RANDO MONTANA

2012 Brevet Schedule

2012-01-14T17:02:00.000-08:00

I have a light brevet schedule for the summer/fall of 2012 with three events. I am contemplating all brand new routes so I still have to go through the route approval process before anything is official. If things come together like I am hoping, these will be some amazing rides.

100K Populaire-July 28, 2012. This will a fun "shorter" distance ride, ideal for those new to randonneuring. All finishers will receive an attractive commerative Randonneurs USA Populaire pin. The route will start and finish in the Belgrade-Bozeman area-stay tuned for more details.

200K ACP Brevet-August 18, 2012. Early plans are for this route to be in and around Yellowstone National Park, starting and finishing in West Yellowstone, MT.

300K ACP Brevet-September 8, 2012. We are hoping to incorporate the Going To The Sun Highway in Glacier National Park into this route. Tenative plans are to start and finish the ride in Whitefish, MT.

And for those RUSA members who want to get in more events, please consider riding one of my permanents. Permanents can be scheduled almost anytime, and if I'm available I'd love to join you (if you don't like going too fast). I have four great routes-all challenging and scenic. Check the right column of my blog for all the info on my permanents-or just send me an email and we can get something set up.

My Solitary Paris-Brest-Paris

2011-09-05T22:19:00.000-07:00

This is my recounting of the 2011 Paris-Brest-Paris bike ride as I remember it. This may not be what actually happened. Extreme sleep deprivation made the memory of the ride seem surreal and dreamlike...maybe I didn't ride at all and just imagined it?

I think I started reading about the 1200 kilometer Grand Randonee called Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP) sometime in 2006-or maybe a little bit before. At the time the distance seemed incomprehensible in the time allotted to complete the ride. But I couldn't help but be intrigued. The more I read, the more I wanted to be a part of it. Over the next months and years I started riding longer distances. Indeed it was hard-and there was a lot to learn. I rode my first 200K brevet in 2008, became a "Super Randonneur" for the first time in 2009, and qualified and signed up for PBP in 2011. I've come a long ways from day dreaming about riding in France-to being on the verge of actually doing so.

Well...to make a long story short, I started and finished PBP.  My first 1200K. I rode the whole route (except for walking up a few of the steep hills near the end). I started in the second wave of the 84 hour group at exactly 5:19 AM on Monday morning, August 22, 2011. I was late getting done-finishing in 86 hours and 6 minutes (frame no. 8285). I did manage to get my card stamped at every control-even as the wore out volunteers were packing everything up right behind me and souvenir hunters were scooping up the route signs before I had a chance to read them. I'm satisfied that I finished, but determined to get back in 2015 and do better. If nothing else, I acquired an immense amount of information that will help me next time-and God help me...there will be a next time!

I wasn't 100% when I left for France. For reasons detailed in earlier posts in this blog, my world was turned a bit upside down starting in July after a successful qualifying campaign.  That being said, I was confident I could do the ride.

While I worried about the bike riding, my wife Brenda did a great job of taking care of the travel arrangements. I left from Seattle on the 17th of August and arrived in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines with no problems except jet lag. Brenda couldn't accompany me due to work commitments.  Instead she arrived in France on Sunday, the day before my ride started.

After bike check and sign in on Sunday morning I began to make my way via the greater Paris public transportation system to get Brenda from Charles de Gaulle Airport. Unfortunately, due to track closures, language barriers, and a comedy of errors, an approximately 3 hour round trip turned into an all day affair, complete with about 10 miles of walking and an indescribable level of stress, all on the hottest and most humid day of the whole trip. I got to share this experience with the Weible's from Missouri who were going to get a rental car to use as a support vehicle. I was glad I had their company-or I would have been a bigger basket case than I was! I manged to find Brenda at the airport, but ended up exhausted and getting to bed way too late on the night before the biggest ride of my life. Not good!

Despite my exhaustion from the misadventures of the previous day, excitement about the ride never allowed for any deep sleep and I was up and at 'em at 2:30 AM, going over my stuff for the hundredth time making sure nothing important got left behind. I rode over to the the start with fellow Montanan Ken Billingsley where we found a large group already lined up, including our other fellow Montanan Karel Stroethoff. Brenda, and Ken's wife Heath, were there for some last minute pictures and video and to send us off with a good luck hug. It was a festive atmosphere-even as a few rain drops started to fall.

My strategy at the start was to try and hang with a big group of riders and draft along. I knew the pace would be high, but I counted on expending less energy in the draft of a large group instead of riding on my own. The plan worked to perfection for the first 78K when the hills became too much for me and I had to let the group go. From then until the Mortagne I was passed on every incline by dozens and dozens of riders. The efforts of the previous day, along with the fast start, left my legs powerless. I could do nothing but spin and hope for the best.

I recovered a bit after a too long rest stop at Mortagne, as the field thinned out considerably. I was no longer being passed as often, but I knew I was already near the back of the pack. This is when the rain started. Sometimes as just drizzle, and other times in a thick dark cloud full of lightning and thunder. Many times it felt like someone was standing over me with a garden hose on full blast. Twice I found myself delayed at the controls, Villaines-la-Juhel and Fougeres, as I waited out monsoon like downpours. As one American rider passed me I exclaimed and he agreed-this wasn't fun anymore.

The rain let up as I rode through the night, mostly alone, but sometimes in the company of some French riders, and for awhile with fellow American Scott Ebbing from Ohio. I met Scott on our bus tour of Paris a couple of days before and it was really nice to have a familiar voice to talk to-for however short the time was. I finally got to my planned overnight stop at Loudeac at about 7 AM.

After a change of clothes from my drop bag, a hot meal, and a 45 minute sleep break in Loudeac I was falling behind even further and had to push up the pace on the out-and-back to Brest. I was making good time on the way to Carhaix when a wrong turn sent me 3 or 4 kilometers in the wrong direction. I knew something was amiss when I stopped meeting cyclists on their return from Brest. The mishap put me in late to Carhaix with no time to rest.

When the outbound route rejoined the inbound route on the climb to Roc Trevezel on the way to Brest, the biggest hill on the whole ride, I encountered the awesome site of the bulk of the 90 hour riders, who had left the day before I did, on their way back. It looked like a rolling party on wheels and I was waved to hundreds of times. Even though they were headed the other way, I felt like I was part of something really big, instead of being on an isolated bike ride with a few dozen stragglers. It was one of the few truly fun moments on the whole ride.

I rode well after Roc Trevezel and managed to get into Brest exactly one minute before the control closed. Unfortunately, I was completely spent. It would be the last time I would be on time the rest of the ride. After a sandwich and Coke I laid my head down on the table for a few minutes until the control workers chased me out-they wanted to tear everything down and go home (understandably). I was half-way done, but in terrible shape as I headed back toward Paris.

The remainder of the ride was impacted by serious sleep deprivation. Waves of fatigue would roll over me at different times and I would actually find myself dreaming on the bike-very close to falling asleep. This was scary and there was nothing I could do but pull over, find a driveway or wide spot and lay down, using my camel back for a pillow. I took several of these little cat-naps-usually for about 10 or 15 minutes. I did take a little longer nap on the lawn at Tinteniac, probably a half-hour before a control worker woke me to see if I was alright. Good thing or I probably would have kept on sleeping.

The fatigue and drowsiness hit me hard day and night, but the night riding was especially hard. In my mental state riding through the wooded areas of Brittany felt like riding in an endless dark cave. It was spooky and hard to navigate-especially on the roads with little or no center line or fog line. It definitely slowed me down even more. I even got lost for a while between Brest and Carhaix-along with a French guy who was weaving all over the road. Getting into a town was so welcome as it felt just like exiting the cave.

Through all the second half of the route other riders would seem to appear out of nowhere, ride with me for a while and then disappear. Another weird experience was riding with one group of riders, and coming to a town or intersection only to find I was riding with someone else. Very few of the stragglers spoke english and in my state I could not work out even the most rudimentary french. When I did encounter some english speaking riders somewhere between Carhaix and Loudeac I'm afraid I chatted like a canary. I hope I wasn't too annoying, but I was feeling pretty lonely at that point and needed someone to talk to. But just like the others, those riders seemed to disappear into thin air.

Without a doubt the toughest section was between Villaines-La-Juhel and Mortagne. This was in the middle of the third night. The road was pretty deserted, and I needed to take a couple of short sleep breaks to keep from nodding off. Sometime before daybreak I hit a big bump and started to feel my back tire going down-a classic pinch flat. I've never had to change a tube in the dark, let alone with severe sleep deprivation. I did get the new tube installed, but also managed to get my chain all tangled up in the derailleur when I tried to reinstall the wheel. It took a considerable amount of time to get it sorted out. I was awful glad to get moving again, only to discover that my rear end had decided it had had enough! Excruciating saddle sores would be my constant companion the rest of the way.

I got to Mortagne early in the morning. They were still there to stamp my card, but again everything was closing down. I found a terrific bakery in town to get a couple of croissants for breakfast. Also in Mortagne (or was it the next town-I can't remember) I got some salve from a pharmacy for my aching butt. That helped but I stopped at another town pharmacy a few more kilometers down the road for more Advil. A few mega doses of that numbed the pain just enough to keep going.

On the ride to Dreux the sun came out and it was very pleasant. I rallied a bit at this point as the Advil took hold and the road flattened a bit. In a town just before Dreux a volunteer flagged me around a corner and cheered me on to hurry up-Dreux would closing down in a half-hour! I sort of time trialed the rest of the way, entering a deserted parking lot at the control. I was greeted by two enthusiastic girls who spoke terrific english. They led me to the control. When I entered the building I was met with a round of applause from the volunteers still hanging around. Apparently I was the last rider to get a brevet card stamped at this control. I was really touched by the reception-it meant a lot after what I had been going through.

More riders appeared ahead of me on the final stretch from Dreux back to Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines . I think some of them had bypassed the Dreux control. One French rider on a recumbent was proudly carrying a direction sign on his bike. The signs which marked the route were becoming harder and harder to find as souvenir hunters gathered them up. Lucky for me I came across Tom Reeder from DC who was keeping an eye on a French rider with severe Shermer's Neck (a condition where the neck gives out and you can't hold your head up anymore). They were riding slow-as I was at this point-and Tom knew the way back to the finish line. We slowly rolled into the finish-me about 2 hours late. There were still some folks hanging around and they were still there to accept my card. I was glad to be done. In a couple of hours I was in an almost coma like sleep back at the hotel. I don't think I've ever slept so sound.
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Just few comments about the ride:

It was way harder than I ever imagined. I go about 6'5" and 200 pounds. Hills are my kryptonite. This route is nothing but hills.
French drivers are awesome. They won't squeeze past you on the narrow roads. They'll ride behind you for a long time until the on coming lane is clear-no yelling, honking, or throwing things. It was amazing.
Imagine a country with no cyclist hating rednecks...that's France!
Riding through some village in the middle of the night and having someone standing along side the road cheering us on. It was so amazing. I felt like a rock star!
Others offered coffee and snacks. I stopped at a few of these and it always hit the spot. I wished I had the time to stop at more of them.
My brain played all sorts of tricks on me. I had a strange sense of deja vu the whole trip-that I had ridden this route weeks before. It was a really strange feeling. I also had the sense that I was just going in circles instead of in a relatively straight line west and then back east. After a while every village looked the same.
The 84 hour start was a mistake. I've never been fast, but I've never had any trouble with randonnering time limits. My previous 600K's and 1000K were finsihed with hours to spare and with plenty of sleep. But time just seemed to evaporate on PBP. Next time it's the 90 hour start-no matter what my form is.

Despite my fatigue at the finish I recovered well enough for Brenda and I to have a wonderful time touring Paris the next day. We even hiked up to the top of the Arc de Triomphe-though my thighs were screaming. It was also difficult sitting on the plastic seats on the boat tour, but I made it through.

Back from France

2011-08-30T20:44:00.000-07:00

Just got home this evening after PBP and a few days with our daughter in Portland. I rode PBP, finishing in just over 86 hours. Severe rain on the first day, severe sleep deprivation after the second day, and severe saddle sores on the 4th day conspired with heavy legs throughout to keep me from finishing in under 84 hours. I'll get a full ride report up soon, the feeling has to return to my hands so I can type better. Stay tuned.

France here I come. Ready...or not?

2011-08-10T13:10:00.000-07:00

The time is very short-I will be departing for France from Seattle on August 17. I'll begin riding PBP on August 22 at 5 AM (about 1 PM Mountain Daylight Time) Anybody who wants track my progress can do so by clicking HERE and typing in Frame Number 8285

My last home brevet was completed on August 6, 2011. The Tobacco Root Mountains 300K was successfully ridden by Ken Billingsley, Karel Stroethoff, and myself. Ken and Karel rode very strong. Their fitness is without question. Both are poised to have great PBP's. As for me...the less said about the ride the better. I didn't feel well, I didn't climb well, and I finished almost two hours behind my colleagues. I guess if there's any silver lining it's that I rode with a full PBP load and still finished with over four and half hours to spare.

The month of July was pretty traumatic, first finding out that my Mom (and loyal brevet volunteer) has pancreatic cancer, and later on dealing with the loss of my 90 year old grandmother. All of a sudden cycling is on the back burner.

Mom is under the best possible care at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle and shuttling back and forth from here to there between treatments. She's one of the toughest people I know and will fight hard! Grandma's passing was not unexpected, but it was still hard on all of us, and it did impact my training a bit. I come from a very large family. Dozens of relatives came in from all over the country for the funeral-which mean't some family gatherings and lots-o-lots of food! Given my appetite is on overdrive anyway as a result of all my bike riding, I heartily indulged, and packed on a few extra pounds in the two weeks since the Beartooth Brevet.

So maybe I'll give myself a break, continue training for a few more days with shorter-faster rides on rolling hills like the PBP route features and then see what happens. I will have 84 hours to finish PBP. If I keep moving I'll do it. I'll do my sleeping afterwards.

Beartooth Brevet. On Top of the World!

2011-07-25T21:07:00.000-07:00

Brenda and Jackson did a little Paris-Brest-Paris glacier graffiti

With almost exactly one month from the start of Paris-Brest-Paris the time has come to put the finishing touches on my fitness for the event. Last year I scheduled the 200K Beartooth Brevet to take place on July 23, 2011 for just this purpose.

The Beartooth Highway takes a switchback laden meandering trek over the Beartooth Plateau to Cooke City, Montana. One way is about 100K so obviously going back over gets us the requisite brevet distance of 200K (with a 13.5 hour time limit). The challenge of course is the climbing, starting out at Red Lodge at an elevation of 5,553 feet we climb to the west summit of the Beartooth Plateau which tops out at 10,947 feet before descending to the Clark Fork of the Yellowstone River, back up to 8,000 feet on Colter Pass and finally stopping at our intermediate checkpoint in Cooke City before returning to Red Lodge via the same route. The ride is pretty much 65 miles uphill and 65 miles down-with very little flat in between and three significant summits-the east and west summits on the plateau, and the five mile long Colter Pass climb. This is a route that could easily feature in the Tour de France (if it was in Europe), except that it tops out at about 2000 feet higher than any of the Tour’s climbs. Check out the route profile HERE.

Brenda, Jackson, Ernie, and I motored to the small town of Joliet, Montana 26 miles north of Red Lodge to take advantage of the moderately priced Joliet Motel which was a bargain compared to the inflated motel prices of Red Lodge. Brenda brought me to Red Lodge the next morning where she signed Ken Billingsley and me in for the brevet. We departed a few minutes after 7 AM and started going uphill, first quite gradually, but soon in earnest. A series of switchbacks took us up the face of the mountain to the Montana-Wyoming border with an unrelenting uphill grade. Some 20 miles after Red Lodge on one of the switchbacks is a rest-area turnout called Vista Point. Ken, who was five to ten minutes ahead of me stopped at the rest area where dozens of cars, motorcycles, and campers congregate to take in the scenery. With a quick cursory glance I didn’t see Ken or his bike in the parking lot so I assumed he kept going. My plan all along was to stop as little as possible on the outbound segment so I just kept going as well. A little while later a couple in a van pulled up along side me to tell me Ken was back at Vista Point looking for me. Uh oh! Oh well, I figured Ken would eventually determine that I was ahead and he would catch up. There was no way I could afford to back track and lose the precious elevation I had worked so hard to gain. Besides, Ken is a much, much faster climber than I am. I’m still not sure how we missed each other. Ken got himself a couple extra climbing miles by backtracking a bit to look for me-but as he demonstrated later in the day-he was more than up for it.

The air above the tree line is thin, but go-figure, the wind can still knock you over. So you have to hold on tight. It was also quite chilly, though it was beautifully sunny. I would guess temperatures were in the upper 40’s. As I climbed the final few meters of the west summit I passed a gaggle of motorcycle riders pulled over at one of the many turnouts along the way. There must have been at least 20 of them and nearly every one had an encouraging word as I slogged past. It was a neat moment. A few minutes later they all came rumbling by and led me down the curvy technical descent. Motorcycles were clearly the vehicle of choice on the day as we were passed by hundreds.

I pulled off at the Top of the World Store, 38 miles away from Red Lodge, re-stocked my camelback and ate a sandwich I had packed with me. I was joined by a German motorcycle rider who was touring all over North America. While we were chatting Ken came in, relieved to see I was here and not crumpled up on the side of the mountain somewhere. We had lots of conversations at the store with tourists passing both ways, including another cyclist who had started at Red Lodge and was going to Cooke City too.

The ride from the Top of World Store to the base of Colter Pass is mostly downhill, except for a little bump a few miles from the store. We had a pretty stout headwind at this point so I couldn’t hit crazy speeds. Temperatures rose steadily on the descent and I shed a layer of clothes once I reached the Clark Fork of the Yellowstone before making the five mile long climb up Colter Pass.

We got to Cooke City with about 20 minutes to spare under the randonneuring time limit, cutting it fairly close. The ride back has about 2000 feet less climbing due to Cooke City’s 7500+ elevation so time wasn’t a huge concern, barring any unfortunate mechanical or medical mishap.

Last year I attempted this ride, making it to Cooke City, but running out of energy, desire, and time on the way back and having to hitch a ride to the east summit. I had a couple of things going for me this year in helping me make sure a DNF wasn’t going to happen again. First off I had experience. I know the route much better and know where it will be hard and where I’ll get a respite. I also have a slightly smaller gear on my bike which helps keep my legs a little fresher. Mentally I broke up the return route into two 10 mile climbing segments, instead of looking at the entire return route as a whole. After the first 10 mile climb there’s a short downhill and some flat back to the Top of the World Store, then another 10 miles of climbing to the west summit. From there it’s just a couple of more miles climbing to the east summit and the 30 mile uninterrupted descent to Red Lodge.

The strategy was working. I found Ken relaxing at the Top of the World Store where we were soon met by Brenda and Jackson, our dutiful volunteers, who came out to get some pictures on the plateau. Ken said he didn’t even have to wait for me very long-which was encouraging because I’m too big to ever be a fast climber. Most importantly, I still had some gas in the tank.

A swarm of mosquitoes chased us away from the store pretty quickly and on to the switchbacks and eventually the summits of the Beartooth Plateau. I told Ken I was channeling the theme from Rocky as I climbed at a blistering 5 mph. Ken wanted to get in a little extra work, so he pushed himself ahead to the top, then came back down to tell me I was almost there. He made it look awfully easy! Winds were gusty and unpredictable on the barren open plateau with one gust almost blowing both of us off our bikes. It would also be cold going downhill so we put on our jackets.

It’s a very technical descent to Red Lodge with too many twists and turns to allow for super high speeds. There’s also just enough traffic to worry about. A real champ descender could easily keep up or even go faster than the cars, but that wasn’t for me or Ken. We took it pretty easy and safe.

I was a little concerned getting close to Red Lodge because Brenda and Jackson had yet to pass us. I was worried that maybe Brenda had some sort of mishap. But as it turned out, we were just too fast. She had stopped to take a few more pictures, expecting to catch up and pass us, but never did. She drove in just few seconds after we got done, much to my relief. Now I could truly celebrate-12 hours and 40 minutes after starting out that morning.

I’m very proud of this ride. I know of many cyclists who ride to the top and come back down, or ride to Cooke City and stop, but other than Ken and me, I’ve never heard of anyone else going over and back in the same day (though I’m sure it’s been done). It’s a monumental task. I can’t imagine there being many other 200K‘s that are more difficult than this one.

I felt very good after the ride considering the difficulty. My fitness is pretty good and the 28 cog on my bike helped a lot-making the ride more doable. The effort should really pay off when we ride in France next month. The Bear's Tooth can be seen in the center of the photo. The whole mountain range is named for this relatively small feature (at least it looks small from here).

The Beartooth Brevet. Time for some climbing.

2011-07-17T20:50:00.001-07:00

My 200K Beartooth Brevet is this coming weekend. This is a simple out-and-back from Red Lodge, MT to Cooke City, MT and back. The only thing is-the route climbs up to almost 11,000 feet above sea level. There are actually two summits on the Beartooth Plateau, along with the 5 mile long Colter Pass just before Cooke City. I tried this route last year and came up short-having to shuttle to the summit in the back of a pickup on the way back. I'm determined to get it done this year. We'll leave from Red Lodge at 7:00 AM on July 23, 2011 and see what happens. All the details are HERE.

Bozeman Daily Chronicle Feature!

2011-06-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

Out of the blue, Bozeman Chronicle reporter Sean Forbes contacted me to do a story about my brevet series. Sean saw the link to my rides on the Gallatin Valley Bicycle Club website and I guess he was intrigued. A few days after the phone interview Chronicle photographer Nick Wolcott met me outside of Belgrade on a training ride and took some photos. I get in the paper now and then with work related stuff-but that's horribly boring. On the other hand-this was so cool. I think the story was very well done. I've gotten lots of nice comments and compliments. My only regret is I should have worn leg warmers-that was one of my first rides of this cool, wet spring with bare legs..and it showed. Check out the story on the Chronicle's website HERE.

Riding along the Musselshell River...and not in it!

2011-06-21T20:47:00.000-07:00

The start of day 2. I'm not as angelic as I appear!

More Photos Here

Central Montana has been ravaged by floods from record snow pack and rainfall this spring. One week before my scheduled 600K brevet, a significant portion of US Highway 12 between Harlowton and Roundup was underwater. Alternate routes, of which there are very few, were being contemplated as my final Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP) qualifying brevet hung in the balance.

Fortunately, the waters receded just enough and the Musselshell River 600K brevet route was open for business on June 18-19, 2011. Now all we had to do was ride the 375 miles within the 40 hour time limit.

Brenda, Jackson, Ernie, and I rendezvoused with fellow PBP hopefuls Ken Billingsley and Karel Stroethoff on Friday night at the quaint Countryside Inn in the quaint town of Harlowton-pretty close to the center of the State of Montana. A cloudy day had given way to a pleasant evening and the forecast for Saturday looked good (just a chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon). As for Sunday…well at this point that was too far off to worry about (one of the strategies for completing these long rides is to not look too far ahead).

5:00 AM Saturday morning showed up with temperatures in the mid-40’s and an almost imperceptible west breeze. The sun was coming up and as promised it looked like a beautiful day. We sped along US-12 toward Roundup along with the swollen Musselshell.

The devastation of the recent floods was all around. The smell along the river was not pleasant with all the stagnant water everywhere-kind of like a wet dog that just rolled in a manure pile. We could see where the water had been over the road, with the river levels just a couple of feet lower now. We didn't see much of Roundup because we stopped at the first gas station in town, but there were flooded properties and the washed out former Milwaukee Railroad grade that appeared to serve as a dike. It was a pretty big mess.
Fixing Karel's first flat in the Bull Mountains along Highway 87

After a short rest in Roundup we had a long stretch on the much busier, but also shouldered US Highway 87 to Billings. Lots of debris, glass, and chewed up tire bits on the shoulder-so inevitably flat tires. Karel got the first flat, somewhere in the Bull Mountains. Later on I got one on the high plains outside of Billings. A sharp piece of steel belted radial was quickly discovered as the culprit. Unfortunately, as with my Cody brevet a few weeks ago, I didn’t do the change job properly and promptly flatted again about a mile down the road. The valve stem didn’t seat right. I thought it would work itself out. It did, by slamming against the inside of my rim and flatting immediately. The second change went better and we were on our way-but I was pretty flustered. It took until the city limits of Billings to finally calm down and start trusting my tire again.

We were still together as we rode through Billings Heights to Airport Road along the Rimrocks to the infamous Zimmerman Trail-a very short, but busy and narrow switch back descent to the valley floor below. We were able to easily exceed the speed limit and stay with the cars on the way down. A few hours later we would have to go up Zimmerman Trail-that would be a whole different kind of experience!

Ken and I lost Karel a few miles later. One minute we could see him about a quarter of a mile behind us and the next minute he was completely out of site. It was only about 6 or 7 miles to Ken’s house and our next rest stop, so we decided to press on . Karel has ridden 10’s of thousands of kilometers of brevets over the years-we knew he was equipped to take care of himself, and we were close enough to dispatch a volunteer to go find him if necessary. Heath and Brenda and the flag of Brittany-a region of France on the PBP route

Ken and his wife Heath live on the top of a hill off Buffalo Trail Road, north of Laurel. It’s a beautiful area to ride with a nice new paved road and no traffic. We were greeted at their house by my Mom and Dad who had driven over from Belgrade earlier in the day, Brenda, Jackson and Ernie who came in from Harlowton that morning, and Heath, who had the place all decorated with memorabilia from Ken’s five previous PBP’s. Big delicious grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches were served up and life was good! An approaching thunderstorm after lunch. We should have waited it out.

Karel showed up just about the time we thought we should go look for him. His rear tire had developed a slow leak and he had to stop several times to pump it back up.

As we finished lunch, thunderstorms were brewing all around. Ken and I decided to press on-randonneurs are always trying to keep forward momentum as the clock is always ticking-despite some crackling thunder overhead. Karel was working on his tire, but bid us to go on. It almost proved to be a fateful decision. As we turned on Molt Road to head back to Billings the skies opened up and a cold drenching rain came down. There was also a brilliant flash of lightning and immediate clap of thunder that nearly scared us out of our wits. The lightning didn’t strike anything, but looking around on the open plains, we were about the tallest things around (and I’m quite a bit taller than Ken!) Fortunately, the storm was over just about as fast as it started. As we descended back to Billings we dried out pretty quickly.

The climb back up the mile long Zimmerman Trail was not as terrifying as I had been imagining over the last several months. The cars and pickups came by in clumps of 4 or 5 as they were released by the stop light at the bottom of the hill, and they were only going about 20-25 mph so even though they were close enough to reach out and touch I never felt in danger. We made short work of the climb and got back on the high plains to Lavina.

Ken, who was riding a little faster than me at this point went on ahead and I settled into a steady but conservative pace for the 40 or so miles Lavina. There was a lot of standing water in the fields on both sides of the wide shouldered road-providing great mosquito habitat. I had to abandon a “nature break” because hundreds of bugs feasted upon me the second I came to a stop.

Brenda and Mom and Dad set up a control at Lavina which gave us the opportunity to refuel and get ready for night riding back on US 12 to Harlowton. Ken was just leaving Lavina as I pulled in. Karel was a ways behind as he ran over a construction screw just outside of Billings and ruined the new tire he had just installed at Ken’s house. Fortunately, Brenda happened along at the same time and she had his old tire. Karel was having a rough day, but Brenda reported he was still in good spirits.

The ride back to Harlowton was slow as it was uphill and into a light headwind, but it was a pleasant evening, and the only thing I had to share the road with were mule deer. Night bicycle riding can really be wonderful.

Karel who was still a ways back told Brenda he was going to try to press on after Harlowton. He didn’t reserve a motel room for Saturday night-but he did have his van which he could rest in if he wanted. Ken and I on the other hand agreed to set out again at 5AM on Sunday morning to finish off the last 200K. I ate a little snack, hit the bed, and slept fitfully for about three hours-getting up before the alarm went off at 4AM. It was in the 50’s but raining lightly. I wasn’t feeling too great and had no appetite-just nibbling on some junk food for breakfast.

I was slightly dreading the next 57 miles to White Sulphur Springs. We would be riding into the Castle Mountains and there was some serious climbing ahead. After riding together for the first 20 miles or so, Ken set off ahead and was soon out of sight. I was feeling really sluggish and in a pre-bonk state. No fuel this morning was not going to work for me. Fortunately, Brenda had made me a Nutella-bagel sandwich which I had in my jersey pocket. That had just enough calories to re-light my fire and get me moving-although slowly. The road conditions were terrible and rain was still drizzling down as I climbed to the small community of Checkerboard. After Checkerboard the road got much better, with a shoulder, but the climbing got more intense and the rain came down hard for a while.

Relief set in when I finally dropped into the White Sulphur Springs Town Pump C-Store a little before noon. The hardest riding was done and we only had a little over 100K to go. Ken was just leaving the Town Pump when I arrived. I was quite surprised to see him as I figured he would be hours ahead. But he had also struggled with a lack of calories which slowed him on the climbs. The hot dogs at the gas station got some much needed protein and fat into my system. I was feeling much better for the finish.

Mom and Dad and Brenda caught up to take care of us at the last control on the route at the turn to Martinsdale. Karel was nowhere to be found so far and everyone figured he was way out in front. Brenda finally found him almost to Harlowton in the afternoon. He did go to sleep in his van (after getting in at about 3 AM) and got started late. With the big climbs ahead he decided to turn back at Checkerboard and abandon the brevet. Fortunately, he had completed a 600K last weekend in Richland, Washington so he was already PBP qualified. He had missed the volunteers driving up to meet us when he went into the bar in Checkerboard to refill his water bottles, thus he was MIA for a while. I didn’t blame Karel at all for abandoning. The way I felt that morning I probably would have packed it in too if I didn’t absolutely need the ride to qualify. I have no doubt Karel could have finished, but he didn’t want to finish in the evening and then have to drive all the way back to Missoula on less than three hours sleep. Probably a wise decision-and he did get some really valuable training in if nothing else.

Ken made it in safely and he, Karel, Brenda, Jackson, and Ernie waited at the finish line for me come in at 5:38 PM. They cheered me as I rolled up-with a lump in my throat and my emotions about to leak out. What a great way to finish a ride. We had some celebratory hugs and handshakes before packing up and heading for home-now fully qualified for PBP. An emotional finish

It was an epic brevet series. The routes were challenging and in 3 of the 4 rides we got rained on (actually even snowed on in Missoula). We also had plenty of wind. But the extra effort in the qualifying rides will only help us in France in August. Now all I have to do if figure out how to box my bike up and get it to Paris!

A BIG BIG thanks to our families for all their support in getting this done. The help we got from Brenda, Jackson, Heath, Mom and Dad was so welcome. I hope they had as much fun as we riders did.

Gallatin-Jefferson 400K-a bit of summer

2011-06-05T20:10:00.000-07:00

Brevet No.3...and now things are getting serious. 200K's-yes they are hard, but they almost always start and finish in daylight. 300K's-a good long way to ride a bike but pretty doable-in most cases you're not going to have to worry about sleep deprivation. But then there's the 400K-a notorious distance for many randonneurs. Too short, with a 27 hour time limit, to allow an extended stop with a sleep break, but too long not to finish way into the wee hours of the next day. Things that can be an annoyance on a 200K or 300K can be show stoppers on a 400K-whether it be nutrition, fitness, or equipment. You have to have things pretty well dialed in.

My Gallatin-Jefferson 400K started out into a chilly, clear morning from my house here in Belgrade (more photos here). I was joined once again by Ken Billingsley and Karel Stroethoff. All of us have 400K's under our belts from previous seasons but this was our first for this year.

The route was in two segments. The first was a tour of the Gallatin Valley, dipping in and out of the Bozeman City Limits on three different times, then heading west to the communities of Churchill and Manhattan before circling back to Belgrade on Dry Creek Road. The second segment headed out to Silver Star via Whitehall, doing a small loop back to Whitehall and then back home via the big hills on Highway 359 to Harrison.

We felt like we hit the jackpot with the weather forecast. High temps in the low 70's and very light breezes. A perfect day (almost).

When we left Belgrade at 5AM it was barely above freezing, though the sun was coming up. Toes got a bit chilly until the mercury started to seriously climb at about 9AM. We kept more or less together throughout the entire Gallatin Valley loop, a ride that in many ways felt more like a club century ride than a brevet because we had checkpoints (and thus lots of rest stops) about every ten miles to account for numerous possible shortcuts. We rode at a pretty good clip the whole way, but we didn't get back to Belgrade for lunch until 1PM as the frequent stops did slow us down.

Brenda, Jackson, and my Mom were at the house to greet us for the 100 mile stop. Brenda cooked up a batch of soup and there were lots of other goodies on hand. For a brevet with only 3 people, we were supported like it was a brevet of 50. I'm so grateful to my family for all their support in my randonneuring efforts.

After lunch we headed out into a light, but annoying and tiring, headwind on the frontage road. Traffic was predictably busy, but thinned out once we got past the Belgrade area subdivisions. The bike path and new pedestrian bridge over the Madison River at Three Forks was a welcome diversion from the highway, but all too short. More high speed traffic to Sappington Junction where we got a break on the nice and quiet highway through the Jefferson Canyon past the Lewis and Clark Caverns. The wind was still hounding us, but my stomach had settled down and I felt better.

We followed a typical pattern spreading out on the road, and meeting up again at the checkpoints-in fact we were together on all but two or three of the 17 checkpoints all day. Ken was riding much quicker than Karel or I, but he didn't mind holding up for us. A great feature of the non-competitive nature of randonneuring where camaraderie is what it's all about! I was able to get a picture of each of us depositing our post card in the mailbox in Silver Star-proving that we were there.

Brenda and Jackson setup a "secret" checkpoint back in Whitehall on our return trip back toward Belgrade (a secret checkpoint is not announced on the route sheet. An organizer can place one on a route to keep riders honest...and provide some service). It was most welcome. Lots of food and goodies and a chance to get our layers and lights back on as the sun was setting and the temperatures were falling rapidly.

If the ride was only 300K I would have been pretty happy. The first 300K was about 2 hours faster than the 300K in Wyoming two weeks ago and though my cold was getting to me and my rear end was sore I didn't feel too bad. But we had another hilly 100K's to go, almost all in the dark, and into more headwind. As we were finishing our loop outside of Whitehall the wind amazingly shifted from the southwest to the southeast and we would have light headwinds again all the way home. It was frustrating.

So the last 100K was slow. Brenda and Jackson waited for us out in the middle of nowhere at our last checkpoint with hot coffee. It was getting quite cold and I was chilled to the bone, being about one layer short of what I should have had. Thankfully Jackson lent me his jacket at that last checkpoint-which was a serious ride saver.

Ken and I got back to my house in Belgrade at 2:14AM and Karel came in a short while later. The ride into the night, though cold, had its advantages. I could count on one hand the number of cars that passed after night fall.

Many thanks to Mom for the neutral support and keeping an eye on us on the second loop. And thanks to Brenda and Jackson who once again staffed the brevet expertly, including spending some long hours waiting for us at that last checkpoint in the dark near Harrison. That was going above and beyond the call-but so important for us.

This ride had a lot going for it. Great weather (except for the wind direction), no rain, and for the most part-quiet pleasant roads. The worst part of the day was the 13 miles of Highway 55 between Whitehall and Silver Star. This stretch is busy with truck traffic and no shoulder. Also, the folks around Whitehall seem to have a particular distaste for cyclists (at least in my experience as I've been harassed there more than most anywhere else). I'll probably try to avoid Highway 55 in the future and use the much more lightly traveled and pleasant Highway 41 which turned out to be a real jewel.

Gallatin-Jefferson 400K. Home court advantage.

2011-05-30T09:29:00.000-07:00

This site does not support embedded trip maps. View the trip here instead.
My third brevet of the season, the Gallatin-Jefferson 400K is all set to go for Saturday, June 4, 2011. Dare I say, the weather forecast is even looking favorable (knock on wood).

This route will be fun for me. These are my home training roads and the start/finish and an intermediate checkpoint are at my house in Belgrade. The first 100 miles is a loop of Bozeman and the Gallatin Valley and the second 150 goes to Whitehall and Silverstar. Lots of turns in the first part and much more spread out in the second part.

A pre-drive of the route with my son Jackson revealed no major road construction projects or serious flooding issues. There is some sort of rodeo event going on in Whitehall on the day of the ride though-so we'll probably have to deal with some horse trailers. Hopefully they'll be sober.

All the pertinent info is on my brevets website.

Cody 300K. Bonus miles, wind, rain, and flats!

2011-05-22T20:40:00.000-07:00

According to Harold Camping, the world was supposed to end on my birthday, May 21, 2011-and for quite a while along the Greybull Highway between Greybull and Cody, Wyoming I was wishing that it had! Rain was drizzling down, a stiff cross/head wind was blowing, there were almost 50 uphill miles to go, and I just got my third flat of the ride. But alas, time kept ticking both in the cosmos and on this 300K brevet. I got the flat fixed and kept going.

My second brevet of the season and the 2nd of 4 qualifying brevets for Paris-Brest-Paris started out well enough. Ken Billingsley, Karel Stroethoff, and I left Cody at 6:00 AM under cloudy but clearing skies and lighter than predicted breezes. As per usual, we set out at a casual pace, chatting along the way. When we rolled up on some road construction about 8 miles later that we didn't see on the drive into Cody the night before we knew we were off route. Back to Cody we went, finding Highway 120 which wasn't as obvious a turn as we had expected. The bonus miles cost us about an hour, but we were nice and warmed up anyway. In retrospect it was kind of funny-here we are in Wyoming where there aren't that many roads to begin with and we still managed to get on the wrong one!

The first 30 miles (after the bonus 16) were very pleasant as we climbed out of Cody and then had a nice downhill to the first info control. The sky was patchy, but we could see the about 3/4 of the way up the Beartooth Mountains and the wind was light. That all changed pretty soon after we turned toward Powell. I got my first flat, a piece of glass inbeded in the tire, and as we were changing the tube, the wind kicked up big time out of the northwest. This wasn't all bad, as we were headed in a southeast direction. The wind pretty much blew us to Powell, or at least most of the way. When we turned straight east the wind blew across our path and made the going tougher.

I got my second flat just after Powell. This one was my fault-not my tire's. In my rush to fix the first flat I didn't get enough air in the tire, so when I hit a big enough bump, my tire bottomed out on the rim and the tube went flat immediately (in cycling jargon this is known as a pinch flat). As I was frantically fixing the flat a sheriff's deputy pulled up and asked if everything was all right. We assured him that we had it under control-unless he happend to have a floor pump with him (he didn't) he couldn't help us any. I only carried two spare tubes with me so I was down to tire patches. Ken lent me his extra tube so we both had one. I was very frazzled at this point. Fixing flats in a strong wind wore me out more than riding. Thanks to Ken for helping out (three hands are a big help when fixing a flat on the road).

After more tailwinds and crosswind, which were increasing to what I'd guess was over 20 mph with higher gusts we made it to Lovell. We had easily made up enough lost time on the road that we were in no danger of missing the time cut off at the Lovell checkpoint. Ken and I stopped at a gas station on the edge of Lovell to get our cards signed and get a quick bite and some chocolate milk. Karel who had gone ahead at my last flat tire (no need for more than two of us to fix the flat) was at a Blimpie in town getting his card signed and refueling.

The ride across the Bighorn basin from Lovell to Otto started out with a cross headwind, but eventually turned into a glorious straight on tailwind. We flew down the road to the next info control out in the middle of nowhere. Brenda and Jackson met up with us on this part of the route with my floor pump. I got some more air in my tire and felt fairly certain that my troubles were behind me. The bike felt a lot better with a full shot of air in the back tire.

Not long after the info control on Highway 32 the rain started. First just a light drizzle, but gaining strength all the time. When we turned to the east going into the info control in Otto we were being lashed with that 20 mph crosswind and hard rain. Things were beginning to not be fun anymore. My Mom and Dad, who drove all the way down from Belgrade earlier in the day caught up to us on Highway 32 and waited for us, along with Brenda and Jackson, at the checkpoint in Otto, but it was raining so hard that Ken and I just waived hello and kept going.

My bad luck rubbed off on Ken as a little ways after Otto I came across him in the beginning stages of fixing a flat of his own. At least I was able to return the favor of holding up his bike and various bits and pieces as he got the tube replaced. But now we were down to one tube between the two of us. Although with Karel a little ways behind he certainly would have bailed us out if need be.

We met up my folks and Brenda and Jackson at a Conoco c-store in Greybull looking like wet rats, but no worse for wear. We got some food and I patched one of my flat tubes. We also got the word that Karel was a ways behind but doing fine (as fine as one could expect in the weather conditions we were having). The picture above kind of sums up the situation. I was just about to leave Greybull into what I knew would be a stiff cross/headwind, in the rain, and uphill. It was 54 miles back to Cody and it was going to be slow. I was all reflectered up as I would have to ride a bunch of the way in the dark.

Ken, who is much faster but graciously held up to ride with me to this point, decided strike out on his own-hoping maybe to get back in time to drive back home after the ride. I on the other wanted to hangout at the c-store a little longer. When these rides get really tough you've got to just ride your own pace and not try to ride someone else's. Mom and Dad also headed back to Belgrade, but said they'd check on Karel on the way out. They called a few minutes later to say he was about to join us.

Karel came in just as I was about to leave. He had oral surgery a week or so ago and hadn't been able to eat solid foods or get in any training. That he was out here at all, let alone riding successfully, was a real testament to his toughness. He was worried about not making it back to Cody before the time cutoff, but I wasn't worried-I knew he'd make it in "easily."

The ride back to Cody was the slog I knew it would be. Slow, uphill, and wet. The highway had a nice wide and smooth shoulder, but after my third flat a few miles out of Greybull I rode mostly in the traffic lane to avoid the flat tire causing shoulder debris-watching my rearview mirror and moving over whenever a car came. I had just used the tube I patched back in Greybull and patching another tube in the rain on the side of the road in the dark didn't sound appealing so I had to take every precaution to avoid another flat.

As I finally entered Cody after some steep hills just before the town a Wyoming State Trooper flagged me down. He let me know that Karel was about 8 miles behind me and Ken had got into town over an hour ago. He was a super nice guy and it was comforting to know he was out there keeping an eye on us. Kudos to the law enforcement of Wyoming. They were happy to help if needed.

As I turned onto a residential street, about half mile from the finish I hit a bump and my tire went flat again (another pinch flat). I had mixed emotions-relief that it happened so close to the end that I could walk the rest of the way , but frustration that I couldn't ride it in triumphantly. Before this ride, I had never had more than one flat tire on an organized ride (and there have been some long ones). I guess I was due, but for sure I'll be looking at some different tires!

We each finished about an hour apart, but all well within the required 20 hours. It was a long hard day for all of us, but we were glad to do it, knowing full well it will benefit us going into the rest of the season and ultimately at PBP.

Many thanks to our loyal volunteers: My wife Brenda for the paperwork, bringing out the floor pump, and waiting for us at the controls. And to my son Jackson and dog Ernie for going along too. Also, many thanks to Mom and Dad. They like to provide neutral support on my brevets. Thankfully on his one we didn't need to throw a bike in the back of their car-but all the same it's nice to know we have someone out there just in case something really bad happens.

Finally, much appreciation to Ken and Karel. We've done a lot rides together over the last couple of years and I've enjoyed every one! There aren't many randonneurs in our part of the country but we have stuck together. I've learned a ton from both of them!

Cody 300K-Hoping the weather gets the wind out of its system

2011-05-15T17:28:00.001-07:00

We've been plagued by the most miserable east winds lately. 30 mph, with even stronger gusts. It has not been fun to ride a bike out in it, but it has provided a great training opportunity. My next brevet is out of Cody, Wyoming-a place known for its wind. The route, goes in every direction at one time or another-so hopefully we'll have a tailwind at least part of the time. No matter what we have to get through it...and we will!

The ride leaves the Sunrise Motor Inn in Cody at 6:00 a.m. wind, rain, or shine. All the details are here.

The Best Piece of Infrastructure in Montana-Missoula 200K

2011-05-01T19:36:00.000-07:00

Click here for more photos. PBP qualifying is finally underway as my first brevet of the season, the Missoula 200K, was successfully completed on April 30, 2011. I was joined once again by Ken Billingsley and Karel Stroethoff who are also planning on going to PBP. I was also delighted to have Jeff Fasteen join us for his first randonneuring event. Jeff and Ken drove over from the Billings area and Karel, who has driven 10's of thousands of miles to brevets all over the country, finally got to enjoy a randonnuering event that started just few blocks from his home in Missoula.

I watched the weather forecast with grave concern. A cold front was rolling through the state starting on Thursday, with full effects on Friday, and lingering impact into Saturday. Highs were forecast for about 50 with a mix of rain or snow throughout the day. The ride started with temps in the mid-30's and low gray clouds. The snow line was clearly visible on the surrounding hills just a few hundred feet above the valley floor. We had some wet snow flakes on the way to Huson and Frenchtown along with some light drizzle, but as it turned out, weather wasn't a problem. Having the ride in Missoula was a good decision, it was much worse in most of the rest of the state.

The best part of the route was the wonderful bike path along US Highway 93, starting at Lolo and going almost all the way to Victor-with plans to keep going to Hamilton eventually. Riding a long distance without worrying about rednecks, RV mirrors, big trucks, and other various distracted drivers is incredibly relaxing. The worst part of the ride was the Eastside Highway (Hwy 269) between Stevensville and Corvallis. This part of the route had heavy, impatient, high speed traffic with absolutely no shoulder. Ravalli County drivers were less than hospitable. Which is too bad-because it's a nice valley to ride through. In future incarnations of this route I will make more use of the bike path and avoid 269 as much as possible.

As we got into the afternoon, the clouds broke up and we had some sun. We also had a west wind as we headed back north toward Missoula that was either a cross tailwind, cross wind, or cross headwind depending on the subtle direction changes of the bike path. The wind wasn't so strong though-especially compared to what we've been dealing with most of this spring.

Ken and I finished feeling pretty strong. Karel wasn't feeling well in the afternoon, but he made it in with no problem. Jeff, who had undergone major knee surgery just a few months ago, rode within himself, kept the pedals turning, and finished triumphantly with plenty of time to spare. This was Jeff's first randonnuering event-here's hoping there's many, many more. I know for me, the high from finishing one these rides, is highly addictive. Congrats Jeff!

It was a great day and good start to the season. The next one, the 300K, is on May 21 (my birthday), starting and finishing in Cody, Wyoming. Any chance we'll get a little wind out there?

See you in Missoula!

2011-04-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

I've made a few updates on my Brevets Website for the Missoula 200K coming up this Saturday, April 30. We had to make a slight modification due to road construction. The good news is there's more bike path along US 93 than I previously thought.

The weather forecast, like most forecasts lately, offers a mixed bag of cool temps and possible showers. But it doesn't look like anything that would trouble a randonneur.

I'm excited to get my Paris-Brest-Paris qualifying underway as many around the country (in warmer climates) are already done, or just about done with their 600k.

We leave it late up here God's Country, but we'll git 'er done!

2011 Brevet season is just about here!

2011-03-06T11:12:00.000-08:00

I've updated my Brevets Website with the following information:

Our first brevet of the season (a 200K) will take place on April 30, 2011. The ride will start and finish in Missoula, Montana at the East Broadway Park and Ride Lot just west of I-90 Van Buren Street Exit (Exit 105). Registration is at 6:30 a.m. and the ride will depart at 7:00 a.m.. Click HERE for a map, profile, and navigation and stay tuned to this website for more information as we get closer to the ride date.

A 300K brevet is scheduled for May 21, 2011. Due to extensive road construction in the Billings, MT area where we initially wanted to hold this ride, we decided to look south of border to Cody, Wyoming. Wide open spaces and distant mountain views of the Big Horn and Beartooth Mountains will feature. The route has just been approved by RUSA! Click HERE for more information.

A 400K brevet is scheduled for June, 4, 2011 starting and finishing at my home in Belgrade, MT. I was a bit self indulgent with this route-wanting to cover as many of my favorite local training roads as possible. This route, which is approved by RUSA, features plenty of services which could be important given the time of year. Click HERE for all the info.

A 600K brevet, scheduled for June 18-19, starting and finishing in Harlowton, MT. The proposed route will go to Billings on the first day, use Harlowton as the intermediate overnight stop, and go to White Sulphur Springs and Ringling on the second day. More information will be provided when the route is approved.

The above mentioned ACP brevets may be used as qualifiers for Paris-Brest-Paris 2011.

We will also have two challenging ACP brevets later in the summer that can be used for PBP training. A 200K will take place on July 23, 2011, tenatively planned to start and finish in Red Lodge, MT and go over the Beartooth Highway and back. A 300K will be offered on August 6, 2011, starting and finishing at my home in Belgrade.

2010 in the rear view mirror

2011-01-04T15:39:00.000-08:00

It was a good year-lots of accomplishments. My first year as an RBA and the rides went very well. Also, my first 1000k (see my last blog post), which was a huge and rewarding challenge.

Winter took a while to get to Montana this year, but when it arrived it decided to stay put. As per usual, I've put on a few extra holiday pounds. The good news is, some lingering cycling maladies such as a sore right arm and a couple of numb toes on my right foot are feeling much better. I don't think an extended break off the bike is necessarily a bad thing-not that I'm not jealous of those randonneurs who keep on piling up brevets, permanents, and R-12 awards in the winter months. My wife and I are going to be doing a little cross-training in January-running, cross-country skiing, and weights. There's also the indoor bike, but that's probably the toughest exercise to get motivated for.

2011 is going to be huge for me. I've got a full brevet series to host-plus a couple of extra brevets for good measure, and I am intending to go to France to ride Paris-Brest-Paris in August. A lot of logistics to work out between now and then-of which I am working on already.

My brevet schedule is up on my brevets website. The only major change so far is a possible change in location for the 300k from Billings to Cody, WY-brought on because of extensive road construction. Stay tuned!

Bremerton-Klamath Falls 1000k...Forgettable Pain, Unforgettable Scenery

2010-09-29T18:50:00.000-07:00

Prologue:

Time for another cycling milestone. This time, my first 1000k. I wanted to do a 1200 this summer, but it didn't fit into my schedule. Oh well-the most scenic 1000k I could imagine would have to do. I won't go into too much detail about the route specifics-you can get that by reading the pre-ride report by the organizers. It's a good description-except the part about the route not being a killer...several of those I rode with commented that this was the hardest 1000K they had ever done.

My fitness is better at the end of the summer (as with most cyclists) and I prepared for this long ride by riding my Hollowtop 200k permanent, most of my Beartooth Pass Permanent (see previous blog post), and my 300k Martinsdale Mailrun Permanent on successive weekends. My legs felt strong and I was ready to go for the 12:00 a.m. start out of Bremerton, Washington. More Photos Here.

Day 1:

Right out of the chute I found myself in a peloton of 20+ riders-cruising along the arterials out of Bremerton on wet roads in off and on light rain, where even at midnight there was some traffic, and lots of road debris too-a likely place to get a flat. I was praying to the tire gods to spare me...and they did. I didn't want to miss out on the draft 20 guys would provide and I didn't want to try to navigate my way out there by myself.

A large group stuck together, though it got a bit smaller as a couple of riders shot off the front, and a few more fell off the back. We were cruising along in the dark of night, sometimes over 20 miles an hour and making incredible time. I was beginning to think this ride was going to be a breeze. After descending upon the first open store like a hoard of locusts 79 miles into the ride in Montesano the group size diminished. We also had to reduce our double pace line to single file as the logging trucks were waking up and demanding their space on the road (we weren't going to argue with them).

Later on in the morning, the peloton now completely dissolved, me and five other riders approached the mouth of the Columbia River and set to cross the four mile long Astoria Bridge. I've driven over before so I knew the bridge had a very narrow shoulder and significant traffic. However, we had no trouble. It was a very amazing experience crossing that bridge.

I worked with Eric from Chicago, who was riding the 400K, as we entered Oregon and rode to Fort Clatsop where Lewis and Clark rested after making it to the Pacific. These back roads were quiet as we climbed and descended. I was really tired from this morning's effort and probably should have stopped somewhere to eat. As we reacquired the busy Highway 101 and a headwind in Seaside, I had to let Eric go.

I slogged through Cannon Beach to Nehalem on my own, going up and down some big, big rollers (who said sea level was level!). All the while dealing with heavy traffic on the highway. Eventually Eric Ahlvin's wheel came along and pulled me into Tillamook-greatly increasing my speed and the prospects of getting me to Pacific City and the first overnight before sundown. After a rest stop and some food at the Tillamook Safeway I was sufficiently recovered to pull a little as Eric and I made it to Pacific City at around 7 p.m. and 19 hours for the first 400k (not bad). We even saw a small black bear on the final descent into Pacific City-unfortunately he scurried off before I could get a picture.

I was greeted by fellow Montanan Ken Billingsley at the motel. Ken would be riding the 600k which started at 3:00 a.m.

After clean up, organizing, and a bite to eat from some stuff I bought in Tillamook I was out like a light. A bed never felt so comfortable!

Day 2:

I woke up in what felt like about five minutes...but in reality my alarm was just about to go off. Time to get going. I think I hit the road about 2:15 a.m.-choosing to set off on my own into a damp, foggy morning-with the roar of the ocean a short distance away. It's not that I'm anti-social. It's just that I had no idea how I was going to go and I needed to spin easy alone for a while to wake everything up.

Just before Depoe Bay I was caught by Gary Prince. Gary's wheel was just right and I drafted it into Depoe Bay in search of breakfast. The cafe we were hoping for was still closed so we, joined by Kevin from Seattle, ate our own snack and carried on towards Newport.

The fog had lifted and a near full moon made the waves of the Pacific Ocean sparkle as they crashed into the Oregon Coast. It made leaving that comfy bed in Pacific City worth it. Later when the sun began to rise over the coastal range it lit up the surf brilliantly. The sunrise photo above was taken in Newport.

Still in search of breakfast, we were caught by some 600k riders, including Ken. A fast pace line resulted which brought us into Newport where we came across the Shilo Cafe and a much needed sit down. In retrospect I should have eaten more, but the sausage, eggs, toast and coffee hit the spot. The staff at the cafe was really nice and speedy too.

Ken, Gary, and I set out into the dawn across Newport Bridge and on to more quiet back roads. This was a nice time to spin easy and trade randonneuring war stories-one of the more pleasant stretches of the whole trip.

I felt pretty strong as we climbed more big hills along US 101. We were also met with temptation when we came across a mattress lying beside the road-hmmm to take a nap or not??? We ultimately decided to keep plugging away.

Somewhere before Florence breakfast burned off and I dropped off Ken and Gary's pace. I met up with them soon at the Safeway, but they were ready to go and I needed to sit a spell. A half pound of some sort of noodle salad, chocolate milk, and a cup of coffee got me back on the road. A second lunch twenty miles down the road (after some more big hills) at the Reedsport Subway also recharged me.

We finally got some tailwind as we headed inland toward Roseburg along the Umpqua River. I was on my own and slowing down when the wheels of Hugh Kimball, Wayne Methner, and Noel Howes came along (I didn't know who they were at the time, but I recognized their mud flaps from the previous morning peloton). Their pace wasn't too fast for me to hang on to and I sucked their wheels into Elkton where they stopped to take care of a mechanical issue. Meanwhile, I set out up a big ramp on Highway 138 and over some monster rollers by myself. Night fell on me as I finally got over the biggest hill and cruised into the Roseburg Travelodge and overnight number two at about 8:22 p.m. It was a long day. More ominously, organizer Geoff Swarts didn't sugarcoat what the next day was going to be like. It would be 30 miles shorter than today, but take us at least as long because we would be climbing for the next 100 miles to Crater Lake with tired legs. Yikes!

I turned on the TV in my motel room-saw Auburn was playing South Carolina-and immediately fell asleep.

Day 3:

Up again before the alarm I got out of the motel and headed over to Denny's for a big breakfast. I also had them make me a sandwich for later on-as there are virtually no services until Crater Lake (100 miles away). I dropped my bag at ride headquarters, and organizer Vincent Muoneke gave me and a couple of other riders a great pep talk about how well we were riding, the great scenery we would enjoy today, and the awesome weather forecast (Vincent and three others pre-rode the route last week in constant rain-tough guys). He said he really wanted to grab his bike and ride with us-the conundrum of a volunteer. His enthusiasm really set me off on the right foot that morning. I'll be forever grateful.

I was passed pretty quickly by a 600k rider who needed to be in Klamath Falls by 7 p.m. (the time cut off is sooner for brevets 600k and under), and then the same three wheels that sped me along yesterday picked me up once again. At first I just sat on as Wayne, Hugh, and Noel did the work-not knowing if I could hold their speed. Once I was comfortable that I could I started filtering up the pace line and did some short pulls. We made great time for the first 100k, but the grade was starting to increase noticeably. I thought for a moment that maybe Geoff was just trying to scare us and this climb wouldn't be so hard after all...then we passed the 1500 foot elevation sign. I almost cried. We still had 6000 feet to go-in about 40 miles.

After the info control at the Dry Creek Store we climbed, and climbed, and climbed...and then climbed some more. It was just endless. I started out feeling pretty good, but eventually blew up and had to slow to a crawl. A stop in the trees to eat my sandwich and rest my head in my hands helped me refocus. I was passed by a few riders and I saw them duck off the road toward Diamond Lake. Though I was getting low on supplies I thought I had enough to make it so I kept going. Diamond Lake was .7 miles off route and I didn't want any bonus miles.

I finally entered Crater Lake National Park, knowing there was still about 1500 feet of climbing to go-and fourteen miles to the Rim Village where I could finally get some food and take a break.

I rode to the brink of Crater Lake rim with Hugh who had caught up to me after stopping in Diamond Lake for lunch. We had a nice chat as we slowly climbed up the very steep rim road along the lake. Hugh was kind enough to give me some water as I had just ran out-it was a life saver. I got into the Rim Village Lodge on fumes, but I made it. The food there was way overpriced, but at that point I didn't care-I just started grabbing stuff and shoving it in my face!

I was joined at the Lodge by Gary, Noel, and Ian Shopland (who I leapfrogged yesterday and today-Ian was always passing me...and then passing me again). We got another tourist to take our picture in front of the lake and then dropped off the mountain to Fort Klamath where we stopped again at a little deli for some delicious coffee.

The last 50 or so miles was a nice cruise on some very pleasant roads. There was the Doak Mountain Pass close to the end, but that was a mere pimple compared to what we had gone up earlier, and there was some new roadway without paved shoulders close to Klamath Falls that could have been pretty unpleasant if the traffic wanted it to be, but turned out to be okay. Along with Gary, Ian, and Noel, we were joined up by two strong guys from Canada and we pace lined to the Doak Mountain climb. Ian and the Canadians disappeared over the pass, but Gary, Noel and I cruised into Klamath Falls-taking it easy. Gary stopped to get some food and Noel and I found the finishing motel a few minutes ahead of him. My finishing time was 69 hours and 23 minutes -plenty good enough! A bunch of guys were already there-chowing down on post ride pizza and beer-which really hit the spot. Also there to meet me were my kids, Jackson, Stephanie, and Stephanie's boyfriend Jerry. They drove all the way down from Beaverton to pick me up.

Epilogue:

Tired. I was to drive home to Montana from Beaverton on Monday, but there was no way. So I took an extra day at my daughters and went home Tuesday.

Special thanks to Stephanie and Jackson for driving me up to Bremerton and Stephanie, Jackson, and Jerry for driving me back to Beaverton from Klamath Falls in the middle of the night. Y'all did great and I couldn't have done this ride without you.

Now, a few days after the ride, I have nothing but pleasant memories. I'm sure I was miserable, and really hating life-especially on that climb to Crater Lake, but I can only recall the magnificent scenery and friendly fellow randonneurs. It's called "randonesia" and it keeps us going out and doing these crazy rides over and over again. Thanks to Geoff and Vincent and all the Seattle Randonneurs who made it possible.

Kissing the Sky-the Beartooth Highway

2010-09-13T19:45:00.001-07:00

The late Charles Kuralt once said that the Beartooth Highway along the Montana-Wyoming border is the most beautiful highway in America...and he didn't even go over on a bicycle!

Ken Billingsley and I took advantage of a recent pleasant weather trend to ride the highway from Red Lodge to Cooke City and back-a pretty typical randonneuring distance of 207 kilometers (129 miles). It's just that this ride has over 14,000 feet of climbing-which is way beyond typical. I proposed this route to Randonneurs USA as a Permanent last year, but extensive road construction delayed any planned attempt to ride it .

We left Red Lodge at 8:00 am on September 12, 2010 and headed up the mountain. The ride to Cooke City went well, but was very slow due to strong and peristent headwinds. I rolled into the c-store in Cooke City with only 16 minutes to spare on our randonneuring time limit-the closest I've ever come to being late to a checkpoint on a ride.

The altitude and headwinds weakend me and I couldn't recover sufficiently even with a tailwind on the way back-slowing to a speed barely above walking pace on the steep sections (which is most of the way). With 15 miles still to get to the East Summit and then the long downhill into Red Lodge looming ahead I decided to fall on my sword and hitch a ride. Ken, who was riding very strong, but was graciously waiting for me was free to fly. It was a good decision for both of us. I probably would have made it back within the 13 hour and 48 minute time limit-but we would have been riding the switchbacks all the way down in the dark-even with lights that's not an enticing proposition.

After being ferried to the east summit in the back of a stranger's pickup I got back on the bike and rode the fun, fast downhill to Red Lodge. After putting my bike in the car, cleaning up a bit, and downing a subway sandwich, Ken came rolling into town-with daylight remaining.

I'm disappointed in myself for not quite getting it done. Unfortunately I'll have to chew on my failure until next summer. The days are just getting too short and it's getting too frosty on the plateau to try it again this fall.

I didn't take very many pictures due to the intensity of the ride and the constant time crunch we were under, but I managed a few. The photo below was snapped by a passing motorist who saw us standing in front of the sign, stopped, and asked us if we wanted him to take a picture. Folks were nice all day-I got a lot of thumbs up from passing cars and very little harassment. I guess people realize there's no need to be in a hurry on America's most scenic highway.

Ken and I at the West Summit. 10, 947 feet above sea level!

Ken coming into the scenic overlook rest area-about 20 miles into the ride

The stark surface of the Beartooth Plateau-well above the tree line.

The Wyoming Border on the way up-still a few miles to the summit. Note the beautifully paved new road. It is magnificent and worth the wait.

Oregon Eden's Gate (Covered Bridges) 400K Brevet

2010-08-10T20:16:00.000-07:00

More photos HERE. Route map HERE.

Fifteen riders, including myself, left the LaQuinta Inn parking lot in Wilsonville, OR in the pre-dawn darkness on a quest to complete a 400k brevet. After a short stretch on I-5 to get across the Willamette River, the route gave way to the smooth quiet country roads of the Willamette Valley. There was no traffic to speak of so I could play "guess what crop that is" as we passed field after field (they grow a huge variety of stuff in this part of the country!)

Through most of the first 200k I felt absolutely great-actually holding myself back so as not to blow up on the last half of the route. I don't know what it was-the 800 miles I did in July, the pleasant temperatures, the smooth almost traffic-less roads, or the low elevation (most of the route was less than 500 feet above sea level)-likely a combination of all of these had me in a great mood. I even relished the sharp but short climbs on Cole School Road near Scio-the steepest of which, pitches up to near 20% for a short ways. Since I'm a bigger rider I climb hills while seated hard on the saddle while pulling up on the handle bars-unlike the small guys who stand and "dance on the pedals". Due to that steepness, my climbing method caused the front wheel of my bike to come off the ground with each pedal stroke-an odd and disconcerting sensation.

I rode the early part of the route with Alan Woods-who saved me from a bad navigation error in Silverton. We were briefly joined by Greg Olson at the Gallon House Covered Bridge (photo below). Greg disappeared over the hills on the Cascade Highway after Silverton. He ended up finishing about 2 hours ahead of me.

The first 200k finished up with a miles long steady climb to the Lane County border and a "nuclear free zone"-so we had that going for us-then a descent into the Mohawk Valley. The descent was marred by a new chip seal surface that severely scrubbed speed-which was a bummer. The new black surface also radiated quite a bit of heat. Other than that the day was very pleasant-it sure could have been a lot hotter. With the exception of a few miles of chip seal here and there, the roads throughout this route were nice and smooth. I wish we had more roads like that in Montana.

Our last covered bridge on the route, the Earnest Covered Bridge shown below, came just before an extended stop at the Mohawk General Store-a nice little place seemingly off the beaten path, but plenty busy. A patron told me the store was just days away from being 100 years old. The clerk at the store was very friendly and said they appreciated all the business we bikers sent their way (there was us randonneurs-Ted Lundin, Alex Kohan, and myself- plus bikers of the motor variety relaxing on the store's front porch).

After Mohawk we were half-way done, but facing a strong and steadily increasing headwind-that the locals tell me always happens. Too bad-the last half of the route trends flat to slightly downhill-with no wind we could have really made time. I fought the wind on my own all the way to the next stop in Harrisburg, where I was once again joined by Ted and Alex at the Dari Mart for another extended stop (the photo below shows Ted on the left and Alex on the right). Alex and Ted were with me at every control-and without exception while Alex was in the store someone would come up and talk to Ted and me about his recumbent-it really got to be pretty funny-our boring diamond frame bikes didn't elicit a single glimpse next to Alex's machine. Another nice patron at the Dari Mart told us he had a friend at work who rode bike all the time-rides of 50 miles...and maybe even farther! We humbly stated we were on a 249 mile ride. I'm not sure the poor guy could even get his head wrapped around that (I'm not sure I could either). But lets face it-we randonneurs do get a charge off people's reactions to what we're doing-it's a big part of the"fun".

After Harrisburg Ted and I started working together-sharing pulls into that nasty headwind. Much of the route is in open country and the wind was relentless. We would get a bit of a respite from an intermittent grove of trees now and then, but the road always seemed to meander back into the open where we were exposed to the full effects. Working with Ted saved a bit of energy for both of us and we made better progress together than we could have alone. After a little while we came across Alex on the side of the road on his cell phone-he quickly rode up and drafted in our slipstream the rest of the way into Albany. I didn't know at the time, but Alex wasn't feeling well and had been discussing abandoning.

After an egg salad sandwich, chips, and a quart of chocolate milk in Harrisburg, I wasn't in need of anything other than water in Albany, but Ted and Alex were ready for another store break-and I sure wasn't going to argue. We sought out an A&W/C-Store a short distance off the route. After downing a root beer float, Alex spectacularly ralphed it all back up in front of the wide eyed customers going in and out of the the A&W. All the while Ted and I were calmly tending to our bikes-both no doubt thinking "there but for the grace of God go I". Actually, I have yet to puke on a bike ride-maybe that means I have an iron stomach or maybe I'm not trying hard enough? In any case, the store clerk was really cool about it-bringing out a bucket of water to wash the 'stuff" away with the calm reassurance of "no worries". Alex was quite the trooper-saying he actually felt a bit better after puking-climbing back aboard and heading out with us toward the next control in Independence.

The wind relented as the sun started to set, but it was still there as we cruised along on more quiet country roads. The store clerk in Independence reported that Greg had been through a long time ago while enthusiastically signing our brevet cards. He said it made him feel like he was part of the ride! I agreed that he was indeed a very important part of it.

Now dark-Alex's distress paid big dividends for me. Under normal circumstances I'm quite sure he would have been much too fast. But with his stomach acting up he stayed with Ted and me-guiding us on somewhat sketchy roads going into his hometown of Salem. It also helped to have an extra headlight as it was very dark and the roads were pitch black with no fog line in some sections.

Before the ride I had set a tentative goal of finishing in under 20 hours. I don't know why-I guess 19 hours and some minutes sounds better than 20 hours? Doing the math in my head, I saw that my goal was still intact despite the headwinds and extended rest stops. Dosing my effort early in the ride also paid off, as my legs still felt pretty good considering they had over 200 miles in them at this point. So I pulled Ted and Alex out of Salem at a brisk pace-throwing caution into the diminishing but ever present headwind. After 10 miles of pulling on the slightly busy River Road we turned off on the dark and deserted Keene Road where I finally sat up and spun easy. Ted and Alex were doing fine, but they knew of my sub 20 hour goal and bid me to go on ahead. I decided to go for it-hoping I wouldn't get lost. Fortunately, the cue sheet was accurate and my lights were good enough to read the road signs. Before long I was on the home stretch-I-5, across the Willamette, into Wilsonville, and back to the La Quinta where Keith Kohan (Alex's Dad) checked me in and where Greg was still hanging out. Ted and Alex came in not long after I did and only one minute past 20 hours, and Alan-who I ridden with early on-made it in as I was about to head back to my daughter Stephanie's apartment in Beaverton.

I leave this ride feeling better about my cycling. After a slow spring and early summer where I struggled on longer rides, I completed this one with no obvious low points. Perhaps I'm finally finding some fitness? Note to self: don't get so out of shape over the winter! I spent about 16 hours and 33 minutes on the bike-so that means about 3 hours off-not very efficient, but the rest stops were quite welcome.

Many thanks to John Henry Maurice, Keith Kohan, and the other Oregon Randonneurs who put this ride on. It has to be one of the iconic randonneuring routes in the USA. I really enjoyed it.

Tobacco Root Mountains 300K Brevet-a ride with a little of everything!

2010-07-12T20:55:00.000-07:00

My second and final brevet of the season as RBA took place on July 10, 2010 and was a challenging success! The challenges started before the ride with the complete destruction of a significant portion of the frontage road between Belgrade and Manhattan due to bridge construction. The day before the ride I had to scramble to build a new cue sheet to accommodate a detour on Dry Creek Road.

Previously, I also had to write in a detour due to the I-90 overpass construction in Three Forks-a detour that put us on I-90 for 4 miles outbound, and 5 miles inbound. Long story short...I got the updated cue sheet done and the riders made it through the detours with no major problems.

I was once again honored to have Jim Moores of Boise, and Ken Billingsley of Molt, MT on the ride. We left my house at 5:00 am in the early morning darkness with our lights on. As we passed through Manhattan, Brenda called to let me know that Ronaele Foss from Colorado Springs was just getting underway. Ronaele had emailed me to let me know she would be riding, but unfortunately, a misunderstanding about the start time put her almost an hour behind. I felt bad about the mishap, but I knew from seeing Ronaele's results on the RUSA website that she was an experienced randonneur and would be just fine.

The morning temps were in the 50's-and quite comfortable. We made great time to the first control at Sappington Bridge, stopping only at the Three Forks overpass construction site to take advantage of the worker's port-a-john (the only good thing about road construction is there's usually a port-a-john nearby). My Mom and Jackson were set up at the bridge over the Jefferson River to sign our cards and restock our supplies. They would be our guardian angels all day-in the event any of us had trouble.

The day warmed up considerably-the bank sign in Sheridan said it was 86 degrees. Much warmer than I've been used to so far this year. However, after Sheridan dark clouds started building across the hills of the Jefferson Valley. The forecast called for 20 percent chance of isolated thunderstorms, but it looked like there was a 100 percent chance of us getting nailed!

Ken and Jim were riding stronger than me on the last half of the route and I had to let them go. Ken was super strong all day and Jim kept his steady pace all the way through.

After getting myself rehydrated (I wasn't drinking enough early in the ride) I started to rally a bit before Whitehall. Mom and Jackson rolled into the Whitehall control right behind me and reported that Ronaele had left Sheridan and was getting along fine. Unfortunately, the weather over that part of the route looked quite ominous.

The 30 miles between Whitehall and Three Forks blessed all 4 of us with a wonderful tailwind. I didn't even mind the rain drops that were falling on me as I blew through the Jefferson Canyon.

Ronaele finished a while after dark-equipped with bright headlights to announce her impending arrival from several miles away. She had indeed encountered some of those thunderstorms-accompanied by some scary strong cross-winds. But despite the hardships she was in fine spirits.

All four of us had good days on the bike and all four of us felt like we accomplished something at the end. It was definitely a tough ride. Special thanks to my Mom, son Jackson, and wife Brenda for all the work they put in to make this ride such a great success. With the sudden route changes and all I would have been a basket-case without their help.

Being an RBA is fun, but now I can breath easier the rest of this season (sort of). I don't have any more club or randonneuring events to lead-I can just show up and ride like everybody else. There is work to do however. A full brevet series for next season is in the works as my Paris-Brest-Paris 2011 preparation continues.

The ride results and a link to more photos is HERE.

Jason Karp, Jim Moores, and Ken Billingsly all reflectered up and ready to go!

Ronaele Foss got a late start and had to deal with some serious weather, but still finished with plenty of time to spare

Tobacco Roots 300k Brevet preview

2010-07-05T08:24:00.000-07:00

With the best of intentions I planned to ride the entire 300k on the 4th July. However, I encountered a little problem-the Ennis 4th of July parade and rodeo-one of the biggest such events in the state. As I got close to Norris I noticed the traffic was picking up, but at the junction of MT 84 and US 287, the line of cars coming from Bozeman and heading to Ennis was miles long and unbroken. Riding over Norris Hill with a steady stream of (possibly not-so-sober) rodeo fans was not my idea of a good time. Even if they were sober, by the time I started the bigger climb to Virginia City plenty of their counterparts would be pretty lubed up. Thus I decided to turn around and live to fight another day.

Despite my shorted ride (200k instead of 300k), I did preview the most critical parts of the route. A bridge over the railroad tracks just east of Manhattan (8 miles into the ride) is being replaced. As of now, the old bridge and pavement is still in place, but a sign warns motorcycles of loose gravel and to choose another route. That tells me they're getting ready to tear things up. If that's the case we might have to do a little cyclo-cross, but the distance should be short. Worst case-there is a detour on Dry Creek road available, but it would add 5 miles to the route (each way).

The biggest obstacle is just outside of Three Forks at mile 19. The I-90 overpass bridge is being replaced. There is a business loop detour available, but it's about a mile of hard packed gravel. It's a viable option if it's dry. If it's raining or has just rained-it's a muddy mess. However, another alternative is to take I-90 for 4 miles from Three Forks to the junction with US 287 (exit 274). On the return trip, the same gravel detour is available, or we can take I-90 to Logan (five miles). Other than a 100 feet of bridge over the Madison River, the shoulder is nice and wide. Montana does not restrict cyclists from riding on interstate highways. It's noisy and not so tranquil, but with a big shoulder and rumble strip it's safer than a lot of secondary roads. I'll review the situation Friday night and we'll talk about it before departure on Saturday morning.

History Made-Shields Valley 200K Brevet

2010-06-22T18:49:00.000-07:00

On June 19, 2010 I hosted my first brevet as a Regional Brevet Administrator. This is a ride I’ve been looking forward to since last fall when I put it on the schedule.

The ride was scheduled to leave at 6:00 a.m. from the Walmart parking lot in Bozeman. An ominous sign-a raw blustery east wind was blowing under a gloomy overcast sky as I was setting out my clip boards with the requisite forms and cue sheets. It’s almost always calm in the mornings in Bozeman-even if it gets windy later. Knowing that the ride goes through one of Montana’s windiest places in Livingston, I was afraid we could be in trouble.

The turnout for the ride exceeded my expectations. I was joined by fellow Montanans Ken Billingsley from Molt and Karel Stroethoff from Missoula along with Jim Moores from Boise who is in the Bozeman area often with his bike. Ken, Karel, and Jim had ridden some of my permanents last summer. I was very glad to meet Brian and Rob Kennedy, randonneurs from Florida, who were in the Jackson, Wyoming area on vacation and came all the way to Bozeman for the ride.

My wife Brenda showed up at the start a little before departure to handle the paperwork for me so I could get geared up. Much appreciation to Brenda for waking up awfully early on a Saturday morning to do that. It was a huge help.

After the obligatory group photo, we were off on time and working hard into a headwind on the rolling hills going into Bridger Canyon. The temperatures, which were somewhere in the 40’s weren’t warming up very fast as we climbed up the canyon, but the wind did die down considerably. I think this is the first time I can remember a ride where the wind speed actually declined. Much more frequently it’s just the opposite.

The six of us were fairly compatible riders, keeping more or less together as we ascended the challenging Battle Ridge Pass climb, descended into the Shields River Valley, and arrived in Livingston. The sun finally overcame the clouds as we headed out of Livingston into the Paradise Valley on the tranquil East River Road. The air was crystal clear and the surrounding mountains really stood out against the tree lined river bottoms, emerald green hills, and big blue sky. We were lucky to get a nice sunny afternoon during this abnormally rainy spring.

I was delayed a few minutes by a flat tire, the result of a piece of glass no doubt picked up on the debris laden shoulders of Park Street/US 89 out of Livingston-apparently a place where street sweepers fear to tread. Karel waited for me to change the tube while pealing off a cool weather layer. We got into the Paradise Valley checkpoint, manned by my Mom and Dad, as the other guys were finishing up a snack. Jim left the control first, understandably concerned about some building clouds to the west, followed shortly by Rob, Brian, and Ken. Karel and I stayed a little longer to restock and rest up. Karel let me use his superior frame pump to get a few more psi into my repaired rear tire. Many thanks to Mom and Dad for waiting for us at the checkpoint, signing our brevet cards, and setting out all the goodies. I owe them big time!

Karel and I made brief stop at a Livingston gas station on the way back to top off our bottles and prepare for the Bozeman Hill and Jackson Creek climbs. Despite a juicy tailwind, I suddenly ran out of energy sometime after mile 100 and had to let Karel go. I had felt good all day, but a severe lack of training this spring, along with some early nutritional miscalculations conspired to put me in the little chain ring. As I was slogging up Jackson Creek Road, riders from some of the local race teams came cruising by-looking fresh as daisies on their own 100 mile training ride. I'm sure I was quite the pathetic site spinning alone in my tiny gears. But alas, I'm a randonneur not a racer. I embrace my slowness! I rallied a little after the final climb was over and finished strong.

Brenda was at the finish with our son Jackson and dog Ernie to check everybody in and collect our brevet cards. Once again-much appreciation.

The day went incredibly well. The sun came out, the winds helped more than hurt, and the thunderstorms stayed away. Many thanks to the riders-all who came from a considerable distance. It was a tremendous honor having them ride this brevet. Also, thanks to my family for being such loyal and capable volunteers. Results and links to some photos here.

I am one happy lantern rouge!

Shields Valley 200k Brevet Preview

2010-06-13T08:08:00.000-07:00

One week before the main event I pre-rode the Shields Valley 200k course-first and foremost for my own fitness, but also to make sure route was rideable. With all the road construction going on, and very few alternate routes, that's always a concern.

The route is in good shape. There's some construction on Park Street/US 89 near the Livingston I-90 interchange, but a side path takes us right around it. The only other construction I encountered was some shoulder work on the Battle Ridge Pass descent, but that didn't impact the traveled way.

The weather was cool and breezy. I got sprinkled on in the lower Bridger Canyon and again just outside of Livingston. Northeast winds gave me a tailwind for much of the route. The forecasts for next weekend show it will be much warmer, breezes out of the west (which may hurt a little on the final climbs), and some possible thunderstorms in the afternoon (which is pretty common this time of year). All in all-it should be a great day to be out on the bike.

Here's photos I snapped along the way:

The view of the Bridger Ridge in Bridger Canyon is beautiful in the morning light. I hope we don't have so many clouds in the way on June 19.
Our first checkpoint is Nordies Grocery in Wilsall.

Not unique to Montana, but more common here than most. The cows will go around you-just be calm-then dodge cow pies for the next several miles.

A view of the Yellowstone River from Old Clyde Park Road

Construction in Livingston. Get on the path adjacent to Park Street to get around it. On the way back get on this same path after riding under I-90.

2010 Brevets getting closer!

2010-05-11T15:18:00.000-07:00

My first brevet as a RBA, the Sheilds Valley 200k, on June 19 is pretty much ready to go. I have all the pertinent info on my brevet website. It should be an amazing ride. Please contact me with any questions.

My other brevet, the Tobacco Roots 300k, will be on July 10. There's a couple of bridges under construction between Belgrade and Three Forks that may cause some minor detours that could make the ride a little bit longer (but no less spectacular). I'll keep an eye on it-and hopefully we'll be able to get through the construction without any issues.

I hope to get both routes (or significant portions thereof) pre-ridden before the ride dates-that is if spring ever comes to southwestern Montana. It's been a little slow in coming. Until then-here's a couple of preview photos:

One of the many scenic views on the Sheilds Valley 200k

Looking back towards Ennis on the Tobacco Roots 300k

Season 2010...It's on.

2010-04-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

The bison in the photo below looks more nimble than I feel on the bike. I've had a serious case of winter blahs this year. I've done some riding here and there, but nothing sustained. Whenever the weather cooperated I had some excuse not to go out.

The season finally got underway for me with yesterday's Yellowstone Park Ride with the Gallatin Valley Bicycle Club.

My nephew Brian and I set off for West Yellowstone on Saturday morning. There was nary a cloud in the bright blue sky as the sun was coming up, but it was chilly. Others reported temps of around 7 degrees on the drive down through Gallatin Canyon. When our group set off at about 10:15 a.m. temps were in the 20's, but on the rise. By the end of the ride in the early afternoon it was nice and toasty in the low 40's (that's toasty for West Yellowstone in April).

The April ride in Yellowstone has become a nice tradition for our bike club over the years. The Park is still closed to motor vehicle traffic, but the roads have been plowed and are nice and dry. Other than a rare car of a park employee, cyclists have the Park all to themselves (at least the portion they let us ride in). It's a rare treat to have such nice roads virtually car-free-along with the incredible scenery and occasional wildlife. Anyone who knows anything about Yellowstone knows that riding a bike after it has opened to cars isn't quite so much fun.

Due to some road construction by Gibbon Falls, our ride was cut a few miles short, but we still got a nice easy spin of 37 miles done. I wish the Park staff would let us go towards Old Faithful, instead of Norris Junction, but apparently that way is a "bear management" area (whatever that means).

I rode very easy-staying with several other riders, most of whom are also just waking up their legs after the long winter. I felt great-just warmed up really-at the end. I considered turning around and riding the route again-but Brian, who is just getting in cycling, had had enough. He rode very well-it probably won't be long and he'll be dropping me.

Riding in the Park without the cars is a great thing and a rare treat. If I was King of the World-I'd close the Park to motor vehicles for about two weeks in the middle of the summer and turn it over to bicycles and other human powered vehicles. Seriously, I think they should do it-people would come from all over the world to ride! It'll never happen-but I can dream. At least we get the opportunity for a little taste in April.

A Quiet Winter

2010-01-15T16:41:00.000-08:00

2009 was a good year for me on the bike. I completed a super randonneur series, (200k, 300k, 400k, and 600k brevets), rode several permanents, and totaled more than 5000 miles for the first time.

When compared to fellow randonneurs from other parts of the country, my numbers look pretty pedestrian. I routinely read accounts of people totaling up to and beyond 10,000 miles with multiple 1200 kilometer grand randonnees. I guess I'll just have to use the excuse of living in a northern intermountain climate.

This winter has been especially frustrating. My bike went on the hook in the garage sometime in October and has barely been off since. Warm days have been few and far between and the roads are slow to give up their layer of ice and snow. The rides I have gotten in have been short. It’s just not much fun for me enduring the wind chill factor of a 15 mph ride-no matter how many layers I have on.

In lieu of cycling I’ve tried to mitigate my annual winter weight gain by walking back and forth to work. My commute is only about 3 miles round trip, but the 20 minute or so walk each way wakes me up in the morning and relaxes me in the evening. I also get a few extra steps walking the dog. A little cross-country skiing here and there helps too. Despite my efforts, a few extra pounds have packed on (especially due to a bountiful supply of goodies at Christmas time), but I think I’ve peaked and now have it going back in the right direction.

2010 will be an interesting cycling year. I am really looking forward to hosting my first brevets in June and July. Now let’s just hope the Montana Department of Transportation doesn’t have significant portions of my routes slated for reconstruction (dang stimulus money!). Paved alternate routes are hard to come by.

Until the weather starts to turn, I will continue to stare at my lonely bike hanging on the hook in the garage. Oh well, it shouldn’t be ridden that much anyway-not until it gets a tune-up.

Brevets in Montana in 2010!

2009-11-25T14:50:00.000-08:00

With early winter snows blanketing Southwest Montana (techically it's not even winter yet), it may seem too early to be thinking about riding next year...but it's not!

I am pleased to announce that I will be hosting two ACP sanctioned brevets in Montana in 2010. The 200k ride on June 19 will start in Bozeman and make a loop through Wilsall and Livingston with a nice out-and-back into the Paradise Valley before heading back to Bozeman. The 300k ride on July 10 will start here in Belgrade and take a big loop around the Tobacco Root Mountains in Southwest Montana, passing through Ennis, Virginia City, and Whitehall among other towns along the way. Both rides promise to be very scenic, challenging, and fun!

I've set up a website CLICK HERE to provide all the necessary details. Please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions.

Hollowtop 200-Norris, Montana never looked so beautiful!

2009-09-07T19:37:00.000-07:00

One of the most gratifying things about this summer is having other people come out and ride my permanents. Recently, Jim Moores of Boise got in touch with me about riding my Hollowtop 200 route. Jim's family has a cabin in Gallatin Canyon, he is in the area frequently, and is looking to do some cycling when he is here. Jim's blog is here.

We planned to do the ride on Sunday of Labor Day weekend-hoping that everyone was camped at their holiday destination and not on the road. I let Karel Stroethoff of Missoula know that Jim and I would be riding and that he was welcome to join us. Even though he had ridden this route with me on August 16th, Karel took me up on the offer and drove to Belgrade from Missoula in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Karel has had an amazing year-putting on mega miles on his bike-and even more miles on his car getting to the rides. This ride would help him keep his R-12 streak alive (the R-12 is a prestigious RUSA award given for riding at least one 200k or longer randonneuring ride in every month of the year). I've got a modest R-12 streak going as well, but I will probably end up letting it lapse when the snow starts flying. Karel and Jim cruising on the frontage road into Whitehall.

We had a cloudy, but fairly comfortable morning heading west on the Frontage Road through Manhattan and Three Forks. As we rode Jim and Karel got reaquainted-as they had ridden a 400k brevet out of Driggs, Idaho in 2007.

All was going great until we got to Sappington Junction (MT 2 and US 287) which is being completely reconfigured. As we approached the torn up road it was obvious that Jim, who had nice fat tires on his bike, was going to get over the mile or so of gravel and dirt much faster than Karel and me. As he rolled ahead, I told him our road (MT 2) would just go straight. Well-three weeks ago when Karel and I rode through here our road did go straight. But not anymore. The new configuration of the intersection now keeps the main traffic on US 287 heading towards Ennis while those of us going towards Whitehall on MT 2 have to make a right turn. Signage is very sparse at this stage of constuction with only one little orange sign pointing towards Butte. Jim, following my flawed advice stayed on 287. He was pretty quickly way out in front of us-but on the wrong road. I yelled and waved, but it was no use-Jim was a blip on the horizon-getting through the construction and heading up Harrison Hill to what he thought would be our first checkpoint in three or four miles-oblivious to the route mishap. So what to do? There's no cell phone service out here, and I wasn't too keen on trying to chase Jim up the hill-knowing he had at least a mile head start on me. Before long a pickup came by so I flagged it down. Fortunately it wasn't a redneck cyclist hater-just a nice friendly couple who pulled over for me. I asked them if they wouldn't mind telling the cyclist up the road that he needed to turn around. They said they'd be glad to and headed on up the hill. After a little while Jim came cruising back down the hill after almost making it all the way to the top. Oh well-at least he got to enjoy the downhill on the way back. I felt bad for my direction mishap-but was pleased with myself for successfully flagging down the pickup. It all worked out just fine...except Jim burned a few matches he would need later.

The rest of the ride to Whitehall was wonderful-with nice temps, very little traffic, and even a light tailwind at times.

The second half of the ride got much tougher starting with the hills of Highway 359 and then the wind-which was in the weather forecast-kicked up out of the south-southwest at 15-25 mph. The last few hills on 359 and and the hilly 10 miles on US 287 between Harrison and Norris were brutal. We just had to put our heads down and slog through it. The little c-store in Norris was a beautiful site to behold and our oasis as we sat on the leeward side of the building, ate a snack, and watched the flag on the post office across the highway whipping in the gale.

The good news was we turned east-northeast at Norris on MT 84 and the formerly vicious cross-headwind wind became a quarter-tailwind ally. The final 38 miles went relatively quickly as the wind helped us through the canyon along the Madison River and over the rolling hills back to the Gallatin Valley.

My tire started going soft in the last four miles. After pumping up with my wimpy pump and only going another mile, Karel used his much better pump to get more air into the tire. It worked-we made it back to the Town Pump in Belgrade with air to spare...so to speak. Jim, who fought leg cramps for about 80 miles, had to drop his pace, but came in only 13 minutes after Karel and me. I was very glad that my cue sheet brought him home with no trouble.

So other than our little route mishap-courtesy of the economic stimulus funded road reconstruction, the brutal winds between Harrison and Norris, and Jim's leg troubles, it was a pretty nice day. Going on Sunday was a good decision as traffic was light and trucks were very few and far between. Karel kept his R-12 streak going, Jim will get his name in this year's RUSA results publication, and best of all-I got to share my route again with fellow randonneurs. Yep-it was definitely a nice day!

Surfing and Turfing in Washington-600k Brevet

2009-09-01T18:44:00.000-07:00

SURF...AND TURF

After a summer of riding...short rides, long rides...fast rides and slow rides, I set off to the Pacific Northwest for the "Surf and Turf" 600k (374 miles with a 40 hour time limit) Brevet (pronounced-bruh-vey by the way). The ride is organized by the Oregon Randonnuers but takes place in the State of Washington-starting and finishing in Centralia. A bonus for me-and the reason I planned all year to do this ride is also to see my daughter Stephanie who moved to Portland this spring to work and and go to college. So after walking all over downtown Portland on Thursday, Stephanie and I drove the scenic route to Centralia on Friday-scouting out part of the course I would be riding. Friday was a very rainy day-and we saw several touring cyclists near Astoria dealing with it. Yikes!

A small group of riders set off from Centralia at 6 a.m. Saturday morning, August 29, 2009. There were nine of us doing the 600k route and three others riding the 1000k route. The 1000k guys would be riding the same route for most of the day, diverging about 30 miles from Centralia to add another 20 miles or so.

I felt great and though the roads were wet, the rain had pretty much stopped. On the way to Ilwaco, Washington on the coast I got in a pace line with Bruno George from Los Angeles and Pat Leahy from Seattle. We were cruising along-sometimes well over 20 mph all the way to Raymond. In the back of my mind I was thinking this is a nice pace for a 100 mile ride-but maybe a bit too much for 374-but I was having so much fun I didn't care. Bruno didn't have fenders on his bike, but Pat stayed right on his wheel anyway-looking like a jockey on a muddy day. I stayed relativly clean behind Pat's fender and mud flap. My race blade fenders with homemade plastic notebook cover mud flaps must have been doing the job-Bruno was still looking pretty clean after riding behind me.

Our pace line broke up after Raymond as Bruno stopped to engineer a mud flap of sorts off his rear rack from a plastic cup found along the road. The route also became much more hilly. I was alone for a while, but Bruno, Pat and another rider from California, Albert Kong, came along soon after I stopped to stuff a bland turkey sandwich in my face that I had carried with me. Bruno and I continued working together the rest of the way into Ilwaco where we found the market which served as our checkpoint and lunch stop. Albert was in and out of the store in a flash and Pat showed up before long as well-but took a little more time.

Bruno and I set off to the mouth of the Columbia River on US Highway 101. The road through here was busy and a little bit narrow-but not too bad-except for a tunnel that required us to hit a button to activate a flashing light to warm motorists of our presence. Fortunately, we got through without anybody overtaking us. The weather was cool and cloudy, but the rain was staying away and the roads were drying out-so no problems for me drafting off of Bruno-who was proving to be extremely strong and punching a nice hole in the wind when he pulled.Bruno along Highway 101 with the Bridge to Astoria, OR in the background

We met Albert in a grocery store in Naselle-he was on his way out as we were going in. We came across him a few minutes later just finishing up fixing a flat. Albert leapfrogged us again in South Bend when Bruno and I took a longer break. I would see him a ways up the road just before Pe Ell but didn't catch up as Bruno and I stopped for a short break before parting ways as he had a few extra miles to ride for the 1000k.

I was on my own for the last 30 miles from Pe Ell to Centralia as the sun set. Traffic was pretty much non-existent, temperatures were pleasant, and I just soft pedaled and enjoyed the scenery-getting back to the motel at 8:50 p.m. where I found our organizer Marcello Napolitano applauding me as I rode into the parking lot.

Now it was decision time. I could just keep going-probably finishing up sometime mid-morning. I could sleep a little while, or given my earlier than expected arrival-sleep most of the night and set out the next morning. Not knowing much about the second segment of the route, I decided not to try the all nighter. There were no big towns along the way and it's doubtful there would be any services available if I needed food, water, or whatever. I set the alarm for 3 a.m. and planned to leave around 4 or so. However I was awake at 2:30 a.m. and decided not to start another sleep cycle. I took my time getting ready and after considering and finally deciding to strap on the fenders and go back for my sunglasses I was off at about 3:30 a.m. As I was getting ready to leave another rider was just coming in-the poor guy wasn't going to get much of a sleep break.

Riding up the Centralia Alpha road in the middle of the night was a bit of a spooky and surreal experience. I could hear critters rustling in the bushes along the road-raccoons? deer? Sasquatch? Actually, my biggest fear was a stealthy farm dog taking a chunk out of my leg as I rode along. After a while I saw something up the road-it was out of reach of my lights, but it was alive! It turned out to be a coyote trotting down the road. I shooed him off and kept going. Seeing the coyote actually made me feel a bit better-coyotes don't bother cyclists but make short work of roaming farm dogs.

Roosters were crowing as I made my way to the small town of Morton on a hilly road. I was definitely feeling yesterday's effort, stopping a few times to take short breaks. The sky was lighting up a little, but damp fog was settling in and it was chilly. One very positive thing about riding in the middle of the night-I went 30 miles without a single vehicle passing me.

The sun finally burned off the fog as I got into Randle where I was craving a real breakfast. Fast time be damned-I stopped into the Mt Adams Cafe and ordered up some bacon, eggs, and coffee. Boy did that hit the spot. I kept an eye out the window as I ate and talked about the Mount St. Helens eruption with a couple of locals-before long Albert went cruising by-looking to me as fresh as he was yesterday.

After Randle we headed into the Gifford Pinchot National Forest before returning to the outbound route. I met Albert on his way back as I was headed to the last information checkpoint-he was about 6 miles ahead of me. A little while later I met Pat at about the same location as I was headed back. They were the only riders I would see all day.

The ride back to Centralia on the same roads I came out on was a tough slog. I had headwinds and crosswinds most of the way, and the hills which I couldn't see in the dark were presenting quite a mental challenge during the day.

The entire route was up and down-with very little flat. On the first day-the hills felt like gentle rollers, easy to climb and fun to descend. On the second day it was just one &^%* up hill after another, with much less downhill-how could these road builders manage to construct roads that went mostly uphill both ways! I was incredulous. It's funny how fatigue can change one's state of mind.

I finally made it back to Centralia at 5:45-some 35 hours and 45 minutes after I started. Stephanie and Marcello were at the motel waiting for me. Albert had come in a while before and Pat showed up as we were driving out of the parking lot. Stephanie drove my tired, but victorious, carcase back to Portland. The next day-Monday-I drove the 12 hours back to Montana-a car ride that in many ways felt harder than the bike ride the previous day.

So with that-in 2009 I successfully completed a 200k brevet (Casa Grande, Arizona), 300k brevet (Richland, Washington), 400k brevet (Ephrata, Washington), and 600k brevet (Centralia, Washington)-my first full brevet series! My main goal for 2009 has been accomplished. The goal for 2010-a 1200k Grand Randonnee (it's only twice as long as the 600k-so no problem???

I didn't take many pictures on this ride-due to the rain on the first day and tired crankiness on the second day, but what I did take are here

A special thanks to Marcello and the Oregon Randonneurs for putting on the ride. It was an excellent, scenic, and challenging route. Most of the roads were smooth, with good shoulders, and light traffic. If you want to get in a little rolling hill work-this is a route for you!

Three Rivers Century-A Family Affair

2009-08-24T16:50:00.000-07:00

Brenda and Mindy-getting riders registered. Thanks ladies!

This was the fifth consecutive year my club, The Gallatin Valley Bicycle Club, has put on the Three Rivers Century. I've ridden the 100 mile ride each and every year, and each and every year it has been one of my favorite cycling events.

For the past couple of editions I've helped out on the committee that puts the ride on-though my work load is much lighter than our main organizers Roberta, Rich, and Michelle-each of whom have sacrificed riding in the event so they could do the work. Me being a little greedy about wanting to ride figured out a way to ease my guilt in not doing more work for the committee...I recruited as many family members as I could to help out in some way. Last year I asked my wife Brenda, mother-in-law Mindy, and daughter Stephanie to help out at the rider sign-in at the start. This year I recruited Brenda and Mindy again to do the sign-in, and my parents, Jack and Bert, to be the SAG crew for the 32 mile ride option. Lucky for me-all agreed to help out-thus I was free to fly (so to speak).

Another exciting development was my nephews Brian (age 15) and Tyler (age 11) and their recent interest in road biking. I think they may have caught the bug while watching some of the Tour-de-Bozeman. I went with them on a couple of rides around the area and found they were pretty much naturals-so I told them about the Three River's Century's 32 mile ride option. Their mom (my sister Jody) signed them up and they were set to go! I'm sure it helped that Grandma and Grandpa were going to be on the route looking after them. Also, their road biking was greatly aided by the fact that their Uncle Tom and Aunt Deb had a couple of road bikes hanging in their garage going unused-that more or less fit the boys.

Brian and Tyler ready to go at the start of their 32 mile ride. That's my dad looking on in the background.

I got word at our lunch stop at the Missouri Headwaters that both Brian and Tyler finished the ride with ease and had a great time. I'm so proud of them-though I suppose it won't be too long and they'll be dropping me. In any case it was a neat deal-not only were my folks there to watch them ride, but their parents Rick and Jody, grand parents Richard and LaVerna, and Aunt Deb were all there to cheer them on. Considering the boys have only been riding on the road for about two weeks I find their progress amazing (it took me most of the summer to work up to a 30 mile ride when I started road riding in 2002) of course I didn't have a nice uncle who sort of knew what he was doing to help me out.

My ride was also a tremendous success. I felt great right off the bat, climbed well on the first hills on Norris Road, and pulled the peloton for a long ways before the first rest stop along the Madison. I got in a pace line with several other guys who were motivated to go fast, but not too fast for me, and work together. At the finish we had maintained a riding time average speed of just over 20 mph! A first for me on a century ride. The 20 mph average speed is sort like the four minute mile barrier for recreational cyclists. It was awesome.
Our pace line flying along the Madison. I stuck with most of these guys the entire ride.

Randonneurs from Montana

2009-08-17T20:25:00.000-07:00

Fellow Randonneurs from Montana Ken Billingsley from Molt and Karel Stroethoff from Missoula take a well deserved break at the scenic turnout about 3/4's of the way up Virginia City Hill

Karel's Photos

A few weeks ago I happily announced to fellow Montana Randonneurs Ken Billingsley and Karel Stroethoff that I had received approval for a 200 kilometer route over the Beartooth Highway and invited them to ride it sometime. They both quickly replied that they would be available the weekend of August 15. That date was perfect for me too-so we set the plan in motion. Unfortunately, as the day approached we learned that portions of the Beartooth Highway were torn up for reconstruction. Riding on gravel roads with skinny wheeled road bikes is no fun-doing it at 10,000 feet elevation on an out and back course is even more unappealing. Plan B was to meet up by Three Forks and ride my Search for Plummer's Gold Permanent on Saturday, with Karel staying over to ride my Hollowtop 200 Permanent with me on Sunday.

Ken drove all the way from Molt, MT (just outside of Billings), and Karel drove over from Missoula on Saturday morning. I had it pretty easy driving from Belgrade. We all met a little before 8 a.m. at the Town Pump Truck Stop at I-90 exit 274.

Summer 2009 in Montana came late and is apparently leaving early. Thus a mid-August weekend of randonneuring felt more like late September. Temperatures were in the 40's on both mornings and the forecast called for highs barely in the 60's and showers and thunderstorms. Oh well-we reasoned-it was probably better than being too hot.

As with my previous Search for Plummer's Gold rides-wind was a constant nuisance. We had a light headwind into Ennis and a light headwind on the climb over the big hill to Virginia City-a tough climb no matter what. We encountered gusty crosswinds after Twin Bridges and also some sideways drizzle from a rain shower. Fortunately, the wind and rain let up by Silver Star and the rest of the way to Whitehall was much more pleasant and faster. The ride back to Three Forks was a virtual pleasure cruise with a light northwest breeze to help us along. There were still rain showers in the area, but for some lucky reason we managed to miss them.

Traffic was an ever present nuisance-especially on US 287 between Norris and Ennis and again on Highway 55 to Whitehall where the shoulder disappears. But all things considered-and given the forecast-conditions were outstanding.

It was a real thrill for me to ride with Ken and Karel. Both of them are very experienced randonneurs with 6 Paris-Brest-Paris finishes between them (Ken-5 and Karel-1) among a host of other epic rides. They're both great resources for me as I hope to do the big ride in France in 2011 along with them.

Karel on the Hollowtop 200's home stretch

After the ride Ken bid us goodbye from Three Forks, but Karel stayed at my house on Saturday night as we planned to ride my Hollowtop 200 Permanent on Sunday.

I haven't done back-to-back long rides since my cross state tour in 2007 so I was curious to see how I would react. I'm hoping these rides will help train me up for an upcoming 600k brevet (372 miles with a 40 hour time limit) out of Centralia, Washington in two weeks.

Karel and I started off from the Town Pump in downtown Belgrade at 7:15 a.m. It was a little over 40 degrees and very cloudy. We could see rain showers out west where we were headed. We also picked up a light headwind that gained strength as we got closer to Whitehall.

As with yesterday, the rain mostly happened around us, but not on us. After a nice break in Whitehall it even started to warm up a little and we had a tailwind for most of the 23 miles until the junction with US 287 near Harrison.

After a nice lunch break at the C-store in Norris we tackled the final hilly stretch back to Belgrade. Our nice tailwind abandoned us somewhere along the Madison River and a light rain shower came over. I joked to Karel that I could make the rain stop by putting on my jacket-sure enough as I put it on it stopped raining almost immediately. Rain would no longer be a problem, but the gusty winds seemed to come from every direction except behind.

Traffic was also much lighter on Sunday than Saturday. Actually conditions were downright beautiful as we dropped into the Gallatin Valley after Anceney Hill (except for the mis-directed wind).

Fitness wise-this is the best I've ridden all summer. Despite a 273 mile weekend, I had plenty of gas in the tank and never had a bad spell on either ride (the first time that's ever happened for me on a long ride). I was even able to climb the long Anceney Hill, which is near the end of the Hollowtop 200, in my middle chain ring. Normally I'm in my granny gear for most of that hill.

A very special thanks to Ken and Karel for driving all the way over to the Gallatin Valley to ride with me. I was honored to have their company on my routes. I look forward to the next opportunity to ride with them-maybe they'll get that paving done on the Beartooth Pass in time yet this summer (if summer doesn't leave us too soon).

Tour de Bozeman-my foray into the racing world

2009-07-28T19:16:00.000-07:00

Travis warming up his son Jameson and nephews Derek and Darren for the kid's races

My Shazam! socks didn't help me in the sprint

My brother Travis and his family were here for vacation from Savannah, Georgia and Travis took his bike with him so we decided to sign up for the first ever edition of the local bike race called the Tour de Bozeman.

To get ready for the race, I participated in two time trials and a road race with the Gallatin Valley Bicycle Club within the month prior. To say I'm inexperienced at racing would be an understatement.

The time trial on Saturday morning went pretty well. I was way down in the standings, and Travis passed me like a freight train, but I completed the route a minute and a half faster than my only other time trial on this route a few weeks ago.

The sprints were a neat event. They blocked off all of downtown Bozeman so we had Main Street to ourselves. A nice crowd lined both sidewalks to watch and despite a rain storm rolling through most everyone stayed around. My heat consisted of Thor Hushovd and his two brothers (two other riders were no-shows) so I was quickly left in the spray of their back wheels and eliminated. Travis did a little better-getting out of his first heat and finishing a close fourth (top three advanced) in his second heat. Despite my quick elimination it was fun to warm up riding around downtown and it was fun to have lots of family there watching.

My nephews Derek, Darren, and Jameson participated in the kids race before we grown-ups did our sprints. All three of them beat more people than Travis or I-so maybe there's some future cycling glory for our family? In any case, the kids loved it-a great idea from the event organizers.

The final stage of the event was the road race on Sunday morning. Travis and I participated in the Category 4/5 field-which was by far the biggest field in the event. Our race started at Bridger Bowl, went over Battle Ridge Pass and almost to Wilsall before turning around and going back over Battle Ridge and finishing in the Ross Peak Subdivision near Bohart Ranch (about 41 miles). This is a brutally tough course with a hill right out of the chute, and a mountain pass about three miles into it. I got washed off the back of the pack at the foot of the Battle Ridge climb due to inexperience and fear of riding fast in a big group and kind of blew myself up trying catch back up instead of riding within myself. Out of breath, I watched helplessly as the rest of the field including Travis disappeared over the hill ahead of me. For most of the rest of the ride I drafted with Al from Manhattan who was also riding his first big race (or first race in a long while anyways). We cruised along and chatted and really had a pleasant time. I had met Al earlier in the season at the Tour de Spud (a local touring ride-not a race) where ironically we were way in front of field most of the way.

Despite my later arrival, there was nice crowd at the finish line to cheer me in, including my parents, wife Brenda, daughter Stephanie, sister-in-law Deborah, and a host of fellow racers and race volunteers. Getting that ovation (which every finishing rider got) was really special-I didn't feel like I sucked quite so bad.

At the end of it all I really enjoyed my racing experience, but I also realize that racing really isn't for me. I'll stick to my longer and slower randonneuring rides and continue to help out with our bike club's more sedate touring group. However, Travis has already indicated that he wants to come back. He feels like he has some unfinished business with this race and now that he knows what to expect with the competition, altitude, and weather among other things he wants to give it another try. If Travis does come back I will probably ride too, but only the Tour de Bozeman and no other big race (sort of like Lance always did with the Tour de France). If Travis can't make it back maybe I'll be a volunteer instead-since I know what the riders go through I think I'd be good at cheering them in at the finish line.

Beartooth Pass Permanent

2009-07-27T22:06:00.000-07:00

Entry and Waiver Form

Map and Profile.

RUSA Permanent No. 675 climbs into Wyoming and over the Beartooth Highway from Red Lodge, MT to Cooke City, MT and back.

The road construction that kept me from attempting this ride in 2009 appears to be substancially complete other than a short quarter-mile section of hard packed gravel after the Top of World Store.

A cue sheet is hardly necessary-the only controls are at both ends of the route which is entirely on US Highway 212.

The route has 14,000 feet of climbing in 207 kilometers. Oh yeah-it tops out at over 10,947 feet above sea level so bring your lungs along! I finally attempted this ride on September 12, 2010. I made it to the Cooke City with only about 16 minutes to spare, then totally blew up about half way up the climb on the way back. I probably could have finished within the time limit, but I would have been descending switchbacks in the dark-not really recommended. A kindly motorist gave me lift to the East Summit where I then dropped back into Red Lodge. My friend and fellow randonneur, Ken Billingsley, did complete the ride however. Congrats Ken! This DNF will eat me up all winter-I'll attack it with a vengance next summer (when the days are a little longer).

I don't know if there is any harder 200K route in the USA-if there is I sure don't want to ride it. Anybody attempting this ride needs to be fit and prepared. Aside from the obvious climbing, there are always unpredictable winds and constantly changing weather conditions (don't attempt this ride if thunderstorms are predicted-there's no where to hide on the plateau). The altitude will have an effect on your performance. The reward for attempting is some of the most scenic and majestic views anywhere in the world-all the more enhanced from the seat of a bicycle! Also, aside from Beartooth Pass, you will ascend Colter Pass to get to Cooke City. At about 5 miles long and topping out at 8,000 feet, this climb is no slouch either!

This site does not support embedded trip maps. View the trip here instead.

Search for Plummer's Gold-no gold-just headwinds.

2009-07-12T19:08:00.000-07:00

Greg Courtney conquers Virginia City Hill-elevation 7,000 feet.

Greg's Photos

Fellow randonneur Greg Courtney's vacation plans changed a little bit so he was back in Bozeman on the weekend of July 11-just enough time for us to tackle another one of my Permanents before he headed home to Iowa. This time the 237k (147 miles) Search for Plummer's Gold-a route that takes a lap around the Tobacco Root Mountains.

On our ride last week I fizzled out after the first 100k in gusty cross-winds. I felt much better today-though I still fizzled towards the end.

We left the Town Pump by Three Forks at 7:00 a.m. and pedaled to Ennis-our first checkpoint. In between Three Forks and Ennis are two significant climbs-the long but fairly tame Harrison Hill and the much steeper Norris Hill. Both climbs went well and the descent into the Madison Valley was awesome. Since my 400k brevet in Washington-where I really scared myself going downhill-I've been working on my descending a lot and I was able to go all the way down without fear while hitting speeds over 40 mph.

It was shaping up to be an absolutetly beautiful day-the sun was out, there was no sign of rain clouds, and only very light breezes. Much different than what I'm used to on this route-which was quite windy the two other times I rode it.

After a short break in Ennis, Greg and I headed up the 10 mile long Virginia City Hill. The climb starts just out of Ennis where we're at 4900 feet and tops out at 7,000 feet. It's a monster in wide open terrain with no shade. Fortunately the very light breezes were with us which made the climb just a little bit easier. On the way up we passed two fully loaded touring cyclists on recumbents doing maybe two miles and hour. They had my total respect-carrying all their camping gear with them on a bike all the way across the country. We would end up seeing 4 pairs of touring cyclists on the segment between Virginia City and Twin Bridges-which isn't surprising as that is part of Adventure Cycling's Trans-America route.

The descent into Virginia City was a blast-once again I was confident enough not to touch the brakes and sped down at 45 mph. On the entrance into town we were easily breaking the speed limit!

The light breezes that helped us over the hill switched and were in our faces-pretty much the rest of the way. I doubt the wind was much more than 5-7 mph, but when it is constantly against you it will burn you out. Greg and I got low and team time-trialed all the way to Sheridan at around 20 mph despite the wind. It was great fun, but a rest stop at the Sheridan Grocery store was welcome. While there we visited with a touring couple on a tandem-going all the way across the country. It was pretty cool.

More time trialing on the way to Whitehall. After we crossed the Jefferson River I had to let Greg do most of the pulling-as the wind was starting to take its toll. The wind started out from the northwest and came around to the northeast-the worst possible directions for us. I was able to stay on Greg's wheel more or less until about 5 miles outside of Whitehall when I completely blew up. Cycling is weird that way-one minute you're flying along and the next you're barely able to keep the pedals turning. The last 30 miles was going to hurt.

Greg wasn't the mess I was, but he was feeling the effort too. After a longer break in Whitehall we headed for Three Forks. The rest stop helped me a little, but in Jefferson Canyon before the Lewis and Clark Caverns I was cooked. The little hills after the caverns that I barely notice when fresh had me in my granny gear. It was one of the worst stretches of riding I've ever done! Greg was kind enough to soft pedal and stop and take lots of pictures so we stayed in contact. After Sappington Junction, the grade becomes more favorable and I rallied a little bit. I wasn't able to do any pulling, but we made good time again.

The last 3 or 4 miles of the route are hilly and I suffered a bit more, but finally rolled into the Town Pump. Greg, who had recently finished tough 600k and 1200k rides was pretty cooked too-we had worked hard on this one-with at least 140k into light headwinds.

We finished the ride in 11 hours and 10 minutes-(total elapsed time from start to finish). My computer showed 9 hours and 3 minutes of riding time-a full hour and 12 minutes faster than the last time I rode this route in May. That explains the fatigue I guess.

Despite the suffering-I enjoyed this ride immensely. I climbed better than last week, I descended better than I ever have, and I got some very productive speed work in drafting with Greg. This is the type of ride that will only make me a better cyclist.

It was a very special honor having Greg come out and ride my permanents. Getting to ride with another randonneur in my home state was truely special.

Hollowtop 200 Permanent-with company

2009-07-04T09:13:00.000-07:00

Greg Courtney of Ames, Iowa stopping for a photo op along the Madison River

Greg's Photos

On July 3, 2009 I rode my Hollowtop 200 Permanent for the second time this year and the third time overall. But this ride was special because I was joined by Greg Courtney from Ames, Iowa. I rode with Greg on my first ever randonneuring event, the St. Anthony Sand Dunes 200k Brevet, out of Driggs, Idaho in May of 2008. We've managed to keep in touch over the year via email and a few months ago Greg contacted me and said he was going to be in Bozeman visiting relatives and was interested in riding one of my permanents. More recently, Greg finished the Shenendoah 1200k Randonnee-coming out of that with a sore achilles. Given that we decided on my most "mellow" ride-the Hollowtop 200. Plans came together, Greg made it to Bozeman, and I had the day off on the Friday before the 4th of July, so we set up a start time of 7:00 a.m.

Greg is the first person, other than myself, to ride one of my permanents. I was very excited and interested to get another randonneur's perspective on the route.

The weather forecast was a little concerning. Our wet spring has extended into summer. The forcast was for a relatively unstable weekend with a good chance of thunderstorms most of the day. As I was getting ready to leave my house the sky was cloudy and some light sprinkles were dampening the pavement.

Between Three Forks and Sappington Junction we encountered a rain shower and there were more black clouds all around. The clouds also obscured the route's namesake Hollowtop Mountain. We broke through the rain shower in Jefferson Canyon and suddenly blue sky and pleasant temps took over. It was a nice 70 degrees in Whitehall.

Rain no longer seemed to be a concern, but the wind was kicking up as we left Whitehall and headed over Highway 359. I was definitely feeling the wind's effects. Fortunately for me, Greg wanted to stop several times to take pictures-I was grateful for the little rest breaks. Other than the wind, it was really turning into a nice day-except the clouds partially obscured Hollowtop and the rest of the Tobacco Root Mountains most of the day.

A major theme of the day was traffic. When I did this ride in April-before tourist season-I had very little traffic. Today-the day before the 4th of July-traffic was quite busy. We must have been passed by 100 horse trailers-probably due to the big rodeo in Ennis. But other than the constant annoyance we didn't have any major trouble. The cool weather did keep the drunk rafters coming from the Madison to a minimum.

We had a few sprinkles in Norris as we took a little lunch stop. I was sure the rain would follow us through Bear Trap Canyon along the Madison-as it tends to do-so I put on my jacket. My thought was if I put on my jacket-it won't rain. That seemed to work! About five miles down the road I was peeling it off-getting wetter on the inside from sweat than on the outside from rain.

We had cross headwinds the rest of the way until we dropped into the Gallatin Valley after Anceny Hill. I struggled mightily with these winds as I watched Greg ride off into the horizon. Thankfully-he was always at the top of the hill waiting for me and taking pictures. For some reason this season I've struggled with hills more so than in the past-I'm not sure why. With hills and wind I slow to a crawl. I suppose being 6'5" and relatively unflexible, I have the aerodynamics of a barn door.

Greg rode magnificently. His recent completions of extremely tough 600k and 1200k rides have him in great form. He was fun to draft with on the flatter sections of the course where I could hang on.

The mostly downhill glide back to Belgrade on the last 20 miles was fun and fast and we finished the ride in a respectable 8 hours and 30 minutes.

Greg made my day when he told me this was the most scenic permanent he's ridden. It sure was fun having his company on the ride. Other than the traffic and the wind it was a perfect day.

Guess What? It's windy in Central Montana

2009-06-28T08:16:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-06-18T17:54:00.000-07:00

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.

Ephrata, Washington 400k Brevet

2009-05-18T19:46:00.000-07:00

Your intrepid author at the top of Loup Loup Pass
My quest to ride a super randonneur series took me back to the State of Washington-this time to the small town of Ephrata which was the start/finish for the Seattle International Randonneurs' (SIR) spring 400 kilometer brevet (actually a little longer than 400k at 254 miles).

SIR is one of, if not the, largest randonneuring groups in the USA. I knew from reading websites, ride reports, articles, and message boards that they would put on a first class event. I was also excited that I'd be able to share the experience with a large group of riders. I wasn't going to be disappointed.

Due to a lot of stuff going on in the area, I ended up having to book a motel room in Moses Lake, which is about a half hour from Ephrata, so it was an early 3:15 a.m. wake up call. I parked a block-or-so away from the ride start in a public lot next to the railroad tracks. As I was putting my bike together the Amtrak Empire Builder pulled up to the station next to where I was parked. I took this as a good omen. I'm a minor train enthusiast and had the pleasure of riding the other half of the Empire Builder (the train splits in Spokane) from Whitefish, MT to Portland a couple of years ago. It was very cool. So despite my haste to get ready, I had to take a pause to admire the train. My family would have been in awe of my nerdom at that moment.

The weather was supposed to be warm and sunny all day, but given the dry climate in this part of Washington, the air is usually chilly when the sun is not up. The reports from the volunteers who pre-rode the course last weekend advised that we should bring some warm clothing despite the forecast. I am very grateful for those reports because I probably would have left some of my cool weather gear at home. I was glad I had it.

About 50 riders pulled out of the Travelodge parking lot at 5 a.m. With such a big group it was easy to draft along with the peloton-something I hoped to do for as long as possible to save energy. My plan was working to perfection as I cruised effortlessly towards the Moses Coulee when suddenly the road disappeared! Between the pre-ride and brevet the last four miles of pavement through the Coulee was completely torn up. It looked like many of the riders had wider tires and bomb proof wheels which allowed them to keep riding-slowly. I have skinny tires and typical road bike wheels-I have no idea if either would hold up to gravel. That along with my relatively unsure bike handling skills resulted in me walking for almost all of the four mile construction zone. At 3 miles per hour I easily lost more than an hour, but at least my bike and my body were intact.

Karel Stroethoff from Missoula caught up to me as I reached the pavement on Highway 2. Karel and I rode much of the 300k in the Tri Cities together two weeks ago. I knew he was signed up but I didn't find him at the start. I was glad to see him-we Montana randonneurs are a rare species (2 of the 3 current Montana RUSA members were on this ride).

The first checkpoint was Farmer (which looked like it consisted of one building and a cemetery up the road). Here I got to meet Mark Thomas who is the former RUSA President and current Seattle Regional Brevet Administrator (RBA). Mark writes an informative blog that I've followed for the last couple of years. He along with several others were volunteering their time to take care of us at various checkpoints along the route. Mark-being ever attentive-vigorously warned us (tongue in cheek) to look out for the gravel as we pulled off the highway.

Karel and I left Farmer together and rode on nice roads with little traffic-with the exception of a couple of rednecks in a pickup-who told us they were number one with their horn and middle fingers.

After some rollers and an uphill trend we got to the top of McNeil Canyon and a sign that warned of a 12% grade. The view of the Columbia River from the top of the hill was amazing, but I didn't ponder it-I was reaching for my brake levers. I'm a chicken descender anyway, but I've never gone down a hill this steep that was this long. Karel on the other hand had much more faith in his ability and equipment and quickly disappeared around the first bend. I figured I would see him again either crumpled in a heap at the bottom the hill or at the next check point in Pateros. I took the descent gingerly-though I was conscious of riding my brakes too hard. I didn't want to heat them up and pop a tire (not sure if that can happen or not, but I sure didn't want to find out). A car passed me and I immediately smelled burning brake pads. Intellectually I knew the smell was from the car, but it made me worry about my brakes even more. I may have been having less fun than a handful of cyclists who were trying climb up the hill! I later heard that some of the riders were touching speeds of 50+ mph!

I got to Pateros just before about 500 motorcycles descended upon the town. It was quite a site as they blocked off the side streets to let the bikers come through. There must have been some sort of mini-Sturgis thing going on in the area as we saw motorcycles all day long.

The next stretch along the Methow River was my lowest point of the day. I started out of Pateros riding with Karel again, but soon had to let him go. I just couldn't seem to muster any energy. This was troubling. I was still well under 100 miles for the day and had a long, long ways to go. I figured I'd be stronger on the first half of this ride and if I was to fall apart it would be when I reached the heretofore uncharted distance of 200 miles. I finally came to the realization that the temperatures were probably somewhere around 70 and I was drinking as if it were in the 40's or 50's-as my training rides have been. I backed off a little more and slogged into the next SIR manned checkpoint near Twisp and headed for the water jug. After a long stop, and turkey sandwich, and some more fluids I set out to conquer Loup Loup pass.

I felt a little better when I left the checkpoint but I was already in my granny gear at the foot of the climb. However as the grade increased to a steady 6% I kept up my cadence and momentum. The food and fluids at the last checkpoint must have kicked in because I started feeling much better as I chugged up the hill. Before too long I made it to the top along with several other riders, including Eric Vigoren. We stopped for obligatory photos and to take a little break.

The descent of Loup Loup was much more fun for me than McNeil Canyon. Though the road surface wasn't as nice, the grade was a manageable 6% on the top half and 5% on the lower half. It was a fun cruise to the flattest part of the route through the towns of Okanogen and Omak. Our next checkpoint was a c-store in Omak. A nice local gentleman came out to talk to us about what we were doing. He told us the rest of the way to Ephrata was easy-even the big hill before Nespelem would be no problem (I don't think he's ever tried it on a bicycle though).

The ride out of Omak on the Columbia River Road was very nice as far as pavement surface and scenery. But it was also hilly and breezy. I hit my second low point on this stretch. I started doing math in my head and tried to predict when I would get done. At one point I had worked it out that I would miss the last checkpoint closing time by 2 hours! After a few miles of panic I realized I was miscalculating and time wasn't going to be an issue as long as I kept at it. Before long I came upon a SIR "secret control". A cup-o-noodles was offered that so hit the spot I couldn't even believe it. It's amazing how the right food at the right time can really lift your spirits.

Buoyed by the cup-o-noodles I made short work of the 2 mile long 10% climb away from the Columbia and back up to Highway 155. It was now dark, the crickets were chirping, frogs were croaking, a coyote was yapping somewhere off in the distance, and the occasional (drunk?) redneck was screaming some undecipherable gibberish as they roared past on the highway. I followed the bright tail lights of Joe Platzner all the way to the Grand Coulee Dam where we were caught by Matt Mikul. Matt rode his bike to the ride start from North Bend, Washington the day before! I was pretty amazed.

We got to the last checkpoint before the end after another steep climb away from the dam that I also felt fine on and were greeted by encouraging volunteers with steaming bowls of potato soup. Once again the soup hit the spot!

Joe had been battling stomach problems and a stubborn leaky tire for much of the route. He wanted to take it a little easier as we rode out the final 56 miles to the finish. This was absolutely fine with me. We cruised along under a multitude of stars on what was a very dark night. Other than a rare passing car the only sound besides our own chatting was the croaking frogs. We could faintly make out a steep cliff to our left and a body of water to our right. The air temperature fluctuated drastically. Every now and then we would hit a cold air pocket that really woke us up. After a while Joe Llona came along-his headlight looking like an approaching locomotive-then Matt, who must have "smelled the barn" as his tail light quickly disappeared up an approaching hill.

The sky was starting to light up and the song birds were beginning to sing as we took the home stretch between Soap Lake and Ephrata. I often notice song birds on pre-dawn departures. I've never noticed them at the end of a ride. I had been at it for almost one complete lap of the clock! As I got my brevet card signed for the final time back at the Travelodge I heard a train horn honking-probably the Empire Builder again. Yep it had been a long day. However, the euphoria of finishing such an event is so addictive...I'd do it all over again-no question!

A weigh in on Monday morning showed I had lost about 4 pounds. I think that confirms my suspicion about my hydration issues. Something to work on for the next one.

Many thanks to all the SIR volunteers who put on such a spectacular brevet. The scenery was amazing, the weather was great, and the support at the checkpoints was tremendous. I met many nice people on the route and at the checkpoints. I know I'll be back to ride with them again.

More Ride Photos Here

I hope it's enough

2009-05-12T20:38:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, May 10 I successfully rode my "Search for Plummer's Gold" route for the second time. The route is quite challenging with three progressively steep climbs over Harrsion Hill, Norris Hill, and Virginia City Hill. The latter being a 10 mile-long monster of a climb-possibly one of the toughest hills in southwest Montana. At 147 miles and an entire lap around the Tobacco Root Mountains, it's nice long day. The purpose of the ride was to get some good solid training in for my third brevet of the year-a 400K (250+ mile) ride out of Ephrata, Washington scheduled for the next weekend (May 16). The route of the 400+km ride looks to be incredibly scenic (as most of Washington is) and challenging, including Loup Loup Pass-which is pretty famous among long distance cyclists-and Grand Coulee Dam. I'm looking forward to the ride. I just hope I have enough gas in the tank to finish it-I've never gone over 200 miles in one bike ride so this will be a new personal record. If I can complete the ride within the 27 hour time limit, I will have completed three of the four brevets in a super randonneur series (200k, 300K, 400k, and 600k)-leaving the 600k for later this summer.

Desert??? Region 300km Brevet

2009-05-04T15:14:00.000-07:00

According to Wikipedia, the Tri Cities area of Washington annually average only about 7-8 inches of precipitation per year. So in anticipation of some nice warm sunny weather, I signed up for the first ever offering of the Tri Cities 300 kilometer (187 miles) brevet-scheduled for Saturday, May 2 out of Richland, Washington. The organizer of the event, Paul Whitney, set up the ride under the auspices of the Oregon Randonneurs.

Actually the expected weather was a small factor in my decision to do this ride. Despite being about 539 miles from Belgrade, this brevet is currently one of the closest such events to my house. The timing was also about right-any earlier and I don't think I would have the fitness to do a ride this long (without suffering greatly). Any later and I would run into scheduling difficulties for the 400km and the rest of my summer activities.

Our "spring" here in Montana has been frustrating. After a relatively dry winter, March came along and dumped a bunch of snow on us along with its usual blustery weather. The snow, cold, and winds continued into April-leaving anyone into warmer weather outdoor activities-like road cycling-in very grumpy moods. I did manage to get some miles in on the bike in between (or during) storms, including my own 200km permanent two weeks prior. I'm not in peak form by any means, but good enough to get through a 300k.

I arrived in Richland at about 4 p.m. on Friday. Temperatures were pleasant and it was breezy-just what I expected. However, the weatherman was warning that rain showers were on the way-not only for Richland, but pretty much throughout the region. So I'm thinking, given the dry climate, a few sprinkles here and there maybe.

A group of about 15 riders met up in the Albertson's parking lot in Richland on Saturday morning under cloudy but non-threatening skies. As we rode along the mighty Columbia River I met and visited with Karel Stroethoff from Missoula. Karel and I represent 2/3 of the active RUSA members from Montana. As one rider pointed out-we Montana randonneurs are an endangered species so we better be careful.

After crossing over the Columbia, touring past some of the rail yards of Pasco, and getting our cards signed at the first check point in Burbank, we left the cities behind and cruised east into the rolling countryside. The sun looked to be trying to burn through the clouds and temps were fairly comfortable-especially compared to what I've been used to. I was feeling good and we made great time to the second check point at the grocery store in the small town of Waitsburg.

We rolled out of Waitsburg and immediately hit a stout climb on the back roads toward Walla Walla. This part of the route must be pretty popular with the local cyclists. There were frequent road signs warning motorists to watch for bicycles and the road was marked for a previous or upcoming road race. After the big climb, it was a downhill trend the rest of the way to Walla Walla with some good rollers in between. It was also starting to drizzle a little-then a little more. Before long I couldn't see through my clear glasses so I pocketed them. For some reason I had the bit in my teeth and was pushing hard-stupidly not stopping to put on my jacket. It's only about 20 miles between Waitsburg and Walla Walla so this stretch didn't take very long, but I got to Pioneer Park, which was the next control, soaking wet. I didn't feel cold on the bike, but once stopped I started to shiver a little. Not good when we still had over 100 miles to go!

Karel and I headed out of Walla Walla together and soon caught up to Martin from Seattle. The road offered a wide enough shoulder, but traffic was fairly heavy and the rains were coming down pretty hard now. Every big vehicle that passed us gave an extra splash. Somewhere in this stretch-either in Walla Walla or Milton-Freewater, Oregon we went past a group trying to hold a car wash fundraiser. They had a car all soaped up-even as it rained. I loved the dedication.

Every long ride has a low point where the rider really wonders if it's all worth it. The stiff headwinds, drizzle, and long hills on the way out of Milton-Freewater were mine. I was burning up the road at 7 mph in my granny gear wondering if I would ever get anywhere. Fortunately, the climbing and wind did let up. The sun also started to show itself and before long I was on a fun descent into Pendleton. On the edge of town I caught back up to Karel who fared much better on those long steep hills than I did. He was talking to another cyclist (I think it was Dan from Washington) who's drive train had pretty much swallowed itself. He was going to see what he could do and maybe find a bike shop-it didn't look good for him to continue the ride. Karel and I proceeded through Pendleton in search of food and someone to sign our cards (Pendleton was an open control). We settled on a little pizza place to stop and take a break. As we pulled in we saw two recumbent riders on our brevet a little ways up the road starting to head out of town.

New York Richie's Pizza proved to be an excellent choice. The two recumbents had just stopped there so the girls behind the counter already knew what we were all about and happily signed our cards. Just as Karel and I were sitting down with our drinks Martin came in and joined us. The food was good and my mood improved considerably.

The sun was out now and the temperatures were in the upper 60's. Karel, Martin, and I rode along with the Umatilla River in a scenic little canyon. Across the river to our left was green alfalfa fields and pasture, and the to the right was the canyon wall. There was almost no traffic. I think we got passed by more freight trains on the parallel railroad tracks than we did cars. Since we were going with the river the grade trended downhill so at times we were cruising along at around 20 mph. The ride was suddenly fun again. We caught up to Dan in the canyon. He had somehow cobbled his drive train together enough to keep going-but with only one gear. He was going to ride it out.

We were fully warmed up as we left the canyon. Martin pulled over to shed a layer and Karel and I kept going towards the next checkpoint at Umatilla. We rode through the town of Hermiston and to a little bit busier back road. The sun was still out, but a huge black cloud to the southwest was overtaking it (and us) very quickly. It started raining just as we left Tesoro c-store in Umatilla.

To get back into Washington we had to cross a big bridge over the Columbia next to an impressive dam and spillway. Unfortunately, the rain made what would have been a great photo opportunity impossible. I was so disappointed not to get a shot going over that bridge.

Between Umatilla and Richland is a massive hill which I had scouted with the car the day before. The thought of climbing this hill with 160 miles in my legs was in the back of my mind the whole day. I think I psyched myself out thinking about it. It turned out not to be so bad. It was long and never ending, but not severely steep. I was even able to go for a ways in my middle ring. But after about 5 miles or so I was feeling pretty spent and had to drop my pace to keep from totally blowing up. Karel, on the other hand, just kept right on chugging and before long he was a distant dot on the horizon.

As I steadfastly spun up the hill in my granny gear the rain nearly stopped and the sky looked to be clearing off to the west. I still had the good sense near the top to put on my vest and reflective sash over my jacket and prepare for the quick descent into Richland in the fading light.

The lights of the Tri Cities were an amazing site from the top of the hill. I took the descent gingerly as my cold tired hands didn't always react well to grabbing the brakes and my coordination felt a bit stiff. As I made the final turn about three miles from the finish the rains started falling again with a vengeance. I think the hardest part of the whole day was getting my bike and all my stuff back in the car as the rain poured over me. I couldn't wait to get to the motel and turn the heater on full blast.

Paul mapped out a terrific and interesting route. It would really be something in all pleasant weather. However, given that I don't ride all that often in rain, this was a valuable learning experience. I learned some important lessons about my equipment and clothing-what worked and didn't work. I am definitely a better cyclist and randonneur for having done this brevet.

My fitness is steadily improving. I climbed better on this ride than I had on my permanent two weeks ago. It's something I just have to keep working on.

A special thanks and kudos to the Oregon Randonneurs and Paul Whitney for organizing the brevet. I hope to get back to the Tri Cities for another one someday. Also, a huge round of applause to our vigilant volunteer Cathy. Her husband was on the ride and so she looked after us, met up with us at the park in Walla Walla, and took our cards at the finish. You just can't say enough good things about folks like that.

Ride Photos Here

Brevet training...or brevet cramming?

2009-04-20T20:49:00.000-07:00

I'm planning to ride a 300km (186 mile) brevet on May 2, 2009 in the Tri-Cities area of Washington. It will be my second brevet in a series of four to complete a full randonneur series (I completed the 200km in January in Arizona). But with the horrible weather in March, my training was set back about three weeks, so instead of an incrimental series of training rides to regain fitness and lose my winter blubber I went from a 65 mile ride last week to my 126 mile Hollowtop Permanent this week. The result was predictable. I was slow. But I did get the 126 mile ride in and I know I will benefit from the effort in the next couple of weeks. My biggest weakness was the hills. I was terribly slow-having to spin my way up in low gears even on the tamest of inclines. I think I will spend the few remaining training opportunities between now and May 2 doing some climbing work. I have to get in shape fast-after the 300km I'm hoping to get the 400km brevet completed on May 16. That ride will be out of Ephrata, Washington. I sort of feel like I'm cramming for a test-which really is what's happing (the word "brevet" means certificate in French after all-which one achieves after passing a test).

I did manage to map my Hollowtop 200 Ride for the Bicycling Magazine website. The result of my mapping is here.

Riding in Yellowstone Park...without the cars

2009-04-13T16:52:00.000-07:00

It's become a spring tradition-after the roads in Yellowstone have been cleared of snow, and before the park is open to automobile traffic, bicyclists are free to roam unencumbered by the hoards of tourists in cars, SUV's, and the dreaded big mirrored motorhomes. Other than a few service vehicles and park rangers, the only traffic to deal with are folks of all ages, shapes, and sizes on every manner of bicycle you can think of-from one speed cruiser bikes to custom made road machines.

In recent years, the Gallatin Valley Bicycle Club touring group has hosted a ride in Yellowstone in mid-April. I've had the pleasure to participate in the this ride the last two years, including this past Saturday (April 11, 2009). We meet in West Yellowstone mid-morning and set out to Madison Junction and then towards Norris Junction. Unfortunately, the road to Old Faithful is closed to bikes due to grizzly bear issues, but the ride towards Norris is plenty fun, scenic, and challenging. Both years we had to contend with a few bison on the road, but with a little patience and calm we get through them-no problem.

I've been fortunate, in both years I've done the ride the weather has been very good. Last year it was clear blue skies and sunny. The temps were below freezing when we started, but they warmed up soon enough and we were pealing layers by Madison. This year the temperatures were warmer leaving West (the ice was melting in the parking lot), but some clouds moved in and we had a few sprinkles here and there. But considering what the weather can do in Yellowstone I would consider the conditions ideal!

I would recommend riding in the park to anyone-from an experience roadie to the person who only dusts the bike off a couple of times a year. It's also a great place to ride with kids.

The Off-Season

2009-03-01T15:18:00.000-08:00

Since my early January ride in Arizona, my riding has been somewhat limited. With no planned rides until April, I have lacked motivation. Even on nice days where temperatures get into the 40's, the nice window is pretty short. It'll start to warm up in the early afternoon, but start cooling off rapidly by 5 p.m. Riding is far from ideal and it's not hard to come up with an excuse to stay home. Unfortunately, indoor rides on a trainer sound even less appealing so I'm resigned to losing fitness and gaining weight waiting for spring.

I did get two significant rides in and mapped so far this winter. In late January I rode and mapped a ride to Willow Creek and back, and in mid-March I rode and mapped the Gallatin Valley Bicycle Club's Three River's Metric Century route(see below).

I proposed the Willow Creek route to the bike club's touring group and they scheduled it for June 21. I will also be leading the Tour de Spud for the 3rd year in a row on May 23. The entire bike club touring schedule is at the bike club's website(click here).

This site does not support embedded trip maps. View the trip here instead.

This site does not support embedded trip maps. View the trip here instead.

Randonneuring in Arizona-The Cure for Cabin Fever

2009-01-05T15:17:00.000-08:00

Last year I discovered the joy of January cycling when I visited my brother Travis and his family in Savannah, Georgia. So this year I thought it a good idea to find another warm location to ride in. When the 2009 RUSA schedule was posted I knew I had to try to get down to Arizona on January 3 to ride their 200km Casa Grande Ruins Brevet. Not only could I satisfy my desire to ride in warm weather in the middle of winter, I could get a jump-start on my goal to complete a full brevet series in 2009.

I've done precious little riding since my 98 mile Plains-Whitefish ride in early November, so fitness was definitely a concern. However, with the 13.5 hour time limit randonneuring allows, I was sure I could finish the brevet-even if I had to take a few extra breaks along the way.

The event started out from the Round Trip Bike Shop in Casa Grande Arizona (south of Phoenix). The first leg of the ride takes a meandering loop to the Casa Grande Ruins located next to the small town of Coolidge and back to the bike shop. The second leg is an out and back on Indian Highway 15 in the Tohono O'Odaham Indian Reservation south of Casa Grande. Looking at the map the outermost point of the ride isn't that far from the U.S.-Mexico border, which became apparant as all day we met and were passed by border patrol agents in pickup trucks-and even rode through a border patrol checkpoint where it looked like vehicles (of the motor variety) were being searched.

It was 41 degrees when we started. It felt pretty good compared to what I was used to, but I did utilize a long sleeve jersey over my short sleeve jersey and some leg warmers. High temps were forcast for the mid to upper 60's so I didn't figure to need the extra layers for very long.

As the group of 38 riders made their way out of Casa Grande, I found myself drafting on the wheels of the fast guys at the front of the pack. After a few minutes I realized how futile that was and accepted the fact that at this stage in my fitness I had better not push it. It wasn't long though before a couple on a tandem and another rider overtook me and I was able to hold their wheel. Our group steadily increased in number and I was happily drafting along just outside of Coolidge when someone behind informed me that something fell off my bike. It turned out to be my cleat covers that were clasped to my saddle bag. After a brief search, only one of the pair was recovered. I should have just kept going. By the time I reached the check point at the ruins several of the group I had been riding with were already headed back the other way. With the clock running, these Southwestern Randonneurs don't want to mess around at the controls! No matter, I had to be a bit of a tourist and make some time to take a photo of the ruins.

The ride back from Coolidge to Casa Grande was a solo effort. Though I passed a few individual riders, I couldn't muster the energy to chase down a group a little ways ahead of me. I was able to keep them in sight most of the way-which was a comfort. The last thing I wanted to do was get lost.

After the second checkpoint back at the bike shop where we began, I left with several riders. I knew the route wasn't complicated, but I wanted to tag along with someone who knew the way so I wouldn't have to refer to my cue sheet at every intersection. This portion of the route is 37 miles-one way, so there were some opportunities to hookup with others along the way. Some were much stronger than me and quickly became a blip on the horizon, but others were going my speed (more or less). It was very pleasant chatting along as we shared the work of riding into a steadily increasing headwind. A little ways before the turn-around we met the leaders going the other way. Judging by the smiles on their faces, they were enjoying the tailwind immensely. We kept encouraging ourselves that we'd have that tailwind on the way back too.

At mile 88+, Susan Plonsky, the Arizona Regional Brevet Administrator (RBA) had set up a lunch stop with some delicious wraps and other goodies. It was literally an oasis in the desert-as we were way out in the middle of nowhere-somewhere between Casa Grande and Mexico.

After a short break I took off just behind small group of guys who seemed rejuvinated by the rest stop and loving the tailwind. I called to the engine room to give me the power to catch their wheels...but there was no answer. I was about out of gas and decided to let them go and just ride my own pace and enjoy the warm weather and desert scenery. I gave myself the excuse to slow down because I wanted to snap a few pictures as I rode and try to call my daughter on my cell phone to tell her when to pick me up in Casa Grande. As I rode the wind moved from a southerly tailwind to a west cross-wind, and finally a straight-on north headwind. It was a bit demoralizing having the wind in my face for the last 20 or so miles when I was expecting to be whisped along by a tailwind. But even though I was slogging, I was still throughly enjoying being on my bike in short sleeves in January!

I finished in a tad over 8 hours-and somewhere in the middle of the bunch. I was pleasantly surprised how good I felt after getting off the bike. I have never done a ride of this length with so little preparation-I think it bodes well for the season to come.

On the ride, at the lunch stop, and at the finish I got to visit with randonneurs from all over-including Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Texas (among other places I'm sure). The guys at the Round Trip Bike Shop where the ride started and finished were also very friendly. Special thanks goes to Susan Plonsky and the other Arizona Randonneurs that put the event on. I hope I can make it back there for another brevet someday. I am also extremely grateful to cousins Mike and Gert in Chandler, Arizona for their tremendous hospitality while staying with them (and for the light rail ride in Phoenix on Friday night!). And finally a special note of appreciation to my daugther Stephanie for coming along on this trip and driving the entire length of Utah on our 18 hour epic trek back home-I couldn't have done it without you Steph!

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Maps of the Year!

2008-12-27T10:16:00.000-08:00

My Bridger Canyon-Battle Ridge Pass ride-which I mapped on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in the early October-was picked as one of the maps of the year on Bicycling's Rides website. Click on the underlined link below then scroll about half-way down:

Maps of the Year

2008-The Year in Review

2008-12-12T12:36:00.000-08:00

2008 was a banner year for me on the bike. I managed to stretch the season, increase my mileage, and-as documented on this blogsite-stepped into the larger world of randonneuring.

The year started off with a bang in January. I got to ride with my brother Travis and nephew Austin in the Savannah, Georgia area while I was out there on a short visit. After only logging 10 miles in December of 2007 my fitness was seriously lacking and I was on a borrowed bike with a torturous saddle. Despite the limitations I loved the 70 degree temperatures and had a great time of it-including doing a little criterium training with a big group of riders.

In April I rode my first Gallatin Valley Bike Club ride of the season in Yellowstone National Park. At that time the roads were cleared but still closed to motor vehicle traffic (except for service vehicles) so we had the park roads pretty much to ourselves. Besides us, there were hundreds of other cyclists taking advantage of the opportunity. It was a special day.

I logged 681 miles in May highlighted by the Gallatin Valley Bike Club's Tour de Spud in which I was the organizer, the Spring Cycle Tour in West Yellowstone, and the completion of my first randonneuring event-the St. Anthony Sand Dunes 200km Brevet which started and finished in Drigg's Idaho (see my separate blog entry about that ride).

In June I successfully rode my first Randonneurs USA sanctioned permanent (see my separate blog entry for this ride), a route I set up and mapped for the RUSA national database.

Through the heart of the summer I participated in several GAS/Intrinsik Race Team Thursday night rides.
The race team puts on the rides for the general public-often with a little clinic. It's always a fun time-even though sometimes I had a hard time keeping up when the racers were feeling especially frisky. There were more Gallatin Valley Bike Club touring rides including the Tour de Chico and Ringling to Martinsdale-all well attended and great fun. I also participated in the "Blazing Saddles" charity ride out of Livingston on a beautiful day in July.

For the past four years, the highlight of my summer has been the Gallatin Valley Bike Club's Three Rivers Century. With almost 100 riders, it's our biggest event and it's grown every year. I was on the organizing committee so to insure that I would be able to ride on the day of the event, I recruited wife Brenda, daughter Stephanie, and mother-in-law Mindy as staff volunteers.
My brother Clay and his family also met up with us and took a bunch of photos that made it to the Gallatin Valley Bike Club website. It was a real treat having my family help out and we had a great day with near perfect weather. I ended up riding most of the day with a group of guys from Helena who's pace suited me and I ended up almost breaking the 20 mph average speed barrier-something I can only come close to when drafting off other riders who don't go so fast that I can't stay in the draft.

Normally things wind down considerably in September. After the annual "Bikin' with the Eagles" charity ride to benefit Eagle Mount early in the month my miles usually become more limited with fall activities (football games), shorter days, and cooler and more unstable weather. But this year I was recruited by Bicycling Magazine to map local rides with a GPS for their website (see the Bicycling Mapping project blog entry). So instead of shortening and limiting my rides in the fall I put some lights on the bike, brought along an extra layer or two of clothing, and set out to map 15 rides, including two more RUSA permanents that I had gotten approved but didn't think I'd get to complete this year (see my blog entry about the Search for Plummer's Gold and Martinsdale Mail Run Permanents). I tested my skills, riding many miles after dark, putting up with cold weather and even frozen water bottles while logging over 600 miles in October alone.

With the completion of my permanents and 200km Idaho brevet, I only needed one more ride to earn an RUSA 1000km medal. So I extended the season into November by riding RUSA's Plains to Whitefish Permanent Populaire (see my separate blog entry for this ride).

I'm still getting in some shorter local rides here and there in December, but the final tally will show about 4800 miles in four states and completion of five RUSA rides. I now have a pretty good base built up to hopefully go farther afield in 2009. Next year's plan is to complete a full brevet series which includes rides of 200km, 300km, 400km, and 600km. All of these rides will have to take place out of state as there is no brevet series in Montana at this time. Of course I will also ride with the Gallatin Valley Bike Club and participate in other local rides as often as I can. Check back to this blog to see how it all goes.

Plains-Whitefish Permanent

2008-11-07T14:29:00.000-08:00

After riding a brevet in Idaho, and my three permanents I was only 60 kilometers short of 1000km worth of RUSA sanctioned rides. RUSA offers distance awards starting with a 1000km medal. So despite the fact that it's November, and this is Montana, I was determined to get over the 1000km hump. However, the rules state that I can only count a given route once per year toward any RUSA distance award-so I could not simply ride one of my own routes a second time to get the necessary kilometers logged.

Susan France-Regional Brevet Administrator (RBA) for the Oregon Randonneurs had established a 157 km (98 miles) permanent going from Plains to Whitefish. The route is the last leg of the larger Glacier 1000Km brevet that the Oregon Randonneurs put on in 2007 and fortunately, Susan maintains the route on the RUSA website as a permanent.

Logistically, this route has some advantages because my wife Brenda's sister Dori and family live by Kalispell, so I have a place to stay after I'm done. So with one eye on the weather channel-I signed up to do the ride on November 8, 2008.

Relatively mild, but rainy weather has gripped the state for the last few days-so on our way to Plains we made a stop at REI in Missoula to pickup a better rain jacket and some quick release SKS Race Blades fenders (all my internet research indicated that Race Blades were the way to go for some fender coverage in the rain, but that are easy to detach for dry weather). Brenda, son Jackson, dog Ernie, and I stayed at the quaint Dew Duck Inn in Plains on Friday night. It was raining but temperatures were staying in the mid-40's.

When I rolled out of Plains at 8 a.m. it was still about 40 degrees. It wasn't raining at the time, however everything was wet and the fog was pretty thick. At least I wouldn't be dealing with frozen water bottles like on my Martinsdale ride two weeks ago.

The first five miles out of Plains are a steady climb to some forest and high plains. The terrain rolls considerabley to the town of Hot Springs. Things flatten out for a little while after Hot Springs, but there's more climbing a few miles before dropping down to the small town of Elmo next to Flathead Lake (the largest natural fresh water lake in the United States west of the Mississippi). By now it was raining lightly, and the surrounding mountains were completely obscured by clouds. Because of the clouds, the opposite shore could not be seen in many places-making the lake seem even more immense than it already is.

Highway 93 from Elmo to Somers is busy with high speed traffic and trucks. There is a wide-rideable shoulder, but also a lot of tire eating debris. I wasn't surprised when I heard the tell-tale hiss coming from my front tire. A piece of glass caused a puncture. Even though it was raining, and I didn't really feel like stopping, the change of tubes went smoothly and I was underway again in short order.

After an extended break in Lakeside to eat a corn dog and have some coffee-I was back at it as the light drizzle continued. The rain didn't bother me too much, the fenders were working perfectly, and I had just the right amount of layers on with temps staying in the low 40's.

At the small town of Somers I got some relief from the traffic thanks to a wonderful bike path that parallels Highway 93 on an old railroad grade. I my felt blood pressure subside immediately as I didn't have to worry about what was coming in my review mirror.

After a pleasant cruise through Kalispell on quiet residential streets, I tackled the last leg of the trip to Whitefish on Whitefish Stage Road. This road can be busy at times and it's very narrow so you have to take the lane-however on this Saturday afternoon traffic was very light.

I finished the ride at the Dairy Queen in Whitefish a little after 4 p.m. where Brenda and Jackson were waiting for me. I was a lot slower than expected, but well within the randonneuring time limit. This route was very hilly-which made it quite a challenge. The rain was also a nuisance, but nothing I couldn't handle. On my 200K brevet in Idaho in late May it was also wet, but on that ride I didn't have any fenders and ended a muddy mess. Today was even wetter, but thanks to the race blade fenders I stayed relatively clean. I was glad I picked them up.

So with that-pending RUSA verification, I now have over 1000km's worth of randonneuring events in 2008 and I will qualify for a RUSA 1000K medal. Not bad considering I didn't think my schedule this summer would allow for much more than the 200K brevet in May. I think I'll just go ahead and pat myself on the back...now onto a full brevet series in 2009!

Special thanks go out to my wife Brenda and son Jackson for hauling my butt up to Plains, and picking me up in Whitefish. I also owe a special debt of gratitude to my in-laws Dan and Dori who once again graciously put us up in their home on Saturday night after the ride (and fed me magnificantly!). Finally, thanks to Susan France from the Oregon Randonneurs for establishing and maintaining the route.

I also mapped this route for Bicycling Magazine's Rides Website. The map, ride info, and more photos can be seen at the link below:

Plains-Whitefish Permanent

Two Permanents Tagged and Bagged!

2008-10-29T20:13:00.000-07:00

I'm happy and proud to report that I successfully rode my Search for Plummer's Gold 237km Permanent on October 19, 2008 and my Martinsdale Mail Run 300km Permanent one week later on October 26, 2008. In the process I learned a lot about my own abilities, equipment, and especially riding at night. My main inspiration for doing these rides despite the lateness of the season was the use of a Garmin GPS unit loaned to me to map rides for Bicycling Magazine's Rides Website. The results of the mapping with route info and photos are at the links below:

Search for Plummer's Gold

Martinsdale Mail Run

Search for Plummer's Gold
I started this ride at 10:00 a.m.-a bit of a late start, but I wanted to make sure I was in good weather and any ice and snow which had accumulated in the last few days at higher elevations had a chance to clear. The temps were cool, but the sun was bright and the clouds from the previous days were moving out. The mountains were blanketed with a fresh layer of white snow and the bright sunlight lit them up magnificantly.
The first 60 miles of the ride are dominated by three climbs: Harrison Hill, Norris Hill, and Virginia City Hill. I've had previous experience with the first two, but I had only ever driven over Virginia City Hill in a car. It's substancially longer than Norris Hill and just as steep. I got into my first checkpoint in Ennis in good time and fueled up for the big climb. With the sun bouncing off the bare hillside I actually started to overheat at the foot of the climb and had to shed a layer. Half-way up I stopped at a scenic turnout and shed some more. I also snapped a picture of the Madison Valley highlighting what a spectacular day it was.
The rest of the ride flattens out, but I had to deal with steady headwinds all the way to Whitehall so I was slow. Though I was well within the randonneuring time window, I was going to be out later than I ever had been before. The ride through the canyon along the Jefferson between Cardwell and Sappington Junction was very quiet, with only one or two cars passing me. It was also moonless and very, very dark. The payoff was an incredible display of stars overhead. Once I got used to the darkness and trusted my lights, I was fine and rather enjoyed the solitude. The last 11 miles to Three Forks was a little more busy as US 287 is being used as a detour for trucks while US 191 through Gallatin Canyon is under construction. I had no trouble though as my lights and reflectors did their jobs-and the trucks gave me lots of room when they passed. I got into the start/finish at the Three Forks Town Pump at about 10:30 p.m.-tired, but happy.

Martinsdale Mail Run
I approached this ride with some trepidation. The weather forcast was dry, but high temps were expected to only get into the high 40's. It was also the first day of hunting season so I knew there would be a lot of guys running around in big four wheel drive pickups who may not be super tolerant of cyclists (yeah I admit I'm stereotyping a bit here).
I set off from Bozeman a little after 6:00 a.m. and headed up Bridger Canyon. It was dark and as expected I was passed by a steady stream of pickups loaded with hunters. But the traffic was all going in the same direction, and without exception everyone gave me a wide berth as they passed. I have found that motorists generally give me way more room when passing me at night. Dawn came quickly as I made my way through the canyon. The sun was bright, but the air was not warming up very fast. I had a freezing descent into the Shields River Valley. Temps in Wilsall were under 20 degrees and the bottles in my frame cages were frozen solid! Fortunately, a reserve bottle in my Carradice bag was still liquid.
As expected, I had headwinds from Wilsall to Ringling. Most of this stretch is uphill so it was slow. The ride to Martinsdale on Highway 294 was fun. After an uphill five miles it was a steady downhill with light tailwinds all the way to the town. Mom, Brenda, Jackson, and our dog Ernie met me in Martinsdale for lunch at the Crazy Mountain Inn. I was in no hurry and ended up staying for an hour-and-a-half. The ride back towards Ringling was slow with uphill and headwinds, and faster to Wilsall with more favorable grades and light tailwinds (the wind died to nothing at sunset). I got into Wilsall with plenty of time to stop for soup and coffee at the Wilsall Bar and Cafe. The folks there were very friendly and their soup really recharged my batteries. After Wilsall the temps dropped into the mid-20's while the stars came out. I was well within the time limit and not in a hurry. The bottle in my bottle cage froze again going over Battle Ridge Pass, but I had another in my bag that didn't freeze so I was fine. I made it back to Bozeman at 11:45-a little chilled but feeling fine and elated.

PERMANENT ROUTES APPROVED!

2008-09-18T14:18:00.000-07:00

I just received word that my two lastest RUSA Permanent routes have been approved. For more info on my permanent routes or just exactly what randonneuring and permanents is just look to the right side of this blog for a bunch of links and other info. Just get in touch with me if you want to ride one of my routes and have it verified through RUSA. If the timing works out I'd love to ride it with you.

Bicycling Magazine Mapping Project

2008-09-10T20:09:00.000-07:00

A representative of Bicycling Magazine got in touch with the Gallatin Valley Bicycle Club to find out if there was an individual who would map some rides in the Bozeman area with a Garmin GPS unit. Apparantly, they are planning on featuring Bozeman in the "Perfect Day" section of their July '09 issue.

Since I had done some maps on mapmyride.com and bikely.com, I was asked if I would be up to the task. I really had no idea what I was supposed to do-but thought what the heck-I'd give it a try. A few days later the Garmin showed up at my door. I followed the step-by-step instructions and had no trouble getting the unit up and running. I started out by mapping an easy ride from Belgrade to Churchill and back and downloading it to the Bicycling Rides website. Along with the map, it was easy to add pictures, highlight waypoints, create a turn-by-turn cue sheet, and add some written text about the ride.

I think the results have been pretty good if I do say-so myself. Here's links to most of the rides I've mapped:

Churchill

Gallatin Valley Golden Triangle

GAS/Intrinsik Thursday Night Ride

Bikin' With the Eagles

Tour de Spud

City and University Tour

Dry Creek Road

Hyalite Canyon-Bozeman Trail Road

Battle Ridge Pass via Bridger Canyon

Three Rivers Century

Search for Plummer's Gold

Martinsdale Mail Run

Plains-Whitefish Permanent

Foy's Lake Road Loop

Springhill Road

Willow Creek Wanderer

Three Rivers Metric Century

Hollowtop 200

Tour de Jefferson

Search For Plummer's Gold 237Km Permanent (147 miles)

2008-07-23T20:29:00.000-07:00

Entry and Waiver Form

Route Map

Cue Sheet

I've often thought that a ride around the Tobacco Root Mountains would make a nice route for randonneurs. Thus I present "Search for Plummer's Gold". The name of the route derives from it's passage through Montana's rough and tumble past along the gold fields of Alder Gulch near Virginia City-one time Montana's territorial capitol. Legend has it that Virginia City's Sheriff Henry Plummer, who was accused of being the leader of an outlaw gang called the Innocents, offered to bring back his weight in gold to the Vigilantes if they spared his life. The plea fell on deaf ears, and Plummer met his end dangling from a noose in the winter of 1864. Ever since rumors have persisted, and treasure hunters have hunted, for Plummer's gold-thought to be buried somewhere in the hills around Virginia City.

The ride starts out near Three Forks at I-90 Exit 274 and goes to Ennis. In between Ennis and Three Forks is a long, but not so steep climb called Harrison Hill. This hill will get you warmed up for things to come-but with this hill there's no downhill payoff. It just gets you to the high plains around the small town of Harrison. After Norris, you hit a much steeper hill. Norris Hill kicks up to 7% grades and it does have a heart stopping downhill into the Madison Valley. But that's not all! After Ennis you start climbing-first gradually-and then in earnest as you go over a 7000 foot high-10mile long monster. The hill has a false summit-you'll actually go downhill for a little ways-but you're not done. There another mile or so of climbing before a fast descent into Virginia City.

The rest of the route flattens out on the way to Whitehall Montana in the Jefferson River valley before going over some rollers back to Three Forks. The ride has approximately 7600 feet of climbing concentrated in the three hills previously mentioned-all within the first sixty miles.

The route overlaps Adventure Cycling's Trans-America route from Ennis to Twin Bridges. In the summer months it's very likely that you will encounter cross-country touring cyclists on this stretch.

Search for Plummer's Gold Permanent (Route No. 487) is open to any RUSA member. Get in touch with me if you want to ride this route and we'll work out the details.

I rode this route for the first time on October 19, 2008 with a Garmin GPS unit. I created a map and info page with photos about this ride for Bicycling Magazine's Rides Website. Click on "trip details" on the map below to get to the info page and photos.

This site does not support embedded trip maps. Visit http://bicycling.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip.aspx?tripId=281926 to view this trip.

Martinsdale Mail Run 300Km Permanent (186 miles)

2008-07-23T19:33:00.000-07:00

Entry and Waiver Form

Route Map

Cue Sheet

One of my favorite groups to ride with is the Gallatin Valley Bicycle Club touring group. We try to do a ride once a month or so in the summer. In July the touring group rode from Ringling to Martinsdale and back. It was a nice 62 mile route. When I got to looking at the route earlier this summer I realized that using the core of the touring group's ride and expanding it to Bozeman I would end up with a challenging 300 kilometer event. Thus the idea of the Martinsdale Mail Run was born.

The ride leaves from the Holiday C-Store on Durston Road in Bozeman, goes up Bridger Canyon and over Battle Ridge Pass to Wilsall. After a control in Wilsall the ride goes to the very small and unique little town of Martinsdale on US Highway 89 and the very lightly traveled and tranquil Montana Highway 294.

The ride tasks the ride with "carrying the mail" over the Bridger Mountains to Martinsdale and returning to Bozeman within the 20 hour time limit.

Standing in the way of the out and back route is Battle Ridge Pass in the Bridgers. It's a relatively short (about 2 miles on either side) but it shoots up to 6372 feet. There's also some significant hills in the vicinity of Bridger Bowl ski area to deal with. The total ride has 10,000 feet of climbing-and wind-especially around Ringling and Wilsall is usually a factor.

Any RUSA member can ride this route for RUSA distance credit. Just contact me and let me know when you want to ride-and we'll get the details sorted out from there.

I successfully rode this route for the first time on October 26, 2008 with a Garmin GPS unit. I mapped the ride and created a brief info page with photos for Bicycling Magazine's Rides Website. Click on "trip details" on the map below for the info page and photos:

This site does not support embedded trip maps. Visit http://bicycling.trimbleoutdoors.com/ViewTrip.aspx?tripId=287324 to view this trip.

Riding my first Permanent-Success!

2008-07-05T17:02:00.000-07:00

I chose July 5, 2008 to ride my Hollowtop 200 Permanent. Though I am intimately familiar with this route, this is only the second time I've ridden the entire thing in one shot.

Last night I drifted off to sleep to the sounds of fireworks going off all over town-some of my neighbors kept it going until about 1 a.m.! I awoke just before 4 a.m. to a similar, but more foreboding sound-thunder. So like any cyclist would-the first thing I did was turn on the weather channel. According to the radar map-a thunderstorm had indeed just passed through the area-but it didn't look like anymore storms were coming.

As I rode through the deserted streets to my starting point at the Main Street Town Pump I was dodging puddles-it must have rained pretty hard. The temps were in the high 50's and the air was quite humid-something we are not really used to in Montana. The air smelled a little like the morning air at my brother's home in Savannah, Georgia-except it's usually warmer and more humid there.

My biggest worry for this ride quickly turned out to be a non-issue. I was worried that the store clerks would resist stamping and signing my brevet card. Nobody out here knows what randonneuring is, and people aren't always willing to do something out-of-the-ordinary in their workplace. I could have just used a store receipt with the date and time, but I really wanted the card to be stamped-I think it just looks more official with a stamp. Anyway, the kid at the Town Pump here in Belgrade didn't think they had a stamp, but I spotted one on the back counter. He quickly retrieved it, stamped my card, and noted the time (5:00 a.m.). No problem. It would be the same at my other store controls-including my return to the Town Pump in the afternoon.

It was already starting to get pretty light as I left Belgrade City Limits, but I was equipped with lights front and back, and my new RUSA reflective sash and ankle bands...somehow I think I'm the only person who would think I looked cool. I could have rode in all dark right down the middle of the road-there were no cars out at all. Everyone must have been sleeping off their 4th of July. Starting early was a good idea.

My next control was 39 miles down the road at the Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park-since I would be answering my own question at the info control-I took a few pictures just to prove I had been there and didn't take a 3 or 4 mile shortcut on I-90 .

My next stop was the town of Whitehall. Folks were starting to move around as I made my way through town a little after 8 a.m. There was some sort of farmers market happening, but there were far more merchants than customers. I got some water and a turkey sandwich as well as getting my card stamped at a C-Store and then sat down in front of the fire hall and took a little break. The bank sign said it was 70 degrees-time to take the arm warmers off.

After Whitehall, I headed back the way I came for 8 miles, before heading over the scenic and very lightly traveled Highway 359 towards Harrison and my next control in Norris. I took a picture of my route's namesake-Hollowtop Mountain, but some wildfires in Canada have put a little bit of haze in the air so the Mountain did not look as spectacular as it usually does-as you can see from the picture at the top of this page.

The folks at the little C-Store in Norris, McLeod Mercantile, were duly impressed with my ride. One nice old gentleman said he couldn't ride that far in one day on a motorcycle! I bought a bag of chips, some ice tea, and water and sat outside and had a little picnic. The sun was out now and it was warming up and getting breezy.

The ride after Norris goes along the Madison River and through the edge of the famous Bear Trap Recreation Area. The portion of the Madison along my route is an extremely popular river float. Traffic got very busy along this stretch as I met and was passed by people dropping off their rafts and inner tubes at the "put-in" and then heading back to the end of the float a few miles down stream. Thankfully, and according to plan, I was through this area early enough-that all the drivers were still sober. It won't necessarily be that way after they get done floating later in the afternoon.

I wasn't feeling great, but I wasn't suffering either, as I got over the very hilly portion of the ride between the Bear Trap and the Gallatin Valley, but I rallied considerably as I got to the un-chipped sealed River Road. It's amazing what a nice smooth paved surface will do for your outlook. I had headwinds through the Bear Trap-which is unusual. Every other time I have ridden through there the wind has come pretty strong out of the southwest. The wind slowed me down, but didn't hammer me too bad.

I cruised back to Belgrade and finished in a fairly respectable 8 hours and 40 minutes. My "on the bike" time was about 7 hours and 24 minutes. I could have saved some time by not taking breaks in Whitehall and Norris-but what the heck? It's not a race and I was riding alone anyway-no one else to keep up with. It is surprising though how fast time slips away when you're not moving-a lesson I'm sure, for longer rides.

All in all, I'm pretty happy with my first Permanent Route. I think it's challening and scenic. I hope some other randonneurs try it out someday.

Hollowtop 200 Permanent (203 kilometers, 126 miles)

2008-06-22T18:18:00.000-07:00

Entry and Waiver Form

Route Map

Cue Sheet

I am pleased to present my first RUSA permanent route-The Hollowtop 200. For more information on just exactly what a permanent route is go to the RUSA Permanents Page.

The route combines a few of my local favorites, including the Gallatin Valley Bicycle Club's Tour de Jefferson and Three Rivers Century-with an out and back to the town of Whitehall for good measure. The ride starts from the Town Pump C-Store on East Main Street in Belgrade (next to Lewis and Clark Park) and takes you to Three Forks via the Frontage Road (MT 205) parallel to I-90. At Three Forks you will take Montana Highway 2 to the Lewis Clark Caverns and the first checkpoint. After the Caverns you'll proceed to Whitehall and the next checkpoint. From Whitehall you'll head back the way you came for about 7 miles and then head over the very lightly traveled and scenic MT Highway 359 towards Harrison and Norris. The third checkpoint is the gas station in Norris. The last stretch goes past the very scenic Bear Trap Recreation Area along the Madison River before going over some rollers as you get back to the Gallatin Valley and Belgrade.

The route takes the randoneuring cyclist along and across all three of the tributaries that form the the Missouri River-the Gallatin, Madison, and Jefferson-and past the spectacular Tobacco Root Mountain Range-featuring Hollowtop Mountain (10,604 ft). Hollowtop is plainly visible from most of the route-including the start/finish in Belgrade. It can be recognized by a distinctive dish-shaped formation at its apex. The photo above shows Hollowtop on the right and Mount Jefferson on the left.

There are no mountain passes on this route, but there are some pretty good rollers. My Garmin GPS unit tells me there's about 6000 feet of climbing. It's a very pleasant route that any cyclist will love!

To ride this permanent you must first be a member of Randonneurs USA (RUSA). Annual membership is only $20 and you get a lot of useful information, including a handbook and a terrific newsletter.

Next-contact me via email at belgradebobcat @ msn dot com and let me know when you want to ride the route. I will charge no fee, but I will need each rider to fill out an entry form and provide a signed waiver before the ride. I will provide you with a brevet card and up-to-date route sheet.

Next-arrive at the starting location, the Main Street Town Pump in Belgrade (305 E. Main Street) at the agreed upon start time. Have the clerk stamp your card in the appropriate box with a rubber store stamp and sign and note the time, or instead of a stamp obtain a cash register receipt and have the clerk note the time and initials in the appropriate box.

Next-ride the route...At checkpoint No. 2 at the Lewis and Clark Caverns you will have to answer a question on your card, at the Whitehall and Norris checkpoints you will follow the same check-in procedure as you did in Belgrade. Make sure you verify arrival at the checkpoints during the open times for that checkpoint as noted on your card.

Next-finish your ride at the Belgrade Town Pump within the prescribed time period, obtain time and date verification, fill-out the rest of the card, including your RUSA member number and name and address, and get the card back to me within 10 days. I'll take care of it from there.

That's all there is to it!

I successfully rode this route as a permanent for the second time on April 18, 2009 and mapped it with my Garmin GPS unit. The map and a little more info are provided below (click on trip details):

This site does not support embedded trip maps. View the trip here instead.

To the Participants Belong the Spoils

2008-06-06T20:32:00.000-07:00

Both my son Jackson and I are proud to display our participant awards in our most recent athletic events. I received my very cool medal for successfully completing my first 200k brevet bike ride, and Jackson received a participant ribbon for running the 400 meters in his school's 6th grade track and field day.

As is mentioned on any website dealing with such-randonneuring is not racing. Each participant who successfully completes a brevet or longer randonee within the time limit is congratulated. If results are published, it is always alphabetically and never by the fastest time. So by finishing my first brevet within the required time limit of 13.5 hours I was eligible for my medal-which I promptly ordered.

Randonneuring awards are based on finishing and the more prestigious awards are for finishing many and varied events. I'm just getting started-but I've got my sights set on the "Super Randonneur" award for next year. I can earn that by completing a full brevet series (200k, 300k, 400k, and 600k) within one calendar year. Once again-it doesn't matter who's the fastest-just that you complete the rides as per the rules and finish within the time limits. I think it's a neat way to go for riders like me who don't have the fast twitch muscles needed for racing-but still like to push ourselves, strive towards a goal, and be recognized for our efforts by an organizing body.

Not unlike my award-which was for participating and finishing my 200k brevet, Jackson participated and finished his 400 meter run. He didn't get a first place ribbon, or a second place ribbon...or any ribbon for finishing amongst the top in his class-but he ran the whole thing and he finished-and I couldn't have been prouder. You see-Jackson isn't an athletic kid and he is especially not a runner (neither am I). So it was with much concern that I heard him say he signed up for the 400. I asked him if he had ever run all the way around the track and he said he's only run on the straight-aways and walked on the curves. Oh great! I thought. He's going to be embarassed as he struggles around that track and holds up the entire meet waiting for him to finish...or worse he won't finish at all. So when the starter's pistol fired I was as nervous as I could be. Off they went-Jackson in the first lane started out at a nice steady pace. He kept chugging and even caught up to a kid who had started walking on the third turn. He plugged away down the stretch. And he crossed the finish line to the cheers of the entire class who was watching the race. I couldn't get out of the stands and down to the track fast enough to give him a high five. As I was walking with him every kid that we met said, "Great job Jackson! Way to go!"

Just like when I was a kid-everybody got a participant ribbon. When I got mine I usually discarded it right away-it didn't mean anything compared to the blue, red, or white ribbon for finishing in the top three. But Jackson's heroic effort changed that attitude for me. His participant ribbon represented an effort and achievement he had never attained before. I couldn't have been happier if he had been the first one over the line. Finishing strong and running around the track the whole way was a sweet victory in itself-just like finishing a brevet.

St. Anthony Sand Dunes 200KM Brevet May 24, 2008

2008-05-26T15:11:00.000-07:00

The sport of randonneuring hasn't caught on in Montana yet so I will have to do some traveling to ride any brevets. The closest rides offered in my part of the country take place in Driggs, Idaho with the Yellowstone Area Randonneurs. Jim Severance is the Regional Brevet Administrator (RBA).

This year The Yellowstone Area Randonneurs is offering a 200K brevet on May 24, 2008 and a 300K brevet on May 31, 2008. The 200K worked out perfectly-beings it's a long weekend for Memorial Day. So Friday after work, my wife Brenda, son Jackson, and I loaded up the car and headed to Driggs-approximately 190 miles south of us.

The next morning was the day of the big ride. I was extremely excited and really didn't sleep very well. I also drove Brenda crazy-getting up several times to check and double check my gear. I was really afraid I'd leave something important behind. But despite all that I was wide awake before the alarm went off and got myself ready. The motel was about a mile away from the start so I had a nice relaxing warm up ride. It was about 6:30 a.m. and the only thing moving in Driggs was RBA Jim and four cyclists signing up for the ride.

Jim had ridden the course the week before on a "worker's ride" so he wouldn't be riding with us, but instead would be looking after things. The three riders to join me were Greg from Iowa, Al from Pennsylvania, and John from Wyoming. Interesting-no other riders from Idaho. Al was on a quest to ride an organized century (or longer) in all 50 states!

As we set off at 7:00 a.m. clouds were heavy and the air was a chilly 39 degrees. It didn't look like it was going to get much warmer-but we were hoping the rain would stay away. The forecast called for 50% chance of showers.

We made our way out of Driggs and headed toward our first checkpoint in Ashton, Idaho. After brief conversation as we rode in a steady paceline, it was apparent that Greg was going to go a little faster than Al and John. It looked like Greg's pace suited me so I rode beside him and we chatted while cruising through the small town of Tetonia, Idaho. I was very happy that I'd have someone to ride with-I knew well ahead of time that this brevet would only have a handful of riders and there was a distinct possibility that I'd have to ride the entire route by myself.

After riding on the state highway for the first 20 miles or so, Jim had us turn off onto a more narrow farm road heading over the hills of eastern Idaho. These farm roads are paved with a chip seal (probably from recycled asphalt) and were a little more rough than the state highway. But there was no traffic at all-it was extremely quiet. While descending a particularly steep hill I thought I heard something snap-or click. The bike seemed fine so I kept going-realizing a little later that the snap I heard was my bar-end mirror hitting the pavement. Dang! I've gotten quite used to using the mirror all spring and now I'd have to ride the rest of the route without it.

Greg and I got to the first checkpoint-the Shell station in Ashton and got back underway in short order-taking more narrow and lightly traveled farm roads along Henry's Fork of the Snake River-which was very swollen by spring snow melt and heavy rains in the area. We even crossed a rickety steel one-lane bridge with wooden planks on the deck-it was pretty cool. Greg and I got to the St. Anthony Shell station and our second checkpoint and then headed west out of town as the clouds hung low all around us and the west-southwest wind blew in our faces.

We knew our next checkpoint was the famous St. Anthony Sand Dunes-so instead of religously following the route sheet provided by Jim, Greg and I followed the signs that pointed towards the Dunes-realizing about 3.5 miles later that we should have kept going straight when we took that last right turn. The Sand Dunes area is huge and Greg and I were in the wrong place. After asking directions from one of the many ATV riders on the Dunes we headed back to the proper route. We started to get rained on pretty good in the last few miles to the Sand Dunes checkpoint. I wasn't suffering-but I wasn't exactly comfortable either. I don't have much experience riding in the rain and my bike is not equipped with fenders.

After the Sand Dunes, the route reverses itself for awhile and we encountered Al and John, still together, and still riding strong. We encouraged them with the tailwinds they would get after turning around at the dunes.

After a quick stop at a St. Anthony grocery store to stock up on fuel, and a nice conversation with a local who admired our bikes and told us of his past life as a cyclist-Greg and I were approaching 100 miles and on our way back towards Driggs. Jim had us diverge from the outbound route so we wouldn't go back to Ashton, but instead took some more farm roads along the Fall River. After our little route mishap earlier we were more careful about staying on route-stopping to check the route sheet several times.

There appeared to be rain showers all around us, and the winds were picking up strength as the inbound route converged with the outbound route again. We would be on more familiar roads the rest of the way-which was both a blessing and curse-as we knew how many rolling hills we had ahead of us-with more up than down as we made our way back to Driggs. The benefit of the route convergence was that we went past the location where I lost my mirror-and sure enough-there it was laying along side the road still in tact. It was at about this point, where Greg and I really started feeling the effects of our ride. We were readily clicking into our small chainrings for any climb-of which there were many. We also picked up a steady 15 mph headwind and the rains started really coming down. We met Jim in his pickup along this part of the route and told him we were doing fine and would make it to the end-no problem! Even though we were starting to really feel miserable. We only had about 22 miles to go.

The final stretch on the smoother state highway gave us a straight on headwind and steady drizzle. I was fairly comfortable in my jacket, but it had a bit of a parachute effect into the wind making it that much harder. It was also mostly uphill. Greg and I shared the work-taking turns pulling out front. After a long while the stop light in Driggs became visible and we knew we were going to make it. About that time we met Brenda and Jackson in the car coming the other way-they quicky U-turned and passed us heading to the finish line. Greg and I pulled into final checkpoint-the place where we started at 5:17 p.m., some 10 hours and 17 minutes after we started. Not bad considering the rain, wind, and extra miles. This "200 km" brevet was actually 135 miles so Greg and I ended up about 142 miles for the day. We were no worse for wear-felt fine, and happily turned in our cards. Brenda snapped a picture of us victorious. We then rode the one mile back to the motel at nearly 20 mph with the wind now at our backs.

A little while later, as Brenda, Jackson, and I were sitting down for dinner at a little Mexican restaurant on Driggs' main street I saw Al and John come riding in. I quickly jumped in the car and drove to the finish line to congratulate them. They came in with plenty of time to spare and looked good. Al said it was one of the toughest rides he has done so far on his quest for a century in every state-but he wasn't complaining-he knew he would be that much stronger for his ride next week (I think he said it was in Nevada).

Of course-as we packed the car the next morning the sun was shining, the birds were singing and the wind was calm. But that's okay-what would have been the challenge of riding when it's nice out?

I enjoyed my first randonneurring experience very much. I think it was much more rewarding being a tough ride in less than perfect conditions. I learned much more about myself, my equipment (need fenders), and the need to improve my navigation skills. I especially found the art of navigating with a route sheet on a route in which I am completely unfamiliar to be challenging and kind of fun-very different from the riding I do here at home where I know the roads. I'm really glad I had Greg to ride with-I think I could have gotten myself pretty lost without him on a couple of occasions.

This will probably be my only brevet of 2008. I'd love to ride Jim's 300k next weekend, but my daughter is graduating from high school on that day-so I think I better go to that instead. The rest of my summer is pretty well planned with projects at home and a family vacation later on. But next year-the goal is a complete brevet series including a 200K, 300K, 400K, and 600K-who knows where. Beyond that maybe a 1200K, and ultimately Paris-Brest-Paris in 2011 (if I write it down and make it public I have to do it-right?!)

Welcome to my blog

2008-05-26T14:30:00.000-07:00

I've read a lot of cyclist's blogs over the years-especially since I became interested in randonneurring. I used much of the knowledge gained from these various blogs to successfully complete my first randonneurring event, a 200k Brevet, with the Yellowstone Area Randonneurs on May 24, 2008.

Since my randonneurring career has finally begun-I decided I need a blog too...so here goes. I hope y'all enjoy it.