Cheryl Becker

So what welcome everybody to another installment of the randomers USA Paris press Paris preparation seminar series. We've had a few in the past they're probably at least a year old now but now we are resuming, and we're going to have a couple of interviews that will be going going up on the channel. And we'll also have a presentation on April 2 from dead banks and her crew doing a presentation on backdrop services that they are going to be offering and then we'll also have on that. Mark Thomas talking about what pre registered riders will expect next talking about due dates what they have to complete by when and so forth. So we'll have that on April 2. But today, I wanted to interview Cheryl, Cheryl Becker, who is from San Francisco, and she did pbp in 2019, and I want to see if I can call from her important tidbits about what a first time participant in pbp could expect. And a few other insights related to that. So Cheryl has been riding Brevets, since at least 2012, when she did her first rusa Brevets, your rusa number is 7649. 7647. Okay, just a couple off. So, let's start out at the beginning for you and try and get some background. So like you started riding in 2012, when you joined rusa. What were you doing before you began writing Brevets. And how did you hear about Brevets. And what drew you to that. Well, I actually moved to San Francisco in 2017. And then sometime not too long thereafter I actually started riding a bike so I wasn't really into cycling until I moved out here. 2017, or sorry, 2007. Okay, great. Yeah, I always get my decades mixed up because I'm getting old. So yeah, 2007 so back to that and I'll put the lie to that and just go ahead. So yeah, I started riding, not too long after that and. Yeah, when I first started riding. I thought like the prospect of going over the Golden Gate Bridge was like a really big thing and I started riding and I found that I really enjoyed it and I was seemed to be fairly capable of doing it so I kind of just started doing longer and longer things so I did like a metric century and then I did like a century and then the next year I wanted to do like a double century. So I started getting into the double centuries thing a bit and then you know those crowds kind of overlap so I think through some of the people I met there, like Kenny Emerson and Pudu. I heard about the random ear thing and I thought it sounded interesting it was kind of like, I like the idea of kind of pushing yourself to do longer distance things but in like a more relaxed like a relaxed way where people weren't always trying to race or do anything but really it was more just like pushing yourself and riding with other people and making it super seriously like racing style. So that's what kind of like appeal to me in the beginning and then I showed up for my first ones and I just found that the people were really welcoming and it was. I really liked the vibe and just like the style of riding and the feeling of accomplishment I got when I finished the ride so. So the California double century circuit has been referred to as the gateway drug to random. And, you know, quite a lot of us came via that avenue, I certainly did. And you've mentioned a number of people that I know, followed that same path there. You started writing bravets in 2012. And no doubt you had heard stories, while you're on these double centuries from other people talking about random oring and pbp and so forth. When did you first hear about pbp, when did it come on to your radar. And what was the progression of thought about that concept, like, did you think right away, that's something I wanted to go for, or did that come across the years to that point. It was more gradual, I don't recall, you know, that like the 2015, I know it was on my radar at that time but I didn't really necessarily think seriously about doing it at that time like I knew some people who are kind of getting into it at random hearing at the same time as I was that went and did it but I, I don't know, it seemed like a big, a big prospect so I kind of, you know, sat on it for a while and then, you know, as 2019 came around it was definitely something that I felt like, you know, when you get into the random hearing thing and if you enjoy it, I think pbp is something that people always, you know, at least want to do once, see what it's like because you hear so many great things about it. Sure. So what kind of rides. Do you think best set yourself up for being able to do pbp, or more to the point being able to convince you that you could do pbp I know that in 2014, you wrote the California Central Coast 1200. And that in 2014, there was certainly a lot of people that were trying to get their longest PB, excuse me, ACP event done, so that they could pre register first. And so that no doubt there was a lot of talk on there but what kind of rides do you think helped you feel like this was something you could do, or wanted to do even. I don't really think if I base it all on three CR I probably wouldn't have been felt like I could do pbp because I don't think I wrote for about six months after that was I got like, I don't know I had some Achilles issues which is something that's never bothered me before since but I had like, yeah, after the end of that one, I was like, I had to take a bit of a rest but thankfully that's not something that I've experienced since then and so I think having done that. It was definitely, you know, it made me more confident and then then doing another one a few years later when I did. What was the, yeah, the coolie challenge. Yeah, so that one, you know, having done that it kind of made me feel like oh maybe that first one was just, you know, a jinx or something or maybe something was wrong with my setup I was still fairly, you know, early on in my career, I had a lot of random hearing so maybe something just wasn't set up right so I felt like after finishing coolie and not having the same issues I felt like pretty confident that I could do that distance. So that explanation resonates with me, and my experience with 600 Ks. So the first 600 K that I did was the first half was great, and the second half was a nightmare for me. And, you know, I, I kept doing them because there were two things at work one was that my friends were doing them. Certainly all my random friends were doing them. And I wanted to succeed where I had failed before, or, you know, I completed that first 600 K but not the way I wanted to. So that's what brought me back is that kind of what you're getting at with the coolie. So what was it on the coolie, or maybe when was it on the coolie that you realized, I kind of like this, I can do this. This is, this is, this is a positive experience. I can do that whole ride I just remember it being like a real like an overall really good experience I don't think I ever felt like physically, you know I wouldn't have any sort of like those issues that sometimes you'll get, you know that will start and it was going to be a problem. I didn't have any problems like that. Cool. And yeah, it was overall I think it was just a good experience and just like feeling, you know, I felt like, probably at that time I was in better shape than I have had been before since so that also helped. Okay, that to resonates with me. So, it's 2018. And you've decided that you want to do pbp in 2019. How did you prepare for actually going over there and doing that. So, riding wise or just planning rise, either way probably not much of either to be honest. Oh really. Okay, I'm not a planner so I like training and riding wise, I just kind of kept doing the same thing that I've been doing that year which was you know I'd written like a series and I did a longer ride it did like 1000 K in 2019 to get ready for pbp so I did like a longer distance right. What was the 1000 K you did in 2019 gamblers. Oh right yeah. So that was in April, right. Yeah, yeah wow okay. So long time in between completing that and pbp. What did you do in between. Was there something that you kept from doing because you wanted to avoid certain things or and of course what did you do during that time. Now I think I actually ended up doing the other rides in the series like I think I did my 600 K and 400 K maybe in the summertime I might have done actually later. Okay, but I kept definitely kind of right continuing to ride. I don't think that necessarily like didn't do or didn't do anything specifically because I knew pbp was coming up I just kept on. Well, I have to say here that. Looking at you having done 1000 K in April and then going back to get your qualifiers signals to me a far more confident feeling that I would ever have going into those things so I'm quite impressed with that. That's a pretty good way to step into that with confidence soaring at that point. So, going all the way back to 2012, and even maybe before then when you were hearing about random oring. You no doubt heard a lot of stories about pbp. And I'm wondering, did hearing any of those stories prepare you at all for going over there and doing pbp or even deciding to sign up. Yeah, I mean you just kind of hear these stories and it makes it sound like it's just like, you know, this legendary tradition that you want to be a part of so I guess in that aspect I think that definitely made me want to go and like experience it for myself. Cool. Yeah. So, you know, new parents, or actually prior to somebody becoming a new parent. They no doubt hear horror stories about raising kids. And there must be some analogous situation to pbp stories did you hear any of the awful stuff. Yeah, I think about a really rainy horrible year. I know you're talking about. Yeah. Yeah. And you know that one, you know, you always worry that you're going to have that same experience but you can never depend on the weather anywhere so you just kind of keep your fingers crossed that it's not going to be that you're not going to have that bad luck and that was just, you know, you wrote the 84 hour group in 2019, and I recall the first night after Ludi after tintiniac that we got some rain. I'm wondering what was going through your mind at that point. Well, I think that I was fairly fortunate that I got a little bit damp but it wasn't anything like, yeah, it didn't stick around long and I didn't get like too affected by it so I wasn't, I didn't get I wasn't too worried. Good, good to know. So you're now over in France you're riding pbp. Was there anything in your experience that was a complete total surprise. Maybe like just generally like the controls and like the size of them and how like, you know, coming from doing rides where you've got just, you know, on a long ride like that, it's a small handful of people riding from place to place. You know, you have a stock and there's 20 people there or something to have like hundreds and hundreds of people and like all of these volunteers and just like how well kind of organized it was. Okay, so first time, first time into Ludiac. How long did it take you to find your bike when you came out from the cafeteria. I have to say, yeah, finding your bike was probably one of the biggest challenges. Yeah. Similar experience to so many of us. What advice would you wish that you had been given before you went to pbp. And then after that, what kind of advice would you think you want to impart somebody else that they might not get from somewhere else. I don't know about advice. I didn't get. Maybe just to like, take time to enjoy it as much as you can, you know, like you kind of get, you get going and you want to keep riding and, you know, do things at a certain time or be somewhere by a certain time and, you know, have a plan but I mean, the thing about it that I, you know, just found so enjoyable was just like the whole experience like the people that were out cheering and just like the atmosphere. So just to like, yeah, take soak in the atmosphere I guess as much as you can, I would say would be advice. And I probably I don't know if anybody actually explicitly said it but yeah. Yeah. So, in 2019, what was your favorite control. For them. I probably couldn't tell you I wouldn't be able to tell you one control from another, to be honest, they all were like, they all sounded French. I mean I know what they are but I couldn't tell you the different like one from the other, maybe the first that first one where you're kind of like riding into the town and they're like all the bikes are lined up along. Yeah, so that would be the Lon Lajuel. Yeah, I like that one. And the guy to speaker. Yeah, so we would have gotten there in daytime both times. So yeah, outbound, it would have been a lot quieter but inbound everybody, all four groups. Well maybe not so many of the 80 hour people but certainly many many of the 90 hour people would be there as we're arriving with the 84 hour group. Yeah, that that is my favorite place as well. I've enjoyed that so much each time I've gone there. Always a really great vibe there. Yeah. So, was in retrospect the 84 hour group a good choice. Yeah, I honestly don't know without knowing like what the other groups would be like, like not only having ridden the 84 hour group. I mean, it worked for me, you know, I finished. So how did you come to choose the 84 hour group. Because you, you suggested it. You suggested it and then you know other people that I knew that I, that I ride with and that I ride pretty well with also we're going to do that group so that would be a good like having some people that I knew that I ride well with in the same group as me would be. Yeah. So, here's the big money question here. Are you going to do it again. Yeah, I thought about it this year, but I just don't think I can get my. Well, yeah, I haven't really been able to get myself into like the mode of riding enough I don't think to be. And I didn't do any, I didn't do a whole lot last year so I didn't get registered and yeah. So I'm thinking maybe, maybe next time. Yeah, okay. I definitely would not rule it out. Although, you know, after, as soon as I finished I was like, well, I will never do this again, but then not very long after where that was like, oh man, yeah, I'll definitely do that again. Yeah, circling back to that. Early, you had said, when you were doing the Coulee, you weren't experiencing some of the same physical ailments that you had on the Central Coast. You know, there's this thing you know no doubt have heard the phrase randonesia. You know, maybe that needs to settle in a little bit more before you decide to go over to France again. Yeah. All right. So, one other thing to talk about here so the, the, the, I don't know exactly how to express this but the, the chart of people that do PBP, the typical person is 49 and a half year old male, not a racer. What you're getting at is that demo. Well, they're, they're older, and that demographic does not fit you. You're that that's not your demographic here so what kind of experiences could you talk about from not being going to pvp and not being that kind of a representative. I think that was one of the things about pvp was maybe that's typical but there were so many people there, like so many people doing it right, even if you weren't the typical person. There were still tons of women, there were tons of like older people, very younger people, there were people from everywhere in the whole world so even if you're maybe, you know, if you're not a typical demographic, there's still like such a variety of people there that I think you don't really feel like out of place or underrepresented or anything like that for sure. So what one of the things that sticks with me is riding into the small villages, especially in the daytime when there are some of the locals out and they're watching the the procession of riders go by. And I've noticed that if I'm in a group that contains women in the in that little peloton there that there's a little bit of an increase in the applause and there's certainly a lot more animation from the women that are on the sidelines they're watching because they get a charge out of that. What I'm hoping that you'll be able to say is that that kind of reception extends beyond that situation that you know you didn't face any kind of impediments at the controls or from any officials or anything like that. Probably not and I would agree with that observation is that even you know when I was riding he would feel you would definitely as a woman feel like you're being cheered on a bit more maybe then you might have been if you were riding the same way and yeah people definitely were kind of I think seemed excited to see women out there and we're super supportive. So, yeah, that was very cool. So, is there anything that I haven't asked you that you want to be able to say. No, I guess I would just say to anybody who's thinking about doing it that it's definitely like an experience that in my life I'm going to be glad that I did. You know, like when I look back on things that in my life I'll definitely be thinking that that was one of the coolest things that I ever did so if you're thinking about doing it that you should definitely go and experience it for yourself because it's pretty, it's pretty amazing. Great. So, I guess we'll end there. I want to thank you for sitting for this interview, and providing all the answers that you did and I also want to thank you for being a volunteer and supporting the people that are going this year, you know, you, you've no doubt benefited from that in the past and it's great to see people like you stepping up and supporting the riders that are doing qualifiers this year so thanks. My pleasure. Okay, so anybody watching this if you have questions for Cheryl, just put those in the comments section on the YouTube page when I put this up there and I can get those to Cheryl and she can either answer them in the comments directly or, you know, we'll find some way to get that information back to you. So thank you very much. And we'll see you at the next privet. All right. Bye.