Okay, third Tuesday gravel ride in the bag and I must admit I have been loving it! Might have to think of some extra upgrades to the Aspero (but that is another thread!).
Anyhow I thought I would do some a poll to get some feedback from the riders to see if I’m going in the right direction:
Currently the route length is:
About the right distance
Could be a bit longer
Could be a bit shorter
0voters
The ride speed is:
About right
A little fast for me, would prefer it a bit slower
A little slow, would like it a bit faster
0voters
My preferred start time during the regular season is:
5:30 pm
6 pm
6:30 pm
0voters
My preferred start location for gravel rides is:
St Jacobs Outlet Mall
Laurel Heights Secondary School
Somewhere else
0voters
If we have a larger group of mixed ability I would rather:
Have one group and keep it together at stop signs
Split the group at the start into faster and slower groups
Try and keep to one group and let the group split organically
Try and keep to one group and decide to split the group at a stop sign if it makes sense
0voters
Adjusting start time, route and route length can have an impact on light levels.
As sunset gets earlier at the end of the season I would rather:
19 people…tells me you’re hitting the sweet for this particular group of G2/G3 riders who want a faster gravel ride. And it was FAST. Wonderfully fast. You needed to be able to hold ~35kph (on gravel/road) with stretches touching on 40kph for the first hour to hold on. And punch the hills with power and speed to not get dropped. The poll (11 so far) 100% say it was the right speed.
Fast from the start. The group averaged 37.8 kph on Durst where 4 people lost chains or water bottles and we all waited at the end to regroup.
Couple people were off the back on the rail trail around the 1hr mark. So, half a dozen of us broke off from the main group to wait and form a Group 2.
The split was interesting. 15 minutes after forming group 2, we rolled up to the main peloton who were waiting at a stop sign on Hackbart. They had let 5 of the fastest people go to allow those riders to maintain that high G2 speed. At that point, we reformed into a group of 14 fast G3 riders for the second half.
I’ve quite liked the Tuesday rides (couldn’t make last night, but rode the first two). It’s faster than I usually ride, but the format is pretty friendly and its nice to have a day to push without worrying about not being able to hang on. For me, it’s definitely a ‘stay in the group, don’t lose the wheel in front and take short pulls’ kinda pace. Somehow that pace is more ‘approachable’ on this gravel ride then I’ve previously found on road rides. I’m not sure why, but it’s a big plus for me for this ride.
I tried then riding my usualy intermediate on Wednesday, which feels doable. Hard, punchy on Tuesday and steady and a bit less intense on Wednesday. Not sure what I’ll do when the Wednesday gavel TT comes! But for a mostly-gravel rider like me, the Tuesday/Wednesday mix is working.
