robbleebob

I have the bug... I can't wait to start doing more brevets--I'm even planning vacations around them. I am especially interested in riding in the mountains, but I am very green as to how much climbing I can expect. I live and ride in South Korea and I do a lot of hilly routes, but I am not sure what other areas are like. I typically get about 1000m of climbing for every 100kms, with most climbs around 400-500m at between 6-10% grade. I recently finished a 400k (although on a different course than the planned route due to horrible navigation on my part) with about 4000m of elevation gain. My question is, if I was to look for rides in western Canada or the States, or areas in Europe, would this type of route be considered a normal route? The climbing was comfortable for me, but I am not sure that I would like to try much more than that as I would also be dealing with jet lag and unfamiliar area. Thanks for any help..

Homeyba

The climbing you discribed is slightly less that what you'd see at PBP. PBP is probaby average to below average for the 1200k's around the world. You're training is probably fine, I'm not to sure you need to worry too much about the climbing if you're finishing your current rides comfortably in time. It really depends on the ride you are talking about. The RM1200k in Canada is probably amoungst the easiest of the 1200ks and the Last chance has very little climbing but has the potential for lots of wind which can be worse. I haven't done the newer 1200k's in the eastern US but they tend to have a lot of climbing and look more like sufferfests than fun rides. Whatever you dom remember that Randoneurs from Florida and other areas much flatter than where you are complete the rides your looking at every year. We're always a little intimidated by the unknown. btw, Jet lag is over rated.