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Gentle Start 200K 2005 Ride Report
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Contributions by Alan Thwait and Steve Rheault New Riders Finish a Wet and Wild 200K(photo by unknown) Six riders started - and completed - today's Gentle Start 200K brevet. They were new members Pascal Labine, Jean Longtin, and Mark Nickel, and veterans Henk Bouhuyzen, Steve Rheault, and yours truly.
 Team 200 - left to right, Jean Longtin, Alan Thwaits, Pascal Labine, and Mark Nickel
More of Team 200 - left to right, Henk Bouhuyzen, Steve Rheault, Pascal Labine, and Jean LongtinThe weather was pretty rotten at the start - cold and raining hard - so we left a little bit late, after a lengthy conversation that included lots of "This looks bad - I'd rather be home" and "Well, I'll ride it if you guys are going to." But, after deciding that none of us had anything better to do with the day, we set off. It was a cold and wet ride, with periods of rain and snow to keep us from getting bored. Nonetheless, it turned out to be an excellent adventure, largely because of the very pleasant company. Pascal, Jean, Mark, and I finished in 11 hours (though having spent only 8 hours and 49 minutes on our bikes), and Steve and Henk rolled in about 15 minutes later. Aside from Steve's two flats, the ride was hassle-free. Kudos to Pascal, Jean, and Mark for having completed their first brevet with the club (not to mention the longest one-day distance any of them has ridden to date), to Henk for doing it all on his full-suspension mountain bike, and to Steve for persevering after those two flats. AlanTwo Flats Two HundredHaving to change two flats in less than 1 KM with totally numb fingers before even reaching the first control made me dread the prospect of a third flat. I quickly decided that I'd phone my wife for recovery and then go home and just put on the new tires I have sitting there that may have prevented this. I waved the others on.A short while later, Mark rode back and insisted that I finish the brevet. We threw a snack bar wrapper (he always wanted to see if this would work) in as a tire boot and we caught up to the other group at the second control in Cambridge (where I might add that the landscape was finally no longer white). Thanks Mark |
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