Jeff is the first to pickup his Boxer and ride it home.
Jeff picked up his new Boxer Travel Randonneur, an S&S coupled bike, last week. Jeff is a fellow Seattle International Randonneur and has been riding brevets for a number of years.
Jeff has pre-qualified for the Paris-Brest-Paris 1200km Grand Randonnee. He just has to complete one remaining qualifying brevet, the Tahuya Hills 600k. That the brevet is named after the Tahuya Hills should tell you something about them thar hills, as there is plenty else of interest and challenge on the course to warrant naming the brevet after them in tribute.
I first rode the Tahuya Hills on a reconnaissance ride way back in late March 2004. I had been hearing about the difficulty of this very hilly section of our upcoming Spring 300k brevet on April 10. Word was not only are they pretty challenging, they are remote, to say the least, and they come along around 2/3 of the way into a 300km brevet.
Being a savvy rider and newb Randonneur, I took these warnings and tall tales to heart and prepared myself. I mapped out a route that took me from the Bremerton ferry terminal out to the Tahuya Hills and back, skipping the long stretch on US101 along the Hood Canal that precedes the fearsome hills. Not really knowing much about the area, I rode a part of the hilly section, then turned around and booked it back to the ferry terminal in time to get home before dark.
The second time I rode the hills was on that Spring 300k brevet a few weeks later and did some notable suffering through the hilly section until I arrived at Seabeck, where I boosted my bloodsugar with some quality rando junk food. By that point the sun had set and I was getting the chills, so I didn’t dally in Seabeck.
I finished that brevet in just over 15 hours, 15:01 to be exact, and missed the returning ferry, from Bainbridge Island, by seconds. While waiting for the next ferry, I ate the finest Cup O’ Noodles ever and chatted with Tim as we welcomed in the other finishing riders.
The Tahuya Hills that Jeff will encounter on the 600k brevet this weekend are different from the ones I rode in 2004. Jeff’s Tahuya Hills will be on the second day, possibly after dark, depending how quickly he rides the preceding portions of the brevet. I have a feeling Jeff’s hills will be harder than my 2004 Tahuya Hills. Let’s hope his new Boxer Randonneur will help him along and he’ll have appropriate gearing for the steep sections.
It’s built up with some very nice components and has a fabulous powder coat finish in a deep orange-y red, courtesy of Spectrum Powder Works. I built the wheels with Velocity Aerohead (non-O/C) rims, Schmidt SON Deluxe and White Industries H3 hubs and Wheelsmith double butted spokes. There’s a Sram 10 speed drivetrain mixed with a TA Carmina crank with 30/46T rings, SKF bottom bracket and 11/32T cassette. Honjo aluminum fenders, a Gilles Berthoud handlebar bag and leather saddle, and Paul Racer centerpull brakes mounted on braze-on bosses round out the package. And, let’s not forget the brilliant S&S couplers so Jeff won’t get dinged with an exorbitant baggage fee when he flies to Paris in August.
PBP won’t be Jeff’s first 1200km brevet. He completed the Cascade 1240km Grand Randonnee last year. Jeff’s bike will be one of four Boxers ridden in PBP this year. That a very nice feeling, let me tell you.
Bon voyage et bon courage, Jeff!
There’s a gallery of some detail pics of this bike. Just click the picture above.