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.

Hack the East Itinerary

So, I’m a bit late posting this, but I’m hoping a few hackers and security types will find a way to join us. Below is the itinerary for the CycleOverride Hack the East bike ride. This ride is in preparation to go cross country to DefCon next year so we’ll have full SAG support and will be crashing at hotels along the way. You’ll note that some days are “loops”; we will start and stop in the same place. I’ve got the routes mapped out on Garmin’s website. If folks are interested, I’ll get them posted later.

There will be some subsidy for hotel rooms.  I’m not sure how much at this point because it depends on how many people join up for part/all of the ride.  If you’re interested in doing part or all of the ride, leave a note in the comments below or email me at gdead at shmoo dot com and I’ll work with you to get logistics worked out.

I sure hope we’re all ready for this…

8/5 Eastern side of Bay Bridge MD -> Lewes DE (68 miles)

8/6 Lewes DE -> Ocean City MD -> Lewes DE (79 miles)

8/7 Cape May NJ -> Ocean City NJ -> Cape May NJ (66 miles)

8/8 Cape May NJ -> Manahawkin NK (77 miles)

8/9 Manahawkin NJ -> Hazlet NJ (75 miles)

8/10 Brooklyn NY to Montauk NY (110 miles)

8/11 Montauk NY to Shelter Island NY to Montauk (100 miles – OPTIONAL)

8/12 head for home

TOTAL: 575 miles in 7 days 🙂