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Longer and more winding road
Yeah, I guess, what a time to be alive, strangeways here we come, a rush and push won’t help … Corona threw a spanner in the works not only for this blog, our training, our rhythm of a brevet every few weeks, but of course, also for LEL. Without much (external) ado but probably lot’s… Read more
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The wrong gear makes everything alright
Riding singlespeed means that you’re riding the wrong gear probably about 97% of the time depending on terrain. Then why is it alright?… Continue reading The wrong gear makes everything alright
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Cycling in the times of Corona
On your bike: You can avoid mass public transport. You can stay fit without going to the gym. You can fight anxiety. Any ride will leave your mind refreshed and you body relaxed. Social distancing while on the move. Hat tip to jabig. And of course to Gabrial García Márquez. I have little hope for… Read more
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Doing intervals – The other kind
Cycling is definitely on the proverbial back burner right now for me, because so many other things take precedence. Still, I have a modicum of hope for finishing the long Bordeaux – Dordrecht Brevet. The only training I can do for that is riding Brevets. And to this end I picked up a quicker interval… Read more
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Contraptions and shenanigans
Instead of boring you to a slow and painful death with the usual stories about last weekend’s Brevet (300km, part of my preparation for Bordeaux – Dordrecht), here are some bikes to feast your eyes upon. Randonneurs are a colourful bunch (within a specific range of colours) and so are their bikes. Ride went okay,… Read more
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Don’t ride up grades …
Buy upgrades! Just very recently I dismissed certain pieces of equipment as superfluous or whatever. Anyway, leading up to my first very long Brevet there are two things I wanna try to potentially make things easier for me in/on the (ha!) long run: * Aero Bars fitted to my bike by someone who knows how… Read more
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LEL-Interviews: Gunnar Part 1
While I wrote that there some things you have to learn by experience (can’t learn to walk a tight rope by reading about it), it’s obviously useful to profit from (and be entertained by) the experience of others. So, let’s start to interview experienced LEL-Randonneurs! First off: Gunnar… Continue reading LEL-Interviews: Gunnar Part 1
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10.000 km
This was my bike on November 18, 2018 in its new state practically fresh out of the box with some clip-on lights by Cateye (Cateye GVolt 50, which I can fully recommend for everyday use). This was my bike on January 13, 2020 after 10.000 km, 15 Brevets, Mt. Ventoux, Alp Crossing, everyday commuting, regular… Read more
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Randonneur’s Dictionary
Here’s a handy dictionary to guide you along the Ways of the Randonneur. Find Randonneurish on the left and the usual cycling lingo or a commonly understandable explanation the right… Continue reading Randonneur’s Dictionary
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NTFU not SNFU – Cycling club, not punk band
I am somewhat inclined to making hare-brained connections between completely unconnected things so just let‘s not talk about Canadians SNFU (of course: situation normal, fucked up) but about the Dutch NTFU (Nederlands Toer Fiets Unie – Dutch Tour Bike Union). They are, in their own words: NTFU represents the interests of the sportive cyclist. We… Read more
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Without a doubt
Yesterday saw the first Brevet of this year (and this decade, yawn, as if that mattered). On virtual paper a shortish 200 km ride, nearly all flat with less than 1000 m of climbing. Wind and rain, that started around noon and went up to gale strength, as well as the seasonal temperatures made it… Read more
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No bad weather – a cold weather gear list
I always had some trouble to dress exactly right for the weather. The old phys. ed. teacher saying: „There is no bad weather, only inadequate clothing“ remains as false as it ever was. There definitely is bad weather. But for a lot of things the climate throws at us, there is something to (buy and)… Read more
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My very last Brevet …
As I wrote the other day, I spontaneously decided to ride another Brevet this year. Again from Boekele near Enschede to Tecklenburg through the Teutoburger Forest (Varus! Varus!), to the western Münsterland. The who what now?… Continue reading My very last Brevet …
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A good kick in the butt
The past month has been slow cycling-wise. As I wrote, I fell into a bit of a hole after my last Brevet as regards motivation or more fittingly the sheer lust I normally feel to push the pedals long and hard was completely absent. I just went to the usual Sunday social rides which –… Read more
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Randonneur round the Year
Thankfully, the Brevet Selfhelp Group planned one of their therapy sessions, a 200km Brevet, for November 9. Because I had to/will have to attend social events on the dates of the other Brevets this month that came quite handily. …… Continue reading Randonneur round the Year
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AlpX – The Day before
Greasing the chain for the final time. If you look closely you see the Zugspitze above the rear wheel and the Wendelstein to the left. Between both the Achenpass lies, which we will take tomorrow. The mountains are calling us. (By Agnes, who will ride with Holger and me)
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Preparing by doing it – BRM200 Wuppertal
I started this randonneuring thing only last December with a 200 km Brevet through the longest night of the year from Wuppertal to Venlo. Ever since I‘ve been very fond of the no frills approach and the special charm of Wuppertal. Last Saturday there was another Wuppertal brevet with the fitting title of „Into the… Read more
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On quitting
While so far posts have been mostly jocular while considering some serious and not so serious subjects, there are the very serious topics that don’t allow for (much) kidding in my book. I mentioned that there is mostly a liquid delimitation i.e. a grey area between “can’t” and “won’t”. There are situations where you don’t… Read more
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Reflections on (inter)national randonneuring
A simple way to tell a national from a true international randonneur is by …… Continue reading Reflections on (inter)national randonneuring
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Funding opportunity
„Extreme-cyclists Jonas Deichmann and Philipp Hympendahl ride off. 18.000 km from the North Cape in Norway to the southern end of Africa and all that unsupported. The goal is to do this in less than 75 days – a whole month faster than the previous world record. They started on September 8, 2019 and will… Read more
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One hill
This is the Vollrather Höhe , a lone and artificial hill protruding from an immense plain. Used by local cyclists to get their legs used to climbing. Which is enough to train conquering (not only fighting) the most HC climbs. It‘s Sunday. Don’t expect too much.
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DNF – why and how (not)
Nearly every second rider does not finish LEL. What’s up with that? And is a Good Thing(tm) or a Bad Thing(tm)?… Continue reading DNF – why and how (not)
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Why LEL is in fact a race – How to explain LEL
Sooner or later you will be in a position where you have to explain to someone what LEL is. And let’s face it, you won’t be in that position because someone is interested in what epic feats you are accomplishing …… Continue reading Why LEL is in fact a race – How to explain LEL
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Start on your doorstep
Just imagine you would be one to walk the Camino de Santiago. Now imagine you take a train or even fly to … say Paris and set off walking to Santiago de Compostela from there. And now imagine you would start a journey with the same goal mostly along the same paths from your doorstep. …… Continue reading Start on your doorstep
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#Vorfreude
Make the most of a Big Thing(c) by making a great big hubbub about it. Read and re-read the FAQs. Read reports on the previous edition*. Obsess about your bike and equipment. Compile a playlist of ridiculous songs on your favourite streaming service. Study the route on Komoot and Google Maps, use street view. Prepare… Read more
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Further
Did you read the one about Spoils? That was about a patch for my Randonneur bag showing a road bike and the word „Further”. Why? Because you may want to cycle further. Is that all? No. The book missing above is quite obviously “One flew over the cuckoo’s nest”. That book made its author Ken… Read more
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Targets of Opportunity – AlpX
In military speak there are “targets of opportunity”, things you attack, because they are easy to attack on your way to or from your main objective. But not only in armed conflict but often in life you have an objective to achieve, say a 1.500 km endurance ride from London to Edinburgh and back. …… Continue reading Targets of Opportunity – AlpX
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Spoils
Another part of preparation for an endurance effort is – at least for me – to spoil yourself. Before to prepare or after to reward. Why is rewarding – which you do after achieving something – preparation? Because you teach yourself that exertion brings tangible rewards. Because these rewards might be things helping you in… Read more
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Equanimity + Serenity
If you feel bad. If you feel you cannot go on. If your right pedal fell off. If your saddle rails broke. If your left earlobe for whatever reason is just fucking killing you right now. Remember: After the rain comes sun.… Continue reading Equanimity + Serenity
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Rain Lover II
And as he drove on, the rainclouds dragged down the sky after him, for, though he did not know it, Rob McKenna was a Rain God. All he knew was that his working days were miserable …… Continue reading Rain Lover II
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Rain Lover
I do not like rain, sometimes I even hate it. Yet, this morning when I commuted to work in full rain gear, I had a smile on my face I normally only have when the sky is blue and the temperature is 30+ (Celsius). I was always wondering whether I will ever be a badass… Read more
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Compulsory Staring
Cycling either has you staring at a distance of 10-30 m (looking for the way you need to take), 1 m (at the wheel of the cyclist in front of you) or at arm’s length (at you GPS/Galileo/In-Russia-GPS-stares-at-you thingumabob). Why not stare into a distance of 2-3 m for one hour and watch this little… Read more
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A lucky draw
Sitting quite tiredly at the not-so-glamorous train station in Venlo/Netherlands after I rode there from the finish of the “BRM 200 Merselo – Frank Simons Memorial” brevet, checking my emails compulsively as I am prone to do, my head suddenly exploded ….… Continue reading A lucky draw