Hudson Velo goes formal

During the Summer of 2015, the club formalized and became an official state recognized bicycle club.  We have 75 members as of today and now reside at www.hudsonvelo.org  Check us out and join us there.

Sunday Ride 9 a.m. June 21 ODCC on the Hudson Green

Sunday looks to be a bit sketchy on the weather.  Rain after 9 a.m. but I can't get up earlier due to Blossom duties.  It will be warm enough (70 +) to get a nice ride in rain or shine.

9 a.m. departure from  

The route – 28 miles.  We go into and out of the Valley.  Ride with GPS link is below.  

Espresso pace: 18-20 mph (needs ride leader)

Latte pace: 16-18 mph

WHAT, WHEN, WHERE: The Sunday HVC rides meet at  Open Door Coffee Company in Hudson at 9:00pm each Sunday. Departure time is 9:05 a.m. sharp for the group. Don’t be late!

REGROUPS:  Bottom of Highland and Riverview by park headquarters,a Center & Mennonite intersection; Snowville and Dewy,  Bottom of Major and Riverview, Top of Truxell. 

RIDE ETIQUETTE: Be kind, at least for the first few miles; in other words, please ride at an accommodating pace until people get warmed up. If you're able, help people with mechanicals. If you see a mechanical occur, RELAY THE MESSAGE TO THE FRONT; wait for the victim at next regroup. Regroups - 5 minutes of waiting after the arrival of the first person would be appropriate. Paceline on the flats when possible. Introduce yourself to new riders. If you're a new rider, introduce yourself to those you find yourself riding next to.

RIDE SAFETY: On the roads, do not take up the entire lane unless it is unsafe to ride on the right side of the road.  Max 2 abreast.  Be courteous to drivers.

Riders should always wear a helmet.  Riders are required to wear a helmet on HVC group rides.

Please don't forget to LOOK FOR YOURSELF to see if cars are coming if you decide to sprint into the middle of the road or overtake slower riders. Use all of your senses when riding and look behind you often.  Ride defensively as there are plenty of wacko drivers out there!

Latte 28 miles in & out of valley highland in truxell out 

		Latte 28 miles in & out of valley highland in truxell out 28.0 mi, +1529 ft. Starts in Hudson, OH
		View on ridewithgps.com	Preview by Yahoo

I want to make sure you all know about this party at my house next Friday night, Sept 12th.  7:30 p.m. - ?  We will have a keg of Kronenberg 1664 French beer in honor of Fabien and Sandra Landsades return to France.

I hope you can make it.

 

Enjoy the journey,

Michael

Labor Day Ride 2014

Click to enlarge, exit to return

Labor Day Ride 2014

Summer ride schedule

Please get on our yahoo group: hudsonveloclub for the lastest on flash rides and start times, but the general idea for rides from Memorial Day to Labor Day is:

Wednesdays: Meet at North End  (7542 Darrow Rd, Hudson) for no later than a 6:30 p.m. roll out.  Park in the Montesori school parking lot across from NE and plan to stay for Burgers and Beers at the Hudson Velo Club table in the beer garden.  2-3 different rides with options for speed and distance appropriate to ability.  No drops, helmets required, no head phones.

Saturdays:  Meet at Open Door Coffee Company (164 North Main Street, downtown Hudson across from the clocktower) for an 9 a.m. rollout.  Variable distance and pace based on the group.

Sundays: Meet at Open Door Coffee Company (164 North Main Street, downtown Hudson across from the clocktower) for an 8 a.m. rollout.  We strive for 3 rides here: 

Espresso - 17-19 mph pace including hills 30-50 miles with options - no drop
Latte - 15-17 mph pace including hills 25-40 miles - no drop
Mocha - < 15 mph depending on group and less hills - no drop

Any other time, ANY rider can put out a flash ride on the hudsonveloclub yahoo group email.  Post where and when to meet and how far and fast you might be going.    All are welcome; no membership, no dues, no attitudes, no drop

HVC Organized Ride suggested schedule

Just looking through the Ohio Bicycle Events Calendar from the Ohio Bicycle Federation and we are looking at these to launch the blue train if you want to mark your calendar:

Saturday, May 3, 2014 Millersburg informal non supported Legends of Music Barn tour Century

Sunday, June 8, 2014  Sunday in June  Sundayinjune.com

Sunday, July 13, 2014  ABC Absolutely Beautiful Country Ride  Copley start - fully supported routes of 25/50/62/100.   akronbike.org

Saturday & Sunday July 19 & 20  VeloSano - Cleveland Clinic pledge ride for cancer research. Routes from 25 -230 miles spanning 1 or two days with options in between.  velosano.org

Sunday July 27, 2014  Eddy's Sweet Corn Challenge  10-100 mile routes. Hilly challenge that the club loves.  sweetcornride.com

Rides growing in popularity, size and speed.

I get email inquiries all the time asking what is a Hudson Velo Club group ride like?  That answer has been changing over time.  It always starts with the fact that all are welcome.  We are a friendly group.  We have gotten faster over the years (More than 7 years of riding ).  We will not intentionally drop anyone and provide cue sheets (when this author prints them for those primitive souls like me who do not yet have GPS). We have saved peoples lives and changed others.  We have created some true and lasting friendships that started with a biking partner and evolved into wives trips to Paris and ski trips to Utah.

The reality is that our riders are more and more fit and the barrier to entry is higher for those beginning to road bike or those returning after a long lay off.  There are a lot of fancy carbon bikes, which have tended to break when going through the dreaded and never to be seen again Sand Run Parkway ford (water crossing). None the less, all are welcome.  Our ride group on this past Sunday was 20 riders with two tandems and one young guy on a cross bike.  They all rode well and the group accordianed around the  54 mile loop course with plenty of hills thrown in.  A friend moving back to Hudson from Indiana joined us as well after riding 30 miles in the valley as a warm up.  She was on her husband's bike and still did great.  The only thing that held her up was going up the pimple on Riverview (a sharp, short climb) which caused her to get off and walk.  This was only due to gearing and not her fitness because she rocked the balance of the ride.  She is getting ready for her first Ironman and looks to be on pace to achieve that bucket list item.

Oh, the other thing is that our average ride distance has climbed to be well over 40 miles for most rides on the weekend.  Our departure time has shifted from the traditional 7:05 a.m.  depicted on the clock tower to a more sedate 8:05 a.m. from Caribou in downtown Hudson.  That will also be changing to Peets in short order.  We may in fact need a B group but no one is formally willing to declare themselves that B rider and lead it.  That is all OK. We have what appears to be a fun tradition forming of a 6 p.m. Wednesday ride from North End which ends with   discount beers and Kobe burgers.  How do you beat that?  Spread the word, get on your bike and come ride with Hudson Velo Club.  Oh and buy some of our matching spandex which is all available on this website.

3 Feet and where to ride in the lane

These bill boards are appearing around Cincinnati where local laws have been passed to better protect cyclists.  Notice the car legally crossing the double yellow line in order to pass the slow moving vehicle (cyclist).

It is bike season and yesterday was National Bike to Work day.  It was my 8th day of commuting this year to my employer, Nestle, where we have a fully supported bike to work program.  This inevitably brings into play all the intricacies of riding on roads with cars during the rush hour commute.  A recent article in the Plain Dealer on-line naturally was riddled with 116 comments following the article.  I read them all with nothing new being learned except that some motorists highly dislike bikes being on the road and have a lack of knowledge about the rules of the road regarding cyclists   The other point to make in order to be fair is that a good number of cyclists do not follow the law when riding and make the issue more difficult by losing respect from drivers.

The law currently requires cyclists to ride as close to the right side of the road as practicable.  It also allows for the cyclist to move toward the middle of the lane in order to avoid surface hazards or to take the lane when it is too narrow for a car to pass safely.  On a commute from Hudson to Solon that is actually most of the way there on Liberty Rd. where there is very little room to pass.  On a recent ride with Hudson Velo Club we were riding south on Liberty Rd. near the boarder of Solon and Twinsburg and where the road takes some turns and presents blind corners, I took the lane to avoid a pinch point situation with the trailing autos.  My fellow riders commented that I was crazy or a little too aggressive. I replied that I was asserting my rights and actually making it safer for both car and rider as it was clear that they could not squeeze through on a blind turn and then get surprised by a car and have to come into my path.

Both drivers and riders need to respect the law and each other.  When I am riding and a car goes all the way into the other lane to pass me, I have adopted a Shaker Cycling riders motto of give a wave.  I hope I will be giving more waves in the future as both cyclists and drivers learn to ride in harmony together on our shared roads.

Amish Century Video now up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KgkAYTnxtw