lxlx

scattered73

did I miss something?

littlefoot

I haven't participated in an event but I've ridden to a few events to watch both road and Mtb. I'm a pretty avid Mtb'r still but I don't compete anymore. If I ever break down and set up an xtracycle though I might.

cyclokitty 

I don't compete. I'm too laid back and lazy to wake up at 5am to arrive at the starting line by 7 or 8 am. I'd rather ride cheerfully along the city streets and trails, stopping anytime I like to rest or have a treat coffee.

kmcrawford111

I am starting to. I went to the first Sunday Parkways event in Chicago.

AdrianFly

Little to nothing along the lines of organized rides in my area and don't have the gas nor time available to travel. Honestly, I'm up in the middle of nowhere.

Randonneurs club (If one existed) would suit my interests but other than that I'm pretty much stuck with personal goal setting and solo touring. The common past-time for adults around here consists of getting off of work, going to the bar, stumble home..collapse into bed. It's sad really. Luckily we were able to give the cycling world Frank Pipp. Now that poor guy spent LOTS of time alone beating mile after solo mile in crappy cycling weather when he was a kid. You'd see him out there hammering in the freezing rain, out in the middle of nowhere on some back country road and feel bad for him. Apparently it paid off... lucky *******. lol

ken cummings

If I do not have the time or energy to ride to the start I check to see if transit buses will get me there. With reduced service on weekends they often can't. Sometimes though, a bus will get me ahead of the group and I can get off of the bus and wait for them.

Machka 

In light of recent threads, I thought I'd bump this topic.

Where we lived in Victoria, no cycling events started in our town. It would have been nice if some had ... but the closest ones were about 75 km away. However, for the distant events, we tried to make a weekend of it ... drive there on Friday, park the van, do the event on Saturday, then do a relaxing cycle or walk on Sunday. And we would try to cycle or walk to get dinner, etc.


We've moved, and we're considering some cycling events ... the first one I'm interested in starts about 3 km from where we live!!

Machka 

Since this thread, we've moved again, and the start of local events is, again, some distance away over hilly terrain with no public transportation. So ... we drive.

[HR][/HR]


But let's continue the conversation ... do those of you who are car free participate in cycling events? How do you deal with transportation to and from those events?

Or other events ... perhaps you are into triathlons or marathons or swimming comps or something else. Talk to us about how you incorporate events into your car-free lifestyle.

Mobile 155

I tend to do centuries and doubles as charity events. The money goes to a good cause and I meet good people that are interested in cycling. Did the Furnace Creek 508 in 2011. Don't race much except for the occasional open so I don't have to race masters.

I do have a 107 mile charity event I want to do in August. 11,000 feet of climbing but it will be to buy a handicapped kid a custom bicycle.

wipekitty

That's awesome!!! It was on my bucket list at one point...but I realized that I'm not motivated to train enough, and I really don't handle the heat so well anymore.

I haven't been on a ride with other people in close to four years (and did my last organized event in 2009), but I'm thinking of trying it again. There's some interesting non-competitive group rides in my area, but they all have starting points in the suburbs...10-15 miles from where I live. Then again, a 20-30 mile RT to the ride plus a 30 mile road ride might be a worthwhile workout

Roody

Nothing much has changed since I commented on this post seven years ago. The little kids I used to organize bike rides with are pretty much grown up now.

The kids grow up, but the same old threads on LCF.

rhm

I've been riding a century every month for several years now, doing an occasional tour, but most of my riding is commuting and just getting places. All my rides start or end at home.

I've wanted to get into randonneuring for a few years and finally got around to joining RUSA this year. For my first brevet I borrowed my wife's car, but for the others I decided I'd ride to the start. That worked okay for a 300k ride that started less than ten miles from home, but the next one, a 400k, I did not finish, quitting after 200 miles.
There were several reasons I quit, among which a major factor was that I could get a ride home if i quit at that point, whereas if I finished the ride, probably well after midnight, I'd still have to ride home.

I started a thread in the randonneuring forum asking whether there are any car free randonneurs, and the general consensus was that if it's possible to be a car free randonneur anywhere I the US, I should be able to do it where I live.

But it's not easy. If I was going to take this sport seriously, I would have to buy a car.

Roody

I bet there are ways to get there without a car, or at least without owning a car. I think you might get good ideas if you asked the question on a new thread on this LCF forum.

chewybrian 

I take the blame. I think I prompted Machka to resurrect some old stuff. But, hey, there is some extra activty, even if people are commenting on 'zombie' threads.

--------------------------------------

In addition to many centuries, I've done quite a few Randonneuring events:

a couple 'Super Randonneur' series (200k, 300k, 400k and 600k).

a 1000k (about 600 miles in about 3 days, without much stopping or sleeping).

My favorite event was the Michigan National 24 Hour Challenge. (you might know where Middleville, MI is, Roody; near Grand Rapids).

I finished 302 miles in 24 hours.

Roody

Wow, very cool. I bet you've been having a lot of fun and feeling good about meeting personal challenges. But you should have looked me up while you were in Michigan!

chewybrian 

I can relate. I once rode 400 miles to ride a 200k ride. Other times, I was able to catch a ride. It is easy to use your commuting time to train, if you are committed enough. If you need a few long training rides, you can ride loops from home. And, you are really only talking about 4 events a year for most people, so it's not too extreme to rent a car or make other arrangements to get there. I was lucky that my 1000k ride started only 30 miles from home, so I was able ride in, ride out.

chewybrian 

Thanks. Yes, I had a lot of fun setting and smashing goals. I was a big, out of shape, lardo when I started riding, in second gear, around the block a couple times. I felt I could never be fast, so instead of speed I set my eyes on distance, and there you go.

On my first century ride, another rider rode with me and kept me motivated to finish when I might have quit. His jersey said '1200k', and I asked him about it, and he explained the sport of randonneuring. I figured if I could go 100, why not 128? After that, there was always another 'why not?'.

Distance riding is actually not as hard as it seems. It's mostly mental: knowing your body and your equipment, maintaining a positive attitude, making smart choices, especially about nutrition, responding well to adversity. I believe most people who are moderately healthy could complete those rides. Just set your mind on the goal like the jaws of a bulldog, get started and don't stop.

Roody

Another nice thing about long distance riding is that you can keep at it throughout your life. You see 90 year-olds running marathons, but never in a sprint. I think it's about the same with bicycling. "I don't go fast any more, but I still go far!"

enigmaT120

I was afraid running might be like that... I ran half-marathons, then a marathon, then a 50K, then another marathon and another 50K and have backed off. Too much time training for that, and it doesn't leave much bicycling time.

A bunch of you guys could have done the Monster Cookie 100K from where I live. Ride 30 miles to the start, do the ride, and ride back home. For me, taking a long way home some days gets me about 31 miles and I rarely go farther than that in one day. I pretty much only ride for commuting on my work days. On days off I usually have stuff to do and home and never go anywhere.

Cycle Oregon is coming to my town this year! If I'm not busy I might walk down town (1.5 miles) and see what the fuss is about. They'll be riding on my roads, and I expect they'll enjoy them as much as I do.

bovine

I've never participated in a race. Cycling is strictly a solo or family affair with me; I don't really even have any cyclist friends. But I guess that makes sense as I don't really hang out at the LBS since I do all my own wrenching and I've always gone in for utility-oriented bikes rather than the stuff an LBS makes most of its money on.

Machka 

The season for events is approaching.

And as part of training, we are considering riding some routes from home which could, eventually, become commute routes. They are long and hilly.

Bandera

It's nearly Cyclo Cross season, a favorite of mine, but despite moving into the Very_Elderly age class in USAC racing I'll stay retired.
Having said that a club cyclist trained in the old school racing programs will have the position, technique, bike handling, road sense and seat time to make cycling a lifetime pursuit after competition.
No more intervals, speed work or time trials, it's back to the basics on the fixed gear this AM.

-Bandera

Machka 

Rowan has been reacquainting himself with his fixie lately. It's his favourite frame ... a tip-shop Shogun ... but apparently it fits like a glove and the bicycle is really comfortable to ride.

We keep talking about building me a fixie ... believe it or not ... I've never actually tried one!!

cooker

I did the Ride for Heart maybe five or six times in the 90s and 00's and posted about it elsewhere on Bikeforums. It is a charity event where they close a major portion of two expressways on a Sunday morning in June, and you can do loops of anywhere from 25-75 km, or even shorter if you wish. I did it a couple of times on my own and a few times with one or other of my then teenaged sons. My now 20-something son recently mentioned we should do it again next year which was great to hear. What I hope to do, is sign up for the 75 km loop AND ride to and from the event from home, to total around 100 km - but we'll see. It's actually gotten almost too crowded, but if you sign up for the super early start, it's not too bad until the last leg home.

I did a triathlon in Northern Ontario for three years in a row, I think it was 2010-2012, but the last three years I either had an injury, or one year a wedding to attend that weekend. I may try for that again next year. I did the very short "Try-a-tri" the first year, and the Sprint-Tri (about half the official Olympic distance) the other two times. My primary objective each time was not to come last in my age group, and I accomplished that (barely!) Thank you so much, old lady who was slower than me! If my knee is still bothering me next year I might sign up for just the bike and swim segments.