Hi girls.
Awesome ride tonight! So great to finally get some nice (although windy) weather.
I won't always be sending out emails prior to rides - just this week and next to get everyone familiar with the ride nights and days. Going forward, I'll be sending out a weekly update only. If you are looking for additional information about the rides or group descriptions, please refer to the Gears Girls blog: http://gearsgirls.blogspot.com. If you are a new member that only recently joined, please review the blog postings for details about the club. Here are the details for the Gears Girls rides taking place Thursday, Saturday and Sunday:
Thursday, May 5th
Recreational/Touring Ride
Who should attend: All members welcome (Touring 1 and 2; Tempo 1 and 2)
Focus on: Beginner to intermediate level road cycling skills
Skills required to ride Thursday nights: While all members are welcome to ride, at minimum members should be able to clip in and out of pedals and be familiar with braking, gearing and basic gear selection. If you are a brand new road rider and are unfamiliar with basic road cycling skills, please consider attending one of the Gears Bike Shop clinics: http://www.gearsbikeshop.com/Clinic.html prior to coming out on your first Gears Girls ride.
Start time: Meet at 6:15pm, ride at 6:30pm
Approximate Distance: 30kms
Approximate Pace: 20 to 23kms/hr
Approximate Duration: 1.5 hours
What to bring: 2 water bottles (one with water, one with water plus an electrolyte powder), a bar or gel, lights for your bike (if you have them) and appropriate cycling clothing. Please be sure to pump your tires either before the ride or when you arrive at Gears.
Saturday, May 7th
Faster pace, long distance ride
Who should attend: Tempo 2 women only
Skills required to ride Saturday mornings: Members must be experienced group cyclists and proficient riding in single and double pacelines. It is expected that members riding Wednesdays or Saturdays have ridden with another road group prior to Gears Girls and be familiar with drafting and paceline techniques.
Start time: Meet at 8:15am, ride at 8:30am
Approximate Distance: 70 to 100kms
Approximate Pace: 26+kms/hr
Approximate Duration: 3.5 to 5.0 hours depending on length of the ride (includes time to stop for coffee mid-ride)
Sunday, May 8th
Sundays in May only, we'll be offering training rides for women participating in Bike 4 Betty and/or Ride to Conquer Cancer - if you're not participating in either of those events but would like to ride on Sundays, please send me a quick email at gearsgirls@hotmail.com to confirm your attendance
Who should attend: Touring 2, Tempo 1 and Tempo 2 women only
Skills required to ride Sunday mornings in May: Members should be intermediate level cyclists who are comfortable on their bikes and with intermediate road cycling skills.
Start time: Meet at 9:15am, ride at 9:30am
Approximate Distance: 55 to 60kms
Approximate Pace: 23-24kms/hr
Approximate Duration: 3.5 hours (includes a coffee and snack stop mid-ride)
What to bring: 2 water bottles (one with water, one with water plus an electrolyte powder), a bar or gel, lights for your bike (if you have them) and appropriate cycling clothing. Please be sure to pump your tires either before the ride or when you arrive at Gears. Please also bring a cell phone (particularly if you plan on turning back early) and some money as we will stop mid-ride for coffee and a snack.
IN CASE OF RAIN
Please always check the blog http://gearsgirls.blogspot.com for updates about ride cancellations due to inclement weather. I do try to also send an email but can't always guarantee that I have access to a computer. In case of rain, I will post something to the blog at least one hour (sometimes more) prior to the start of the ride.
Gears Girls Facebook Group
If you haven't yet joined the Gears Girls Facebook group, please join! The group is a closed group and it does sometimes take sometime for the approval to go through - best to submit your request to join the group as soon as possible! If you're looking for other members to ride with during the week or on weekends outside of posted Gears Girls rides, the Facebook group is the place to post a message looking for other members to ride with.
Let's hope for good weather over the next 4 days!
Mel
