New Start Location

We'll try a new start location for Saturday's ride.  There are great roads northward towards and around Gray that are hard to access from Rivoli or Geico unless it's a longer (80+mi) ride.  So we'll begin this week from Northridge Baptist Church located 2.6 miles north of I-75 on the west side of Gray Highway. We'll probably use this start point  few times over the winter.

Saturday's route will be a 65-mile clockwise loop around Gray with a store stop in Haddock as shown on map below.  Start is Saturday at 9am at the back parking lot of Northridge Church.

One short dirt section is included to avoid some busy roads.  It is the section we rode last week - it's very smooth with zero gravel.

Map to Northridge Baptist Church, 2360 Gray Highway, Macon.  Park at the area circled in red on the image below.

View Loop around Gray in a larger map

Loop Around the Lake

Saturday September 24th - 9am from Mt. Zion Church
Loop Around the Lake route (67 miles) clockwise
Two-up upper endurance/tempo ride (18.5-19.5 mph)

Fair warning: there is a 1.4-mile dirt road section near Gray.  You don't have to ride it fast unless you want to - we'll regroup at the end.  But this route isn't possible without it so be prepared.

We'll do a brief store stop in Juliette then begin the triple drill for 12 miles.
At the turn onto Taylor Road near the end we'll start a 3.1-mile attack zone with the finish line at Rumble Road (dirt Rd on rt just before taking the left onto Klopfer).

 
View Loop Around the Lake 2 in a larger map

Covered Bridge Ride

Delmus Crisp will lead 83 steady miles at upper endurance/low tempo from Mt. Zion on Saturday at 9am. We'll go westward to Hootenville and over Auchumpkee Creek Covered Bridge.
View Covered Bridge in a larger map

Juliette - Locust Grove 84 miles

Ride leader: Robert Jordan
Date: Saturday, September 10th
Time: 9am
Start from: Juliette (beside RR tracks near the Whistle Stop Cafe)
Length: 84 miles
Ride: steady upper endurance pace - no attack zones - likely about 18.5 - 19 mph
Store stops: one or two, maybe Jenkinsburg and Forsyth

We'll ride about as far northwest as you can get on a "Macon" ride - on some roads the Macon folk likely have never seen.  I've seen them, but not on a bike.  We'll cut just north of High Falls, through Jenkinsburg, over to Locust Grove, and back down to Forsyth, then back to Juliette.  See the map below.


View Juliette Locust Grove 84mi in a larger map

Pacelines

I've been surprised by the number of folks who have asked for information on pacelines, so here it is. This isn't meant to sound preachy. If you are experienced with riding pacelines, just ignore it. If you have additional info or if you disagree with my advice, please chime in. I've spent years riding in pacelines with riders stronger than I am and plan to spend many more. Done properly, riders with a wide range of abilities can get good training in a single group.

In no particular order:

* Single paceline: one rider holding a steady pace at the front, usually from a few seconds to a few minutes, then pulling off and drifting to the rear. Effort ranges from easy to hard depending on the goal of the group (easy training, chasing, break).

* Double paceline: two riders at the front holding a steady pace, usually from a minute to 10 min or more. Effort typically ranges from easy to just below threshold depending on the goal of the group. When finished pulling, the two riders move apart to allow the following dual column of riders to come through (see graphic at top of the blog).

* When front riders are near threshold, most in the group will be riding at tempo. When front riders are near tempo, most in the group will be riding at endurance pace.

* Single rotating paceline: a single line of riders rotating smoothly. As a rider nears the front of the line, instead of pausing at the front his effort increases smoothly and gradually as the rider in front pulls off and he comes into the wind. The goal is maintaining a steady effort and relatively consistent pace for the group. He smoothly rotates off (most often to the left), gradually reduces power, and drifts to the back of the line.

* A paceline rarely includes riders all having the same abilities. In single, non-rotating pacelines, the duration of pulls - not the effort/pace of the line - should be variable. Stronger riders should use lower relative effort and do longer pulls. Weaker riders should use higher relative effort and pull shorter. This keeps the paceline effort consistent. Some situations may have stronger riders at the front for several minutes and weaker riders at the front for less than a minute or just smoothly rolling through when their turn comes to pull.  Having all riders contribute at varying durations and/or efforts is preferable to having some riders working and some sitting on the back.

* In a perfect world, the effort for everyone in a training paceline except the front rider(s) should stay close to the target level. The drafting effect is higher at higher speeds. So the rider(s) working at the front front should pull at 100% of the target effort on the flats, 120% of the target effort on descents, and 80% of the target effort on climbs. This minimizes riders feathering the breaks and crossing wheels on descents or struggling to keep the formation smooth and avoid gaps on climbs.

* In a rotating paceline, all riders will spend about the same amount of time at the front.  If the goal is to keep the group together there are two options: either the entire group must ride at a level somewhere below the cracking point of the weakest rider so that everyone can pull through; or, the weaker rider(s) must get out of the rotation and sit at the back.  Weaker riders should not haphazardly jump in and out of the rotation, but enter and leave the rotation as few times as possible.

* When sitting on the back of a paceline rotating counter-clockwise, ride behind the left line of riders that are drifting back or even a few inches left of the left line if it's safe.  This keeps you in a draft, but out of the vision of riders drifting back, looking right, and fading to the right to catch onto the back of the group.

* When riding in a non-rotating paceline with stronger riders, use 3/4 of your effort during the pull but save 1/4 of your effort to smoothly drift back and catch onto the rear of the line.  If you pull until you are 95% spent, you will struggle to drift back smoothly and make the catch at the back.

*Do everything possible to avoid sudden touches of the brakes. If braking is necessary, do it very smoothly. Anticipate the need to slow and feather the brakes gradually.

* In general, avoid crossing wheels. Don't allow the front of your wheel to get ahead of the back of the wheel you are following. If there is a sudden slowing of the rider(s) in front of you, some wheel crossing might be inevitable in order to stay off the brakes.  If you must cross wheels, then put your wheel in the place where it's least likely to get hit by a sudden lateral move of the rider in front of you. If riding in the right row of a dual paceline, the best spot may be the very edge of the pavement. The rider you are following is less likely to move off the pavement than he is to move left. If you are in the left column of a dual paceline, the safest place to overlap may be between the pair of wheels in front of you. If the riders are close together, it's most likely that they'll move away from each other if they do move laterally.

* Don't half-wheel your pull partner. When pulling a dual paceline, stay even with the other rider at the front. If you ride a foot or two ahead or behind the other rider, it's annoying for him and screws up the alignment for everyone following you. The best way to minimize half wheeling or being half wheeled is just to pay attention. Another way is to align yourself within the group so that you are adjacent to a rider of similar ability and style.

* When you pull off the front of a paceline, do it smoothly - not a with a sudden, herky-jerky effort.  And don't move laterally more than you have to do fade back along the line.  Staying close to the line will give you some drafting benefit as you fade back and will give the group some drafting benefit.  It'll also keep the group nice and tight and keep you further from traffic.

* When you approach the front of a paceline, resist the temptation to accelerate.  Keep it smooth.

* When doing longer pulls, gradually transition from what feels like 90% of your target effort at the start of your pull to what feels like 110% of your target effort as you finish your pull.   If you do that, chances are your actual effort will stay pretty consistent throughout.

* Get water, food, and blow your nose when you are at the back of the line.

I'm sure I could think of more - and maybe I will later. But it's time for a ride.
R

Fall Rides

Check back for rides throughout September and October. We may get this bird off the ground ahead of schedule.