People have been so great about sending ride reports, we have three for this ride! Interesting to get different perspectives on the same ride. Thank you to Stephen, Peter and Alex for contributing!

Ride Report from Stephen Jones:

With a forecast calling for rain all day, seven brave souls started off on the Markham-Lindsay 300. The group included a few experienced riders, like William and Stan, but four of the riders were newcomers to our particular brand of insanity. Peter P, Hannes, Andrew, and Alex were all attempting to complete their first 300.

We started out heading up Ninth Line from Markham. The rise between Major Mackenzie and Elgin Mills often splits the group, but I was pleased to see the new guys gamely hanging on. Stan, riding with his head rather than his heart, dropped off the back to ride his own ride. Ninth Line is in horrible condition and gets busier every year. Fortunately, we were early enough to not have much traffic to deal with. There are signs that the road will be improved over the next few years, but it’s a slow process.

The group stayed together through Stouffville and Web road, but the rollers on 2nd Concession proved too much, and we got our second split, with William, Peter and me in the lead group. The wind was developing out of the south-west, which gave us a nice tailwind and a sense of déjà vu as we backtracked large portions of last weekend’s Markham-Woodville ride. We managed to get to the first control before the store was open for business. So, we recorded our times and then headed off to Little Britain and the promise of butter tarts at the bakery.

Lindsay’s Tim Horton’s was very busy, so we didn’t buy anything. There was even a line for the washroom, which we gave up on. We got a bystander to fill in our cards for us and found a convenience store on the way out of town to top up fluids and food for the stretch to Millbrook. As we turned south, the winds started to work against us, and the long rollers started to take their toll on Peter, who is now looking into switching to a more reasonable gearing setup. He was riding a 53/39 crank with a 12-25 cassette, compared to my 50/34 with an 11-28. Having to push the bigger gearing on his bike made the ride just that much more difficult.

Lunch was a quick bite at Subway. It’s not fine dining, but the washroom was clean, and you can fill your water bottles for free from the soda fountain. I was looking forward to doing CR10 south from Millbrook. Typically I find myself riding this road the other way, and my legs remember a fair amount of climbing when going north. Turns out there is some climbing going south as well. This section, from about 150 km to 250 km, is the most challenging with lots of climbing. A stiff wind from the south-west added to the difficulty. Peter was gamely trying to keep up, but fell-off the pace when William and I felt the stirrings of our inner terriers and chased down another cyclist on one of the climbs.

The route has been changed a little since the last time Markham-Lindsay was offered to eliminate a section of Ganaraska Road, which can be very busy during certain times of day. The route now follows the revised Granite Anvil route to cross Highway 35/115 into Orono. Orono proved to be a very picturesque little town, but we didn’t stop as the next control was just ahead.

The name of the next control, Enniskillen, is bigger than the place itself. By this point, we could no longer see Peter behind us, even looking from the tops of hills. A somewhat woozy William decided that a large shade tree was in need of company and set up for a picnic underneath. Since he and the tree seemed to be getting along, he sent me off to finish the ride on my own.

Along Myrtle road, I was just starting to think that we might actually be able to finish the ride without any rain, and that I was going to look a bit foolish telling everyone to bring their rain gear. Of course, ten minutes after that, the sky opened up in a real deluge. Oops. The rain wasn’t unpleasant, and even inspired an offer of charity. A passing motorist pulled alongside with his windows down and asked me if I wanted a lift.

The rain didn’t really last that long, and was heavy enough to wash the grit away so I didn’t even get that dirty. The winds seemed to die down a little bit as well. The run into Uxbridge took me past a showcase of large estate homes. A quick turn-around at Macs Milk, and it was into the home stretch through my regular training grounds.

Back in Markham, I asked a couple of fellows standing outside to sign my card for me. They asked how far I had gone, suggesting 10 km as being a long distance. I think the truth strained their credulity. After a pleasant chat, I reset my GPS and headed home.

It took until noon on Sunday to account for all the riders though email. Peter and William finished together. Stan came in on his own, and Andrew and Alex got in in the dark after being chased by an invisible dog. We had one DNF due to stomach problems, but everyone is home safe, which is what counts.

Congratulations to all, especially the first time finishers. See you at the next one.

Ride Report from Alex Weber:

This was my second ride with Randonneurs Ontario, and my first 300 km ride. There were only about 8 or 9 riders on Saturday. We stayed in a group for the first 20 or so kilometres, but then the more experienced riders took off at, what seemed like, a break-neck pace. The weather had been calling for thunderstorms for several days back, and although the clouds loomed ominously above us all day, we never got more than a few sprinkles. After 50 km, there were only three riders in my group: myself (Alex), Andrew, and Hannes. It was at this point that Hannes told us he wasn’t feeling good, and was going to drop out. To be honest, I understood why, since he looked white and sickly. Amazingly, Andrew talked him into riding for more, so we slowed down our pace and tried to ride better as a group.

The next 150 km involved short stops, rolling hills (*shakes fist*), and head wind. I distinctly remember that after Emily Provincial Park, the scenery became very beautiful and there weren’t too many cars around. It was around this point that I had to point out to my riding partners just how awesome the whole experience was, and that I was really happy to be there at that moment. At the 200 km mark, Hannes had had enough, and told us he was dropping out. He would ride to Oshawa and take the train back to Toronto. We were saddened by his decision, but understood.

The next 100 km were alright, but for the first 50 km I was really starting to slow and felt like I wasn’t getting enough energy. I can’t remember the control, it was before Uxbridge, but I was convinced that I would stop there and grab something more substantial than a cliff bar, a PB&J sandwich, or baked potatoes to eat. No such luck. All there was a convenience store…so I bought some cheese curds.

Once we got to Uxbridge, I wolfed down a slice of pizza, finished all of my food, drank a chocolate milk, and drank way too much water and Gatorade. It was at this point that night was descending, and as we began the last 40 km of our ride, I realized I ate too much and was worried I might puke it back up. Luckily my stomach knew better and I miraculously made it up several hills with only suspicious burps.

Night riding is both an eerie experience and a sublime one. There’s something about the stillness and the solitary blanket that night brings that both relaxes you, and makes your brain think of worst-case-scenarios in macabre detail. Our single dog chase happened somewhere on a country road with no visibility except for our lights on the front of our bikes. Andrew yelled “GO! GO! GO!”, and as I gave my legs hell and forced them to accelerate faster than I knew they could go, I couldn’t help but be struck by how surreal it is to be chased by an invisible set of jaws that you can only assume will devour you if it could grab hold of your leg. Luckily it tired and we escaped unscathed.

We finished at 11:15 pm, happy and safe, and looking forward to a bath and getting off our saddles.

Fantastic ride! Can’t wait for a 400 km!

Ride Report from Peter Phillips:

My first 300 km ride.

I did my second Brevet and first 300 km ride this Saturday. The group of us left the Tim Horton’s with rain threatening all day. The group split sometime after our first pass through Stouffville. Stephen, William and I went ahead at a quicker pace. We hit the first control at Leaksdale shortly after the “open time” on the control card, but the control was not open. So we rode onto Little Britain for bakery purchases and re-fueling. Butter tarts might be God’s gift to cyclists.

We experienced intermittent misty rain through to Lindsay. More re-fueling and back on the road. The ride continued at a quick pace with Stephen and William leading the way. The sun started to break out as we rode into the next control in Millbrook. After a quick lunch stop, we now faced the more challenging part of the route, between 150 and 250 km. I lost touch with Stephen and William at about 180 km and resigned myself to finishing solo. I needed more frequent re-fueling, in Orono and again at the control in Enniskillen. I have to admit I had reached the low point of my ride… looking for the easy way back to the car.

To my great surprise, William was napping under a shady tree across the street from the Enniskillen control. We started out together eager for the “short” hop to Uxbridge. For me, the ride was becoming more challenging and difficult. It finally occurred to me that my gearing was totally inappropriate for the route… I will put on proper gearing on the bike for the next ride! We had dodged the forecast of rain for much of the day, but we encountered very heavy rain for about 20 minutes between Enniskillen and Uxbridge… serious climbing and descending in pouring rain is not fun!

The last few kilometres to Uxbridge were a bit of a blur for me: fatigue, dehydration and stomach distress (I will have to stay away from Gatorade). After a longer stop in Uxbridge, fortified with a gel and a hot chocolate, we faced the final part of the ride. It felt good to hit familiar roads like Wagg and the final turn south at Mussellman Lake. It felt really good to once again turn up the pace as we “raced” downhill to the finish. The topper for the day… it starts raining again just as we finished.

I am happy to have completed the adventure. I know I got off course a few times, as my computer says that I did 311 km. And a big thanks to William for riding with me through those last 90 km. While I did not finish as quickly as I had hoped, I learned a lot from the ride to apply to future rides 400 and 600 km rides.

Ride Report by Peter Grant

The weather was still dry when 8 riders left the Stittsville Park & Ride at 5:00 am. Gentle rain started to fall about 15 minutes later wetting our clothes for the rest of the day. I rode with David McCaw and Martin Lacelle for about 10km and we chatted a bit. Then Martin felt warmed up and rode away from us to do a 15 hour and 8 minute ride. Our group riding was libertarian. Other than Martin, the 7 riders stayed within about 2 hours of each other, but rode in fluctuating group collections and chatted at controls. At about 75 km Guy Quesnel and David Pearson joined David and me near Lanark, the first control. While 3 of us sat down for breakfast, David Pearson rode on to tackle the first hills on his fixie. Terry Payne soon joined us, followed by Alan Ritchie and Vytas Janusauskas.

After Lanark, the route becomes hilly. The old pavement twists and turns through the forest and over the granite hills. At Denbigh, 186 km, Terry commented that he thought he had been riding in circles. The road he said descended a hill, curved and went up another hill and then repeated…and repeated… Ottawa riders will have to prepare better cue sheets to help our friends from southern Ontario appreciate the subtle differences of the hills. Sometimes the beaver swamp is on the left. Sometimes they are on the right. Sometimes there are alders hanging over the ditch and sometimes cedars. You have to ride the route every year to observe the slow collapse of the old barn on Buckshot Lake road and the increasing replacement of the old farms and camps by cottages. Support options are limited for the middle 200 km of the ride. There are 2 general stores, a lunch counter and LCBO outlet.

Guy and David Pearson had been forging ahead most of the day but at the top of the Opeongo Line, David McCaw and I passed then just at the beginning of the descent. David P. was walking and Guy was on his bike and keeping him company. The day had been very humid with air feeling like steam. In fact warm light rain fell for most of our climb up the Quadville Rd but as we started descending an ominous black cloud filled the sky. I was nervous as we peddled steadily on to Calabogie, but we escaped the down pours which seemed to have left water on the roads in many places.

The food was good at Calabogie Pizza, but most of us had difficulty eating much. Only the salad appealed to me which I think is an indication of electrolyte deficiency. Most of the group assembled at Calabogie, but left in pairs for the 99 km back to Stittsville. At about 340 km our route leaves the forests and returns to the open farm land of the Ottawa valley. Gentle south east winds pressed on our faces as we rode south through mostly quiet roads.

Congratulations to our visitors from other chapters, Terry Payne and David Pearson. It was nice to have you on the ride. Congratulations David, the first fixed gear rider to do the Foymount 400.

Ride Report from Carey Chappelle

Huron Chapter hosted the Wiarton Willy 200 km brevet Saturday June 1st. Wiarton Willy started at Tim Horton’s at 0800hrs. From a Randonneuring point of view, this was the first time I had ridden with as many Women as there were Men in a Brevet! The Weather forecast was a little unnerving to say the least…thunder showers and strong West winds. We headed up the peninsula with our first turn in Oxyden towards Kemble Rock. After 19km we enjoyed the infamous Kemble Rock downhill… Donna and I took it easy on our Tandem until we successfully went through the short turn then tucked in … hitting 83 km/hr. We hoped we could have received a speeding ticket but no Police were around! Enjoying a tail wind and no rain we toured along before stopping at the Kemble Women’s Institute where Liz served Tea!

From there, the Randonneurs headed towards Owen Sound, passing through Balmy Beach, then Kelso Beach across a bridge in Owen Sound then back up into the peninsula towards the Hibou Conservation Area and Leith. As far north as this brevet went, the Randonneurs headed south stopping at Inglis Falls for some photos and relaxation. I let everyone know that Tilley’s Café and Bakery was just around the corner, so we got back on the bikes and headed towards Kilsyth. Our timing was perfect! The cookies were still warm and we all enjoyed treating ourselves…because we earned it!

From Kilsyth to Sauble Beach for lunch, we had to stop at about 89 km to let the Ladies put their rain gear on! No thunder yet, but with a light rain and BLACK clouds….we were nervous, and fortunately able to get to the Sauble Dunes Restaurant for lunch with only the West Wind to fight. From here we headed out to Sauble Falls, then to Oliphant where we toured the Lonely Island on our way to Pike’s Bay. NOTHING BUT SUNSHINE and a WEST WIND!! Somehow we lost Con as he left the Sauble Dunes Restaurant ahead of us in search of Ice Cream in Sauble Beach, he found the Ice Cream but we couldn’t fine him! So we stopped in Pike’s Bay, where the Ladies and I enjoyed our Ice Cream and then…as Con flew by…Liz yelled at him and we were able to get back together again.

Our next Control was at the Lion’s Head Inn, Lion’s Head. We enjoyed a beverage on the Patio before heading back up the Escarpment to Wiarton. The wife and I noticed the 9 and 10% inclines and fell a little behind Liz and Con before passing them on the downhill section leading to Colpoy’s Bay. Just before Wiarton we were all back together and arrived at the last Control with a few hours in the bank.

Before this ride I made reservations for 10 at Southampton’s Elk and Finch for 19:45. Knowing that Bill Little couldn’t do the ride, I emailed him and told him to join us, but call in and make additional reservations. Bill showed up at the Elk and Finch on time and wondered where we were. He called me on the cell phone and I let him know that we would be late, so asked him to touch base with the Chef Bill Hodgkins and let him know we’d be 1/2 hr late. While standing there, another Lady that he didn’t know heard his discussion with the Chef about the Randonneurs being late for dinner and let him know that 6 of the 10 people who were having dinner with the cyclists were already there! Bill enjoyed meeting everyone and then enjoyed teasing us when we arrived!

Another AWESOME DAY RANDONNEURING!!

Ride Report by Bill Pye:

I walked into the Couche-Tard (a corner store chain in Quebec), at 8:00 PM May 25th. I never ever thought I’d take 13 hours to do a 200. I am in line with a chocolate milk ahead of me is a guy about 6’6″ in front of him is a white haired woman with a file of lottery tickets getting a bunch checked by the clerk arguing that some more should be winners and then buying more. I am beginning to panic. The clerk is very patient and seems to know the woman from previous visits.

I’ve got lots of time to think about the ride. How Teena (my wife) and I left Ottawa at 4 am. She drove and I dozed in the car. We got to St Lambert near the Victoria Bridge at 6 glad Teena had checked the map and we’d taken the Champlain Bridge instead of going for the Victoria because the Victoria was closed for long overdue repairs. I had dozed until about 6:20 started to take the bike off the back of the car when other cars with riders arrived. Jean Robert the organizer had said there would be 15 riders but when I got my brevet card he said that 5 had cancelled.

It was raining and not warm. I rode most of the way to the first checkpoint with Jean Robert. I got the feeling he was lagging back with me. He laughed at the old steel Lemond Tourmalet I was riding (its first brevet despite its age, and last brevet).

“I rode a 15 year old Marinonni for years, got tired of people losing me in the hills. Bought this (referring to a Titanium Marinonni Piuma) and I can stay with anyone.” He implied I should switch to something lighter and newer.

His words were prophetic because after the first checkpoint I lost him and although I tried I could not keep up with a couple from Maine and Rando Montreal rider who despite long conversations mixed with English and French I never got his name. The terrain was rolling and the wind and rain were in our faces. The weather report had said it was going to be light rain all day but I remember only short periods with light rain. Mostly it rained and blew. The wind seemed to change directions to never be at my back except after the leaving the third checkpoint when I missed a turn and had to backtrack 3 km to get back on the route. For those 3 km the wind pushed me, sailing along, it was hard get back on the route with the wind and the rain in my face.

Sometimes the rain seemed to come in sheets. Towards Havelock and then near Lacolle it seemed like the rain had become sleet tapping off my jacket and bike as I rode.

I had the route sheet and a GPS no track but the GPS mapping helped. The only problem was the rain was so bad I could not see the route or GPS. I would stop clean my glasses and double check. After the third checkpoint, I missed the turn because I could not believe I had gotten to the turn so quickly. May be the wind had let up enabling to go faster or I just felt stronger after leaving the Flying J checkpoint. Three kilometres extra I finally realized I had made a mistake. Cleaning my glasses as best I could I checked the route sheet and my GPS and turned back.

I enjoyed the route. It was deja vu. I’d ridden most of these roads at different times on my own when I lived in Pierrefonds or with the Beaconsfield Cycling Club. Most were deserted in standard Quebec shape; bad. I broke my old rule about riding in Quebec never ride with tires below 700 x 28. Paid for it too with two flats from potholes hidden by water. First shortly after I left the second checkpoint Boulangerie (Bakery) trying to catch Jean Robert, the Maine couple and the other Rando, I flatted. Gave up on catching them and just tried to enjoy the ride. I flatted again just after I got back on route after missing the turn.

My bike was heavy and the rain was such that it soaked through everything making me heavier too. But I never felt tired; I just couldn’t go very fast. I climbed a long hill near Hemmingford that started with an elevation of 60 by the GPS and went up to 350 metres at the top. I walked the last bit concerned that if I just pedalled up I would have nothing left when I got to the top. It was the only time I thought I’d get worn out all ride. My worry I now think was mostly in my head. Because like I said I never felt tired. It was pedalling in soup.

Thank God for the wool jersey I was wearing. My rain jacket could not keep all the rain out. The jersey was soaked but still kept me warm. I only started shivering in the last few kilometres as I got to the last checkpoint the Couche-Tarde.

The cashier finally dismissed the lady and her file of lotto tickets gesturing towards the people waiting in line behind her. The big guy in front of me asked Export A cigarettes, and pulled out his lotto tickets. Not so many this time. But I was getting more nervous. It was 8:20. Not much time left. At least, it was warm in the store and I’d stopped shivering. Finally, I got to the front. The clerk reached for my card before I’d even shown it. Said in French, she’d mark 8 PM when I’d first come in. Thank You.

I had two more kilometres to go to the parking lot where Teena was waiting for me. I was shivering now. In shock at how long the ride had taken. Feeling like I should have started slower and paced myself. Thinking about giving up on riding old steel bikes on brevets. And thinking of carrying less on brevets. And weighing less on brevets.

I e-mailed Jean Robert with my time. He got back to me and said it had been the hardest 200 he had ever done. He’s done PBP twice, ridden a lot. He’d checked the weather and the low had gotten down to 2 Celsius.

Earlier on the ride he’d invited me back for their 400 on the first of June. Just a few climbs toward Sutton. I probably will go back but not on the first. But with a different bike, less stuff and hopefully less of me.

It was fun. Lost track of whether I was speaking French or English. Got in touch with a lot of deserted scenic roads. Teena told me on the way back to Ottawa that I’d ridden on the fringe of the African Lion Safari. It explained what I thought were the most aggressive looking cows I’d ever seen. They weren’t cows. They were African water buffaloes I realize now. Wasn’t that tired just felt like I’d been wading all day. I guess I was.

Ride Report from David Thompson:

After yesterday, I think we need to rename this route. Livin’ the Dream is from Liz Overduin, of course, I’m not that poetic!

——–

We met at the parkette in Barrie shortly before 8am, me (Dave Thompson), Liz Overduin, Hugh Francis and Lawrence McMurray. For Hugh and Lawrence, it was their first ride with Randonneurs Ontario and their first brevet. They’d come in from Peterborough that morning; Liz and I were already in Barrie from the Carthew Bay 200k the day before. Richard Rogers was also supposed to join us but was running late by 15 minutes or so. I called him and left his brevet card in my rear windshield wiper.

Although it was a degree or two warmer than the day before, it was still under 5C and Liz and I were wearing an extra layer. Hugh and Lawrence were well prepared for the cool start as well. Once we started climbing away from Lake Simcoe, my light jacket ended up in my pack along with my full fingered gloves. The leg warmers wouldn’t come off until south of Coldwater on the way back to Barrie. The sun stayed out all day; a cloudless blue sky.

Each year I end up with a new “favourite” ride with Randonneurs Ontario. I think that this is it ! We had some rolling hills, some headwind, some wonderful descents with a tailwind, fabulous scenery and great company. What more could you ask for?

The ride takes us part-way around Lake Simcoe and then north to Honey Harbour. We had one recent work nasty gravel section for a couple of km with spots of fist-sized gravel over culverts (would that be called gravel?). I actually dismounted and walked a couple of meters once. Shortly after, as we got to Big Chute Road, there was a sign that the bridge was under construction with a detour. We talked to a couple of people coming to the stop sign to confirm that yes, the bridge was truly out, even for bicycles. After checking with a neighbour, we followed the detour east, then north and then back west to Quarry Road and back on track.

When we turned onto Quarry Road, I called Richard to tell him about the detour. Coincidentally enough, he had just stopped and was standing looking at the detour sign – what timing! That put him about 15-20 minutes behind us, give or take, so he was running about the same pace.

Since the wind was coming from the NW, that last section into Honey Harbour was the toughest, from a wind standpoint. We ended up spread out a couple of times but came into Honey Harbour together, ready for lunch. Honey Harbour is about 90km into the ride. The detour had added 3-4 km.

The Honey Harbour Town Center General Store is truly a gem. Are you looking for paint? housewares? food? deli? It has it all! It’s like a Home Hardware + small supermarket + cafe. It even has washrooms! What would you like — Western Sandwich? Grilled Cheese? Fries? Burgers? We ate and drank well.

Richard arrived just as we were getting organized to leave. Hugh and Lawrence decided that they’d back it off a notch for the trip back to Barrie. Since they were together and well prepared, Liz and I headed off. We weren’t sure if Richard was going to ride with Hugh and Lawrence or not, that would depend on how long he wanted to stop.

The ride south to the turn on South Bay Road was our reward for the work into the wind. South Bay Road was newly under reconstruction, but with good gravel and well packed. From there through Port Severn and Big Chute was wonderful riding truly northern Ontario scenic with occasional windy sections and mostly very good roads. Eventually we were back to our out-bound detour, which we reversed and then straight ahead about 5km to Coldwater.

From Coldwater south to Ridge Road east of Barrie there are some good short climbs but eventually you have to descend to Lake Simcoe. What a ride! The leg warmers came off and we got in some good downhill, with the wind, cruising. This is where “livin’ the dream” came into play. Ridge Road into Barrie entailed some cross-wind work but heck, that was the home stretch.

We finished up at 6:50. Richard came in shortly afterwards but he told us that he’d ended up way off route so he becomes a technical DNF, unfortunately. He had a good day on the bike though and enjoyed the riding — that’s what really counts. I heard later from Hugh that they’d finished up at 8:35.

A good, safe day and weekend for all riders.

Amen.

Ride Report from Vaune Davis:

A great time was had by all on the Markham Woodville 200 km…with one new rider Adil as well as RO vets Stephen Jones (organizer), Albert, Vaune, Phil and William. No one set any records on this 200 km… but for me, socially, it was a ‘personal best.’

Albert and William reversed course to help Phil, who had a mechanical early in the ride, hence their less-than-blistering finish time. Vaune, Stephen and Adil clocked in at 10:46 after stopping for a sit-down lunch and leisurely breaks at every control. Hopefully our strategy of ‘not-killing-Adil’ will lure him back for another brevet. Adil’s lightning quick humour more than compensated for his newbie pace. This man is surely capable of making a paceline giggle through the night. And he ate up the highest compliment I bestow on fellow riders, a term meaning ‘gluteal cavern.” Phil, just building his early-season conditioning, finished 45 minutes later with self-confidence intact, taking first place for enthusiasm.

Conditions were cold with a blustery north-west wind that added to the challenge but did not overwhelm. Lots of short steep hills through the Oak Ridges Moraine. And a new cycling horror for me: wheel-eating “tar snakes”… ropes of tar used to seal parallel vertical cracks in the asphalt along many of the roads of Kawartha Lakes and Durham Region.

Ride Report from David Thompson:

There were five of us signed up for the Carthew Bay 200 km — me (Dave), Liz, Arthur, Fred and Stan.

We rode out at 8 a.m. and finished together at 6:26 p.m. In between we were mostly together except that I stopped briefly just before the Carthew Bay Control to add air to my front tire which had a very slow leak, and Arthur, who dropped back a couple of times between Controls to attend to telephone calls. I replaced that tube at Carthew Bay, never finding the source of the leak.

It was a beautiful day, albeit cool. Approaching Alliston early in the morning as I drove down, the temperature hovered just above 0C. It quickly warmed up once the sun came out but never got much above 10C, the wind making it seem colder. At Controls we shivered if we were in the wind, needing to be riding to generate some heat.

There was a very strong wind mostly from the North in the morning, with a little East mixed in and then NorthWest at the end of the day. The northbound section from Alliston was straight into the teeth of that wind, but we were fresh. West from Barrie to Carthew Bay and then East to Barrie again, the wind had a mostly neutral effect although we were did ride a little faster heading west. By the time we were heading East to Big Bay Point, however, we could tell that the wind had shifted, not boding well for the long ride West later in the day. South to Bradford with the wind at our backs, we sailed along. We regrouped at Bradford and headed out together, intending to do some drafting, but that proved to be quite difficult. With the quarter headwind we took up too much of the road.

The rollers coming back to Alliston were a welcome respite from the wind. We finished up tired and happy, another great day on the bike.

It really is a pretty ride through farmland, Barrie, small towns and views of Lake Simcoe. Judging from the stubble in the fields, crops are behind this year but that may be just my perception.

This ride was my very first brevet with Randonneurs Ontario, in 2009. I think that this was my third time. I’ll do it again.

Ride Report from Renato Alessandrini:

Inspired by testosterone and the Duke Ellington song “Take the A Train” our team had the lofty aspiration of riding for 581 km in 24 hours. Five strong riders (and two strong alternates) committed for the challenge. We were attempting to break the Ontario Fleche record for the longest distance ridden in 24 hours. We prepared and trained well having several team practice rides. We even had night rides and one all night ride with plenty of hills to prepare for the daunting objective. We chose our route carefully with a relatively flat profile and in a predominantly west to east direction to catch favourable westerly winds.

The day prior we all packed ourselves and 5 bikes into my Ford Expedition equipped with a large bicycle rack. My son drove us from my house in Courtice to Windsor where we stayed at the Days Inn. That night we went to a local saloon called The Bull N’ Barrel where we admired the scenery, ate smoked meat and drank some beer. There was no pasta on the menu for carb loading so we had to improvise. We had some laughs and luckily Brian was able to hit the target once and dunk the girl in the tank. The rest of us couldn’t hit the side of a barn with the baseball, but not due the lack of trying. We all went to bed early to prepare for the ambitious ride in the morning. Our clothes, bikes, food, etc. were all organized next to our beds in each of our rooms.

In the morning it was cool and cloudy but not raining. However, the usually incompetent weatherman was right for a change and instead of prevailing westerly winds we were faced with a stiff east wind of about 15-20 kph. Not discouraged by the persisting headwind we started out of Windsor upbeat and energetic. Our paceline started immediately to shelter us from the wind. At times we organized into echelon formation to combat the crosswinds. We were able to maintain a good speed all the way to Wallaceburg then we turned northeast along the scenic St. Clair River parkway to Sarnia and then eastward to Strathroy. The route was so flat that we could almost look back and still see Windsor some 200 km back. Rolling as a smooth train on asphalt southeast from Strathroy towards Lake Erie the slight rolling hills were a welcome change. Our team was still in good spirits and seemingly energetic however Mother Nature was relentlessly blowing air on our faces. After 300 km of unyielding headwind our A train finally broke down at the Subway store in St. Thomas. Tired, sweaty and dressed in tight brightly coloured spandex we looked like we just got back from week-long kinky costume party! All of us were secretly battling with fatigue from the extra effort required. Albert, a very strong rider, told us that he could not go on. Mother Nature had its first victim. It was getting apparent that our lofty goal of 581 km was in jeopardy however it was understood by all before the ride that the primary goal was enjoyment of the ride and safety and not the lofty record attempt. To most people, a 24 hour painful endurance event and the word enjoyment are mutually exclusive.

Still determined to push on, we turned up the effort and speed toward London. The sun set and night evolved with its celestial darkness and solitude. Luckily the temperature did not drop too low so we did not have to battle with frozen toes or hands. Our generator hubs were lighting the road marvellously and we each kept taking our turns up front in the paceline. Mother Nature had taken pity on us and the winds finally died down to below 10 kph. Naturally, we all were exhausted. Dave’s stamina had significantly deteriorated but not into a full bonk. This was easily his longest ride of the year and although he was a powerhouse in the first half of the ride his tank was now almost empty. Being both the organizer of the ride and oldest (but not the wisest) of the group, earlier I tried to slow Dave down. I did this by shouting “piano !!!!” to him during his turns at the front of the paceline (“andare piano” means “to go slow” in Italian). Stephen, Brian and I now took turns at the front while Dave refuelled and recharged at the back. It was now obvious that 581 km was not going to happen this time.

The long overnight ride from London to Cambridge seemed to go on forever but in reality was only about 115 km long. There were no stores, no people only the serenity of the night with the rare automobile wheezing by. We finally arrived at the Tim Horton’s (where else!) in Cambridge at 2:45 am. Stephen who is an exceptional strong steady rider finally showed a kink in his armour. After eating, his head quickly dropped into his arms on the table where he lay motionless for almost an hour. I was so tired. I accidentally spilled an entire cup of hot chocolate all over Dave. After cleaning himself up, Dave had a nap in the same position as Stephen. Brian, who was a tour de force riding his stealthy carbon Parlee bicycle mounted with speedy 808 zipp wheels, was sprawled on a bench seat with his feet dangling. I could not decide how to rest so after using Stephen’s sleeping technique for 20 minutes, changed and copied Brian’s sleeping technique on an adjacent bench. We eventually got rolling again just after 4 am.

The route after Cambridge consisted of rolling hills as we pushed on eastward toward Oakville. The sunrise was a welcome sight. Dave had recharged and pulled us onward to our new goal of just over 500 km. A sense of relief and euphoria was felt as we approached the end of the adventure. We decided to have breakfast at Denny’s in Oakville so we turned around and rode back a few freebie kilometres. We were so tired that even eating was a challenge. Dave and I could not finish our food but Brian helped us out with his ravenous appetite. Delighted but drained we took the Go train with our bikes in hand back to Oshawa where my son drove us back to my house. It was finally over, everyone healthy, no accidents, only sore butts. Even though our target was not reached it was another awesome cycling experience. Yesterday I decided I would not do another fleche attempt, however today I suffer from yet again another bad case of randonesia. I am already planning for next year’s event.

Various Definitions

Randonesia: When somebody parties so hard and so often that they cannot remember who they were with, where they were, or why they were partying.

Randonesia: This is the official account of Audax Randonneur Indonesia.

Randonesia: Forgetting how bad a ride was. No matter how much any given rando sucks, you find yourself looking forward to the next one.

Ride report from Kathy Brouse:

The Erin Mills New Hamburg 300 brevet was a great ride yesterday for the 13 participants. It was a cool day to start with and it stayed that way until the sun came out for a few hours in the late afternoon. The first 72 km of the ride is uphill to Erin, lots of hills and climbing the Escarpment. The dreaded 3 km uphill climb on gravel road turned out not to be too bad as the road had become very hard packed since last year when it was freshly laid gravel and sand. This was especially good news seeing as it had been raining hard the night before.

Going west from Erin, the Hillsborough Hills roll west for some time and then the route continues south and west Maryhill, Bloomingdale and on to St Jacobs, then south to New Hamburg. We cycled past so much lovely farmland and passed so many Mennonites on the road with horses and buggies. What with the hills and the headwinds coming from the north and the west, the ride was challenging. A large group of us met up at the Subway shop in New Hamburg and sometimes a tuna melt is the most delicious food item in the world. Bob, Jean and Paul were finishing up their lunch when Marti and I arrived and the group of 4 – Arthur, Fred, Bob and Stan rolled in just after us. This was Bob McLeod’s first 300 km brevet and he shared some interesting memories that will stay with him, like the Peloton style bonding experience that only men can do along the side of the road! One can only hope they were sheltered from the wind at the time!

I experienced a brush with fate when I touched the back of Marti’s wheel on Charles St., a busy road going in to St. Jacobs and came flying off my bike and skid along the road in front of an oncoming car that was able to swerve around me as there was no oncoming traffic. Miraculously my body was not damaged, other than the huge bruise I am now sporting on my left thigh. We were able to untangle my bike, the handlebars had twisted around and were jammed under the cross bar. The handlebar tape is ripped, the left shifter bent, but otherwise I was able to ride home. It was a very close call and today I am singing the Hallelujah chorus, or I would be if I wasn’t so tired and sore! Thanks Marti for your kind support after that incident. I will be replacing my helmet before the next ride. As Paul says, it contains some bad karma now!

The trip to St. George was beautiful, everything so green and the sun came out as we rode along the Grand River to Blue Lake Rd and to St. George. Some good memories on the last leg of the journey include the big blue heron that we startled on Marlborough Townline and the beautiful big sunset that was happening as we turned on to Britannia Rd. Then it was a quick stop to adjust the night lights, don warmer clothes and full speed ahead to the finish. From the brevet cards dropped through my car window I see that Mark N and Stephen finished the ride together in just over 12 hours with Guy Pearce pulling in next, an hour and half later and then Henk.

The wind is howling outside my window as I compose this ride report. In the last half hour I have seen rain, sleet, hail and now it’s snowing. I am so happy not to be on my bike travelling through that open expanse of farmland today! Yesterday was warmer and less windy. Now, that calls for another Hallelujah!

Some photos from Stephen Jones: