Glacier Addendum

Just back from PDX to Glacier. Completed 638 miles (official route plus "bonus miles") in 71 hours 45 minutes. Unseen stat here is my total (lack of) sleep time: less than four hours over two nights.

During the brevet, I faced a number of micro obstacles which kept my focus on immediate goals rather than big picture mileage: colliding with a fellow rider 15 minutes into the ride, breaking my derailleur cable and having to ride in my high gear for a little less than 100 miles, scaling each endlessly ascending hill, dodging Montana trucker traffic, managing heat/direct sunlight (my main nemesis), avoiding dodgy rumblestrip placement, navigating in the dark with only one light, staying awake after dark, finding adequate nutrition from microwaveable minimart offerings (Bomb burriots and push-button lattes), losing my wallet in Plains, MT, and managing various low grade medical maladies best documented in a nineteenth century medical handbook.

Two days after the finish, I'm realizing how relieved I am to have actually completed this brevet (one which a friend oddly referred to as "the easiest 1000k you'll ever do"). In retrospect, despite my intensive Spring prep, there were quite a few moments, mishaps, which should have sent me over to the DNF column.

Since I'm not doing PBP (saving up for funds to pay a mortgage), I'm going to take the rest of the summer easy and plan for a big 1200k in 2008 (Boston-Montreal-Boston, if it's held next summer). Also, I'm definitely looking forward to the arrival of my custom Rivendell (sometime this Fall?) which should make completing these brevets a little more cushy, a little more do-able.

No medal at the end of the 1000k (just bad news from Amtrak that one cannot board a train without picture id)(see note about lost wallet). But here's a simulated image of my post-ride podium moment:



And a half finished flickr set