Ride Saturday, April 12

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I hope you’ve had a good off season and have been able to ride this Winter. The weather is finally warming up enough for us to ride outside, rather than on our smart trainers. As we transition into spring, it's a great time to reconnect with the open road and enjoy the fresh air. Remember to check your gear, charge your batteries, and enjoy the warmer days on your bike.

In past seasons, the increasing speed of our rides has created challenges for many participants, making it difficult for them to keep pace and enjoy the experience. While this may have been exhilarating for the faster riders, it ultimately detracts from the overall enjoyment and inclusivity of the ride, leading to a loss of riders. To address this, we are adjusting our approach this season by aiming for a more moderate pace throughout most of the ride, specifically targeting power and heart-rate zones 2 to 4. This adjustment is intended to foster a more enjoyable environment for all riders. Those wishing to ride faster than the group will be encouraged to seek an alternative group that matches their pace.

Saturday morning, we are finally going to do our first outdoor group ride of the season. Our ride will start from Starbucks at 9:00, and our route will be to Cannon Falls clockwise. This will be a challenging ride because south winds at 10 to 20 mph are predicted for Saturday. If the winds are too crazy, we can shorten the ride by going through Hampton. During the ride, it should be partly sunny to start and cloudy for the second half with temps from 47° to 59°F, but it will feel about 5°F colder. The “anything goes” part of the ride will start when we get to Hwy 3 in Empire.

For those of you who want a harder workout Saturday, get on the front and pull us into the wind. Otherwise, we will use a circular pace line to share the work. There may be a wide variety of fitness in the group, so we’ll need to adjust our pace accordingly.

Route Navigation
Garmin GroupRide: https://connect.garmin.com/mobile-link/gcm/grouptrack?id=ST48BV
Route Map: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35821258