Newsletter - 2001 Archive

BC Randonneurs Cycling Club

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You know the season is coming up soon when you start to see Randonneur and Populaire brochures in all the bike stores. And haven't we been having some beautiful weather for cycling - well, it has been a bit frosty some mornings, but sunny and clear - some days it really feels like spring - YES!

I hope you are all working on your cycling friends and encouraging them to come out to some of our rides, particularly the Populaire. I know that the longer distances intimidate some people, but the calendar also has a full complement of shorter rides - just perfect for the newcomer.

I recently had this quote sent to me by a fellow Rando rider - "If you go faster, you end up in the same place, but slightly sooner, having expended more energy overcoming mostly air resistance, and thus warming up the planet while becoming more exhausted. Why would you want to do that?" I had the same sentiment expressed to me at Paris-Brest-Paris. As I was shuffling my way to the start line, I started talking to a fellow from Manchester. He said he had done PBP 4 times already and his fastest time was 57 hours. My response was "so why are you in the 90 hour group". He answered that the highlight of the event for him was the support received from the French people - all the kids handing out water, the cafes open all hours, people cheering, etc. So, instead of finishing the ride in a big hurry and spending an extra 30 hours in his hotel room, he had decided to spend his time enjoying the ambiance - hanging out in cafes, talking to people, riding with as many people as he could. There are lots of reasons why people choose to ride our events and I would like to think that we welcome all of them. So, however you plan to ride this season - I hope you have a good one.

See you at the Social on the 24th of March. The new jerseys and shorts will be available there and at the Populaire, and of course, chez moi at any time after the 24th (737-0043).

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