Onegun

My wife Maggi and I are going to attempt the Tour De Guava 200k on August 16th on our tandem. It's kind of a brevet, but since it's thru, not around, Hillsborough and Pinellas, it's also what I call a double "metro metric"! It'll be a looooong 125 miles!

Anybody else planning on riding it?

kmagnuss

I was thinking about it, but I don't think I can handle 125 miles quite yet. I am going to try for the Sebring Century at the end of August though...I'll probably fail, but ahh well.

Onegun

Someone once said that "those who think they can and those who think they can't are BOTH right". The author had a valid point. But there are also many famous quotes about how silly it is to bite off more than you can chew!

Maggi and I may be in over our heads on this one as well, since it's all in the Tampa Bay metro area. Meaning lots of traffic control devices, lots of starts and stops, and that's one thing a tandem doesn't do as easily as a single bike. They tend to take their toll after a very few miles. But, we're gonna give it a shot anyway!

As for mileage overall, if one can do 100 miles in a week, they can generally do 100 miles in a day. Maybe not regularly, maybe not fast, and certainly now without taking breaks, but they can usually do it!

Good luck at Sebring!

psychlyst

A bunch of us are doing the 125 next week-look for the MacDill Freewheelers jerseys and say hi...should be a fun ride!

2wheelie

I'll be there. This will be my first brevet and longest ride to date. It should be interesting to say the least

Onegun

FUN??!! FUN, he calls it! 125 mile ride with probably 125 stop lights or stop signs, and this is fun?

But we're gonna give it a shot! I haven't done 125 since 1985, and my wife has never gone that long. 84 is her longest, (the Suncoast Trail from Lutz Lake Fern Rd, up and back). But that's almost uninterrupted riding ... what are there, 6 roads to cross the entire length?

This ride will be different. The main reason we're doing it is it's on my wife's "list of things to do", and we also know if we complete this "double metro metric", then a rural 300k in the cool of winter will be a walk in the park .... uuh, so to speak.

On the upside, because it IS right here in the bay area, it's a great ride to try for a first brevet. If you do have to abandon, you won't have to feel guilty about asking your friend to drive halfway across the state at $4 a gallon to rescue you! (If you do abandon, please DO let the organizer know so he won't have the Natuional Guard out looking for you for two days!)

As a matter of fact, this will be "our" first "brevet" as well. I qualify both those words because I've done double centuries before, (back in the 70's and 80's), and we didn't have a cool French word for them then. We just called them "ridiculously long distance rides during which you can expect help from no one because everyone thinks you're crazy for riding a bicycle that far in the first place". "Brevet" is much shorter.

Anyway, Maggi and I will be on our bright red Trek T2000 tandem, so we'll be hard to miss as well. Stop by and say hi!

Anyone know how many are registered for this thing?

2wheelie

I read on the RUSA website today that August 16th is the 10th anniversary of RUSA. There will be special medals available for participants completing events that day (TDG included).

This really bums me out because now I'm not sure I should go. I've been extremely busy with school this summer and with fall classes starting on the 18th I just haven't had any time to train for this. I did the MS150 to key largo with not much effort or training a few months back though. Is 125 miles in one day that much different from 75 miles, two days in a row?

What do you think folks... Am I asking for trouble?

To answer your Q Onegun, I have no clue how many will be there. I don't really expect many since it's the summer. Way too hot for most peeps.

Onegun

No, it's not. Didn't mean to bum anyone out! Listen, it sounds to me like you're probably a lot younger than me to begin with, (I'm 56 and out of shape), secondly you'll be riding a single bike for which frequent stops are nothing more than an annoyance, and thirdly, if you can do 75 in a day, you can do 125. No question.

I've been riding since 1972, spent 15 years in the bike business, sponsored teams, coached, was a USCF official, etc. I've worked with people who were 100 pounds overweight, (so obviously waaay out of shape), got them on their first real road bike and had them doing century rides within 3 months. I've also seen many the 20-somethings and 30-somethings, (including myself!), jump back on their bike after 3 months off it and complete a century with no strain, and this is only 25 miles longer. You don't lose the conditioning as fast when you're young!

My own first century was in 1972 on a gas pipe frame, (HEAVY steel), with sneakers, toe clips and straps, and a badly designed leather imitation of a Brooks saddle that was little more than an ass-hatchet! I also didn't know anything about gearing or spinning so I spent 90 miles of the ride in my highest gear. Finally an old timer from the St. Pete Bike Club took pity on me and told me how all the retirees and women had been able to pass me!

Point being, if you rode the MS 150 a couple of months ago and haven't done ANYTHING except sit on the couch since then, you can still do it! You may have to take a couple more breaks than you think you ought to, but you can complete. Give `er a shot!

Onegun

Just wanted to re-visit this thread to say we made it! The number of traffic controls definitely took their toll on our pace on the tandem, but we completed! Our 6 week training plan had totally fallen apart, we had a rear flat that required a tire boot, and I fought hard cramps from about the 60-something mile mark all the way to the finish. But we made it, and we weren't even last!

How'd everyone else do?

2wheelie

That Pinellas trail was a real PITA. I feel for ya!

I decided to ride and was really glad I did. Total ride time was 8:04:49 which included a few wrong turns, for a grand total of 137 miles. My posted time was around 9 hrs I believe.

As my first brevet and ride of 100+ miles it was a really cool experience and I look forward to many more! Thanks for talking me into it Onegun.

Onegun

No doubt! We only ride a few select sections of it for that reason. Otherwise, we're on the roads.

Hear this, too! A normal brevet held in a rural setting in the cool of winter will be a piece of cake for you after this one! Glad you decided to give it a try!

2wheelie

I saw you and your wife just before the start and wanted to say hi but lost track of you guys. Tim and Dan (really nice guys btw) have some good stuff planned starting in January, so I'll be back up there for sure. I'll be sure to spot you out then!

Onegun

Do that! We'll be doing some brevets this winter/spring, just don't know when or where yet. We also do some of the "zoo" rides. (You know, with one of every animal you ever saw on a bicycle!) We do the Withlacoochee Rails to Trails ride every year, (with a bunch of other tandems), and we often do the Cycle Fest ride down in Sarasota, and we always do the Strawberry Century, too.

You can't even confuse us with another red Trek tandem, as I'm probably the only fool in the nation to put a Wound-up carbon-fiber fork on a production tandem!

2wheelie

I bet you get at least another 1-2 mph from the fork.

Onegun

If only it was that easy!

But the lateral rigidity did improve immensely! It allowed us to do double-standing climbs without feeling like we were pedaling a piece of spaghetti!