Wow, can't add much to what you have heard elsewhere about the Friday "Land Hurricane" other than our power was restored on Sunday afternoon. I was surprised anyone showed up Saturday morning but a few did come out, Brad the Dentist, Denver Dan, Mark C, Andrew C, Retro George, Kenda Dave, Ron and Cindy.  Plenty of puzzled, "why am I here" facial expressions.

Radar watching was the focus as it appeared more storms were on their way.  Here, Dave provides the background so that Kenda gets another plug.

Tim F, Evie, Beth, Eve and Dave M and David S rode into the parking lot after being thwarted by downed trees and foreboding looking radar.  They had ridden 6 miles and packed their bikes into their cars just as the parking lot was swept with wind and rain but it just as quickly stopped.

A senior moment for Flyin Tuna.  Searching frantically for her keys before discovering they were still in the ignition.  Well, judging by Andrews comments, which set a record for exaggeration piled on hyperbole, three hung around and went out for a partial Blue Jay ride.  I returned home to fire up the chainsaw and began clearing trees and limbs. 

Showed up Sunday to do the BJ ride and there too was Brian, you know, the guy with the Stay-Puft marshmallow man on his calf.  OK, it's not really the Stay-Puft dude but it makes for a better story.   

We headed out Blue Jay and ignoring a "Road Closed" sign, rounded a corner and saw the above on the 2nd big climb of the route.  The trees in the foreground were not a problem but those in the background were huge oak and maple trees producing a thicket of branches.  It took a few minutes but we were able to forge a path through the branches and wires and kept going.  From that point on, while the landscape was filled in down trees, none hindered our riding, which was also filled with the constant hummm of generators.  

We made it to Zanesville where the market was open.  I doubted we would find anything open on the return or that the well at Flint Ridge would be running so after we climbed Kopchak and reached Morgan, the turn south, I elected to forego the southern swing and headed to 40 and then north on Poplar Forks.  We passed Blue Jay and took Staddens Bridge Road which also had a "Road Closed" sign.  We were forced to climb around some trees but eventually made it back to the "Y" with 60 miles and 4200' of climbing.  I actually felt kind of guilty, riding my bike around while hundreds of people were outside working.

I think the weather forecasters hit the mark today, 100 degrees, 15-25 mph winds out of the SW but hey, at least the humidity wasn't higher than 35%!  I think most people who planned to ride also planned not to waste time standing in the parking lot, baking because by 5:35pm, only 12 people were at the parking lot including Shannon and EuroPatrick.

Even the lone shade area was sparsely populated at 5:50pm

Garth and Pete doing the unthinkable, a warm-up ride prior to the main event.  The shade dwellers were all puzzled by this as they were more then warmed up even while sitting.  

More roll up to sign in.  Note Mick in red.  MIck is competing in the state championship next Saturday in the Master's Division.  Yep, he's in the 60+ age group.  Hard to believe.

Then, at 5:55pm, they came from all corners and I think we had close to 50 but there was lots of conversation about alternative, route modifying.  In fact, I'll bet tonight's ride had more distance variations as people started, had 2nd thoughts and modified the route at various points.  I kind of wanted to do the 54 mile route just to say I did it but I wanted to do it at a reasonable pace.  Good luck finding a group with both those goals.  As we rolled out, I noticed that unlike rides in the low-mid 90 degrees, the air flow provided no relief.  It was hot at rest and hot at 25mph. 

About 15 in the A group and about 24 in the B+ group.  We rolled out old 161, right on Harrison and then an extended ride east on Morse.  Somewhere in there, Claude came by us headed back to the parking lot, heat got to him.  Somewhere in there I began listening to Denver Dan about a 30ish route.  Somewhere in there, others too began listening to DD and so at Outville, we (Katherine, Christian, Dennis, Jeff, David S, Dan and let's just call him "Cyclist A") headed north to Moots and then into and out of Granville, stopping in Alexandria at this market.   

Actually, five of us stopped while the others just wanted to get the ride over and continued.  We were sitting inside, enjoying the air conditioning, when Cyclist A, walked in and queried if any of us had mistakenly picked up his right hand glove because all he had were two left handers.  The gloves were black with red accents and not a style I had previously noticed.  Cyclist A walked out, trying to find his missing RH, soon returning.  Observant Dennis noticed that one of the gloves was inside out and once returned to outside in, changed into a right hand fit.  Dennis then asked "A" if his father's name was Forrest.  Funny. Yep, the heat was having an effect and I noted I should keep an eye on "A" on the ride back.  We finished with 32 miles.  Meantime, as I drove home while also following the route, here came Shannon, Garth, EuroPatrick and one other guy.  Those were all that was left of the front A group.  Soon, I came across Muscle Dude and a while later Paul Stock but those were the last of the A's that also stuck to the long route.  Arriving in Alexandria at 8:35, there was a group of B's who had either done the long route or the shorter B route and still had roughly 11 miles to go.  Good luck.

From Shannon and note too you may want to take some cash with you for the ride:
Just a friendly warning that at the start of tonight's ride the temperature is going to be near 100 degrees.  It will be VERY important to hyper hydrate for the ride before you start the ride.  When the temps are this high you will NOT be able carry enough fluid to keep yourself well hydrated during the ride.   So...start drinking now.  Try to get 4-5 bottles of fluid in your system before you get to the ride.  Also, add some electrolytes to your bottles if possible - this will help avoid cramping issues later in the ride. 

The course is hilly tonight which means more effort from the calf muscles (when standing) and those are usually the first muscle to let go when your electrolyte levels get low. Plan accordingly. See you in a few hours.

Can you believe the forecast for Thursday, 101 degrees with 15-25mph winds out of the SW.  Will be interesting to see who shows up and I will be there to document the carnage.  Below is most of route and I see it will run through Granville so bring cash for a pit stop at one of the gas stations.  Be aware of the signs of heat stroke.  If you see me passing you, the heat is beginning to have an impact.  If you see Dennis pass you, you are in the early stages of heat stroke.  If Kenda Dave passes you, you have already passed out.  Do not ignore the warning signs!!!!

So, a couple of the New Albany boys showed up tonight, not the full regiment, just a couple of conscripts like Marty S and Billy C.  Actually, there was a rather intimidating phalanx of A types for a Canal ride and I felt compelled to go out with them and report on the action, insofar as I could stay with the action.  Mitch T, Marty, Billy, Euro Patrick, Young Phenom Nick growing a beard that you can see if the sun is at a certain angle, Steve O, Dustin, Paul Stock, Randy Brown, Mark C, Claude, Jeff S, couple of new guys, Andrew C, 18 of us leaving the parking lot.

Mitch T wearing the jersey he won for winning KOM to the top of Revenge last Tuesday.  Mitch confided to me that had others shown up like guys named Horner, Leipheimer or even a woman named E Stevens, the result may have been different.  Mitch also was disappointed that my camera failed to record the KOM victory salute and tried to get me to meet him at the top of Revenge to recreate the scene.  I'm negotiating the terms with him for the reenactment.

Opps, I had shared the route with "Roadmasters" Mitch O, Ryan R and Steve O earlier in the day for comment.  They urged me to let the group know about a turn at the bottom of the route at Barr and Drum but I forgot.  I also forgot to inform the group about the location of the new sign sprint coming back into Canal at the end of the ride to claim Steve O's very generous gifts.  I need an assistant ride leader to remind me of these things so I am free to float around the parking lot snapping these compelling images.  Above, David Smith and Karen Rossi.  David is scratching his head over how Marty and David C can dominate Blood, Sweat & Gears and yet not win the Granville Climbing Challenge.

Beautiful evening for a ride but the winds were kind of strong, straight out of the north.  Good, ride the winds going south and face diminishing strength coming back.  We had a good turnout with several new riders and 4-5 others who showed up too late to sign up, which is too bad.  Even the guy who bonked last week and arrived at the parking lot at 10:00pm came back again and this time took a map.  Approximately 45-50 eventually left the parking lot.

Off we went on a flatish route, heading into Lithopolis, out via Elder, south on Winchester and then right on Duvall.  The pace had been pretty high with the usual surges and a couple of guys dropped out.  We hung a left on Lockbourne Eastern and somewhere in there Mitch T dropped back to give us bottom feeders a look.  No doubt, he came back similar to the corporate guy who flies first class and drops back to see how his coach class underlings are doing, asking magnanimously "Can I get you some peanuts?" before going back front for his free wine.  I blurted out, "Are you getting ready to drop off the back?" I immediately regretted this sad attempt at humor.  

Some where in there, Jeff S fell back and I behind him but Marty came by and asked me to climb on and so I did.  What a guy, pulling me back to the pack.  We made a left on Campbell, right on Ward and left on Hagerty.  Uh oh, I was behind Paul Stock and he was riding the white line and the cross wind cut me out of the line and I faded back behind the remaining 11 guys, 20 miles and a 23.6 avg to that point.  I looked back and there was a group of Claude, Jeff and a couple others but I decided to head in via Hagerty and beyond finishing with 41 miles.  Meanwhile, the front 11 hit Bell Station and a few rollers split the group into a lead six of Marty, Paul, Patrick, Mitch, Dustin and Randy.  However, they got off the route by making that more frequently used left turn onto Barr and going up to Ridge, rather than staying straight onto Drum. 

These guys finished with 47 miles and a 22mph avg, here trying to figure out where they got off the route.  Next week, we've got a much hillier route of 49 miles and I'll put the map up in a few days. 

Tonights COP Canal Winchester ride is 51 miles for the A group, 45 mile B route and 37 mile C route.  Flatter than last week to give us a break before moving back into the mountains, hollows, crags and hills next week, including the infamous Hopewell Church Road.

Last year I joined Steve Fields to the Blood Sweat and Gears Century ride down in Boone, NC.  We had a great time and were both planning on doing the ride again.  They only have 750 spots available for the 100 mile route and they sold out in record time (a few hours).  Steve missed getting an entry into the ride this year.  Each year it seems to get more competitive for both the entry and the riding.

Dave Chesrown and I drove down to Boone, NC and we joined up with my friend Ray who lives in Fort Lauderdale and we shared a mountain top cabin.  There were 6 of us in the cabin but they have cabins that fit up to 20 people.  Boone has the highest elevation of any reasonably sized town east of the Mississippi River and has a nice cool summer climate.  The winters are long and cold with blizzards possible.

"It's a great area for riding, very hilly, but I'd say it's the best area for training in the whole of the United States." –– Lance Armstrong on Boone, NC Cycle Sport (June 1998)

On Friday we put together a group ride with friends, girlfriends and some local riders that we know.  It was a nice easy ride through a rustic valley, one that is part of the 100 mile course.  I really enjoyed having the chance to ride again with Noah; he joined our group ride and finished in the top 5 last year.  Also in our group were some young skinny guys (Max and Jess) that work at the local bike shop and run a popular bike training camp.  They suggested to Dave that he should come down to one of their training camps and they will teach him how to be a better climber.  They are nice guys and I enjoyed meeting them last year, I have only heard good things about their training camps.

Later on Friday we meet up at a local restaurant that supports the cycling community.  Many of the local riders will be seen with the “Black Cat Burritos” logos on their stuff.  They have great Mexican food.  Boone is home to Appalachian State University and is very diverse but has a hippy feel to it.  We also had a chance to listen to some local music at a nearby park.  I think they were called the Mountain Top Boys band or something.  Similar to Granville you can see both city folks and some country folks.  Some of the Boone country folks look very country.  Dave thinks some might be hillbillies. 

Friday night in the cabin was busy with everyone getting ready and some good story telling. 

We woke up early Saturday and drove over to the start and got a great starting spot in the front row.  Each rider has a timing chip on their shoe to keep track of how long it takes to complete the course.  Years ago many of the top finishers were from out of state.  I think the locals got fed up and now they have turned up their game, now many of the top finishers are from the surrounding area.  While waiting at the start, people were talking about our friend Noah who we rode with the day before and this guy Charlie Brown who always does very well.  Several super fit women riders were near the front.  One of the guys we know has a girlfriend helping us, she offers me a couple of bananas.  I take two and eat them; Dave does not want any, he is too nervous to eat.

They say to watch out for this local guy “Yelper”, that he is crazy.  He is a strong rider but will often pop early in the ride but will never admit it.  He is also known to yell at people and is generally unpredictable.  He is seen on the other side of the starting line wearing a mismatched kit and his shorts rolled up. Fortunately for us he is wearing some easily identifiable colored glasses and helmet.  Ask Dave, I am not making this up; I think every cycling community has one of these guys.

About 5 miles into the ride we hit a 4 mile climb called Shulls Mill with over a thousand feet of elevation gain.  We are 9 miles into this ride and if we hit a hill this hard on a Thursday night, less than 10 riders would be left.  We are amazed that we still had probably 300 riders in the peloton.  A few miles later we are on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We really are on a ridge with beautiful ridge line views.  After about 25 miles some of the guys are fading fast and there is a steady stream of riders off the back.  Not long after this the guys that offered to teach Dave a few things about climbing fall off the back.

On the last really long climb on the Blue Ridge Parkway the group splits and Dave gets caught in the second group and I would not see him again until the finish.  Strava has segments for the two previous climbs.  There were a number of riders with us who were faster than Dave and I on these two climbs.  But no rider had ever posted a faster time on Strava than either of us for either of those two climbs before this ride.  The group was really moving.

After the Blue Ridge Parkway the lead group would string out and then regroup after each hill.  We lost a few riders off the back on each hill.  We had one lady rider still in the lead group of 40-50 riders.  We will later learn that her name is Cara and that she finishes third place among the ladies.  I noticed that if she is off the back after a hill this guy Jason with a matching Cervelo kit always brings her back to the group.  He is also carrying her water bottles.  I am riding next to them and noticed that he picked up too many of the water bottles that were being handed out by the volunteers.  We are approaching the biggest climb of the day and some guys are tossing extra water before the climb and I ask him if he has extra water, no need to throw it out.  He says that he has more than he wants and hands me one.

We noticed that most of the competitive ladies had helpers or what we called handlers.  There was one young college age gal named Nina that we met on Friday that did not have a handler.  Nina told us that she was planning on being the first lady finisher.  Dave later gets passed by Nina but she stopped for a break and Dave finished a minute ahead of her.  Nina ends up with three ladies finishing ahead of her.

The biggest climb of the day is Snake Mountain; we climb about 1,500 feet before we get over the mountain pass.  This is where the peloton is always broken.  The peloton was strung out near the top but the riders were surprisingly close together with only a few bike lengths between most riders.

At the top of Snake Mountain most people grab some water.  I have a bottle in my hand and will try to drink it quickly before the descent. I have Cara in front of me and I know that Jason will always catch up; he is getting water for both of them. 

The first turn is sharper than expected and Cara over cooks the turn.  Dust is flying when she hits the gravel on the side of the road and then she is in the ditch and finally flips over in the tall grass.  They do not have any staff on this turn so I stop to help.  She is tangled in her bike but once I lift up her bike she gets up.  She has a small cut on her hand but other than that she looks healthy. She says that her head hurts a little and asks how she looks.  To tell the truth she looks gorgeous but I needed to catch the other riders so I tell her she looks fine.  She asks if her bike is damaged.  I tell her it looks fine and I run back to my bike and race off.  We later learn that her wheel was slightly bent but Jason switched wheels with her and off they went.

The descent is fast and dangerous but has amazing views if you can look quickly.  The rest of my ride consisted of some of the most beautiful countryside and trying to catch the other riders.  I would catch a lone rider or two and try to work with them.  At one point I am working with three other guys and things are moving along nicely.  The first guy I caught from this group was having cramps when I caught him but he helped me catch the next two guys.  Now he is riding much stronger.  The two guys we caught are looking strong.  We hit Georges Gap and all three blow up.  One says he is done and is actually cutting the route short.  The strongest looking guy says that it was nice riding with me and wishes me luck.  The last one to pop is the one that had the bad cramps and he actually made it over the hill with me but encourages me to go, it made no sense.  I soon pass another rider on a hill but he will not be of much help to me.  Maybe the guy with the cramps will catch him and they can work together.

I start passing some riders finishing the 50 mile route so I know I am close to the finish.  The two routes merge before the finish line.  I pass Fort Lauderdale Ray’s girlfriend.  I did not notice her at the time but she will later tell me that she saw me and that most of the remaining guys ahead of me were spread out in front of me with small two groups in front of them.

Back behind me the training camp guys catch Dave.  They were way too happy when they caught Dave.  You can ask Dave about how happy they were.  They were so happy to catch him that they must have thought about how much fun it would be to pass him.  They rode together for miles but found a hill to get away.  They finished a couple of minutes before Dave.

I think that it would be fun to have more local riders join in on the fun next year.  We can stay in a bigger cabin; have an even bigger group ride the day before and even more people to enjoy lunch with at the Black Cat Burritos.  From Mark:  Marty finished 31st with a time of 5:11 while Dave finished 85th with a time of 5:28.

I've gotten behind so I am unable to post the usual comprehensive report that highlights the accomplishments of the few and the average performances of the many. BUT WAIT!!!!  Have I got a surprise for you (see below).  So, to summarize, last Thursday was hot, about 94 degrees, windy and humid at the start and thus, many sought shelter in the lone shade tree at the New Albany parking lot.  A lowly 40 people showed up.

Yes, I provided the cold mist service at the start and refreshments at the end and a couple of people were prompted....errrrr.... volunteered to say I am the best ride leader.

Saturday, we gathered in Granville with a range of cyclists from Mitch Tallan down to lowly Flyin Tuna.  While Cindy has many admirable qualities, map making ain't one of them and so she produced an interesting route, confining it to 20% of the available paper space and none of us could read it.  That may be her aim since it kept everyone together because no one knew where to go.  We ended up in Frazysburg via lots of new roads.  Most of us enjoyed the shade at a gas station and Steve had to stand and extoll us to depart.  We left F-burg via lots of new roads and then the Kendaites and Kevin K decided to head for the barn.  Getting through Newark to Granville is complicated so I sheparded them through the maze and once we got back to Granville, I kept going and finished with 87 miles.  By the way, the Thornwood hill slightly west of Wildwood Park, has just been paved.   Now for the exciting news.  Marty Sedluk has sent me the ride report from this weekend's "Blood Sweat and Gears" ride in which he and Dave Chesrown participated.  Will put it up in a few.
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For those interested in checking out some new roads, a group is departing at 8:30am, from Granville's Wildwood Park off West Broadway, on Saturday.  We are headed east towards Frazysburg and beyond on a rolling route of 90 miles with shorter options available.  Maps will be provided and Dan R will have post ride refreshments too!  All are welcome and sounds like a range of talent will be there in the A, A/B and B cycling range.
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Wellllllllll. Ride leader extraordinaire, Shannon is not able to make Thursday's ride so he begged me to take over.  While I have been very complimentary of his efforts so far, you know, nice variety of routes, has brought discipline to the peloton (no more chickenshit stop sign jumping, turning in front of oncoming traffic, etc...), organized A, B & C routes each week.....he has not done what I can do and will do this Thursday.  For example, it's going to be hot so you know those neat mister thingies you see at upscale Scottsdale, AZ malls?  Yep, I will have a mister to keep everyone cool in the parking lot.  I'll have a variety of frozen treats like popsicles, ice cream bars, Sno Cones, fudge bars and even Dairy Queen ice cream cones.  I'm working on getting Nathan to bring out his chest of cold drinks too!  In fact, I may even bring out a cold bottle of Krug Champagne for a finishing toast!!!!!   So, come on out for an experience you'll forget by Friday. 

Oh, now on to more serious things, March Mark crashed going down the steep side of Rocky Road on Thursday.  Having already ridden the GOBA route and finding himself close to Rocky, Mark decided to add to the route and climb both sides.  While descending, the Golden Jamie failed him and down he went cracking two ribs, puncturing a lung and road rash.  He will be out of action for at least a month as he recovers.  He will be missed but the silly blog will keep him updated on what is going on while he is not able to witness it himself.  If you know Mark, reach out to him and let him know how much you will miss watching the Golden Jamie blow up each ride.

At least it did not rain.  Other than that, the Summer Solstice ride had pretty much every thing else, Hell wind, heat, humidity, lost cyclists, etc...  I asked Mitch Tallan what brought him out on a day like today and he said, "It's a fabled climb, like the Gavia in Italy or the Tourmalet in France.  All the greats come out for this one."  OK, Mitch did not really say that but what else would bring cyclists out to ride in this gunk?  I was there simply to record the event so I had to be there but if not for that, I'd have stayed at the pool.  Between those leaving at 5:00 and other start times, about 40 very brave cyclists showed up for the ride.  

Above, Steve O, holding the coveted Jackson Insurance jersey for the KOM winner at the top of Mount Revenge.  Steve has been very generous with gifts this year and the blog would be remiss in not highlighting this fact.  Water bottles, caps, jerseys have been handed out each week to the sprint sign champ and tonight was a bonus with the KOM prize.

The 5:00 starters were only 4.  The 5:30 Flyin Tuna group had approximately 13-14, Ginger, Poobah, Cindy, Mitch O, Reynoldsburg Dan, Tri-Andrew & friend Sam, Ryan Roe, Dennis C, David S & a couple more.  The heat affected my memory so I apologize if I forgot someone's name.  I was worried that starting at 5:30, with a break at the Amanda market would not give me a suitable head start, plus....

...... I had to carry Poobah's water bottles!  Our group for the most part did not ride too hard during the 17 miles to Amanda but we did split at some point short of Amanda.

Arriving at the market, I looked at our group and they did not look good.  Flyin T was ashen faced and covered in sweat, plopping onto the bench.  The heat and humidity had taken its toll.  Except, Poobah ignored the stop and kept plodding forward.  I wanted to stay for a long time but had this nagging feeling that the 6:00pm release of the hounds of hell were gaining on me so I refilled my bottles, grabbed a Snickers and took off, finally reaching the summit at a couple of minutes before 7:00 at mile 25.

I stopped in the shade and waited, waited some more, wondered if everyone had taken a short cut but then 3 heads bobbed over the final rise and David Smith took the B group summit win.  Unfortunately no prize for that.  Soon, others approached.  Everyone looked beat.  Then I waited some more and not until 20 minutes after I had stopped, did the A group arrive, led by Mitch Tallan.  Now, here is a composite of what I have heard from a variety of A group members.  

We did not stop at the market but the pace was very relaxed so everyone mostly stayed together.  In our group was Jon Morgan, Todd Mullins, Steve O, Mitch T, Dustin, Mark C, Brian, Randy Brown, Paul Stock and others, mostly keeping together to the base of the climb.  Here, Jon M led a surge but that opening ramp sent most to the back.  Mitch was leading at the top of the first ramp and then only Jon hung with him  to the top of the second rise but after that, Mitch pulled away and a second group formed of Mark C, Jon, Steve and Dustin.  Revenge has multiple false flats and even a short down hill section so the challenge is to stay in front and not allow people to bridge up.  Mitch arrived over the final rise with a sizeable gap and thus won the jersey but was suffering from cramps. Unfortunately, my camera had problems or I had problems working the camera but the only image I have is of the follow group, already past me with Bruce Rogers the interloper on the left, wobbling after trying to run me over.  

Mitch stayed away through mile 38 when he passed Flyin Tuna.  Thereafter, there was some regrouping.  Now, meanwhile, Poobah had run out of water and in desperate straits, stopped at a farm house where a farmer's wife gave him water and perhaps something else but he'll never tell.  Meanwhile, meanwhile, Dennis G aka Astana Dennis and another guy missed the turn on Christmas Rock, reaching the white stone wall past the prison.  The other guy, dressed mostly in black and maybe having only one water bottle, later bonked but Dennis hung with him.  Water was kindly donated by strangers and they arrived back in Canal at 10:15pm, having ridden in the dark for close to an hour.  

Back to the A group.  At the turn on to Amanda Northern, suddenly and without warning, Dustin leapt from the group!!!!  What a daring move.  The rest of the group watched, eyes blinking and disbelieving this was a serious move until it became obvious, hey, he's got half a mile on us!  Steve O, demonstrating a magnanimous side and a real team oriented guy, held back from chasing as he claims he had prior knowledge of Dustin's intent and did not want to drag the others up to Dustin. I want to believe this but I'm a little skeptical, just a little.  Anyway, Dustin stormed over the Slough climb, roared down the Waterloo straight away and took the sign sprint and the overall win.  Finished with a 21.5 avg and 52 miles.  Exhilarating end to a long ride.  Jon Morgan confided to me that it was the toughest ride he has experienced this year. 
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From Astana Dennis, the hanging rock over Clear Creek Road on the way to the parking area for Saturday's ride.

Showed up for a ride out of Granville on Sunday.  Also there were Marty, Dave C, Tym T, Kim S, Lon H and a couple others.  All the Tri Types were doing an event elsewhere so the numbers were down but the quality was good.  Route was to go to Martinsburg and on to Bladensburg but we split at Marion Road with 4-5 going on to Martinsburg and the rest (Tym, Kim, Lon, and I) doing something shorter by going into St Louisville while stopping at a market I did not know existed.  Here, Lon bought us drinks, what a guy!  Anyway, with rain headed in, we went farther east towards Newark.

Now for the exciting part of the story! As we closed on Martinsburg Road just north of Newark, a group of cyclists approached.  I thought it odd they brought their arms up to hide their faces and then at the back of the pack there was Ted Meisky.  Suddenly, it occurred to me this was "The Others" a secretive group of super cyclists that train together, with Ted being the only member of the group that goes both ways (rides with The Others and rides with the regular cyclists).  If you are not aware of The Others, they have a winter time training program so rigorous that they are in better shape in March then in September.  They ride the Saturday COP rides on Sundays to avoid the masses.  They ride TOSRV on Monday/Tuesday.  They ride CFC (Columbus Fall Challenge) in April because by October the course is too easy.  If one wants to become a member of The Others one must never ask because to do so means you are too desperate....you must wait to be invited and then there is a hefty initiation fee with monthly dues.  Membership is super secret except for Ted, who is the group's spokesperson.    Realizing how momentous this was, like seeing a UFO for real, I screeched to a stop, grabbed my camera, turned but too late....they wisked around a corner and there is no chance anyone less than a Cat 2 is going to chase these guys down.  Wow, a brush with greatness and I was too slow with the camera to record it.
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Bob Waddell forwarded me the below email.  Thought someone out there could help with the cause.  You can contact Pat at: [email protected]

Some friends of mine are participating in a cross country bicycle ride to raise awareness and funds to fight childhood cancer.  Four or five of the team members are looking for a place to sleep the night of Saturday June 30th.   They have to be in Brownsville, OH by 4 AM on July 1 to begin their next leg of the ride.   Tom and I have offered them the option of “crashing” at our house, in Westerville.  However, since that is about 53 miles from the tag location, we are hoping someone who lives closer to Buckeye Lake or Newark might be able to help them out. 

Here is a link:  http://team-will.org/  that will give you a better idea of what this is all about.  One of the videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gzyebWpGcw&feature=relmfu features Lisa Depew, my son’s sister in law.

If you think you can help and have questions, I can put you in touch with the team members directly.  Please feel free to call me any time. 

Thanks,

Pat

This Tuesday, June 19, 2012, a day which will live in the minds of those who participate, maybe forever, is the annual Canal COP Summer Solstice Assault on Revenge Mountain.  Started years ago maybe by Brad the Dentist, this is an annual favorite that gets bigger every year.  How big you ask?  Steve O has an authentic and very desirable jersey from Jackson Insurance for the person who first reaches the summit of Revenge and who departs at 6:00pm with the A, A/B group (this is not a gag gift but the real thing even though I've never heard of the company).  I will be at the summit to take an image of the first couple of cyclists who crest for verification.  

It's going to be hot (94) and humid on Tuesday so the route goes through Amanda, where you may want to stop at the market to refill your bottles at mile 18.  If by then you aren't feeling too good, you can always take the 35 mile option and ditch the concept of riding up Revenge and 51 miles.  Then, Steve O will have a yet to be determined prize for the winner of the Canal sign sprint on the return.  Probably there will be regrouping after Revenge so to add some gapping interest, there is the climb on Slough about 3 miles from the finish. So, to summarize:
1. All are welcome whether a COP member or not.  If not a member, what's holding you back for like $15 a year you receive a monthly newsletter.
 2. Official "A" group, "A/B" group departs at 6:00pm.
3. "B" group, led by Flyin Tuna depart at 5:30pm.
4. Super Senior group led by Poobah departs at 5:35pm.
5. There is an optional group of "C" cyclists leaving at 5:00pm.
6. My start time to get to top of Revenge and also stopping at market to refresh, probably around noon.
7. Or, you can depart whenever you want as I'll be there by 5:00 to sign you in with Mark C taking over sign-up at 5:30.
YES,  I know I misspelled Assault on the map!
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Good turnout for Saturday's COP Roving Ride out of Clearcreek Metro Park, south of Lancaster.  Including a couple from India who apparently showed up on cross bikes, maybe did or did not have helmets and never made it up the first climb at the start but always good to have new people out.  Come better prepared next time.  At the rest stop in Logan, this produced a variety of "My first organized bike ride" stories with Dennis winning the prize for a graphic portrayal of throwing up frequently.

All the usual suspects were there, Nathan (he may be opening up a west coast office for the blog later this year), Dennis, Flyin Tuna, Da Boss, Kenda Janet & Paul, Jeff S, etc..... Here, Steve H gives out warnings about which roads are marginal and where are the danger spots.

Steve O and Dustin rode down from Carroll, adding around 50 miles to the route.  Oh, George was there too but thankfully too far away for me to hear the usual, "How long you gonna hang with me today?" barbs.  Mark C and David S here too.

We depart, riding up Starner as our warm up, ouch.  We were motoring out Buena Vista, following a few people in front of us and passed Opossum Hollow on the right, continuing all the way to #33.  This produced some head scratching, blaming and then we all turned around, Dennis, Brian, Mitch O, Flyin Tuna, Nathan and Dan.  Not a bad group with whom to be lost and tanking behind the rest of the field.  We got back on the route, down O H, turning right on 374 and enduring that nice long climb up to Cantwell Cliffs, out to 180, making a right and then a quick left on Mount Olive.  This had been freshly sealed with kind of thick gravel, Mount Olive is fairly steep and then I thought I heard someone unclip so, so too did I, thinking we were going to push our bikes up this stretch. Opps, my mistake and they all quickly disappeared up the hill.  Oh well, not the first time I've pushed my bike and I'm something of an expert anyway.  

The gang was waiting for me at #678 where we turned left then a right on a freshly paved Kreashbaum, taking it to Big Pine then a right on Black Jack, left on #664, right on Savings Hollow (yes, we were way out in the boonies) eventually on to something called Goat Run Honey Fork Road, Nickel Plate and on into Logan.

Here we took a welcome break, regrouped with some other stragglers including the Kendaites, Brad & Scott and others.  The balance of the ride was a blur of climbs, climbs and more climbing on some neat roads before we entered Sugar Grove.  Being so close to the famous Chickencoop and Savage climbs, I left the group to add a few miles going up Savage, down Carpenter then up Chickencoop, and then back via Bauman  and Crawfis.  I stayed seated up both climbs to monitor the Garmin and it popped 24% on both climbs.  I got back on the route, going up Pump Station , on to Bunker Hill and finally back to the parking lot.  Great route.  Finished with 74 miles and 5600' of climbing.  I think the main route was 56 miles. 

Wow, perfect evening of sun, moderate temperature, light winds out of the NE but lots of no shows and our group only had about 53-55.  Even worse, word must have gotten out that a creeper with a camera would be prowling the parking lot because there was a dearth of women cyclists, maybe 3-4 at the most.  That's it, no more advance warning.  I'll just bide my time, they have to return sooner or later and then I'll unleash a flurry of picture taking never before seen around that parking lot. 

Retro George rode with the Westerville crowd on Wednesday but his bottle cage came off the frame.  Today, I found him using electrical tape on another part of the bike. 

Some guy kept doing circles in the field.  I thought this may be a good way to warm up. 

Euro Patrick showed up for the New Albany ride.  Reynoldsburg Dan on the right.

The ageless wonder on the left, Farmer Mike, Style Queen in the middle and Mark Rossi.

What the A group lacked in quantity it had in quality.  No Jon Morgan, no Marty S, no Mitch T but Billy Campbell was there.  I glanced at him once and he was staring at me.  Slowly he brought a finger up to his neck and drew it across.  A sure sign of what was in store for me.  

So, we shoved out of the parking lot, maybe 22 of us including Patrick, Rich Lewis, Dave C, Billy Campbell, Mick, Shannon, Pete C, Chris G, Terry G, Doug M, Mike Rea, Paul Stock (preparing for a trip to France next month to ride in the Pyrennes with Trek Travel), etc.... oh and George.  We arrived at the first light in New Albany and George mockingly asked of me, "How long you think you can hang on?"...soooo funny.  We made the turn on Kitzmiller and George said, "Are you still here?"......now that's a belly acher right there.  We turned on to Jug and he asked, "How much longer can you make it?'....what a knee buckling laugh that caused me.  Ho, ho, ho.  Right then, My cleat unclipped from the pedal and the group began evaporating from me but good ole Dave Chesrown, saw my predicament, paused and said he pull me back up and did.  What a great guy!  

We cruised out Jug at a pretty fast clip, arriving at Mink where we turned left.  I've never taken this route into Johnstown so was curious about the road, which had some traffic but not too bad.  There are a couple of ramps going into Johnstown and the group began breaking up.  I went left of center to get around a couple of guys, dumb move cause it's never that important not to get dropped.  A van approached and honked and I ducked back into the line and hung on to the front group.  We emerged from the village, making a left on Concord and I could see at the front the usual punishers taking turns, Billy, Shannon, etc...  The pace was fairly intense and some guys were dropping off as we sped north on Nicols, then right on Sportsman Club.  I thought, "Huh, I've made it this far, maybe I can hang for the duration because what else can they throw at me?"  Answer: Lots.  After turning left to get back on Nicols, there were a couple of wicked surges and just like that, on a ramp before Dutch Lane, I popped at mile 14 with a 23.5 avg..  Once I got onto Dutch Lane, looking back I saw no one behind so no secondary group with which to form, lost interest in riding and returned with 31 miles and a 21.1 avg.  I guessed the route and wind would produce a big average for the front group and it did, 24.5!!!!

From Shannon, above is tonight's route of 53 miles for the A route, 43 for the B, 25 for the C.

Well, tonight saw the return of Donn, aka Tall Dude, who is having to fly to New York for work most weeks, eat out of the snack machines and consume fatty hotel food and is temporarily named "Tall & Wide Dude".  Glad to see him come out and hope it is more often.  Also out was Kevin H with bulge in the right shoulder almost recovered from his crash of 6 weeks ago.  Kevin said he was nervous about coming out and considering our erratic bike handling, I'd be nervous too.  Also there was Katherine, making her first appearance for the Canal ride.

Good turnout of 43 cyclists (I'm always confused about counting the Mark & Karen Rossi tandem as one or two) on an evening that was quite a bit windier than what was forecast in the morning when I made the map.  Oh well, with Poobah in Florida, there was no one there to lecture me about not taking wind direction into account.  .

Another new guy, Randy.  He began cycling last year, got struck by a car about a month later, recovered and on the recommendation of Cyclist Connection, joined our group ride.  I told him to keep an eye out for the dude with the shoulder bulge.

Corvair insisted I take her picture to show unmatched tires on her bike but mostly I think she likes to see her image here.

Da Boss and Steve O stood off to the side, again, plotting their strategy and eyeing the other A's waiting in the shade, which included Mitch T, Young Phenom Nick, Muscle Dude, Dustin, Scott Scott (Scott who rides a Scott bike), Paul Stock, Mark C, Jeff S & a couple others.  I sent off the A group, paused and sent out an A/B group. paused and sent out the B group, there was a pause and everyone rushed out with the hybrid B's.  With the two hilly weekend rides, I headed out with the B's and our group comprised of Gary V, Amanda, two red shirted dudes and one white shirted dude.  Two of our group had aero bars and they dropped into them frequently when taking a pull.  I don't get that but Tri Andrew attempted to explain it to me later and I still don't get it.  Anyway, I just settled in and enjoyed a nice, easy ride into Lithopolis, eventually on to Goodman, then St Paul and in to Ashville.   

There, the lead group of A/B came from the right, having missed a turn.  I decided to hop on with Katherine, guy who wears the "Don't Tread on Me" jersey, Tri Andrew, David Smith, Brian L (new young guy and very strong)  and maybe one or two others.  We headed south out of Ashville and then Campbell, where Andrew took a pull while dropping into the ultra aero tuck.  I pulled alongside and asked about this practice as I am genuinely confused.  He said it was to save energy, to which I replied he could do that after pulling, at the back of the pack.  Instead, I said he should ride fairly upright to allow the next in line to draft and be ready when it is his turn.  To this Andrew pulled out of the line and urged me to show how it's done (insert here an image of me whacking myself on the side of the head).  We eventually got onto Hagerty where Brian turned the screws and I hung on but the others faded.  We reached the top of the climb at Ringold and discovered Kevin H and Mark V and upon coasting down hill, came across another group of A/B's.  Now a new group came together and we turned right on Royalton/Winter and reached Cedar Hill, turning left.  Brian was still going strong and by the time we reached Lithopolis, there were 3 of us left and we then got in to Canal, finishing with 41 miles.   

Now, of far greater interest was the front group.  I hear Paul pulled very strong over the Pickering Road hills with Dustin clinging to him like an oyster to a pearl.  Close behind was Scott, Nic, Mark C, and Oxley. Coming in to Lockville, Paul and Dustin regrouped with Scott and soon after the other 3.  They came to the stop at Waterloo and the group broke up some with traffic violations.  Mark tried to turn on a sprint but Paul had a lot in the legs and easily brushed it off.  Paul finished with 49 miles and a 21.8 avg.  Finishing just a little later were Mitch T, Da Boss and Muscle Dude, who had dropped off as the route moved into the hills.

Below, Tuesday's Route.  Next Tuesday, The Summer Solstice Assualt on Mount Revenge.  Will have the map up in a day or two.

Have you ever been invited to a gathering about a week after a big event like Thanksgiving, sit down and been served turkey and related food and suspected what you were really being served were week old leftovers?  Happens to me all the time.  No real reason to bring this up other than I was reminded by it Saturday.  Bruce Rogers hosted the "Rolling Thunder" ride out of Gambier while promising it would be an epic experience.  Bruce was nice enough to send me the route and I forwarded it to a few people.  Subsequently, I was sent comments suggesting, "Hey, what's up with this?  It's nothing more then the KCBC route in reverse."  I was shocked.  It would be similar to if I took Mitch O's "Rocky Ride", reversed the direction and renamed it "Bumpy Butt Tour".    Purely out of concern for maintaining integrity of central Ohio cycling, I asked Bruce about this and his reply was this: Thank you for bringing this matter to light.

As a result of rigorous analysis and comparison of the two bike routes in question (using non-scientific methods), it has now been determined that the Knox route bears every indication of having imitated the “Rolling thunder” route, albeit with several significant modifications.

Please be advised that the proper authorities will be notified. Again, thanks for your vigilance and dedication.

Nevertheless and despite the sense the wool was being pulled over our eyes, we made the long drive to Gambier for a 9:00am start on a hot and somewhat humid day.  We departed via the Kokosing Bike Trail but not before Poobah surveyed the parking lot and.....

....found one willing woman to allow a kiss on the cheek for the camera.  Flyin T was was more than willing, more like eager to participate while....

....Amy was much less so, later overheard talking to her attorney about assault charges being filed.  The good news is Poobah is off to Florida for a week, sans bike he says, to spend time at the beach.  He's promised to send me some images.

If you tire of riding the same roads, you would have liked this ride.  There were some late arrivals that missed the roll out but around 22 of us reached Howard and got onto regular roads including Marty S, Randy Brown, Poobah, Kendas Janet, Paul & Dave, Bruce, Cindy B, Brad the Dentist, Canal Susan, Scott, Suzanne B, Eric, Andrew C, Kevin K, Amy, Fred, Mark V and a few others I did not recognize.    Marty took one for the team, riding at a pace to keep most of us in the game until we hit a longish hill on 514 and then he pulled Randy, Eric and I the remaining miles into Glenmont where I showed my appreciation by taking the uncontested sign sprint. 

This was at mile 25 and we enjoyed lounging in front of the market.  I told Marty what a class act he was to pull for 25 miles but he admitted at some point he'd have to start pedaling with both legs and maybe wouldn't be around much longer, which was understandable.  Leaving Glenmont, we started up the climb on 206 where Marty took the KOM points after spotting those in front a sizable head start.  Randy confided to me that Marty had been first up and I asked him if he knew Marty.  Saying he did not I filled him in.  Last I saw of Marty, he was way ahead and Randy was hanging in there but not sure for how long.

We reached 215 and the 100 mile cutoff.  The group was spread out for miles so not sure what most people did but Cindy and Kevin took the long route intending to cut down Rt.60 and finish with 80 miles, while I rode with Janet, Andrew and Paul all the way down to 541, passing the baseball field with a game in progress.  We eventually rolled into Bladensburg but ignored the temptation of pancakes, refueled at the gas station and headed back to Gambier.  I took a different route to add some miles and finished with 71.  Great views and good roads.  Think I had around 4200' of climbing.  On Sunday, I pioneered a new route to and from Zanesville that included the Vickers Hill climb out of Frazysburg.  Could be a good roving ride route in the future.

Tomorrow is the "Rolling Thunder" ride out of Gambier, starting at 9:00am.  Parking is by the tennis courts and go to the Columbus Outdoor Pursuits web site for directions.  Bruce Rogers, the ride leader, made the wild claim, "This ride is a cinch to be the top ride of the season."  Well I hope so but without doughnuts and prizes, I am skeptical. I hear the turnout will be high.
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On my way to New Albany, I thought I passed Billy C out on a solo ride.  Hmmm, had the effort of dragging Dennis, Mike and I around Wednesday's route strained the system so much that he dare not try to repeat the effort one night later?  Better question, would the legs of the elderly who followed him be recovered?  Check out these sunglasses, worn by Becky.  I was mystified over what the acronym "DG" meant and tried to figure it out....David & Goliath, something & Gold... no, it was explained to me it stood for Dolce & Gabbana.  I was ashamed by my ignorance of modern fashion and added it to the lengthy topics about which I am largely ignorant. I am expert at glancing at a map and immediately visualizing shortcuts but I don't think that impresses many people.

Another good turnout but I forgot to count.  At 5:30 there are 5-10 people and then they arrive from all corners.  I noted that those who ride in are the strongest so I made a mental note to start parking about a mile away and then riding in too.

Mark V and John discussing tonight's route.  Rumors continue to swirl the parking lot of a summer solstice type ride of 60+ miles that tops the Reynoldsburg hill.  Shannon is doing a fantastic job with the routes.  Not at all a knock at ride leaders of past years.  He's also doing a better job then all the Tuesday ride leaders (me included) but he has motivated me to develop new Canal routes.

Rick & friend.  By the way, the annual "Women of the Thursday Night Ride" feature will probably be next week so come out and have a creeper take your image without you being aware of it and then find out it is here.

Of course, most of the stars were out.  I suspected there was group motivation to set an impressive average on a relatively flat route, which meant the pulverizes would be doing what they do best while the rest of us in the "pack fodder" league would see what we could do to hang on.  David C told me the expectation was the group would stay together but being one who is keenly aware of the wind, I figured the cross wind would take it's toll, strong out of the northwest.  Off we went and I settled in next to Mick, chatting about where he stayed in Orlando recently.  Soon though, the chattering part of the ride was replaced with the panting stage as we turned north off Walton's Parkway on Bevelhymer, approached Peter Hoover, passed PH and arrived at #62 and a dead end.  Turned around and went north on PH and I was struggling with the cross wind and dropped back a bit before the stop sign, signaling a turn right on to Fancher and regrouping but I swear the image.....

....of a Wildebeest getting cut out of the heard by a lion flashed in front of me.  We sped east and I continued to struggle more and dropped back.  That sucked.  Ron came up and joined me and we added Gus to our group and I could see as the group turned left on County Line Road, there were other Wildebeests dropping out that would have created a nice secondary group. However, my legs were toast and I left them and headed farther east for a short solo ride at a much reduced effort.  Now, with a big thanks to Marty, he fills me in on the rest but still unknown is the final average.  Can someone fill me in?

Before the ride there was some strategy talk about where the group will break up.  I said something like this ride is not going to break up, it is too flat.  When heading North we were fighting the cross wind.  I often just sit in the back for the first 10 miles and enjoy a warm up.  For some reason I was near the front and took a few pulls but did not think at all about the group breaking up.

Next thing I know some of the guys are giving me heck about my idea that the group was not going to break up.  Grisvard in particular was having some fun at my expense.  I think we were down to about 10 guys, maybe less.  Pete, Grisvard, Shannon, Dave, Hans, Doug McConaha, Paul Stock, Morgan, the guy with the Ohio tattoo and maybe a couple more.  Dave might remember.

Then Doug just rolls off and said he had enough.  Just before we were going to turn out of the wind. I was surprised at who was not with us.  Then Shannon makes a wrong turn on Michell rd instead of Crouse Willison.  We hit lots of gravel but we got back to Appleton and back on the route.  Shannon is doing a great job as ride leader so we cut him some slack.  And he made up for it by working super hard, amazing pulls into the wind.
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Had not visited the Westerville Wednesday ride out of the Hoover Dam yet this year so, arrived, signed in and scanned the parking lot for anyone I might know.  Denni was there so that's good and there was his friend Dan, then Poobah pulls in, Franz, Corvair, then some strong cyclists show up, Billy C, Rob Rhodes, Mike Rea, Doug Mc, Danny A, lots of the usual suspects.

Above, Meredith, Mike and Todd.  Then Todd requests that I begin cataloging him groping willing women so .......

......Meredith reluctantly agrees to be humiliated while Mike scrambles to exit the image.....

......then Amanda agrees, who could be next?  Be on the alert if A. You are a woman or man, B. Todd is in the vicinity, C. I am hovering with camera in hand.

Only because Dennis was overwise occupied did he avoid Todd.  So, the A group gets called out and only 7 of us leave, Billy, Dennis, Dan, Mike, Joe N, Todd and Rob R.  Not sure what happened to the 2-3 other A's.  I think they went off on their own route, probably an easy ride preparing for the Thursday New Albany ride.  As we worked our way across the Hoover Dam and the gates, Joe dropped into the aero position and disappeared.  The rest of us got on to Red Bank and hit the only real hill o the route, right on Gorsuch, left on Miller Paul, on to Longshore and then right on Hartford Foundation where we reached the northern most limit of the route.  We had been pausing to regroup as none of us, save one, knew the route so our average hovered only at 20mph.  Some where in there, Dennis noted that it appeared we were catching Joe so Billy suggested we work hard and catch him.  I instead suggested we ride together and tell our best dirty jokes.  I lost so off we went with Billy drilling it and maintaining a 400+ watt output for an extended period.   

Some of us got shelled but Mike and I hung on and eventually, Billy slowed, motioning us to pull forward.....here we realized the guy on whom we were gaining was not Joe but just some guy out for a ride.  We stopped, checked the map, figured we were still on the route, regrouped with 5 of us and kept going south.  Billy spent the majority of the time on the front and began to become dispirited when he realized guys like Dennis and I were still hanging on.  Billy weaved to throw us out of the slipstream and yet we hung on like dogs with a bone, Billy surged and paused, surged and paused, Billy threw everything plus the kitchen sink at us yet we clung.  We could see the lactic acid building in his legs and his computer was dinging as he exceeded limits for heart rate, watts, effort and finally, we cruised into the parking lot.  38 miles, 750' of climbing and a measly 21.6 avg due to all the map checks and regrouping, which were welcome pauses.  I kind of like going out with much stronger cyclists who are clueless about the route.
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I was unable to make it to Canal on Tuesday.  Well, actually I was able but the cool weather opened up an opportunity to do something else so I called Corvair at work to see if she could come up with a ride report.  The phone call went like this: Corvair: "Hello, Amanda Speaking." Me: "Is this Amanda Orr?" Corvair: "Yes it is." Me: "Amanda Orr, one of the greatest female cyclists in central Ohio?" Corvair: "Why yes. Who is this?" Anyway, she agreed to provide the report and then Steve O and Andrew C provided images so here we go:

The weather was questionable as I arrived in Canal with cue sheets sans maps. The map was printing huge, and I couldn't change it. The forecast called for a high of 66 and clouds. Everyone I talked to said they enjoyed the route, even though it was somewhat hilly. A low turnout of A riders, with a large group of B riders and Eve and a few others were there.  I decided to ride with the Rossi tandem as I was still recovering from a hard 200km ride on Saturday and my lingering head cold. Several of us had arm warmers on, and Nate made fun of me for mine. He's like, "It's not that cold". Well, I was happy I had them towards the end of the ride as it was only around 60 degrees!

The Rossis decided to go out with the small group of A riders, which included Schleup, Ryan and Nate. The Rossis said they had to climb up Slough, so I can understand them leaving early. Poobah must have decided to stay home to avoid what little rain the forecast called for, although we did not get rained on at all. We even saw a nice sunset in the foreground on the way back to Canal.  I decided to head out with them, and left the B group to their own admissions. It was nice to see Donn there and Dave Staats, who just two weeks ago bruised his wrist. He has seemed fine ever since. Well of course the A group kicked it up on the S-curve before Slough, and the Rossis and I promptly got dropped. We then got lapped by the rest of the As on Slough and thought there were B riders back, but did not see any. I rode most of the route with them, sometimes lagging. We had a headwind on the way back, which made things seem chilly. I noticed Ryan riding with the As again, although he says he got dropped later on!

The route was nice, and we headed down Shaw (which is not marked until it dead-ends into Westfall) and through the woods to Amanda Northern. After that we turned right on Cedar hill and it was nice to enjoy the downhill. I noticed when we turned on Marcy there was a group of 4 riders headed up to us. They reached us mid-Cedar Hill and hey, it was 4 As! Nate, Schleup, and two others I'll call "Rose parade jersey guy" and "Team Echelon guy" brought the pace up to 30 mph, rolling through the downhills of Cedar Hill into Lithopolis. Each one of them took sprints, and I just hung onto the tandem for dear life. That put my average up from 17.4 mph to 18.4 ending, on the 37 mile route. Hopefully we will come up with some newer longer routes we can do in June and July, as it is getting dark at 9pm now.

Steve O continues the tradition of handing out gifts to the winner of the Canal sign sprint, this time Billy Campbell.  The big gifts are coming, including Titleist ProV golf balls!!!!!
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John Gorrila sent me a link from www.singletrack.com regarding an article on the Kenda Mohican 100, held last weekend.  Thought you all would be interested:
On its anniversary year, The Kenda Mohican 100 also made history by recording the oldest racer to ever complete the race. Mike Dietlin, (Kenda) will celebrate his seventieth birthday but he is not letting that slow him down. Out of 27 masters who started, eighteen finished, with Dietlin placing fourteenth, despite having twenty years on this field of young bucks in their fifties. At the awards, BikeSource of Columbus recognized Dietlin’s achievement with a $75 gift certificate. As he picked up his award, Dietlin, who has completed three Mohican 100’s in a row, including the wet year when many dropped out, yelled out to the crowd, “I think I may be done with the 100 mile and may enter the sissy race next year!” he said referring to the Mohican 100k, sticking out his tongue.

I wanted to do 100 miles on Saturday, well, "wanted" is not the correct word, more like I felt obligated to.  Got to the parking lot at Gloryland Nazarene Church off Coonpath, the start of the COP Spring HOOT ride and boy, was it already windy.  Not a day where the wind begins light and builds throughout the day, no this was a day where the forecast 20-25mph winds hit in the morning and sustained themselves all day.  As you can see in the image above with all the cross arm looks, it was kind of chilly too.

Poobah is such a ladies' man although probably should not grab another man's wife while the hubby is eyeing him suspiciously.

Yep, within 5 minutes of arriving, I had scaled my plans back to the 50 or 60 mile option, especially after looking at the map and seeing the final 30 miles of the century route would be straight into the wind.  Besides, I had an alternative ride, a back-up plan should I find it necessary to "modify" Saturday's century plan.  There was a Blue Jay ride for Sunday so, as 20+ of us rolled out of the parking lot, I intended to not push things much and, to the extent the word applies to me, be "ready" for BJ.  Our group had Larry P, Craig Butler, Dustin, Poobah, Kenda's Janet, CT, Dave and Paul, Mark C, Flyin Tuna, Trevor, Reynoldsburg Dan, Jimmy, John S, Trevor, Dennis, Dave K, Jeff S, David S, Tri Andrew, Mitch O......I may actually have remembered everyone for once.

We took a circuitous route down to Amanda and took an extended break, while also running into Mitch T.  He too was planning to do the Blue Jay ride. After in depth discussions about route modification, we rolled out of Amanda, climbed Revenge and at the prison, while making all the usual wisecracks about prison life, many of us took the 60 mile route while a few took the 80/100 mile option.  Upon reaching the 50 mile cut-off, I leapt at it and left everyone else.  Went home and painted the deck.  Being a home owner is highly overrated.

Good turnout for the Granville to Zanesville ride via Blue Jay (twice).  Marty, Dave C, Pete C, Tym & Lisa Tyler, John Sada, Peter, Mark (tri guy), Lon Herrman, David Smith (tri guy), other tri types and John Martin, group ride organizer, around 20 people.  I had not planned on the continuation of the strong southwest winds when I abandoned the long Saturday ride plan.  NICE.....5000+ feet of climbing with 20mph head winds on the "flat" return..

David S had the best organized trunk with the most stuff in it I've ever seen. 

We rolled out the bike path, through Newark and approached Bue Jay.  Probably anticipating the reality of the divisions soon to appear, three distinct groups formed at the base of the climb before the pace and terrain really kicked in.  Marty, Dave, Pete and Tym quickly pulled away at an alarming rate.  John S and Lisa behind and then a group of schleps that included me.  About half way up the opening climb I bridged up to John and Lisa, as did Peter and Mark.  Things got a little frisky on the first two climbs but after that we mostly hung together all the way to Brownsville Road, turning left and attacking the infamous route clockwise. 
 
Tym and Lisa opted to take an alternative route so our group dropped to four.  Neither Peter nor Mark had previously ridden the route so I enjoyed verbally describing the two monster climbs left on the outbound portion, maybe exaggerating a bit. We rolled into the market on Route 40 just west of Zanesville and refueled.  I was hoping others would appear in order that our numbers would swell for the assault on the head wind return but alas, we finally left with just our four.  A funny thing happened as we were pedaling out Ridge after Kopchek.  I decided I'd like not to ride that Cooperrider section into the wind. So as we approached the left on Morgan, I told them I was taking an alternative route and wished them luck.  I know, I know.  Anyway, plowed into the wind going west on 40, , plodded on and on and on into the wind, and then on some more and then....what's this.....another market.  Glancing at my computer, it had been only 9 miles since the Z-ville market but time to research a possible future break point.  

Nice, very nice with a covered porch in front and expansive views of fields and grain silos.  This market is 2 miles east of the Poplar Forks turn and maybe another 3 or so to 668/Brownsville.  I grudgingly got up and plodded on to Brownsville then Blue Jay and returned with 72 miles and 5150' of climbing. 
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