Athens 200K

Note: Last December I took up a new type of riding, randonneuring.  It's a long-distance style of riding that began in France and Italy about 100 years ago.  The most common type of event is the brevet, which ranges in length from 200 km (about 124 miles) to 1200 km (about 746 miles).  (The most famous brevet is Paris-Brest-Paris, a 1200K held every four years).  A brevet is not a race, but it has a time limit, and you have to stop at designated checkpoints along the route.  Camaraderie and self sufficiency are emphasized.  I ride with the Audax Atlanta chapter of Randonneurs USA (RUSA), whose Regional Brevet Administrator (RBA) - i.e., ride coordinator - is Kevin Kaiser.  This is my ride report from the Athens 200K this past April.

Yesterday’s 200K was terrific!  We couldn’t have asked for much better weather, could we?  As always, thank you so much to Kevin for organizing everything and to everyone who provided support.

My ride was more food focused than usual.  That’s because my brain malfunctioned Friday night before I went to bed; I set my alarm clock about 30 minutes later than I should have.  When I woke up, I realized that I should have been leaving my house right about then!  After a mad dash to wash my face, brush my teeth, and put on my kit, I was out the door in 15 minutes.  Fortunately, I had packed all my gear in my car the night before.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to pack all of the food I had intended to bring.

I like to bring most of my own food because I feel like I get better nutrition that way.  Good fuel = better performance.  The original plan was to bring a turkey and cheese sandwich, a cut-up apple, two Clif Bars, and two hard-boiled eggs, which I planned to supplement with a few purchased items at the controls.  I had boiled the eggs the night before and placed them in a Ziploc bag in the fridge, and so I just had to grab them.  The Clif Bars were with my packed gear.  I didn’t have time to prepare my sandwich and apple, though, which meant that I had to buy more food on the road than usual.  I did have the presence of mind to grab a third Clif Bar and two bananas.  On the drive up, I had a Clif Bar, a banana, and the two hard-boiled eggs.  Breakfast of champions.

When I was little, I loved reading Nancy Drew mysteries.  Nancy, ever the good citizen, always drove “only as fast as the law would allow,” even when she was pursuing some ne’er-do-well.  I sort of followed Nancy’s example, driving as fast as the laws of physics would allow while avoiding the po po.  I managed to arrive a few minutes before everyone rolled out.  However, by the time I parked up the road, unloaded my bike, and got myself organized, I started about 10 minutes after the group.  This doomed me to a day of solo riding.  At least I was up for the challenge.

The one thing I forgot in my frenzy to get out the door was the Heed that I prepared the previous night.  Heed is a sports drink with protein as well as carbohydrates; both are important on our endurance rides.  It comes as a powder that you mix with water.  At least forgetting my two bottles of Heed wasn’t catastrophic; I simply bought a few bottles of Gatorade at the first control.  Also, the Heed didn’t go to waste.  I called my husband later in the morning and suggested that he use them on his ride yesterday.

I try to eat something about every hour and a half.  Around mile 75 or so, I’m ready for some more substantial food.  This generally corresponds well with whichever control is the lunch-ey-est.  Of course, yesterday this was the McDonald’s in Eatonton.  When I ordered a Quarter Pounder, the cashier looked at me like I had 3 heads. She sniffed, "We don't serve lunch until 11:00 A.M." (It was about 10:30.) Having already been on my bicycle for about 4 1/2 hours, I just assumed it was lunchtime.  Whatever - on a brevet, one doesn't dine; one fuels.  So, I got a sausage and egg biscuit and a Coca-Cola Classic.  Breakfast of champions Part II.  By the way, I never drink full-octane Coke any other time, but I’ve found that the sugar and caffeine at my lunch stop works very well for me on brevets.

After all that Gatorade and Coke, a little while later I was ready for some good old, plain water.  As you know, there aren’t any stores on the route between McDonald’s and the next control .  Not a problem, though.  I simply used the old cycling trick of stopping at a country church.  I was grateful that New Enon Baptist Church on Godfrey Road had a working outdoor spigot.

For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.  –  Mark 9:41

I thoroughly enjoyed my ride and finished strong.  As a bonus, my husband and our friend Chad rode their bicycles from Monticello to the SpringHill Suites.  Chad’s wife Kathy met us, too, and the four of us went to downtown Athens to watch the Twilight Criterium.  We caught the later races, including the pro women’s and men’s races.  I’ve been to Twilight and other crits before, but this pro men’s race was amazing.  They went incredibly fast, and, unfortunately, there were several crashes.  We were standing behind the outside barricade on Turn 4, where the worst crash of the night occurred.  One racer was taken away by ambulance.  (Prayers that he and the others are OK.)  As I told Jeff Dilcher, this made me so glad that I’ve traded mass-start races for randonneuring!

I hope this wasn’t too much rambling about nutrition on rides, but it's such a critical part of our sport.  I’d love to hear anyone else’s input.  Also, I hope some of the 600K riders give us a report.

Betty Jean