AMERICAN RANDONNEUR · American Randonneur 6 Fall 2011 The Mondial Award is for RUSA members who have suc-cessfully completed at least 40,000 km in RUSA events. The name “Mondial”

AMERICAN RANDONNEURVolume Fourteen Issue #3 Fall 2011

®

adventure PresentsMother Nature’s Greatest Sports Arena:

Death Valley National Park

The Fall edition of our Death Valley Century, Ultra Century, and Double Century is held annually in October, providing incredible, one-of-a-kind, 108-, 144- and 197-mile cycling routes to Scotty’s Castle, Ubehebe Crater, and Hell’s Gate. Limit 400 riders.

October 29, 2011

The Spring Edition of our Death Valley Century, Ultra Century, and Double Century is held annually in March, providing incredible, one-of-a-kind, 105-, 150-, and 196-mile cycling routes past Badwater and over the passes to Shoshone and back. Limit 400 riders.

March 3, 2012

Our cycling lifestyle camp features five days and 300 or more (or less) miles of epic, one-of-a-kind cycling, plus daily yoga classes, group dinners, and a hike, and then concludes with participation in our Hell’s Gate Hundred cycling century. Limit 75 riders.

March 27-31, 2012

Hell’s Gate Hundred includes locations and sights that are not visited in any other one-day cycling event, including Artist Drive, Daylight Pass, and the ghost town of Rhyolite. The 100-mile route features 8500 feet of elevation gain, while a 65-mile version is also offered.

March 31, 2012

For information, registration, and much more, visit www.adventurecorps.com

American Randonneur

www.rusa.org 3

RANDONNEURS USA, INC.IS A TAX-EXEMPT 501(C)(3)NONPROFIT CORPORATION

American Randonneur is a publication ofRandonneurs USA Inc.

226 West AvenueSanta Cruz, CA 95060

Website: www.rusa.org.e-mail: [email protected]

Phone: 831-227-6266All rights reserved.©

AMERICAN RANDONNEURVolume Fourteen Issue #3 Fall 2011

RUSA Executive Committee

President ....................................Lois Springsteen

Vice-President.................................Jennifer Wise

Treasurer...........................................Eric Vigoren

Secretary ..................................Edward Robinson

Board Member .....................Cecil Reniche-Smith

Board Member ................................Mark Thomas

RBA Liaison....................................John Lee Ellis

Brevet Coordinator..........................Mark Thomas

Medals & Awards Coordinator .......John Lee Ellis

Membership Office..........................Don Hamilton

Newsletter Committee ......................Mike Dayton

Permanents Committee Chair .........Crista Borras

Routes Committee Chair..................John Kramer

Rules Committee Chair ..................John Lee Ellis

ACP Medals Volunteer .....................Ken Knutson

Souvenir Coordinator ......................Jennifer Wise

Team Randonnée Coordinator........Paul Johnson

Webmaster........................................Don Bennett

American RandonneurEditor: Mike Dayton. Editorial Committee: JoshuaBryant, William DeRosset, Maggie Williams, JenniferWise.

Published 4x Yearly. Advertising: [email protected] On the cover....

The inaugural Colorado High Country

1200K featured breathtaking views like the

one on this issue’s cover. The photo, “Back

in Colorado after the Snowy Range,” was

taken by CHC 1200 organizer John Lee

Ellis. He also contributed an entertaining

account of the event. His article begins on

page18.

Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page

President’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Welcome New Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Passings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

RUSA News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

RUSA Board Nominations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10-11

RUSA Board Election Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

RUSA in the News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Rando Lifestyle: Getting Your Goat . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

RUSA Ride Schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Colorado High Country 1200K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

PBP 2003: A Defining Moment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

RBA Perspective: Showing Up On Time . . . . . . . . .22

Gottlieb Receives Galaxy Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Parlez-vous français? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Texas Rando Stampede 1200K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Membership Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

RUSA Store . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

American Randonneur

4 Fall 2011

Grand Randonnée sea-son is upon us. Asmany of you have

already ridden a domestic1200k, others are getting readyto head to France to ride ParisBrest Paris. Randonneurs USAis proud to be sending 438members to France this year.I’m part of that group andlooking forward to finallymeeting many of you in per-son.Planning and visualizing suc-

cess is an important part ofstrategizing for any long event.To this end, several membershave shared their ideas and somehave developed spreadsheettools that can be used to planyour approach if you are soinclined. My thanks go out to allwho have shared their thoughtson our Wiki and on the variousemail lists across the country.Mike Dayton and his team’s spe-cial PBP Newsletter issue isabsolutely phenomenal. We suredidn’t have anything like this formy first PBP.As I prepare for my 6th PBP,

I reflect on the past with a mix-ture of pride and excellent luck. Imade lots of rookie mistakes, butit all worked out in the end. TheCentennial PBP back in 1991 wasmy first trip to France. I spentthe month of August sight-see-ing and riding around the coun-tryside.

Riding very hard through theAlps near Le Bourg d’Oisans(The Galibier, Croix de Fer,Glandon, and Alpe d’Huez) just aweek prior to the big event was abit too much for me. I shouldhave tapered more, but it wasunbelievably fun.I almost missed the last train

from Paris back to St. Quentin-en-Yvelines and got locked outof my hotel the night beforePBP. We were able to wakesomeone up to let us in but thatwas an embarrassing moment. Ishould have been maximizing mysleep and relaxing a bit morebefore the start.I rode the 1991 PBP pro-

logue thinking it was obligatoryand this meant another trip todowntown Paris via train andthen a 70 mile ride back to thestart of the event. Getting loston the way back to the hotel did-n’t help. I had no clue how toread a French route sheet so sim-ply followed others. It was mirac-ulous that we got back to ourhotel OK.I’d ridden all the brevets with

plenty of time to spare and with-out sleep so I didn’t go into PBPwith a good plan for when andwhere I’d eat and sleep.“Winging it” made it more diffi-cult than it needed to be. I soongot in touch with the closingtimes of each control and devel-oped an overwhelming need to

sleep. I wishI’d startedmore restedand made abetter pre-ride plan forsleeping.Despite mylack of plan-ning I was suc-

cessful, in large part due to thehelp of Brian and Warren who I’dmet in Davis during the brevets. Ifound myself riding with them aswe approached Loudéac on theoutbound leg. I was ready for sleepbut Brian had a plan – “It’s toosoon to sleep, let’s keep going,” hesaid. My luck in finding those guys,Brian’s plan and his ease with theFrench language got me through.When I was sure I couldn’t make itduring the last night and urgedthem to go on without me, Brianreassured me by saying, “We couldwalk and make it!” It was a lie, butin my sleep-addled state, I believedhim and it worked. We finishedwith a couple of hours to spare. Irode over the line with a huge sighof relief thinking I’ll never do thatagain! Now, I simply can’t wait togive it another go.

LOIS SPRINGSTEEN

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

American Randonneur

www.rusa.org 5

RUSA Welcomes Its New Members!# Name City State/Country

7086 Linda Kenning Saint Paul MN7067 Terry Beasley Saint Joseph MO6985 Richard Rodeghier Wilmington NC7032 Terry Anderson Boone NC7037 Billy Giblin Carrboro NC7044 Richard Glover Cary NC7060 Oscar Knight Boone NC7069 Luke Heller Asheville NC7089 Patrick Connelly Raleigh NC6995 Steve Lavoie Concord NH7056 Eric Nichols Newfields NH6984 Dean Krogman Morristown NJ6994 George Brandt Glendora NJ6996 Rudy Saldia Sewell NJ7003 Nanette Hilton Las Vegas NV7011 Joseph Voelkel Fairport NY7035 Bill Irving Gardiner NY7036 Patrick Sheeley High Falls NY7058 Jan Bent Rochester NY6982 Murry Wilmerding Miamitown OH7083 Ellie Wallace Cincinnati OH7034 Dylan Farnsworth Portland OR7072 Scott Grimes Parkesburg PA7039 Paul St. Jean Coventry RI7047 Chris Clement Columbia SC7006 Tom Magee Midland TX7013 Sam Teng Southlake TX7038 Douglas Heck Midland TX7070 Cindy Edmison Rio Vista TX7080 Bud Durden Dalworthington Gardens TX7081 Chris Anderson Amarillo TX7082 Markus Joswig Fort Worth TX7085 Alison Carey Midland TX7090 Lisa Anderson Odessa TX7091 Scott Anderson Odessa TX7092 David Shortes Odessa TX7093 Ron Holland Fort Worth TX7059 Dirk Matthias Salt Lake City UT7084 Emily Hunter Salt Lake City UT6988 Stephen Palincsar Alexandria VA6990 Emily Helmes Great Falls VA6991 Joan Oppel Arlington VA7061 Sarah Flack Arlington VA6989 Richard Edwards Seattle WA7010 Brian Boon Gig Harbor WA7016 Aaron Erbeck Seattle WA7054 Jeff Angeley Seattle WA7065 John Kroetch Seattle WA7023 Cory Zito Milwaukee WI

# Name City State/Country

7001 Maggie Fitzgerald Palmer AK7005 Michael Braun Hnchorage AK7007 Michael Pochop Anchorage AK7012 Brij Potnis Anchorage AK7014 Kip Walrath Anchorage AK7022 Sharon Sell Anchorage AK7027 Bjarne Holm Anchorage AK7043 James Kaszuba Chugiak AK7046 Elisa Long Anchorage AK7073 Thomas Van Pelt Anchorage AK7074 Rosalie Hohnstein Anchorage AK7088 Bob Eder Anchorage AK7048 Jeff Feet Montgomery AL6997 Joseph Layton Mesa AZ6998 Joshua Layton Mesa AZ7079 Jason Canfield Tucson AZ6987 Raphael Gernez Los Altos CA6999 Matthew Buck San Jose CA7008 Rosalie Kneebone Moorpark CA7024 Arthur Wayman Cypress CA7025 Dick Caley Long Beach CA7028 Keith Buckingham San Francisco CA7031 Jerry Hirsch Rossmoor CA7033 Cory Alexander Marina CA7041 Brad House Torrance CA7042 Lucas Brewer Marina CA7050 Don Williams Discovery Bay CA7055 Curt Hentschke Gilroy CA7062 El Lardizabal Duarte CA7068 Eric Senter Davis CA6986 Hal Naiman Denver CO6992 Guy LeVan Littleton CO7019 Bert Boyce Palmer Lake CO7045 Mark Pfeil Boulder CO7066 Dan McDonald Denver CO7029 Mike DeBiasi Waterford CT7071 Rebecca Farr Washington DC7009 Mark Dennin Cooper City FL7026 Michael Snayd Boca Raton FL7057 Kim Rowe Dade City FL7063 Agnes Gallo Oakland Park FL7077 Alan Koesten Margate FL7015 Gregory Bachman Loves Park IL7030 Patrick Evans Matteson IL7064 Michael Steadman Oak Lawn IL7051 Timothy Stephen Prospect KS7052 Paul Cunningham Denham Springs LA7075 Mark Wieneke Arnaudville LA7076 Jeffery Trahan Destrehan LA7018 Henry Lane Whitinsville MA7000 Scott Sheppard Hanover MD7002 Bill Cunningham Millersville MD7017 Neal Becker Frederick MD7020 David Judkins Potomac MD7021 Mohammed Adawi Centreville MD7049 Rob Madill Silver Spring MD7078 Dennis Nardone Millersville MD7087 Amit Singh West Bloomfield MI6983 Kathy Mulier Andover MN6993 George Hagemann St Louis Park MN7004 Philip Jemielita North Oaks MN7040 Kristopher Lambert Minneapolis MN7053 Mark Bayuk Saint Paul MN

Attention MembersThe RUSA newsletter is mailed via third class mail tothe address on file of all current members. Pleaseinform the membership office of any change ofaddress, so that your newsletter will reach you in a

timely fashion. Please send notification of change ofaddress to:

Don Hamilton at [email protected].

...To renew your RUSAmembership!

Memberships run from January through December.

Use the convenient form in the inside back cover or

download the form at www.RUSA.org.

DoDonn’t Forget’t Forget......

Passings

Marc M. Jarkow

September 23, 1948 - July 3, 2011

For obituaries and profiles, please visit www.RUSA.org.

American Randonneur

6 Fall 2011

The Mondial Award is for RUSA members who have suc-cessfully completed at least 40,000 km in RUSA events.

The name “Mondial” comes from the French adjec-tive meaning worldwide or global. The name relates to thefact that the circumference of the Earth is approximately

Six Mondial Recipients AnnouncedAward earned by logging 40,000K or more in RUSA events

40,000 km.This award can be

earned just once by a mem-ber and is automaticallyawarded upon completionof the required distance (noapplication or purchaserequired).

The qualifying distancefor this award is based on allevents on RUSA’s calendar(ACP brevets and Flèches,RUSA brevets, populaires,arrows and darts), RUSA permanents, and 1200km events heldin the United States after 1999. Foreign events (including PBP)are not counted.

RUSA congratulates the four riders who have just earnedthis prestigious award.

Date Rider City & State

2011/04/23 Daniel Schaaf Rowlett, TX

2011/05/11 William Olsen Califon, NJ

2011/06/09 Paul H Donaldson Richmond, VA

2011/06/30 Kelly DeBoer San Marcos, CA

2011/07/04 Robert Riggs Houston, TX

2011/07/11 Michael R Sturgill Phoenix, AZ

American Randonneur

www.rusa.org 7

(F) = Female; [# ] = # of awards

List of Latest R-12 RecipientsGary Dean [2]...............................Silver Spring, MD

Patrick Leahy .........................................Seattle, WA

Andrew D Mead .................................Lancaster, PA

Ryan McKay ...........................North Hollywood, CA

Sharon Stevens (F) [5] ....................Richardson, TX

Byron E Morton [3]................................Raleigh, NC

Ray T Rupel .....................................Centennial, CO

Alan R Blanchette....................North Brunswick, NJ

Tom Durkin [2]......................................Portland, OR

Dawn M Engstrom (F) ............................Millville, NJ

William Beck [5] ................................Woodbine, MD

Joel Lawrence [2] .............................High Point, NC

Michael OConnor [2] ............................Durham, NC

Dean Albright...................................Carmichael, CA

Roger Swanson .....................................Lindale, GA

Christine Newman (F) [2] .....................Skillman, NJ

Vickie Backman (F) ................San Luis Obispo, CA

Jerry Phelps [5]................................Chapel Hill, NC

Andy Speier [2] ......................................Seattle, WA

Michael J Dayton [5] .............................Raleigh, NC

Matthew O'Neill ...............................Chula Vista, CA

Irene M Takahashi (F) [2] .....................Boulder, CO

Kevin D Salyer [3]...............................Lafayette, CA

Donald Boothby [4] ................................Seattle, WA

Renee L Smith (F).............................Pasadena, CA

Daniel Pfaff ......................................Springfield, MO

Alan M Johnson [2] ...........................Morrisville, NC

Ian Page Hands ....................................Raleigh, NC

Wayne Dunlap [3] ....................................Austin, TX

Lois Springsteen (F) [2]...................Santa Cruz, CA

Katie Raschdorf................................Ho Ho Kus, NJ

J Martin Shipp .......................................Raleigh, NC

Ray Holzworth, Jr [2] ........................Gainesville, FL

American Randonneur

8 Fall 2011

The Ultra Randonneur Awardis for RUSA members who haveridden ten (10) Super Randonneurseries. The Super Randonneur (SR)series of brevets (200 Km, 300Km, 400 Km and 600 Km in a cal-endar year) that are used to qualifyfor the Ultra Randonneur Awardneed not be in consecutive years, nor is there a time limit on howlong it takes to accumulate the ten SR series. Note that it is possi-ble to earn more than one SR series per year, making it possible toearn this award in fewer than ten seasons.

Riders can apply with ACP brevets, RUSA brevets, or RM-sanctioned 1200k events; team events and permanents do notcount. Longer events can be substituted for shorter ones. Forexample, a RUSA 230k brevet could be used in lieu of an ACP200k brevet and a 1000k brevet or RM-sanctioned 1200k eventcould be used in lieu of a shorter event missing from the normalsequence.

RUSA congratulates the riders who earned and applied for theUltra Randonneur Award.

Six Ultra Randonneur Awards Presented

Year Name City & State

2011/03/23 Gary Gottlieb [3] Aledo, TX

2011/05/03 Daniel Schaaf Rowlett, TX

2011/05/16 William Olsen Califon, NJ

2011/05/29 Richard G Carpenter Reading, PA

2011/05/31 Willy Nevin Pacifica, CA

2011/06/01 Mike Richeson Seattle, WA

How to Ride & Finish Events

Publications By John HughesStop Cycling’s Showstoppers—How to deal with mental, equipment & environmental

issues, points of contact, ailments on the road and injuries—65 page eBook

Eat & Drink Like The Pros— How to make your own tested ride food and drinks providing healthier, tastier nutrition at lower cost—16 page eArticle

Cramps—How to prevent and treat them including illustrations of stretches—10 page eArticle

Mastering the Long Ride—Training isn’t enough! How to plan for and ride a brevet

—16 page eArticle

Nutrition for 100 km and Beyond—What to eat before, during and after for a

successful and enjoyable ride—16 page eArticle

Available now: www.RoadBikeRider.com

www.rusa.org 9

American Randonneur

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

“Helping make good riders

better since 1981”

2011 Remaining Events

All prices based on double occupancy motels.See the PAC Tour web site for more details.Web site registration is now open.

Contact: Lon or Susanwww.pactour.com 262-736-2453If you are not going to PBP and you want to extend your cycling season, we still have space on these tours...

Southern Transcontinental$4,495 for 30 riders or lessArrive San Diego Saturday, September 10th

26 days, 2863 miles about 115 miles per day

Depart Savannah, Georgia, Friday October 7th

If you ever dreamed of riding coast to coast this is the best tour to fulfill your goal. This route crosses the southern states with plenty of mountains and hills. We added some new roads and towns while exploring a different way across America. This is always a popular tour and a good way to extend your cycling season.

Building Bamboo Bikesin Ghana, AfricaOctober 19-29

This is a very unique tour to the southwestern coast of Africa. We will be riding Bamboo Mountain Bikes to area villages to learn and help build bamboo bikes. This tour combines a lot of cultural exposer while visiting a very friendly part of Africa.

Peru Amazon AdventuresTuesday, November 15 - Fly to Lima, Peru

Monday, November 28 - Return from Peru

During the past twelve years we have traveled to a variety of Peruvian destinations. We have combined many of our favorite adventures from past tours. �We will participate in a wide variety of experiences not usually seen by tourists. This tour will offer plenty of opportunities for cyclists and non riders to see Peru as the local people really live. This tours are appropriate for cyclists and non cyclists. �We will travel to all the same locations with Peruvian guides in rented vehicles. We will ride about 250 miles during five cycling days of 35 to 65 miles. All of the days are on paved roads.

Coming in 2012

Arizona Desert Camps and ToursThis will be our 17th year offering early season tours in dry and sunny Arizona. Each week has a different theme for different types of riders. You can combine weeks toextend your cycling training season in Arizona. Week #1 Cactus Classic Desert Tour

68-89 miles per day to Wickenburg and back

Week #2 Border to Border Week

A new week traveling to the border towns of Arizona.About 60-80 miles per day.

Week #3 �Tour of the Historic Hotels

50 miles per day between classic Arizona hotels

Week #4 Chiricahua Challenge

75-90 miles per day to the Chiricahua Mountains

Week #5 Century Week

Based in Sierra Vista 60-100 miles per day

Week #6 Mountain Tour

80 -100 miles per day, to New Mexico and up Mt. Graham

Elite Tour Transcontinental

17 Days, 175 miles per dayLate MayFor serious riders only. This tour is too difficult for most riders. If you are a really good rider or you need a good training ride to prepare you for RAAM, then this tour might appeal to you.

Wisconsin Tour of Southwest Wisconsin

Mid June, 7 daysWe return to ride one of our favorite areas of the state. Each day is about 75 to 90 miles. Small rural farm roads roads are the trademark of this region. This is a good tour for recreational riders who would enjoy a one week tour with great cycling

NEW Pacific Crest Trail

15 days about 120 miles per dayMid JulyThis is a new tour for PAC Tour following the Sierra Nevada Mountains from Washington to central California. This route has lots of steep mountain passes and beautiful scenery.

Northern Transcontinental

30 days, Washington to Virginia 3,400 miles, 125 miles per dayEarly August to early SeptemberThis is always a favorite cross country tour for cyclists who want to ride coast to coast.

For more information stay tuned to the PAC Tour web site:

www.pactour.comupdated 5-28-11

American Randonneur

10 Fall 2011

RUSA Board Member Candidates

Brenda Barnell, RUSA #2362I’m excited about the opportunity

to serve as a board member forRUSA. It would be an honor to giveback to a wonderful organization that Ihave thoroughly enjoyed over the years,help spread the word about RUSA bygetting others involved, help othermembers achieve their cycling goals andhelp promote the RUSA mission. Ifelected I will support RUSA’s member-ship, board and provide valuable inputto keep our organization growing andevolving.

I started randonneuring in 2004 andhave been active ever since that first200k. I participated in Boston-Montreal-Boston in 2004, Paris-Brest-Paris in 2007 along with the Cascade1200k and Last Chance 1200k in 2010.I was honored to receive the MondialAward in 2009 and have received the R-12 award for 6 consecutive years. Istarted with the Lone Star Randonneursand was happy to be one of their K-Hound (over 10,000k) award membersfor several years. Recently, I moved toSouthern California and I now ride withthe Pacific Coast HighwayRandonneurs.

Jonathan Berk, RUSA #4415At some level I think all of us worry

about the safety of riding. I know I do, espe-cially in a PBP year. And as the inside frontcover of the American Randonneur sadlyattests, our fears are not without justification.In the four years I have been a member ofRUSA, 4 people have died on brevets. Ofcourse, we are talking about a very smallsample, but to put this number in perspec-tive, this frequency implies that if allAmericans were members of RUSA, brevetriding would be the 8th leading cause ofmortality in the country. It implies thatbrevet riding is more dangerous than motor-cycle riding and we have a 50% higherchance of dying in an accident.

Bike riding is not the only dangerousactivity I enjoy. I also backcountry ski andI think we could learn something fromthat sport. Because of avalancheresearch, backcountry skiers can reducetheir risk if they choose. But brevet rid-ers do not have this option. I would liketo change that. As a social science pro-fessor, I would like to initiate a researchstudy that could ultimately be used by ourmembers to make our rides safer. Mygoal is to provide riders with enoughinformation so they have the option to

improve their own safety and reduce theirchance of an accident. If you are interest-ed in more details about this initiative,have thoughts on this issue, or would liketo help, please visithttp://saferando.blogspot.com/.

Rob Hawks, RUSA #2515I started my randonneuring career in

2004 when I rode my first flèche event withthe San Francisco Randonneurs (SFR). In2007 the SFR RBA was stepping down aftermany years of service. The club had oncebeen brought back from dormancy and Iwanted to make sure that didn’t have to hap-pen again, so I stepped forward to take onthe role of RBA.My goal then wasmerely tokeep the local club going so the next personcould take it over and help the club flourish.Learning as I went, it soon became clear thatthis was the way I could give back to the localrandonneuring scene, and four years laterI’m still RBA and the club has grown consid-erably. The most central point of my effortswith SFR has been to make volunteering forthe club easy, and on top of that, desirable.If left to one person, the club might nothave grown as it has. That growth happenedbecause many people have stepped up to

American Randonneur

www.rusa.org 11

RUSA Board Candidates (continued)contribute. I get so much out of the randon-neuring community here in NorthernCalifornia so I plan to continue to give backlocally as the SFR RBA and by supportingthe other NorCal brevet clubs in whateverway I can. A strong national organizationwill happen when many people step forwardto contribute at that level, which is why I’mhonored to have been nominated to run fora seat on the RUSA board.

Paul Johnson, RUSA #1168It was a surprise to be notified that I had

been nominated to the board of RUSA,especially as I have amassed a decidedly un-outstanding rando palmares. I rode my firstbrevet in September 2001 and have sinceearned the Super Randonneur a coupletimes, annual distance medals of 1,000through 5,000Km. The R-5000 and the R-12. I’ve completed five 1,200Km grandbrevets, including PBP twice.

I’m more proud of the volunteer workI have done for our local club, and to a less-er degree RUSA. It always amazes me thatsuch a large organization, with fairly com-plex international obligations gets all of itswork done by the good will of its members.We have grown tremendously in the time Ihave been a member of RUSA and thatcould not have happened without lots ofvolunteer effort.

A vote for me is a vote for the consid-eration of change. Some say “If it ain’tbroke don’t fix it” to which I say “You don’thave to be bad to get better.”Randonneuring has a rich tradition thatshould guide us but I will look for improve-ments that attract more people to the sport.

Eric Vigoren, RUSA #2942

As I sit at my desk on this sunny Sundayafternoon, pouring over spreadsheets andIRS forms, I ask myself, do I love RUSAconference calls, processing membershipand insurance checks, writing quarterlyinsurance reports, preparing IRS tax forms,paying vendors, reconciling credit and bankstatements, making sure we earn the bestrate of interest on our money, and keepingus so flush with cash that RUSA dues are stillonly 20 bucks a year? Well, not exactly, but....

Do I love this club, our community, themembers, the sport, the spirit of volun-teerism that makes it all possible, and the sat-isfaction of working hard to help RUSAgrow and thrive? Absolutely! RUSA is a fab-ulous organization, and it’s been an honorand, yes, a pleasure to serve on the boardand as treasurer. I’m eager to commit toanother three years, and I hope you’ll giveme the opportunity to continue to work onbehalf of our club, its goals, and our mem-bers. Thank you!

John Lee Ellis, RUSA# 153It’s an honor to be nominated for the

chance to continue what has been a veryinteresting and enlightening job as RBALiaison! As an RBA I personally benefitfrom seeing the many bright ideas and newperspectives that other RBAs come upwith. I get to work with fresh, new RBAseach year, and with folks who’ve beendoing a great job since the founding ofRUSA.

More than I’d like to admit, a “sillyquestion” has turned out to be a very perti-nent one. Why in fact did we decide to dothings this or that way? What do I do ifsuch-and-such situation crops up? Howmany ferry crossings can we have?

Just as randonneurs’ goals havemushroomed — whether it’s the R-12,multiple SR’s in a year, or a 1200k eachyear (... or more than one!) — so haveRBAs’ schedules and aspirations. ManyRBAs support R-12 hopefuls withbrevets in more months. Some offer allor part of multiple SR series. More areorganizing intriguing, well-produced1000k’s. And five of the seven 1200kgrand randonnées in the world this yearare RUSA 1200k’s (four of them new!).What are RBAs thinking??

I think this is a great time to be anRBA, and to share in the energy andgrowth. And if I can help out as RBALiaison, I am pleased to do so.

RBA Liaison Candidate

12 Fall 2011

American Randonneur

RUSA Board Member CandidatesIt is time again for our annual elections. These RUSAmembers have been nominated for positions on the

RUSA Board. The general board members serve three-year terms, while the RBA Liaison, nominated by

the RBAs, serves a one-year term. (Remember, only RBAs can vote for the RBA Liaison position.) Read

on (pages 10-11) to learn more about each nominee, then use the Election Form on this page to cast your

votes. RUSA depends on our volunteers to provide its leadership and operations, and in turn these good

folks depend on your vote. If you’d like to vote online, go to RUSA’s Website at www.rusa.org.

RUSA Election BallotThree positions on the RUSA Board of Directors are on the ballot. Candidate bios are on pages 10-11.

Members may vote for TWO candidates from the nominees listed below. The third position is for RBAs

only. Check the box to cast your vote. You may also vote online at www.RUSA.org.

�Candidate # 1: Brenda Barnell, RUSA #2362

Candidate # 2: Jonathan Berk, RUSA #4415

Candidate # 3: Rob Hawks, RUSA #2515

Candidate # 4: Paul Johnson, RUSA #1168

Candidate # 5: Eric Vigoren, RUSA #2942

Your Name:_______________________________ RUSA #: ________________________

This section is to be filled out by RBAs only.

Candidate: John Lee Ellis�

Please send this form to:

Edward Robinson

3750 N. Sam Houston Blvd.

San Benito, TX 78586

All ballots are due to the RUSA secretary by October 15.

Your Name:_______________________________ RUSA #: ________________________

�

��

American Randonneur

www.rusa.org 13

Editor’s note: This article and photo origi-nally appeared in The Bozeman Daily Chronicleand are reprinted with the newspaper’s permis-sion.

The “wow” is usually uttered amoment before the “why?”

That just seems to be the naturalreaction when Jason Karp, Belgrade’s cityplanner, describes the brevet cyclingseries he has organized under the auspicesof the Gallatin Valley Bicycle Club.

“Yeah, I get that a lot,” Karp said.“And I usually ask myself that too whenI’m in the middle of the ride.”

Being propped up on the handlebarsfor a minimum of 200 kilometers — orabout 24 miles past the century mark —will do that.

Welcome to randonneuring.Derived from a French word for

rambling, randonneuring is ultra-distancebike riding. And brevets (bruh-vays) areorganized randonneuring rides, a fullseries of which consists of a 200K (124.3miles), 300K (186.4 miles), 400K (248.5miles) and 600K (372.8 miles).

“There is a lot of suffering and a lotof misery involved, but I think the thingthat keeps riders coming back is, whenyou finish one of those things, the highfrom it, it’s really addicting,” Karp contin-ued. “What randonneurs call it is randon-esia, because you forget about how miser-able you are and go back and want to doit again.”

The brevet name originates withanother French term, this one for certifi-cate, which describes the card — “kind oflike a little passport,” Karp says — thateach rider carries to have marked at thevarious checkpoints along the route,proving completion.

This style of riding developed short-ly after bike design forsook the oversized

front wheel in favor of the matched pairwith pneumatic tires, following a briefflirtation with the rough ride of solid rub-ber. The long distances were adopted totest the new equipment’s endurance.

“It’s not a race, but you have to finishthe ride within a certain time limit,” Karpsaid. “You’ve just got to be fast enough,and that appealed to me.”

For the 200K, for example, ridersneed to finish within 13 hours.

“As long as you keep moving youonly have to average about 10 miles anhour,” Karp said. “There’s a lot of littletricks to it.

“You don’t have to be super fit. I see‘randos’ that can do incredible distancesthat even have a little gut on them.”

There’s also no need to find a tele-phone booth to duck in and don a cape.Karp’s weekly training includes a mini-mum of 100 miles of riding, which mightseem surprisingly mellow compared tothe training of a more traditional roadracer like Ryan Hamilton, a member of

Bozeman’s newest team, RockfordCoffee/Clif Bar.

“The average week of training forsomebody on our team is probably 10 to12 hours. And that’s averaging 19 miles anhour, something like that,” Hamilton said.

Setting aside the variation betweendistance training and speed work, that’saround 190 miles a week for what is usu-ally about a 70-mile race.

“I’ve always done a lot of riding(and) I’ve always kind of had that fantasyof racing,” Karp said. “But I’ve tried it alittle bit and I just get dropped off theback. But I enjoyed riding alone; it’s justkind of therapeutic.”

But even with an appreciation fortime in the saddle, the brevet distancesdidn’t sound any more manageable.

“I thought, ‘wow, that’s insane,’”Karp said. “But what made me think itwas possible is in 2007 I did a solo touracross the highline of Montana ... The

RUSA IN THE NEWS

Belgrade rider brings 200K events to Montana

PHOTO

BYNICKW

OLCOTT/CHRONICLE

After completing a 600-kilometer ride, Jason Karp has qualified for the longest continuallyorganized bike ride, the Paris-Brest-Paris.

�Continued on page 15

BY SEAN FORBES

American Randonneur

14 Fall 2011

RANDO LIFESTYLE | Getting Your Goat

BY DONALD BOOTHBY

Well, it all starts like this. It rains alot in Seattle. It isn’t so much that itrains a LOT, but it rains FREQUENT-LY. We have months on end where Inever seem to see dry pavement, muchless dry grass. This spring has been verydifficult. First it was cold and wet. Thenit was warm and wet. The sun wouldcome out for a day, then rain again. Byearly February, the grass was nearlyknee high and I thought I should prob-ably mow it.

Well, I should mow as soon as I gothome from that ride I was doing.

I got home, and it was time to cookdinner. Then there was the matter ofwashing the bike clothes. Of course, thebike needed cleaning, too. By that time,the sun was setting.

“A week or so went by and it wastime to do another 300k. As soon as I’mdone with that, I’ll mow the lawn,” Ithought to myself.

We l l ,of courseyou will.....

Ilooked atthe weath-er fore-casts andthere inmid-Marcha n dthought I’dcatch ab r e a kabout the19th or20th. Oneday of sunand back to rain. So I put on my rain coatand went for a ride. Wet grass will burnout a lawn mower engine, right?

After having only 3 days without rainin March, the grass was growing just fine,but wasn’t getting any shorter. Mimi saidnary a word. She’s good that way.

April came around. I really do need

to get out there and mow. Rememberwhat I said about March? Well, April wasworse. Beautiful weather for riding abike. Not such great weather for mowinga lawn. Especially a lawn that has notrisen to mid-thigh high. I hate theweedeater. It makes funny noises.

There were 27 days of below normaltemperatures in April. There were threedays it didn’t rain. I was not feeling muchlike working in the yard.

In the meantime, however, I’d donea really fast Seattle Randonneurs 200kand had a great time on the SIR 300k. Ialso had some unfinished business withthe Oregon Randonneur’s “CoveredBridges” 400. It rained. A lot. Non-stop.I finished. Then there was the flèche.There was also a need to keep doing100k’s with Mimi. Also, a guy has to ridehis bike to work, right?

May came. I needed to get the lawnmowed. But the weather was getting a lit-tle better. It only rained 16 days in themonth, but it never really got dry. Whenit did, I needed to get a good ride in. Ihad a 600k to do. It wasn’t going to beeasy, so I had to really keep my tush inthe saddle. So I rode on the best days Icould. By now, the grass was waist high

�Continued on next page

American Randonneur

www.rusa.org 15

farther along I got, I started to feelstronger. Probably the biggest thing thatyou have to get nailed down is nutrition.

“Almost anybody can do a hundred-mile ride. When you stretch beyond, that’swhen things start getting tricky. It takespractice just like anything else.”

Especially since, unlike racing,brevets are done unsupported. There isno follow car to snag an extra water bot-tle from or jump into as a last resort.Riders rely on what they want to carryand what they assume can be foundalongside the course.

“It emphasizes self-sufficiency andcamaraderie with fellow riders,” Karpsaid. “Some riders carry everything butthe kitchen sink. Some of them go veryminimalist. There’s no right way or wrongway to do it.

“(The bike is) more of an SUV than

a race car type of thing.”Many brevet riders opt for steel

frames, which [editor’s note: somebelieve] better absorb the bumps, andslightly wider-than-average tires.Recumbent bikes are also popular.

Karp is the only Regional BrevetAdministrator currently in Montana, withfew others within 500 miles, which putshim in the unique position to set up thefirst full brevet to start and finish in thestate. After making history in the ShieldsValley last spring with that 200K ride, hehas set his sights on the longest continu-ally organized bicycle event, Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP).

“That’s sort of what randonneursgravitate to, that’s their Super Bowl,”Karp said. “It’s a test of endurance. It’sthe exotic of riding in France. Of coursewe all watch the Tour de France and

aspire to that, and a regular guy like mewould never be able to do that. So this iskind of the next best thing.”

To qualify for the PBP, Karp had tocomplete a full series of rides before theend of June, a feat he accomplished thispast weekend with a 600K tour of theflood-ravaged, mosquito-infested banksof the Musselshell River near Harlowtonand Roundup. The PBP, a 1,200K ride,begins Aug. 20.

Prior to that, the Montana series hastwo more scheduled events: a 200K onthe Beartooth Highway (July 23) and a300K around the Tobacco RootMountians (Aug. 6).

“I figure if I can go over theBeartooth Pass and back,” Karp said, “Iought to be able to do almost anything.”

Sean Forbes can be reachedat [email protected].

Belgrade Rider (continued)

and I said that I would mow as soon as Igot done with the 600. And the grassgrew while I was gone.

I got home from Arizona and waspretty tired. Then it rained. If you’veever tried to mow waist deep wet grass,you probably understand my dill,Emma. This was going to be a prob-lem.

Mimi asked me if I thought weshould just roto-till the back yard andthen seed it over. I thought about that.After some deep consideration, Ithought that would be more work thanmowing. I said that I didn’t think roto-tilling was the answer.

A couple more weeks went by. Thetemperatures warmed up. The grass wasnow mid-chest high. As soon as I get myJuly 300K done, I’ll mow.

Well, I guess that was the one thatdid it. Mimi came home one evening andasked what I thought about renting somegoats. GREAT!!! Now there’s a solution.They can eat the whole doggone backyard! Blackberries, ivy, weeds, grass,

plum tree, fig tree, cherry tree. Mowing,pruning and weed control all rolled intoone!

So she did.I arrived home from my evening

commute on Tuesday night to a herd offive goats. There was Ginger (brownadult nanny) and Daisy (black and whitenanny with one horn) and three kids.Adorable little pests, they were.

Wednesday, my friend from NorthCarolina arrived. We met in the northend as he was arriving in town having

ridden from 10 miles east of StevensPass that day and fully loaded. I escort-ed him from Kenmore, along LakeWashington and over some of Seattle‘smore fun hills to get to I-90 andhome.

As we arrived, Mimi opened thegarage for us. The herd was off chewingon leaves and berries, but as we rolledinto the garage, they were much moreinterested in what we were doing than inmowing the lawn.

I believe the goat herd wants to jointhe Randonneurs and do a 100k with me.

I wonder who Mimi will get to mowthe lawn now?

In retrospect, it really takes a lot ofdedication and devotion to commit one-self to the randonneuring lifestyle. Oneneeds to sacrifice a lot of other things ifhe or she wants to really give himself tolong-distance, unsupported endurancecycling.

I believe sacrificing one’s lawn tonature is a really good place to start.

Getting Your Goat (continued)

American Randonneur

16 Fall 2011

Region 200 km 300 km 400 km 600 km 1000 kmCA: Los Angeles 17-SepCA: San Diego 10-SepCA: San Francisco 08-OctCO: Boulder 10-Sep 17-Sep 02-OctMN: Rochester 24-Sep 10-SepNC: High Point 05-Sep 08-Oct 08-Oct 08-Oct 008-Oct 03-Sep 08-OctNJ: NYC and Princeton 24-SepOH: Columbus 03-SepOR: Portland 01-OctPA: Eastern 17-SepTX: Dallas 03-SepUT: Cedar City 17-SepVA: Northern 10-Sep 24-Sep 08-OctWA: Seattle 17-Sep 23-Sep

Remaining 2011 SCHEDULE | ACP Events

U.S. 2011 1200K RandonnéesLocation Date Contact Website

AK: Anchorage 2011/08/21 Kevin Turinsky http://alaskarandonneurs.blogspot.com/

NC: High Point 2011/09/03 Tony Goodnight http://www.bicycleforlife.org/rusa/index.html

Region RUSA EventsAL: Birmingham 01-Oct (300)AZ: Casa Grande 10-Sep (200)CA: Los Angeles 30-Oct (200) 12-Nov (200) 03-Dec (200)CA: San Francisco 1-Oct (115) 05-Nov (200)CA: Santa Cruz 17-Sep (180) 17-Sep (200)CO: Boulder 9-Oct (129)GA: Atlanta 10-Sep (200)MA: Boston 01-Oct (114) 01-Oct (200)MA: Westfield 09-Oct (150)NM: Cedar Crest 24-Sep (300) 22-Oct (300) 03-Dec (200)

OH: Columbus 03-Sep (150) 15-Oct (200)

PA: Eastern 15-Oct (150) 15-Oct (200) 05-Nov (200) 03-Dec (200)TN: Nashville 24-Sep (250) 22-Oct (200) 26-Nov (200)TX: Austin 03-Dec (200)

TX: Dallas 03-Sep (214) 03-Sep (301) 03-Sep (400) 03-Sep (603) 29-Oct (325) 29-Oct (406) 29-Oct (600) 29-Oct (201) 12-Nov (400) 19-Nov (307) 26-Nov (200)

TX: Houston 21-May (300) 21-May (400) 11-Jun (200) 11-Jun (300) 09-Jul (200) 09-Jul (300) 06-Aug (200) 17-Sep (200) 08-Oct (200) 05-Nov (200) 03-Dec (200)

TX: West Texas 16-Sep (200)WA: Seattle 11-Sep (110)

Remaining 2011 SCHEDULE | RUSA Events

American Randonneur

www.rusa.org 17

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www.PeterWhiteCycles.com/ewerk.asp

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The E-WERK from Busch & Müller converts the AC output of a 6 volt dynamo to DC, which you can then use to power and charge the batteries of a variety of devices such as cell phones, GPS and PDAs. Both DC voltage and amperage limits are adjustable, so you won't overload your device. Think of it as a battery charger that, instead of being plugged into a wall outlet, is plugged into your bicycle's dynamo.

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E-WERK and optional cache battery are available now. The E-WERK manual is available for download, along with a list of tested devices. See the web page, below.

American Randonneur

18 Fall 2011

A bright, full moon illuminatedPoudre Canyon on a mild summerevening as Vincent Muonoke glided downfrom 10,000-foot Cameron Pass on thehome stretch of the CHC 1200. The rush-ing, white-capped waters of the PoudreRiver gushed and gurgled past. This is justwhat Vincent had bargained for: some realwork — climbs mixed with a paucity ofoxygen — compensated for by satisfac-tion and splendid scenery, even at night.

Origins — How does an event likethis start? Well, five years ago, I startedthinking about a Colorado 1200k thatactually visited the Rocky Mountains. TheColorado Last Chance has its own esoteric

charm – I’ve ridden it multiple times – butthe concept of real climbing, vistas, andtrees had a definite allure.

It would have to be quiet, scenic, andsurvivable … even for non-mountain-goat randonneurs. So the 12,000 ft. passeswere out, as were congested spots like Vailand Aspen. By contrast, the PoudreCanyon, the North Park high plateau, andSteamboat Springs would show a side ofColorado few outsiders knew.

The Elusive Moose—My wife Patand our dog Buster scoured the landscape,gauging traffic, scenery, road widths. Wemanaged to find a number of motels notto stay in. We found great scenery, won-derful local folks … but also gaps in serv-ices, and not as many moose as North

Park residents assured you they’d seen …just before you arrived.

Stages—The thinly-populated land-scape, long distances between towns andservices, and wide temperature rangeargued for riding the event in stages. Likethe Cascade 1200, we would have recom-mended stages, with overnight lodging,bagdrop, and plenty of grub at thosespots. Aside from being logical distances,it would be added assurance that riderswould keep their sleep and strength up forthe strenuous climbs.

The Frosting on the Cake? —Long-time rando and Rocky MountainCycling Club president Charlie Henderson

GAMBLING ON SCINTILLATION

The Inaugural Colorado High Country 1200K

BY JOHN LEE ELLIS


PHOTO

BYRICHARDSTUM

Riders climbing towards Willow Creek Pass during the High Country 1200K

American Randonneur

www.rusa.org 19

suggested adding, what became thefrosting on the cake, (literally, with itshefty snow cover) — the WyomingSnowy Range. Scenic for sure, but anoth-er climb to 10,000 ft.? Would that fly? Itproved a winner with riders (includingmyself).

Final Prep—A year ago, CatherineShenk rode the first two (and hardest)stages, surviving handily. The verdict:potential fun …at least for the hardy!

Finally, ten days before the event,Tim “Foon” Feldman and I pre-rode theentire route. We got enough sleep andhad enough fun to certify the ride con-cept as “plausible.” This between bites ofVern’s cinnamon rolls in LaPorte andcoffee and pastry at the Big Shooter caféin Kremmling.

The Event! — While Foon and Ihad luxuriated in dry, brilliant, and clearconditions, monsoon flow then movedin, earlier than usual. This is a wrap-

around Gulf flowof moisture whichcan produce heavyshowers. Thisexpressed itself aselectric, violentstorms near theride start – anintimidating effect!But in the moun-tains it was moremuted, with occa-sional showers andlight, small hail the second day. (“That’sright — only small hail — what a relief,ha, ha.”)

Poudre Canyon — The 57-mileclimb up Poudre Canyon was in the riderinfo notes, but there’s nothing like ridingit in person to lend, well, added reality.Even though much of the grade is slight,it’s still climbing, and more climbing. Yes,but what scenery! The waters were high:

lots of spring snow runoff and showers.Rafters were relishing the flow.

Walden Transit—The route pass-es through Walden three times, twice inthe middle of the day. For the two tran-sits that were not overnights, we provid-ed treats and a volunteer, Jim Kraychy,little knowing that those crafty randon-neurs would descend like a locust swarmfrom Cameron Pass. Jim reported, “Thecupboard is bare, not a crumb left!” aftertheir first passage. He braced himself forthe second go-around from Laramienext day. And he was not disappointed.

To Saratoga — Rider info men-tioned “big rollers” to the first overnightin Saratoga. This ended up being a strik-ing feature to riders, with posted gradesand a climbing lane for motor traffic.Charlie Henderson, looking out for rid-ers at the summit, said he could hear theclick of shifters as they surmounted therise, breathed a sigh of relief, and pre-pared for gravity to help them sail intoSaratoga, where Rick and Sherrie Ishamoffered homemade Italian WeddingSoup and homemade burritos in themorning.

Snowy Range — A 4,000 ft. climbafter breakfast might get your attention— even comforted by Rick and SherrieIsham’s homemade breakfast burritos.And if that didn’t, riders universally werestruck by the snow-covered SnowyRange summit. This is a scenic highway

High Country 1200K Statistics

• 7 climbs over 9,000 ft. (3 over 10,000 ft.)

• 30,000-35,000 ft. climbing

• 48 starters (+2 pre-riders)

• 36 finishers (+2 pre-riders)

• 75% finishing rate

High Country 1200K (continued)


PHOTO

BYJOHNLEEELLIS

Heading towards Steamboat Springs, an antique sign advertises the historic F. M. Lightranch store.

American Randonneur

20 Fall 2011

Colorado High Country 1200K Results

* = Pre-Ride

not plowed in winter, and only openedwhen they get the plows through some-time in spring. The partially ice-coveredlakes at the top were worth some snap-shots.

The Toughest Day? — With threeclimbs over 9,000 ft. (the first one reaching10,700 ft.), the second stage was likelygoing to be the toughest. So it was, aug-mented by troublesome weather in places.Some riders braced for thunderstormscoming into Walden or leaving, sometimeswith a wintry wonderland layer of hail-stones. Others had a wet descent fromRabbit Ears Pass to Steamboat. But greet-ed by Irene Takahashi’s homecooked chiliover penne pasta. She and Kay Covingtonprobably had the biggest spread, andprobably needed to!

Over the Hump — The third stagewas shorter yet, and milder, with only acouple of passes over 9,000 ft. At firstlight, riders spied the snowcapped FlattopMountains as they climbed fromSteamboat. Gore Pass was a favorite, a lilt-

ing, wooded climb on a very quiet road.The tour of the lakes — Lake Granby,Shadow Mountain Lake, and Grand Lake— had recreational traffic – not as sereneas you’d like - but scenic nonetheless. Thefinal climb upWillow Creek Pass was quietand bolstered by a tailwind. And suddenlyit seemed — sailing into Walden — morelike Easy Street. Foon Feldman andTammie Nakamura offered black beans ona bed of cilantro rice artfully garnishedwith grated cheese.

Cameron Pass and the BigDescent — The final day started with apredawn climb back to Cameron Pass — acouple dozen miles of warmup but onlyfour miles of “real” climbing. Near thesummit, some riders saw seven moose.Others encountered eight. Moose quotafulfilled! (There were also elk, mule andwhite-tailed deer, bighorn sheep, and mar-mots.)

The rate at which riders descendedthe 57 miles of Poudre Canyon dependeda little bit on the time of day (headwinds

vs. tailwinds) and some on howmany pho-tos they wanted to shoot. Riders said it wasa great payback for the hours of climbingthree days before.

In some ways, the High Country 1200was a bit of a gamble. Would folks fromvarious climes and altitudes do well on thelong climbs and in the thinner air? Wouldthey find the scenery scintillating enough?Would they see enough moose?

When Mike Sturgill of Phoenix regis-tered, he said this was the Colorado 1200khe’d been waiting for. Judging from thenumber of pix he and others took, the ridepanned out well. On that note, a wordabout the volunteers. For a challengingcourse like this, event staff play a crucialrole. In some ways, it was a labor of love:most of the volunteers are 1200k veteransthemselves. And the Rocky MountainCycling Club, as usual, provided importantand dedicated help.

In the end, we were gratified to havefellow randonneurs come and enjoy ourmountains!

AKBARIAN, Hamid...........................................DNFANDERSEN, Carl .......................................81h51mBEVAN, Roland................................................DNFCARRELL, Sara Kay........................................DNFCHANG, Jennifer........................................86h16mCRAMER, Cathy.........................................81h31mCUMMINGS, Russ .....................................82h39mDURKIN, Thomas.......................................85h53mELLIS, John Lee * ......................................83h30mFELDMAN, Tim Foon *...............................83h30mFLANIGAN, John........................................82h26mFOX, Michael..............................................84h59mFUOCO, Art ................................................84h06mGAZMARARIAN, Julie................................81h51mHARTWELL, John ......................................86h49mHIMSCHOOT, Ronald.................................84h06mHISCOX, George........................................82h28m

HOFFMAN, Ed .................................................DNFIDE, Larry ...................................................81h51mKAISER, Christopher..................................84h58mKANTNER, Kole .........................................86h16mKNUTSON, Ken ...............................................DNFLAMBIE, Ashton .........................................82h26mLeBLANC, Todd..........................................82h35mMARION, Marcel ........................................71h37mMASON, Tim ..............................................85h41mMCKEE, James ..........................................82h28mMETCALFE, Mark ......................................81h26mMUONEKE, Vincent ...................................76h05mMYERS, Beth ...................................................DNFMYERS, Brent..................................................DNFNEMOTO, Toshiyuki.........................................DNFOLIPHANT, David ............................................DNFOLSEN, Mark .............................................88h05m

OLSEN, William..........................................88h05mPETTY, Peggy..................................................DNFPETTY, Steven.................................................DNFSEARVOGEL, Kurt.....................................66h40mSHOPLAND, Ian.........................................82h28mSILPIO, Kari................................................86h49mSMITH, Vernon ...........................................72h18mSOLANICK, James.....................................85h53mSTROETHOFF, Karel .................................85h22mSTUM, Richard ...........................................83h52mSTURGILL, Michael....................................82h39mTARDIF, Michel...........................................72h18mTRASON, Ann ............................................81h51mWALLACE, Mike.........................................85h55mWATSON, Ryan ...............................................DNFWOLFE, Michael ........................................80h37m

High Country 1200K (continued)

Rider Final Rider Final Rider Final

American Randonneur

www.rusa.org 21

The memory is hazy now,like much of the return tripfrom Brest, but it was the mid-dle of the night, it was bone-chilling cold, and I had just seensomething while riding througha village that concerned meenough to want to inform anofficial. Fatigue plays tricks onyou, especially after 500 milesin the saddle, so it’s hard toknow whether I really sawsomething, or made it up fromfragments of data. There’s a lotof that during PBP.

As I rode out of town andback into the still, cold night, Ikept lookout for the PBPmotorcyclist I had seenpatrolling the route. As if by

magic he appeared, and after Itold him what was on my mindhe assured me he’d look into it.He must have sensed my impa-tience to get moving againbecause he then tapped myshoulder lightly and asked if Iwas enjoying the ride, theFrench countryside and thepeople of France. I took a deepbreath and realized in thatmoment that indeed, I verymuch was. It was as if, by paus-ing, that I slowed down enoughto catch up with myself.

And then he gestured tothe red speck of light in thedark night sky and asked if Ihad ever seen anything quite sobeautiful. When I looked up Irealized I was seeing somethingthat human beings were seeing

for the first time in recordedhistory – the planet Mars, theclosest it had been to the earthin well over 50,000 years.

We randonneurs are atenacious, goal-driven, hard-headed lot. We’ve trained hard,planned hard, and we ridehard. In the push to make it tothat next control and to thatglorious finish, it’s all too easyto let the moment we’re inpass us by. Assuming motorcy-cle guys aren’t going to magi-cally appear at just the righttime to tap us on the shoulder,what simple practices can weput in place so we rememberto take that deep breath, torelax those weary, stress-filledarms and shoulders, to engageall our senses and look about

us with fresh eyes, and to feelgratitude for the life force thatflows through us and connectsus to each other? What can wedo to put ourselves into thisvery moment?

What I’ve learned is that Ican get there by simply havingthat thought. The trick is toremember, in the rush, in theurgency of things, to simply dothat. We’ve come too far tomiss the very moments forwhich we’ve worked so hard, somake it a practice to tap your-self on the shoulder. Have awonderful ride, and whileyou’re out there…take a deepbreath or two for me.

Marty Kaplan has ridden ParisBrest Paris in 2003 and 2007.

PBP 2003 |A DEFINING MOMENT

BY MARTY KAPLAN

American Randonneur

22 Fall 2011

RBA PERSPECTIVE| Registered, On Time & Ready to Ride

As I drove pastLebanon, Illinois, JohnnyCash was singing about aboy named Sue, and one ofthe tires on my car began togrumble; warning me that itwas about to blow its top.That grumble became a roar.I held the steering wheeltightly.

BAM! I steered onto theshoulder and got out to sur-vey the damage. It was a reartire. The entire casing hadblown off of the rim. Ilooked at my watch;although I was still 30 min-utes away from the brevetstart location, registrationwould not close for 1 hourand 30 minutes. I had time.

Properly registering forbrevets and arriving on timeis as much a part of our dis-cipline as using reflectivegear when riding in the dark.A recent thread of discus-sion, on the RBA list, cen-

tered on brevet registrationand late arriving riders. Theregional differences wereamazing.

In larger, establishedregions, registration wasonline, and closed as early asthe Wednesday before.Riders needed to make uptheir minds and risk theirmoney early. In smaller,mom and pop regions, “dayof event” registration was derigueur. The larger regionsused PayPal for payment,while the smaller regionsrelied on paper registrationsand paper money. (In fact Icame across a rumor that theSouthern Illinois RBA wouldaccept “dollar off ” couponsfor a McBreakfast in lieu ofcash. Strange.)

Resources seemed to bethe dominant theme. Smallerregions not only had lessmoney, and fewer volun-teers, they had fewer riders.Fewer riders, however, didnot eliminate the question,

“Should I hold the start con-trol open for an hour if arider is late?”.

Interesting question.The rules clearly state thatthe start control is open forone hour after the officialstart time. Theoretically, arider could show up after theofficial start, put his biketogether, pump up his tires,butter his bottom, and thencheck in with the patientRBA holding his cue sheetand brevet card; an RBA,who would now be unable toride with the rest of the rid-ers, if she were riding thatday. What could be done?

One RBA suggestedleaving cue sheets and brevetcards under the windshieldwiper of a car, then havingthe tardy rider sign theinsurance waiver at the ride’send. Immediately, a brilliantlight flashed on my comput-er and a text rolled acrossthe screen like thunder, “IDON’T THINK SO!!!” Itwas either the voice of Godor Mark Thomas, I couldn’tbe sure. In any case, the“voice” made it clear thatthe insurance waiver MUSTbe signed before the riderleaves the start control. Sowe were back to square one.What to do with a late arriv-ing rider when the RBA hasno volunteers and wants toride.

Larger regions withadvance registration havevolunteers (or paid starvingcollege students) who willwait for up to an hour forregistered stragglers, thus

meeting the obligation ofthe rules. Smaller regions,having neither volunteersnor starving college studentswilling to hang around foran hour, use the device ofholding same day registra-tion and closing registration15 minutes prior to the ride.Their theory is: if you’re noton time, you can’t register; ifyou’re not registered, youcan’t ride. Case closed.Stragglers are free to enjoy atraining ride.

But what if you blow atire on the way to the brevet?Call. All of the RBA’s placeserving our riders above per-sonal considerations. Lifehappens. They know that.Call the RBA and plead yourcase (while changing yourtire.) Or perhaps — leavethe house early. What a con-cept! You practice “bankingtime” during a brevet tohedge your success againstsome unforeseen disaster;simply apply that same logicto your travel time.

Life happens, leaveearly. Arriving on time at thefirst control is as importantas arriving on time at subse-quent controls.

RUSA RBA’s want youto achieve your riding goals.Your success is their goal,and they are willing to doalmost anything withintheir resources and ourrules to help you. You canhelp create success foreveryone; whether you arein a large region or small:register and arrive on time,ready to ride.

BY MILES STONEMAN

American Randonneur

www.rusa.org 23

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24 Fall 2011

American Randonneur

Texas rider Gary Gottliebhas received the Galaxy Awardfor racking up over 100,000kmin RUSA events.

Gottlieb is only the 2ndRUSA member to achieve thismilestone. Dan Driscoll,another Texas rider, receivedthe award last year.

Driscoll and RUSA boardmember Edward Robinson,also of Texas, reflected onGottlieb’s accomplishment:

• Edward E. Robinson:Gary is a veritable chatter-

box on rides, constantly talk-ing and yucking it up withgood humor. He’s also a walk-ing encyclopedia of bike partsand on-the-road repair meth-ods -- I've sought his advice on

parts in the past, as I knowothers do, and he's alwaysbeen tremendously helpfulwith his responses. I know,too, that he's saved more thana few rides for folks by keep-ing their bikes going with sug-gestions or tools or parts whenthings have gone wrong in themiddle of nowhere. Perhapsmost strikingly, over the lastfew years Gary has workedhard to achieve an amazingtransformation from riding asa “typical” brevet rider at aworkmanlike pace to a trulyfast and strong distance athlete(aka "Scary Gary"). Thechange is nothing short ofastounding, and is the result ofmany, many miles and hoursof hard riding on Gary's part.

I rode a fleche with Garymany years ago, before histransformation, and I recall hissatisfaction in getting to thefinish line after his rear rimsplit open about 30 miles fromthe end. He slow-pedaledahead with an escorting teammember after we were time-cleared to leave the final con-trol, nursed the bike along, andwe all re-grouped and madesure we finished together as afull team. That was a greatride.

Now, about the only timeI'll see Scary Gary is at thestart of a ride, since he'll bemiles down the road ahead ofme, laughing and hollering,not long after we get started!Working on his next distanceaward, no doubt...

• Dan Driscoll: Gary isone of kind, no one else likehim that I have met anywhere.He is a hair on the animatedside, but that is part of hischarm. He has a great laughand uses it often. He is a fit-

ting example of what aRandonneur should be, he willride slower than his usual pacejust to keep a group together,he will help anyone with any-thing mechanical to keep themgoing down the road, he is notbothered by much of any-thing, he has a positive dispo-sition and I have never seenhim grumpy on a ride. He isvery strong on the bike, faston the bike, so much so thatwe call him “ScaryGary.” Gary loves to ride andprefers riding with his wife ona tandem if she has the day offwork. He prefers riding withothers as to riding alone, butwill gladly ride alone eitherspontaneously or by plan ifgiven the chance. There arefew people that I would ratherride with. When I have a low,he will always perk me up. Ifwe are riding into weather heis prepared. When I get sleepylate at night, he will talk forhours to keep me awake.When I am weak, he will tellme to “Harden the Heck up”and “Let’s get down the road.”He does not need mental orphysical recovery time, andaverages about a 600 Km perweek, without getting grumpylike the rest of us. He is morethan happy to pull all day, andnever ask for help or beresentful of a pack sitting inon his wheel. We all meet a lotof people every year, some weforget after a few minutes,others we remember for aweek or more. If you evermeet Gary, you will never for-get him. I could go on and onwith individual accounts ofexperiences we have hadtogether. He is a good personand a good friend.

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www.rusa.org 25

American Randonneur

Back in March,American Randonneur editorMike Dayton rallied the AReditorial board and askedthat we each tackle one ortwo topics for the 2011PBP issue, slated to be pub-lished in June. Now, I wouldnever normally do some-thing like this so far inadvance and in such anorganized fashion – or atall, for that matter; but, inthis case, I felt compelled tostep up, or risk becomingprobably the only AR edito-rial board member to be letgo. Twice. Thus, I carefullyconsidered the topic list andresolved to pitch in. I askedMike if it would be OK if Idebuted the article in Mark’sWorld, as I don’t often con-tribute to my own newslet-ter, let alone actually pub-lish it. He said that wouldbe fine. Scoop!

Being a veteran of noPBPs, I steered clear oftopics having to do withnavigation, drop bags, get-ting to the start, controls,etc., and settled instead onthe topic “Parlez-vousfrançais?” Specifically, thequestion Mike wantedanswered was, do Randosneed to be able to speakFrench – or some French –to get by on PBP? I sus-pected Mike thought thatanyone other than the MWeditor would take up thistopic, because the very nextday he wrote to the board,“I propose that we askJennifer [Wise] and Johnny[Bertrand] about ‘French

language essentials.’ We rana list of words in 2007 thatI’ll look at and perhaps res-urrect. I’m taking Frenchright now and have ateacher who lived inNormandy and Brittany.She may have non-cyclingtips.”

See? The editor’s namenever came up. And yet Ipounced, because in June of2007 I had come quite closeto writing on this very sub-ject (though not closeenough to actually producean article, non!), because jeparle très mal le français, andbecause I had a plan.

The plan was to gathera few of SIR’s PBP veter-ans, pick their brains, andassemble the definitive listof useful French phrasesand language tips. Amy andRobin Pieper (1 and 2PBPs, respectively – thefirst on a tandem) offeredto host the event, and Iassembled my expert panel:Peter Beeson (2 PBPs),Greg Cox (3), Bill Dussler(3), Bob Brudvik (2), andMark Roberts (3). Because Iknew I would not possiblybe able to scribble downevery word and phrasethese PBP pros tossed out,I had purchased a new digi-tal recorder, which layinconspicuously next to abowl of almonds. To jollythem along, Amy and Imade sure everyone had adrink. Their reward, later,would be homemade pie.There was a period of gen-eral chit-chat, and, whenthe time seemed right, theeditor popped the question:

“So, how much Frenchdo you think you need, todo PBP?” A thoughtfulsilence followed. The editorreadied her pencil. The col-lective wisdom pouredforth:

“None,” declared Amy,which was quickly followedby a “none” from Robin;and then a redundancy of“nones” fell like dominoesacross the room. My heartsank, and my (second) shortAR editorial career flashedbefore my eyes. I was aboutto cry out, “I’m supposedto be writing a full effing

article here!” when GregCox amended his “none”with a très nonchalant, “Fouror five words, maybe.”

Reprieve! “So, what arethe four or five words?” Iasked, hoping that thesewords might beget morewords. And this, I swear, isall they came up with:

Bonjour, mon-sieur/madame (hello/goodmorning, sir/madam)

Au revoir (goodbye)S’il vous plait (please)Merci, merci beaucoup

(thank you, thank you very

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Yo, Pierre ... Parlez-vous Français?


BY MAGGIE WILLIAMS

American Randonneur

26 Fall 2011

much)Je voudrais… (I would

like….) “As in,” said Amy,“I would like to die.” Thisgot a big laugh. Gosh, PBPsounds like fun.

Croque-monsieur (grilledham and cheese sandwich)

Croque-madame (croque-monsieur topped with anegg)

Droit (right); á droite (onthe right)

Gauche (left); á gauche(on the left)

Tout droit (straightahead)

Attention, faites attention(look out, be careful)

L’addition, s’il vous plaît(check, please); if you don’tknow this, you may neverget out of the café in atimely fashion

The editor threw in j‘aiun probleme (I have a prob-lem), because a long timeago, a culturally knowledge-able NPR reporter living inFrance mentioned that theFrench love to assist, if youpresent them with a prob-lem. Mark agreed enthusias-tically.

From this extensive list,and a few general tips thatfollowed it, the editor wasable to determine that allyou really need to know is:“Good morning, sir ormadam. I would like agrilled ham and cheesesandwich, please. I’ll takethe check, please. Thankyou very much. Oh, andwhich way is Brest? Thanks!Bye!” Really, even later inthe conversation, whenasked again for helpfulwords and phrases, thewhole lot of them just gave

me the shrug. What theyreally wanted to do – could-n’t help lapsing into, in fact– was tell their stories ofsimple, human connection;to explain that, so long asone is polite, takes time tosay hello and goodbye, andis respectful of others’ways, a lot of French is notnécessaire.

“So, any favorite storiesof communication prob-lems, successes, lessonslearned?” I persisted.

“On the way back, in2007,” said Robin, “I wasriding out of Tinténiac, andI hooked up with thisFrench guy. We rode reallywell together for, like, 50k;we were just really cruisin’.We were just about into thenext control, and I reallyhad to pee. We got to thetop of the hill, and I blurtedout, “Toilette!” And he justlooked at me, as if to say,yeah! We pulled over, wentbehind the hedge, got backon our bikes, and just rolleddown the hill into the con-trol. It was just perfect.”

“So that was a commu-nication success?”

“Yeah! We had riddenfor 50k, pretty much justas…cyclists. You can readhow someone rides, bywatching their pedal stroke,just drafting off each other.He’d ease up, I’d come byhim, he’d get on my wheel.And not a word was said.”

“And of course,” addedMark, “one of the great tipsfor PBP is that you shouldpee before you get to thecontrol, or after you leave.”There was much generalagreement here, that you

should not be relieving your-self in the villages. Spreadyourself around, out in thecountryside, but always withdiscretion and respect, ofcourse. Speaking of con-trols, the organization ofthese little bottlenecks is soobvious that, again, youdon’t need to know anyFrench, in order to getthrough and be on your way.

Both Bob and Bill toldstories of minor language dif-ficulties – both atMcDonald’s, of all places –which could have resulted insome kind of croque McDo911, I suppose. IfMcDonald’s is your go-tosource for fuel, you can visitwww.mcdonalds.fr to learn thenames of all of your favoriteproducts. At one point oranother, almost everyone didmention that it would be agood idea to learn the Frenchnames for various foods. Atthe controls, a name tag ofsorts accompanies each fooditem, so you can pretty quick-ly learn what’s what. Betweencontrols – say, at a pâtisserie ina little village – you mighthave more need for a littleFrench; but, said Robin, ifyou say can pain au chocolat,you’ll be fine. Pointing is alsoan excellent form of commu-nication.

Everyone except Amy,who speaks French, said thatat one time or another theyhad resolved to learn more ofthe language. The commontheme in their resolutions was,“I’ve got four years until thenext PBP. Imagine how muchI can learn in four years!”Alas, the best laid plans. Gregcouldn’t take more than two

months of listening to tapesin his car (“too painful; I haveno capacity for language”);Robin confessed that hisFrench class at the local CCwas way more than he couldhandle; Bob learned “to rec-ognize words” by takingFrench lessons at a languageschool; and Peter, whosedreams of fluency were prob-ably the grandest of all,signed up for the deluxecombo of schools and cours-es and classes, only to realizehe simply didn’t have the time.Amy pointed out that manypeople from France and othercountries are in the same boat.But if you’re willing to openthe door and stumble over afew words of French – or anyof the many languages spo-ken by PBP riders – they willbe more than willing to do thesame for you.

“Robin,” asked Amy,“when we were on the tan-dem in 2003, how did thatconversation go – remem-ber we were riding withanother tandem couple for ashort time? How did thatgo?”

“We were on our wayback, just before theMortagne control. We werereally hurtin’, and we caughtup with this Italian couple. Ithink they spoke a fewwords of French, but wemanaged to figure out thatthe Italian woman had somesevere hurt goin’ on. Theywere way worse off.”

Amy picked up thestory. “It was really Robin,who through a mix of ges-tures and maybe some

Parlez Vous....(continued)


American Randonneur

www.rusa.org 27

Parlez Vous... (continued)English, managed to askbasically, ‘how’s your butt?’And the woman replied,‘C’est une catastrophe!’”

I ask you: How muchFrench do you need toknow to understand that?Talk about the universal lan-guage of cycling!

When all else fails, as willoften happen, gracefullyembracing humiliation cansave the day. Greg recalledthat after PBP, on a Sunday,he was scouring the streets ofhis Paris neighborhood, look-ing for a bottle of wine togive to Bill for his birthday.He finally came upon a winebar and went inside to asksomeone where he mightfind a wine shop open onSunday. “I walked in andwent up to a guy who lookedlike the maître d’. I was kind ofin a panic, because I had beenlooking around for a coupleof hours and hadn’t foundanything. I said, ‘Pardon moi,s’il vous plait. Parlez-vousl’anglais?’ And he just lookedat me, totally deadpan, andsaid, ‘But of course, I must,because you cannot speakFrench.’” This elicited howlsof laughter from the group,all of whom recognized thepainful truth in this scenario.“I just bowed down to theguy and said, ‘That was thebest insult I have ever had.’ Iwas, like, total props to you,dude. That was awesome.After that, he was my buddy,and he totally helped meout.”

I asked for recommenda-tions – books, classes, apps,websites – help me out here,people. Le silence. Apparently,any little phrasebook or quick

language guide will suffice.The editor has the Berlitz“Hide This French PhraseBook,” which is divided intosections, such as “Money,”“Hotel,” “Food,” “Havin’Fun,” “Makin’ Friends,” etc.Oddly, randonneuring is notmentioned in the “Havin’Fun” section of the book.The Rough Guide phrase-book is nice, with usefulphrases, such as est-ce ouvert ledimanche? (is this open onSunday?); concise English-French/French-English dic-tionaries; a primer on how thelanguage works; and le diction-naire of food and drink, sothat when you feel as thoughyou would like to die, you cansave yourself by saying, Jevoudrais un gin-tonic, s’il vousplait.

When I tried to wrapthings up, Amy said thatfirst everyone should tell usthe name of their favoritefood, in French. Bob said,“Pizza.” And to think Imade pie for these clowns.

In a last ditch effort tocollect a few more importantFrench words, I asked, “Whatare your go-to words, wordsyou feel like you’ve really gotto know and that you use alot?” Thinking, thinking,thinking.

Finally, Amy, normal,helpful Amy, said “De l’eau –some water – is good, ifyou’re wanting to get yourwater bottle filled up.”

But then worldly, cycle-worn Robin just blurtedout, “You don’t need to sayanything. You just have anempty bottle in your hand,and you look pathetic, andsomeone will come over and

help you.”That makes perfect

sense, really. It’s what thetreasurer does for the editorall the time. It’s the unspo-ken language of the cocktailhour.

So, I guess the definitivelist of helpful words andphrases remains the onepublished in AR in 2007(www.rusa.org/newsletter/10-02-08.html). I left thePieper’s, telling everyonethat my article was going tobe très petit. The standardanswer – as if they had allrehearsed it beforehand –was, “No it won’t, you can

always make stuff up.” MonDieu! C’est possible! When Igot home, I shot off anemail to Mark Thomas, ask-ing him for his deux centimesworth on the topic. (He hadbeen invited to the event,specifically requested straw-berry-rhubarb pie, and thendidn’t show up.) If only Ihad gone to him first. Hewrote, “Smile. Learn how togreet someone and how tosay thank you in French.Use both with everyone youmeet. Point at what youneed. Smile more. Ride yourbike. You’ll be fine.”

American Randonneur

28 Fall 2011

Editor’s note: LSR rider Pam Wrightcompiled the following accounts from rid-ers and volunteers at the inaugural runningof the Texas 1200K.

George Evans,LSR “Route Meister”

I was the organizer for the TexasRando Stampede. My goals were to pro-vide a randonnée of moderate difficul-ty that showcased the beauty and varietyof the Lone Star state. Little did any ofus realize that Texas does not sufferfools or randonneurs lightly, as evi-denced by two days of torrential down-pours and headwinds the entire route.

The riders certainly earned theirmiles as Texas gave away nothing forfree. Our volunteers really made theride a success by efficiently getting rid-ers housed and fed at each of theovernight controls and providing sup-port at many of the regular controlsand even shuttled riders to and fromthe airport.

Without their help, Stampede sim-ply could not have happened and I amgrateful to everyone who gave up theirtime to lend a hand. I had a great timemeeting randonneurs from across theUS and beyond. What a great group wehad! Thanks to everyone who attempt-ed the routes, and congratulations to allour finishers. Chapeau!

Jeri Baughn, LSRCrockett Overnight Control

Volunteer ExtraordinaireI volunteered to head up the organ-

ization of the control in Crockett, TX.The first thing I did was look at the mapto see where the heck was Crockett, TX.It was about 630 miles into the ride.Crockett was an overnight control andthe plan was to have the riders’ dinnersloaded into the refrigerators in theirmotel room and they could microwavethe food themselves. Thank goodnessfor all of the other volunteer helpersthat drove to Crockett to help run thecontrol! Thanks to the kids from

Crockett High School (Go Bulldogs!)who came and helped us.

Sara Kay Carrell, KS1st 1200 Km

Two Words: Cake Bites!!

Carey Chappelle,Port Elgin, Ontario, CanadaCycling on the first half of the

route, Dick Felton let me know howhungry he was and we stopped at thisSaloon in the middle of nowhere around11pm! Hoping a sheriff would be inside,we entered. REAL COWBOYS had ussit at the bar with a group of LADIES!We discussed cycling, the TexasStampede and were treated with a...LONE STAR!. DELICIOUS! Anothernight, 2 sheriffs each in their own policecar...escorted us (about 20 cyclists) outof town....out of their county...lightsflashing! What every success-ful randonneur can say about theTEXAS STAMPEDE.... AWESOME!!!Having beds guaranteed, along withmeals unbelievable! Thanks TEXANS!

Dan Driscoll,LSR RBA, Volunteer & Official

FinisherMy personal definition of

“Stampede” was carved in stone long

Dan presents George with “Mr. Stampede”Trophy.

stam·pede/stamˈpēd“A sudden frenzied rush” - “A massimpulsive action” - “a mass move-ment of people at a commonimpulse” - “To flee in a headlongrush” or A 1200K tour of the GreatState of Texas!

Stories from the Texas Rando Stampede 1200K


American Randonneur

www.rusa.org 29

before the invitations weresent out. It was simple: wewould herd ourselves acrossTexas in a Stampede, keep-ing the largest group ofRando Riders together possi-ble. Camaraderie would beking and we would take greatpleasure in working to keepthe “Herd” rounded up. Surewe would lose some off thefront, some off the back andthe thunderstorms wouldscatter us at times, but theobject of this game would beto “keep those DoggiesRoll’n down the trail.” Wewould compromise on acomfortable pace, wait formost riders at controls, re-group with announceddeparture times at overnightcontrols and help each otherwith flat tires........ just like inthe Ol’ West. The victory atthe end would not only beone of individual accom-plishment, but also of agroup effort. A huge thanksto two of our most experi-enced randonneur guestsfrom over the pond, DaveMinter and Judith Swallow.They helped change tires, set

the pace, enter-tain the curiousand keep uscompany. Wehad lots of bigpistons power-ing the dieseldown the road,thanks to allthat worked as ateam to keepthe pace steadyand the “Herd”together. Iloved theovernight hotelset up (thanks

Pam) with great meals in therooms. Call me twisted, but Ireally enjoyed the thunder-storms; riding in the rain andlightning was part of theadventure, it was never cold,and the headwind helpedkeep the group together.

Wayne Dunlap, HillCountry Randonneurs

RBA,Marble Falls Overnight

Control “Round up Man”Hill Country Randon-

neurs wanted to make thefirst overnight control of theinaugural Texas 1200k mem-orable. The skies openedjust before the first ridersarrived and there was not adry cyclist in the bunch. Inspite of this, riders’ spiritsremained high as theyenjoyed a hot meal. Thenext morning, after a quickpre-dawn breakfast, theystarted their day with a niceclimb out of MarbleFalls. The attitude of volun-teers at the control can makethe difference between fin-ishing and giving up. Thesevolunteers lived up to their

role as the “12th man”on the team.

Charlie Fenske, LSR1st 1200Km(Editor’s note:

Fortunately, there are ran-dos who wear nothing butrose-colored glasses andwe’re glad LSR has one inCharlie!)The Texas Stampede2011 was AWESOMEAWESOME AWE-SOME AWESOME *O r g a n i z e r ,O u t s t a n d i n g ,awesome * HotelVolunteers Check in, Out-standing, awesome * Hotels,Great * Food at night,

Outstanding, awesome * The

Da Stampede HerdStampede Swag!

Texas Stampede (continued)


American Randonneur

30 Fall 2011

.

route, Outstanding, awesome* Q-Sheet, Outstanding, awe-some * Riding condi-tion, Great * Controls, GreatGreat * Sag Help, Outstandingawesome * Welcome back in,Outstanding, awesome * SumTotal = Outstanding, awe-some. Problems= None!

John H. Fusselman, TX,Official FinisherThe ride was not sup-

posed to be tough. Sure itmight be hot and windy, butthere were no mountains toclimb. However, a loop ridewith four days of headwinds, sometimes with guststo 30 MPH, is tough. It wasnever hot. In the late after-noon of the first day, riders

were drenched by chilly rainas the temperature dropped20 degrees in a few minutes.There were intermittentdownpours the next morningfollowed by a very chillynight. Who needs arm andleg warmers for hot weather?What if it’s not hot? Texasweather is unpredictable.

Rodney Geisert, MO,Official FinisherOrganization for the

ride was nothing short ofremarkable. Overnights pro-vided food when we arrivedand people were there to takeour bikes and bags to theroom. The countryside inTexas was beautiful withrolling hills, river bottoms

and forestregions. I didsee one signin a yardwhich said,“If you canread this,“YOUR INR A N G E ”w h i c hincreased mypace immedi-ately. TRSwas anythingbut easy withthe frontloaded climb-ing in the firsttwo days com-bined with headwinds (20mph), rain, and chip & sealroads making TRS one heckof an epic ride.

Stephen Hazelton, LSR,1st 1200km

The Texas RandoStampede was the highpoint of my two years ofrandonneuring. The ridewas harder than anticipated,but I also had more helpand support than anticipat-ed, in the ride itself and inthe months leading up tothe ride. I learned that suc-cess wasn’t just a matter ofphysical endurance, butrequired dealing withnumerous minor issues,including weather, equip-ment malfunctions, timemanagement, and lack ofsleep. My most vivid memo-ry is seeing one friend zip-ping down a steep dark hillin the pouring rain, illumi-nated by lightning, whilecalling out, “I don’t haveany brakes!”

Charlie JenkinsLSR, Volunteer,Full-time SAG

I volunteered out of thelove of the sport and to giveback to what I enjoy so thatothers could also enjoy. Itwas great to watch the trialsand tribulations of the riders,most conquering the obsta-cles, some not so lucky. Itwas nice to see how muchsomething like oiling chainsfor a group of riders as theywent into Whataburger to eatbrought so much happinessto them. A 1,200 Km is neveran easy adventure; we look atthem as a planned ordeal, butit is nice to know that, bytransporting drop bags andoffering mechanical support,we made things a bit easierfor the riders.

Pat Jenkins, LSR,Volunteer, Full-time SAG

We had one moment (onthe way back from pickingSteve Petty up) about 3 a.m.We were driving on the wayback to Sealy and came up on

Irene Takahashi celebrates Rando-style!



www.rusa.org 31

American Randonneur

a rider by himself. When wewent by we gave a quietthumbs up and words ofencouragement. After the1200k was over he toldCharlie that we helped himout a bunch because he hadbeen falling asleep and thatseeing us come by that latewoke him up and helped himto finish the day out. We alsohelped the couple on the tan-dem from Canada find arando hotel (Post Office) totake a nap in because theywere getting sleepy andneeded a short power napbefore continuing on.

Spencer Klaassen, MO,Official FinisherLa Grange - The sun is

setting on day two of the TRSand I am getting sleepy. Aftera hard day of fighting head-winds and dodging storms,we were treated to yet anoth-er day. Rod and I pull into abar in Cistern and order asandwich and come to therealization that we are a longway from the overnight con-trol at Sealy. We are soon

back on the road and makingslow but steady progress.The sleepiness has not goneaway and I begin to nod offas I am riding. The next thingI know is that my head hitsthe handlebar/GPS as I amriding. I suddenly awake andam amazed that I am stillupright with my legs moving(riding fixed). The adrenalineburst wakes me up for 15 or20 minutes as we plod along.I try to help my situation byeating some caffeine infusedgel, but it is not working. Iturn on my head torch andcalculate the distance to thenext town that might offersomewhere to sleep. I see LaGrange and, thinking back tomy youth, wonder if the ZZTop song was about this veryplace? This gets my mindworking and I start hummingZZ Top. Rumor spreadin’ a-’round in that Texastown’bout that shack outsideLaGrange And you knowwhat I’m talkin’ about. Just letme know if you wanna go Tothat home out on the range.They gotta lotta nice girls ah

The miles rollby a little better.We enter townand see, whatlooks like, allthe hotels as weenter town.Since the con-trol is aWhataburger,we continue toroll a few milesto the other sideof town. Havemercy. A pow,pow, pow, pow,a pow. A pow,pow, pow.

When we finally make it tothe control, we find that it isclosed. I am overcome byfrustration as I realize therewill be no late dinner or sleepas I don’t see a hotel. Webegin to chat with two otherriders who say there is a hotelabout one mile north on afrontage road. My spiritsrise….Well, I hear it’s fine ifyou got the time And the tento get yourself in. A hmm,hmm. and I hear it’s tightmost ev’ry night, but now Imight be mistaken. Hmm,hmm, hmm. The four of uscheck in and I take a quickshower. The next thing Iknow, I am awakened by analarm. I sit up and realize that

I never turned off the lightsand I fell asleep in a towel ontop of the bed. Oh well, Ifeel amazing after that shortrest. I get dressed and joinmy fellow riders to leave LaGrange at 3:00 A.M. As I ambuzzing along, I continue tolook, but never see thatfamous chicken ranch…..

Dave Minter,Middlesex, UK,1st US 1200Km

Texans have a reputationfor being generous anddoing things “bigger thanlife-size.” My first ridein Texas (and the USA)

Dick Felton, Rodney & Carey finishingStampede



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American Randonneur

showed just how true that is. I just hadto mention to the ride crew that I’dfound the first day a little too hot forcomfort and they arranged the motherof all thunderstorms that night to cooldown the next day for me. OK, I didn’trealize you could have over 1000 km ofheadwind on a 1200 km loop. Justanother example of bigger than life-size,I guess. It seems the reputation match-es the reality.

Bill Pustow, KY,Official Finisher

I’ve found Kentuckians to beextremely friendly and outgoing.....andthen I rode the Texas Rando Stampede.That first day, because of heat and mylegs were still on the hard KY 600K theweek before, I would fall off the back ofthe Dan Driscoll group (the famous K-Hounds). Riders would fall back andpace line me, a total stranger, back to thegroup. At rest stops, they would encour-age me to ride with them and get protec-tion from the constant wind. Atovernights, people insisted on carryingmy bike up to my second floor motelroom and the volunteers — wow! Haveyou ever gotten to an overnight controlin the middle of the night and had adozen people blowing horns, cheeringand applauding your lone arrival? Well, Idid at the Crockett control. I could goon, but let me just say that in my nextreincarnation I want to come back as aTexas randonneur.

Bob Riggs,Houston Randonneurs RBA,

Sealy Overnight Control “Sheriff ”To me, the main thing is the sense

of accomplishment from helping out.We had a great group of experiencedpeople, and we worked hard to makesure all the riders had what they needed.We met a lot of wonderful cyclists whohad struggled with terrible weather, butwith real randonneur spirit they kept ongoing. That memory will inspire me at

PBP and beyond. I was proud to seethat everyone who made it to ourovernight control finished the ride.

Tom Russell, CA,Official Finisher

This ride was wild and unpre-dictable. In Lampasas a truck turnedleft in front of me across a floodedintersection and waves swamped myrecumbent and shorted out one of mytaillights. After two more downpours,both of my Superflashes were out. Imade the Jonestown control and foundfive randonneurs waiting out the storm.Dick Felton, a Canadian cyclist, had aspare taillight, which he let me use. Twodays later, I came across Irene

Takahashi, whose taillights were lookingdim, and passed on Dick’s taillight toher, which enabled her to reachCrockett. Thanks for the help, Dick!

Daniel Schaaf, LSR,1st 1200km

Despite some initial doubts, in theend we knew we would have an officialfinish as our band of recumbentscrossed the finish line together. Thiswas more like a bike tour, enjoying goodhumor and camaraderie with our ridecompanions. Of course there weremoments wondering if success or fail-ure were in our future. But everyonekept a smile on for just about the entireride. In spite of headwinds each day,some storms, sleep deprivation and a

few flats, it was still quite enjoyable, andI thank my ride mates for helping tomake it so!

Kalleen Whitford, LSR,Final Control Captain

Hi, I volunteered to do the finishline celebration. Not having experi-ence with 1200K’s or what the standardwas, I planned a party! With Stampedeas the theme, finishers were greetedwith hooping, hollering, cowboy boots,hats, tin stars and pop-guns shooting inthe air. I think they got a kick out of it.We herded ‘em into the dining roomfor that hard earned medal and pictureswith props like “ I’m a Stampeder” toI’m “Wanted” and even a buffet to feedthe Wanderers of Texas with sit downtime to share tails of the road. Aftersome of their stories I’m glad I volun-teered to make their experience evenmore memorable.

Pam Wright,LSR, Volunteer,

1000k Official FinisherWhat a gift to play a part in

Stampede growing from an idea to aninternational event for its debut!Being part of the advance work andduring the event too, gave me a wholedifferent perspective as we showed offour Lone Star State. Yep, the stormswere big, the wind was strong, but thejokes, camaraderie and Texas spiritwere even bigger and stronger! Why, Ieven had family come meet me on thecourse, meet some friends and shaketheir heads as they saw my hobby inreal life. Thanks for coming to ourparty folks!

Dan DriscollLSR has talked about hosting a

1,200 Km for years. I had concernsabout over-taxing volunteers. Idreamed of routing a course to Austinand Houston to make this a “Texas

Pat and Charlie to the rescue�..AGAIN!



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American Randonneur

Thing” rather than all LSR by bringingmultiple rando clubs together for moregreat volunteers! The dream couldn’thave happened without George Evanswho willingly built the route, did thepaperwork and website to make this areality. Volunteers came out of thewoodwork to help, making my job easyand making me really look good. Myfears of recruiting and organizingenough volunteers was without meritas friends from all over Texas helpedmake Stampede shine. Quite simply,Stampede would never have become areality without them!

Most know a list of riders fromLSR is never complete without a list ofvolunteers, so in true rando and LSRspirit…. “Thank you!” to: Jeri Baughn

* Debbie Breaud * Jim Bronson * DaveCampbell * Dan Driscoll * JohnDroese * Wayne & Emily Dunlap * JeffElmer * George Evans * CharlieFenske * Bill Fox * Dottie Gibson *Bob Hammond * Stephanie Harnden *Al Hicklin * Charlie & Pat Jenkins *Brian Madison * Craig Matthews *Eduardo Mendes * Bob Millay * AlainNimri * Pat Nolan * Becky Reiley *Bob & Marianna Riggs * EdwardRobinson * Daniel Sanchez * Ann &John Stiles * Cindy & Vickie Tyer *Kalleen Whitford * Clay Wilson *Mark & Ruby Wooldridge * PamWright.

Thanks also to the finishers of theinaugural Texas Rando Stampede!

Alain Abbatte * Viktoriya Abbate *Hamid Akbarian * David Baxter *Debbie Breaud * Bob Bruce * Sara KayCarrell * Conor Carroll * CareyChappelle * Dan Driscoll * Dick Felton* Charlie Fenske * Kevin Foust * JohnFusselman * Rodney Geisert * StephenHazelton * Donald Jagel * SpencerKlaassen * Tim Lucas * Dave Minter *Peter Morrissey * Chris Moss * JeffNewberry * Bill Olsen * Peggy Petty *John Preston * Bill Pustow * Tom rus-sel * Daniel Schaaf * Mike Schmit *Chris Schulten * Ian Shopland * GeofSimons * Judith Swallow * DavidThompson * Ann Trason * Vickie Tyer* Richard Whittenberg * 1000 KmFinishers: Walley Bigler * CatherineShenk * Irene Takahashi * Pam Wright.


34 Fall 2011

American Randonneur

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What's in Store?

Great stuff for RUSA membersRUSA souvenir items available exclusively in the RUSA Store.

RUSA Reflective Bike N ame Plate

The RUSA bike plate hangs from your

saddle or your rack trunk. Attach it

through pre-drilled holes with zip-ties.

Riders coming from behind, will know you

are a fellow RUSA member. 3 X 5 inches.

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each bike. $3.50 each. Personalize it! Add

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Get an extra copy of the PBP Special Issue.

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valuable information about how to navigate

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Documents

AMERICAN RANDONNEUR · American Randonneur 6 Fall 2011 The Mondial Award is for RUSA members who have suc-cessfully completed at least 40,000 km in RUSA events. The name “Mondial”