- At the starting line: Clear out your bike calculator, take a few pictures and pay attention to what the announcer is saying. It may be helpful information about the ride!
- Know the mile markers of all water stops in advance.
- Fill your water bottle up at every water stop. I didn't do this at the first stop since my bottle was still over half full, but then later had no water for 5 miles.
- Pay attention to the road markers so you don't miss your turns. Initially, it didn't occur to me to look for them (who knew?), so I missed the first sign. Thankfully, I was riding with others who were paying better attention. This is especially important when you've lost sight of any group and are out there on your own.
- Bike through the "official" finish line before heading to your car so you can get the claps and cheers. Make sure you check back in with ride organizers.
- Bring flip flops and a clean T shirt to change into. Also bring wipes or a towel to wipe off road grime.
- And most importantly, don't forget that it is a ride not a race. After all, the whole point is to raise money for a good cause and enjoy the ride.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
More lessons learned....
And below are some lessons I learned riding in my very first organized/charity ride....
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
There are those, I not one of them, who consider any event for which a number is affixed to your back to be a race.
Congratulations - sounds like you had a great ride!
Drafting is an excellent skill to have. I consider myself a master drafter - it takes concentration to stay close enough to really fast riders without causing accidents. And nothing compares to pulling a huge draftline into the finish line of a ride!
That said, be VERY careful drafting strangers. Not everyone has great bike handling skills, and it's easy to touch wheels and go down if the person you're drafting doesn't have a nice consistent pace or brakes or swerves suddenly.
Post a Comment