The sun was just beginning to rise as I rode the across the Jacques Cartier Bridge, over the St. Lawrence River. A gentle spring breeze was blowing out of the north west. I always enjoy riding the initial 10 km to the brevets as it gives me time to get my nerves settled down a bit and collect my thoughts before the big start.
Around 6:00 am a small group of 20 or so started on our way out into the Eastern Townships of Quebec. The wind was at our back most of the time in the morning so we made our way quickly through the urban sprawl and out into the farmland bursting with the new sights and smells of spring. The pace was quite quick (around 30km/hr) as we hit our first check point at a 24 hour gas station in St. Cesaire. I made a quick transition and was off, solo, ahead of the lead group to gain some time. After about 20km everyone caught up and we rode around the hills of Bromont. The big rolling climbs began to separate us as we all settled into our own rhythms.
The second checkpoint came and went after about 110km where the landscape turned from rolling farmers fields to more coniferous mountain scenes. I was playing leapfrog with a few other riders, but we were never quite able to match our paces, but still always within a stones throw of each other. Beautiful river valleys and historic small church towns appeared more frequently along the way. Just as I was reaching the top of the highest climb of the ride a nice little rain shower blew in just long enough to cool me down and refresh me after such a grind (with a cooling 70km/hr ascent to follow).
The third check point at Sutton, around 185 km, allowed for a little down time to grab some lunch and chat with a few of the other fellow randonneurs. Looking at the map I could see we would start to make our way back towards Montreal, out of the mountains and back into wine and apple country. The cloud cover that had blessed us all morning started to dissipate and the hot sun soon took over. I remembered from previous brevets that the next 50 km were going to be a bit of grind back on a busier road with a rough shoulder and I wasn't looking forward to it. After about 25 km I could feel this morning's tail wind turn into a headwind, and it started to take toll on my spirits. I kept telling myself only 100km more to go, knowing that if I broke that distance down into smaller segments in my head it would make the ride much more manageable. Before I know it I was turning off the main highway onto the "Route des Vins", a welcome break from the hustle and bustle. Riding through Dunham I was tempted to stop for a "water break" at one of my favorite micro-breweries, but decided to truck on through and finish up before getting too sidetracked.
On the final stretch home I kept on passing field after field being worked on by farmers plowing and seeding their rich soil. I almost felt guilty smiling and riding my bike while others toiled away to feed the rest of us. But after many smiles and waves from them I realized they too were loving what they were doing, in their own way.
Finally I could see the city in the distance, along with some large looming thunder clouds. The closer I got to the suburbs the darker the sky was becoming. Eventually another rider caught up to me on the outskirts of town as the rain fell in welcoming sheets to cool us down. We ended up finishing in just over 12 hours, pulling in to a local gas station to get our final signatures on our cards with grin and some cold beverages to revive ourselves. That meant I was 2 brevets closer to qualifying for the PBP 2015... what great feeling.
Stay tuned for the 400km coming soon.
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