randonneuring
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We Interrupt This Brevet for …
Sometimes when riding my bike, I feel like I’m inside a video game that’s throwing all manner of obstacles my way, and I have to react and deal with them in order to move on to the next level. Last weekend’s 600K had a fair number of these– enough that I began to take notice.… Continue reading
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Don’t Look Back, Keep Your Eyes on the Road: 2014 Super Randonneur Series
After a year away from the 400K and 600K brevets, 2014 has been a year of re-learning the brevet ropes. Unfortunately for me, this process has also had me on the ropes at various times throughout the spring rides. I’m happy to say it’s all done and behind me. Felkerino and I got out there, did the work,… Continue reading
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Throwing Away the Cycling Spreadsheet
A funny thing happened to me at the end of April. Funny to me, anyway. I lost interest in tracking my cycling miles, and stopped caring about the number of days I rode each month. Instead of fighting that feeling, I’ve just gone with it, especially since this sentiment has been growing over the last… Continue reading
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The Last Ride of My First Super Randonneur Series: A Hilly and Hot 600K Brevet
In an effort to put all my old ride reports either on this blog or The Daily Randonneur, you’ll notice that I’m sharing a few “vintage” pieces. This one is the story of my first 600K experience from 2005, and is also the first story I ever wrote about randonneuring. I never intended to become… Continue reading
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Figuring Out the 400K Brevet
After rolling into the finish of the D.C. Randonneurs Northern Exposure 400K, I heard myself enthusiastically discuss our ride and revel in the adventure shared by Felkerino, Matt, and me over the last 20 hours and change of riding. Incredible valley vistas and invigorating climbs! The cutest dog chasing us! A sublime night ride! Clouds… Continue reading
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Springing Over the Edge
After a winter considered cold by many in the Mid-Atlantic—including me, who grew up in Iowa but has since become weak to the elements– Spring finally broke through. Lo’ how great it was to see the browns and grays of winter dissipate, replaced with greenery, pastel colors of cherry blossoms and the vivid hues… Continue reading
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The Gray Ghosts Riders – Flèche April 15-16, 2006
Today I was reading through some of my pre-blog randonneuring rides and came upon this story of the Gray Ghost Riders flèche from 2006. It was my second flèche, and one of my favorites. Given that our club, the D.C. Randonneurs, just ran its 2014 flèche over the weekend, I thought this an ideal time… Continue reading
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Devil’s Daughter 210K Permanent
The emerging warmth and green of spring days tempt us. Long days at the office interrupted by relatively brief spates of outdoor time urge us to spend weekends actively exploring. This weekend Felkerino and I joined bicycling friends Andrea and Jerry to revisit the Devil’s Daughter 210K permanent, a ride carefully crafted by RUSA permanista Crista… Continue reading
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Pure Bliss: D.C. Randonneurs 300K
The ride begins with warmth in the air. After a couple hours of darkness, the sun rises and bounces down the road with us. It must sense that we’re in for a 190-mile day of play. Continue reading
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Why Ride Brevets?
Randonneuring requires a certain level of commitment (no, not that kind of commitment). Early rises, car rides, bike maintenance and tuning, convenience store dining, and long days and even evenings in the saddle are all part of the randonneur lifestyle. Given that most of us do not have unlimited leisure time, what is it about the… Continue reading
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Old Rag 200K Permanent: Hills, Vistas, and Math Word Problems
This weekend Felkerino and I hightailed it out of the city to escape the crowds that have descended on Washington, D.C., and arranged to do the lovely Old Rag 200K out of Warrenton, Virginia, with bicycling buddies Andrea and Mike. Continue reading
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D.C. Randonneurs Wilderness Campaign 200K Brevet
A summary by the miles of the D.C. Randonneurs Wilderness Campaign ACP 200K Brevet. Continue reading
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On Writing & Riding: Iron Rider
Today is the final installment of the On Writing & Riding Series. These interviews evolved out of a desire to learn about the behind-the-blog thoughts of some of my favorite bloggers. Many thanks to all who took the time to contribute and be part of this series. We close On Writing & Riding with Iron… Continue reading
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On Writing & Riding: mmmmbike!
It’s the final week of the On Writing & Riding series. Only three blogs remain! I hope you’ve liked following along. Today we go to San Francisco for a conversation with mmmmbike!, another of my favorite randonneuring blogs. When I read mmmmbike!, this is some of what dances through my mind. Ride over mountains. Ride by… Continue reading
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Repast at Rocco’s 200K Permanent: A Winter Ride that Felt Like Spring
With temperatures taking an unusual leap into the 50s this weekend, Felkerino and I committed to our first 200K distance of 2014, meeting up with a few others in Urbana, Maryland, on Saturday for the Repast at Rocco’s RUSA permanent. Continue reading
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On Writing & Riding: BicycleKitty
BicycleKitty is a high-mileage bike rider who hails from Portland, Oregon. Her cycling interests range from alley cats to randonneuring… and most recently, cyclocross. Direct and engaging in her writing style, I always look forward to reading BicycleKitty. She’s also the kind of rider who wants to try new things and push her own limits.… Continue reading
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On Writing & Riding: The Hudson Valley Randonneur
I’ve become a regular reader of several randonneuring blogs, including today’s feature, The Hudson Valley Randonneur written by George S., who is based in the Hudson River Valley of New York state. I was already a regular reader of The Hudson Valley Randonneur in 2010 when Felkerino and I were part of a ride in… Continue reading
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Goals versus Plans
In one of my 2013 roundup posts I noted that I had not written down any goals in 2013. However, I did make a variety of plans and spent a great deal of time making sure they came to fruition. I see my plans distinctly from my goals. For me, plans are generally more concrete… Continue reading
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2013 in Review: Bike Rides (Mostly) and Photos
I’m back with the second part of my year-end post, a month-by-month set of photos. For nine of the 12 months I feature one photo that best represented the month, but three months warranted more than one. As this is a personal glimpse at how I saw the 12 months of 2013, all photos that follow… Continue reading
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2013 in Review: Goals, Mileage, Rides, and Runs
At the beginning of this year I committed to having a different kind of year than I had in 2012. At the end of last year I had started to feel burned out, as though I had been doing the same thing over and over and not enjoying it. Felkerino and I agreed to back… Continue reading
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Harvest Time and 200K Brevets
Growing up in rural Iowa, the harvest was always an intense and busy time. Tractors constantly moved through the fields, and it was not unusual to catch sight of the lights of a tractor shining over the dirt clouds raised up by someone working into darkness. Kids missed school to help their families. Crops had… Continue reading
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2013 In Progress: Kept the Spreadsheet and Changed My Story
Now that we’ve reached one month beyond the halfway point of 2013, I wanted to take a snapshot of July as well as the year so far. Continue reading
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Trail Ridge Road on Tandem
There’s nothing that kicks off a bike tour better than riding the highest continuous paved road in the United States. Continue reading
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Endurance: What the Research Doesn’t Tell You
When mainstream media picks up a thread about the effects of endurance pursuits on health, I usually hear about it. The most recent one I know of was covered in the Wall Street Journal. The article’s focus was “extreme exercisers,” and how they may experience some health benefits from their activities, but likely put their… Continue reading
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The Weekend Warrior
Like many people in this town, I work in an office environment Monday through Friday. I spend lots of time in front of a computer or sitting in meetings. Lots. For over 40 hours each week, I sit. And sit. And sit. To compensate for my largely sedentary work life I bike commute, pepper in… Continue reading
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A Peak, a Valley, and a New Ascent: May by the Miles
May turned out to be an exciting month around the edges with a big blah and some good lessons learned in the middle. Numbers-wise, it looked like this: 1 Marathon 91 miles run 0 Brevets 485 miles on the bike 11 trips to the gym for general weightlifting workouts First, a peak: The first weekend… Continue reading
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Randonneuring: From Doing to Being
I started riding with the D.C. Randonneurs in 2005 when I was invited to participate on a flèche team. At that time, I had never ridden farther than a century and I had no idea what randonneuring was. Despite my ignorance the flèche sounded like an exciting opportunity to test my limits. To prepare for… Continue reading
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The D.C. Randonneurs 400K Brevet: A Long Ride to a Pizza Party
This past weekend Felkerino and I organized the D.C. Randonneurs 400K brevet. Of all the spring brevets the 400K is the one that, as a rider, I find most daunting. It starts at 4 a.m., and is the first of the brevets that requires hours of night riding. Riders roll out in the dark, and arrive in… Continue reading
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The Dogs I’ve Met Through Randonneuring
A Terrifying Beginning When I was a kid, I developed a serious apprehension about dogs. This feeling was exacerbated when I rode my bike, largely because one of the rural roads I often traveled was also home to Snoopy, the big mean biting dog. Snoopy was always in her yard, lying in wait for innocent… Continue reading
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Comparing a Marathon to Randonneuring
Every once in a while, someone asks me how a marathon compares to randonneuring. Running versus randonneuring was also a recent topic on the “randon” list, one of the main randonneuring listservs. Having just completed a marathon as well as a flèche and a 300K within a month’s timeframe, I thought I’d share my own… Continue reading
Chasing MailBoxes 