LUGGAGE SPACE

From: ROSS S Sent: May 9, 2022 Subject: Van Luggage Space

Tom and Bruce:
I got the extra bench seat put back in the van this afternoon. Been out 2 or 3 years. Then I put the YETI cooler in the back. Lots more space than I remembered. I do not think there is a need to limit luggage . I will have my standard military duffel bag to take to the motel room nightly, that is a lot of stuff. With six (6) people I think we are good on luggage space.

SAG PLANNING

Bruce and I have been planning for our trip. So that all of us are coordinated let me share what we have. Most important we are continuing with Bob’s plan. That consists with his routes, motel selections, and daily sectors. We assume everyone is has examined Bob’s routes and plans to do them “as is.”

We have two modification options that we accommodate your preferences: Winchester and Scottsboro. Bob had planned two “short” versions leading those two towns to avoid riding up elevations. Bruce and I plan a EFI version up the climb in which we would leave early to meet up with those doing the “short” option. Bruce and I plan on the Winchester climb and Bruce (not I) plans the Scottsboro climb. That requires accommodating the SAG schedules.

I have already DRAFTED SAG schedule to coordinate with Bob’s DRAFT Daily Sectors (attached Daily Sectors.pdf) We will take TWO approx. 10 to 15 mile turns in the morning until lunch and then Ross plans to SAG every afternoon.

Here are the two AM DRAFT schedules:

Bruce D:     A, F, K, P, U, Z

Tom E:        B, G, L, Q, V, 1

Andrew G: C, H, M, R, W, 2

Tim M:         D, I, N, S, X

Dave S:       E, J, O, T, Y

Which implies Bruce and Tom do Day #1, Andrew and Tim do Day #2, Dave and Bruce do Day #3, etc. You get the idea.

Now here is the problem. You may have SAG preferences, please tell me “up front” ASAP. I’ll revise the PRELIMINARY (best guess) plan to suit you. I still have to accommodate the Winchester and Scottsboro, different route lengths, and Bruce or I riding with Ross in the AM. Some of us may find they want longer or more frequent SAGs per our physical capabilities. But I would like to start with a rough idea who going to SAG when.

Thanks, Tom

From: Tim M Sent: May 10, 2022 8:07 AM
I hope to ride both the Winchester and Scottsboro climbs. Although I’m ready to sag as often as needed by the group, I hope I’m able to sag as little as possible.

From: bruce Sent: May 10, 2022 7:08 PM
As noted before I'd like to have a go at the climbs south of Winchester and Scottsboro. I wouldn't mind driving SAG first leg out of Smyrna. However, I will ride or drive as needs and my body dictate.

From: David S Sent: May 10, 2022 9:49 PM
I think Day 4 mile 6 to 8 with the 1000' climb will be a real challenge for me. I did not see the short option route so I plan to ride or walk it. But adding Day 5 with another 800' climb between miles 12 and 14 will probably be too much for me. I will most likely opt for the shorter route.

From: Ross Sent: May 11, 2022 4:37 PM
I am planning on the short route out of Winchester and Scottsboro.

Bruce 5/8/22 UPDATE

Tom,
My go at amending the routes based on new motel bookings as well as getting a feel for the tour is in a new collection.  The only real change was in the Dublin to Vidalia day. The Quality Inn turned out to be in Dublin instead of East Dublin. Getting back to the original route involved some backtracking on not great roads so I took a look at leaving directly from Dublin. I liked the roads better than the original.  Both are included as versions 1 &2.  Toward the end I also began to modify the regrouping and lunch stops to better break up the sectors. We may want to look at the earlier ones for that also. Of course any sag plans we make will be modified as our bodies and circumstances dictate.

Here's my work collection  

https://ridewithgps.com/collections/46536?privacy_code=1Epfibfi2kRKJ2Sr 

I've marked regrouping and lunch sites as points of interest so they show up on my eTrex. Not sure how your modern units handle them.  I have not done the gps coordinates for each site. In the past Ross has used those to find assembly points.  That can be done later. For now I wanted to be sure the routes were feasible and in the process might as well add some tweaks.

I'm assuming rooming arrangements will be Dave and me, You and Ross, with Andrew and Tim in individual rooms. In the past I've alternated who pays for rooms at checkout to keep lodging expenses about equal.  At the end there's no big settle up. If that's ok, I'll work on that in the next week.
Now to bed.
Bruce

PHEONIX H2O - IT's AGO AGAIN

From: Tim Sent: April 28, 2022 9:54 PM Subject: Re: H20 Postponed Again

I would love to stay on course for this outing. Bob has put a tremendous amount of effort into making this adventure happen. Let’s not waste all his work. Next year sounds like a good plan for those who want to go next year. Let’s stay on track and leave on the 21st. If we were to go into a full scale nuclear exchange with Russia there might as well not be a next year! What do you guys think?

On 4/28/22 22:29, TOM wrote:

What do you think about Tim’s suggestions? After my last year of experience, I no longer plan for a future a year and a half away. Health and life is changing too fast. If life treats us well, we can do Ride to DTI in 2023

On 4/29/22 04:32, ROSS wrote: 

Bruce:
I hated that Bob had to cancel the ride. I don't know if you have considered a plan to make a ride happen. If you do then I along with my van will still be available.
Lorene got me up last night so I could see Bob's email. I got up early to start the 12 hour drive to Virginia mountains but will be back next week. My travel trailer is up there and I needed to go get it and bring it home. Just wanted to let you know I was still available .

Ross

H2O CANCELLED

Hi All

After much thought and in consultation with Eve, I've decided to withdraw from the Hendersonville/Savannah ride, as currently scheduled.

I understand from this morning's Zoom call that there is little enthusiasm amongst that group for otherwise going ahead.  Of course, should that change, I'll be more than pleased to make available all my preparatory material, if that will assist in any way.  That said, I shall shortly be going ahead with cancellation of the accommodation arrangements made earlier for a May/June ride.

The current conflict situation in Ukraine and the threats Putin is making against Europe in general and Finland in particular has us very perturbed.  We have a round-the-world booking with Finnair, so as long as we are reliant on that, we are committed to flying into and through a potential conflict zone.  The absence of insurance cover in case of war also makes our situation that much more problematic.

We think we qualify for a refund of the air fare already paid but even so, the covid-induced inconvenience and uncertainty associated with travel to the USA make it impractical to re-book flights with another carrier.

So, our best hope is that, God willing, we can reschedule our cycling for 2023, possibly September/October, and that all of you that expressed interest in H20 will be willing and able to consider being part of whatever plans come to fruition for next year.

With some sadness but all good wishes

Bob (and Eve, who's been fully involved in the process involved in this decision)

G'day All

This is probably a good time to think about following the ride route while on the road each day.

I suggest you use Ride with GPS, access Collections · Ride with GPS and then select the daily route maps, e.g., Day 01Gallatin to Murfreesboro - A bike ride in Gallatin, TN (ridewithgps.com).

That done, click on the "More" button and select from the drop-down menu as show in the pic below.

Choosing the second item "Export as File" will give you all the options (and instructions) for downloading detailed route data for transfer to your on-bike device.

Choosing the fourth item "Print Cuesheet" will, surprisingly, present you with a cue sheet that you can either print as is, or copy and paste to another file type for re-formatting.

Alternatively, I have copies of my own cue sheets available, that I've reformatted in line with my own preferences, and if anyone wants copies of these, please let me know.  They're in pdf, ready for printing, or Excel spreadsheet format , which ends itself to further refinement to the set-up before printing.

Safe cycling

Bob

Schedules

Attached are a couple of schedules for your early information, covering 1) proposed regroups/meals etc. for each day, together with 2) details of overnight accommodation in each location.  These remain drafts at this stage and any comments, suggestions etc will be most welcome. 

I'll send out updated versions, together with daily cue sheets, much closer to the ride date. In the meantime, detailed route information can be accessed at:

Collections · Ride with GPS

Bob

H2O Summary Sheet

Gentlemen,

I've collated the attached overview from the more detailed information contained in the Ride with GPS | Bike Route Planner and Cycling Navigation App H2O Collections page.

Since this is a “relaxed” ride, I concentrated on information about convenient lunch/food stops and others that will facilitate morning and afternoon rest/regrouping opportunities.

Some general principles for your attention:

Correlation of coordinates with cue sheet mileages is designed to ensure riders and SAG driver can easily find each other. 

By arrangement with Ross, he will ride to the designated lunch stop each day and assume SAG-driving responsibilities for the rest of the day.

Morning SAG drivers will be allocated on a rota basis and by agreement within the group.

Where the summary shows SAG, the morning driver is requested to be at the designated location in case of need, as no local services are available.  Where summary shows SAG, the same will be requested of Ross, i.e., in the afternoon.

I'll leave finalistion of the RWGPS maps until closer to the ride date and, in the meantime, any helpful comments or suggestions will be welcomed. Tom and Bruce's input has already been incorporated and can be recognised by either TE or BED in some of the map titles.

Closer to ride date, I'll formalise the cue sheets associated with each map and circulate those.

Bob
February 25, 2022