Meet George. I don't know where he's from (the short answer is St. Louis). He speaks with a heavy European accent. He's done many brevets before. He knows about the equipment required. And I don't have the right stuff. I found out in the last few miles with him that I have the wrong saddle, and it's adjusted wrong. I have the wrong shorts. I even use the wrong chamois creme. He was polite not to criticize my wheels, just commented that they must have "come with the bike", you know, are cheap wheels. He seems like a very nice guy, so I can assume that he is being helpful to a "newbie". Perhaps he's right. After all, I've never had the right stuff before. Why should this be any different?