Machka 

So ... who is planning to go?
https://www.geocities.com/b-m-b/

Are you planning to do the full 1200K BMB? The Quad Centuries? The 200K? The 1000K?


Just wondering who to look for when I get there!!


If you're planning to do the full 1200K, how are the qualification rides coming along?

The Octopus 

Hopefully I'm in, especially seeing as how this may be the last year of the ride. Things at work are up in the air, though, as is even where I'll be in August (could be in Seattle, which would put the ixnay in a big way on BMB....).

Anyway, I'd say I'm 70%.... Just finished the 400K this weekend; have the 600K on July 1-2. If I do it, I'm doing the 1200K and I'm taking my sweet time. I know the area quite well from spending a lot of time skiing and hiking there, and it's just too beautiful to race through.

Other takers?

KevinF

I could ride about three miles down the road and wave to you when you go past, except I have a feeling that I won't be up quite that early.

Blackberry

I thought about brevets for a little while, but I realized the divorce attorney would be too expensive.

mrkott3r

for a person who has no experience of brevets.
How do you prepare for 1200km of riding over an alloted time period of 90 hours?
Hopefully Ill be in a position to do something like that.

If it isnt considered rude, how old (young) are you guys preparing to do it?

spokenword

wait ... what?! is this rumor or confirmed possibility? there's no mention of it on the website and no word or discussion on the American randoneering list. I know that BMB goes on hiatus during PBP years, and there won't be one next year; but not one ever?

I can't do BMB this year due to work commitments, but I'm on schedule with completing my first brevet series this year and would be totally bummed if I never get a chance to do the ride.

spokenword

You prep by completing a series of brevets of increasing length (200km, 300km, 400km, 600km). These brevets are also qualifiers, and in order to do the 1200km, you must have completed each of the smaller rides in that calendar year. It's also recommended that you do additional brevets over and above the minimum to improve your fitness.

I'm 31 and this is my first year in randoneering. I have ridden with guys who are in their 50s and mid-60s -- and been dropped by more than a few of them Prior to this, I did light touring, the occasional charity century ride, and a semi-daily bike commute that was 45km round-trip. My annual mileage was about 2500 miles (~4000km) before I started this. I ride a stock Trek 520 touring bike. In other words, I'm a pretty average road cyclist riding a heavier-than-average bike.

My first 200K brevet was a pretty brutal introduction as both of the Massachusetts brevet series incorporate about 3000 feet of climbing for every 100km ridden; and my legs were just not used to that sort of challenge. But the nice thing about the sport is that it's totally non-competitive and riders help each other out with advice and emotional support. I've since completed the 200, 300 and 400 and am on track to finish the 600. I feel more fit than at any point in my life and am convinced that your average road-bike riding century rider can follow in my footsteps easily. It's more will and determination than physique or stamina.

Seriously, dude, get into it. It's an amazing experience.

bmike

Hoping to be in...

Riding the 400 this week.
Riding the 600 July 8th ish.

If I finish both, I'll come up with a fast tour on some of the BMB route (it passes right through my town) and train around 800k, then give the BMB a try.

I'll be pacing myself this weekend and probably for most of the 600k...


If I don't ride the BMB, I'll probably volunteer to help out at the Brattleboro Motel 6 control.

Machka 

For most 1200K randonnees, you have to complete a Super Randonneur series to qualify. The Super Randonneur series consists of 200K, 300K, 400K, and 600K brevets put on by your local Randonneuring club, or other Randonneuring clubs around the world. Once you've done a 600K, you can do a 1200K .... I actually find the 1200Ks easier than the 600Ks.

Most Randonneurs range in age from about 30 to about 80 years old. I'm 39 and I'm one of the babies in the sport!

For more information, check out my website in my signature line below ... I've told the stories of most of the brevets I've done there. Especially check out the Links page for links to clubs and events around the world: https://www.machka.net/links.htm

Machka 

This is a confirmed possibility. Jennifer is resigning and will no longer be organizing the BMB. I've heard that they are looking for someone to fill her shoes, but so far there have been no announcements that someone has been chosen. If they don't get anyone to replace her, there will be no more BMBs.

BMB was NOT on my list of rides to do this year. I don't know that I'm ready for it, but when I heard it could be the last one, it made the cut, and some others were dropped.


Now, one thing they might do is what the BC Randonneurs have done with their RM1200 ... they may decide to hold the BMB every 4 years rather than every year except the PBP year. That way it wouldn't be such a major commitment for an organizer. I haven't heard whether or not they are thinking of going that route, I'm just speculating on that, but other randonnees have gone that way, so it's a possibility.

Machka 

Depends where you are along the route. I'll be cycling night and day the whole way along ... not expecting to sleep much ... so I could go past you at any time of the night and day.

The Octopus 

To paraphrase The Cannibal, "Ride a lot." My background, fwiw, is that I do a lot of centuries; I've got 22 rides over 100 miles in the bank already this year. Having a big aerobic base really helps when it comes to long-distance (i.e., distances greater than a century) riding. Having the saddle time really helps, too. Nothing like a sore butt to ruin a ride. Lots of long miles also helps you dial in your body and your bike. I think for the long stuff, being comfortable on the bike is much more important to success (however you want to measure that) than physical conditioning.

As much as I ride, I don't ever "train" at any distance longer than 100 miles, though. I've found it's just too rough on my body. I think of anything longer than 100 miles as "the event." My limited experience with distance riding has been that if you're very comfortable riding centuries, then the long stuff won't be a problem for you from a physicial conditioning perspective. If you don't finish, it'll likely be for some reason other than not having the miles in the bank.

I like to ride fast and I want to ride faster, so I do a lot of training to get fast. I do some USCF racing and I ride once or twice a week with racers in their training rides. Some of these rides are silly fast and aggressive -- pros show up to one of them! -- but the idea is to ride well beyond my comfort zone. You can't get faster unless you ride faster, and there's no better incentive to ride faster than to be with other people who are also pushing their limits.

What I'm doing with the sport isn't really necessary or the norm, though. Most randonneurs I've run into don't ride as much, as often, or as fast. I'm young (33), I don't have kids, and my wife rides a heck of a lot, too -- those things certainly make my situation easier and more unusual than most. Like someone said above, and I completely agree, the average century rider who had the right mental attitude can be a very successful randonneur. The time cut-offs are very generous; as long as you can keep moving, you'll go the distance.

Mentally, if you love to ride, going that kind of distance isn't daunting -- you see it as fun! I think for all rides, even 100 miles, as just a series of shorter rides. "I'm just riding 17 miles to Mt. Sterling. Ok, now I'm riding up the road to Deer Creek State Park. Alright, next stop is the big climb in Tar Hollow." If I though when I started that I was going out to ride 300 or 750 miles, it's just too daunting. It's too easy to get discouraged and quit. Take small steps, and all of a sudden you'll find that you've gone very, very far. Even the biggest elephants get eaten one bite at a time.

Like Machka, I'm one of the younger ones out there doing this sort of stuff. Most randonneurs tend to be men in their 50s. I'd like to see more young riders and more women get into it. It's a very, very supportive, noncompetitive type of riding. Randonneuring events have also been some of the most fun I've had on the bike. It's just really, really cool to go out and ride down to the Ohio River and back in one day!

Machka 

I'd definitely like to see more woman involved in this sport!! On the PBP, only 6% of the 4000+ participants were women. And here in Alberta, I'm the one and only female randonneur.

Oh, BTW, the average age on the PBP was 49.

KevinF

You'll be passing by me within 1.5 hours of starting

bmike

Me too... at 32.

...and I'm working on getting faster. Not easy!

oboeguy

Couldn't have put it better myself. 200K, OK, 300K, sure, I'd like to try... 400K... maybe, MAYBE once in a lifetime. Any more, fugetaboudit! I'd be out on the street begging for Powerbars.

bmike

Hmmm...

Glad my GF is into running, and she knows I get "agitated" when I don't ride.

She wants to do the Mount Olympus Marathon... We're talking about a "trade" for PBP!

Machka 

Forum moderator(s) ....... could you move this over to the new Long Distance forum?

Thanks!!

spokenword

btw, Machka, a few weeks ago at a fundraising party for MassBike, our local bike advocacy group, I was talking to a couple of Boston brevet riders and they mentioned that some folks have stepped forward to take the torch from Jennifer; but they're still working out the details of how the transition will work.

I imagine that some kind of announcement will probably be made at this year's B-M-B regarding succession and the future of the series. But just wanted to mention that there is hope in the future.

bmike

I've often figured that someone from the Bedford crew would take it on...
If I'm not riding this year, (still undecided) - I'm planning to volunteer to be at the Brattleboro control. (just 8 miles from where I live!)

GuitarWizard

I'm still working on my mileage base - would like a good 2-3 years in the 'ol legs first. Would've probably been ready next year, but I can't afford the PBP anytime soon, sooooooo......

Maybe I'll just take up road racing.

hi565

Moved to the Long Distance Cycling Forum!

hi565
Mod

thebulls

I'm signed up for BMB. Besides the fact that it will be the last BMB organized by Jennifer, it's the only 1200 that fit into my work schedule. And before I contemplate PBP, I really wanted to finish my first 1200 somewhat nearer to home. So I read all the materials on the BMB site and thought it didn't sound too, too bad -- BMB says it has "over 30,000 feet of climbing", and our DC-area 600K had roughly 22,000 feet of climbing, both last year and this year.

Then, after my registration info came back from BMB, I thought I ought to read people's ride reports, and in doing so I hit on a quote from Ken Bonner on the UMCA website "BMB is still the toughest of the 1200 and 1400k randonnées I have ridden (BMB, PBP, London-Edinburgh-London, Last Chance, Gold Rush, Rocky Mountain and Cascades) -- the weather, the never-ending hills, interludes of "pavé" and the 38,500 feet of cumulative climbing make for a great challenge."

Pretty intimidating. Perhaps I shouldn't have read "over 30,000" as meaning "rounds to about" but rather more literally: a million feet of climbing is "over" 30,000 feet.

We'll see. I rode a 200k last weekend with about 10,000 feet of climbing and never shifted into the granny gear. In addition to 100 miles a week of regular commuting to work, I've got a double century coming up this weekend, a century the weekend after, and a 500+Km the weekend after; after which I'll just do commuting miles for the week-and-a-half before BMB. It seems to be coming up awfully fast.

Stallionforce

I would love to do this one day, but haven't done much more than my 450k ride, and a few century-distance rides. Next year I will try to qualify. For all who are doing it, have fun!

Machka 

I'm IN!! I'm on the list!!