (from Houston) for quite a few events and out to Florida for a 600k.
Q: What are your plans for 2007?
A: Not quite sure, but another 10,000k year seems pretty reasonable, especially with PBP.
Q: Any big mileage months?
A: All my friends would say all were big mileage months since the average comes out to about 1,000 miles a month. But the 3 top months were May at 1,215 miles, July at 1,332 miles and April at 1,374 miles!
Q: How do you keep yourself entertained on the bike?
A: This is a pretty tough question when I ride alone. I always try to focus on fueling correctly, drinking every 15 minutes, eating when I should, etc. Mainly, I just seem to enjoy the escape from reality that riding gives me.
Q: Did you do all of your rides on a single bike?
A: Yep, a Trek 2300! Not really comfortable on the longer rides, but I'm waiting on my new Seven to arrive for '07.
Q: What brand of drivetrain do you use — Campy or Shimano? What level of componentry? Record/Dura-Ace? Chorus/Ultegra? Other?
A: My Trek came with Shimano Ultegra, but I haven't decided between Campy or Shimano for my new bike yet.
Q: What is your tire of choice?
A: I haven't tried many, but I like the Bontrager Hard Case just for the durability.
Q: Did you have any particularly bad scares with vehicles, traffic, or animals? How did they turn out?
A: About 100 miles into the Memorial Day 1000k I started, a big black dog came blazing toward me out of nowhere. Before I realized it was there, it slammed into my rear wheel. The good news is that I had a lot of weight on the back of the bike, so I didn't go down. The bad news is that it ran into me so hard, that it bent and cracked my wheel and broke my rear derailleur. I had to completely remove the rear brake to even get the wheel to spin without rubbing anything. It was pretty rough getting through the next 120 miles just to finish the first loop. I was pretty drained from both the summer heat and the hills west of Dallas/Fort Worth. Needless to say, this all led to the other DNF I had for the year.
Q: Did you encounter any problems completing brevets or permanents on the prescribed routes (washed out/torn up roads, etc.)? If so, what did you do?
A: There were a couple of rides where the roads were recently torn up for construction, but nothing too bad or longer than a couple of miles. I just decided to keep on rolling.
Q: How much of your riding was at night? What kind of lights/reflective gear did you use?
A: I did my fair share of riding at night, which I enjoy—especially on the more remote roads. I have the standard sash and ankle straps. As far as lights go, most of mine are Cateye. I use 2 of the long skinny taillights, and 2 of the HL400 headlights. I also have a Brinkman helmet light which I'm really impressed with considering I picked it up from Walmart for about $20.
Q: How about mechanicals? How many flats?
A: The only mechanical I had was due to the dog that ran into me. And I may have had a handful of flats.
Q: Do you have a "most memorable" control or event during your 10,000-plus kilometers?
A: The "most memorable" was probably the Flipfloppin' Frenzy perm I created because a friend of mine wanted to get in a 600k over Thanksgiving. It was nice helping her realize that she was able to do the longer rides without any troubles.
Q: Any other thoughts, comments, or words of inspiration you'd like to offer?
A: I've tried to take in all the advice others have to offer, but I would say you have to find out what works for you and ride your own ride to enjoy it. Learn through experience and don't let the setbacks get you down. Even the 3 DNFs I had this year didn't get me down.
Eric Vigoren
Eric Vigoren lives with his wife, Maggie Williams, in Bremerton, WA. He works as a statistician and research scientist at the University of Washington in Seattle. He began bicycle commuting 16 years ago as a way to save money and never miss the Seattle ferry because the auto deck was full.
He became interested in long distance cycling in 1995 and rode his first randonneuring events a couple years later. "If only I had signed up with RUSA instead of International Randonneurs, I could have a low three digit number, too!"
Both he and his wife love to travel. They have taken self-supported cycling tours through England, Ireland, Scotland, New England and the Canadian Maritimes, Alaska and the Yukon, New Zealand, and a transcontinental trek from Seattle to Connecticut.
In addition to cycling, they enjoy hiking the abundant trails of the Olympic and Cascade Mountains with their dog, Ruby, a Hurricane Katrina survivor.
If you should ever find yourself in a local pub sharing a pint with Eric, prepare yourself for an engaging conversation about politics, religion and maybe even a bit of cycling.
Q: Did you start the year with a 10,000K goal in mind?
A: Yes, sort of. I had mentally sketched out a way to ride 15K in brevets and permanents in 2006.
Q: What was your hardest ride in reaching 10,000K, and why?
A: The autumn 600k "Big Lebowski" in Oregon was the most challenging, and as such, most rewarding course that I rode this year. The route was wonderfully difficult by design— 22,000+ feet of climbing with most of it coming after 200 miles, an arid climate with a 45 degree temperature difference between day and night, and many miles between services. I was prepared for the weather and remote location, but I allowed myself to get dehydrated only 12 hours into the ride. The ensuing struggle to get my electrolytes back in check and regain some strength made the ride all that much more difficult. Fortunately, I had the support of good riding companions, and together we wrote another chapter in our cycling saga.
Q: Any DNFs?
A: Yes, I did not finish the Cascade 1200.
Q: How much riding did you do apart from the certified events that contributed to your 10,000K?
A: I would guess about 6K.
Q: How much traveling did you have to do to find the events?
A: Most of the events were within 200 miles of home. An exception was a trip to the Midwest to meet a fellow Seattle rider for a couple of free-route permanents.
Q: What are your plans for 2007?
A: Five series would be nice.
Q: Any big mileage months?
A: I had two peak months, May with 1,900k and August with 2,100k.
Q: How do you keep yourself entertained on the bike?
A: I often map the courses to visualize the terrain before I ride. I enjoy watching the cartographic landscape transforms itself into reality. Of course, the best entertainment of all is fellow riders.
Q: Did you do all of your rides on a single bike?
A: I rode almost all of my miles on a stock Fuji Touring bike that I purchased early in the year.
Q: What brand of drivetrain do you use—Campy or Shimano? What level of componentry? Record or Dura-Ace? Chorus/Ultegra? Other?
A: Nothing special, just what came with the bike.
Q: What is your tire of choice?
A: I have happily ridden on IRC tires for many years.
Q: Did you have any particularly bad scares with vehicles, traffic, or animals? How did they turn out?
A: My biggest cycling scare of the year came on a descent of Cayuse Pass near Mt. Rainier. A minivan, three or four cars back in a line of cars, drifted onto the shoulder and the mirror struck me as the vehicle passed. OUCH! Luckily, the mirror broke away, dangling from the passenger side door. The driver began to pull over, but upon seeing that I was still upright, sped up and drove away. Maddening!
Q: Did you encounter any problems completing brevets or permanents on the prescribed routes (washed out/torn up roads, etc.)? If so, what did you do?
A: Nothing that jeopardized completing a ride. I have found that most obstacles can be navigated on a bicycle.
Q: How much of your riding was at night? What kind of lights/ reflective gear did you use?
A: I rode through the night about a dozen times this year, I think. There is a certain peaceful tranquility to nighttime riding. For lighting I use two Cateye EL-500s mounted to my forks.
Q: How about mechanicals? How many flats?
A: No mechanicals, two flats. There are some nasty little thorns in eastern Washington and Oregon that I never see in the green, western regions of the states.
Q: Do you have a "most memorable" control or event during your 10,000-plus kilometers?
A: No single event stands out. Just a grand collage of memories.
Q: Any other thoughts, comments, or words of inspiration you'd like to offer?
A: The camaraderie that I have found in this sport is fantastic. In the company of good friends, the miles melt away. Clearly, the time commitment necessary to achieve 10+K is substantial, but with a little bit of planning, it is not as imposing as it appears.