Tobacco Roots 300K Brevet

Madison County Courthouse-Virginia City, MT

The time for my next brevet is approaching.  This is a nice 300K brevet (actually 188 miles) that starts and finishes at my house in Belgrade.  We'll ride to Norris, climb Norris Hill and go to Ennis, then climb the big 10 mile long Virginia City Hill before dropping into Montana's Gold Rush Country.  The last half of the route is flatter and has some nice scenery-especially through Jefferson Canyon.

Ride: Tobacco Roots 300K Brevet. Click here for the map, profile, and navigation info. The cue sheet is here.

Date: Saturday June 15, 2013

Start Time: 6:00 AM

Registration from 5:30 AM– 6:00 AM. Click here for the paperwork. Please CONTACT ME before the ride to let me know you're coming.

Start Location: 713 Cheery Drive, Belgrade, Montana (my house).  Go north on Jackrabbit Lane from the Belgrade I-90 interchange for about 1.5 miles and turn left on Cheery.

Time Limit: 20 hours. Lights and reflective gear will be required-just in case. See Article 10 in the Rules for Riders.

Entry Fee: $10. No membership required, but RUSA membership ($20) is encouraged. Membership forms will be available at registration.

Motels: Super 8, La Quinta, and Quality Inn are all within 2 miles of the start.

Yellowstone National Park South Loop

Map, Profile and more info

Entry and Waiver forms

This route is also scheduled to be run as a 200K brevet with the first edition being held on September 28, 2013.

Most of the roads on the south loop of Yellowstone have been redone in recent years.  There's a little bit of shoulder, but riders must always be alert.  A rear view mirror is strongly recommended.  Watch out for those motorhome mirrors!

The route goes past some of Yellowstone's greatest attractions, including Old Faithful, Yellowstone Lake, The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, and Norris Geyser Basin.  There will also likely be lots of wildlife including bison, elk, deer, antelope, and if you're really lucky, a wolf or bear.  The route is pretty well serviced, but be mindful of the closing dates of some of the park vendors if doing this ride in the fall.

The park entry fee for bicycles is $12

West Yellowstone-Old Faithful 100K Permanent Populaire

Map, Profile, and more info

Entry and Waiver forms

A relatively flat and scenic ride from West Yellowstone to Old Faithful and back in Yellowstone National Park.  The ride starts and finishes in Montana, but most of your time will be spent in Wyoming.  Grab a bite to eat at the Old Faithful Lodge, watch the geyser go off (if you have time) and then return the way you came.  Caution-it's like rush hour right after Old Faithful goes off and Yellowstone traffic is always quite busy in the summer months.  The roads are in good shape in this part of the park.  For a more relaxing ride, come out in the fall when a lot of the tourists have gone home.

The park entry fee for bicycles is $20

Hilly Hyalite 101K Permanent

Map and more info

Entry and Waiver forms

This is a nice permanent populaire route, starting and finishing in Belgrade that goes through suburbia, farm land, national  forest, and even some urban with a ride through downtown Bozeman.  The top feature is the 10 mile climb through Hyalite Canyon-the Bozeman area's most popular cycling route.  It's a long steady, but not too hard climb and a fun descent.  I've done this route many times and always enjoy it.

Missoula 200K Brevet-Loving the Bitterroot Bicycle Trail

Karel had a flat 5 miles from the finish-but got it fixed in a jiffy

More Photos Here 

 

When we last did this route in 2011, I wrote that it featured the best piece of infrastructure in Montana, The Bitterroot Bicycle Trail.  Well since then, the trail has gotten even better.  It has been extended all the way to Hamilton.  So I modified the 2011 route to stay on the trail instead of using the highway on the east side of the Bitterroot River.  The result was over 70 miles of bike path riding, and not having to deal with intolerant Ravalli County drivers-who proved in 2011 to be pretty hostile.

 

Karel Stroethoff and I were honored to be joined by Mike Biggle from Great Falls on a breezy chilly morning in Missoula. We set out at 7AM and were blessed with a nice tailwind to Frenchtown.  Then we made our way across the Missoula Valley in heavier than usual traffic.  Something was going on.  Eventually we came across the staging area for some sort of huge running event.  There were people everywhere.  The traffic remained heavy for a few miles, but most were going the opposite way and didn't cause us any problems. 

 

We eventually joined the aforementioned Bitterroot Bicycle Trail in Lolo and flew to Hamilton with a 15 mph wind at our backs.  Our first 100K was done in just over 4 hours and life was easy.  Unfortunately, we had to return from were we came and the ally wind was now our adversary for the next 40 or so miles.  Mike spun on ahead, the wind causing him little resistance while Karel and I chugged along behind.  Karel got a flat right at the Missoula city limits sign when he ran over a staple, but he had it changed in short order and we cruised through residential Missoula and the University of Montana to the finish. 

 

The weather forecast called for highs in the mid-60's, but I don't think we reached that until about 10 miles from being done.  I kept my arm and leg warmers on the whole way.  But it wasn't a bad day, considering the awful spring weather we've been having.  The 15 mph winds were a mere breeze compared to the record setting gales from last weekend.  So it was a successful 200K and a good start to the brevet season. Congrats to Mike for completing his first randonneuring event in fine fashion-I'm so happy to have another Montana randonneur in the fold.  Our next one, the 300K, is June 15 out of Belgrade.  Should be fun!

Missoula 200K-Coming soon!

Here's the details on our next brevet:

Ride: Missoula 200K Brevet. Click here for the map, profile, and navigation info. The cue sheet is here.

Date: Saturday May 4, 2013

Start Time: 7:00 AM

Registration from 6:30 AM– 7:00 AM. Click here for the paperwork. Please CONTACT ME

before the ride to let me know you're coming.

Start Location: Park and Ride Lot, 1192 East Broadway, Missoula, MT. Take the Missoula Van Buren Street I-90 exit (exit 105) and go left on Broadway.

Time Limit: 13.5 hours. See Article 10 in the Rules for Riders.

Entry Fee: $10. No membership required, but RUSA membership ($20) is encouraged. Membership forms will be available at registration.

Motels: We'll be staying at the Motel 6, which is close to the start.  Lots of other motel choices in the immediate area.

2013 Brevet and Populaire Schedule

I'm finally dusting off the cobwebs of this blog and getting up some fresh content!

My 2013 brevet and populaire schedule is set.  We have some great rides planned this year including the 2nd annual Bert Karp Memorial Populaire on the 4th of July, a full brevet series, and a bonus 200K brevet we hope to ride in Yellowstone National Park!

Our first ride will be a 200K brevet starting and finishing in Missoula, MT on May 4, 2013.  It's similar to the  route we rode in 2011, but with more bike path miles and no miles on the narrow East Side Highway.  The route still goes to Frenchtown, but instead of Corvallis, the turn-around is now Hamilton.  There's lots of services available on this route and it's nice and flat-which is always important this time of year in Montana.

Here's our schedule.  Many more details to follow so stay tuned.  Let me know if you have any questions.

200K Brevet, May 4, Missoula

300K Brevet, June 15, Belgrade

100K Populaire, July 4, Bozeman

400K Brevet, July 20, Columbus (tenative start location)

600K Brevet, August 31-September 1, Helena

200K Brevet, September 28, West Yellowstone (Yellowstone National Park South loop).