Since I'm in the taper for next weekend's
Wisconsin Marathon, I was watching the weather carefully for yesterday's
Great Lakes Randonneurs 200k brevet-if the weather was too extreme, I was gonna skip it. The forecast looked not too bad...winds 20 mph or less and moderate temps. Well, the weather forecasters let me down and we had one cold, rainy, Belgian-style extreme weather brevet.
Before the start, it was still relatively warm and I was considering shedding the leg warmers. I would soon be very glad I did not. I also chose to put a handlebar bag on my bike with every bit of rain gear I owned. This would also prove to be a very wise decision. Barely two miles into the brevet, the first rain of the day began. It was kinda neat to see the fast group all pulled over to the side of the road, in what looked like a "natural break", digging out the rain jackets. Of course, they would be passing me again in a few minutes.
The 200km route was the same as last year, Delavan to Edgerton to Verona and back. Not flat, but no really challenging climbs. Rolling into Edgerton for the fist checkpoint, all was well except for my frozen hands and feet. The temperatures had been dropping since the start and being wet just made this worse. I was feeling bad for the guys with no jackets and wearing shorts! Hypothermia was a definite possibility. I dug into my bag of tricks to dig out my Louis Garneau Rain Helmet cover-one of the most indispensable pieces of cycling gear I own. It has a visor to help keep rain out of your eyes and a desert-style neck flap to keep rain from running down your back. Combined with my Sugoi rain jacket, I could ride in relative comfort. Except for my frozen hands and feet, of course.
The lightning was a little scary on the way out of town. Big streaks of ground lightning in the direction I was traveling. Just kept pedaling. At one point between Edgerton and Verona, I started feeling a little shaky. I pulled over and just ate. Breakfast cookies rock. Calories must have been what I needed, because I started to feel better almost immediately. When it is cold, you don't drink so much, so your calorie consumption goes down and you really need to eat more solid food. Bonking in my first 200km brevet brutally reinforced the importance of monitoring my food and liquid, and I've avoided that obstacle since. In Verona, I was cold...shivering cold. Hot drinks, a change of socks, the addition of my waterproof socks, change of glove to long-fingered gloves with latex gloves beneath, more calories, and back on the road.
The ride back from Verona to Edgerton was good, except for the two flats. It should have just been one. If I had checked my tire more carefully after the first flat, I would have found the sliver of shell embedded in my tire that would cause the second flat. The cut was pretty small and I couldn't find it again to boot, so just used my last spare tube and hoped not to have another flat. Having mostly tailwinds and crosswinds definitely helped speed us along back to Edgerton. The latex glove layer was absolutely helping my hands stay warm, though it would cause a couple of small blisters. My feet were still cold, but felt drier with the waterproof socks.
Back into Edgerton. Stocked up on junk food and cappuccino. Ready to ride. Rain continued. It never seemed to completely stop all day. The hardest part of this stage is always the 11 miles on Highway M. Nowhere to hide on M, with empty farm fields on either side and very few wind breaks. Luckily, there was a crosswind for 9 of the 11 miles, UNTIL the 90 degree turn in the highway that made for a stiff headwind, lowering my speed to 10 mph. This was so hard on my back. Barely could muster the power required to fight this headwind after 120 miles of riding. This is where the mental challenge really kicks in. Cold, tired and demoralized by the slow rate of progress, you just have to grit your teeth and keep the pedals turning. The Super 8 back in Delavan is then a wonderful sight. Back in the truck, heat on high, shoes and socks off, feet stuck up against the vents. Ahhh. Can't wait to see what the 300km brevet has in store!
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