I've been randonneuring for the past 5 years and love it. I actually came to randonneuring and Rivendell at the same time, shortly after moving to Portland and just looking for rides and routes in the area. My first event was a 100k populaire in the fall of 2007. I was hooked from that first event. The people were friend and encouraging and through the event I found myself exploring new roads. The next year I completed 200k, 300k and 600k, the following years 2 years I added in 400k's. This year I did my first 1200k which was quite an experience due to weather (primarily rain on the 1st and last day, headwinds through the morning of the 3rd). I've had my share of low points on rides where my mind and/or body says "Uggh, no more" but have managed to always push through it with a combination of usually food and encouragement from fellow randonneurs. But I've also experienced quite a bit of cycling nirvana while randonneuring pedaling down remote roads through awesome geography, alone and in a group.
I don't have time to tour/bike camp the way I'd like and so randonneuring offers a great way to check-out new roads and places over a relatively short amount of time. After completing my first 300k it changed how I look at centuries and 200k rides where they no longer seemed like a such a challenge and really helped encourage and motivate me to go on longer rides by myself and explore new roads. This has been great because I don't drive so if I want to see certain places located around my home here in Portland I'm gonna have to pedal out there. In my second year of cycling I tried to complete and R70 (complete an SR series in 70% of the allotted time) and managed to complete the 200k, 300k, and 400k in this time but things fell apart on the 600k which was way too hard. I ended up finishing that with just an hour and 15 minutes to spare and while I was completely wrecked physically and psychologically for the last 15 miles. I also saw amazing terrain and had far more miles with a smile on my face than a grimace. I've come to realize that in spite of enjoying long days in the saddle I don't enjoy 400k(250 miles) brevets and don't like riding at night after 11pm. The 400k is just a bit too long. I'm good for about 220 miles at a pop. That last 30 miles just kills me. All the same, I'll probably do a 400k next year just to get another SR award and be in standing for doing the Cascade 1200k again in 2014. If I train a bit in the winter and go into it better prepared I should be able to finish before 11pm unless there is a ton of climbing on the route. It was through randonneuring that I learned to ride in the rain. Of all the brevets I've completed I think I've only done 3 where there was no rain on the ride at all. Sadly, I've twice done 200ks where it rained from start to finish and the temperature never got above 45 degrees. I feel like I'm still learning about nutrition but I rarely bonk any more on rides of any distance. That said, this year I had issues with cramps on every brevet I did, and all at the 100k mark. This is due to going out too fast at the start and not eating enough. Simple rookie mistakes due to being excited. But I finished all of my rides this year feeling good and not just because I'm off the bike but because I enjoyed myself. I totally get it that randonneuring and long miles aren't for everyone. It's become a bit cliche to say "randonneuring is a big tent" but it really is true. There's room for everyone. Not everyone has to take Jan's approach and pedal through the night on longer events. Knocking out the miles at a steady pace with some leisurely stops for food can also work. Most of my brevets get completed between March and June and usually after the last event, usually a 600k, I tend to take a break as summer starts. I find myself putting away the bib shorts and clingy cycling clothes. When I go out for a ride I find myself reaching for my bike with platform pedals and wearing my MUSA shorts and some seersucker. If there is a randonneuring club in your neck of the woods, check them out. Do a 100k populaire. If you're fortunate enough to live in the Seattle area, check out one of the Seattle International Randonneurs (SIR) rides. I live in Portland and finally managed to get up there this year for a 600k and it was great. Awesome support and very well organized with a ton of friendly and encouraging riders. SIR also ran the Cascade 1200k and again the support was awesome. Some info for folks curious about randonneuring: http://www.rusa.org/about.html http://www.bikequarterly.com http://lynnerides.blogspot.com http://greenhornetrandoing.blogspot.com http://randobiker.blogspot.com My randonneuring sets on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/41335973@N00/collections/72157623467862287/ -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/TyPLJ0ViUXwJ. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
