Ride Report: Erie-Uh-Oh!

Route / Event: Erie-Oh 300 / 300km Brevet [ Ride Log ]

Lightning pierced the dark sky several times as we approached the city of Windsor. While amazing to behold, and a perfect compliment to the Metallica riffs that were streaming through the Android Auto system, Michel and I agreed it was rather unwelcome. So far this year I'd managed to dodge inclement weather on four individual 200km brevets. Now that I was attempting my first 300km, I was wondering if the Mother Nature was coming to collect her debt. The sky as steely gray and threatening as we pulled into the departure point, with just enough chill to remind me to throw on my reflective gear. 

Fred, Valerie, Dija, Michael, Ben, Michel
(out of frame: Dick)

I'd volunteered to act as ride organizer for this event, so as fellow randonneurs arrived, I ensured they had lights and a vest and handed out each their brevet cards. For this ride we had myself, Michel, Ben and Dick from the local Huron crowd, and Valerie and Michael joining us from the Toronto chapter. We also had Dija, from Brooklyn, NY, who rides with the New Jersey Randonneurs, who herself was also looking to notch her first 300. As the ride host I felt duty-bound to play tour guide, but as we were acquainted Dija expressed her preference to ride solo, removing me of the obligation. Allure libre!

We set off as a group of seven, hoping to dodge the incoming storm, Michel, Valerie and I stuck with Ben leaving Windsor, as his local lore of the local cycling infrastructure was incredibly useful. (It's too common to be so fixated on following a road that you completely miss the fact that there's a bike lane right next to you). 

Control 1: Oh Esso Where Art Thou? (0 - 50km)

Our route passed through Amherstburgh, right past the Navy Yard National Historic Site before dropping down onto the northern shore of Lake Erie. Having studied the route the night before I noticed that our control points weren't marked within the GPS map itself, but I knew the first one was supposed to be an Esso at around the 50km mark, so as we approached the community of Colchester, Michel, and I kept our eyes peeled. We spotted an XTR gas station in the vicinity, but no sign of any Esso. After about 10km, we came to the conclusion that this gas station must have been an Esso in a former life. At this point we were too far passed it to warrant turning back, assuming others would likely miss it as well. 

POST-RIDE NOTE: In fact missing a control contravenes Article 8 of the rules set for by the Audax Club Parisienne, the overarching governing body of the sport of randonneuring. These rules state specifically "Riders must stop at each checkpoint to have their card stamped". For violating this rule I was issued a two-hour time penalty to my overall finish time.

Hike-a-bike!

Control 2: The Mysterious Garden (50 - 77km)

Further along in Kingsville, Michel and I were deep in chat when our nav warned us both that we had missed a right turn. Having not seen a right turn, I'd assumed it was further ahead. But it was there, behind the piles of gravel and dirt. 

Control 2 - Colisanti's

Just beyond this little cyclocross feature, Michel, Valerie, and I came upon Colisanti's Tropical Garden. I couldn't figure out what this place was when I was scouting the route the night before. From the name alone I thought it might be a Caribbean Diner and was looking forward to some chicken roti and doubles for lunch, but this was far from the truth. As I wandered the place looking for the washroom I passed through an games room, a couple restaurants, a mini-golf course, and a botanical garden (because why not?). The truth is I still don't know what this place is, but I know that I'll be back likely to insert a mini-golf game in the middle of this brevet, in true Huron chapter fashion. 

Control 3: Touch-and-go in Erieau (77 - 167km)

As we left Colisanti's we could still the the storm clouds hanging threateningly in the sky. The route to control 3 was a dominated by a 40km straight shot along Lake Erie. There was the small matter of a blockade Ben warned us about back at the start, which has been in place for a few years. As a local, Ben must have been comfortable navigating around it using local roads. Michel and I on the other hand felt better sticking to the posted route and hiking over the two barricaded section. Here's the thing about barricaded roads -- no traffic!

Filling our bottles at a church
along the Talbot trail.  

As we approached Erieau by way of the McGeachy-Pond Conservation Area Trail, we agreed that we weren't going to stop long at the Brewpub. On a different day, with a different crowd, I could see enjoying a nice fish & chips lunch here, as was probably the intent when the route was constructed. We were still just in front of a storm and making good time and resolved to stop at the next control beyond. 

Control 3 - Erieau

We were surprised to meet up with Michael at the convenience store across from the brewpub. Michael had ridden off the front of the group back in Windsor and I just assumed that was the last of him we'd see. These events are not races, but I still get a tiny confidence boost when I catch the front of the pack at controls -- it reminds me how far I've come as an endurance cyclist. Michael seemed to be of similar mind, favouring a quicker stop to refuel rather than a sit-down meal, and he was soon on his own way. Michel and I signed each other's cards, crushed a bag of Skittles Gummies, and were rolling again after only ten minutes ourselves. 

Control 4: Against the wind to Chatham (167 - 205km)

Control 4 - Chatham

We left Erieau using another gravel recreational trail which ended at a stream crossing connected to the gravely Lagoon Road. I certainly don't mind these unpaved trails and gravel roads; they do break up the monotony of longer paved sections. They do take noticeably more effort though. As we puttered along this gravely section I imagined that Valerie would be coming up behind us on her Trek 520 Grando in full pop-a-wheelie screaming "Woooo! GRAVEL!!!". 

With the sky still overcast, but significantly less threatening, we passed through the town of Blenheim and turned right into the wind toward Chatham. Here the roads were too busy to ride side-by-side, and the strong headwind made any aspect of conversation moot, so the two of us just endured the headwind for an hour until we finally pulled into the Tim Horton's control. 

By now it was 3:30PM, and we'd already closed 205kms. This was a remarkable pace - I'd never finished a 200km brevet in the mid-afternoon. It was definitely time to use this control to give ourselves a bit more of a rest. We locked our bikes up at a rack behind the restaurant, and went inside. Michel ordered us each a coffee and a chili (full bun please!) and we sat and had a proper meal. 

Control 5: Suffering to Lighthouse Point (205 - 237km)

In the time we'd been inside, the clouds had completely receded, and the sun was now fully exposed. After an hour of riding through the scenic country road I began to regret my meal decision. I was feeling tired, and nauseated and the only thing keeping me from pulling over was the lack of any actual shaded area to stop. The road was field on both sides with not a tree in sight. I was now beyond my longest ever single-day ride, and I was starting to feel it -- physically, mentally, and spiritually. 

Control 5 - Lighthouse Point

The turn up Lighthouse sideroad came after 35km of straight pedaling; it was the first sense of progress I'd felt since leaving Chatham. 

Just as we pulled into the control, marked by a variety store, Michel was stung on the side of the mouth by an unidentified insect. I ran inside get grabbed a handful of freezies -- firstly because I had already been fantasizing about them for the past two hours, but secondly they'd act as a decent way to ice whatever toxin Michel just had injected into his face. 

Ben caught up to us moments later, and I shared a freezie with him as well. After signing each other's cards, the three of us made for the final control stop before the finish. 

Control 6: McTrouble! 

Meeting up with Ben at this point couldn't have been better timed. This leg connected a series of feeder roads through cottage/housing communities along the southern shore of Lake St. Clair. The roads were each connected by small unpaved connecter paths, which were, at times, obscured from obvious view. Being able to followed Ben's lead as he glided through these nooks and crannies honestly felt a little like cheating. 

As we approached the next control, which was yet another Tim Horton's, Ben taught me another randonneur's life-hack: McDonald's provides ice water, while Tim Horton's only source of water is the heated tap water in their bathrooms. With a Golden Arches across the way from our control, we resolved to make this our rest stop. 

Control 6

But as I mounted my rig after crossing the street, I temporarily lost my balance, and drove my front wheel down into a gully impacting a raised manhole cover. My front tire hissed violently, and sealant was bubbling all over the area of impact. No problem I thought -- I waited a momment and let the sealant do it's work -- once the hissing stopped I could feel my tire still had some air, so I walked it over to the McDonald's, took out my hand pump and filled it up. But after about ten minutes, when Ben, Michel and I were refueled and ready to go, the tire was flat. It wasn't holding air. Michel waited with me, but I told Ben I'd be right behind him once I'd swapped my spare tube in. 

The new tube wasn't holding air. I thought it might be my pump so we tried Michel's -- same issue. We even brought the wheel over to a gas station, and tried to fill it there -- no dice. It seemed the valve in the spare tube was dysfunctional. I used a valve core remover to swap out the core with the tubeless valve I was using, and *still* it wouldn't hold air. I received a text message from Michael at this point, noting that he'd just completed the route, and I started doubting my own ability to repeat this success. 

Though all this repair work we had captured the interest of a few local teenagers, all riding around on their bikes looking for something to do. I was prepared to buy one of them a McFlurry and trade it for one of their CCM mountain bikes and finish the brevet like that. I also started to wonder how many large french fry orders it would take to fill my tires with fries. 

Finally, I said to Michel "My only hope of finishing is to try one of your tubes". Michel rides 25c tires, much thinner than my 32's. But if I was careful not to overfill it, it should get me 25kms to the finish. So once again I removed my tire, swapped in the thinner tube, put everything back together and filled it. It was holding. It felt a but soft because I'd only filled it to 45 psi, but it would hold. After the forced 90 minute stop, I was ready to roll again!

Control 7: The night ride home

Finish - 301km

By pure chance, just as we were pulling out of the McDonald's we came across Dick Felton. I'd wanted to ride with Dick today, figuring his I would need some of his storytelling to eat up some of those longer stretches, but as we were separated near the beginning, I figured it wasn't going to happen. I'd ridden with Dick for the back half of my first ever 200km brevet, so it seemed only fitting that I would finish with him on the 300. This chance encounter made the entire flat tire episode serendipitous. 

The three of us shared stories of the day as we cycled through the dark county road. We were hoping that Valerie and Dija, who were somewhere behind us, were still both riding. Thinking of these two lone riders in our wake made me empathetic to what it might feel like riding this stretch of lonely country road, alone, in the dark. Though riding alone, through any means, is a core tenet of the randonneur, I was appreciative of the company I had at this point. 

We finally pulled into the Circle K end point just before 11PM. 16 hours elapsed time for my first 300. A little longer than I'd wanted, but I'd overcome some mechanical adversity, and that made it feel like a victory -- and finishing alongside Michel and Dick was a perfect ending for me. 

One of the benefits of being the ride organizer was hearing the stories of the other riders as they turned in their brevet cards. Both Valerie and Dija completed their route, but were each stuck in a midnight deluge that I guess I narrowly avoided. Dija also mentioned being delayed by a road closure following a fatal motorcycle crash. These are their stories to tell, but I always enjoy hearing from other fellow riders. 

Lessons learned from this ride: 

• It's great to be efficient at controls, but recovery is needed too. Upon reflection, my tire issue was caused by clumsiness. After the break I felt like I could go on for much longer. Another reminder to make better use of the allotted time. 
• Check your spare tubes and make sure they actually work! 
• Randonneuring is an individual sport that encourages camaraderie. Without this camaraderie, I'd have been finished today, so I am ever thankful.