Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - New Rider/first Brevet

No one can say that I am not ambitious - I just stepped over a bike for the first time in my 50 years in December 2009, and am now training/planning for my first 200k brevet at the end of October :D

My interest in randonneuring/endurance cycling was part of the reason I learned how to ride in the first place. To me this is an adventure, and I am enjoying myself greatly. I have people helping me who have done this for a long time, and while it will require a lot of work to be ready, the preparation is as much an adventure as the brevet itself.

I have a 2010 Surly LHT, my beloved steel steed is perfect for this. I do have an aluminum bike (Trek 7.6 FX) but sadly the Trek is collecting dust as the LHT fits me/rides so much better. I think the Trek is likely just a little too large for me, my LHT is almost as small as they come.

I am glad to have found Bike Forums, and this forum in particular. I look forward to reading/learning from your experiences here.

Hi, Catrin! Welcome.

Welcome to the forums. If you don't mind me asking, where are you at?

I hear a lot about the amount of climbing on different rides, but the factors that have affect me the most are wind and temperature.

Prior to my first 200k, the longest ride I had done was the Hotter'n'Hell 100. The course for it is basically a big rectangle, so no matter which way the wind blows, you don't have to ride into it for any more than 30 miles. But with an out-and-back 200k, you can find yourself riding into a headwind for the first 62 miles, and that can take some mental adjustment.

I need to add this so it will show, but I am in Speedway, IN. You may have heard of it, we have this little racetrack here :D

The brevet I am planning for is in a suburb of Columbus, OH in mid-October. If I don't think I am ready for it in time, there is another one at the end of November in Nashville, TN. Being a native of Tennessee, I am sure that the Columbus brevet will have less climbing than the hills and ridges in central TN...

I hadn't thought about the possibility of a 62-mile headwind, but of course that is possible and something to have in the back of my mind.

Thanks for the welcome - I am sure that I will have more specific questions as the time grows shorter. Right now I am focusing on increasing my mileage base and getting accustomed to climbing as many hills that I can find in central and southern Indiana.

there are a lot of hills in Ohio. Just head east or south.

The brevet I am planning for is in a suburb of Columbus, OH in mid-October.

I don't see this in the RUSA rides listings. I'm looking for a 300K later in the year--what's the length of this one?

looks like it's a 200k

It is a 200k starting in Galloway, OH. Go here (http://www.ohiorand.org/) and click on the link for the Ohio 2010 schedule. This is the last on the list.

Unterhausen, I wasn't trying to imply that Ohio has no hills :eek: all I was saying is that the hills around Columbus are not as large as the ridges/hills around Nashville, TN.

Thanks for the kind welcome!