SAG info | Tailwind Cyclists, Inc

sag operations

Keeping everyone safe!

We're changing our SAG style to keep everyone safe this year. Riders will pick up a food boat after sanitizing their hands and walk down a row of tables getting served cafeteria style by our helpful workers. Riders stay on one side of the sneeze guard holding their food boat and SAG workers dish up the foods you want.

How things will be laid out

We'll have hand sanitizer all over. Riders must use the quick dry, no residue sanitizer before grabbing a bowl and entering the serving line. Riders do not have to wear masks but should stay with their ride group and maintain some distance from riders outside of your pack. Riders must also sanitize their hands before filling up their bottles.

Drink up!

Our water dispensers are all being outfitted with new flip valves that reduce touching to the bare minimum. Riders will be required to sanitize their hands before filling up bottles and must make sure the bottle does not touch the spigot. Pre-measured Gatorade powder portions will be set out in Dixie Cups so that you can hydrate while only touching your own powder.

Watch and learn

Gorilla Century promoter Roger shows you our SAG procedure in this short video. We can have a great ride and stay safe with just a few simple precautions.

SAGs don't last forever

All our SAGs have hours of operation that are based on a max speed of 25mph and a minimum speed of 10mph with a 7:30 AM start time. Our workers like helping out but they have lives too. If you start early or late or are spending too much time at each SAG you can run out of time and miss the cut off! SAG hours of operation will be posted on the map and included on the GPS route cues you can download.

Take an hour off your century time!

How to take an hour off your century time!

Everyone wants quicker 100 mile times and the easiest way to speed your century up is to reduce the amount of time you stand still.

Here’s my best SAG procedure when doing a hundred miler.

1 – Force myself to drink extra water as I approach the SAG (hydrate always)

2 - Bathroom if needed then wash hands

3 - Fill bottles

4 - Grab a little food (don't gorge) but wolf it down like someone’s trying to steal it while pounding more liquids

5 - Top off bottles (hydrate always)

6 - Hit the road!

SAG stops are a necessity but all too often they turn into a social event as we mill around the feed trough. With 8 SAG stops on the Gorilla Century it’s incredibly easy to burn an extra hour (just 7 ½ minutes per stop) by getting a little too relaxed.

Don’t miss that 2 PM century cut off point just because you spent too long flapping your gums at the SAG’s!

The big killer is the temptation to “let the legs rest” for a few minutes. That few minutes quickly turns into 15 or 20 and you’ll have to start off with cold, stiff legs that kill your average.

Pick one or two SAG’s that you’ll spend more time at for a bigger refuel (40 & 80 miles works good for me) but even at those I try not to spend any more time than needed so my legs don’t seize up. I'll plan to skip one or two where I'm OK and don't really need to stop.

At short SAG stops where I don’t need a lot it’s a matter of grab a banana or some niblets and drink then roll to keep my momentum going.

Move through your SAG’s efficiently and quickly and watch your total ride time drop. You’ll have more time and (really) more energy at the end of the day to do whatever you want for recovery.

Hope this helps!

Author Roger Lomshek has done some pretty long miles in his day including one 800 mile week, years of 300+ mile weeks, hundreds of centuries and one sub 4 hour century in the Hotter ‘n Hell Hundred Pro 1-2 race.