Brouse’s Beach Browser 600 Brevet

Ride report by Kathy Brouse:

Warning – be careful what you say to Liz Overduin, she takes your comments seriously. I apparently said to Liz last year that a flat ride is boring so she set out to create a ride that was not flat and far from boring!!

Congratulations to Liz for working so hard to create such an amazing new Huron chapter 600 km route. The route has everything for the intrepid randonneur including picturesque Grey county farms, very challenging hill climbs, thrilling descents, stunning Beaver Valley scenery, gorgeous beach views along Lake Huron and a road tour of the Bruce Nuclear Power Plant. Liz’s route winds and zig zags up and down on the first day (and I mean up and down, think Bowles Hill, Scenic Caves Rd, County Road 40 all in one afternoon!) and in and out on the second day, from the road and all along the Lake Huron shoreline from Sauble Beach to Kincardine. On this super hot inaugural ride, we were blessed with no wind, no rain, and two beautiful summer days. And, we were treated to classic Huron chapter camaraderie including some good eating and drinking in Goderich, Sauble and Kincardine, free drafting, and the classic Huron Chapter Hug at the end of the ride: sweaty, sincere and very pleasant! Thanks to Liz and the Huron Boys: Dick, Carrey and Larry, and to Henk, Fred, Guy, Alex and Vaune for a great rando ride weekend. Fred had a challenging time slaying the Scenic Caves dragon, Vaune fought some intense nutrition and health battles but managed nevertheless to dig deep and complete the ride because she is one tough lady and Alex Weber never stops smiling and singing, perhaps because he finished his first series and is now a super randonneur!

Yeah Liz! I am already looking forward to doing it again next year! Wait a second, did I just say I was looking forward to those gruelling hill climbs again….that folks is a classic symptom of what we call “randonesia”, a term involving memory loss and the inability to recall periods of intense pain experienced on a ride.

Comments from Liz Overduin:

Thanks Kathy, and I also loved riding it with everyone who came out. Last year, when I was plotting and planning it, by the second day, thanks to a headwind from the south, I actually had my first ever Bonk. This time it was a great experience, the weather was great and two cyclists completed their Super Randonneur Series – Larry Sowerby and Alex Weber – a Rookie!

Three of the ten cyclists were women – 30% is pretty high in this sport, and that was very enjoyable. Vaune has speakers on her bike and we could listen to her music. A common question to ask folks is “What kind of music do you like to listen to?” The answer is usually something straight forward and simple, “country”, “jazz” or “rock ‘n roll” etc. Vaune’s answer was a classic. Vaune said, and I quote “I like to listen to 85 or 95 cadence music, all my music is at that cadence”! Seriously, that is what she said! I love it Vaune!

Kathy was amazingly strong on her bike, you would never know that this was her first brevet after 6 weeks of recovering from a broken arm – it was so great that you could do this ride Kathy and I am glad you enjoyed it.

The Huron Chapter has enjoyed sharing so many of our rides this summer what with Devil Week as well as this Brouse’s Beach Browser – 60% of the cyclists were not from the Huron Chapter – it was great to have you.

And, just for one last statistic, Larry Sowerby and I are both from Auburn, a town of maybe 100 people, and two of us are Randonneurs! We’re taking over – watch out World – the Randonneurs are coming!

Comments from Vaune Davis:

It was great riding with the hybrid Huron/Toronto group… and also with a trio of gals. I struggled quite a bit on this ride so ended up on my own, which did not bother me. I was super tired going into this and my pace collapsed. But the beauty of this unique route was not lost on me, so I managed to enjoy it even in an exhausted state and complete my Super Randonneur series. Hats off to our expert route chef, Liz Overduin. We are blessed to have you in our club. That route was a lot of work to plan. I’d like to do it again next year in a more rested state.

The stereo speakers on my bike worked beautifully. They are a brand called “XCEON” that strap to the handlebars and can be recharged from the dynamo hub. I bought them at the bike show last fall. One impulse buy I do not regret.

Congratulations to our rookie Alex for completing his first SR series, and with a smile on his face. Alex that is a significant accomplishment. You should be very proud.

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