Nancy on the brief stretch of dirt. It was steep and mucky, but luckily we were coming down it
Last Saturday, Nancy and I rode the first event of the Vermont
randonneuring season, the Piedmont Populaire 100k. Despite a dubious forecast, the weather was great; with sun and warming temps as the early morning chill wore off.
I always maintain that riding a brevet is not really that big a deal, other then the fact you ride distances others consider fairly long. It's not a race, and as long as you are timely, you shouldn't have much trouble meeting the control times and completing the ride. My initial experiences riding brevets showed me that I had the ability to do this sort of ride without too much concern about finishing successfully.
Since not completing a brevet last year due to cold weather issues and almost missing a control on another ride due to a problematic flat tire, I've started to adjust my perspective. I now take a little more care to make sure that I'll make the controls. Its important to be mindful, at least until you've gained some lead time.
Anthony, Tim, Emily and Greg
Gladly, our ride Saturday was problem free and we rode amidst a small crowd of familiar and new faces, including a few folks from Boston and various acquaintances from Vermont. Nancy and I have something of a jump on fitness this spring since we did some serious loaded touring in February while in
Tasmania.
Tsun, Nancy, and Emily at the control in East Randolph
The route was beautiful, heading south out of Montpelier through Williamstown down to East Randolph and the over the hill to Chelsea and back north via East Barre. It was all new territory for me and, as Nancy pointed out, we were once again exploring in our own back yard. It's wonderful that there is always new roads to ride and places to see. What a great start to the season!
Cruising north after crossing over the mountain to Chelsea
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