First Randonee. Advice?

[C Law]

I am doing the Deerfield Dirt Road Randonee (http://newhorizonsbikes.com/page.cfm?PageID=347) this weekend.

I am a veteran of long distance MTB races, with well marked courses and support, but have a few questions about cue sheets, etc. and

1. Would it be advantageous to have a mileage computer on the bike or could I manage without it. I am guessing I should have one because the cue sheets will be in miles or kilometers.

2. Is there real food at the feed stations ? I plan on bringing enough shot bloks, gu's, etc but how about pb&j's (my stomach can't take the milk chug of randonee lore), salty stuff.

3. if anyone has done this ride before would you suggest I ride 35mm knobbies or 38mm semislicks


Thanks for your help and if you are doing the ride I'll see you up there

[supcom]

I can't address specifics of your ride, but in general, having an odometer on the bike is very useful. In my area, brevet routes are not marked and knowing the distance to the next turn can help avoid bonus miles..

[littlewaywelt]

I am doing the Deerfield Dirt Road Randonee (http://newhorizonsbikes.com/page.cfm?PageID=347) this weekend.

I am a veteran of long distance MTB races, with well marked courses and support, but have a few questions about cue sheets, etc. and

1. Would it be advantageous to have a mileage computer on the bike or could I manage without it. I am guessing I should have one because the cue sheets will be in miles or kilometers.

2. Is there real food at the feed stations ? I plan on bringing enough shot bloks, gu's, etc but how about pb&j's (my stomach can't take the milk chug of randonee lore), salty stuff.

3. if anyone has done this ride before would you suggest I ride 35mm knobbies or 38mm semislicks


Thanks for your help and if you are doing the ride I'll see you up there

Having a computer will make following the cue sheet MUCH easier. I find it tends to help psychologically to know how far I've gone and how far I have left to go. If I had to guess, the days would drag on forever. CPUs are light, cheap, easy to install, and take up little room...there's no reason not to have one.

[Six jours]

A computer is advantageous. It will help in exactly the way you think it might. I personally hate computers, BTW, and no longer use one. This is not a horrible handicap, so don't think of it as an absolute necessity.

I have not ridden the ride you are planning on -- it looks absolutely wonderful -- but judging by the description given on the website, those roads are very typical of the fire roads I often ride with 700x31mm road tires. "Back in the day" randonneurs regularly used 35-40mm road tires for this type of road, and certainly did not feel the need for aggresive knobs. I personally would choose the 38mm semi-slicks.

Have fun, and make sure to report back post-ride!

[AverageCommuter]

Unfortunately I think that most of the people on this board who have actually ridden the D2R2 are currently at the PBP. You could check out the Blayley's site (http://www.blayleys.com/), they've got at least one report about riding that event. Search for D2R2 here on the board too. I would love to do that ride some day, but I am definitely not ready this year. Maybe next year.

[C Law]

Hmm....yeah I am not anti computer per se. I just don't have one on my 29er MTB which I am using for this ride.

I'll have to take one of my road bike this week and move it over. I am doing the 170k so I don't need any 'bonus miles'. It sounds like the computer would be worth it.

I'll definately try and post a ride report here. It should be somewhat of a struggle. Thanks for the tips.

[Six jours]

I'm pretty envious. This ride looks like an awful lot of fun, but I'm on the wrong coast for it. I look forward to hearing a ride report.