Not doing a lot of long riding for 2013 but one goal is the Grand Fondo South Dakota at 104 miles. I might think about one of Minnesota Randonneur brevets in the fall after the triathlon/duathlon season is over.

I think it's "ride for 100 years"

Joking aside, I think he's probably contrasting it with a metric century.

k7baixo, you should definitely do Ragbrai again. I've done it every year for 5 or 6 years now, and while it may not be great preparation for the longer rando rides, it's fun to spend that many days on a bike rather than a car. Every Sunday afterward, I'm like "why would I drive a car to get anywhere, when I could just keep riding my bike? I did just cross the state on one."

a 100 mile ride. not a metric century. ya see I haven't done a hundred mile ride yet

+1 ... everyone who is thinking about doing the PBP, and especially if the PBP will be your first 1200K.

There have been many hundreds, nay thousands of people who have done PBP without doing any distance more than the required 600km qualifier. There are some who have done PBP without doing much more than the four qualifiers themselves -- in other words, they have been complete novices.

This idea of having to do a huge number of miles and events before PBP just buys into the elitist culture that surrounds PBP. It is not really any different in function to any other 1200 conducted anywhere else in the world.

Rowan, back up and read the previous several posts, starting with one from the 2012-newbie-rando-gentleman from Arizona; he initially inquired about the pre-registration requirements for PBP-2015, wherein he assumed the same pre-reg process as for PBP-2011. It seemed to me that Unter's response was as much about that as being mentally prepared for 1200 (however, a literal reading of unter's post would suggest that I am wrong).

Anywat, my buddy, Ricochet Robert, definitely wishes he had been able to squeeze in a 1000 before he went to France in 2011. It might not have made any difference, though, since what did him in was an abscess-like thing in a critical place that may have existed before PBP, and the ride just brought it to his attention: https://irregularveloadventures.blogs.../08/rides.html . Having done a 1000 would likely not have prevented Robert's problem, but he would have been better mentally prepared -- that PBP DNF, and a serious training programme, paid off when Robert completed the Taste of Carolina 1200 last year (and a 1000 a month later).


If you click on the above link, be sure to read "The Pain and Agony of Defeat" and "My Heros" very near the end. Those two sections were good enough to make the RUSA "PBP-2011 Special Edition American Randonneur", almost unedited, as (if I recall correctly) the longest DNF story.

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Edit:

Rowan, what are you doing disagreeing with Machka?

BTW, I did like the "elitist culture" aspect of you comment.

I'm hardly an elitist. I'm a proud member of the Adrian Hand Society. However, my PBP would have had a lot less drama if I had previously ridden 1000k or 1200k. In fact, the 1200k I have ridden since then was significantly more difficult than PBP. My approach to that ride was informed by my PBP ride. If I go back to PBP, I feel like I'm in a position to enjoy it a lot more. It's an amazing ride, but not all that difficult if you approach it correctly.

There is a tradition of riding the qualifiers, riding PBP and then never riding any more randonnees. If this is what someone is after, it's certainly doable. And admirable.

I see your point and Unterhausen's. While many have done PBP on the barest of qualifications, I'm pretty sure I've benefited and learned something from every brevet attempted...esp from the long ones!

My hesitation with PBP is clarified here: "It is not really any different in function to any other 1200 conducted anywhere else in the world." Except for the atmosphere, it's another 1200 and as such, I haven't quite convinced myself that I want to incur the time, effort and expense for PBP. It almost makes more sense to tick off a state that I've never been to and participate in their 1200 instead.

I'm not knocking PBP or anyone who has ridden it - don't get me wrong. I'm sure trying to balance cost v. benefit v. my emotions! PBP has been my goal since I started this hobby in late 2011.

I'm not an elitist either. In fact, I've told every rider I've met in the last year that anyone can ride a 1200 with just a little effort. They still don't believe me.

Look at it this way....I'm older, slower and but for the ability to stay on my bike, I couldn't finish a 1200.

The recumbent resolved the "stay on the bike" issue for me therefore, if a rider can solve that part of the equation, he's practically good to go for any distance. The other aspect is the mental portion. Being older, having backpacked, kayaked, bicycle-toured, etc for years helped in that regards.

Thanks for the encouragement. We're supposed to do a family vacation to HI next year so I'll need to work around our various schedules for that trip. If the timing works out, I'd love to do it again.

The first time, I really just concentrated on getting the rides done before it got too hot. I'd love to slow down and smell the roses so to speak.

I hear ya. In 2010 and 2011 it was so scorching hot during the day that I got up really early (which is otherwise against my religion) and blasted straight to the next overnight town. Last year, I had the right amount of fitness and tolerance to the heat that I was able to slow down and enjoy it a little more.

I always thought the point was to ride fast and party hard at the stops, but I've never done it

That's the image. The folks who do the hardest partying spend most of their time in the team bus.

As for me, I may only have a couple of beers the whole week -- I'm much more about the riding. There are 51 other weeks in the year when I can get blitzed, if I so desire.

Going to make a run at the UMCA 24hr Challenge competition. One 24hr down, two to go, and my goal is to reach 1275 miles.

Yep. I rode it 2011.....dadgum, it was hot. I started around 0600 and I often beat Bubba's boys to the next town. I had to wait in them to get the "comfort zone" set up along with our tents. Not a huge deal....it was fun beating them!

Good luck!!!!

I wasn't aiming my comments are you specifically. But this hoo-ha that exists around PBP is almost getting beyond the pale. Yes, it is an international event that has taken on a mystique, but that in itself, in my opinion, may end up destroying its appeal for many riders. The telling comment was that RUSA ended up handing back some of its allocation from the last event.

I agree that each randonnee of any length is a learning experience, irrespective of how long the participant has been doing them. The reason is, of course, that each is different in many subtle and even not-so-subtle ways.

skiffrun... yes, Machka and I do disagree occasionally on things. I did give her a heads-up before posting. She and I are different in that I went into PBP 2003 as a complete neophyte with only the SR under his belt, whereas she had done the RM1200.

One of the interesting developments arising since 2003 was the agreement by ACP and BRM to conduct other 1200s during PBP's "on" years. I think that was a huge benefit for several reasons -- that people who wanted to do such a challenging event didn't have to necessarily travel overseas at great expense in that year to do so; and it took some of the pressure off the PBP entry lists.

Australia now can run two or three 1200s each year, plus a sprinkling of 1000s. Some of the 1200s are as basic as you can get -- unsupported -- while others such as the Great Southern are among the best of their kind in the world. None, of course, has the pressures of heavy participation demand as PBP, and consequently, the prerequisites for entry can be nothing, to an SR series, to having completed at least one 1000 or 1200 in the past.

I am not sure if I will ever do another PBP. I am one-and-one right now on the finish/DNF ratio. But frankly, I think I would like to reserve France for bike touring and do 1200s somewhere else. Oddly, doing the Last Chance again appeals for some unfathomable reason, and the Texas Stampede is something Machka and I both find appealing. And there is a Nordic 1200 I think that also is attractive.

We've just got to get our enthusiasm for riding long distances back again.

Check.

Check (a double century in March.) Will try to do a second double in June. If I succeed, will try Death Valley Fall Double.

I'm up to 8 singles and 1 double. Though, strictly speaking, the goal was for one in each calendar month.

Need to think about more goals.

Still alive and having fun.

The local 600 starts Saturday @ 0600. With luck, will complete my SR for this year. (Other goals may be admitted as / if I get near them.)

you guys are a batch of sleepyheads, our 600k starts at 4 am on Saturday. I rode the 400k on a broken freehub body, so hopefully this ride will be a little easier. Unfortunately, I had a lower intestinal problem for a week after the 400k, so I am not sure how strong I really am.

Alan has started his traditional-season 200 & 300 brevets at 0700 for longer than I know, and
Alan has started his traditional-season 400 & 600 brevets at 0600 for longer than I know.

I've never thought to ask, but it may be that the respective brevets have used those same start times for the last 30 years.
Some people have been known to get up at 1 or 2 in the morning, and drive to Morrisville from Charlotte and Wilmington and Boone and Asheville, and Johnson City, TN, and the Virginia Tidewater area, in order to start the brevets at the "civilized" times. And catch a few Z's in their car/truck at the end before heading back afterward -- and even some that live only 15-miles from the start have been known to take a nap before leaving the start/parking area afterward.
Some people will snag a motel the night before -- even some that live less than an hour away (by car).

I think Alan makes it easiest on Alan -- an idea I wholeheartedly support.

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Tony Goodnight, perhaps making things easiest on Tony, does a lot of 0400 starts (on regular brevets as well as on the ToC-1200's).

So, we get the opportunity to do both early-bird and "civilized" time starts.

this is why a smart RBA has a volunteer at the start
In a 400 and 600k, starting at 4 maximizes the riding during daylight hours, at least this time of year. That's always an idea I can support

Eric --

in NC, starting at 0400 would add 1.5+ hours to riding in the dark, because civil twilight never gets earlier than (approx) 0535 in the Raleigh area. Starting at 0400 would also add 2-hours of legally required lights, etc., because official sunrise here is never earlier than 0558. So, while starting at 0400 might minimize riding in the dark for some in some locations, starting at 0400 here would maximize the riding time in the dark.

Alan once told me that his two favorite things about being the RBA are, in order:

1. seeing people when / as they finish,
2. seeing people as they check in before the rides

Alan's traditional-brevet-season rides (and also the August picnic rides) all start 1/4 mile from his house. He and his wife Dorothy handle the check-in, etc.. However, I can assure you that if (and sometimes when) there is a large number of people that need to be processed, quite a number of people will pitch in on a moment's notice without being asked.

AND, here is the kicker, all of Alan's traditional-brevet-season rides finish at Alan's house.

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Anyway, Eric, you will know that the above is addressed "to" you, not "at" you.
Try to make it to Alan's 400 brevet next year and experience the course where Adrian Hands sharpened his rando teeth (after 1998, anyway). The 400 is the most exquisite of Alan's routes, and by riding it, you will also have experienced Alan's 200 & 300 courses.

The 400K randonnees started at 4:00 am in Manitoba, and I really liked that. I'm not a morning person by any stretch, but I liked starting in the dark, riding in the pre-dawn quiet for an hour or so, and then watching the sun coming up. By the time the sun was up, we were usually about 50 km into the ride, and for some reason it felt like we were just starting the ride and it was only 350 km long ... that's a really nice feeling.

Starting then also meant that I could finish somewhere between midnight and 1 am, which was quite reasonable. I could go home, unwind a bit, and go to bed at a normal time.

Unless it's a flat 400k with a very fast rider pool, it will take most or all riders more than 18 hours to finish. Since the sunset in NC is never later than ~2045, starting at 0400 and starting at 0530 would result in exactly the same amount of riding in the dark: everyone would start in the dark, everyone would finish in the dark, and any nighttime riding added to the start is simply taken from the finish.