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The 2002 Flèche Northwest was a wonderful success and three teams stepped up to the challenge: Rando Renegades (Andy Fuller, Ed Husted, Bob Brudvik, Ken Carter); Sins of the Flèche (Pete Liekkio, Peter McKay, Wayne Methner, Mark Thomas); and the Shiftless Bums (Kent Peterson, Mark VandeKamp, Tom Brett, Jon Muellner). A big thanks to Peter McKay for putting it all together. The destination was again Resort Semiahmoo in Blaine, Washington and held the weekend of April 26th-28th, with a fine banquet brunch on Sunday morning. Here's a few stories of each team's adventures.

Rando Renegades
Submitted by Ken Carter

Using previous Flèche routes, the Rando Renegades course started at Andy Fullers' house in Bellevue at 7:00pm Friday. A rain storm had already passed over most of Puget Sound and left the roads wet with overcast skies. The route went out thru Marymoor park to Fall City, then North on SR-203 to Sultan, West on SR-2 to Snohomish, North on Machias to Granite Falls, North West to Arlington, Stanwood, with headwinds going into Anacortes. Then East to Concrete via Bow Hill road & F and S Grade road to Sedro Woolley.

We had breakfast at Concrete with warm sunshine for the first time in the ride. Then headwinds back to Sedro Woolley, North to Maple Falls, a beautiful descent in to Sumas from Reese Hill road. Westward Ho onto Mt Baker Highway to Bellingham and finally North towards Semiahmoo where we ran out of time just 7 miles from the finish.

Riders:
Andy Fuller (2)
Ed Husted (1)
Bob Brudvik (2)
Ken Carter (8)
(#) denotes number of Flèches

Rando Renegades 2
Submittee by Ed Husted

Having completed a Fleche in 2000 with several friends from the "Show me State", I thought I had a good idea of what to expect this year. My riding partners for the 2000 Fleche were Jen Flenner, new that year to Randonneuring and stronger than most men I ride with, Arjuna Flenner, who thought this little 365 k ride was just training, and Dale Brigham, 99 PBP finisher and the evil man who coerced me into riding Brevets. We had a very reasonable route through some of the prettiest parts of Missouri and lots of support, given by my wife, Melissa and Dale’s wife Jo. I recall great sandwiches, lots of good drinks, and at our hotel, beer. We stayed at a hotel for four hours that night, and got a little sleep. My last memory of the 2000 Fleche was the rain and wind we had on the second day as we rode into our last checkpoint. All in all one of the best rides I had ever done. But the wind and rain never left my memory; it had though faded to just a little inconvenience.

Having moved to the great wet Northwest, maybe the rain just had not been to bad, in 2000, maybe I was just soft, maybe it was not that windy, or maybe it was an omen of my next Fleche. I volunteered to ride a Fleche with any of the teams riding this year, and must say I was very pleased to have found such a strong team willing to allow me to draft. Ken Carter, Andy Fuller, and Bob Brudvik, are a strong group of riders and it was decided a long course was appropriate. Me, I was just hoping not to die somewhere along the way. After some correspondence, a route was determined and emailed to me. 520 kms, egad, well as long as it is sunny and not windy 520 is a wonderful distance. Just long enough to make me suffer; yet not so long that it feels unreasonable.

We all met at Andy’s apartment, and Ken and I went to get some food, and Bob and Andy showed up shortly thereafter. This Bob guy, I had heard his name, but did not recognize him until later. He put on all his riding clothes and helmet and all of a sudden I knew him. Odd how things work that way. Well, Ken gave us some pre-ride gifts and we began to go outside to ride. We gave Russ, Ken’s dad, some items for support, and had some photos taken, and left, in the wind and the mist.

From here my memory becomes vague. Mostly swallowing road grime, feeling headwind, sitting behind Ken, Andy and Bob thinking my legs should feel better, at least until Granite Falls. There is a McDonalds there, the world’s worst food, but I crave that stuff. We pull in after a harrowing stretch of highway, or was that on the way to Sultan, hey it was a blur then and still is, me with thoughts of fries and McNuggets. Oh no, McDonalds was closed. Oh well, there is lots of better food to eat.

After Mt. Vernon I recall a very nice section of the ride, it seems to me that we saw very few cars and had most of the road to ourselves. We talked a bit during this time, and I learned some cool things about my team. We rode to Anacortes with no problem, save two, the wind seemed to be against us all the time, and the rode spray blew at us non-stop. Looking back now with a week or so to think about how bad it was, I still think that some cosmic power hated me, and all those who dare ride with me must pay as well. The wind just would not quit. We left Anacortes a little behind schedule, but not bad we would still finish with no problem so we decided to pull into a Texaco to grab a few minutes sleep. We spent about half an hour there, and got back under way, just in time for the sun to rise over us cheering me up a lot, and I guess everyone else as well. This was my last cheer for some time.

We turned north onto Market and into the wind again. The wind blew and blew and blew and, well you get the idea. I looked forward to Bow Hill, it would have to stop some of that awful noise, and at least a little of the wind. It did, but cresting the hill the wind was still there. We then turned onto SR-20 and flew into Concrete. We were a little behind, still, but hey the worm had turned and we had a great breakfast, flat road, and we all felt good. The cosmic guy has a bad sense of humor, for when we left there it was again, the wind. Were did it come from? Oh well, just ride into it, we have got to finish.

We turned onto SR-9, and had what I think was our last section of tailwind. We rode and rode for what seemed an eternity, and all felt great, fast and happy. We came upon SR-542, where we were once more blown backwards by my new friend the wind. We pulled into Sumas later than expected, me feeling dead, and Andy pointing out that hives had broken out on my face. Allergies, or just a sign of my impending death? In Sumas I felt bad, so bad that I could not get food down, or any energy up, and for the first time in any ride, I felt like quitting. I was holding the team up. They could finish without me, but Bob, Andy and Ken all told me not to quit, we would finish as team, I will confess I was hoping for a much different answer, like just quit Ed you look bad, not support from my team. So I struggled to follow these torturers to Andy’s house were we met Andy’s mom and some family members, all of this in a strange haze. Bob and Andy forcing food on me while I was hoping for death.

Twenty or so minutes later, I felt better, so good in fact that I was now hoping to live and see my wife and dogs again, hey we might even finish on time. We flew into Bellingham, but were still behind schedule. A collective decision was made to ride at a reasonable pace into Semiahoo. This was cool, the views were awesome, and the pace was easy. At twenty-four hours we were at 508 kms, 11 k from the end. We sat down and signed cards, and spoke a bit. We struggled in the last 11k and finished an hour late. No worries, it was over, I was happy to be alive, the evil cosmic being had lost, I did live, and next year my faint memories of the Fleche will be one big bonk, three guys who would not let me quit, and wind. The wind will fade, I will forget the bonk, but the three guys helping me finish will become more vivid as the year goes by. Thanks again guys, and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at the SIR 400km.

Sins of the Flèche
Submitted by Mark Thomas

The "Sins of the Flèche" team consisted of Pete Liekkio, Peter McKay, Wayne Methner, and Mark Thomas. Our route plan went from the Kingston ferry terminal on the Kitsap Peninsula to Port Angeles via Port Townsend, took the ferry to Victoria, headed up Vancouver Island past Nanaimo, turned around, headed back to Nanaimo, took the ferry to Tsawassen, and then completed the ride on the way to Semiahmoo from Tsawassen. The ferry from Nanaimo would dock at the 22 hour mark and we would complete 25km or more to finish the ride.

We met at Pete's house in Shoreline at 11pm on Friday night for the ride down to the Edmonds ferry terminal. Last minute adjustments to our gear were followed by some cyclocross through Pete's neighbors' back yards and then the quick jaunt to the ferry. Riding through a quiet Edmonds with our lights flashing we managed to attract the attention of Edmonds' finest. The local gendarme satisfied himself that we were just nuts, not dangerous, and sent us off with greetings to a relative that worked at Semiahmoo.

Our Flèche route started as the ferry docked in Kingston at 12:15AM Saturday. We had a quick jaunt to the Hood Canal Bridge, where mirabile dictu we had the entire westbound lanes to ourselves. Not a single motorized vehicle passed during our crossing. Once onto the Peninsula, we took the sissy way up to Port Hadlock on Beaver Valley and Chimacum Roads. After a refueling stop at the 24-hour QFC, we headed up to Port Townsend, descending all the way into town to our turnaround point and then returning halfway up the hill to our second 24-hour QFC of the night.

A little climbing and descending took us through Discovery Bay and over to Sequim, where flagging energy levels detoured us to - yes, you guessed it - the 24-hour QFC. Fortified by coffee, donuts, and other healthy fare, we pressed on to Port Angeles. We arrived before 7AM and went directly to the ferry terminal hoping that we could get on the boat (scheduled departure 8:20) and snooze. It was not to be, but the ticket attendant gave us the next best thing - her recommendation for the best breakfast in Port Angeles. At the Haven on First Street we waited for them to open and then ate the best breakfast that I've ever had in Port Angeles (I've had 2).

Once on the ferry to Victoria we looked for places to snooze. Pete was clever enough to conclude that outside on the deck might offer the best opportunity to dry his wet clothes (from our night of rain, of course - Pete doesn't sweat). Soon we were all on the east-facing starboard deck sleeping in the sun.

From the ferry we found our way to highway TC-1, our route north. After missing nearly every light in Victoria and nearly getting flattened by an inattentive driver, we were finally out of town. At various points along the way, a separate bike route detours around the cloverleaves. On one of these, under an overpass, we shed multiple layers of clothing. Rain and 40 degree temperatures overnight on the Olympic Peninsula had yielded to a perfectly gorgeous day on Vancouver Island.

Earlier, my teammates had asked whether there was much climbing from Victoria. I had ridded the stretch as part of the Vancouver Island 1000k in 1999, so I informed them that I had remembered a lot of climbing, but it was probably because I had put in 900km at that point. In all probability, I said, there isn't really that much. After stowing our warm clothing, we set out to discover that a heck of a lot of climbing awaited us. (The signs suggesting chains or good winter tires were a frightening clue).

Beautiful views out to our right almost made up for the climbing, the often poor shoulder, and the occasional inattentive or inconsiderate driver. After a refueling stop along the way we cruised into Nanaimo at 3:30PM. We asked the nice counter girl at the 7-11 how to get to the ferry to Tsawwassen. She said there was one terminal a couple of blocks away (Departure Bay) and another south of town (Duke Point) and that we could take either one. Our route was set up to the closer one. Indeed Microsoft Streets & Trips 2002 only showed the Departure Bay-Tsawassen ferry.

We set off north from Nanaimo to our planned turnaround north of Parksville. We started struggling in earnest along this stretch, suffering from an undersupply of sleep and an oversupply of uphills and headwind. We turned around at 5:45PM, in good shape to return to the ferry no later than about 8:00PM, assuming we could make it back in the same 2:15. In fact, with the wind, we made it back even earlier - around 7:30PM.

Along the way back we saw numerous signs that informed us that the Vancouver ferry left from Departure Bay (the closer terminal) and that the Tsawwassen ferry left from Duke Point. This was confirmed by a couple of motorists that Peter consulted. Bolstered however, by the 7-11 girl, my always careful planning, and a "yeah, I think so" from a Walkman-listening, BMX-riding kid, we went straight to Departure Bay, which was on the way anyhow.

By now, Dear Reader, you certainly know what's coming. The ticket booth attendant told us that we could get from there to North Vancouver on a 9PM ferry, but that the Tsawwassen ferry would leave at 8:15 from Duke Point. She also opined that it was 20 minutes, at least, by car. My route sheet said that it was 7 miles to the turn-off from the highway to the Duke Point terminal. We had about 40 minutes, so we decided to make a run for it. At this point, Peter informed us that we would have to wait just a bit for him to fix his second flat of the day.

With that brief delay we set out in an all-out sprint with energy reserves that we had no idea were there. (Of course, our idea of an all-out sprint would be a recovery ride for Terry Z, but we thought we were hauling.) After exiting toward Duke Point and riding a ways, we saw a demoralizing sight - a sign indicating 6km to the ferry. Undaunted, we continued our time trial, buoyed by the certain knowledge that it was downhill to the ferry. Only on average, it turns out, and a bunch of little ups and downs took a toll. Finally we reached the ticket booth and were greeted by a happy sight - the attendant picking up the phone to call the ferry. We were going to make it.

Alas, she hung up the phone and turned a sad face to us. The ferry was too far along to wait. Our Flèche was in shambles - the next ferry was at 10:45. It was impossible to do 25km between 10:15 (the 22 hour point) and boarding. The ferry would dock at 12:45AM, past the 24 hour point. So we gathered what was left of our wits, ordered a pizza, arranged Tsawwassen to Semiahmoo transportation, and went off in search of horizontal surfaces on which to sleep.

It was disappointing not to finish, but I had a day of wonderful cycling in great company. We also had hot showers, warm beds, and the Flèche brunch awaiting. It's never a bad day when you're riding your bicycle!

Shiftless Bums
Submitted by Jon Muellner

Kent Peterson, Mark VandeKamp, Tom Brett and Jon Muellner started their 24 hour Fleche with an evening of pasta and watching the 1931 classic Frankenstein film before turning in for a 6:30 AM start from Issaquah. Saturday morning was overcast with a heavy mist but looked like we had missed the heavy rains that had continued for most of the night. As we had opted to do the event on fixed gear bicycles, we felt compelled to take a photo for posterity and Kent's wife Christine obliged in the early hours after signing our cards. We had heard that gears make you weak. We just couldn't afford that.

Our route would take us through the bike paths and side roads of Seattle to the ferry terminal and onto Bainbridge Island, then follow the 300 km route over the Hood Canal bridge to Port Hadlock and Port Townsend. From their we took the Keystone ferry to Whidbey and then north on Highway 20 over Deception Pass and onto Highway 9 through La Conner to Arlington. We turned west to Darrington and north to the South Skagit Highway and then preceded east to Sedro Woolley. Getting back on Highway 9 we moved north to Lynden and our 22 hour mark, then east to Blaine and Semiahmoo.

By the time we made the Bainbridge ferry the weather had cleared and we were looking at a stunning day of sunshine and blue skies. On the way Tom had "first flat" and made a record tire change on the I-90 bridge. We made the ferry before our scheduled one and had time in the bank before the first two hours were up. Good for us!

The ride to PT was leisurely and we stopped to check out the "camelids" on Big Valley Road, those being the camel and llamas that live there. Our first break was in Port Hadlock with a quick snack and fluids, then onto Port Townsend. We arrived an hour and a half before our 1:15PM ferry and rode in with some friends of mine who were coming back from a morning road ride. We all made our way to Tyler St. Coffeehouse for some clam chowder and beverages, then strolled to the ferry where my wife Carrie and daughter came to visit. 5-year old Peri gave us each a big cookie for energy and, though we were leary of her being a plant for a secret control watching us for outside support, having a little girl hand you a treat seemed worth the risk.

A little ferry trip and a brief snooze and we were on Whidbey, pedaling up Highway 20 to Deception Pass. It was a nice shoulder and we got there in time for some photo ops that didn't turn out, but we felt like good 'ole tourists anyway. Off on Best Road, which is aptly named for the good surface, we traversed down to La Conner and the gorgeous tulip fields. Here's where I dropped my water bottle while drinking and had a few moments of uncontrollable erratic weaving which nearly took me down...unlike a geared bike, I couldn't stop pedaling to catch the bottle before it hit the ground. Whew.

We arrived in Arlington around 7:00PM and stopped at the IGC for some much needed food and rest. We procured fried chicken and Dorritos and lots of colored beverages, then sat on the bags of mulch and consumed for the long dark haul ahead. There wouldn't be another stop until Sedro Wooley nearly 100 km away. As we pulled onto SR-530 to Darrington, the night came on and we had a splendid ride with very little traffic. Our pace was consistent and we all rode in a similar pattern; Kent and Mark and Tom and I in two side-by-side formations which we maintained for most of the evening. It was a quite night and though we had lost some of our time advantage, were still on track. Turning north to the Skagit River the road got rougher and the fatigue set in. I was blathering to Tom about time and distance until he said, "I just can't calculate that stuff right now" and I had to agree. I think I just wanted to stay alert, so I went back to the 100th rendition of the B-52's singing "Quiche Lorraine" which was the constant theme in my head for the entire 24 hours.

Heading onto South Skagit Highway the time slowed down and we had the night to ourselves as the moon rode and the klics kept going by. Tom had a rear flat and we stopped for a repair. This was a 2nd one and we encouraged him to take one of our spare tires and replace it just in case. He choose the $3 special and mounted it up and we were on our way. 100 yards later an explosion rocked the night as the tire blew off the rim and shredded the tube...ummm. Things were starting to go hideously wrong. Was it the tire? Tube? Whatever, we were back in the same fix and he put in a new tube. After mounting it seemed the valve would not go through the rim enough to be able to pump it up. Tom says "The stem won't go through the rim...damn these aero rims! I know I took the stem nut off...no, really, I'm sure I did that...what the?...no wait, the nut IS still on the tube..." Much laughter in the dark, and once that great mystery was solved we watched Mark put in a new bulb in his gen light and it was dark...eureka! another mystery solved as he discovered the simple issue of having the bulb in backwards. Ah yes, we were quite on top of things that night.

By this time we have now a negative time count and it's looking like stopping will not occur for quite awhile. My butt was getting tired of sitting so I spent a good deal of time out of the saddle when possible. We pulled into Sedro Woolley about 1:00AM and grabbed some snacks and fluids before heading north on Highway 9. This turned out to be a very nice stretch of road and we made good time to Lynden for our 22-hour mark. At 4:30AM we were just a couple km short of town and marked our cards. Two more hours and we'd be at the resort. I was very tired but felt good riding it out and with the impending daybreak knew that we'd have some atmospheric energy to finish the ride. The sun took a long time to crest the horizon and we were welcomed to Blaine with the call of loons and one short wrong turn before finding the road to Semiahmoo. Fog rolled over the road and the moon still hung in the sky. It was a glorious morning.

After a stiff short climb over the last hill we dropped down to the resort and pulled in at 6:23AM. Close call but we made it and the only issue was "When is the restaurant going to open?" I felt great joy when the desk person said it was only 10 minutes away...and soon we were sitting back, drinking hot cocas and tea and eating up a storm. Later we all sat in the cushy chairs overlooking the bay and wondering when would be the appropriate time to wake those other teams who were still catching some zzz's in their rooms.

Within the next half hour, Kent announces that he's not really tired and we're just burning up daylight so he's going to ride home now. We nod in agreement and doze off as he logs another 238 km back to Issaquah. I'm not sure if napping makes you weak, but at that point, I didn't even care...

SIR 2002 SIR Flèche Results - April 26 - 28, 2002

Team 1 - Shiftless Bums Team's Club Name: Seattle International Randonneurs Team's Club ACP: 947018
RUSA #	Last Name	First Name	22-hr Distance	24-hr Distance	Bicycle Type
344	Peterson	Kent	399 km	436 km	single
1232	Vande Kamp	Mark	399 km	436 km	single
1082	Muellner	Jon	399 km	436 km	single
466	Brett	Thomas	399 km	436 km	single
Team 2 - Rando Renegades Team's Club Name: Seattle International Randonneurs Team's Club ACP: 947018
RUSA #	Last Name	First Name	22-hr Distance	24-hr Distance	Bicycle Type
592	Carter	Ken	466 km	508 km	single
1041	Fuller	Andy	466 km	508 km	single
1515	Brudvik	Robert	466 km	508 km	single
994	Hustad	Orville	466 km	508 km	single
Team 3 - Sins of the Flèche Team's Club Name: Seattle International Randonneurs Team's Club ACP: 947018
RUSA #	Last Name	First Name	22-hr Distance	24-hr Distance	Bicycle Type
64	Thomas	Mark	340 km	DNF	single
403	Methner	Wayne	340 km	DNF	single
447	Liekkio	Peter	340 km	DNF	single
797	McKay	Peter	340 km	DNF	single

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SIR has grown to about 75 members this year and we're partway through the Spring Brevet Series. We've had a tremendous show of force at each event and it's great to see so many out there. PBP is coming next year and now's the time to get ready!

Kent Peterson has now made a very stylish coroplast front bag do go with his fenders. We are awaiting the prototype of a complete coroplast fixed gear bicycle next...

How many Flèches have you ridden? Ken Carter has done 7 and that is quite the commitment!

The 400 km is coming soon on May 11-12 and then the 600 km on June 1-2, so get ready for more fun!

Got any good gear info you want to share, ride reports, photos or just thoughts on randonneuring?? Send it to Jon. The May/June newsletter will go out on June 15th.

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