# Finished first brevet



## Pegorider (Nov 2, 2008)

Well, yesterday's ride was an interesting one, all 132 miles of it. We completed the 200km, Mt. Lemmon Brevet. A brevet in an unsupported, timed event. Riders must follow the course exactly, stop at designated checkpoints and complete the event within a specified time frame. *These events are very big in Europe, though they are growing in popularity in the US.*Brevets like the one we did yesterday start at 200km and increase in distance up to 1200kms.*For yesterday's 200km event, the cut off was 13.5 hours. It's not like you'll get pulled off the course if you exceed the*allotted*time, you just don't get credit for the ride.*In order to gain entry into one of the longer events, (600 or 1200km,) you have to complete a series of shorter events, so if your goal is to ride the 1200km, Boston-Montreal-Boston brevet, finishing within the time limit becomes more important. There is a whole cycling subculture of these long-distance riders with both national and international bodies sanctioning events and setting rules for participants. *Go to azbrevet.com for a peak into this world.*

Kurt and I started out with 18 riders from the intersection of Coachline and Twin Peaks Rds. It was a mixed group of riders, mostly older guys, a few younger than Kurt and me.
We had expected the brevet crowd to be filled with *fendered, steel frames, lots of wool, Brooks saddles, and spiffy English-style saddlebags. Not so much. Kurt and I were the only guys on steel, we were the only ones sporting fenders, and Kurt's generator hub was the only one we saw. So much for the traditional aspects of randoneurring (at least in AZ, anyway.) A group of 10-12 guys took off from the start, blasting up Twin Peaks Rd at 18 mph. We know this because Kurt hung with them (for a while.) I'm not sure if he looked back and slowed for me out of pity or if he suddenly realized that riding 18mph up Twin Peals Rd wasn't the best way to start a 132 mile day. We settled into a more reasonable pace and caught a group of six riders on Moore Rd.*

This group was filled with mostly retired guys who seem to do a lot of these events. One guy whose name I can't remember claims he rode 24,000 miles last year. His buddy was a slacker, only riding 12,000 miles. And to think, I'm pleased as punch when I break 6,000 miles for the year. I guess you can ride a lot when you don't have to work.

After the climb up Twin Peaks Rd, we jogged over to Moore Rd before heading back towards town on La Canada. At this point, the ride had started out fine; we were pleased to see we were about 5 minutes ahead of the pace we rode a few weeks earlier when we previewed the first part of the course. Arriving at Ina, we headed east to Craycroft, then south to River and further east to Sabino Canyon Rd. After a quick stop at Sabino Cycles for a pair of cycling gloves,*(I had foolishly packed two right hand gloves when I prepared my gear the night before,)*we were off to the mountain.*

Forty miles into the ride, we began the climb. We started slowly, maybe a half to a mile per hour slower than usual. We had a long day ahead of us and it seemed to me the only way to survive was to ride conservatively. For those of you who aren't familiar with Mt Lemmon, its a 26 mile climb. Except for a few spots, its a gradual climb from 2500ft at the base to just over 8000 feet at the summit. The ride starts in the low desert and finishes in pine forests.

The first five miles to Molino Basin were pleasant. One of least favorite portions of the climb occurs from miles 3-5, but yesterday, the overcast skies made even that section more interesting. But then we made the turn at Molino and headed into a wall of wind. There's not much good you can say about a headwind when your cycling, combine that with riding up a mountain and there's even lees you can say. Fortunately, by the time we got to Prison Camp, the wind subsided. We cruised along fine until we got to the climb before Windy Point when once again we faced a 20+mph headwind. We had a brief water stop at Windy Point and continued on. We saw our first snow of the day just past Windy Point. I don't think that was the reason, but shortly after leaving Windy Point, I fell apart. No matter what I did, I couldn't get my speed above 5 mph. Let's just say that combined with my flat tire (a catastrophic failure of a slimed tube,) miles 16-19 were not fun. We rolled into Palisades where the organizer sat with sandwiches, drinks, cookies, and ibuprofen. I had serious thoughts about dropping out at that point. Given how poorly I felt the previous three miles, I wasn't sure I should go further. But after a break, a turkey wrap and coke, I was good to go. How I felt after eating suggests I was bonking before Palisade. Not sure how that happened because I thought I was eating plenty on the way up.

Shortly after we left Palisades, my rear tire started to flat, but this time the sealant worked. I limped into Summerhaven on 30 psi in the rear. We stopped in Summerhaven long enough to pump up my tire and mail postcards, that's how you prove to the organizer that you made it Summerhaven. We began the climb out of Summerhaven with the benefit of a tailwind, a very nice treat. The descent which is usually a blast, was one of the hardest parts of the whole ride. I had my sealant plugged rear tire to consider, you don't want to flat in the apex of a curve at 40 mph. Then there was the wind. It was very strong and inconsistent, one minute it was in your face, the next it was blowing you around the road. Kurt found it amusing (not,) when a sudden gust pushed him over a full two feet. This was followed by a second equally strong *gust just seconds later. Then there was the cold. I don't think the ambient temperature was that cold, but when you combine wind blowing up snow covered slopes and the wind chill generated by the speed of our descent, exposed flesh got really cold. I couldn't feel my face for most of the way down. All in all, it was the longest, slowest, and most difficult trip up and down the mountain I've ever had.

Back at the base of the mountain, we started to warm up a bit, only to be confronted by more headwinds. Despite our previous trials and persistent headwinds, we finished *the last 34 *miles in just under two hours. It was dark before we finished, but our lights provided plenty of visibility. We arrived at the finish 11:35 after we started. almost, but not quite the last ones on the course. Our total pedaling time was 9:54, for an average of 13.1 mph.

Back at Kurt's house, we celebrated with a bit of tequila and a wonderful boeuf stew (Thanks Susan!!)

I don't think I've ever been so pleased to see rain as I was this morning. It was just the excuse I needed to miss the Sunday ride. Surprisingly, my legs don't feel bad this morning, my neck doesn't hurt, and all the feeling has returned to my fingers. I guess it wasn't such a bad day after all.

For any of you intrigued by this while brevet thing, there's a flat 200km brevet scheduled for January. I'm pretty sure I'll be skipping the next one, (I have to train for the 24 hour race in Feb,) but I worry about what crazy thing Kurt and I will attempt next.


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## jaelinfunk (Dec 10, 2011)

is the 24 hour race in feb the sebring, if so I'll see you there ;p very nice. i have a 200k on jan 7th


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## Gnarly 928 (Nov 19, 2005)

Nice write up. Did you learn not to 'write-off' these Old Guys? Ultra-events are a whole different style of riding. Good job getting your lead-sleds up that mountain. Good job riding through your bonk.
Most Ultra races do not allow drafting. So you two were lucky to be riding where it was allowed, sounds like, with the winds you describe.


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