Now how in the hell have I used that title before?!?!
After work last night a coworker and I rode our bikes from work over to Free Flite in Sandy Springs to do their Wednesday night group ride. There was a small group assembled, perhaps seven, when we arrived and we were rolling by 6:30pm.
The course was advertised as 18 miles at an average pace of 13-15 mph, and no drop. Things went great for the first 5-10 miles at which point we regrouped before a long, slight incline followed by a much longer, steep, winding decline. There was a joke amongst the group about a guy who turned the wrong way at the bottom of the this decline and lost the group. I guess that the joke is now on me for I believe it was said “At the flashing yellow light don’t turn left.” but my mind registered “At the flashing yellow light turn left.” The incline split the group and when I reached the flashing yellow light at the bottom of the decline with no one around, I turned left. It was about halfway up the next incline I encountered after turning left that I realized that I had probably fucked up.
Will cellphone in hand I realized that I neither had the phone number of my coworker nor the skill (and knowledge of the course) to ride to catch the group. So I improvised my ride. About five minutes later my phone started to ring. My coworker, who had tracked down my cell phone number, called me to tell me that he had lost the group too. I explained my mess up, and fortunately we weren’t too far apart, so I rode to him. From there he and I created our own path back to the office.
If the MapMyRide app is to be believed I rode a little more than 22 miles last night, and during one of the severe declines hit a top speed of 48 mph(!).
A Return To Trivia
Tonight the three amigos, well two amigos and one amiga, will be returning to Midtown Tavern. There we will spend the $30 in house cash that we have earned in an attempt to win $30 to replace it.
It’s As If REI Was Reading My Mind (Or Blog)
Tomorrow I will be fighting the crowds at REI to spend my 2014 dividend as well as a lot more money on some new camping gear. I have decided to replace the 8-year-old tent whose tent pole I snapped last weekend with a new tent.
Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]
Good on you for completing your ride instead of getting frustrated and quitting. I have a fear of getting separated from a group like that and have pushed myself way too far into the red to keep up.
Does anybody here have experience with a Brooks saddle? I bought one last year and it may break me before I break it in. This thing is worse than sitting on the edge of a 2×4. I’m on the verge of giving up and selling it.
Three cheers for trivia! Now I’m picturing us all doing the Three Amigos salute (http://giphy.com/gifs/snl-saturday-night-live-chevy-chase-XzDVVNj2jS1Py)
Of course, being an idjiot, I forgot the winning certificate at home. D’oh! But as home is in direct route from brewery to tavern, I’ll just pop back up for it on my way. I am hoping clean-up goes quickly tonight so I can get there pretty fast, but apparently we have a running (whaaa? exercise?) group in tonight so it’s a crap shoot. Either way, I will get there ASAP and expect the two amigos to be in first place by time I do.
No experience with Brooks saddles, Bob. Sorry. I am going to have to improve my pedaling; I kept getting dropped because my stroke was not nearly as powerful as those immediately in front of me.
Stacy I hope for your sake that the running group is not the hash. 😉
We will be in first place because the amigo not named “Pablo” will be answering the question before my feeble brain can grok it. 🙂
I forgot to post this yesterday, and when I showed it to Debbie last night she absolutely hooted. This is what it’s supposed to look like with the podium girls.
http://www.nbcsports.com/cycling/toms-skujins-takes-over-tour-california-yellow-jersey
I hope the kid can pull it off- about time we got some young blood on the top step.
A quick run last night followed by AToC catch up for 2 days, then the last of American Idol.. 2 guys duked it out in the end. Could have gone either way.
And this unsolicited email this morning- “you’re team needs IT training”. Apparently, the writer needs to return to 3rd grade sentence building.
-FP
Bob – Benny has a Brooks saddle, ask him? Allan knows a lot about them, but he doesn’t have one.
Where is this downhill that you can get up to 48? DANG. I think the fastest I’ve even gone was low 40s on the Wheels of Fire ride.
We worked outside last night (carport has a roof & the garden needs help, but its getting there). Then went & fetched Sally from the airport. I’m so jealous of her being in Sedona for the last week. What a beautiful place.
Bob, my experience is with an Ideale, and it took a while for my ass to break in. I might take the Brooks off your… hands (??)!
Ha! I actually had the Wheelhoppers in once… it might be kind of fun to have the hash blow through one of these times. I found out it’s the weekly run that starts at Phidippides Atlanta (the sporting goods/running place at Ansley mall). According to their Facebook invite, over 250 people are saying they’re coming. Oh sweet Jesus. This should be interesting. 😉
That boy looks like he is 14. Great video.
He really does. I’m amazed how good his English is. Very little accent for a Croatian.
BTW – I just saw they are expecting snow for today’s TT stage – might have to watch later.
wait – I see its Friday’s TT. but, either way, if its snowing, that might make it interesting.
There are three spots along this ride where it might be possible, the most likely of which occurs on Northside Drive south near the Chattahoochie.
They are moving the TT out of Big Bear and down to the coast. Announced late last night.
I just happened to be down in Law Enforcement actually working, and it’s Police Appreciation week and the firing range was open. I killed a paper target and only took 2.9 seconds to kill 3 balloons! Of course, some show off did the balloon challenge in 0.9 seconds.
And probably anywhere BUT the Fed it would be inappropriate to hang the paper target you killed in your office!
was the pace really 13-15? I’m wondering if I could keep up at all. Most group rides are way too fast compared to what they say they will be.
My average pace for the entire journey, according to MapMyRide, was 13.4 mph. That being said I had a hard time keeping with the front 3 or 4 people.
I will say that they did have strategic stopping points where they waited for those who stayed “on trail” to catch up, so it really was a “no drop” ride.
Barb I don’t think I have ever been to a group ride that did their advertised pace. All it takes is one meathead at the front to pick it up a little and the other meatheads follow suit. Next thing you know the group is totally blown up.
Bob- that is why I rarely do a group ride. The Roswell thursday night ride C group had a couple people that wanted to be in the B group but couldn’t hang, so they tried to kill all the rest of us.
I really need to get on the bike, hopefully tonight we can fit in a ride.
It’s the following meatheads that are the problem. If someone wants to ride away, let them go! The closest group ride for me is Peachtree City, and the only time I did it, I wasn’t impressed. There is a club based in Newnan, but when I’ve seen them go by, it looks like a hammerfest- those days are long gone for me.
I’m going to try to ride Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays from now until RAGBRAI — weather permitting, of course.