Around the Bend 400k brevet

It's not often I say I will never do a ride again, but unfortunately that's exactly the way I feel about the Around the Bend 400k brevet I rode in Arizona yesterday.

There was a lot to like about the ride...
1. It's flat - really flat. It has about the same climbing as my flat 200k ride. I liked that.
2. The support was good. Tom Baker, the ride organizer, met us at the first control and was waiting for us at lunch with lots of good food and conversation. Then another volunteer was manning a secret control about 170 miles into the ride with more good stuff. No complaints there.
3. The overall design of the route was good. We were never riding into the rising or setting sun - that's always a good thing.
4 We got very lucky with the weather. Although it got up to about 85F it was overcast so there was very little direct sunlight. Also the wind was calm most of the day.

So what were the problems?
1. The roads were abysmal. Some of the worst roads I've ever ridden on. One of the worst was called Broadway. It's eight miles of one inch high ridges every ten feet. I could not ride faster that 10mph because it would have broken a spoke or even a wrist. It was so bad I actually bit my tongue. Overall I would say that more than half the route was on very rough roads. I suspect there aren't a lot of roads in central Arizona - in which case you'd think they could keep the ones they do have in better condition.

2. A lot of the route, especially the second half, was on roads with little or no shoulder and very heavy traffic. I have rarely been so afraid on a ride. Fortunately Arizona drivers are more courteous that Californian drivers so of the five thousand or so cars that passed me I only had two jerks. However, it only takes one to kill you.

I was hoping to do this ride with my daughter but she is too busy with her masters. As it turned out, I'm glad she couldn't make it.