First 300k Brevet - First Double Century
 

I am not really a true randonneur. While I like this style of riding, I have only been doing 200k brevets. A 130 mile ride is a great training ride. And I enjoy a long, hard day of riding, but following that with a long, hard night of riding, and/or another day of long, hard riding just hasn't been that appealing, so I haven't attempted the longer brevets. I also haven't bothered to buy any of the brevet medals. I got into chasing hardware for years with my tournament fishing, and don't have the urge to do that with my riding. But, I had been tempted to tackle a 300k. This is still a ride which can be done in one day, albeit a long day.

A few friends had also been wanting to do that first 300k, so yesterday, we decided to do the Lone Star Randonneurs' 300k brevet out of Italy, Tx. With a detour added onto the route, it ended up being 195.6 miles, so after having our brevet cards signed, four of us hopped back onto the bikes and rode another 5 miles, to claim our first double century. You can read my detailed ride report here. Here are a few photos from the ride.

Reflective recumbents in the morning darkness: Greg, Paul, Peggy, me, and Steve.
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g7...ct11/PB029.jpg

Peggy and I getting passed in the morning fog.
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g7...ct11/PB034.jpg

Leaving Dawson just after the first control.
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g7...ct11/PB047.jpg

Peggy, Greg, and I pull into the second control at Mexia.
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g7...ct11/PB080.jpg

Two recumbents from New Orleans made the trip for the ride.
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g7...ct11/PB115.jpg

Peggy, Steve, and Ken head for Jewett.
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g7...ct11/PB116.jpg

A long, gradual incline.
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g7...ct11/PB117.jpg

200k or 130 miles would just about be my limit. Above that and I don't think There would be enough day left- Definitely not enough energy. So to go the extra to 300K is beyong what I could imagine.

Well done on the ride- but I looked at your third pic of the 4 of you. I should think that recumbents are as rare over there as they are here. The most I have ever seen on a total ride is about 4- in Fact on the London To Brighton this year- I only saw one. To come across 4 of you together when you are on a standard bike must be worrying. Must feel as though you are taking over the world.

A double century is certainly something worth documenting. You must be feeling strong nowadays.

How many hours in the saddle is that?

Go, Bud! :thumb:

Wow! Great job and an enjoyable read. :thumb:

This is me writing "Bud Bent" into my "Little Red Book of People I Envy, Admire and/or Hate".

Wow! What an accomplishment. Way to go, Bud!!! And thanks for the pics. I love pictures! Makes this forum community a little less "virtual."

Riding time was right at 12 hours; total time was 15:20. Neither are particularly impressive numbers. We took our time. Paul, the rider standing in the first photo, became annoyed with our pace fairly quickly, and took off on his own to complete the ride in 11:58 total.

I think long distances on a bent is cheating.

Congratulations on exceeding your former limits. I like to ride distances but have yet to take on more than an imperial century...even a double metric is on my "to-do" list. A brevet is a little further down the list.

Well done, Bud. Thanks for posting.

I love how this forum is full of ways to exceed the ordinary. 50+ rocks!

Great job on your first double! A 300k was my intro to long distance cycling, but that was back in '83 when I was a very young 33 years old.

Good to see recumbents out on the longer distance rides too. There was at least one on the Bass Lake Powerhouse (out of Fresno/Clovis, CA) this weekend.

Anyway, hopefully this will be the first in a long series of double centuries for you! I've been trying to talk Red Rider into doing the Knoxville Double, since it's my favorite CA double, and it starts right there in Vacaville. Maybe next year . . .

Rick / OCRR

Bud, that's an amazing accomplishment. Congratulations on your first double century, and thanks for posting the pix.

Bud, congratulations on your first double!! :thumb: Hopefully there will be more to follow.

Bud Bent and Will Dehne are my heroes.

Fantastic accomplishment, Bud:thumb: Thanks for the report.

Good job! Congratulations and thanks for the pics. I love seeing the pics and the faces.

I was just reminded in another thread that you are fighting/fought cancer. That raises my admiration for your accomplishment sky high. It's truly awesome.

Congratulations on the ride...I am going to have to test ride one of those contraptions some day...

Well done indeed.
And when it was all over, did you think "Well, that was interesting, I won't be needing to do again."??

That's what I said after I did my first, now 27 later.........