[OrRando] Fwd: VanIsle 2000K

[Sam Huffman]

In case anyone else is thinking about Ken Bonner's 2000K on Vancouver
Island in August -- 8/12 - 8/18
(http://www.randonneurs.bc.ca/schedule/sch_vi.html) here is some
information.


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ken Bonner <kenbonner at telus.net>
Date: Mon, Feb 25, 2008 at 8:57 PM
Subject: RE: VanIsle 2000K
To: Sam Huffman <shuffman at gmail.com>


Hi, Sam!

 No support or club-manned controls.  However, I am in the process of
 arranging for riders' drop-bags to be at the Parksville Control which can be
 accessed 3 times -- 680k; 1030k and 1844k;

 Also, riders' drop-bags will be at the Campbell River Control which also can
 be accessed 3 times -- 1147k; 1329k and 1727k.

 Depending upon the out-of-pocket cost; there might be an extra charge for
 each drop-bag delivered (Each rider can have 2 drop-bags; one for each of
 Parksville and/or Campbell River Controls) The drop-bags will remain at the
 designated control(s) for the duration of the ride -- they will not be
 transferred from one control to another.

 Also, if riders keep their hotel room, or make arrangements with the hotel,
 they can access their own supplies at hotels in Victoria at about the 348k
 mark (near the Douglas St and Finlayson Ave intersection) there is a Holiday
 Inn about a block away, plus a couple of reasonable economy motels near this
 intersection. A 24 hour Denny's is also at this location.  The start will be
 at a Tim Horton's (3 a.m.) fast food outlet about 1 km north of this
 intersection.

 There are no major climbs, the highest is about 1100 feet, but lots of
 shorter ones, usually in the 5-7% range.  There are about 33,800 feet of
 climbing in the 1st 1000k; about 28,200 in the last 1000k.  Lots of scenery
 -- ocean views; lakes; rivers and lots of forests. You will likely see deer
 (best chance in suburban Victoria!) and a few bears along the side of the
 road in the early morning, or evening, on the west coast of the Island (Port
 Renfrew; Tofino; Campbell River to Port McNeill).

 Do not plan to sleep on the side of the road at night -- 1st, there aren't
 many suitable spots; and, 2ndly, you don't want to encounter a bear who
 wants to share your Gatorade.  Cougars (Puma) are a potential problem if one
 sleeps on the side of the road, particularly between Sayward and Port
 McNeill.  I've seen lots of bears -- they usually just ignore you, or run
 off into the woods.  I've never seen a cougar, but there have been several
 cougar attacks on hikers in the woods.

 This bear-cougar warning also applies to the RM 1200; In addition,the RM
 1200 has very large elk that I would not want to tangle with.  I stopped on
 the Banff-Jasper highway in the dark on one of the RM 1200s and patiently
 waited for a family of elk to move off the road -- which they eventually
 did.

 So far, there are 6 of us who have expressed interest in the UIE 2000 -- two
 from Florida; 1 from Seattle; 3 from Vancouver Island and now, maybe you!

 I am guessing we will end up with about 12 riders.  I think we are drawing
 from a very small gene pool!! :-)

 The slow average speed is 12.5 kph, which translates to a max. of 6 days 16
 hours to complete the 2015 actual kms.  This is an ACP-RM ride.

 Note:  You should check with RUSA, but the last time I checked a couple of
 years ago, RUSA did not recognize brevets ridden outside of the U.S.A. --
 that includes all the BC ACP accredited brevets such as the RM 1200 and
 Ultimate Island Explorer (UIE) 2000k.  However, you will receive ACP/RM
 brevet validation numbers and BC brevet pins (free) after you have
 successfully complete the BC brevets.

 Hope you end up joining us on this adventure, Sam!

 Cheers!  .... Ken

 Ken Bonner
 2609 Orchard Avenue
 Victoria, British Columbia
 V8S 3B2
 CANADA

 Tel:  1-250-598-4135