First 30 Mile Event Ride-What I Need to Know

[Velocivixen]

Hi All,

So this Saturday I'm riding the 30 mile route of the PetalPedal departing from the Oregon Gardens in Silverton. My friend, DH and I all signed up for the 30 mile route. There are also 60 and 100 mile routes. I plan on getting a good night's sleep, staying well hydrated, eating before and during the ride. They provide a breakfast, rest stops every 15 miles for food, drink, bike repair, etc. They also provide lunch/dinner afterwards. The weather will be cloudy and start in the 50's with highs likely in the upper 60's, and dry.

So...anything I should know? I have my took kit with me, two water bottles and likely a few snacks just in case. My goal is to stay with my friend who's about 14 years older than me and has been off her bike for a good long time. I know from riding with her that my average speed is faster than hers, but I'm doing this for fun and for leisure, not to win the race.

Thanks for any tips you could provide.

[indysteel]

Riding with a potentially large number of people takes a little more awareness of yourself and what and who is around you. Generally speaking, I'd encourage you to stay to the right of the road unless you're passing. If riders are close behind you, it's nice to yell or point out any road hazards and to signal when you're slowing, stopping, or turning. As you pass other riders, yell "on your left." Always keep an eye out for what's behind you, especially as you go to pass someone. If I had a dollar for every fast-moving cyclist or paceline that passed me on the left without warning, I'd be a rich woman. If a car is coming up from behind, yell "car back." From the front, yell "car up." If a car is passing, yell "car passing." This assumes othe riders are nearby.

One pet peeve I have at event or club rides is the yo-yoer. Those are people who pass you and then almost immediately slow down such that you then have to pass them. Then they pass you again. Don't be that person!!!

Otherwise just have fun! Be careful at rest stops. It is easy to overeat at stops. And don't stay too long at the stops--unless you don't mind having legs that feel like lead!

[marni]

take an extra packet of chamois butter with you, sometimes in the heat and or humidity, an extra addition makes all the difference. Take you camera, take pictures, talk to the other riders, remember that you don't have to stop at every rest stop, and keep yourself hydrated and limber.

most importantly enjoy riding with your friend and husband and have a good time.

marni

[Velocivixen]

Wow these are excellent tips. Not sure what the turnout will be like. Good to know about not staying too long at rest breaks. For us there will be only one at the halfway point. How long is "too long" to stay?
@marni, I've never had the need for chamois butter. I've ridden 25 miles before without issue. I don't have any. I do have mountain bike shorts with a liner that has a chamois though.

[smilingcat]

I stay at rest stop for no more than 10 minutes. You don't want to start cooling down.

If you have been riding regularly, 30 miles will be okay! Just pace your self and not get sucked up with the faster riders. Take your time and enjoy yourself. don't worry too much.

Oh you may want to have a small stiff plastic board with a clip inside a plastic zip bag. clip the route sheet onto the small board and mount it on the gooseneck or somewhere it doesn't get in a way.

Pay attention to the distance between the way points and colored arrows if the ride is marked. Keep an eye out for other riders. if you lose sight of other riders, you may want to double back to make sure you didn't go off course.

And enjoy your ride!!

[DarcyInOregon]

Velo, you will be cycling over roads I ride on quite a bit. This is an event ride for the Oregon public gardens, I believe. The 30-mile route is relatively flat, so no worries there for you, and by flat I mean any inclines are generally in the nature of rollers and not difficult to navigate for a new cyclist. The only advice I can give you is to arrive early, and stand in line for the porta potties first before you pick up your registration packet as the lines get long fast. Bring extra cash with you in case they have tables set up selling jerseys, tees, socks, jackets, etc for cheap, and you can pick up some nice stuff that way. Go to the porta potty first, registration second, look to see if anything is being sold, then go to your car to get your bike and gear together and put stuff in the car from the registration packet or items you purchased.

Make an agreement with the people you are cycling with if you are cycling together at the slowest person's speed or if you are all going to do your own thing and regroup at the rest stop and the finish line. One aspect about new cyclists on their first event ride is they don't pace themselves; they speed up as packs of cyclists pass them, get caught up in the frenzy of pedaling among so many bikes and going faster than normal, and totally forget about the group of friends they are supposedly biking with, who are pacing themselves, and soon leave their friends miles behind. It can lead to some hurt feelings, so it is something you have to agree on before the event ride. All groups are different on how they bike an event ride, so how you bike will be specific to you and your friends. I participate in quite a few event rides each year, and I bike with different cycling friends, and pretty much every ride we start out as a pace line and it devolves into individuals riding at their own speed. I have a lot of fun drafting off anyone who passes me by until I am dropped or they slow down, then I jump into some other group's slipstream. I know I am real tired on a long ride when I find myself drafting off the back wheel of a bike that is only going 13 mph and I don't care.

Anyway, you will have fun. The weather for Saturday won't be too hot, just right. The route is over roads that are fun to bike. The scenery is great.

[Bike Chick]

All great advice here. I also take my phone in a plastic sandwich bag if there's a possibility of rain and use sunscreen. One more thing, be sure to have a map of the course with you and be sure to pay attention to what color arrow is being used for the 30 mile course. My first 60 mile group ride ended up being an 85 mile group ride because I followed the wrong arrows and turned right when I should've turned left. Trust me, you don't want to do that!

Most importantly, have fun.

[Velocivixen]

Hi Darcy, I hoped you would chime in. The only time I've ridden this distance was on Sauvies Island for 25 miles on May 1st- it was sunny and windy. Great to hear about the roads. Since my friend is the slower rider I'm going her pace. Were doing it to have fun and support each other (we both do Weight Warchers & have lost a lot of weight). My DH likes to ride faster but said he would ride with us. I'll post photos and a summary when I finish.

[Catrin]

...One more thing, be sure to have a map of the course with you and be sure to pay attention to what color arrow is being used for the 30 mile course. My first 60 mile group ride ended up being an 85 mile group ride because I followed the wrong arrows and turned right when I should've turned left. Trust me, you don't want to do that!

Most importantly, have fun.

+100 on this. On my last good organized ride last September before my injuries, I added several hours to my ride by following the wrong arrow...I finally had to take a shortcut back to the start from one of the SAGs and was unable to finish the ride. I would have stuck with it if my leg hadn't been in pain by that point - so double-check all of your arrows or whatever markings they choose to use. With multiple routes this mistake can be easy to make.

Having fun is the very most important thing

[jlnc]

I'm glad you posted this question VVixen...i have a 25 mile ride this weekend, and all of this advice will be helpful! I think the hardest thing for me will be to remember to ride at my own (slow!) pace and not get caught up in the excitement. We've got another hot humid day predicted for Saturday, so I have to remember to drink, drink drink!!
Hope you enjoy your ride!

[marni]

[QUOTE=Bike Chick;581891]All great advice here. I also take my phone in a plastic sandwich bag if there's a possibility of rain and use sunscreen.

I on the other hand, ride so hot and sweaty that my cell phone lives permanently in a zip lock sandwich bag whether rain is predicted or not.

[Velocivixen]

It's going to be cloudy and in the 60's. Maybe partly sunny. 30 miles won't be a big deal, but it's my first "organized ride". I do Portland Sunday Parkways but they're more meandering loops of about 7 or 8 miles. I don't worry about myself, but about other riders who are idiots!
I know about pacing myself and use a training computer (Polar FT40) at least for running races. I know not to go too fast in the beginning if I want to finish strong at the end. As I said, my friend is much slower and we're going to stop and take photos, etc. along the way as appropriate. I have a Trek FX 7.3 and I really wish I had my road bike by now. I'm trying to convince DH to finance it for me and I will repay him. If I didn't already have a bike he'd probably buy me one, but since I don't really need another bike it's up to me to pay for it. Anyway, that's an entirely different story.

[jlnc]

Let us know how your ride goes VeloV! I finished my first 25 mile charity ride this morning. It was so much fun! I was nervous about the heat but made sure i drank the whole time, and I took a good rest at the halfway point. Last quarter of the ride was uphill and in the full sun, but I made it! So glad I did it. I hope you have fun on your 30 miler today!

[Velocivixen]

UPDATE: It poured rain! Thank goodness I had waterproof (yes, they were) over my biking shorts, then a tech tee shirt, a thermal cycling jacket, then a PI Barrier cycling jacket. My feet, hands, face and hair were soaking wet most of the time. It rained, we had a 10 mph or so headwind, sometimes a "side wind" when the rain was coming down horizontally, and sometimes but not often a tailwind. There were what I call long, slow rolling hills that went "uphill" if that makes sense. I have NEVER ridden 30 miles and I have not practiced hills except a few very short steeper ones around here once in awhile. At mile 16 there was food- dave's killer bread peanut butter & jelly half sandwiches, watermelon, gatorade, strawberry shortcake, boiled eggs, etc. They also had breakfast, and gourmet food for our "dinner" with a band.
In the beginning I think I tried to go too fast up the first loooong rolling hill AND into a headwind and I was almost crying, I just got off and walked. I was so disgusted with myself. My 62 year old friend who's been off her bikes for a few years, just kept peddling and she was 10 minutes ahead of me the entire time. She was riding a heavy hybrid, only had clipless pedals. My DH stayed back with me and it took 3 hours of actual riding to ride 30 miles. Let's just say that many folks who signed up for the 68 & 100 mile rides quit after 35 or 40. The weather was bad.

[jlnc]

Ugh, sorry it was rainy and windy, but kudos to you for sticking with it. I'm not sure I would have even attempted it if it were pouring!