Rando Rambles

  Route / Event:   Tour d'Essex  / 200km Brevet [  Ride Log  ] Fred & Michel "So wait, this course would be a 0.5...maybe a 0.666 or something?" I asked. Michel and I were discussing a method of ranking cycling route difficulty by dividing elevation gain over route distance. It was way too early on a Saturday and my mathematical subroutines were definitely undercaffeinated.  "It's 125m over 200km. The point is, it's flat. Very flat. It'll be a good day for a personal best." he responded. These are the types of discussions you have with fellow randonneurs when you hit the pre-dawn highway to make an 8am out-of-town departure time.  Indeed the ride was looking extremely positive. Flat course (0.625 on the 'Hebert' scale), no rain, no wind -- it was looking in our favour. This worked out well because today was a day where I was balacing wanting to have a good successful ride, but also needing to get home to where my son was hosting his eight...

Route / Event: Railway City 200 - pre-ride / 100km scouting mission [ Ride Log ] The mission was simple: scout the back 100km route of an upcoming 200km brevet event. A little rain in the forecast -- maybe some thunder, but otherwise a nice clear day according to weather forecasts. It's only 100k after all...what could possibly go wrong?  Photo credit: Adventure Cycling Association When I  rode the Railway City 100 populaire a few weeks back, I was told that the vision for this route was that it was the first half of an eventual 200km brevet. The idea was that the first 100km could terminate at the departure point (Railway City Brewery), proving an opportunity for self-supported riders to restock from their own parked vehicles (and enjoying a refreshment of course). The only thing was that the back 100km had yet to be designed.  Following that ride, soliciting feedback from local London-based randonneurs Marc Deshaies and Michel Hebert, I took on the task of mapping t...

Route / Event:   Queen's Bush 200  / 200km Brevet [  Ride Log  ] This day marked the first brevet event of the 2022 season hosted by the Huron chapter of the  Randonneurs Ontario club. The ride, dubbed Queen's Bush 200 , was a 200 kilometer figure-8 route that would leave from Waterloo, Ontario and meander up through Mennonite county through the towns of Palmerston and Ayton before looping back around through St. Jacobs. There was every reason to believe we would have a great turnout. Not only was the weather forecast favourable, Waterloo had the ability to draws equally from the GTA-based Toronto chapter as it would from the south-western Huron chapter. So while I pulled into the Tim Horton's at 6:30AM, first to arrive (of course!), it wasn't long before a cascade of others, clade in high visibility gear, began to arrive one by one.  Once my bike was unpacked and loaded I went inside to collect my brevet card from Carey Chapelle. Carey was the chapter VP ...