Click the link below for the route and ride stats:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/31902568
May 1st was the first event on the Great Lakes Randonneurs calendar for 2010. This year, because of possible field limit restrictions on the 2011 edition of Paris-Brest-Paris the GLR is offering an expanded brevet series to permit those interested in PBP a number of opportuities for expanded brevet participation. I dont know all the specifics, but the more and longer the brevets one rides, the better the chances of making it to Paris in 2011.
The typical brevet series offers distances of 200K, 300K, 400K and 600K, with a few ultra distance rides of 1,000K and 1,200K held in other areas of the US. Today, the GLR was offering a 200K as well as a 300K which incorporated an extension of the 200K route. Since I am currently training to begin a PAC Tour transcontinental ride in about 2 weeks I felt I needed to ride the 300K route today. One of the minimum training guidelines for this tour is to complete a double century in less than 12 hours and I wanted to make sure I was able to pass this test today.
There were approximately 60-70 riders signed up for the 7 am start. Contrary to many of the past GLR brevets I had riden (foul, cold, rainy, windy, tornadoes), today was an exceptional weather day with starting temps in the low 60's with mid-day temps approaching the low 70's. Since this was the first event of the year most riders chose the 200K option. I could not find any others doing the 300K but was later told that I was one of five who wanted to check out the longer course.
The first section of the route headed west for about 45 miles to the town of Brodhead. Everyone rode this leg together and after Brodhead, the 200K route went to the north to Oregon and the 300K route headed to the northwest to New Glarus, Mt. Horeb, and Barneveld, and then back to Oregon where it rejoined the 200K route.
It was great fun rolling out together and catching up briefly with some familiar friends from brevets of years past. As we headed west, we picked up a fairly stiff cross wind from the southwest so the pack dissipated and spread out rather quickly over the first 15-20 miles. I was joking with my friend David about how we got stuck at the front of the group and how we should head to the back to take it easy this early in the ride. For better or worse, we were caught up with some of the faster riders at the front and were rotating though some of the windy spots pretty well. Unfortunately, after a while our group pretty much fell apart and we were down to a group of six by the time we reached Brodhead.
At this point, without any other 300K riders in sight, this was a solo ride for me for the rest of the day. As you begin to leave Brodhead to the north and west, you begin to get into more of the hilly sections of the route. Knowing I would not likely see any riders for the rest of the day, I relaxed and tried to settle into a comfortable rythym. As I headed to the north and west, there were many sections where I was able to enjoy a strong tail wind so the pedaling was fairly easy and brisk. I was hoping that the winds would continue to grow and shift to the WSW as originally forecasted which would make the trip back to Delevan a "breeze".
With scheduled stops at New Glarus and Mt. Horeb at much shorter intervals than the first 45 mile ride to Brodhead, I was able to refuel at shorter intervals keeping me feeling fresh. Aside from the very hilly terrain, probably the toughest part of the day was the 9 mile slog from Mt. Horeb to Barneveld, the farthest point on the course. The wind was shifting to more of a SSW and by this point of the day (noon) was realy starting to howl, probably in the 20-25 mph range with some gusts at over 40. It took me about 45 minutes to get to Barneveld. The return trip back to Mt. Horeb took about 20 minutes.
With 110 miles in and still 75 to go, it was good to fianlly be heading back toward the start again. While I was hoping for a good tailwind most of the way home, the winds seemed to be predominanlty from the south at this point so every time I turned to the right, the wind would abruptly take away any momentum and pretty much put you in a defensive mode. As I turned to the east, you could still get a moderate benefit of a push, albeit you were constantly needing to correct the bike from frequent gusts.
As I rolled into the Oregon stop, and back onto the 200K route, the clerk at the gas station said the last riders she had come through from our group left about 40 minnutes ago. I was feeling a bit beat up at this point and was thankful there was only one more rest stop at Edgerton before being done for the day. As I came within 5 miles of Edgerton I began picking up some of the 200K riders. I made a quick stop in Edgerton, but not so quick as to miss out on one of those famous Wisconsin cheddar filled sausages (how do they do that?).
At this point, I just wanted to be done and was already thinking about more food at the finish. The road back to Delevan has probably one of the most boring stretches of county highway imaginable (that would be County M). It's long and straight, bumpy, and never seems to end. On the final stretch, I was able to get one last piece of tailwind and was able to cruise into town and the finish a few minutes after 6 pm.
So, all in all, a fun and hard day of riding, would have enjoyed more company but was at least able to meet my goal for the day. We'll see if it's enough to meet the rigors of PAC Tour in a few more weeks!
No comments:
Post a Comment