Boulder, CO to Atwood, KS	257 miles
Atwood to Phllipsburg, KS and back	186
Atwood to Byers, CO	180
Byers to Boulder	131

Robert Pogorelz, sunburned and tired, enjoying cold pizza John Hughes photo

The ride organizers took the randonneurs' drop bags to Atwood and Byers and riders could get motel rooms in these towns.

The "Last Chance" is a play on words. The ride is held late in the season, so it is the last chance to complete a long brevet. The route passes through Last Chance, CO, historically the last chance to buy gas on US 36 before Saint Francis, KS, a hundred miles away.

Held on the high plains, the challenges of the Last Chance are unique. As Dan Wallace observed: "While it may not have the climbs and a lot of varied scenery like other 1200Ks, it's more of a mental challenge. Where else can you reach the top of a climb and look to the horizon in the far distance and see nothing ahead of you but the road that you're on and the road that you will still be on for hours more? That's when you have to hunker down and fight the 'will this ever end' thoughts..."

Robert Pogorelz, from Ft. Morgan lives on the Colorado plains. Yet even he "found it more challenging than I expected, the course is not flat. [18,500 feet of climbing] The wind made things interesting all three days. Put you behind the first day, caught you up the second and played with you like a cheap thrill the third. The traffic was typical eastern rural Colorado, very friendly. Folks were interested in what you were doing when you did stop and visit with them."

Often the weather is one of the major challenges on a 1200K: both hot days and cold rain at the Cascade, the blistering afternoons at the Gold Rush, the hard rain at Boston-Montreal. After riding both the GRR and BMB this year, Kevin Kaiser, from Evans, GA said: "Weather conditions, much more than terrain, determine the difficulty of the ride. . . . That being said, I don't expect that there will be any complaints about the overall conditions on this year's Last Chance." Although it was breezy at times, riders enjoyed temperate weather and no hail, tornadoes, or tumbleweeds!

Susan Plonsky refueling at the general store in Cope, CO John Hughes photo

On the Last Chance self-reliance is part of the challenge. Other than the three controls with drop bags riders must stop at stores to get supplies. It's common to ride 30 miles or more with nothing more than farmland separating the small towns.

Local Culture
For some riders the need for self-reliance was part of the attraction. Mike Sturgill, from Phoenix, AZ said: "The best part was the 'format' of the ride itself. There was little provided in support and towns were few and far between. This forced riders who want to push time to plan ahead very thoroughly. I couldn't just go out and push the pedals and expect to safely ride that distance because of the limited availability of water." Sturgill planned his itinerary carefully and on the outbound leg stashed supplies for the return. He added "The people in Kansas were probably the most friendly people I've ever spoken with. It was always a treat to talk with them when I was at the stores getting supplies."

Ride organizer John Lee Ellis enjoying the high plains John Hughes photo

The high plains are grassland and farmland. Ride organizer John Lee Ellis also rode the 1200K. Ellis had trained in the Rockies to keep himself "fresh" for the potentially boring plains. Afterwards he reported: "the scenery is more interesting than you'd think. I studied the various crops - sorghum, sunflowers and wheat - and the alternating flat and boisterously rolling landscape."

The vistas were rarely obscured by trees and navigation was simple: after leaving Byers the randonneurs just follow US 36 to the turnaround in Phillipsburg and back. Jim Solanick, Lake Wood, FL: "The most unique thing about this ride is the cue sheet. I think BMB is 11 pages long and Last Chance is the front and back of a single sheet of paper!"

Of course, the simple cue sheet and distant horizon meant that the randonneurs could see the water tower of the next town for several hours, even longer at night as lights glowed in the distance.

Sunrise near Oberlin, KS John Lee Ellis photo

With very low traffic and excellent road surfaces night riding could be quite enjoyable. Jim Kehr: "The most beautiful experience, and defining moment of the ride, was on the return between Anton and Byers. Having bid an 18:00 farewell to Susan and Dan after refueling together at the Anton control, I watched them disappear into the mirage of a sea as the sun sank to the horizon. Shortly after nearing Last Chance, peaks of the Rockies began to appear on cue, in what was left of sunlight separating earth from sky. Moonlight created a distinct shadow of a lone rider to the right in front of me, and as I watched my cadence, I thought how wonderful it was to be riding solo in the night - so safe and comfortable, the bike so quiet and the landscape so surreal in the cool light. Just then, in a flash, a coyote streaked through my headlights as it scurried across the highway into the void on my right; and I knew I had reached the crux of the ride. It would never be better than that instant, and I savored the memory all the way to Byers."

Competition
A few riders choose to ride a 1200K competitively. Sturgill was riding the Last Chance to try to qualify for the Race Across AMerica. He had to finish in less than 65 hours - an even harder challenge given the lack of services! He wrote: "I know this isn't 'officially' a race, but in my experience on randonneuring events, the guys who are up front are there to 'win.' The really great part about randonneuring events is that "winning" is not at any cost. The 'competitors' are always cordial, helpful, and not at all cut throat. I find this to be a healthy competition and quite fun!"

Sturgill enjoyed a healthy competition with Ken Bonner, 63, from Victoria, BC, Canada. Bonner had already ridden 22 1200Ks in his career, including three 1200Ks this year: Cascade 1200K in 74:21 (first), Gold Rush in 63:36 (fifth), and Boston Montreal Boston 59:38 (fifth). After all that "training" he rode an excellent Last Chance, finishing in 54 hours 46 minutes and breaking his own course record.

Bonner reported that he was off the bike for about nine hours. "The only sleep was at Byers - 1 1/2 hours - had to sleep, I wasn't sleepy, but I kept having a hallucination involving some citizens 'floating along beside me' for the last 10 interminable miles into Byers. I figured the sleep would make these folks go away ... I wasn't looking forward to having them accompany me for the last 200K to the finish!"

When asked if he had any physical problems during the rides he responded: "Just the usual saddle sores, hot foot and sore hands. (What kind of sport is this, where we take this for granted!)"

"No other 1200K has a man of Charlie Henderson's presence. Put him on a horse and he would look like he stepped out of one of Charles Russell's paintings!" - Ken Bonner, John Lee Ellis photo

In conclusion Bonner singled out Dan Wallace from Florida as an inspiration: "Perseverance pays off ... Dan DNFed in his last three1200's --- undaunted, Dan signed up for the 2005 Colorado Last Chance 1200 ... and finished feeling strong! I think of Dan when I go through the 'rough' spots in the 1200's."

Mike Sturgill was the second finisher in 57 hours 11 minutes and qualified for RAAM. Three other riders qualified for RAAM: Paul Rozelle (Bexley, OH), Ray Rupel (Centennial, CO) and Robert Pogorelz (Fort Morgan, CO).

John Lee Ellis enjoyed the opportunity to meet in person riders he'd known through the UMCA Mileage Challenge or RUSA. Ellis was very pleased by the diverse field. Bonner, Dan Clinkinbeard, and Kevin Main rode all four North American 1200Ks this year: Cascade, Gold Rush, Boston-Montreal and the Last Chance. One rider was in her first year of randonneuring and several riders were completing their first randonnées. "This year reinforced my sense that this is a 1200k that a broad spectrum of distance riders can enjoy and feel challenged by." Ellis said. He concluded "Finally, I am so pleased that things went smoothly, a credit largely to my friends John Hughes and Charlie Henderson on the road, plus my wife Patricia Heller helping with event prep."

Tom Rosenbauer sums up the event well: "While it is amazing to see Ken Bonner and others finish very quickly, the riders who push themselves to the edge just to finish are my real heroes. I met up with Karen Bataille, and Dan Clinkinbeard towards the end of the first day. It truly is inspiring to see Karen accomplish her first 1200K with the support and encouragement of Dan. Karen must have dug very deep to finish, considering she was on the edge of the time limit early on the third day. I'm sure they got very little sleep on that third night."

Preparing for brevets and 1200Ks
Qualifying for RAAM
John Marino Competition

1200Ks in 2005: [ Cascade   | Gold Rush  | Boston-Montreal  | Last Chance ]
Last Chance: [ 2002  | 2004  | 2004 - Nancy Guth's account  | 2005  ]

RMCC website: complete results

Last Chance 1200K Randonnée First Finishers