Here are some links to posted photos from the Granite Anvil which was held August 22-25:

Guy Quesnel’s Photos

John Maccio’s Photos

Bob McLeod’s Photos

Bob Kassel’s Photos

Arthur Reinstein’s Photos

Dave Thompson’s Photos

Bob Koen’s Photos

Albert Koke’s Photos

If you have online photo albums from this ride that you would like to share, please email me at andrea@fergusonjones.ca

Ride report by David McCaw:

A Lazy Randonneur / long-distance cyclist (David McCaw) completes London-Edinburgh-London (LEL) -1400 km randonnée- LEL is a timed 20 stage event, but not a race. On July 25th – two Ottawa Randonneurs (Peter Grant and I) headed north from Loughton (Northeast London) with 1000 riders to Scotland. My goals were 1) to ride mostly during the day 2) finish before nightfall on August 1 and 3) do not get lost. The ride took 107 hours 50 min ( ~65 hours riding, ~ 22.5 hours sleeping , & ~20 hours of eating / stopping ) of the 116 hours 40 min allowed for 1419 km. I will call myself the lazy randonneur, since all I do is pedal, drink, eat and sleep. It was a great ride /route and I succeeded in meeting all my LEL goals.

I saw lots of sheep in Scotland on the hills and roads. The sheep were noisy (baa, baa ..); perhaps they didn’t like my wool jersey. I had two of them, of which the Woolistic was the best with RANDONNEURS CANADA in front and CANADA in back) I loved riding in Scotland, since the roads were paved, quiet, nice climbs and descents. One of the best stops / controls was at Traquair – they offered cakes, porridge and whisky. The weather can change quickly, especially in the hills, we had some rain, but missed the major rainfall going into Edinburgh on Monday night in which the road was covered in ponds of water.

This was the best ride I ever had for sleep. We were always able to stay in the top third of the group and had a bed (air mattress, 2 x blankets, 2 ear plugs) waiting for us in the gym / room at the middle school. The 1st day we cycled ~ 400 km and arrived in Thirsk after midnight. I over slept to 05:18 and we had breakfast and rode another ~300 km to Edinburgh to arrive just before midnight. Then we got into a pattern of waking at 4 and leaving at 5 am. The next 3 days were day light riding with more sleep (arriving at ~ 20:26, 22h and 18h after riding ~230, 286, 200 km). It was a great time of the year to cycle, since it was light to almost 11 pm in Edinburgh and the sun was rising near 04h30.

Randonneur riding is slow, although it is a very cost effective way ($350 CDN with meals / beds included) to see the England /Scotland up close. It also gave me opportunity to speak with so many other people from 33 countries. I enjoyed riding behind the tandems; brits – VC167 – captained by Chris and French riders – Alain and Sylvie. We also rode with the Germans, Irish, Russians, Danes, Swedes, South Africans, Americans, Italians and others. I was very impressed with the fixed gear British riders doing 17% ascents / descents in Yorkshire area Probably one of our best stops was at the The Queens Head Littlebury Essex with 22 km to go before the 2nd last control. It was almost 34 C, my bike just experienced chainsuck (chain dropped between small chainring and chainstay, but I managed to pull it out), the Italian rider was yelling free beer (not, public house), Peter and I stopped and the two French tandem riders) were enjoying the pub. It was a great time to cool off and enjoy different Ales and chips.

In summary, thanks to LEL organization (http://londonedinburghlondon.com/) lead by Daniel Webb. I have completed 9 randonnées /brevet over 1200 km and this had to be one of the best experiences for me and I will certainly love to ride the course again in 2017. Additional thanks to goes to my spouse /nutritional coach – Michèle Owen, riding partner Peter Grant (organizing the accommodations / taxi, GPS/ file setup to keep us on route), John Zahab (Strength coach of http://www.continuumfitness.ca) to resolve upper body issues, Paula Burchat (http://balanceandmotion.ca ) for massages and advice to rest more before event, Tall Tree Cycles http://www.talltreecycles.ca/ to make changes to my Trek bike, Mary Patterson of http://bike2body.ca/ for bike fit, and to all the randonneurs I rode with, a special thanks to the kind volunteers and others that have encouraged my participation in these long distance cycling events.

My Next Long Ride – Randonneur Ontario Granite Anvil 1218 km randonnée from Aug. 22 to 25

Photos: https://www.facebook.com/david.mccaw.969/media_set?set=a.10201709423439295.1073741828.1291552134&type=3

Ride Report from Kathy Brouse:

“Bewdley Ho!” quote, unquote, DP. Aside from some roadwork repairs desperately required enroute, the BG 200 is a great ride! 5 of us finished this ride yesterday; day rider Peter who was so enthusiastic and strong to Bewdley lost some of his initial enthusiasm on the return journey; Rob Woodhouse who is back after a year hiatus from the club; Bob MacLeod who enjoyed the day despite some mechanical problems with the Arkel bike rack; David Pearson who rode his fixie up and down those ascents and descents, how does he do that?; and myself.

This ride is not called the Glutebuster for nothing. You roll and climb after Oshawa as you head out to and long Conlin Rd., you climb before and after Kendal and again before and after Bewdley and again along Conlin Rd taking you in to Oshawa, 1100 feet of climbing. Peter L told me today that this ride used to be the randonneur season opener, the gentle start so to speak. Ha ha.

The weather was crisp and clear like a fresh fall day and the wind was intense at times, especially the crosswinds. It was one of those rides when you get hit by a crosswind while descending quite rapidly, you wobble and think for an instant that you may lose control of the bike. Sitting on the pub patio in Bewdley in the bright sunshine overlooking the bay was pleasant until a chill set in from the wind whipping across the lake. Headwinds made the journey back seem longer than the journey to Bewdley despite the fact that it is a straight out and back route. And did I mention the road that badly needs resurfacing through the smaller villages? One of us commented that it’s like someone came out with a shovel and filled in the potholes making the road super bumpy. Which makes descents so thrilling as you weave your way between potholes and bumps. However, the fresh, green, quintessential Ontario farmland, lots of cows and horses, made me so glad I was out there on the Glutebuster.

From Liz Overduin:

One thousand cyclists from 33 countries, cycling 1400 kilometres from London to Edinburgh and back to London. We saw castles and cottages, crowded places and open spaces, roads with bicycle lanes and bicycle paths that are actually roads!

The Controls, set up at schools along the route, were well organized and the volunteers were always helpful and friendly. Even though they put signs everywhere so that we would know where to go, people would get it wrong. Like the man who came into the women’s washroom at Market Rasen control (km 246). I was so happy to see him but he did not recognize it was me and he just turned away embarrassed and mumbling his apologies at his mistake. It was Terry Payne from the Huron chapter and I wanted to know how his ride was going.

Terry and I ended up doing the rest of the ride together – it was awesome. The hills would lead to incredible views followed by thrilling descents. One thing that never ceased to amaze me were the miles and miles of stone fences, in the fields, around the cottages, and along the roadways – what an incredible amount of work that must have been! The villages were quaint and the small gardens were inspiring. Terry stopped to pet a couple of curious horses and an ancient woman came out of a little old cottage to chat with us – it was great, we almost wished we could stay for tea.

As for the weather – we had it all. There were times we were cold, times we got wet, and a lot of the time it was perfect. There was the last day, temperature of 34 degrees in the shade (of which there was no shade while cycling) and a good strong headwind. That’s when Terry and I became part of a chain which steadily grew longer as we would catch up with other exhausted riders who would join in on the back. Thanks to this chain we were able to get some better speeds and make headway into the wind. It was emotional for me when we all stopped for ice-cream and got the chance to talk with each other. It hits you that you share a bond with people from countries all over the world, all trying to make it to the finish, one kilometre at a time.

There were shots of whiskey at some of the controls – I tried that. Terry and I stopped at one restaurant for breakfast because we wanted to be with the local people, that was fun. Part of the breakfast included something called “blood pudding” – I tried that. Then Terry told me what it was and I had to spit it out! He thought it was all very funny but he was laughing alone!

The experience of cycling LEL is something I will never forget. It was wonderful to be a part of it. Terry and I stopped for a pint at a pub in a small village about 20 km from the finish and we both agreed that it had been an amazing adventure.

Congrats to everyone who was a part of this, past, present and those thinking of doing it in the future!

Ride report from David Thompson:

Summary — What an experience !

Boiling it down to memories that will stick, I’d say the rolling terrain, the food and the sheep vie for top spot. Sheep are everywhere — close up, in the far, far distance on the road alive and on the road as road kill. There have to be more sheep than people !

The good:

– the food
– the overall organization
– the weather
– the scenery
– the overall experience
– the riding company, mostly my friend Hamid

The bad:

– the rough roads at times
– the weather (note also in the good !)
– my consistency

The ugly:

– cannot think of anything

This was a tough ride, overall. I haven’t added up the total amount of climbing but it was significant and made more so by the fact that about 200 miles of the 875-or-so is flat. There were significant grades at times, steeper than many on the Shenandoah which has a lot of climbing.

The weather was exactly as expected, extremely variable with sun, rain, wind, cold, hot, mist.

It’s a ride well worth doing for Randonneurs. It’s incredibly well organized and supported and gives you a taste of the U.K. that you’ll only see at a bicycle pace.

My Plan

How does one tackle 1400 km ? Well, if there’s a sleeping Control at 350 km, logic would have one think of 4×350 km days. 350 km is a reasonable ride for a day (for a randonneur !) and seems eminently do-able, even four days in a row.

In fact, the time limit on this 1400+ km ride is 116+ hours. Four days adds up to 96 hours, so that certainly leaves plenty of room for “slippage” if some of those days are longer than 24 hours …. In this context, don’t think of a calendar day, think of starting and ending 350 km, sleeping and then starting another 350 km day.

Besides, on a day ride, vs. a long brevet that starts in the evening, I don’t like the 400 km distance. There’s something about it — too long — that makes me very anxious to get off the bike, mentally as well as physically tired.

The ride has 10 Controls outbound, including the start at Loughton and turnaround at Edinburgh and 12 Controls inbound. Most Controls have some sleeping arrangements; many have showers. One of the outbound, at 620 km, is not represented inbound and three of the inbound are not outbound.

The large number of Controls means that if you are getting sleepy, you have an opportunity to take a break. All of the Controls are inside — that’s an important consideration. All have food and most have a huge variety of snack as well as comfort food.

The Food

Oh yes, the food. I ate more comfort food over a four day period than I’ve probably eaten cumulatively in the last few years ! Shepherd’s pie and pasta in incredible variety with multiple choices at each Control means that even if you’re not particularly hungry, there’s likely something that appeals to you. In fact, I ate too much. All that comfort food slows you down as your stomach diverts blood to handle it all ! I’m more used to a more liquid diet with some solids thrown in — V8, Gatorade, chocolate milk etc. etc. They don’t last as long but they’re quicker burning.

The Chronology

Back to my ride chronology and how it played out against my 4x350k plan …

There was a staggered start of about 50 riders at a time, starting at 6 a.m. There were also some riders who started at 5:30 — those were by invitation, like Ken Bonner, who had done the ride before and posted good finish times. That 5:30 group had rider numbers starting with “A”; I was B15 – second wave, rider 15.

As usual on these things, I set my own pace. I don’t particularly like drafting, unless it’s riding with one or two companions and never close drafting. For me, that’s hard on the knees, takes too much concentration and isn’t, quite frankly, fun. I have no desire to stare at someone else’s butt for 4-5 days, nor do I want to maintain the kind of disciplined pace that is required at the front or even in a small group.

So … 30 km into the ride, I was alone, the A and B riders all ahead of me, as far as I could tell. A small group of C riders (6:15 start time) passed me. A fast-moving D group of four, without so much as a seat wedgie, flew by. Further down the road, not at a Control, that group of four was taking sustenance from a support van — tch tch !

Getting close to the first on-the-road Control, Peter Grant and Dave McCaw went by and I decided that for the next few kilometres I’d latch on. That was short-lived, however, as I only spent a few minutes at the Control and was leaving as they headed inside. For a good chunk of the day we’d see each other at the Controls, me leaving as they arrived I rode alone, enjoying the sunny warm day and great English countryside.

The first 99 km to that Control, St. Ives, was rolling. The next two stages of 81 km to Kirkton and 68 km to Market Rasen were almost flat. The riding was easy. There was a tailwind.or a cross-tail, which made for easy rolling. The roads were in good shape, my 28’s absorbing any unevenness.

Another 84 km would get me to Pocklington, 350 km on the day. My original plan was to sleep there (remember that 4×350 plan) but my friend Hamid had convinced me to strike for Thirsk, at 397 km. I had therefore sent one drop bag there (we were allowed two) and the other at Edinburgh. Even so, I wasn’t sure that was what I really wanted to do so I carried a change of shorts, jersey and socks with me.

Things got a lot slower on the stretch to Pocklington. Climbing and now rain slowed me down significantly. A heavy downpour and lightening made riders and cars pull off the road. A torrent of water and mud three inches deep made things interesting going through one little town. I was adequately dressed with my heavy MEC raincoat and even had my leg warmers and rain pants in reserve. The leg warmers did get use later on; the rain pants were left in my Edinburgh drop bag.

Even so, I was at Pocklington at 8:18. I probably could have slept but wasn’t particularly sleepy. I decided to continue to Thirsk, only 65 km further but that turned out to be a long 65 km. Narrow rough roads, steep grades, mostly alone in the dark, I was slow. I got into Thirsk at 12:22.

Hamid had been running about 1/2 hour ahead of me before Pocklington. He’s always faster on the first day and has no difficulty picking up a paceline. I don’t remember the exact time, but think that he was an hour ahead getting into Thirsk – he was ahead of that flash thunderstorm. Lucky him !

I cleaned up at Thirsk, had a welcome hot shower and got some sleep, not much, but enough to keep me going.

I only spent 15 minutes at the first couple of Controls; about 1/2 hour at Pockington and then 1:45 at Thirsk. I know, that’s not much sleep, but it was all that I needed. After that, Control time was typically in the 1/2 hour range through the rest of the ride, other than Edinburgh and Great Easton, where I got some sleep.

The sleeping arrangements were in a large gymnasium-like area with about 250 blow-up beds. That repeated itself at some other major Controls. Thirsk was lightly occupied (Hamid was there somewhere too) when I put my head down and more beds were occupied when I left.

In contrast, when I got to Edinburgh, I was one of fewer than 10 occupying those beds. When I got up, all 250 were occupied and there was a waiting list — recent arrivals eating and waiting for a bed.

With my short stay at Thirsk, I was now ahead of Hamid, but not much. I would be leaving Controls as he arrived. He arrived in Edinburgh about 1/2 hour after me and we arranged to leave together.

The section from Thirsk to Edinburgh — roughly 300 km — has a lot of climbing. It turned out to be a fairly long day. I got in to Edinburgh at 8:13 p.m.; Hamid and I planned at 1 a.m. departure. Hamid’s wife and brother-in-law were waiting for us in Edinburgh; Hamid went to the hotel with them. I put up with a semi-cold shower here, which was a disappointment.

As I was prepping to leave Edinburgh, Peter and Dave were eating, getting organized to get some sleep. I don’t think that I was riding any faster, just spent less time at Controls and, in particular, getting less sleep (I think). We haven’t had a chance to compare notes.

Edinburgh to Traquair and then to Eskdalemuir were very slow. Climbing, cold, misty, not highlights. They might have been highlights in daytime, probably great scenery.

Hamid got his wish at one of these, yes, there was a bottle of Scotch available for a shot. I needed something that was truly warm, like coffee, not pseudo-warming, like alcohol ! I had coffee. These two Controls, short runs, would have been a great place to stop had I extended the day that ended in Edinburgh, but that’s hindsight, always 20-20.

It was now daylight. We’d left Edinburgh shortly after 1 a.m. and didn’t get into Eskdalemuir until 6:56 a.m. Six hours to do 86 km, including Control time of course, is very slow.

Hamid was committed to making Pocklington that day, making both it and the last day, 350 km days. We were now in tune. 300 of that 350 got us back to Thirsk at 8:41.

To my delight, my cousin Allan, who I’d visited in Yorkshire prior to the ride, was there to meet us. Allan had introduced me to the local cycle club and while riding with them, encountered another rider who said that he would be working Thirsk … and there he was. That was fun. As a result, we spent more time in Thirsk than planned, since we’d only expected to eat and grab a change of clothing out of our drop bags so that we could change and sleep in Pocklington.

Onward … we got to Pocklington at 2:21 a.m. — yes, the days are now stretching out. However, we then planned to leave at 6 a.m. to do the last 350. Hamid wasn’t sure if he’d do it all because he had told his wife Shab that she could see him at the end. if we arrived in the middle of the night with her not there, well, that wouldn’t have been good.

Starting out from Thirsk to Pocklington we had some more rain. When the rain stopped, the wind started and of course it was then a cross-headwind. It was really blowing. We made St, Ives, 119 km from the end, at 9:25 p.m. It had been slow going. Hamid stopped to sleep and I continued on.

The section from St. Ives to Great Easton was not a good one for me. Mentally I was kind-of weirded out, it’s middle of nowhere; no other lights or riders around, thinking what-if-my-gps fails or simply deposits me in the middle of nowhere. Eventually though, I did get there. Mentally I needed a break so I crashed there for 1/2 hour which became 45 minutes sleep time, 1:15 at the Control overall.

Refreshed mentally and physically — it’s amazing what a short sleep will do for you, even if that’s simply lying across three chairs — I finished the last 4 km stretch which descends to Loughton but has a lot of rolling thrown in for good luck.

I finished up at 6:12 a.m. … yes, it had turned out to be a 4 day ride plus 12 minutes.

There were definitely places where I could have cut time but it all has to be taken as a package. Pushing faster somewhere would probably mean more break time; it’s hard to say.

Had I taken more time, I’d have seen some parts in daylight that I only saw at night, but it’s hard to simply stop and wait for daylight if you’re ready to roll.

It was fun.

Ride report from Kathy Brouse:

I have never done this 400 km brevet and am so glad that I finally gave it a try this past weekend. It was great, but how could it not be great when we had perfect sunshine all day and a beautiful full moon in the night! Yes, there was the headwind in the morning as we headed to Alliston and the hills between Midland and Midhurst, but these were manageable.

Seven riders started this ride in Concord: Jerzy, Bob and Jean (they are like one person), Brian A, Paul, Guy and I. Significant NW winds were forecast for the day and we met these winds on the journey north to Alliston. The group quickly fractured as it often does with Guy taking a wrong right turn up Weston Rd. and travelling his own brevet route past the first control. We met him later enroute to Wasaga Beach. He announced that due to a 60 km detour and an extra 6 km to get back on route, he was disqualifying himself from the ride and just going to enjoy the rest of the ride and day. Jerzy, Guy and I cycled together to Wasaga Beach and found a hamburger kiosk right on the beach where we sat and enjoyed the view, the whitecaps on the bay, the millions of fun seekers on the beach and in the water, the view of Blue Mountains to the left and the windy experience. I was practically wearing my hamburger on my face because of the wind! We left Guy at Wasaga to enjoy the day and carried on along Tiny Beaches Rd hugging the Georgian Bay coastline meandering along and away from and back to the beach, through beautiful and shaded Awenda Provincial Park, the Kettle Lake beaches and SW on Champlain Rd following the Georgian Bay coastline to Penetanguishene Harbour. Beyond the harbour you get the first view of St. Ann’s Catholic Church, a huge church also known as the “Cathedral of the North”. Champlain Trail carries on to Midland where there is another huge cathedral called “The Martyrs’ Shrine”. Here’s what I learned five minutes ago about the Shrine:

About the Martyrs’ Shrine

This historic and holy site includes the famous Shrine Church, the Martyrs’ Hall and Education Centre, and 75 pleasantly landscaped acres which invite you into prayer and tranquility. Within the Church are the relics of the Martyrs St. Jean de Brébeuf, St. Gabriel Lalemant, and St. Charles Garnier, while the grounds are home to beautiful walkways, monuments, and altars.

After all these beautiful beaches and sightseeing the hills began on Horseshoe Valley Rd, 680 metres of climbing to Midhurst. The next stage of this ride is through picturesque Simcoe County, home to idyllic farms and gorgeous sunsets, all pink and gold across the sky. The last stretch of the ride from Bradford is through the Holland Marsh but it was dark and not much to see but the beautiful full moon. The Canal Rd is bumpy and potholed and one has to focus with an eagle’s eye while pedalling along these gravel roads before crossing Highway 9 to Weston Rd and back to Concord for a 3 am finish. Brian (12:23) and Bob/Jean (12:51) had slipped their cards through the window of my car. Paul and Guy’s cars were not in the parking lot; one person retiring early from the ride, the other gone home after enjoying a day at Wasaga Beach. A special thanks to Jerzy for his support and camaraderie on this ride. I got a great workout yesterday chasing him on the flats and up the hills for 400 km. He would have finished faster if he hadn’t slowed down many times at the tops of hills to wait for me come chugging along. What a great route! Every randonneur must do this ride at least once, it’s worth the challenges.

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.

Ride Report from Peter Grant:

“Monsieur” a short pause, then louder “Monsieur” and then much louder “MONSIEUR” a flag man is trying to address David McCaw who has stopped his bike just in front of me at a line of 5 men who stand in the twilight at the south end of the town of Lac Mégantic Quebec. I say something in English and one of the flag men steps forward and asserts with very precise English, “You cannot go there”. Two tired randonneurs meet 5 very tired firemen at the south side of Lac Mégantic Quebec on the evening of July 6, 2013. Our route is to the left into downtown on Rue Laval. Our ride has brought us 325 km from Montreal. The GPS shows only 2.4 km to the control in Tim Hortons, food and rest. All we see to the left is dark and shadows. The evening sky is black with smoke. The street is blocked by a huge stainless steel tank truck. A fire hose snakes up the street. A Surette du Quebec police car tweeted its siren to attract the attention of the flag men as it crawled out of the darkness. At the sound, the men’s heads snap to look over their shoulders. They stared up the street into the dark as 2 randonneurs coasted in front of them and stopped. We stared also. David later said that he was thinking “There is so much smoke this whole town must be on fire”.

“What is happening?” I asked. The young man has a most precise answer. “Since 1 o’clock this morning, a train of 73 tank cars carrying fuel has derailed in Lac Mégantic and is burning. All of the houses in downtown Lac Mégantic are destroyed.” “What kind of fuel?” I ask as if it mattered. “I do not know. Maybe kerosene” and he wrinkled his nose.

“You cannot go this way” he asserted again. “We want to go to Lennoxville” I say. He stared at me. That is clearly beyond the scope that we can discuss. Lennoxville is 92 km to the west. I asked, “Is there a way to go north on Route 161?” “Yes. You must go this way” pointing to the east under a railroad trestle. “There will be a way to go north that way. Someone will help you.”

We turned right and made our way under the railway where there was a street light and continued on into darkness. Cars milled about on the few small streets. All moving slowly as their drivers navigated unfamiliar and little used streets. They were moving in a particular direction and we followed. It was now complete darkness and we stopped after maybe 1 km to look at the GPS screens. A car passing on the other side of the road stopped and a young man got out to offer us assistance. When he heard that we were randonneurs on an official brevet, he was not only impressed but had heard of randonneuring. I only remember him as a young man wearing a red tee shirt. From him we learned that the Tim Hortons had survived and was open. We also learned that the route around the fire was on a new bypass road. If we followed on to the east we would find the bypass. Then going north there would be a roundabout and an Ultramar station where we could return to highway 161.

We continued to the east over a rough street and a climb and arrived at a T junction with a 4 lane road. We turned left onto the wide road through slow moving traffic. I was happy that on the far side of the road my Edelux showed a wide paved shoulder. We rode north on the bypass through dark forest. My GPS showed that we were moving parallel with the brevet route. When we passed an intersection with some cars coming out of town I realized that we were past the fire zone. I called to David to stop for another GPS conference. As we studied our screens on the shoulder, a largish truck of some kind fixed us in its headlights and slowly rolled to stop. A man appeared from around the blinding lights asking “Je vu prendre la route a St George. Est-ce que c’est la?”, pointing up the road. “Parel anglais?” I ask. “Non”. After a few seconds, I say “Je ne sais pas” my most accurate statement of the night. He gave a sad smile, shrugged in resignation and returned to his truck and slowly continued his drive.

We returned to Lac Mégantic along with the local traffic using little travelled side streets. As everywhere that night, it seemed that the climbing was hard on steep hills on minor streets. There was a continual haze of car headlights as people milled about constantly.

The guess was good. We returned just on the north side of the evacuation zone. As we reached downtown, the area to the south was black with shadowy figures of firemen, police and paramedics moving about in the disaster zone. On the other side, the street was a blaze of light. The Tim Hortons was only a few hundred meters away. Across from the Tim’s a McDonalds golden arch blazed. We cautiously made our left turn into Tim Hortons and found a free table on the patio. Although randonneurs are focused on the ride and I have to be to keep on going, some of what I felt that night seeped in and is still slowly percolating up in my consciousness on Monday. The Tim Hortons was very busy. It seemed to be full of families with babies in carriages, children, and a few older people. Several families stood in clusters surrounding other families seated at tables, all talking quietly. Policemen, police women, paramedics were coming and going. The drive through speaker was nearby and there were frequent orders like “Un cafe grand avec une creme et deux sucres” sounding. Staff who were too tired to respond to our English waved us over to a server who spoke English. I was too tired to struggle with French. The server warned “We are running out of some things, it has been hectic”, but we got our stuff.

The brevet had started at 5:00AM at St. Lambert on the south shore in Montréal with 8 riders. The route name is just “The 600” from Club Vélo Randonneurs de Montréal but since Lac Mégantic is the turnaround point I like it better. The four fast guys were out of sight before we got off the streets of Montréal, but 4 of us Marc, Yves, David and me stayed together to St Césaire, the first control at 55 km. Marc had a flat as we left and David and I rode on. Marc and Yves were riding their first 600 and had a plan of stopping every 50 km for water and supplies. David and I carried Camelbacks and planned on 90 km stops. The 2 pairs rode at about the same average speed but gradually separated, seeing each other at controls. David and I were just leaving Cookshire 233 km as Marc and Yves arrived. They successfully found their way around the evacuation zone and were south bound to the Tim Horton’s control when we passed in the night. David and I were north bound going uphill to Nantes and just saw the lights of the 2 randonneurs passing on the opposite side of Route 161.

The focus on “keep going forward” is strong. Maybe too strong sometimes to forewarn of what we were riding into. As we had approached the town from the south, a strange cloud had been visible. The sun was low over the hills across the lake. A steady west wind blew and from 15 km away strange black clouds could be seen scudding low across the horizon. Fog off the lake I thought at first, but there was no cloud over the lake. The black clouds seemed to originate where the town should be and I filed in my brain the possibility that there was a fire in or around the town of Lac Mégantic. We were recovering from an afternoon of searing heat and tough climbing on “La route des Sommets” crossing Appalachia Quebec as signs indicated. In the evening, the temperature was dropping, the road was flat and we rolled.

At the first “Route barré” point about 10 km south of town, cars seemed to be entering the closed section of the road as well as taking the turn. I asked the first Transport Quebec employee “Peu passer?” and he said “Passe” and waved me on towards town. The second Route barré was the same. A Transport Quebec employee with a flag waved us on. In the calm light provided by Google maps on Monday the cause of the ambiguity becomes evident. The town of Lac Mégantic is naturally divided by the Chaudière River. Many people live south of the river along the beautiful lakeshore. There are no stores or services south of the river. Those are downtown north of the Chaudière and another collection of stores along a highway strip that leads in from the north. A bridge on the Chaudière connects the main street with south. We were stopped at the south end of the bridge. When the explosion and fire destroyed downtown it cut the town in half and reduced the services to those available from the strip of stores along the northern part of Route 161. The next bridge is about 4 km away on the new bypass which cuts through the forest east of town and was not in my GPS map. Emergency responders had to deal with people from the south getting to services only available north of the evacuation zone. Evacuees from either direction were going around the zone to get to relatives in whatever direction needed. Emergency personnel were securing the evacuation zone perimeter, but could not provide travel plans for the thousands of people involved locally, let alone the few randonneurs trying to transit through the town. We only did maybe 6~8 bonus km to get around the zone but used at least 1 hour.

Traffic leaving Lac Mégantic was not heavy, but produced some memories. An inbound train of Surette du Quebec cars tunneled out of the dark, sirens howling lights blazing. Maybe 10 cars rocketing toward town. Although noisy and bright they were traveling so fast that even the sound vanished in seconds. In contrast, the north bound traffic seemed to lumber. A high wall of a big ambulance slowly crawled past my shoulder. Then a much higher wall with loud diesel noises crawled by. Incendies – secours showing on its back from the light of my headlamp. The out bound machines crawled, no flashing lights. At the intersection with Route 214 we turned left and entered a different place. Stars filled the sky. The west wind cooled our bodies and brought fresh smelling, lower humidity air for our lungs. The pavement was smooth and almost empty of traffic. Our route through a silent forest had more descent than climbing. It should have been an ideal night ride but the scenes of exhaustion and chaos that we had witnessed lingered. Not to mention my own exhaustion after a day of climbing in hot weather followed by confusion and delay. We reached Lennoxville at 3:28 and were asleep at the hotel before 4:00

Ride Report from Stephen Jones:

We had a good-sized group of twelve riders for the Lake Ontario 1000, despite the less than perfect forecast. Renato, Henk, Jerzy, Dick, Bob K., Albert, Fred, Jean, Terry, Brian and yours truly all headed out at the very democratically decided 6:00 start time. Stan rounded out the twelve on his new bike, a steel Marinoni Sportivo. A few of the more disciplined riders settled quickly into their own paces, but the majority stayed together for the first stretch of the ride to Hamilton and the climb up the Escarpment. This was enough to pull the group apart, at least for a while.

Albert, Renato and I formed a new group at the front riding along Ridge Road and some great scenery. Thanks to David T. for suggesting the route modification to get us off the service roads along the QEW. Renato missed a turn on a descent, putting Albert and I off the front. Renato seemed to recover quickly, and I saw him come back onto the route, but we went around another curve and lost sight of him. Around the 80 km mark, Albert and I stopped for food and water. We came out of the store just in time to see the main group zip past us. Getting back on out bikes, we caught the group, and found no Renato. He had simply disappeared.

Albert and I pulled away from the group again going through St. Catharines. I assume they stopped for supplies. Albert and I pressed on through Niagara on the Lake and back up the Escarpment. This has to be one of the most scenic stretches of road in Ontario. We got to the border crossing to find traffic backed up into the access roads leading to the bridge. We used our commuting skills to move through the line, where a helpful agent directed us to the Nexus Pass lane. The border guard processed out passports and handed them back without a single question, which was a new experience for me. Normally, my name generates a small book of wanted felons and I have to play twenty questions while we establish that I am not the fellow who held up a liquor store last fall in Portland.

Since the border crossing was so busy, we did not bother them with the control cards, instead stopping at a fast-food kiosk where they filled our bottles and fed us BLTs and Cokes. For some reason, the restroom was marked “out of order”, but proved to be perfectly serviceable. I am continually amused at the reactions we get when we explain what the little control card is for. The evidence that we are in earnest is right there in their hands as they sign our cards, but they still cannot quite believe anyone would willingly do such a thing. Nobody managed to catch us during our brief stop, and we continued on our way.

The next control, Olcott, doesn’t have much on the main road. I think I need to amend the route to include turning towards the lake, as apparently, that’s where everything is. Albert and I stopped at a pick-your-own cherry place. The only food they had was cherries (go figure) and apricots. They also had unsweetened cherry juice. The young lady took my bottle into the back and returned with them full of cherry juice and ice. It was a very nice change from water and the regular sports drinks.

Shortly after Olcott, we arrived at the Lake Ontario Parkway, which is the strangest road I’ve ever ridden on. This includes the single-lane bridges on highways in New Zealand, and hurricane-damaged roads in Cuba. The Parkway, for those who don’t know it, is a divided highway similar to the 401. Two lanes in each direction. The difference is, there are almost no vehicles. It was like we rode onto some sort of post-apocalyptic movie set. Traffic did start to increase towards the east end, and we started riding on the shoulder instead of taking the lane, but I’ve been on concession roads with more traffic.

We stopped fairly soon after getting off the parkway for resupply. I ordered a “medium” sub while Albert used the facilities. When he got back, he thought it looked good, so he ordered two larges. They were so big, you probably could have cut one up to feed the entire group. He wound up strapping them to the outside of his bag since they wouldn’t fit inside. While we were dealing with food, the group passed us again, intent on getting to the control before stopping. The place where Albert and I stopped wasn’t actually in Charlotte, so we stopped a fellow who was out for a walk to get our cards signed, with the usual explanations. He was impressed and said our ride put his fourteen miles a day of walking (that he does as part of recovering from knee surgery) to shame. I think he may have that backwards. I can imagine walking fourteen miles, and I certainly wouldn’t want to do it.

We found the group that had passed us had split up. Bob, Jean, and Brian had pressed on while Renato, Henk, Fred, and Jerzy were ensconced on the patio of a pub. After working our way through the lights and traffic of Rochester, we found the leaders just getting ready to leave the control in Webster. The desk clerk, having been through the explanations about the cards already, signed ours and the five of us left together. Albert and I were still riding at a slightly faster pace and left the other three behind.

As we worked along, the terrain became distinctly hillier, and night started to fall. We knew we had to stop before the control in Oswego. Since I didn’t know the route well, I started watching for open signs, finally finding one at an American Legion. The only people in the bar were the barkeeps unwinding after a long day. Despite us not being members, they had no problem filling our bottles for us and selling us a couple of cans of pop. I adhered to my personal adage of never passing up the opportunity to use a flush toilet while Albert went out to his bike for a snack. While I was doing that, I couldn’t help but overhear the Legion members carrying on the standard discussion of our mental health. Albert and I hopped on our bikes and headed out, just in time to see the headlights of the three trailing riders coming towards us.

Oswego was Albert’s planned overnight stop. Before he headed off to his hotel, we went into a Dunkin’ Donuts that was air conditioned to within an inch of your life. I was fine, temperature-wise up to this point, but the AC put me over the edge. I fuelled up, including a large coffee, for the overnight effort, while Albert did some pre-sleep snacking. Just before he headed off to sleep, Brian, Bob, and Jean arrived. I figured having company overnight would be wise, so I waited for them to get food and water. Not a long wait, since they are all well organized and pretty quick at controls.

Fortunately, the terrain flattens out east of Oswego. We rode as a loose group, startling the occasional deer. Jean was starting to feel the effects of lack of sleep and wanted an opportunity to nap. (To be honest, we all did, we just weren’t saying.) We spotted a closed bar with picnic tables outside under an awning, so we pulled in. Jean set his alarm for thirty minutes, and we each grabbed a bench. Other than the mosquitoes finding us, it was pretty comfortable.

Shortly after our nap, as the sun was coming up, then rain started. It didn’t rain very hard, or for too long, but it was enough to send us digging through bags for jackets and saddle covers. At some point through here, Brian and I gradually pulled ahead of Bob and Jean, arriving ahead of them at the next control. They passed us as we ate breakfast, then we passed them on the way to the border. The last we saw of them was in Gananoque. They were pulling in just as we were leaving.

The border crossing back into Canada was pretty uneventful, other than the bridges. Holy smokes, the bridges. Dave T. gave an inkling of what was in store before the ride, but the reality was something else. The signs say to walk your bike, but there isn’t enough room, especially with a pannier bag. So, Brian and I rode our bikes for the most part, at some points with one hand on the handlebars, and one hand on the guard rail. The bridges arch, and the climb up the arch isn’t too bad, but the descent, riding the brakes along the narrow walkway was pretty nerve racking. We did stop at one point to enjoy the view and take some pictures. It was an adventure, and I was glad when it was over. I’ll probably also being looking forward to it the next time I do this ride.

After the crossing, things start to blur a bit. Kingston was nice, but some of the really scenic stuff is beside a descent in traffic, so it went by in a bit of a blur. The convenience store in Bath was very busy, since they also have beer and an LCBO. The line for the ferry must have stretched for the better part of a mile. Again, the bikes gave us front of the line service. I don’t feel any guilt, since the bikes don’t displace any cars from the ferry, and it made no difference to those we passed.

The ride through Prince Edward County went faster than the last time I did it on TOT in 2011. During TOT, I had to beg for water from a couple out in their yard barbequing. This year, no problems, other than a flat just outside Brighton. Since the puncture was from a roofing nail, finding the source of the flat was easy and a tube change was quickly done. Brian didn’t even have time for a nap, but we were there long enough for a passing car to stop and offer assistance. Back on the bikes, and we were off to the control at Brighton and onto the Waterfront Trail.

The sun set on us again as we made our way through the lake shore towns. People are partly solar powered, and with the darkness all the effects of the lack of sleep come crashing in. By this point, I was not particularly comfortable. My hands hurt and a saddle sore that hadn’t completely healed from the previous weekend was making me regret ever discovering the concept of sitting. My feet were aching and felt like all the joints had seized up and needed to be popped loose. I didn’t so much want to take my shoes off as simply remove my feet. On top of this, my brain was starting to feel the effects as well. Company helps, but it still gets weird on the second night. I seem to have a tendency to anthropomorphize everything I’m thinking about. So, instead of thinking about the next place for water, I have an imaginary conversation about it. Like I said, weird.

Brian was also starting to suffer, with his IT band acting up on him. It got to the point where we were pulled off in a parking lot at Taunton and Enfield and he lay down while I stood on his buttocks with my heel. Yet again, a passing car stopped to ask if we were OK. For once, we didn’t have to explain what we were doing on our bikes in the middle of the night. The driver asked, “Are you randonneurs?” like he encounters people on brevets on a regular basis. It turns out that he knows Renato.

After the long, flat stretches around the lake, heading into the Moraine was a bit of a shock to the system, offset by the fact that Brian and I both know these roads well since we live in the area. I raced ahead to find a toilet at the next control, which turned into the “Quest for toilets”. I finally found one at the third place I stopped, further and further off the route and adding to my collection of bonus miles.

From Stouffville, it’s into the home stretch. The sound of the birds waking up for our second sunrise was very welcome. The last 30 km are supposed to be downhill and the last time I was through here, it was easy to maintain over 30 km/h. Brian and I managed about 25, and were happy with that. We pulled into Tim’s too tired to really show how thrilled we were with our finish. We had a quick bite to eat, and went to our vehicles to nap before the drive home. Even with the nap, I didn’t make it home and had to pull over for another nap, which lead me to having to explain randonneuring to an OPP officer.

So, a long ride report for a long ride, and written in much the same style as it was ridden, in sort of one big rush. I think the randonnesia will take a little longer to set in with this one, but even so I’m very happy with the ride and am looking forward to the Granite Anvil.

Some photos:

Direct link to the Flickr set if you prefer:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/97031042@N02/sets/72157634571038956/

Ride Report from David Thompson:

I am remiss in not putting out a ride report on the Shenandoah sooner, but time slipped by and so I thought that perhaps comparing and contrasting the two rides might be useful for anyone thinking of doing one or both of these rides.

Timing — Both were held in June of this year — June 6-9 for the Shen and 24-27 for the Gold Rush. The Shenandoah was being run for the 6th time, 6 years in a row and the Gold Rush for the 4th time, on an every-four-year cycle.

Route — The Shen starts out from Leesburg VA, heads north to Gettysburgh PA then south to Mt. Airy NC and back north to Leesburg. The GRR starts in Davis CA, just west of Sacremento and heads north to the Oregon border and then back to Davis. The Shenandoah covers the same roads for a small part of its route; The Gold Rush is mostly out-and-back on the same roads.

Climbing — everyone asks about climbing. The Shenandoah is known for its climbing, hitting about 50,000 feet according to my Garmin. The Gold Rush, while only “featuring” a little more than half of the climbing of the Shenandoah, has that climbing compressed into part of the route since the first 95 miles and the last 90 miles are completely desert-flat. The Shenandoah has some steep grades but they are mostly short and rolling with only one notable long climb on the Blue Ridge Parkway of 9 miles. The Gold Rush, on the other hand, has many long climbs but mostly moderate grades with a few exceptions.

Heat — both of these can be very hot in June. This year, however, the Shenandoah was relatively cool, since we had rain on three out of four days (not all day, mind you) — four out of four for some people. The Gold Rush started out with rain and cool and ended up with temperatures in the high 90’s on that last run across the desert. The Shenandoah can be cool in the valleys at night but it was warmer this year due to the cloud cover; the Gold Rush is usually cold on those night descents (can be in the mid 30F’s), but again, this year was moderated by the rainy weather on the way out.

Support — very different:

The Shenandoah has minimal support with bag drops to the two overnight spots (Bridgewater VA which you hit out and back and Mt. Airy NC which is the turnaround spot). Otherwise, you’re mostly on your own. The other Controls are convenience store / deli locations so it suits self support. Matt Settle runs the Shenandoah with one or two volunteers, typically, which works well for this type of ride. He has been known to pick up riders in need, but that depends on where he or the other volunteers might be at that point in time.

The Gold Rush, on the other hand, has multiple volunteers at every Control, from legal open to legal close. From legal open outbound to legal close inbound, that’s a very long time! They also have mobile units which you see frequently on the route. Being neutral support, if it’s really hot, they are dispensing water as necessary. They also provide limited mechanical support. There are three potential bag drops but since you hit each of those locations twice, out and back, you may or may not use every drop.

Accommodation — again, very different:

The Shenandoah utilizes motels for the two overnights with shared rooms (two-per). You hit the Bridgewater location on the way out and back.

The Gold Rush, on the other hand, has community-center-type accommodation at the bag drop locations as well as a few others. Each of those has some sleeping area with cots and/or mats. Showers are available at the three bag drop sites but only one, Susanville, is actually at the site. Unfortunately the showers were cold at Susanville. I don’t know if that’s normal.

Food — On the Shenandoah, Matt supplies home-made, pre-prepared food such as pasta at the overnights, along with a variety of packaged foods. There is food available at the other Controls but you purchase that yourself. The GRR, using community centers and many volunteers, takes advantage of cooking facilities and does made-to-order in many cases. Some is pre-prepared, such as lasagna — I don’t know if a caterer supplied that or whether it was prepared by volunteers.

Ride Logistics:

The Shenandoah route is suited to a four day ride with three days more-or-less equal distance and difficulty and a fourth at about 200 km. The Shen starts at 4am so the days follow naturally.

The Gold Rush starts at 6pm. That’s so that the first run across the desert can be accomplished in the relative cool of the evening — not an issue this year, but usually. From there you can think of the ride as 3×400 km days, perhaps, or break it up as you will, given the number of potential sleep stops.

How did I tackle the rides ?

This was my fifth Shenandoah. I know the ride well. Although it’s different each year – weather, my conditioning etc. – I know how to survive this ride. The days are long, due to the climbing, but manageable. Don’t push it; get a little sleep; make frequent water / liquid stops; don’t worry about falling behind, ride your own ride. I put two night’s packing in the Bridgewater drop bag and one night in Mt. Airy. There’s no other logical way.

The Gold Rush was new to me. The 6pm start is unusual. Although I’ve done that before on the Lake Ontario Loop 1000 km. Susanville is roughly 400 km from the start. It’s another 400 km to the turnaround and back to Susanville, then 400 km to the end. I wanted to tackle the ride as three consecutive 400 km rides. I didn’t know if that would work out logistically or whether I’d be able to start each 400 km at the same time each day …

I put two night’s gear in the Susanville bag but also put supplies (clothing, food, spares) in the Taylorsville and Adin drop bags. Taylorsville comes before Susanville; Adin after, when you’re outbound. I wanted to leave my options open.

How did it go ?

I rode with Hamid Akbarian, a friend from Florida, in the Shen. He’d DNF’d twice before due to different circumstances but I wanted to see him through the ride. We got to the first night’s stop just before 10pm and left there about 2:30 am. Two other riders left with us and although we separated for part of the day, we got into Mt. Airy together around 10pm. Hamid and I left Mt. Airy around 2am, if memory serves me correctly, and were back to Bridgewater at 9:45 pm. We headed out again at 1am and finished up at 12:30 pm for a time of 80:30. Overall we probably got 3+3+2= 8 hours sleep.

On the Gold Rush, I rode with a dozen or so other riders across that first 95 mile flat section and then the climbing / rolling began. That first section was at quite a reasonable cruising pace, no one working very hard. Typical of my style on these things, I don’t push myself the first day and often finish way behind any fast riders. I got into Susanville sometime after 3pm, finishing that first 400 km. I changed clothing, no shower unfortunately, grabbed an hour sleep and headed out again at 6pm — remember that goal of 3×400 km ? There were many riders behind me and many ahead who went onto Adin that afternoon. I was worried about feeling snoozy had I added another 120 km.

That first day the rain had started in earnest after the flat section and was on-and-off fairly heavy during that first night and it was cold as a result. By daylight, however, the rain was over. It stayed cloudy for most of the day, as I recall. That was good.

I did not intend to ride straight through. Getting to Adin just before midnight, I had something to eat and then had another hour sleep. I got to the Davis Creek turnaround and as I left, passed Catherine Shenk and another rider who were heading into that Control. I’d ridden with Catherine before in Italy, Texas and North Carolina.

There was a strong headwind at that point that persisted through most of the day. As I was leaving the next Control, Catherine pulled in and we chatted about riding the last day together to take advantage of numbers during that flat section in the wind. I headed out and as the wind persisted, I decided to wait for them at the next Control. When Catherine and Jason arrived (we had exchanged names at that point), Catherine had a pedal problem. Jason got on the phone to a bike shop in Susanville to see if they had a replacement set of pedals and arranged for those to be picked up and waiting for us at Susanville.

We got to Susanville after 7pm, the second 400 km now complete. It had been a long day for me, now running 25 hours including the one hour sleep at Adin. Catherine and Jason had ridden to Adin the previous day, so they didn’t have as many miles under their legs that day but of course we had the same mileage overall.

My eyes, however, needed a rest. They were feeling dried out and I wasn’t ready to continue. Catherine and Jason decided to continue to Taylorsville and I said that I’d catch some sleep and meet them there. I got an hour sleep and headed out, arriving at Taylorsville about 5:30 am. Catherine and Jason were still asleep; I had breakfast. They had a 6am wakeup call and as they ate breakfast, I caught another 1/2 hour sleep.

From there it was just a matter of finishing the third 400 km which, of course, we already had underway having ridden from Susanville to Taylorsville. There’s a fair amount of climbing, some very scenic sections and, of course, that last 90 miles of flat. We lucked out that the wind had died, but it was very hot, high 90’s. We weren’t fast, rolling mostly along at about 16mph, but we got-er-done, finishing up at 8:59 pm for a time of 74:59.

This was the first time that I’ve done a ride without a real plan in mind. I was satisfied with how it worked out. I now know that I can do my 2-3 hours of sleep per night in segments, assuming that there is a place to put one’s head down. My total sleep time on the GRR was 3.5 hours, yet I didn’t feel sleepy.

Relative difficulty ?

The Shenandoah is more difficult than the GRR, all else being equal, due to the amount of climbing. The weather, of course, is the big variable in any of these things. Both rides are pretty; both are worth doing again; both should be on any rando’s bucket list !