Ride Report April 7th.

[Dave Hallaway]

The second group on the road had a pretty good evening! After a quick tire change just 6 minutes before the ride Bill and I caught the tail end of the group at the 11th ave light only to get stopped at the same light. Oh well, we picked up a few other riders and bounced our way up to the Douglas trailhead just as the first group was heading out.

I think our group ended up being about 16 riders and we cruised up to Pine Island at a nice even pace. Things kinda fell apart as we left Pine Island when one of the many Marks suggested we deviate from the map and take CR 5/CR 14 back to Douglas... OK, in all fairness we all could have just stayed on CR 3 and let them suffer in peace, but no, most of the group said what the heck and away we went.

Now normally adding 5 more miles doesn't seem like a bad idea, but when you only have a limited amount of daylight it can lead to a bit of darkness at the end. And it did! Luckily, a lot of folks were ready with bright headlights and tail lights and the lack of sunshine really didn't matter at all.

The end of the ride would have been pretty uneventful, but one of the Marks decided it was time for us to practice our after dark tire changing skills and flatted with only one mile to go. Once again, one of the many other Marks came to the rescue with his frame pump and we were soon on our way.

Mileage for the night; 37.1, average speed; ~ 16.6, number of new tires installed; one, number of new tubes installed; one. Number of unbelievability beautiful sunsets; ONE!!

Good fun, hope to see you all next week.
;D

[Brian Dukek]

I would like to suggest the fast group not take the Douglas Trail in the future. I felt that the group's size (20+) and speed (18-22 mph) was too high for the amount of traffic we encountered.

We were two abreast and took up most of the trail. When we came across traffic they were often leaving the trail to let us pass. When they didn't leave the trail there were pretty small margins between us and them. It wouldn't have been difficult for a rider in our group to swing a little wide and clip a pedestrian, dog, stroller, trailer, or rider coming in the other direction.

There are better routes for a group our size and speed to get to Pine Island.

[Keys]

It was a good ride!
James and I let you rascals take county 5 and we continued down 3.

My cold feet thanked me.

One of these days I'm going to knock the dust off the road bike.

[brogers]

Dave forgot to mention that he (ever the gentleman) was the person who changed the tire and fixed the flat. Great ride! Thanks Dave!

[Matt Kurke]

I agree with Brian Dukek. I met up with the A group in Douglas because I wanted to skip riding on the trail with the group. instead of heading north on 3 like the maps said however, I was disapointed in that we continued North on the Douglas trail. That's probably not the appropriate place for a 20 person tandem paceline moving at 20 mph. We passed a couple of people during times that guys were coming off the front so we were essentially 4 wide. If I was forced onto the grass by a 4 wide group of riders I bet I would be less inclined to give them 3 feet when I passed them in my car later on. After we got off the trail the ride was much more enjoyable. Now I just need to locate that 57 tooth big ring so I can beat Travor to the town lines.

[Steve Boyd]

I rode with Dave's group and I thought it was a fantastic ride, but quite dark by the time we hit Bicycle Sports. The ride started pretty rough for me. The ride to the Douglas Trail head kicked my butt. Took me quite a while to warm up. Once we got going on the trail though I got into my rhythm and the rest of the ride went great. Only thing I missed were my toe warmers. My piggies got quite cold on the way up but seemed better once we had the wind more to our back on the way back from Pine Island. I would agree that our group too was probably a little large and in charge for the trail.

Steve

[Warren Lopour]

I agree with the comment about the fast riders not taking the Douglas Trail. Just riding 20mph on the trail is dangerous -- let alone riding two abreast at those speeds. You just never know what kids will do on that trail. At some point someone will get hurt. And by the way, have you ever been walking on the trail and had someone pass you going that fast -- pretty scary. The trail may not be good for the fast riders, but for the other folks, it is a great way to get out of town during rush hour. I just wish CR4 wasn't so darn scary (even during non-rush hours).

Just like we have a separate group of 'Easy Riders' at the low end, we perhaps need a 'Velo Riders' group at the high end. We want to keep the core of our RASC riders as RECREATIONAL riders. As time goes on and our members become more experienced, the focus changes from recreational to competitive riding. Nothing wrong with that -- but maybe those folks need to have their own group, with their own rules (e.g., no trail riding, pace lines only, 18mph minimum, you will be dropped if you fall behind, etc.). It is my understanding that the Rochester Velo riders no longer exist -- is that need our club now needs to fulfill?

[Dave Hallaway]

First I'd like to thank Bob for agreeing to pick routes and posting the maps. Anyone who has tried to figure out a route which will make even half the riders happy on any given evening knows how hard it is! If you don't think it's hard, give it try for a few weeks, I'm sure Bob would love the break.

Currently riding north out of Rochester sucks, CR 4 is not a option. We could try 18th Ave and see if that would work, but my guess is traffic between 14th street and 55th street NW would not be pleasant. Another thought is CR 4 to 50th street, north to 65th street east to the frontage road and then back west to Douglas...

Last thought, don't ride 20mph on the trail, limit our speed to 16-17 until Douglas, we could also try to be polite and single up when passing or meeting others.

Any routes I'm missing?

[Brian Dukek]

I agree that the routes are generally good, and I am not trying to criticize anyone or the job they are doing in organizing the routes. Bob is doing a far better job than I could. I just didn't feel that the ride yesterday on the Douglas Trail was appropriate for the speed or the numbers in the fast group.

If you are looking for an alternative northern route out of town, I agree that 18th Ave would be a good option. I happen to live on the north side of town about 3 blocks from 18th ave and maybe half a mile from 55th St. 18th ave is the way I ride out of town if I am going any direction but south. I agree that 18th Ave south of 55th is not nice, but with the following route you can limit it to about half a mile. It is pretty much a reverse of the route I take to ride from my house to Bicycle Sports.

Civic center to 4th Ave N
4th Ave N to 3rd Ave N/West River Parkway
West River Parkway to Essex Parkway/48th St
48th St to 18th Ave

With the new bridges across 52 there are several options to go West from 18th Ave. County 14 has been recently re-paved and has a good shoulder most of the way to Douglas. County 112/12 has a good shoulder the whole way to County 3.

[Steve Boyd]

I to definitely wasn't criticizing the choosing of the routes. I very much appreciate the work that Bob is doing. I just wanted to agree that if there were an option besides the trail we should consider it. For this past Wednesday's ride the trail made some sense because it kept us out of a pretty nasty north wind.

[Doug Chartrand]

To be fair to Bob, it should be noted that the maps indicated that we would get off the trail at Douglas. Sometimes, the groups themselves decide not to follow the map. If you are part of a group, you should express your desires. If enough people agree, then you can split off and do your own thing. I don't think anybody is being forced to do anything that they don't want to do

[bicyclebob]

I agree with everyone. The Wednesday group was to big for the trail. And I like to go fast. I saw a number of new faces out for the ride, but was surprised after Douglas to see how many riders had followed. I was expecting 12. Larger than normal, but not 22. We should have been on the road at Douglas. That would have left us with an out and back route or riding in the dark. It was my decision to go all the way to Pine Island on the trail, just didn't know the size of the group. Sorry.
For those in the Fast Group, with 22 people we should be rotating quicker. 30 sec pulls are long enough with 20 people behind you wanting to pass. Lets break up the work and keep the pace more even and probably faster.
I'll continue to post the best routes I can for the weather forcasted. I'm limited by the number of maps we have. Need to update some maps to take advantage of the improved roads people have discussed.
As far as not using the trail, I've thought about riding out toward the trail but having the Fast Group turn left at 19th St out to 104, north to Cty 4, left to Cty 3 then north to Douglas. A common route, just reversed.

Bob

[Charly Tri]

I am not trying to be a downer, but I would argue no group should use the Douglas Trail as part of the set route no matter the speed. At the time group rides take off the trail is typically heavy with traffic. Even with a tight double pace line this gives little room for others on the trail. I think it would be good policy to never route the group over the trail. Yes, there aren't great options to head North, but there are options.

That is like saying the car buzzed me while I was out on a ride because it didn't want to slow and make room for the passing car. To people walking on the narrow trail a group full of cyclists is their car, no matter the speed. Just like getting buzzed by a car at 40 or 70mph is equally scary.

Just my two cents. Everyone enjoy the nice weather today!

[jno]

What Tri said. Re: Bob, the 19th St-Cty 104-Cty 4-Cty 3 sounds okay, but Cty 4 is really busy. What about 18th Ave to 75th, west to Douglas? 18th is not the greatest, but single file through town and it should be fine.