taking the measure of one's self
I spent my teenage years in Canada living in the city of Vancouver, on the northeastern shore of the Pacific, and from time to time on weekends, my school would place us on a ferry to Vancouver Island, to play rugby against the discarded scions of wealthy Canadian families who had been exiled to isolated boarding schools until they had earned a proper education. We were sent off clean, and returned covered in mud, blood, and sweat. Once every year, on the cold side of spring, we would be sent to the island again, to camp, kayak and rock climb in Strathcona Park. The first year that I went on this exercise, I was returned to my parents with a scab that ran across the right half of my face, from nose to ear, after I ran into a rope line while playing tag at night in a forest under a full moon. Every year, we were sent to the Island, and every year I returned with scars, muscles, and memories of pain mixed with glory.
There is an award in randonneuring circles known as the R-5000. It is an award that you can earn if you have ridden 5,000 km worth of brevets, and have completed every category of event in a four year time span. You must have done a 200k, 300k, 400k, 600k, 1000k, a fleche and have completed Paris-Brest-Paris. It is basically a "congratulations, you've cleared the level and unlocked all of the content" award.
I had never really made the R-5000 a real goal, and just sort of blundered into its grasp after realizing that two full seasons + PBP + a fleche meant that I already had 4600 km of events, and all I needed was a 1000k to cap it all off. So, I started doing research online, trawling through club pages to see what was on offer out there. I had been meaning to check out the BC Randonneurs ride schedule, and wandered over there to find a link to the Hare and Tortoise 1000k.
The ride starts in Victoria, the only real city on the island, and traverses the island from south to north and back. It's a 1000k (625 mi) ride that one has to finish in 75 hours, and while it is 15 hours and 200 km (125 mi) shorter than Paris-Brest-Paris; it is difficult to draw comparisons beyond that. Like most Canadians, a majority of Islanders only live in the temperate south of the island. You've got civilization for the first 265 km of the route, but once you go past Campbell River, it's just forest and mountains for 230 km (~140 miles) until you get to Port Hardy. There are mountain lions. There are bears. The organizer mentions these things to you beforehand.
There is also no support. You bring the supplies that you need and you buy what you can from gas stations and convenience stores along the way. There will be no cheering crowd of French families serving you crepes in exchange for postcards. There will be no army of volunteers shepherding you through controls. There will be no cosmopolitan tapestry of cycling pilgrims keeping you company on the long dark nights. Last year's turnout was four riders -- including the organizer, Ken Bonner.
It is an easy explanation to say that I am doing the 1000k for the sake of the award, and if or when I get it, the R-5000 will be a nice capstone on four years of crazy long distance riding, but the truth is that I would've done this ride without any further encouragement. The place has been a crucible of my youth, a destination where I was sent periodically to take the measure of myself as I was growing up, and it would be nice to travel here again and figure out what I can learn on this next voyage.
There is an award in randonneuring circles known as the R-5000. It is an award that you can earn if you have ridden 5,000 km worth of brevets, and have completed every category of event in a four year time span. You must have done a 200k, 300k, 400k, 600k, 1000k, a fleche and have completed Paris-Brest-Paris. It is basically a "congratulations, you've cleared the level and unlocked all of the content" award.
I had never really made the R-5000 a real goal, and just sort of blundered into its grasp after realizing that two full seasons + PBP + a fleche meant that I already had 4600 km of events, and all I needed was a 1000k to cap it all off. So, I started doing research online, trawling through club pages to see what was on offer out there. I had been meaning to check out the BC Randonneurs ride schedule, and wandered over there to find a link to the Hare and Tortoise 1000k.
The ride starts in Victoria, the only real city on the island, and traverses the island from south to north and back. It's a 1000k (625 mi) ride that one has to finish in 75 hours, and while it is 15 hours and 200 km (125 mi) shorter than Paris-Brest-Paris; it is difficult to draw comparisons beyond that. Like most Canadians, a majority of Islanders only live in the temperate south of the island. You've got civilization for the first 265 km of the route, but once you go past Campbell River, it's just forest and mountains for 230 km (~140 miles) until you get to Port Hardy. There are mountain lions. There are bears. The organizer mentions these things to you beforehand.
There is also no support. You bring the supplies that you need and you buy what you can from gas stations and convenience stores along the way. There will be no cheering crowd of French families serving you crepes in exchange for postcards. There will be no army of volunteers shepherding you through controls. There will be no cosmopolitan tapestry of cycling pilgrims keeping you company on the long dark nights. Last year's turnout was four riders -- including the organizer, Ken Bonner.
It is an easy explanation to say that I am doing the 1000k for the sake of the award, and if or when I get it, the R-5000 will be a nice capstone on four years of crazy long distance riding, but the truth is that I would've done this ride without any further encouragement. The place has been a crucible of my youth, a destination where I was sent periodically to take the measure of myself as I was growing up, and it would be nice to travel here again and figure out what I can learn on this next voyage.