# First 600k Saturday



## jhkranzler (Sep 25, 2011)

Riding my first 600k this weekend. I've been randonneuring for the past year and have completed at least one 200k ride per month since October in hopes of completing an R-12 (see Randonneur USA website if you don't know what that is and would like to know), along with longer rides of 300k and 400k (one each). I think I'm ready.


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## nOOky (Mar 20, 2009)

I'm gearing up for my first 200k next Saturday, I can't imagine riding 600k in one day...


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## kg1 (Apr 17, 2002)

*Good Luck*

It certainly sounds like you are ready.

I wish you lots of luck -- light winds, cool temperatures, no precipitation, a good group to ride with and no mechanicals.

Let us know how it goes.

kg1


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## jhkranzler (Sep 25, 2011)

kg1 said:


> It certainly sounds like you are ready.
> 
> I wish you lots of luck -- light winds, cool temperatures, no precipitation, a good group to ride with and no mechanicals.
> 
> ...


Survived it, is all I can say. Finished at about 38.5 hours, slightly below the 40 hr time limit. 20,000 ft of climbing. Hurt like a *****. But the feeling of satisfaction from completing it is slowly overtaking the suffering endured. Great weather and beautiful country in South Carolina made it all worth it. Luckily, no flats or mechanical issues for me, though my gps died on me, despite an external battery. Whew.


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## kg1 (Apr 17, 2002)

*Wow!*

That was quite a ride, and I can see where the sense of accomplishment comes from. There aren't many cyclists who can finish a ride like that. I just finished our 300k with 5k of climbing and I thought that was brutal. You did twice the distance and four times the climbing. My hat's off to you. A couple of questions if you don't mind -- did you sleep? any neuropathy? and did you ever feel like the ride might be in doubt?

Again, hat's off; that was quite a ride.

kg1


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## jhkranzler (Sep 25, 2011)

kg1 said:


> That was quite a ride, and I can see where the sense of accomplishment comes from. There aren't many cyclists who can finish a ride like that. I just finished our 300k with 5k of climbing and I thought that was brutal. You did twice the distance and four times the climbing. My hat's off to you. A couple of questions if you don't mind -- did you sleep? any neuropathy? and did you ever feel like the ride might be in doubt?
> 
> Again, hat's off; that was quite a ride.
> 
> kg1


Successfully completed the 600k in just under the 40 hour time limit. Started at 4 am on Saturday and finished at 6:30 pm on Sunday. I slept for about 4 hours Saturday night. 9 riders started and 8 finished. We rode over Caesar's Head Mountain in South Carolina 2x, with a total of approximately 20,000 of climbing. I lucked out: no mechanicals or flats. Easily the hardest thing I've ever done. Haven't been on the bike since we finished and am just now starting to feel myself again.


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## dandar (Mar 31, 2012)

Words escape me. That is a very impressive accomplishment. Hats off. And to think I felt proud for doing 65K. I wouldn't be able to do it even if it was flat. I have something to look up to now.


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## dfltroll (Nov 27, 2006)

*Congrats!*



jhkranzler said:


> Successfully completed the 600k in just under the 40 hour time limit. Started at 4 am on Saturday and finished at 6:30 pm on Sunday. I slept for about 4 hours Saturday night. 9 riders started and 8 finished. We rode over Caesar's Head Mountain in South Carolina 2x, with a total of approximately 20,000 of climbing. I lucked out: no mechanicals or flats. Easily the hardest thing I've ever done. Haven't been on the bike since we finished and am just now starting to feel myself again.


Congrats on finishing your first 600k and earning your SR award! I really enjoy 600k brevets, it makes for one nice long weekend on the bike. Sure, there's always some low points, for me towards the end of the first day. But with a little sleep it's easy to feel ready and recharged for day 2. 

I've done 5 of them now. One of them was extremely difficult due to heat and climbing (eastern OR) and so I only had 1.5hrs of sleep and finished with only an hour in the bank. The others I've finished in between 35.5 and 36.5 hrs and slept for 5hrs. I realized with my most recent 600k that I probably won't ride one straight through unless I have to. Being on the road between 1am and 3am just seems really dangerous along with dealing with the fatigue. 

I'm curious if you're entertaining thoughts of doing a 1000k or 1200k now? I'm doing the Cascade at the end of the month. It'll be my first 1200k. I don't know if I'm ready for it or not. I didn't do any specific training other than riding 200k, 300k and 600k brevets this year. Unfortunately wasn't able to do a 400k. We'll see.

Again, congrats on your accomplishment!


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