Ride to Conquer Cancer

[megavolt]

Oh right... forgot that my wife and I each had a tag last year.

Try giving the ride office a call. I really doubt they'd limit you to one bag if it doesn't fit everything you feel you need to bring.

[lilmira]

I sure hope it isn't going to be like last year. From a few youtube videos, it was almost like mud heroes at the stops/camp. If it's that bad, I'd rather go home for the night. What is the festivities like on sat night? There has to be a bar of some sort right?

Bagging everything is a great idea, don't think I would have thought of that. :thumbsup:

[megavolt]

Entertainment was pretty good I thought... but I'm not much of a party person and crashed pretty early. The joke the next day was that the people that passed out and slept on the stage were probably the happiest people the next day because they stayed dry. :P

There's a bar... if I remember there are 2 free drinks then you have to pay (so have cash if you're going to drink more than that).

Camp was terrible... it was basically a farmers field that had been rained on for a few hours before we got there and then rained hard until about 4am. Total mud pit.

This year it's a high school football field... so at least the foundation should be better if it rains... but ya if it's looking anything like last year I'll have someone come get us and bring us home for the night. We had a friend in Okotoks offer us a room for the night but recently reneged because his family is coming into town.

[gogreen]

I recommend light rain gear and some ball bungees like these:

http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/gadgetlab/2009/05/ball-bungee-1.jpg

They're great for securing your rain pants and jacket to your handlebars or seatpost when they're not needed. I always used this method as opposed to hauling a backpack, and used the jersey pockets for stowing things like armwarmers (also a good investment). ;)

I'm interested to hear how things go with camp being so close to Calgary. It sounds nice for family members to come visit but I do wonder if it will increase dropout rates on day 2.

As for the Grey Eagle being the starting point, the first Alberta Ride started out at Deerfoot Inn and that wasn't too bad. I think it's probably a much bigger event now though so hopefully it works out for you guys! The issue I had with Spruce Meadows was that they always had a big hill off the start which just turned into a giant bottleneck. A long flat stretch is much better for allowing the stronger riders to get separation.

Good luck out there and be safe!

[megavolt]

I think I was the only person rockin' panniers last year. Will be again this year. :)

[lilmira]

I find it more convenient to drink from my camel pack so I'm gonna put it in a bigger backpack and throw some more stuff in there. Raincoat, arm warmer, knee warmer, mini pump, spare tube, wallet..........

I think we'll start going uphills in residential signal hill area based on the posted route. It will be interesting for sure. I think we have to cross sarcee on a ped bridge too. I'm not sure how many riders are there. Hopefully they divert traffic away from the route in that area. With +1000 cyclist, they might as well. Once we get on Hwy8, it should open up a bit. If it gets too crowded, I'd rather wait.

I haven't done a back to back 100k ride. Hopefully I don't have to use the sweeper vehicle. :)

[megavolt]

Most of the team I rode with last year hadn't done very long back to back rides and they all made it.

I have no idea of your fitness level but I'm sure you'll be fine. I saw some truly out of shape people finish the ride last year.

They give plenty of time to complete the ride. Sweeps are mostly for injuries or breakdowns.

[lilmira]

I have been riding every weekend for the last 2 months, increasing the distance every time. Just did 100k on Sunday in a bit over 5hrs. Was I ever tired climbing hill at the end, slept like a baby that night, almost missed work on monday. :zzz:

I was going to do back to back long rides but the weather hasn't been cooperating lately. I could barely get one dry day to ride in the weekend.

Anyways, forecast is good for the weekend, for now. :nut:

[megavolt]

Careful... Google says forecast for Calgary and Okotoks is sun both days... but Bragg Creek is showing rain on Saturday. We're covering a lot of ground, conditions can change.

I'm packing all my stuff no matter what the forecast says. :P

[lilmira]

It's just been postponed to Aug10. Man, so excited for this weekend. Safety first I guess.

[megavolt]

I'm glad they postponed it... our route is going to be a mess for quite a while I think.

[lilmira]

Yeah, didn't think it would be this bad but as soon as all the pictures started popping up I knew it would take a miracle.

[TYMSMNY]

Originally posted by megavolt
Careful... Google says forecast for Calgary and Okotoks is sun both days... but Bragg Creek is showing rain on Saturday. We're covering a lot of ground, conditions can change.

I'm packing all my stuff no matter what the forecast says. :P

can't be as bad as the huge mud pit we had last year lol... and the little creek running through our tent.

[zehnd]

Didn't know there is a group of Beyonders going. This is my first ride. See you in August.

[megavolt]

Ride weather probably wouldn't have been that bad on the weekend.

It's amazing what a good amount of rain over a very large area can do to the rivers.

I hope the communities we're riding through recover enough before we come through.

[lilmira]

The flooding was an unfortunate event for sure. It could have been a lot worse if it happened during the ride. Or if it happened the night before the ride not giving the organizer enough time to make any decision or announcement.

With a lot of the river pathway disappeared or damaged, I don't even know where to go for long ride anymore other than riding on the road or doing loops. I doubt that the pathway is high on the repair list right now. :(

[megavolt]

Where do you live? There are some decent rides away from the rivers.

There's a collaborative google map documenting the pathway damage if you don't already know about it.

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=203722943644686743921.0004dfd8f1864b1058f92&msa=0&ll=51.04393,-114.058256&spn=0.052669,0.126514

[lilmira]

I'm in Royal Oak. There are some decent hills in the area but I can't get too far unless I ride on the main roads. The back road in the Bearspaw area has very little shoulder.

Yeah I saw the map, it's pretty much a crapshoot along the river.

[megavolt]

Are you hesitant to ride on highways? As long as there's any shoulder and not that much traffic I'd be fine with it. Some of those secondary highways up north of you would probably make a decent ride.

[lilmira]

I have ridden on Hwy with a group but I don't feel like doing it on my own. I'm not the typical spandex road warrior. ;)

I may have to do some scouting of the country roads in my car first.

[megavolt]

Heh... I wouldn't say I'm a full fledged spandex warrior... but I think I'm close. It's all about how comfortable you want to be on a long ride vs not caring how silly you look. :)

I wear a riding jersey and a pair of padded mountain bike shorts most days. Wore a full bib once... was a little too tight... numbed my man parts for a day... don't think I'll do that again.

Maybe we should organize a beyond training ride sometime... although I also have to organize a training ride for my company team...

[lilmira]

Haha, I don't think full spandex, pointy helmet and road bike looks silly as long as you can ride like a road warrior. I ride a hybrid bike so I feel a bit silly to be on the main road, especially on my own.

I'd be interested to do a group ride. My average pace has been around 20km/h, leisure pace. ;)

[megavolt]

I rode a hybrid for a couple of years. Got the road bike (not really.... it's a cyclocross) last year before the ride because I knew it would be a lot easier to ride a long distance with a lighter bike (not that my hybrid was a tank). Still use the hybrid for the winter.

What kind of tires do you have on it? If you haven't already I'd put some thinner, slicker tires on. Don't want to ride 200KM on knobbies - not saying it isn't possible, just probably wouldn't be much fun.

[lilmira]

I have 700x45c hybrid tires, kinda slick in the middle with knobbies on the sides. They are the equivalent of all season tires for bike IMO, meaning that they can perform in any terrain, just barely, lol. My bike is a tank. I have picked up a few full susp. bikes in the stores to compare and my bike is definitely no lighter.

I think I'll probably get a nicer bike in the future so I don't want to invest more money into this bike. It's not the best bike for the ride but it'll do ok. The seating position is quite comfortable. My legs were tired at the end of my last long ride but my back and neck were quite happy.

[megavolt]

The (revised) date is getting closer again! My wife and I put in a 103KM ride on Saturday despite the wicked 50KPH wind trying to blow us off the side of the road!

Everyone still able to ride on the new date? 3 of my company's team couldn't make it but we got 2 subs to take their place.

Sorry I didn't reply back to that last post of your lilmira, those tires should be fine. Get out for any good long rides yet?

[lilmira]

Yep, I'll be there in two weeks.

I've been riding every weekend for the past few weeks, not quite the long rides I was trying to do due to flood damage. The city actual did a pretty good job repairing the pathway so far. I'm impressed.

Yeah sat was brutal. I was trying to ride from silversprings through downtown then up nose creek. By the time I passed Fox Hollow, I just said screw it and turned around, didn't want to get soaked by the supposed rain on the way. I got the same headwind going west on the way back. Then I got home it was all sunny and no rain. :nut:

This weekend is supposed to be nicer so I'll try to ride both sat and sun then may be smaller rides during week in the neighbourhood before the ride.

[megavolt]

I know I'm going to be taking it easy the week before the ride (as they recommend). Only the daily 35KM commute to and from work (total). :P

[lilmira]

One more day to go! So excited! Hope you guys are ready. Forecast is not too bad so far, won't get baked on both days. Possible rain on Sunday in the afternoon, oh well, at least that will be close to finish.

[msommers]

Enjoy the ride guys! Should be a nice route.

[lilmira]

It was a great weekend of riding. Signed up for next year. :thumbsup:

[msommers]

Anyone doing RTCC this year? I'm loosely debating it, curious what the route is looking like!

[lilmira]

I'm doing it again. Buddy finished the treatment and he's riding with us this yr.

[msommers]

Woah, that's intense! Good on him, and best of luck to both of you guys!