Brevet this October - insane idea?

[OakLeaf]

Just for an ordinary century without too much climbing, a cyclist needs a minimum of a 12 mph average.

The cut-off for a 200K brevet is 13:30. That's a 9.1 mph average.

You have to get out and find routes with at least 3-5 miles of continuous climbing

She's in Indiana. She probably can't go anywhere without climbing a 15% grade, but she'd probably have to go at least 200 miles south to find a 3 mile climb. I'm biased because I live in similar terrain, but IMO the short steep stuff is at least as hard as long and shallow. And anyway, the brevet she's planning will be in terrain very similar to where she lives. There's no reason for her to train in very different terrain.

And, train with a GPS bike computer so that you learn to recognize the grades, how steep you can go, when you need to shift down, and even what grades are just so steep it is smarter to get off the bike and walk.

I love my GPS, but for one thing, the real-time grade isn't super accurate (if you really need a gadget, a $20 bubble inclinometer is the way to go) - and more to the point, you don't need a gadget to figure out your own legs. She'll learn to climb by climbing, not by staring at a computer screen. She'll learn how it feels when her legs are running out of steam and she's going to have to unclip. She'll learn when to power up a hill and when to sit and spin. No gadgets required.