It goes by the name Hell Week. Or, formally, “Eau de Hell Week”, in reference to the odour one is said to take on while taking part in the events. Either way I couldn’t help but be intrigued by the name alone.
A long distance road cycling event on Vancouver Island put on by the BC Randonneurs, the week of April 11-18 shaped up like this:
Saturday: 200km
Sunday: 300km
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: 400km
Wednesday: Rest
Thurs-Fri: 600km
TOTAL: 1500km
I had discovered Hell Week while investigating ways to qualify for an historic event in France called Paris-Brest-Paris or PBP. This is one of the world’s oldest bike races and is run in August – but only every 4 years – and 2015 happens to be the 18th running. The PBP is 1200km and riders are given a (fairly generous) 90 hours to complete the route. Given the distances involved, the organizers don’t want “rookies” so they require riders to have completed a qualifying brevet series of 200, 300, 400 and 600kms. Welcome to Hell Week.
Now, let it be understood that one does not need to collect these brevets in one week… it is much harder to do so. However, if you are training to ride 1200km in 60-70 hours I figured it was logical to take on the challenge – no sense in trying to avoid the test right up until I find myself hurting somewhere in the French countryside. Might as well make the qualification as much of a learning experience as the organizers intended it to be. Thus I decided that Hell Week would be my qualifying plan as well as my testing ground for equipment, strategy and about a thousand other small details that would hopefully create a successful experience in France in August.
Job 1: Excite friends/clients/acquaintances to join.
This proved difficult. The distances involved illicited reactions ranging from “F*%# You!” to straight up laughter followed by “you’re serious?” Eventually I had three companions (2 IF members and an IF West Van coach) who had each committed to some, if not all, of the events of the week. Cynthia, Fiona and Brandy were in – we had all done a lot of riding through the winter so there was some confidence and a lot of nervousness amongst the team, but excitement was the main emotion!
Job 2: Spend incredible amounts of time making lists and imagining scenarios.
Rides this long, and the short periods between them, require a lot of planning. The smallest decisions – the pre-ride bike inspection you did or didn’t do, the extra pair of gloves you did or didn’t bring, or knowing the runtime of your light’s battery can be the difference between finishing happy and a DNF, or worse, a crash.
Job 3: Equipment. Lots of it.
I have to give a lot of credit to our bike alliance Obsession: Bikes and its owner James Wilson. James arranged a sponsorship with Look Bikes who provided a Look 566 for the season. Look bikes are French and built for racing on the sometimes rough country roads in France and so provide a very compliant ride – much smoother than the bike I was previously on. Over these distances, this would be a game changer. We opted for a compact crankset to make spinning up 1500km of hills on Vancouver Island a little less tiring on the legs. In addition we fitted a seatpost rack to carry the extras that one needs to bring along when traveling through the night and for such long distances, regardless of weather. High powered lighting systems and fenders are a key as every Hell Week since it’s inception has been rained on heavily. James also outfitted the other riders and generally looked after a lot of our equipment concerns. THANK YOU to James and his team at Obsession!
Onto the riding…
200km
I set out for the 200km riding with Cynthia Orr. We had done a 200km event just a few weeks before in terrible conditions in Vancouver so we had a lot of confidence. On this day the route was called “Tour of the Cowichan Valley” and it was gorgeous – starting in Chemainus, taking us all through the rolling countryside of the Cowichan Valley, around Shawnigan Lake and back home. We ran into no real concerns and finished successfully in the middle of the pack. One down. The other pair from IF had run into mechanical issues and hadn’t fared so well – Hell Week had already started to take a toll.
300km
For this ride three of us set out together – Brandy, Cynthia and I. After the 200km, we had all awoken to the enormity of the challenge ahead, not just on the 300 but all week, and thus we had agreed to set out conservatively. This route was called “Lakes and Trees” and I wish I could tell you all the names of the lakes – one particularly beautiful one was Cameron Lake, which is bordered by the Alberni highway and provides spectacular views. This came just before a Control (Aid Station/Checkpoint) in majestic Cathedral Grove. At this point we had 100km to go and the majesty of the trees was easily matched by the soup, cookies, jujubes, and other treats being offered by Philip, Jim and Graham who were manning the Control. The last 100km went by slowly, as knee issues began to creep in for Brandy. Two down.
Rest Day
Sleep. Eat. Tinker with bikes. Eat. Wash clothes. Eat. Sleep.
400km
With Cynthia and Fiona back in the city we were down to 2 riders. Brandy and I launched into the 400, called “Coastal Goat Chase” worried about her knee – it didn’t feel quite right but it didn’t end up holding her back too much despite the epic climbing involved crossing the spine of the island to Port Renfrew. The problem with this ride ended up being the weather… it had rained during the day and then as night fell the temperature dropped to near freezing. Brandy was suffering from the cold/wet in a way I haven’t seen before. We arrived at the final Control (a 24hour Tim Hortons) got our route cards stamped and proceeded to try to warm up. It didn’t happen. She was shaking uncontrollably and elected to call it a day (and a night!) We discussed it at length and went over options but in the end she was satisfied – she had gone 800km in 3 rides and had exceeded her previous longest by over 100km! This left me to finish off the 400 solo which I did just as the first hint of the sunrise began. It had been a long cold night. Three down!
Rest Day
Sleep. Eat. Tinker with bikes. Eat. Buy some warmer clothes. Eat. Sleep.
600km
With the other three on the sidelines I started the 600km riding alone. This route, called Ride for Gold, because of the outer limit Control at Gold River, would offer me a chance to figure out my own pace. Many randonneurs ride solo because altering your pace for others over such great distances is hard to do. I like the company so I never found it hard – being a coach helps – I ride with people all the time! I was, however, looking forward to gaining some insight into my pacing for PBP by riding this 600 on my own.
I went out much quicker than I had all week. I wanted to get my legs spinning and shake out the remnants of the 400. It was great to chat with other people and feel free. The weather was amazing too – and was that a tailwind? Before long I was well in front riding with a woman named Kristy and a couple of gents a few hundred yards back. Kristy announced she had to wait and bingo I was leading. I decided to just ride normally and over the next 60 km or so opened up a few minute gap. Then I took a wrong turn (misread the route sheet) and helped myself to a 2km straight uphill tour of Qualicum Beach. I eventually figured out my error and rejoined the route alongside Ken Bonner. Ken is a legend in randonneuring – in fact he holds nearly every record that exists in the club. At age 72 he still flies along between 29-32km/h no matter what the distance. He told me in a cracking voice “I tolerate 600s but like 1200s. Now there’s two up the road – you can go git ‘em!” It occurred to me that he might be goading the newbie into a chase that was ill-advised in the first 200km of a 600km event, but nonetheless when Ken tells you to do something you do it. So I chased. It took about an hour to catch Peter and Dave, and for most of that hour I could see them in the distance. They were taking turns, organized and working together and I was working hard on my own to bridge the gap. The only saving grace was the odd descent where I tended to eat up a few seconds. Eventually I pulled even and announced that I’d be sitting on their wheels for a bit to recover, which they graciously allowed. After skipping many turns I joined the rotation and we eventually clocked by 200km in a quick 7:25. I remember thinking “this pace may not pay off later but I’m all in.”
Our group of three would survive until the 400km mark in the middle of the night. By then we had taken the desolate road out to Gold River and back to Campbell River. Dave, whose knees had been bothering him, needed to sleep so he turned his handlebars towards a Travelodge. There was a long-ish team meeting and a fair amount of peer pressure to stop for the night, but I felt good and had declared my intention to go on. At the last second Peter announced that he would join me. I was glad for the company and a teammate to share the workload with…
That last 200 featured some crazy hallucinations in the dark, Peter nearly fell asleep while riding (yes it is possible) a few times. I was trying to create conversation to keep him awake. Not long later I swerved intensely to miss a longboarder that wasn’t there. We were 20ish hours into the ride and had been rolling down dark, silent country roads for a bit too long! Peter announced he HAD to sleep. We found a gas station and I gave him 15minutes of rest. He was asleep in about 3 seconds with his head on a counter. I bought some caffeine energy drink I would normally never drink in a massive can and took it down.
Morning came. It’s quite a relief… a wonderful feeling actually. We had about 4 hours of riding to go. And go they did. When we made the final turn, onto the final street, and started the last 5km to the hotel finish line we started chatting again. Peter told me that he had done a full brevet series (200/300/400/600) every year for 28 years! This, apparently, is the only record not held by Ken Bonner (who is one behind at 27).
Our solid partnership had made for a great time. We crossed the line nearly 3 hours before the next rider and got our final stamp at 10:17am for a total time of 27:17. I’m very proud of the effort as I have never worked that hard for that long, nevermind after the other events of the week. Four down and PBP Qualification complete!
Hell Week lived up to its name. Our crew faced a lot of adversity, and in the process each rider learned a lot about themselves. In the end I think this is one of the best side-effects of taking on something so difficult. Ultimately, the physical, mental, and spiritual strength of any rider will be tested over distances like these. You do indeed ask yourself “why?” and I’ve been asked many times… My answer is quite simple: I like to test myself – my heart, my body, my mind – and that doesn’t happen sitting on the couch at home.
“If you sign up for the hard stuff, then the hard stuff in life that you don’t sign up for gets easier.” – Iram Leon
Meyrick Jones – Principal
office :: 604 913 3488
Innovative Fitness – West Vancouver
email :: www.innovativefitness.com
