Pedal to the Medals

I bought the 200 KM medal for riding the brevet last March, 2012.  It was, all in all, a very good ride for me.  I had done the Celebrity Spin class and come out of that very strong.  My 300 was a disappointment--that came from a combination of bad weather, and a poor cue sheet on the part of the organizers--but that is a whole other matter.  

Often I wonder if poorly written cue sheets factor into brevets much?  I mean, the guys have ridden that same brevet over and over, so I think its possible for them to just assume riders know what they're talking about on the cue sheet.  

In my situation, some locals that had a shop right at the corner where streets were supposed to be, had no idea what the cue sheet was talking about.  Roads not marked and cue sheets listing turns on streets or highways that don't appear anywhere near the mileage listed was stressful.  Especially in rain and remote areas.  Oh well, I digress Gentle Readers of This Blog.

But I believe I will try the rides again this year and not give up!  

I also bought the new Orange Reflective Vest from the RUSA web site.  I really wanted a yellow one--all the riders out here in KS had 'em, but they were all out.  Jennifer Wise actually answered my email query about the vest you see pictured above.  She said that the yellow ones were just a PBP thing--but the Orange ones were from the same company in France--and that these were "new and improved" as they are water and wind resistant.

I am very happy with the one I bought, mes amis--however, I did buy the the XXXL to be sure it would cover all my clothing on a brevet, like a heavier warm jacket, etc...  The XXXL are very small--I'd say for sure that they run small.  This 3XL is really more like an XL, so buy the biggest one or else you may find them way to small for you.

Yellow ones I saw riders wearing on the 200 and 300 last year I could see for many miles ahead of me on the roads.  I'm sure that the orange will be fine too.  The reflective strips are awesome and the vest I believe is well made.  This vest also stows very small so it won't take up any weight or hardly any space with your gear.

Cheers!  Bruce