Having pre-rode the course the day before, this was the event! While people were welcome to roll out as early or late as they wish, I encouraged a 9:30 – 10am rollout for two reasons: I could commit to being there to see them off, and they’d likely be racing daylight at the end, which for me at least has become part of the fun.
A few folks rolled through earlier, but I was happy to see a bunch of friends and acquaintances roll up and set off on the course.
As a fairly solitary creature, I felt both out of my zone but oddly in my element playing event organizer. I definitely didn’t know what I was doing for the most part and learned a lot over the course of the day.
I stuck around the start line until just before 11am, when the last of the folks set off. I had no set plans for what I’d get up to prior, but decided to zip across town to Dageraad, pick up some beers, and catch folks along the old Interurban rail trail near New West. I figure since they’ve got the whole north loop before that point, I’d have plenty of time.
On the way to Dageraad I grabbed a sandwich and caught up with one buddy, Lukas, who had rolled out ahead of most others on their fixed gear Surly 1×1. I was set up along a cheeky little connector trail as noted below, left.
There were three early bird riders whom I wasn’t able to catch on-course, but I was in place in a perfectly unexpected spot for the remainder of the riders. It was a last minute plan but I couldn’t have planned better.
I was set up here for a couple hours, and the vast majority of that time was spent alone. I quite enjoyed it though, the setting was ideal. The cadence with which riders came through was quite perfect, too – I rarely went more than 20 or 30 minutes over those couple hours without another group, and each group/rider was happy to stop in for a bit – and many had a beer as well. Next time I’ll have better non-alc options, though it wasn’t an issue this time around.
I spent so long there in fact, I got bored enough to clear a path to my “aid station” and did some scoping of the surrounding forest.
The final group had lost some time due to taking some route liberties that went predictably poorly, so by the time they’d rolled through I knew I had to book it to the finish gate if I wanted to catch the first folks through this aid station. But first, I had to pose my bike with the beauty that is the Interurban rail trail:
Okay, time to roll.
I swung by the brewery again to re-stock as well as grab a smash burger for early dinner. The weather had been behaving remarkably well all day – the forecast looked wet, but I didn’t get rained on until now and it was pretty light.
I didn’t quite catch Lukas, but I managed to arrive 5 mins before Graham rolled down the hill to the gate. Before we finished a beer together, the two Sams and Bjorn rolled in as well. Then, while we were all hanging out, the fixie crew also rolled up! I was surprised and elated by how many chose to complete the course right up until the end. I never indicated I’d be there, and it’s generally not on anyone’s way home.
After everyone rolled out I stayed for a bit to see if the last big group would finish. It got dark, and with it, the rain got heavier. I texted one or two of the riders, and eventually I got back a message that everyone had kind of split up or peeled off. Unsure that anyone would come to the gate, and having lurked in the dark rain for an hour by myself at this point, I headed home.
I later learned that a lone rider from that group, Yannick, did in fact finish – and he arrived a mere 10 minutes after I’d left. What a bummer! It would have been so unexpected for me to be there when he arrived. Oh well.
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