Bonus points to all of you who get the song reference.

Hiya Kids!
Well, “Soon” is rapidly becoming “Now”, and while many of you are either in, or are about to be in transit, SOME of you have already arrived- For those who will be staying at the Red Roof or Hampton Inn, we have a little unofficial “Meet and Greet” at the Mexican Restaurant right next door to the Red Roof (Within sight of the Hampton Inn) that starts at roughly 8:00 PM, after the advance Registration at Parker Chomerics ends.
We do a little extra “Carbo-Loading” (Liquid form) after the pasta dinner, and have some fun and laughs (And great munchies) as we get to know each other better, as well as welcome those who arrived too late to make the advanced registration/pasta dinner… We won’t be closing the place, but we’ll be hanging out for a little while.
For veterans, wear an old NEC T-Shirt, for newcomers, wear a cycling themed T-Shirt, or put a couple hours of use to the one we just gave you… It helps us identify each other, break the ice, and get the official “Howdy-Doodies” out of the way in a fun, relaxed, social setting.

We have built it.
You are coming.
You’re going to wish it didn’t have to end.

See ya soon!
GearMan

The route is (more or less) finished, and I got enough information to finish the relevant maps.

Up above on this (and every other page) look for a “2010″. Click that (or click here) and you’ll get all of the mapping information you could possibly want. You’ll notice that some of this year has changed (particularly Day 7).  On that map is a pretty sucky Google map. But there are now all sorts of Delorme maps. Here’s what they mean:

• Overview : A one-page glance at that day’s route.
• Profile : A profile (elevation) map of that day
• Cue Sheet : Turn-by-turn directions (which some people call “Trip-Tiks” but that’s a ® of AAA, so they’re properly called cue sheets).
• Travel Package : a combination of overview and cue sheets with about five miles of the route per page.
• Turn Details : a close-up view of each turn along the route.
• Strip Maps : a “forward is up” view of the route, in a five-mile increment per page (all other maps are “north is up”)
• gpx : a gpx file for downloading into a Garmen or Garmen-compatible GPS device.

Obviously, the travel package, and turn details, and strip maps are the largest files.

Times on the cue sheets are given assuming a speed of 15 mph. Individual rider speeds vary widely, but if you want to come out and show your support, you can plan your day using those times. We normally start around 8:00 am. Longer days (read: day 4) start earlier; shorter days (read: day 5) start later. We’ll try to post info here specific to the day.

Have fun!

Warning:

The route is constantly under revision and can change even on the day of the  ride because of road closures, construction, or any number of other reasons. The cue sheet you get at the beginning of the day and any last-minute changes on the gear truck sign board take precedence over anything you see here.

Hi folks,

Less than 100 hours to go until we roll out from Chomerics in Woburn on the 2010 New England Classic!

For those of you who are new, or veterans that don’t remember all the details, you can get a close up look at a very close approximation of our 2010 route on Google Maps created by webmaster extraordinaire Todd Davis. Think of any last-minute route changes as surprises brought to you by highway departments around New England.

Just click on 2010 in the green band above and you’ll get the route map along with peeks at overview maps of each day, a profile of the terrain for each day and sample cue sheets for each day.

Pretty soon you’ll be seeing it all up close and personal so start hydrating now.

For those of you who can make it, see you at Friday night’s registration and dinner, (i.e. carbo-loading session). If not, see you bright and early Saturday.

Tim

Like so many other cogs in a successful New England Classic Event, the road – navigational marking is crucial to a safe, enjoyable, and accomplished ride.

The volunteers who lay down these signs are themselves riders. This is of great advantage to the NEC cyclists as the quality and effectiveness is influenced by a rider’s perspective. From personal experience (wife Linda and I have marked Day 6 for several years) – NEC road marking can be a dangerous endeavor. Volunteer roadmarkers are a brave and marginally crazy crowd ( not so dissimilar to the rest of our riding family).

Road marking is a balance between effective communication and a level of respect for the owners of the roads and local scenery.

Road – travel – navigational signs, take many forms. The visual Dan Henry’s originate back in the early 1900’s as a cycling cue for directional travel. Other similar forms of visual signage exist in hiking trails, animal trails, and many other recreational trial markings. If you follow the signs: (1) you will follow the same route everyone else did (2) the caretakers and colleagues will know where you should be (3) you won’t add any mileage to the already long day.

The riders manual gives you the basics. The exact guidelines may vary depending on the road you are on, the town / city / state you are in, and the level of perceived safety for that area.
Don’t turn unless at least one sign tells you to. If you make a turn and don’t see at least one confirming sign – you made the wrong turn. There is nearly always at least one confirming sign after a major intersection. On a straight section – if you don’t see a confirming sign every 2 – 3 miles, stop to confirm direction (one exception would be Day 4 which is 90 +/- miles of Rt 302). Common Sense.

Emergency Numbers are on the Trip Tiks. Don’t hesitate to use them.
The future for the Event’s Navigational markings is fluid … changes may be in the wind.
Lastly – Continuous Improvement is never ending … if you have any creative / innovative suggestions please share them with the team thru Ryan Williams rwilliams@diabetes.org.

Just to prove we take excellent care of your luggage, here is a video of Sam loading the luggage of a couple of our riders last year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=749iU2Zv1kw

Pack light, I mean it!
GearMan

Hiya kids,
For those of you who are new to the NEC, we have an unofficial, unsanctioned, “Beer fund” on the NEC. This is NOT endorsed, encouraged, or supported by the ADA in any manner, fashion, or implication. It is completely SEPARATE from the NEC and the TdC, and has absolutely no endorsement, involvement, or authorization from the ADA, it’s policies, it’s employees, or individuals within the ADA. It is completely, and entirely an initiative of the riders, facilitated by one of the volunteers, WITHOUT any support or involvement of the ADA, it’s employees, agents, sponsors, 7th cousins, or domesticated animals.

Gee, I wonder if anyone still thinks the ADA might be cool with us doing this…

Here’s how it works: If you are over the age of 21, You can reward yourself for your daily accomplishments with a beer that YOU paid for, that was picked up by ME, based on your contributions to the “Beer fund”. Contribute as much as you’d like, drink as much as you’d like- If you think that you’ve drunk more than you’ve contributed, simply contribute more.
For the sake of saving money, I REALLY need your contributions at the start, so that I can stock up in NH, and save roughly $2 a 12 pack, plus no deposit. I’ll obviously need to re-stock during the week, but I try to do that in NH whenever possible.
You’re an adult, you deserve a beer or two at the end of the day. YOU will pay for it, and I will pick it up for you.
This is in NO way associated with the ADA, just a volunteer effort based on the needs of the riders.
Tell me what you need, and you will have it.
So Sayeth the GearMan.
Keep the wind at your back, and the downhills in front of you.
Steve

I have a room reserved at the Red Roof in for the night before the NEC start. My usual roommate for the night will not be attending this year, so the spare bed is available. Red Roof Inn is a few blocks from the start (by bike) and about a mile or so (by car).

If you’re interested in the room share and you’re not a serial killer, let me know at

admin {at} newenglandclassic.org

I thought that with the NEC rapidly approaching, and training in full swing, it would be an appropriate time to repost this…

Hi gang,
Got this through one of my Yahoo Groups from a coffee shop owner along a popular bike route…
I’ve deleted most of the personal info, but it’s something to think about while you’re out riding.

“Hi- let me tell you, I don’t know how you can work this but maybe some kind of public service announcement on MassBike … now that cycling season has really kicked off we in the retail/food service world would really, REALLY appreciate it if bicyclists would carry their money in a little plastic baggie. Soaked-with-sweat $20s pulled from a jersey or, worse, bike shorts or socks, are really not too fun to handle.”

Really simple, pretty basic, common courtesy.
GearMan

Please keep in mind that these Commandments were translated from the original stone tablets, which were written in Yiddish (Which is odd, since I don’t actually speak Yiddish) in the First Century B.C. For that reason, the additional translation to Modern English is provided.

Thou shalt followeth these Commandments I hath set forth, or feareth my wrath.
So sayeth the GearMan
TRANSLATION: Don’t mess with us- We have your stuff.

1)Thou shalt PACKETH LIGHT, or feareth my rock!
TRANSLATION: You don’t need half that stuff, GET RID OF IT!

2) Thou shalt be responsible for putting thine own luggage on the Gear Truck each morning.
TRANSLATION: If you don’t give us your stuff in the morning, we can’t give it back to you in the afternoon.

3) Thou shalt remember that we do not worketh for the airlines, and shall not loseth thy luggage.
TRANSLATION: If you follow commandment #2, your stuff will be there at the days end.

4) Thou shalt NOT putteth thy luggage on the Gear Truck ‘fore thou hast all thou needeth out of it.
TRANSLATION: We literally PILE luggage into a 28 foot box-truck, to the point of 80-90% full- You CAN’T get your bag back once it’s in there.

5) Thou shalt NOT tieth thy bags together
TRANSLATION: If you’re bringing a couple small bags instead of one large one, tying them together makes them VERY difficult to handle- We have to handle the luggage of 150+ people twice a day- PLEASE be considerate.

6) Thou shalt putteth thy shoes in the shoe-bucket, NOT tieth them to, or packeth them IN your luggage
TRANSLATION: If you don’t want your clothes to smell like your shoes, let your shoes smell like everyone else’s.

7) Thou shalt readeth the “Daily info cards” on the Gear Truck each morning
TRANSLATION: We’re going to tell you everything you need to know about the day ahead of you- It’s your responsibility to LISTEN

Thou shalt writeth thy name on thy luggage, and thou shalt VERIFY thy name before taking said luggage from the Gear Truck
TRANSLATION: We’ve all heard this at the Airport… “Many bags look alike…” Sing along if you know the words…

9) Thou shalt remember that thou CAN NOT get to thy luggage during the day
TRANSLATION: If you’re going to need something during the day, or bring spare parts, etc. you should leave them with the Rest Stop, Mechanic, or sweep vehicles, NOT the Gear Truck.

10) Thou shalt Haveth a great ride!
TRANSLATION: Really! You will!

We’ve got a NEC 550 cyclist in need of a ride from Franklin Pierce (Rindge, NH) on the evening of Day 6 back to Woburn, MA. He’s catching a flight! He’s willing to compensate for gas, or donate to the ADA in your name. Can anyone help?Please email me: rwilliams@diabetes.org
Thanks!