By GLU Admin
04/07/23 11:03


An Opening to Remember

April 1 is the earliest brevet our club has ever had.  With the threat of sleet, highs in the low 40s and some epic wind, nearly everyone that signed up came and had fun!  We welcomed many new members and celebrated the return of some old faces. The Barrington Boomerang was a resounding success with fresh cinnamon rolls from Hazel's newly opened Stella's Sweets and Eats in Hebron provided a serious refuge (and some truly epic hot dogs and potato soup).    Riders teamed up for a 15-20 mph headwind all the way to Darien then celebrated an epic tailwind to the finish and pizza party at Morretti's.

Thanks to Todd and Monika Hoskins who have given so much of their time already and pre-drove the route.  While the pavement definitely has withstood a winter, the gentle hils made for a really nice opening day route.  Look for more routes out of Barrington in the coming years.  Some gentle hills out of the start give way to open farmlands of Wisconsin and a brand new Kwik Trip in Darien.   But Bella's (at the old Main Street Creamery) was the real star.  Hebron hasn't ever been a big stop for us, but they were more than welcoming and are now interested in being a bigger fixture or even a start/finish.  Look to see them at the Lakes and Kettles 300k and Psychedelic Cow 400k in June.

The wind was something!  Gusts over 20 mph made the trip up to Darien a real chore.  17 people fought the wind, but were rewarded with a major tail.  And it was nice to see groups riding together for support - the way this sport is supposed to be.  Should be a great year for everyone.

Welcome 2023!

It's been a challenging winter and a puzzler to get our season lined up but at last it is done.  2023 is a Paris Brest Paris year.  So we will focus more on providing a lot of brevets.  No worries though, even if PBP is not in your plans, all are always welcome.  From early April through June, there are opportunties to do 3 entire Super Randonneur Series all within our club.

For some, PTO and funds are short, so for that we have some additional help.  We also want to grow our club!  So bring your friends!  Anyone new to the club will get their first ride for free!  We have also done as much as possible to reduce prices and to hopefully provide options for overnights that are less expensive.  

New Start!

  • Hebron - We have reformatted our lovely Lakes and Kettles 300k to start and finish in Hebron.  Finish is at Hart's Saloon where your intrepid RBA will await your arrival.

The "Save my PTO" Brevet Week

Brevet weeks (doing the full series in 7 days) is a great way to finish off your training but it sure sucks the days off.  We have a solution!  Let's really load up both weekends and we can squeeze all 4 into 9 days with only 1 day off required (no promisess you will look good on Tuesday).  It's right around the longest day of the year so at least there will be a lot of light

  • June 17 (Saturday) 600k starts at 4:00 am finishes Sunday night at 8:00 pm
  • June 19 (Monday) 400k starts at 4:00 am finishes Tuesday at 8:00 am
  • June 24 (Saturday) 300k starts at 6:00 am finishes Sunday 2:00 am
  • June 25 (Sunday) 200k starts at 6:00 am finishes Sunday at 7:30 pm

Bring your friends to win $350 Cash (or pay bills, appease your spouse, max out on pizza)

in 2019, we had the best attendance of any midwestern club.  Let's make it even better this time.  First, bring a friend who is new to the club and their ride fee is free (there's a nominal charge for our membership which is just to cover the club insurance).  

Our club goal is to have at least 300 riders this year at the end of June. If we make our club goal, we will have a raffle with $350 in cash as a prize.  For each ride you attended, your name is entered once.  So ride as much as you like and increase your chances.  Remember, if we don't make our club goal, we can't profit individually - in true randonneuring fashion, you need your friends to win smiley

Let's make it our best year yet!