NPR story on randonneuring

[fiamme red]

http://www.npr.org/2013/06/29/195873620/randonneurs-are-in-it-for-the-ride-not-the-race

[AngryScientist]

caught that one.

the comments section there is, as usual, generally ridiculous.

i'm getting into the rando scene in a big way starting next year. i've got a pretty lofty dream i'm chasing, and i'm going to dive in head first.

thanks for posting.

[Cat3roadracer]

Good article.

[witcombusa]

the few rando guys I know are VERY focused on time.

so it's a race against the clock for them

not so much "enjoy the ride"


for me nothing ruins any ride faster than watching the clock

[keevon]

Hadn't heard Jan Heine's voice before... that alone was worth the listen.

I will now have his Americanized/Texanized German accent in my head while reading BQ :beer:

[JAGI410]

for me nothing ruins any ride faster than watching the clock

Amen!

[Likes2ridefar]

the few rando guys I know are VERY focused on time.

so it's a race against the clock for them

not so much "enjoy the ride"


for me nothing ruins any ride faster than watching the clock

I've done maybe 5 or 6 total rando events and other than a few people most were there to enjoy the ride. It's been a few years, but each and every ride is still memorable and was quite enjoyable. I did 200km and 300km events in upstate NY and western MA.

[R2D2]

the few rando guys I know are VERY focused on time.

so it's a race against the clock for them

not so much "enjoy the ride"


for me nothing ruins any ride faster than watching the clock

It is a timed even with controls opened and then closing at specified windows.
So there is some attention to time and if you have a repair or other event then you may start chasing the clock. But most of the anciens I know are very fast over distance and push each other for fun. But there are is also the ultra marathon set (Sebring 24 hours etc...) that are very focused on time.
But there's room form all mindsets.

[srice]

the few rando guys I know are VERY focused on time.

so it's a race against the clock for them

not so much "enjoy the ride"


for me nothing ruins any ride faster than watching the clock


I've been a randonneur for over a decade now. I've even become the RBA for KY. After my first few brevets, I rarely look at the time. I realized that if I had an idealized schedule, something would happen and I would get behind and that would add to the pressure. There are more important things than time in these events. I just finished the Gold Rush 1200 a few days ago and I actually slept for a couple of hours 90 hours from the finish to let a friend catch up and the sun go down so that we could finish together in the cooler, but much buggier, conditions. The only regret I have in doing that was that we finished too late to buy a beer in Davis, CA.