(Note: I re-dated this post so it appears at the top of the Fleche Velo posts. It gives a general intro to the event, which seems helpful before you read bout the event itself.)
So, this weekend (April 11-12) is the Nor Cal Fleche Velo, hosted by the San Francisco Randonneurs. A fleche is a very specific type of ride with special requirements and rules.
- It is held on Easter weekend every year, and started as a way to celebrate the end of Lent
- The fleche is ridden in teams of three to five members. At least three members of each team must finish at the same time to complete the ride successfully.
- The ride must be at least 24 hours long (there is also a maximum time limit)
- The course must be at least 360km (224 miles) long, and must be approved by the fleche organizer
- At least 25km of the route must be covered during the last two hours of the 24-hour period
- No break may be longer than two hours
- The course must be point-to-point (as opposed to , say, an out-and-back)
- All riders end up at the same destination, which in this case is a breakfast restaurant in San Francisco called Crepes on Cole
You can read more about the history, etc. here. I think there are more rules, but you get the idea. It is very uptight, structurally speaking.
I wanted to ride this event for a couple of reasons. First, it will be my first all night ride. The DBC 400k is in two weeks, and I expect that to take at least 20 hours. This seems like a more casual prep for that ride. Second, I want to get myself to start slowing down for these longer rides. If I try to ride the next two brevets (400k and 600k) at the same pace as the first two (200k and 300k), I’ll die. There’s just no way. So I need to start pacing a little better for the long haul.
Our team captain, Paul Guttenberg, has done a number of fleches. He assures the rest of the team that it’s a really fun event: “You ride a while, stop and eat, ride some more, eat, drink, ride a little longer . . . it’s a party on wheels.” And, really given the distance and the amount of time we have to ride it, it is not that intimidating. I rode the 300k last week in just under 12 hours. I mean, it was hard and I was tired as hell afterward, but I did it. Twelve more hours to ride another 60k does not really scare me. On the other hand, riding from 8am to 8am does have me a little worried.
Our route is pretty cool. We head northwest from Davis, through Calistoga, to Coverdale. From there we head more or less south to Gurneyville, Jenner, Bodega Bay, Petaluma, San Rafael, Sausalito, then across the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco.
We’ll see how it goes.