Brevet this October - insane idea?

[OakLeaf]

Go for it! Everyone needs a goal, right?

I'd offer to join you, but it's likely I'll be running the Columbus marathon the next day. Not that I've signed up for that, or even made a mental commitment to it, yet...

Hard to tell what the terrain might be like, and they haven't posted a route yet. It'll almost surely be hilly, but the really insane hills are southeast. Starting from the southwest side of Columbus makes it likelier you'll go southwest, since there are a limited number of places to cross the river. If you want to, you can be ready.

[Catrin]

Do you really need the external validation?
Do or do not...

No, it isn't for the validation - I was just wondering how insane this sounded for someone in her first year of cycling I am good at extremes, and have learned over the years that the occasional reality check is a good thing

Go for it! Everyone needs a goal, right?

I'd offer to join you, but it's likely I'll be running the Columbus marathon the next day. Not that I've signed up for that, or even made a mental commitment to it, yet...

Hard to tell what the terrain might be like, and they haven't posted a route yet. It'll almost surely be hilly, but the really insane hills are southeast. Starting from the southwest side of Columbus makes it likelier you'll go southwest, since there are a limited number of places to cross the river. If you want to, you can be ready.

This is great information - and should you decide that this sounds like more fun than the marathan let me know I think that Map My Ride gives assorted training plans for different needs and I will check theirs out. I need to do this in a way that I will be ready without burning myself out/hurting myself. I am good at extremes, sometimes too good

Go for it!

Where would we be if we didn't shoot for insane things? Grab life with both hands and give it a big wet kiss!

http://xkcd.com/752/

Sister Madonna Buder does Ironman tris, and she's in her 80's. She didn't even start running until she was 50. Sounds like she's doing insane things, eh?

Go for it!

Go Sister Madonna Buder! I didn't step over the top tube of a bike until 2 months after my 50th, so there seems to be hope for me

+1 on grabbing life with both hands and giving it a big wet kiss! The longer I cycle/better shape I get into - and because of that the more I feel like reaching out and grabbing life! Too many years of being over-weight and working FAR too much pretty much kept me from everything but my computer and television. As I said in a post several months ago, cycling does indeed seem to be the fountain of youth - at least for me

[redrhodie]

Wow, you sure have chutzpah! I mean that in the best way.

[Catrin]

Wow, you sure have chutzpah! I mean that in the best way.

Thank you for the compliment

[DarcyInOregon]

You should try a hilly metric first, and if that goes ok, then do a hilly century, and if you can do that then do the 200k. A lot of the distance cycling takes time and experience, to learn what you can and cannot eat and drink during the ride, when you need to eat and drink, knowing what and when to eat and drink when a new route is more hilly than expected or a hot wind blows in your face for miles, contributing to potential dehydration, along with gaining experience on climbing, getting the leg muscles strong, learning how to react in certain situations so that the reactions are instinctive, etc.

If you train for a metric first, when you finish the metric you will know if you can do a century or a brevet. At the end of a metric you should feel like you can bike another 40 miles easily and with enjoyment. If you suffered during the ride, or if the next day you complain about torn leg muscles, aches, pains and extraordinary fatigue, then you know you are not ready for a century yet, or a brevet.

I finished a century yesterday with about 5000 feet of climbing. The temperature was about ten degrees hotter than expected. A strong headwind came up in the early afternoon. Some cyclists called it quits for mostly heat-related issues. When we got back to the starting point, one century cyclist was prostate on the floor shivering in spasms while event volunteers put ice on him and waited for the ambulance to show up; the man was suffering from heat exhaustion. These are the kinds of situations a cyclist has to train for to prevent anything happening to them on a long ride. It is best to train for a metric, and if the ride suits you, then train for the century, and build up to the brevet.

[Catrin]

You should try a hilly metric first, and if that goes ok, then do a hilly century, and if you can do that then do the 200k. A lot of the distance cycling takes time and experience, to learn what you can and cannot eat and drink during the ride, when you need to eat and drink, knowing what and when to eat and drink when a new route is more hilly than expected or a hot wind blows in your face for miles, contributing to potential dehydration, along with gaining experience on climbing, getting the leg muscles strong, learning how to react in certain situations so that the reactions are instinctive, etc. ....

This is good information - thanks. I had assumed a progression of something like this - bit it is helpful to read it. I was thinking tonight about the difference of being able to stay in the saddle for the 13.5 hours allowed for the 200k compared to the amount of time I am currently accustomed to.

[DarcyInOregon]

This is good information - thanks. I had assumed a progression of something like this - bit it is helpful to read it. I was thinking tonight about the difference of being able to stay in the saddle for the 13.5 hours allowed for the 200k compared to the amount of time I am currently accustomed to.

There are things experience teach you to do. Well first a metric will show you if you have the right saddle or not, because if you don't, you will figure it out on the metric and in a painful way. Also, when the shorts are perfect with the saddle you will know with just one short ride that it is a perfect match. It can take a couple of years just to find the right shorts for you. For example, I love the Voler elite shorts sold on volerwear.com because they have a higher rise and the pad is one of the best on the market. There are other little things to do to prevent saddle soreness and one is I carry the chamois cream in the little packets in my jersey pocket, and at every SAG stop where I use a Porta potty, I apply an entire packet of the cream. I don't get saddle soreness or tissue abrasions. My saddle is the Selle An-Atomica, made in Wisconsin.