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No Boss, No Rain, Yes Wind

6/30/2009

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While Craig B is the unquestioned Boss of the peloton, pre-ride activities are presided over by the boss of the parling lot, sometimes referred to as "Sarge", Donna O, shown on the right with Peggy.  Donna rules the parking lot with an iron fist and most of us become trembling, weak kneed and spineless in her presence.  She can and has blackballed cyclists for violating rules.  No appeal, just one day the cyclist is there and the next he is not.  Fear the Parking Lot Boss!


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Mitch O, a great guy and never without a large set of keys attached to his waist.  They must be the spare set for opening the President's "football" of nuclear codes because the keys are never out of sight.  Mitch even snaps them onto his cycling shorts.


The evening's early buzz was speculation over The Boss' whereabouts.  Craig rarely misses the Tuesday beat-down and we refused to believe we may escape being taken to the woodshed until 6:00pm arrived. In Craig's place were the usual assortment of Bianchi Bi twosome, 3 Jenis, 3 Walker guys, Mitch T, Steve O, Jeff, Kevin H, Randy D, Retro George, Andrew and several other strong types.

On the drive to Canal, noting the 21mph west winds, I speculated that Psycho Router Ryan would have created a hilly route east with a return on wide open roads into that wind. However, Ryan had more important things to do, at the hospital for the birth of his first child (hope all went well).  With Craig gone, it appeared everyone thought they could hang with the A group so at least 24 cyclists started out and the pace was amazingly easy as we headed southwest on Winchester.  The strong wind may have been making things difficult at the front but I was ensconced safely behind Randy D, a wide-body, and to my right was a tall rider, Kevin H.  I spent more time coasting and braking then peddling.  At some point, Steve urged George to start a break and George took off, even riding inches from the centerline to help exploit the break but it was not to be.  Way in the back, I did notice the pace picked up a little and I had to momentarily stop talking with Randy (who I noticed, has a peddling speed that slows the faster he talks).  
Eventually we neared the turn left onto Ashville Fairfield and the long uphill with a few steepish ramps. It appeared there were 4-5 guys in front of me who may have a problem with the hills so I planned to cut inside the turn and advance up the peloton but at the front, with the wind behind now following the turn, the hammer was dropped.  I was rider #25 out of 25 at the back and a gap began to open in front of Randy but he was a real trooper and rode hard to close.  About that time, Kevin H went to the left to try to bridge another gap and I jumped on his wheel.   He put in a good pull and as we approached one of the ramps, a Walker guy passed and I jumped on his wheel.  We reached the top with a small gap behind and a large one in front but a Bianchi B1 guy came around and the three of us took turns at the front and we bridged across to the next group which included Andrew and I think Jeff S.  The uphill continued with more ramps and more separation but we now had a core group of 5-6 and  were making up ground on the lead group with Andrew in his aeros, pulling us.  As we approached the stop sign at 674 we just caught the back of the lead group but we were pooped (the lead group was comprised of Steve, 2 Jeni’s 1-2 Walkers, Mitch T and 1-2 others).  Turning right there is a steep hill before a downhill to turn onto Fosnough School Road and then follow its circuitous route up to Ridge.  Somehow I had gotten ahead of Andrew but hopelessly behind the lead group so I sat up and waited for whoever came next. Andrew was not giving up and he steamed by.  Here came Jeff S, driving those calves with piston like precision pulling Kevin H and I gladly caught on.  Andrew eventually gave up the chase and joined our merry band, as did another guy who had dropped from the leaders. We kept up a good pace over to Rockmill and had a 21mph average at mile 33 when I took a minor shortcut so I could fulfill my cub reporter duty of describing the arrival of the leader.  Rolled into the parking lot with 41 miles and a 20.8 average, just ahead of Steve O and 5 others, all of whom had stayed together.  No one said they missed Craig, who had to stay late at work.  He must be gnashing his teeth over the missed ride.

Notes:  Peggy is leading an excellent and very hilly roving ride out of Circleville.  Check the COP website for info.  

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Saturday & Misc

6/29/2009

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Saturday's ride for me was uneventful and not worth a ride report but did see some interesting stuff on which to comment:  Our group was pausing on its way to Mt. Vernon for a map check when a large group of 15-20 cyclists flew by and I noted Greg Hall was in the mix.  I caught the group and Greg told me they were headed to Apple Valley and as I dropped back I saw a chase car following with food and drinks.  Now that's a group ride I'd like.

While waiting at the gas station/market in Martinsbrug, I was talking to a big guy who was a few feet away to my right, leaning against his motorcycle.  An older guy of around 65 came walking from my left, passed in front of me and says to the motorcyclist, "Kind of hot to be riding a motorcycle."  What?!?!?!?  The old guy hung around talking about riding his own motorcycle and it sounded like he did it alot  At the end of the conversation, the old guys says, "I put my wife in a nursing home, I retired and I ride all the time.  I'm having a great time." I wondered which of those events created the greatest relief, wife in nursing home, being retired or getting out to ride a lot.

Kevin H has the following mountain bikes he is trying to sell for a friend, each for $750. You can contact Kevin at beckster@dandkentertainment.com. Kevin believes these to be a very good deal.

2004 Giant NRS

Med 18.5” Blue

Full XT component including V-Brakes

Shimano XT trigger shifters

XTR Front and rear derailleurs

Rockshox Sid shock (rebuilt by hippie tech suspension) unridden

Fox 80 RLT front fork

Thomson Stem

Mavic Crosslink Wheel set

Frame in excellent condition

2004 Giant NRS

Large 20.5” Blue

Race Face Next Crank set (square taper)

Sram X9 trigger shifter

XO rear derailleur

XT front derailleur

Ritchey Pro Stem

Thomson Seat post

Easton Monkey lite (carbon) riser bar

Mavic Crossmax ceramic wheel set

Avid SD 7 V-Brakes

Avid speed dial ti brake levers

Fork (Manitou Skareb super SPV – 80mm) brand new


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I have tried for many years to grow corn and each year been thwarted by raccoons who circumvent every defense to destroy the plants before I can harvest.  This year, I brought the corn onto the back deck where I can monitor and provide a better array of defensive weapons, including a dog, motion detector and tripwire that springs sharpened bamboo shoots across a common entry point and lastly, an emergency teargas bomb that is released if a corn stalk is pulled from its container.  The image shows something I have not seen from my corn plants before, an emerging something that I think is called a tassel.  My plants have never progressed this far.  I am cautiously optomistic and if ears are ever harvested, I will bring them to the Tuesday and Thursday COP rides and share, along with the cucumbers and peppers and even the tomatos. We can munch on them while climbing Revenge.


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Hottttttttttt But Dry--New Albany

6/25/2009

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Jeff S, our dedicated route maker and leader who arrives at least an hour before the start time to claim a coveted spot at the school's parking lot in New Albany.  Jeff is one of the most considerate cyclists I know.  For example, when pulling at the front, he will not shout, "Car Up!", unless the vehicle has already gone well over the center line and is making a beeline for us, or at least for him.  I guess he doesn't want to worry us.  As far as road debris, his focus is so extraordinary that he ignores everything except for boulders that would stop a cyclist cold, road holes that would swallow a bike or deer, bear, Sasquatch or similar sized carcus.  Ordinary pot holes, road kill, stones, rock, gravel and that sort of thing is ignored because he doesn't want to bother those behind him.   What a guy.  Oh, he also likes to take long pulls and then drop back only to become impatient and roar back to the front for another long pull.  He likes to sacrifice his comfort for ours.  Some are offended by the manuever but they don't understand the kindness and self sacrifice by this man.


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Dennis of course, polishing his steed.  Next to Steve Oxley, Dennis is the most fashion conscious cyclist I know.  Note the rims match the jersey and how about that bright orange Orbea frame?  Black shorts match black bike accents.  One cool dude who continues to ride solely so he can finally drop me, as he always does at some point in the year.  This year taking a little longer because the big goof ate too much over the winter.


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SuperDave.  A nickname given to him by others, several years ago when he was, well, super.  Never saw the guy stand to climb, preferring to ride while seated, no matter how difficult the climb. He's been domesticated and is now just like many of us who have been tamed by wives, family, work and other obligations. Always good to see him come out.


Given the forecast, heat, humidity and GOBA, I was surprised to see a nice crowd of 30 show up for the ride.  With GOBA especially competing, it seemed there were no B or C riders.  Lots and lots of racer types and strong A's, with probably as many as 25 starting out with the A group.  We motored out old 161 and a nice pace that kept everyone together then Terry, who has made rare appearances on Thursday but who is clearly just as strong as usual, went to the front and pulled hard for a long time.  This shelled many with maybe 8-9 of us making the turn onto Jersey Mill and that long, downhill section.  The group hammered and the speed quickly sent me out the back, unable to maintain the constant low to high 30mph descent (the only downside to having a compact crank).  The gap was so large I could not catch on and soft peddled until a nice group of Dennis, Greg H, Kevin & another guy came along and we rode together into Granville.  Kevin had dropped back so I waited for him, intending to go up Thornwood on to New Burg and catch back up with Dennis' group.  Unfortunately, I did not see Kevin so took the 1/4 mile shortcut and regrouped, which included Jeff S.  We rode back to New Albany on a nice route and many complimented Jeff for his fine route making.  Now, not to be a backbench critic but I do wonder why our routes stay at 40-42 miles when daylight would allow for a 50-55 mile epic.  We arrived back in the parking lot with 43 miles and a 20.3 average.  Jeff showed us a weather radar screen that had an upside down shaped "U" of green and red surrounding us but other than a very brief sprinkle, we had stayed dry.

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Summer Solstice Canal Ride!

6/24/2009

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The Summer Solstice Ride is of unknown origin but I do remember Brad the Dentist hosting it as far back as the late 1990's.  It was then a Wednesday Canal ride rather than today's Tuesday start day but has always been held on whichever Canal ride fell closest to June 21.  The route usually was flatish towards Amanda before heading southeast via Clearcreek Road to Revenge and then up that famous climb over to the prison and down Christmas Rock and a fairly hilly return.  Now that the route is in the hands of Psycho Sadist Routemaker Ryan, the route finished with a climb up Slough, before finishing the 53 miles back behind Shades Restaurant.

Flying Tuna said she was going to arrive a little early and so, with the heat and kind of not feeling too motivated these days, I pounced on an opportunity to maybe ride at a very slightly easier pace and hook up with Cindy.  I arrived at the parking lot at 5:00 and Tuna was already on her bike, looking very anxious to leave. Fortunately, no one else was that early and by 5:20, a group consisting of Pastor Mark, Cindy, Dennis, Kevin H, Randy D, Kenda Dave, Kenda Janet, Kenda Rick, Kenda John? and 1-2 others rolled out, way ahead of The Boss and
whichever heavy hitters would come out to start at 6:00.  Various other riders left between us and them and two, Eve H and Steve, left before us.  Probably 60 cyclists participated in what is the premier event on the evening ride calendar.

Pastor Mark, fresh off his assault on Pittsburg ride, seemed content to pull us all the way to Amanda and we all were content to draft along at what was an easier pace.  At one point however, Kenda Dave dropped into his aero bars and powered away and naturally that compels others to try to catch.  During the chase I tried to organize a group expulsion for Dave because, A--there is an unwritten rule that aero bars are not to be used during group rides, B--he was riding harder than I wanted and C--he was wearing a white jersey and only sissies wear white jerseys, making a rare exception for Steve O who only wears white for fashion reasons.  I quickly brought the motion to a vote and by throwing my voice, just as quickly got several "Ayes".  Dennis sprang from the group and I jumped on his tail, only too happy to deliver the news to Dave that he had been expelled. Dennis bridged the gap and I gave the verdict but Dave defended himself with several extenuating circumstance pleas and we allowed him to continue with us. Eventually we cruised into Amanda and took a break. 

On the pleasant ride down, there had been speculation about how quickly Craig's group would catch us, with most guessing shortly after the Christmas Rock downhill. quite a feat considering we had left 40 minutes early. After only a few minutes at the Amanda gas station, Kenda Dave was anxious to get
going because of a side bet he had with the other Kenda cyclists over who would arrive at the top of Revenge first so noticing he was preparing to leave, Dennis and I hooked up with him and left everyone else.  We rode at a nice pace to the foot of Revenge where Dave, satisfied none of the Kenda folks would now overtake him, slid off so as to enjoy the many switchbacks and steep ramps up Revenge.  I too had hoped for a reasonable pace but that damn Dennis attacked!  What to do, what to do? Hot, tired, sweaty and desirous of not riding hard, but he was throwing down the gauntlet. We had a battle royale, certainly what would have reminded observers of Pantani v Armstrong or Armstrong v Ullrich or something similar.  At the top we waited on Dave and noticed a vast prison population was out in the yard.  Soon Dave rode by and we coasted down Christmas Rock and then turning onto Stoney Hill, Dennis attacked again, and again and all the way into Canal, even up and over Slough.  The guy was feeling his oats and wanted to hurt me but the upside was our pace setting had kept us ahead of Boss' group.  About 100 yards from the Canal sign I said, "Well, we made it ahead of the Boss" and no sooner had I uttered the words, Craig cruised beside us, having dropped everyone as far back as the top of Revenge.  Get this, he had already run 6 miles earlier in the day and yet still can come out and ride at a 21.3mph pace over 53 miles, 2800' of climbing and no one can stay with him.  Unreal. Dennis and my pace was quite a bit slower, 18.8mph average but I forgot to turn off the computer at a stop so maybe our pace was a littl.  Many people retired to Shades for a cold drink.

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Brutal Blue Jay

6/20/2009

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Flying Tuna loves the attention that she gets prior to the ride start.  Menwhile, Mark slaves away painting road markings, recruiting riders, calling the County to make sure there will be no road closures and frets about rider satisfaction.  Tuna stands in front of a copier for 5 minutes and then preens in front of everyone at the ride start and thinks she is overworked.  Life is not fair.


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Coming temporarily out of retirement was Group Killer, who seemed to enjoy the camaraderie that can never be found running alone on the bike paths. However, he keeps telling me about all the soccer moms he oggles as he runs past.  Sick.


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Cindy so loves the Tuna nickname that she has begun to wear a rhyming jersey.


We had a decent turnout for what many consider to be the Queen of the roving ride series, the daunting Blue Jay ride.  So named because the route takes us out BJ where we climb over 800' to Brownsville Road and then at the end of the ride, we return on BJ, with 700' of climbing.  Probably a few people decided not to attend based on the previous evening's forecast which was wrong.  At the start, we had cloudy skies and 15 mph winds out of the northwest but the rain was long gone.

Being a good host, I started with the last of the pack to make sure everyone made it through the confusing downtown of Newark.  I picked up the pace and emerging from Blue Jay, rode for awhile with Stefano, that Italian guy who works for Kenda.  At the top of Brownsville I grouped up with Rick H, Beth H, Tuna and another cyclist and we had a good ride into Zanesville, where Jamie, Craig, George and Steve were resting.

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At the market in Z-ville, some riders like Amanda, arrived looking kind of fresh while....


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....Peggy & others looked a little beleaguered and wishing they had followed the previous night's forecast for rain.


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We left the market with a large group but got kind of strung out, finally arriving at Toboso, where the start to an optional 27 mile loop was available.  Just before, I stopped to snap the unusual wood carving from a front yard.  Craig, Steve, George and Jamie headed for the extra miles while most headed south for the return on Blue Jay.  For me, three straight days of cycling had taken its toll and I wanted nothing but a flat return so I headed back on a bike path.  There was a penalty for my deviation from the hard way.  The path was dark with many holes and broken areas making for a bumpy ride. I removed my sunglasses and held them as I rode.  After a few miles, I glanced down and noticed both lenses were gone!!!!!  I stuffed the frame into a back pocket and a few miles later, discovered the frame had some how fallen out! I arrived at the parking lot with 60 miles and 4400' of climbing.  Those who stayed on course had 65 miles with 5900' of climbing.  Jeff S, who had agotten lost, had over 7000' of climbing.


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New Albany at its Best

6/18/2009

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Large turnout for the New Albany ride.  Good mix of cyclists including Roy, finally making consistent appearances as he recovers from health issues.  Judging by how much weight he has lost, once he regains his fitness he'll pull a surprise like Armstrong on the climb up Sestriere at the 1999 Tour, or something like that.

Lot of racer types and the usual mix of strong, scruffy looking amateurs like Geroge, Paul Stock, Todd Lee, Mick, Dennis. some guy who is a brain surgeon (no kidding), that big dude who is one big muscle, Jeff S, Greg Hall and more.  That Dennis, every time I see him looking at me his eyes are two smoldering orbs of revenge and motivation.  I can only hold him off for so long before superior genes and youth finally catch me.  He wants his revenge for my numerous taunts and he will not be denied.

Around 48-52 cyclists gathered around Jeff as he explained his route and then off we went, headed out old 161.  Decent pace but a large group of maybe 25 stayed mostly together as we dropped over to Jersey Mill and that downhill stretch to Alexandria.  The pace quickly picked up higher than my compact crank allows me to spin and I slowly dropped back, including sliding by Dennis who I think snickered.  As I dropped farther back I was amazed at how many strong B types were holding on. Fortunately, I caught back on at Alexandria and saw Dennis noticeably frown.  We rode hard out Raccoon Valley to Louden and at the hill before Louden and again on the rise at Louden, there was some
separating but no one could seize the lead and drive at a pace that would drop all but a few.  I hate to keep saying it but there is no one showing up that is able to match Group Killer's scintillating pace.  We're just one big group of cat 3, 4 & 5 cyclists who can't separate from a larger group. I LIKE THIS!!!!!

Still, the pace was eliminating the unworthy, and as we turned the corner at the bottom of the hill on Louden, I looked back and saw that damn Dennis still there!  I started to panic and my neck began to ache as I kept swiveling it to see if he was there,.  I did note George had dropped off, which was unusual.  We reached Sportsman Club and turned onto that agonizing stretch of three hills.  Mick kept attacking and I can't remember someone able to jump from the pack, drive a hard pace, fall back in and do it over and over.  Someone said they saw him injecting something every time he fell back into the group.  I later told him he was a group agitator.  The long, uphill stretch finally took its toll and many fine riders had slid back and we were down to 8.  At the top of Sportsman Club, someone yelled to turn left on Northridge but I yelled to stay straight to Castle.  After some good natured disagreement, I made a $1 bet with Mick and later collected, despite me urging him to keep the dollar as a lesson against the evils of gambling.

A left on Castle and a right on Concorde brought us into Johnstown with a Walker guy setting a good pace.  Up to this point the route had been a good one but once in Johnstown we endured 3 stop lights that allowed some regrouping and as we left Johnstown we were back to 10, including the big muscle dude and
Jeff S, who had pulled him all the way back on. Out of Johnstown there was a good decent and than a climb, followed by a long straight stretch and we were flying.  We finally headed south and after what seemed like 100 stop signs, arrived back in the parking lot, 40 miles and a 22.1mph average, probably skewed a bit down because of the stops and starts. 

We spent some time talking and it was noted George had not yet arrived.  The brain surgeon said he has talked to a heart specialist friend and I believe George is going to get his much needed procedure very soon at a discounted rate.  Super Dave said he had passed George, who was headed in the opposite direction on Louden and turning onto Stone Quarry. I rode back to Granville on a route I thought to be the most direct George would have taken to see if I could spot him, but did not.  There is a story here and if anyone has heard anything, please comment. 

BLUE JAY, SATURDAY AT NEWARK Y, 8:00AM, BE THERE OR BE SQUARE
.

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The Antithesis of Last Week's Hell Ride

6/17/2009

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After last week's route caused one guy to quit cycling forever, another to turn around half way up Pickerington and head directly back to the parking lot, 2 people to spew vomit and only a handful of cyclists to actually finish the route (not including the route maker) Ryan was sufficiently cowed to this week unveil a flatish, rolling route. 

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Jeff spends lots of time polishing and rubbing his new bike, sometimes bending over mid-ride to remove a spot from the frame.  He has also been seen adjusting his helmet mirror so it reflects the bike frame for constant frame blemish monitoring.


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A smallish group showed up, perhaps last week's experience caused many to look elsewhere for a ride or maybe the slight chance of rain kept them away but Kevin observed, "There aren't any C riders here."

The Boss said he did not want to ride hard and so with that pronouncement and the flatter route, it appeared a very large group would start and hang together.  After a few miles of moderately paced riding, Rick Holt said his ATTD was being padded.  When questioned what the acronym meant, he said his Average Time Til Dropped, funny. We headed out Basil Western, dropped south and got on a nice rolling road with a couple of short steep climbs but the group shed only 3 riders that I could see.  At mile 14 I noticed a funny squishy feeling to my front tire and yelled "Flat".  Someone in the group shouted if I had everything, to which I yelled "No" and hearing this, the group appeared to pick up the pace.  I had forgotten my pump but....


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....no worries, a couple of the dropped A's stopped and offered assistance.  Soon we were back on the road and in a mile I flatted again.  This time more riders stopped and with the help of Recumbent Dude, Rick, Amanda, Mark R and another guy shown in the image in the background whose name I missed, collectively we got the flat fixed again.  Also helping was this very friendly dog.  We continued on the route and had a great time, finishing with 39 miles and a 21.3 average, but about 30 minutes of down time for flat repair.


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Steve O showed up with a new helmet.  Note the almost perfect color co-ordination.  White helmet with matching shirt, black accents on shirt matching black helmet accents.  Black sunglass frame perfectly hides his cross eyes and the jersey is sleeveless, if not to show off guns, at least to show off pistols.  ALERT!: Group Killer says he is going to show up for the Saturday Blue Jay ride, the primary route having 6500" of climbing on 67 miles with an additional loop available to bring the total to 95 miles.  If the pavement drys today I'm headed out to mark the route and add many inspirational messages, including the usual, "Oxley Sucks", "Swim Tuna Swim" and similar, good natured markings.  If anyone can think of additional markings please comment.


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Mark & Randy Finish the Ruff Rider Ride to Pittsburgh

6/15/2009

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Pastor Mark Clingan called me tonight to announce with great humility that he completed the 184 miles with 11.000' of climbing.  Randy, fighting giant saddle sores had to pack it in after "omly" 160 miles.  The pain must have been unbearable to have stopped so close to the finish.  The pair started the ride at 5:45am and arrived in Pittsburgh at 8:20pm.  I'm surprised Mark did not do laps somewhere to get to 200 miles.  Tomorrow they are going white water rafting but plan to make it for the Blue Jay ride.

Speaking of Blue Jay, the COP roving ride out of the Newark Y, this Saturday at 8:00am, I have multiple cans of orange spray paint and intend to use them to pain inspiring messages on the road. 

2 Comments

Bike Repair

6/15/2009

6 Comments

 
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My bike had been making a strange "clicking" sound on the downstroke so I took it to Rick Miller.  Rick used to own A Gear Higher, a bike shop in Polaris, but closed it last year. Now Rick operates a repair service from his van and will drive to your location or you can take the bike to his home shop in Utica.  Among Rick's more prominent and frequent customers are Jon the Dentist and Ginger so what better recommendation can there be?  My bike has a serious problem and the frame needs replaced!!!!  Fortunately, Trek is covering it under warranty and Rick says the defect was affecting my performance by at least 50% because of pedaling resistence that required Herculean effort to turn the crank (I just knew my recent problems were mechanical). If you want a bike repair house call you can reach Rick at 614-266-8822 or at rick@ricksbicycleservice.com. 


 

6 Comments

Cycling Courier

6/13/2009

1 Comment

 

In my ongoing, strenuous effort to provide content that can only be found in many places, I offer the following, along with a report of the Jimmy move. Also, I did not participate in the roving ride today.  Any ride that requires me to begin my drive during an hour beginning with the number 6, is a hard drive for me to start.  First, what follows is a letter to the editor in a Solvang, CA newspaper.  Solvang is where a Tour of California time trial takes place and is a popular destination for tour groups, pro cycling training camps, etc.. The woman needs counseling.

Cyclists provoke inner rage

Normally I would consider myself a friendly, empathetic person who is tolerant of all types of people. Unfortunately, there is one exception, and it’s reserved exclusively for cyclists.

In their presence, I transform into an unforgiving misanthrope. I’ve been struggling with my hatred of bicycle enthusiasts for years now, often trying to stifle my deep-seated resentment by pretending they don’t exist. However, there is one problem with that strategy: they do exist and often do a lot of their existing in the middle of the road when you’re trying to drive.

So recently, I accepted my feelings and have decided to bring it out into the open. For too long I’ve been silent, and now is the time for me to say it: I hate cyclists.

All too frequently in the Santa Ynez Valley, I see major highways shut down or blocked off because a parade of bike riders are rolling into town. Do they forget that other people not riding bikes live here, too? That some folks are trying to make their way to work, school, or simply the other side of the road?

The city shouldn’t be expected to pause just for the sake of a few wheel-spinners, but perhaps they are too busy making over-zealous hand signals to notice anything else.

As I am writing this, I am particularly enraged by the display of cyclists I saw just this morning. While returning from Santa Maria, I noticed a trail of bright red bike riders lining the side of the 154. Just great, I thought. But it didn’t occur to me until I was in striking distance that they weren’t the usual clan of havoc-wreckers.

Today they were also cross-dressers. That’s when I said enough is enough. Seeing Armstrong in spandex is one thing, but seeing a middle-aged potbelly in red fishnets — that’s something else. Men of all misshapes and sizes in tight, red dresses and pink feather boas were distracting me from the road ahead.

Not only was it a blaringly obvious safety hazard, it was also just indecent. I thought I’d have to travel to Vegas to endure that kind of trauma, but apparently my eyes can suffer in my own backyard.

When this reaches the public and my discontent becomes well-known, I’m sure I’ll be receiving plenty of criticism for my beliefs. And unless the event I just witnessed was an extension of the Special Olympics, I won’t feel badly.

I can’t imagine, though, that I’m the only one who feels this way. To all the closet cyclist-haters out there, this is the time for us to take a stand. We might not be able to reclaim the roads, but at least we can provide support for one another.

Before an “innocent” cyclist gets claimed by a driver with repressed emotions, I propose we form ACHES, the Alliance for Cyclist-Hating Emotion-Stuffers. Together, we can fight this battle (or at least complain in good company).

Katie Ryan, Los Olivos


This is a sad and interesting story of a woman who struck 3 cyclists in Tulsa and stopped by other motorists.

Two bicyclists killed on highway 
 
 
SAND SPRINGS — Alcohol apparently played a part in a crash that claimed the lives of two bicyclists and seriously injured a third Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

The cyclists were riding east on the shoulder of Oklahoma 51 near 161st West Avenue when a woman in a sport utility vehicle veered off the busy highway and crashed into them from behind about 4 p.m., Oklahoma Highway Patrol Trooper Brian Warren said.

A woman and a man, both in their early 30s, died from traumatic injuries. Medics took a third man, also in his early 30s, to St. John Medical Center in serious condition, EMSA spokeswoman Tina Wells said.

Warren said the
driver tried to leave the scene but was eventually stopped by other motorists. Authorities found an open container of alcohol in the SUV and detained the woman while they took a blood sample for a toxicology test. She likely would then be arrested, Warren said.

The OHP did not release the names of the victims or the driver Tuesday evening.

Sherrie Catron was one of about 20 people who stopped to help the victims. The driver who hit them was already several hundred yards down the road when she came upon the accident, she said.

"I didn't think anything of it until I got to the intersection and realized that something major had happened," she said. "There was just chaos and devastation down the highway, and people were scrambling everywhere." 

bicycle parts and protective gear littered the road as investigators blocked both eastbound lanes of traffic. The highway's eastbound lanes were closed until about 8:15 p.m., the Oklahoma Highway Patrol reported.

The highway is particularly dangerous for cyclists, Warren said. "We have problems with bicyclists on this road all the time being struck," he said.

Bike riders often ride along Oklahoma 51 west of Oklahoma 97 in Sand Springs and then along a road that takes them across the Keystone Dam.

Even though all three riders who were hit Tuesday were wearing helmets, the collision was the worst Warren has seen in his several years as a trooper, he said.

After striking the bicyclists, the SUV swerved off the roadway and into a ditch, knocking over a stop sign before eventually coming back onto the highway, Warren said.

A passing motorist managed to get the woman to stop, but she tried to drive away again and was stopped a second time by another driver, he said.

Warren said it was lucky that the people were able to get her to pull over.

The driver was very disoriented and said she had swerved to miss some debris in the road, Catron said. She told troopers that she didn't realize she had struck the bicyclists.

"It churns your stomach," Catron said. "She had no idea what she'd done."

The collision weighed heavily on many members of Tulsa's cycling community, who contend with aggressive drivers on almost every ride, said Carolyn Fairless, a member of the Tulsa Bicycle Club.

Fairless said she lives in Sand Springs and has pedaled along the road where Tuesday's collision took place. The crash will be in the back of her mind the next time she rides, she said.

"We're very much aware of how vulnerable we are as bicyclists," she said. "I'm all about bicyclists' rights to share the road, but we're no match for a vehicle."



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Many people showed up to help move Jimmy Richardson's belongings, including Mark V, Fkying Tuna, Eve and hubby, Steve Houck and a few others.  We had a snack break and I was a bit too slow to capture a classic scene of Cindy, with head buried in bag of snacks.  So furious was the motion of hands to mouth with pretzels and chips that it reminded me of a ravenous raccoon, attacking an uncovered trash can.  In this image, Raccoon is making a hasty exit but I caught her just before she could leave.


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That's Jimmy in the background, confined in a wheelchair and a little medicated.  In the foreground is Mark V, looking a lot medicated.


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More Canyon Reports

6/12/2009

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I've received some nice comments about the Canyon report and so, in the next week or so, I'll post much shorter reports of other Canyon hikes.  Including almost stepping on a rattlesnake but was fortunate that it had a half swallewed mouse in its mouth, a Canyon Pink rattlesnake I tried to touch, a Diamondback that came too close while I was sitting on a rock, reading a book and other mishaps I have been fortunate to survive.

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We Rode!!!!!!

6/11/2009

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First, let me answer the question that would compel 80% of you to come here, yes, we rode and stayed dry. You should have come.  Jeff S came, as ride coordinator/route maker he is obligated to do.  Strangely, he also left at 5:40, but left maps with the only two cyclists there, Mile Taylor, a former tri guy who had taken a year off and was making a comeback and me.  At about 5 minutes until 6:00, a flurry of cars and cyclists swelled our ranks to 16 and I had to explain to an annoyed crowd why the ride leader had left them high and dry.  I did the best I could but was soon drowned out by shouts of "Jeff is #%&%" and "Quitter" and various profane language.  AT 6:04 I yelled for silence, announced the route and said for A, B, C, D and E riders to head out.

There were 9 A riders, including Tim Tyler and wife Lisa, Jon the dentist, Mick, Farmer Mike, Retro George, an A making his first appearance at New Albany this year and a couple others.  During the warm up, I told Mick that Jamie had quit cycling, sidled up to Jon and told him too but the pace picked up and we were a line.  I must say the reaction to Jamie's quit ranged from "I can't believe it" to "Good, he made me hurt too much" to "That's stupid".  What can I say to those comments?

We headed out old 161 and for once, everyone took a pull, except for Farmer Mike, who at 67 doesn't have to, and Jon, who was saving himself for the Alexandria stop sign sprint I guess, oh and Tim, who prefers to hang off the back doing sprint intervals.  Without a group killer, guess what..... yep, the group stayed together.  We all rode into Alexandria feeling rather fresh.  MikeT and I headed north on Northridge while Mick and George followed the Granville 4-some east until at some point I'm sure they realized they were following a group
that was not going back to New Albany.  One of these rides i have to remember to let everyone know about this.  Mike and I rode back with skies starting to look threatening to the southwest but we stayed dry after a modest 31 miles.  Oh yeah, Jamie sent me an email and said he had attended a spinning class where there were 4 very beautiful women, 2 fairly good looking ones, a guy who looked like Jamie did a year ago and some 70 year old dude.  I was envious, considering at what I had been looking for the last hour and a half.

3 Comments

News & Notes

6/11/2009

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Roy checked in with the following comment about his health: Hey, thanks for asking. I'm getting over the shingles and some significant diabetes complications with liver and kidneys. I felt good enough to ride but it kicked my ass. Maybe ill be a B in a few months!

Some of us are going to do the following on Friday or Saturday: Jimmy Richardson had a back operation that did not produce the intended results.  He has paralysis and unable to work.  In the meantime, a house he was sharing with his mother, who died last year, is being foreclosed while Jimmy recovers elsewhere.  His possessions have to be out by this weekend so people are going to his house on Friday to pack and Saturday to move.  Jimmy is the short guy who organized the New Albany, Thursday rides and was a frequent attendee at COP cycling events. Below is information if you have time to help.

The person organizing the event sent the following: We will be packing Friday night and moving Saturday. I will be headed down Friday afternoon and should be at Jimmy's house by 3:00. You can stop and help anytime after 4 or 5:00pm Friday or after 9:00am on Saturday. If you can bring bring boxes, tape, and newspaper...that would be great. Jimmy's house is at:   1770 Piedmont Road Columbus   It is just west of Cleveland Ave. on Piedmont...which is just south of the Northern Lights shopping center. If you are headed south on Cleveland from Morse or SR161, right after you have passed the GNLSC, it will be on the right. If you go past the KFC...you just passed it.   Let me know if you need any help finding it. My cell number is 740-404-8270.   Any help will be appreciated!   Thanks,   Steve
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Group Killer sent me this image of his bike, in the midst of washing it and taking it apart.  Seems he is sincere about retiring to focus on running.  A few people have weighed in on Jamie's motives with the most logical being, he achieved all his goals (kicking all of our asses) and so nothing left to do and didn't want to spend the time necessary to stay at that level.  Probably did not want to deal with part-time cycling effort and dropping back in the peloton.  The other theory is, success on the bike has brought the searing light of attention, something he did not have to deal with in his prior life as a fatty nad perhaps that has created some mental issues.  The final opinion is, he wants to run instead of ride for awhile.


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Tuesday Night Sizzler at Canal

6/10/2009

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Hot evening in the temperature department and on the roads, mixed in with high humidity, new riders and hills caused Rick Holt to observe, "You'll have a lot of material to write about tonight."  Large turnout, around 50 with two cars full of bikes showing up at the last minute,  Three cyclists making their first appearance of the year from Jeni's and two guys from a B1 Bianchi team hopped out. To that mix of perceived heavy hitters was Mitch Tallen, a Savage Hill rider, Walker guy, Boss, Group Killer and the normal host of regulars. Sicko Ryan had devised a mountainous route that was sure to create a scattering of riders, early. Note to self.  Remember to suggest to Ryan that he who devises such a monstrous route is obligated to ride it.
We headed out to Waterloo and that long, slightly uphill stretch to Slough. The pace was fast but not killer as no one wanted to ride too hard at the front and not have enough for the Slough hill.  The large group was already breaking up a little.  George was yakking in 3-4 versions of the "how surprised he was that I was hanging on." After the rollers, we reached the foot of the Slough hill and I thought I was too far from the front, therefore susceptible to getting caught behind a gap or two so I rode around some people and slid in at at the #5 or 6 slot.  Jamie accelerated and I of course drifted back a little but still got to the top at #6 or 7, with a core group of 5 together and coasting down the hill.  They turned right on Amanda Northern, soon I did too and they relaxed a little and I caught back on, up to the first stop sign and then on to the two hills.  I dropped back quickly and noted my legs felt really tired.  Steve O passed, showing whatever mental and physical maladies have afflicted him he is at least regaining his form.   Then a Bianchi guy passed, ok, young kid passing the old guy.  Then the Savage Hill guy passed, then Jeff S steamed by but I jumped on his wheel and I think there were 4 of us reaching the top of Amanda Northern before turning on to Benson.  Steve, Jeff, and two others put in a good effort on that mostly downhill, rolling section but I had nothing left and began to despair, a little.  Turned onto Pickerington and those hills.  Steve was maintaining a good pace and was only a small gap from Jamie, Boss, Mitch and two Jeni guys.  I stayed with Jeff, a Savage Hill dude and someone else. 

We were riding up one of the foothills when in the distance I saw a cyclist coming towards us. Quickly the riders form took shape and I thought, "What's this!" as Jamie rode by.  At the time I
thought the heat must have gotten to him (more later).  What a grind it was with the heat and humidity, finally reaching the final summit, where I was totally spent and breathing way too hard.  A second rider had given up and he too was coasting back to the parking lot. We coasted down to Coonpath, turning left but my legs were ded and furthermore, DEAD! I was full of self pity and panicky, running through the last several days and wondering if I had been over training, over eating, maybe the poison ivy I pulled from the woods had given me weak cyclist poison????  We all fight these demons at every level I am sure, at some time.  I was not, nor could not ride hard on Coonpath.  The third Jeni rider passed me and motioned for me to join but I could not.  We rode apart for awhile then he sat up, looked back and said, "Let's wait for these other two guys and form a group."  Immediately, a cloud of dread swept me and I began having an anxiety attack with anxiety sweat adding to exertion sweat as I sensed what this meant. I slowly turned my head and, EGADS, it was George. Humiliation complete. He had pulled Kevin with him and we now had a merry group of one yakker and three sufferers.  At the end of Coonpath, a Bianchi B! guy had just made a right but I thoiught the route went left to Mt. Zion so there we went, off route.  I did a quick map check and noted we would be back on the route by staying straight to Crumley.  We rode together but upon reaching Crumley, instead of turning left to stay on the route, I packed it in and turned right. 

This gave me the opportunity to see who was in front and in the distance 4 riders approached, Boss at the front, Mitch and two Jeni riders.  Not too long after, Steve rode by, going strong and maybe able to reach the lead 4.  Then came another, than Jeff and that was it.  A little later I passed Mitch but it appeared everyone else had quit the 44 mile route or were so far behind that by the time I headed west, off the outbound route, I just missed them.

AFTER ACTION REPORTS.  I suck.  Other than that, I called Jamie and he said he felt fine, having led up Slough and up Pickerington but at the top of Pickerington he sat up and decided he didn't want to ride anymore.  Further, he noted he has been riding hard every time out, he's burned out and he is giving it up to focus on running, until the fall.  NOW, at the front, my sources tell me, The Boss continued to set a scintillating pace and the Jeni guys dropped off, leaving Craig and Mitch to battle it out with Mitch drafting into Canal, behind our man Craig.  ALSO, Randy, Pastor Mark, Cindy, Susan Haas and Mike Smith rode 78 miles from Newark to Somerset and back.  With the big ride to Pittsburg coming on Monday, I was told Randy appears to have overtrained and needs to take a few days off.  It was also noted in the Canal parking lot that for all the riding they have done, it does not appear to have lowered their weight.  I defended them by saying that frequently the Across the US cyclists look like Clydesdales because they have to consume so many calories to fuel their rides.  At least, I thought that was defending them, maybe not.  IMPORTANT FINAL REPORT:  Roy made an appearance and looks like he has lost a bunch of weight while battling illness.  Was unable to talk to him but will find out.

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An Adventure & Lucky to Be Alive

6/9/2009

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The start of the Bill Hall trail, so named after a former park ranger and an exhilerating route into the wild. Cameras don't come close to capturing the beauty.


This is a long report.  It could be a lot longer too because I left out quite a bit but I hope you enjoy it. In 2003, I talked a friend and fellow cyclist, Greg Dubois, into joining me for a backpacking adventure off the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.  I had a few of these trips under my belt, including the exact trip Greg and I had planned, as well as several day hikes to the Colorado River and back off the South Rim so I thought I had all the bugs worked out. We were lucky to come out alive.

We flew into Vegas, rented a car and took the scenic drive to the North Rim, checking into the Kaibab Lodge.  We packed our back packs and bought everything that we were unable to bring on the plane, including fuel for the stove and lots of water.  Our plan was to leave 2 quarts in the car so it would be there when we got out, each carry a gallon to a cache point 3.4 miles from the Bill Hall trail head (so it would be there on our way out) and then have 4 quarts with us for the long walk to the river.  We turned in early because we wanted to be at the trail head at 5:30am, to allow plenty of hiking time.  On my previous trip to this trail head, I had spent the night in the car but that was not comfortable and it gets very cold during the night, even in late May, at the Rim's elevation.

The drive out to the Bill Hall trail head is 31 miles, along forest service roads through thick forest and the pace is slow.  However, we arrived on time, assembled everything and shoved off.  Our intent was to spend two nights in the Canyon.  The temperature that morning was in the mid 40's which is kind of warm for late May but the day time high in the inner Canyon was expected to be 105. The trail rises moderately at first with the elevation soon causing heavy breathing but then it drops abruptly though broken ledges of the Kaibab
limestone.The first part is very steep and rocky, requiring great caution (there ain't any guardrails around here).  We hiked in the shade for a long time but the temperature was rising quickly as we went deeper into the Canyon and the sun rose higher overhead (did you know the temperature difference between the rim and bottom is 25-30 degrees?).  Eventually the trail moderates and normal walking is a welcome relief.  We came across a guy who was hiking out and who had one of the soles of his hiking boots fall off.  He had some tape and had been able to partially tape it back but it was still kind of funny watching him trudge along with the rear of the sole flopping open.  Let me tell ya, losing the sole of your hiking boot in that environment is not good......and yes,8 miles into the trip, my right boot sole came off.  I could not believe it!  These Technica boots had been with me for many miles of backpacking in the Canyon.  Fortunately, Greg had some string and some medical tape and I lashed the sole back to the boot.  We discussed turning back but I was determined to press on.  About a mile later, the sole of my left boot came off too..incredible but true.  More string and tape around the sole and boot body kept the parts together but it was like wearing heavy flip-flops with the heel flapping open every time I lifted my foot and the toe flapping open to collect trail debris that would lodge between the middle of my foot and the sole. It required frequent stops to clean out the debris and somewhere, I lost my sunglasses.

Our first major destination was Thunder River, so named because it gushes from a limestone cavern under hydraulic pressure and is also known as the world's shortest river as it runs 1/4 mile before it dumps into Tapeats Creek which eventually reaches the Colorado River.  Where the water gushes from the cavern there is an area that receives constant mist and it is an oasis of greenery. Prior to our arrival we had traversed the
Esplanade, a broad, flatish layer of rock that is like walking on the moon, dropped through the red rock to Surprise Valley, formed when a large area slumped into itself. At the rim of Surprise Valley you can first hear and then see the incongruous view of Thunder River in the middle of a desert environment. The trail drops rapidly with Tapeats Creek roaring by, having received Thunder River's contribution.  The environment is absolutely spectacular, awe inspiring, dangerous and the panoramic views, wow. At times the exposed trail takes one well above the creek before dropping again.  This is a wild section with great hiking. We finally reached Lower Tapeats campsite on the Colorado River at mile 10.4, but oddly there was no one there (this is a common stopover for rafting parties) and so we decided, since it was still kind of early, to hike the 4.1 miles along the river route over to Deer Creek Narrows. Big mistake.

The Canyon is a very inhospitable place and when you've been dragging your boots through the dirt and sand and adding weight with every step...we should have stopped.  Now, in the inner Canyon it rarely rains.  It rains plenty at the rim but evaporates before reaching the inner Canyon, a one mile change in elevation. We headed west, parallel with the river on a trail that rises and falls, spectacularly so at a point where the trail rises 800' in .7 of a mile.  The route forces slow going with scrambling over house-size boulders, down climbing rocky outcroppings and even walking along a sandy shore.  At the point where the trail turns abruptly up that 800' slope, I instead followed a bighorn sheep path and kept going.  Greg had been behind me and after not seeing him, I waited and then began to shout his name.  I honestly thought he had died, how else to explain his absence?  I wondered how I would tell his wife and began walking back, still yelling his name.  Suddenly, he called me and I looked up and realized the rookie Canyon hiker had followed the trail and I had not.  Gesh. 

At the top of the rise, one is greeted with awesome views both up and down river but we were distracted by dark, broiling clouds and a howling wind. Soon it began to rain, a nice, steady, soaking rain that felt good considering the temperature was around 100. There was plenty of lightning and thunder too, What a scene as we trudged on.  At one point, I distinctly remember putting my foot forward and at the same time, a large snake slithered between my legs while another slithered ahead of me.  Normally this would produce a scream and racing heart but I was so tired I didn't care. I've had plenty of encounters with the Western Diamondback and the unique Pink Rattlesnake in the Canyon and it scares the bejeebers out of me but I don't know what kind of snake they were.  You see, it was dark and at night, the snakes come out. 

We were fortunate in that most of the trails in the areas designated "wild" and "remote" are marked by cairns, not a recognizable trail.  Cairns are also called "Ducks", so named because in nature, a rock perched on another is normal but 3 or more rocks perched on each other is not and so that is what marks many routes.  They are called ducks because with the smallest rock on top and the largest on the bottom, the shape kind of looks like a duck. The famous river trail has an obvious foot path.

We kept going into and out of side canyons, traversing scree slopes on narrow paths a couple hundred feet above the Colorado. Each side canyon looked like the last and I'm sure I drove Greg crazy with frequent pronouncements of, "This is the last one before we hit a rise that goes over a saddle and into the Narrows".  We finally reached the base of a long rise that does lead over a saddle.  I remember sitting on a rock, rain pouring and feeling fairly miserable and more tired then I have ever been.  I dragged myself up the trail, down
the side of the saddle and into Deer Creek Narrows.  I was kind of delusional and wanted to just lie down but there is a permit process that requires stopping at a designated area so in pitch dark we stumbled around and eventually found our spot. We each set up a lightweight tent but because it never rains in the inner Canyon, nor had any been forecast, there was no protection from the rain.  We laid there, rain dripping through the tents but did sleep or pass out.  We had walked 16 miles over very rough terrain.

The next morning we decided to hike out and forget spending another night and then I began filtering water from Deer Creek as we would need about 4-5 liters for the portion of the route that would lead us to our water cache.  The PUR water filter, which had served me well broke but somehow I nursed it along, gaining the needed water. Greg started ahead of me while I filtered the water but once I started, I did not see him on the trail above.  I shouted his name and he answered, from a spur trail that led to a dead end.  In an act of bravery (snakes, scorpions, tarantulas), he bushwacked across a thicket of brush and reeds that stood over 9'.  He finally emerged and we proceeded up the limestone face to Deer Spring, spewing from the face of the limestone..  We kept going up and eventually navigated a narrow scree path, that crosses slightly above the water, able to feel the rumble of the surging water beneath us and hearing the accompanying loud roar. One can be forgiven for leaning hard to the left as the view into a deep chasm taking in the surging water.is intimidating. After some serious climbing we reached Surprise Valley and then the Esplanade, where we missed a cairn and headed toward the wrong trailhead.  After a mile I began to doubt the direction because we were walking out of sight of some views I remember from my previous trip.  We circled back and found the right trail.  We found our water cache and things were looking up. As if enough odd things had not occurred, we
approached a scrub pine tree and in one of the forks there was a sealed 1 lb.summer sausage.  Someone had left it for later retrieval and everyone honors the code of not raiding someone's cache. After 29 miles of hiking (both days) dragging flopping soles through the trail, we reached the rim, at 6:00pm. We both agreed it was the hardest thing we had ever done.  Greg headed back to Columbus and the next day, I plunged back into the Canyon.  I love that place.
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Close to the start of the Narrows.


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Deer Creek Narrows.  The depth of the Narrows deepens as you get closer to the Colorado and then a falls ends the Narrows.  Wild place.


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Misc News & Notes

6/7/2009

5 Comments

 

 

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Mark V forwarded the above comic.  I tried to think of whom it reminded me the most and realized we all fit the profile. For a better image http://comics.com/pearls_before_swine/2009-06-02/

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Before & After

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Someone asked if I had a befoe and after image of Jamie.  The above was taken spring 2008, coming up the steepest hill in Licking County.


 

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The new Sevens, proudly owned by Jeff S and Flying Tuna. The bikes must have made a difference, Cindy recently recorded her first 20mph group ride average and Jeff recently, well, don't know, just keeps riding hard and fast like before.


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Spring HOOT

6/6/2009

2 Comments

 
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Without other calves against which to compare, this pair of calves looks rather ordinary but in truth, had Jeff S flexed, the explosion of muscular mass would have required a wide angle lens to capture.


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While crawling around the parking lot looking for interesting images, I came across this interesting pair of socks, worn by Craig Butler, The Boss.


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The lone figure is Dennis, who spent the week in Chicago eating and drinking way too much.  Dennis and I were team mates on Savage Hill racing team but because he was first string, he gets to still wear the jersey.  Because I was third string, I am not allowed to wear the jersey so mine sits in mothballs.


Ginger Update--Several people have inquired about Ginger and the standard reply has been, since she is racing she doesn't have time for us.  Not true.  Out of respect for her privacy, all I should say is, May was a tough month, leading up to a scheduled surgery, which went well last week.  Ginger will be laid up for awhile but expects to rejoin the peloton this fall.  Send her an email to cheer her.

What a great day for a bike ride!  Good turnout at Pastor Mark's church for Spring Hoot.  Being a card carrying member of AARP, the Thursday New Albany ride and a good trail run on Friday, left me with little in the tank.  For some dumb reason I started out with Craig, Jeff, Dennis, Andrew, Steve, Recumbent Dude, Kevin, Ryan, Todd and Stefano.  The route was rolling but just the standard roads we see on Tuesday Canal.  After a few miles, Todd, also a member of AARP and still recovering from Thursday and a Friday ride, dropped back with Sefano to join the Kenda gang.  A few miles more, I told Dennis I too was dropping and he decided to do the same.  We rode together for a couple of miles until he got tired of riding so slow and took off.  At Cedar Hill and Ridge, I stopped and waited for a slower group.  Instead I got Woody, Larry, Todd, Lisa and Stefano (he is in marketing for Kenda tires) and Dennis joined too.  We stayed together until the gas station in Amanda.

In Amanda, we saw Pastor Mark and Randy, going for a 150 mile day, Flying Tuna and Belinda's friend, Glenn.  Glenn is into sprint distances in cycling and I think running but mostly on flat courses.  I got the impression the hills, which were so far very moderate, were a bit of a new experience. Retro George also rolled in, as did Kenda Dave. We had a drink and left with a good group of Todd, George, Larry, Lisa, Dennis, Dave and Woody.  We headed towards Revenge and I hung back, wanting to take it easy until I realized if George beat me to the top, I would never hear the end of it  I found him somewhere towards
the middle and struggled by him but noted he was ahead of Dennis, still digesting too many Chicago steaks.  We regrouped at the top and then rode to Sugar Grove via Blue Valley and a mostly downhill to flat route.  Spent some time at the market before a large group of us headed towards Bremen.  I had hoped we would not get there via either Savage or Carpenter but it was not to be.  Up Savage but then a nice downhill on Duffy and then the flat run-in to Bremen via Bremen Road. Ate a very tasty Italian sub and was joined by Tuna, Mark, Randy, Todd, Stefano and Dave.  The 80 mile route took us out of Bremen via Marietta and then West Rushville Road, an up and down super roller.  The balance of the route was just rolling and finished in time to watch Tiger, on tv, roll in an eagle at the Memorial.

For any golfers out there, a very long time ago, for 10 consecutive years, I repaired golf clubs for touring pros at the Memorial tournament  I have some great memories of repairing or altering golf clubs for all the greats of that era, including Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, Seve, Tom Watson, Palmer, etc...  I repaired the clubs in an out-of-the-way room and the pros and caddies would come back, "let their hair down" and tell some great stories and jokes.  One of my favorite players was Jim Thorpe,a former college football player with the nickname of "Mo-Fo" because he frequently used the full version of the words after hitting an errant shot.  The networks did not dare have him on live audio during telecasts.

Get well soon Ginger.  We miss you.

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Way ahead of the start, a few of the cyclists are nevertheless ready to go, including Jeff S on the right, Craig (the Boss) behind and to his right, Nathan (recumbent dude) in the foreground and the guy yapping to his left is George.  Between them is Andrew, still recovering from a triathlon.


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Huge Turnout for New Albany

6/4/2009

3 Comments

 
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Mark V, before the start of the ride, is in his van, naked, changing into cycling clothes.  Unfortunately, I was too slow to grab my camera and I missed Cindy with her face pressed against the glass, watching.


Cool sunny weather brought them out in droves to New Albany.  Recently, a reader of this blog said, "Yeah but only strong riders show up for those rides" but these COP sponsored rides from New Albany and Canal Winchester attract A. B and C rated riders so there is a speed for anyone reading this (including you Belinda).

I counted anywhere from 48-52 cyclists, including of course George.  I coasted up to his car while he was preparing his bike and he approached me with a serious look on his face and shaking his head.  "Man, I've been thinking hard about what you need to do to keep up with me but I can't think of anything." Ho, ho, ho.  At least that was somewhat original.  Others showing up were Super Dave, Franz, Greg Hall, Flying Tuna, Kenda Dave, Mark V, Mario, Todd Lee, Paul Stock, Jamie (Group Killer), Justin of Jeni's Racing, 2 Walker guys, Chad, Mick, some super muscular dude that must weigh 200 pounds but can kill on the flats, Jeff S, Farmer Mike and other racing types, INCLUDING Jon the Dentist, making a rare appearance.  I can't ignore the obvious, Jon's appearance ratcheted up the interest level for you know who and I suspect changed GK's strategy for the evening.  Earlier, Jamie had said there were too many strong riders for him to pull all the time so he was going to mellow out.  The total leaving the lot with the A group was 22. 

Immediately, Jamie rode to the front and dropped the hammer during the warm-up phase but something extraordinary happened, nobody chose to pursue.  In a typically high testosterone group ride, that sort of provocation is never ignored but everyone simultaneously decided to do the warm-up instead.  Eventually we regrouped and as a statement Jamie would pull, slide to the left but not enter the draft, instead ride alongside whoever had moved up in the line and when that person tired, Jamie slid back into the lead.  My thought is before Group Killer reduces his ride time to focus on distance running, he wanted to make a statement and boy, did he.  Anyway, we made it to Alexandria with still a fairly large group and turned
left on Mounts, where there is a lot of climbing all the way out to Hardscrabble. 

These ride reports are about the cyclists that struggle, sweat, push themselves beyond the brink of exhaustion, do strange things under the pressure of keeping up and say funny things driven by exhaustion (gosh I love the environment so) but I strive to never make them about me, choosing instead to self deprecate about how I am barely hanging on and how lucky I am to make it back alive.  Please allow me this one time only the following:  by the time GK reached Hardscrabble, I was the only one on his wheel and that was a great feeling. 


The rest of the route was the usual mix of rolling hills along Concord, down Caswell, out Green Chapel, you know the drill.  We arrived back at the lot with 10 people and a 22.7 mph average.  It sounds as if many will be at Pastor Mark's church for the HOOT ride on Saturday and there are a few who will do the time trial on Sunday too. George arrived in the parking lot complaining about his rear wheel rubbing, which caused him to stop in Alexandria.  Greg Hall revealed that in preparation for a final weigh-in contest the following morning, he had not eaten all day and spent the ride bonking.  The Flying Tuna had something really super duper fantastic happen but she said I could not use it in the ride report.  However, knowing Cindy, she'll manage to tell everyone before the start of HOOT.  Whatever happened to Dennis? Also, Recumbent Dude, where were you on this glorious weather evening?  Lastly, Farmer Mike is 67 and a hard core mountain biker who also rides a road bike sometimes.  Last weekend he competed in the 50 and over division of a 60+ mile race with lots of climbing and out of 50 riders, finished 8th.

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Who else but Retro George, my arch nemisis but a really good guy.  Yes, he looks old and he probably does not know how old he is but he's at least 60 and incredibly strong.  He can ride for a very long time on flat to rolling terrain at 25+mph but gearing creates a small problem on the steep hills.

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Another who else, Group Killer, meditating and mentally preparing to destroy us.  A little over a year ago he weighed 271 and now is at 178 and unhappy that he is not 125.  In the 14 months he lost close to 100 pounds I lost, well, 0 pounds. Jamie decided to pursue some goofy 1/2 marathon goals which will deprive him of cycling time so instead of destroying us, he will merely be able to hurt us a lot.


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Bloody Nipples & yet another DRY ride!

6/2/2009

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Picture

Our concern and actions about our economic health manifests itself differently for each of us.  Tonight, Mitch O took frugality to a new level by wearing what can best be termed a "200 yard" jersey.  From 200 yards it looked like any solid white jersey but upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a burlap bag, dyed white with three cut-outs for his neck and arms.  While I admire MItch's creativity, the unintended consequences made this a bad choice.

First, we gathered in the parking lot behind Shades restaurant in Canal Winchester (see image).  Some of us were ready to go but there were plenty of fence sitters.  Radar suggested a clearing to the southwest that would last awhile but just before 6:00pm, hurricane warnings for Fairfield county were announced and someone said they heard Sugar Grove was getting pounded, which is uncomfortably close.  Donna (Sarge) proclaimed the ride officially canceled from COP's perspective but of course we were free to reach our own conclusion and many of us decided to go including, Jamie, Craig, Mitch, Greg H, Mark V, Randy, Kevin, Recumbent Dude, Steve O, Mark V, Retro George and Jeff S.  Eve, Donna, Franz and Ryan showed good judgement, if not much courage, by heading for the restaurant or home.

George informed me that just after I had stopped on Saturday's ride to take pics, his heart raced to 170 and he had to stop.  Jamie abandoned the poor guy but soon, George got back on his bike and proceeded to P, passed by Mark V's group, Amanda and Dave.  I think George was the last person to hit the parking lot that day but he was out again today and had no problems.

Everyone deferred to the Boss for a route and Craig took us out to Lithopolis and then kind of south and west to skirt the dark stuff.  We ended up west of Rickenbacker on roads I had not previously seen.  Group Killer and Boss kept the pace kind of reasonable and we stayed together which is a good thing considering the unfamiliarity of the area and the fact it was being made up as we went along.  At one point there was a gap in the group but Randy seized the opportunity to demonstrate he is ready for the Pittsburg ride by covering it and pulling me along with him. Around mile 18, I noticed Mark V had dropped off and I decided to go back to find as no one should be left alone with the threatening weather and strange land. Boss gave me permission to leave the group and a couple of planned turns (which I think were not accurate) and I went back to find Mark.  Soon I decided he must have taken a different route and hoped he was not wandering aimlessly with the sky looking more threatening.  Then, I got lost and had to stop and ask directions stopping at something similar to the Bates Motel except it had big dogs inside.  Norman came to the door and stuck an unfriendly head through the gap.  I doubted the given directions but since they took me away from the storm, I took off, glancing at sheets of rain to my south but enjoying a good tailwind.  The directions were accurate and I ended up in Groveport and then went east to Canal, nervously watching a blackening sky approach, arriving with 33 miles, and dry. Mark's van was gone so he too had made it back.  The groups average I think was 22, mine was 20.4, forgetting to turn off the computer while stopped at the Bates.

It didn't take long before it was brought to my attention that the front of Mitch's burlap had two large red spots.  Apparently the coarse material had rubbed his nipples until they bled. Ouch!  Oh, Randy and Mark drove to Pittsburg on Monday, taking a Garmin so they could do a final route check.  For their 6/15 ride they'll have around 190 miles and 11,000' of climbing.  Note Saturday it appears many will do the HOOT ride but there is also an American Diabetes, "TourdeCure" ride out of Westerville.  Info can be found here http://tour.diabetes.org/site/TR/TourdeCure/TDC535998030?pg=entry&fr_id=5631

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    Mark is a long-time cyclist, hiker, golfer and plays some table tennis...ok, it's ping pong.

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