Been looking at the ride calendar over here to see what rides I might do this year. Bit more restrictive in what I can do and would really prefer to do the more local rides to cut down on travel time and expense. Not many I can do without some travelling but so far I have not found many that interest me. Seems that a lot of the organised rides are by companies out to make a profit and the entry fee is a bit exorbitant. Don't mind if it is a charity organising the event and they raise the entry a bit to raise money but "Joe Bloggs" inc. charging $100 for a 50 mile ride is not on for me.

I had got entry to a 100 miler starting in London and takes in the Olympic Road course and $75 entry I thought was high. They now want me to get sponsorship of around $500 so I am thinking about that one. London To Brighton Night ride is on again and I shall probably do that one and there are a couple of Metric centuries organised by cycling clubs at a very sensible price that I usually do each year. Problem is that I cannot find enough events that interest me or that I can afford to do this year. Looks like I shall be just jumping on the bike on a nice sunny rain and windless day and seeing how far I can go.

So what are your plans for rides this year?

I'm toying with the idea of soloing the Furnace Creek 508 again, maybe the Everest Challenge, if they don't conflict.

That means I'll have to step up the doubles this year for training purposes. So far, I'm look only 100% to do the Eastern Sierra Double.

I ride 70-100 miles most weekends with friends, so I eschew the $100-a-pop organized centuries.

So far this year for "organized rides". I did a 70 miler in Janurary for United Way. Did a 100 miler for local boys/girls clubs last weekend.

Will do a 70 miler for the church in March. A 200K brevet in March. A 300K brevet/rando in April. An 80 miler and 100 miler for Diabetes in May. A 250 miler in June for spina bifida fundraiser.

Might do a multi day tour in June if schedule permits; might try to fit in a couple more in May. Others in the second half of the year.

I think that is all for now. Where I live we can ride 12 months a year...not going to rub it in too much but the high today will be 93F.

Reason for me looking at rides is that it is TOO COLD to stay in the garden. 15 to20 mph wind that has a wind chill factor of -10 to it and even with a fleece and a windproof on- 5 minutes is all I can take before I have to come in.

Hope to do the Harpeth River ride again this year and will definitely do the North Alabama MS 150 charity ride. Will do the normal club group rides and solo rides out in the country. If it gets organized I will ride with the 50+ folks on the Katy Trail later in the summer.

Right now I just need to get back on the bike, with sickness, rain and cold weather not much riding is taking place in my life.

We're doing 1-2 100K organized rides a month for the next several months. First ride of the year was Palm Springs (Feb 9). Everything we do is within a 400 miles radius (Palm Springs), but several we just drive up/down in the morning. Spring is only a few weeks away and the weather has already begun to turn thank goodness.

My wife and I are in the preliminary stage of planning a 2 month tour for next summer.

Right now we are toying with the idea of starting in Victoria B.C., and seeing how far we can get across Canada. We figure we can get to Manitoba in about 6 weeks. We eventually want to ride across Canada, but will probably do it in 2 installments so we can spend a little more time in the eastern provinces.

Have the Solvang Century coming up in two weeks. I'll see how I do in that one and then decide if I ride Centuries or metrics for the next few months. I like the organized rides, and I look forward to riding a few of them in brand spanking new 50+ kit.

Focal points of my year-round riding calendar are two centuries that I plan on around early July and late September; the latter is a local charity ride with a minimum donation of $1000. I have a 10-week century training schedule with specified daily mileage, and anticipation of the century keeps me on the bike far more than just my daily commute (about 70 miles per week when not training versus over 175 miles prior to the century).

The July ride is variable, but for two of the last three years, it has been the Annual Fifty Plus Ride of this Forum. I have traveled up to 800 miles one way to participate. So I have suggested a Fifth Annual Ride for Boston this year on the weekend of July 27-28, to encompass a local “Summer Century and Family This Ride” sponsored by the local cycling advocacy group called Mass Bike. The basic details are:

So far, about 10 subscribers have expressed an interest in the Ride, and two have already made hotel reservations. Several of these subscribers are regular contributors to Fifty-Plus, and some have attended previous Annual Rides. Please excuse my audacity in this promotion, but I think it's still “on topic.”

I hope to register for the Solvang Double this weekend. I want to ride the Hemet Double, and the Grand Tour Double (Lowland route, probably) this year as well. Beyond that the Heart of Arizona century, and possibly Tour de Tucson.

I will be a ride marshal for the Phoenix Tour de Cure.

Plan on riding the Pittsburgh to Washington DC GAP trail this coming fall if everything heals up ok.

So far, the planned and paid for rides are; the NYC 5 Boro Tour in early May, and the NJ Grand Fondo, Media Fondo, in September. The 5 Boro is a BIG event, 30K + riders. We did it in 2011,and it was fun, and horrible at the same time. It had some memorable moments, both good and bad.
The Media Fondo I haven’t done before. It's listed as on of Bicycling Magazine's 50 bet rides, we'll see.
Last year we also did a id put on by Bike New York, The Twin Lights Ride. They had the BEST rest stops, we had beef Jerky, one had PIE, and one had a chocolate fountain. It was also they day a friend of mine passed away, if ever there was a day for a long ride, that was it.
Other than that we'll do our usual eekend day rides, anywhere from 30 to 50 miles as the mood strikes.

Signed up for May 18th's Zoo-de-Mackinac tour - a one-day 51-miler that reportedly balances partying and drinking with biking. Starts at the Zoo bar on Friday night at Boyne Higlands ski area, then on Saturday 25 miles biking from Boyne Highlands to lunch at the Legs Inn in Cross Village, then another 25 miles from there to Mackinaw city, then a ferry ride to Mackinac Island for eating and partying into the wee hours. Pretty good deal for $55 per person (plus your overnight accommodations, meals other than lunch on Saturday etc.)

I have an overnight planned for a local trail fundraiser in May, a Rivendell dirt road overnighter in Wisconsin June 1st, the 50+ ride being organized in Boston in July after which I will be going to Montreal to spend 5 days talking funny and riding "P'tit Train Du Nord" trail for a few days. If Billydonn gets something going in Wisconsin I will probably make it if the schedule permits.
There are a couple others I may work in, like One Helluva Ride in Ann Arbor, the Torch Lake ride near Traverse City and perhaps a CC weekend to Chicago and back.

Marc

So far I've signed up for (all pending losing enough weight):
The Assault on the Carolinas out of Brevard, NC (65 miler with the 8 mile climb up Caesars Head)
Assault on Mt Mitchell out of Spartanburg, SC (102 miles that finishes on Mitchell---turned 60 do trying to do some noteworthy rides one last time)
Blood Sweat and Gears (101 miler out of Valle Crucis)
Ride the Rockies or Bicycle Tour Colorado in June
Cycle Oregon in September

Other probables:
Tour de Lure out of Marion, NC (60 miler with moderate climbing)
Cheaha Challenge out of Piedmont, Alabama----visit relatives near there
Number of local metrics


It's nice to have all the kids out of the house.........

Tour de Lure
Assault on the Carolinas
Issaqueena's Last Ride (depending on the cost of gas)
Tour de Cashiers
Gran Mercer (I need a WV event to check off the list)
Big Walker

The BS&G is sold out, along with MoM. They went quick.

So far this year I have signed up to ride Bike Florida (23-29 Mar), the Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure (GOBA, 15-22 Jun), and the Greene Trails Cycling Classic (18-21 Jul), this one I work as a volunteer patrol cyclist assisting registered riders in any way I can. I am also really looking forward to doing the 50+ Ride in Boston this year. In Sept I am going to visit my niece and nephew in Midland MI and ride the Pere Marquette Rail-Trail. There are also numerous weekend rides sponsored by different charities and the Dayton Cycling Club here in and around Dayton. Starting the first Sat in April through late October I will be volunteering as a MetroParks Volunteer Patrol (MVP) cyclist each Sat morning assisting people who come out to ride with us on a ride called "Bike for the Health of it". Mileage is from 8-20 miles, and we get riders of all ages. This past year we broke our record and had 100 riders one Sat morning. Again, starting in April though October on two Sat evenings each month I will be leading "Night Rides" for my county of residence, Greene County, OH. I volunteer with Greene County as a Trail Sentinel assisting visitors and local riders with trail information, maps, and minor repairs. As an LCI Instructor I will also teach two Bicycle Youth Safety Classes, each a week long, in June for Greene County and the League of American Bicyclists. Also some time this year I will teach two or three Traffic Skills 101 courses, also, for the League of American Bicyclists. Only problem is it makes my summers go way too fast, but I have a great time cycling and helping others. If any of you ever get the chance to come to the Dayton, OH area we have 330 miles of Rail-Trails, with over 220 of those miles connected, and the surrounding counties, cities, and state working on connecting more, and establishing new trails all the time. Plus a lot to flat to rolling country roads to ride, and lots of ice cream shops. After all we need to keep up our energy for all that cycling.

Me, too!
Additionally, I am planning on an ACS Bike-a-thon in June, a Tour-de-Farms in AUgust , and the MS City to Shore in September.

MoM is sold out??? Wow.......I was debating signing up but since I'm doing AOMM the Monday before I was thinking I'd probably not do it----just not sure I would recover like I used to!!

Would you let me know what the Va rides are you do? Seems like there are a couple you enjoyed up that way. I forgot to add Blue Ridge Breakaway. I need to plan on doing that again this year as well.

See ya on GOBA

Here are my tentative plans for VA:

The Big Walker on the 18th of May. Not too difficult and the trek over Walker mountain and down to 42, part of the Blue Grass highway is very nice. Not a large event, but a good one.

I will then scoot over to Lynchburg to ride the Storming of Thunder Ridge the following day, on the 19th. I wanted to ride this last year but the weather did not cooperate. I'm sure you have ridden the Parkway from the James River crossing to Apple Orchard (Thunder Ridge). A 3200' contiguous climb.

The Wilderness Ride which precedes the MoM event and is hosted from Radford College. I rode the 78 mile route last year and will do so again this year. A very decent trek on some authentic routes Daniel Boone took on his way to Kentucky.

Mountain Mama should be on your must ride list. The 70 mile (or 67 as they call it) route is extremely scenic and includes 4 mountain passes - but none are very difficult. The full century includes 9 passes and is considerably more difficult - though the passes are more or less similar in scope. Typical VA mountains. But that trek down through Blue Grass valley is one of the prettiest areas I've ever seen. You're threading two mountain strains and the landscape is jaw dropping beautiful. Its also the headwaters of the Potomac River. JimF has ridden this event more than once.

The Heart of VA Bike Festival. I've ridden this the past few years and its very well put together and executed. Just lots of fun and also covering some historic terrain - and mostly flat. It has a large draw.

The Tour de Valley is another that I plan on - for the fifth year. Its a pretty route full of rural Shenandoah farmlands and on into Goshen Pass.

The Shenandoah Bike Festival. Just a lot of fun on lots of rolling valley farmlands. Very similar to the Tour de Valley century and Staunton is a nice and historic city to visit.

Benges Revenge is one that I have wanted to ride but its a long drive for me and often occurs on conflicting dates with other events. Still, it remains on my list and I'll get there this year if I can. It includes the wicked High Knob mountain climb which Bicycling Magazine lists as one of the 10 best climbs (nice and steep).

There is also the Allegheny Bike Festival out of Covington but this event conflicts with the Hot Doggett event...and I will not miss the Hot Doggett.

JimF knows some other rides in VA and if he reads this, perhaps he can fill us in a few more. VA certainly has some good cycling areas.

Two centuries planned for April 20 and May 11, The Tour de Cure:Hampton Roads and The Capital to Capital(Cap2Cap: Williamsburg>Richmond>Williamsburg or Richmond>Williamsburg>Richmond, depending on starting point) respectively.

I mentioned on another post that the wife and I are planning on riding our new tandem in the Santa Fe Century in May. She's a little worried as the longest ride we've done together is 30 miles, and that included a stop for breakfast (no pie, but really good cinnamon rolls).

I thought hard about entering the lottery for Ride the Rockies, but that's going to have to wait for another year.

I'm still looking for summer rides in Colorado, maybe the Copper Triangle.

One century, a 300-km brevet, a 200-km brevet and on Saturday, a 400-km one. I'm building towards the Texas Stampede 1200 in early May - 750 miles with a goal of 80-85 hours.

For the rest of the year, it'll be just club rides.

Not big on organized rides, but have plans to do the Wine Country Century in May and in March ride Halealaka, the West Maui Loop, and whatever else I can do in four or five days on Maui....