Rob and all,
There is going to ba a lot of riding involved. I will have to adjust my time expendetures, and so on. The main thing for me is that there are ot her people involved. That's how I stay motivated. I won't just jump on a bike by myself and do the miles. Had a taste of that this past weekend while riding my triplized 1970 Colnago up the hills to alpine with JB. B een off the bike a few weeks and I had my ass handed to me, by my own se lf. I felt like a slug. It was painful. And it's only about 40 miles! I' d better get hopping with the training bit.
Anyone see any reason NOT to do some motorpacing at the track once a wee k as part of my training program? I suspect I will be the type of randon nuer who will shoot for a medium time finish; mainly just to get it over with. To do this much distance I am going to invest in some custom shoe s and a fitting to set them up so my legs are even length and so on. Nev er really mattered that much with how little I normally ride, but riding mega distance it will matter a lot. My knees won't make it if I don't d o this. Time to get serious.
Brian Baylis La Mesa, CA Planning the ascent on Baldy on my 1971 Peugeot PX-10 fully decked with fenders and racks, triple crankset, and 650B wheels.
Well I'm gonna give it a go. Get the legs in shape and setup a super comfortable bike. I give randonnuer's a lot of respect. Everyone I've met is hard and can currently kick my a__. It is the epitome of Eddy's training methodology "Ride lots."
Rob Dayton Charlotte NC
USA
-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of Jan Heine Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2005 8:13 PM To: hsachs@alumni.rice.edu; classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: Re: [CR]Of PBP and Lunacy
You get all types, and all types of bikes. However, with the
distances involved, people do care about the bikes. Some spend a lot
of time on dialing in machines that can be found for little money -
many from the CR timeline - others spend big bucks on bikes that may
not be the most suitable for the event. (Of course, you also can
spend big bucks on suitable bikes.)
Especially when you take a national sample, I don't think the
"typical randonneur bike" exists. There are certain cultures in
certain areas (fenders in the Northwest, but not so much in the
Northeast), that type of stuff.
Jan Heine, Seattle Editor/Publisher Vintage Bicycle Quarterly c/o Il Vecchio Bicycles 140 Lakeside Ave, Ste. C Seattle WA 98122 http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com
>I'm not guilty of being a serious randonneur, but I liked what Jan
>Heine had to say (below). But I wonder a bit about his group 2,
>"Those who just like riding their bikes."
>
>From the perspective of Pirsig's "Zen & the Art of Motorcycle
>Maintenance" and our own experience, these folks tend toward one of
>two extremes: "romantics" who love riding and the trip itself, and
>"classicists" who love the machines (and tinkering/tuning), too. Do
>the randonneurs tend toward the former (whom we might parody as
>"credit card tourists," typically found on guided tours), or those
>the first group would call gearheads, always greasy, about to get
>greasy, or just cleaned up, mostly?
>
>harvey sachs
>(whose Peter Wiegle is finally about "dialed in," which I thoroughly
enjoyed)
>mcLean va.
>
>I think randonneurs and long-distance riders fall into two groups:
>
>1. Those who have to prove something, and move on once they have
>achieved their goals.
>
>2. Those who just like riding their bikes. The more the better.
>Those are the guys who ride for decades.
>
>Also, most clubs offer a 100 km (64 mile) "populaire" where you
>don't need to be a member or pay a fee - just for trying it out. And
>a 200 km brevet is 125 miles, which is within the possibilities of
>most cyclists. I know many randonneurs who never do a 600 or 1200,
>and they are no worse randonneurs for that! It's a big tent, and
>everybody is welcome.
>
>Some randonneurs like to play up the "Xtreme" part of the sport, but
>realistically, it isn't extreme at all. It takes some dedication,
>but it's neither only for the gifted or the foolhardy. Give it a try!
>
>Jan Heine, Seattle