Not all Colorado randonneurs melt in the rain.

I spent a wet Saturday in South Denver, riding around the Black Forest region. It was a good ride, probably my slowest 200K on pavement since 2003, but it was exotic weather for Mid-August, and I wouldn't have missed it. The ride was a blast.

The route follows the central core of the RMCC Black Forest 300K. Starting in Castle Rock, it heads south and east to the Black Forest region of the Palmer Divide. The route takes a twenty-mile long spur to Elbert, then heads west and south to Black Forest. The route then turns west, and rides over highly rolling terrain to Larkspur, pops up over a last ridge, and coasts back into Castle Rock. Overall, the route is not technically challenging, with about 6,000 ft of climbing distributed over the rollers, but the weather is labile and can make this course an adventure.

Six Randonneurs showed up at the start—John Ellis, Catherine Shenk, a gentleman on a beautiful mid-1960's chrome racing bike [Gary Gorman], Ronaele Foss, Brian Rapp, and your humble narrator. I was expecting a larger crowd given the occasion, but perhaps we, like the Wicked Witch of the East, were water-soluble. We'd see. John Lee Ellis, our RBA, gave us a rousing speech and a summary of the growth of our sport over the last decade, then we left at 7am into the rising rain. Brian got a good look at the glowering sky, felt the mid-40 degF temp and the brisk, wet south wind, noted the predicted 1-2" of rain for the area, and decided not to start.

Out from the start the route meanders a bit, then heads up and over a ridge. I put my head down a bit, trying to warm up, and when I got to the top, I looked around and discovered I'd ridden away from the group. Thankfully, I missed the next turn, and pushed on for a mile and a half before I noticed my error, so I got to chase John and Catherine on the rollers. The rain turned to sleet in the Black Forest, and I was glad to have my generator light and spare LED tail light given the poor visibility in the blustery, wet morning. Riding back from Elbert into the steady south wind, I was surprised to see Tom Knoblauch. He hadn't been at the start, but he was moving with alacrity toward the Elbert Controle. Ronaele was not far behind him.

Riding in continuous rain is a rare treat for me, and I made a few errors given the conditions. In honor of the occasion, I chose to wear my RUSA jersey(summer-weight short-sleeved polyester) instead of a long-sleeve wool jersey. I expected it to warm up a bit more than it did, and to rain intermittently. It literally rained all day, with a high around 52degF and a low around 43degF (at noon). I got sleeted on for about an hour on my way to Elbert. I was chilled for a few hours as a result.

I also discovered that my year-old rain mitts are quite waterproof, but they did not prevent water from running down my jacket, through the gauntlet, and into the fingers. I spent about four hours riding with my fingers immersed in my mitts. Next time, I'll put them on before I don my jacket. I'll also start the ride wearing my overshoes, even if I'm riding with full fenders. My feet got soaked and cold early on, but warmed up once I put on my booties. I must have been desperately clinging to the handlebars in the cold, as my left hand went a bit numb as well.

I drank coffee at each control, enjoyed a prefab cheese sandwich, ate granola bars, and tootled along, gearing down for each roller and missing the occasional turn, lost in the wonder of the route. I wasn't fast, but I was enjoying the unusual weather, the land and the moderate, rolling terrain. The Singer did great, and I was thankful for fenders and lights in the wet and fog. I don't climb terribly well on that bike, but I was out in the world and all was right.

I finished in around 9h07. Tom Knoblauch had apparently gotten ahead of me on one of my wrong turns, and was waiting at the finish. John and Catherine showed up twenty minutes or so later, and we all got our photos taken in our RUSA garb, sporting our 10th anniversary ride commemorative medals. Ronaele and [Gary] were still on the course, but I had a two-hour drive to my home, and the day was getting no younger. I finished my coffee, changed clothes, tossed my bicycle in the car, and drove home through the lashing rain.

It cleared up as I was driving through Erie on my way back to Fort Collins. My home, bathed in the late-afternoon sun, glistened wetly as I pulled into the yard.

Thanks to all the randonneurs who started the ride for sharing the day with me, to the many, largely anonymous, volunteers who make RUSA work for all of us, and especially to John Lee Ellis, our Colorado RBA, who runs these events so smoothly. I hope your 10th anniversary ride was as memorable as mine.

William M. deRosset
RUSA 2401