Shifty

A few years ago we had 35 BikeForums riders for this fun spring ride, those were the days!!!

As Bike Forums is now, those days are long gone. Anyway, I'm planning to ride again this year, maybe I'll see some BF friends!

https://www.salembicycleclub.org/file.../regisform.pdf

B. Carfree

A few years ago the Monster Cookie not only had a full century but also a double century option. The scaling back of the ride may have something to do with the waning of excitement. I'd end up riding more miles to get to the ride and back home than the ride incorporates. Also, flat-land riding isn't for everyone. Their target audience seems to be new cyclists; I hope they show them a good time.

As always, I have to question the wisdom of not only holding the ride on Sunday but of the late start. Traffic is always higher on Sunday than on Saturday and the later in the day one is out there the heavier it is. Sure, I ride on Sunday afternoons, but it's not nearly as fun as Saturday mornings and presumably one of the purposes of organized rides is to have fun.

Rvav8r

I will be there. Hopefully we won't have the rain and hail we did last year.

Rvav8r

I see that the prediction is for .61" of rain for the ride as of today. Man, I hate that but to get one of those cookies........

dtrain

I think you may have this confused with another ride (maybe?). The Monster Cookie has been a metric century (with roughly the same 'Capitol to Champoeg and back' route) on the last Sunday in April for 30+ years. I don't ever recall a full or double century option. But I'd agree that it is very flat and has something of a "newbie" feel. Is 8am a late start? The 9-10 window is, I suppose.

EDIT: The Salem club used to sponsor a ride west of town in June that had longer distances. They tried a few changes to the format/route before dropping it.

enigmaT120

A couple of ladies from work (Norpac Foods) have been trying to talk me into doing it this year. I live about 35 miles from Salem and am in no way ready to ride over a hundred miles in a day. And I just checked last weekend: my bike won't fit in my '04 Insight. I don't know. It just seems silly to drive my pickup 70 miles in order to ride my bike 62.

I do like cookies though.

Shifty

You are right dtrain, I think that B Carfree is thinking about Salem Bike Club's Watermelon ride. That ride offered longer routes and a double for those who wanted to do it. He's also confused about the traffic on the Monster Cookie, it's never a problem, those roads are very quiet during this event. Ah, the good old days of Bike Forums are long past.

mtnbud

I know quite a few people who are riding, but I didn't sign up this year.

I'm so out of shape right now, it's probably good I didn't!

velocity

I was there Shifty! Sorry I missed you!

Andy_K 

I just saw this thread. I was there. I think this was my sixth Monster Cookie ride. It's always one of my favorites.

I was feeling really good on the first half of the ride. Then in the afternoon something happened. I don't know if I ate too much lunch, or if the slight rain got to me or if it was the wind -- probably a combination of all of these -- but I was just dragging on the way back to Salem.

I don't know if it's fair to say this ride has a "newbie" feel. There are always a lot of people on hybrids or mountain bikes or whatever else might be in the garage, and maybe for some of them this is their first "long" ride. On the other hand, I'd say nearly half of the riders looked as though they've been biking since I was cruising around the living room on a Green Machine. I often look forward to this ride as a good launching pad for longer rides I have planned in the summer and I like the fact that it's long enough to gauge my progress, but flat enough that I can still survive if I'm not as far along as I'd like.

enigmaT120

I just remembered that we have a Hollywood bike rack in my garage, hanging from the ceiling. I need to get it down and see if it will fit on my car. And hold a big bike like my Fargo.

Rvav8r

I completed the ride in 4:05 and bested my time from last year by 40 minutes! With out a doubt this is my favorite riding event.

jasonb77

That was a run run this year. My third round, and avoided the hail! Woo Hoo, thank god for the little things.

jasonb77

I am the same way, honestly. I use this during the training schedule for STP and it always falls on the first 60/60 weekend. It is a good intro for those not used to group rides, too.

DoubleTap

I was out there this year, and I did it the first time in 2012. It's a fun ride with a diverse group of riders (not all newbies), and it's a good early season test of my fitness. I ride year round, but it's nice to see where I am before the season gets into full swing. Many of my friends question why I do organized rides. I like the energy of all the riders, the rest stop energy and enthusiasm, and I like supporting good causes. I ride that area all the time, and I don't have to pay the Salem Bicycle Club to ride out there, but I enjoy the experience and am happy to support charities and cycling groups who bring a lot of tangible and intangible benefits to us all. Next on the list: Reach the Beach. Unfortunately, a schedule conflict has me missing the RACC this year. Bummer.

SpookyReverb

I was out there (4th year in a row!) and it was a nice ride. The weather was pretty good (but pretty much anything would have been better than last year).
I heard rumors of a couple of folks getting pepper sprayed by a passing car.
Also, it seems like every time I ride out in the country, I get intentionally coal-rolled by a passing pickup, and this time was no different. Man, it get tiresome.