“It was just something like Mount Everest. It was there, and you felt you had to do it.”
Reading about 80-year old Leroy Varga’s (subscription) preparation for the Paris-Brest-Paris Randonneur in the New York Times, reminded me of the time I stopped to help a cyclist near the top of Snoqualmie pass. I was driving over the pass to Eastern Washington and saw a old cyclist, with touring gear, walking his bike up the pass. I stopped to check if he was ok and he said, “yes, my knees just hurt, I’m 85, and rode from Maine.” Rode from Maine at 80 I thought, man, and I struggle just to train a few days a week.
That certainly changed my perspective and on the hugga to-do list are randonnées. This year, we’ll have a blogger riding and posting about Paris-Brest-Paris this year.
I’ll be looking forward to your future posts regarding this event. Finishing the Paris-Brest-Paris is a goal of mine for 2009. Any pointers I can get would be much appreciated.
I’ll be blogging about PBP and the qualifying brevet series. Not sure how heavy on pointers the posts will be, since I have not done this before. So far it has been a hoot, and I already have a fistful of pointers on what NOT to do.
-Andy T
I’d like to write a post about your up and coming series. There’s quite a few people here in the UK getting involved in Audax and some that still don’t know what it is. When do you have your first installation planned?
I just found you site while looking around. My son left yesterday for this ride. I am so nervous but its something he loves doing. I am going to keep up with your site to help me feel a part of what is going on. I know that you will not meet David more then likly among all the riders but I like knowing you are keeping us updated. Thank you.