[Clublist] AthensGaBicycling.com Newsletter

[j...@athensgabicycling.com]

Athens, Georgia the premier bicycling community in the United States!*

Hello AthensGaBicycling riders,

With school starting back for Athens-Clarke county, many people are getting back to their normal routines. A great routine to restart is to join a group ride and no better day than today to start with three choices:

1. Monday, 5:45pm Antelope from Sunshine Cycles on Baxter; or join the ride in progress at 6:00pm from the old Sunshine location in downtown

2. Monday, 6:00pm Gazelle/Antelope from Bostwick (4794 Fairplay Road), joining Chuck & Pete for a great ride

3. Monday, 6:00pm Cheetah from SPARC at 1765 Old West Broad Building 3, joining Christian and the 706 Project team for a “mellow” Cheetah ride

Also, this Wednesday at 6:00pm join the largest group ride in the Athens area, the Wednesday Antelope from behind the Watkinsville Courthouse. Also, we welcome back the Commish, SteveK, to the Wednesday Antelope peloton after a brief sabbatical. With Steve’s leadership, fortitude and foresight this week’s Wednesday ride will be better than ever!

Finally, for anyone that has always wanted to ride in the Georgia Mountains, this Saturday is the perfect day for a ride with a 0% chance of rain (according to Weather.com)! Join Georgia & Russell as they lead a mountain ride excursion from Vogel State park. If you are leaving from Athens, please meet at Oconee Heights Baptist Church back parking lot for a 6:30am Saturday carpool departure. Please see the ride calendar for complete details

AGB Tip of the Week:

One of the hardest adjustments to make on a bike is adjusting the front derailleur. After reading how to adjust it and making the appropriate changes; then watching a YouTube video and making further adjustments; and finally taking your bike to the bike shop to fix and it still does not quite work properly, then it is time to buy a new front derailleur, which may solve all of your problems!

Good riding!

Joe

For details on all the group rides, please visit the Ride Calendar:

AthensGaBicycling Ride calendar: http://athensgabicycling.com/group-ride-calendar

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*based on Research Results

[j...@athensgabicycling.com]

Athens, Georgia the premier bicycling community in the United States!*

Hello AthensGaBicycling riders,

Today we are going to focus on the Thursday and Saturday rides this week, since those days may have been overlooked by many riders:

• Thursday 6:00pm Cheetah Georgia Cycle Sport ride, beginning from Georgia Cycle on Baxter street. Once again a good contingent of six to eight riders are beginning at the shop with other riders joining enroute as the ride leaves for the eastside of Athens. Another strategy for riders that work or live on the eastside is to pick-up the ride in progress and avoid the College Station hill. The ride comes by Kroger (and the new Vet School) around 6:30pm and passes the corner of Whit Davis and Barnett Shoals around 6:42pm.  The other exciting element to the ride is the 5-mile sprint down Arnoldsville Road, including a rotating-sprint peloton during the beginning of the sprint.

• Thursday 6:00pm Gazelle ride, from Whit Davis Elementary.  Since well over half of the ride participants ride to the ride start, there is ample parking available each week. Also the ride route has been slightly changed to eliminate as many hills as possible. Now the ride only has only four hills to climb! The ride is structured and safe, and a great place to learn how to ride in a paceline, if you have not had the opportunity. There is still an optional sprint at the end of the ride, going up the hill on Old Lexington.

• Saturday 8:00am Antelope ride from behind the Watkinsville Courthouse. Last week a nice contingent of 10 riders participated with the starting temperature in the 60s! Another structured ride with an experienced group of safety focused (yet fast) riders. Also, in case you have not had a chance to participate, the ride routinely utilizes the recently paved Salem road, which has a much better feel than the old chip-and-seal pavement of prior years.

• Saturday 9:00am Cheetah ride from The Hub Bicycles in five points. If you are planning on riding with the Winter Bike League (WBL) this winter, then there is no better ride to practice, since you will be riding with many of the WBL leaders and on the same routes. Or if you would just like to test your mettle against some of the fastest riders in Athens, then this is the ride for you!

Many other great rides this week as we welcome back the students to the various group rides. Please see the Ride Calendar.

AGB Tip of the Week:

Advanced tire inflation: Now that we are all pumping our tires before each ride. The question is: How much air do I add?  Well, there is not a simple answer. The correct tire pressure is determined by a combination of your weight + your bicycle weight and your manufacturer’s tire data. For example a Michelin road tire recommended PSI is as follows:

For Michelin Road Tires:

LBS	0-110	132	154	176+
PSI	87	97	109	116

Please remember, this is only for Michelin road tires. So the specific tires you use, will have a different PSI to weight ratio. For best results, please refer to your bicycle tire manufacturer for your tire. Also, the PSI recommendations from manufacturers have been calculated by scientists and engineers, so they may be more accurate than your friend telling you how much air to put into your tire.