2016 Cap2Cap Ride (Richmond and Williamsburg), Saturday, May 14, 2016

@consularrider 128370 wrote:

I just received an email that the early bird registration for the event is now open. Current cost is $69.25 . . .

$0.25 too much

@huskerdont 135875 wrote:

This trail is absolutely awesome, so even if you don’t want to spend $69.25 for an organized ride, make plans to get down there and ride it. It goes through a beautiful area that you could really only enjoy by car before (unless you are the kind of person who could enjoy scenery while riding with cars on Route 5 passed you at 65 mph, which I am not). We rode a good chunk of it last summer when portions weren’t yet completed, and plans exist to return.

Seconded. The trail is great. I’ve ridden it end to end round trip twice now (and yes within days of each other). The first time we started from the Jamestown end and rode to Richmond. Stayed in a cushy hotel (Linden Row), ate in a great restaurant and drank a lot. Rode back the next day. There second time we also started from the Jamestown end, rode to Richmond had a huge second breakfast and drank lots of coffee at River City Diner in a feeble attempt to feel my toes again before we turned around and rode back. Both are great options but just depends how civilized you care to be.

@KLizotte 138400 wrote:

Am I correct in reading the century profile that this is a really flat route? Would you say that it is the equivalent of doing a W&OD-Arlington loop century in terms of difficulty? Quiet roads, pretty? Never done any of the Cap2Cap routes before.

Thank you!

Mostly quiet roads, although Rt. 5 can be bad. However, I assume that now that the trail is done, you’ll be riding on that instead of the highway. And yes, the route is flat…painfully so. I’ve done the ride twice and can only remember two noteworthy climbs (and only because I was riding it on a fixed gear). The route has changed slightly, so maybe there are some different “hills”, but it’s the Tidewater, so it’s more like the occasional dip in the road. Based on my Strava ride profiles, the route has maybe 2/3 the climbing that a W&OD century has…

@Tania 138959 wrote:

OK, starting to plan for this ride which will be my first century and longest ride by more than I really want to think about right now.

Any advice? Any items/necessities you always bring on longer rides such as this? My packing list so far is fairly paltry beyond the everyday ride standards: water/electrolytes, nibbles, tubes and co2.

I’ve only done one century before so am hardly an expert but I found that the only difference between a century and a shorter ride was that my hands, feet and butt got really sore or fell asleep so ‘d have to stop every once in a while to walk around and shake everything out. Carrying some food and extra water is a good idea, esp if you don’t know how far apart the aid stations are. I’ve sometimes found that rest stops sometimes run out of food so I always bring a granola bar or two just in case.

You are in really good shape; you’ll be fine. I’m hoping to do this century too cause it is flat and early in the year (before the heat hits). I will wait till the last day of online registration before making the final decision though; I won’t go if it’s gonna rain.