The 2015 AOMM training rides sponsored by the Spartanburg Freewheelers will start in mid February and continue up to the AOMM. The rides will be each Saturday with 4-5 of the rides designated as official AOMM training rides. Rides will be between 60 – 100 miles and will become progressively more difficult by adding additional mountain climbs as we approach the AOMM. Rides will generally start in the Spartanburg or Landrum area. A tentative ride schedule will be posted in late January and obviously will be weather dependent. Ride announcements will be via the FW and eRide Yahoo group lists.

There will be a training ride every Saturday up thru Mitchell with 4-5 of the rides designated as official Freewheeler AOMM training rides, including this one. The schedule obviously will depend on the weather so watch for updates as the ride day approaches. In general we usually like to see temperature forecasts of at least 50 degrees in the area where we will be riding and low chances of rain. We usually don’t cancel rides for wind or wet roads at the start.

The first AOMM Training ride is Saturday, March 7th at 10:00 am 
(there will be an update posted on Friday afternoon if the weather changes for the worse - otherwise we go as planned) . Please be at the ride start and ready to ride at 10:00am.

Where: Landrum Ingles - (1851 Highway 14 E, Landrum, SC 29356) Take I26 West to exit 1, left across the bridge and the Ingles is on your right. Please park on the far right away from the store.

Ride info:  Route heads out thru Hunting Country to Mill Springs , up Green River Cove, over to Mine Mt and down Fork Creek (Pearson Falls) to Tryon, up and down Hogback Mt and back to the start. It’s 60 miles, 5100’ of climb and should take about 4.5 hours total for the A/B group. We will follow our usual Saturday eRide format ......... we'll regroup at all turns , stop signs , for mechanicals and anywhere else necessary . Climbs will be at your own pace and we will regroup at the top of all climbs.

Please come prepared to work with the group and we'll all get done in a safe and timely manner.

Store stops: We’ll have 1 store stop after the Green River Cove climb.

Route including cue sheet:

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/6935566

Looking for a ride leader for the B group. Contact me only if interested.

SAG – We hopefully will have one and will ask for a  $2-3 donation to help with their expenses and time.

Notes:
1) When we stop for any reason please move to the far right side of the road or off the road if possible . 
2) Please try to move to the right as soon as possible and 2 wide whenever someone says "car back". 
3) Please pass information forwards and backwards through the group for turns, holes, etc...... 
4) If you plan to leave the group, please move to the back of the group before your turn so as not to create confusion about the correct route for others.
5) Please be careful when moving around in the pack. We all count on each other to make predictable moves as the group rolls down the road and it's the quick, unpredictable moves that often cause accidents.
6) If you do experience mechanical issues or difficulty in maintaining the groups pace, please let us know ASAP so we can help you determine your best option.

If you choose to do the "A" group you will be expected to maintain contact with the group at all times between climbs. We will work with you if possible to keep you with the group but if you continue to struggle we will recommend you continue on your own. If you suspect you might not be ready for this level please consider the "B" group and bring a copy of the cue sheet with you in case you need it . As info, the "A" level ride will include many riders capable of doing the AOMM between 6 - 8 hours. 

Helmets are required to participate.

Routes will not be marked.

Rides are free.

The goals of the series include:

• Supplementing each participant’s training program for the Assaults.
  
• Providing participants opportunities to practice and improve upon group riding for a safe and successful Assaults ride.
  
• Introduce participants to sections of the Assaults course and Spartanburg County and surrounding area’s cycling courses.
  
• The rides in this series will be conducted as group rides and may or may not have sag support. Riders are asked to attend each ride as a self-sufficient cyclist—with proper equipment, knowledge of the courses (links provided prior to each posted ride), and the fitness necessary to complete each ride. Store stops will be used as needed, announced at the start of the ride.
  
• Area and club cyclists will be leading and participating in the rides to help new and experienced riders improve their fitness, group riding skills, and bike handling. Each ride will include a variety of distances and levels of ability with the goal of having packs stay together unless individual riders wish to ride alone.
  
• The rides are part of our popular Saturday eRide group rides led by Richard White in the Spartanburg area, meaning there will be a “lead” group that will ride together and maintain a B+/B pace with the intent of working together and providing everyone a successful ride.
  
• If the main group needs to split, we will have designated ride leaders who will take over the different groups and continue to lead them.

* Be sure to join the Freewheelers to get on their email ride list and also consider joining the eRide at yahoo! groups for more riding options.

Instructions:
The rides will be more fully defined the week of the ride. We will start with the 4000’ of climb on the first ride as a base and increase it about 1000’ per ride.

For the weeks in between, see the Freewheelers and eRide yahoo! user groups. There will be other rides with similar type of climbing – 2 may be the Table Rock ride (possibly 3/30) and a trip to Marion/Mitchell (possibly 5/4 or 5/11).

Richard White will lead the usual Saturday eRide / Freewheelers group and those interested in joining are welcome. We’ll do as usual… moderate effort/steady pace with regroups at stop signs, turns, mechanicals, and the top of climbs. Climbs will be at your own pace. Those not able to maintain the group pace between climbs should plan to ride solo or with others of similar ability. Those wanting cue sheets should print them out prior to ride arrival. Courses will not be marked.

Questions? Email Richard White richard.white@milliken.com