Rando Rambles

  Route / Event: Railway City 100 / 100km Populaire [ Ride Log ] I was first to arrive at the ride's starting point. Today we would launch from the  Railway City Brewing Company , a microbrew located in the center of St. Thomas, ON. I still had forty minutes before the depart time, so I sat back in my vehicle and enjoyed the drive-thru breakfast I'd picked up coming through Lambeth.  Not too long after, another vehicle pulled into the lot. After confirming I was here for the ride as well, the man introduced himself as Jim. Jim had come in from Sarnia and this was his first ride with the Randonneurs Ontario club in over five years. (We would also later learn that today was Jim's birthday!). Michel arrived next, and by this time the rain started to hammer down. With our bikes unloaded and packed, but with no place to shelter, all we cold do was wait inside our own vehicles as others arrived. Once Tim and Brenda arrived, the rain had slightly abated. Before leaving we calle

  Route / Event:  Railway City 70  / 70km Populaire  [  Ride Log  ]  Spring has spring in Southwestern Ontario. Though old man winter's last exhale threatened us with freezing rain, the early morning forecast reported above freezing temperatures -- that's all I needed to see.  The ride today is a populaire -- a sub-200km route with no required control points to pass through. Early in the riding season these shorter rides serve as great conditioning to the longer brevets which start in May, though I've noticed that some club chapters will run populaires throughout the entire season as they make great entry points for new riders all year round.  This is the first populaire I've participated in with the  Randonneurs Ontario  club because the spring lockdowns of last year saw them all cancelled. Despite the shorter distance, I've approached preparing my bike and myself the same way as though it was a full brevet event. I could have gone without the food or extra battery