Step-Up Ride for November 27th, 8:00 AM Start

Step-Up Ride Notes for Saturday, November 27th: Weather forecast for Saturday, as of early morning Friday: Lot's of cloud cover with 10% rain chance in the AM, 40% rain chance after noon. Temps are 45 deg (41 wind chill) to start, up to the mid 50s in late morning. Winds Saturday are supposed to be SSW 7 to 10 mph. Only 4 riders are registered as of 11 AM Friday -- If there's 6 riders or more, registered and attending (those numbers are not always equal which they should be) we'll plan on doing the Virginia Step-Up route; if there's less than 6 that show up, I'll cancel Step-Up. If weather's permitting and Step-Up is cancelled for lack of riders, I still plan to be at the start area ready to go at 8 AM, but I'll be planing to do the B2 route at a Step-Up pace, on my own and with anyone else who cares to join, on an adhoc and drop-ride rules basis.

If Step-Up is a go, please be ready at the start area 15 minutes prior to the start time for the pre-ride safety briefing and attendance taking so we'll be able to start as planned at 8:00 AM. Check and air up your bike prior to the pre-ride safety briefing and remember helmet, water, and tire repair kit and dress for the expected conditions. Please register on the Calendar page of the PBA website for one of the available slots and if you do register and later change your plan to attend, please cancel your reservation.

Usual disclaimer on weather delays/cancellations follows: As always, if the weather early Saturday looks like the ride might be cancelled, check this space and the Facebook PBA group page for any update which would be posted no later than 6:15 AM Saturday morning. If you don't see any update posted then we are on for a 8:00 AM Start - or at least a parking lot decision if the situation is changing. (As you check the PBA Facebook page and the PBA website early Saturday morning, also look for any announcement from Norm Hughes, the PBA Ride Coordinator. His decision to cancel developmental rides on Saturday, of which Step-Up is one, would supersede whatever I would be planning to do. The Calendar page on the PBA website will also annotate the Step-Up ride as Cancelled if the ride for whatever reason gets cancelled).

The link/web address to the planned route for November 27th is https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37921422
We call this our "Virginia Route" (after the name of the road at the northern boundary of the ride). It is 31.9 miles with two rest stops, one at 13.5 miles and the other at 20.2 miles.

Step-Up ride target pace is a 13-14 mph avg speed over the route. Rolling speed at any one point might be anywhere from 8 to 25 mph due to hills. Step-Up is a no-drop ride.