I first got bit by the cycling bug in late 1995, which was when I bought my first bike as an adult, a mountain bike. You can read more about that story on my mountain bike page, but we're talking about road bikes here. Once I started riding quite a bit, I started watching the Tour de France, and thought that was pretty neat. So...

I got my first road bike in June of 2001. I bought a Trek 5200, a carbon fiber bike much like the one Lance Armstrong rode in the Tour de France that year. He rode a similar frame up until he retired, and of course he always received the absolute latest & greatest technology each year, while what I have is MORE than good enough for me. I bought the version equipped with Ultegra components, and a triple chainring (as opposed to the more popular double). I felt the triple would be best as I'm not the strongest of riders, and as I was living in the Bay Area at the time, there were some serious hills to climb! I put in almost 2000 miles in the first year, and close to that in 2002.

I really started enjoying riding longer distances, though 60 miles was the longest I ever did in one ride. I was looking to step up to doing 100 milers (called "centuries"), but I haven't been riding as much with the move and career change(s). Hopefully soon I can get back on the bike.

Randonneuring

Anyway, I was really taken by the idea of becoming a randonneur. Randonneuring is a concept that comes to us from France, starting in the early 1900's. Basically, it involves riding a LONG way, inside a specific measure of time. While many people are riding with you, it is not considered a race, merely a forum to test yourself. These rides are called brevets (bruh vays), and measure anywhere from 200km (120 miles), up to 1200km (750 miles). With the 1200km brevet, you must complete the brevet in 4 days. That basically consists of riding 200 miles each of the first 3 days, and then 150 miles on the third day. That is a LOT of riding! Randonneurs USA has some good info, and you can find info in the links below.

Long Distance Info

Randonneurs USA - Primary organization here in the US, that governs the local organizations.
Davis (California) Bike Club - The largest and most prestigous bike club involved in randonneuring here in the U.S. Davis wasn't too far a drive from where I lived in San Jose, I was planning on doing my brevets with them before I moved to Florida. I did do one 60 mile fun ride with them, I had a blast.
San Louis Obispo Bike Club - Another California bike club, that is involved in randonneuring.
California Triple Crown - An organization that promotes riding three double centuries in one calendar year. A century is a 100 mile ride, and is something that many people improve enough to be able to do. A DOUBLE century, is to keep right on going, and do 200 miles in one day. That is a considerably tougher feat. To belong to this organization, you need to do 3 doubles in one year. Tough, huh?
Training Tips for Long Distance - Actually a portion of the California Triple Crown web site, I included this link for those who are interested in starting long distance riding. This is a great informational site.