Wild Goose Chase 2009

[Kalidurga]

Hard to say. Last year was very windy for part of the ride, but it was also the first year so there's no history beyond that to judge whether it might be the same this time. You may want to take a good look at the weather reports before packing up your bike.

[Cataboo]

I think I'll just swap my wheels out for some non-aero ones. My friend thinks she's going to do this on her mountain bike instead of borrowing one of my road bikes... so I doubt I'll be going all that fast anyways. It should be a fun ride irregardless.

I'm hoping I can convince her to at least borrow my surly, it's an upright ride and she's basically my size. It'll be a little faster than a mountain bike. At the very least, I'm putting slicks on her mountain bike.

[divingbiker]

So, do we have a plan?

I'll throw this out for starters:

--Meet in the parking lot at the Holiday Inn Express at 11:30am (or do we want to meet earlier?
--Caravan over to the put-in on Drawbridge Rd (there is no upstream/downstream to worry about according to Susan at Blackwater Pedal & Paddle--it's totally flat water.)
--Bring your lunch with you, or eat before we go.
--Paddle for 1.5 hours or so, then turn around and go back.
--Go to our hotels and clean up, then meet for dinner around 6--dinner location TBD (thanks for scouting out the options, Martha.)

[Becky]

Piggybacking on Catriona's wheels question here:

What do people recommend for gearing? I understand that it's wicked flat down there, so I was thinking of swapping my 12-25 for a straight block cassette.

[Kalidurga]

So, do we have a plan?

--Meet in the parking lot at the Holiday Inn Express at 11:30am (or do we want to meet earlier?
--Caravan over to the put-in on Drawbridge Rd (there is no upstream/downstream to worry about according to Susan at Blackwater Pedal & Paddle--it's totally flat water.)
--Bring your lunch with you, or eat before we go.
--Paddle for 1.5 hours or so, then turn around and go back.
--Go to our hotels and clean up, then meet for dinner around 6--dinner location TBD (thanks for scouting out the options, Martha.)

That all sounds good to me (weather permitting).

[Cataboo]

Piggybacking on Catriona's wheels question here:

What do people recommend for gearing? I understand that it's wicked flat down there, so I was thinking of swapping my 12-25 for a straight block cassette.

I'm thinking I don't need a triple or a compact double.

[Becky]

I'm thinking I don't need a triple or a compact double.

The compact double is going to stay simply because I don't own a standard, but I can't imagine that I'll spend much time in the small ring.

[withm]

So, do we have a plan?

I'll throw this out for starters:

--Meet in the parking lot at the Holiday Inn Express at 11:30am (or do we want to meet earlier?
--Caravan over to the put-in on Drawbridge Rd (there is no upstream/downstream to worry about according to Susan at Blackwater Pedal & Paddle--it's totally flat water.)
--Bring your lunch with you, or eat before we go.
--Paddle for 1.5 hours or so, then turn around and go back.
--Go to our hotels and clean up, then meet for dinner around 6--dinner location TBD (thanks for scouting out the options, Martha.)

This plan sounds great. Except for the part that I will be missing the paddling part, and don't know if I'll make it back in time for dinner. I have a funeral and reception in DC - and as long as I get out of there by 3:30-4 ish I should be OK to meet up with you somewhere.

I have a reservation for Fri night as well, and IF the weather is good, was going to go over and ride some Friday afternoon. If it's raining, I may cancel the motel for Friday. Is anyone else going over on Friday?

Martha

[withm]

The compact double is going to stay simply because I don't own a standard, but I can't imagine that I'll spend much time in the small ring
and

Originally Posted by Becky
Piggybacking on Catriona's wheels question here:

What do people recommend for gearing? I understand that it's wicked flat down there, so I was thinking of swapping my 12-25 for a straight block cassette.

I'm thinking I don't need a triple or a compact double..

You guys are scaring me. The route is very flat but if there is any kind of wind in the 10-15kt range (and that is likely) you will notice it. The ride is generally a loop - so you will feel the wind at some point. If it's variable - it will be from all directions. But changing cassettes, wheels, or gearing sounds like a lot of work to me. It's just a ride with 700 of your closest friends.

[Becky]

You guys are scaring me. The route is very flat but if there is any kind of wind in the 10-15kt range (and that is likely) you will notice it. The ride is generally a loop - so you will feel the wind at some point. If it's variable - it will be from all directions. But changing cassettes, wheels, or gearing sounds like a lot of work to me. It's just a ride with 700 of your closest friends.

That's good info about the wind- thanks! That may help me decide between shorts and knickers too. The last forecast I saw was for high 60s and partly sunny.

As for the cassette change, I'll probably mindlessly change it in front of the TV some night this week- no big deal. My recent experiences with uber-flat riding were in the C&D Canal area, and I remember feeling like I couldn't find the right cog to keep a steady cadence.

[Cataboo]

You guys are scaring me. The route is very flat but if there is any kind of wind in the 10-15kt range (and that is likely) you will notice it. The ride is generally a loop - so you will feel the wind at some point. If it's variable - it will be from all directions. But changing cassettes, wheels, or gearing sounds like a lot of work to me. It's just a ride with 700 of your closest friends.

*cough*

The scary part is that I've got 3 road bikes, one has a compact double, one has a standard double, one has a triple. As for swapping casettes, all I really have to do is take a set off one bike and move it to the other bike.

Actually, all my casettes are either 11-25 and I've got 1 12-26, so I can't reall change all that much with that. But if there's wind, I'm not taking deep dish wheels.

So it's not really work.

[7rider]

Eepers. I won't be changing out any gearing on my bike for this ride. I run a compact with a 12-25, whether I'm doing a pancake-flat ride on the eastern shore, or the Civil War Century with it's brutal climbing.
Maybe when I change out the cassette, I'll see if I can get a 11-26 on it. But then, I'll run a compact with a 11-26 on all my rides - pancake flat, or hilly. And the same wheels, too. Some things, I try not to over-think.
Maybe someday, I'll put a standard crank back on the old bike, and if I put a 11-26 on that, I'll keep that as my "hammer on the flats" bike, and keep the new bike as my climber. Oh, geez. There I go.

DB...your schedule sounds fine to me.

[Cataboo]

Eepers. I won't be changing out any gearing on my bike for this ride. I run a compact with a 12-25, whether I'm doing a pancake-flat ride on the eastern shore, or the Civil War Century with it's brutal climbing.
Maybe when I change out the cassette, I'll see if I can get a 11-26 on it. But then, I'll run a compact with a 11-26 on all my rides - pancake flat, or hilly. And the same wheels, too. Some things, I try not to over-think.
Maybe someday, I'll put a standard crank back on the old bike, and if I put a 11-26 on that, I'll keep that as my "hammer on the flats" bike, and keep the new bike as my climber. Oh, geez. There I go.

DB...your schedule sounds fine to me.

see. You need 2 more road bikes.

I just got the 12-26 for my standard double, to make it a little easier on hills. Supposedly it's the same as running a 11-25 on a compact double, but the BF ran the math & I didn't... so I'm not convinced yet.

I do really like a 53 on flats, and my standard double bike's the only one with a 53 at this point.

A lot of this stuff was decided before the litespeed came along, so now I gotta redecide everything. I've got deep carbon wheels on my carbon road bike, and I get blown around in the wind on that thing like dorothy in a twister. Well, not literally, but enough that I find it freaky riding on roads with no shoulders with cars passing me in the wind. so I have a set of wheels to swap onto it when it's windy.

[Becky]

Eepers. I won't be changing out any gearing on my bike for this ride. I run a compact with a 12-25, whether I'm doing a pancake-flat ride on the eastern shore, or the Civil War Century with it's brutal climbing.

Oooo....thanks for the reminder! I just registered DH and I for the CWC. I may actually shoe-horn a 12-28 on the bike for that ride!

[Cataboo]

Oooo....thanks for the reminder! I just registered DH and I for the CWC. I may actually shoe-horn a 12-28 on the bike for that ride!

I could use my triple!

I haven't registered for that ride - but it's sorta in my back yard, so maybe I should just get the routes and ride them myself on weekends.