Total 200 — Advice and Roll Call

[dasgeh]

@consularrider 57461 wrote:

I think one of the points of the timing of the ride is to maximize the available daylight to make 200 miles achievable for more riders without requiring lights.

I get why they want to time it as close to June 20 as possible, but June is almost always cooler and less humid than July around here…

Congrats on 137 miles. Very impressive.

[eminva]

@consularrider 57461 wrote:

I heard a number of comments both last year and this that people didn’t like riding on busy roads. For me that’s actually one of the attractions of the ride. A group of 20 to 50 riders heading down Pennsylvania Ave/MD 4 early in the morning is quite a thrill. In addition there were (mostly) good shoulders on the other busy roads and I never felt threatened by any of the motorized traffic.

Yes, I think this is a fair point that should be made to anyone thinking about the ride. How comfortable are you riding on busy state highways with 40-50 mph speed limits? Another lesson learned, I would put myself in the category of being comfortable with it and being able to do it safely, but not necessarily wanting to do it for eight straight hours. No knock on anyone, just know thyself.

Another thing: I haven’t spent a lot of time in southern Maryland, but it was more hilly than I imagined. The metric double climbs over 6000 feet.

Good luck in the RAIN, consularrider!

Liz

P.S. to Culimerc: Per the official route (not including unintended detours), it was 25.4 miles from the last rest stop to the finish.

[Tim Kelley]

@eminva 57478 wrote:

P.S. to Culimerc: Per the official route (not including unintended detours), it was 25.4 miles from the last rest stop to the finish.

So about an hour right?

[TwoWheelsDC]

I feel like I could do this…at least physically. Mentally though, I don’t know….I think I’d only try if I was with a group of people who planned to stick together. So I’ll consider it for next year if there are others doing it at a relatively relaxed pace….200 miles at 18mph ain’t gonna happen for me.

[americancyclo]

I’m in! Although you need about a 14mph average (with no stops) to complete it in the allotted 14.5 hours from 6am to 8:30pm. Tim and Hans both averaged 18mph, so I think I could commit to a 15-17 mph average. Let’s get a group together!

[culimerc]

@Tim Kelley 57479 wrote:

So about an hour right?

Thats what I was thinkin’

[Tim Kelley]

@americancyclo 57484 wrote:

I’m in! Although you need about a 14mph average (with no stops) to complete it in the allotted 14.5 hours from 6am to 8:30pm. Tim and Hans both averaged 18mph, so I think I could commit to a 15-17 mph average. Let’s get a group together!

If you want to get exact, my group held a 19.8mph average moving speed and a 16.4mph average total speed if you include the stops.

[culimerc]

@americancyclo 57484 wrote:

I’m in! Although you need about a 14mph average (with no stops) to complete it in the allotted 14.5 hours from 6am to 8:30pm. Tim and Hans both averaged 18mph, so I think I could commit to a 15-17 mph average. Let’s get a group together!

According to my numbers, I averaged 16.8, and had almost 3 hours worth of stoppage time. There are 9 rest stops, so if you stop for 15 or mins at each it adds up fast, especially if you think about an extra long stop at lunch and that the stops get longer as it gets hotter and the miles start to take their toll.

[Megabeth]

I did a total of 158 for the day (we rode to the start). Had to stop at rest #7 after the “dizzy and headache” kicked in and wouldn’t go away. The fact that I couldn’t keep the nutrition down was also a bit disconcerting. Rather than pushing to rest #8 and risk being stuck on the side of the road, I stopped when there was a bus. A bus with a/c. (Ironically, my SAG bus rolled in right when Mr. Tim Kelley was leaving the finish and biking home…)

I don’t think I’ve ever dumped that much water on me, or in me, during a ride. It was hot with very little shade. I was fortunate enough to have two excellent people to draft off of the entire time. I have no idea how I ever would have done the ride without them. I basically stayed quiet, stared at their wheels, and pedaled.

Volunteers were also fantastic.

I’m not ready to say if I’m doing it again next year…

[Tim Kelley]

@Megabeth 57492 wrote:

I don’t think I’ve ever dumped that much water on me, or in me, during a ride. It was hot with very little shade.

Oh right, my estimate was about 25 bottles of water/sports drink consumed during the 15 hours. And another 5 or so poured onto my white ballet shrugs to keep me cool.

[Megabeth]

Yeah, but did you have ice poured down the front of your jersey so it landed in your sports bra creating what looked like “double-D”s for the next five minutes?

I think not.

[hozn]

@americancyclo 57484 wrote:

I’m in! Although you need about a 14mph average (with no stops) to complete it in the allotted 14.5 hours from 6am to 8:30pm. Tim and Hans both averaged 18mph, so I think I could commit to a 15-17 mph average. Let’s get a group together!

Oh, I don’t think I did 18mph, did I? Definitely only ~17 for the overall ride. Anyway, I was not anywhere near as fast as Tim, so let’s make sure that’s clear

Technically the group I was with missed the 8:30 cutoff (I think we got back around 8:40). Riding through DC at the end was a lot slower than I would have thought — and we didn’t make any mis-turns (though we had to double check at a few intersections). Lots of waiting at lights (that didn’t have sensors aware of our presence), etc. But it’s definitely doable by the cutoff time; we could have hustled a little more at the stops, but it hadn’t even occurred to me that we’d be in danger of missing the cutoffs at our pace.

[ShawnoftheDread]

@americancyclo 57484 wrote:

I’m in! Although you need about a 14mph average (with no stops) to complete it in the allotted 14.5 hours from 6am to 8:30pm. Tim and Hans both averaged 18mph, so I think I could commit to a 15-17 mph average. Let’s get a group together!

So the wife says if I do this she’s going on a bender for an entire weekend. I’m not really sure of the relationship between these two activities.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@ShawnoftheDread 57497 wrote:

So the wife says if I do this she’s going on a bender for an entire weekend.

Not sure if threat or thoughtful FYI…

[Tim Kelley]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VInMXs82xI

MB and MJ spotted at 1:23!

[Author]

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