I was just wondering how many people cycle long distance to an event then ride the event then ride home?
This weekend marked my first try at it, I had a blast. Not nearly as difficult as I had expected.
I ended up riding from my house in Victoria to Vancouver B.C stayed the night at a friends house. The next morning the two of us rode out to the start of the populaire(50k's away) then rode the populaire(141k's) Afterwards I rode back home from Vancouver to Victoria(80k's) all said and done the day ended up somewhere near 275km's

I had been wanting to try some more out of town events but figured not having a car would make it difficult, but it was not so bad at all. And with the price of gas the way it is this seems a good alternative.
Plus anybody who finds out you rode to the ride thinks your really crazy.

Anbody else try this?

Danny Chew comes to mind.

Haven't ridden to and from a brevet or pop (they're mostly 300+ k away, so...), but there are quite a few people here in Oregon who do, including some of the fastest, so it must not hurt one's speed. The reaction you got is pretty typical though; often I'll ride into town to do a group ride and people are just blown away that I'm doing an extra TWENTY FIVE MILES!!! Kinda amusing, innit? :rolleyes:

SP

That's how I did my 200km a few weeks ago; rode to/from the century ride.

oh yeah, i'm a big fan of riding to the ride, especially as a car-free cyclist. i have gotten rides from friends to some of the rides that are 100 km+ away, but i've ridden to most of the brevets this year, usually 20-60 km away.

last weekend i rode 72 km (45 mi) to granite falls for a 100 km (62 mi) out and back up barlow pass (only 701m 2,300 ft), for a total of 250 km for the day (~150 mi).

it was a great feeling passing up people on the final climb to barlow pass having ridden to the ride. it was also a good feeling getting close to the start and seeing all the cars go by with bikes on them, and on the way back too. not to say that i had a better experience than anyone who drove to these rides, but i enjoy the extra challenge of getting there under your own power.

i like the feeling of leaving my door, and ending up in something like this, 70 miles away from seattle at barlow Pass, near monte cristo: (the ride from this weekend)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3183/2621527882_263f31b150.jpg?v=0

i imagined it was like dipping your wheels in the pacific and then the atlantic - except in the case of the part of seattle i live in, i'd just swerve around a druggie's needle on the ground, then touch snow at the other end of the trip..

on the recent 600k i attempted a few weeks ago, i rode from my front door to the start of the brevet 30 km away, then 450 km to see this:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3078/2566303627_525afd8802.jpg?v=0

that was atop cayuse pass (1300m) near Mt. Rainier (not me in the pic, i rode through after they did).

i'm thinking of riding 60 km to the start of the RAMROD (http://www.redmondcyclingclub.org/RAMROD/RAMROD.html), which is already 250 km & 10,000 ft (3,048 m) of climbing! and then riding 60 km back. if i think of it like a 400k brevet then it doesn't sound quite as crazy - although some of my friends who do these rides think i'm nuts.

but there are people out there who ride way more than i do: recently heard about someone who rode from seattle to wenatchee (~150 mi) for a criterium - won it - then rode back! that's like 250 extra miles or something.. wow

I did a century earlier in the year, it was 170km away so a three day 500km trip. Good fun.

I did that with my 600K brevets in Manitoba. I lived 12 kms from the start/finish area. What's an extra 24 kms when you've already ridden 600.

And I rode to the local century there. The start/finish area for that was about 40 kms away, so I'd make a 240-250 km day out of what would otherwise be a 160 km day.

Sometimes riding to an event is a "bigger" ride than the event itself.

I'll do this again in August as there is a ride about 100km's away in Nanaimo that I want to do. Though I may ride up the night before stay the night, do the ride then ride home right afterwards.

Sometimes riding to an event is a "bigger" ride than the event itself.


Yes, actually ... in 2004, I flew to Sydney, Australia, then cycled down to Melbourne (1450 kms) for the Great Southern Randonnee (1200 kms).

Miles are miles, seems to me. The last charity ride I went on, I rode there, rode the 75k, then rode back home, which basically gave me a 100k, only with some extra rest time. I could have driven there and rode the 100k.

aside from the obvious bits of street cred that comes from riding to an event, I like riding to the start because it gives me a chance to correct any mistakes that I make with packing my gear. Usually within five minutes of being on my bike, I'll realize that I need fresh batteries for my taillight or that I left my frame pump on my other bike. It's better to make these realizations when one is still a five minute ride from home, rather than when one is a thirty minute drive away.

yesterday i rode 38 miles to a 150 mile ride (ramrod), then rode back. (226 in total)

great feeling, being passed by all those cars w/ bikes attached, and the reactions from people when i told them i rode there!

for me it's also partially about showing what you can still do without a car.

I'm doing an extra TWENTY FIVE MILES!!! Kinda amusing, innit? :rolleyes:

SP

I get lost worse than that.