CANCELLED - B run to Bishampton Sunday 17 July

[George]

I'll lead a B run to Bishampton on Sunday 17 July, with the standard 09:15 departure from the BH (meet up 10 minutes or so before). The terrain is not too demanding and the pace will be modest (around 25kph / >15mph). I'll post a route closer to the time, but it'll be somewhere between 80 and 100km (roughly 50 to 60 miles). I'd prefer would-be participants to sign up in advance below, but we can probably handle one or two spontaneous tag-alongs as well. However, no road group will be more than eight people. If there are more than eight of us, we'll split up.

[George]

Here's my proposed route for Sunday:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/40142087
It's 88km (55mi) of undulating lanes, with the café just over half way.

NB: the route might need tweaking in line with any feedback I get here viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10121

[Mariana278]

George it will be 31 degrees sunday, maybe consider start earlier

[George]

Thanks for the suggestion, Mariana. However, the scheduled start time will require me to set out at roughly 07:00, and I'm not keen to set off even earlier than that. Besides, even if I made it half an hour earlier, we would still have to ride through the midday heat on the return leg.

The heat is obviously a potential hazard, which no one should underestimate. I would advise anyone who comes on the ride to carry two large bottles, to refill them at the café, and to keep drinking throughout the ride. It's also wise to ride well within yourself, even early on, when you don't find the heat/effort uncomfortable. The heat gradually becomes less tolerable as you ride and your core temperature gradually increases. So, a level of effort that feels tolerable at 10am may well be quite intolerable by 1pm. Anyone who is at all unsure of their ability to ride at the forecast temperature at a speed that would ordinarily count as an easy B pace is strongly advised to err on the side of caution and not to join the ride.

Sunscreen and neck covering are also recommended.

Nevertheless, my personal experience leads me to believe that, with sensible precautions and a sensibly cautious approach, one can ride safely when the temperature is in the low 30s.

[George]

Well, it seems that interest in tomorrow's club runs is generally low, and interest in mine is non-existent. Holidays and heat, I suppose.

Anyway, I'm not keen to come up to town on the slim chance that I'll get one or two on-the-line sign-ons. And I'd like some clarity about the structure of my weekend. So I think it's best to cancel now. I'll reschedule later in the summer or autumn.