Saturday, April 2, 2011

Nifty Ten Fifty Pre Flight Notes

A Few Pre-Flight Tips:

• Please arrive 30 minutes before start time. We try to roll on time. Rider's meeting 5 min. before start. Be courteous, be punctual. Nifty Lite riders, your leader is Janet DeHaven. B Riders, your leader is Bill Oldham, A Riders, Paul McKenzie is your leader. I'm not trying to make this thing sound all serious, but peeps like to get rolling and it's respectful to be on time. I will have route sheets and will leave a few extra on the windshield of the Subaru in case you are late.

• I have added a GPS file for the Return to Start from the finish of the ride on Vollmer Peak.

• We will be meeting after the ride for food and beer, location TBD, probably Picante or Lane Splitter. Showers may be available at our home for a just a few out of town riders if needed. We cannot accommodate a large group. Bring a towel.

• Meet on Pomona Ave in El Cerrito, turn South off of Moeser and go about 100m, and park at the Southern end of the diagonal parking. This puts us closest to the rest rooms. I found my Camo Truvativ Ball Cap, and will wear that so you can I.D. me. My silver Subaru Impreza will the there too. Find me and ask any questions you may have.

• There are bathrooms at the start, but they are locked. I have keys. Please take the key from me and return immediately when you are done so I have it for the next person. Don't exit the bathroom and leave the key locked inside!

• Am counting my lucky stars as far as the weather, it should be a great day!

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The 10th Annual Nifty is set for the first Sunday in April as always, April 3rd this year. That's right folks, the Nifty celebrates its 10th Anniversary this Sunday! Start place will be the same as 2010, Moeser and Pomona Ave's in El Cerrito. And we'll have new, earlier start times as requested by some riders. Nifty Lite and B ride will start at 8:30 AM and the A ride will start at 9:00 AM. Stay tuned for updates to this post.

What to Bring: Please bring positive attitude, low gears, enough food for the first 2-3 hours of riding, and a little money for coffee and bakery goods later in the ride. Ride times are actual roll times. If you're late you'll miss the start and be on your own!

Coffee/Breakfast: Coffee, pastries and full-on hearty breakfast is available at Fat Apple's Restaurant in El Cerrito within a half mile of the start. There is also a Starbucks and a Peets
coffee house, both within 1 mile of the start.

Nifty FAQ: We've now added a Nifty FAQ section. Let me know if anything should be added...

WEATHER: Perfect riding weather is forecast for Sunday. After cooling off a bit on Saturday, Sunday should be sunny and clear with a high of 66 degrees. Chance of precipitation is 0%. Sat. night low will be 49 degrees. Looks like most riders will be in jersey and shorts, maybe start with arm warmers and knee warmers.

Water: (Update: As of Sat. morning, the water fountain is up and running, not sure if bathrooms are operational yet, Porta Potties still at Brazil Room). The water is currently out at Island Picnic area near Brazil Room where we stop. I will have extra water in jugs in the car. Depending on the turnout, we may ask riders to just have a drink, top off one bottle, then refill at Sibley Park after climb #6. I will make this announcement at the ride start. I'm hopeful they'll have everything repaired by the weekend as this affects the bathroom as well. Porta-Potties are available at Brazil Room, about 100m from our stop, so we will have what we need, just slightly less convenient.

GPS data: GPS data for the Nifty is now available. See post above and let me know if you are having any difficulty. You simply download from Garmin connect. I pre-rode the course on Tuesday, my lack of fitness "painfully" obvious. The ride is also posted on
Strava. BTW, if you haven't checked out strava.com, it's something you need to do. Check out this Strava Tour Video.

Elverton Rd. closed to traffic, but an easy portage on the bike.

Course Condition:

Obviously the bad weather has taken its toll on the roads. However, the entire course is open save for one small slide on Elverton, Climb #8. It's an easy 50' portage. Other than that, as of Tuesday, lots of wet spots, and a lot of gravel and debris in the road. This means we have to exercise some caution on the descents. If you choose to run light weight racing tires, you'd better be watching carefully for sharp little rocks that are common in the East Bay Hills. Other than that, the normal cracks and pot holes on the smaller back roads. Traction is good on all the steep climbs, so no issue there.

Feel free to contact me about the ride, macpaulster@gmail.com

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