2011 Brevet season is just about here!

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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.