this page has basically been dead for more than two years because i haven’t done much cycling after finishing the two-week ride through kinnaur and spiti in july 2010. others things intervened and except for the occasional 50 km and century ride, i largely kept away from cycling. now and then i would occasionally dream of doing another ride in the himalayas, to leh, to complete and do in full the original ride i set out to do in 2010 but nothing came of it.
and that’s where it would have remained if i hadn’t come across randonneuring. the Madras Randonneurs (www.madrasrandonneurs.org) started conducting brevets in chennai in 2011 and last november, without having ridden the cycle for more than two months, i joined up to do the 200 km ECR brevet. it was heavy going, especially while coming back with extremely strong head/cross winds but managed to finish with about 20 minutes to spare.
the 300 km brevet in december 2012 and the 400 km brevet in january this year were much better affairs because i managed to get some long rides in prior to the brevets and was able to hit a rhythm much better. and it was something i found totally addictive. so, i guess, here i am…
planning to get myself a steel frame tourer (as the mtb is not really suitable for long distance endurance cycling), do the 600 km brevet in chennai as well as the 600 km and 1000 km brevets in bangalore. the aim is to ultimately qualify for and complete the paris-brest-paris randonnee (PBP) in 2015. fingers crossed. hoping to update this page as and when things happen in that direction. and, thanks for reading and for still being here. if indeed you are still here 
That’s extremely good going Subash, well done.
thanks, Srini.
On Wed, Feb 20, 2013 at 4:07 PM, bicycle diaries…
I did the PBP in 1987. I don’t know if it has changed any in the meantime, but it was definitely a great experience and well worth the effort. It sounds to me like you are well on your way. Allez, allez!
stan
that’s amazing to hear Stan. i don’t think it has changed much (from what i have been reading up from others’ experience) except that the numbers are really huge these days. the 2011 edition had 5000-odd cyclists and the 2015 edition will have at least as many. thanks for dropping in.