Brookmere 300 Organizers Report
by Bob Goodison

After my failed pre ride attempt I was more than a little nervous about the weather for the Brookmere 300. The forecast was for sunshine and highs of 29 degrees C,with southeast winds of 20 kmh developing in the afternoon. That should mean that the majority of riders would have a relatively easy ride most of the way to Brookmere and a tailwind for most of the rest of the ride. As it turned out, the wind started for most of us at Merritt, giving a headwind to Brookmere in addition to the climbing. Once there, we got the combined tailwind/downhill experience and everyone made great time back to Merritt. It became overcast around noon (so much for the forecast), and felt very hot on the long climb up Mamit Lake Road. The temperature felt like it dropped noticeably along Mamit Lake, which along with the tailwind made for a pleasant ride. It wasn't until the turnaround on the out-and back section of Tunkwa Lake Rd. that we realized how much the wind was speeding us along and we were blasted in the face with a headwind for ten km before turning left to Logan Lake and regaining the tailwind.

The route is definitely not an easy 300, being roughly comparable to the Mica Dam 300 for difficulty. There was slightly more traffic than on the Mica Dam route, but way less than on any other route in the area.This is the way it is in the Interior- if you want to get away from the noise and traffic of the major highways, you have to deal with hills, and lots of them. The scenery was diverse and spectacular: lakes, desert, farms, rushing rivers, and more lakes, including a golf course at Quilchena that decided it would rather be a lake right now. And hills. All 13 riders finished,including Sandy Caswell with her first 300 finish. So far this year we have a 100% finisher rate (coincidentally, we also have a 0% attrition rate) in the Interior. Let's keep that up all season! Next up is the Midway/Republic 400 with a Penticton start. Bring your passport.

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May 12, 2013