Raven Rock Ramble 2019?

[Pollock]

This is a local ride in central NC. I saw a few people have ridden this the last few years.

This year will be my first time on the ride. I need to ride outside to work on handling and stability so I can ride my S40. I hope to ride either the 100k or maybe the 87mi route depending on how much seat time I get in.

For those that have been on this ride before, how well are the routes marked? Are they going to be visible from a recumbent? Last year, I rode the CNC Coastal Ride on my trike and the combination of being low and reclined made seeing the painted markers a bit tough. I hope the elevated platform on the bike will help quite a bit.

Any input on the hills? Are there any tough to get up? Or just the normal hills around here?

My goal is just to finish. No way I will be even close to the big guns on their V20s

 

[Doug Kline]

The routes are well marked and should be visible from your S40. But even better you can easily download the routes to your Wahoo or Garmin.

There's some significant hills, but I don't think over 8%.

The Parkers have a prior commitment this year, so there probably won't be any big guns on their V20s.

 

[LarryOz]

What is the date Doug? Is this durging the Blue Ridge Ride? If not, I will probably ride it again.

 

[Pollock]

Larry, its the first weekend in May. It sold out way back in Dec in ~2 hours.

 

[Pollock]

Doug, I’ll have to see if my wife will approve a present early I do not have a cycle computer yet. I ride on roads where I know the route and just use my phone to record it while plugged into a portable battery pack. Not getting lost sounds like a good reason to finally buy one.

 

[benphyr]

I’ll have to see if my wife will approve a present early I do not have a cycle computer yet. I ride on roads where I know the route and just use my phone to record it while plugged into a portable battery pack. Not getting lost sounds like a good reason to finally buy one.

No computer for me either...
As an alternative (tell your wife only if you want to) you can probably use your cell phone with any number of apps including the ubiquitous Google Maps to use as a GPS on the ride. Ours doesn't have a GPS chip but can still get pretty accurate (but a few seconds slow) directions. It uses the cell phone towers and signal strength I believe and gets pretty good results.

 

[Mathew Fy]

use your cell phone with any number of apps

I recommend RideWithGPS app while plugged into an alternate battery pack. From the RRR site you can download the routes.
Although, I personally prefer to use my Garmin.