Those folks at The Weather Channel seem pretty sure it is going to rain tomorrow most of the day; but being the eternal optimist, I am going to wait until morning and apply the age old test. If the rock is wet, it’s raining. If the rock is warm, it’s sunny. If it’s raining or look imminent around 7:00am I’ll send an e-mail with the final call. The alternate is to do the ride on Sunday and it is supposed to be a little cooler but dry; around 51 at 10:00am; again according to The Weather Channel.

An idea was floated today and I think we’ll give it a try and see how it works out. Tim VanSusteren will be the ride leader for a sub group of the HighBees that will ride at a little slower pace. The faster group will be approaching close to a Glider pace most of the time and the slower group will be more like the original HighBee pace; maybe with a little TweenBee thrown in for good measure. Might be an option for any TweenBee type riders that want to join in and the faster riders can find their place in the front group. We can re-group at the rest stop as opposed to worrying about re-grouping at the turns; since the slower group will have their own leader with a map. We’ll try it and see how it works.

Mike

 

One final thought on the ride for Saturday. The Weather Channel is of the opinion that there is a 60% chance of precipitation; in cycling circles known as rain! If that should occur, I plan to post the same ride for Sunday morning, when the same bunch seems to feel the weather will be awesome. I’ll be checking the weather later in the week and see what it looks like by Friday evening and I’ll send out a follow up e-mail concerning the ride at that time.

 

This week’s ride info:

Day: Saturday, December 18^th  

Time: 9:30 am meeting, 9:45 departure (Tentative, depending on weather conditions to be reevaluated later in the week and a subsequent e-mail sent if the time is going to change)

Meeting Place: Chevron Station, on the corner of NW 43^rd St and NW 53^rd Ave.

Route and Mileage: We will do the Monteocha Ride totaling 53.2 miles, taking us through Monteocha, Brooker, Worthington Springs, Lacrosse and Hague. There will be at least two rest stops along the way or as needed by the group. Most likely in Brooker and Lacrosse.

Pace: The HighBees ride pace has traditionally been about 16-17 MPH, however, it seems that recently the pace has increased due to most of the riders desiring to cruise at a little faster pace, so it’s been more like 18-19 a good portion of the time, with some parts of the ride being at 16-17. The average speed seems to fall in the 17 MPH range. However, this is a friendly, no drop ride; we re-group at all turns when needed.

If you are new to GCC and are looking for a weekly ride with a moderate pace and moderate distance, please feel free to join us. Newer riders are welcome to ride in the middle of the pack and draft to get the hang of the ride.

Membership Requirements: Please note that HighBee rides are open to all GCC members who wish to participate. Those that are non-members may ride with the group as a guest of a sponsoring member once without being required to be a member.

TVM: This is also being posted as a Team VetMed ride, so any TVM members who wish to do a road ride if no others are posted for Saturday are welcome to ride.