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.

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.

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.)

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.

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!

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

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.