The Lone Star Randonnaurs http://www.lonestarrandon.org/ hosted their monthly populaire ride yesterday.  A populaire is a ride under 200 kilometers.  These rides are designed so that you do not have to be a member of the local club or national organization to join in on the fun.  The point is to let you try out this style of riding and see if you enjoy it.  
 
LSR is the most active, whacky bunch of folks you'll ever meet.  They are incredibly helpful and supportive, with none of the jerkiness you get from the racing club set  They will help you reach goals you never even knew you had, and you'll have a good time the whole way.  Randonneuring is not about speed.
 
Most populaires are around 100k (62 miles) and that was the distance for the Wild Willie 100k route we did yesterday.  There were only a few who were intrepid enough to brave the winds, but when I showed up there was a CATRIKE there!  Rbenter Bob Millay had come to join the fun.
 
It was a nice relaxed pace on the way out - not that the wind gave us much choice.  I was feeling the effects of 3 days of speed work and my legs were trashed, so I just kept spinning and grinning.  I took off ahead of the group to see if Burgundy was open since it would add a few miles to my route..  Burgundy is a butcher in Grandview that stocks only local meat that is 100% grass fed.  They also make mean burgers in house.  They were not open until 11.  
 
http://www.burgundypasturebeef.com/public_home.php
 
By the time I turned back around and got on the route the group was ahead of me.  I slowly spun up to them and chatted with Bob a while when the wind let us hear each other.  He stayed nice and tucked into all the DF draft.  The ride host, Vickie Tyer, had set up a picnic lunch for us at the turnaround with PB&J sammies and the like.  We all had a nice lunch and a lot of chatting, and took a few pics in front of the Bio-Willlie Biodiesel refueling station and headed back out.  
 
I did the same thing on the way back - a high cadence easy recovery spin.  But with the wind at my back that meant I spent most of the time back to Grandview at over 25mph.  There is nothing like a smooth stretch of road with a strong wind at your back and a downhill profile!
 
31.5 miles out into the wind, and 31.5 miles back with the wind and smooth roads all the way.  Bob looked in fine form at the finish in spite of (as he said) stretching himself a bit on the ride.  Good riding with you Bob!

There's no speed limit, so training isn't SUCH an issue, provided that you can physically do the miles.  The nice thing about the rando routes is that they almost always stop at a town convenience store where there is food and water.  There's often a grill or some such there or close by in the town.  
 
Many was the time that I would have to stop a half hour or more later on in the ride to relax, each lunch, and rehydrate.  If you can do a century you can do a 200k.  Catch the next one Tony and you can see what it's like.

It will be.  Almost all the populaires are 100k.  You have to be a member to ride the 200ks.
 
Quote from TonyWard on Apr 11^th, 2011, 2:04pm: