Ride Report: Hills & Thrills through Waterloo/Wellington

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 and had several email exchanges. I'd also heard countless stories about him on other rides, but I'd never actually met him until today. Carey confirmed my lights and reflective vest were in order, and I was issued my card for the day. Being given a brevet card was another small sign of the gradual return to normalcy since, through the pandemic, riders had been expected to print their own cards at home. So while this wasn't my first brevet event, it had all the signs of feeling like one. 

 

Group depart: 18 riders total

At 7:30, the group of eighteen set off. Originally I was to spend the day riding with Michel -- we were going to carpool from London after all, and our pace is relatively the same. But Michel had texted me the night prior stating he needed to back out. So without a guaranteed ride buddy, I had adopted a new strategy and goal for the day. Inspired by a video I had recently watched about cyclist vowing to stay with the front pack in the 200 mile Dirty Kanza gravel race, my goal was to see if I could hold on with the front pack of this brevet. Brevets are not races of course; rather they are timed-boxed self-supported rides. But my resolve to stay with the front group was a personal test to see how my endurance training was coming along. I also wanted to test some limits to see what telltale signs might there be prior to blowing up. (Wait....what if there weren't any?)

Control 1: The Queen's Bush Plaque(??) - 35km

Yes, this is indeed a plaque.
No, it was not the correct plaque. 

35km into the ride I found myself indeed riding with the fast group. With Marc and Vince just off the front, I remained in a pack with Tim, Brenda, and Matt. As we rolled down a steep descent, my bike bounced over some road joists and my bar-mounted top box lid popped open and immediately shut again. I heard Matt and Tim behind me yell 'Whoah! Stop!". My brevet card, which was sitting right on top of all the other junk I had jammed into the top box, had flown out and onto the road! It was here that we realized we were actually right at the first control point. (The rando gods were obviously trying to tell us to stop). We had stopped right at Glen Allen Park where our brevet cards were instructing us to take a picture of the namesake "Queen's Bush" plaque. We saw a plaque on a rock, which I didn't even bother to read, and took our turns snapping our pictures. I would later learn, after seeing the pictures of others uploaded to Strava, that this was not, in fact, the right plaque. (Whatever!) Ironically, a few clicks up the road we caught Marc and Vince doubling back, having missed the control objective; obviously a consequence of failing to appease the rando gods. 

SIDELIGHT: The Queen's Bush refers to the large tract of unsettled land that became the home of many formerly enslaved Black citizens in the 1820s. Glen Allen Park was selected as the heritage spot because this was the most prominent location of these pre-confederstion settlers. In 1850 the government had appraised the land upon which these settlers had built schools, churches, and homes, and many of them could not afford to remain in the area. (Source: Ontario Heritage Trust)

Up through Palmerston - 35 - 65km

The 'Second Breakfast Club':
Fred, Matt, Brenda, Tim

The four of us proceeded up through the scenic Conestogo Conservation Area, which treated us to vistas of greenery and streams along the side of the road. The turn toward Palmerston was open farm land, and with a strong crosswind, we took turns pulling at the front of our peloton. When we pulled into Palmerston, Matt informed us of a Tim Horton's that was only slightly off-course, so we pulled in there for a second breakfast. I had been fueling pretty regularly so I wasn't hungry, but I did lose some layers and refill my bottles. (Side Note: It really confuses the Tim Horton's staff when you fill your bottles while in line, and then attempt to pay for empty bottle of Powerade). I bought a croissant and a coffee, neither of which I finished. The rest was more welcome than the provisions. 

Taking a shift up front (while I still could)

By the time we resumed the course, we knew that other riders would have come through the town and we were eager to see who we might catch. We found a lone randonneur leaving Palmerston, whose name I didn't catch. He seemed content to maintain his own pace so we continued on toward Ayton as our group of four. 

The remainder of the ride to the second control was uneventful. The roads were quiet, traffic-wise, and the traffic we did see gave us a wide berth. We surmised this must be because they were already accustomed to seeing horse-and-buggies in this region, so the appearance of vulnerable road users was commonplace. 

Checking into how I was feeling, I could tell that fatigue was setting in. As we approached the 100km mark, I noticed that I could no longer take climbs while standing on my pedals without my thighs screaming at me in response. Thankfully, the roll into Ayton was mostly descending. 

Control 2: Ayton - Granny's General Store - 101km

Control 2 (was I trying to smile?)

When we pulled up to the second control we met with half-a-dozen fellow randonneurs; Gwen, Toby, Marco, Ken, and perhaps some others. The control at the half-way point of the ride was marked by a general store, which was a convenient place to gather provisions, so it wasn't surprising that our riders were gathering here. We heard that Marc and Vince and already been and gone just ahead of our arrival. Matt headed out with Ken, and, still committed to remain at the front of the pack, I continued on with Brenda and Tim. 

An afternoon of adversity

Owing to our descent into Ayton, it was only natural that we had a steep climb out. The moment I tried to engage my climbing muscles, my legs stiffened right up. I coaxed my drivetrain into it's lowest gear and spun as gently as I could but even that proved tiring. With my two ride mates ascending out of sight, I unclipped. As I stood over my top tube, the cramping pain in my thighs was excruciating - it was all I could do to remain upright. I guessed if I sat down in the ditch at the side of the road I might not get back up for a long time, so that wasn't an option. I noted the pain subsided when my knee was in full bend, but I couldn't straighten my leg. And so I walked my bike up the hill raising my knee to full height with each step. It was a walk the likes of which would have made John Cleese proud. Tim had circled back to ensure I was still alive, and once I was able to jump on his wheel, we carried on. 

A second climb approached, and I was similarly paralyzed by it. This time, stepping off my bike, my legs were completely cramped. I couldn't even get off my bike. I imagined my thighs were a pair of fuel tanks, and they had nothing in them. I leaned foreword on my bars, drank, and ate a few gummies while stretching my legs all while still straddling my top tube. After a couple minutes I was able to dismount and walk (normally!) at a reasonable pace up the rest of the hill. Sure enough, Tim and Brenda were waiting. 

"You are both wonderful people" I told them. "But if you want to carry on, I may just need to find my own pace from here on in". Despite my admission, they assured me they were in no rush, and were happy with a more restful pace. Well, that was certainly something I could offer. 

And so for the rest of the afternoon, climbs became my nemesis. The ever-present headwind notwithstanding, I could reasonably maintain a good pace on the flats. But the moment we were on a hill, I had to beg the bike into the rarely used front ring and spin my way up. I would get dropped by my companions but I would eventually catch them on flats and descents. At one point I developed a strategy of pro-actively attacking the hills at speed, but this was proving just as depleting. The cross-headwind and climbs were combining to turn the afternoon into a sufferfest. 

Refueling at 145km

We passed through Palmerston again on the way back and stopped at a Subway for a refueling break. I figured I'd get a foot long, eat half and pack the rest. Pack it I did -- right into my face! Despite the fact that I'd been eating sugar and raisins periodically, the food did a lot to restore my constitution. The ability to stand on my pedals was welcome relief that I wasn't a broken man, but I carried on granny-gearing all the way home, avoiding any recurrence of further cramping. 

Finish - 204.5km - 9:38 run time. 

What's a cyclist tan? 

Pulling out of St. Jacobs into Waterloo, crossing the 190km mark, I had a bit of a second wind. I just really needed to finish. We were coming up on 9 hours of elapsed time, and when I considered my only other completed 200k brevet was done in 11:10, I was feeling very strong. We pulled into the Tim Horton's with a run-time of 9:38. Toby and Marko had just arrived themselves, and I assumed that Marc and Vince had made it in as well. I was sore and tired, but felt great about pushing myself (and getting pulled as well) to be one of the earlier arrivals. This was a personal victory. 

I used the Tim Horton's washroom to change out of my super suit and into fresh civilian clothing. Tim, Brenda and I grabbed a spot on the patio of a State and Main and watched for other riders to pull in. We decompressed and debriefed with Gwen and Charles, closely followed by Carey and John. Knowing I had to get back to London, I finalized my brevet card and handed it over to Carey to close out the day. 

Lessons learned from today's effort: 

• Sunscreen: I've learned to apply liberally to my face so I stop roasting my french nose. Also covered my arms this time. Did not account for my legs. Maybe I should just get a unitard. 
• Pace: I can go flat-out for 100km, but I need to leave some fuel in the tank for the return trip on a 200km. This will be especially important as I learn to pace myself for even longer brevets. 
• Road apples: Riding through Mennonite country presents a different flavour of road debris to watch out for...in case the pot holes weren't enough. Evasive maneuvers highly recommended.