65 MILE TUNE UP ~~ MENTAL PREP

What kind of ride is the 65 Mile Audax Tune Up? First off, it’s an Audax style ride. That means the group will stay together. No one gets left behind. One for all, and all for one! That will take some discipline. Climbers will need to moderate a bit, descenders will use some brake, and the big diesels will have to tone it down. Some gentle pacelining will be very useful.

Communications: Please feel free to let folks know what’s going on. If you are having trouble with your bike, or the pace, let someone know! Even more importantly, pass the word forward and back. Don’t assume that the leader knows someone has dropped off the back…. Pass the word! Don’t assume the leader knows that the trailing rider has caught up… Pass the word!

The route:
Leg 1 We will leave Peachtree City the hard way, riding north on the Peachtree Parkway. Up those hills. It’s only three miles. Then we pass through Tyrone, and proceed on to Palmetto. That takes care of the first 14 miles. We make our first stop in Palmetto. This will be a short one. Hit the head, fill bottles, make any adjustments that are necessary. The we ride.

Leg 2 We leave Palmetto, and ride mostly downhill to the Chattahoochee. Once we cross the “Hootch,” we’ll be climbing again, until we intercept GA-166. We’ll turn right on 166 and do the big rollers on the western bluffs above the “Hootch.” We’ll be heading north, up river, so each roller gets a little shorter than the one before. The road flattens out as we close on GA-92. At 92 we turn right, cross the river again, and come to the second stop. This leg is 25 miles long, so we’ve done close to 40 miles of this ride. We take a bit longer break at this point. Get something to eat, fill your bottles, sit down and take it easy.

Leg 3 We enter the “Chattahoochee Hill Country,” and climb up out of the river valley. This leg is about 14 miles, and takes us to an optional store stop, just outside of Fairburn. We will stop if a significant number of the group need it, otherwise we’ll keep going and finish the ride.

Leg 4 The Home Stretch. We’ll come back into Fayette County from the north. This leg is just a little longer than 10 miles. We wind our way down through the county, only encountering the occasional hill. There are a couple of long “grinders” on this last leg, including “the Beast” on Flat Creek Trail. There’s a short stretch on GA-54, and then some nice side road sections and path sections. Then we’re done.

In summary:
Leg 1 = 15 minutes of grunting, followed by 45 minutes of breath and cruise.
Leg 2 = two hours of cruise and climb, each climb followed by a “boomer” descent.
Leg 3 = 45 minutes of step climb followed by 15 to 20 minutes of relatively flat cruising.
Leg 4 = an hour of gentle hills and declines with the occasional grunt.

Honest, this is a good bit tougher than the actual Audax Ride. It’s a good gauge of your prep. It’s fun in its own right. Come on along.