Thanks to Jim in Minneapolis, I’ve just joined my first cycle club, the Seattle International Randonneurs! These folks look a bit nuts to me so I’m betting I’ll fit right in and learn a bit about cycling and myself in the process.

Randonneurs typically ride extremely long distances in one go. They ride all night, sleep little, and I suppose, eat a lot. Typically, during the season, you would progressively ride 200k, 300k, 400k, 600k and maybe go for a 1000k or 1200k rides.

Let me put this in perspective: last month I rode a total of 675k. These folks ride that over a weekend.

Unfortunately, it is hard to do club rides with folks in Seattle when you live in Boston so I won’t get to wear a pillbox hat anytime soon. Vic and I’ve just missed the start of the Brevet season. They’ve already moved onto 300k and 400k rides, even here in the Boston area, and we’re certainly not in shape to jump right in. Still, it gives me something to think about with the goal of qualifying for the Paris-Brest-Paris classic in 2007.

The picture is from a book my mother found at a garage sale in Texas called A History of Bicycles. It’s a bit boring and manages to look as though it was printed in 1972 though it’s from 1992 due to the terrible type face. However, the pictures are fantastic!