Stage 1 of CHC is the trip out to Walden. In this year's CHC, the overnight control is the same every night. Days 1, 2, and 3 all end in Walden. Days 2, 3, and 4 all start in Walden. So, it makes sense that the first day is to reach Walden. We got some good news from JLE (the ride organizer) regarding controls. All intermediate controls on this year's brevet are to be treated as info control. That is immense news and good news for all riders. It means you only have to start on time and complete the ride within 90 hours. The intermediate controls have no open/close times to be concerned with. This means that you don't have to make crazy decisions to wake up at 1AM in order to leave the overnight control before it closes and make it to the next control within it's time limit. We could now ride the brevet as 4 days with a 90 hour time limit. Much simpler to keep track of.
One other strange aspect of day 1 is that it is shorter than usual on 1200K brevets. The total distance to ride is 188.6 miles (essentially 300K). There is only one major pass climb (Cameron Pass). Garmin noted there were a few additional climbs in first day. One feature of my new Garmin 1030 Plus is that it identified the climbs of interest for a loaded course. I had my old 800 tucked into my saddle bag just in case I needed it.
When I look at the Garmin data, it appears there is actually one long climb up to Cameron with a bunch of other climbs that are part of this longer, bigger one.
The ride started as expected with 45 riders present and accounted for. There were supposed to be 50 riders, but 45 is a good number. It means lots of. people to meet and to ride with over 4 days.
At the start, as predicted, many riders went out fast and hot. I know from experience I should ignore this as it makes more sense for me to pace myself and get control over my breathing as I adjust to the physical exercise. I had my rescue inhaler just in case, but it stayed in my bag and was not needed. In the first few hours, I got to ride with Kirsten (NE Randos) and George (DC Randos). I rode well and found myself eventually alone on the road.
I bumped into the main group (which included my friend Jeff) at the Carter Lake store. I opted to make a quick stop here and bought 2 small cartons of chocolate milk. The milk was expensive and when I went to throw the bottles away, the clerk helpfully took them from me for recycling. Lovely that they care about this here. I wish more stores allowed for recycling. I continued on alone for a long while, but I eventually caught up to Jeff's group at the store around mile 100. I was glad to finally be riding with a group and the pace we rode at was comfortable as we made our way towards Rustic, CO. Rustic was at mile 131 and we had a gentle climb all the way there. Traffic on the road was moderate and we were passed many times by cars and trucks.
At Rustic, I was able to get ice and a cold drink and a snack. The group kind of broke up here and Jeff and I departed after he had finished his $12 milkshake. Ouch! As we departed, we saw the sky getting dark and the wind picking up with a chill. Rain was on the way. We stopped to put on our saddle covers and rain protection. There was some thunder, but the rain was not super heavy. I got to to the top of the climb. Along the way, I had to stop a couple of times and catch my breath. I definitely took advantage of the water stop manned by Vernon. At the top, didn't stay long as the black flies were a menace!
After Cameron Pass, the rain stopped for a bit. I was again by myself on the road. I got soaked by rain twice more as I rolled towards Walden. Each time the wind would pick up and push against me. The rain would come and it would feel cold and wet. I reached Walden before it got dark and was delighted to be greeted by volunteers ready to help me with my bike. I found out my roommate situation had changed. Instead of Russ, I would be rooming with Chris Argo from Alabama. The relatively short day meant we got to eat dinner (baked potatoes with chili), shower, prep the bike for day 2, and get to bed early. Jeff had said we would leave at 3am, but changed his mind after some discussion so the agreement was to meet at 4am instead on Day 2. Garmin data showed it was a pretty good day for me finishing 188 miles in under 14.5 hours. RWGPS says the actual feet of climbing should be 10,208 so the new Garmin has the same issues as my old 800 with accuracy on the climb totals.
Full Garmin data can be found here.
All the photos from day 1 can be found here:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/iKTMnFGJxthvhRDe9