Testing, testing

4.02.19
Since my first 200k brevet a year ago, I've joined Randonneurs USA and ridden four 200k Permanents, plus eight Populaires (100k). I felt I had become a solid randonneur for such distances. However, I came to believe it would be best if took a pass on riding Rick's 2019 Batsto 200k brevet on the first Saturday in April, despite having signed up and paid up well in advance.

Ever since February when I did a 42-mile ride where I pushed myself to keep up with a couple stronger riders while I was wearing SPD clip-ins for only the second time, I have been experiencing more cramping than ever. (Cramping has always been a bugaboo for me.) After riding a 100k Populaire in mid-March (the fifth of a planned P-12), I felt that a 200k was not something I would be able to tackle again anytime soon. As I put it to a co-rider at the diner afterward, there was no way I could turn around and do a second 100k that day.

But I felt badly that I was going to miss Rick's brevet this year, which is something of a party he throws annually. I like Rick as both a co-rider and off-the-bike buddy. And reading the recently-arrived RUSA newsletter American Randonneur always motivates me to ride. So I reasoned that doing a 200k is as much about mindset at the outset as anything else. If I expected to do 200k, rode my own pace and dosed myself with salt capsules and ibuprofen at proper intervals, it could go well enough.

Yesterday I tested myself with a 52-miler of my own design, fighting headwinds across the open fields of Salem County. I figured, with 4+ days to rest up (e.g.no jogging) and the right attitude, I am in good-enough shape to tackle the upcoming 200k. I think Rick was glad to learn this. And I now find that I am looking forward to the ride; with around 60 riders signed up, it should feel like a real event.