The Chainlink

Hey Chicago Randonneurs!

Some GLR planning for 2014 is taking place. I see there are 195 members of this group, but in 2013 we had only 58 riders on GLR events. Of those 35 did just one event (13 did two, 6 did three, and 4 did four events). This is all public information from the RUSA site.

So there are at least 137 members of this group that did no GLR brevets at all. 

What are your plans, wishes, dreams for 2014?

Eric Peterson

Views: 1266

Replies to This Discussion

i didnt know that the hotel was going to be renovated, the hotel rates are 115 a night. A bit more than they were last time i looked.

In the past GLR has received discounted rates at the Super8, make sure you ask for the GLR rate. It's possible that the RBA has not yet contacted the Super8 with the dates when the discounts should apply. 

Sometimes rates are higher I think if there is a high demand for rooms, like a Jimmy Buffet concert. All the more reason for sharing a room. Just make sure to bring your earplugs.


Eric


Deet 4.5mi said:

i didnt know that the hotel was going to be renovated, the hotel rates are 115 a night. A bit more than they were last time i looked.

FYI, there is a note on glrrando.org regarding discounted rates, who to contact at the hotel, etc.

Since i don't sleep well at motels in general, i've taken to driving up the morning of the ride. From my house it's about 90 minutes at zero dark thirty.

Another alternative has been to camp at Big Foot Beach state park in Lake Geneva.

Now is the time to check when the Buffet concert will be... the Super 8 doubles the rates for the Parrot Heads... hell all the local motels do up there.

I have checked the rates and it is 65$ a night for the weekend of the April 26, May 10 and May 30. It goes to 85$ a night for June 27.  All of the prices are for doubles. Not bad, quite the considerabel discount. I will be booking soon.

Camping takes some preparation and discipline. How are the facilities at Big Foot?
I once camped at a private campsite (Snug Harbor Inn / Turtle Lake) north of Delavan, a bit closer to the Super8, but had issues with the noisy neighbors and the campsite, which did not accommodate my tent very well. I was not well-rested for the ride. But the price was right.

Driving up early there is no traffic and is OK. You have to get up pretty early for a 6AM ride start. There are some randos I know that work late then drive up with no sleep at all!
Driving back after a long ride you might be pretty tired so there is more of a driving risk.

Eric 

Bigfoot's camping area is smallish and backs on a quiet residential neighbourhood that you'd never notice unless you walked out the side gate. The shower/toilet facilities are(were) 1940's-ish... primative, but we were told last year that new ones were in the works for this season. It's about a 25 minute drive to Delavan. i have a popup camper that is more comfotable than tenting and i sleep better there than the Super 8. We've put in there three times over the last two seasons and plan to return, especially if i attempt longer brevets this year.

 Like all Wisconsin state parks, you'll need to go online to reserve. It's WAY cheaper than the motel, but of course there are fewer creature comforts. The nice thing about the Wisconsin state parks over private campgrounds is that the rangers don't tolerate a lot of nonsense from rowdy campers.

 For the 200's though, a drive up and back isn't too taxing, especially since i discovered a decent place near the finish to get a good italian beef sandwich before the return trip.

YMMV
 
Eric Peterson said:

Camping takes some preparation and discipline. How are the facilities at Big Foot?
I once camped at a private campsite (Snug Harbor Inn / Turtle Lake) north of Delavan, a bit closer to the Super8, but had issues with the noisy neighbors and the campsite, which did not accommodate my tent very well. I was not well-rested for the ride. But the price was right.

Driving up early there is no traffic and is OK. You have to get up pretty early for a 6AM ride start. There are some randos I know that work late then drive up with no sleep at all!
Driving back after a long ride you might be pretty tired so there is more of a driving risk.

Eric 

Warmer weather makes me dream about the approaching brevet season. I wish to ride overnight to a 200k. That would be good way to fine-tune my ditch-nap gear in preparation for another take at 400K. Sleep in Super 8 has never been good before a ride, but should be fine after one :)

Ha; at this point, I'm hoping the first brevet in April will at least be over the freezing mark. It's hard to believe we're 9 weeks removed from the big day! I guess that means I should probably start riding more than once every two weeks.

A short nap can have amazing restorative powers. I've been known to nap, mostly on longer rides. But on the FVP I found a good ditch nap location that I've used a couple of times when the heat has made me queasy.

For some reason I usually prefer napping outside convenience stores. At first you feel a little odd and conspicuous, but I've gotten over that. 

Another alternative is to examine the route and look for small parks along the way.  

ilter said:

Warmer weather makes me dream about the approaching brevet season. I wish to ride overnight to a 200k. That would be good way to fine-tune my ditch-nap gear in preparation for another take at 400K. Sleep in Super 8 has never been good before a ride, but should be fine after one :)

Naps, Ilter!  That's what we're missing.  We just need to pedal faster, have red bikes, and take more naps!  This next series is in the bag!

Adam, this next series is in the bag or else we can say "au revoir" to PBP :)  Joke aside, for me to finish anything beyond a 300K, I have to ride a bit faster so I can have ~2 hours in the bank by ~2am, and get my 90 minute sleep in a quiet corner free from mosquitoes. Unfortunately 30 min naps did not work well so far. I will work on my sleep gear, but in the meanwhile got a red bike as well, just in case I need that extra boost :p

RSS

© 2008-2016   The Chainlink Community, L.L.C.   Powered by

Disclaimer  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service