Originally Posted by
Phil MacFarlane
I just did my first Brevet last moth. I rode the Santa Cruz 200k with the Santa Cruz Randonneures.
Then two weeks later I rode the Davis Bike Club’s 300k Brevet.
Last weekend I rode the San Francisco, Hopland 400k and in two weeks I will try the San Francisco to Fort Brag and Back 600k with SFR.
I joined RUSA #8400 and SFR right off the bat as I thought I might like Randonneuring. I do. If the 600k goes well I might try the Davis Gold Rush Randonee 1200k.
Hey, Phil- nice to see you here! I was going to PM a brief report on the other site, but since you`re here, I completed within the limits (23:41, I think), but it wasn`t pretty. There`s no way I`ll try a longer event until I get my food/hydration figured out. Wishing you the best for your 600- I`l be working the Davis 600 on the same weekend. If you do the Gold Rush, I just might end up seeing you there too, but if I go I`ll be making sandwiches and signing cards, not pedalling
Originally Posted by
Steve Sawyer
And here I sit in Michigan, one of the few states with NO Randonneuring clubs...
Steve, don`t feel too left out. For a brief period, I thought I was unfortunate to not have a rando club starting their routes a 20 minute ride from my front door, but look at the big map on Rusa`s site:
http://www.rusa.org/cgi-bin/eventmap_GF.pl
By looking at where the clubs are based, you can see that a LOT of people have to travel long distances to get to a ride. I don`t know how far you are from the nearest club, but I betcha there are plenty people with at least that far to go. And don`t condern yourself with state lines- it isn`t like there will be any passport issues unless you cross a national border.
Originally Posted by
Steve Sawyer
To be honest, I'm going to feel like I've achieved my life's goal in cycling if I can manage a 200k brevet, but I'm still trying to get my head around the rules of this sport. I'm thinking that folks that do this sort of thing every other week like you have, Phil don't have a spouse, kids or day job!
If your goal is to ride a 200K brevet, you have a fine goal
. If you achieve that one and your next goal is to ride a 300k or to build a birdhouse using microscpoically thin planks cut from a single popsicle stick, or to drive a 50 year old Citroen 2CV across Africa, you`ll have more fine goals. Don`t worry, be happy!
This comes up on the touing sites also. You don`t have to be rich, retired, or have a mysterious magical benefoactor to do things of the sort, just need to be dedicated to it enough to make things work. Of course, the rich, retired, benefactor approach would sure make it a lot easier!