First organized ride/road ride. Help!

[Kathi]

A good paceline leader will warn you a group is passing and how many are in the group. Other riders will say things like " 2 more coming, or I'm the last one". Many riders latch on and have no idea how to ride in the paceline. Often the leader doensn't know how many riders are behind him. I slow down when the last rider passes me as they often will move over in front of you without looking and they can catch your front wheel. You will go down rather than them. Unless you know what you are doing avoid pacelines. Ocassionally, someone will want to draft off of you, especially if it's windy. They should ask if it's ok and only say yes is you're comfortable. I don't feel comfortable with a rider I don't know, so when I realize what is happening I just pull off the road.

On my 1st century I set my goals for the number of miles to each sag stop rather than worrying about the total number of miles I had to ride. Mentally, it made the ride easier.

I always carry food and my own energy drink. Often the sag stops have "lite" snacks which aren't substantial enough for me. If lunch isn't available I carry a lunch with me or plan to eat in whatever town I'm in at lunch time. To save time we often stop in the local grocery store and pick up a sandwich. I once bonked 2 miles from a sag stop and fortunately I had a bar with me that gave me enough energy to get there. Lunch was being served so I was good to go afterward.

If you have to stop on the road, for safety for yourself and other riders, move off the road, either into a driveway or onto a side road. If there are hills you have to walk, your bicycle should be on your left. Most people don't do that, including me.

Whenever we stop in a gas station or grocery store to use their restrooms we try to buy a little something from them. We feel it's a courtesy to the store owners who allow us to use their facilities.

I try to warn riders ahead of me about riders who don't bother to tell me they're passing. This is where a mirror is helpful, they not so startling is you see them coming.

I've ridden in the area where you will be riding but it's been a long time. My memory is that it is fairly flat. Not Little Miami bike trail flat but in comparsion to riding in the Ohio River Valley (east/west of Cincy) it's flat.

I'm currently on my way to Wisconsin for the Sagbraw tour. I'm sure I'll see a lot of "do's and don'ts" next week.