Thirty-six brave Randonneurs mounted their bikes at the banks of the Han-gang to tackle the inaugural Seoul 200k Brevet (S-200) on April 6, which was accompanied by steady rain and strong winds. After battling forces of nature 15 riders returned within the time limit and another nine finished but did not qualify.
Weather conditions for the second 200K on Sunday, April 7 had been slightly better but strong headwind for the final 25 km made riders suffer. Out of the 85 riders at the start, 70 finished in time and another 5 arrived outside the time limit.
Participants included a wide range of riders--from experienced super-randonneurs like Kim Young-sam to first-timers who had never even attempted 100 kilometers in a single ride before. Many different bikes were used as well: Full-carbon road bikes as light as a feather, fully laden-down classic steel touring bikes, full-suspension mountain bikes with knobby tires, two mini-velos, a folding bike, a recumbent bike, and a fixie with a rear brake. Everyone took to the hills in their own fashion, and many had the recipe for success. The numbers speak for themselves--70 out of 85 finished successfully on Sunday, whatever type of bike they were on, whether they stopped for lunch or not, whether they rode in a group or not, and whether they started earlier at 5am, later at 8am, or sometime in between. All in all it was a great success and a lot of new Seoul-based randonneurs were "born" this day.
Congratulations to all finishers!
It was great experience for me personally as my first participation of seoul200k brevet.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all who organized this great event.