Review of The Icicle Metric - Team Red's Feature Ride for March

Balmy weather leading up to this year's Icicle Metric in Newark, DE brought high hopes for White Clay Bike Club's legendary season opening ride for the Delaware Valley, but it looks like Punxsutawney Phil's curse of two more weeks of winter was holding up - as best as possible in light of global warming, anyway.  ; )

None of these were around
at this year's Icicle Metric!

There were no icicles at the Icicle Metric, but it was cold and wet.  A wet ride is OK in August, and a cold ride can be bearable, but wet and cold leaves much to be desired.  But in the sporting tradition of cycling where Paris-Roubaix riders endure the butt-bruising cobbles, and Giro d'Italia cyclists press on with stomach flu that would drop mere mortals to their knees, so too did the intrepid Team Red forge onward! 

Led by the 2012 Newark Tour de Cure's chairperson, and esteemed Team Red member Charlie Johnston, Team Red stormed the University of Delaware's stomping grounds and steam rolled the hills of northeastern Maryland!

Well... considering it was our first hilly ride, I guess perhaps we just "survived" the hills of northeastern Maryland.  And I suppose what propelled us to the finish was the overwhelming desire to get back home, get dry, and get warm. 

Since this was Team Red's first Featured Ride of 2012, we all donned our Red Rider jerseys - in lieu of  our Team Red jerseys which will arrive in a couple of weeks.  We thought we might ride 50km after we'd gauged how we felt at the 35km turnaround point, but since it started raining a few hours before the weather report had indicated, we all quickly knew that 35km was going to do it for us.

I'm not kidding, it was really raining - Larry Lukin, you made the right choice!  It was the kind of rain that stings like pellets and streams like a waterfall off your helmet.  That and Bob Carter's rooster tail in my face for most of the day and I felt like I had finished the swim leg of a triathlon!

Oh, and you know those chalk route markers on the road?  They wash away in the rain.  Zoinks!  We stopped to wring out our cue sheets more than a few times, and we still missed the turn to the 15 mile rest stop.  But that was OK, it saved us a couple more miles in the rain.

I wore my winter cycling shoes, which you'd think would be a good thing - but you know they're great for cold, but for wet... not so much.  They prevent water from entering the shoe from the bottom - but that also means water can't drain after it has run down your legs and into your shoes from the top!  That being said, it really helps your pedaling style to have feedback from the sloshing going on in your shoes - if it's not sloshing, you're not pedaling in circles - you're just pushing on the down strokes!  I had to laugh when I took them off, I dumped the water out of them like they were buckets. 

But enough belly-aching already!  We actually had a great time, and my bike got the wash it so badly needed.  All in all, it was a solid training ride - 1,100 feet of climbing and a great way to prep for the Tour de Cure.

Come out and join us for our April Featured Ride - The Horsham Rotary Ride on April 29th.  We'll see you there!

Cheers,
k

Red Rider ALERT! Jersey Orders Friday! Register by THURSDAY!

All Red Riders - I just found out the ADA will be ordering all Red Rider jerseys this Friday. 

To get a free Red Rider jersey, you have to register for the Tour de Cure by THURSDAY! 

So anyone who has diabetes, please remember to register for the Tour de Cure and indicate that you have diabetes - you'll see something to this effect during the registration process.  You'll also have to raise the minimum fundraising amount to receive the Red Rider jersey on the day of the Tour.

Go here to register, and don't forget to pick Team Red off the National Teams list to be part of Team Red:

https://donations.diabetes.org/site/TRR/TourdeCure/SoutheasternPennsylvaniaArea/70754941?pg=ptype&fr_id=8069


Please note - these are not TEAM RED jerseys, they are Red Rider jerseys.  Red Riders are those who ride the Tour de Cure and have diabetes.  There are many Team Red members who are also Red Riders, but you don't have to have diabetes to be on Team Red.

Let me know if you have questions - email me at kevinhorio@yahoo.com.

TEAM RED Century Club

So I was emailing with Joe Niszczak, one of our Team Red members, and he had a wonderful idea!  Let's create a Team Red Century Club! 

We'll pick a ride later in the year where we'd do the 100 mile ride as Team Red.  Everyone that makes it will be in the 2012 Century Club!  What will you get?  Bragging rights!  A good feeling inside!  Enshrinement for all posterity on our Team Red website!  Who knows, maybe we'll have enough budget for t-shirts - but that might be a long shot.  ; )

So we need to pick a ride.  I know fundraisers are special rides that each of us pick for our own reasons, so we'll limit the options to registration-fee-only rides. 

Go to our Team Red meetup to vote on our poll, ranking each ride from 1-10 (10 is best) based on the desirability of the ride to you:

   Go Here to Vote: http://www.meetup.com/TeamRedPhilly/polls/493922/

Your vote *really* does make a difference here. 

Cheers,
k

MARCH FEATURED RIDE - Icicle Metric!

Get ready and join us for our first Team Red Featured Ride for 2012 - the Icicle Metric in Newark, DE hosted by the White Clay Bike Club!

This is a great ride to break the ice on the new season!

   Go Here for Full Details


Only $20 to register and no fundraising required.

22, 31, or 62 mile routes

Be sure to RSVP on our meetup site so we know to look for you at the ride.



 

2012 Team Red Ride Calendar is Out!

If you haven't joined our Meetup site yet, there's a lot going on there.  That's where we schedule all of our Team Red rides and events.  It's easy to use, and our calendar will be at your fingertips.  Just go to:

   http://meetup.com/TeamRedPhilly

... and Join!

Here's a summary of our 2012 Ride Calendar, but be sure to use the Meetup site for full details and updates.

If you RSVP to rides on the meetup site, you'll get email notifications if anything changes - like if the ride's been postponed or canceled.

Here's the types of rides and events we have coming up this year, a real mix:

• Featured Rides
  These are rides organized by clubs and other organizations with $20-35 registration fees, but no fundraising.  There are 1 or 2 options per month.  Lets show up in large numbers with our Team Red kits on, it gets Team Red and the Tour de Cure noticed.
  
  
• Featured Runs
  A change of pace - we have a couple fun runs scheduled this year.  Other Team Redders are involved in these.  One even has a pool party as part of it!  Come out, have some fun.
  
  
• Tour de Cure Prep Rides
  Aside from recurring training rides, we'll have a couple of Mock Tours to get familiar with the routes this year.
  
  
• Fun Rides
  These are similar to the Featured Rides, there may be a few Team Redders doing these rides.  They're good options if you want to get a few more organized rides into your year.
  
  
• Other Fundraising Rides
  Some Team Redders are doing other fundraising rides like the MS Ride, Livestrong, the ACS ride, and the like.  It's tough to fundraise for a lot of rides each year, which is why we have featured rides that don't require fundraising, and the registration fees are relatively low.  But, some of us have passion for a number of causes, so join your teammates in these other rides.  Some folks decide to pay the minimum fundraising on their own.  It's up to you - just more options.  Also consider wearing your Team Red kits to these rides to raise awareness about the Tour de Cure, Team Red, and the fight against diabetes.
  
  
• Fun Events
  We also list our Team Red events, like the Pre-Tour Barbecue, Team Red Kick-Off Party, Bowling Nights, etc.  Some of these help us to raise money for Team Red as well.  Some of this stuff costs money, ya know.  ; )
  
  
• Training Rides
  We also use our meetup site to organize our training rides.  We've managed to keep at least one ride consistent throughout the winter, but we hope to expand our ride options as spring comes.  A number of Team Redders will be hosting training rides, and we'll be partnering with bike clubs in the area to piggy-back on their rides as well.  We're striving to make rides available for everyone based on your riding level, location, and day/rime preferences.

So join the meetup site today - it really makes it easier to join in on Team Red activities!

Cheers,
k