For a randonneur I'm on the younger side--42. There were times when I was riding alone but for the most part I kept riding with various folks that seemed to range in age from the late 20s to the... oh I'll say mid to late 50s. The older guys were strong as hell. I think there's a lot to say for experience. These guys all seemed to have been cycling for 20+ years and many had completed multiple 1200s. My time for the event was 12hrs 44mins which qualified me for R70 honors with 10 minutes to spare which was my goal. One guy, on a recumbent, finished in just under 14hrs!
My Hilsen was pretty heavy, I'm not sure how much it weighs and I don't need to know the exact weight. My wheels are heavy that's for sure--36h, XT hubs, Salsa rims, JB blue tires--but they are dependable and sturdy. For the most part my Hilsen is a standard Riv build. The upcoming 600k is going to be tough and very very hilly. I may end up riding my Rambouillet for that and with only Carradice Barley bag to hold my stuff. And if it looks to be dry I'll probably loose the fenders. Right now it has Ruffy Tuffys on it but I may switch to Pasela 32s . I rode the Rambouillet last year for all my brevets and it worked well. It's definitely a lighter set-up without the Berthoud bag and front rack. But then again, the Berthoud bag is really nice. And while the Hilsen is heavy it's very comfy and super stable on descents. Riding no hands with bag it can get a little wobbly but oh well. I'll load up the bag this week and go for some hilly rides and see how I like it. I may also try the bag out on my Rambouillet. As hard as the longer brevets sound my experience with the Oregon Randonneurs, and the many Seattle International Randonneurs that come to the rides, has been nothing but positive. The folks are friendly and fun to ride with. --mike --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
