2013 Saguaro National Park 300km Brevet

Ride Report
February 2, 2013

Susan Plonsky gives the rider briefing

The truck and bike were packed Friday night and all my gear was ready to go. The alarm went off at 0405, coffee made, dressed and I was on my way to pick up Carlton van Leuven at 0420. He was ready to go and we arrived in Casa Grande a short 40 minutes later. After a stop at the 24 hour Wal Mart we arrived at the Round Trip Bike Shop in plenty of time for the start of the 2013 edition of the Saguaro National Park 300km Brevet.

The first order of business after checking in is to decide how much clothing to wear/carry on the bike. The forecast was for mild to warm weather later in the day, but the predawn temperature was still in the low forties. Plus it is always colder outside Casa Grande, and especially in Coolidge. I decided to go with shoe covers, leg warmers, base, jersey, vest, arm warmers, and long gloves. I almost passed on the shoe covers, but Carlton convinced me to put them on and I was glad I did. It was the perfect combination for the first segment to the Tom Mix controle on the Pinal Parkway.

Lonnie 'Epic' Wolff

Susan Plonsky, RUSA Brevet Administrator provided the rider briefing a few minutes before 6 am to 40 plus randonnuers that were ready to go at the Round Trip Bike Shop. The owner opens his store early to provide a base, rest room, and meeting hall. And by the number of brand new reflective ankle bands I noticed (required for a pre-dawn start) on a few riders, a chance to pick up a last minute cycling need or two.

Many of the usual suspects had gathered for this one and it was great to catch up with Lonnie Wolff from Utah and Dick Wiss from Colorado, and other riders from previous brevets. Scott and Ryan were leading a group of Extreme Picnickers, but we rolled out before I had a chance to say hello!

At 0600 Susan fired up the Brevetmobile and provided the lead out that includes a loop south to pick up a few miles before heading north out of town. A very thoughtful route design, because adding a few mile loop before you get started is no big deal. Having to ride past the finish at the end of a brevet would be almost as mind-bending as having to ride the I-10 Frontage Road!

A group of 7 or so formed and we were off the front by the time we reached McCartney road at the edge of town. We rode at a reasonable pace and were soon over the 'pass,' riding past the dairy farms, and descending into Coolidge. As usual, it was cooler than Casa Grande but hardly noticeable with the spectacular pre-dawn sky we were treated to! Coolidge passed by in a flash and we continued to work well together to the first controle at the Tom Mix Monument on Pinal Parkway.

Gerry Goode was one of the volunteers manning this stop and it was quite enjoyable catching up with him. Over the years, Gerry and I have teamed up on several brevets and he rode the Casa Grande 200 on both occasions that my sons Mark and Michael joined me for this nonsense. So as I busily checked in, reloaded my bottles, and stripped off a few layers and my shoe covers, I gave Gerry a quick update on how the boys are doing.

Carlton at the Tangerine Circle K

After being left behind at this controle, and having to chase down the group on more than one occasion on previous brevets, I have learned to move fast at this controle! I was just putting my bottles on the bike as the first few riders rolled out, I jumped in and four of us were off. We sat up and waited for Carlton, Karl, and Mike to rejoin us. A few miles from the controle we were groupo compacto and the 'fun' began. The road steepens and the cross-winds picked up as the strong men in the group picked up the pace. Mike was the first to go, and as Carlton and I hung on by a thread; Stephen Kenny thankfully dialed back the pace and we formed a double pace line to work through the wind.

Steve Kenny contemplating Gates Pass

Wrap Time at Kinney Road

We reached the 'top' just as I was about lose contact from the group, but was able to hang on and recover somewhat on the descent into the Rancho Vistoso area. Once we hit the rollers on the wide roads of this planned community, I started to yo-yo off the back. Just as I lost contact, a motorist made a U-turn in front of the group as they were turning onto Moore Road, causing everyone to stop. Being safely behind the group, I was able to roll through chaos and in an act of sheer desperation, went to the front of the group to take a pull and try to cool the pace down a little! Carlton and I shared pulls to the Circle K a few miles later and we stripped off layers, reloaded our bottles, and slathered on some sunscreen!

Susan's Brevetmobile

We were rewarded with some easy descending on Twin Peaks road until we reached Silverbell road. Much of the Silverbell has been improved over the years, but some sections are quite rough and traffic was heavy. The pace seemed to pick up and I worked hard to hold on and stay with the group,  but decided to drop off and climb at my own pace when we turned on Sweetwater and started the climbing to Gates Pass.

Carlton noticed I had dropped and fell back to keep me company on the climb. The weather was perfect and once I dialed it back to my own pace it was a very enjoyable climb as we admired the awesome views of saguaro cactus and awesome desert mountain views. Traffic seemed quite heavy on the last climb up the pass, but luckily no cars overtook us as we cleared the summit, so we had a unobstructed downhill blast to the next controle at the Kinney Road Parking lot.

No sammy for me today

We rolled in while the rest of the group was already into their first sandwiches provided by Susan Plonsky. I decided to pass on the sandwiches, but refilled my water bottles and grabbed a Coke. After visiting and catching up with Susan I was ready to go before my legs got too stiff! Calton joined me and we rolled out, figuring the strong men would catch us before we got to Marana.

Mark Mandell caught us as soon after we left the controle, and Brian McQuire caught us while we refilled our water bottles at the Circle K in Marana. We decided to take 1 mile pulls into the building headwinds, and with our 4 man group working at a steady pace we soon were passing Picacho Peak and looking forward the fresh pavement that was ahead of us.

At this pace we figured we would be in before sunset, and with a shot of finishing under 11 hours, Brian and Mark picked up the pace a little, but that was a little too hot for Carlton, so he dropped off. The banana I ate in Marana was not sitting well so I was more than happy to dial it back a little as I dropped back to join him as Brian and Mark headed off to shoot for a 5 pm finish. Carlton and I figured we could easily get in under 12 hours, so we backed it off and started trading pulls.

We were there!

With Carlton doing most of the work, soon we were at the Circle K in Eloy topping off our bottles for the final run to Casa Grande. The winds were not particularly strong, but were generally right on our noses from Marana to Eloy and quite annoying. Combine that with rough road, heavy freeway and train traffic, and enjoying scenic Eloy by day; it all adds up to 30 miles of severe brain damage!

With an unremarkable 8 miles to the next controle, and 11 more to the finish, we each took one mile pulls into the cross-wind and pulled in to the Round Trip Bike shop at 11 hours and 24 minutes after we started. We packed the bikes, signed our cards and were ready to go a few minutes after we arrived. A passer-by asked to borrow Carlton's cell phone to arrange a ride to 'a meeting' and he obliged. She wrapped up her call and we pointed the Suburban back toward Phoenix and headed home.

It was a great day on the bike with strong riders and good friends. We both wished that somehow this route could be done without the I-10 Frontage Road of Brain Damage!

My trusty steed, and a daytime finish!