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Colorado Brevet Series 2001 |
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Colorado Brevet Series -- 2001 Results
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200km Brevet - 6-May-2001 - Record Turnout? This year’s 200km brevet on May 6th was "the toughest ever"
according to more than one rider. Yet we had possibly the largest turnout
ever – 24 riders, all of whom finished, despite headwinds most of the day,
punctuated by stiff climbs up the steep side of Horsetooth Reservoir. Yet
with every wind gust, some riders were grateful, recalling the four days of
rain and one day of snow immediately preceding this ride. We were especially pleased to see newcomers (including some
RMCC board members!) in addition to the old stand-by randonneurs. Though
brevets are not races, the results below are listed by elapsed time, to give
you an idea of the distribution of finishing times and the clumping of
riders. With a few exceptions, you can see a steady increase in times
over the last few years, as the 200km has become steadily tougher (but still
lots of fun, we hasten to point out!). Many riders savored the cinnamon buns
at Vern’s in LaPorte, the climb up Horsetooth into the wind, and the
self-serve checkpoint at the Rawhide Powerplant, in the shadow of Wyoming.
Come join us in September for the course in reverse. |
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300km Brevet – 16-May-2001 - Record Turnout/Record DNF? This year’s 300km brevet reprised the same course as in recent
years, but with distinctly worse weather! A great turnout of 19 riders got things off to a fine start,
as patches of sky and a crescent moon were visible through the clouds. Winds
were mercifully light, and even favorable up the Elbert valley, a stretch
notorious for headwinds off the Palmer Divide. But a cold, persistent rain
squall caught the riders in the Black Forest area, highest point on the route
(7500 ft.), sending them to the Black Forest fire station, where BFFD staff
provided blankets against hypothermia, a dryer for sopping clothes, and a
very warm welcome. As the rain gradually diminished. those riders that could
do so continued onward,. Well, everyone will remember this ride. Despite conditions, veteran ultra-cyclist Bob Fourney posted
his fastest time since 1998, with Colin Talbert and Chris Grealish also in
the front group. Perhaps most indomitable was Bob Barday, fully decked out in
foul-weather gear, stopping in Black Forest only long enough to decipher his
rain-soaked cue sheet. |
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400km Brevet – 16-June-2001 This year’s 400km brevet boasted great weather – sunny with
highs in the 80’s. Colin Talbert, new this year, was first to come in, followed
shortly by powerhouse Chris Grealish, in his second brevet series. I got the
pleasure of riding the second half of the brevet with John Lake and Doug
Slack, excellent randonneurs from the Chicago area. Nothing fazed them, even
the 4000 ft. climb up Lefthand Canyon, to 9200 ft. Charlie Henderson’s front derailleur fell irreparably to
pieces 50 miles into the brevet. After 15 minutes spent jury-rigging, he
proceeded onward, shifting the chain by hand, eventually completing over 200
miles (including all the big climbs and descents) until the extra wear and
tear wore him down – now that’s the true randonneur spirit! (We’d note that
on an event like BMB or PBP, the checkpoints have mechanics on duty, who
could have repaired Charlie’s bike.) |
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600km Brevet – 30-June-2001 The 600km brevet had sunny conditions similar to the 400km,
but peaking at 98º the first day and 101º the second. We had a good turnout.
The hot weather forced all riders to a slower pace the first day, but there
were rewards, too – many riders praised the scenic North Fork Big Thompson
Canyon through Glen Haven, and everyone enjoyed the tasty, giant cinnamon
rolls at the Glen Haven General Store – almost reason enough to do the 600km! Chris Grealish, Colin Talbert, and Bob Fourney dispatched the
second loop at a furious pace, revving it up in the mild night air, and finishing
in close proximity. On this second loop, the lady at the Evans 7-11
checkpoint was eager to give each successive rider a blow-by-blow report of
which riders had passed during the foregoing eight hours … and their
personality traits. Once again, we were honored by Chicago visitors John Lake
and Doug Slack, who rode very well. And finally, I personally bettered my
last year’s record for most sleep on a 600km brevet. |
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1000km Brevet – 30-June-2001 Jack Herrick completed the first ever Colorado 1000km brevet,
experiencing every minute of the 100º weather the second day, and upper 90’s
the first and third days. Jack joined the 600km riders for the first half of
his brevet, then branched off for the wilds of Fort Morgan and towns just shy
of the Pawnee Grasslands, before making a final visit up Big Thompson Canyon
to Estes Park and Glen Haven. Jack had laid out the second half of this
brevet himself, and was instrumental in getting it organized. As he rolled
into the finish line at 7:28pm on Monday July 2nd, he thereby earned the
coveted 5000km Randonneur Medal from the Audax Club Parisien.
CONGRATULATIONS, JACK! |
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300km Brevet – 28-July-2001 After record numbers of riders on all the previous brevets,
three riders showed up at 3:30 am for the start of the 7/28 300K. At dawn we
were greeted with a cloudless sky and this continued with patches of light
clouds and no rain for the entire 14 plus hour effort. Many of you missed a
beautiful and the most challenging of our 300K’s (9000 vertical feet in the
first 100 miles). But after that mammoth effort we were blessed with 75 miles
of strong tailwinds from Manitou Springs to the finish. Also a great tune up
for the Denver - Aspen classic. Congratulations to Rita Saunders and Steven
Dean. Rita says this is one of her favorite rides … of course as most of us
know, Rita loves to climb and climb. Hope to see more of you out for this next year!. – Charlie
Henderson |
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The First Colorado Last Chance 1200km 7-September-2001 It’s 6:15am on Saturday, September 8th – a
rain/snow mix is pelting down in Boulder, temperatures inching out of the
upper 30’s. Charlie Henderson – route
marshal for the Last Chance – makes his first report of the day, from western
Kansas. He says things aren’t too bad
at that benignly lower altitude – just rain showers in the 50’s. At this point, organizers and riders alike
are glad that the Last Chance course didn’t foray into the scenic Colorado
Rockies, where just now it is snowing furiously. Two
days before, riders had coasted out of the starting gate at 4am, wafted by a
balmy tailwind onto the Eastern Plains of Colorado, where it would hit the
low 90’s that day and hydration would be a hot topic. From rolling farmland, the course next
bounded over successive ridges through Last Chance, then headed out through a
flatter, more desolate, yet still downward-slanting ranchland. By evening, riders had reached a greener
land of more trees and towns, and a hearty meal in St. Francis, Kansas, was
the riders’ reward. Friday
still held good weather in Kansas, as riders reached the turn-around point at
the Kensington P.O. Back in Boulder,
driving rain accompanied a lone figure on a fixed gear bike out onto the
course … Saturday’s
mild showers in Kansas gave way to wintrier rain as the riders climbed into
Colorado. Local Randonneur 5000km
medallist Jack Herrick ducked into a hardware store in St. Francis, emerging
with rancher Thinsulate gloves, a sheepskin vest, and Nebraska Cornhuskers
cap, and farmer-duty red striped white socks.
Ron Himschoot, inured to the Seattle area’s moist riding, had enough
rain gear to pilot a schooner through a gale – he was doing fine. The
mysterious cyclist, John Evans, had by now reached Kensington. A Cadillac pulled up at the contrôle – the
local postmistress. John politely
asked if he could use the car’s dipstick to oil his rain-cleaned chain. Sunday
morning, the main peloton woke to clear skies and frosty temperatures in
Lindon. As daylight broke, they
summitted a ridge west of Last Chance to regain sight of the Rocky Mountains,
now glistening with fresh snow. The
snow-capped Rockies greeted the riders the rest of the way in, as a light
tailwind whisked them home. The
inaugural Last Chance 1200km turned out to be a success, albeit a tiny one –
everyone who rode it had good things to say about the event and the
course. John Evans specifically chose
this 1200km as fixed-gear friendly.
(Of course, it depends on who’s pedaling – John stayed on to climb
Trail Ridge Road (12,000 ft.) and Lefthand Canyon (9,200 ft.) … on his fixed
gear.) Bob
Fourney – our local RAAM champion, PBP veteran, etc., etc. – supplied the
route concept and the impetus for doing the event in the first place. Out-to-Kansas-and-back was a favorite RAAM
training route for Bob. John Evans
spoke of the vast expanse. The route
is not flat, but is fixed-gear, recumbent, and tandem-friendly, and there is
that vast expanse … so we think the Last Chance has a future. - John Lee Ellis, Colorado RBA |
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200km Brevet –
23-September-2001 Our
club’s first late-season 200km brevet -- on September 23 -- attracted 13
riders, all of whom finished, some quite speedily. The diverse ridership included racers,
randonneurs, brevet veterans, and some first-timers – this was a good sign,
as we hoped to attract some new people, well-conditioned after a season of
riding, who’d try out a brevet to cap their season. It
was a near-perfect day for riding -- sunny with light breezes. The Horsetooth Reservoir hills did not put
a dent in the riders’ momentum, as they whisked out to the open plains past
Rawhide and on through Windsor. Charlie Henderson,
who ran the event, hinted that with times as fast as these, it could be time
to toughen up the course (again).
Brace yourself for next year!
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