Any cyclists here?

[K7Baixo2]

Several years ago, I gave up motorcycles since I was gaining just a little more weight with each passing year. I went through several years of kayaking and did trips on the Alabama River which was a warm-up for a Rio Negro (Amazonia) trip.

Then, I got back into cycling for the third time. My first goal was simple: ride Ragbrai but as I started to train, I realized that I couldn't go back 30-35 miles without aggravating an old neck injury.

I had two choices: give it up or find something else to ride. "Something else" turned out to be a recumbent. Talk about liberating - one ride led to another and soon, I was doing silly things like starting a ride early on a Saturday with a goal to have more miles at noon than the temp. reading in Fahrenheit.

In Phoenix, during the summer, you're at least 80-85 miles in the hole before you roll out of bed meaning I had to get in a 100 miles by noon. It was a good way to push my goals.

Ragbrai was fun - we were up early and done by 10:30 or 11 to stay in front of the crowds. I loved it but the average day is only 60-65 miles. I felt like I could go further.

So, I entered the wonderful world of brevets. In a brevet, you ride a certain route with regular checkpoints where you have to check-in by a certain time. You have a control card which has to be stamped by a volunteer waiting at a control point or you have to obtain a receipt that has the time on it.

There are a few more rules but they're simple to understand and follow. For the most part, you're on your own during a ride. No one can follow you in a car or meet you on the course. They can meet you in a control and offer support though. There are times involved and if you exceed the time allowed to check in at any control, you're a DNF.

The lengths and the times allowed increase with each event in a typical season. 13.5 hours for 200 KM, 20 hours for 300 KM, 27 hours for 400 KM & 40 hours for 600 KM. The longest is 1200 KM and you're allowed 90 hours.

Last year, I did the full series which qualified me for a 1200-km event. Therefore I signed up for "The Last Chance 1200" in Colorado. Essentially, we rode from the Denver area to about halfway across Kansas and then back to the Denver area. That's 750 miles and I finished in 85 hours. I'm pretty slow and I believe I got about 8 hours of sleep over 3.6 days.

This year, I only rode a partial series since I didn't need a full one to be qualified for another 1200. Most organizers will allow you in their 1200 event if you rode one the year before. I rode "The Texas Rando Stampede" in May which went from the Dallas area over to Marble Falls and then towards New Braunfels towards Houston before heading back to Dallas. This one was tough - but I finished in 88 hours. I got a little more sleep...but not much more.

Since then, I've cut back since riding mostly on Saturday morning club rides which are typically only 30-35 miles. I may ride several evenings a week when possible. I can still go out and ride 100 miles without killing myself but I'm not sure if I'll attempt anymore 1200's. They take a lot out of me because I don't really train seriously for them. I'm content to grind along at 16-18 mph from control to control and enjoy the event without being a slave to the clock. It works for me.

Here I am at the end of 750 miles. This was about 10 pm, I was a little sunburned and exhausted.



What do we ride for? Mostly the challenge...these are as much of a mental challenge as a physical one. A friend of mine just finished his 10th 1200-km event.... of this year. Yep - he can really ride. His last event was in Australia and involved just over 53,000 ft of climbing.

OK - what do you ride? Any racers or tourers? I'll crew on a RAAM team this summer and have toured extensively in the past so I love to hear your stories.

[Dan Pierce]

Oh yeah! Doing some volcano climbing in Maui.
dP

[SearChart]

I use a bicycle everyday as my main transport vehicle, but I guess that doesn't count because I'm Dutch

[ironmanmarcus]

This is me doing Alpe d'Huez in France. Took me 58 minutes....the record is around 35!
Decended in under 15 mins though :-)

[h999r]

Mountain bike ... Just about to start cycling.

[kieselguhr]

Nothing fancy. I used to have a Carbon fibre Giant compact frame with shimano 105 setup. Sold it to buy a new surfboard when mine snapped in half.
I may get back into cycling some day. Red rock is right around the corner from where I live and it would be nice.

[Jason71]

Cannondale Supersix with Dura Ace components. It's carbon fiber and a pretty nice bike. I have toyed with the idea of selling the Dura Ace shifters and installing electronic. I tried them once and they are NICE

[Vincent65]

every day!

[K7Baixo2]

Originally Posted by Dan Pierce

Oh yeah! Doing some volcano climbing in Maui.

Nice!

Originally Posted by SearChart

I use a bicycle everyday as my main transport vehicle, but I guess that doesn't count because I'm Dutch

Sure it does. Especially if you cycle through the winters. FWIW, I worked near Wijk aan Zee and lived in Haarlem many years ago when I participated in a start-up at what used to be Hoogovens. I was there for six months and loved my time in your country!

Originally Posted by ironmanmarcus

This is me doing Alpe d'Huez in France. Took me 58 minutes....the record is around 35!
Decended in under 15 mins though :-)

Right on - great job! I'm not much of a climber - recumbents offer a slight disadvantage in that regards.

Originally Posted by Jason71

Cannondale Supersix with Dura Ace components. It's carbon fiber and a pretty nice bike. I have toyed with the idea of selling the Dura Ace shifters and installing electronic. I tried them once and they are NICE

Nice - beautiful bike. I've ridden several bikes with the electronic shifters and they're certainly crisp. I'm not certain they have the range for my application otherwise, I'd be all over them.

Originally Posted by Vincent65

every day!

I wish I could claim that. Summers are brutal here. I did out out when it was 118F (47.8C) for a very, very short ride i.e. less than 7 miles. I literally scorched my throat with the hot air. Now, I try to avoid anything over 105F (40.5C) and even then, it's not fun.