2007 Brevet season is in full swing...in Florida that is.

[RABikes2]

The first brevet of the 2007 season, a 200k, was January 1st here in north Florida; the ride was great fun. There were around 10 of us; I was the only woman. For the first day of January, the temperature was just right. Some of the guys opted to wear tights or other leg coverings; I went with armwarmers and vest. It started raining within minutes after the start and continued for a few hours, but by late morning the weather was excellent. It went into the high 60's during the afternoon.
One of the guys I rode with was Kevin Kaiser (from Atlanta, GA). Kevin is very soft-spoken and a wonderful cyclist. There's a small group of us that have been coming to the Bonifay series since they started a few years ago. I believe it was the 200k on New Year's Day in 2005, Kevin and I happened to be riding together and talking about RAAM. To make a long story short, we were asking each other goal questions and I can remember him saying he hoped to qualify for RAAM in the future; and he did it in 2006! I was teasing him saying, "I knew you when you were just "Kevin". ;) Look for his name at RAAM 2008; there's a good chance his brother, Chris, will qualify by then, too. Four of us stayed together the entire day and it made for a fun brevet riding and talking with old friends. The days numbers came out to 120 miles, 6:48 bike time, 8:00 overall time, 17.6 mph.

We have 3 brevet series in Florida and all are in full swing. What are your plans for 2007, the year for Paris-Brest-Paris?

RA

[weisan]

RA-pal, that's some fast pace riding you did on the brevet, bravo!

My plans for this year is pretty modest and hopefully achievable...only 2 objectives:
1) Get to the start line of D2R2
2) Get to the finish line of D2R2

;)
Take care now...keep us posted with your next Brevet results.
weisan

[jcmuellner]

Up here we will wait until March for our first 200k. For most it'll be the start of PBP qualifiers, but this year I'll just be doing them for fun and not going to France (unless some major change occurs). PBP is great fun and it would be nice to do another! Soon I'll have my new fork and the brevet bike will be ready.

Should be a welcome season of riding after this hideous winter and maybe some big tour may come my way stateside in August. Best of luck to all randonneurs!

[scrooge]

I'm finally living in a place where they actually do these and am excited about that (working on "Brevet-izing" the bike by switching to a triple). So far, the only group I know of here is the "Rocky Mountain Cycling Club" and I'm going to try to do a couple 2/300ks with them. I'd like to do longer, but the schedule won't allow it (Sundays are almost always out for me). Anyone know of other groups in the Denver area that do these?

[RABikes2]

Scrooge,
Unfortunately, one of our past Southeast Florida Regional Brevet Administrators (RBA) just recently moved back to Florida from Denver. If you are unable to get brevet contact information, I can e-mail Peter and ask who would be a good brevet contact for you in the Denver area. When we came through Durango, CO on RAAM, I met a few randonneurs that traveled to Denver where they were members of a bike club. You might also want to check the RUSA site at: http://www.rusa.org for more information. Hope this helps. Say the word and we'll see what we can come up with...to get you connected and going! :D
RA

[dauwhe]

First 100k Populaire is towards the end of March in Western Massachusetts. I fear we'll pay the price for our (painfully) mild January, and have epic conditions for some of the brevets!

I just got my first Super Randonneur medal in the mail a few days ago! Very exciting. I haven't done a 1200k, though. I figure if I only do one, it might as well be PBP!

I'm really looking forward to the brevet season...

Dave

[RABikes2]

I just got my first Super Randonneur medal in the mail a few days ago! Very exciting. I haven't done a 1200k, though. I figure if I only do one, it might as well be PBP! Dave
Congrats Dave! I remember when I received my first series of medals and first (and only so far) SR medal; those medals are beautiful, aren't they?! I just met with our RBA (and his wife to plan for PBP) and he still hadn't received any of our medals for '06...they're probably on the way. :rolleyes:

Enjoy your season, keep us informed!
RA

[dreadpiratetim]

I'm finally living in a place where they actually do these and am excited about that (working on "Brevet-izing" the bike by switching to a triple). So far, the only group I know of here is the "Rocky Mountain Cycling Club" and I'm going to try to do a couple 2/300ks with them. I'd like to do longer, but the schedule won't allow it (Sundays are almost always out for me). Anyone know of other groups in the Denver area that do these?

RMCC is the only brevet group on the Front Range. The 2007 schedule is posted at http://www.rmccrides.com/brevets.htm

There are other clubs in the area, but none that coordinate rides approaching the distance of the RMCC schedule. It's a great group of people, and being a PBP year there should be plenty of company. Have fun!

[davep]

We had our 200k in the Central/South Florida series on Jan 6. I wouldn't have thought it possible to get 6,000 ft of elevation gain in Florida - but it took going over the few hills we have two to three times each. The weather was beautiful and the ride was great. 300k in two weeks.

[jcmuellner]

I just met with our RBA (and his wife to plan for PBP) and he still hadn't received any of our medals for '06...they're probably on the way.

We just received or medals this week, so they are a bit behind. I've done a few 1200's, but 2006 was the first year I've done a 1000km and it was great. I plan to do more in the future.

Jon

[BHL]

Can't wait to try out a brevet series this year. I've been doing lots of centuries over the years and am hoping the series and the people involved will bring a new focus to riding and a cool new community to ride with. For year 1, I'll be psyched if I can get through the 300 and will shoot for the 400. I'm awed by folks who do the 600's and 1200's, but it always seems like the bar inevitably gets raised in cycling...
Ben

[dauwhe]

Another Western Mass. randonneur--cool! Where do you live? This will be my third season; I finished the 400 but dropped out of the 600 my first year, and last year finished the 600! So this year I hope to get to Paris!

The Westfield brevets are wonderful--Don (our RBA) is a great guy, and the routes are very scenic, and provide good riding. I hope you have a good season!

Dave

[RABikes2]

For those interested, Michael (RBA) for the Florida Freewheelers Orlando is having a Challenge 1500 Brevet Camp week. Yep, you got it folks, you can get your full series completed in one (yes, ONE) week. The series, 200k, 300k, 400k, 600k, will be held April 21-27 in Tampa, Florida. Also, May 17-20th, a 1199k and 1000k will be offered in Clermont, Florida.

In addition to a full series of brevets, Joe, RBA in North Florida, is offering a 1000k on June 8 that will include Cheaha State Park located in the Talladega Mountains of Alabama. The climbs at Cheaha are compared with a few of the climbs in BMB (Middlebury Gap going out for one). Good training for PBP.

The spouse and kids can have fun at one of the many amusement parks in Tampa Bay or the Clermont (Orlando) area or rent a beach house on any one of the many, nearby white sand beaches while you get your PBP qualifiers done in 7 days. What a deal, eh! :D

RA

Have a great time this year Ben. Remember, in randonneuring it's not about "winning". Most often the riders who are out longer are the ones with some of the best stories! :D