Ride Report: Brevet and a play: as merry as the day is long

 Route / Event: Much Ado About Nothing 200 / 200km Brevet [ Ride Log ]

PROLOGUE: 

Nine randonneurs, all alike in dignity

In fair London where we lay our scene.

Passing through prescribed controls, 

On each their own two-wheeled machine. 

Despite past failures and successes

One rider seeks to up his game. 

A tradition of his local chapter;

A new accomplishment to claim. 

Combining exercise and culture,

Adding challenge to today's brevet, 

They'd ride hard to the town of Stratford

To sit a meal, and watch a play. 

Continuing their prescribed course; 

The aptly named 'Much Ado About...' 

The randonneurs would hurry back 

To London before time runs out.

The Much Ado Crew
(Photo credit: Brenda W.)

ACT I. SCENE 1: London to St. Mary's (0 - 50km)

Another Saturday, another 200km, right? Ride the distance, passing through the required controls, and do it in under 13.5 hours.

Oh but this one's special. The Huron chapter has this tradition you see. The route passes through Stratford, Ontario, home of the Stratford Festival Theatre. The tradition is to make the event time, but also watch an entire play! While reluctant at first, I convinced myself that the added challenge the play imposed, complete with participating in this Huron chapter tradition, was all in the spirit of randonneuring. After-all, it's not a race, we're given the time for a reason -- why not make the most of it?

Save the turtles!
(Photo credit: Brenda W.)

The first 50km of this route leaves London and heads toward the nearby small town of St. Mary's. A large portion of this route follows a route I take on most mornings as I circumnavigate the city before returning home to take my first set of meetings -- I call it my post-pandemic commute. 

Averaging a spirited pace of 27 - 30kph, seven of us rode together; our fresh legs taking us quickly out of London and into St. Mary's. Four among us, who also ride with London Cycling Club, were recently made aware of a family run micro-roaster right along this route: Snapping Turtle Coffee Roasters. As of this writing this coffee shop holds the award for "Best Bicycle-Friendly Business" in the Huron-Perth, Waterloo and Wellington region awarded by the Ontario By Bike Network. Unfortunately, the with the pace of our group, it didn't feel like it was time to stop just yet. So as we rode on I made a mental commitment to make this place the destination of a future ride. 

On the subject of turtles however, we did stop to save one little guy that was taking his sweet time crossing the busy county road! Someone get that little dude a bike!

ACT I. SCENE 2: St. Mary's to St. Millbank (50 - 94km)

From the starting point to the first control point at 94km, this route is actually a slow and steady ascent. We continued this climb through the towns of Rostock and Milverton. Between Milverton and Millbank our group experienced at least three close brushes with passing vehicles failing to provide a comfortable berth while passing. (Jay swears one pick-up truck even came back around for another close fly-by). 

In Spain the signage is clear

RANDO-RANT: Why do so many drivers believe that cyclists must ride single file to the point where many are aggressive and belligerent about making this point? How can anyone be so sure when the laws are so ambiguous here? The best we have is section 148(6) of the Highway Traffic Act which requires slower moving traffic to keep right in order to allow faster moving traffic to pass on the left. If the road is quiet, and a vehicle can safely pass a group of cyclists riding two abreast using the oncoming lane, are they required to file up? The laws that govern our behaviours need to be more ironclad, and less open to interpretation. 

Drafting a carriage -- that's allowed right? 

Approaching Millbank however, traffic was getting increasingly heavy until it finally started to backup completely on the highway. This traffic jam forced us, as a group of cyclists, into the shoulder to continue at a slow and careful pace in the gravel. (One particularly testy pick-up truck driver attempted to block the entire shoulder with his truck. To what end, we have no idea. We didn't stick around for rational discourse -- we all just easily rode around him.)

The cause for the backup was a festival of some kind just outside of Millbank. We were all relieved that it wasn't a lineup of folks waiting to patronize Anna Mae's Bakery & restaurant -- the famous Mennonite bakery that was our first control point. This being my first visit to the bakery while it was open for business, I took the opportunity to fill my bottles, and bought and shared butter tarts with the group. 

ACT II. SCENE 1: Millbank to Stratford (94 - 140km)

I was struggling on the hills between Millbank and Stratford. Not because I can't climb, but because I seemed to be having an issue keeping my seat at the right height, meaning I was pushing with the wrong parts of my legs. The week prior to the ride, my gel seat had failed - excreting it's blue sticky gel all over the back. My local Trek store took sent the seat in for warranty and, knowing I had a 200km ride this weekend, fixed me up with a decent replacement. (Great customer service there at Trek London). All this on-and-off seatpost action seemed to have left my clamp loose, and to make matters worse, the tightening bolt seemed to be rounding out. 

Stopping to adjust my seat was a nuisance -- I hate stopping. I endured this all the way to Stratford, when finally, my mind was put to ease as we cycled through the festival district to the second control. 

INTERLUDE: Dinner and Theater: Every Little Nookie

Brenda had Tim had the brilliant foresight to book an Airbnb right at the second control point. This provided a location to securely store our bicycles while at dinner for those of us attending the play. After stowing our bikes and gear, we ate at the Boar's Head Pub. (Ben even whizzed by this control just in time for a group shot). Once the meal was over, Sadrik and Jay bid us adieu and headed off to close out the ride, while Marc, Michel, Tim, Brenda and I headed over to the theater. 

Every Little Nookie: When a suburban boomer couple return home to find their queer millennial daughter, Annabel, hosting a swingers’ party to make cash, they’re forced to question the state of their marriage. Annabel, in turn, must ponder her own future when she adds a new relationship to her chosen family of polyamorous and platonic roommates. In this high-spirited sex romp, it’s not just the earth that moves, as shifting paradigms encourage new possibilities, both personal and political.

While in the play our plan was briefly threatened with an unscheduled delay in the performance. Staff announced over the PA system that the performance would be paused, and asked attendees to remain in their seats. We waited 30 - 45 minutes with no knowledge of what was happening, my thoughts growing increasingly morbid about what could possibly cause such a delay. Tim and Brenda, who would later meet some of the cast at a post-ride dinner, confirmed that one of the actors' partners had tested positive for COVID-19, and therefore the entire cast and crew needed to undergo rapid tests to ensure that the performance could safely continue. 

ACT III. SCENE 1: Stratford to London (140 - 205km)

The ride home was calm and rather uneventful. We discussed the play which we all seemed to equally enjoy, reliving the comedy and appreciating the themes. I would learn from Jay and Sadrik that their ride into London was a hot one, so I appreciated that our little interlude also sheltered us from the midday heat. 

We arrived back in London at sunset, with just under an hour left on the clock. Despite our lengthy break, as a group we'd maintained a spirited average speed of over 27kph, with an overall moving time of 7.5 hours. An amazing brevet experience I'll not soon forget, and I'll look forward to more "features" on future such events. 

~ FIN ~

Lessons learned from this ride: 

• Brevets are meant to be an experience. Though I'll still seek to be a more efficient rider both on the road and at controls, my reason for this will be to maximize the overall experience, rather than minimize the time.