Ah, at last, our local brevet season is upon us. For those who haven’t ridden the local rides, here’s a quick rundown:

1)       3/17. Spartanburg SC. Not all that local, but not a bad drive. This is the toughest of the 3 March events. Like climbs? This one goes up Caesar’s Head, about 6 miles up, and there are plenty of hills on the way. Bethany Davison is the RBA and does a terrific job. She had a full spread at the turnaround last year. I like this course a lot, and Bethany has taken one busy road out of the equation. Here’s info: http://people.clemson.edu/~sjm/brevets/

2)       3/24. Richard Lawrence runs a 100K and 200K from High Point. The 200K winds past Sauratown to within spitting distance of the Va. line. It’s another hilly event, and you can count on a particularly fast crew to show up from Greensboro. Richard works the turnaround and had lots of treats last year. It’s always great to see him. He’s one of our sport’s best ambassadors. http://www.ncbikeclub.org/randonneuring/highpoint.html

3)       3/31. This is the least hilly of the three courses but still has a couple healthy climbs, like Jack Bennett. This is hosted by Raleigh RBA Al Johnson, who turns us around at a convenience store, so bring a few dollars for snacks. It’s a rolling course and I’ve always enjoyed the payoff on the return with the five mile drop from Andrews Store down to the lake. Al taught me just about everything I know about randonneuring, and I’m always glad to see him out there on the course with us. http://www.unc.edu/~alanj/

Hope to see you guys there.

Mike / Raleigh