It looks like CP24 has changed things once again, rain an Saturday. Scares the crap out of me as I don't need a crash on my $10,000 Cervelo. May have to switch my ride to the Cannondale Caad9. Anyone else worried?
nope, we rode in a downpour for 3-4 hours last saturday it sucked, but so does cancer, so i know we all know what we're riding for... but suck it up (said jokingly)
Just rain.. have to just suck it up and ride. There has been rain every year. I'd rather deal with a couple days of bad weather than be one of the unfortunate ones that is dealing with cancer now!!
Funny the things we put into perspective, isn't it?
Two people have told us to "suck it up" in terms of dealing with the weather.... and they're absolutely right. In the end, that's what I'm going to have to do.
But I see dozens of people complain regularly about how hard it is to raise the $2500 minimum, and I never hear anyone respond with something like "just stop complaining and do it". Experienced cyclists may consider rain to be no big deal, but I'm not an experienced cyclist. Truth be told, I don't even particularly LIKE cycling. My primary purpose in this is the fundraising.
Don't get me wrong, I know perfectly well that I have to "suck it up", but I don't there's any harm in venting a little bit. Certainly, the people who are struggling with raising money do it all the time. I don't see why it's easy to sympathize with someone who doesn't like fundraising, but harder to sympathize with someone who doesn't like riding in bad weather.
Weerasinghe: If you ride a $10,000 bike I assume (a) you are riding the 100 mile course and (b) you are at least a silver ambassador as that is $10,000 raised.
I'd rather ride in 19 degrees on a clear day with a light, intermittent breeze and no humidity. I'd also like to ride in a group of about 6-8 riders consisting primarly of NFL cheerleaders. Oh, and I'd like to be accompanied by a support van that has a plasma HDTV mounted on the back so I can watch a movie while I ride.
... and, as long as I'm dreaming, I'd like to be riding that $10,000 Cervelo that mweerasinghe mentioned.
I don't know if the benefits of drafting are worth looking at several 350 lb rear ends for 7 hrs. You wouldn't even have to worry about rain with all the sweat that'll be dripping off those boys.
The weather is looking iffy for the rain... but I'm more excited about the 25 km/h tailwind on day one! w00t!!!
Riding in the rain isn't *that* bad. You just need to be a bit more careful with your braking and can't take sharp turns as fast. We rode last year in the rain for the first half of the second day, and while it was miserable at first, you warm up quite a lot after you move for a while. I'm diminishing the fact that it sucks, but you just bear down and plough through it.
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------------------------------- Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try. -Yoda
OH OH OH, look, another change to weather for the GOOD, like i've said all along the rain will blow away.. and it's changing.. wind is dropping for saturday and only 2-4mm instead of 10!, and sunday only 1mm... by saturday and sunday it'll be sunny lol
Last year I rode the 200M and most of Saturday and Sunday were in very wet conditions. However, the temp was around 20C which made for ideal cycling conditions. I suggest that you have some arm warmers and or leg warmers with you if we will be riding in the rain this year. BTW if you are worried about crashing your Cervelo, you should be worried about crashing any bike! Ride smart and stay safe.
They called for rain on Saturday last year and it did not happen till 3 in the afternoon. Sunday was a different story. Light Rain, windy and a bit foggy. Highly suggest a rain jacket at the least and last year I wore a baseball hat under my helmet. It really helpes keep the rain off your face.
An older remedy is to wear socks that have a high percentage of wool. Your feet still get wet but they stay warm. Even warmer if you wring out the water from time to time. Being wet and warm is not as good as being dry and warm, but better than being wet and cold.
suck it up is not the problem. Coming back to into a major ride after two years of rehab after an idiot driver ran me over and damn near killed me and losing my pervious Cervelo...I think I have a right to be worried a little. High end bikes don't come cheap. I can mend in in a crash but Carbon fibre bikes don't fair so well. Well I have my Cannondale ready if the need arises. Other than that I haven't complained at all. The rain doesn't scare me for my sake damn, I should be able to ride the distance in any condition......only care about the bike....spoken like a true cyclist. We all try an save the bike in a crash not ourselves! lol Good luck everyone.
In reply to adiamond you guessed wrong. I am riding the 200km this year, next year the 200m. This is just a mere training ride for me as I will be doing the Centurion in September. As for $10,000, no I didn't raise that much...wasn't in my sight at the time to do. I raised what I set forth to do...perhaps next year I will raise more. Plus if I am giving a way $10,000 I wouldn't be riding the Cervelo....lmao.
I guess I'm a weird rider. If it rains I stay away from my shoe covers and socks all together (unless the temp drops to 5C or so). I find with them, the water is just retained around your feet rather than draining away (at least a little bit) through the holes the my shoe bottoms. At least then I'm getting circulation as opposed to a foot surrounding by a soaked sock.
The wool socks are an interesting concept though if you can find some that aren't too thick to make your shoes uncomfortable.
