Found some Brevets

Ok, I found some brevets to do this year. I'm not sure how my butt feels about this plan of mine, but I'd like to do them all. I'll start with the one on 4/29 (200km). I'm not sure I can even comprehend doing 400km yet :D

Here's the schedule:

4/29 - 200km (Great Lakes Randonneuring)
5/13 - 300km (Great Lakes Randonneuring)
5/20 - 400km (St Louis Randonneuring)

I'll decide later if I can even do the 600km. The 400 might be pushing it, we'll see. But definitely in for the 200 and 300.

My friends think I need to be committed :D

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Originally Posted by betagirl

My friends think I need to be committed :D

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And....these are professionally trained individuals, right? ;)

Good on 'ya. I'll do the century with you. At the ennnnnd of the season! :p L.

beta,

Here's the cool thing!! The series itself "trains" you for the next level- so, assuming you can ride a Century with no problems, you do the 200k, it's maybe tougher than you thought, you're nervous about the 300k, but you've rested from the 200k and are now much stronger, so it may even be easier than the 200k! By the time you did the 300k, 400k is no longer unimaginable. Your only problem here is the spacing- you don't get a whole lot of recovery in between, but I still think it's do-able. I'd be _very_ careful in the week in between the 300 and 400- I myself probably wouldn't ride at all. Maybe a _very_ easy recovery ride of an hour or less a couple times. You can't train more in that week, but you _can_ hurt your recovery/rebuilding.

(normal spacing is 3-5 weeks in between each ride)

Do you have your lighting all figured out? Nutrition/electrolytes?

Nanci

I'm hoping I'll be able to do my local series *next* year (at least to the 300k - we'll see about more...) They're so early in the riding season here that it's tricky to get the fitness base built up early enough. Or at least it has been for me so far...

Lots of inspiration to be found on this board (or lots of ways to get in trouble, depending on how you look at it:eek: ).

That's great - good luck to you and have fun!!

Nanci is too modest, but she is a WEALTH of helpful information. Bug her! :D (I did!)

Lise - no, just lay people :D I'm supposed to be the psych expert in the group. Hmm. And I'm holding you to that century commitment :cool:

Nanci - I did RAIN (ride across indiana) last year, that was 158 miles. There was the stretch between about 120 and 140 where I was like "WTF is wrong with me?" Then I felt really good from 140 til the end. I was officially hooked.

I agree that the 300 - 400 break is too short. I'm having some calendar issues with doing them. I might shake it up a bit to try to space them out. The problem is there aren't a whole lot of these things in the IL area. They're all out west, or on the east coast, or canada. I may try to do the 400 later in June. I do have a couple questions for you.

How well supported are these rides? RAIN had 4 SAG stops, that were about 40 miles apart. Or does it vary?

For nutrition, I use Cytomax powder for drinks and bring extra powder along in a baggie to refill as needed. I carry gu for bonking, and prefer clif or luna bars to eat. I have crohn's disease, so I actually have to be a bit careful about the foods I eat on the ride. At stops I eat bananas and pb sandwiches. If you have some tips for the longer rides, especially the 400, that'd be great.

I have a headlight and taillight that I need to install, but they're ready to go. I need to get some reflective strips to wear, and a bright reflective jacket. The one I have has 1 reflective strip on the back but it's probably not ideal. Do you have some gear you'd recommend? I always carry my alien and a spare tube, and I have a frame pump.

CA_in_NC - there's something oddly addictive about these rides. The feeling when you're done is so great.

Thanks!

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Originally Posted by betagirl

My friends think I need to be committed :D

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and I agree - in order for you to do this you need to be committed and it sounds like you are! What a nice bunch of supportive friends you have! :p Good luck Beta - I'm pulling for ya out here in the SW!

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Originally Posted by betagirl

How well supported are these rides? RAIN had 4 SAG stops, that were about 40 miles apart. Or does it vary?

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My impression is the support varies dramatically. The San Francisco brevet series has no support whatsoever. Controls are at stores where you are expected to get food and drink. However, there seem to be as much as 100 miles (no kidding here) between controls, and there may be nothing in between. You're expected to stock up and carry everything you need.

No drop bags. No arrangements for sleep - you have to figure it all out on your own.

Nanci's seemed like they at least had some meals provided and sleeping arrangements.

I'm under the impression that the point of brevets is to be self-sufficient, to do them without sag support, catered rest stops, that sort of thing. Like MP said, you'll need to fend for yourself sometimes.

But the amount of support varies widely and your best bet is to find out from the organizers of the brevet series in which you'll be participating. Just don't expect the level of support you'd likely see in a century/double century ride.

The series I do has a dinner after the 200k, (plus they bring breakfasty things like banana bread and coffee/oj to all) lunch stops for 300,400,600. The 600 regrouped at the host hotel, so the RBA's wife was kind enough to have dinner ready in their room from 4PM on, I mean until 1AM when I woke them up!, and then breakfast again when people left in the morning, from 5AM on, then lunch/dinner stuff in their room when we finished Sunday.

The cue sheets have stores marked on them, at 20-30 mile spacing usually, with the controls at convenience stores. Some people ride these things and only stop for controls. I think the routes, here, are planned taking stores into consderation.

Still, brevets are supposed to be minimaly supported- no SAG vehicles- you need to be able to follow the cue sheet, not get lost, find yourself if you do get lost, and if you abandon, call a friend for a ride home.

If I were you, I'd set my bike up with a rack (I've done fine with a seatpost-mounted rack that only holds 20 pounds or something) and a trunk bag, possibly with fold out panniers. Look at the Topeak site- those bags slide on and off the rack so they are easy to change out, (I have a big one and a little one) and bring in the house, etc.

(Have to go work- will add additional thoughts in a while)

Cont.

Plan on _something_ not going right with your lights. I would have two headlights. I did just fine with $9 Cateye Microhalogens. I started out with that expensive 10-LED taillight. DO NOT recommend it. It had a hard time staying on the bike, no matter how I attached it, including taping it to the rack- it then just broke the rack in an attempt to escape. Also, when I finally got it to stay, it only worked intermittantly. The Nashbar 6 LED light works nicely, and is easy to aim. Then I have two of those long skinny LED's- I want to be VERY visible after dark.

I believe for your diet you are going to need something with protein, like peanut butter, or choc milk if your gut can handle that. For such a long exertion, you can't make it on carbs alone. If you can swtomach Endurox, that has the correct proportion of protein, and you could just carry the powder and mix at convenience stores.

You are required to have reflective ankle bands, and either a reflective vest or a Sam Brown belt (think school patrol) in the dark. I ordered the Sam Brown sash from RUSA and could never get it to work right. I would also wear a Road ID. I have the Performance Illuminite Vest. I like it ok. Could be too hot in summer, but it always cools down at night, so far, so that hasn't been a problem for me yet.

My biggest worry, on each ride, (besides just finishing!!) was getting lost. I printed out the cue sheets as soon as they were available, and highlighted right turns in pink, left turns in green, controls and stores in yellow. I followed the route on Yahoo Maps, turn by turn, and for the last two, plotted it on Google Pedometer. For the first two, I actually printed out turn-by-turn maps, and never looked at them, but was comforted knowing they were there. I pre-rode much of the course, what I could get to from home, and drove some of the 300k. After that, the courses just got too long to pre-drive.

Another worry was weather, but after I finally got _good_ rain gear- jacket, pants, toe covers, helmet cover, and gloves- I quit worrying about it.

I think, especially the first time you do a specific distance, you reach a certain percentage of the ride and get a hopeless "Why did I get myself into this, what made me think this would be fun, I'm never doing this again, I hate riding my bike" feeling, which, fortunately, goes away before the end. It comes on for me at about 70-80%, and lasts until about 90%. I think riding in company helps keep it at bay, and keeping eating helps make it go away. Mental fatigue is one of the first signs of an impending bonk.

Ok, I'd join RUSA right away, so you can count all the rides toward the Super Randonneur award (200,300,400,600 in one season. Even if you have no intention of doing the 600k now, things may change. you don't want to hav to repeat any because you weren't a member at first. (I have to repeat my 200k.) Also, you get a VERY helpful handbook. Also, if you don't have it, Long Distance Cycling is a book that helped me out a lot.

Anything I missed?

Nanci

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Originally Posted by Nanci

Anything I missed?

Nanci

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Um, yeah. When's your 1200? :D

Nanci, thanks SO much for all the helpful info. I got an email from the organizer of the 200K and he said the route is an out and back, with 1 control in the middle and 1 at the turn around point. Other than that, on your own. I need to get a bag because my seat bag is way too small to carry anything of worth. 40 miles on RAIN was a long time to not have anything to eat after I ran out of bars. At one point I ran out of water. That was fun. The organizer said the route is marked in addition to getting a map, so that's a plus. I will use your advice to read it in advance and highlight turns. I have a good sense of direction, but I'm also known to ride right by turns from time to time.

So, get a backup light, some reflective gear, and some more rain gear. Check. I'll also register with the RUSA. Bike should probably get a tune up also. Just curious, do you use a frame pump or a CO2 cartridge gun? What other "if my bike breaks" gear do you bring? I'd guess at least 2 tubes, a tool of some sort (got that). Anything else?

I'm getting excited, not sure about my butt. :)

So you're about 30 miles between stores- that's reasonable/usual. For me that's roughly two hours.

I have the Topeak Road Morph- it's frame-mounted, but very small, so you could carry it in a Camelbak if you're a Camelbak wearer. I love it. Very user-friendly- I could even figure it out several months after purchase when I flatted- with no instructions.

I would carry two tubes and a patch kit. Patch kit is way easier than changing a tube if you don't have to- you just locate the puncture and what caused it, just weasel that little section of tube out of the tire- don't have to remove the whole thing. I've ridden _hundreds_ of miles on a double-patched tube. I have those little Park Tools patches.

I carry the Topeak Alien multi-tool. (Apparently I'm a heavy supporter of Topeak!) Really, you're only going to need tools to raise/lower seat, fix bottle cage/shoe cleat, tighten anything that rattles loose. In that vein- it wouldn't hurt to carry a spare cleat screw, or water bottle screw. (If you lose a cleat screw- you can rob one from your water bottle cage!) You can patch a slashed tire with a dollar bill or Powerbar wrapper.

Other than that, the other repairs I've seen needed have been _major_, from crashes (usually sliding on a bridge grating when wet- be careful of those!!) - nothing you could prepare for.

Money- lots of money! At my series, we pay for our medals at the end of the ride. For my series, it's $10 each. Then we get them at some mysterious time I haven't figured out yet.

I'd carry electrolyte caps because you just can't get enough through a regular diet, even with Endurance Gatorade, and if you don't get enough electrolytes, your stomach shuts down, and your done. (Not to mention the much worse problem of hyponatremia!) I use Succeed Caps. I use one/hour if not sweating, one/30 minutes if moderately sweating, and one/20 minutes if heavily sweating.

http://www.ultrafit-endurance.com/succeedcaps.html

Also, I like the Succeed Pre-Race Vitamins/Minerals

http://www.ultrafit-endurance.com/sucprervit.html

and take them before anything longer than a Century, and after 12 hours if it's going to be a _very_ long event.

Nanci