Paris-Brest-Paris

[tulip]

My friends and I are probably going to do some car washes and garage sales to fund our trip. You have a WHOLE year to save up. Come on it will be great.
Tulip, I agree about the whole training thing. I'll PM you and we can share tips and tricks. Who knows, since there aren't all that many qualifying rides, we might be at the same ones!

Jeni

I'm with you Jeni! At the very least, if I don't qualify, I'd like to go to support the riders (and hang out in Brittany, what a fabulous part of the world!)
But, who says I won't qualify?! ONWARD HO (or something like that)!

[Geonz]

You did RAIN and then 5700 feet of climbing?

[Fredwina]

I've been dreaming about doing it, but it may be a pedal stroke too far. My main goal for 2007 is to get thourgh the Brevet series...

[TrekJeni]

You did RAIN and then 5700 feet of climbing?

Funny story time -

My friend and I convinced another friend to do RAIN with us at the last minute. He asked how much climbing there was. I was like, "Dude, it's Indiana. It's totally flat. I think there might be about 300 ft of gain the whole ride."

When we checked in at the hotel Friday night, my friend and I saw an elevation chart. It said 57?? ft of climbing for the day. I looked at my friend and said over and over again, "Don't tell Charles, don't tell Charles". We didn't. Not until AFTER the ride was done and our computers said 160 miles did we let him on the secret!

Here's his take on our adventure:

It was 96 degrees and to stop cycling was like opening the furnace grill to the gates of hell, the only relief was to keep moving and generate our own breeze.

It was 160 miles long and 5700 feet of climbing (more than Tahoe) all done whilst sucking in oven baked air made more intense by the recently completed black top that span most of the distance.

For 12 hours and 40 mins Jeni, Marianne and I submitted ourselves to the pleasures of the sun. It played with our minds, we saw cows that went "meow" and at one point Jeni thought I was a long blond haired female riding next to her. We experienced occasional fits of laughter and chased the odd cloud that dared to make an appearance in vain hope that it would offer temporary relief. The roads stretched, never ending and through the haze the flat, silver shimmering mirages looked like distant pools of mercury.

We saw a swirling vortex of maybe 20-30 vultures kept aloft by the hot air, circling in a perfect tornado shaped pattern and fantasized what or who's bones they were picking clean. I expected to come across the bleached rib cage of some poor cyclist who ventured unprepared on this odyssey.

At times we cycled in silence, relying on will to see us through, each of us with our own thoughts and mental yard stick measuring the small goals and ground covered.

We sprayed each other with our water bottles and poured water through the vents in our helmets and thanked god for our support vehicle driven by the experienced "Jim" a neighbour of Jeni's who set up much needed "relief" stops along the way. A towel soaked in ice water awaited us at each stop and a chance to eat and rehydrate with cold drinks.

I am proud to say we met and defeated every mental and physical challenge thrown at us and won the day. We crossed the finish line together.

Things I learned along the way:

1. Be prepared.
2. Hot Gatorade is not that bad
3. Don't buy a cat in a foreign country if you don't speak the language.
4. Make sure you name your spare tire.
5. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
6. Don't be afraid of taking on new challenges
7. Don't try to run Jeni over in a car.
8. Insects in your helmet are OK.
9. Cows sometimes meow.
10. Butt Butter is worth every penny.
11. They don't got no Chipotle in them little towns but, they got burritos in the freezer.

We had an awesome time, thank you Jeni and Marianne, you guys have every right to brag.

Next year we want a bigger group.

Charles (I think my brain is cooked)

[Nanci]

We get a lot of northern riders coming down for our series (Gainesville Florida http://gainesvillecyclingclub.org/ ) which starts in January- Ohio, Kentucky, Georgia...They like to do ours before their own series starts. (Our host hotel is only like $45/night, too.) I also think the series in Clermont FL (http://www.bike4one.com/brevets/ ) is going to run closer together so the RBA can ride the Atlanta series also, which starts in the spring. If you're worried about the longer distances- there aren't any hills here, really. But the 600k can get hot.

Nanci

PS- There's no way I could ever afford PBP, or BMB for that matter. Luckily there are two 1200k's in Florida, and a 1000k. My dream race is Furnace Creek 508...

[maillotpois]

So, Nanci, what would your totem be if you did the 508....?