I had decided to volunteer for the start control and the final control for the Valley Ford 200k so that meant if I wanted to do the event it would be easier if I rode the workers (volunteers) ride rather than start a while after everyone else on event day. As a bonus we were starting a little later, half an hour later. Woohoo!

As is always the case before a brevet, I checked the weather the day before and the miss-cast was for 30% chance of rain but probably sunny otherwise. The previous weekend I had decided against fenders and got wet because of that decision, this time I installed the very shwanky wooden fenders Willy N. gave me last year, (thanks again Willy!) I didn't install one of the rear bridge brackets but just tied it with some wire. They were firmly attached to the bike but rattled a little on rough road sections. All the work of installing fenders undoubtedly meant that there would be no rain, that is the rule in San Francisco. We would see about that.

Seven of us started from the front of the Marina Safeway at 7:30am. Rob H and Kevin F were doing the route as a Permanent. Greg B, Greg M, Willy N,  Robbins P. and I were doing the route as the "Workers' ride". The Workers' ride officially started from Mason and Halleck so Rob started counting our time when we reached that point, a little over a mile form the Marina Safeway.

The Point Reyes 200k weather forecast called for some rain for the day, just a 30% chance, but I had prepared the un-fendered Habanero MTB and decided to take my chances, after all I had a new untested secret weapon against light rain, on paper it should work fine.

I had missed the boat during the holidays to order a pair of Rainlegs when they were dirt cheap online. During the very rainy week before this brevet, cabin fever got into me in a good way. Scissors in hand I decided to make knickers out of a damaged pair of rain pants I had until recently been using for commute. Chopped them just above the legs zippers and got a new fashion thing going, yep, instant Ghetto Prêt-à-Porter Rain-Knicks. All I needed now was some 200k rain to test them out.

Proudly wearing my new fashion creation I rode the short 5 miles, in light rain, to the Golden Gate Bridge where plenty of riders had gathered for the privilege of enduring the leg killing rollers of this 200k brevet. A few familiar faces and many new ones.

It has been more than a year since we went there and the more time goes by the more I miss it. IMO Bali is a wonderful place to ride a bike and travel.

I had not been sleeping well during the previous nights and the night before the event was just more of the same. I was not really worried about this event, I know the route  and I knew I was going to be riding at a slower pace than I would usually ride. I would be riding with my friend/coworker Mari M. who was going to be doing her first brevet as per my suggestion. She comes from a triathlon background and I have ridden with her a couple of times, enough to know she can do this event and have a good time.

This time Jim G. was going to drive so we met at his place and after some trial and error we (mostly Jim) solved the roof rack bicycle order puzzle. Unfortunately, all that extra time spent there made us late to the start. All riders left while we were getting our stuff ready. Sterling H. and Rob H. patiently waited for us. Veronica T. arrived while we were getting ready so the four of us left at the same time.

If you know me you know I like espresso and cognac (brandy when I am cheap) and sometimes I combine them in different ways. I also combine coffee and cycling quite a bit.

Well the other day while searching one of them bartending apps on the phone I found the regular jello shots the wife loved so much when we first meet.
Now you see where I am going with this right?

I have had caffeine mints on some on the longer randonneuring events to help me stay alert at night but the pills are not the same as the real thing. Coffee has that bitter taste that I like.

What if I make some easy to carry jello coffee shots? Hey even better coffee/brandy jello shots! (those are not to be used when riding)

Here's the recipe for Carlos' Coffee Jello shots:

2 envelopes of unflavored gelatine
1¼ cups of espresso
¾ cup of brandy
3 tablespoons of brown sugar

Add all of them to a bowl and boil for a minute. Pour in an ice tray. Wait until the gelatine is ready and then enjoy.
Don't want them with brandy? just replace the brandy with more espresso

Now don't go riding after eating the "brandy enhanced" jello shots. But the plain coffee jello shots should be easy to carry in a ziplock bag or even inside a water bottle.
Gotta try then on the bike, at home they taste great...

I didn't sleep well the night before thinking I was going to miss the alarm going off to get up, of course, I was very awake when the alarm went off, tired but awake.

6:00 AM and six of us started moving out of the Marina Safeway parking lot in San Francisco. The route will have us climbing 15,000 feet on its 129 mile course and from previous experience I knew it is a very though course, both physically and mentally. I knew I had to pace myself as if I was riding a much longer event. Jeremiah, Ernesto and Jim were riding cyclocross bikes, Charles a traditional frame with fenders and Greg and I were on mountain bikes. My tires as ussual cheap 1.5" hybrid ones, mostly smooth in the center with small knobs on the sidewall.



We rode as a group to the North side of the Golden Gate Bridge and then started climbing Conzelman where the group separated a little. I've done this ride twice before and knew all that climbing would take a physical and mental toll later on in the day so I was doing a comfortable pace. Ernesto, Jeremiah and Charles, all doing this route for the first time crested Conzelman ahead of me and then I joined them on the descent. They pulled away once again when we hit the Headlands fireroads, I was not going to chase them.

There was a rabbit convention going on in the Marin Headlands, I had never seen so many little rabbis jumping there. A foggy morning made for pleasant riding and the visibility was very limited so I could never see the riders ahead or behind me, the solitude was great. Once I got to Tennessee Valley the fog had cleared a bit and the first steep climb was just a mile away. I could see the leading group climbing a steep section of Coastal. Keep this pace, keep this pace.

The great ocean views the Coastal trail provides in this section were obscured by fog and I wished it had been a clear morning so riders could enjoy the views, maybe on the return the fog would be gone. I was feeling ok, not great but was not too tired and the nice downhill into Muir Beach kept me very awake. A couple of off camber turns helped with that.

I had my watch set to beep every two hours to remind me to eat, somewhere near (or in Deer Park, can't remember) it went off.

Listen up people!

Download PRINT and BRING this cue sheet to the ride.

On July 11th you are invited to do the 2009 edition of the 200k Mixed Terrain ride, La Ruta Loca Randonnee (LRLR), that loosely follows Brevet event rules. We will start from the San Francisco Marina Safeway at 6:00 am. What is that? well a brevet is a long distance recreational ride (not a race) that is timed, the time allocated for a 200k event is 13.5 hrs. You can find more about brevets at the San Francisco Randonneurs website.

The difference here is this event covers mixed terrain, both paved and off-road sections (about 60%-40%) I've been mapping mixed terrain routes in Marin since 2005 and have come up with several detailed cue sheets for different routes that start at the Golden Gate Bridge and go North to the Marin Headlands, Mt Tam and a little beyond, this has been a real labor of love, you can read my Jul/07 posting here. The 2009 cue sheet will be posted here soon.

LRLR 200k has about 15k of climbing most of it on fire-roads. We start at the Marina Safeway and ride to Muir Woods via the Marin Headlands then climb to Pantoll Ranger Station using Deer Park, continue to Lake Lagunitas using mostly Mt Tam fire-roads, connect to Bolinas/Fairfax rd, down to Alpine Dam, up to Bolinas Ridge down to Hwy 1 via Randall Trail, pay a visit to Mike @ Black Mountain Cycles in Point Reyes Station to get your proof of passage, ride back to Fairfax and Larkspur using the regular bike route, before Camino Alto turn left and do the full Paradise Loop, at Mill Valley keep towards Mt Tam, up to Railroad Grade, West Point Inn, down to Pantoll Ranger Station, connect to the Marin Headlands via panoramic Hwy, get to Miwok Stables and continue on the fire roads to Conzelman, down to the Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco Side) and you are done. Sounds like fun? There are "Controls" where you should prove you where there by either getting a receipt, signature/stamp or write some obvious thing about the location, it is different for each Control.

Use whatever bike you want, road, cross, mtb, just make sure your brakes work and the bike overall mechanical condition is very good. I use an unsuspended ti MTB with 1.5" hybrid tires because that is what I have but others have done parts of this route in all sorts of bikes/tire combos, single speed, fixed, fixed 20", road, cross... Just pick one and ride.

If you get in trouble due to a mechanical, or hopefully not, "health" issue there are many places to cut the ride short; the same places serve well to cheaters but I hope no rider does cheat as that misses the whole spirit of doing this type of ride. You have 13.5 hours to complete the route and cover every inch as per the cuesheet. To put the ride in perspective, I am a middle of the pack rider in the San Francisco Randonneurs regular brevets and last year completed LRLR route in 12.5 hrs so I think this will challenge most riders. No awards, no entry fee, just the fun of a though ride in our corner of the world.

Don't think you can complete it in 13.5hrs? So what, nobody is going to pass judgment on you, that is your job. Come out and ride and finish in whatever time you can.

This is NOT a sanctioned brevet or event sponsored by the San Francisco Randonneurs, just a regular informal ride, if you decide to do it you ride at your own risk.

Carlos