About 10 Weeks Out…

Woof. Just about 2 and a half months, and we’ll be on the road. Craziness. Training has been going well, but I’m afraid I’m trying to make up for lost time over the winter. Definitely have a few more aches and pains than I’d like but nothing alarming. I definitely have new bike lust going on (a new bike would be the perfect way to prepare for the ride, right?) but Heidi is helping me keep that in check 😉

We should have a sponsor packet on the site this week for potential corporate sponsors to see what they’d get for their sponsorship. Also, we completed our first trial trip in the Cycle Override Mobile Command Center (ie: our new Airstream Interstate). For the most part it went very well, but I definitely need to fabricate something to organize the bikes and gear in the back a bit better. Also, jersey orders will need to go in soon so I’ll start getting the art ready for that. Going to be a crazy few weeks…

The new start location is Yorktown, VA on June 18th. We’re officially starting at the end of the TransAmerica Trail and taking that all the way to the Western Express. No more Georgetown to Garrett County via the C&O canal *whew*. For those who aren’t familiar with the TransAmerica and Western Express, take a look at the Adventure Cycling routes. They’re a great org, and if you do any distance cycling, it’s worth joining.

There are a few folks meeting up with us in Utah to ride the final few days in to Vegas. If you’re interested, drop us a line and we’ll get you the details. I know Jim has already identified a bike shop in Washington UT to drop ship bikes to so that may be a good place to plan on joining up. That’s two 85 mile days ride in to Vegas… Mind you, we’re going through the Valley of Fire State Park in late July so we’ll be hitting the road early, like probably 4 am, to beat the heat. You may want to have an LED light or two for that stretch.

That’s it for now. Be sure to follow us on Twitter (@cycle_override) for updates.

Getting ready for the big ride

Well, it’s been a while since we’ve updated the site. However, we’ve been pretty busy behind the scenes. JP has been training like a rockstar all winter long. I’ve been slightly less diligent (I packed on the ShmooCon 5 it seems) but the weather is turning and I’m back in the saddle.

There’s been a lot of interest from folks looking to cruise along for parts of the ride. To give you an idea of timelines, we’ve pulled together this draft schedule. (COR-xCountry-2012-v3) It’s by no means final, but the starting location and date is probably fixed. The rest of it should give you and idea of our best guess of where we’ll be throughout the ride. Obviously, we haven’t completed the route all the way to the Pacific, but getting to Vegas is 90% of the battle.

If you’re interested in hooking up with us for any of the ride, email info at cycleoverride dot org or leave a message in the comments.

Next up, transportation, jerseys, sponsor updates and more. Until then, keep the wheels down 🙂

Review: 2012 Gran Fondo New Jersey

To paraphrase Homer Simpson, the term “Gran Fondo” gets thrown around a lot these days.  Last decade’s Century Ride is this decades Gran Fondo. But while calling your organized ride a Gran Fondo comes with some pitfalls. The term implies something more than just picking a course and inviting a few local cycling clubs and buddies to do a ride. A Gran Fondo is supposed to be an Event. There should be lots of riders, lots of food and events, and a real sense of excitement.

So a few days ago my wife suggested I sign up for the 2012 Gran Fondo New Jersey.  It’s been a busy training year so a quick look at the course indicated I had nothing to worry about. So I figured “what the hell” and signed up.  I just got back a few hours ago and decided to write up this ride report while everything was still fresh in my mind. Did the Gran Fondo NJ live up to its name?  Read on to find out.

Hack The Hat 2 – Ride at DerbyCon

Fall is in the air. Days are getting shorter, leaves are starting to change colors…  Must mean DerbyCon is right around the corner.

Last year, CycleOverRide organized a 4 day ride from Columbus to Louisville for the start of DerbyCon. This year, many of us are still recovering from our awesome ride from Maryland to the end of Long Island a few weeks ago. In particular, our available vacation time is still recovering 😉 So rather than arrange for a multiday ride to the con, this year we’re going to organize a ride at the con ala Hack the Heat at DefCon.

It looks like Saturday will be the best day. A lot of folks will be in training Friday morning and many will be hung over on Sunday morning. So here’s what we’re proposing… Rally in front of the hotel at 7:30am with your bike and we’ll head out for approximately 20 mile ride out and around Louisville. The sun rises at 7:36 on Saturday, so by the time we all get organized and on the road, it should be light out. We probably won’t make it back in time for the first talk on Saturday, FYI. For sure, @gdead has to make it back by 11a, as that’s when his talk is.

We’re not entirely sure of the route yet, but we’ll keep it under control with no brutal hills (does Louisville even have brutal hills?). This will be a no-drop ride, but hopefully we can keep a decent speed. In Vegas, the ride has split in to 2 groups of riders the last few years based on ability. We may end up doing that again here. We’ll see.

So bring your bike and helmet to Louisville. Don’t feel like transporting one? Looks like a few local places will rent bikes. Bike Courier Bike Shop and Wheel Fun Rentals are close to the hotel, but it’s not clear exactly what they’ll rent you. There are other LBS’s in the area that will rent as well. Google is your friend.

If you are thinking of riding with us, please hit up @cycle_override on Twitter or send us an email at [email protected] so we can gauge the size of the pack. Spread the word. The more the merrier.

BTW: The city of Louisville has a fantastic site set up to help guide local cyclists and lays out their plan for making Louisville bike friendly. Wish we’d see that from more communities.