Wearing
Short Sleeve Base Layer
Short Sleeve Jersey
Arm Warmers
Pearl Izumi Shorts
Leg Warmers
Wool Socks
Cycling Gloves
Headband
In my Seat Bag
Crank Brothers Multi Tool
Two spare Tubes
Park Tire Boots
Park Spoke Wrench
CO2 Inflator with 4 Co2 cartridges
FibreFix Replacement Spoke
Reflective Sam Brown Sash (used after dark as per RUSA rules)
In my Top Tube Bag
Brevet Card (most important thing--no credit without this)
Cliff Bar (my bonk rations - didn't end up eating it though)
Jelly Belly Performance Jelly Beans (ate these about mile 50)
Extra Chamois Cream (used about mile 140 to reapply)
Extra Socks in a ziplock bag (did not use as my booties kept my feet dry)
Hand Warmers (didn't need, but with the cool temps, glad I had)
Extra Batteries for Lights
In my Jersey Pockets
Cycling Jacket (used the last 150 miles when it started raining and cooling off)
Full finger gloves (used in the second half of the ride)
Third Extra Tub
Hand Pump
Two packs of Gu (not used, but I never use Gu unless I'm in real trouble)
Cell Phone
Money Clip
Keys
Attached to my Bike
Extra Tire
Pearl Izumi Rain Booties in a ziplock bag (used these from Mile 97 on)
Comments and Thoughts
One of the difficult things about long brevets is all of the things you have to carry. This means bulk and weight, no other way around it. You about have to have three tubes for the distance you are going. Same with a spare tire. Weather complicates things. We encountered rain, so carrying rain gear was a must. But even if there is no rain, you will most likely be going significant night riding. And it cools off at night. So you have to bring things like leg warmers and a jacket, because 50 degrees at night is not very warm.
I didn't do a minimalist packing, but I didn't go crazy either. As it turns out, I could have left the hand warmers and extra socks at the hotel. But if it would have rained more, I probably would have been very happy to have those. I did not have any flats or mechanicals either, so I had no need or any of my spares. But you have to carry that stuff. It was good to have both sets of gloves. I used the normal set for the first 100 miles so I didn't feel overheated, and then switched to the full finger gloves later. My jacket is one of the bulkier items I carry, but you have to have it.
Is there anything I wish I would have had? Not really. A GPS, so we wouldn't have missed those turns, but that is something you attach to your bike, not something you carry with you.
That is what worked for me. Lots of other people have their lists out there for what to carry on a long brevet, but for now, that is mine.
Showing posts with label Brevet Reports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brevet Reports. Show all posts
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
The Longest Day - GLR 400 km Brevet
On Saturday, June 6, I completed the GLR 400 km Brevet out of Delavan, WI. And for those of you that no your history, the title is not coincidental. I am fully aware that that Saturday was the 65th anniversary of the true longest day, D-DAY.
A ride of 400 km would be the longest ride I had ever done. Its 250 miles. I had done the 300 km brevet three weeks earlier, so i thought my fitness would be OK. But I knew those extra 60 miles would be hard. There would be more hills. The weather would play a factor as it always does. And there would be more night riding. A significant challenge for sure.
The weather. Always an issue on these things. Early in the week the forecast called for partly sunny and 67. By Friday, it had deteriorated to a high of 56 with a 70% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Still, I decided to go and persevere through.
We started out at 6:00 AM from the Super 8 in Delavan. Temperature was about 55 degrees and the sky was clear. There was a wind from the east of about 10 mph, and this was good since it would give us a tailwind on our first leg. There were 18 riders at the start. We quickly formed into different groups based on the speed everyone was comfortable with. I was in the second group, a group of 4. In front of us were two riders. We did ride with them for about the first 10 miles, but one of them had completed Race Across America, and it was clear that he was a different category of athlete. Still, our group of 4 settled in and we maintained a brisk pace of 20 mph on the first legs.
The first 150 km (97 miles) is the same route that is used for the 300 km. In fact, the first 100 km is the same route that is used for the 200 km, so we were all familiar with the roads and the controls. The rides to Edgerton and Verona were uneventful. Unlike the 300 km were we battled a headwind the whole way out and every mile was a struggle, the miles just clicked off. After Verona, we got into the hills west of Madison. Some of these are tough. On in particular I remember is probably only a quarter mile long, but pitches up to probably 15%. All you can do is work your way up them.
We arrived in Sauk City around noon, and took a little bit longer break to refuel. While we were stopped, the rain started drizzling, so we put on our rain gear before heading to Baraboo. The rout to Baraboo was tough. Very Hilly. At mile 112, there was a very difficult hill that was 2 - 2.5 miles long. It had three sections that pitched up around 12%. I think all of us were spent at the top of it. By this point, it had stopped raining, so some of the rain gear came off. However, i left my booties on because the temperature had dropped down to about 45 degrees, so it felt pretty cold. But the booties kept my feet warm.
The ride from Sauk City to Baraboo is very scenic. Wooded hillsides are the norm. In Baraboo, we had a sandwich at a Cousins subs that was attached to the convenience store that was a control. Coming out of Baraboo, a light, steady rain had started. It wasn't a deluge, but it made the roads slick and made things cold. We headed through Devils Lake State Park, which was the most beautiful part of the ride. Just terrific wooded country, From here, we took the ferry across the river at Merrimac and headed into Lodi, our net control.
In Lodi, we were greeted by our local RBA Jim Kreps. Its always good to see the RBA out on a ride checking up on how people are doing. However, Jim had bad news. There was a line of thunderstorms moving in expected to hit our area between 5:00 and 7:00 PM. But at this point, what were you going to do. All we could do was refuel and head out towards Columbus.
The stretch from Lodi to Columbus was mentally the most difficult one of the ride. We were now heading into that east wind across flat, boring farm fields. The wind was not as bad as the 300 km, but it was blowing pretty hard, around 15 mph. And we were all tired from having already rode 150 miles and climbing numerous hills. So our paceline was pretty ragged. We did take a couple of short stretch breaks just to get out of the wind. Finally, mercifully, Columbus appeared. We were now at about mile 174, so just 75 to go.
In Columbus, right across the street from the control was a Burger King. One thing that all of us noticed was how much we were eating during the ride. It was a lot. This was probably due not just to the riding but also to the cooler temperatures. Our bodies were having to burn more calories just to stay warm. A double cheeseburger was mighty appealing at this point. So all of us went over to Burger King for dinner. Yes, its not the healthiest food, but it probably was about 1000 calories. And after that, I didn't feel hungry or behind on my eating the rest of the ride. I needed a lot of calories and I got them.
The other good news in Columbus was there was still no rain. In fact, the clouds did not look as threatening and the roads were dry. By a stroke of luck, the rain held off, even clearing up a bit after dark so we could see the full moon. This was magnificent news. Riding in the dark is hard enough. Riding when it is also raining, yuck.
We headed out towards Lake Mills, thankfully heading south so the wind was not nearly as much of a factor. Sunset came and we turned on our lights and donned our reflective gear. Riding to Lake Mills was for the most part uneventful. But in town, we did miss a turn and ended up wandering around a bit until we figured out where we went wrong. We backtracked, found our turn and found our control. At this point, everyone was tired.
The route then took us south through Fort Atkinson, where we missed another turn and had to backtrack some again. And then south some more to Whitewater. We wandered around a bit in the dark and finally found the control. This was nice because they had an indoor seating area, so we took a bit of a break here. And we were only 20 miles from Delavan.
One of the amazing things about these rides is people see you and they ask you where you are going. And then you tell them you are riding 250 miles in a day and they just can't believe it. This happened to us in Whitewater. I think the two girls working at the Citgo thought we were nuts (and they may have been right).
About 10 miles after Whitewater, I was feeling pretty low. My energy just felt very low and I was very tired from riding all day. I had a bag ok Skittles with me and I ate those, and immediately I felt better. I didn't have legs to spring up hills, but I just felt better. Unfortunately, about 8 miles out of Delavan, we made another navigational blunder in the dark. We missed a turn and went about 4 miles past it until we realized we were going the wrong way. So we backtracked, sound the right road, and started heading into Delavan. When we got to Delavan, everything was so quiet. The Wendy's and Perkins across from the Super 8 were closed. And I was never so happy to see a Super 8 sign in my life. At 2:53 AM Sunday morning, we had finished.
We signed our brevet cars and left them at the front desk. We congratulated each other and then proceeded with the business of getting some rest. I went up to my room, took a quick shower and went right to bed. It had been a long day, and I was ready to rest.
With our navigational errors, we accumulated quite a few 'bonus' miles. At the end, my computer read 261.75 miles. Wow. What a total. That is better than I do most weeks. Our ride time was 16:32, for an average of 15.8 mph. I think that is actually pretty good considering the distance and terrain. Our total time was 20 hours 53 minutes. We probably could have improved here. But what the heck, we finished. We were the second group in. What more can you say.
I'll right some more posts about my experiences. A ride this long deserves more than one post.
A ride of 400 km would be the longest ride I had ever done. Its 250 miles. I had done the 300 km brevet three weeks earlier, so i thought my fitness would be OK. But I knew those extra 60 miles would be hard. There would be more hills. The weather would play a factor as it always does. And there would be more night riding. A significant challenge for sure.
The weather. Always an issue on these things. Early in the week the forecast called for partly sunny and 67. By Friday, it had deteriorated to a high of 56 with a 70% chance of showers and thunderstorms. Still, I decided to go and persevere through.
We started out at 6:00 AM from the Super 8 in Delavan. Temperature was about 55 degrees and the sky was clear. There was a wind from the east of about 10 mph, and this was good since it would give us a tailwind on our first leg. There were 18 riders at the start. We quickly formed into different groups based on the speed everyone was comfortable with. I was in the second group, a group of 4. In front of us were two riders. We did ride with them for about the first 10 miles, but one of them had completed Race Across America, and it was clear that he was a different category of athlete. Still, our group of 4 settled in and we maintained a brisk pace of 20 mph on the first legs.
The first 150 km (97 miles) is the same route that is used for the 300 km. In fact, the first 100 km is the same route that is used for the 200 km, so we were all familiar with the roads and the controls. The rides to Edgerton and Verona were uneventful. Unlike the 300 km were we battled a headwind the whole way out and every mile was a struggle, the miles just clicked off. After Verona, we got into the hills west of Madison. Some of these are tough. On in particular I remember is probably only a quarter mile long, but pitches up to probably 15%. All you can do is work your way up them.
We arrived in Sauk City around noon, and took a little bit longer break to refuel. While we were stopped, the rain started drizzling, so we put on our rain gear before heading to Baraboo. The rout to Baraboo was tough. Very Hilly. At mile 112, there was a very difficult hill that was 2 - 2.5 miles long. It had three sections that pitched up around 12%. I think all of us were spent at the top of it. By this point, it had stopped raining, so some of the rain gear came off. However, i left my booties on because the temperature had dropped down to about 45 degrees, so it felt pretty cold. But the booties kept my feet warm.
The ride from Sauk City to Baraboo is very scenic. Wooded hillsides are the norm. In Baraboo, we had a sandwich at a Cousins subs that was attached to the convenience store that was a control. Coming out of Baraboo, a light, steady rain had started. It wasn't a deluge, but it made the roads slick and made things cold. We headed through Devils Lake State Park, which was the most beautiful part of the ride. Just terrific wooded country, From here, we took the ferry across the river at Merrimac and headed into Lodi, our net control.
In Lodi, we were greeted by our local RBA Jim Kreps. Its always good to see the RBA out on a ride checking up on how people are doing. However, Jim had bad news. There was a line of thunderstorms moving in expected to hit our area between 5:00 and 7:00 PM. But at this point, what were you going to do. All we could do was refuel and head out towards Columbus.
The stretch from Lodi to Columbus was mentally the most difficult one of the ride. We were now heading into that east wind across flat, boring farm fields. The wind was not as bad as the 300 km, but it was blowing pretty hard, around 15 mph. And we were all tired from having already rode 150 miles and climbing numerous hills. So our paceline was pretty ragged. We did take a couple of short stretch breaks just to get out of the wind. Finally, mercifully, Columbus appeared. We were now at about mile 174, so just 75 to go.
In Columbus, right across the street from the control was a Burger King. One thing that all of us noticed was how much we were eating during the ride. It was a lot. This was probably due not just to the riding but also to the cooler temperatures. Our bodies were having to burn more calories just to stay warm. A double cheeseburger was mighty appealing at this point. So all of us went over to Burger King for dinner. Yes, its not the healthiest food, but it probably was about 1000 calories. And after that, I didn't feel hungry or behind on my eating the rest of the ride. I needed a lot of calories and I got them.
The other good news in Columbus was there was still no rain. In fact, the clouds did not look as threatening and the roads were dry. By a stroke of luck, the rain held off, even clearing up a bit after dark so we could see the full moon. This was magnificent news. Riding in the dark is hard enough. Riding when it is also raining, yuck.
We headed out towards Lake Mills, thankfully heading south so the wind was not nearly as much of a factor. Sunset came and we turned on our lights and donned our reflective gear. Riding to Lake Mills was for the most part uneventful. But in town, we did miss a turn and ended up wandering around a bit until we figured out where we went wrong. We backtracked, found our turn and found our control. At this point, everyone was tired.
The route then took us south through Fort Atkinson, where we missed another turn and had to backtrack some again. And then south some more to Whitewater. We wandered around a bit in the dark and finally found the control. This was nice because they had an indoor seating area, so we took a bit of a break here. And we were only 20 miles from Delavan.
One of the amazing things about these rides is people see you and they ask you where you are going. And then you tell them you are riding 250 miles in a day and they just can't believe it. This happened to us in Whitewater. I think the two girls working at the Citgo thought we were nuts (and they may have been right).
About 10 miles after Whitewater, I was feeling pretty low. My energy just felt very low and I was very tired from riding all day. I had a bag ok Skittles with me and I ate those, and immediately I felt better. I didn't have legs to spring up hills, but I just felt better. Unfortunately, about 8 miles out of Delavan, we made another navigational blunder in the dark. We missed a turn and went about 4 miles past it until we realized we were going the wrong way. So we backtracked, sound the right road, and started heading into Delavan. When we got to Delavan, everything was so quiet. The Wendy's and Perkins across from the Super 8 were closed. And I was never so happy to see a Super 8 sign in my life. At 2:53 AM Sunday morning, we had finished.
We signed our brevet cars and left them at the front desk. We congratulated each other and then proceeded with the business of getting some rest. I went up to my room, took a quick shower and went right to bed. It had been a long day, and I was ready to rest.
With our navigational errors, we accumulated quite a few 'bonus' miles. At the end, my computer read 261.75 miles. Wow. What a total. That is better than I do most weeks. Our ride time was 16:32, for an average of 15.8 mph. I think that is actually pretty good considering the distance and terrain. Our total time was 20 hours 53 minutes. We probably could have improved here. But what the heck, we finished. We were the second group in. What more can you say.
I'll right some more posts about my experiences. A ride this long deserves more than one post.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Great Lakes Randonneurs 300 km ACP Brevet Ride Report
The Great Lakes Randonneurs held their 300 km ACP brevet n Saturday, May 16. This is the second brevet of the season in the and of the super randonneur series (200 km, 300 km, 400 km and 600 km. In mileage, a 300 km brevet is about 190 miles, so it is roughly equivalent to riding a double century. I have done 3 double centuries before Seattle to Portland in 2003, 2004 and 2005) plus a 300 km with the DC Randonneurs in 2006. So completing this ride would rank as one of the longest rides I have ever done.
A ride of this length is always very difficult. The amount of miles on the bike and the time you will be on the bike make it so. But Saturday's ride was made even more difficult by a 20 - 25 mile an hour wind blowing out of the Northwest. The route was an out and back, starting in Delevan, WI going to Sauk City, WI, meaning all the way to the turn around, we were going northwest, right into the teeth of the wind. Put another way, we had a headwind of 20+ mph for the first 97 miles of the ride.
It would be hard to understate the ferocity of the wind on Saturday. Since a lot of the terrain is farm country, there was nowhere to hide. You were always in it. Drafting was of little use because the wind was so strong, it just cut right through whoever was in front and affected everyone in the back just the same. And the wind never let up. It blew just as hard all day until about 8:00 PM, when we were well on our way back. During much of the ride on the "out" leg, speeds were between 11 - 13 mph. And this was actually pretty good.
One of the hardest things about riding in wind is that it never goes away. Even on a tough climb, you eventually summit the climb and get a little bit of a recovery/reward on the downhill. A headwind just keeps battering you, every minute of every mile and never goes away. It wears you down mentally as well as physically. And since this was essentially an out and back ride, we hhad to just keep going into the wind the whole first half, with not even a mile of releif. On Saturday, the last 5 miles into Verona seemed like they would never end. It was just more and more wind, and Verona just wouldn't seem to show up on the horizon.
After getting into Verona, you wind Northwest through the hills west of Madison and up to Sauk City. There are quite a few good hills in this area. The longest hill is probably a little over a mile long, but some of them are steep. And you have to navigate them twice, because you come back on this same road. These were tough, but you just work your way through them. One nice thing is that this area is a little bit more wooded, so it is more scenic. But the most scenic place of all was the turnaround in Sauk City. Now we would finally get a tailwind.
The effect of the tailwind was not immediate as we still had to go through the hills between Sauk City and Verona. And these were not easy after 100 miles of hard riding. But after Verona, the tailwind started to make a difference. Now our speeds were up to 20 mph, sometimes even 25 mph. Even with tired legs only able to put moderate pressure on the pedals, we could keep our speed up. The miles flew by, and this was good news since it would be dark soon.
We made a minimalist stop at the control in Edgerton and then tackled the last 31 miles. It would be dark soon, so we put on our reflective gear and turned on our lights. I had been riding with another rider from Madison most of the day, but now we joined up with a group of 4 that had been ahead of us, that included at least a couple riders from the Wausau Wheelers. The last wisps of daylight slipped away and we rode the last 15 miles or so back to Delavan in the dark. We were slowed by a rider with a flat about 12 miles out of Delavan, but otherwise, the the ride back in was quiet and peaceful. We arrived in Delavan at 9:35 PM for a total ride time of 14 hours, 35 minutes.
Overall, it was a very difficult day. The wind was absolutely brutal. A 300 km is hard wnough without a wind like that, but with it, there isn't much fun. Everyone I talked to at the end admitted to having thoughts about quitting because of the wind, just turning around and going back to Delavan. But in the end, you find a way to get through. And at times yesterday, that's all I was doing, was getting through. But in the end, that was enough.
The riders from the Wausau Wheelers wook some pictures, and I'll post those when they send them to me.
A ride of this length is always very difficult. The amount of miles on the bike and the time you will be on the bike make it so. But Saturday's ride was made even more difficult by a 20 - 25 mile an hour wind blowing out of the Northwest. The route was an out and back, starting in Delevan, WI going to Sauk City, WI, meaning all the way to the turn around, we were going northwest, right into the teeth of the wind. Put another way, we had a headwind of 20+ mph for the first 97 miles of the ride.
It would be hard to understate the ferocity of the wind on Saturday. Since a lot of the terrain is farm country, there was nowhere to hide. You were always in it. Drafting was of little use because the wind was so strong, it just cut right through whoever was in front and affected everyone in the back just the same. And the wind never let up. It blew just as hard all day until about 8:00 PM, when we were well on our way back. During much of the ride on the "out" leg, speeds were between 11 - 13 mph. And this was actually pretty good.
One of the hardest things about riding in wind is that it never goes away. Even on a tough climb, you eventually summit the climb and get a little bit of a recovery/reward on the downhill. A headwind just keeps battering you, every minute of every mile and never goes away. It wears you down mentally as well as physically. And since this was essentially an out and back ride, we hhad to just keep going into the wind the whole first half, with not even a mile of releif. On Saturday, the last 5 miles into Verona seemed like they would never end. It was just more and more wind, and Verona just wouldn't seem to show up on the horizon.
After getting into Verona, you wind Northwest through the hills west of Madison and up to Sauk City. There are quite a few good hills in this area. The longest hill is probably a little over a mile long, but some of them are steep. And you have to navigate them twice, because you come back on this same road. These were tough, but you just work your way through them. One nice thing is that this area is a little bit more wooded, so it is more scenic. But the most scenic place of all was the turnaround in Sauk City. Now we would finally get a tailwind.
The effect of the tailwind was not immediate as we still had to go through the hills between Sauk City and Verona. And these were not easy after 100 miles of hard riding. But after Verona, the tailwind started to make a difference. Now our speeds were up to 20 mph, sometimes even 25 mph. Even with tired legs only able to put moderate pressure on the pedals, we could keep our speed up. The miles flew by, and this was good news since it would be dark soon.
We made a minimalist stop at the control in Edgerton and then tackled the last 31 miles. It would be dark soon, so we put on our reflective gear and turned on our lights. I had been riding with another rider from Madison most of the day, but now we joined up with a group of 4 that had been ahead of us, that included at least a couple riders from the Wausau Wheelers. The last wisps of daylight slipped away and we rode the last 15 miles or so back to Delavan in the dark. We were slowed by a rider with a flat about 12 miles out of Delavan, but otherwise, the the ride back in was quiet and peaceful. We arrived in Delavan at 9:35 PM for a total ride time of 14 hours, 35 minutes.
Overall, it was a very difficult day. The wind was absolutely brutal. A 300 km is hard wnough without a wind like that, but with it, there isn't much fun. Everyone I talked to at the end admitted to having thoughts about quitting because of the wind, just turning around and going back to Delavan. But in the end, you find a way to get through. And at times yesterday, that's all I was doing, was getting through. But in the end, that was enough.
The riders from the Wausau Wheelers wook some pictures, and I'll post those when they send them to me.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Great Lakes Randonneurs 200 km ACP Brevet Ride Report
I completed the GLR 200 km brevet today in Delavan, WI. It proved once again that there is no such thing as an easy brevet, no matter what the course profile looks like. The weather forecast for Saturday had been steadily deteriorating through the week. At one time the forecast was saying 78 degrees and a slight chance of rain. But this later changed to a 70% chance of rain with a high only in the 60's. Unfortunately, the later forecasts proved to be correct.
Turnout was good with about 65 riders. We rolled out of the Super 8 in Delavan at 7:00 AM. Temperature at the start was about 65 degrees. I started out in arm warmers, no leg warmers. But I did bring the leg warmers along with a rain jacket of course. Within 2 miles it had started raining. A drizzle at first, then harder, then back to a drizzle. It only kept up for a couple of miles, so I didn't bother to put my rain jacket on, but it did manage to get all the roads wet, making things messy and more hazardous.
The ride from Delevan to Edgerton was mostly uneventful. There was a strong wind out the south, so most of the time it was a crosswind, but sometimes a tail wind. Ahead though, we could see ominous signs though--darker and darker gray clouds that we were headed right for. We got to Edgerton and stopped at the Shell station, which was the control. Getting brevet cards signed and more Gatorade only took about 10 minutes.
In those 10 minutes though, there was a marked changed in the sky. It was darker than ever, with the wind blowing harder, looking like a storm was imminent. And sure enough, half a mile out of Edgerton, the rain started. And hard. Now the rain jacket got put on. The rain was coming down at steady hard pace making sunglasses worthless. And it was hard enough that you had difficulty seeing the markings on the road.
Of more importance, you also had difficulty seeing bad patches of road because the rain was coming down so hard. And at about the 35 mile mark, I hit a pothole the size of the State of Massachusetts. I was fortunate it didn't wreck my front wheel or break any spokes. But it was a shock and sent a water bottle flying. After recovering the water bottle, I carried on.
At the 40 mile mark, I was having a harder and harder time staying up with the 2 people I was riding with. So I dropped back, and was soon joined by another rider named Jon riding a Seven. I had passed Jon earlier as he had punctured. Unfortunately for him, he punctured again at about mile 44. So we stopped to fix the flat. But worse yet, his second spare tube had a defective valve stem. So I gave him one of my spare tubes (I had two) so he could get going again. Right as we were about to leave, I noticed my front wheel was flat. That pothole I hit earlier must have pinched the tube and caused a slow leak. This probably also explains why I was struggling to keep up earlier. So the last tube between both of us came out and went into my front wheel. So to paint the picture for you, we have been on the side of the road for probably 25-30 minutes, raining the whole time with the temperature dropping changing three flats. We are now without any spare tubes, soaking wet and very cold as we start back up. I don't think either of us were in our happy place.
The rain continues steady to hard all the way into Verona. Some of the roads were busier, making it a real mess. There was a lot of standing water on the road and visibility was poor. Everyone is in survival mode now. All you are thinking about is getting to Verona, getting some food and turning around. And praying the rain will let up.
We got to the control in Verona and got our brevet cards signed. I had a ham and cheese sandwich and a coke. Jon opted for hot food, a couple of cheddar bratwurst. Not exactly cycling food, but it was cold, and he wanted to warm up. I do have to admit, the soup looked mighty tempting. I got out my now wet leg warmers and managed to put them on. The temperature had been dropping steadily, and was now about 47 according to a bank sign in Verona.
In Verona, the staff at the Kwik Mart told us about a bike shop in Verona, just a mile away. Jon and I could easily ride there and replenish our supply of tubes, so heaven forbid we flat again, we at least could fix it. So off we went and sure enough found Atkins Bike Shop. The staff working there couldn't believe we were doing a 200 km ride in such miserable weather, but they were very friendly and helpful. Jon also picked up some leg warmers (he didn't have any). I found some full finger rainproof gloves in my size and purchased those. So at this point, our luck started to turn around. We each had 2 spare tubes again, leg warmers on to keep some of the cold out and I had some nice gloves. And amazingly, the rain had let up.
Riding back, the rain would drizzle once in a while, but it never 'rained' all the way back to Delavan. Given, the roads were still wet, but at least they weren't getting any worse. And at some point, while still wet, a lot of the road splatter went away, so at least your shoes and legs stayed a little dry. This was very welcome news. The rain into Verona was miserable. Riding back was so much nicer. And to boot, we had an occasional tailwind.
We got back to Edgerton and back to the Shell Station, which was also the third control. I was hungry again, probably from burning extra calories to be warm. Connected to the Shell station was a Taco Johns. A chicken quesadilla totally hit the spot. Not cycling food, but hot food.
From here, it was 30 mostly uneventful miles back to Delavan. We did have to battle a cross/head wind for a few miles, and around mile 115, I was feeling a lot of fatigue, but I was able to battle through that. We arrived back at the Super 8 at 4:30 PM, making our ride time 9 hours and 30 minutes. Considering the elements, the fact that we spent 30 minutes changing tubes, had to go find a bike shop in Verona and probably took a little longer at the controls than normal due to the weather, I think that is a pretty good time. With what we had to battle through, its hard to imagine doing too much better.
Since this was an ACP brevet, finishers can purchase a finishers medal for $10 at the end. The medals are designed by the Audax Club Parisian and very attractive. And after the day I had, I wanted something to show for my efforts. So here it is, my 200 km brevet finishers medal. If you want to see what it looks like, go to the following link.
http://www.rusa.org/medals/medalimage28.html
Turnout was good with about 65 riders. We rolled out of the Super 8 in Delavan at 7:00 AM. Temperature at the start was about 65 degrees. I started out in arm warmers, no leg warmers. But I did bring the leg warmers along with a rain jacket of course. Within 2 miles it had started raining. A drizzle at first, then harder, then back to a drizzle. It only kept up for a couple of miles, so I didn't bother to put my rain jacket on, but it did manage to get all the roads wet, making things messy and more hazardous.
The ride from Delevan to Edgerton was mostly uneventful. There was a strong wind out the south, so most of the time it was a crosswind, but sometimes a tail wind. Ahead though, we could see ominous signs though--darker and darker gray clouds that we were headed right for. We got to Edgerton and stopped at the Shell station, which was the control. Getting brevet cards signed and more Gatorade only took about 10 minutes.
In those 10 minutes though, there was a marked changed in the sky. It was darker than ever, with the wind blowing harder, looking like a storm was imminent. And sure enough, half a mile out of Edgerton, the rain started. And hard. Now the rain jacket got put on. The rain was coming down at steady hard pace making sunglasses worthless. And it was hard enough that you had difficulty seeing the markings on the road.
Of more importance, you also had difficulty seeing bad patches of road because the rain was coming down so hard. And at about the 35 mile mark, I hit a pothole the size of the State of Massachusetts. I was fortunate it didn't wreck my front wheel or break any spokes. But it was a shock and sent a water bottle flying. After recovering the water bottle, I carried on.
At the 40 mile mark, I was having a harder and harder time staying up with the 2 people I was riding with. So I dropped back, and was soon joined by another rider named Jon riding a Seven. I had passed Jon earlier as he had punctured. Unfortunately for him, he punctured again at about mile 44. So we stopped to fix the flat. But worse yet, his second spare tube had a defective valve stem. So I gave him one of my spare tubes (I had two) so he could get going again. Right as we were about to leave, I noticed my front wheel was flat. That pothole I hit earlier must have pinched the tube and caused a slow leak. This probably also explains why I was struggling to keep up earlier. So the last tube between both of us came out and went into my front wheel. So to paint the picture for you, we have been on the side of the road for probably 25-30 minutes, raining the whole time with the temperature dropping changing three flats. We are now without any spare tubes, soaking wet and very cold as we start back up. I don't think either of us were in our happy place.
The rain continues steady to hard all the way into Verona. Some of the roads were busier, making it a real mess. There was a lot of standing water on the road and visibility was poor. Everyone is in survival mode now. All you are thinking about is getting to Verona, getting some food and turning around. And praying the rain will let up.
We got to the control in Verona and got our brevet cards signed. I had a ham and cheese sandwich and a coke. Jon opted for hot food, a couple of cheddar bratwurst. Not exactly cycling food, but it was cold, and he wanted to warm up. I do have to admit, the soup looked mighty tempting. I got out my now wet leg warmers and managed to put them on. The temperature had been dropping steadily, and was now about 47 according to a bank sign in Verona.
In Verona, the staff at the Kwik Mart told us about a bike shop in Verona, just a mile away. Jon and I could easily ride there and replenish our supply of tubes, so heaven forbid we flat again, we at least could fix it. So off we went and sure enough found Atkins Bike Shop. The staff working there couldn't believe we were doing a 200 km ride in such miserable weather, but they were very friendly and helpful. Jon also picked up some leg warmers (he didn't have any). I found some full finger rainproof gloves in my size and purchased those. So at this point, our luck started to turn around. We each had 2 spare tubes again, leg warmers on to keep some of the cold out and I had some nice gloves. And amazingly, the rain had let up.
Riding back, the rain would drizzle once in a while, but it never 'rained' all the way back to Delavan. Given, the roads were still wet, but at least they weren't getting any worse. And at some point, while still wet, a lot of the road splatter went away, so at least your shoes and legs stayed a little dry. This was very welcome news. The rain into Verona was miserable. Riding back was so much nicer. And to boot, we had an occasional tailwind.
We got back to Edgerton and back to the Shell Station, which was also the third control. I was hungry again, probably from burning extra calories to be warm. Connected to the Shell station was a Taco Johns. A chicken quesadilla totally hit the spot. Not cycling food, but hot food.
From here, it was 30 mostly uneventful miles back to Delavan. We did have to battle a cross/head wind for a few miles, and around mile 115, I was feeling a lot of fatigue, but I was able to battle through that. We arrived back at the Super 8 at 4:30 PM, making our ride time 9 hours and 30 minutes. Considering the elements, the fact that we spent 30 minutes changing tubes, had to go find a bike shop in Verona and probably took a little longer at the controls than normal due to the weather, I think that is a pretty good time. With what we had to battle through, its hard to imagine doing too much better.
Since this was an ACP brevet, finishers can purchase a finishers medal for $10 at the end. The medals are designed by the Audax Club Parisian and very attractive. And after the day I had, I wanted something to show for my efforts. So here it is, my 200 km brevet finishers medal. If you want to see what it looks like, go to the following link.
http://www.rusa.org/medals/medalimage28.html
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