iab

Even though I am familar with the area, this morning I drove both loops to see the actual routes.



I will call them the west loop and the east loop, both being about 30 miles. The east loop isn't terrible, a few hills with only one more difficult than Bull Valley and 1 or 2 more equal to Bull Valley. Certainly more difficult than the route we did last year. Scenery is OK.

The west loop is an ass-kicker though. I would fully expect someone to throw-up at some point in the loop. If it had one more hill I would say it is equal in terms of climbs to the HHH. The decents on the other hand are much more technical than the HHH. There are many marked 10, 15 and 20 mph corners on this loop. If the ride were today I would not do it, there is too much sand on the road and I would guarantee someone sliding out on a decent. The roads are pretty crappy too, even held to Illinois standards. I also need to change the route a bit, some of the original roads in the loop are not paved. I figure this will add about 5 miles. The scenery is outstanding, as good as or better than HHH.

So if you remember last years ride with Bull Valley at the end, this one has 8-12 Bull Valleys in the two loops. I'm thinking it may be a bit much for so early in the season. It may be enough just to do the west loop and have the east loop as a recovery ride for those skinnies who have a lot of miles in already this year.


Your thoughts???

CyLowe97

First and foremost: Do what you think you need to do to keep the ride safe as possible.

Second: An extra five miles of riding in beautiful surroundings? The Horror!!

You know there are many who will tackle any hills the route will throw at us, but I can understand the concern for those who may not want to suffer up several steeps.

Perhaps a recon ride early in April? Do you have the routes listed online for anyone daring enough to check it out on skinny tires?

Kimbercop

As I found out this morning on the Wauconda ride, gravity is no friend of mine. Hills hurt me big time due to lack of training and my size. So I'm gonna have to settle for the easy, non scenic route. Which is still probably more hilly and far more scenic then anything around here anyway.

laryanshabaz

This Wednesday I did 30 miles abouts western Kenosha County and it felt mountainous to me. Depressing.
I'm in for whatever, to be sure. Sounds like it will be sad for me.
Consider though the quality of the roads, I'd be suprised if they're improved by then. And you hear a lot of chirping about big rides over lousy roads (North Shore Century?)

Psimet2001 

HTFU.




Hills suck, but we knew what we were getting into.

I almost say start on the harder one and then let the others join in for the second loop.

It will suck. I found out today that even though I have been training I have no hills in my legs.

iab

FHTFU

We are supposed to enjoy this, aren't we?

Link to the east loop - https://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united...arus/813443411

Link to the west loop - https://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united...arus/238580179

We can take a break in Blanchardville on the west loop. My two options would be to start with the west loop, bag the east and drink beer or create an alternative loop not as hard as the west loop. As it stands now, I don't think I could do both. This assumes that the sand will be washed or blown from the roads by the end of April.

ColorChange

I did about 20 miles today after about 10 yesterday and my arse hurts as I'm not even used to the saddle. I'm not going to even mention how slow I am. The knee still feels fine though !

Still ... I'm up for this. We will have to be careful as the hills are pretty serious and traffic will need to be watched for. The roads should be a lot cleaner by then.

If it gets too bad, I'm not above turning around and heading for the brewery.

cyclpsycho

Geeeesh! You realize it's over a month away? RELAX! Plenty of training time left.

Hard work and suffering will make those beers taste a lot better anyway!

tzracer

Ride the more difficult route first.

People can choose to ride either one or both. This is just for fun. I certainly will not be very fast after this (sick for most of it) winter. I don't mind if people have to wait for me

But I have been training for this ride. Several beers immediately after riding. I should be in great shape by the 27th.

aham23

did we not know there would be more hills in NG then Bull Valley?

revisit the topic in three weeks. now everyone get to training. it cant be flatland and tailwinds all the time.

later.

voldemort

There's not much I love more than painful burning thigh muscles, but some of the original info was slanted towards "come one, come all, this is a friendly congenial group, a casual easy pace if you want it, harder if you want it." Is that still an accurate description for either part of the route? Don't want to get people to come out and then they're PO'd because they not only are suffering but there's no sag to bail them out. Need to make sure people know what they're getting into. Even last year there were some people who were in over their head. Just something to consider.

aham23

yeah, but i will be ready this year.

later.

Psimet2001 

I must devise some trainer-based hill repeats....and schedule some early off days to go ride Bull Valley with CyLowe and Kimbercop....

tzracer

In my short riding career I have noticed that the speed of the ride can be more of determining factor in the difficulty of a ride than the route. Once you push into the red zone, you may be done, even on a flat route.

With that in mind, perhaps we could divide into groups with enforced average/maximum speeds. That way any rider in decent shape should be able to do the ride. Also if someone gets in over their head, instead of trying to keep up, they know they can fall back and join another group (assumig they are not in the slowest group.

Perhaps some SOs could volunteer to be on call SAG. My wife has not decided if she would like to go (she isn't riding) or not. If she goes she would volunteer. The only problem would be locating the person, she is not the best with directions. I could bring my truck (pickup - 8 foot bed), it is set up to currently carry 2 bikes, limited by mounts to carry bikes - they clamp on the bed rail.

Psimet2001 

All of this is up to iab - being the organizer, but I will assume the purpose of this thread is to look for input.

With that in mind if you can find SAG volunteers that's great. Anyone doing it is completely on their own. This in no way should change the status of this ride from anything other than a group of like minded individuals meeting up and going out for a nice "un-organized" Sunday ride.

Last thing that needs to happen is for someone to get hurt and then lawyers start asking, "did you have a map and cue sheet? Did you have SAG? Well it seems like a fully organized ride to me. Did you have insurance for the ride?" <---not the intent.

I have been thinking for a while that all of our rides need an A and B group at a minimum. Let's face it - there are some that have no interest in going "slow" or waiting for anyone. That won't ever change.

If there are a few regroup points then maybe people will get a chance to float between the two - read "fast guys will need to wait 5-10 minutes for the slow guys to catch up before flying out of there again. Remember this is social. "

I hate to see people ditch out because they think it's too hard or too fast. That's just not fair. At the same time I hate to see riders skip it because they think they won't be able to use it as an early season fitness challenge.

In the end we all get to hang out at the bar anyway.

My input for course would be the following:

It's hilly. We know that. Make provisions for those that want to ride slower, but to still crank through it to be able to do that. Make a few route options. Having people go in different directions first thing to allow an easy shorter option before the second half isn't a bad idea either. Options are good. They'll let everyone pick the route, time, distance they think they can handle or attempt.

Maybe 2 groups - A B with "ride leaders" who know the routes or have numbers of people that might just happen to drive by and offer a lift if in need. A long/hilly and shorter/flatter first loop option with a common middle ground second loop to allow 4 different combinations of the ride (1st long/hilly only, 1st l/h + 2nd loop, 1st short/notHilly only, 1st short/notHilly + 2nd loop).

You know CyLowe - the walking atlas - aka "Jennie from OnStar" wannabe - would geek the route for the "fast group" if needed

...just thinking here.....

sekaijin

I'm looking forward to this ride - it may be a challenging one, but my vote (if I have one being on the BFNIC periphery) would be: Let's not water it down!

I'll aim to do both loops. It may be tough, but I've got to gear up for the HHH somehow.

CyLowe97

I have and will continue to recuse myself from any navigation on group rides after my navigational debacle on Hip's LaGrange ride last fall.

I think having more than three in the group or being near anything made of titanium messes with my magnetic north.

You're all on your own. Hope you've been paying attention to Survivorman.

John Wilke

Those big climbs are twice as high ... as the biggest ones around here.

Ouch!

jimbiker

You are absolutely right! I work in New Glarus and my girl friend lives there, so I spent a lot of time riding these roads last year. When I first saw the west loop route here, I immediately knew it was tough. Not sure I would say it as tough as HHH but that's open to debate. The sand will largely be gone by April, washed by rain. It's from the frequent sanding of winter roads - remember we got 92 inches (so far) this winter. The trick is which corners will still be sandy? Therein lies the rub. On the plus side, once you get to Cty O, it's fairly flat back into New Glarus, so the last 7 miles or so will let you recuperate for the restaurants and beer. I also agree that the scenery is great on this loop. Agree with the assessment of the east loop also, as I lead a ride yearly in that area that includes some newbies, so it's hilly but not nearly as bad as the west loop. The worst hill is right at the beginning, going up Cty W but going down the other side is a BLAST!

recursive

An intriguing concept.

What do you mean by enforced though? Should I bring a taser?

aham23

yes. every time you pull away to drop the so called "A" Group you will need to taser yourself.

man, i would love a piece of chocolate cake right now.

later.

Hipcycler

.....that just made me laugh out loud for some reason.

TurboTurtle

You may be interested in this site. I know the organizer leads a lot of rides in WI (for someone who lives in IL) and has cue sheets, etc. - TF

https://bike.meetup.com/285/

dannwilliams

I did this hill on a fully loaded touring bike last year.
Looking up:

And looking back down:

Just a nice spin with "granny" will get anyone to the top. Last year was a blast. It is a friendly social ride with a bunch of like minded individuals gathering to share a ride and comraderie. It is not a race, although some townline sprints can be fun. Look forward to seeing all the new faces this year.

Dann

iab

Thanks for the replies so far.

Yes Voldemort, this is a social ride, despite the bluster in the other thread, I don't want to discourage anyone from participating. Unfortunately the nature of the course does make this more difficult than last year's ride. IIRC, the look on people's faces after Bull Valley were not looks of joy. But I think we can make it ridable for just about anyone.

Again, I am going to assume the sand will be washed or blown away by the time of the ride, but jimbiker I would really appreciate it if you check the west loop a week before the ride. I will send to a PM to confirm.

For those who say HTFU or train more, not all of us are under 30 or under 200 pounds or have the time to be in top form or have a triple. I also want to ride a vintage bike where the granny is a 45/28. For me, that is a pretty tall gear on some of these hills. Although I may wimp out and ride the modern bike with a 39/27.

I don't think the west loop is as hard as the HHH. As mentioned, the last 7-8 miles are pretty and pretty easy. If you added one or two more hills in those 7 miles, I would say it would be equal to the HHH. Also, on the east loop, that first hill is big but I think the last hill on Hwy N will be the more difficult of the two.

I want to lead with the west loop, it is by far the nicer of the two. As Psimet suggested, we should have two groups, an A and B. The only caveat I would add is that because of the increased time needed by the B riders, I don't think the A riders need to wait before starting the east loop. The east loop would be shortened for the B riders, 10-20 miles and less hills, so in theory A and B riders will meet up at the end at the same time. Those who are doing only the east loop will have two choices, longer with a tired A group or a shorter with the B group. And those who don't want to ride the east loop can do the extended brewery tour.

How's that for trying to include all riders?