Minuteman Road Club

Team
Who wants to do the Stow ride on Saturday: Let's get enough folks for an 18 MPH group and a 20+. If you are interested please let us know. We have quite a few new Tri members so If you are interested please post up so the new folks will know that there will be enough for the 2nd group.

2 Loops:
6:00 am Start ( Leaving at 6:05 Sharp ) don't be late
7:20 am Start loop #2 ( Approx time) - On the second loop we will ride back through the parking lot but will not stop so be ready to roll. Each loop is 23 - 24 miles.


For those interested in extra credit be at my house for 5:00 am start and will end at my house around 9:00 and then will do a 30 minute run.


Steve

have to miss this Saturday's fun - early little league game.

do it again Sunday and I'm there.

pw

I'm in.

Jose
You had an excellent race... Hope to see you on Saturday.

Steve

Rebecca
Can you lead the 18 mph group?


Steve

Steve I am in for the extra credit I will leave my house at 5:00 am and meeti you at the bottom of Oak Hill. If I am there before you I will ride up oak hill. we will then turnaround and head to Stow.

post up somehting for Sunday... early. I'm feeling left out; even the Dr. will be in the house.

I'm planning for Sunday early as well. Same Concord TT loop, with perhaps an extension through the golf course in Sudbury.

Tentative for the 1st loop...

Definite maybe for 6am. I'll be on time so don't wait for me if I'm not there.

Del are you capable of a zone 3 ride?????

Should be there, will confirm tomorrow.

Team
Below is a link to the ride. If you are unsure of the route please review this and print it out. The ride will have an 18 MPH and a 20MPH group.

The loops are just over 25 miles so if you are planning on jumping on for the 2nd loops please be ready to roll as the groups come through. Some of the riders are going to be doing some interval sets.

This is 6:00 am start but we will leave at 6:05 Sharp. Please be on time.

Looking forward to tomorrow.


http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=293538

gcdavid wrote:I'm planning for Sunday early as well. Same Concord TT loop, with perhaps an extension through the golf course in Sudbury.

what time sunday? I could be in for that .

doing a 4 hour/ 65-70 mile ride on South Shore saturday so my legs might be toast....

scott_sweeney wrote:Del are you capable of a zone 3 ride?????

No she is definitly NOT so rider beware.

Have a great weekend everyone.

I'll be there for the 6:00am start, although i may not be awake yet.....

Hopefully you found the note on Tony's car letting you know I did just one loop... I really thought I had two in me when I woke up this morning.

I almost feel like I should write up a race report for that one... nice ride guys. Hope the second one was fun.

2nd loop was good but we had some confussion going into it.... I blasted through the for the 2nd loop without slowing down. Sorry if I messed anybody up. I was in an interval and just kept the hammer down. Next time I will make sure we have at least a 5 minute soft peddle interval so we can re-group a bit for loop 2.

Steve

What's the protocol for dealing with slugs like me, who fall off the back of the pack? I'm completely comfortable with going it on my own, I don't want anyone to think they have to come back looking for me - I should have made that clear before we set out this morning.

Ignoring how we should react if we witness a fellow cyclist flatting or worse, taking a spill – is the assumption that we should be prepared to take care of ourselves should we drift way back as I did today? If I flat or have a minor mechanical problem, I can deal with that. If need help, I have a phone. I'm perfectly aware that rides like this morning are serious workouts and if I can't keep up, I'll be dropped - no harm, no foul.

Have I got this right?

Hi Russ
I am not sure when you were separated from the group but I can share some info with you. For starters what kind of pace do you like to train at?

The ride from Stow to Rt 111 is an easy roll out. Nobody will push it over the 1st 5 miles or so. Once we cross 111 the pace will usually pick up a bit. I would like to get enough people riding to have a 20 MPH group and an 18mph group. If we start getting more people to join us we should be able to also get a 16 - 17 mph group. It can be helpful to have people post reply's to a workout with the pace they would like to ride. This makes it easier for other so they can plan. If I see a person crash of see somebody that needs help with a technical issue I am happy to stop and lend a hand. For most minor issues, flat's, you will most likely be on your own unless you don't have what you need to fix it and then you will get the help you need.

The workout is important but I really want this to be a workout that works for many of you. We do this loop every week so people will all know the loop.

If their are captains that would like to lead this ride at differnt paces it would really help. I hope other will chime in as well because I want this to be a ride that continues to grow.


Steve

I have no problem continuing on my own, as a "group of one", if no one else is riding at my pace, I was really making sure that the rest of the pack was not going to concern themselves with waiting for me.

Hopefully, I can draw out some "lurkers" who might be apprehensive about joining us on these rides.

Sorry you got dropped. I wouldn't call you a slug. You were probably in 'no man's land' between two main groups. Been there before.

The Saturday ride can be different from the Wednesday night ride. On Wednesdays, we always regroup at the top of climbs (and on Rte 110). Saturdays out of Stow tend to have less regrouping.

I would recommend posting the "workout" that many people are going to follow. And I would recommend having a headcount of who is stopping after one loop and going on for two loops. There are a few 'shortcuts' that you could take that would cut some distance, but reconnect you with the group. I think if we make a map with some short cuts, that would be very helpful. That way, if you get dropped, you can just cut through and reconnect.

First off, great ride. Nice to have such a large and strong group. Spirited climb up Oak Hill on loop one. Couldn't get anyone to go with me on loop two.

Russ, I'd say proper protocol as an individual on all these group rides should be to be prepared to be self-sufficient in case of a flat or mechanical. HOWEVER as a group, if someone was to flat or otherwise have a problem we stop to help (as for crashes--well that should go without saying). On the flip side, if you have everything you need to take care of your issue and know the way home, it's good form to say so and give people the option of going on their way.

My suggestion for these rides is that before we roll out, we make sure everyone knows the way and what the planned pace will be, we had a couple of newer members on this morning's ride, and if they'd been separated from the group (either going off the front or falling off the back) and missed a turn, it wouldn't be hard to get lost. I seem to remember that happening to Vic a few years ago (I won't say whether he was off the front or the back) .

Just a few thoughts as well as echoing some others:

1. You should plan to be self-sufficient for this ride (shouldn't you always? ) Also, if you aren't sure of the loop, tell someone.
2. On this ride in the front group, there are typically no re-groups, particularly on the first loop unless stated otherwise.
3. If you get dropped by the front group, there's typically a second group you can latch on with, but that varies with attendance.
4. If you're getting dropped by the second group, you should announce to someone that you are and tell them you're all set or ask them to wait somewhere.
5. Where people have started adding intervals into this, you may want to consider where you start them. If there's a stated regroup, including the end of the loop, don't start an interval 2 minutes before that spot. If you do, perhaps the convention should be that that person is on there own unless they loop back.
6. If you post a multi-loop ride and say that loop number x starts at a certain time, you have to be there. It's unfair to those who planned to come later or those who were dropped and plan to catch back up if you blow through or leave early. This morning we were way early at the end of loop 1. The group probably should have done a short loop and swung back.

Just my 2 cents...