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Achieved one of my 2016 goals. :)

Machka9
Machka9 Posts: 25,930 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
I used to be an active long distance cyclist ... ultra distance. Randonneuring, audax, 24-hour races and things like that. If any of the cyclists here have heard of the Paris-Brest-Paris 1200 km event ... I've done it and 3 others like it. Long distance cycling is definitely the type of cycling I enjoy the most. :)

Then a few years ago, my activity level dropped for various reasons and I put on a bit of weight.

So one of the main reasons why I joined MFP and set about losing weight was to get back into Randonneuring again.


Yesterday I cycled my first 200 kilometre randonnee since March 2012, and completed it in 11 hours 18 minutes total time. :grin: I am so pleased to have done that and absolutely ecstatic about the time. The time limit on a 200K is 13 hours 30 min, and I figured I'd be right close to the limit ... finishing with so much time to spare was amazing!

My ride report is here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Machka9/view/campbell-town-canter-200-2-km-802156


Replies

  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    Wow, great work!

    200K!!! Amazing.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,488 Member
    Nicely done. Great blog.
    But where is Campbell Town?

    Cheers, h.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,930 Member
    middlehaitch wrote: »
    Nicely done. Great blog.
    But where is Campbell Town?

    Cheers, h.

    Right in the middle of Tasmania. :)
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    Wow, well done. Great achievement :)
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Well done!
    A real mental as well as physical challenge - Audax events also seem to attract a really friendly crowd.
  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
    That is awesome!!!

    Congratulations :)

    ~Lyssa
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,488 Member
    Ooh, any chance you took a couple of photos on your ride?
    Tasmania is exotic when one lives in Canada.
    So glad I didn't start searching a map of the USA. I would have been confused.

    Cheers, h.
  • meghanduprey
    meghanduprey Posts: 158 Member
    that is amazing, congratulations on your accomplishment!
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,930 Member
    middlehaitch wrote: »
    Ooh, any chance you took a couple of photos on your ride?
    Tasmania is exotic when one lives in Canada.
    So glad I didn't start searching a map of the USA. I would have been confused.

    Cheers, h.

    No photos on this ride, I was very focused on completing it.

    I am a Canadian who moved to Australia about 6.5 years ago. I lived in Victoria for the first 4 years and then moved down to Tasmania (my husband is Tasmanian). And I do like taking photos so I've got several "albums" of them already: :)

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/machka-bb/collections/72157644517168953/





  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,488 Member
    That us so funny, I'm English and moved to Canada, Victoria. My SO is Canadian.
    Thanks for the link. I will drool over Tasmania this evening.

    Cheers, h.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,930 Member
    middlehaitch wrote: »
    That us so funny, I'm English and moved to Canada, Victoria. My SO is Canadian.
    Thanks for the link. I will drool over Tasmania this evening.

    Cheers, h.

    :)

    Enjoy! It's a relatively small island, but I'm still exploring.

  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,930 Member
    And thank you all. :)

    This is something I've wanted to do again for a long time ... but just couldn't with the extra weight.

    sijomial wrote: »
    Well done!
    A real mental as well as physical challenge - Audax events also seem to attract a really friendly crowd.

    Yes, definitely a mental challenge as well. That aspect came up several times, but especially about 10 km from the end when all of a sudden everything hurt and I stopped on the top of yet another hill and said to my husband, "I'm not sure if I can make it. I might have bitten off more than I can chew." His response was, "You're so close to the finish ... keep riding". So I did and a few minutes later, I felt better again. :)

    I have done Audax events in several countries, and yes, I'd have to agree about the friendly crowd. In fact ... I met my husband on the Paris-Brest-Paris in 2003. :grin:

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    @Machka9
    My mate describes Audax events as "an eating contest held in beautiful countryside".
    Mmmmm 5000+ calories and still in a deficit.

    If you find yourself in England this is a lovely ride....
    http://www.cyclosport.org/event/07-Jun-2015/UK/the-london-ditchling-devil.html
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    I am not a cyclist

    but this I like

    congrats :)
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,930 Member
    sijomial wrote: »
    @Machka9
    My mate describes Audax events as "an eating contest held in beautiful countryside".
    Mmmmm 5000+ calories and still in a deficit.

    If you find yourself in England this is a lovely ride....
    http://www.cyclosport.org/event/07-Jun-2015/UK/the-london-ditchling-devil.html

    When I've really actively been involved in Randonneuring and all the training that goes into it, I've had trouble keeping my weight in the normal BMI range ... I keep slipping down into underweight. You just burn so many calories and it is hard to keep up. I get sick of eating all the time.

    I'm kind of hoping to get back to that level again. :grin:

    And thanks for the link. :) I have cycled in the UK a few times ... mostly on my own or with a friend, but a couple times with a CTC group.

    rabbitjb wrote: »
    I am not a cyclist

    but this I like

    congrats :)

    Thanks! :)


    And we're now actually toying with the idea of doing a longer distance!! :astonished:

  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
    Machka9 wrote: »
    I have done Audax events in several countries, and yes, I'd have to agree about the friendly crowd. In fact ... I met my husband on the Paris-Brest-Paris in 2003. :grin:

    Oh wow, so cool. :heart:
  • 75in2013
    75in2013 Posts: 361 Member
    Congratulations :smile:

    I had to google Radonneuring :) . Looks like something I would really enjoy. I used to cycle a lot ~15 years ago. A few hundred kilometers per week was nothing. But sometimes I think that's when my weight problem started. I "learned" to eat huge ammounts of food just to stay in a healthy weight. And I "learned" to enjoy eating a lot. Then: work, marriage and kids and suddenly there is little/no time for the cycling anymore. But I just can't unlearn the eating :/

    Are you "allowed" riding in the slipstream of another cyclist when you do a randonnee?

    Definitely inspring! Thanks!
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,930 Member
    75in2013 wrote: »
    Congratulations :smile:

    I had to google Radonneuring :) . Looks like something I would really enjoy. I used to cycle a lot ~15 years ago. A few hundred kilometers per week was nothing. But sometimes I think that's when my weight problem started. I "learned" to eat huge ammounts of food just to stay in a healthy weight. And I "learned" to enjoy eating a lot. Then: work, marriage and kids and suddenly there is little/no time for the cycling anymore. But I just can't unlearn the eating :/

    Are you "allowed" riding in the slipstream of another cyclist when you do a randonnee?

    Definitely inspring! Thanks!

    Yes, you are allowed to ride in the slipstream of another cyclist in randonneuring. :) As long as that other cyclist is also riding the event.

    I've done a couple 24 hour time trials ... where you ride for 24 hours straight through ... and on those you're not allowed to draft. My husband and I had to ride a certain distance apart.

This discussion has been closed.

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