Guess What? It's windy in Central Montana

On Saturday (June 27) I rode my Martinsdale Mail Run Permanent for the second time. The first time I rode it was in October of 2008. On that ride my water bottles froze solid on both crossings of Battle Ridge Pass.

The forcast for Saturday promised to be nice (70's, sunny, and no chance of rain). Oh yeah, the weatherman noted-it might be a little breezy. Well breezy in Central Montana-in places like Wilsall, Ringling, and Martinsdale-means an unrelenting 20 mph west wind when I'm out there on my bike. The wind blew me to Martinsdale on Highway 294 without hardly pedaling. It was hard to enjoy the free ride though as I knew what as in store on the 25 mile, mostly uphill, trek back brom Martinsdale to US Highway 89. But after a nice lunch at the Crazy Mountain Inn I was up to the task. The 7-10 mph grind was brutal-but at least I had a quiet road and pleasant scenery to enjoy while doing it.

I love the wide openness of the plains in Montana, the big blue sky, the rolling fields, the distant mountains, and the friendly small towns. I could just do without the wind!

It was a tough, long, 16 hour day, but I got it done.

BREAKING NEWS-RBA APPLICATION APPROVED!

I just received the good news that my application to be a Regional Brevet Administrator (RBA) for Randonneurs USA (RUSA) has been approved! RBA's organize and supervise brevets and other randonneuring events in their area. In 2010 I will be organizing a 200km and 300km brevets right here in southwest Montana. As far as I know these will be the first brevets to start and finish in Montana and I am the first RBA in and from Montana in the history of the world!

I am very excited about this endeavor. I think Montana-with our incredible scenery, low traffic roads, and varied terrain-is a great location for the sport of randonneuring. I will be introducing this challenging sport to my peers with the Gallatin Valley Bicycle Club and long distance cyclists all over Montana. I also hope to entice others into long distance cycling (there's got to be a few more Montanans out there as crazy as me), and share our wonderful state with randonneurs from other parts of the USA and the world.

Now that I've been approved to be an RBA the real work begins. Stay tuned as I set up a separate website for the brevets I will be organizing. I will also be finalizing and seeking approval for the routes I am planning run in 2010, and looking beyond 2010 hosting some other exciting routes in Montana.