come with me for a low-key randonnée

Yesterday was a twenty-hour day ~ woke up at 4:00am to help my friend Joachim participate in one of his many long distance cycling events, also known as brevets . The San Francisco Randonneurs held the 300K Russian River Brevet which is part of a 2010 overall series. Apparently the ultimate honor for brevet riders is participating and finishing in the Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP) event in France ~ riding 1200K in a 90 hour time-limit.

I met the riders via motorcycle at control points 3 and 4 (Bodega Bay and Marshall, respectively) and was able to get a sense of the kind of effort and incredible mental discipline this kind of sport requires. I met Joachim back in Sausalito on my bicycle as he came through on his way to the finish and we rode the final five miles together across the Golden Gate Bridge. The day was long but satisfying, interesting and very educational ~ just check out just the glossary of terms alone.