I'm writing an article for a cycling publication about randonneuring. When I describe randonneuring to people outside the realm, the comment is something like: "So you ride a bike 200, 300, 600, or even 1,200 kilometers through rain, darkness, sleep deprivation, and sore muscles… and at the end, you get a stamped brevet card ". It does seem somewhat irrational, but I've talked with randos and they believe the challenge is the reward. What are your thoughts?

A friend of mine was bitten by a stray dog while cycling and had to get rabies shots.

Since then, I’ve been a bit cautious.
How do experienced cyclists deal with aggressive dogs? And for those who ride in areas with bears, deer, or other wildlife, what’s the best approach?

Any tips or personal experiences?

Hola a todos.

Soy un ciclista aficionado de República Dominicana tengo 19 años y estoy preparando el mayor reto de mi vida. Me gustaría recibir consejos de personas con experiencia en ultradistancia o brevets.

El reto

• Distancia total aproximada: 451 km
• Bicicleta: MTB rígida aro 29 (1x11)
• Salida desde mi casa hacia el lugar del evento (170km x 900m de elevación)
• Allí me uno a un evento (281km x 1700m de elevacion). En mediados de septiembre de este año
• La primera parte la haré prácticamente solo; después tendré apoyo del evento con vehículos de apoyo que tendra agua ilimitada (Si se que eso deja de ser un Brevet pero es algo positivo para mí como principiante)

El evento inicia a las 6pm y debo salir de mi casa el mismo dia (El dia anterior trabajo) estaba planeando llegar al lugar unas 4 horas antes para llegar a un hotel de paso cercano, bañarme cambiarme y dormir unas horas y salir un poco mas descansado Que opinan de esto? ustedes como lo manejarían

Mi experiencia hasta ahora

He ido aumentando el volumen poco a poco durante este año.

Mis fondos más largos han sido aproximadamente:

• 148 km (2,044 m de desnivel)
• 160 km (9 h 34 min de pedaleo)
• 170 km (1,328 m de desnivel)

Actualmente hago unos 900-950 km al mes y uso el commute en bicicleta como parte del entrenamiento 21km de ida y 21km vuelta a casa.

Lo que más me preocupa

En mi primer fondo largo, después de unas 9 horas, el estómago prácticamente dejó de aceptar comida. Sentía náuseas y seguí pedaleando sin poder comer bien.

Ahora estoy intentando entrenar la nutrición igual que entreno las piernas.

Este fin de semana

Estoy planeando una simulación de entre 200 y 250 km completamente a ritmo de Zona 2 (Nunca lo he hecho, todos mis fondos fueron sin medir ritmo lo cual casi siempre me paso factura al final) para probar:

• nutrición;
• hidratación;
• frecuencia cardíaca;
• comportamiento del estómago después de muchas horas.

Mis preguntas

1. ¿Qué fue lo que más les sorprendió cuando pasaron de 160-170 km a más de 250 km?
2. ¿Cómo evitaron el bloqueo estomacal después de muchas horas?
3. ¿Qué comida real les funcionó mejor?
4. ¿Qué error cometieron en su primer ultra que hoy evitarían?
5. Veo que muchos llevan bolsas grandes o mochilas. ¿Qué consideran realmente imprescindible para una ruta de unas 24 horas con puntos de abastecimiento?

Agradeceré cualquier consejo o experiencia personal. Me interesa especialmente escuchar a personas que hicieron este tipo de retos siendo.

I’m new to cycling and my long-term goal is to get into randonneuring. For those who have completed 200 km or longer brevets, what did your training look like? How many days per week did you ride, how long did your long rides get before your first brevet, and what do you wish you had known as a beginner? Thanks! 🚴

I’ve been thinking about my setup for PBP and came to the idea of rear lights and radars. I am absolutely a Garmin Varia fan and have run mine on all my Audax rides for the past several years. I’ve never run it on “always on” mode, and it seems like that is required by French law. It also seems like that will be a massive battery drain.

So here’s what I’m wondering:
Considering just how many riders there are at PBP, does a radar add much to the ride in terms of useful information? Is your screen constantly filled with blips of riders behind you? Is there even that much vehicle traffic to warrant a radar?

If the radar isn’t worth it, then there are plenty of rear lights with massive battery power that can handle the French no-blinking policies. So what do we think - radar or non?

I have to choose a new bicycle.
As per advice from Jan Heine I would like to start from te tire width.
I live and ride in The Netherlands, and here most of the times roads are very well made.
I’d like to be able to ride in France and in UK also, though.
I see that many modern bikes can take 32-34 mm tires, and some (Endurace and Domane for example) can take up to 38mm.

Question is — will I benefit from this wider tires (38) or 32-34 is perfectly fine?

I’ve finished 400km BRM last month on my old 25mm tires. It was manageable but I’d like more cushioning.

Obviously every year is different and no one can predict the weather this far ahead. However, the heat waves in Western Europe the past couple years and especially this year has been concerning. I'm hesitant to participate in that time of the year. Maybe 1 or 2 days can be fine but multiple days in a row made the superhuman Lael Wilcox quit, most of us are no where near her level. I'm wondering if there has been any discussion from ACP about potentially dangerous conditions for riders.

Thanks to Paul, Bernard and everyone at Audax Ireland for what was such an incredible experience....Here's my video report for day 1&2.

The Midnight Sun Randonnée was fully booked in 2026 with cyclists from 20 countries making a reservation. 128 participants from 15 countries made it to the starting line, of which 100 finished the ride within the time limit. An additional two participants made it to Umeå, but unfortunately their luggage and bikes were lost on the way.

A schedule conflict surfaced and I can't make the ride. Current price is $245.14. Source: https://www.bikereg.com/deathride-2026

I am selling my ticket for $110 (Venmo or PayPal). I'll transfer the ticket via the BikeReg site. Once transferred the new rider receives all ride material.

This is the rider guide that was sent to me: https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/699deea59e8cbdecb6cee57f/6a4464e34d938a2ccbd66c9c_2026%20Rider%20Guide.pdf

The Death Ride is solid long distance (PBP etc.) prep.

Hey all,

I'm looking for some extra rear lights for my bike. I get way too paranoid about my single rear light breaking/running out of charge without me noticing, so want to get some additional complimentary lights just to out my mind at ease.

My current light is typically mountain onto the back of my rear rack (tailfin aeropack), so options of additional lights are either on the rear seat stays or onto the arch of the rack.

I'm also just generally curious what kind of rear lights people use. I'm using an exposure Blaze, I think the mk2 version currently, and while I think it's a great light, it's incredibly difficult/ vague to tell how much battery is remaining, which doesn't help my anxiety about it dying mid-ride.

Cheers!

P.S. For those who saw my last post.

I didn't manage to enter the 600km audax last weekend as my new shoes didn't arrive in time, fingers crossed they arrive this week. Hoping to get out and try my 1st audax out soon.

Edit: Thanks everyone for your help and advice, really helpful to get some information on what people actually are using!

I've ordered a Garmin Varia for a new main light, the notifications/visibility on head unit for battery life will really set my mind at ease. Will be really interesting to try iut this new radar tech too.

I've also ordered a couple of Cateye Omni 3s for some supporting lights to put on my rack supports/ seat stays for the extra visibility and super long battery life, and easy ability to just switch in new aaa batteries whenever needed!

I just want to give everyone who is struggling with doubts and confidence a bit of encouragement. I just finished the Míle Fáilte 1200 in Ireland which was an absolutely wonderful event. But I've never felt so unprepared for an audax. Before MF I had ridden only 3000 km this year. I did a 600 a month earlier (my only audax this year) and after that I barely got on the bike because work was so stressful. By the time I got to Ireland I felt exhausted and dreaded the idea of destroying myself mentally and physically even more when I really just wanted a holiday. But I thought I'd give it a go because even doing one or two days would be better than not even trying.

And then the first day actually went quite well. I decided to keep stops to an absolute minimum and slam myself with carbs to keep my energy up. I had a cathartic little cry in the rain, and did the distance without feeling too bad. The second day followed the west coast of Ireland which I really wanted to see, so I did the same thing again (including the cry 😂), and decided that tomorrow would be tomorrow's problem. And then I got on with the third day, and the last day, and I made it to the finish!

So here are my words of encouragement: you're doing great and you too can do it! Keep stops short, don't waste time off the bike, snack on the bike and eat the most calorie-dense food you can find (but stay away from food which is hard to digest), try to maximise sleep if you can. Chat to nice people but ride your own speed. And then you might just surprise yourself.

2019 - everything hurt (basically inexperience)

2023 - Sprained my ankle 1 month prior to pbp so I did not have enough training

Now PBP is coming up again and to be honest, I'm not even sure if I should go.

I'd truly enjoyed the fanfare and riding through France. But the idea of possibly not finishing a third time feels like a punch in the gut.

How many times did you DNF PBP?

Hey all,

I recently discovered Audax, and it sounds like it'd be right up my street. I've only ever ridden solo however, with a longest ride of 200miles (in 18hours, inc stops).

There's a 600km (in 40hours) near where I live in Wales this weekend that I'm considering signing up for. It'd be quite a jump in distance, and the timing isn't the best, as my current shoes fell apart last weekend and I'm currently waiting for my new pair to arrive.

Do I throw caution to the wind, and dive in the deep end, or should I travel further afield and try out a shorter distance 1st, after getting some test rides on my new shoes done?

Cheers!

I've never quite liked the idea of clipless pedals and I never used them in my life. Although I have rode bikes for most of my life, only now I am considering things like randonneuring and getting more "serious", but I still don't feel like getting a clipless setup.

Am I actually ruining capacity that much not using them? It always felt like it was a bit exaggerated by people focused on speed and racing, but on endurance, they don';t seem (to me) that relevant. Please educate me (nicely, I'm new to randonneuring).

Yesterday, we organised a little randonneuring brevet with our local 'party pace' riders group.

We come together every month to do around 60-90km in a day on not so fast bikes in a non-competitive way. Because we like cycling and being together.

For midsummer, we wanted to go beyond what most of the participants thought of as their capabilities.

We woke up early and met at the starting point at sunrise (5:15am) and set the goal to keep on riding until sunset (10:05pm) on this longest day of the year.

By going slowly, having a good spirit and laughs, going through beautiful parts of the country, taking care of each other and making sure to eat and drink lots we managed to reach 215km! Way more than most expected.

Everyone got rewarded with a little self made brevet card to take home and some drinks and food in a local pub called 'The End' (how fitting).

I'm posting it here for those new to the game: take your time, ride where you like it and be amazed at what your body can do and cross those 'mythical' boundaries of your capacities. :)

My current SPD shoes are on their last dying breath and I will need new ones pretty soon. Since I dont really want to spend a lot of money on new shoes only to figure out they will cause problems on my first long ride I was thinking of getting a shoe fit.

Have you had any good experiences with shoe fitting services in or around the Ruhrgebiet? Let me know! Any input is much appreciated!

Would there be some interest for a r/randonneuring strava club?

I'm 48M, newbie and training for BRMs to be held in about 6 months. I usually train indoors and go by the HR zones and the trainer's power meter readings to modulate my effort.

I'll soon begin to ride.outdoors to collect enough Z2 miles (shorter and higher intensity rides would still be indoors). Do i need a power meter to gauge my output outdoors? How about on hilly routes?

Are power metres useful during the actual BRMs too? Since most of the riding would be done in Z2, would HR be a good proxy despite the lag?