Colorado Brevet
Series 2002
Rocky
Mountain Cycling Club
Randonneurs USA
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Colorado Brevet
Series 2002 |
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Horsetooth Reservoir-Poudre Canyon-Stove Prairie!
The second time around! Whoever said it’s easier the second time around was pulling our derailleur cable (so to speak.) This Horsetooth was a near duplicate of the May 5th brevet. At 2 miles shorter than May’s 133 mile route, it was not easier. One can only shudder thinking of the day when those four little climbs on the east side of Horsetooth Reservoir are brought into the route. A cool, crisp, sunny day made the climb alongside the Cache le Poudre River even more stellar than usual. Along with the miles of new pavement on Road 25 east of Masonville, and the all too short stretches of repaired road up and over the Stove Prairie climb, the ride bordered on pure enjoyment. Five riders from the original 39 revisited the brevet with two riders posting faster circuits than their previous times. A tweak of the spoke wrench goes out to two unnamed riders who attacked Stove Prairie from the east, until realizing their mistake and ending the day with an additional 20 miles.
- Tom Foss |
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Heat, Wind, and Yucca Plants!
This year's Colorado Last Chance experienced "explosive growth" with 14 registered riders and 13 starters. The finishing rate was 75%, comparable to last year, and 75% of the riders came from out of state - British Columbia, Saskatchewan, California, Arizona, and Texas. Most riders did well, despite toasty temps in the 90's, with high humidity in Kansas and unrelenting winds on the Colorado Eastern Plains (in other words, normal conditions). Ken Bonner finished first, with a sub-60-hour time close to the sub-60-hour time he had posted at Boston-Montréal-Boston mere weeks before, and a similar time at the Rocky Mountain 1200 mere weeks before that. In other words, he came to this event already warmed up. Local Riders - Charlie Henderson finished a close third, while simultaneously managing the course and coordinating with the event support person, Wojciech. Charlie drives this route often enough for ranching purposes that he knows every hill. Marcia Kestner in her typical low-key fashion, simply showed up and rode the 1200 kilometers. Finally, Paul Foley completed a successful rookie brevet season by riding the Last Chance 1000km option. Texan brevet administrator Russell Hahn brought a number of fellow riders, to whom the heat and open landscape were nothing new. The event drew two recumbents - Russell and Jean-luc Friang. Congratulations to these hardy riders, and a special thanks to Charlie Henderson, who once again made all course arrangements, and whose belief in and enthusiasm for this event continues to pay off! |
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Riders at BMB! Tough but scenic BMB brought success to several local riders, despite those ornery Yankee hills and both warm and cold varieties of rain in the mid-section of the ride. Merle Baranczyk handily finished another BMB - is it his second or third in as many years? For Bob Barday, this was his first 1200km randonnée finish, and a tough event at that. This was Jim Emig's first 1200km, and he did a great job, after very strong performances in our brevets. Chris Grealish was the FIRST FINISHER overall in the entire event, with an impressive sub-54-hour finishing time, not far off the course record. Chris said he worked and trained very hard all year to achieve this result, and built up to this through three successive BMB's. BMB-veteran Rex Farnsworth rode a strong, intelligent BMB for 600 miles before equipment-induced knee problems forced him to abandon. Rex says it was the cold nighttime rain that got him off his bike long enough to evaluate his knee condition. Up to then, he had been at or ahead of schedule despite hills, rain, and gloom of night. BMB-veteran John Lee Ellis overcame solid preparation by becoming violently ill on the eve of the ride, but started anyway, in order to properly earn his DNF. He was able to make it to Vermont, convalesce, and ride back with the finishers three days later. Congratulations to everyone! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rollercoaster at 7000 Feet! Helmets off to Charlie Henderson who put together this rolling, challenging, yet quiet route as a substitute for our Woodland Park course, which forest fires had nixed. (Threat of blowing ash or flash floods caused us to re-route.) The new course combines the best of the spring 300km visit to Black Forest, subtracts the most aggravating stretches, and adds climbs over seemingly countless rollercoaster hills for a strenuous yet tranquil ride! Weather was excellent, with some cloud cover to blunt the sun, and prolonged riding above 7,000 ft., which made for mild temps. Ridership more than doubled over last summer's 300km, and we think cyclists will enjoy this route for next spring's 300km. In addition to the official finishers, honorable mention goes to Dan McCamman, John Connelly, and Doug Hiebert, who did 300km or more, but not quite on course. |
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Smoky!
The smoke that spared us on the 400km did infiltrate the 600km, together with temperatures grazing 100º. That, coupled with the typical headwinds in the shadow of Meeker and Longs Peaks, made for some real work, for which the excellent cinnamon rolls at the Glen Haven General Store were a welcome restorative. Out-of-towners included Ann Bond Crossland from Aspen, who, together with Bob Barday, John Lee Ellis, Jim Emig, Rex Farnsworth, Charlie Henderson, and Chris Grealish, is now set for Boston-Montréal-Boston. Thanks to Wojciech, Charlie Henderson's support person, for keeping a watchful and helpful eye on the brevet riders! |
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Quadruples!
Partipation quadrupled over last year's inaugural 1000km, drawn no doubt by the chance to climb two canyons, with Fort Morgan and the Weldon Valley as "intermission" in between. Riders endured some toasty temperatures and smoky air, especially on the make-up ride, June 29th. For Charlie Henderson and John Lee Ellis, this completes their qualification for the Randonneur 5000 award from Paris. Jack Herrick earned his last year and did this ride ostensibly just for fun, as did Marcia Kestner. Thanks to Jack Herrick for helping lay out and measure the route! |
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Smoked Out!
We were spared thick smoke from the Hayman and other fires, as the winds shifted just in time. Robin Favreau took a break from the Durango Missionary Ridge fire threatening her home to come ride. And David Blair escaped smoke from the Roaring Fork valley to come over from Basalt. Apart from spotty midday showers, it was sunny and dry, in the 80's. Cyclists enjoyed the 17-mile, 4000 ft. climb up Lefthand Canyon as much as always, buoyed by a balmy tailwind, and with a friendly welcome and fresh spring water at the Glacier Gateway store in Ward. Thanks to Chris Grealish for pre-riding the route and orienting the checkpoint stores! |
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Turnout and no DNF's!
Quite tolerable weather graced the 300km brevet this year (unlike last year's storms), rewarding the record number of cyclists (22) who showed up to ride. People seemed to like the course changes, including the extended loop at dawn around Chatfield Reservoir, the Gleneagle checkpoint, and best of all, Fox Farm Road into Larkspur and its friendly and pastry-laden general store. There were some new faces this year, including Jan Christiansen, a Dane working in England, who'd just done a 300km in Wales, an interesting comparison. We also appreciate other riders from outside the Front Range, such as Robin Favreau and Marc Witkes from Durango, and David Blair from Basalt. Thanks to Charlie Henderson for making numerous improvements to the route, and pre-driving the course! And thanks to Chris Grealish for being the early-morning Secret Checkpoint! |
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+ Stove Prairie = Toughest 200km Yet?
With balmy temps in the 70's, and almost double the ridership (38) of previous Colorado 200km's, riders were treated to the most strenuous and most scenic 200km yet, featuring "warm-up" climbs from Masonville over Horsetooth, followed by picturesque lower Poudre Canyon, and topped off by a stiff five miles up to Stove Prairie, at 8,000 ft. Bob Fourney, just back from his new Anchorage-to-Nome MTB record, needed only 6:32 to complete the course in his faired recumbent, more than a half hour ahead of the next riders, speedsters Chris Grealish and Colin Talbert. Despite the added climbing, people finished expeditiously and enjoyed the scenery, too! 39 riders started; in addition, we had 5 riders on the Flèche, who would otherwise have been riding the 200km. We thank veterans and new riders alike, including some new faces from Fort Collins, the Denver racing scene, and the RMCC. We plan to use this route again for the September 200km, depending on weather and other conditions. Thanks to Charlie Henderson for a pre-event checkout of the wildest part of the route, over Stove Prairie. |
Front Range Flèche - 4-5-May-2002
Team Prairie Dog (235.7
miles)
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"Prairie Dog" Inaugurates Colorado Flèche!
The inaugural Colorado Front Range Flèche saw one five-rider team in the field. Team Prairie Dog successfully completed the event, which must end 24 hours after it starts. They exceeded the 360km minimum distance by 16km, all the riders completing all the miles, finishing together, and having a good time in the process. The Flèche has already garnered more interest, perhaps enough for two or three more 3-5 person teams next year! |