Tonight is a repeat of the hardest brevet I have ever attempted. Last year, I failed to finish it (one of my very few DNF’s, and the only one that actually meant anything to me).

This year I have a shiny new bike, a determination, and a f-load of jumpy nerves. How hard is this ride? I’ll let the elevation profile speak for itself.

I’m really tempted to twitter my progress, and I’ll do my best, but I get pretty much no cell phone reception in this area. That is why I spent like 5 dollars on the pay phone last year trying to get a hold of Jane back in civilization. That was no fun. It made for an entertaining story though.

Goals this year: 1) Finish 2)…

The real curve-ball this time around is the night start. I’m working a full day (as much “work” as my brain will allow) and then starting at 9pm in Enumclaw. There are only like 9 people registered so far, not including the couple of people that rode the pre-ride. You can check out Vincent’s pre-ride report here. It is amazing and frightening all at the same time.

Dan got this great shot of the bike (and me!) when I went to pick it up. He owns a better camera than I do, so you should check out his photos on his flickr account. The bike really came out great.

I have it loaded this year with 3 water bottles and probably a little bit too much food. I felt like I was stuck without enough water on the climb to Windy Ridge last year. It was relatively hot without any shade and there were no real services from the out and back to Randle (around 100 miles or so?). I should be going up that earlier in the day, but I think the extra water is only going to help, despite the extra weight.

I’m also kicking around putting my Garmin 305 back on so I can torture myself with my exact elevation and road grade at any given moment. That is always good for a laugh.