The Value of a Back-Up Plan a.k.a BUP

Well four of us braved the iffy weather and did 30 miles, camera battery was out so no pics today.

We did very well and the rain started on our ascent up rt 842

We made it into boro but once we hit the lot, the skies opened.

I still had to bike home and about 4 blocks from home got a flat.

Hence the purpose of this post, I needed my back up plan.

Called hubby and he came and got me. Now this was a brand new tire, Kevlar and this is not supposed to happen, going BACK to Victor at Hot Foot

and ask him

"hey, whattsup with this flat tire???"

So always have a back up plan, I coulda walked home but it was pouring cats and dogs and my shoes were slipping.

So I cashed in on the backup plan now to be known as the BUP.

Make sure you have your BUP.

Rides for week of June 1 - June 7

Ladies



Tuesday June 3 - 5:30 pm Hot Foot Cycles, 20 miles, GET LIGHTS

Thursday June 5 - 5:50 pm Hot Foot Cylces 20 miles

Saturday June 7 - 8:40 am Cue # 165 on the WCCC page, print it up and bring it

Tentatively thinking about a ride on Sunday June 8 on the Schuylkill River Trail so I can get some of you reluctant riders out.

If you have never biked this season and want to try riding, post to me if interested in riding on the SRT for beginning ride. We would do around 20- 25 miles nice and easy.

Ride for Saturday May 31

Ladies

We had a great ride today, 30 miles down to Delaware and back. Nice course and mostly flat. Wish we could get more of you ladies out on the road. We are having a grand time. We are the perfect group for ladies afraid to bike. We take care of everyone on the road. We go whatever speed the group wants. Remember, SLOW and STEADY wins the race.

I am out of town this week so no evening rides, but hopefully some chicks will meet up and ride.

Ride for next Saturday May 31

West Chester-Malvern-Westtown

Cue #140, print it up and bring it with you

This is a challenging ride but nice. We see a different part of Chester County and this ride is good for the cooler weather.

Hope to see you out!

Safety Lights for Evening Rides

Planet Bike Blinky "3H" 3-Led Rear Bicycle Light with Self Leveling Helmet Mount

Check out the slide show on the right, see the lights of us nighttime riders. Bike lights are

absolutely a MUST for evening rides. I just ordered the above light and I also have a tail light

mounted as well and I have a front mount white light.


Suggest those of you doing evening rides to order something ASAP. For your safety and the safety of the group, lots of lights make us visible on the road.

Ride of Silence

Wednesday May 21, 2008

in memory of those who lost their lives on the road

Hey Chicks

My son seconds after finishing the Florida 70.3


Put up a short slide show of our hotel in Delray Beach, FL and the 1/2 Iron Man in Orlando. My son is the big guy in a pink Speedo. There were over 2200 athletes from almost every country on the globe. There were pros and amateurs at this event. My son did his race in 5 hrs and 50 minutes which is apparently fairly good. He was in it for fun and not speed. He does not use a special triathlon bike nor does he use aerobars.

He did the swim, 1.2 miles in 30 minutes, the bike was 56 miles and he did that in under 3 hrs and the run 13.2, ( his weakest) around 2.5 hrs. During the run, the temperature was well over 90 and it was beyond humid. Many runners fell to wayside. They had water and food for the runners at every mile. My son said you had to stop at almost every mile to survive the heat.

The event was beyond awesome, many many fine athletes. We were in the Fort Wilderness Campgrounds for the event. Nice and peaceful compared to the Disney World park. The cost of lodging etc in DW is ridiculous. We had one very small cramped room which cost $279 a night. It was so small ( Fort Wilderness Lodge) that my other son and I went to a Hampton Inn. There was no way two guys almost 7' tall and one mommy were fitting in the room. Plus my one son who is 7' tall could not fit in the shower.


But the purpose of this post is to again discuss training and how to get better at biking.

Based on what my son did to get ready for this race, he wanted to stress to me that he trained by biking and swimming and running easy. He NEVER went out like the A,B riders and killed himself. Even his swim coach told him to try and run faster when training. Jeff said no, nice and easy wins the race.

Even though he was competing for almost 6 hrs at a brutal pace, he finished strong. And for a guy at 6'8" and 220 lbs, this is something.

So to keep in line for my goal of biking 100 miles in August Biker Chicks will continue to go out and bike and have fun.

Our pace will improve by just biking and NOT by racing around like lunatics. So Chicks,I have 3 rides up for this week.

I am adding a Thursday Eve ride, 18 miles to Malvern and back, 5:30 pm at HotFoot. This is a city ride so be prepared to use good road sense and obey single file biking. It is a good ride with some country as well and a few good hills to give us a good ride.

Do not forget the Ride of Silence this Wednesday and the Saturday ride is already up.

Ride of Silence May 21 Darlington and Chestnut Lot 7:00 10 miles
Thursday Eve Ride, May 22 Hot Foot 5:30 18 miles

Saturday morn Ride May 24 Hot Foot 8:40 am 30 miles

Great Great ride on Tuesday eve

Ladies

I am now down in FL, gorgeous, staying at a cool place called Cranes Beach House, cozy and quaint, spending the day sitting next to the pool and later the beach.


But wanted to let you all know we had a great ride Tuesday night, it was a full 20 or so miles and our pace was brisk. Everyone did SUPER, Ellen did her first 20 miles this season. Way to go Ellen. Eileen and Alexis and Elaine also did super. But having three ladies with all similar names was a hoot, Ellen, Eileen and Elaine.

Slide show is some pics of FL and our ride. Sorry to bore you with FL pics.

Have fun at the WCCC Cancer ride on Sunday. Take the family, blow the cobwebs off your bikes.

Brand New Blog Launched

Brand New Day, Grinnell Point, Summer Glacier National Park, Montana

Ladies

Apparently Blogger's robots can at any time lock up a blog and it takes days for the company to review the blog and unlock it. My blog was flagged as spam, again all done by robots. Upon research on Blogger Help forums, this is a huge problem.

So I have launched a new blog and hopefully this one will last a little longer.

Will make an effort to save some of my posts but the Biker Chick Blog really does not have nor need a big history of archived posts.

Safety Tips

Must Haves: Helmet, Water Bottles, Spare tube and pump, Medical identification inside of helmet

Signals: A few signals help the people in the back of the pack avoid potholes and road rash. They generally can't see it until it's too late. A point with your hand is generally enough to warn the other riders. Call out if it is something particularly nasty. Something short and understandable (like "hole") is best. A few other calls that are standard in the club:

• "Tracks" - Railroad tracks


• "Glass" - Broken glass in the path


• "Car right/left" - A car is coming from that direction


• "Car back/up" - A car is coming from the rear (or front)


• "On your left/right" I am close at your side or intend to pass on your right (or left)

• Intersections: Sometimes the whole pack can't make it through an intersection. The bikers that make it through in the first wave should try to slow up a bit to let the second wave catch up before picking up the pace. Don't take unnecessary chances to avoid getting dropped. The group should wait for you.

Stay to the right: Stay to the right of the road unless you are riding double or are passing. This will allow others to pass on your left without going into the lane of oncoming traffic. This is particularly important on the hills where the pack breaks up. Stay out of the lane of oncoming traffic. Cars travel fast and can appear suddenly. Try not to pass on the right. If you must, give an "on your right" signal.

Dealing with cars: Share the road - We have an obligation to ride in a manner that keeps conflicts to a minimum. The vast majority of the drivers are considerate of bikers. Ride in a manner that you would like to see when you overtake a group of bikers.

Communication: Avoid shouting at motorists or using nonstandard hand signals.

Riding double: Riding two abreast is okay only when the traffic is light and can be seen well in advance. But be prepared to single up quickly to allow any traffic to pass. The rider on the left should drop behind the rider on the right. The line of riders on the right will have to spread out to allow room for the riders moving in. This means the riders in the front must speed up and the riders in the rear slow up.

Stay in your lane: Stay out of the lane of the oncoming traffic at all times. Cars approach too fast for safety and drivers do not expect a rider in their lane. Avoid riding three abreast for this reason. It places the rider on the left too close to the oncoming traffic.

Rides for week of May 19 - May 25

May 13, 5:30 pm Eve Ride Hot Foot Cycles lot, 20 miles, nice and quick ride, shake off the day ride.

May 18 - WCCC Cancer ride, PLEASE sign up and go!

May 21 7:00 pm, W Chestnut and N Darlington Lot, Ride of Silence






May 24 8:40 am Hot Foot Cycles lot, Biker Chick Ride, 32 mile ride to Delaware, ride is called
RT 100 Delaware

once you access the map on Map my Ride, use the drop down menu for the word NOTES


print cue sheet and study map so that you know where we are going.