The Utah Randonneur

Strong thunderstorms rolling through the area the night before the event left some riders anticipating bad weather for the Saturday ride. At the 7 am start everything was wet and there were lowlying clouds from all of the moisture. The forecast looked pretty good however with a chance of showers building again by afternoon. If riders could finish in time it shouldn’t be a problem.

3 riders departed Panguitch in the early morning dew and under some lingering clouds. Temps were in the low 40’s and there was definitely a feeling of fall in the air but it was a good day to be riding. Winds were light and temperatures were expected to reach the mid-60’s.  The weather did become threatening again by the afternoon but didn’t cause any problems for the riders.

All three riders finished together in 8 hrs 50 min, with veterans Richard and Bob taking care of first timer Sharif until the finish. For Richard and Bob it was just another 200 km brevet but for Sharif it was a much bigger deal! He suffered a bit but hopefully learned a little from the veterans and will come back and join us soon! Congratulations to all three riders on their finish of a beautiful and under-appreciated route!

Okay, I have chosen a bike from my stable to hopefully ride in the 2012 L’Eroica event. It is a new aquisition, a 1983 Bianchi Nuovo Racing, which is basically an entry level race bike. It came spec’d with an Italian Ofmega headset, bottom bracket and crankset, Modolo Sporting brake levers and calipers and Campy NR derailleurs and shifters. The wheels are Campy Gran Sport hubs built on Mavic G40 rims. I will keep it mostly original and make only minor changes. It will be gone through completely mechanically, but the finish condition will remain that of a 30 year old bike. This will not be a museum piece as much as it will be a working antique and it should look the part.

Here is a picture of the bike before major assembly begins. In later posts I will update the photos as I make progress on this build.