Minuteman Road Club

Weather looks good again so hoping for another great turnout. As the WNR has grown SUBSTANTIALLY in size this year (this is a good thing!) we've had some growing pains that we're working through. We've had good weeks and bad weeks in terms of rider/group management. For this week let's really try to be deliberate about (1) breaking into appropriate avg speed based groups, and (2) arriving on time (knowing that 495 at rush hour is no picnic) to minimize confusion at the start.

For the 3 groups, here is the intent of the ride and suggested grouping:

5:30pm -- A group -- This will be ridden as a TTT -- it is a drop ride -- avg speed 22mph
5:32pm -- B group -- This will be ridden as a fast paceline with hill attacks and (some) rolling regrouping -- it is also a drop ride -- avg speed 20mph
5:34pm -- main (C) group -- This will be a more casual no drop ride with an average speed of ~18mph

We (MRC) will have a dedicated ride leader in the main group. This person will know the route and assist with mechanicals, etc. as well as sweep up any riders that get disconnected from the first 2 groups. With the 2 minute stagger (rather than 5 minutes as in the past) it will hopefully be easier for dropped riders to connect with a following group.

The A and B groups at this point are intended to self navigate and (as best as possible) adhere to the ride guidelines listed above.

Please choose your group appropriately and be clear about what group you are in at the start, this will help everything run more smoothly. A max of 10 riders per group is a good idea for the safety of all riders since the roads are narrow/twisty and traffic is always a concern in the evening.

In (probably for the 'B' ride)

in (full taper mode)

In for A.

out.
It would seem that I need to work on my fitness a little bit before I can keep pace with these groups. Im pushing myself hard and will see you all in a few more weeks.

In, start with the A's...

In

In for the A

Aiming to be there for the B.

Ian

In for A if less than 10 riders. Don't mind getting bumped to B group to make room.

In for B

Preride 4:40pm 12.5 miles

pace21 wrote:Preride 4:40pm 12.5 miles

yep

So last night I rode the WNR route solo. It was mostly to commit the route to memory, but also to get an idea of what kind of average speed im keeping.
Turns out I did it in 2 hours 12 minutes and an average speed of 15.4mph.
I agould think that if I can solo the route at 18mph I should have no problem keeping pace with the B group.

Work travel again this week, I'm out.

JoelZed wrote:So last night I rode the WNR route solo. It was mostly to commit the route to memory, but also to get an idea of what kind of average speed im keeping.
Turns out I did it in 2 hours 12 minutes and an average speed of 15.4mph.
I agould think that if I can solo the route at 18mph I should have no problem keeping pace with the B group.

As a general rule I would say riding with a pack will get you about +2mph on the WNR course. This assumes you are adept and vigilant at drafting.

So if you solo at 16mph then you should be OK in the C group at 18mph assuming you are a good drafter. If you don't draft well you will get dropped because it's pretty much all or nothing. Essentially you either get the +2mph benefit by drafting or you get +0mph if you aren't, there's no in between. Just remember "no gaps!"

Similarly, if you solo at 18mph on a WNR-like loop then shoot for the B group (20mph). If you solo at 20mph shoot for the A group (22mph).

Something else I forgot to mention -- The ride is "neutral" at the start (and finish) for all groups -- basically until we go under the 495 underpass on S Bolton Rd. There's a few sketchy left turns in there and it's a good chance to warm up anyhow.

In. B's.

In for C's

Status change. Out now.