Randonneuring
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D.C. Randonneurs Flatbread 200K Brevet Roundup
This past weekend, Felkerino and I broke the tandem in two and took off for the Eastern Shore to ride the D.C. Randonneurs 200K Flatbread brevet. While I’ve ridden this brevet once or twice before, this time was unique because instead of the usual tandem routine, I rode it on my Rivendell Romulus.See? Continue reading
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Rando Q&A with Dan D., Great Lakes and Minnesota Randonneurs
Today it’s all about what’s happening on The Daily Randonneur, where Dan D. of Wisconsin has written a Rando Q&A I think you’ll enjoy. Click to make the jump and read the post here. Have a great day, everybody! Continue reading
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Rando Q&A with Andrea M., D.C. Randonneurs
Today the bloggy action takes place over on that other blog I know, The Daily Randonneur, with another Rando Q&A. Andrea M., of the D.C. Randonneurs, graciously agreed to be a guest contributor for this week’s Rando Q&A. Check the full post out here. The Rando Q&A features many thoughtful insights about riding brevets from… Continue reading
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Colorado High Country 1200K: A Breathtaking Trip Out West
The Colorado High Country 1200K is a 90-hour, four day jaunt through about 750 miles of the great states of Colorado and Wyoming. Felkerino and I rode it last month and this month I wrote my story about it. Continue reading
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On Bicycling and Other Pursuits: How Much is Enough?
The past couple of weeks I have not spent much time on the bike. Rather I’ve been catching up on things that went neglected while Felkerino and I focused on the brevets and our trip to Colorado for the High Country 1200K. It’s been a nice release to know that our big bicycling event for… Continue reading
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Memories of Donald Boothby and the Cascade 1200K
Donald Boothby, a Seattle randonneur, died of cancer this past week. I did not know Donald well, but he left such an impression on me during the 2006 edition of the Cascade 1200K, that I wanted to share the fond memories I have of him. One of the best things about randonneuring is the people… Continue reading
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Colorado High Country 1200K Photos
Hard for me to believe that the Colorado High Country 1200K is now in the books. Felkerino and I spent the last six months working toward this event, and suddenly it’s back to business as usual. No 1200K on the horizon, just the regular routine. To keep the post-event blues at bay, I’ve been reviewing,… Continue reading
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And We Made It: High Country 1200k
Friends, Felkerino and I officially finished the High Country 1200K yesterday in just under 83 hours. To give you a brief summary (full report and pics later), we had an incredibly good ride. Our bodies held up well, weather was pleasant, and we spent lots of miles chatting and pedaling with some great randonneurs. John… Continue reading
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And We’re Off: High Country 1200K
If you’re reading this, we’re off riding the High Country 1200K!!! Rider updates will happen on the High Country blog as the event unfolds. Felkerino (@dailyrandonneur) and I (@gypsybug) will post updates of our adventure via Twitter, using the hash tag #hc1200. Fellow DC Randonneur Bill (@bicyclic) is riding, too, so be sure to check… Continue reading
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Pre-Ride Jitters: High Country 1200K
I regularly get some form of the pre-ride jitters before intense multi-day cycling events. I don’t sleep well. I keep thinking I’m forgetting something. The longer the event and the more complicated the travel logistics, the greater the jitters. This year, Felkerino and I signed up to ride the High Country 1200K, which takes place… Continue reading
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Randonneuring: When it’s Worth the Effort
I completed my first brevet and Super Randonneur series in 2005. Since then, I’ve completed rides of at least 600K distances each year with the exception of 2007, which I spent in graduate school. Seven years of brevet riding. Up until this year I’ve excitedly anticipated the arrival of the Super Randonneur series. Time to… Continue reading
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D.C. Randonneurs 400K
Some of you may know that Felkerino and I spent the last couple of months preparing to run the D.C. Randonneurs’ 400K. The ride went off this past Saturday, and I put together a non-ride ride report of the experience. It’s not posted here, though. Find it on that other blog I know, The Daily… Continue reading
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Special Ride Clothing: Ibex Cycling Jerseys
While it’s true that special clothing is not required for riding a bicycle, sometimes a particular article of clothing can make a ride that much better, especially a long ride like a brevet or fleche. During Team Table for Five’s fleche ride last month, one of my teammates and I got to talking about what… Continue reading
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Spring Training Rides, Leaving the Pavement Behind
The past two weekends, Felkerino and I put the brevet cards aside to enjoy some excellent training rides. As you may know, I like to qualify weekend non-brevet cycling as “training.” It’s like a doctor’s note that excuses me from my household responsibilities. D.C. to Frederick, Maryland – 120 miles Two Saturdays ago, Felkerino and… Continue reading
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Ride Photos: Capturing the Moment
Since 2009, I’ve regularly carried a camera with me. Like the other essentials in my purse/pannier, I never know when I might need it. Seeing Bill Beck (king of the randopaparazzi!) and Felkerino‘s ride photos inspired me to start taking my own camera on brevets and other rides. Yes, Felkerino and I are regularly on… Continue reading
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D.C. Randonneurs Warrenton, VA 300K: In Each Life, Some Rain Must Fall
Now that I’ve caught up on sleep, uploaded my photos, and enjoyed a brilliant sunny warm Sunday I can say I truly enjoyed Saturday’s 300K with the D.C. Randonneurs. Continue reading
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400K Route Scouting in Pennsylvania
This weekend Felkerino and I headed into Pennsylvania to check out some roads for the upcoming D.C. Randonneurs 400K that we agreed to organize. It was a gorgeous day on the bike and I’m glad to have ridden farther out than my usual D.C. to Poolesville, Maryland loop. Our route took us from Emmitsburg, Maryland,… Continue reading
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Randonneur Rewind: Another Take on my First Year of Randonneuring
It’s hard for me to believe that I completed my first Super Randonneur series in 2005. That seems so long ago, yet it doesn’t feel like I’ve been randonneuring for that many years. Time is flying! As the brevet season kicked off for Felkerino and me this past weekend, I started feeling a little nostalgic and… Continue reading
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D.C. Randonneurs Urbana 200K: Feels like the First Time
Ride summary: Ride the rollers out of Urbana. Whee! First control in Union Bridge, Maryland. Pedal pedal. Climb 77 in Catoctin National Park. Climb. Climb climb climb. Descend. Grind through the rollers out of Smithsburg. Stop for a couple pics. Pedal through the fragrant countryside. Whoah, stinky! See eight cats in someone’s driveway. Eight! Control… Continue reading
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In for a Penny, In for a Pound. Of Fleche, That Is.
While some people ride brevets throughout the year, Felkerino and I tend to do most of our of brevets during what we call the “Spring Season,” which basically consists of the four-brevet Super Randonneur series and the Fleche. One of the big kickoffs to spring is the Fleche, as it is usually one of the… Continue reading
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Randonneur Q&A for Beginners
Over the past few months, people interested in dabbling in the randonneur lifestyle have asked me various questions about getting into randonneuring. After answering them, I thought I’d share some of my thoughts with you. Since I started doing brevets in 2005, I’ve realized that randonneurs vary widely in their approach to training and riding… Continue reading
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Weekend Training Ride: 112 Miles of Dogs, Hills, Sun, and Dogs
This past Saturday, Felkerino and I met up with a couple of riding friends to take on some challenging terrain near Skyline Drive. Starting in Marshall, Virginia, we scaled Massanutten via Chester Gap, rolled our way over to Edith Gap, descended into Luray, and climbed back over Thornton Gap under Skyline Drive before biting off… Continue reading
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Five Things Friday: Randonneuring Edition
The D.C. Randonneurs have their annual meeting this Saturday, and they’ve also arranged a pre-meeting 106 KM Populaire out of Glen Echo, Maryland. Are you going? If so, perhaps I’ll see you there. The upcoming meeting got me thinking about some of the things I enjoy about randonneuring. I decided to list five of them… Continue reading
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Paris-Brest-Paris by Tandem
Have you heard enough about PBP yet? Well, hang on just a minute, because I’ve got one more story to share with you. Continue reading
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Rides for All Seasons
Or so it’s felt the last three days. From temperatures in the 60s, 40s, and today’s dip into the 30s with snow, it’s been quite the climate roller coaster here in the Mid Atlantic. Saturday – Last Train from Clarksville 201K Permanent Saturday’s too-good-to-be-true weather had anybody who ever pedaled out and about. Felkerino and… Continue reading
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2011 in Review: All Rides Lead to Paris-Brest-Paris
Now that 2011 is coming to a close, I’ve been reflecting on the year, as many people do. For me, 2011 was all about Paris Brest Paris, not just because of the event itself, but also because of all the careful planning and diligent pedaling it took to get there. In early 2010, Felkerino and… Continue reading
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The 12 Days of Randonneurmas
For the next couple of weeks, I’ll be dedicating some time to working with my blogging associate, Felkerino, over at The Daily Randonneur. Felkerino and I are partnering to celebrate the fourth year of Randonneurmas, that holiday time before the holidays where we spotlight twelve of our favorite randonneuring things. Over the years, we’ve begun… Continue reading
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Bicycle Wayback Machine: My Second Year of Randonneuring
Chasing Mailboxes takes another trip in the wayback machine to 2006, my second year of randonneuring. I don’t even remember writing this one, but then again, randonneur Bob Casciato once told me that amnesia is one of the essential qualities of a good randonneur. It seems to be working for me. Hope you enjoy it! Continue reading
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The Randonneurs who Coffeeneur
Summer months can be intense for randonneurs. While the spring ACP Super Randonneur series’ have mostly been completed, summer is often when randonneurs take advantage of the long days and warm weather to ride their brains out. That could be through touring, more brevets, 1000K or 1200K rides, or other endurance rides. Coffeeneuring was born… Continue reading
Chasing MailBoxes 