LOL, I did this 3 years ago in 66hrs so is that slow enough? If I make it this year it will probably be my 2nd or 3rd time on a bike for the year (like the last time) so I will be slow as hell.
thought about doing this last year but decided against it solo since i couldnt find a wing man/woman.
so im looking for a partner or group already going. not trying to win it or anything, but would still like to ride and finish in hopefully a decent amount of time.
so let me know! hopefully there is someone else out there just like me who doesnt wanna do it alone.
I rode the course from french creek statepark into philly.
on map 29, right before the intersection with hareshill rd, there is a sign missing for a turn. make sure you end up on coldstream road. i believe if you miss the turnoff you'll be on kimberton road.
also on that map as you are crossing rt 23 there is a PA Bikeroute S detour sign telling you to go left. the correct way to go is straight accross rt 23. as soon as you cross over you'll see the bikeroute S signs.
sh!tty that there are some navigation challenges so close to the end as i am sure we will all be pretty fried physically/mentally by then but if you just follow your map you'll be good!
lookin forward to seein you all out in da burgh in less than a month.
Wednesday or Thursday morning I can put up some type of cardboard sign at that coldstream 'turn'. To get onto coldstream you actually just head straight and the road name changes. Depending on weather and if you roll through at night or during the day it might help.
That Rt 23/Rt 100 section I think you're talking about is marked differently between the maps and the signs. MissIng the quarter mile of rt 100 is good traffic wise, but you also miss a pizza shop and a mini mart just in the short distance.
i'll be on that bus too! We're booked on the 11.25am, which bus are you planning to take?
did you guys figure out what we need to do with our bikes? do we box them there? can we bring it boxed? The bikes must be boxed. We are using cardboard new bike boxes which are free from a local bike store, with the pedals removed and handlebars/saddle losened. We'll take the boxes to the bus already packed, and throw the boxes out in Pittsburgh. I believe it may be possible to buy boxes at some stations but i'm not sure - I know my local station wouldn't help..
Some helpful hints that work for me: Use blue masking tape etc to mark your bar and saddle position. Use cheap pipe insulation from Home Depot to protect your frame etc in the box - it's available in lots of sizes and already has a cut line so that it slides over the frame tubes.
I am planning to carry my pannier bags onto the bus, with my food/clothes in them.
i'll be the guy you don't know walking around the station in spd shoes...
i'll go get a box from the lbs and pack it up ahead of time (then i'll have to convince the wife to tote me to the station with the kids).
my packing strategy is the same as yours pack all bike related sh!t in the box but keep my personal items in the panniers which i will use as my luggage.
party bus! i'll be jumping on the 1675 in norristown to save $34 compared to leaving from reading which is actually closer to pgh but more expensive. i'll be boxed up ahead of time too and hoping for a smooth departure.
i found box dimensions somewhere on greyhounds site. i doubt they're that particular though. so we got 5 confirmed, wonder how many total will be busing it.
distance riding has been lax compared to previous years but the 1400 miles of commuting so far is still worth something. going with a freewheel too; don't have the desire to do it fixed again this time around. i'll be happy with a sub 48 hr ride as years past but figure that can easily be improved upon. just gotta limit the pre-race beers and not almost have a total system shutdown like 2009.
Haha... I have YET to even ride a bike once this year so far. I need to do some quick repairs to both my main bikes and since I moved recently my "shop" is a disaster area.
However, the last time I did CTC, the ONLY bike ride I went on before the event was a 25mi +/- mountain bike ride, followed by literally ONE LAP around Riverview Park to make sure the bike I built from the frame up the weekend before CTC was not going to fall apart on me on my way across.
Needless to say 6hrs isn't bad for being the first time getting on a bike that was built from a bunch of craigslist deals the weekend before the race wasn't bad.
This time I have much better aerobars and 3+ years of riding on that same bike (not having the riding position dialed in before going on a 400 mile ride kinda messed up my knees for awhile).
I am still only 50/50 on whether I will be able to make it this year and most likely won't know until the weekend before!
20 comments:
Oh we care, but no, nothing more is needed either. :)
You got a date and time, what more is needed?
Decent weather would be nice, since you're asking.
Sure, and we'd be lovin' some sunny and low 60's F for the ride. Especially over Somerset and Donegal mtns.
Gotta get some miles in this weekend....
DC
Great event, that I just found out about. My 22 year old son will be doing this. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!
@Margaret: Is this very young man at all slow on his bike? I need someone slow to not drop me by Rockwood...
LOL, I did this 3 years ago in 66hrs so is that slow enough? If I make it this year it will probably be my 2nd or 3rd time on a bike for the year (like the last time) so I will be slow as hell.
If said 22-year-old wrenches in a certain funny-bike shop in State College, I feel confident in saying he's not terribly slow.
thought about doing this last year but decided against it solo since i couldnt find a wing man/woman.
so im looking for a partner or group already going. not trying to win it or anything, but would still like to ride and finish in hopefully a decent amount of time.
so let me know! hopefully there is someone else out there just like me who doesnt wanna do it alone.
danny
couple things from a recent recon mission:
I rode the course from french creek statepark into philly.
on map 29, right before the intersection with hareshill rd, there is a sign missing for a turn. make sure you end up on coldstream road. i believe if you miss the turnoff you'll be on kimberton road.
also on that map as you are crossing rt 23 there is a PA Bikeroute S detour sign telling you to go left. the correct way to go is straight accross rt 23. as soon as you cross over you'll see the bikeroute S signs.
sh!tty that there are some navigation challenges so close to the end as i am sure we will all be pretty fried physically/mentally by then but if you just follow your map you'll be good!
lookin forward to seein you all out in da burgh in less than a month.
if anyone is interested in an overnight century outta philly/manayunk in the next couple weeks let me know.
i have a good route, it will follow the last 30 miles or so of the course back to philly, good chance to test out your lights and gear.
i could be talked into this basically any night the weather isn't totally crappy.
just let me know!
Wednesday or Thursday morning I can put up some type of cardboard sign at that coldstream 'turn'. To get onto coldstream you actually just head straight and the road name changes. Depending on weather and if you roll through at night or during the day it might help.
That Rt 23/Rt 100 section I think you're talking about is marked differently between the maps and the signs. MissIng the quarter mile of rt 100 is good traffic wise, but you also miss a pizza shop and a mini mart just in the short distance.
Darren
3 Bus tickets from Philly to the race start have been booked :)
i'll be on that bus too!
did you guys figure out what we need to do with our bikes?
do we box them there? can we bring it boxed?
Max:
i'll be on that bus too!
We're booked on the 11.25am, which bus are you planning to take?
did you guys figure out what we need to do with our bikes? do we box them there? can we bring it boxed?
The bikes must be boxed. We are using cardboard new bike boxes which are free from a local bike store, with the pedals removed and handlebars/saddle losened. We'll take the boxes to the bus already packed, and throw the boxes out in Pittsburgh. I believe it may be possible to buy boxes at some stations but i'm not sure - I know my local station wouldn't help..
Some helpful hints that work for me: Use blue masking tape etc to mark your bar and saddle position. Use cheap pipe insulation from Home Depot to protect your frame etc in the box - it's available in lots of sizes and already has a cut line so that it slides over the frame tubes.
I am planning to carry my pannier bags onto the bus, with my food/clothes in them.
yup same bus!
i'll be the guy you don't know walking around the station in spd shoes...
i'll go get a box from the lbs and pack it up ahead of time (then i'll have to convince the wife to tote me to the station with the kids).
my packing strategy is the same as yours pack all bike related sh!t in the box but keep my personal items in the panniers which i will use as my luggage.
party bus! i'll be jumping on the 1675 in norristown to save $34 compared to leaving from reading which is actually closer to pgh but more expensive. i'll be boxed up ahead of time too and hoping for a smooth departure.
i found box dimensions somewhere on greyhounds site. i doubt they're that particular though. so we got 5 confirmed, wonder how many total will be busing it.
distance riding has been lax compared to previous years but the 1400 miles of commuting so far is still worth something. going with a freewheel too; don't have the desire to do it fixed again this time around. i'll be happy with a sub 48 hr ride as years past but figure that can easily be improved upon. just gotta limit the pre-race beers and not almost have a total system shutdown like 2009.
2009 was a rough year. I didn't start feeling good until mile 300 or so.
@Adam: Plenty slow for me. I'll be the old guy on the green Surly. The one looking really full of trepidation.
Haha... I have YET to even ride a bike once this year so far. I need to do some quick repairs to both my main bikes and since I moved recently my "shop" is a disaster area.
However, the last time I did CTC, the ONLY bike ride I went on before the event was a 25mi +/- mountain bike ride, followed by literally ONE LAP around Riverview Park to make sure the bike I built from the frame up the weekend before CTC was not going to fall apart on me on my way across.
Needless to say 6hrs isn't bad for being the first time getting on a bike that was built from a bunch of craigslist deals the weekend before the race wasn't bad.
This time I have much better aerobars and 3+ years of riding on that same bike (not having the riding position dialed in before going on a 400 mile ride kinda messed up my knees for awhile).
I am still only 50/50 on whether I will be able to make it this year and most likely won't know until the weekend before!
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