xodondum

I just registered for the GA400 ride on 7-9. Has anyone here ridden this? I choose the 60 mile route. This will be my 1st time "competing". I have ridden 50 miles a couple times (hence why I wanted 60 miles). I normally ride 20-30 miles when I ride for exercise. I only have MTN bikes but gotta make do w/what ya got. I can maintain ~12-14mph on the GT. Should change out the knobbies for smooth tires?

I am worried I may lose my way because each route is a little different. You choose between going 9-100 mile routes. is this unfounded? Should I try to find a buddy?

OldTryGuy

Change out the tires, keep the load light and ENJOY!!!!

sriley4290

I rode the 27 mile last year. don't worry, just watch the rodes, and they should have sign out there. me and some friends will be riding again. I am trying to get them to do the 45 miler, but will probably do 27 again.

changing out the tires would be the best if you are going to stay on the MTN bike. but like was already said, just enjoy the ride. there will be many people out there and everyone I came into contact with was very friendly.

xodondum

My GT started producing some very loud noises, I took it to the shop. they said the hubs were shot and needed rebuilding or needs new hubs. that was bad news since I had planned to take the GT on the ride as it's an early MTN bike that looked like a road bike and had a rigid frame. but while there I took a couple road bikes for a test ride and OMG, road bikes have a distinct advantage over a MTN bike on pavement, obviously. so I spent the last 3 weeks looking for a road bike and finally found one, which I will use for the event.

xodondum

so anyone else going? I've ridden 50-60 miles many times now, not worried about not finishing, am worried about getting lost (there's quite a bit of turns) since I don't have a bike GPS tracker. it's only 2 weeks away now.

as far as i know everyone will ride in a mass wave to clear GA400 in 30min. There's no order in the start. I'll ask around to see if I can find people riding the 62 miles and then try not to lose sight of them ;-)

RonH

What bike did you get? Got pics?

shelbyfv

I don't have any experience with this ride, but some general info may help you become less anxious. Routes are usually well marked and the various mileage options differentiated in some way. Many rides use specific color markings for each distance. Our club "century" issues colored armbands for each distance, there may be some way you can ID other riders going your way. Print a cue sheet. If you get lost, a local could look at it and help you get back on course. It looks like your ride has rest stops every 15 miles. That's often enough that you are unlikely to lose contact with other riders between stops. This kind of ride can be lots of fun, relax and enjoy it!

xodondum

Fuji CCR3

RonH

Great picture. When I lived in Decatur I rode from home, did 2 or 3 laps around Stone Mountain and headed home. Sure miss the hills — but not the traffic.

xodondum

I did it and enjoyed it.

I opted to only ride the 27 miler since I was new, alone & skeered. they stated the event grows by 20-30% every year, I believe it. I asked half a dozen people about directions, getting lost; they had no clue as they were also new. in turn, people also asked me about the same! everyone had the same fear, getting left behind & lost. there were no arm bands to differentiate distances for people. there were queue sheets but who wants to ride holding 1? so the only options to not get lost is to get a bike GPS that does waypoints or find your group and try to keep up with them.

it was pointless to ask people what distance they were riding at the start of the run as there was too many (~1700) people, there's no telling where you will be by the time everyone exited GA400. everyone starts at the same time, so follow the crowd... there were signs (and people) once the route split for the different distances. this is where it gets crucial to follow / keep up with your group because there are no signs inside of each route itself. at 1 point, we had to stop at a junction because we didn't know how to proceed. we let another group catch us and thankfully someone there had a GPS.

so if I want to do these kind of rides (w/o stress over getting lost, left behind), I need a bike GPS that can do waypoint navigation or to be able to keep up with the group. most of the riders were seasoned road riders, , so it was a challenge to keep up. I don't think I saw many noobs (except me). I did see 1 guy in a MTN bike, full knobbies; never saw him again after we entered GA400. The hills were pretty challenging! I was pretty slow... I did see a few walk their bikes and I don't blame them at all.

I averaged 14.7mph.... we had many hills and descents. on the descents we hit over 30+ mph but the climbs quickly adjusted / corrected the averages. I look forward to next year, hopefully better prepared and with GPS nav. because I sucked so bad on the climbs, I'm going to start riding clipless for once. and I'm going to try to NOT wear a backpack / camelbak when riding ;-) misc funny thing: many people lost water bottles, cages and reflector lights on the freeway!

shelbyfv

Good report and nice to hear you enjoyed it. I think you will find that most rides of this sort are well marked, but don't let that discourage you from getting a new gadget!