Machka 

Got any long distance cycling goals for 2018?


Maybe something in the Randonneuring world? A 24-hour race? The Century-A-Month? A Metric CAM? The RAAM?



To refresh your memory ...

2017 goals:
2017 - Long Distance Cycling Goals

2016 goals:
https://www.bikeforums.net/long-dista...ing-goals.html

These were the 2015 goals:
https://www.bikeforums.net/long-dista...ing-goals.html

These were the 2014 goals:
https://www.bikeforums.net/long-dista...ing-goals.html

These were the 2013 goals:
2013 - Long Distance Cycling Goals

Machka 

Goals for 2018 ... quite similar to last year's goals.

Cycle more than 2017. 2017's total was 6365 km. I want to cycle as much or more than that in 2018.

Complete Petite Year Round Randonneur. This is a challenge where we have to do a 50 km ride each month for a total of 600 km. Yeah, they reduced it from last year, so we might do the reduced amount or aim for what we did last year. The challenge started in November (that's when the Audax/Randonneuring year starts), so we've done 2 already.

We've done several CAM challenges (Century A Month, where we ride a 100 mile ride each month of the year), and, since we did it last year, we would like to do that again. Go for 24 months in a row! We've created a Facebook Group for anyone else who might be interested: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Century.a.Month/

Complete Super Randonneur. A Super Randonneur is Audax/Randonneuring's standard series and the series which is required to qualify for longer rides in most cases. It consists of one ride each of 200 km, 300 km 400 km, and 600 km, each of which has to be completed within a certain time limit.

Complete a 1000 km randonnee. This might be a long-shot. However, if the 600 km event goes well, maybe …
One 1000 km month.

Cycle up Mt Wellington again.

Cycletouring.

Run a 10K event. If that goes well, maybe even try for a half marathon later in the year.

Walk a minimum of 1000 km, but hopefully beat last year's total of 1302.5 km.

Hike up a mountain or two.

Include some extra stuff like rowing, canoeing, weightlifting and maybe a bit of yoga. Improving my core strength and flexibility would probably be a good thing.

joewein

Ride a century every calendar month, like for the last 5 years.

Cycle more than I drive - that's easy, for years I've been driving less than half as much as I cycle.

Aim for at least 100 km every week - I used to be stricter about this, but I've become more flexible.

Getting SR status at least once would be nice, but completing a 600 km brevet under the time limit still seems way out of my league. I could try different routes with different clubs, including courses with less cumulative elevation gain, but it will still be a stretch.

I am not aiming to ride faster. I don't really want to train but to enjoy myself on every ride.

My friends at my regular randonneuring club are trying to talk me into aiming for PBP 2019, but I'm not sure. At my speed I'd be lucky to make it to the halfway point in time and then I'd probably fall apart.

To be honest, I am more interested in trying some multi-day credit card touring than in brevets of 600 km and beyond.

Flounce

Thanks Machka for the inspiration.

1. My main 2018 goal is to sleep on time and consistently ride every other day, even it means just a spin around the block, but preferably ride to work or longer.

2. Complete Super Randonneur or at least DNF trying, no excuse for not accomplishing the latter. SR will be a stretch, but I guess that's why we do this. Last year did 200 and 300, DNF on a 400 for "equipment" but my heart was not in it. I just got a steel bike that takes wider tires, front rack, dynamo lighting etc, so if I fail it won't be because of gear. If I can finish a 1000km or 1200km after that, so much the better.

3. Complete the 230 mile ride from San Diego to Santa Barbara. I almost did it this year, stopped at 190 miles for no good reason.

friday1970

1. Drastically reduce my consumption of beer. I feel it's the primary reason for why weight loss has been impossible. I let loose last night, one last hurrah. At 66inches, I need to get down from the 180's to the 160's. A week long test run shows me losing 3 pounds. I have to do this, as sometimes I think my beer consumption has been an issue even outside of cycling.

2. Qualify for Paris Brest Paris. I don't think I'll ride it even if I qualify. But, I'd like to at least qualify and say I've done a 600k ride.

I've only done a 200k event. This wasn't my longest ride though. I've done 143miles for fun two years ago.

wipekitty

Goals: ride a 200k, ride a 300k, ride a single speed century.

Dreams: I'd like to do ride some brevets (preferably a 200K and 300K) with the (sort of) local randonneuring club. Whether this is possible this year will depend on my ability to successfully navigate family/work obligations, as it will take a bit more planning than just putzing around locally.

atwl77

Main goals: 200km, 300km


"If schedule, family and route permits" goals: 400km, 600km


"Mostly wishful thinking" goal: 1000km


These are all specific rides on the Audax Malaysia 2018 event calendar.

rhm

My first goal will be to finish the R-12 challenge that I restarted in March (I missed February). I know, I only have to do two more months... but theyre January and February. My wife thinks I'm crazy.

Second goal is to ride a 1200, hopefully the Mac&Cheese ride in Michigan and Wisconsin. To qualify for that ride, I may have to ride a full SR series; and that may be difficult due to scheduling conflicts. I'll try to persuade the organizers I'm serious one way or another.

Along the way, I want to do at least one fleche and an arrow.

I find I'm pretty close to qualifying for the RUSA cup, and (completely irrationally) I find it tempting. Strange situation... I don't take these awards seriously; the reward is the ride, right? Even so, I find I kinda want the award.

rando_couche

With PBP (and my 65th birthday) coming up next year, this year I want to:


1) Get my fitness back to where I can actually ride brevets again
2) Complete an SR series
3) And maybe ride the Oregon Randonneurs Oregon Coast 1000k in September


Wish me luck!


SP
OC, OR
RUSA 3481

unterhausen

Beer is my downfall too. I am too old to really build muscle, so weight loss is really the only way I'm going to meet my goals, which mostly revolve around not being so slow that every long ride is an unpleasant slog. I was doing well this last year until I over trained, and then I had trouble on the 400k and 600k. Got some of that back for the fall season, but I wasn't really in good enough shape for those rides either. At least I finished a 600k for the first time in a while.

Just a note, can't qualify for PBP this year -- you have to ride a full series in the same year as PBP. I think that riding a full series this year is a really, really good idea though. People have done PBP after their first 600k, but it's harder for them.

Rudy, I think collecting awards is fun. I mostly am going after Randonneur 5000 and SR awards. When i used to finish a series easily, it wasn't that big of a deal for me, but now i want to get to the award for 10 series. I think I'm up to 7, 9 if they let me complete a series with a 1200k in a different year. I'll go through that exercise after I finish the next series, which hopefully will be this year. Having said that, if the awards overrun the small wall area I have dedicated to them, some of them are going to be recycled.

I really enjoyed riding the DC randonneur's fall series. Might do that again. Really seems to cap off the year.

There are 3 Grand Randonnees i would like to ride this year. Have to see if that's practical.

kingston 

I got back into cycling in 2012 after about 10 years off when my kids were little and took up most of my time (I have 4 kids 14-18). I was 50 pounds overweight and thought I needed to get back in shape. Part of my calorie reduction program was to give up alcohol, and I haven't picked it back up. Health-wise, there is no question that I'm better off, but over time it has changed my social life quite a lot. Instead of staying out with friends, I go to bed early so I can get up early and ride my bike. My randonneuring goals are the main thing motivating me keep the weight off these days, so the primary goal is to finish another SR and the stretch goals are a 28 hour 600k (which I missed last year) and the Mac & Cheese 1200k.

As we discussed in another thread, you can qualify for 2019 preregistration this year, which I assume is what people meant.

Bandera

More structured time on the fixed gear for '18 including Merckx class FG Time Trials and the annual-ish FG Century.


Cool British FG TT Stuff:

https://www.fixedwheel.co.uk/

Untitled Document

-Bandera

ThermionicScott 

Would you folks believe that I haven't even done a century, to say nothing of anything longer, since PBP 2015? So my goal for 2018 is to do at least one, and I've got the Iowa Randonneurs brevets in my phone calendar so that I won't forget about them this spring. I miss the longer rides.

@Bandera, that website is why I've stuck with 71" max on my fixed-gear since building it (going up a tooth in front or down one in rear would put me over 72".) It's fun seeing what I can wring out of such a modest gear.

Bandera

@ThermionicScott,

Pretty inspiring TT results for those Brits while being restricted to a 72 GI/FG:
24:19 for 10 miles and 54:08 for 25.

A monthly TT series starting on restricted gearing to, as the Brits say, avoid "Easter Knees" might well be in the works for '18.
Nothing wrong with being able to produce a turn of speed when required even if endurance rides are the focus of a season.

-Bandera

kingston 

Hello, 1997 web design. I've missed you.

I do most of my Spring training on a FG and have thought about taking it on a brevet, but there are some big hills in Southern Wisconsin and I've never regretted having a bailout gear. Maybe I'll add FG 200k to my goals?

unterhausen

when I lived in Wisconsin, I used to go out looking for hills. Not that successfully. Although I never made it too far west of Madison. Lots of people ride much bigger hills on their fixed gear in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. I think you can do it.

Bandera

Old School.
I've found that doing LD/FG rides choosing terrain is as important as seat-time and technique.
No point in taking a 70 GI fixed on a route that requires the full range of 110-36 GI and serious effort on the CF road bike around here. That being said, to me a rolling route that requires both the grunt to stand and get over a grade and the technique to spin down the other side is the most rewarding. 200K with a good base of miles ridden and in the right conditions/terrain is a reasonable goal for a rider used to the rigors of Spring training on a FG.

Of course a few informal Medium Gear Time Trials for reasonable distances would be essential to the training program.

-Bandera

kingston 

I'll decide when the schedule comes out whether or not to attempt the opening day 200k fixed. Last year was an out-and-back and there was one big hill that scared me off. I ended up hitting over 45 mph going down and needed my lowest gear (27GI) to get back up. I obviously could have used my brakes going down, but I don't think I could have made it up with ~70GI.

wipekitty

Are you riding the Driftless?

Curious, as that's my current base of operation. I rode exclusively fixed for a couple of years at 68GI. There was a bit of walking and a lot of adult language spoken.

Bandera

Yep, that does present a walk-on-up situation which I try to avoid.
If a suitable candidate presents itself I just might do a light road bike conversion to a Sturmey Archer S3X FG-IGH to extend the range. Not a "purist" FG solution but it would open up a considerable amount of local territory with:

• Overall Range - 160%
• Gear 1 - 62.5% (Gear 2 - 37.5%)
• Gear 2 - 75% (Gear 3 - 25%)
• Gear 3 - 100% (Direct Drive)

Running 48/17 a direct drive 75 and 56, 47 GI reduction would get me up and over some local routes that are off limits for my old FG w/o undue stress.

These self-inflicted handicaps get us back to the roots of road cycling with the most basic of machines and offer a taste of the old hard-man school of cycling, when in the mood for that sort of thing.

-Bandera

kingston 

I live on Chicago's North Shore which is very flat, but the GLR rides frequently go through the driftless area of southwest Wisconsin. One of the rides is called the Mineral Point Hill Festival. Every time you cross a bridge get ready, because you'll be climbing for a while.

WNCGoater

First is to stay in reasonable shape through the winter and not spend 1/2 the year finding my riding legs again like this past year.

Maybe this should be in the touring forum

Take some overnight/weekend tours. Maybe do a short-ish multi day ride/tour. Maybe coastal NC route, Virginia state line to South Carolina state line. I'd like to ride west-east from mountains to coast across N. Carolina but that likely won't happen this year.

OldTryGuy

1--2018 begins with a marathon in 5 days at Walt Disney World.
2--the following Sunday is Hamster Wheel 200 miler in 12 Hours.
3-- 2 weeks later is Celebration Half Marathon.
4--2 weeks later is Bike Sebring 12/24 Hour Race attempting the 400 mile RAAM Qualifier followed by anywhere from 1 to 3 century rides per week until April
5-- April 8th the Spacecoast Freewheelers Cross Florida 170 miler
6-- after X-FL I will return to the orthopedic surgeon who replaced my right shoulder on October 10, 2016 to inquire about the recovery time needed following his recommended tibial osteotomy and knee replacement for both knees. His procedure for shoulder replacement allowed me to return to bicycling 3 days after the replacement surgery even though he said I only had to wait 2 days.

Overall goal is to ride more than the 11,157 miles Strava recorded for 2017

steve-in-kville 

My goals are to switch entirely to FG once the weather warms above 15* in the mornings. Then train for a century and perhaps my first 200K.

ThermionicScott 

Interestingly (?) I usually do the opposite -- I ride the fixed-gear during the winter (when I do), and then bring out the derailleur bikes for variety when spring rolls around.

Good luck with your goals!