Flèche Report

Sagamores of the Wabash, 2022

 

For the Indiana Randonneurs team, “Sagamores of the Wabash,” the 2022 Ohio flèche was a wonderful blend of old and new. This was the fourth time we sent a team to Ohio under this name*; four of our six members are veterans of both the fleche and PBP and two are new to the sport.

Steve and Lydia Trott piloted a tandem, affectionately known as “Champaigne Storm.” Lydia and Steve did their first flèche and LEL on that same tandem in 2017, and they both finished PBP in 2019 on single machines. In recent years, Lydia has introduced randonneuring to northern Indiana, and has brought the club into the Gravel Age.

Kenney Smith finished PBP in 2015 and has been a member of all four of our flèche teams. Kenney is world-famous for his cycling adventures in sub-freezing temperatures, and for his bottomless box of spare parts. On a previous flèche, Kenney saved a team member’s ride by producing just the right-sized chain-link from this box in the dead of night.

I (Bill Watts) finished PBP with Kenney in 2015 and with Lydia and Steve in 2019. The four of us have had many adventures together and get along well with one another.

This year, we were joined by two new team members, Ted Krischak and Joe Van Denburg, both from Terre Haute, on the western edge of Indiana, along the banks of the Wabash River. Ted has single-handedly gotten the club’s electronic life in order and has already developed permanents and brevets for the club. In his relatively short time with the club, Joe has shown remarkable mechanical dexterity and an equally remarkable concern for the well-being of his fellow riders.  While this was their first overnight randonneuring event, Ted and Joe are both strong riders.

The six of us made a cohesive and good-spirited team. We had no mechanicals on our ride together—not even a flat tire—but we did have one significant challenge: the wind. The wind was out of the northeast and east for all of our ride, and we were riding east and sometimes north. For long stretches of time, the wind was at or over 20 mph, and it never fully let up. Even when the wind blew against our shoulders, rather than our faces, it was a struggle.

But this is also where the team shone. At our first control, fifty miles in, we made some rough calculations and realized that if the wind remained so strong (and it did!), we might not have enough time to finish. When we returned to the road, we instinctively formed a double pace line, protecting against wind that was at about 10 o’clock. After working together against the wind for a few hours, we had no real concerns about time. It was beautiful.

Our route for this year, as in past years, made maximal use of off-road trails. We took the Fall Creek Trail out of Indianapolis, and later joined up with the Cardinal Greenway, which runs from Muncie to Richmond, on the Ohio border. Once we got to Dayton, we entered Ohio’s wonderful system of connected trails, through Xenia and most of the way into Columbus. I especially enjoy trails on the fleche, as they take away the worry of traffic and allow you to enjoy more fully the company of others.

We did, however, have one moment of excitement and alarm. Just as we were about to enter the trail in Dayton, we saw a police officer take down the rider of a motorized trail bike with a taser. The rider landed on the asphalt with a loud bang and was immediately handcuffed and carried away. As we entered the trail, a police officer warned us to be careful. He said that motorcycle riders had taken to riding the trails at night  without lights.

For a few minutes, I worried that we were entering Mad Max territory, and that, at any moment, a motorcycle would slam into us in the dark. But our subsequent ride proved peaceful and uneventful. And, to its credit, the team took it all in stride.

Thus, we arrived in Columbus, a little tired and a little weary of the wind, but grateful for our time together and satisfied with our accomplishment. We were immediately embraced by the warm hospitality of Lucy and David Buzzee, and enjoyed meeting up with friends, old and new.

I rode my first fleche with David Buzzee on a team organized by Toshiyuki (“Toshi”) Nemoto in Ohio in 2014. I have long admired David’s enthusiasm for randonneuring in general, and for this event in particular. In 2018, he rode the event on another team with Toshi, and then was back at his home to greet other teams when they finished. David’s dedication to sustaining the fleche in Ohio is stellar.

But this year, I got an even better appreciation of the extent of David’s generosity. The transmission failed on the 18-year-old vehicle I left in Columbus to transport myself and the Trotts home. While we were discussing the logistics of getting ourselves home, David offered to drive the three of us and our bicycles all the way back to the start in Indianapolis. And he did. And that was part of the beauty of this year’s flèche.

During a time when pandemic, war and fascist movements roil our country, the fleèhe gave us a moment of tranquility, ease, and fellowship. Let us bottle that feeling and drink again next year.

 

*”Sagamore of the Wabash” is an honorary title conferred by the Governor on citizens of note in Indiana. “Sagamore” is an Anglicized version of a Native American word for “chief,” and the Wabash is a celebrated river in Indiana. The “Sagamore of the Wabash” award is Indiana’s version of the better known “Kentucky Colonel.”  While the Governor of Indiana has not yet recognized our team, we think he should.