After speaking with a few folks via the NJ Randonneurs message board, I’ve decided that I will most certainly ride the Surly for the Eastern PA Populaire next month. I waivered a bit, given the lay of the land, but several riders noted that as long as I wasn’t afraid to walk my bike up the worst of the climbs, I wouldn’t have any problems finishing within the time limit. I’m not sure how much “training” I’ll do for the event besides a few longer (50 mile-ish) rides. The biggest question now is gearing–do I still with my current 45×18, size up an inch or two to 42×16, or play it safe with 42×18? None of those choices will get up the worst of the hills (the Saucon Valley climbs–and remember, I’ll be heading back after 30 miles or so, since the elevation map is for the 200k brevet), so it be best to run 42×16 to provide a bit more speed on the shorter climbs and descents.

Posted on 15 September 2006