Santa Cruz BRM Centenary 200k brevet report

[Bill Bryant]

Happy birthday, BRM!

Yesterday randonneurs and randonneuses from all around the world took part in Centenary 200 km brevets. The allure libre format of long-distance cycling we enjoy so much got started on September 11^th, 1921 with the Audax Club Parisien and are known around the world today as the Brevets des Randonneurs Mondiaux. Here in Santa Cruz, we hosted one of these brevets to celebrate the big occasion. 

 

As we finish a second summer in the covid-19 era, our SCR brevets have seen their lightest-ever attendance since we got started in 2004. Happily, the Centenary event saw a strong turnout of 24 participants. Better still, all the riders had the requisite randonneur determination and everyone finished to earn themselves a special commemorative medal. Below you’ll see a list of all the riders who completed our brevet. 

 

Per normal, our ride began at the Santa Cruz lighthouse by Steamer Lane. From there the route took riders north to Pescadero, then to Half Moon Bay, and still northward to the turnaround in Moss Beach. On the return, riders detoured at San Gregorio and climbed into the Santa Cruz Mountains and La Honda. After a control and refueling stop, riders then had to face up to the steep slopes of Haskins Hill, the hardest climb on a hilly route. From the summit, miles of descending through redwood forests took the riders back to the coast at Gazos Creek. Our usual northwest summer winds then pushed everyone back to Santa Cruz for the final two hours of the ride. All in all, it was a fairly difficult ride with 6500 feet of vertical gain, but the winds were generally helpful, and we had clear skies and pleasant temperatures once the morning overcast burned off.

 

The riders’ RUSA membership numbers ran the gamut from a single digit to five digits. Most of the riders were veterans of difficult brevets, we had some new riders too and they did fine. For Jennifer Hagstrom it was her longest-ever ride and first brevet. Welcome aboard, Jennifer! Lehang and Linh Nguyen completed the route in good form on their tandem, while many friends rode together and enjoyed the day’s cycling in small groups. Michael Chalfant, often seen pedaling a fixed-gear single speed on brevets, completed the ride on a multi-speed road bike—the one, it turns out, ridden by recently departed Roy Ross. There were more than a few emotions seen on the faces of all of us who miss our good friend Roy. 

 

On a personal note, the brevet was something of a bittersweet occasion. After months of training to ride the event, I hurt my back recently and was unable to go to the Big Dance with RUSA #8. Quite happy to help others earn their medal, I would not be with them on the list of finishers registered in the Big Book in Paris. However, speedy Peter Morrissey unexpectedly gave me his medal at the end of the brevet. I was confused but Peter told me it was a small token of appreciation for my service to the sport. To say that I am deeply touched by Peter’s thoughtful gift is an enormous understatement.

 

And so, that wraps up our final event for the 2021 season. We’re already working on next year’s schedule and meeting with our friends in neighboring randonneuring clubs to create a strong brevet calendar for our part of California. We’re looking forward to many more kilometers of randonneuring in 2022 with old friends and new, and hopefully you will be among them. 

Bonne route!

 

 

Santa Cruz Randonneurs 200 km brevet – 9/11/2021

RUSA No.	Last Name	First Name
12362	ABIDARI	Mehrdad
345	BRADBURY	Jim
3331	BRIER	William
10340	CHALFANT	Michael
11675	DAS	Sourav
14504	HAGSTROM	Jennifer
1625	HOLMGREN	John E
12361	KNOX	Garry
11685	KOSS	Brian
6551	LINDSAY	William
12922	LINSER	Eric
50	MAIN	Kevin
2133	MCCAW	Richard
5120	MERRITT	Greg
6009	MONSEN	William
1899	MORRISSEY	Peter
12377	NGUYEN	Lehang
12376	NGUYEN	Linh
12739	RUTHENBURG	Travis
12422	SARKAS	Ioannis
8	SPRINGSTEEN	Lois
7220	TAKEUCHI	Toshi
11653	TRACY	Todd
7383	WILLIAMS	Don