Brevets in Montana in 2010!

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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). UPDATE: I did conquer this route in 2011, ride report here.

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!