2014 April 200K - a change in perspective.

Given a choice of climbing vicious hills or riding into hours of unrelenting headwinds, some Randonneurs will choose hills and some will choose headwinds.

But some will choose both.

Riding Grand Randonees The Olsen Brothers' Way - an in depth interview.

“The quality of any advice anybody has to offer has to be judged against the quality of life they actually lead.”  Douglas Adams 

While someone can properly call themselves a Randonneur by completing a 200K brevet, successfully completing a Grand Randonnee - a 1200 kilometer (750 miles) brevet - can be considered the crowning achievement of the sport. The quadrennially held 1200k Paris-Brest-Paris may be the original and ultimate Grand Randonnee but there are now Grand Randonnees across the United States and around the world. 

Of the small percentage of cyclists who are Randonneurs, an even smaller number complete a Grand Randonnee. Of that small number, even fewer complete two in a year. Of that tiny number a select few complete more than two.

Mark and Bill Olsen are two of the select few in the country who have ridden more than two Grand Randonnees in one year. In fact, between them, the Olsen brothers have successfully completed over 60 randonneuring distance rides.

In 2013 alone, they rode 12 Grand Randonnees, with Mark riding four and Bill completing all eight of the grand randonnees offered in North America.

Even more impressive (to me), the Olsen brothers complete these epic rides at a pace that allows them to eat, sleep and enjoy the ride. Bill has described his trips as vacations and bike tours.

I want to have that kind of experience on Grand Randonnee. So, having struggled to complete one 1200K, I was eager to learn how they are able to complete so many. Mark and BIll graciously agreed to answer my questions. What follows are their detailed and informative responses.  

Lessons learned

Okay. The Taste of Carolina 1200k, my "next big thing" is done. I did it - barely. I was the "lanterne rouge" - the final finisher - rolling in bandaged but unbroken, tired but triumphant, on a course that was difficult but surmountable. But I did it.

I learned a few things in the process. Some of those things seem obvious now, in hindsight, but I missed them the first time around. I don't want to miss them again. (Oh yes, I am already looking at the calendar and considering what will be the next big thing. What can I say; this sport has epic physical challenges, adventure, uncertainty, stunning visuals, a really cool cast of characters and makes for a memorable story -I'm hooked.)

My Taste of Carolina 1200K

I text a message to Facebook - 

29 August - Soon it begins.

If this is Randonneuring then there must be an early start. Since the ride started at 4:00, I set multiples alarms for 3:00 and arranged for a wake up call at the same time. Then I woke up at 2:00 and, after staring at the ceiling for a while, turned off the alarms and canceled the call before they woke up my wife and kids.

They came with me for the trip. We planned to meet up at a couple of the sleep controls. The risk was that their being at the sleep controls would mean that I had a ride in place if for some reason I couldn't continue. Having an easy way out of a tough situation is not always a good thing.

Beyond ultra - Race Across America

If you ride a bike far enough, will distance cease to matter? If you ride often enough, will weather cease to matter? If you ride through all kinds of terrain, will landscape cease to matter? If you ride long enough will time cease to matter?

This week a handful of riders will take on the Race Across America (RAAM). RAAM is a 3,000 mile bicycle race from Oceanside, California, to Annapolis, Maryland. Some will ride as a part team of riders,  a few will ride the entire distance solo.

Death of ultracycling great - Jure Robic.

Came across this article in the NY Times:

Jure Robic, a long-distance bicyclist who won the grueling Race Across America five times and whose seemingly endless, sleep-eschewing stamina tested the limits of human endurance, died during a training ride on Friday when he collided with a car on a mountain road in Plavski Rovt, Slovenia, near his home in Jesenice. He was 45.