The Official Post-Pre Announcement!

[Please note there will be no post Friday, April 21st as I'll be doing "ride reconnaissance," but I'll be back on Monday the 24th with regular updates.  The Bike Forecast will not be affected.]

Remember how yesterday I pre-announced the pre-ride to the Gran Fondon't?

Well know I'm officially announcing it, and here's the official flyer.  Officially:

So I guess everything after the flyer qualifies as a post-announcement.

Also, please note that officially the official name of this ride is the "BSNYC BOOMB! Pre-Fondon't Ride."  The "BOOMB" stands for Beers On Old Man Brooks.  This is because the Brooks Bicycle Saddle-Making Concern™ is buying the beers afterward.  Isn't that nice of them?

You bet it its.

Plus, if you show up on a bike equipped with a Brooks saddle you get...well, you get nothing, apart from perhaps the sense of smug self-satisfaction that comes from owning a Brooks.

"I want to join this ride of yours!," you're now shouting into your monitor or smartphone.  "How do I register?"

You don't.  Just show up.  For past rides I've asked people to RSVP via email, but screw that.  Just come to the corner of Broadway and 9th Avenue in Manhattan this coming Saturday morning and be ready to roll at 8:30am:

It's very easy to get there via the Harlem or Hudson River Greenways, the subway, or even the Metro North, but if you're still confused then maybe this isn't the ride for you.

The Route

We'll ride north through Van Cortlandt Park into Westchester, up the South County Trailway for a bit, then cut over over to the Old Croton Aqueduct (OCA) for the return trip.  The OCA is unpaved and there are roots and rocks.  While this will justify your recent purchase of a state-of-the-art gravel bike, your regular road bike will work just as well, though I'd recommend tires over 25mm wide--which you're undoubtedly using anyway, because skinny tires are like soooo out of style.

The South County and the OCA are flat, but we'll go up a couple of decent climbs in between.  If you've never ridden the OCA it's a lot of fun.  We can also work in a coffee stop.

I still haven't decided where we'll go for beers afterwards, but most likely it'll be reasonably close to where we started.

Total distance will probably be around 30 miles, give or take.

If you need a GPS route map complete with elevation and exact mileage then maybe this isn't the ride for you.

The Pace

My racing days are long behind me and as the father of seventeen (17) children I don't have much hustle left in me.  If you want pacelines and attacks I'm happy to point you towards the Gimbels Ride.  In fact there's a pretty decent chance I'll be rolling up in cutoffs and a t-shirt because that's where I'm at in life.  At the same time it's not like I have all day to futz around, so you should be able to get over a hill or two and handle your bike on dirt.  This should be a spirited ramble as opposed to a slog.

Your End of the Bargain

As I mentioned yesterday, in exchange for the free beer and my expert guidance through suburbia I ask that you snap some pictures during the ride and email me at least one good one afterwards, along with some words for context if warranted.  I will then incorporate these pictures into a future post which will most likely appear on the Brooks blog.  So if you've ever complained about my shitty photography, now's your chance to do better.

That should about cover it, but if you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments.  Otherwise see you Saturday!

Love,

--Wildcat Rock Machine