Hi all!
I talked to Jenn and with her schedule she needs to focus on things other than DCC right now so for the time being I will be hosting the Deer Creek ride. Nothing is changing from years past so everyone is welcome from expert mountain goats to novices.
If you have any questions feel free to reach out to me.
Tom
Jenn says it best so here is her description of the ride....
Crazy that I am, yet again, writing a description for this weekly Deer Creek Hill Climb ride which has become quite a popular ride over the past several years. It is not uncommon that we can often have 25 plus riders, of all levels. (weather pending, of course!)
For those who have ridden it in the past, it is the same ride. So no need to read too much farther:)
For those who have never done it, the following ride description is for you! Hope to see everyone (long time attendees and especially new folks)
Format: An "out and back" hill climb ride. Meaning that it is friendly for ALL levels since we literally all ride up the hill, get to the top, and turn around. We ride at our own pace (which is critical to having fun..no one is trying to kill each other; everyone is just out for fitness and truly does not care how fast or slow everyone else goes) Faster riders can go ahead and newer riders can ride at their own pace knowing that we will all see one another again because we all have to turn around and go back to the same starting point
Distance: It is a round trip ride. From the starting point/cars, it is 8 miles UP the hill. Then 8 miles back down the hill. So 8 miles of uphill and working hard and then 8 miles of relatively easy riding back down the hill to our cars.
Fun Factor: This group strives to make sure that everyone has fun. No matter what level of experience. I personally want to make sure that every new person really knows that it matters to me that they showed up (because I know how hard it can be to just take that first ride with any group...and I do not want anyone to feel intimidated! Believe it or not, sometimes, even after all of these years, I feel nervous, too...and heck, I am the group leader!) No one cares how fast or slow you are or what you are wearing or whether or not this is your very first bike and ride ever:)
Weather Considerations: Two things in this area-first,darkness....in the early spring, we will be limited greatly by sunset. It is a canyon so when the sun goes down, it gets dark pretty fast. In early spring, I will set a time limit. In other words, I will request that everyone turns around at a certain time so we can get back to our cars in a safe manner.
Second weather consideration-clothing. Climbing up the hill, you will often times be quite warm. Consequently, if you are dressed TOO warmly, you will sweat (ok, women, we will glisten) a lot. This becomes an issue for the return trip-the more drenched your clothes are, the colder you will be for the ride back down the hill. So, bring layers….layers to take off for the ride up the hill and layers to put on for the ride back down. And GLOVES! Warm gloves or mittens (don’t even need to be cycling ones). Having frozen hands for riding back down the hill is very dangerous. You need to be able to feel your hands to safely use your brakes:)