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"The Drives" ride in Philly?
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Does anyone have any experience with this group ride? I've heard from a couple of sources that it is very fast and crash-prone. I'm wondering if I should even bother. I'm trying to find a challenging ride during the week to really push myself, but I don't want to do anything stupid and hurt myself or my bike. I'm thinking of showing up and giving it a shot to see how comfortable I feel and bailing if it gets too hairy. I know I should probably just train by myself but I get tired of training alone all of the time.

Thanks,


Keith

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"Knowledge is good" - Emil Faber
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Re: "The Drives" ride in Philly? [Strider124] [ In reply to ]
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I do not have any recent experience with the ride but I have done it in the past and I can tell you that the ride gets more and more sketchy, the closer it is to the US Pro Championships. It is not uncommon for several of the pros in town prior to the race to finish off a 3-4 hour training ride by joining in which could make for a fast and furious training ride (rumor has it that Chris Horner was in the group for a while this year). From a road racing standpoint, I consider that ride synonymous with a race day type training event because during the ride you will spend a considerable amount of time riding in zone 4 (or least at the top of zone 3). What is it that Lance told DZ during stage 1 of the TDF? Stay in the top 20 and you will be fine.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Re: "The Drives" ride in Philly? [ms6073] [ In reply to ]
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Thanks for the info, I'll definitely be staying alert. Any idea how big this ride gets?

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"Knowledge is good" - Emil Faber
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Re: "The Drives" ride in Philly? [Strider124] [ In reply to ]
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I used to do it every week. It is maybe as big as 60 guys. It just rolls at about 30 for three laps. THere is a little sprint at the end of each lap and a big on e at the end.

The front half cycles around well, the back hangs on. Stay in front it is safer. I took a 30 mph tumble there a few years ago. It isn't the safest but it isn't bad.

give it a try
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Re: "The Drives" ride in Philly? [nigilred] [ In reply to ]
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In Reply To:
The front half cycles around well, the back hangs on.


This is a universal constant when it comes to high intensity training rides that involve riders with a diverse range of skills and abilitites. Nobody wants to get shelled off the back and for that reason riders will ignore obvious signs as they start pushing themselves beyond their limits but typically are not able to realize that they are in over their heads until it is too late. Other examples, the Tuesday night ride along the French Broad Riverriver in Asheville, NC is a pretty high intensity ride but is usually divided up into an "A", "B", & "C" ability group - wife and I rode with them last year after tkaing a 4-hour jaunt in the mountains that morning. The local Tuesday nighter here in my neck of the woods can be a real bear for someone who is not prepared for frequent bursts that can exceed 35-mph while competing with 60-65 mph traffic on a busy road near the downtown area. With a diverse field of riders (many racers from of all categories but can be just as many fast local roadies and the ride bears the untoward title "Death Ride" which is simply a historical reference that comes from the orginal days of the ride 25-30 years ago when particpants were known more for the complete lack of respect for traffic laws/lights/vehicular traffic than for the challenge of the ride. To the best of my knowledge, despite the rides name, nobody has ever actually been killed but there have been some pretty spectacular mishaps over the years.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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