the Utah Randonneur

The Utah Randonneur is moving

2009-11-23T00:00:00Z

That's right, this blog is moving to a new home. We have been with this host for several years now but it is time to make a bit of an upgrade. There will be no change in the direction of the blog or in the content. All the old posts are already there and all new posts will be made to the new site. Bookmark it now so you dont miss what's going on in the world of randonneuring in Southern Utah!

http://utahrandonneur.wordpress.com/

Thanks to all the loyal followers of this blog, your interest makes the effort worthwhile!

Wheel building

2009-09-12T22:56:00Z

I am by no means an expert wheel builder but I do like building wheels for my bikes. As a randonneur it gives me great confidence to know that I built the wheels I ride on. It makes one less thing to have to worry about on a long ride. It still seems amazing to me that you can get such a strong and durable wheel out of a handful of small parts.

Here I am building up an early 80's Italian frameset and am trying to keep it period correct. For this bike I am building wheels using some old low flange Campagnolo Record 7 speed hubs with my favorite Mavic Open Pro rims. I always use DT 14/15 guage spokes which have never failed me. I have enough spokes laying around my shop for the job, but they are the wrong length, just a couple of millimeters too long. I have to cut them to the right length and clean the ends with a belt sander. Once that is done they need to be re-threaded. My Hozan threading tool does a great job but if I did a lot of wheels it would become tedious.

Once I have a complete set of spokes ready I can start the assembly. These wheels will be a 36 hole 3 cross pattern. That seems like a lot of spokes these days but was pretty common back in the 80's and it makes a very strong wheel. Getting the pattern right is not that difficult, if you start in the right place you will finish in the right place. If you do the assembly in the right order then you dont have too many conflicts and it will go smoothly.

The product at this point is a complete but floppy wheel. After some initial tensioning it will start to stiffen up a little. I think that this is where the art of wheelbuilding begins to be apparent. After an initial rough truing you need to pre-stress the wheel by grabbing alternet sets of spokes and squeezing them, adding extra tension and then relaxing it. There is a lot of "feel" required at this point in how much stress to add, and then subsequently how much spoke tension there should be. When you are done it should just feel right and you will know.

The finished wheels are beautiful and will last for many years. They will be installed on a lovely Messori frame which I had refinished by Joe Bell painting in So Cal. He does a wonderful job and the bikes he paints are works of art. This one will be a rider, perhaps not a daily rider but it will definitely get used. Thats the great part about these classic bikes, they still perform great and will last a lifetime if you treat them nicely. Watch for future posts on the rest of the build on this bike.

Desperado Dual Century

2009-08-22T22:58:00Z

After 5 years of running this event, I sold it late last year to some new promoters. Which meant, for the first time that I would actually be able to ride it. The format of the event is simple, there are two loops, both of which begin and end in Panguitch Utah. The first loop is 106 miles and the second is 94 miles and you either sign up for the 100 or the full 200 miles. I signed up for the 200, but without much time on the bike lately I thought I would see how it went and decide at lunch if I would do the full route. I started riding a little before the official start to give myself a little extra time in case I decided to do the whole route. It was quite nice to ride this beautiful area in solitude for much of the morning. The low angle of the sun gives a stunning light in this red rock landscape. There was virtually no traffic for the early part of the ride and I had the world to myself! I was actually the first rider to arrive at rest stop #1 and was treated to a buffet of untouched food, a first for me. It wasn't until about mile 40 that the first real riders caught and passed me. There were about 8 or 9 riders in the "A" group and they were riding like they were on a mission. Before reaching the second rest at mile 58 or so I was also passed by the "B" group, "C" group and the "D" group. Now this event is not a race, but I like to do well when I can. I was still feeling pretty good but I settled into a 200 mile pace, one that would allow me to hold some reserves for later in the event. I was still riding by myself and still being passed by small groups here and there but I was cruising well and still felt pretty good. At about mile 75 or so the course turned straight south and into a growing wind, things were about to get tougher. At the rest stop at mile 80 I stayed a bit longer than normal, preparing myself for the 26 mile headwind pull back to Panguitch. A group of my friends pulled in just as I was leaving. I said my hellos and left, knowing that they would catch me soon enough. A little head start wouldn't hurt, right! This seemed like a long section of the route, I guess headwinds have a way of doing that. My friends did catch me about 10 miles out of the rest stop but I declined to hook on to that group. They were going a little faster than I wanted and I was still trying to save a little strength for the second half of the ride. It was at this point however that I started think more seriously about calling it a day when I got to lunch. The closer I got to lunch the stronger the argument for just doing 100 miles got, but I kept my pace just in case. I suppose that I could have settled the argument by just going hard and then dying but I kept hope alive by maintaining my slower pace. When I pulled into lunch however the argument was settled for me. It was still hot (about 90 degrees) and the wind seemed to be building if anything. Cold drinks along with some food and the conversation of friends began to erode my resolve. Finally when I looked over and saw my car taunting me to just get in and not punish myself further I surrendered. Today I was an under-achiever with only 106 miles and a ham and turkey sandwich to my credit.

I do not really have any other "events" planned for the rest of the year so this one may have been a good one to start tapering down my season with. I'll keep doing some shorter distances here and there just to try and keep my cycling legs but thats about it!

P.S. As I am sitting here finishing this spiel the wind has picked up to about 40 mph and blowing dust has reduced visibility to 50 yards. I think a cold front is passing. Right now I am very glad not to still riding in these conditions. I probably would not have finished until 8 or 9 pm had I continued.

Seattle to Portland bike ride, July 11, 2009

2009-07-18T03:10:00Z

This is one of those events that I’ve heard about for many years and even tried to get there and do it a time or two. It just never seemed to work out for one reason or another, but finally this year it all came together. We have a place to stay in Portland which turns out to be just a few blocks from the finish of the event which makes it very convenient. I was also able to book a hotel just a few blocks from the start at the University of Washington in Seattle so it was perfect, my bed was just a few blocks from the ride on either end!

In recent years this ride has gotten pretty popular and is now limited to 10,000 riders, about 2500 of which along with myself will ride it in one day. The rest will overnight about halfway somewhere and finish on Sunday. This pretty much makes it the biggest double century that I know of, one or two day! I planned to ride with Jeff and Don, some friends that I haven’t seen since PBP in 2007. They usually have a good group that does this ride each year. With their local knowledge of the event we were able to meet up at the start in spite of the crowds.

My view of the event for about 50 miles.

The one day riders started first and we let about 1000 or so riders go before we jumped into the stream of bikes. There was no need to navigate and this mass of bikes flowed through town on a meandering route. For quite some time we had the right of way at all of the traffic controls and there were no gaps among the riders. We were just waved through by the local cops. There were a number of wrecks early on, mostly due to inattention but by mile 50 or so things started to settle down. The course is quite easy by comparison to other events, roughly paralleling Hwy 5 on quite roads with about 1900 feet of climbing in the entire route. I don’t think there was a major climb all day, just an accumulation of rollers. The sun was out all day but the temperature was mild and didn’t get much past the mid 80’s. The only real downer for the day was a pretty steady headwind for the second 100 miles. I did not stop at all of the rest stops, but the ones I did stop at were well supplied. There are a lot of events that could take a lesson from STP on rest stop quality. The finishing area was a huge party with vendors and a beer garden. Mnay spectators were on hand to cheer the riders in. I love the rides up here, they all end with beer!

At a rest stop somewhere around mile 130

I was able to ride with Jeff for a while but eventually we got separated. I ran into Don several times during the course of the day and again at the end. He had finished some time before me but greeted me coming in and sat with me while I drank my celebratory beer. My wife Sara and dog Austin were faithful followers and also welcomed me home. I would say it was a great event that I will probably do again sometime. Great job Cascade Bicycle Club!

The 50th annual Grand Tour Double Century

2009-07-01T04:16:00Z

This was my fourth time riding the Grand Tour event but it was my first time riding the 200 mile distance. On the previous occasions’ I had ridden the 300 mile event twice and the 125 mile course on one occasion. This year I did lowland version which is a little flatter but has more traffic. The support on this event is always great and the staff is friendly, many of whom are friends and riders themselves. It was fun riding from rest stop to rest stop and being greeted by friends who were working the event. They of course would rather have been riding but they were supporting their club’s event. I won’t bother too much with the details of the route. If you have ridden a double century then you will understand how the variables of the course and weather can create highs and lows during the days ride. This event for me had many highs and was perhaps my best event in 2 years. The weather was great, I was able to see many good friends, it is a great course and I was riding pretty well. I finished well before dark and felt good afterwards. What more can you ask for? After my tough ride at the Central Coast Double this was a nice change. Thanks to the LA Wheelmen for putting another great event this year!

Bryce Canyon 200 km Brevet, June 20, 2009

2009-06-21T15:58:00Z

June is the driest month of the year in southern Utah, at least it is supposed to be. This year however has been an anomaly with cooler and stormy weather being quite frequent so far. Saturday morning at the start of the Bryce Canyon 200k the weather looked quite threatening as 9 Color Country riders set out for the day. The forecast looked pretty grim but everyone tried to stay optimistic, after all even weathermen are wrong sometimes! The forecast winds hadn’t appeared yet and good progress was made towards the first control in Tropic, a little town just outside Bryce Canyon National Park. The climb up the bike path through Red Canyon was lined with flowers and along with the deep reds of the hoodoos on each side it was quite spectacular. Once on top of the plateau we could see for miles. There were many rain squalls in the area and it looked to be only a matter of time before we got wet. But hey, if you don’t ride in the rain then you don’t really ride do you!

We descended to Tropic on wet roads but it was not raining on us. The squall must have just passed by and we missed it. The control in Tropic is at a country store and has about everything you need. We filled up on typical brevet food like donuts and V8's. With the paperwork done we started back up the hill we had just descended. This was a short out and back leg to the control and then at the top of the climb the route would turn north into John’s Valley. A strong tailwind powered the riders along this section before dropping down into Black Canyon and on to Antimony. Antimony Mercantile is not a control but it is a must stop since there are so few services in this area. It is a good spot to grab a sandwich and they have great pie too! The randonneur must fight such temptations or he might not finish his ride.

Continuing the loop along the Sevier River winds became less favorable with the exception of the short leg out to the next control at the town Junction. From here you headed south again and straight into a headwind. Storm cells still hovered in the area and it was hit or miss if you got rained on. Everybody got the wind however and it seemed a little unfair that the headwinds played no favorites.

Carlton and Mike were the first 2 riders in and only had rain for about 5 miles. Harold was next in followed by Dion and Doug who had mixed rain and hail for 20 miles. The Young family finished in their ride near Antimony and got picked up by family.

In summary, the dire forecast did not live up to the hype and I think the riders enjoyed the unsettled weather on the backdrop of this spectacular route. As for the wind what can you say; it played its usual part both helping and hindering at times during the day.

Hurricane 400 km Brevet, May 30, 2009

2009-06-09T20:47:00Z

The Start:
4:30 am: One by one my riders arrived at the start line in Hurricane Utah; 6 riders total. They did not know it but I gave them each a bike inspection as they arrived. Only one rider failed my test for lack of a reflective vest, but I always have a spare and soon he was properly equipped. I had mostly a veteran group with one rando newbie, Bryan McConnell from AZ. He said taht he had done this distance before but he looked a little under-equipped for a 400k to me. I just figured that he knew what he needed and left it at that; I’m no-one’s nanny. The ride starts immediately with a 1200 foot climb up to Apple Valley and then cruises through Colorado City and onto the Arizona Strip on mostly flat road. This is the location of Short Creek, home of Big Love, Warren Jeffs and polygamy. Yes it’s for real and is also the location for the story in John Krakauer’s book, Under the Banner of Heaven. All of my riders pass through without picking up any new wives.

Michael Bratkowski at Control #2

To Pipe Springs and beyond:
Pipe Springs is a National Historical Monument from the days of the early pioneers. It was also a stop for travelling padres Dominguez and Escalante on their 1776 expedition from Santa Fe. Weary travelers for many years have stopped here for rest as they pass through the area. My riders of the range stop here for much the same reasons; for food, water and a little rest. Mike Enfield is the first rider in, covering the 41.4 miles in just over 2 hours including the climb! The others trickle in one or two at a time. Everyone looks good as they depart. The towns of Fredonia and Kanab are next up before riders start the first real climb of the day. Outside Kanab the rocks are red and the sand is pink as riders climb out of Kanab Creek Canyon and over the top by Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park. The sun is out and temps are in the low 70’s; it’s a picture perfect day as they drop into the next control at Mt. Carmel junction.

Mt Carmel Junction:
At almost 80 miles into the ride, the Mt. Carmel Junction control is a welcome stop for most riders. It sits in a scenic narrow valley along the Virgin River and is a busy tourist stop. It is at the turnoff for the East entrance to Zion National Park and offers the only self bailout option on this ride. From here you are only about 40 miles from the start location in Hurricane and it is an easy bailout. I have never had a rider take it until today. Bryan McConnell of AZ had had enough and turned off here. He was a little under-equipped for a ride of this distance and bailed out before he got into trouble. It was probably a wise decision as we would find out later. The weather had been perfect until now but some clouds had begun to form. It was still warm but it was looking like mountain storms were going to develop. The route would climb up to about 7000 feet and mountain weather is unpredictable. It can get cold and wet very quickly in the mountains.

Panguitch:
Most riders made it into Panguitch without getting wet but a couple got rained on pretty good for a short time. At 128 miles into the ride, Panguitch makes a good lunch stop and has great services. Richard, who had been riding with Bryan before he bailed had now hooked up with Mike Enfield for the ride into Panguitch. Larry Nelson was not far behind them and Dion and Michael were about an hour back. The sky was completely cloudy now with many small storms cells in the area. Temps had dropped to the low 60’s and the winds were very shifty. One minute they were in your face and the next they were behind you or a crosswind.

Richard and Mike at Control #5

Parowan Truck Stop:
It’s a pretty long stretch from Panguitch to Parowan, about 50 miles. The only services along the way are at a highway rest stop which has vending machines and restrooms. The route is mostly along rural highways with a 15 mile stretch on I-15. The interstate has a good shoulder, the pavement is fresh and the traffic wasn’t too bad either. At the control I met Richard and Mike. Richard was in good spirits as usual but Mike was starting to look a little green. Maybe the strong pace he had kept earlier in the ride was starting to take its toll. They were eating Taco Bell burritos when I pulled up, classic brevet food!

Cedar City:
The first riders, Richard and Mike pulled into Cedar City well after dark. Richard was still riding well but Mike was about done. He was being plagued by stomach problems and couldn’t keep any food down. Although they were only 50 mostly easy miles from the end Mike threw in the towel and begged a ride. I know the stomach thing well and if you can’t eat, you can’t ride! This was the second rider that dropped today after riding with Richard, hmmmm. Larry pulled in a short time later and then departed with Richard. Someone should have told him about the DNF rate for Richards riding partners today! Dion and Michael were well back at this point and I had to get to the finish so there would be no more checks on them.

Back in Hurricane:

Waiting at the end of a brevet must be the hardest part of the event. You know that you must be there to see the riders in but it has been a long day and some rest would be nice too. Shortly after midnight my first two arrived, Richard and Larry. It seems that Larry had broken the curse and survived his ride in with Richard. After a little small talk Larry went to find his bed. I however had 2 riders out still, so I waited. Richard had no room to retire to and decided to nap a while before driving home. He ended up staying until the last 2 riders arrived just before 5 am. Dion and Michael made it in but they were done! They stayed together for mutual support for most of the ride and stuck with that plan until the end. The two who resembled zombies, tried to recount their ride to me with grunts and other odd sounds. I’m not sure but I think they enjoyed the ride and were proud that they finished. It was Michael’s longest event to date.

Complete results can be found on the SUBrevet website under the results link. www.subrevet.org

Reach the Beach Century ride, May 16, 2009

2009-05-23T20:19:00Z

Here was a fun Portland event that we did. Our oldest son Justin and I rode this one together along with about 3000 other riders. Justin has been riding for a while but this was his first 100 miler. I had my Surly Cross Bike and Justin rides a classic 1992 Bridgestone RB-1. His bike is a work in progress and although it rides good, he is working on getting it back to a mostly original top notch retro rider.

The weather was beautiful and we set out among the long line of departing riders. You pretty much saw every kind of bike here, from spiffy racers to mountain bikes and every type in between. There was even a group of unicycles doing the full 100 mile distance. We took our time on the ride and hit most of the rest stops and missing a few. We didn’t miss much food though and ate pretty well for the day. It is a nice course but there is an odd thing about the event. The farther you get into the ride the more crowded it becomes. This is because other groups of riders doing different distances on the event kept joining the route. The last 20 miles was quite congested. You had to watch out for those who were riding the shortest distances as they wobbled a lot more. We had no serious incidents ourselves just a close call or two. The last 10 miles was into a strong headwind. There were lots of riders but they were slow and no help to us in facing the wind. We finished in just over 6 hours for the full 100.

The event finished at the Pelican Pub in Pacific City. They had a huge tent set up for the post ride meal and a beer garden. You have to love Oregon events, every one that I have done ends at a pub! I think that knowing that a fine brew awaited us at the finish help give Justin the motivation to complete the ride!

Central Coast Double Century, May 9, 2009

2009-05-14T03:28:00Z

You know how sometimes when you start a ride and everything just seems perfect. The ride follows a beautiful route, you are riding with friends, the weather is great and you feel good. You just know that today everything will be wonderful. Well this was not going to be one of those days.

My riding partner Joe and I lined up along with 200 others in Paso Robles California for the start of the 2009 Central Coast Double Century, one of my favorite doubles. The 5:40 am start of the ride gave all of the clues of a great day ahead and everything was going well, until about 3 miles in. My double century bike, a Pegoretti Palo Santo started to feel a little funny, like something was loose in the rear. I stopped to check it over and found the rear wheel was quite loose even though the skewer was tight. I seemed like the bearing adjustment had come undone. After 15 minutes of trying to repair it I came to the conclusion that it was a major failure inside the hub. It appeared that my ride was over! A support vehicle stopped and asked if we were okay but I told them of my situation and that we were headed back to town. We were coasting back into town when another support vehicle came along, this one piloted by super SAG guy Lee Mitchell. He stopped to assist and I told him that unless he had a Campy 10 speed wheel, I was done. Well, Lee carries a little of everything in his red van including spare wheels and he quickly offered me a Campy rear. It mounted up nicely and it looked like my ride was saved! There was only one problem now; Joe and I were back at the start and an hour behind the ride. We weren’t sure if we could catch up before the rest stops closed. We decided to give it a try figuring that we could turn it in to an out and back brevet if we missed the support.

The first leg of the ride starts with rollers and finishes with a short but vicious climb. At the top of this mean little hill is the first rest stop. We were happy to see that the stop was still there when we arrived. The staff cheered us in which was kind but annoying. They had no idea of our earlier setback and just thought we were slow. We resupplied and set off again pretty quickly. We still had some hope of catching back up to the event.

The second leg of the ride begins immediately with a steep and rough descent. You must stay on the brakes hard to safely negotiate the steep and twisty descent. Lower down the grade eases but the road remains rough. It isn’t until about 10 miles later when you come into Cambria that the road surface gets better. From here we went north up the coast with Joe doing most of the pulling into a stiff headwind. We were moving good now and when we pulled into the second rest stop there were still some riders there. We were hopeful for a minute that we were back in the ride until we realized that none of these riders would be finishers.

Rest stop #3 overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

The next section continued up the coast, dipping and rolling into side canyons along the way. We still had some wind but got some relief from it in the terrain. We were still pushing hard but Joe started to falter some here. Knee pain was beginning to slow him down so we backed off the pace a little. At the third rest stop there were several riders. We made as short a stop as we could but they were all gone when we left. This is where the big climb starts, straight up the coast range and over the top. It is steep at the bottom and the top and a little less in between. I was wishing for the cassette I had on my other wheel which had a 28 tooth cog. With the loaner wheel I was stuck with a 23 which made the climb that much tougher. Once you hit the summit you get a good run the rest of the way into lunch. The lunch stop this year was at the beautiful San Antonio Mission on Fort Hunter-Ligget military base. It was a little hard to find but once we did find it we had a big surprise. There were 20 or so people still there. We hadn’t seen people all day! We chatted with a few friends before sitting down to lunch. Being away from the coast a bit it was warm by now but we enjoyed a great lunch in the shade. By the time we got ready to go most everyone had already left. We were the lantern rouge again.

With the exception of a few hills and occasional headwinds the next section went pretty well for me. By now Joe’s knee was starting to get serious so he tucked in behind me to get some relief. We covered 20 miles pretty quickly to the base of the next climb. The heat of the day had peaked by now and we started to get some shade on the hill. Not too steep and not too long we crested the top and made the quick descent to the next rest at Lockwood. I might note with the exception of lunch the rest stops were a little thin and we did not really find anything we craved. We ate what we could and continued.

The route this year offered a detour to the next rest at Bradley due to some other detours on the route. Because of our earlier setback we took it. It was a good part of the ride. Quartering tailwinds and rolling terrain allowed us to cover the next 25 miles in about an hour. With Joe tucked in behind me to give his knee a rest we flew through this part. About 10 miles out of Bradley we had to turn our lights on and it was full dark when we pulled in the stop.

When we arrived there were many riders still here and now finally 180 miles into the ride we had caught back up to the event. We took a longer stop here than we should have, in part because they had good food but also because Joe needed some time off the bike. We rested and regrouped before setting off on the last leg which included the 6 mile climb up Hare Canyon and the long rollers back into Paso Robles. On the climb Joe’s knee went critical and if there had been a bailout for him I’m sure he would have taken it. Without that option we continued. After miles of rollers with a couple of short and steep pitches just to aggravate things we finally began to see the lights of Paso. The route detoured again to avoid some road construction and then finally we arrived back at the start, the park in downtown Paso Robles. We checked in at midnight some 18 hours and 20 minutes after the ride began.

It was my longest time ever to finish the CCD and with the challenges we faced it would be easy to call this one an “Epic Ride” but I don’t think I will. Sure, we had some difficulties which we overcame and some physical challenges which we dealt with but on the Lonnie “Epic” Wolff scale of rides this one was just hard, that’s all.

PCH Fleche, 360 km in 24 hours

2009-05-07T01:57:00Z

Definition of a Fleche:
A direct translation of “fleche” from the French origins is an “arrow”. In randonneuring terms it is defined as a 24-hour team cycling event held on or around Easter weekend with a minimum of 360 kilometers being covered during the event. Each team must converge on a single destination at a specified time from a variety of different starting points. Each team shall consist of between 3 to 5 bicycles, singles or tandems. The ride must be proven by checking in at a number of control points along the way and obtaining proof of passage at these controls.

A spectacular day on the Central coast of California!

Fellowship of the Chain-Rings.
We began our quest in the little town of San Miguel which is north of Paso Robles in central California. We wanted to start in Paso Robles but couldn’t get the required mileage so we moved the start a bit north to work it out. We had kind of a late start for a ride pf this distance and began riding at 8 am. The weather for the day was expected to be great for which was something that we were not used to. We cruised easily to Paso Robles and then up and over the coast range on Hwy 46 where we were treated to spectacular views up and down the coast. What could be better, it was a beautiful day, we were on our bikes on the California coast and now we were headed downhill. It was a breeze! Soon we rolled into our first control in Cambria after being sidetracked briefly at a local car show. This was going to be a great ride! We ate and took care of our business at the control and headed off down the coast with tailwinds and sunshine. In no time at all we cruised into our second control at Baywood Park where we took some time to eat. We were 110 km into the ride and feeling good. The next control in Guadalupe was a pretty quick stop and before we knew it we arrived at control #4 in Los Alamos. The shadows were starting to get a little long but we took our time here; we had been out for almost 12 hours and had covered about 210 kilometers. It was time to regroup a little.

Who wouldn't stop at a local car show on a bike ride through Cambria?

The Two Towering climbs.
Okay, we had already done one big climb this morning but now we had to contend with two more. The first was Drum Canyon which we had to tackle immediately. The other would come a little later. Drum Canyon is really not that hard of a climb but coming late in the day as it does adds a little drama to the experience. We topped it just at dusk and didn’t get very far down the backside before turning on our lights. We finished the run into Buellton and our next control in full darkness. We took some extra time here as well to get a little rest before our long push through the night. We departed again sometime after midnight. The town of Solvang is a ghost town at that time of night but they leave the streetlights on. Here is where we encountered one of our first problems. Joe’s shifter started acting up and we had to stop under a light and attempt a repair. We were not successful and Joe was stuck in his little chainring for now. Not to worry, we were just about to begin our last big climb of the night. It was probably a beautiful route, but in the darkness all we saw was the tunnel of light cast by our headlights. Some perspective is lost in these conditions but being in the small chaniring pretty much convinced us that we were climbing. On and on in the darkness the road twisted. There were no lights to be seen anywhere, no street lights, no houses, no cars, just the tunnel. Finally we broke out into a clearing and we could see lights from cars on the highway. We were drawn to the lights like insects but the lights also happened to be our route. Now on Hwy 101 we continued climbing, up and over, and then down. The down part was fast, very fast. This is where we had our second problem. We were descending very fast down Hwy 101 in the dark. The shoulder was good but something caught Joe’s wheel and sent him towards the side of the road at 40+ mph. He was right behind me, and then suddenly he was not. It scared the $#!+ out of him and it took him a while to recover. We checked out the bike and it looked good so we continued.

Southbound with a tailwind on Highway 1.

The Return of the Kings!
Riding through the night is funny; it’s like a time warp or a dream or something. We cruised along the coast with no sense of time or distance. Our unit of measure was hunger and fatigue. Regardless of either we kept riding and kept these issues at bay as best we could. We had stops at controls in Goleta and Carpinteria but we did not use them to measure our progress in units like kilometers or hours, we calculated our progress with a chocolate milk or some other
snack. The clicks didn’t matter so much, we wanted food! So eventually, a couple thousand calories later we were approaching Ventura. Somewhere between the chocolate milk and the egg McMuffin the sun had come up. We had hardly noticed since we probably had been eating at the time. Eventually somewhere near 8am we did roll into Ventura and the final control. Most of the teams were already there but we made as grand an entrance as the 3 of us could.

There were a number of other issues during the ride that hindered or helped but the only one worth mentioning was the spectacular weather. We had 75 degrees and consistent tailwinds for the entire ride. It truly was a magnificent day in Middle California!

Pine Valley Mountain 300 km Brevet, May 2, 2009

2009-05-04T03:06:00Z

Color Country Club members (front to back) Dave, Al, Mark and Larry departing Newcastle.

You would think that by the first of May most of the crappy weather would be over for southern Utah but no, we had one more unsettled day with winds and the chance of rain. The temperatures were actually pretty nice for the day starting out at around 70 degrees at the 5 am start in St. George and reaching 82 when the first rider finished. In between temps dropped as low as 52 degrees around Cedar City with a little spitting rain here and there.

Our riders departed on schedule at 5 am from the Confluence Trailhead Park in St. George and stayed together for the first 50 miles or so until the longer climbs started. That separated them somewhat but they were able to regroup again around Cedar City. The winds had been pretty favorable for the first 90 miles or so of the day but when the route turned west out of Cedar things got a little more challenging and headwinds would dog the riders for much of the rest of the day. The rain which was forecast never really materialized and it turned out that the weather was better than expected for the day. Once riders got the climbing over past Enterprise, spirits were lifted again by cruising through mountains and green meadows and finally into St. George along the Santa Clara river. Most commented on how spectacular and challenging the route was.

Rando racer Richard Stum at Gunlock Reservoir.

Color Country Cycling Club members from Utah and Nevada participated on this ride and even though the day was long, each of the riders seemed to enjoy the challenge of riding this distance and the scenic course. This was the first brevet for 4 of the riders although they have ridden several double centuries. Once again, congratulations to those who chose to come out and ride on this surprisingly fine day!

Zion Canyon 200 km Brevet, April 4, 2009

2009-04-05T02:03:00Z

There is nothing like an unseasonably cool day to sort out the real randonneurs from the fair weather riders. A blustery spring day in St. George provided just that kind of test for our event. Even though it was only 40 degrees at the start, the forecast called for temps in the low 60’s with plenty of sun. That may be pretty cool for April in southern Utah but I believe it is a forecast that people in many other parts of the country would find pretty acceptable right now! Spring is a great time to ride in Zion. The leaves are coming out, the streams are full of water and the skies are clear. Local conditions allow us to get in a fair amount of riding by this time of year but this is still early season for most riders.

Catherine Shenk, self portrait at Sand Hollow Reservoir.

We had 7 club members from 4 states turn out for the ride. Joe and Sue on their tandem, and Richard, Rose, Kevin, Bob and Catherine had single bikes. One rider (whom I shall spare any further embarrassment) was confused either by jet lag, time zones or daylight savings schedules and made a late start, but persevered and eventually caught back up to the ride. Even though it was cool to start, most riders enjoyed the ride out to Zion. It was only after reaching the end of the canyon at the Temple of Sinawava and beginning the run back down canyon that they realized they had been enjoying a bit of a tailwind. The wind was now in their face and seemed to be picking up a bit for the ride back. Canyon winds are shifty creatures however and even though there were some tough sections, there were also some sections where riders got a little relief from the wind. Finally after a few miles of descent and one last climb through Toquerville the course turned south and promised a tailwind for the remainder of the day. The final control on course at the Leeds Market saw riders cheering up again after they had a few miles of downhill with tailwinds under their belt!

Kevin, Bob and Rose (l to r) coming down the canyon.

Seven riders started and seven riders finished, proving once again that the best riders showed up to ride and weren’t put off by a less than perfect weather forecast. The difference between a randonneur and another rider is that others will check the weather to decide if they will ride, where a randonneur will check the weather and decide what to wear.

Results for the days ride are at the Southern Utah Brevet website at www.subrevet.org

Tour de St. George, March 28, 2009

2009-03-29T01:02:00Z

I ride many different types of cycling events from red carpet tours to totally unsupported epics. But when an organizer charges an entry fee to enter a fully supported cycling event then I personally begin to have expectations. Different groups often produce varying results in the quality of support they provide with club supported events often doing the best job. It can range from a veritable buffet to bare bones and soggy Subway sandwiches for lunch. The highlight of todays ride, the Tour de St. George was the consistent choice of PBJ's and banana's. It seemed to me that little care was given to the riders needs or wants and it showed with the support. One rest stop which although was not too busy did not have any PBJ's prepared and riders had to wait for their half sandwich to be made. Water jugs were near empty and the tables were otherwise bare. I only did a shorter version of the event and could have gone with no support whatsoever but if I were doing the full 100 miles I would have been very dissapointed.

I must cut the organizers a little slack though. They recently had an event director bail on them so the new director may not have been up to speed, but if you cannot get up to speed quickly then the event will suffer. I even heard that one of the water stops did not show up in time for quite a few riders. That is inexcusable! I know of events that were killed as a result of a single bad year. There were a number of complaints among the riders I talked to with the common theme being that they wondered what they had paid for! There is no point of putting on an event if you do not plan on doing it well. I believe that many people were probably dissapointed today in the level of support that they were provided during todays event. If it hadn't been for the fine weather then this event might have been a total bust for many.

I dont often give ratings to events but I might start. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would give today's ride a 5, with at least 2 points of that being for the weather. I guess people will always come to ride St. George in springtime because of the likelihood of good weather but they may not be willing to pay for full support only to receive much less than that.

Snoozeville 100k Populaire, March 14, 2009

2009-03-17T02:56:55Z

The start, 8 am at Cornelius Pass Roadhouse outside Portland Oregon. Rain just starting.

Friday the 13th of March was a beautiful day in the Portland area, sunny and cool with light winds. It would have been a great day for a bike ride. The ride I had on my schedule however was for Saturday the 14th and the weather forecast was much less optimistic.

We gathered at 7 am at the Cornelius Pass Roadhouse which was our designated starting location. There were 38 riders who were ready to ride with about half of them looking more like racers than randos and seemed to be travelling pretty light. The rest were on fully fendered bikes and looking pretty prepared otherwise. The weatherman was predicting rain so it was probably just going to be a matter of time until we got wet. Almost on cue during the pre-ride meeting it started to sprinkle and a few minutes later at 8 am as we got started riding it began to come down more seriously. By the time we were 5 miles into the ride the roads were saturated and the spray was coming up from the other riders tires as heavily as the rain was coming down.

I myself felt pretty prepared for a wet day having come with wool clothing, raingear and booties. I even had a spare pair of dry gloves in my bag. I may have underestimated the cold a little however as the temperature at the start was 41 degrees. My Portland bike is a Surly Cross Bike, fully fendered and with front and rear bags. It is a little on the heavy side but it is comfortable, rugged and goes good. This would be my first real rain ride with it.

We cruised out of the Beaverton area into farm country, zig-zagging our way through farm fields and pastures. Our first control was in what once was a town called Mountaindale. These days it appeared to be little more than a soggy crossroad but this is where the rain really started to come down. The control had a canopy to protect the volunteers but offered little protection for the riders. Not that it mattered much, we had already been exposed pretty thoroughly to the elements by that time. I left my Surly leaning on a Suburban and went to check in. Paperwork done, I grabbed a quick snack and took care of other neccesities. It is amazing how quickly you will cool after you have stopping for a break. The temp was still in the low 40's and I needed to get moving so I did not linger.

It had been a little bit of a climb to get here so it was going to be a cooling descent once I got going again. I decided to crank it up a bit on the return to get the heater going again. That worked okay but it is amazing where spray off your tires can end up in swirling crosswinds! This next section manuvered through a very pleasant farm country on a circuitious course. There
were many picturesque farms and buildings along the way. We passed through the town of Banks and on to the next control which was the far point of the loop. After a quick stop the route turned more south and into a headwind as the rain continued. There was a secret control thrown in just for fun but it didnt really seem neccessary.

Return from Mountaindale Forest Grove Control

The terrain and the countryside reminded me a little bit of riding in France. Green pastures and constantly rolling terrain, and even some roundabouts thrown in for good measure. After bucking the headwinds for a while I rolled into the town of Forest Grove and the next control at a coffee shop called "Maggies Buns". This was a great stop and I enjoyed soup and coffee and a seat out of the rain. There were a number of shivering riders here but I was not that cold. I'll refrain from singing the praises of wool clothing once again but it really works. Here is where I pulled out my secret weapon, a spare pair of dry gloves! They werent that neccessary but were a fine luxury that I enjoyed.

As I left Forest Grove it was raining hard but it soon started to taper off and a few miles later it was hardly raining at all. The wind was still up but it became a crosswind for the rest of the ride which was not too bad. It wasnt too long before I pulled into the final control at the Cornelius Pass Roadhouse which is a fine McMinamens Brew Pub. I do think that the Oregon Randonneurs know how to finsih a ride with food and other refreshments.

The Surly rode well all day. It has 28c tires and is fully fendered. Bar end shifters, Detour bags, and a Rock Shox road post complete the accessories. It is a low/mid range Shimano group and does not go like my normal Campy stuff but it is very acceptable for these shorter events. The biggest event that I am likely to do on it will be Seattle to Portland later this year. Yes, I am signed up for that! Stay tuned for more on that.

PCH 300k Brevet, February 7, 2009

2009-02-15T03:03:00Z

It was a dark and stormy night………. Actually it was a dark and stormy morning at the Best Western hotel in Ventura, the start location for the PCH 300 km Brevet on February 7. Some 32 riders ignored the grim weather forecast for the day and lined up for the start. Observing the equipment and gear that different riders were sporting it appeared that many were either optimistic about the weather, or being from So Cal probably didn’t have much foul weather gear to wear. Myself, being experienced in bad weather events (lucky me), I had plenty of gear to choose from. I was fendered, bootied, helmet covered and otherwise protected from the impending weather.

The event started out with a mild pace as riders were getting settled in for a wet day. Navigation was also easy for quite a while as this was familiar terrain for the local riders and someone always knew the way. Later, after the second control as riders were more spread out you had to check your cue sheet a bit more often. After the control at Lake Casitas we had a bit of climbing up to Casitas Pass but it was not too bad. The rain continued on and off all morning but as we descended to the third control in Montecito it really started to pick up again. In that stretch I encountered some unique conditions, something I had not really experienced before. It was raining hard and water was sheeting on the ground as well as pooling in low spots. There were so many pools that oncoming traffic frequently splashed us with their spray. They were not aiming for us but it was unavoidable. We had water from above, water shooting at us from the side and water spraying up at us from our own tires. There was nowhere to hide and all you could do was to steel yourself for the onslaught. Even though I was well prepared I became thoroughly soaked and just resigned myself to that fact. My wool clothing served me well however and I stayed warm in spite of the wetness. I would just like to say that coffee and pastries are great brevet food on a wet day, perhaps contrary to conventional wisdom.

Richard and I at lunch, Shoreline Park, Santa Barbara

Past Santa Barbara the rain tapered and I began to air-dry, eventually removing my raingear altogether. That would prove to be the last of the rain for the day but later on cold would prove to be the problem. At the El Capitan control I enjoyed the hospitality of the event staff and after a brief stay I departed with fellow Utahn Richard for our return. The route allowed us to stop in at our hotel to change clothes, and some dry gear was a nice change.

Port Hueneme was our next control and we made just a brief stop there. We hooked up here with Jim, a local rider who would accompany us for much of the rest of the route. I had been riding with my lights on for most of the day for visibility reasons but now darkness descended and that lighting became mandatory. This was a new lighting system for me, a combination of a SON 20 R dyno-hub powering an Edelux led headlight. The system proved to be a flamethrower at night and I was very pleased with it. Even at the slower speeds while climbing up Grimes Canyon Road it was great and on the descent its illumination was equal to that of a motor vehicle. It was perfect for the very twisty (and debris strewn) descent in the dark. We had another control in Santa Paula before the final run in on Telephone Rd. As we neared Ventura there were dozens of traffic lights and we hit more than a few of them but the road surface was good and we had a good run in.

Overall Richard and I were the 5^th and 6^th riders in and finished in 16 hours and 14 minutes with an on bike time of 13 hours 18 minutes. With 9 required controls and an urban route having many traffic lights this is not one of the fastest 300k’s I have done but it is a good route. I hope to ride in this area again on the Fleche in April. That’s assuming that I can put together a team by then!

PCH 200 km Brevet, January 10, 2009

2009-01-19T15:23:00Z

Ventura California, Saturday January 10, 2009. This was the first event of the season for me and I don’t have a lot of miles on my legs. I finished 2008 with only a couple of rides since October so I knew it was going to be a rough day. This seemed to be confirmed by the weather forecast which indicated there would be “red flag warnings” along the coast all day. The Santa Ana winds would be blowing viciously, but hey I’ve had worse, right? That would prove to be my mantra for the day, or something similar.

Joe and Craig from Cedar City accompanied me on the trip. They are not really brevet riders but I guess they thought I needed looking after. After the disastrous season I had last year they may not have been that wrong. Well, 50 or so riders started out at 6:30 and the predicted winds had arrived. It was a quartering headwind blowing at 20 or 30 mph as we headed east. While in town we got a little relief from the wind due to the buildings and vegetation but once we got out in the open there was nowhere to hide. Gusts were occasionally higher and they rocked our group when they hit. We had 35 miles of this to look forward to! The quartering wind took its toll and riders kept dropping off the back of our group. We were down to about 8 or 10 riders when I had to stop and remove some clothing. Losing our group was not that much of a loss since there was nowhere to hide from the wind anyway! We all made our clothing adjustments and the 3 of us regrouped into an echelon each taking pulls and resting alternately. We were actually pretty efficient this way and soon we started catching the riders ahead of us. They were each riding alone now and as 3 working together we were much faster. Pretty soon we caught them all and our group reformed somewhat.

We were headed to our first control in Malibu at Starbucks. You know you are getting close to Malibu when you hit the rollers. They are not steep but some are long and with the headwind it broke up our crew again. We rolled into the control in groups of two’s and three’s after about 2 hours of headwinds. After getting fed, watered and stamped we departed the control heading westward now and hoping the winds would be a little kinder to us on our way back. Well it wasn’t perfect but we had a good ride back. Mostly a quartering tailwind but on some sections we could cruise at 25 mph or so. This made the return to Ventura pretty enjoyable and pretty swift. It had started to warm up some as well and we were now riding in shorts and shorts sleeves. So far this could have been a lot worse.

We arrived at the control in Ventura where Greg and Lisa had provided a wonderful lunch with wraps reminiscent of the ones Susan makes at the Arizona brevets. We enjoyed the hospitality and were tempted to linger but soon we decide that we should be off. The winds here are funny. We started again heading westward, but now the wind was in our face although not nearly as strong. It was a nice cruise along the coast to Montecito and the next control. Just before the control we started seeing the first riders returning so we knew we were close. It was another friendly location and it was also tempting to stay and enjoy the day but we reminded ourselves that we still had 27 miles to go and we set out once again.

The last leg of the ride was very enjoyable and we had a tailwind again allowing us to cruise easily at 22 mph or so. The Pacific Ocean was just to our right and view was spectacular. The winds had cleared the air and it looked as though you could just reach out and touch the Channel Islands. We came straight into Ventura on Main Street and finished in Mission Park. We had been out for about 9 ½ hours overall and on the bike for 7 ½ hours.

Thanks to Greg and Lisa Jones (co-RBA’s?) and all of the other volunteers who made this a great ride. Also, some thanks to those above who may have had some influence on the weather and kept this from being as bad as it could have been! I found out later that maximum wind gusts of 62 mph had been recorded in the area on this day.

Tour de St. George, October 18, 2008

2008-11-07T16:02:00Z

Here's a good local event to ride while the season is winding down. The Tour de St. George is a local favorite and even though it happens late in the season the weather is always warm and sunny at this time of year. It uses some of the best local roads in a tour of the St. George area. The organizers, Doug McCoy and Dave Smith and their staffs do a great job on this event. Even though I ride these roads frequently this is one ride I try not to miss. There is also a version in the Spring which is equally awesome. Try to catch them both!

Desperado Dual Century, August 23 2008

2008-08-28T00:28:00Z

This is arguably the best cycling event in southern Utah, perhaps in the whole southwest. It features classic western scenery, fantastic support, typically great weather and the best volunteers around. It has been held for the past 5 years and is in my own backyard, yet I have never been able to ride in it. Why you ask, well there is a very good reason, I am the event director. This event was founded 5 years ago by Clair Jensen and myself. We had been riding many double centuries around the west for several years and decided that we needed one here in Utah. Well, nobody was going to do one for us so we were just going to have to do it ourselves. We started with a test event for our local club riders and once the route was proven we put it together for real. This year was the 5th year of the event and we had 340 riders participate.

Sadly, the co-founder of the event and my longtime riding partner passed away suddenly late last year. We were unsure as to whether or not to continue with it but eventually decided to move forward as a memorial event. This year the Desperado Dual / Clair Jensen Memorial came off as one of the best years ever. Wind, weather and other conditions were near perfect and riders were treated to a wonderful day. Our event staff all stepped up to honor Clair and the success of this years ride is mainly due to their efforts. A ride like this cannot be produced with the dedication and efforts of many people.

This year marks the end of a 5 year run for the event, at least for me. The event will continue with new partners to carry it into the future and hopefully we can look forward to many more years of the Desperado Dual Century. That means perhaps that I will finally be able to ride in the event and I am looking forward to that very much. I will continue to assist and advise as requested but the event will be in capable hands from here. Thanks to all those who have participated in or supported the event over the years. By doing so you have done the most important part to ensure that we have great events like this to ride.

Lonnie "Epic" Wolff
Desperado Dual Event Director (retired)

Portland 100 km Populaire, August 16 2008

2008-08-18T23:25:00Z

This event was held to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the founding of RUSA. 10th anniversary events were being held all over the country on this weekend and this one had a good turnout as did most. There was a 100 km as well as a 200 km option today. I chose the lesser distance for a couple of reasons, we had family plans later in the day but the bike I was riding is fairly new and had never been on a brevet before. It seemed wise to work up to longer distances to work out any bugs. The bike is a Surly Cross bike and is basically out of the box except for some 28c road tires. This is the bike I keep in Portland to ride when I am in town.

The route is basically an out and back to Multnomah Falls on the old highway. We start in a neighborhood park in Portland and work our way out past the airport and then along the river. The pace starts out briskly and then moves to fast. I am usually not an "A group" rider but I decide to hang near the front for awhile. About 6 of us are taking pulls at the front and several more are just hanging on. The pace is about 21 - 23 mph which is fast for a brevet but I know it wont last all day.

We arrive in Troutdale pretty quickly and wind our way through the town. After crossing the river we leave Fishville behind and start up the old highway on a gentle grade. In spite of the incline the pace has not slowed and it is now faster than I care for. When it pitches up just a little more I decide to bail out the back of the pack. The group has shrunk to 6 or so riders now and they wont miss me. The scenery is great and traffic is light and I am enjoying the climb. There are many small farms and fruit stands along the way and I am guessing that this route is popular with tourists. Traffic will probably be much heavier later on the way back in.

The road continues to wind and roll. It will be a hot day today but for now I am under a canopy of trees and it is cool and green. Suddenly the road bursts out into the sunshine at Vista House, an overlook of the Columbia River. It was built in 1916 for tourists to enjoy the view and is still popular today. It is our second control point in the ride so I make a brief stop. The turnaround is at Multnomah Falls, just another 8 miles down the road. It is a spectacular sight and is usually crowded with tourists. We are here early enough that it is pretty peaceful and there are not many people here yet. We enjoy the moment before moving on.

The return ride is back along the outbound route and although the route is the same the scenery is different. I ride solo for most of this part and enjoy the sights. I arrive back at the start just after noon and pull into the cool shade of the park. It is quite warm out now, probably 90 degrees or more already. I'd be tempted to blame global warming for this but the record high for this date was over 40 years ago, so that was a little before my SUV.

Utah Lake Century, August 9, 2008

2008-08-10T14:16:00Z

This is a ride I haven't done in awhile and the last time I rode it there were about 300 riders participating. This year there will be over 1500! It starts in Lehi and circumnavigates Utah Lake for a 111 mile loop. I have hooked up on this ride with 6 friends on 3 tandems. They say they plan to ride easy and see how it goes, but I know these are code words indicating it will be a fast day! My plan is to hang on to this train as long as I can and then cruise in from there on my own.

The ride starts out a little scary, there were several wrecks or near misses right in front of us and in the first few miles. The route starts off winding through city streets for 30 miles or more. The many twists and turns along with the road hazards take their toll and we see at least 3 ambulances loading up their cargo. The first rest stop we take is about 30 miles in and it was just okay for its food offerings. We grab some food, make some adjustments and get going again. The course is a little faster now but that brings some new hazards. The railroad crossings are a little rough and I hit a couple of them pretty hard. Others seem to have had it worse than I and after each crossing there are dozens of cyclists stopped and repairing flat tires. We have avoided that fate at least and continue on. With the open road the tandems are in their element and set a brisk pace. I take a pull at the front and my riding partners thank me but really they just want me out of the way. THEY are setting the pace and I am slowing them down so I take my designated position in the rear and hang on for dear life.

It is a hot day when we pull in to lunch at mile 62 at a cool and shady park in Genola. The supplies are good here and we make the most of it. Cold drinks and sandwiches call to us and the green grass and shade are very seductive, tempting us to linger. Soon though we decide to press on and finish this thing and are back on the road. The challenge for me remains the same, hang on to the tandems as long as I can. Another railroad crossing and the same dozen flat tires, but not for us and we continue.

After lunch I am starting to fade a little and I wonder how much longer I can hang on. The winds are a little from the side so I echelon out to try and stay in the draft. My legs are becoming noodles though and I figure my free ride is almost over. Thats when I start getting some leg cramps and I suddenly drop off the back. I watch my riding partners pull away with a sigh. We are into some rollers now so I just set my pace and do the best I can. After a couple of miles of solo riding I see that my buddies have slowed up a bit, they are waiting for me! What great friends! After a short bit of an easier pace and a rest stop we are cruising again. We pretty much stay together until the end. We are separated by traffic lights and stop signs in the last couple of miles but otherwise we were together. We were able to do the 111 miles in 5 1/2 hours riding time and so averaged over 21 mph!

Epilogue: Looking over my bike the next day I find that I have severely damaged my rear wheel. There are 2 major dents in the rim and a larg flat spot. In addition the rim is out of true and rubbing hard on the brake. I probably did the worst damage before lunch but I dont know for sure. The dragging brake certainly did not help my day though. In the end I rebuilt the wheel replaced the rim. I did this ride on my beautiful vintage built 1998 De Bernardi road bike and all I can say is that I really hate destroying beautiful bike parts!!!

Bryce Canyon 200 km Brevet, July 19, 2008

2008-07-25T03:52:00Z

Cool, hot, wet, spectacular and fun. These are a few of the descriptions that might be applied to Bryce Canyon 200 k brevet. 23 riders started and 21 riders finished this event which makes it the largest SUBrevet event to date. I think now that the word is out about our great rides this may become the norm for our events.

The morning started pleasantly cool. Most riders were in shorts and short sleeves and found the mild temps a great relief from wherever they had come from. After a short jaunt along highway 89 we turned onto the Red Canyon bike path for the climb up to the Paunsaugunt Plateau. The hoodoos here are reminiscent of Bryce Canyon but are outside of the national park. It is an easy climb and once up on top the pace picked right up again. A nice descent through a corner of the national park brought riders to their first control at the town of Tropic. As the day progressed however the heat came on a little bit, first becoming noticeable on the climb back out of Tropic and finally reaching the mid 80's by mid-day.

The road to Antimony can seem a little long at times but the spectacular scenery helps to keep you entertained as the miles roll by. When you drop down into Black Canyon the vista begins to speed by almost faster than you can take it in and the last 15 miles into Antimony are very swift. Most riders stopped in at Antimony Mercantile Cafe for some lunch before heading on.

After Antimony you follow the Sevier River for more than 20 miles to the next control in the town of Junction. The river proves you are going downhill but there are always some skeptics around. Morning winds were very light and this section was a great cruise. The minimart control in Junction was thrilled to see all of the cyclists. I am not sure they have ever seen so much lycra in this town but it was a nice change from the camo patterns that are so common around here.

Well it is summertime in the mountains and that brings afternoon thunderstorms. About half the riders got through the day without getting wet but the rest had at least some rain. Many riders had their raingear with them but the showers felt so good that few of them bothered to put it on. A couple of people also had some hail but those were brief episodes. With the showers came some variable winds so some of the riders also faced that challenge.

Our first rider was in at 6 hours and 30 min and our last rider finished in under 10 hours. 1 rider had a major mechanical and did not finish and one rider intended to ride only a portion of the course. All in all it was a great result and a great day. This ride wraps up our brevet season here in southern Utah. If you didnt ride in any of these events it has been your loss. The 2009 schedule should be out by October so check back at the website for that. Congratulations to all SUB riders on their accomplishments this year!

Lonnie Wolff
Regional Brevet Administrator
Southern Utah

Day 9, The other stuff in France

2008-07-06T04:00:00Z

Well the bike has been packed away and we have been doing some non-bike stuff. The other day we drove up to the D-Day beaches on the Normandy coast. I had been there before but Sara had not and she had wanted to visit it as well. It was just as memorable on this visit and we both enjoyed the day. Yesterday we were headed towards Versailles but stopped in Chartres on the way. I really like Chartres, the cathedral is absolutely magnificient and the town is quite pleasant as well. Luckily it is also possible to get lunch in Chartres at one of the many cafes. We indulge in the full range of menu items completely without guilt. After all, I have paid my dues in fasting earlier in the week, what anyone elses excuse is I do not know!

There was also an itinerary of horse activities and we were able to visit the Franch National Stud Farm, Haras du Pin. It is a remarkable facility founded by Louis the XIV and continues its tradition of excellence. We are also able to visit an Egyptian Arabian ranch to view their beautiful horses. Finally in Versailles we spend a day at the Bartobas Equestrian Spectacle. This a demonstration of the amazing abilities of several breeds of horses in a theatrical display. It is a mix of art and performance and exhibits the talents of the horse from warfare to dressage. I do not know where they find the riders who perform in this spectacle but the resume would have to look something like this: Skilled rider, must be young and thin, be able to sing, dance, shoot arrows, sword fight and clean stalls. Perhaps in France these qualities are not so hard to come by but in southern Utah it might be a little difficult. At any rate the performance is wonderful and we enjoy it very much.

We head back to our hotel which is just a few blocks from the palace after a wonderful last night in France. Tommorrow we catch out flight home to the States. The trip has not exactly gone as planned but it was a good trip nonetheless.

Day 6, A change of plans

2008-07-04T02:39:00Z

This morning at breakfast in the hotel I had an epipheny. It was clear at this point that I would not be able to keep to my intended schedule and finish the ride as planned. Too many factors have been working against me and even though my wheels have been spinning I dont seem to be getting anywhere. So I am moving to my plan B, which is to do some sightseeing and enjoy the area. I have had very little opportunity to explore and I am actually kind of glad to have a change of pace even if it means I will not complete my trip as planned. I have been enjoying the countryside but the long days and riding well into the night have been taking their toll.

Fougeres is a very interesting town which most PBP riders will not get the chance to enjoy much of. There is a very old walled city at the heart of town that dates back more than 1000 years. The old part of town has wonderful churches and gardens to visit and there are many sidewalk cafes as well. After my recent involuntary diet regime I am particularly interested in the cafes!

I have a support crew on call for assistance and emergencies (my wife Sara and our host in France, Jos). I make the call and in a few hours they will join me for lunch. In the meantime I am able to cruise the town and get some riding in for the day. I have had the "Buzzard" with me for the whole ride as can be seen in some of the photos and I think he will also enjoy the change of pace. The area around Fougeres is kind of hilly and the streets are a maze. There are quite a few bike lanes here which kind of surprises me but I have seen some of these in the larger towns before. It is quite pleasant to cruise the town on a bike. I make a half hearted attempt to find the location of the controle from PBP but I have no luck. I continue my tour and soon I am distracted by something else anyway.

My personal support crew arrives just in time for lunch and we waste no time in finding a restaurant. It seems that in the larger towns food is much easier to come by, especially during lunchtime (Le Dejuener). Once we are well fed it seems natural to continue our touring on foot and so we hit the town again. There is much to see here but we limit ourselves to a radius within easy walking distance of the old walled city. In spite of the change of plans it is a good day!

Day 5, slow progress

2008-07-03T02:24:00Z

So far things have not exactly gone according to plan. I am tying to adapt as I go but I am behind where I had expected to be on the route already. I was in Brest this morning but I expected to be in Carhaix which is about 95 kilometers away. That is going to make this a very long day! Brest is the starting city for the Tour de France this year and I had hoped to see some of the preparations for the event, but since I am behind schedule I will not have time to see much of it. I have seen some signs announcing route closures on my way but not too much otherwise.

I got breakfast in the hotel and set off again through town. Brest is a busy place and I see a large group of tents in town that are probably for the Tour. I don't have time to look around much however and I get started on the bike. Returning the same way I came the route finding should be a little easier for a while but I expect difficulties again later. I have not studied the TDF route for this year but it looks like I will cross it several times. I see more “route baree” signs for the Tour noting different closures days along the way. I will have to look at the official route later to see where it goes.

Back in Loudeac I find a market and stock up on supplies. There is also a bike shop here and I do need some things but it is closed. When I ask someone when it will open today they just laugh and tell me “of course it is closed, it is Monday!” Silly me, I should have known better. The bike is giving me a little trouble shifting and I wanted to get some CO2 cartridges as well. I have not been able to get any yet and repairing my flat tires takes much more time without them. All these little delays continue to add up and deduct from the mileage I can cover each day.

You have a narrow window when the shops are open to buy things in the little towns along the way. Even water is proving to be a challenge. I think that without 2 large water bottles and a Camelback I would have run out of water a couple of times. I am carrying a lot more food than I normally would as well. The route is very rural and if you run out of groceries in between large towns or if you arrive in the towns at the wrong time you will go hungry. Ask me how I know that!

Climbing back over Tintineac Mountain I see another sign for a route closure on the TDF route. It looks like they will be climbing over this mountain and past the huge antenna on the way. This is a landmark that most PBP riders will recognize. When I watch the tour I will look for it. After the descent into town I find a small restaurant to stop at. I have eaten all of my food and water and it is late in the day. I am able to get a sandwich and a beer but when I try and buy water I find only 1 liter available at the bar. I spend another half an hour looking for water in town but there is none available. Apparently I got the last bottle of water in Tintineac!

I continue on towards Fougeres where it is my plan to spend the night. Navigation continues to be difficult and I do at least an extra 15 kilometers of back-tracking and looking for the right route. I came to one roundabout where there were 3 seperate signs indicating the direction to a larger town which was on my route. One was via the motorway, one was a truck route and the other was a local route. All 3 were the wrong way! The correct route was a little harder identify and went through smaller towns via some poorly marked lesser roads. Trying to determine the correct route has been my curse and may prove to be my undoing!

I arrive in Fougeres just after 10 pm and start to look for a hotel. It was a long last 10 km into town and now the search for a hotel adds to my day. I finally find a Campanile Hotel on the south side of town. All of the restaurants are now closed so I will have to be satisfied snacking on my remaining food for dinner. It doesn’t really matter that much, I am beat and I fall asleep right after a shower.

Day 4, a new start

2008-07-01T19:20:00Z

Okay, its time to ride! Due to time limitations I will be unable to start in Paris, so I will pick up where I left off last year in Loudeac. That is where Clair and I abandoned the event after falling ill. It is my intention to continue on from here to Brest and then return. I will follow the official route and try to finish it in the time that I have. I will be staying in hotels along the way and travelling during daylight hours only.

I was enthusiastic about getting started but it took some time to get ready. Once the bike was set to go I needed to get some food for the trip. This is where the first flaw in my plan was revealed. It was Sunday, and being Sunday in France all of the shops are closed. We were able to find an open bar where they served us a late breakfast, but they had no food otherwise. When I asked where I could find a sandwich the proprietor seemed confused by the request. I was told that they don't sell sandwiches on Sunday in France. I convinced them of my need for a sandwich so the barkeeper went home and found some bread, ham and cheese and came back and made one for me. I have experienced this kind of hospitality each time I visit France.

Now I was prepared to go. Leaving from the controle location at St. Joseph College in Loudeac I headed towards the center of town where I hoped to find the correct route. This is where the second flaw in my plan was revealed. Navigation was going to be much harder than I had expected. The road signs are very inadequate and without course markings or other riders to follow, you are never really quite sure that you are going the right way. This then forces a lot of stops to try and verify the choice of direction. This in turn slows your progress dramatically and I began to worry that I would not be able to cover my planned distances for each day. Other obstacles to my progress appeared as well, first a flat tire, then I was stopped by the gendarmes to allow a local bike race to pass. My search for food and water also caused delays and it was getting later in the day than I had expected. Then there was the wind! The wind was brisk and relentless, and right in my face all day. I was happy to be on my way to Brest however regardless of my pace.

I arrived in Carhaix in the afternoon and had the same problem finding supplies. My only choices seemed to be McDonalds and a BP station. I stopped at both and tried to make the best of it. Leaving Carhaix the route is quite appealing and I enjoyed this section, even with the climb up to Roc Trevezel.

The days are long here at this time of year but maybe not long enough. My original plan was to go from Loudeac to Brest and then back to Carhaix for the night. As the day wore on though I began to see that I would not be able to meet that schedule. I was now hoping simply to make it to Brest for the night. At times even that seemed to be questionable. Navigation difficulties, the search for food, wind and other delays had put me well behind. Finally around midnight I pulled into downtown Brest. It is a long uphill into town and I had yet to find a hotel. I pretty much took the first one that I found, a 2 star hotel in the middle of town. It actually wasn't too bad and there was a food stand nearby that was still open. I was pretty much done for the day.

Day 3, final preparations

2008-06-30T18:44:00Z

Today my plan is to assemble my bike and take it out for a test ride. It is market day in the nearby town of Mortagne Au Perce however so the plan for this morning is to do some shopping and see the sights. Shopping is hard work though and I am sure that coffee and pastries will be required to sustain us. My last visit to Mortagne was in the dark of night and the streets were flooded due to the rain. I must say it is a much more inviting little village in the light of day with coffee and food!

The bike assembly went well and once I got it together I was able to take an easy 40 kilometer spin through the nearby towns and villages. There is a new church nearby our place with a working convent that was quite scenic. The locals don't seem to think much of it though. After all it is a copy of a much more famous church elsewhere and isn't that old really. It was built in 1850. The weather was cool but humid and felt warmer than it actually was. All that was left to do now was pack my gear on the bike and get started.

The panniers I am using are pretty small so there is not a lot of room for extras which is fine. It will keep me from bringing along too much stuff! Of course it may also keep me from bringing the things I need as well, but I think I have the right gear with me. Perhaps the only thing I have an excess of are maps and route guides! I have multiple copies of several different types with quite a bit of detail. It's probably a little too much but I can always ditch them later.

Day 2, rental car

2008-06-29T22:39:00Z

Arrived safely at CDG and picked up our rental car. Here is where the adventure stepped up just one notch, trying to navigate our way out of Paris on the motorway! It is kind of a controlled chaos and things are fine as long as you know where you are going. This is where we get our first small taste of adventure.

Traffic around Paris is always a challenge even when not at rush hour. We were just at the tale end of rush and had some delays. Soon though we were on the motorway and headed towards the town of Mortagne Au Perche. Our final destination was just outside the little village of St. Mard de Reno where we will be staying with a friend. We have a studio apartment at our disposal during our stay and our host acts as an occasional tour guide as well as restaurant translator. This greatly reduces our chances of ordering tripe at local restaurants which puts us more at ease.

Mortagne was one of the first controles on the PBP route and what I remember most about it was all of the water running through the streets as we passed through before dawn last August. It seems to be much drier this time around! The weather is great, alternating between sun, clouds and light rain. It's just the perfect mix to keep you confused and guessing wrong as to what to wear. I think I will put the fenders on the bike based on these observations.

Tomorrow (Saturday) I will get down to business on getting ready for my ride. I have to assemble the bike and test ride it as well as pack my gear. Hopefully I have brought everything I need. If not I will just have to make do.

Day 1, were away

2008-06-28T22:00:00Z

Okay, the adventure has begun. You might think I would be referring to a cycling adventure or some physical effort but I am not. Most adventures begin with the basics of travel. Sometimes getting to your adventure can be an adventure in itself. So far however things have been going pretty well and we have few complaints. Our Delta flight to NY was on time and we were able to enjoy our time between flights in the Air France lounge at JFK. We are now over the Atlantic just off the coast of Newfoundland and our biggest challenge has been trying to tell which was the fruit compote and which was the Foie Gras at dinner. I think there will be greater challenges to come.

Prologue

2008-06-27T21:44:00Z

This is a disclaimer that the following blog entries are not being posted in a timely manner, but they should at least be in chronological order. Lack of internet access as well as the rigors of travel are taking their toll on my ability to make my posts in real time. As a result of this lag more of a fictional component may creep in to my entries and I ask for your forgiveness in advance. Just consider it a little artistic license under the influence of a little too much French wine!

Merci!

Hurricane 400 km Brevet, June 7, 2008

2008-06-08T16:17:00Z

Another day another 400 k, that’s pretty much how 7 randonneurs approached this day’s ride. All but 1 rider was experienced at this distance and 3 in the group were using this ride as preparation for the Cascade 1200 in a few weeks. It was good to have a solid group of riders.

The route immediately started on a climb right out of Hurricane and then continued east into the rising sun. About 20 miles out riders crossed the state line and into Arizona. The Arizona RBA might have been offended for this encroachment but she was on the ride and offered no complaints to me. The towns of Colorado City, Pipe Springs, Fredonia and Kanab all wheeled by without incident. Just past Kanab the climbing started again up to Coral Pink Sand Dunes junction followed by a swift descent to Mt. Carmel junction. After that, more climbing and more exotic locations, Orderville, Glendale and Todd’s Junction all marked points on the climb up the Grand Staircase, the predominant geographic feature of this region. This passage follows the course of the Virgin River up to its headwaters beginning with the deep red sandstone common to the Zion area on up to the white cliffs and Hoodoos of Bryce Canyon. Once at Todd’s Junction however you enter into the Great Basin and begin following the Sevier River for the next 50 miles. The elevation is now over 7000 feet and even though it is June, temperatures are quite pleasant. Ponderosa Pines and green meadows are the rule in this area.

Just outside the town of Hatch we had our first incident, a call for assistance. It seems that one rider had eaten something bad and was throwing up at the side of the road. The RBA rescue squad responded and within an hour or so was on the scene. Apparently if you have an open flask of gel, keep it in your car for a few years and then eat it you will get an upset tummy. I guess even experienced randonneurs can learn something new occasionally.

The weather continued to be good and even the winds were often favorable. Once riders turned south again along I-15 they had a fast section with a good tailwind. That gave them a break and a chance to rest a bit while cruising along at 25 mph. Darkness fell again somewhere between Parowan and Cedar City for most riders but they still kept a good pace. From here on in with the exception of a bit of interstate highway the roads were mostly quiet rural roads with little traffic. That made one less thing to worry about for this tired bunch riding in the dark.

Back in Hurricane at RBA headquarters I began my vigil, waiting for the riders to show up. I was hoping not to get any more calls for assistance so I didn’t have to abandon my post, mostly so I could get a nap in. Eventually the first riders turned up at 2:00 am and the next riders a few minutes later, while the last pair rolled in at 3:20 am. All were in surprisingly good spirits considering that they had just been on the bike for 21 hours or so.

Overall the ride went well. The weather had been good, traffic was light, there were few mechanicals and everyone except the vintage energy gel eater finished the ride. Congratulations to all who participated in this challenging event!

Davis 600 km Brevet, May 30, 2008

2008-06-02T16:10:00Z

Coming to ride in the Davis area is a little like coming home for me. I have ridden a lot in this area and did my first long rides here. My first double century was the Davis Double back in 1989 and I have been back for that ride many times since. This 600k route interested me for the fact that it follows the route of the Gold Rush Randonee’ 1200k which is held every few years and is also hosted by the Davis Bike Club.

The start time for this ride is a little unusual with the departure set at 8:00 pm. That gave about an hour of daylight and then riding through the night. There were perhaps 30 riders at the start and the group stayed together pretty much for the first 50 miles or so until the second control. It was an impressive sight with this large group so well illuminated. The first 100 miles were pretty flat, traveling mostly through farm fields and along levee roads which were sometimes quite rough. There were very few residences so outside of our LED illuminated peloton the world was quite dark. The third control was at a 24 hour mini-mart in Sutter. It was probably the worst excuse for a convenience store that I have seen in some time but the DBC was there and provided a good rest stop in spite of the stores charms.

I was riding solo now with no other riders in sight so I had to be sure of my navigation. For the most part the cue sheet and the road signs matched pretty well, and with good lights I was able to follow the route easily. A front flat tire delayed me for a short time but I pulled into the forth control in Oroville well before sunrise. This control was well stocked but I wasn’t that hungry, or at least nothing sounded good to eat and I soon departed.

After a few miles of rollers the real climbing started. We headed up Highway 70 on a long but low angle climb. It seemed to go on and on with a number of false summits but eventually the final “top” was found. From this point I gave back much of the elevation I had earned by descending into the Feather River Canyon. This is a wonderful scenic route and this early in the day there was virtually no traffic. Once at the river the climbing resumed as we followed the river closely now. Typical of the mountains the morning winds were “down canyon” which made them a headwind. We would fight these winds all the way to the turnaround.

Control #5 was in a cabin at Tobin Resort just off the river. It was still cool in the morning when I arrived so a hot drink was in order but I still wasn’t able to eat too much. I got in a little rest and continued up the river. The scenery continued to be excellent with alternating rapids and still water and I thought I was making good time. It was only another 40 miles uphill to the turnaround but it took me almost 4 hours. I think I was starting to fade a little. I was quite happy to see Control #6 in Taylorsville but the route had a little surprise. You had to ride past the control for a few miles to get the distance right before returning to the spot to check in. This stop had excellent food choices but I only managed to get down a few snacks. My stomach was quite unhappy by now so I had to be careful what I put on it. I did get in a good rest for the return however.

I though everything would be great from here but as I headed out of Indian Valley and back towards the river the winds seemed to have shifted. Sure enough once I was back at the river, what was only an hour ago a “down canyon” wind had reversed itself and the wind now blew in my face again. It was now a warmer wind coming up from the valley below. The relatively gentile descent along the river wasn’t steep enough to overcome this headwind and I averaged from 12 - 15 mph back down the canyon. This made the return to Tobin about 2 ½ hours, which was longer than I had hoped it would be. On this visit to Tobin I stayed much longer but the extra rest did little good. I forced down some food and drank more but no energy returned. I continued the slog down the canyon to the bottom where the route turned away from the river. It was a 1500 ft climb out of the canyon and I wasn’t looking forward to it but the climb seemed to be protected from the wind and it wasn’t so bad after all.

Dropping out of the mountains and back to the valley all I had to overcome was some rollers to get back to the control in Oroville, but the south wind had picked up and the next 10 miles were really tough for me. I fought the evil forces of wind and hill which were working against me and finally made it to Control #7. This was going to have to be a major stop for me, I had to do something to try and recover! I tried to eat but managed only a few bites, my stomach was in full mutiny. I tried to sleep but after a half an hour I felt worse than before. I found it hard to focus my vision and my balance seemed off. I was able to drink a little but I knew that I could continue on that alone. It was now getting dark again and based on my recent pace I estimated that it would take me 10 -12 hours to complete the ride. That could get me in before the cut-off but I was dreading a second full night in the saddle. When I realized that there would be no available service for the last 77 miles due to the late hour I decided to throw in the towel. It was better to do it here than to be out on the course somewhere in the dark waiting for a support vehicle.

I had gotten to the 440 km mark in 23 hours which isn’t all that bad I guess but I was not feeling good about my accomplishment. In the end about 4 or 5 riders DNF’ed that day, one due to a broken frame from the rough road early in the ride and the others from fatigue or illness like myself. The DBC once again did a great job in supporting this event and they are to be congratulated.

Pine Valley Mountain 300 km Brevet, May 10, 2008

2008-05-11T23:06:00Z

They say you shouldn’t fool with mother nature but that doesn’t stop her from fooling with you sometimes as 9 riders found out on this ride. The forecast was for a warm day with light winds out of the northeast at 5-10 mph. That would have been great if it were true but it was meant not to be. Even with a pre-dawn start the winds were already brisk out of the north at 20 - 25 mph and temps were in the upper 50’s and low 60’s. Riders fought these headwinds for 90 miles or so to Cedar City before the course changed direction and offered any relief. Even then relief came in the form of a cross wind and it wasn’t until about mile 120 or so that it really turned into a tailwind. That’s when the grimaces finally turned into smiles and the pace picked up quite a bit.

To add just a little bit to the challenge, a couple of riders had several flats and exhausted their supply of inner tubes. Luckily some spares were purchased at the bike shop in Cedar City and as usual once there were plenty of tubes available again there were few flats.

After a great downhill run into Newcastle the riders fueled up at the checkpoint. The next section was an easy 12 mile spin to the town of Enterprise. The last real climb of the day began shortly after that and it was quite a challenge coming at a point this late into the ride. Once at the top however the riders enjoyed perhaps the best downhill run of the day. This was a 13 mile section of downhill and rollers all the way to the next checkpoint in Veyo. Even after Veyo the fun continued with more downhill and rollers through Gunlock and finally ending on the outskirts of St. George. All that was left was to navigate through town and back to the finish. Most riders made it in just about dark and we had a 100 percent completion rate. Riders loved the scenery along the course and the roads were mostly good. Congratulations to all 9 riders who started and finished this event!

Davis 400 km brevet, April 26, 2008

2008-05-01T21:24:00Z

Many thanks to the Davis Bike Club in California for putting on such a well organized event on a great course. The day started off with something unusual in my experience over many brevets, that is the 26 or so riders stayed together in a double pace-line at a moderate pace for the first 30 miles or more. It was wonderful, people were chatting and maintaining a good pace, it was very enjoyable. Finally I had to stop and remove some clothes as it was starting to get a little warm. Several other riders did so as well so it was the beginning of the end for the organization of this group of riders.

There were light winds all day which added a little extra challenge at times and helped a little at other times. Temps probably reached 90 degrees or so at the peak of the day but the light winds and canopies of shade trees over much of the route helped to mitigate the warmth. Most of the route was on surprisingly rural roads through the wine country of Napa and Sonoma counties. There was some tourist traffic on these sections but overall it was pretty low key. The real treat was viewing the wineries along the route along with other fields and pastures. Wildflowers were out in abundance and the many streams and lakes were full. It was a beautiful late spring day in northern California!

The DBC did a wonderful job in providing support to the riders. Much of this rural route offered little opportunity to graze at stores or minimarts so the club provided food and drink at most of the checkpoints. The volunteers were exceptionally helpful and I for one really appreciated their efforts. It means a lot when such people take the time to provide for others when they would certainly rather be riding themselves.

As night fell we were passing by a little lake. The sunset was spectacular and the sky was on fire. This scene was reflected in the lake waters which were very calm. We stopped briefly to experience the spectacle. There was no traffic and the air was still, it was very peaceful. For a moment all was right with the world. These are the times that make all of the day’s effort worthwhile. To be in these special places at these rare moments is a very unique thing. You just have to be out there to have the opportunity to see these things. You may not always be in the right place at the right time but you will certainly be someplace at the right time.

Once darkness fell the world closed in around us somewhat. The beam of our headlights became our world, while the orbit of our fellow rider’s lights became our universe. Beyond that was an unknown region of shadow and darkness. The road continued to pass under our wheels but the clock had now become lethargic. Miles as a unit of measure had also been altered somewhat. Each one now seemed further than the last. The more we tried to verify the correct distance the further we had to go. It is a cruel deception that riding at night sometimes brings. In the end, minutes were still minutes as were the miles and we finally came to the last entry on the route guide. We pulled into the finish area in Davis at 3:11 am. Our result for the day was riding 400 kilometers (250 miles) in 21 hours 11 minutes elapsed time, 16 hours 55 minutes actual riding time.

Zion Canyon 200 km Brevet 2008

2008-04-13T14:53:00Z

In spite of a rather cool morning start 14 riders set out on what would turn out to be a beautiful day to ride in southern Utah. Riders from Washington State, Colorado and Salt Lake thought the weather was spectacular while those from Arizona, Nevada and So Cal thought it could have been a little warmer. Temperatures finally did hit the upper 70’s so it appears that Spring may finally be here. There was a little more traffic than usual on the roads but with such a nice clear day it is easy to understand why many people were out and about. Most of this route is on quieter side roads and the rest of the route has good shoulders to ride on. Once you get up into Zion however the roads are very quiet and are mostly new pavement. Public traffic is not allowed into the main canyon of the park from Spring through Summer so there are only a few shuttle buses sharing the road with you. These free shuttles run on propane and are very quiet. Spring in the canyon is spectacular as the streams are full, the trees are green and the flowers are out. With next to no traffic it is quite a peaceful place to be.

The head of the canyon at the Temple of Sinawava is the turnaround and the highest point on the ride. After departing here it is almost all downhill along the Virgin River back to the start/finish area. Some might disagree and claim that there is actually a hill or two between these points but those little hills hardly count at all! Variable canyon winds do count however and there were a few of those on this day. There were also quite a few flat tires during the day and this was a little unusual. A couple of riders had 3 or more flats but I think we can chalk that up to bad luck (or something). In the end, riders had a pretty good day with only one DNF to record.

1998 De Bernardi

2008-03-23T22:25:00Z

This is my current project bike. It is an new old stock De Bernardi lugged steel frame. It is in wonderful condition showing only a little wear from being handled over the past 10 years. It had never been built up or ridden. This bike is representative of the end of an era in framebuilding. Pretty much after the late 90's very few companies were building lugged steel bikes as their flagship models. Many had gone to carbon, titanium or hybrids for their high end units and some had abandoned steel altogether! For a time you could only get a classic steel frame from a niche or custom builder, but that seems to be changing somewhat. Many manufacturers are once again offering some steel frames although they are usually offered in a retro category. I believe that in time steel as a frame material will return to the mainstream to a much greater degree. Its wonderful qualities will once again be recognized and a way will be found to market it to the biking public as new technology.

I have built this bike with a Campagnolo gruppo (of course) in a Record/Chorus mix and a traditional style. I tried to avoid the use of any black anodized alloy components. I prefer silver and chromed parts because they just make for a brighter bike. Quality components like these should not be blacked out or hidden. Because of that I have had to settle for Campagnolo Veloce hubs. They are still good quality and have a nice polished finish. I've built them up with my favorite Mavic Open Pro rims and double butted spokes. It is a very nice wheelset!

I chose to use a 2 x 10 drivetrain with downtube shifters. It runs silently and shifts very well and I am very happy with this setup. The TTT bars and stem are clean and simple and the absence of shifting cables adds to this effect. The brake levers are aero style and hide these cables as well. The timeless Brooks Swift leather saddle is the only choice for a classic bike like this. It may seem dated but is actually quite modern with titanium rails and weighs in around 300 grams. Brooks saddles have no peer for comfort and durability!

Now the important part, the ride. This bike is amazing, it is incredibly smooth and responsive to ride. The handling is precise and stable. It gives you a good feel for the road without the harshness of ride found with other frame materials. It once again reminds me of what a great bike should be.

My PBP make up ride

2008-03-22T00:13:00Z

Ever since returning from my attempt at PBP last August I have had the feeling that I somehow needed to finish what I had started. My plan had been to try and be in a position 3 years from now to have a shot at trying the event again. It is a huge commitment of time and energy (not to mention the expense) to be prepared for an event like this and many stars must be in alignment for it to even be possible. 4 years seemed so far away though and perhaps I am a little bit impatient. I really wanted to set this thing to rights and try to redeem myself as soon as I could.

Well it looks as though I may be able to try for redemption sooner than I had hoped. We have booked tickets to Paris for this June and I will have an opportunity to ride the route again. This time it will be in self supported touring style, riding 150 - 200 miles per day. It will not be the official event but I will follow the 2007 route. I will travel lightly and follow my own schedule, staying in hotels along the way. It will be a more casual effort than the official event and I may not meet the time schedule but I hope to be able to finish the route. It will make all the difference to me being able to somehow finish what I had started!

My wife Sara will be accompanying me for the trip and she has her own itinerary involving horse activities. I can go off on my own for these few days without worry. We will both having a good time and will be able to do some things together as well. I will post blog entries from the trip so you can track my progress. This trip I will be riding in part for my friend Clair Jensen who will not be able to ride with me in Paris ever again. I hope to not let Clair down and to be able to finish the ride in his honor.

By coincidence the Tour de France starts in Brest this year. I will be there before the first stage begins but I hope to see some of the pre-race hoopla or maybe just the finish area. We will return home in early July, hopefully with something more to celebrate this time. s the time approaches stay tuned for my updates on this PBP redo!

2001 Pegoretti Palo Santo

2008-03-10T15:37:00Z

This bike is a modern classic. I would like to claim that it was built for me by Dario himself but it was not. I was lucky enough to be able to purchase it from the American distributor Gita-Bike early in 2002. It was an unsold model from the previous year but it met my needs perfectly. First, it was the right size, a 58 cm frame in both seat tube and top tube length. 2001 was the last year this model came with a paint matched steel fork, after that they came with a black carbon fork. Being all steel was very important to me as I think it is mandatory if you want to do a classic build. Also, the geometry of this Palo Santo model is ideal for comfort on longer rides which is what I mainly do. It also climbs like a mountain goat which is a great testimony to the versatility of this bike.

To complete the classic build I used a Campagnolo Chorus/Record mix. I was going to use this bike on "big rides" so I went with a 3x10 gear setup. In 2002 this was a lot of gears and was a rarely seen combination. I knew though that when you are out all day on 200 mile rides with 17,000+ feet of climbing that the extra range of gearing can make all the difference. Mavic Open Pros wrapped around Campy Record hubs (32h) and double butted DT spokes help keep this wheelset lightweight and durable. 3T handlebars and a quill stem maintain the classic look and Profile Airstryke bar helps with the aero position. I can remove the aerobars easily if needed. The great Brooks Swift leather saddle provides all the comfort needed for the long haul.

I use this bike primarily for centuries and double centuries, though I have gone as long as 300 miles on it in a day. It is responsive, reasonable light and most of all it is comfortable. The great Italian style is just one of the side benefits. Very few bikes that I have owned have generated so many unsolicited comments from fellow riders. Even in this age of 15 pound carbon fiber bikes many people still recognize classic style. In a year or two when that new (I just had to have it) carbon bike is old news or unrideable because you dinged a tube, this old Pegoretti will still rolling out the miles in style!