SCR Moss Beach 200k report
Bill Bryant
SCR Moss Beach 200 km Brevet Report
This past weekend saw the first event of the 2021 Santa Cruz Randonneurs season. As seems normal for the covid-era, we had a light turnout with eight entrants for our Moss Beach 200k. They were a nice mix of new and familiar faces. The Moss Beach route was one of our first brevets in 2004 and it felt good to be using it again. Unexpectedly, about half the group were participants in some of our earliest SCR brevets, some 15-17 years ago and it was equally good to see them again. The group departed from the lighthouse under overcast skies at 6 AM. By afternoon there were sunny skies and a stiff tailwind that pushed the riders back to Santa Cruz from Pescadero.
Rando-veteran Willy Nevin had a funny story to share after his ride that reveals some of the determination commonly found among randonneurs:
It’s been over 3 years since I’ve ridden this far. The bottom of my right foot was sore with 10 miles to go so I’ll have to build up my rando-foot again. (I didn’t even know there was such a thing.) But the weather was fantastic with the usual tailwinds the last 25 miles to help you forget the first 100 miles. I rode right by my house in Moss Beach at about 67 and 73 miles but was feeling fine so kept going. Luckily, we live on one nasty steep hill, so it was easier to ride another 50 miles south to Santa Cruz than ride a half-mile up our stupid hill.
In the end we had one DNS, two DNF, and five finishers, including:
J. Atencio*
John Curd
Jack Holmgren
Willy Nevin
Ioannis Sarkas
*Big kudos to J. Atencio for completing his first brevet. Bravo!
Next Up: On Saturday, June 26 we have a two-fer. Riders can choose between either the Castroville 300k or the El Granada 200k. Both brevets follow the same route north to Half Moon Bay and back to San Gregorio for about the first 75 miles, and there will be a nearly full moon for the 300k riders. As always, route profiles and entry info can be found at:
https://santacruzrandonneurs.org
All entries are due no later than the Wednesday evening before the ride at 8 PM, and there are no day-of entries.
Bonne route,
Bill Bryant & Lois Springsteen
Santa Cruz Randonneurs