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#1
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Ride Report: Tour of the Litchfield Hills
*The Charlotte Hungerford Hospital** *and the *Center for Cancer Care Fund** **sponsored the ride held on Sunday, August 7, 2005.** *I registered quickly at Coe Park for $25 on the day of the ride and got a t-shirt. Unfortunately for smaller people only L and XXXL t-shirts were left. In the ride announcement I noted that the rest stops were called rest/water stops. I was concerned that there would not be food at the rest stops. At registration I asked if food was available at the water stops – “only bananas and water”. I immediately returned to my car and got two bagels. As I finished registering at 8:10 I heard the announcement that the first riders had passed the water stop in Litchfield. While the tour is not a race, the registrar referred to the 75-mile route as the 75-mile race. I wasn’t racing. When I reached Litchfield the water stop staff held out cups of water that you could grab as you rode by. I had a camelbak and two bottles that I expected would last the ride. A large number of strong riders took the 30 and 50-mile routes. The route continued on US202 which was not busy and then CT341 a quiet and hilly road. There were lots of SAGs, emergency, and police directing traffic on the route. On this stretch I met a husband and wife who lived near the top of West Mountain Rd, Canton, a climb we often avoid on easy weekday rides but a good one to use for hill training. CT341 ended with a very long downhill (over 3mi) as it reached Kent. Several cyclists(racers) were making the climb in the other direction; I presumed they were doing hill training; they picked the right spot. I stopped at the Kent rest stop for a banana and continued on. I rode with a fellow from New Hartford, a community our weekdays rides often pass thru. We had a number of similar routes. He wanted to know about the Farmington Valley Greenway, where we start many rides. We had this conversation on US7 since it was not busy. We passed many old homes right on the highway and the Sloane-Stanley Museum. I started seeing highway signs for the W Cornwall covered bridge. I was less than five miles away, when the route turned NE away from the bridge. Another time I’ll take a ride to W Cornwall. After the turn we started climbing. I was riding with a lady from S Windsor. We talked about bike clubs, rides, mapping software, topo maps, etc. All the while we rode thru beautiful scenery. While the beauty did not end, the increased traffic on CT63 and US44 reducing our attention to beauty. We had about 15 miles of busy highway, although we stopped noticing the traffic as we climbed into Norfolk. The climb got our attention. From Norfolk there was lots of good news. We still had good scenery, the traffic dropped off on CT272 AND most of the route was downhill into Torrington. A nice finishing touch was pizza and turkey sandwiches at the end. Delorme’s Topo 5 assessed the route at 76.4 mi and 5525 ft of climbing. EVALUATION Brochure – I didn’t see a brochure, but there was complete information on the website. Routes – good. Scenic terrain if you like hills, trees, lakes, brooks, and rivers. Lots of traffic on the second half of the route. Intersections - excellent. Cue sheet – excellent. A map was also provided, so if you needed a bailout route you could take a short cut back. Rest stops – poor. Water and bananas are not enough. Turkey sandwiches and pizza were needed at the rest stops. Bananas and water don’t meet my definition of food and drink. I’d like to see some of bagels, cookies, brownies, PB&J, etc for food and Gatorade, lemonade, etc for drink. Using a table from Bicycling Mag; and it may not be correct I burned about 3,000 calories on the ride and replaced it with two bagels, one Clif Bar, three bananas, and two bottles of Accelerade during the ride. Sags – excellent. Sag wagons were all over the route. Value – fair. I look for an invitational or century ride to provide two things: (1) sags so if I have an equipment problem I can get a ride back to my car and (2) food and drink at least every 25 miles. Conclusion – This ride is not on my schedule for 2006. I will not go on an invitational or century ride that does not provide lots of carbs every 25 miles. Charlotte-Hungerford sponsorship means hunger for d carbs; I will hunger for d carbs once; but not twice. |
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#2
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Ride Report: Tour of the Litchfield Hills
Let me see if I have this right ............
You show up and pay $25 dollars, get a T Shirt and go for a bicycle ride ..... AND YOU HAVE THE BALLS TO COMPLAIN! YOU SNIVELLING SACK OF ****. GO AWAY. DON'T RIDE. WHAT AN ASSHOLE! ================================================== ==================== "Pete Salomone" wrote in message . .. *The Charlotte Hungerford Hospital** *and the *Center for Cancer Care Fund** **sponsored the ride held on Sunday, August 7, 2005.** *I registered quickly at Coe Park for $25 on the day of the ride and got a t-shirt. Unfortunately for smaller people only L and XXXL t-shirts were left. In the ride announcement I noted that the rest stops were called rest/water stops. I was concerned that there would not be food at the rest stops. At registration I asked if food was available at the water stops – “only bananas and water”. I immediately returned to my car and got two bagels. As I finished registering at 8:10 I heard the announcement that the first riders had passed the water stop in Litchfield. While the tour is not a race, the registrar referred to the 75-mile route as the 75-mile race. I wasn’t racing. When I reached Litchfield the water stop staff held out cups of water that you could grab as you rode by. I had a camelbak and two bottles that I expected would last the ride. A large number of strong riders took the 30 and 50-mile routes. The route continued on US202 which was not busy and then CT341 a quiet and hilly road. There were lots of SAGs, emergency, and police directing traffic on the route. On this stretch I met a husband and wife who lived near the top of West Mountain Rd, Canton, a climb we often avoid on easy weekday rides but a good one to use for hill training. CT341 ended with a very long downhill (over 3mi) as it reached Kent. Several cyclists(racers) were making the climb in the other direction; I presumed they were doing hill training; they picked the right spot. I stopped at the Kent rest stop for a banana and continued on. I rode with a fellow from New Hartford, a community our weekdays rides often pass thru. We had a number of similar routes. He wanted to know about the Farmington Valley Greenway, where we start many rides. We had this conversation on US7 since it was not busy. We passed many old homes right on the highway and the Sloane-Stanley Museum. I started seeing highway signs for the W Cornwall covered bridge. I was less than five miles away, when the route turned NE away from the bridge. Another time I’ll take a ride to W Cornwall. After the turn we started climbing. I was riding with a lady from S Windsor. We talked about bike clubs, rides, mapping software, topo maps, etc. All the while we rode thru beautiful scenery. While the beauty did not end, the increased traffic on CT63 and US44 reducing our attention to beauty. We had about 15 miles of busy highway, although we stopped noticing the traffic as we climbed into Norfolk. The climb got our attention. From Norfolk there was lots of good news. We still had good scenery, the traffic dropped off on CT272 AND most of the route was downhill into Torrington. A nice finishing touch was pizza and turkey sandwiches at the end. Delorme’s Topo 5 assessed the route at 76.4 mi and 5525 ft of climbing. EVALUATION Brochure – I didn’t see a brochure, but there was complete information on the website. Routes – good. Scenic terrain if you like hills, trees, lakes, brooks, and rivers. Lots of traffic on the second half of the route. Intersections - excellent. Cue sheet – excellent. A map was also provided, so if you needed a bailout route you could take a short cut back. Rest stops – poor. Water and bananas are not enough. Turkey sandwiches and pizza were needed at the rest stops. Bananas and water don’t meet my definition of food and drink. I’d like to see some of bagels, cookies, brownies, PB&J, etc for food and Gatorade, lemonade, etc for drink. Using a table from Bicycling Mag; and it may not be correct I burned about 3,000 calories on the ride and replaced it with two bagels, one Clif Bar, three bananas, and two bottles of Accelerade during the ride. Sags – excellent. Sag wagons were all over the route. Value – fair. I look for an invitational or century ride to provide two things: (1) sags so if I have an equipment problem I can get a ride back to my car and (2) food and drink at least every 25 miles. Conclusion – This ride is not on my schedule for 2006. I will not go on an invitational or century ride that does not provide lots of carbs every 25 miles. Charlotte-Hungerford sponsorship means hunger for d carbs; I will hunger for d carbs once; but not twice. |
#3
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Ride Report: Tour of the Litchfield Hills
On Mon, 8 Aug 2005 22:44:36 -0400, "TomCAt" wrote:
Let me see if I have this right ............ You show up and pay $25 dollars, get a T Shirt and go for a bicycle ride .... AND YOU HAVE THE BALLS TO COMPLAIN! YOU SNIVELLING SACK OF ****. GO AWAY. DON'T RIDE. WHAT AN ASSHOLE! Seemed like a fair evaluation to me. It does seem unusual that only bananas and water were available at the rest stops. Is 25 bucks a fair amount for a ride like this - just asking. ;-) jj ================================================= ===================== "Pete Salomone" wrote in message ... *The Charlotte Hungerford Hospital** *and the *Center for Cancer Care Fund** **sponsored the ride held on Sunday, August 7, 2005.** *I registered quickly at Coe Park for $25 on the day of the ride and got a t-shirt. Unfortunately for smaller people only L and XXXL t-shirts were left. In the ride announcement I noted that the rest stops were called rest/water stops. I was concerned that there would not be food at the rest stops. At registration I asked if food was available at the water stops – “only bananas and water”. I immediately returned to my car and got two bagels. As I finished registering at 8:10 I heard the announcement that the first riders had passed the water stop in Litchfield. While the tour is not a race, the registrar referred to the 75-mile route as the 75-mile race. I wasn’t racing. When I reached Litchfield the water stop staff held out cups of water that you could grab as you rode by. I had a camelbak and two bottles that I expected would last the ride. A large number of strong riders took the 30 and 50-mile routes. The route continued on US202 which was not busy and then CT341 a quiet and hilly road. There were lots of SAGs, emergency, and police directing traffic on the route. On this stretch I met a husband and wife who lived near the top of West Mountain Rd, Canton, a climb we often avoid on easy weekday rides but a good one to use for hill training. CT341 ended with a very long downhill (over 3mi) as it reached Kent. Several cyclists(racers) were making the climb in the other direction; I presumed they were doing hill training; they picked the right spot. I stopped at the Kent rest stop for a banana and continued on. I rode with a fellow from New Hartford, a community our weekdays rides often pass thru. We had a number of similar routes. He wanted to know about the Farmington Valley Greenway, where we start many rides. We had this conversation on US7 since it was not busy. We passed many old homes right on the highway and the Sloane-Stanley Museum. I started seeing highway signs for the W Cornwall covered bridge. I was less than five miles away, when the route turned NE away from the bridge. Another time I’ll take a ride to W Cornwall. After the turn we started climbing. I was riding with a lady from S Windsor. We talked about bike clubs, rides, mapping software, topo maps, etc. All the while we rode thru beautiful scenery. While the beauty did not end, the increased traffic on CT63 and US44 reducing our attention to beauty. We had about 15 miles of busy highway, although we stopped noticing the traffic as we climbed into Norfolk. The climb got our attention. From Norfolk there was lots of good news. We still had good scenery, the traffic dropped off on CT272 AND most of the route was downhill into Torrington. A nice finishing touch was pizza and turkey sandwiches at the end. Delorme’s Topo 5 assessed the route at 76.4 mi and 5525 ft of climbing. EVALUATION Brochure – I didn’t see a brochure, but there was complete information on the website. Routes – good. Scenic terrain if you like hills, trees, lakes, brooks, and rivers. Lots of traffic on the second half of the route. Intersections - excellent. Cue sheet – excellent. A map was also provided, so if you needed a bailout route you could take a short cut back. Rest stops – poor. Water and bananas are not enough. Turkey sandwiches and pizza were needed at the rest stops. Bananas and water don’t meet my definition of food and drink. I’d like to see some of bagels, cookies, brownies, PB&J, etc for food and Gatorade, lemonade, etc for drink. Using a table from Bicycling Mag; and it may not be correct I burned about 3,000 calories on the ride and replaced it with two bagels, one Clif Bar, three bananas, and two bottles of Accelerade during the ride. Sags – excellent. Sag wagons were all over the route. Value – fair. I look for an invitational or century ride to provide two things: (1) sags so if I have an equipment problem I can get a ride back to my car and (2) food and drink at least every 25 miles. Conclusion – This ride is not on my schedule for 2006. I will not go on an invitational or century ride that does not provide lots of carbs every 25 miles. Charlotte-Hungerford sponsorship means hunger for d carbs; I will hunger for d carbs once; but not twice. |
#4
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Ride Report: Tour of the Litchfield Hills
"jet" wrote in message On Mon, 8 Aug 2005 22:44:36 -0400, "TomCAt" wrote: Let me see if I have this right ............ You show up and pay $25 dollars, get a T Shirt and go for a bicycle ride .... AND YOU HAVE THE BALLS TO COMPLAIN! YOU SNIVELLING SACK OF ****. GO AWAY. DON'T RIDE. WHAT AN ASSHOLE! Seemed like a fair evaluation to me. It does seem unusual that only bananas and water were available at the rest stops. Is 25 bucks a fair amount for a ride like this - just asking. ;-) It begs the question - Why pay at all, why not just go do a 75 miler ?. 1) This is a charity ride, so the $25 partially goes to cover expenses, partly to charity, thus it's a slightly higher fee then you might find for a basic bike club-run event. Not much though for day-of-event registration. The TA folks who run the NYC Century charges $65 for day-of-event. The Long Island Gold Coast ride in July charges $25. 2) This is not an event run by a bike club. Thus the organizers do not understand the need for better food choices, such as peanut butter sandwiches, Cliif bars, Gatorade, etc... They probably underestimated the tee shirts as well, though the local events here on LI only give tee shorts if you pre-register. Day of event you get the surcharge as well as get to buy the tee-shirt. SB |
#5
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Ride Report: Tour of the Litchfield Hills
On Tue, 9 Aug 2005 11:47:33 -0400, "Steve B."
wrote: "jet" wrote in message On Mon, 8 Aug 2005 22:44:36 -0400, "TomCAt" wrote: Let me see if I have this right ............ You show up and pay $25 dollars, get a T Shirt and go for a bicycle ride .... AND YOU HAVE THE BALLS TO COMPLAIN! YOU SNIVELLING SACK OF ****. GO AWAY. DON'T RIDE. WHAT AN ASSHOLE! Seemed like a fair evaluation to me. It does seem unusual that only bananas and water were available at the rest stops. Is 25 bucks a fair amount for a ride like this - just asking. ;-) It begs the question - Why pay at all, why not just go do a 75 miler ?. Well there's some advantage in a group ride, perhaps some traffic control, and it can be fun riding with other cyclists. 1) This is a charity ride, so the $25 partially goes to cover expenses, partly to charity, thus it's a slightly higher fee then you might find for a basic bike club-run event. Not much though for day-of-event registration. The TA folks who run the NYC Century charges $65 for day-of-event. The Long Island Gold Coast ride in July charges $25. 2) This is not an event run by a bike club. Thus the organizers do not understand the need for better food choices, such as peanut butter sandwiches, Cliif bars, Gatorade, etc... They probably underestimated the tee shirts as well, though the local events here on LI only give tee shorts if you pre-register. Day of event you get the surcharge as well as get to buy the tee-shirt. Thus the advantage of being able to read a ride report. I'd rather have such reports and be able to read through any apparent griping to get some info. It's not like the OP totally slammed this ride - seemed he was trying to be honest and objective. jj SB |
#6
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Ride Report: Tour of the Litchfield Hills
I received this response from Pat Cunningham, contact person for Tour of
the Litchfield Hills Pete, Thanks for the report and the feedback. I will share it with the rest of the volunteer organizing committee. We are considering adding to the rest stops and attempting to work out the logistics for next year. The volunteers that organize this ride work hard throughout the year to bring this all together and this type of feedback is very important to us. You are correct that the Tour is not a race, people are allowed to ride at whatever pace they choose. The volunteer who registered mistakingly referred to the 75 mile route as a race. One thing I would like to point out is that the Tour is more than just an invitational ride. It is a fundraiser for people who are living with cancer. I am quite certain that they assess the value of your contribution as excellent. Thank you for participating. *The Charlotte Hungerford Hospital** *and the *Center for Cancer Care Fund** **sponsored the ride held on Sunday, August 7, 2005.** *I registered quickly at Coe Park for $25 on the day of the ride and got a t-shirt. Unfortunately for smaller people only L and XXXL t-shirts were left. In the ride announcement I noted that the rest stops were called rest/water stops. I was concerned that there would not be food at the rest stops. At registration I asked if food was available at the water stops – “only bananas and water”. I immediately returned to my car and got two bagels. As I finished registering at 8:10 I heard the announcement that the first riders had passed the water stop in Litchfield. While the tour is not a race, the registrar referred to the 75-mile route as the 75-mile race. I wasn’t racing. When I reached Litchfield the water stop staff held out cups of water that you could grab as you rode by. I had a camelbak and two bottles that I expected would last the ride. A large number of strong riders took the 30 and 50-mile routes. The route continued on US202 which was not busy and then CT341 a quiet and hilly road. There were lots of SAGs, emergency, and police directing traffic on the route. On this stretch I met a husband and wife who lived near the top of West Mountain Rd, Canton, a climb we often avoid on easy weekday rides but a good one to use for hill training. CT341 ended with a very long downhill (over 3mi) as it reached Kent. Several cyclists(racers) were making the climb in the other direction; I presumed they were doing hill training; they picked the right spot. I stopped at the Kent rest stop for a banana and continued on. I rode with a fellow from New Hartford, a community our weekdays rides often pass thru. We had a number of similar routes. He wanted to know about the Farmington Valley Greenway, where we start many rides. We had this conversation on US7 since it was not busy. We passed many old homes right on the highway and the Sloane-Stanley Museum. I started seeing highway signs for the W Cornwall covered bridge. I was less than five miles away, when the route turned NE away from the bridge. Another time I’ll take a ride to W Cornwall. After the turn we started climbing. I was riding with a lady from S Windsor. We talked about bike clubs, rides, mapping software, topo maps, etc. All the while we rode thru beautiful scenery. While the beauty did not end, the increased traffic on CT63 and US44 reducing our attention to beauty. We had about 15 miles of busy highway, although we stopped noticing the traffic as we climbed into Norfolk. The climb got our attention. From Norfolk there was lots of good news. We still had good scenery, the traffic dropped off on CT272 AND most of the route was downhill into Torrington. A nice finishing touch was pizza and turkey sandwiches at the end. Delorme’s Topo 5 assessed the route at 76.4 mi and 5525 ft of climbing. EVALUATION Brochure – I didn’t see a brochure, but there was complete information on the website. Routes – good. Scenic terrain if you like hills, trees, lakes, brooks, and rivers. Lots of traffic on the second half of the route. Intersections - excellent. Cue sheet – excellent. A map was also provided, so if you needed a bailout route you could take a short cut back. Rest stops – poor. Water and bananas are not enough. Turkey sandwiches and pizza were needed at the rest stops. Bananas and water don’t meet my definition of food and drink. I’d like to see some of bagels, cookies, brownies, PB&J, etc for food and Gatorade, lemonade, etc for drink. Using a table from Bicycling Mag; and it may not be correct I burned about 3,000 calories on the ride and replaced it with two bagels, one Clif Bar, three bananas, and two bottles of Accelerade during the ride. Sags – excellent. Sag wagons were all over the route. Value – fair. I look for an invitational or century ride to provide two things: (1) sags so if I have an equipment problem I can get a ride back to my car and (2) food and drink at least every 25 miles. Conclusion – This ride is not on my schedule for 2006. I will not go on an invitational or century ride that does not provide lots of carbs every 25 miles. Charlotte-Hungerford sponsorship means hunger for d carbs; I will hunger for d carbs once; but not twice. |
#7
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Ride Report: Tour of the Litchfield Hills
You are beyond the Asshole rating ........... you have entered into the
TOTAL ASSHOLE RATING. YOU PAID $25 DOLLARS ..... SAY IT OUT LOUD .... $25 DOLLARS. ARE YOU THE CHEAPEST HUMAN BEING ON THE PLANET OR THE BIGGEST ASSHOLE ON THE PLANET. OR BOTH. $25 DOLLARS ....... I CAN'T GO OUT FOR BREAKFAST FOR $25 DOLLARS. AND YOU GOT A T SHIRT. WHAT THE F DO YOU WANT. WHAT AN ASSHOLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ================================================== ==================== "Pete Salomone" wrote in message . .. I received this response from Pat Cunningham, contact person for Tour of the Litchfield Hills Pete, Thanks for the report and the feedback. I will share it with the rest of the volunteer organizing committee. We are considering adding to the rest stops and attempting to work out the logistics for next year. The volunteers that organize this ride work hard throughout the year to bring this all together and this type of feedback is very important to us. You are correct that the Tour is not a race, people are allowed to ride at whatever pace they choose. The volunteer who registered mistakingly referred to the 75 mile route as a race. One thing I would like to point out is that the Tour is more than just an invitational ride. It is a fundraiser for people who are living with cancer. I am quite certain that they assess the value of your contribution as excellent. Thank you for participating. *The Charlotte Hungerford Hospital** *and the *Center for Cancer Care Fund** **sponsored the ride held on Sunday, August 7, 2005.** *I registered quickly at Coe Park for $25 on the day of the ride and got a t-shirt. Unfortunately for smaller people only L and XXXL t-shirts were left. In the ride announcement I noted that the rest stops were called rest/water stops. I was concerned that there would not be food at the rest stops. At registration I asked if food was available at the water stops – “only bananas and water”. I immediately returned to my car and got two bagels. As I finished registering at 8:10 I heard the announcement that the first riders had passed the water stop in Litchfield. While the tour is not a race, the registrar referred to the 75-mile route as the 75-mile race. I wasn’t racing. When I reached Litchfield the water stop staff held out cups of water that you could grab as you rode by. I had a camelbak and two bottles that I expected would last the ride. A large number of strong riders took the 30 and 50-mile routes. The route continued on US202 which was not busy and then CT341 a quiet and hilly road. There were lots of SAGs, emergency, and police directing traffic on the route. On this stretch I met a husband and wife who lived near the top of West Mountain Rd, Canton, a climb we often avoid on easy weekday rides but a good one to use for hill training. CT341 ended with a very long downhill (over 3mi) as it reached Kent. Several cyclists(racers) were making the climb in the other direction; I presumed they were doing hill training; they picked the right spot. I stopped at the Kent rest stop for a banana and continued on. I rode with a fellow from New Hartford, a community our weekdays rides often pass thru. We had a number of similar routes. He wanted to know about the Farmington Valley Greenway, where we start many rides. We had this conversation on US7 since it was not busy. We passed many old homes right on the highway and the Sloane-Stanley Museum. I started seeing highway signs for the W Cornwall covered bridge. I was less than five miles away, when the route turned NE away from the bridge. Another time I’ll take a ride to W Cornwall. After the turn we started climbing. I was riding with a lady from S Windsor. We talked about bike clubs, rides, mapping software, topo maps, etc. All the while we rode thru beautiful scenery. While the beauty did not end, the increased traffic on CT63 and US44 reducing our attention to beauty. We had about 15 miles of busy highway, although we stopped noticing the traffic as we climbed into Norfolk. The climb got our attention. From Norfolk there was lots of good news. We still had good scenery, the traffic dropped off on CT272 AND most of the route was downhill into Torrington. A nice finishing touch was pizza and turkey sandwiches at the end. Delorme’s Topo 5 assessed the route at 76.4 mi and 5525 ft of climbing. EVALUATION Brochure – I didn’t see a brochure, but there was complete information on the website. Routes – good. Scenic terrain if you like hills, trees, lakes, brooks, and rivers. Lots of traffic on the second half of the route. Intersections - excellent. Cue sheet – excellent. A map was also provided, so if you needed a bailout route you could take a short cut back. Rest stops – poor. Water and bananas are not enough. Turkey sandwiches and pizza were needed at the rest stops. Bananas and water don’t meet my definition of food and drink. I’d like to see some of bagels, cookies, brownies, PB&J, etc for food and Gatorade, lemonade, etc for drink. Using a table from Bicycling Mag; and it may not be correct I burned about 3,000 calories on the ride and replaced it with two bagels, one Clif Bar, three bananas, and two bottles of Accelerade during the ride. Sags – excellent. Sag wagons were all over the route. Value – fair. I look for an invitational or century ride to provide two things: (1) sags so if I have an equipment problem I can get a ride back to my car and (2) food and drink at least every 25 miles. Conclusion – This ride is not on my schedule for 2006. I will not go on an invitational or century ride that does not provide lots of carbs every 25 miles. Charlotte-Hungerford sponsorship means hunger for d carbs; I will hunger for d carbs once; but not twice. |
#8
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Ride Report: Tour of the Litchfield Hills
On Tue, 9 Aug 2005 16:45:52 -0400, "TomCAt" wrote:
Dear Tom, on the contrary, that noise you just heard is the sound of dozens of posters throughout the world adding -you- to their killfiles. jj You are beyond the Asshole rating ........... you have entered into the TOTAL ASSHOLE RATING. YOU PAID $25 DOLLARS ..... SAY IT OUT LOUD .... $25 DOLLARS. ARE YOU THE CHEAPEST HUMAN BEING ON THE PLANET OR THE BIGGEST ASSHOLE ON THE PLANET. OR BOTH. $25 DOLLARS ....... I CAN'T GO OUT FOR BREAKFAST FOR $25 DOLLARS. AND YOU GOT A T SHIRT. WHAT THE F DO YOU WANT. WHAT AN ASSHOLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ================================================= ===================== "Pete Salomone" wrote in message ... I received this response from Pat Cunningham, contact person for Tour of the Litchfield Hills Pete, Thanks for the report and the feedback. I will share it with the rest of the volunteer organizing committee. We are considering adding to the rest stops and attempting to work out the logistics for next year. The volunteers that organize this ride work hard throughout the year to bring this all together and this type of feedback is very important to us. You are correct that the Tour is not a race, people are allowed to ride at whatever pace they choose. The volunteer who registered mistakingly referred to the 75 mile route as a race. One thing I would like to point out is that the Tour is more than just an invitational ride. It is a fundraiser for people who are living with cancer. I am quite certain that they assess the value of your contribution as excellent. Thank you for participating. *The Charlotte Hungerford Hospital** *and the *Center for Cancer Care Fund** **sponsored the ride held on Sunday, August 7, 2005.** *I registered quickly at Coe Park for $25 on the day of the ride and got a t-shirt. Unfortunately for smaller people only L and XXXL t-shirts were left. In the ride announcement I noted that the rest stops were called rest/water stops. I was concerned that there would not be food at the rest stops. At registration I asked if food was available at the water stops – “only bananas and water”. I immediately returned to my car and got two bagels. As I finished registering at 8:10 I heard the announcement that the first riders had passed the water stop in Litchfield. While the tour is not a race, the registrar referred to the 75-mile route as the 75-mile race. I wasn’t racing. When I reached Litchfield the water stop staff held out cups of water that you could grab as you rode by. I had a camelbak and two bottles that I expected would last the ride. A large number of strong riders took the 30 and 50-mile routes. The route continued on US202 which was not busy and then CT341 a quiet and hilly road. There were lots of SAGs, emergency, and police directing traffic on the route. On this stretch I met a husband and wife who lived near the top of West Mountain Rd, Canton, a climb we often avoid on easy weekday rides but a good one to use for hill training. CT341 ended with a very long downhill (over 3mi) as it reached Kent. Several cyclists(racers) were making the climb in the other direction; I presumed they were doing hill training; they picked the right spot. I stopped at the Kent rest stop for a banana and continued on. I rode with a fellow from New Hartford, a community our weekdays rides often pass thru. We had a number of similar routes. He wanted to know about the Farmington Valley Greenway, where we start many rides. We had this conversation on US7 since it was not busy. We passed many old homes right on the highway and the Sloane-Stanley Museum. I started seeing highway signs for the W Cornwall covered bridge. I was less than five miles away, when the route turned NE away from the bridge. Another time I’ll take a ride to W Cornwall. After the turn we started climbing. I was riding with a lady from S Windsor. We talked about bike clubs, rides, mapping software, topo maps, etc. All the while we rode thru beautiful scenery. While the beauty did not end, the increased traffic on CT63 and US44 reducing our attention to beauty. We had about 15 miles of busy highway, although we stopped noticing the traffic as we climbed into Norfolk. The climb got our attention. From Norfolk there was lots of good news. We still had good scenery, the traffic dropped off on CT272 AND most of the route was downhill into Torrington. A nice finishing touch was pizza and turkey sandwiches at the end. Delorme’s Topo 5 assessed the route at 76.4 mi and 5525 ft of climbing. EVALUATION Brochure – I didn’t see a brochure, but there was complete information on the website. Routes – good. Scenic terrain if you like hills, trees, lakes, brooks, and rivers. Lots of traffic on the second half of the route. Intersections - excellent. Cue sheet – excellent. A map was also provided, so if you needed a bailout route you could take a short cut back. Rest stops – poor. Water and bananas are not enough. Turkey sandwiches and pizza were needed at the rest stops. Bananas and water don’t meet my definition of food and drink. I’d like to see some of bagels, cookies, brownies, PB&J, etc for food and Gatorade, lemonade, etc for drink. Using a table from Bicycling Mag; and it may not be correct I burned about 3,000 calories on the ride and replaced it with two bagels, one Clif Bar, three bananas, and two bottles of Accelerade during the ride. Sags – excellent. Sag wagons were all over the route. Value – fair. I look for an invitational or century ride to provide two things: (1) sags so if I have an equipment problem I can get a ride back to my car and (2) food and drink at least every 25 miles. Conclusion – This ride is not on my schedule for 2006. I will not go on an invitational or century ride that does not provide lots of carbs every 25 miles. Charlotte-Hungerford sponsorship means hunger for d carbs; I will hunger for d carbs once; but not twice. |
#9
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Ride Report: Tour of the Litchfield Hills
Value has two sides: what you pay and what you get in services and
products. $25 for an invitational ride with sag, rest stops, route markers, cue sheet, t-shirt, lunch afterwards ... is reasonable or better in CT. The evaluation of “fair” for value results primarily from the lack of “lots of carbs” at rest stops. Somehow I did not make my basis for evaluation clear. I wrote: “I look for an invitational or century ride to provide two things: (1) sags so if I have an equipment problem I can get a ride back to my car and (2) food and drink at least every 25 miles.” I did not get food & drink on the ride, although the organizers did incur the cost of food & drink at the end of the ride. I got two slices of pizza and two half turkey sandwhiches at the end of the ride. It I got the two slices of pizza at a rest stop around the 25 mile mark and the two half turkey sandwhiches around the 50 mile mark, I would have rated the value as "good" or "excellent". Notes: I have been on over 20 different invitationals. Many ride reports are in the archives of this newsgroup. On this newsgroup I rated the value of CycleFest 2004 also in NW CT as "excellent" - it costs $25 on the day of the ride; t-shirts were extra. There were many sags and lots of carbs at rest stops. Pete Salomone wrote: *The Charlotte Hungerford Hospital** *and the *Center for Cancer Care Fund** **sponsored the ride held on Sunday, August 7, 2005.** *I registered quickly at Coe Park for $25 on the day of the ride and got a t-shirt. Unfortunately for smaller people only L and XXXL t-shirts were left. In the ride announcement I noted that the rest stops were called rest/water stops. I was concerned that there would not be food at the rest stops. At registration I asked if food was available at the water stops – “only bananas and water”. I immediately returned to my car and got two bagels. As I finished registering at 8:10 I heard the announcement that the first riders had passed the water stop in Litchfield. While the tour is not a race, the registrar referred to the 75-mile route as the 75-mile race. I wasn’t racing. When I reached Litchfield the water stop staff held out cups of water that you could grab as you rode by. I had a camelbak and two bottles that I expected would last the ride. A large number of strong riders took the 30 and 50-mile routes. The route continued on US202 which was not busy and then CT341 a quiet and hilly road. There were lots of SAGs, emergency, and police directing traffic on the route. On this stretch I met a husband and wife who lived near the top of West Mountain Rd, Canton, a climb we often avoid on easy weekday rides but a good one to use for hill training. CT341 ended with a very long downhill (over 3mi) as it reached Kent. Several cyclists(racers) were making the climb in the other direction; I presumed they were doing hill training; they picked the right spot. I stopped at the Kent rest stop for a banana and continued on. I rode with a fellow from New Hartford, a community our weekdays rides often pass thru. We had a number of similar routes. He wanted to know about the Farmington Valley Greenway, where we start many rides. We had this conversation on US7 since it was not busy. We passed many old homes right on the highway and the Sloane-Stanley Museum. I started seeing highway signs for the W Cornwall covered bridge. I was less than five miles away, when the route turned NE away from the bridge. Another time I’ll take a ride to W Cornwall. After the turn we started climbing. I was riding with a lady from S Windsor. We talked about bike clubs, rides, mapping software, topo maps, etc. All the while we rode thru beautiful scenery. While the beauty did not end, the increased traffic on CT63 and US44 reducing our attention to beauty. We had about 15 miles of busy highway, although we stopped noticing the traffic as we climbed into Norfolk. The climb got our attention. From Norfolk there was lots of good news. We still had good scenery, the traffic dropped off on CT272 AND most of the route was downhill into Torrington. A nice finishing touch was pizza and turkey sandwiches at the end. Delorme’s Topo 5 assessed the route at 76.4 mi and 5525 ft of climbing. EVALUATION Brochure – I didn’t see a brochure, but there was complete information on the website. Routes – good. Scenic terrain if you like hills, trees, lakes, brooks, and rivers. Lots of traffic on the second half of the route. Intersections - excellent. Cue sheet – excellent. A map was also provided, so if you needed a bailout route you could take a short cut back. Rest stops – poor. Water and bananas are not enough. Turkey sandwiches and pizza were needed at the rest stops. Bananas and water don’t meet my definition of food and drink. I’d like to see some of bagels, cookies, brownies, PB&J, etc for food and Gatorade, lemonade, etc for drink. Using a table from Bicycling Mag; and it may not be correct I burned about 3,000 calories on the ride and replaced it with two bagels, one Clif Bar, three bananas, and two bottles of Accelerade during the ride. Sags – excellent. Sag wagons were all over the route. Value – fair. I look for an invitational or century ride to provide two things: (1) sags so if I have an equipment problem I can get a ride back to my car and (2) food and drink at least every 25 miles. Conclusion – This ride is not on my schedule for 2006. I will not go on an invitational or century ride that does not provide lots of carbs every 25 miles. Charlotte-Hungerford sponsorship means hunger for d carbs; I will hunger for d carbs once; but not twice. |
#10
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Ride Report: Tour of the Litchfield Hills
Pete,
I think your evaluation was spot on. Over the years, I've done dozens of organized rides such as you describe, some cost more than you paid, some cost less. I can't remember any that offered such a dismal lack of selection for food as what you were offered, regardless of what Mr. Know-It-All feels necessary to POST ALL IN CAPS LIKE A DOOFUS!!!!!!! You did the right thing, offering good constructive criticism of the good and bad to the ride organizers. I hope they take your comments to heart and make improvements for next year. Chris Neary "We will teach our twisted speech to the young believers" -- The Clash |
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