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Re: [RC] elevator rides..why they went away - heidiDo you think that elevator rides for the most part went away, because ride management like to start the different mileage groups, at different start times, so all the riders do not hit the vet checks at once??? If it is an elevator ride, doesn't the different distances have to all start together, so if someone wants to elevate from say, the 25, to the 50, they are on the same time schedule as the 50 mile riders? I remember when I started this sport in the early 80's, it seemed that all distances DID start at the same time. Maybe it was because they had fewer riders, so the vet check impact was not as bad as it could be on the larger rides these days. First of all, in the longer distance range (75s to 100s), they frequently DO still start at the same time. However, it is rare to start 50s and 100s together anymore, due to not only rider numbers but to different needs of the different groups (100s need to utilize all the available daylight, 50s don't want to be up and saddling at 3 in the morning...) That said, the LD-to-50 elevators often DO start the LDs an hour later--and the prospective elevating rider simply has to "eat" the time difference. This usually isn't a big deal, unless the course is unusually difficult or there is an extreme of weather--and in that case, it probably isn't a good ride or a good day to elevate anyway. Let's say the rider wishing to elevate has done 25 in an elapsed time of four and a half hours--not "race mode" but not just dragging along, either, and reflects an actual riding time of 4 hours, if there was a half-hour hold in there. If the rider has to "eat" an hour, that would be the same as a 50-miler having taken 5-1/2 hours to get to the same point. Say there is an hour hold at this point, so there is now 6-1/2 hours on the 50-mile "ride clock." The elevating rider now has 5-1/2 hours to complete the 50, with perhaps another half-hour hold in there, so say 5 hours actual riding time to do it. That is an hour longer than it took them to do the first leg of the ride--if they are really ready to elevate, they should be capable of at least maintaining the pace they set in the first half, and in some cases even bettering it, particularly if they were riding conservatively with the idea of elevating in mind. They are riding for completion only at this point, so their actual time (other than meeting the cut-off time) is irrelevant. JMHO, but unless one can do the LD in that sort of a time frame or a tad faster with relative ease, one likely isn't going to be considering elevating anyway. Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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