r/randonneuring • u/External_Mushroom115 • 8d ago
Quick Question Advice for first timer
I'm seriously considering doing my first 200BRM next month. Picked up cycling last sept 2025 with a gravel bike. Did a first metric century right after and done 2 more centuries with 1000m elevation this spring.
I'll ride my gravel bike as is - with 48mm HD Thunderos - and saddle bag with coat, basic repair equipment and food and 2 bottles of water and some carbs.
I'm curious to hear what avg speed you guys (45M) aim for a 200km with 1500m of elevation?
Secondly, I'm new to randonneuring and don't know anyone in the field. Would you recommend to do a 200km alone?
Edit 1: I know rados are not about being fast. Main goal is fun, fun and finishing within the time limit. Just trying to grasp what speed you do.
Edit 2: have realised avg speed on gravel is likely lower than on road. Need to check BRM route to find out about road types and surfaces.
Edit 3: Thanks for all the comments and suggestions, greatly appreciated. I have enrolled for a BRM 200 later this month.
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u/CochlearImplanted 8d ago
A lot of my early big distance rides were solo. 100km, 200, 300, 400, 500km. Eventually I did the audax super series in Australia which was 200 through to 600km events.
Best not to carry too much. Esp for a 200km solo. Spares to cover 2 flats I generally carry.
Fueling key is to start early so you don’t run in to too much of a catch up calorie deficit.
My bottles generally contain one water and me carb drink. I fuel with gels and mix it up with solid food at petrol stations or restaurants.
Average speeds depend on conditions. Where I live in the tropics of Australia, I used to regularly ride south and loop back to make these distances. I took note of winds and generally left very early in the morning (eg 2am) to avoid the head winds then caught the tailwinds home. Those 300-400km rides generally averaged aroun 26-27km/hr.
Big formal events like the 600km had 6385m of climbing. Completed it in 27 hours. The average on that one was a bit over 22km/hr
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u/Reasonable_Ad_5836 8d ago
If you're bike is comfortable on a 100 miler, then doing a 200km shouldn't be too big of a jump for you. The extra 40km or so can break you if you don't keep up with your eating and drinking, but as long as you keep on top of things, you should have no problem doing it!
I've been wanting to do my 1st event, but until now I've only ever ridden solo, with my longest ride a 200 miler, and I'd say my hardest being a 200km with 4000m elevation. There's nothing wrong with pushing yourself solo, but I doubt it'd be a more enjoyable experience as part of audax etc. The low points can get pretty damn low solo 😂
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u/Reasonable_Ad_5836 8d ago
P.S. I'd say my flat ground cruising pace is upper 20s. If I'm hitting 30kpm then there's either a tailwind or I'm being a bit ambitious. (on a 100km ride 30kpm is fine for me, but for a 200km, it's not sustainable for me right now). Of course the route is the true determinator of pace. If there's a mountain in the way it'll be a lot slower.
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u/padetn Randonneurs.be 8d ago
You can probably pull it off alone, but it’s more fun with a group, on a BRM you can always meet new people, and there is zero obligation to stick with a group if you’re not having fun.
One thing I’d suggest is 32 to 40mm slicks, Conti GP5000 ASTR is pretty much the default nowadays.
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u/External_Mushroom115 8d ago
I might put narrower tires in the fiture but not slicks like those Conti GP5000. Something slick in the centre and knobs on the side so I can still ride dry gravel
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u/fondo_fred 8d ago edited 8d ago
Your tires are fine for randonneuring. Slicks are also fine on dry gravel.
Randoneurring ain't the most demanding type of riding. I'd pick my tires based on what else I want to use that bike for.
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u/Bruckmandlsepp 8d ago
I did my first 200k (solo, 220km / ~1300m climbing) last friday. Wouldn't call my training mileage decent, but sufficient. No imperial century, but 140k (1x), 130k (1x), 110k (1x), 100k (1x) and some 60k or less stuff.. Maybe that's kinda similar. Moving time was a bit shy of 10 hours. With resupply, coffee stop, chit-chat it was about 12.5h.
Bonus: It was 8 hours of rain and my jacket decided to quit.
I think you'll be fine. Take care of fuelling and don't overpace. You got this. I ride 40mm tires, don't know how your 48mm might behave comparably. But ultimately things will be fine.
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u/Vegetable-Frame-9265 8d ago
I did my first BRM in 2023, 200/300/400, added the 600 the next year. About a month ago I finished my first 1200 with 11000 m of elevation, under time but just barely.
I almost always start solo, and pick up a partner or group if pace and chemistry match, and if they don’t, I stay solo. One mistake I learned from is trying to jump on groups that are more than 2-3 km/h over my solo pace. Listen to your body; if it feels like you’re going a bit too hard, back off! You’ll be faster in the long run than if you blow up with 60 km to go.
Also ditto what others say: stopped time is the biggest contributor to your overall time. Plan what you’re going to do at each checkpoint before you roll in, and do as much eating and drinking on the bike as you can.
Lastly, don’t forget to have fun 🤩
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u/Familiar_Kale_7357 8d ago
I rode a 200 with a relative newbie earlier this week, and he appreciated the company/moral support/advice. He doesn't quite yet have fueling, bike fit, and pacing worked out, so it was harder than it needed to be. That's common among newbs.
I ride a lot of 200k routes alone, and I'm fine with that, but i also enjoyed having someone to chat with this time. We finished hours later than I would have alone.
What works for you depends on you. I like riding my own pace.
Nobody can tell you what pace to ride. Don't go into the red, don't waste time.
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u/PR-777 8d ago
Orientiere dich am besten nicht an deiner Geschwindigkeit, sondern an deinem Wohlfühltempo. Zeit hast du ja genug. Angenommen du fährst einen Schnitt von 19Km/h, hast du ja immer noch 2 1/2h für Pausen und Standzeit. Schneller darfst du natürlich immer sein, aber du hast keinen Stress. Herzfrequenz unten halten ist der Schlüssel. Und wenn du das bei 30km/h schaffst, wäre das eben deine Geschwindigkeit.
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u/MuffinOk4609 8d ago
I was a Rando in hilly BC, and my average riding speed was 28km/hr and my overall average 22. But I have done 100k in under four hours and 200k in about eight. I was 41 when I started and 72 when done. I was never in a rush.
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u/dbuntinx 8d ago
I did the same a few years ago: same beginning, similar bike, similar setup... I always ride solo, but something pick up people for some time. My first brevets I averaged 18 to 19 km/h.
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u/CucumberPrestigious1 8d ago
I’m 50 and just did my first 200km on a Surly Crosscheck. Nearly the entire ride was solo, which is my preference. Spend your time enjoying being outside riding your bike and don’t worry about speed. Nobody cares tbh.
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u/Strange-Prune-6230 8d ago edited 8d ago
You sound completely ready. Alone or in a group, you can have fun. I have learned a lot from experienced randos over the years and camaraderie is great, but so is time by myself.
Regarding times:
Randonneuring is absolutely not a race and you get like 13 hours and change to finish a 200.
That said... 😃
A "fast" 200 is under eight hours/ 25 km/h. The quick people in your club will be able to do this without too much difficulty (although they may very well choose not to instead). It presents a challenge that ordinary people have to work for, but that can be achieved.
"Very fast" is approximately under seven hours, meaning 100 km in 3.5 h. For a fast experienced rando this might happen occasionally, on a good or very good day. Someone exceptionally quick could probably pull it off more reliably.
"Sandbagging elite racer fast" is under six, over 33 km/h. The vast majority of randos will never do this, a retired pro or an elite ultra racer who's doing a brevet for fun may get there. Up until recently I actually think you may have been officially assigned a time penalty for going this fast.
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u/MondayToFriday Titanoid 8d ago
The maximum average speed allowed by the ACP rules for the first 200 km is 34 km/h, i.e. the minimum time for 200 km is 5h53m.
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u/Strange-Prune-6230 8d ago
Cool so it is possible and legal 😃 It's so far outside what i can do that I just didn't know, cheers
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u/TeaKew Audax UK 7d ago
Over 200km, I usually come in with a moving speed between 20 and 25kph, typically towards the lower end of that range. Still easily adequate to get round in time. Being efficient about stops is much more important than being fast while moving.
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u/External_Mushroom115 7d ago
Mind calirifying "being efficient about stops"?
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u/TeaKew Audax UK 7d ago
Say you've been going along for a few hours, and you arrive at the first control, which is a cafe. One option is you could order some food, sit and wait for it to get cooked, eat it, then get your bottles filled, then go to the toilet, then get back on the bike and ride on, then five minutes down the road decide the day has warmed up and you need to stop again to take your jacket off.
Another option is you could order a sandwich, so you'll get served your food quicker. While you're waiting for it, you can go to the toilet and get your bottles refilled. And once you've eaten, before you set off again you take off your jacket and pack it away knowing that you'll warm up in a few minutes of riding. You've done all the same things, but potentially in half the time or less - which might translate to being 10km further up the road.
Some specific useful ideas: combine multiple things into one stop, instead of stopping repeatedly. If you're riding with a group, try to get everyone to do their things at once when you all stop. Plan ahead when you come into something like a shop, so you're not standing around making your mind up once you're there. And try to fill up waiting time - change layers, use the bathroom, check routes or whatever.
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u/RideAltruistic3141 7d ago
Had exactly this experience at the weekend. I'm brand new to all this, so it was a 90km ride with 1100m elevation, and pretty much uphill for the first 35km and downhill/flat the rest of the way. Lots of my longer rides have been abroad in flat places, so the 35km of climbing was really worrying me.
In the end I found that 35km of climb much easier than I thought - I took it slow and tried not to get excited and gain too much every time it levelled off. So when I got to the cafe at the top I was pretty pleased with myself. Sat there enjoying a huge black coffee, lovely sausage sandwich, generally enjoying the quiet of the remote village at 9am on a Saturday morning. Took a few photos of my bike (lol) and the rabbits in the field next door, and once the sandwich was done went off to find the loo.
Was it relaxing? Yes. Could I have taken 15 minutes rather than 25 with less faffing about and thinking through the things I needed to do when I got there? Definitely.
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u/_blyp_ Single speed 4d ago
I started my 200k brevets with groups, but got dropped within the first 15 minutes and ended up doing the ride by myself anyhow. Worked out fine, but that's also because I was never too far from civilization. I'm also pretty slow: as long as I finish within the cutoff time, I'm happy. And I do nearly all of my 100k rides on my own.
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u/External_Mushroom115 11h ago
Thanks for all the comments and suggestions, greatly appreciated. I have enrolled for a BRM 200 later this month.
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u/fondo_fred 8d ago edited 8d ago
200k is not gonna be that different from a century (unless your century rides were supported, and you had to rely on support). Only thing is there will probably be less people at a brevet than a big Fondo century, so be prepared to spend more time in the wind.
Bike looks good. It's important to me to set my bike up such that I can ride in the drops indefinitely (going back to the above point about less people/more time in the wind). This generally means a higher stack. A lot of people use aerobars, I don't. They're probably better but I don't like the look lol.
As far as average speed, in the context of the sport it does not matter (unless you come in after the cutoff). If you do want to improve your average speed, the best thing that you can do is minimize stopped time, NOT ride harder. So be more comfortable on the bike, spend less time at controls, try not to stop outside of controls (or as little as possible), most importantly stay on course.
I'm 43M and finish 200ks in about 6-7 hours. But it does not matter at all, same credit for finishing the ride in 13.4999 hours. I just ride at 50-60% of FTP and never look at speed. If I didn't have power meter, I would use maffetone minus 10 or something. I don't know my average speed and don't even keep speed on my head unit.
Do not go hard, especially in the first act. If you find yourself in a group and the group is going a bit slower than you like, it's generally going to be much better to just soak it in and keep the group together than blow up the group.