Even though it’s been on my calendar for months, I dragged my feet and made another last-minute decision to sneak in a brevet this weekend. This time of year is just crazy if you’re a teacher; everything is important, events happen at a hurried pace, and things sneak up on you. This weekend snuck up on me. I plan on attempting a 400 k later in the month, but never having done one before I felt finishing a safer 200 first would give me a safety net for May, in case something happens before or during the 400.
This brevet was sponsored by the PA Randonneurs, which is really is my home club. The frequency, quality, and friendliness of the PA Randonneurs’ rides is nothing short of impressive. RBA Tom and all the other volunteers do a fantastic job and I’m looking forward to getting some more rides in eastern PA. The 200 k I rode is the first in a series of rides they offer this week, along with a 300, 400, 1,00 and a 600 k. If this was occurring after school let out maybe I could become a Super Randonneur in one week!
I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t take my new bike on this ride, but I decided to stick with my aging, trusted Giant. I still don’t have a cyclometer on my new ride, making navigation rather difficult. I didn’t feel like doing over 100 miles on 23c tires. Heck, I haven’t even figured out a way to attach a cue sheet to it yet. But mostly it was the forecast that made me leave the new Bianchi at home. I wasn’t sure if I could attach fenders to it, and even if I could the thought of getting grit and slop all over a one-week old bike didn’t appeal to me. I need a little time before I start abusing it; it’s only new once!
This brevet launched and ended at a hostel just outside of Quakertown. Now, I have to admit that I’ve never been in a hostel before, despite the fact that I ride past the one in Michaux about 100 times a month, and if you’d ask me to describe one it conjures up images of patchouli-smelling hikers lying all over the floor of a barn. But this place was a gorgeous, magnificent old stone building, well-maintained with welcoming hosts. It reminded me more of a bed & breakfast and was a top-notch establishment, a definite blow to my to preconceptions. Post-ride I enjoyed food, a warm shower, and fellowship in a comfortable social area, some of the small details that elevates a good ride to fun.
The ride had a 5:00 AM check-in and a 6:00 AM start time, so I was on the road at 3:00 AM, another reason I gave a more examined, critical eye to the hostel as a means of inexpensive lodging for the future. A little over a dozen riders were there, and I saw the usual spectrum of bikes and gear. The variety in equipment that I’ve seen randonneurs use is one of the things I’ve grown to love about the sport; unlike competitive road racing, image and perception play no part here. Practicality and utility reign supreme. If you’re ever leafing through a cycling catalog and come across a gadget or gimmick and wondered, “Who actually uses that?” the answer is randonneurs. Things I never would have imagined touching my bike before, like fenders and handlebar bags, I now want and desire since I see how they can improve a ride. Today was no exception to the variety; I saw a Cross-Check, a steel-framed tourer, a carbon race bike, and even a tandem.
I recognized Crista and Chuck from the Urbana ride a few weeks earlier. They’re two exceptionally friendly and experienced randonneurs who rode the tandem, and yet again the impressed me with the speed and efficiency they can pull out a the machine. When I look at a tandem, I think heavy and slow, but as I watched them speed by me they definitely showed that they’re aerodynamic and fast. Their cycling ability is only eclipsed by their friendly helpfulness, in fact they saved me from a few wrong turns when I was day dreaming instead of navigating.
The ride was gorgeous and picturesque. It was also mostly back roads light on traffic – the kind of riding I prefer. As much as I liked riding in the crumpled hills of Virginia last month, it was nice to be navigating through some familiar Pennsylvania rollers. It rained in the morning, heaviest around the first control point, and for the rest of the day we saw light intermittent showers. Heavy rains began to fall again in the late afternoon, catching some of the riders as they arrived back at the hostel. I had my rain jacket on on the morning, but removed it in the afternoon. That thing is a sweat factory and I need to look for something breathable when I get the funds. The clouds hung low and heavy and added a gauzy, softened look to the ride, especially pretty in the wooded sections and famland. As much as I dislike riding in the rain, I do appreciate and enjoy a damp spring day where the gloom somehow makes the burgeoning green seem brighter. Much of the ride paralleled a river or circled a body of water, and plenty of geese and other birds were seen. The developed areas we road through had their own scenic appeal, sometimes quaint touristy-looking towns and at other times country “developments” with homes I’d consider mansions. Some of the ride I recognized from the February brevet, which was fun having some familiarity sprinkled in the route. It was exactly the kind of ride I enjoy: rural, variety, pretty and challenging. Again, I wish I had the patience to stop and take pictures, but in interruption in riding throws off my pace. I tried to keep my time not pedaling to a minimum, but I did rest and enjoy a tasty piece of very expensive coffee-shop zucchini bread at one of the final controls.
I rode the entire ride pushing myself fairly decently, while there’s no need to ride a brevet hard it was my Saturday ride and I was looking for a work out. The biggest challenge was a three-mile hill about 50 miles into the ride: Fox Gap. In particular, I ground out this hill; that’s the only way to attack hills, with intensity and grit. The group that started the ride together broke up fairly early, which was a fortunate thing because, as much as I like riding with others, it forced me to find my “navigational rhythm” early and not rely on others to find the turns. I did day dream a couple of times and miss a turn, and embarrassingly I rode on a bridge that bicycles were forbidden on, despite the fact that it was plainly marked on the cue sheet. I saw a “No Bikes” sign and thought it applied to the pedestrian walkway, so I dutifully rode on the bridge. Turns out “No Bikes” means no bikes at all; they need to be walked across. I don’t mind breaking the rules, but I do mind casting a bad light onto cycling in general. During the ride, one dog came out and let me know he didn’t appreciate my presence, but he wasn’t overly aggressive.
I felt bad that I wasn’t able to stay in the hostel after the ride and chat as much as I wanted to, but I knew I had a long ride home with minimal sleep behind me. Other than the bridge incident, and one or two inconsequential wrong turns, this was my most successful ride so far – efficient, fun, and scenic. Also of note, this ride put me over 3,000 miles for the year! If only I could have ridden it on my new bike!
