I enjoy riding.
I’ve always enjoyed riding a lot. Being out alone with my thoughts, with the challenges of the ride, the scenery and the people I pass. It all adds together for the most satisfying sport I’ve ever done; that I’ll ever do.
Long distance riding lets me take in the scenery and landscapes, moving from my neighborhood, out through the city and into the more rural areas until there are no houses or people left.
This is where I have peace.
Being out in the quiet darkness of the early morning on the road with absolutely no traffic, the bright, orange sun rising over the horizon, just my legs turning over in that rhythmic, rolling pattern.
Heaven.
And I mostly get that, and the variations and contrast of different scenery, when I ride a long way. But I’ve never taken that on as a challenge directly.
Until now.
Brevets
There is a race known as a brevet, which is 1200km long, and based on a ride that originally went from Paris-Brest-Paris. It’s easier now with better roads, but the concept lives on. Ride a damn long way as quick as possible.
This is not a tour. The difference is that overall speed does factor in here, and although the going is relatively slow compared to most road racing, the slower speed is mostly because of the huge endurance needed to simply complete the race. No 100km for the day then take a break; rests are likely and still on the clock.
The Challenge
Ride around Taiwan in under 72 hours. The distance is about 1200km, so with two 6 hour sleeps, that’s 60 hours of pure riding at 20km/h average to make it under that time.
I’ll have to sacrifice sleep, massive amounts of time and energy, change my eating habits and daily habits to make it. The training will start first, and will be part of the platform for testing foods, diet and other training.
The training will culminate with 600km training rides and finally the 1200km round country ride.
A New Focus
Compared to previous long rides. I know I can’t do this at the moment. I have only tackled up to 200km in a single day before, but I knew I could make it. This time I have to train myself to make it, and I’ve had no single, major target before.
I won’t be able to do this alone. Although I’m riding on my own, the motivation and help from others will make this more likely to succeed.
This blog is a platform for recording and tracking all of those efforts.
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