200K Brevet - March 29th - Springfield MO

The weather on Saturday was horrible, the wind and rains had moved in across the state and snow was on the way. Fortunately, Ralph had accidently scheduled the ride for Sunday. The weather forecast Friday made it clear the weather would be "interesting" and I decided not to drive three hours south-west to Springfield Missouri for the ride. It was a difficult choice but at 2 PM Saturday I made the last minute decision to drive from St. Louis across the state and hope the weather would clear up by morning.

The three hour drive west saw lots of rain and wind. By the time I arrived at my hotel in Springfield, snow was already falling.

Sunday morning at 5:30 AM my alarm roused me from a fitful night’s sleep. I peeked out the window and the parking lot was wet, but not snow covered. The only snow I saw was covering vehicles and grassy areas. I wasn't sure if I should be happy or not. If it was snow covered, I might have headed back to bed and just skipped the ride. However, the weather and roads looked good enough to give the ride a try.

The side doors on my van were frozen shut from ice. I did manage to get the back hatch and driver's side door open. It took 15 minutes of running my defrosters to clear the windows enough to drive.

I headed over to the fire station on Battlefield Street and saw several riders unloading their bikes. After pulling in and registering, the nine of us milled around a few minutes until the pre-ride briefing, and the warning of the many farm dogs that would chase us. At 7:00 the ride began. Unlike the St. Louis rides, no one rolled out. In fact, once all nine of us pulled out of the parking lot, everyone stopped less than a mile down the road at one of two convenience stores to use the restrooms before really starting the ride. It was nearly 7:20 by the time we made mile number two.

The pace started very slow, even for me a true back of the pack rider. That was okay as there was just enough ice on the road to make your wheels spin when riding uphill and slide a bit on the downhills. The group stayed together until mile 17 when some riders wanted to stop at a convenience store near Interstate 44. Three of us continued down the road to the west.

By St. Louis standards, this was a hilly route, and by the time we reached the first checkpoint at the town of Miller 36 miles in, we had climbed more hills than I see on our local 400K ride. The bad news was we would be covering these same hills on the way back. The good news was that the ice on the roads had melted, just leaving some in the trees and fields.

The nine of us had regrouped at this checkpoint and would pull out within a few minutes of each other. Not wanting to get lost in unfamiliar country, I rode with Ralph Rognstad, the route organizer as much as I possibly could.

Being a recumbent rider, I roll downhill much faster than the up-right bikes, but climb a bit slower. When I tried to keep their pace on the downhill by riding my brakes, I would get shelled out the back during the climbs and would have to chase a bit to catch up. I finally decided to roll down at my own pace, then slide to the right and let the riders catch me as we crested the tops of the hills. This worked pretty well for me and I was able to stay with the other riders.

After about 40 miles of hills, we reached the prairie where the big hills ended, and some light rollers began. We of course had the wind in our faces on every single road heading north, and west. As this ride was an out and back route, we kept hoping for a tailwind on the way home.

Ralph and I pulled into Golden City the half way point, mile 63 with two riders a few minutes ahead of us, and the remaining riders a few minutes behind. After having our brevet cards signed at the Casey’s General Store, we all headed to "Cooky’s Diner" which is known for their pies. We all sat together for lunch. I had a side serving of mashed potatoes and chocolate milk (total bill $2.50) before Ralph and I headed back together. The other riders were still eating and would be awhile. Ralph and I assumed they would catch up shortly.

The wind had shifted and was mostly out of the west and gave us some advantage. Not too strong, but enough to notice the assist. On some unknown road to me, we were passed by a fully loaded touring bike with front and rear panniers (bags) heading towards Golden City. I called out asking where he was from, and he answered from St. Louis. Ralph and I were still wearing our jackets and tights, but this rider was in short sleeves heading into the wind. Ralph told me we were close to the Trans-America Bicycle Route which passes through Golden City.

Ralph and I pulled into the Miller checkpoint around 3 PM and none of the other riders had yet been seen. A woman standing in line at the Casey's General Store said she saw a group of cyclists back several miles. Not wanting to lollygag too long, Ralph and I topped off our bottles, used the facilities and headed back down the road.

Those wonderful downhills we enjoyed in the morning were waiting to be climbed in the afternoon. I knew they were coming, I just didn’t remember some of them until they appeared in front of us. During the climbs I would concentrate on turning the pedals, keeping a straight line, not falling over or backwards, and cataloging the wildlife we saw during the day. On that note, there was much cattle, including long horn cattle, horses, some mules, a miniature horse, deer, dogs by the dozens, all loving a good chase, hawks of various kinds, a blue heron, goats, Emus (those 5 foot tall birds), a few llamas and we heard frogs calling back and forth, and of course, squirels, some living, some not. Early season road kill.

We continued back along the same roads making one last stop at a truck stop along Interstate 44 for a bathroom break and to refill bottles one last time. Ralph and I made it back to the final checkpoint in Springfield at 6:20 PM. The remaining riders pulled in within five or ten minutes, save one rider who flatted within the last mile.

This was the first brevet I had ridden that was not in St. Louis and it was a hilly one. Reaching the end of the ride successfully was a nice accomplishment for me as I am not known for my climbing skills. In the final analysis, my speed was a bit slower, about 1.5 mph slower than the St. Louis ride I did a few weeks ago, and it took an hour longer overall, so I am very satisfied.

Next up will be the St. Louis 300K events. The weather is looking pretty nice, at least this far out.

200K Brevet - March 14th - Edwardsville IL

It is still officially winter, and if you read my post from March 5th, I had checked the long range forecast and the chicken shakers at weather dot com where forecasting a morning low of 30 degree with a daytime high of 50 and partly cloudy skies. I will stop here to apologize, perhaps just this once as they nailed it pretty well. The starting temperature at 7:00 AM was 32 and mostly cloudy. We eventually did hit 54 degrees with sun by mid afternoon. As for wind, there was very little, perhaps five miles per hour from, of all places, the east, and northeast. I am simply amazed. I will keep watching for the next event.

Saturday, March 14 was the first brevet ride of the year, a nice 200 kilometers, which translates into an actual course distance of 127 miles, give or take a few tenths of a mile.

We had 16 riders, which broke down into three women, and 13 men. Riders came from Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Indiana. For our Wisconsin rider, she told us that this 200 kilometer ride was her FIRST outdoor ride this year. Now THAT is determination. And just because I like this one, there were two, yes two recumbents, mine and Stephanie’s from Wisconsin.

I heard tell of a group of dogs chasing the lead group, but they must have tuckered those dogs out because by the time us slightly (um yeah right) slower riders came around we didn’t have any issues with dogs.

The roads where the normal / usual chip seal for most of the farm roads and it was always such a pleasant change when we got to a state road which were much smoother.

I did have some mechanical issues with my rear derailleur. It was fairly quiet at the start but began grinding part way through the ride. Some of the guys who did ride with me knew when I was around as I sounded like a bad combine tractor or an old handheld mixer. Sorry guys for the noise, and thanks for not kicking me to the curb so you didn’t have to listen to the grinding. By the way, I’ve got that issue fixed.

I’m not going to bore anyone with the amount of drink mix and solid foods I went through, but is was sufficient as I only lost one pound by the next morning when I weighed in. My average speed which was 14.55 mph was right in line with most of the other early season 200K’s I’ve ridden, so nothing to complain about there.

Next ride is another 200K on Saturday March 21st. Weather dot com is saying a low of 36 in the morning and a high of 54 with a chance of showers.

Is it June?

I had a wonderful ride yesterday. Yes it is March, at least by way of the calendar, but our temperatures were mid-June when we topped out at 82 degrees. All I knew before I left the house was I had better put on sunscreen (in March) so I didn’t burn. It was certainly the first time of this year I could ride without a jacket and tights.

I filled two water bottles and fixed up a quick bag of gorp to snack on. I rode south out of Columbia IL into a mild headwind with a smile on my face. My legs are definitely out of shape, but it didn’t matter as it felt wonderful to be outdoors feeling the sun and warmth.

I managed a 40 mile round trip loop and had my first flat of the year. At least it was not a blow out, just a slow leak. I felt the front getting squishy and wondered if I could make it back before it was flat. I made it to about the last eight miles before it felt too soft to continue. I pulled over and checked it, My tire was down to 30psi. I pulled out my Road Morph pump and inflated it to 90psi and headed back for the final miles. I did manage to get back to my car and retested the tire. Soft again, so I will need to fix that.

All in all what is not to like about an 82 degree day in March in St. Louis.

The Weatherman Cometh

What a glorious morning. The sun is just coming up and it is already a nice 50 degrees. There is a mild steady breeze out of the south this morning ushering in a very nice day in the mid to upper 60’s. I am planning on head out later this afternoon for a ride. Wind or not, a ride on a nice day is a wonderful way to clear the head, burn off that meatloaf dinner from last night and feel the endorphins flowing throughout my body.

Our brevet season is just over a week away. The first event is the 200 kilometer (125 mile) brevet which will start and finish in Edwardsville IL. Temperatures at this time of year can surprise you. It may be 10 degrees at the start or it can be 50 degrees at the start. You may have sun, or clouds, wind, rain, snow and or sleet or all of the above on the same ride. Only time will tell.

Don’t get me started with the weather folks. The chicken shakers are almost useless for a long range forecast let alone one for the next day. Time and time again these people forecast one thing and the weather is not even close. I am even amazed the difference between the same station at different times of the day. One will say tomorrow will have a high of 72 degrees the other will say tomorrow will be in the mid-60’s.

On this note I just checked the ten day forecast at weather.com and they are saying, Saturday, March 14th will have a morning low around 30 degrees and a high of 52 degrees with partly cloudy skies and a 10 percent chance of precipitation. We have just got to watch this one.

Where ever you are, I hope you have a chance to get out and ride today too.

Welcome to Randonneuring

For those who have never heard about the sport of randonneuring, let me give you a quick introduction. Randonneuring is long distance self supported cycling. There are five event distances which are ridden. Being this sport originated in France all distances are in kilometers, which I will translate for you. All events which are known as brevets (BRA-Vay) are not races against other riders, rather you are racing against the clock as each event has a set maximum allowed time, and strangely enough, a time which you can not go faster than.

The events are a 200 kilometer (125 mile), 300 kilometer (186 miles), 400 kilometer (250 miles), a 600 kilometer (373 miles) and for the big boys and girls as whopping 1,200 kilometer (745 miles) event.

Like I said, there are also time limits for each event, as I am not a fast rider I will ignore for now that criteria, but the clock is always ticking and for a 200 kilometer event the clock runs out at 13 and a half hours. For the 300 kilometer event the clock runs out at 20 hours. For the 400 kilometer event the clock runs out at 27 hours. The 600 has a time limit of 40 hours and for the 1,200 kilometer event the clock has a 90 hour limit.

My plan is to write about the sport in general terms as well as feature the St. Louis Missouri series which begins on Saturday March 14 this year. For more information check out the RUSA website and my website for more information. I hope I will see you out on the road this year. In the mean time, ride safe and ride smart.