“The truth is, no one rides their own ride. Not all the way through.”
As published on Michel’s blog: Cadence and Consequence

Photo from the Start of Heaven and Hill 600k brevet – the first Ride of the 2025 Devil Week

What Randonneurs Owe Each Other

June 16, 2025

We were lounging in the shade, watching ships slide up the St. Clair River like they had somewhere important to be. Fred, dressed in dark sunglasses and a face-shielding nose piece, looked like Batman between gigs. “You either DNF a hero,” he growled, “or ride long enough to become the villain.”

That was at kilometer 150, well behind the main pack. We’d started Heaven and Hill at 5 a.m. with eighteen riders, a parade for a 600 km brevet in Ontario. For the first 90 km, the peloton moved like a single organism, sharing wind and silence. It was my second-fastest 90 ever.

Then Tim flatted.

In the grand and occasionally absurd history of long-distance cycling, ride your own ride is the unofficial Rule #1. Don’t chase the guy with titanium calves. Don’t let peer pressure talk your knees into suicide. Eat when you’re hungry, not when your bike computer says so. This isn’t the Tour de France; no one is timing your pee breaks.

To ride your own ride is to accept that you, alone, are captain, crew, and occasionally mutinous passenger of this ill-advised voyage. Your pace, your snacks, your roadside 2 a.m. conversation with a cow – all sacred.

Ignore this rule and you’ll find yourself bonked in a ditch, hallucinating that your handlebar bag is offering life advice. Obey it, and you might finish the ride with your legs and your dignity intact.

It’s also a rule with limits. Just as you shouldn’t wreck yourself to match someone else’s pace, you can’t expect anyone to burn their reserves to drag you to the next control. This isn’t a rescue mission. Bring snacks.

But there’s an older, unspoken rule: don’t be a jerk. So we waited. Asked Tim if he needed anything. Passed tools. We eventually sent the peloton on and stayed with Tim and Brenda, both strong, competent, generous riders.

Two slow leaks and another flat later, Tim found a metal shard barely visible in the tire wall. We still weren’t concerned. We had forty hours. And each other.

That’s the odd beauty of randonneuring. It’s a fiercely individual pursuit built on a quiet ethic of mutual aid. You’re expected to be self-reliant, but you’re also expected to stop when someone’s on the roadside. No one asks. No one refuses.

Back to Heaven and Hill: we rejoined the group, drank cold brew, traded stories, then split again into the headwinds. That night the hotel smelled like someone had tried to dry hockey gear in a toaster oven. Respect is what happens when grown adults agree not to comment.

The next day, Fred and I rode together. He was struggling with the heat. I played leapfrog with him for most of the day. I stopped in the shade, watched wheat rippling in the wind, waited. I rescued a turtle that had lain down halfway across the road. I tried pep talks, jokes, silence. Eventually, he waved me on.

That moment has stayed with me.

There’s a story told in leadership workshops: The Parable of the Sadhu. Climbers in the Himalayas come across a nearly-dead holy man. They all help a little, but no one helps enough. Each assumes someone else will do the rest. They summit; the Sadhu probably doesn’t survive. Years later, one climber can’t shake the feeling they’d failed.

On the road, the dilemma is smaller but similar. How much do we owe the people we ride with? When do you stay? When do you go? What if they wave you on?

Fred wasn’t in danger. He had water, food, a plan. He was riding through his own struggle. Still, leaving him was hard.

By then, enough time had passed that I wasn’t sure I’d make it. I pushed into headwinds that felt punitive, heat that turned the road into a convection oven. Hills arrived late, vengeful and steep. I made the cutoff with an hour to spare.

Fred rolled in just before the cutoff, quiet and composed, riding his own pace with the persistent grace of someone who knows exactly what he’s doing.

“Ride your own ride” sounds noble, but it’s not the whole truth. The truth is we ride with others because we know, eventually, we’ll need them to pull us through the wind, to sit beside us on a curb, to wave us on, even when they don’t want to.

What we owe each other isn’t to carry one another to the end. It’s to show up, briefly but meaningfully. To wait a little longer than necessary. And sometimes, to pretend you didn’t smell anything in the hotel room.

Got a story to share?
We’d love to feature your ride reports, trip photos, and randonneuring tales on the Randonneurs Ontario blog. Send your text and photos to marc.deshaies@randonneursontario.ca and help inspire the community with your adventures!

Beaver Valley 400 – July 5^th, 2025 – By Michael Charland

Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36938989 
Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/15020471742 

Background 

I first did this ride during devil week in 2022. About 10 of us started the ride. I road it on my Cervelo and it went really well. Funny I lost my Brevet card mid ride so I took pictures at the controls and Charles found my card on the Epping road climb. I finished in an elapsed time of 19:35. This became my longest ride in distance and time. I didn’t end up doing in 2023 because a had just completed a trail running race. In 2024 I road it again on my Cervelo with 2 other people. This was a completely different experience. I really struggled in the first half and took a bunch of side of the road breaks. My ass hurt so much. I knew I should be riding the Mariposa for a more comfortable ride. We got to Owen Sound and it started to rain and it didn’t stop for many hours. I got cold. I only had my light rain jacket. It wasn’t supposed to rain. I remember phoning my wife from a McDonalds in Hanover and she suggested I get tea. I did, it helped. But the ride out of town I was shivering as the rain was coming down more. I started pushing really hard to warmup and it worked and thankfully the rain died down. I eventually finished in 21:57. 

Before the Start 

2025 was looking great. I am prepping for London-Edinburgh-London and Beaver Valley is hilly, a favourite, and I was looking forward to it. 5 people had signed up for the ride. The weather was looking hot but nothing crazy. And a good friend Marc was riding it too and he slept over the night before. He drove us to the start saving me from riding 23km. Right before the ride it was brighter then I expected and went to grab my sunglasses and realized I grabbed my night time glasses making everything brighter. Thankfully, it wasn’t that bright yet and I knew there was gas station in Arthur that would hopefully have sunglasses, it did 😀 

 
Start 

With a usual calm and smooth roll out we left just after 6AM. We snaked our way through Waterloo. The boys on the road bikes pushing a little more watts then I liked on the hills, so gaps started to form early. The Mariposa doesn’t fly up hills. Eventually I was off the back, but I was pushing between 180 to 200 watts which was the goal for the day. It was such a beautiful morning, already warm, but everything was so lush and green and the roads were super quiet. I always love riding the stretch up Middlebrook remembering the days of riding with Waterloo Cycling Club. They ‘race’ down it on Thursdays. 

First Stop – Arthur 

I bought sunglasses, slathered on some sunscreen as it was warming up and was back on the bike. By luck as I left town Chris had made a wrong turn and I was able to help him get back on track. We road most of the way to Grand Valley together. Like last year we had a nice tailwind pushing us all the way. 

Second Stop – Grand Valley 

I didn’t want to get dehydrated as we were only 80km into the ride so I finished one my bottles and bought a bottle of Gatorade, more sunscreen, and I was off. I was trying too keep my stops short and focus on being efficient.  At nearly the 100km my bike started feeling really spongy and I was bouncing up and down. I thought it was the road, but it got worse and I knew I had a flat tire. Flat change went well. I wish I was in a shadier spot, but that would’ve meant walking the bike for a while as it was farm fields all around. 

First Control – Dundalk 

As I pulled in Chris was there and mentioned he was going to the park to rest. I bought 3 bottles of Gatorade and Oreo cookies. I needed the calories and there wasn’t anything else I could find in the store with calorie density and ease of transport. Clif bars would’ve been a better option, but the store didn’t haven any. I didn’t back any Clif bars on bike, that was a mistake. I hung out at the control eating cookies and drinking the bottle Gatorade. It was getting hotter so more sunscreen, added more air to my back tire, and I was off. 

I was excited to ride along Eugenia Lake. I remember riding this during the Centurion in the early 2010’s. Also the descent down to Kimerbley is a lot of fun. It’s a well paved road, wide turns, light traffic, and a nice roll through Kimberley at the end. Also you see the big climb of the day on the side of the valley. But I also had a high speed wobble on Cervelo S1 on a training ride in 2010, and unfortunately this happened again on the Mariposa. I was getting up to around 65km/h and the front handle bar started going back and forth. Not as bad as the Cervelo, but not good. I lightly tapped the brakes to keep the speed under 60 and thankfully it got better. After the descent you ride a bit of flat then you start the climb of the day. This climb is 6.15km long with 200m of climbing and is a category 3 climb. What made this extra fun was it was getting really hot and there isn’t any tree coverage on the climb. I had dreams that I would be able to push good watts and get in a good zone and push all the way to the top. Yup, that lasted for the first 500m, then I grinded it out. Just trying to stay consistent, the climb isn’t hard, it’s just long. It flattens out a couple of spots and it never gets too steep. After that I knew there was a small general store which I had planned to stop at. 

Rocklyn General Store 

I was getting roasted, it was getting really hot. The A/C in the store felt so nice. I bought a couple of Gatorade and a small Redbull. I sat outside in the shade sweating. It was still cooler then in the sun, but very hot. I drank one of the Gatorades and got another and was back on the road after waiting for some clouds to move in. The temperature dropped by at least 5 degrees when that happened. I knew from doing this before this next section was one of the hardest, headwind, and the biggest rollers of the days. What made it extra challenging this year was the sun broke out of the clouds and it was absolutely roasting. I took numerous breaks in the shade, hoping for more shade, but that would only last less then a minute. I could feel my ears and arms burning even though I had put on sunscreen numerous times. 

Second Control – Owen Sound 

Eventually I made it to Owen Sound and stopped at the Metro. Well past half at 218km. Excited to start heading south. But also the lowest elevation of the ride. So more climbing to come. I bought a couple more Gatorade and some raspberries to snack on. I knew the next store was 65km away so I knew I should have lots of liquids on the bike. But I didn’t buy extra to store on the bike. It was super hot. I really should’ve gone to a McDonalds or Tim Hortons and hung out inside for 30 minutes to cool down. The Metro is beside the river and there are some nice shady, quiet spots under the trees. I took my time here and eventually got going again. I felt OK, but still way too hot. The first kicker called Moores Hill I felt great and pushed way too hard, but I was frustrated with how the day was going and was hoping this would somehow make me feel better. It did! For a couple of minutes. Then I was dead tired. I was barely out of Owen Sound. I tried eating some dates and just spit them out. I definitely was having problems consuming calories. I tried the chocolate covered espresso beans. They had turned to mush. So I squeezed a bunch of that out hoping the caffeine boost would help, nope. I didn’t have any other sources of calories other then the bottles which I didn’t wan’t too drink too much too soon. So I slowly pedalled along. I got to Ingles falls and walked the climb, not having the energy to climb. I heard the water falling and saw a couple of park entrances I should’ve gone in and found some water to cool off in. So I kept slowly plodding along crawling up every climb and trying to coast as long as I could on the descents, but I just kept going slower and slower and feeling worse and worse. 

Quitting Time 

So after an hour I made the call to phone my Wife and ask for a ride home. I didn’t want this ride to talk 27 hours (max time). I had a family commitment on Sunday at lunch which was weighing on me. So she agreed to drive to the closest town of Hanover and phone me again to see how much closer I would be. I see still had 35km to go so more then likely she would get there before I did. Which she did and phoned me and the call dropped as there wasn’t any cell phone service. Thankfully it was only another couple of hundred meters before it connected again. I was able to use Google Maps to send my location to my wife and I promised here I would just keep biking on that same road going south while she drove north. After another 20 minutes she found me, I loaded the bike, we drove back to Hanover to grab some drinks and snacks and drove home. 

Lessons Learned 

• If you have multiple pairs of sunglasses in sunglass bags you will grab the wrong one. 

• If it’s hot I can’t digest medjool dates which normally I eat a ton during a long ride I need to find another calorie source. Clif bars I’ve also had problems digesting, but I think that’s more pallet fatigue. Maybe a powder? Gels? 

• The chocolate covered expresso beans melt in the heat. First time that has happened. 

• This ride was gas stations and grocery stores which is great for speed, but you don’t get the opportunity to sit and cool off in the A/C. 

• Take advantage of opportunities to go for a swim along the ride. It wasn’t supposed to be this hot, so I would’ve known too look this up before hand. After my wife picked me up there a couple of river crossing with beaches. 

• The weather data from Epic Ride Weather is optimistic about the temperature high and humidex for the day. It predicted the max temperature with humidex was going to be 28 feels like 31, but Weather Network maxed at 31 feels like 38. Also it can say 80% cloud coverage and still sunny 90% of the time. I think I was reading this field wrong. 

Got a story to share?
We’d love to feature your ride reports, trip photos, and randonneuring tales on the Randonneurs Ontario blog. Send your text and photos to marc.deshaies@randonneursontario.ca and help inspire the community with your adventures!

By the time we reached the final ten kilometers, we were, to put it delicately, no longer in peak condition. It was 10 p.m. We’d been riding since six in the morning. Most of us had been up since four. I was sunburned, bruised, mildly concussed by heat, and radiating the unmistakable smell of someone who had eaten too many granola bars in a single day. And still, it felt good.

Michel arrives at the final control in Waterloo.

There’s a part of the route every ride in Waterloo seems to share, a stretch of road that tells you you’re almost home. For me, that’s the intersection of Katherine Street South, where Crowsfoot Road turns into Conestogo. I got a second wind there, which is saying something, because the first one had died quietly somewhere outside Hamilton about ten hours earlier. But there I was, flying down familiar tarmac. When I reached the finish, I stopped so suddenly that my Garmin triggered a crash detection alert out of sheer confusion.

Rolling hills down the escarpment

The day had started with smoke in the sky – Canadian prairie wildfires, hundreds of kilometres away, politely ruining the air quality – and a blissfully fast 120 km of tailwind and descent. Marc, Mike, Jim, Mark, and I rode loosely together throughout the day. We’d separate and reform like the rolling hills. Sometimes we talked, sometimes we didn’t. No one needed a reason.

I rode alone for most of that first stretch, happily introspective, the way you sometimes get early in a season when the legs haven’t quite remembered who they are, and the brain hasn’t yet remembered why we do this.

Michel arrives at the first control.

Then we turned northeast. Into the wind. And up. The temperature went up with us. There were trees, thankfully, and we stopped under several of them. At one point, Michael and I sat on a stone at the side of the road – two stone garden gnomes left out too long: flaking paint, haunted expressions, and the vague scent of overripe bananas – and swapped riding plans for the season. Later, Marc joined us for snacks in a patch of shade behind the Foodland in Rockwood, which sounds less picturesque than it was and felt more nourishing than it should have.

Mike enjoys a well earned snack and break in Rockwood

I fell, briefly. Gravel at an intersection near Hamilton. Too much speed, a small lapse in judgment. Road rash and a few bruises. Nothing serious. And before you worry too much – the bike’s okay. What surprised me most was how kind the drivers were. No honking, no anger. Just people waiting, calling out to make sure I was all right. You don’t always get that in Southern Ontario traffic. It was oddly touching.

We took turns being strong as we climbed through the afternoon. We stopped for dinner at a place called the Tipsy Fox, which sounds like a pub in a BBC drama but served food hot enough to make us reconsider riding at all afterward.

Michel and Michael find some shade at by the Tipsy Fox

Jim Mullenix enjoys a pasta dinner at the Tipsy Fox.

But ride we did. The sun was setting as we left the pub, and while we still had hills to climb, they felt more manageable – if not exactly welcome, at least no longer personal. We passed through a town called Hillsburgh, which felt a bit on the nose. As Marc helpfully pointed out, burgh can mean “hill” in German.

Somewhere between dinner and the finish, the road got familiar again. We were back in Fergus, territory we’d ridden through a dozen times, maybe more. The turns started feeling inevitable instead of infinite. We stopped counting hills and started recognizing landmarks. And then I saw Crowsfoot Road and knew we were home.

The next morning, I was sore, sunburned, and very aware of the gravel still lodged in my shin. I had a tan line that suggested I’d been dipped halfway into red paint and left to dry. But mostly, I felt content.

Randonneuring has this odd way of asking everything from you, and then, almost sheepishly, giving something back. Not a prize. Not a medal. Just a vague but persistent sense that you’re a little more human than you were yesterday. A little more tired. A little more grateful.

And besides, it was only the beginning. We’ve got Devil’s Week coming. London–Edinburgh–London for some. The Granite Anvil for others. Which is to say: we’ll do it again. Longer. Hotter. Hillier. Possibly with fewer dumpsters.

Right to left: Marc Deshaies, Jim Mullenix, and Michel Hébert

Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/14401335647 

RideWithGPS: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/50530187 

What? 

Endless Flat 1200 hosted by the Northern Virginia Randonneurs (NVR) is a grand brevet starting and ending in Richmond, Virginia and looping to and from Elizabeth City, North Carolina. As the name implies the route is very flat, but with the first roughly 600km going south it means a lot of headwinds. 2025 was the first year of the event. 

Why? 

I got lucky and was able to get a position in London-Edinburgh-London (LEL) which is 1,540km with 13,000m climbing. My longest ride before this was 656km. Learning from running where I tried to jump the distance by too much and ended up not finishing, I knew the jump would be too big for me. So I went searching for an early season grand brevet. Golden Falcon looked interesting, but the timing didn’t work. The timing for Endless Flat did work and John was also riding it so we could car pool and share a room. 

Day 1 

“I bonked after that and got really discouraged… I rode most of the day alone.”

The ride started in Richmond, Virginia at 6am on May 3^rd, 2025. We all rolled out as a group of 42 riders. We rode down to the Virginia Capital Trail which is a long beautiful paved trail and were on it for about 70km. It went up and down and there some twists and turns.

I ended up with a good group of about 12 riders. We then got to a water crossing and had to wait for the ferry. After the crossing there was a stop at a convenience store and the group I was riding with left before I was ready to go. This was completely my fault for not being ready to go. Most of the day was going to be headwinds so this was disappointing. I bonked after that and got really discouraged. It was already hotter then any day so far this year back home. I did zero heat acclimation training. I stopped in the shade and put sunscreen on. I rode most of the day alone and eventually John caught up and I rode with him for a lot at the end. We finished at the second hotel in Elizabeth City, North Carolina at 4am completing 412km. 

Day 2 

“I wanted to quit so many times but I didn’t.”

Today was a lollypop that was super flat, but we would be ploughing into the headwind for the first 100 miles. We slept in and left at 10 AM. This was only possible because of the new rule that there is no longer intermediate control point time cutoffs. The RBA had mentioned that it is a fools error to cut sleep short on the first night. This was another very hot sunny day. I stopped many times in the shade contemplating why the hell am I doing this? I wanted to quit so many times but I didn’t. I arrived at the hotel with John covering 328 km at 4am. 

Day 3 

“I was intimidated by riding the Capital Trail in the dark and the rain… this section was 70km long and felt endless.”

The day promised to be the easiest because the wind would be from the south and we would be heading primarily north back to Richmond. Once again because we arrived so late we didn’t leave the hotel until 10 AM. I know I could leave whenever I wanted. I didn’t have to leave with John, but I was banking on his experience and knowledge to help me be successful at completing this grand brevet. The start of the day had us going south into the headwind one more time. It was funny because we passed by the airport and near there was a sign that said crosswinds.

We rolled together for about the first 50 km the wind was helpful once we started going north, but not as helpful as I thought it was going to be. After having a tub of oat ice cream and a Gatorade for lunch in Suffolk the wind was absolutely howling and lucky me it was at my back, the food and the wind really helped me push to get back to the ferry. I was hoping to finish the day before midnight. By luck the fairy had just arrived when I got to the port. It started raining on the ferry ride and it got dark.

I was intimidated by riding the Capital Trail in the dark and the rain. It wasn’t overly technical, but there were some ups and downs, where you could pick up a lot of speed and I was worried there would be a sharp corner that I forgot about and I would have an accident. My lighting on my bike is fantastic (hub powered Schmidt Edelux II) but not great for seeing long distances as the lights are pointed to the ground. Thankfully, the rain only lasted for a bit, but this section was 70km long and felt endless. I stopped many times because I was so tired.  Thankfully, eventually it ended, and I got to the hotel at 12:30am riding 273km. 

Day 4 

“When I got on the last road, I knew I was done and I started crying.”

This day was different then the rest. It promised to be hilly. But it was the last day and “only” 200 km. John and I had talked and we were going to get up at 8am but I woke up at 6:30 and could not get back to sleep so I started getting my my stuff ready. John also woke up and decided he would start soon too. I rolled out around 8am with the goal to the first control at 50 km without stopping. But I quickly stopped at 25 km because I was overheating. Unfortunately, immediately after that, I was cold. So I put my rain jacket on as it’s easy to take off. I wore the rain jacket for about 10 minutes, but it was worth it. This next section I struggled really badly. I started to fall asleep. I started to go really slowly. I wanted to walk the hills. So learning from experience, I ate a bunch of chocolate espresso beans and waited for them to kick in, thankfully they did and I was able to resume, but the hill’s were a plenty so progress was slow. Eventually, I made it to the next stop at 98 km which was in West Point, Virginia and biked by the massive sawmill, which stinks. I stopped at the 7-Eleven and came up with the great idea to chug a Red Bull to help keep my energy up, and by luck it worked. The next control was super close at 111 km at a church. I stopped there and really enjoyed it. It was super quiet sunny and a beautiful day to relax. I chugged another Red Bull and was on my way.

There was a bunch of rolly hills here, so progress was slow again. Thankfully, I kept micro focusing on just the next turn which was never more than 9km away. At the next control, there was a couple randonneeurs who had bought a bag of ice and offered to share with me. It was really hot again, and I could feel my stomach turning and my speed slowing. I put ice in my shorts, under my arm sleeves, in my helmet, in my shirt, anywhere where I could get it lodged also in my gloves this felt amazing and I didn’t care anymore because I only had 56 km to go.

I started sprinting hills as hard as I could go. Eventually, I got to the last control at 170km. I knew I was going to finish. I didn’t want to promise myself this as I know anything can happen, but with so little kilometers left, it felt inevitable. But you never know so I still didn’t know. The last stretch is through town and you are on a highway with a nice shoulder, but there are lights. These lights take a long time to change. So trying to exhaust myself I sprinted as hard as I could go after every light after it turned green. I think I sprinted about five times. When I got on the last road, I knew I was done and I started crying. When I got inside the hotel, the party had just started and I got introduced as this was my first time finishing a 1200, everybody cheered, then I went upstairs to have a shower and came downstairs to ate lots of pizza. 

Completing this has greatly increased my confidence in riding long distances multiple days in a row. I am now feeling much more confident for LEL. 

Lessons learned? 

– Double check sunscreen container amount. The big bottle I brought to fill the little bottle was nearly empty. 

– I need to be able to stay comfortably on the bike for longer durations. 

– There were a lot of very experienced people on the ride. I tried to listen to their advice as everyone knew this was my first grand brevet. 

– Most street signs are meant for car height, not bike light height, so at night I could not see what the sign was saying. I should invest in a helmet light. This could also act as a backup light. 

– Organization is key. My frame bag holds food, sunscreen, and chamois butter. While I am riding, I like to eat, organizing the food to make it easy to get makes life a heck of a lot easier. I did this by having little candy bags of each item I like to snack on and having them aligned to where I could easily get them when I open the bag. 

– It’s OK to lie to yourself. This isn’t a negative thing. I’m not doing this to hurt myself. I’m doing this to let myself vent and then move on. I promised I would quit and I would stop so many times and I would keep going or I would stop and then five minutes later I would keep going and maybe stop again and keep going. 

– Gotoes will successfully join tcx files from multiple long rides, fit file tools will not. I might just buy a more expensive Garmin so I don’t have to join files. 

– Bike fit the aero position. My shoulders killed me when holding this too long. 

– Apply chamois cream often. 🫣 

– It might be painful now, but it will pass. My shoulders would complain loudly then stop. 

– Know the signs of a bonk. Such as I just want to spin easy for a bit or stop or do I have to pee. Sometimes you think you are bonking, but the road conditions are making it hard. Is it a false flat, bumpy road? 

– Have a route recording backup plan. Some people use multiple Garmins. Spotwalla works too. 

Contact Points 

– The palm of my hands got quite sore, I’m going to put an under layer below the bar tape of something squishy to see if that is more comfortable. 

– My shoulders were absolutely killing me at points during the ride, I’m hoping the thicker bars make it better. 

– I had hot feet, my right was worse then my left, I am wonder if the wedges in my shoes are making the situation worse. 

– At the bottom of my glutes and top my hamstrings got really sore. I need to adjust my position. Need to research what to do. 

Random Notes 

-West Point smells so bad and has a massive (150 foot high) pile of saw dust. 

-The drivers in NC, 99% of the time would patiently wait behind you until it was safe to pass and go to the other side of the road. 

-There is a road and church named `Holly Fork` which is fun to say Wholey Fork! And another road named `Cool hill` (very disappointing). 

-`Pocahontas trail` is not a trail, it’s a 4 lane highway. 

-For the first time ever I had my chain get stuck between the big and small chainring. 

-Firsts: 745km in 2 days, 1018km in 3 days, 1218 in 4 days, 4 by 200km. 

At 3 a.m., somewhere between the south edge of Lake Huron and Goderich, the sky began to split open.

We were five riders deep into a Flèche, tracing a line across Southern Ontario, 420 kilometers in 24 hours. The roads were hushed, as if the world had stepped away and left the lights burning. The sky held its breath. Rain was forecast, but the storms passed just wide of us, as though we were being spared, or simply overlooked.

What I remember most from that hour is the lightning. Not the crack of it, but the light. It bloomed on all sides, lighting up the wind turbines, the dark water, and the reflective stripe on the back of Jim’s rain jacket. There was no thunder, just light, and the soft whisper of tires on damp pavement.

We talk about design like it’s something done in well-lit rooms, with wireframes and foresight. But this ride reminded me how often we build things, routes and systems and relationships, without knowing what lies ahead. Designing in the dark is not a metaphor. It’s what we do every time we set out with only partial knowledge, hoping the road we’ve planned will carry us through.

Our Flèche route had been built weeks in advance, carefully calibrated for terrain, distance, and timing. But you never really know until you’re in it. Until your left knee starts to ache, or you fall asleep at a control like your body has flipped a switch. Until you start brainstorming the worst app imaginable, and somehow you’re all laughing and talking about ethics and design as if it were a game.

It was a team ride. That’s what made it work. Marc brought us together and kept us moving with a steady supply of Monster Energy and relentless optimism. Michael, a human dynamo, talked faster the farther we rode. Edward was steady, the kind of rider who makes everything feel manageable. Jim was gentle, positive, thoughtful. Never in a hurry. Never off rhythm. Natalie met us at remote controls with water, a sense of humour just dry enough to keep us honest, and a quiet urgency that made sure we left every control on time. I had tested new shoes, which you’re not supposed to do on a ride like this. My knee let me know. But no one judged. We adjusted. A solid tailwind pushed us ahead of schedule, and we held that rhythm all the way through.

There’s something profound about designing as a group, in motion, in conditions that change by the minute. The route was fixed, but the way we rode it wasn’t. No one owned the pace. We made it together, one decision at a time.

We arrived at the Crazy Canuck in St. Jacobs just before 6 p.m. the next day. Other teams trickled in, soaked and sleep-deprived, and we greeted each other over burgers and pizza. They had all designed and ridden their own routes, and they had their own stories to tell.

Buds on Bikes and Beauty and the Beasts pose for a photo when they both sought shelter from a raging storm at Tim Hortons in Blyth, a control point both of their routes shared. Front row from left to right: Michel Hébert (asleep), Jim Mullenix, Philip DeVries, Marc Deshaies (with a brownie in his mouth). Back row: Edward Soldo, Paul Ragogna, Alden Ozburn, Michael Charland, Fred Chagnon, Rob Reinecker.

One Awesome 300km Brevet was held this past weekend. The Nassagaweya 300, created by Charles Horslin was ENJOYED and COMPLETED BY ALL 12 RANDONNEURS! This is the first time this ride was scheduled and I can’t wait to do it again! Congratulations to John Cumming, myself (Carey Chappelle), Marc Deshaies, Jerzy Dziadon, Richard Felton, Mike Fox, Mark Hopper, Charles Horslin, Matthew McFarlane, Sergi Tsymbal, Brenda Wiechers Maxwell and Nick Wolfe for successfully completing this challenging 300km Brevet!
Now, the Huron Chapter generally likes to add some ENTERTAINMENT during a ride and typically would complete a 18 Hole Mini-Putt Championship on a 300 … however,  that would have created a few DNF’s on this brevet … Scenery, 2300 meters of climbing and nasty weather created quite a challenge!

The first Control was in St.George where we saw a few Randonneurs stopped at the ESSO, our group stopped at a little Bakery and enjoyed some treats. Mike Fox met us at the Bakery before we all headed towards Hamilton. What a Gorgeous Ride that was, getting us back to the top of the Escarpment. Weather at this stage, PERFECT! The majority of us stopped at a POPULAR Cafe … the Copper Kettle in Waterdown for lunch and noticed  another 20 or so Cyclists on the patio.  One of them needed a tool and Dick was able to help them out!
Looking ahead, the weather forecast showed Heavy Storms headed our way with Rain Showers, Thunder and Lightning. Clouds could be seen and we all knew what was coming!

So the last 150km was the opposite of the first 150km, the groups had basically split up, finishing at different times. Mike and myself stayed together and had quite the adventure to the Finish! The last Control was in Hillburgh. The only place open was FOODLAND. Now Mike and I had hoped we would have dinner along with a Pint or two to get us home! We found a bike rack beside a General Store and parked ourselves. A Gentlemen approached us, found out what we were up to and let us know his Restaurant – Tina’s Homemade Cookin! was closed but he might be able to convince his wife Tina to make us a dinner! Sure enough Tina came out and took our order, moved us to their Patio!

While waiting, Tina came out and asked if we would like some protein added to our burger …

To this day, both Mike and myself agree that this was the BEST BURGER we have ever had! Now, having started dinner around 5pm and finishing around 6pm, we headed back out. Who shows up .. Dick Felton! So we decide to finish together and take turns leading into the STRONG HEAD WIND, HEAVY RAIN and eventually THUNDER AND LIGHTNING. At this point every man for himself! With 8km to go, my front light started flashing ON / Off, Mike’s Rear Light simply turned OFF, so Mike led the way to the Finish with us arriving just after 10pm. Dick a few minutes later. If there is one picture I wish I had taken it would have been Dick entering our room at the Hotel, PRICELESS! Soak and Wet, Shivering and one big SMILE ON HIS FACE!
The next morning, Mr. Felton treated Charles, Gwen, Matt, Marc, John and myself  to breakfast at a local Sunset Grill. Boy … did that HIT the SPOT! Thanks for the photo Gwen!

By Carey Chappelle

The Huron Chapter hosted the Beaver Valley 400km Brevet this past Wednesday. Scenery – Drop Dead Gorgeous! The Route – CHALLENGING! The Weather – NASTY!Congratulations to John Cumming (1), Charles Horslin, John Kieffer (2), Matthew McFarlane and Tiago Varella-Cid on successfully completing this 400!!Chappy, Charles, Matthew, John 1 and John 2. Photo taken by Tiago at the Start!

The original Start time was 0400hrs., the Randonneurs showed up at 0330 and enjoyed the Rain, Thunder and LIghtening for the next hour and a half. No one even considered heading out until 0500hrs when things started to look better! You can see me (Chappy far left) checking out the weather forecast for the day … I simply wished everyone WELL and headed back to bed!After 4 hrs of sleep, I double checked the weather forecast for the day. It hadn’t changed. Temperature to feel like 39 deg C, Occasional Strong winds from the SW at 100km/hr, along with Thunder and Lightning to happen in the evening and into the night! It wasn’t hard convincing myself I had made the right decision to provide SUPPORT!Heading NE, the participants enjoyed a decent tail wind until Matthew Mcfarlane experienced a flat tire! Quick fix and everyone was back on the road heading  towards the first Control – Dundalk (114km). When Chappy arrived, the only Randonneur he could find was pedalliing in circles … John Kieffer (a new Randonneur) had refuelled and was having trouble getting back on route! Chappy was able to get him in the right direction!
Now heading out of Dundalk, roads were closed but cyclists were able to stay on track. I had to detour but eventually was back on route. Another road closure left me wondering where everyone was. Headed through Flesherton, down into the Beaver Valley then up towards the next turn, then decided to message one of the Randonneurs to see where everyone was. Heading back to Flesherton, Tiago Varellla-Cid was in the middle of the climb and low and behold … the new Randonneur … John Kieffer wasn’t far behind!

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The stretch from Kimberley to Owen Sound took a fair amount of fuel from everyone’s tank! I Stopped and filled some water bottles along the way … much needed of course! Touching base with the Randonneurs, I was able to make reservations  at the Casero Kitchen Table and order just ahead of their arrival. Tiago and John (2) arrived earlier, when I was having lunch at the Mudtown Station in Owen Sound and gassed up at another restaurant. I ordered meals ahead then waited in the Tented area for everyone. HOT? I had a difficult time not sweating under the tented area in the SHADE! Checked my GPS and the temperature was 41 deg C!! With over 20 yrs experience Randonneuring I knew the effect these conditions can and will have on every participant. I hung around waiting for the last rider to refuel and saved their leftovers for later in the ride. Leaving Owen Sound the ride basically headed SW. Into the Wind. Dark Clouds were moving in our direction, keeping fingers crossed I hoped the weather forecast wouldn’t happen!Unfortunately, another Bridge Closure happened on route to Durham, a few were able to make their way across while others simply took the paved roads detour. 

I decided to wait in Durham for all the riders to make it through the second last Control. Time difference from first to last was approximately 3 1/2hrs. Fortunately the weather was cooling down and the 100km / hr winds hadn’t happened!  Chatted with everyone, filled up their water bottles, passed a bag of Nuts on to Charles and wished them well to the Finish!

On my way to the Finish, I passed everyone noticing how much better they looked thanks to the cooler temperature, wished them well and headed back to the Best Western Plus,  Waterloo. Thought I’d pick up some Pizza but was unable to find a place open. Showered then waited to see our Finishers. Congrats Boys! Well Done!! I wouldn’t suggest riding in these conditions often!  Huron Chapter V.P.,Chappy

Ride report from Stephen Jones:

My Winter Training, by Stephen Jones

This past winter, I got into indoor training in a much bigger way than I have in the past. In previous winters, I generally accepted that I would lose conditioning. I stayed in some shape with commuting, and I would do occasional unstructured rides on the trainer.

That changed this winter. I had two goals: The first was to lose some weight. The second was to improve my power. I stumbled across a website called TrainerRoad (www.trainerroad.com). They have a pretty neat offering of workouts, training plans, and an application to help structure your workouts. But, you need some equipment:

• A bike.
• A stationary trainer to put the bike on. One that TrainerRoad has in its database.
• A computer with an ANT+ receiver. (A little USB dongle from Garmin or another vendor)
• An ANT+ speed sensor. (Garmin again)

How it works is you run the TrainerRoad application on the computer and pick a workout. Once the workout is loaded, get on the bike and start pedaling. TrainerRoad uses the speed it gets from the speed sensor and combines it with the power profile of your trainer to give you a power reading. Now, all you have to do is adjust your speed so your power matches the target power. You can now do power-based interval workouts on your stationary trainer without the cost of a power meter.

One of the first workouts to do is one of the power test rides. This will test your limits to find your threshold power. TrainerRoad remembers this power and scales all your subsequent rides based on this. So, an interval in a workout may ask for 150 Watts from one rider and 210 Watts for another, depending on the results of their power tests. TrainerRoad stores your workout history and tracks personal bests, such as max power for a minute.

There are a few costs involved. TrainerRoad is a subscription-based service (about $10/month) and if you don’t already have the Garmin bits, it will be about another $70-80 to get those.

This system worked for me since it gave me structured workouts that were more interesting than simply peddling along on the trainer for an hour or so. I also like the elegance of calculating power based on speed. Having the history lets me see improvements over time, which helps with motivation. Being able to play videos on the computer while I’m working out helps alleviate the boredom as well.

I know others do everything from continuing their training rides outside, using battery-powered socks, to joining cycling gyms and training in a class. This system fits my personal goals and personality. Maybe others would be willing to share how they train over the winter.