April 2nd Ride

I've created two options for this Monday, we'll make a game-time decision based on the number of beginners that make it. We'll meet in the parking lot in front of the Spencer Love Tennis Courts in Country Park for a 6:00 pm ride. (Remember, that means we're riding at 6, not showing up at 6)

Option One is about 18 miles with 1200 feet of climbing. That will be a decent challenge for those of you new to the sport.

Option Two is about 27 miles with 1600 feet of climbing. That's a fair amount of climbing and we'll need to average about 16 mph or better to make it back to the park before dark.

Weather Details for Monday
82 degrees and sunny
Sunset at 7:42

PS - Don't forget to have at least one bottle and a cage on your bike for Monday.

Things You Need for the Next Ride

If you're planning to join us at Country Park make sure you have at least one water bottle and a cage mounted on your bike. (A cage is the thing that holds the water bottle) I hope it goes without saying that there should be water, Gatorade or something of the sort in that bottle. It would be best to have a bottle made for cycling so you can drink on the go.

Update: I just heard that Paceline has stuff on sale, specifically cages and bottles - 25% off

On another note, I read this article on Pez Cycling about racing and training recovery. Even if you're not racing or riding hard I think you'll find good advice you can use.

March 26th Ride Report

I got the first written excuse today. Click the image to check it out. I appreciate Melissa's diligence, but what I'd really like to see is people lying to their bosses so they can ride. Here's a few excuses to get you started.

Roll Call:
Ashly - Present
Ray - Present
Doug - Present
Brian - Present
CJ - Present
Tonya - Riding alone, so she claims. I'll be able to tell!!
Andrea - Rode with Tonya, so there was a witness.
Melissa - Absent, excused with note
Brad - Absent, probably thinks he's excused on Melissa's note, but he's not
Jason - Absent
Donny - Absent

We'll meet at Country Park again next week, 6:00 pm. I'll have a route planned that should be around 20 miles. Remember, we leave at 6:00, so get there ahead of time so you will be ready.

March 26th Ride UPDATE

We're going to move the ride to start at the Spencer Love Tennis Courts in Country Park, seen here on Jaycee Park Dr. We'll do a 22 mile loop out to Summerfield and back, see the route map. Sorry for the late change, but this is a better location and will break the monotony of 2 mile loops.
See you there.

March 26th Ride

This week will hopefully be our last at Hamilton Lakes. We'll meet at 6:00 again and let's try to get in at least 16 miles.

Next week (April 2) let's plan to meet at Country Park and go for a 20 mile ride out on the roads. More details on that later.

This Sunday (March 25) Ray, Brian and I rode up to Virginia. Once again that's Brian in the photo. After you've seen the giant mailbox, maybe this can be your next goal.

Control Those Voices in Your Head!

I thought this article on Pez Cycling was pretty interesting. If you just started riding you may think the 'conversation in your head' thing sounds crazy. Maybe it is, but it happens and it might as well be positive.

March 19 Ride Report

We had a small group this week but Tonya made it for her first ride. Not only did she make but she did the whole 10 miles with no stops! Tonya gets a gold star this week.

Present:
Tonya , Ashly, Brian, CJ


Absent:
Jason, Don, Andrea, Marc, Colleen


Excused (with a note from Mom):
Ray, Brad, Melissa

March 19 Ride

Monday evening is going to be cool this week, probably a little less than 60 degrees. It's a good idea to keep your knees covered up and warm in temperatures below 65, so if you have knee warmers or tights, wear them.

Seems like a good idea to meet at the same place and time this week, 6:00 pm at the corner of Kemp and Starmount. We'll do at least 10 miles (5 laps) again. Here's the map.

Brian and I rode up north to the giant mailbox today, that's Brian in picture. The mailbox ride is going to be our medium-term goal. It should be about 40 miles there and back, but some of the climbs are challenging. Let's get to work.

See you tomorrow night.

Event - Sunday, March 25

Greensboro Velo Club is sponsoring the Rites of Spring ride again this year. There are three ride options (21, 42 and 61), SAG support and lunch provided after. Only $15 entry fee. Registration starts at 9:00 and the rides leave at 10:00. This would be a great first event for anyone interested. I'll be there.

The ride starts at the new Northeast Park on High Rock Rd. near the Huffine Mill intersection. See Map

More info can be found in the event calendar section of the Greensboro Velo site.

Group Riding Info

I found this article on Active.com. It has some good tips for group riding for those who haven't had any real exposure to that yet.

http://www.active.com/story.cfm?story_id=13856

March 12th Ride

Just about everyone showed up and rode at least the 10 miles planned for Monday Night. Ray Gales even came by for a few laps! Hope we'll see Ray for future rides, he's a fantastic cyclist and a great teacher.

This week we did laps around the park at Hamilton Lakes. Check the map.

I've decided to take attendance each week...

Present:
Ray, Ashly, Eric, Marc, Colleen, Brad, Melissa, Donny, Paul, Preddy and Jason (briefly)

Absent:
Tonya and Andrea

Check back soon for details on the March 19th ride.