Prologue

While I had obsessively planned and trained for PBP, 2008 had been an off year - my legs were weak and lacked miles. Keeping up with my cycling friends Maile, Carol, Chris, Lowell, Bill etc. had become a wishful thinking. Two months before the C1200 it dawned on me that this ride might well be harder than PBP, but at least the moderate climate in the NW should help, right. Maile and Lowell told me, without a hint of sympathy, that more riding was the only remedy. To prepare myself for the long Cascade climbs I moved for a few weeks to my Alpine retreat, where I merged my professional work and cycling! I completed the 400k and 600k Brevet in the Bavarian Alps and felt more positive about the prospects of succeeding in completing the C1200.

Randonneurs are peregrine by nature, typically traveling to distant destinations in pursuit of happiness. On June 27th, 2008 Randonneurs and Randoneusses from 4 continents descended on Monroe, just north of Seattle, to take on a heated adventure – tackling the Cascades. Among them were four DC Randonneurs, Carol Bell, Maile Neel, Bill Olson (from NJ) and Lothar Hennighausen. Carol and Maile needed to ride the 1000k as part of their R5000 requirement (they topped it off with a 260k Permanent on day 4), while Bill (also known as Wheelsucker Willie) and Lothar were foolish enough to tackle the 1200k.