1000K brevet starts this Friday!

[Susan Otcenas]

I'm doing my very first 1000K brevet. Yikes! :eek: I'm a little freaked out about it. I've trained and put in the saddle time, but holey moley ... 625 miles is a looooong way to go on a bicycle.

The time limit is 75 hours, but I'm hoping (hoping!) to be done in 67-68. Start is Friday at 5am, and if I make my goal, I will be finished between midnight and 1am Monday morning.

I just re-activated my looooong dormant twitter account and will post status updates there as cell phone coverage allows (route is very isolated in places, so coverage may be very spotted at times). If you'd like to follow along, I'm on twitter as "Susan Otcenas".

The ride is the Seattle International Randonneurs Olympic-St. Helens Summer 1000K. You can find maps and information here: http://tinyurl.com/3ntlkm8

BTW - one of the ways I'm coping with the freakout I'm having is by posting this message here. I figure it will be harder for me to quit when the going gets tough if I know that someone might be watching me fail. :o

Susan

[lph]

I am madly, wildly impressed. You'll do it! It just won't be that much fun :D - until afterwards.

[OakLeaf]

Wow.

You are so ready for this. You'll do great. Make us proud!

[rubysoho]

wow!! That is incredible. I'll be cheering you on this weekend!

[Crankin]

Good luck, Susan. This seems unreal to me...

[Catrin]

You are awesome and will rock those miles away You have worked your a** off to get here and this time next week you will be looking back at an amazing accomplishment :D Good luck, we are all rooting for you!

[SheFly]

Holy moly :eek:. We'll be watching you achieve your goal! How exciting. Best wishes, and here's for a tailwind the entire way!

SheFly

[Velocivixen]

Just remember that you are prepared and can do this. There is no evidence to the contrary. Focus your energy on that and not on the freakout. Have a great time.

[maillotpois]

Ooh goody! You're going to do GREAT!!! I can't wait to read the report!

[jobob]

Awesome, you are. :cool:

[Jo-n-NY]

I will follow you on Twitter. Wishing you a great and safe ride!!

[Sky King]

Way to go! Will be interesting to learn what thought patterns develop as you ride. I am a "chunk it down" rider, especially when I get tired, I focus on short sections, sometime measured simply by reaching the big tree 500 feet down the road :)~
We will be in the Seattle area for a week in August and will have to go check out the route although I think I will be camping if we do :)

[GLC1968]

I figure it will be harder for me to quit when the going gets tough if I know that someone might be watching me SUCCEED. :o


There, fixed that for you. ;)

And you know that there will be LOTS of people following your progress, right?

You'll rock this, my friend. I have every faith in your mental fortitude (or maybe just that you are mental). :)

[indysteel]

What GLC said! Good luck, Susan. I'm sure you will make us proud!

[bellissima]

That is a long ride! Good luck :)

[Veronica]

I'll be expecting your traditional fabulous write up and pictures. :D

Enjoy the ride!

Veronica

[Susan Otcenas]

Thank you ladies!! I knew I could count on you to make me feel more positive. :) I will try to tweet at every control where there's service, so that you know I'm still alive. (Jeff sure appreciates knowing I'm OK, too ;) )

I'm off to the hotel!

[salsabike]

Hey! Say howdy to my spouse---he'll be riding that! And, by the way, he's a really good, mellow guy and would be happy to have you ride with him if/whenever it works during this brevet. I mean, he actually said that this week.

[Susan Otcenas]

Hey! Say howdy to my spouse---he'll be riding that! And, by the way, he's a really good, mellow guy and would be happy to have you ride with him if/whenever it works during this brevet. I mean, he actually said that this week.

Hey Salsa - I met him at check-in tonight! I was looking forward to meeting you too, but he said that you are doing a tri tomorrow. Hope it goes well for you!

It would be great if my pace fell in with someone else's but I suspect that over the course of 1000K folks will get pretty spread out. Riding at night - especially the first night - with someone would be super, though, because it really is out in the middle of nowhere. The last 90 miles with no services! There's a staffed control 30 miles into that stretch at Clallam Bay at 186, but after that, nothing until Port Angeles at 246. I figure 5 solid hours in the dark, sans services. I'm just hoping to have enough water to get through that! 3 bottles is all I can carry.

Had dinner with the other 2 gals doing the 1000. Both came up from California. One call seems pretty zippy, the other definitely slower, so I may not see much of either of them out there.

7:30. Time to get to bed! I have a 3:45 am wake up call. Lights camera ACTION at 5am!

See ya on the flip side...

Susan

[salsabike]

Hey Salsa - I met him at check-in tonight! I was looking forward to meeting you too, but he said that you are doing a tri tomorrow. Hope it goes well for you!

It would be great if my pace fell in with someone else's but I suspect that over the course of 1000K folks will get pretty spread out. Riding at night - especially the first night - with someone would be super, though, because it really is out in the middle of nowhere. The last 90 miles with no services! There's a staffed control 30 miles into that stretch at Clallam Bay at 186, but after that, nothing until Port Angeles at 246. I figure 5 solid hours in the dark, sans services. I'm just hoping to have enough water to get through that! 3 bottles is all I can carry.

Had dinner with the other 2 gals doing the 1000. Both came up from California. One call seems pretty zippy, the other definitely slower, so I may not see much of either of them out there.

7:30. Time to get to bed! I have a 3:45 am wake up call. Lights camera ACTION at 5am!

See ya on the flip side...

Susan

Good riding to you, Susan! You'll do great.

[Velocivixen]

I can't wait to read your updates. Very inspiring.

[Red Rock]

Hope you have a great experience. Sounds like a lot of fun. Hope the first night goes well.

Red Rock

[Orange utopia]

I can't wait to read your updates. Very inspiring.

Me too! I have been reading ride reports that people posted of past PBP years and am in awe of anyone who rides those distances. I am now following you on twitter and cheering you on.

[Tri Girl]

you never cease to amaze me, Susan!! Wishing you happy miles, a happy bum, and a mostly happy spirit (I know you will have low points along the way, but I hope they're short).
Good luck!! Will be following you on Twitter.

Go get 'em, Tiger!!!!:D:D:D:D

[ASammy1]

Just saw this thread! Go Susan, go!!! I can't wait to read the ride report :D

[jobob]

Here's the link to Susan's twitter feed (http://twitter.com/#!/SusanOtcenas).

She completed the first 200K in eight & a half hours, this was a couple of hours ago. :cool:

Ed: oops, she's at ~ 160 mi now. goooo Susan!


Heh, the last time I followed anyone on twitter was back when Veronica was crewing for RAAM ...

[Veronica]

Here's the link to Susan's twitter feed (http://twitter.com/#!/SusanOtcenas).




Heh, the last time I followed anyone on twitter was back when Veronica was crewing for RAAM ...

Did we even tweet? Maybe Thom did. I was too busy and too tired.

Veronica

[jobob]

I don't really remember :o I think Thom did, a little.

[emily_in_nc]

Go Susan! Amazing accomplishment - I can't even imagine. :eek:

[Grog]

Go Susan Go! You'll be amazing. My thoughts are with you.

[MyRubyE]

Best of luck Susan! Maybe this will finally get me to open a twitter account :)

[Bike Chick]

Good luck, Susan! I can't wait to read your race report. You are amazing!

[Catrin]

Wow, she rode almost 250 miles yesterday! Go Susan, you rock!

[spindizzy]

The thought of me doing that makes me want to throw up. The thought of Susan doing that makes me gush with admiration!

[ivorygorgon]

Susan: I want to be just like you when I grow up :) You are doing an amazing job!!! I can't wait for your entire report.

I am originally from Washington State, so you are riding through my "old stomping grounds."

[Trekhawk]

Amazing!
Looking forward to reading the ride report.:)

[indysteel]

I just saw that your gut is "revolting." Sending you positive vibes. Go Susan!!!

[andtckrtoo]

Awesome, you are. :cool:

^^ This!! I'm cheering you on!

[mariacycle]

susan you said that the messages are keeping you going so i just wanted to tell you that you're awesome and we're all amazed at what you're doing!! can't wait to keep reading your tweets and read about your success!

[Tri Girl]

The thought of me doing that makes me want to throw up. The thought of Susan doing that makes me gush with admiration!

I totally agree- couldn't have said it better myself. I'm so amazed and impressed. The thought of 200 miles in the saddle makes my bits shrivel up and fall off- I can NOT imagine over 600 miles! :eek:

Keep it up- we're all cheering you on.

And tell that gut to "shut it" and let you get on with the business of riding!

[andtckrtoo]

Cheering for you Sue!! Following you anxiously on Twitter.

[marni]

go susan, go susan, go susan go, go, go!!!!!

marni

[salsabike]

Yay Susan! In Chehalis!! Tough woman!

[Catrin]

220 miles to go, Go Susan, Go Susan, Go Susan! Hoping the weather smiles on you for this last leg of your amazing ride!

[evangundy]

here is a link to the route - click on the "summary" tab to see the profile. Susan has already been up to Hofstadt, highest point up Mt St Helens, and is on her way back down - her tweet about 11:15 said "475 mi. Toledo again. St helens was socked in. 150 to go."

http://bikeroutetoaster.com/Course.aspx?course=258585

Go Susan!!! You're almost done, and it's mostly downhill the rest of the way!!

Edna

[colby]

Susan tweeted not long ago that she finished her 1000k with two bonus miles.

I am in awe. Susan, you are awesome!! :D Celebrate, get some rest, eat some REAL food, recover!

[Blueberry]

Susan just tweeted "508 mi. Morton. 117 to go. Getting tired. I wonder why!" Unfortunately, I don't think the bonus miles meant she was done. She's still rolling. Amazing!!

[salsabike]

I'm guessing she means they took a wrong turn and added a couple of miles!

Chris called me around noon from mile 495. I'm guessing they'll be done mid-late tonight. Susan was riding with him and his buddy Steve at that point.

[maillotpois]

I'm guessing she means they took a wrong turn and added a couple of miles!

Chris called me around noon from mile 495. I'm guessing they'll be done mid-late tonight. Susan was riding with him and his buddy Steve at that point.

Nice! So it's a two-fer report! ;)

[salsabike]

5:55 pm, at Packwood, 84 to go, still riding together.

[emily_in_nc]

Amazing, simply jaw-dropping.

[salsabike]

9:10 pm at Ashford. 60 miles to go. But they have till 8 am to do it, so they'll get there. They figure they'll get in around 2 am. This 1000k has about 20,000 feet of climbing altogether. E.g., Ashford is one of the entry points to Mt. Rainier National Park, so they're starting to come out of a loop through the Cascade foothills.

[colby]

Ahh, that makes WAY more sense. I was wondering how that distance could have been crossed so quickly.

I am still in awe. ;) And I'm sure she'll make it.

Go Susan Go!

[Catrin]

21 miles left at 4am and she is very sleepy - Go Susan Go - you are so awesome :D

[Bike Chick]

She should be finished by now, don't you think? You rock, Susan!

[salsabike]

They're done!

[Catrin]

Whoohoooo! Congrats Susan and everyone else who took on this awesome task!

[Tri Girl]

quite simply the most amazing accomplishment EVER!!! WOW! Congrats, Susan!!! (I hope you let yourself take the day off today). ;)

[andtckrtoo]

I'm in absolute AWE! WAY to go Susan!

[OakLeaf]

Wooohoooooooo! Way to go Susan! Hope you're getting some food and/or sleep right now!

[Red Rock]

Congrats on finishing. I hope you had a great time doing this. I look forward to your race report and pics. In the meantime happy eating.

Red Rock

[ASammy1]

Great news! Way to go Susan :D

[Orange utopia]

Congratulations Susan!!! I am in awe of anyone ho can do that kind of challenge. You are a super hero!

[TsPoet]

Wow! Thanks for letting me live vicariously.

[salsabike]

I'm thinking they're all positively unconscious in their respective hotel rooms right now, unless Jeff was there to take her home where she could be unconscious. Chris almost didn't get himself a hotel room for last night, until, when he mentioned it about a week ago, and I gave him the MASSIVE evil eye and said, "GET.......THAT......ROOM." :)

[Reesha]

whoa!!! very inspiring :)

[redrhodie]

Congratulations, Susan! I can't wait for the report. They're always such good reading! I'm sure there were monumental physical, geographical, and mental ups and downs. I can't wait to hear about them!

[Susan Otcenas]

Very briefly: I can not impress upon all of you how much your faith in me and your encouraging messages along the way made this possible. "Thank you" is a wholly insufficient phrase, but in my current condition, it's the best I can manage.

I am thoroughly wrecked at the moment. I actually hurt too much to sleep. That's how much I hurt. And while I'm hungry enough to eay just about anything, I've eaten so much food in the past 3 days that the inside of my mouth is destroyed. (I've heard pbp riders talk about this.) I need to go find the earth's biggest smoothie and then buy two. :o

I promise a ride report, but I just have to say that without Chris (Salsa's husband) and Steve (his riding buddy) I absolutely positively would be writing about my DNF instead of my success.

[maillotpois]

Congratulations !!! Absolutely stellar!

[m.eliza]

Awesome!!

[ultraviolet]

Congrats, Susan! :cool:

[emily_in_nc]

Wow wow wow. I'm totally in awe, just like everyone else here. I simply cannot imagine that level of suffering. Just shows what the human spirit can allow the body to do. You are even more than an Ironman/woman!

I'd be curious to know how much weight you lost on this ride, if you weighed in. I know that I can easily lose 2 lbs (fluid, mostly) on a long weekend ride, but I'm talking 40-50 miles. Simply can't imagine doing over 600! :eek: :D

[salsabike]

Just to keep you all posted, they're now heading out to breakfast.

Randos eat and drink constantly during these rides. They don't usually lose weight. And WHAT they eat....all kinds of stuff.

[indysteel]

OMG, Susan. What an accomlishment! Congrats a thousand times over.

I've worn braces for the past 3+ years, and when the inside of my mouth gets destroyed (assuming its destruction similar to yours), rinsing with salt water helps it heal more quickly. Staying hydrated also helps. In fact, when my mouth gets chewed up, it's usually because I am dehydrated.

I hope you recover quickly and are able to get some restorative sleep.

[Jo-n-NY]

What an inspirational accomplishment. Congratulations on such an awesome ride.

I will look forward to hearing more about the ride when you are feeling better.

~ JoAnn

[pll]

Congratulations Susan! What an amazing feat. <I hope you get a good, long, massage!> I cannot even imagine doing that.

Salsa: do you also do rides like that?

What affects the inside of the mouth? I just don't know anything about this. Yikes.

[salsabike]

I don't. Randonneuring is Chris' thing; triathlon is mine (motto: "home by teatime" :)).

[Crankin]

Congratulations!!!!
And I complained about my 50 mile ride yesterday :(.

[MM_QFC!]

Thanks for sending us the updates, Salsabike!
and, what in the world could he have been thinking? that he was going to drive home from Tumwater after he finished???? :eek:

Fun to hang out with you a bit yesterday...only the slightest bit o' guilt that we were hanging out relaxing, chatting and eating yummy Mick Jagger fries while they were working SO hard. :)

Congrats to Chris too!


I'm thinking they're all positively unconscious in their respective hotel rooms right now, unless Jeff was there to take her home where she could be unconscious. Chris almost didn't get himself a hotel room for last night, until, when he mentioned it about a week ago, and I gave him the MASSIVE evil eye and said, "GET.......THAT......ROOM." :)

[MM_QFC!]

Congratulations, Susan; you do us proud!
Also, thanks to Salsa's sweet, strong and steady Chris and his buddy for their teamwork and support; job well done, riders - rest well!



Very briefly: I can not impress upon all of you how much your faith in me and your encouraging messages along the way made this possible. "Thank you" is a wholly insufficient phrase, but in my current condition, it's the best I can manage.

I am thoroughly wrecked at the moment. I actually hurt too much to sleep. That's how much I hurt. And while I'm hungry enough to eay just about anything, I've eaten so much food in the past 3 days that the inside of my mouth is destroyed. (I've heard pbp riders talk about this.) I need to go find the earth's biggest smoothie and then buy two. :o

I promise a ride report, but I just have to say that without Chris (Salsa's husband) and Steve (his riding buddy) I absolutely positively would be writing about my DNF instead of my success.

[MrSalsa]

Here is the GPS track from the 1000k that Susan completed this morning with me and my friend Steve Davis. It was a very challenging ride. Thanks for your interest and support along the way.

http://home.comcast.net/~cheg01/oly1000/gm%20image.jpg

[Tri Girl]

How many loops did you have to do? Or did you do just one of that loop? That's the Olympic Peninsula, correct? Looks tough!

[colby]

Salsa, thanks for all the updates. MrSalsa, way to be awesome!

Susan.... you rock!! :D

[MrSalsa]

How many loops did you have to do? Or did you do just one of that loop? That's the Olympic Peninsula, correct? Looks tough!

One figure eight that started west from Olympia around the Olympic Peninsula clockwise. I had 26000 feet and 630 miles on the GPS. I would say it was the toughest ride I've done yet.

[salsabike]

Fun to hang out with you a bit yesterday...only the slightest bit o' guilt that we were hanging out relaxing, chatting and eating yummy Mick Jagger fries while they were working SO hard. :)

Congrats to Chris too!


I too think their achievement is truly fabulous and absolutely admirable.

For the record, though, I felt completely guilt-free while hanging out with you, bmccasland, and NbyNW, eating those Mick Jagger fries yesterday. Not an iota of guilt. Not a nanoblip...fill in the blank. :D


P.S. The Olympic Peninsula loop was 600k, the loop of the 8 to the east into the Cascade foothills was 400k.

[Tri Girl]

Simply impressive!!
I have the Adventure Cycling map of the Olympic Peninsula (having thought about doing that one day) and the size of that loop is just enormous. WOW!

So proud of all of you- incredibly impressive!!!

[Susan126]

Congratulations Susan! What an accomplishment! I can't wait to read your ride report!

:)

[yellow]

Congratulations! Unfathomable to me. You are bada$$ like a honey badger!! (and I mean that in a good way :D )

[Susan Otcenas]

Congratulations! Unfathomable to me. You are bada$$ like a honey badger!! (and I mean that in a good way :D )

:)

My friend Angela sent me a text during the event that said "You are strong like lion!" Totally made me laugh out loud!

[Susan Otcenas]

I'd be curious to know how much weight you lost on this ride, if you weighed in. I know that I can easily lose 2 lbs (fluid, mostly) on a long weekend ride, but I'm talking 40-50 miles. Simply can't imagine doing over 600! :eek: :D

Two pounds is a QUART of water. That is a lot for someone as small as you. You might considering aiming to drink more if you can.

No such thing as losing weight on a ride like this. If I do, I'm doing something very very wrong. Maintaining hydration levels is absolutely critical to success. I did a 24 hour race last year in very hot weather. My crew person brought along a scale and weighed me every couple of hours to make sure I wasn't losing any weight. I had to drink a FULL bottle every single hour to stay on top of my weight. I drank less this ride because it wasn't hot, so I didn't sweat nearly as much. The frequency with which I was urinating let me know that I was getting enough fluid.

As for this weekend: I weighed myself the morning before the event. I weighed myself again this morning. I am UP 6.5 pounds. That has been the typical pattern for me after all of my long brevets. 6-8 pounds of fluid retention. In 2-3 days I'll start peeing like a racehorse and all that extra water weight will disappear in a day. :D

[Susan Otcenas]

Hey! Say howdy to my spouse---he'll be riding that! And, by the way, he's a really good, mellow guy and would be happy to have you ride with him if/whenever it works during this brevet. I mean, he actually said that this week.

Chris was sooooooo awesome to ride with. For sure they would have finished earlier if I hadn't become a boat anchor in the last few miles. We stopped with only 20 miles to go because I simply couldn't stay awake. I took a table nap while Chris and Steve raided the (closed) starbucks cafe at the 24 hour Safeway in Yelm and made coffee. I apologized for needing the break, but Chris said not to worry: they wouldn't leave me. And they didn't! They were so fabulous. (And, I understand he has a blackmail worthy photo of me taking that table nap. I sure hope I wasn't drooling....)

Oh, and btw: for anyone who read my first 600K report last year and remembers that I was saved by a guy named Steve on the second day... yup, the very same Steve. Seems I can't accomplish a new distance record without Steve along for the ride. ;)

Susan

[GLC1968]

Will Steve be in France? If not, maybe you should buy him a ticket. ;) It might be a worthwhile investment!

[Susan Otcenas]

Will Steve be in France?

Yes, he will! So will Chris. :)

[salsabike]

Chris was sooooooo awesome to ride with. For sure they would have finished earlier if I hadn't become a boat anchor in the last few miles. We stopped with only 20 miles to go because I simply couldn't stay awake. I took a table nap while Chris and Steve raided the (closed) starbucks cafe at the 24 hour Safeway in Yelm and made coffee. I apologized for needing the break, but Chris said not to worry: they wouldn't leave me. And they didn't! They were so fabulous. (And, I understand he has a blackmail worthy photo of me taking that table nap. I sure hope I wasn't drooling....)

Oh, and btw: for anyone who read my first 600K report last year and remembers that I was saved by a guy named Steve on the second day... yup, the very same Steve. Seems I can't accomplish a new distance record without Steve along for the ride. ;)

Susan

It's a classic photo! You'll love it. You should post it here whenever he sends it to you. And I can't believe it was THAT Steve. How funny!

Randos seem to me to be a pretty great bunch of folks. :)

[maillotpois]

Randos seem to me to be a pretty great bunch of folks. :)

That is SO true. Since I started back doing brevets this year I have made so many wonderful riding friends - all so collaborative and helpful. These are people who will never leave someone behind, especially in the dark, etc. It's such a great community. And here in CA a lot of that rando community spills over into the people who do double centuries, so we're doubly lucky. :)

[Jo-n-NY]

Two pounds is a QUART of water. That is a lot for someone as small as you. You might considering aiming to drink more if you can.

No such thing as losing weight on a ride like this. If I do, I'm doing something very very wrong. Maintaining hydration levels is absolutely critical to success. I did a 24 hour race last year in very hot weather. My crew person brought along a scale and weighed me every couple of hours to make sure I wasn't losing any weight. I had to drink a FULL bottle every single hour to stay on top of my weight. I drank less this ride because it wasn't hot, so I didn't sweat nearly as much. The frequency with which I was urinating let me know that I was getting enough fluid.

As for this weekend: I weighed myself the morning before the event. I weighed myself again this morning. I am UP 6.5 pounds. That has been the typical pattern for me after all of my long brevets. 6-8 pounds of fluid retention. In 2-3 days I'll start peeing like a racehorse and all that extra water weight will disappear in a day. :D

This was very interesting information Susan. This was the 2nd weekend that I rode 90 miles and did not lose an ounce. I guess I am doing something right in that respect. Of course days later watching every morsal of food going into my mouth the 5lbs that I want to lose is still on me, ugh!

[indysteel]

That is SO true. Since I started back doing brevets this year I have made so many wonderful riding friends - all so collaborative and helpful. These are people who will never leave someone behind, especially in the dark, etc. It's such a great community. And here in CA a lot of that rando community spills over into the people who do double centuries, so we're doubly lucky. :)

This makes me sad that we don't have a brevet series in Indiana or double centuries for that matter. The 160-mile RAIN is as close as we get.

[maillotpois]

As for this weekend: I weighed myself the morning before the event. I weighed myself again this morning. I am UP 6.5 pounds. That has been the typical pattern for me after all of my long brevets. 6-8 pounds of fluid retention. In 2-3 days I'll start peeing like a racehorse and all that extra water weight will disappear in a day. :D

That's absolutely consistent with what I experience on rides over 150 miles. Up quite a bit (4 - 5 lbs is usual for me) in the week after, then back to normal. At some point, there is an absolute caloric deficit - you just can't take in enough calories to maintain your weight for a ride of that length. With the fluid balance and retention, I find that caloric deficit weight loss doesn't catch up with me until a couple of weeks following. (I'm still in moderate losing weight mode, so I do ultimately like the caloric deficits :) ).

[maillotpois]

This makes me sad that we don't have a brevet series in Indiana or double centuries for that matter. The 160-mile RAIN is as close as we get.

Come out and ride with us sometime! :)

[indysteel]

I would love to do that, despite the fact that it would be really humbling.

[maillotpois]

Humble, bumble. It's all good when you're on a bike. :)

[Veronica]

That would be fun. It would be cool to have a Bay Area TE weekend. There is so much fabulous riding here.

Veronica

[Blueberry]

I'm with Indy - I think I'd be able to stick with you for about 10 meters, and then I'd be off the back;)

I do have a Bike Friday and I would like to visit Cali again. Hmmm....

[Veronica]

Nah... there'd be socializing and stopping for good photos. And after the ride eating good food and drinking wine and beer for MP, Jo and Kim. Maybe some ice cream...:D

Veronica

[GLC1968]

Nah... there'd be socializing and stopping for good photos. And after the ride eating good food and drinking wine and beer for MP, Jo and Kim. Maybe some ice cream...:D

Veronica

Sign me up!

[indysteel]

That would be fun. It would be cool to have a Bay Area TE weekend. There is so much fabulous riding here.

Veronica

I'd be all over that. Does anybody have a 49-50 cm bike I can borrow? :D

[Veronica]

I'm going to start thread in Open Topic on this topic. I thought I'd put it in CA but I don't know if everyone looks at that.

Veronica

[GLC1968]

I'd be all over that. Does anybody have a 49-50 cm bike I can borrow? :D

Yes. :)

[Jaclyn]

This makes me sad that we don't have a brevet series in Indiana or double centuries for that matter. The 160-mile RAIN is as close as we get.

Both Ohio and Kentucky have a full brevet series. I live in northwest Ohio and it takes 2.5-3.5 hours to get to the Ohio brevets and 6 hours to get to the start of the Kentucky series. Both have excellent RBA's, tough but beautiful routes, and a great group of riders.

PS. Susan, see you at PBP. I'll be looking for you. I'll be on a red Co-Motion tandem. Feel free to draft on our wheel for some miles and conversation.