The first spring Brevet (200km)

The first brevet of the season started on a beautiful sunny day in the Quebec country side east of Montreal. The sun was rising as the Montreal randonneurs started on our way. It was my first big ride of the season, and I was loving every moment of it. Spring hadn't quite taken hold yet, so everything was still rather drab and yellow, but you could smell the earthy tones of soil getting ready to fee the soon to be onset of growing crops. It didn't take long for the group of forty or more to split up and start setting into our own rhythms. At first I rode with the lead group, but after about 80 km I settled into my own little world, still averaging around 26km/hr. The terrain was flat to rolling farmland except for a large grunt of a climb called Covey hill. I soon caught up to the lead group at checkpoint two, but with a quick signature on my Audax card and water fill-up, I was off again with a another keen rider who was into picking up the pace a bit. Having a chat with fellow riders always seems to make the time go by so much faster. Before we knew it we were at checkpoint three with a bit of a headwind, just enough of a gust to make the thighs burn a bit after 160km. I rode solo back into the city for the last leg and finished the first ride just minutes behind the leaders. A quick refreshing beer was in order after such a great ride. Cheers to the beginning of a new cycling season, on the Road to Paris-Brest-Paris 2015!