ChiWhoBike #83
This is my Specialized Roubaix, and this bike has taken me on quite a number of adventures. I did the Race across America, I took four world records around the Great Lakes, including Lake Michigan, here, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, and Lake Huron, and still have one left. I’ve taken this overseas a number of times, I’ve done Paris-Brest-Paris two times on this machine. So 1200 kilometers [745 miles] in 52 hours. So it’s taking good care of me.
And Paris-Brest-Paris is, as it sounds, from the city of Paris to the city of Brest (on the Atlantic Coast of France) and back. 1200 kilometers, and you have to complete the course in 90 hours or less. This has been going on since the 1890s, so older than the Tour de France - it’s the oldest continuously operating bike event in the world.
Years ago, I kept doing 24 hour bicycle races and 400 mile races. And people always asked me about the Race Across America, and I wasn’t quite ready for that then. And then they told me about Paris-Brest-Paris and what Randonneuring was, and I learned about the qualifications, and did the first Grand Randonnee day in Minnesota, a 1200 kilometer event. So I rode from Minneapolis to Madison and back. And since then I’ve probably accumulated almost 40,000 kilometers [~24,800 miles], just exploring.
Sarah Rice and I co-founded Chicago Randonneurs in 2024, and I think we’re the third largest Rand Club in the US, maybe 140 plus members. Everyone’s challenging themselves to see how far they can go, what they are capable of. What will you find across that next horizon? We’re really proud of what we built and we’re looking forward to inviting more folks to take that challenge with us.
I think one thing that I like to point out a lot is we’re limited by not our capabilities, but our imagination. So don’t think you can’t do it. You know the saying, whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right? Forget that. Just take small steps. Everything you need to take your first step, you have. So just take that first step, then take the second step. Don’t overthink it, just get out there and ride.
