I do 400 km Brevets for FUN...

I do 400 km Brevets for FUN...
A 4:00 AM start and a weather forecast for a strong South wind made for a small group this time. One of our strong female riders had crashed and broken her collar bone so she had to miss also. Any Wind is not good as we are fairly flat like the Netherlands.  WE started with just 4 of us.

4 AM start.

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The group consisted of 2 recumbents, 1 Quest Velomobile (ME) and my photographer Sam on a road bike. As we rode south we ran into a bit of road construction and I had to slow right down on the loose surface. Then I missed the turn off and rode right past it. Of course Sam had a photo of the event.

Picture of me about to miss a turn!

We stopped at our first control for Breakfast. It was a planned stop and we extended it a little bit because of some rain. One of group had a new recumbent and kept on going while we ate. He wasn't  too used to it and was a little slower.

How the sky looked at Breakfast time.

After breakfast we continued on trying to catch David who kept on going. We never did catch him as he made a wrong turn and went the wrong way. When the sun came out he figured out his error and turned around. He then ran out of water and got heat stroke. He finally stopped at a farm and got water, found a tree to lye down under and went for a 3 hour nap. He made his way home after that and still did 300 km.

Entering the US border station.

We crossed the border and headed for Roseau Minnesota  USA. for lunch.

After the border in the USA.

Our route.

The weather turning stormy.

We had wind and heat to contend with but closer to home storms started to brew. The last stretch was a dash to ride between two storms. I made it without getting wet

Thunderstorm

They had a severe thunderstorm watch out but we had no choice but to dash home. It was a different type of ride, a challenge but it was FUN...

In the News and on TV- The Quest

In the News and on TV- The Quest

I have been busy as usual and no time to blog. I have a few minutes before I leave on a 400 km Brevet. Commuter Challenge was a couple of weeks ago and I got interviewed by a TV station. They shot 1/2 hour of video and used the worst 10 seconds of it. Here is the link:Commuter Challenge 


Yesterday was Bike to Work Day and I volunteered at a pit stop instead of working. Another TV station was doing the weather report from there and did the report from inside the Quest.  Here is the link for the web page picture with the Quest.Global News    I had lots of questions about the Quest.

And now I'm off for 400 km of Fun.

What is this world coming to?

What is this world coming to?
When I ride on a Brevet I usually get waved at by passing cars. I get my photo taken by passing cars very often. I even have people stop to ask about the Quest and our ride when we do stop. Everyone is friendly. Canadians for the most part are like that. That's why I was shocked when I heard that a cyclist in another province was shot in the arm while riding his bike in a Brevet.Link to news story.    I also found another story that was shared on our facebook page.  Another story with a map too. 

 

Craig Premack

           This is very un Canadian! We pride ourselves as a peaceful country. I hope to post soon that they caught this nut with the gun. I will post any news as I get it. The cyclist will recover, but he should never have had to go though that. Our thoughts and prayers are with him!

 And Now 300 KM of Wind, Heat and Rain
Now it was time for our first 300 km. Brevet. The day started early and we left the start at 6:00 am promptly. We were a small group of only 5 this week. This week Sam took the pictures as I forgot the camera at home.The story of the day was a warm head wind (strong) and lots of heat.

Getting ready to start.

Riding into the wind on our flat prairie roads.

Great picture by Sam of me. My new profile photo!

Arriving in Vita, our half way point.

This was close to where we turned back north and had  a tail wind finally. The tail wind only lasted 40 km and turned back into a head wind as we rode into some thunder storms.

The storm we riding into.

We decided to wait out the worst of the storm and stopped for some supper and tire repair.

Tire repair while sitting out the storm.

After the worst part of the storm passed we continued on and the only event was having to wait for a mile long train in the rain.

Waiting for a long train in the rain.

 I will have to a box to stand on next time I get my photo taken with these tall guys.A later finish, but we all made it. And as usual I had FUN riding my Quest.

We finished.