Anyone else riding the Mersey 24 with support?
Maybe we could combine our supproters efforts?
Liz/Charlotte, it may be handy to practice taking a bottle on the move.
Annie, you need to hold the bidon at the
bottom and hold it upright.
then the snatcher can grab the bottle by the thin section three quarters of the way up the bottle. It's easier if you do this on an uphill section so that the riders are going slower when they grab the bottle*, but not too steep.
*Allthough, I have taken a bottle at 27mph before.
The officials are no longer allowed to do this. it costs me time and is a pain if you are riding without hep, to have to keep stopping to fill your bottles.
Annie, also bring two foldable as comfy as possible chairs, warm blankets, a watch to make sure they don't stop too long (you have to be mean sometimes) any food they will like.
It's worth learning some coded signals so that you have a choice of drinks to hand up. EG 2 fingers or shoutng "Two" means they want tea. You get the bidon with tea ready for them before they reach you. "One" could mean orange juice, or whatever.
Wet sponges are very good if it's hot. You basically have to do all the practical stuff for them, even dressing them will help. Marina Bloom put about 2 miles on me once, by having her support crew put her clothes on, whereas I had to jump off my bike and dress myself at the bag drop.
You'll probably need to shout at the a lot at night too.
If you can get help as a supporter, then do. It's not easy helping. The more the better, usualy.
I think that you would enjy helping Charlotte and liz on a 24. There's a good atmosphere on this event and most people tend to help each other out as much as they can.
Hope to see you there Annie
