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PEDAL PUSHER: CYCLING JEWELER KEVIN MAIN COVERS 750 MILES AND MORE BY BICYCLE | January 02, 2013 (0 comments)
San Luis Obispo, CA—Jeweler Kevin Main's ride to become a cyclist began with a goal. "Twenty-five years ago I was a little overweight, a little unhealthy, not real happy about that, and thought it might be fun to ride a bike."
Turns out that for Main, it was. "It's definitely my hobby; it's really fun."
Once Main got started, a friend asked him if he'd ever done a “metric century.” That's a ride that's 100 kilometers, or 60 miles, long. He hadn’t, but he was game to try, so he did. Then it was a 'century' ride, a 100-mile ride. "My first century was an incredible feeling," said Main.
Then he heard about 'double centuries,' two centuries in the same ride, totaling 200 miles. "I'd never done that," he said, so he tried it. Then came the 'double-double,' 200 miles a day for two days.
He also went on a 'land-rush' ride, from San Francisco to Los Angeles, a ride that doesn't happen any longer. On that ride, he heard about the Paris-Brest-Paris ride, held every four years outside of Paris, France. It piqued his interest.
This type of cycling is called long-distance unsupported endurance cycling/trekking (the French call it randonneuring). According to Main, the cyclist is on his or her own when the race starts. There is a time limit to finish the miles, which includes time for cycling, sleeping, et cetera, but any issues that arise must be dealt with by the individual cyclist during the time allotment. For instance, if the bike breaks down, the cyclist must figure out how to fix it. It’s noncompetitive in the traditional sense—friendly camaraderie is its hallmark—but, as Main says, "it's a race against yourself."
Kevin Main, right, with a fellow cyclist on the Paris-Brest-Paris ride in 2011.
Cycling is a part of Main's life and while he may be one of a few jewelers on this type of ride, he's part of a popular sport. Randonneurs USA, the U.S. group for long-distance unsupported endurance cycling, has 7,800 members today. When a cyclist joins, they are given a number that's never retired. Main's number is 50, given to him in 1998. When riders participate in randonneuring events, they are part of a long tradition that goes back to the beginning of the sport of cycling in France and Italy. (For more information see www.rusa.org.)
During this time, he met his wife, Kathi, got married, and in 1998 decided to do the Boston-Montreal-Boston ride to see what it was like.
"In order to do a 1200 kilometer ride, you have to qualify," said Main. "You do 200, 300, 400 and 600 kilometer rides to qualify (that's 120 miles, 187 miles, 250 miles and 387 miles). You are on your own. The qualifying rides take a lot of time. You have 45 hours to do that, so it's kind of a big deal." He also augments his training with a common-sense bit of multitasking: riding his bicycle for the 20-mile commute from home to work at least three or four days a week.
"1998 was a turnaround year for me," said Main. "We moved the business (Kevin Main Jewelry) to San Luis Obispo, I did my first 1200k, and we went from a tiny shop to a bigger business. All quite amazing."
Main did qualify for the Boston-Montreal-Boston ride, and continues those types of races today.
“I did the Paris ride in 1999," said Main. "People ask me, 'Why do you do this?' You meet some really great people. Everyone you meet has the same common denominator: cycling. I meet farmers, doctors, etc. No one cares what you profession is. You meet some really interesting people. In the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere, you sit and talk about your most intimate life experiences with people you don't know. You open up and share with these people."
While Main has logged 15 1200-kilometer races, right now he doesn't race as much as he'd like. "I did do Paris-Brest-Paris in 2011 in good time," he reports. "It's been more challenging to get the time [to cycle]. In years past, I did four 1200k's a year. Really fun! I was in really good shape.
"To be at that level of fitness takes commitment,” he says.
The “good time” he logged for the 2011 Paris-Brest-Paris race was 80 hours and 42 minutes. First run in 1891, the 1200-kilometer (750 mile) "PBP” is a grueling test of human endurance and cycling ability. Organized every four years by the host Audax Club Parisien, it is the oldest bicycling event still run on a regular basis on the open road. Beginning on the southern side of the French capital, it travels west 600 kilometers to the port city of Brest on the Atlantic Ocean, and returns along the same route. 2011 was the fourth time Main finished the PBP, and his 15th 1200k ride since 1998.
It was destiny: Kevin Main as a child, posing with his classic Schwinn--handlebar tassels and all.
So does his cycling intersect with his passion for jewelry? "I can be very focused, very persistent and that helps in both business and cycling," says Main. "Bicycle riding, at this level, something happens. Something hurts, something breaks, you have to work through it, just like you do in a business. And it helps with focus and commitment for life. It all correlates on different levels."
Main compares his time on a bike to being a bit like meditation. "There a lack of thinking," says Main. "When you do these kind of endeavors, you don't think, you just do. It's very restful."