Willamette Headwaters 600K Ride Report

[Pedal Wench]

My first 600K is the Natchez Trace coming up in 3 weeks. I've barely been on the bike in months. I'm scared. Very, very scared.

[Susan Otcenas]

My first 600K is the Natchez Trace coming up in 3 weeks. I've barely been on the bike in months. I'm scared. Very, very scared.

You'll do great! You got plenty of brevets under your belt. I'm told that 600s are easier than 400s. (I've done 2 600s, but never a 400.) The reason is that you get to sleep, and the O/N is typically at 350-360 km or so. When you wake up, you've only got a little more than a 200 to do, and you know you can do one of those!

Did you get your RUSA quarterly yet? There was a good article in there about the mental aspects of doing a long brevet. I agreed with alot of what he said, especially about breaking the ride down into smaller bits when you are feeling challenged. Don't think about the fact that there's x# of km to the finish. Think about km to the next control, or the next turn, or the next lamppost if you must. I definitely find myself doing that at some point. For the last 50 miles of this weekends 600, I just concentrated on distance to the next turn. In 2 mile increments, a ride doesn't seem so long!

[Pedal Wench]

<<<Think about km to the next control, or the next turn, or the next lamppost if you must. I definitely find myself doing that at some point. For the last 50 miles of this weekends 600, I just concentrated on distance to the next turn. In 2 mile increments, a ride doesn't seem so long!

That's great, but this one is an out and back on the Natchez - no lamposts, no turns! (Okay, turns to get off the Trace for a mile to get to a control, which will be all I can look forward to!)

Thanks for the encouragement! Coming from you, it means a whole bunch.