I actually started packing a month ahead of time in order to assemble all of the necessities for my drop bags (I didn’t want to forget anything and started a pile in my closet that gradually grew over the passing weeks.) After doing all of the above research and then some — I packed two bags following the rules set by the organizers.
With the Santa Cruz Randonneurs’ 2014 California Central Coast Randonnée looming before me, I’ve been slowly ramping up preparations for my longest ride to date — 1000 kilometers. Here’s a rundown of the gear I’ll be carrying with me.
I didn’t take a lot of photos on today’s permanent, a 68-mile ride that stops at Rivendell Bicycle Works in Walnut Creek, because it was tooooooooo damn hot! I still had fun on this awesome East Bay route.
My training continued this weekend for the upcoming 3CR 1000k — it’s just a few weeks away, eek! TBO was game to attempt his longest set of consecutive rides to date (in terms of total mileage) and tackled my friend Franklyn’s 205k permanent from Sausalito to Ukiah with me.
Every summer, the San Francisco Randonneurs organize a super fun double brevet weekend that begins in San Francisco and heads north out to Cloverdale (riders have their choice of either a 300k or 200k route). After kicking back and relaxing over a catered dinner at the host hotel and tucking away several hours of sleep, folks stretch their tired legs and return to the city the following day on another 200k route. Last year I had done the Cloverdale to SF segment, so I thought I’d ride the other direction this time around and volunteer at the finish.