My first organized ride...Tour de Livingston

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10-09-2010, 06:47 PM
Bike Writer

My first organized ride...Tour de Livingston

I'll be riding tomorrow in a charity ride for the Howell Michigan Rotary Club to benefit the United Way. I've met my goal of raising $300 for the United Way. I'm very excited - wish me luck girls!

I've been semi-training for this ride with longer and longer rides with endurance more than speed in mind and I've been tackling some good size hills and inclines. They have multiple routes to choose from, 6, 10, 28, 38 and 64 mile rides or you can combine a couple and make a century out of it. I am still torn between the 10 and 28.

The 10 will be a piece of cake and I am not the least bit intimidated by the 28mile ride, however it's longer than what I am used to riding, I feel confident about doing it. What is daunting is that there are much steeper inclines than what I believe I am ready for and I really don't want to embarass myself on this ride or have others feel like they have to wait for me. On the 10 mile ride it's mostly on flat ground.

The rides take place mostly in Livingston County and the 28 is a ride to Howell from Brighton and back. It's fairly hilly. There is a family friendly recreational route, the Brighton to Howell loop, a parks loop and the multi county southern route. Here's a link http://www.tourdelivingston.org/

I guess I'll make up my mind when I get there.
10-09-2010, 08:20 PM
ny biker

Good luck and have fun!!
10-10-2010, 06:08 AM
hebe

That looks like fun! Personally I would be tempted by the 10mile with ice cream shops :D I hope you have a beautiful day for it and that you have a thoroughly good time whichever route you choose. Looking forward to reading about it on your blog!
10-10-2010, 06:56 AM
Catrin

I know you will have fun whichever route you choose, and let us know how it goes!
10-10-2010, 03:02 PM
Bike Writer

5 Attachment(s)

Well I did it

October 10, 2010 Tour de Livingston today! What a great day for a ride. I had been torn between the 10 mile recreational ride and the 28 mile Brighton Howell loop. I ended up with the 10 mile loop but did it multiple times for a total of 26 miles. The first pass I was caught up in the crowd and missed a turn off for my loop, arrived in downtown Brighton way too soon and said, hmmm. Completed the route from where I was and said I like this enough to do it again, this time the whole route! Still wanting to crank out the miles and the mindset had been to do 28 so I gave it another go but skipped a few turns, so that is how I eneded up with the 26. I was bent on riding 28 today so when I got home I rode to work at the Township offices (2 mile round trip) because the Police and Fire Department were having their open house. There, 28 for the day and I'm jello legged.

Don't be fooled by the title "family recreational loop" it was shorter but it was pretty hilly, the 1st subdivision we road through was called the Bluffs. Appropriately named. I conquered some hills and some conqured me but in the end I road and had a good time.

Even on a touring ride I can't help but stop and take photos, especially on such a gorgeous fall day. I heard that there were something like 600 riders in the event, the photos don't do that justice.

From the photos there are a lot of dedicated cyclists with road and touring bikes in attendance, my little city/pathway bike stood out but that's ok. I had fun and would do it again.
10-10-2010, 04:23 PM
warneral

way to go! The pictures are gorgeous!!!
10-10-2010, 04:29 PM
Catrin

Sounds like you did great, and the pictures are very good!
10-10-2010, 06:43 PM
sandra

Congratulations!!! I did my first organized bike ride last weekend and loved it so much I'm just itching to do another one if only I could find one!!!

My coworker also did the ride with me and she only rides occasionally. She rode a Trek Navigator which is a hybrid but the tires looked like mountain bike tires beside all those skinny tires. She made it 50 miles on that bike that day!

It's so much fun, isn't it! I'm happy to hear you had a good experience. Your pictures are gorgeous.
10-11-2010, 02:56 AM
hebe

26 miles - that's a marathon! Well done, and I love the photos.
10-11-2010, 04:04 PM
beccaB

This was our third year doing this ride. I like how it's different every year. My husband had a mechanical issue after lunch, so we didn't complete the second loop, but I really liked what we did do. I will say that there are hills in Ann Arbor that I had not realized would be there! Ther surrounding areas are beautiful and fun to ride in.
10-11-2010, 07:13 PM
Bike Writer

Quote:

Originally Posted by beccaB

This was our third year doing this ride. I like how it's different every year. My husband had a mechanical issue after lunch, so we didn't complete the second loop, but I really liked what we did do. I will say that there are hills in Ann Arbor that I had not realized would be there! Ther surrounding areas are beautiful and fun to ride in.

Too bad we didn't know each other was going to be there sooner, we could have met and said "Hi", glad that you enjoyed the tour and sorry to hear of your husband's mechanical issues. The northern portion of A2 can be quite hilly and so is the Brighton - Howell area.

You must have ridden the 62 mile metric century if you went to A2, and I take it you were planning on the 38 mile parks loop to make a full century of it? Wow.

Cheers to the TdL!
10-12-2010, 06:45 AM
beccaB

yes, we did the 62, except that is was really 66 because we got lost:D
Always happens to us!