Running a Brevet in a changing world

Finally! After being sick for two weeks I get a decent weekend of riding. On Saturday I rode a nice easy 30 on the upper SART and ran into Jerry Cowden so got caught up on some of the latest news. Then at the Phoenician restaurant I ran into Lou who loves this place too. We had lunch together and had a great time. Such nice people - now I remember why I liked being a member of the RWBTC.

On Sunday Amber and I rode from Anaheim Amtrak to Oceanside Amtrak and the ride was special for two reasons. Firstly I have just got the ride registered as a permanent populair #2666. Secondly this was Amber's first ride on her new Lynskey Ti touring bike from Adrenaline Bikes in Orange County. She loves it - it's smooth and fits great. The only problem she had was in her hands so I told her to the the bars double taped.

Amber and her new Lynskey

On the drive down I noticed that one of the controls for my upcoming 600k brevet no longer exists. A perfectly good Chevron gas station has been ripped out, leaving a dirt lot. Fortunately I can make it an open control and there are other options, although this was the best option. As brevet owners we are used to CalTrans closing roads to cyclists and Parks and Recreation closing bike paths.

On a recent 400k, Greg Jones had to deal with closures to PCH north of Malibu, a closed bike path in Long Beach, and a closure to Interstate 5. There are many things an RBA can do to reduce the impact of these problems.

The key to road closures is to research ahead of time - a staff ride will help, together with the CalTrans website and the local knowledge of cyclists. I've had a couple of riders pre-ride my 600k already and they have provided invaluable information. You also need to be capable of routing riders around last minute obstructions. If a rider calls to tell you that a road is blocked, say by an accident, could you guide them around from ride HQ?

As for a disappearing control, I always try to use controls that have a backup. Ideally every control would be an open control. Even turnaround controls can be open. For example "Anything in this shopping center" or "Anything on Carpenteria Ave after Neptune St".

The key here is that the ride owner has to constantly monitor the state of the route, which is a lot of work for a 600k. It's always better to tell the riders the bad news, than to have them discover it during the ride.