Festive 500 and Winter Solstice ride.

[JTyre]

I know Alan and Rolf are both still trying for post of the year, but I believe it was decided last Friday.
Do you not have jobs ,kids and bike maintenance to look after?

Of course, like all of us, they have bike maintenance to take care of, silly!

[mfarnham]

It's too bad everyone will have forgotten Rolf's poem by the time we ask for "Post of the Year" nominations in 2018...

Steering the conversation back to Paul's initial serious point. Let's make it official. The 2017 Winter Silly Solstice Ride will start with coffee, 5:30am at Fairfield Starbucks on December 24 (note the change of date!). Hit BHP for laps starting at 6am (let's actually be assembled at BHP for Lap 1 at 6 sharp). It's nice to start the ride together in one big group so that as many as possible can finish together.

Christmas eve it is.

Now you can all go back to...er....work.

Martin

[John D]

The 2017 Winter Silly Solstice Ride will start with coffee, 5:30am at Fairfield Starbucks on December 24...

According to their website the Fairfield Starbucks doesn't open until 6:00am. The Cook Street Starbucks opens at 5:30am, however, and is even closer to BHP - so perhaps that's a better option?

[Paul C.]

Right you are ex pres.

F.F.closed til maybe even 6.30

Bucks cook st 5.30 open..
Quick coffee...roll out 5:40ish??

Post W.S. ride coffee snacks at Alan Cassels Home??
.....kidding.

I'm thinking Moka cook.

[Claire]

Ignoring for now the very real possibility that the weather gods may well stymie our good intentions to log tons of mileage between Dec 24 and 31... I have a very important question: Does that indoor cycling BS qualify for Festive 500 mileage?

(Please say no...please say no...)

[Rolf]

From the Challenge page:

Manual entries and trainer rides will not count towards your challenge effort.

Frankly, I think all trainer activity should be suppressed on Strava, especially this Zwift nonsense where people fester in their basements, riding around make-believe landscapes.

But then my primary uses of Strava are social, creative, and geographic. And I respect that for others (those who "train" for things ), it's more about sharing their performance data: average speed, heartrate, power, duration, mileage etc.

[Alan]

Trainer rides are not real rides. Sorry dudes. [woomp, woomp, this is the sound of Alan ascending a podium]
Sometime in the future, a very sophisticated one, no doubt, which will be created by robots and controlled by artificial intelligence, it is possible that masturbation will be considered 'equal' in significance to actual sex with another person. You know, that 'old-school' stuff that involves dialogue, interplay, communication and possibly deep affection.
When we arrive at that point, maybe we will accept your 'trainer rides'.
In the meantime, have fun you wankers.

[Kevin F]

Looking forward to the solstice ride an another assault on the festive 500. I very nearly gave up cycling last year trying to complete it. Apparently, I didn't get all of Dad's genes for saddle time endurance However, i have aquired a little more speed of late, gained primarily through the new faggled gizmo of Zwift. For me I have gained fitness, fun, a return of the joy of cycling and competing from my engagement with online virtual riding. Basically, I have removed every barrier (weather,time, training partners) for training excuses. Given my last Zwift race was the 3 highest power output over a full hour I have ever recorded, this is a good thing. I say embrace the robots

[LouiseF]

What time are you hard core Solstice loopers likely to finish your 100K and has a destination end of ride coffee shop been determined?

Cheers.
Louise

[mfarnham]

I vote some place that serves pancakes! But coffee will do. Shoal Point Moka seems like a good default plan.

I just rode the BHP loop. Bone dry. Forecast dew point is -7 tonight and forecast low is -2 so it should stay dry. Snow's not expected until afternoon. The last time I did this ride was in 2015 and we averaged 31.5 km/h. That would have us finishing around 9:10.

No excuses. Conditions look great. Layer up and you'll be good!

Martin

[Ddallin]

Anyone missing a white TSC bottle? Left it at Moka House by the water? Send me a note and I’ll leave it out for you to pick up!

[Rolf]

Putting this here, too, for posterity: https://vimeo.com/248777109.