Monday, February 12, 2018

Spring Geezer Ride 2018

The ride will start at Prairie Grove Park on the South side side of Waterloo
It's time to start thinking about the next Geezer Ride for this Spring. "Geezer Ride?", you say? Yes.....Geezer Ride!

So, at the Gravel Clinic that was dubbed the Iowa Gravel Expo by NY Roll done this past January, I made the announcement there that the next Geezer Ride would be about the beginners. Of course, if you know anything about the Geezer Ride that I put on it has always been about the beginners to gravel. 

I am going to make sure this gets pushed out on social media locally, but of course, it all depends on who actually decides to show up. Anyone and everyone with a working bicycle and the desire to ride approximately 40 miles of gravel roads is welcome to this group ride.

 It is no drop, no one gets left behind, and the focus is on fun. That said, YOU ARE  RESPONSIBLE FOR YOURSELF! Come prepared to fix a flat, have water and food on-board with you, and a bail-out plan should you become tired of having this fun on gravel we have. The pace will be sloooooooow! Plan on FREQUENT STOPS to gather up the stragglers if there are any. There also will be a few tips on how to ride gravel doled out to any beginners there and a Q & A session mid-ride or whenever it seems appropriate, to answer any rider's questions.

Petrie Road's Level b Maintenance section will figure into the ride for sure.
Okay, so here's the date: Saturday March 31st at 8:00am

Yes.........there probably are a lot of other things scheduled for that Saturday. I'm NOT moving the date unless it rains. Then the postponed date will be April 14th. Otherwise I plan on doing this ride even if showers are in the forecast. Stay tuned to this space or the Geezer Ride site for updates to anything relating to the ride date.

The Course: The route for this Spring's Geezer Ride will be South of Waterloo and some gently rolling hills, at least one Level B Road, and then on some pretty flat terrain to wind up in Hudson Iowa where the group will have some decisions. One way we could do it would be to stop in at a tavern downtown for a "rest stop". We could also stop at the local Casey's store for refreshments, or we could just roll on homeward via paved bike trail or on gravel back to the park where the ride begins. I'm leaving those options open until we gather and see what the weather and group dynamics dictates.

There will be a few hills, but nothing too taxing. This is the corner of Mt. Vernon and Streeter Road from another Geezer Ride.


Expect the ride to be about 40-ish miles and take until perhaps mid-afternoon to complete if need be. Remember- no one gets dropped, so if we have to stop every three miles, we will. And actually, that's how the first Geezer Ride went. So, be prepared for a long, slow, easy paced ride geared to those who want to try gravel roads for the first time.

Besides this Geezer Ride, there will be another up in the Cresco, Iowa area, with details yet to be determined. That will likely be a Summer ride. Then there is talk of doing the Amish/Mennonite route from another past Geezer Ride sometime this year as well. Stay tuned to the Geezer Ride page and this spot for any future announcements.

2 comments:

Michael said...

Sounds like a fun day. I've put TGR on my schedule, hopefully life won't intervene between now and then and I can make it to the ride.

Unknown said...

Count me in!