I have booked a hotel for Friday night. I see that they shuttle the riders to the bike storage. Now for my questions I hope some repeat riders can answer.
Do we drop our bikes off on Fiday the day before the ride? if so where?
Our pack with what we will have for the over night stay. When/where do we drop that off? Also any advice as to what to bring would be appreciated.
Being my first year and the fact that we are less than 2 months away I am starting to wonder about how things take place.
Thanks in advance, I will see you at the Start/Finish Lines.
The organization of this event is amazing, which explains why there as so many repeat riders. This will be my fourth year.
On Friday night you can drop your bike off at the CNE grounds where they have an outdoor paddock for all the bikes. This is staffed all night. You need to put the tags you will be sent on the bike. You get a matching wrist band - to remove your bike from the paddock the staff will check the band against the bike tag. The same happens at the Hamilton camp. You don't need to lock the bike, but may consider a cover if it looks like it may rain.
I don't recall the exact drop off times, but believe it had to be done by 8pm on Friday night.
For your pack, the drop off is Saturday morning. I believe there is a 1 bag limit. Assuming you're camping, that should include your sleeping bag and pad, evening and day 2 clothing, shoes/sandals, toiletries, flashlight and any personal items (medicine, dietary needs).
If you are an electronics junkie you should look into a battery poweered device to charge your phone, gps or whatever. There have been no charging points that I have seen.
The bags are loaded on to big trucks and hauled to the endpoints for you. Each truck is given a colour code and a matching sticker is put on your wrist band. At the endpoint the bags are laid out according to the colours of the trucks.
The ride guide has a lot of info about what you should have on the bike so I won't go into that now.
Thanks for the Excellent reply. You should change your name to Sly Fox.
I have an under seat bag that I carry Patches, Spreaders, 2 spare tubes and some hammer gel. I also have a pump (think I might get a Co2 unit) and I have a Garmin GPS with Cadence/Speed sensor. So I think The bike side I am good.
Thanks for the multi tool reminder, I keep forgetting to grab one, I have a very basic set, but realized a better one would be better.
I always carry Cash, a house Key, Business card with contact info on reverse and a cell phone.
I hope I don't need band-aids, but I will toss in a few different sizes. I went for the larger seat bag, The guy at the store was concerned about weight. I was not. Glad now that I got the bigger one. Those small ones would hold 1 tube and not much else.
I did my online Check in today as well. So I should be pretty well set. IF the weather does not change soon, I will need rain gear. The video shown at check in mentioned being ready for rain or cold, any recommendations for that, I would hate to pack too much if it was hot. Did not plan on a back pack. that was something I wondered about.
Rain gear is a tougher question. Some experienced riders have light, breathable jackets that fold into a pocket. Nice, but pricey. I've been hesitant to buy one myself. If you use a non-breathable jacket then you get wet from the inside. Few riders I've seen bother with rain pants.
For cold, arm and leg warmers are very convenient. Others will wear a wicking long sleeve shirt underneath to start the ride and take it off at one of the pit stops.. Personally, I've started every day of every ride over the past 3 years in shorts and jersey - and the temperatures have been moderate at best. I actually fear a heat wave as much as rain.
I usually wear a jersey and shorts as well. Or I was wearing 3 layers and shoe covers when I finally went indoors in December. Usually I avoid the rain, but got caught in it a couple weeks ago and realized it was not that bad even though I was not prepared. I just kept riding and once it stopped raining 30 minutes later, I was surprised how fast I dried off.
I agree about the heat, I learned the hard way about not staying hydrated, then discovering the store you were going to buy some Gatorade at had closed 2 months ago and you are 20k to the next town. I now carry 3 camel-back bottles, 2 on the bike one in the back of my jersey on the warmer weather on long rides. I also learned that at about 50 - 60 km you need some type of fuel, Hammer Gel seems to work well in my case. When the big bear jumps on your back and you start to tank, it gets you back on track. I used to push too hard trying to drop a few pounds and realized, they need to feed your body at some point or you will gas out no matter how much you try.
Thanks once again for your advice. Greatly appreciated.
Sounds like you have it covered Bill. The pit stops, about every 25km on the 100km route, are very well stocked with fruit, granola bars, bagels, salty snacks and fluids (water and gatorade). You may not need to pack the gels - but if they work for you go for it.
