ecfinn

Well my brother and I will be there roughly around 7, maybe a little earlier. We're planning to get out early and get done early before the day gets too hot. If folks are going to be around then I'll set a place to meetup.

Eric

bautieri

I read the regional thread and supposedly they are meeting up at 7:30 to the right of the registration tent, rolling out at 8. I'm planning on arriving around 7, that way there I can wait a half hour to get off Rt. 30 like I did last year and still have a little time to register/meet/greet.

Hope to see you guys there, I'll be wearing a 2009 TdC Jersey (silver/yellow) black bibs and perched atop a brown and black Specialized Tricross.

guybierhaus

Wow!! 86 degrees at 2:45. Hope most of the folks are done riding by now. Roads must be up to 100 degrees. Lancaster County offers little shade. I picked a good day to stay home. Will be looking for some followup tonight on how it went.

Let me edit myself. I got the wrong day, Sunday is the main ride, even hotter. Forecast for 80 degrees by 11am, 90 degrees by 2pm. In addition to hydration, it's a good day to be dumping water on one's head.

vXhanz

I'll be there tomorrow as well riding my LHT with brown jersey and black bibs. I'm going to try to arrive around 7am as well to avoid the traffic jam that was Rt. 30 last year.

V

bautieri

It was just as hot as you suspected it was. The heat was rather sapping (stop laughing you Texans *shakes a tiny fist*) but all in all the ride was very enjoyable. I was disapointed by the lack of snacks or gatoraide at rest stops. Seriously it was water only except at lunch. Lunch was your choice of a 6in subway sandwich, PB&J (or both), orange slices, grapes, and bananas. There was tons of people and lots of awesome bike porn. I even saw 3 Pinnarello Princes. One was decked out in SRAM red, one in full Ultegra (seems cheap for a bike of this caliber) and I didn't quite catch what the third one had. There was ice cream at the end courtesy of Turkey Hill, I don't know what all the Eagles Touchdown icecream had in it but it was AWESOME!

I don't know where everyone gets off saying how fantastic and well supported this ride is.

Crabster

Well now I don't feel so bad about missing this ride. Was gonna go with my son but I couldn't get off from work.

eddiejclayton

That was a hot ride! Really took it out of me and made me realize how out of shape I am. I saw a few people with bikeforums.net jerseys. This was the first long ride for me and my newly built soma double cross, she's definitely a keeper!

eddiejclayton

Did your LHT by chance have a brooks saddle on it? I saw a LHT with fenders and a brooks saddle at one of the rest stops. That traffic on Rt. 30 was murderous, I even came early and it was horrible.

Snapperhead

So glad I started at 7:30 AM. But the heat came early and still sapped some of my engery a bit. All in all though it was a fun ride. I too was a little disappointed by the lack of Gatorade?

vXhanz

Indeed It probably was mine as I didn't see any other LHT's with a brook's or fenders. I did see Zoste's Salsa with fenders, nice ride as well

I missed most of the traffic on 30 this year, but I happened to get there at 6:30am and missed most of it. The year prior I was stopped on 30 and expected to get rear ended.

The ride itself was brutal with the heat and humidity. I know I'm out of shape but it felt like I was sapped after lunch. The lack of gatorade and even minor snacks like a banana would have been helpful. I'm glad I brought the gels I did.

V

bautieri

Just who do you think you are Mr. I-Planned-Ahead

vXhanz

I tried to tell you to bring more water but nooooo... you didn't want to put the other cage on because it didn't line up and it would look "dorky". I suppose I should rephrase it, "I'm glad I brought the gels I did, and thank you Bau for carrying them"



V

Snapperhead

Anyone here any news on the accident that occurred?

bautieri

There has been some discussion in the Northeast forum but everything is speculation at this point.

If any clydes and athena's are interested there is rumor of a fatality which may or may not have occurred around mile 40. This might not be worth mentioning to experienced riders but charity rides are not races. This is a prime example of what can happen when there are many riders about going at various paces in unfamiliar territory when vehicular traffic is present. My thoughts and prayers are with this cyclist, his/her family, and the driver of the vehicle.

bautieri

That issue is between me and Specialized . Water would not have been an issue if there wasn't that 20 some mile gap between lunch and the last rest stop. The rest stops last year were every 10 miles as I recall.

vXhanz

Yeah I'm not sure what happened with the water stops this year. Even the double creek which was rained out at least had some snacks and watered down gatorade. I don't know if it was a funding issue or what the deal was. I suppose I should be grateful for the water they did provide, but they could have added a few more I think.

As I recall we were both thinking about stopping at a house and asking for water as we were both out.

One of the highlights of the ride for me was the farmer/family that put that sprinkler going into the road to hit us... that was great!

V

zoste

That sprinkler did feel good!

I was disappointed at the level of support compared to last year. I was kind of bothered by the distance between stops this year and the lack of snacks, too. Half a 'nanner here and there might have helped with some late cramping (I was chewing on Clif bars). At the last water stop, after waiting in line for what felt like twenty minutes, I asked the volunteer if I could get some ice for my camelbak. She said they couldn't give out ice: "We have a thousand riders. Do you know how much ice we'd need if we gave everyone some?"

Uh...I'd guess about a thousand pounds on a day like this?

Anyways...it was a nice ride, plenty hot and humid, and it was nice ridin' with Bau and vXhanz even for just a little while.

vXhanz

Zoste,

It was nice riding with you as well! Thanks for coming out from the Philly area. Sorry to hear about the comment though, I probably would have gotten upset if I had the energy to do so... that heat was brutal. I don't know why they couldn't spare some ice though...

Do you know if the individual water stops are funded by the whole club or are they sponsored by people?

V

zoste

Purely a guess, but the stops are probably run by the Lancaster Bike Club.

I haven't been able to find anything online about any injury during the ride.

I posted some pix on the CBM thread in the northeast forum.

guybierhaus

Two years ago I rode in 10 different organized rides. Lancaster Covered Bridge has by far the worst support stops. Everybody else has gatorade and snacks at the stops, LCB is just water. Lunch is pretty sparse as well. You'd think that $25 times 4000 bodies could buy some snacks. I'm pretty sure when Bicycling Magazine rated this a Best Ride in the East, they skipped quite a few others. But glad you all enjoyed your ride. Next year you'll know to carry water and snacks for this one.

Neil_B

I told you so.

Neil_B

Nothing in the Lancaster papers as far as I can tell.

eddiejclayton

I always pack a ton of snacks and water with me, I really feel bad for the people that didn't on this ride. The thing that killed me the most was the 20 or so miles between the lunch stop and the next rest stop...oh well, now I know just in case I do this one next year.

Neil_B

I'm glad I missed this ride. The idea of Bau becoming an anal-retentive bike-fussing weight-weenie surrendering to Obsessive Compulsive Poseur Syndrome boggles the mind. What next, custom-painted carbon-fiber water bottles that match the bike and his jersey? Handlebar tape dyed to match his eye color? When Bau starts shaving his legs, vXhanz, head for the hills!

vXhanz

Appears the rumors are true

https://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/241122

Ride safely everyone...

V