Ames Velo:  Spring'23 Mini-Camp and Group Ride Orientation

Join the club for a week of training camp style versions of our regular weekly rides.  Most of these have versions that suit different abilities, along with a few multi-surface/gravel rides.
Not an Ames Velo rider?  No problem!  Come out and enjoy the fun.

Stay up to date on these and other rides/events at the Ames Velo Group Rides Facebook Page.


Don't forget to place your Spring Team Kit order! 

Not a member yet? No problem!  We will be opening Club Registration soon, so go ahead and place your team kit order now!  Hurry, spring order window closes soon!
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​Day 1 (March 27th, 2023): Monday Coffee Cruz

Start Time: 5:30pm
Meeting Location: Burgie’s North (3701 Stange Rd, Ames, IA 50010)
Time Estimate: 50 min or 1.5 hours
Road Surface: Pavement
Route Link: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/149463993
Joining AV orientation for the whole week or just a few days, this recovery ride is a great way to start off your week. Come for the coffee or to get the lactic acid out of your legs. This route is a preview of the weekend to come.
The goal of this ride is to allow everyone to spin their legs in their recovery heart rate zone. This two lap course will allow you to spin for twelve or twenty four miles depending on your fitness level. Lastly start or finish the ride with a coffee or snack from Burgie’s North. This location is an excellent starting point for northbound gravel and road routes.

​Day 2 (March 28th, 2023): X Avenue Pacelining and Workouts

Start Time: 5:30pm
Meeting Location: Ames Cycling Center (3600 University Blvd, Ames, IA 50010)
Time Estimate: 1.5 Hours
Road Surface: PAVEMENT
Route Link: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/149466581

X avenue has been a staple for years. Whether you want to work on group dynamics or complete a workout without being interrupted by pesky elevation changes, X avenue can suit many different levels of Riders.
Day two will allow riders the opportunity to either work on their smooth changes through a paceline, or push through their scheduled workout. No need to worry about getting dropped. Easy pacing out to X avenue and a regroup will ensure all riders come back together. 

Day 3 (March 29th, 2023): Radio Tower Out and Back

Start Time: 5:30pm
Meeting Location: Burgie’s North (3701 Stange Rd, Ames, IA 50010)
Time Estimate: 2 Hours
​Ride Surface: PAVEMENT
Route Link: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/65755696

​Mid-week volume is a great way to boost or maintain your endurance throughout the season. Although the full Radio Tower route is great, this out and back route allows for several groups to break up and regroup on the way back into town.
The goal of this ride is to boost your volume in the middle of the week, we are not looking to dig ourselves into a hole before the weekend. There are plenty of rolling hills and stop ahead signs to sprint to. But be warned, going too hard on this ride can set you up for an even more difficult weekend. The plan is to do endurance or zone two heart rate for the entirety of the ride. If you want to attack hills or sprint for signs just be ready to jump back in the group.

​Day 4 (March 30th, 2023): TechThursday / Hilton High Speed Sprints

Start Time: 5:30pm
Meeting Location: Hilton Coliseum (1705 Center Dr, Ames, IA 50011)
Time Estimate: 1.5 Hours
​Road Surface: PAVEMENT
Route Link: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/150109616

​The majority of this week is centered around building fatigue through aerobic endurance work. That doesn’t mean you can’t still learn something about leadouts, pacelines, and your final 200m sprint. 
With the expansion of the Hilton coliseum parking lot we have a criterium style course that is even better than before. We will work in small groups to do laps at endurance pace followed by a few short practice leadouts.
Are you new to group riding, come out and slow the pace down to practice safely navigating technical corners and courses.
Groups will come back together for a social spin over to the cemetery where we will work together on pacelines and riding in a larger group.  

​Day 5 (March 31st, 2023): Friday Night Recovery Beer Ride

Start Time: 5:30pm
Meeting Location: Ames Cycling Center (3600 University Blvd, Ames, IA 50010)
Time Estimate: 1 hour
Road Surface: Mixed Surface/Gravel/Pavement
Route Link: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/150331935

​Come to our second social ride of the week. Jump on this multisurface ride starting from Ames Cycling Center and enjoy an easy spin. The ride will head west on gravel roads south of town before heading back southeast and past Kelly. The bike path following university to 6th street will take us the final stretch to Torrent Brewing Company.
Have a beer, soda, or just enjoy good company. Stay for a short time or until close, but be sure to bring headlights for a safe ride home.

CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER
Day 6 (April 1st, 2023): Rolling Endurance Laps

Start Time #1: 9:00am
Start Time #2: 12:30pm
Meeting Location & Parking: Christ Community Church
(5501 George Washington Carver Ave, Ames, IA 50010)
Time Estimate: 5 Hours, 6 laps
Road Surface: Pavement
Route Link: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/150111952

​Ride Description: 
Whether your goal is one hour, five hours, or ten hours, this course’s main strength is the ability for riders to jump on and off of a group at any time during the ride. Feel free to start whenever you want to, but the main group will roll out from Christ Community Church parking lot at 9 am. 
Enjoy a coffee or crepe at Lockwood Cafe (4625 Reliable St #3713, Ames, IA 50014) half way through the ride. We will then restart from this location back on the same route.
Want to jump in/out?  Just follow the route backwards until you find the group and jump in!

Day 7 (April 2nd, 2023): ACC Sunday Gravel Mania

  • Multi-surface ride focused around gravel.
  • The day will be broken up into several sections to allow riders to drop in/out with a progressive increase in difficulty throughout the day.
  • This ride will also include free snacks and drinks compliments of Ames Velo (pop, water, beer, cookies, bagels, etc.)
  • Parking will be at Ames Fitness Center / Ames Cycling Center - 3600 University - Ames
INTRO TO GRAVEL  -- 1:00 pm
​INTERMEDIATE GROUP RIDE -- Wave 1 @ 2:00pm / Wave 2 @ 3:15pm
  • This ride is for experienced riders, but is open for riders making the transition to moderate paced rides.
  • This will also be a loop oriented ride and will sweep back through the race campus approximately each hour.
  • Due to this week's crazy weather, we will make route choices prior to the rides
  • This is an example route we might be using:  AV GRVL Curtis Farm   https://www.strava.com/routes/3076541531482005308



This will be the first of several consecutive weekend multi-surface/gravel rides revolving around Ames Cycling Center.

​AV GRVL Curtis Farm

AV Gravel Goodness