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.