Granite Anvil Ride Report
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Dan Diehn
Aug 24, 2009, 6:44:56 PM8/24/09
to randon
I hadn't planned on writing a report on the Granite Anvil. However,
since no one else has posted anything to share their experiences, I
thought I'd offer my impression of the ride as a relative newbie.
The Granite Anvil was my first attempt at a 1200km event. I was very
excited about this ride because my family has a close family friend in
Toronto and it gave me a chance to combine a ride with a family
vacation. Jacques Besant of Madison, Wisconsin agreed to travel with
me to Ontario for the ride. We both ride with the Great Lakes
Randonneurs and had completed SR series each of the last 2 years. We
arrived in Oshawa on Tuesday prior to the start. We immediately began
meeting other riders. It was quickly obvious that we were the most
inexperienced riders there for the ride. Everyone we talked to had
completed several other 1200’s. Wednesday was a long day of waiting.
Registration and bike inspection were uneventful. We had an early
Italian dinner and got to be early so we would be ready for the 3:30
wakeup call on Thursday.
The ride started at 5:00. This was the first time that I had ever
started a brevet in the dark. I found it exhilarating to be riding
through the darkness with 48 other riders. The first few kilometers
of gently rolling hills flew by before the sun came up. About the
time it was getting light, the group starting to get smaller and
smaller. Eventually, Jacques and I found ourselves riding in a group
of 3 with Dan Paarsmarket of Alberta. I would end up riding the
remainder of the event with Dan. The three of us planned to stop in a
small town for water and a snack at kilometer 67. After buying my
water and a candy bar, I asked the cahier where I could find the
bathroom. He indicated that he did not have a bathroom and suggested
I try the coffee shop down the street. A stop at the coffee shop led
to our first brush with a recurring theme to this ride. Businesses in
the small towns in Ontario usually do not have public bathrooms.
Without going into a lot of detail, this would cause my some
discomfort during the ride as I have a medical condition which
requires me to go “number 2” every 3-4 hours while riding.
We continued on, without the benefit of a bathroom, and rode fairly
uneventfully into the first control at the Hockley Valley General
Store. We arrived just before 10:00 am, having completed the 119
kilometers in just under 5 hours. The control was set up in the
parking lot of the general store. We filled our bottles, got some
snacks and went into the general store for more food. The control had
an awesome selection of fresh bakery items. I left with a blueberry
muffin. The next few kilometers wound through a very beautiful
section of the Niagara escarpment. The area was highlighted by lots
of trees, hills, and a pretty meandering stream. Leaving this area
led to our first section of unexpected road construction. It appeared
that in the day or two prior to the ride, the local town had decided
to tear out the road. We had to climb down of 4 or 5 foot high gravel
bank to get to the sand roadway for a hundred yards or so of bike
pushing. The remainder of this leg was generally flat with a few
rolling hills. Luckily, there was very little wind because much of
this section was very open. Because of the heat, the organizers had
set up an extra water stop in the small town of Conn. We spent about
20 minutes sitting in the shade of the town park, refilled our bottles
and took off towards Eugenia.
We arrived at the Eugenia control at around 4:30 in the afternoon.
The control was a store that had deli sandwiches and ice cream. We
took a break of approximately a half hour before taking off for the
final section of the day. Upon leaving the control, we had a very
long, fast descent. Ahead was a very clear view of the corresponding
long climb out of the valley. I watched the climb all the way down
the descent while mustering up my energy for the long climb. However,
our route turned and never did make the climb. Instead, we did a stair
step climb over the next several kilometers to regain our altitude.
Eventually, we had another screaming descent towards Georgian Bay of
Lake Huron. We ended up arriving at the shores of Georgian Bay around
sunset. The route followed a small, winding road along the shore for
many kilometers. The road was bordered by a steady selection of
resorts and cottages. What little traffic there was moved at slow
speed on the windy road. The day finished with 7.4 kilometers along a
paved bicycle trail. We arrived at the overnight control at 10:10pm
after covering 366 kilometers.
The arrival at the overnight control was a little overwhelming after
riding in a small group in the dark. The area was bustling with
activity as riders ate dinner, took showers, and got their gear ready
for the next day. I enjoyed a great meal of chicken breasts, macaroni
and cheese, and 2 big pieces of chocolate cake. By the time I went to
bed, all of the mats and blankets had been snagged by the faster
riders. Luckily, one of the volunteers offered to let me sleep in the
back of her SUV. I slept soundly for 4 hours.
Jacques, Dan and I left at 4:00. The morning hours were spent riding
along quiet roads through countryside dominated by woods, rivers, and
the features of the Trent-Severn waterway, including canals and
locks. We made it to the first control of Big Chute around 6:15 am.
The control was basically a card table in front of a closed business.
We loaded up on snacks, hit the porta-potty and took off. The next
section provided me with one of the proverbial low points of the ride.
The day seemed to heat up fast so by mid-morning I was feeling really
cooked. Our group of three had become strung out over a couple of
kilometers while riding across an exposed highland area. I was
desparately in need of an extended break for a sitdown meal. However,
I was too far behind to let the others know that. I was thoroughly
disheartened when they went past the restaurant outside of Kirkfield
and went the extra couple of kilometers uphill into town and stopped
at the general store. A load of junk food helped out enough to get me
through the last kilometers to the control at Fenelon Falls. At that
point I announced to anyone that would listen, “I’m not negotiating
about it. I’m eating”. We then went to Tim Horton’s for a sandwich, a
Pepsi, and some baked goods. The meal got me over the hump. The rest
of the ride into the overnight control at Bancroft went much better,
with some rolling hills and nice scenery. In this section, we rode
past numerous lakes and finished riding the shores of a large lake at
sundown. We arrived in Bancroft shortly before 9:00pm and gorged on
lasagna. I was fortunate enough to land one of the beds in the hotel
rooms reserved for showers and got a really nice night’s sleep.
Day 3 was the hardest day of the Granite Anvil. We decided to leave
at 3:00 am. While rolling out of Bancroft, I saw a very large, bright
meteor flying very low above the tree line. The route began climbing
almost immediately after leaving Bancroft, following very low traffic
roads with lots of steep climbs and descents. Dan and I got separated
from Jacques about 1 hour into the day. He stopped to take off his
jacket right before a corner. We went through the intersection before
realizing Jacques had stopped. We pulled over to wait for Jacques but
he never showed up. Apparently, he did not see us turn and went
straight though the intersection. We waited about 20 minutes before
giving up and going on ahead. The route became even more difficult on
the way to Foymount. We climbed numerous long, steep climbs in the
morning twilight. Although this section was the most difficult of the
course, it was also my favorite. We rode through some very rugged and
beautiful country on desserted roads. The final push up to Foymount
was enough to leave my legs shaking. We arrived at Foymount at 7:48
am. Leaving Foymount, the terrain mellowed somewhat although there
were still several significant climbs, including Schutt Road (the
Ontario riders seemed to pronounce this differently than it is
spelled). By the time we arrived at Denbigh, I was pretty well cooked
from a long morning of climbing and some really hot temperatures. Dan
and I, plus about 6 other riders stopped at the Swiss Inn restaurant
for lunch. The meal took about an hour to be prepared but getting out
of the heat did us a lot of good. At one point, I looked around the
room and all of the rest of the riders were asleep in their chairs.
The rest of the ride featured lots more sun and heat. The road had
numerous small hills and seemed to go on forever. We kept plowing
ahead and eventually arrived at the Sharbot Lake control. The control
was located next to a park and across the street from a pizza
restaurant. I ordered a pepperoni pizza. I left Sharbot Lake feeling
much better than when I arrived. The road out of Sharbot Lake was
pretty mellow with only small rolling hills. As we approached
Napanee, my left knee starting acting up. I got to a point where I was
having trouble even putting enough pressure on the knee to turn the
pedals. Rather than limp than last 15 kilometers to the overnight
control, Dan and I got a room at a Hampton Inn in Napanee. We got in
around 11:00 and slept until 4:00. When we woke up, my knee was
feeling good enough to go and we started off towards Tyendinaga. We
had a hard time finding our way back to the course and ended up riding
an extra 3 or 4 miles. Eventually, we got back on course and cruised
the flat kilometers to the Tyendinaga control in a thick fog. We got
to the control at 6:06 am. I changed clothes, ate a big scrambled egg
breakfast, and caught up with Jacques.
After about an hour, Jacques, Dan and I started off to start the final
197 kilometers back to Oshawa. The first 86 kilometers were flat,
generally following the shore of Lake Ontario. We arrived in Colborne
at 11:37. By then my knee was acting up again and the heat was rising
again. Throughout the day, we would hook up with other riders
temporarily. Listening to the stories of Dan Clinkinbeard helped the
miles pass. I had my only flat of the ride as we were coming into
Coubourg. I was able to change the tire within a few minutes and
catch up to Jacques and Dan, who were lounging under a shade tree. We
then rolled into town and had a Mr. Sub sandwich. By now, the
afternoon and heated up and the kilometers seemed to pass slowly. We
stopped for water in the lakefront town of Bewdly where a group of
approximately 8 riders came together, including the Olsen brothers,
Michael Fox, Dan Clinkinbeard, and Jim Koegel. We would generally
tackle the final rolling hills together. At one point, approximately
40 kilometers from the finish, all 8 of us were stopped at an
intersection trying to figure out which way to go. After a lengthy
discussion among the 8 of us, and a passing motorist, we decided to
turn left. We went downhill for approximately 3-4 miles before
deciding that we had made a wrong decision. We backtracked to the
intersection and finished the ride without incident. We finished at
7:45 for a total time of 86 hours and 45 minutes.
The finish was extra special for me. Not only was I finishing my first
1200km event but all of my close family was there to share it. My
wife and 2 daughters, my parents, my aunt and uncle and a cousin had
all made there way to Toronto for the family vacation portion of the
trip.
The Granite Anvil was a great experience. The route was challenging,
but not impossible. The travelled portion of Ontario was
geographically very diverse. There were lots of beautiful lakes and
rivers, hills and farmland. The ride staff worked hard to help
everyone’s ride. Like most of the riders, I was a bit upset about the
amount of gravel on the route. (I believe there was 20-25 km of very
rough gravel). However, it appears that much of the gravel sections
appeared in the day or two prior to the ride. There were also some
problems with the cue sheets. Most notably, there were several times
(8-10) where the road name on the cue sheet did not match the road
name options on road signs. These disparities led to several rider
conferences on the route, approximately 30 bonus kilometers, and
feelings of uneasiness at times. I would assume these issues can be
resolved before the next edition. However, none of these negatives
were enough to sour my satisfaction with the ride.
since no one else has posted anything to share their experiences, I
thought I'd offer my impression of the ride as a relative newbie.
The Granite Anvil was my first attempt at a 1200km event. I was very
excited about this ride because my family has a close family friend in
Toronto and it gave me a chance to combine a ride with a family
vacation. Jacques Besant of Madison, Wisconsin agreed to travel with
me to Ontario for the ride. We both ride with the Great Lakes
Randonneurs and had completed SR series each of the last 2 years. We
arrived in Oshawa on Tuesday prior to the start. We immediately began
meeting other riders. It was quickly obvious that we were the most
inexperienced riders there for the ride. Everyone we talked to had
completed several other 1200’s. Wednesday was a long day of waiting.
Registration and bike inspection were uneventful. We had an early
Italian dinner and got to be early so we would be ready for the 3:30
wakeup call on Thursday.
The ride started at 5:00. This was the first time that I had ever
started a brevet in the dark. I found it exhilarating to be riding
through the darkness with 48 other riders. The first few kilometers
of gently rolling hills flew by before the sun came up. About the
time it was getting light, the group starting to get smaller and
smaller. Eventually, Jacques and I found ourselves riding in a group
of 3 with Dan Paarsmarket of Alberta. I would end up riding the
remainder of the event with Dan. The three of us planned to stop in a
small town for water and a snack at kilometer 67. After buying my
water and a candy bar, I asked the cahier where I could find the
bathroom. He indicated that he did not have a bathroom and suggested
I try the coffee shop down the street. A stop at the coffee shop led
to our first brush with a recurring theme to this ride. Businesses in
the small towns in Ontario usually do not have public bathrooms.
Without going into a lot of detail, this would cause my some
discomfort during the ride as I have a medical condition which
requires me to go “number 2” every 3-4 hours while riding.
We continued on, without the benefit of a bathroom, and rode fairly
uneventfully into the first control at the Hockley Valley General
Store. We arrived just before 10:00 am, having completed the 119
kilometers in just under 5 hours. The control was set up in the
parking lot of the general store. We filled our bottles, got some
snacks and went into the general store for more food. The control had
an awesome selection of fresh bakery items. I left with a blueberry
muffin. The next few kilometers wound through a very beautiful
section of the Niagara escarpment. The area was highlighted by lots
of trees, hills, and a pretty meandering stream. Leaving this area
led to our first section of unexpected road construction. It appeared
that in the day or two prior to the ride, the local town had decided
to tear out the road. We had to climb down of 4 or 5 foot high gravel
bank to get to the sand roadway for a hundred yards or so of bike
pushing. The remainder of this leg was generally flat with a few
rolling hills. Luckily, there was very little wind because much of
this section was very open. Because of the heat, the organizers had
set up an extra water stop in the small town of Conn. We spent about
20 minutes sitting in the shade of the town park, refilled our bottles
and took off towards Eugenia.
We arrived at the Eugenia control at around 4:30 in the afternoon.
The control was a store that had deli sandwiches and ice cream. We
took a break of approximately a half hour before taking off for the
final section of the day. Upon leaving the control, we had a very
long, fast descent. Ahead was a very clear view of the corresponding
long climb out of the valley. I watched the climb all the way down
the descent while mustering up my energy for the long climb. However,
our route turned and never did make the climb. Instead, we did a stair
step climb over the next several kilometers to regain our altitude.
Eventually, we had another screaming descent towards Georgian Bay of
Lake Huron. We ended up arriving at the shores of Georgian Bay around
sunset. The route followed a small, winding road along the shore for
many kilometers. The road was bordered by a steady selection of
resorts and cottages. What little traffic there was moved at slow
speed on the windy road. The day finished with 7.4 kilometers along a
paved bicycle trail. We arrived at the overnight control at 10:10pm
after covering 366 kilometers.
The arrival at the overnight control was a little overwhelming after
riding in a small group in the dark. The area was bustling with
activity as riders ate dinner, took showers, and got their gear ready
for the next day. I enjoyed a great meal of chicken breasts, macaroni
and cheese, and 2 big pieces of chocolate cake. By the time I went to
bed, all of the mats and blankets had been snagged by the faster
riders. Luckily, one of the volunteers offered to let me sleep in the
back of her SUV. I slept soundly for 4 hours.
Jacques, Dan and I left at 4:00. The morning hours were spent riding
along quiet roads through countryside dominated by woods, rivers, and
the features of the Trent-Severn waterway, including canals and
locks. We made it to the first control of Big Chute around 6:15 am.
The control was basically a card table in front of a closed business.
We loaded up on snacks, hit the porta-potty and took off. The next
section provided me with one of the proverbial low points of the ride.
The day seemed to heat up fast so by mid-morning I was feeling really
cooked. Our group of three had become strung out over a couple of
kilometers while riding across an exposed highland area. I was
desparately in need of an extended break for a sitdown meal. However,
I was too far behind to let the others know that. I was thoroughly
disheartened when they went past the restaurant outside of Kirkfield
and went the extra couple of kilometers uphill into town and stopped
at the general store. A load of junk food helped out enough to get me
through the last kilometers to the control at Fenelon Falls. At that
point I announced to anyone that would listen, “I’m not negotiating
about it. I’m eating”. We then went to Tim Horton’s for a sandwich, a
Pepsi, and some baked goods. The meal got me over the hump. The rest
of the ride into the overnight control at Bancroft went much better,
with some rolling hills and nice scenery. In this section, we rode
past numerous lakes and finished riding the shores of a large lake at
sundown. We arrived in Bancroft shortly before 9:00pm and gorged on
lasagna. I was fortunate enough to land one of the beds in the hotel
rooms reserved for showers and got a really nice night’s sleep.
Day 3 was the hardest day of the Granite Anvil. We decided to leave
at 3:00 am. While rolling out of Bancroft, I saw a very large, bright
meteor flying very low above the tree line. The route began climbing
almost immediately after leaving Bancroft, following very low traffic
roads with lots of steep climbs and descents. Dan and I got separated
from Jacques about 1 hour into the day. He stopped to take off his
jacket right before a corner. We went through the intersection before
realizing Jacques had stopped. We pulled over to wait for Jacques but
he never showed up. Apparently, he did not see us turn and went
straight though the intersection. We waited about 20 minutes before
giving up and going on ahead. The route became even more difficult on
the way to Foymount. We climbed numerous long, steep climbs in the
morning twilight. Although this section was the most difficult of the
course, it was also my favorite. We rode through some very rugged and
beautiful country on desserted roads. The final push up to Foymount
was enough to leave my legs shaking. We arrived at Foymount at 7:48
am. Leaving Foymount, the terrain mellowed somewhat although there
were still several significant climbs, including Schutt Road (the
Ontario riders seemed to pronounce this differently than it is
spelled). By the time we arrived at Denbigh, I was pretty well cooked
from a long morning of climbing and some really hot temperatures. Dan
and I, plus about 6 other riders stopped at the Swiss Inn restaurant
for lunch. The meal took about an hour to be prepared but getting out
of the heat did us a lot of good. At one point, I looked around the
room and all of the rest of the riders were asleep in their chairs.
The rest of the ride featured lots more sun and heat. The road had
numerous small hills and seemed to go on forever. We kept plowing
ahead and eventually arrived at the Sharbot Lake control. The control
was located next to a park and across the street from a pizza
restaurant. I ordered a pepperoni pizza. I left Sharbot Lake feeling
much better than when I arrived. The road out of Sharbot Lake was
pretty mellow with only small rolling hills. As we approached
Napanee, my left knee starting acting up. I got to a point where I was
having trouble even putting enough pressure on the knee to turn the
pedals. Rather than limp than last 15 kilometers to the overnight
control, Dan and I got a room at a Hampton Inn in Napanee. We got in
around 11:00 and slept until 4:00. When we woke up, my knee was
feeling good enough to go and we started off towards Tyendinaga. We
had a hard time finding our way back to the course and ended up riding
an extra 3 or 4 miles. Eventually, we got back on course and cruised
the flat kilometers to the Tyendinaga control in a thick fog. We got
to the control at 6:06 am. I changed clothes, ate a big scrambled egg
breakfast, and caught up with Jacques.
After about an hour, Jacques, Dan and I started off to start the final
197 kilometers back to Oshawa. The first 86 kilometers were flat,
generally following the shore of Lake Ontario. We arrived in Colborne
at 11:37. By then my knee was acting up again and the heat was rising
again. Throughout the day, we would hook up with other riders
temporarily. Listening to the stories of Dan Clinkinbeard helped the
miles pass. I had my only flat of the ride as we were coming into
Coubourg. I was able to change the tire within a few minutes and
catch up to Jacques and Dan, who were lounging under a shade tree. We
then rolled into town and had a Mr. Sub sandwich. By now, the
afternoon and heated up and the kilometers seemed to pass slowly. We
stopped for water in the lakefront town of Bewdly where a group of
approximately 8 riders came together, including the Olsen brothers,
Michael Fox, Dan Clinkinbeard, and Jim Koegel. We would generally
tackle the final rolling hills together. At one point, approximately
40 kilometers from the finish, all 8 of us were stopped at an
intersection trying to figure out which way to go. After a lengthy
discussion among the 8 of us, and a passing motorist, we decided to
turn left. We went downhill for approximately 3-4 miles before
deciding that we had made a wrong decision. We backtracked to the
intersection and finished the ride without incident. We finished at
7:45 for a total time of 86 hours and 45 minutes.
The finish was extra special for me. Not only was I finishing my first
1200km event but all of my close family was there to share it. My
wife and 2 daughters, my parents, my aunt and uncle and a cousin had
all made there way to Toronto for the family vacation portion of the
trip.
The Granite Anvil was a great experience. The route was challenging,
but not impossible. The travelled portion of Ontario was
geographically very diverse. There were lots of beautiful lakes and
rivers, hills and farmland. The ride staff worked hard to help
everyone’s ride. Like most of the riders, I was a bit upset about the
amount of gravel on the route. (I believe there was 20-25 km of very
rough gravel). However, it appears that much of the gravel sections
appeared in the day or two prior to the ride. There were also some
problems with the cue sheets. Most notably, there were several times
(8-10) where the road name on the cue sheet did not match the road
name options on road signs. These disparities led to several rider
conferences on the route, approximately 30 bonus kilometers, and
feelings of uneasiness at times. I would assume these issues can be
resolved before the next edition. However, none of these negatives
were enough to sour my satisfaction with the ride.
Bill Olsen
Aug 24, 2009, 8:40:47 PM8/24/09
to ddi...@charterinternet.com, ran...@googlegroups.com
Dan -
Thanks for posting your ride report. It was nice to have met you and also great to have been able to ride into the finish with you, Jacques and the other two "Dans."
Bill
> Date: Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:44:56 -0700
> Subject: [Randon] Granite Anvil Ride Report
> From: ddi...@charterinternet.com
> To: ran...@googlegroups.com
Thanks for posting your ride report. It was nice to have met you and also great to have been able to ride into the finish with you, Jacques and the other two "Dans."
Bill
> Date: Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:44:56 -0700
> Subject: [Randon] Granite Anvil Ride Report
> From: ddi...@charterinternet.com
> To: ran...@googlegroups.com
>
>
> I hadn't planned on writing a report on the Granite Anvil. However,
> since no one else has posted anything to share their experiences, I
> thought I'd offer my impression of the ride as a relative newbie....
>
>
Hotmail® is up to 70% faster. Now good news travels really fast. Try it now.
>
>
Hotmail® is up to 70% faster. Now good news travels really fast. Try it now.
Juan PLC Salazar
Aug 24, 2009, 10:52:06 PM8/24/09
to Dan Diehn, randon
Dan Diehn wrote:
> I hadn't planned on writing a report on the Granite Anvil. However,
> since no one else has posted anything to share their experiences, I
> thought I'd offer my impression of the ride as a relative newbie.
>
> I hadn't planned on writing a report on the Granite Anvil. However,
> since no one else has posted anything to share their experiences, I
> thought I'd offer my impression of the ride as a relative newbie.
>
Hi Dan,
I really enjoyed your report. I had the impression you remained poised
in the difficult moments of your ride. I think that is key to a
successful event. Your description of the ride also made me put the
Granite Anvile on my "to do list."
Cheers,
Juan S.
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