Sunshine Less 400
Lower Mainland Late Easy 400 (#5514)
Ride date: June 14, 2025
by Murray Tough

I was looking forward to this weekend’s 400. Many Randonnneurs say that the 400 is the toughest distance in Randonneuring. There is truth in that but, for me, this ride was one with no pressure. In the longer rides, the faster you ride, the more sleep you get. In shorter rides I put pressure on myself to see how much faster I can be. In this ride, it didn’t matter. All I needed to do was finish within the prescribed 27 hours. Barring serious mechanicals, that wasn’t likely to be a problem. I enjoy riding at night and I had nowhere I needed to be the next morning.

We started early in the middle of Vancouver, so it took a couple of hours to clear the city. We started on city streets lined with shops, set against the mountains. From there we went through warehouse districts, quiet residential streets, light industrial and heavy industrial areas before reaching rural roads with forests and farms.

It was an almost perfect day for riding. Cloudy, dry and mild in the morning. Some sunshine in the afternoon but not hot. The only negative was the wind. The morning was a typical, light, outflow wind, which meant a small headwind as we rode east. Most of this was on the hilly part of the course so it really didn’t make much difference. It didn’t take long for the day’s inflow wind to build, which meant we had a wonderful tailwind as we continued east to the turnaround at Hope. Needless to say, I made good time to Hope with little effort.

Hope was our first control. I stopped for a treat at the Rolling Pin Bakery. I bought a blueberry turnover, which I intended to enjoy while I rode. As I left the bakery, the train barriers went down as a long freight train rumbled through the town. Just long enough to eat my turnover. Delicious.

The tailwind was now a headwind as I pedaled west towards Vancouver. The first part of the return included about 25 km on the highway. The headwinds were offset by the traffic that tends to suck you forward. My average speed was still excellent when I reached Popkum, which was roughly the halfway mark on the ride. Time to stop for a late lunch. After Popkum, the wind required more effort. There are some sections where there is nothing but open field with no trees or hedges to slow the wind. These were the hardest.

I caught up with Jeff somewhere west of Chilliwack. We rode together for the remainder of the ride. Our course meandered through the Fraser Valley farmlands and eventually lead to the US border. We cycled past corn fields, dairy farms, orchards and even a turf farm. Most of this stretch was exposed to the full brunt of the headwinds. We stopped at a gas station in Abbotsford. I knew it was the last place we would find until we got to Langley. Do you have any sandwiches? No. Do you have any bananas? No. Do you have any chocolate milk? No. We filled our bottles and continued on. After the border we turned north on tree lined streets, past stately homes, orchards, vineyards and stables towards Langley. At Langley we both needed refuelling, so we stopped for a sandwich at Subway. Half now and half for later.

The light was failing when we reached the control at Derby Reach Park. This stretch was a lovely, quiet, flat ride through the forest. It was starting to get cool. Time to put on the leg warmers. From there it was a short ride to historic Fort Langley.

We meandered south, through the outskirts of Langley and then west towards South Surrey. It was mostly on pitch dark rural roads. Our last control was at the Campbell Valley Park. From there it was a short ride to our last pit stop at the Campbell River Store.

We rode through urban South Surrey on brightly lit streets with stops and starts at the numerous traffic lights. It was almost a shock when we returned to dark unlit streets as we continued west on the flat, straight road through Mud Bay. At the end of the road, we turned onto a series of gravel trails for about 8 km. The riding was easy enough but our pace was slow as we were negotiated the trails in darkness. At one point, I got too far ahead of Jeff. I stopped and switched off my light. The darkness was complete. It didn’t take long for me to wonder what sort of predators inhabited the forest. I was happy to be rolling again.

We crossed the Alex Fraser Bridge into Queensborough and cycled along the banks of the Fraser River. A gibbous moon was rising over the river. It was much colder by the river. I was glad I had my long-fingered gloves. It was flat riding through Richmond until we eventually reached the Canada Line Bridge. Home stretch! From the bridge it was about 6 km of uphill riding through Vancouver to the finish line. The grades were easy and the residential streets were mostly deserted. We finished just before 3:00 a.m. at the Breka Bakery on Main St.

Jeff and I congratulated each other on successfully completing a very long ride and went our separate ways. I stopped at the bakery for a treat—apple strudel—before tackling the 8 km, uphill ride back to where I was staying.

A fine day on a bicycle—even if it was a bit long.