I think brevets / randonneuring is `out' for a while

Several years ago I did Lon Haldeman and Susan Notarangelo's Mountain Week PAC Tour.  It was a great experience and was really well done by the PAC Tour folks.  What I remember most, though, was the fact that Lon told us all that riding on the shoulder of the road was not an option.  It was a requirement.  He then, very gently, referred to the cyclists he has known that were killed by cars and trucks.  On most days Lon would ride the route with us.  He would always ride the shoulder.  Though he didn't say it this way I understood him to be stating that `what's the loss of time and effort in comparison to being killed by a truck from behind?!'  

Yesterday I joined a really great group of randonneurs in a 300K  brevet from Flagstaff, AZ, to and from the Grand Canyon.  Most of the route was challenging and remarkable.  However, there is a 10 mile section of road that is lethal.  I decided to `hitch' a ride from a passing truck to avoid getting killed by an 18-wheeler.  

Randonneur brevets and permanents are a great format for cycling and fellowship.  But the story below introduces an element of lethality that ... well, I'm just not going to allow to happen to me.  

Unless I can `fix' the problem described below I'll hesitate doing more brevets and focust on challenging training routes that I design, well-regarded `organized events,' and competitive ultra-endurance events that may involve a crew.   

Below is a note that I forwarded to the AZ Rusa ride organizer regarding the 300K brevet yesterday. 

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When I got to the Motel 6 last night around 8:30pm I told Ryan that a) I was not MIA, still out on the course, b) that he wouldn't be signing the RUSA card because I completed all but 7 miles of the course, approximately 183 miles with 9,000 ft of climbing..

The course to and from the Grand Canyon is great and well worth it.


However, coming south on 89 when the rider gets to Antelope Hills the road becomes a 4 lane divided highway (at the start of the Kaibab National Forest) I had expected that the road shoulder would also be wider, too. Not the case.

Instead, right of the white line there are deep, `industrial strength' 6"x6" sharply ribbed gouges constituting the `rumble strip.' To the right of the rumble strip there was only 2 feet of road before a steep graded drop off to the gravelly ground.

This section is difficult for any recumbent bike. Add to it the 3 - 5% incline and a gusting 20 mph wind from the west and it is more than difficult; it is potentially lethal.

The upright bike has far more balance capability than the bent. The upright rider can get out of the saddle and rock the bike back and forth with minimum of difficulty in order to ride a straight line.

The bent rider doesn't have that option. By design the recumbent bike and the rider are one unit. Under difficult conditions the bent rider has to be far more careful of road conditions, weather conditions and crosswinds.

After riding about 3 miles on AZ Route 89, after it turned into divided lanes, I concluded that it was too dangerous for me to continue. I hailed a truck and he gave me a lift about 7 miles to a (Chevron?) gas station shortly past where the shoulder opened up again.

On 3 occasions while riding on that narrow, rumble strip shoulder the wind blew me into the rumble strip, further destabilizing me such that I entered the traffic lane. Fortunately there was no vehicle when that happened or I would have simply been road kill. Cars, RVs, and 18 wheelers were wizzing past at 75 - 80 mph. 

My decision was the right one.  And if I were to have done anything different it would have been to do it sooner, as soon as I recognized that the road was unrideable.

When the truck driver dropped me off I completed the remainder of the route on my own power, eventually trailing Russ Cummings and a few other riders into Motel 6.


Again, this was a very challenging and rewarding brevet. But I'm going to have to give this issue much thought for safety reasons.