Question on bathroom breaks

[gd7daws]

I'm a very new rider, just purchased a road bike in March. I plan on doing about 70 miles of an upcoming century ride and will be by myself most of the day (husband is doing the full 105 miles).

My question is about bathroom breaks. I'm sure I can wait until I reach a planned and manned rest stop. I'm thinking these stops will have portable toilets, but I could be wrong (this is a LiveStrong Challange Century). If they do have toilets, how do I secure my bike if I'm on the ride by myself?

Do you think there will be volunteers who would watch my bike? I would hate to have to lock it up just for a quick pit stop.

Such a silly question, but it's been on my mind. Thanks for any info you can share.

Dawn

[Blueberry]

Most of the mass rides have fields of unsecured bikes. Not ideal, but not likely to be an issue either (or at least, there have always been way nicer bikes than mine....).

[indysteel]

Perhaps I should, but I've never worried about my bike at planned stops. There likely will be porta potties. Some events are better than others at having enough of them, especially at the first stop. My strategy is to grab some food and then stand in line as I eat. I try to keep my stops as short as possible.

Have fun at the ride!

[ny biker]

At a Livestrong ride, there will be lots of people there. Everyone will just find a place to lean their bike, then go get food/water or head for the porta-potties. There might be a line, especially at the first rest stop.

Any time I do a group ride, I don't worry about my bike as long as there are other people from the group at the rest stop. If it's a club ride and we're stopped at a store, I'll take my wallet, phone and keys out of my bike bag and keep them with me until I start to ride again. At charity rides and organized rides like centuries, I don't worry about them.

I'm sure there's a first time for everything, but I've never heard of any theft problems at rest stops at organized rides.

I don't even know where my bike locks are. I think they're the old kind that you can pick with a pen cap...

[gd7daws]

Thanks for such a quick reply and a warm welcome.

I'm very sure there will be nicer bikes than mine, but mine is no slouch either (Trek Madone 5.2) so the thought of leaving it alone is a little scarry. Especially when hearing stories of bikes being stolen when they are 3 feet away from the owner who was having coffee with friends.

This is the Davis, CA challange and I will be doing the 70 miles. I would love to meet up with some ladies that are doing this ride, even if we don't hang together for the entire time. My husband will be with friends, but I just don't feel strong enough to do all the climbing the 100 will require.

[ny biker]

I did the Livestrong ride five times in Philadelphia, by myself for the last four. But the people are very friendly, and there's always someone to talk to. It's a very positive vibe, different from any other ride I've done.

[gd7daws]

Thanks!!!

[Trek420]

Perhaps I should, but I've never worried about my bike at planned stops.

Me neither and my bike's kinda special. My plan at rest stops:

Pick a spot near the center and food. I don't want the outer fringes or easy to grab and use as its own getaway vehicle.

Remember where I parked

I do two things to "lock" the bike:
I like gloves with the velcro strap on the back. Loop that around a spoke.
Loop the helmet on downtube and a wheel.

If there was someone who wanted to "trade bikes" at the stop they might not notice those are there. As long as I do and don't roll off with a glove getting stuck in the brakes we're fine.

But I've never had a problem. I'm less worried about other riders than the possibility of someone wandering by to "bike shop".

[Karma007]

I'll be there, doing the climbs of the 100 until I a) pass out, or b) they pry me off the course!!! PM me!

[gd7daws]

Pick a spot near the center and food. I don't want the outer fringes or easy to grab and use as its own getaway vehicle.

Remember where I parked

I do two things to "lock" the bike:
I like gloves with the velcro strap on the back. Loop that around a spoke.
Loop the helmet on downtube and a wheel.

".

Thanks again everyone for your comments. The above was especially helpful. I did my first "event" over the weekend, and could easily see that what you all said was very true. Really, not much reason for concern, but it's still good to use common sense.

I never would have thought about the need to remember where I parked my bike - until I saw all those bikes in the racks. Wow, harder than finding your car in the mall the days before Christmas. And this was no where near as big as the LiveStrong event.

I did feel pretty secure during the rest stops, but the dinner at the end of the event was a different matter. Not as many bikes around, non event folks were close by, just a different vibe. So I used the gloves in the spokes and helmet on the wheel/tube. My husband thought I was crazy, but I felt more secure.

Thanks again,
Dawn