Santa Cruz 300k brevet report
Bill Bryant
This past weekend saw the 2010 SCR 300k brevet. Riders came from all around the greater Bay Area, but also from southern California, and even Connecticut. Like the previous brevets this summer, cool and drizzly weather greeted the riders. And once again, there was larger-than-normal participation: We had 55 starters for the Buena Vista 300k route, the largest-ever for any SCR event. Post-ride reading of altimeters indicated about 8,000 feet of climbing, most of it in the first half of the brevet.
The big field departed on dry roads at 6 AM, but it rode into thick fog and drizzle a few miles north of Santa Cruz. Various groups formed while climbing the hills and made their way at their respective speeds to the northern turnaround in Half Moon Bay. Alas, Briant Smith came to grief on the slick railroad tracks in Davenport and was hors combat with a broken elbow. Barley Forsman also went down but was able to continue. On the return, Alex Plumb was taken down by an inattentive day rider who didn’t realize she had other cyclists in her proximity. Alex was pretty beat-up but bravely soldiered on nonetheless. For most riders, the sun came out around lunchtime and they got to fully enjoy our beautiful coastal highway’s views.
After returning to Santa Cruz and about half-distance, next they traced the coastline southward to Marina, and then the southern turnaround at the Buena Vista Market in the Salinas Valley. There were some strong headwinds at various times around Marina, but overall, the winds were generally helpful or at least benign for most of the ride. The first person returned to SCR HQ by 5:30 PM, with various groups of riders at intervals after that. The last riders pulled in a little after 1 AM, well inside the time limit of 20 hours. Apart from the unlucky crash victim, everyone else finished the ride, continuing another trend this year of little-to-no DNFs on the SCR brevets. This year’s crop of randonneurs and randonneuses is obviously a hardy group!
300k ride results are posted at:
http://www.santacruzrandonneurs.org/2010results.html
Next up, the SCR Monterey Bay 400k Brevet on Saturday, September 4th. This is essentially the 300k route again, but this time it goes farther south into the Salinas Valley and turns around in Greenfield. Entries are due in Santa Cruz no later than Tuesday, August 31st. Due to the length of the brevet, we’d like to offer SAG patrol, especially at night. The daytime hours are already covered, and Dwight Brown has volunteered for a night shift. If you, or someone you know, would like to pull some night SAG duty, it would be a real boost to the riders. Since the brevet is held during Labor Day weekend, riders and SAG drivers will be able to catch up on their sleep on Monday. (And since it is the busy Labor Day weekend in Santa Cruz, entrants may want to arrange their lodgings sooner than later. You can use the Calrando chat list to find roommates or carpool buddies if needed.)
More info and entry forms at:
ro
(stop laughing!), I still managed to snap a few pictures along the
way.
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/KLKbBrPYPPL1MTdA8pIN3g?feat=directlink
Thanks to everyone I rode/chatted with for the company and the pulls
were greatly appreciated, especially coming back from the Buena Vista
store.
I haven't completely finalized my calendar yet, but I'll most likely
be joining you for the 400k.
-Roland