Silk Sheets 200K Brevet

On Saturday I did the Silk Sheets 200K brevet.  It was a fun and special ride for several reasons.  I did this same brevet a year ago.  It was my first brevet as well as my last ride in A Year of Centuries (www.ayearofcenturies.blogspot.com).  So, I had fond memories as I pedaled along the same course on Saturday.  One thing was very different from last year, however.  Whereas last year I rode the whole thing by myself, this time I had a terrific riding companion.  It wasn't just any riding companion, though; it was Jennifer Klein, one of my Race Across America (RAAM) teammates!  Yes, I'll be doing RAAM next June!  I'm so excited!  I'll post more about this sometime in the near future as we get a few more details ironed out, but for now I know for sure that I'll be part of a four-person, all-women team, the Sorella RAAM Cycling Team 2015!  My teammates are Korey Gotoo, Jennifer Klein, and Lauren Schrichten.  Korey and Jennifer are from Atlanta, and Lauren is from California.  Stay tuned for more info.

As for Saturday's brevet, the best part was seeing what a trooper Jennifer is.  Not only was our 129-mile ride the longest she had ever done, she also wasn't fazed a bit by starting in the rain.  It wasn't just a drizzle, either.  It rained steadily for about the first 50 miles.  The temperature stayed in the 50s most of the day, which made the rain much more bearable.  It would have been a lot tougher if it had been even 10 degrees cooler.  Fortunately, we both had good rain gear, which kept our cores warm and dry.  I was actually fairly comfortable.  I think the good companionship had a lot to do with that, too.

Our second control was an information control, where we stopped at a historic building:

Jennifer and me

Some friendly horses were hanging out right beside it.  I enjoyed sharing my apple with one of them:

I forgot to wipe off the lens of my phone camera before the picture, but this does convey the rainy nature of the day.

We lingered long enough at this control that some of the guys caught up with us.  It was nice to have several of my regular rando buddies - Daniel, Ian, and Robert (Newcomer) - join us for the second half of the ride.

The remainder of the ride was relatively uneventful...until we got to the last big climb.  It was on Northside Drive about four miles from the end.  I sort of remembered this climb from last year, but I guess I was so elated about completing A Year of Centuries then that I didn't remember just how steep it is.  For about a mile the grade is as much as 11%!  That's like climbing a gap in North Georgia.  I wouldn't have believed that a climb this steep and long exists in metro Atlanta.  It's also quite a little kicker after you've already ridden about 125 miles.

Although the weather was probably the least ideal that I have experienced on a brevet (but certainly not the worst in my cycling career), it still was a very enjoyable ride.  Thank you to all of my riding companions, Neil for the route support, Chris for taking on RBA duties for the day, and regular RBA Kevin for setting up this brevet.  See you all on the road next time!