On the morning of April 16th, 2022, three brave and foolhardy souls joined forces on Amtrak train 720 bound for Davis. On the train, they were joined by a cadre of four equally adventurous cyclists, all heading to California’s center of agriculture and animal husbandry in pursuit of pancakes and RBA Bob Eagle’s approval. The sky was gray, threatening a continuation of the rain that had plagued the land for days prior. One of their number had already been claimed by the deities of cycling and train schedules. These randonneurs were assembling to start the 2022 Bruce Berg Fleche NorCal.
What is a fleche? From Randonneurs USA:
flèche vélocio (flesh veh low chi o) – A team ride of 24-hours’ duration, usually held over the Easter weekend. Very well attended in France, they are becoming increasingly popular among American randonneurs. A team may consist of three to five machines (a tandem counts as a single machine) and at least three machines must finish together to receive official credit. Each team must choose its own route and may not ride with any other cyclists. A minimum of 360 kilometers must be covered inside 24 hours, with no less than 25 kilometers to be ridden in the final two hours. Flèche routes are point-to-point or a large circuit since any particular stretch of road may be used only once during the event by the team. In French, flèche means “arrow”, so the traditional method is to ride from one point to another, like an arrow flying into the bullseye. In France a multitude of flèche teams, having left from various cities and villages, will converge 24 hours later on the bullseye, which is the traditional Easter cycling rally in Provence. (Note there are other events in France with this name as well, eg. the Flèches de France, which are not the same sort of event.
– Randonneurs USA, https://rusa.org/pages/terminology
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The plan was to depart Davis at 9am, spend the majority of the day cycling through the rural landscape in the Capay and Cache Creek Valleys, reaching Napa by late evening for dinner and a nap at the local Safeway. It would be smooth sailing from that point, winding through Marin roads into San Francisco. With the full moon in Libra, I was expecting a beautiful night with plenty of time to cruise into the finish in the morning.
The morning’s weather was foreboding but unintimidating, maybe foreshadowing the fate of our journey. Two of our number were pressed to catch their train – I personally experienced a flat nearly immediately outside of my neighborhood that I rode about a mile just to catch my train. Our leader SD was less lucky and completely missed their train from the South Bay by seconds. When I joined my remaining teammates, there was a scramble to devise a Plan B. We settled on SD taking the next train and intercepting us in Arbuckle, only missing some flat miles and the first major climb. While SD would not receive credit for the full ride, the rest of us should’ve been able to claim completion.
The ride from Davis was pretty uneventful besides another flat on my bike. We were making good time on the flats, chatting n catching up, and it felt good. We shed our flimsy, outermost layers shortly after a gas station lunch in Arbuckle. I think we battled over fried chicken and fries, some being saved for the road ahead.
The route from Arbuckle to Rumsey followed Sand Creek Road. We had a lot of fun bantering along this slight incline up to a short, steep section that dropped down towards private property and public roads. Ranch land surrounded us, complete with animals like cows and hogs. By the time we reached Rumsey, our lost teammate had been waiting awhile. I also got my fourth flat of the day. Fortunately, there was a good, cold water fountain next to the post office so we could enjoy a short break here, catching up on the day’s activities and topping off our intoxicants of choice while our ankles were chewed by ants.
The next section was the uninspiringly named Road 40 through Cache Creek Canyon. This is where things quickly took a turn for the worst…
The views were outstanding and the climb, while steep, was steady and smooth. The bushes along the singletrack trail were buzzing with excitement and dutiful pollinators. Newts crossed our paths and we stopped a few times to observe them. The first maybe ten minutes of this climb were unbelievable. But. We’ve all been here before. You know. The day after a lot of rain. On a dirt road. In the middle of nowhere.
The first few minutes of the climb were quick and fun, and the group separated pretty quickly. I thought it was due to the pace we were each taking, but it very quickly became clear that the mud created overnight would retard progress greatly. Some of us were affected more than others – SD and EM had very limited tire clearance on their bikes. The only reason I didn’t have fenders is because my life is a mess right now and I didn’t have time to put them on. This was a mild saving grace, but only took me so far. RB and I carried our bikes together about two miles maybe, unable to roll the machines due to the thick, sticky mud. We stopped at times, waiting longer than felt comfortable for at least EM, thinking SD might even turn around. They didn’t. Enthusiastic spirited barks accompanied the sight of our co-big dawgs hiking around the corner to join us.
“I’ve done this enough to know better.”
-Ramon Briones, on the discussion of turning back or forging ahead. Obviously, we continued ahead.
Well, we did finally wrangle all four riders at the top of Road 40 minutes before sunset. We still felt confident about completing the route, despite the unforeseen 3 hour delay. But, we were still a long way from Napa and the sun sets pretty late this time of day. We had a lot of downhill ahead of us, many miles and at least a couple thousand feet.
Progress was delayed further on the descent, sections of which were unrideable, and it was very late and dark by the time we rejoined the highway. Now we would be bombing steadily downhill to Lake Berryessa along Knoxville – Berryessa road. This was a dynamic, desolate stretch of road and I was happy to be riding this at night. We all went our own pace, speed depending on each individual’s level of visibility and risk aversion.
Tensions were rising as the window to reach Napa was closing and our water bottles emptied. At this point any stores along the route would be closed. Having enough water to complete the final climb over Howell Mountain was now a real concern. After passing all of the Berryessa campgrounds and not finding a water spout, we pulled over on a parking lot near the end of the lake to discuss next steps. We were sleepy, without a drop of water, and it was nearly midnight. We had limited information about the possibility of water before the time-consuming climb. Sleep deprivation may have played a role, but there was a sense of real concern for our health and safety if we continued. I think at the end of the day, we didn’t feel the need to suffer so much for the pancakes and Bob Eagle’s approval. With more than one rider feeling uncertain about proceeding, we decided to veer off course for a reliable, known water source some ten miles off course with no intention of coming back on route.
I was actually pretty cold at this point and my eyelids were heavy with the day. It was only maybe… I think about 60ish miles to home through familiar territory. Once we regained phone service, we discovered a bar on Google Maps that said it would be open until midnight. Our spirits were buoyed by the digital promise of cold beer and a juicy burger. This propelled us along after filling up at the aforementioned water source.
Of course, everything you read online is true. We were only mildly disappointed but unsurprised when we arrived at the bar to find it closed. Honestly, I think we all knew that bar was fucking closed but told each other it was open so we would keep going. At least that’s how I felt.
Things were pretty blurry from this point. Our band of four trudged through a rural suburbia, reaching an unpromised paradise sometime around 2:30AM: a 24-hour Denny’s in Cordelia. I think we spent about two to three hours here replenishing our energy with food, hot coffee, and sleep. The staff were very patient and kind with us, taking pity on these impious fools.
The sun was rising as we rolled through Vallejo, as was team morale. I did consider taking transit from this point but I knew there was no better option than riding to the closest BART stop in Richmond, still another agonizing fifteen to twenty miles. In keeping with my practice throughout the ride, I got another flat just before we reached final bridge bringing us into the East Bay, my fifth. RB was the first of our crew to cut loose as they live in Richmond. It was maybe 7:30am, and the last 3 of us rode to the BART station where I took the photo below at 7:53am.
For me, endurance cycling like this is such a mind game. I get so in my head and this state of deprivation and vulnerability helps me process emotion and untangle thoughts. I think these final few hours, from the flat in Vallejo forward, were the hardest for me. I was also grappling with the enormity of completing this event – but simultaneously, not completing it or getting Bob’s approval. That actually didn’t really matter to me. This is all a lengthy way of saying I was very tired and drained and grumpy. But it was super fun! There was a feeling of closure as I wobbled up the hill from Lake Merritt to my house.
Our ride was finally finished and I could shower with shaky legs and drooping eyelids. I felt very satisfied with the last 24 hours and it was a fun experience with some folks I’d always wanted to ride more with, but I think it was a few weeks before I had enthusiasm for another overnight event. I didn’t have the energy to join the finishing Fleche teams in SF that morning, but I did take a great hours-long nap before walking down to Lake Merritt and getting a burger, fries, and milkshake. Later, I learned most of the teams would suffer a similar fate, waylaid by the vagaries of the roads and weather.
Route link because wordpress doesn’t allow iframe embedding without a Pro Plan.
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