 Kind of weary of the starts from New Albany and the "161 Express" exit from the village so....organized a ride from Johnstown. Officially, we were to start from....  ....the gazebo on the corner of #62 and #37 and so eventually we got there and around 24 of us shoved off but without Soku and 1-2 of his buddies who were late. Too bad as we could have used them at the front.  We headed northeast toward Gambier and then on to Martinsburg where most of us.....  ....paused at the lone diner for grilled foods. It was pretty good and Larry was especially thrilled because he claimed the #1 card and thus was first in line for the food delivery. Actually, we all received our food at the same time and in about 1 minute.....  ....Cindy crammed down her food and went outside to talk to those who chose snacks from the gas station but were nice enough to hang around and wait for the rest of us. How about that! Finished with 70 miles and 3200' of climbing. A good time was had by all!  There is likely to be an option departing from New Albany too but if you want something different, a group will depart from Johnstown at 9:00am, headed to Gambier. Conversational B pace but if you want to gather and head at a faster pace, that too is fine. Or, a slower pace is ok too! This is where I will be, not that that matters of course and I'll post any alternatives that come to my attention. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/25723147
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 First, I need to stress this was not my idea. For someone like me who runs from the suggestion I am a parking lot picture taking creeper, I'd never suggest the pose or the taking of the image. With that said, Wendy, on the far left, suggested and herded the women into a line for a picture in honor of Hugh Hefner's passing. Yes my friends, I had the privilege of riding with this bunch....oh yes, Marty and Andy joined in too. Fun ride out of Johnstown to Utica and beyond, during which we saw an honest to goodness coyote. Now, 2nd from the left is Kim who.....  ...was bothered by an idiot driving the above car on London Road. A big thumbs up from the blog to Kim for thinking to take the image. The guy got out of his car and yelled at Kim but fortunately another driver intervened. The idiot swerved, braked and otherwise harassed Kim. Police were called and they later talked to the driver who must have thought driving this car with personalized plates would keep him anonymous. What a dolt. On we go to.....  ....Thursday evening for the 5:30pm start out of New Albany. Andrew is ready to go but someone called him "lizard" for wearing a jacket during low 70 temps. I will work to avoid making this a permanent nickname.  Michael on the left (may want to change out that helmet buddy) with Milt, Deniece....maybe Hector and Andres. Only 25-30 came out for tonight's routes of 36 and 29 miles. Not sure about the 5:30pm start but not sure a 6:00pm start with shorter distances would work either.  Jon Morgan made the good suggestion that the Rivets and A's go out together. Someone chimed in he thought that a good idea as long as it was not a Rivet pace. I think there was a gentlemen's agreement that would be the case but not sure all of the 4 Riveters heard the pledge.  Now the B group waits to go out and above, Andres stands proudly with his bike having new wheels. Note the yellow shoes match the accent color on the wheels. I did not go out with any group. Been nursing a cramp in a calf that is aggravated each time I ride and since I have ridden several days in a row, it aint getting any better. I drove from New Albany and passed.....  ....Rick, Andres and the balance of the B group then.....  ....pulled ahead of the Rivet/A group and got the above image as Larry P, sporting a very old Savage Hill jersey, makes Luke R struggle to keep up. The Riveters must have scaled back the intensity a bit as they covered the route in 23.3 avg.  Three rides yet in the season, each shoving off at 5:30pm for the Thursday (and Tuesday) New Albany rides. Should be a beautiful evening for a bike ride and without farther delay....the routes!!!! https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19497279 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19497665 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19497925  The sun rises as I head west to New Albany. Kind of growing weary of starts from New Albany and the usual exit via the old 161 but Luke was nice to open a ride opportunity for everyone who wanted a place from which to start.  In front of Starbucks, the joggers and cyclists begin to gather. Scott B on the right. The real action was....  .....where you would expect to find cyclists and a pimp wearing his read socks and shoes, in the parking lot.  It was promised to be a Rivet paced ride for those who wanted that and a conversational "B" pace for those who wanted something less. No surprise, most of us wanted something less. In total about 24 came out, 5-6 in the front group, the balance behind. I had the very unpleasant surprise of discovering my rear brake pad was rubbing my wheel. How long had that been occurring....possibly since the late 90's??? That would explain a lot. Dang, the bike felt, no surprise, much easier to pedal so I began to wonder, who among my "friends" could have sabotaged my bike? The list being so long, I gave up trying to guess. Anyway, we arrived in Utica at around mile 44 to.....  ...refuel. You know me, I'd never post an embarrassing image unless someone drops banana peels on my car so....  ...it is a different view while sitting and observing.....  ....the eating habits of others. Before too long we jumped on the bikes and headed up.....  ....Reynolds Road. Toward the top, the power petered out on my Di2 so I lost use of the front derailleur and lost contact with the group. Times like this you find out who are your friends and on that ledger, I am a bit light. If there is such a thing as reincarnation I will try harder the next time around! Then Sunday dawned, similar to Saturday and off I went to....  ....New Albany again. How about that, not 2 Kendas but 3 as Kenda Mar Gex joined Janet and Paul. as Philippe attempts to avoid.  Mike on the left with Don to his left and then Milt. Good route and good people but after Saturday's ride of 75 miles, I thought I'd hang back just a little with the Kenda threesome and Flyin Tuna.  Marty's arrival time is cutting it too close to departure time so he rarely is able to finish any of Starbucks finest.  We listen aptly as Don announces various things prior to.....  ....shoving off as New Albany is undergoing significant construction which includes condos, retail and more single family housing.  We caught up with the group once at the end of Battee where a flat had caused the group to pause and then again at the top of Chattham where a cable caused a couple of guys to turn around. Then our little group cruised into Granville where....  ...we paused to eat expensive bagels at Steamrollers. Nice group of people working there and we enjoyed the atmosphere. Plus they have an electric bike in front so what's not to like about the place? Finished with 51 miles.  Here is an option having both an A and B paced group. 8:00am from in front of Starbucks in New Albany. This ride is open to all cyclists who can maintain either an A or B pace. The season is winding down and I'd like to not ride too hard so let's call the B group a "conversational" pace except when hitting the hills, with a few regroups. If you can hang with the Tuesday New Albany group or the Thursday B group, you will be fine. If you engage in weird riding behavior as demonstrated last Saturday, don't join us but all others are encouraged to join. This link takes you to a file created by Flyin Tuna, which is how Luke's route will be ridden: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/25506978  Remember! 5:30pm Start Time for Thursday's New Albany ride. The routes: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19496721 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19496924 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19497192  I've been experimenting with various offshoots of bikes designed for riding gravel roads. The mountain bike with straight handlebar....yuck. I can handle about an hour of that before the permanent hand position wears on me but I like the wide tires. The gravel bike with road handlebars but with narrower tires....whoa too often this gravel rookie thought he had no control of the bike. Yesterday, Rick Miller borrowed a bike that had the 2.1 tires, Di2 shifting and set up identical to my road bike. Eureka! Rick escorted Flyin Tuna and me on a 45 mile route, after which I felt good and could have gone much farther. Now have to acquire a bike similar to this so the search begins.  A foggy drive to the start of the KCBC ride in Gambier. Weird drive as it seemed an inordinate quantity of deer were standing beside the road as I drove past and that causes me to grip the steering wheel a bit harder then I got caught behind a cement truck going up a steep hill and that took forever but despite that, I made it on time.  We gather, actually, too many of us gather. Don't know what drew in so many strangers which normally is ok but some of them were unusually squirrely and had some of us on edge. Perhaps they saw a large group and wanted to draft which, I totally get that. Above, Cindy, Eva and Corvair, with Sam in black on the right, wait.  We were a little late getting out but eventually did so and were off and riding.  What a relief when later, the fog burned off and the sun shone on our group of mostly happy pedalers. Tym Tyler on the left with Theresa on the right, Dirty Dan and Andrew in front of them. OK, it's part of the ride so therefore should be part of the report; the incidents. Marty pulled for I think all of the first 50 miles so if you happened to be drafting behind him, you were fortunate. Meantime, many of us took our turns to his right and when our match was extinguished, off to the back we would go. Marty kept a nice even and for him, modest pace. The group numbered around 30-35 cyclists. A couple of guys would drift on the climbs and then on the run-out from the descent, would pass the group on the left, left of the center line. I guess they wanted to start toward the front in anticipation of the next climb but it was unsafe for them and us. Rick Miller barked at them after the 2nd incident. Then, a guy jumped road kill rather than signaling to those behind the presence of the dead animal. That is stupid and endangers those following. Let's see...what else...some people can not maintain their place in the right or left line, preferring to camp out in the middle. Or, at times, we had 3 people riding alongside rather than as a double pace line. Then there is the guy who makes sudden moves out of line, with no warning or to check if there is clearance, just moving cause he is oblivious to those around him. Following this Saturday and then also some incidents on the Thursday New Albany ride (yeah, one guy was at both rides and so duplicated the thoughtless moves), we have to do a better job educating and talking individually to the problem cyclists. Anyway....  ...we arrived at the lunch stop at around mile 54. Larry P on the left, Gus Cook on the right. I was doing well until the Tunnel Hill climb at around mile 35. There, about half way up I just popped off the group and Marty, Gus, Larry P, Cindy and about 4 others kept going. Maybe diet, maybe I suck, maybe too many leg presses but it was strange to feel fine and then bang...nothing. Cindy B and Andrew C took pity on me and dropped back. After the top, Dirty Dan came from behind but passed to the left of the white line in the opposite lane, obviously not wanting to help his buddy, that Dan. We hooked up with Tym, who recently was in the hospital and probably should not have been out, and rode into Coshocton and then on to the above lunch stop. My legs felt like they had already ridden 100 and I still had 46 to go. UGGGGHHHHH. Each time I arrived at the base of a climb I'd look up and think, "Son of a......" I think I had that thought 20 times that day. I made it and toward the end of the ride, began to feel much better so maybe the food helped? 100 miles, 6000' of climbing.  Good friend of the blog, Ken Buddell, was a victim, of a hit and run today. He has some video showing him in a roundabout when a vehicle came from the right and struck him. The above is the best shot of the license plate. You amateur or professional detectives get to work and try to figure out the plate number.  The best ride option, sure to be ridden by anyone who is anyone, is the KCBC out of Gambier. There is a group of us shoving off at 8:00am for routes of 100, 75 and 60 miles. Some will start long and finish shorter, others will start short and finish short. I will be in there somewhere. Among the noteworthies rolling to the start line are me (of course), the Rossi tandem, Luke Russell and can the other member of the Power Couple be far behind, Larry Van Gogh, the Cook couple, Flyin Tuna, Dirty Dan, me (did I say that already?), Corvair, Ryan R, Eva, the Kendas, A Clayton, etc... An email from COP confirms the below routes. This is a full service event so multiple food stops and if you register yet today, only $20: http://www.outdoor-pursuits.org/ https://ridewithgps.com/trips/110626 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/15855211 https://ridewithgps.com/trips/3489932  Could someone buy this guy a new pair of socks? Look at the right foot. Riding 20.000 miles a year takes its toll on the clothing.  Gus, Danny & Dan getting ready to roll on the 37 mile Rivet or A route.  It was suggested that I take a pic of these wheels. I'm not into the gear side of cycling...actually, it could be said by an independent observer I am not into any aspect of cycling but anyway, here they are. Must be expensive and propels him to great achievements?  Serious firepower on display in this image. At the rate Travis is improving, he'll line up for the Giro in Spain next year.  Good turnout of the HH guys!  Actually, fairly good turnout with around 40 for our dry ride of the aforementioned 37 mile route or the 31 mile route.  Adam O on the left. The blog has been remiss in not mentioning this talent previously. I have made stars of so many, turning them into giants of the peloton or not.  Milt on the left with Chris. Sure, everyone smiles in the parking lot.  In the background, the Riveters roll out and the lead group will finish with a 24.5 avg. That is with the Thresher climb in there too. Now the A group begins to clip in, preparing to shove off.  OK, good idea to check your watch and wonder if I forgot to send out the A group. Sometimes I do get distracted. In the background, Michael L pulls in but somehow made it to the start of the B group.  And so, we all got out on a modest route and the sun appeared to be setting while we were still miles out. I jumped in with the B group which rode like the A group and I finished with a 21mph average. Some talk about the A group's sprint toward New Albany with a few guys passing unexpectedly on the right. HEY! Cut that out!  Hey all you Thursday New Albany friends (and you are all my friend whether you want to be or not cause I'm that kind of guy), things are LOOKING UP!!! It appears as Thursday progresses it will become dryer, brighter and by the time 6:00pm rolls around, upper 60 temps, light winds and we will be rolling out of town. While the rain threat diminishes, the threat of attack by wild hyenas rises but there is enough of that below. Thursday's routes: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19489879 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19489907 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19489921  A beautiful day for a bike ride but a forecast "cold" start had be electing to take off at 9:00am rather than with a large group at 8:30am. I was in luck because also starting at that time was Dirty Dan and Steve O. We worked together to the village of Amanda, arriving with a 20.2 average for the 19 miles. Here, I left the route to go straight on Amanda Southern then left on Bowers and soon......  ....I was back on the route and ahead of the 8:30 group. Steve had warned me that if I stayed with he and Dan, they would over take the group, counting on Cindy having at least one flat and sure enough.....  ....here he and Dan came with a Gus Cook led group of 6 and then soon thereafter, a 2nd group who were doing the full 100 mile route, which was my intent although my little off routing would yield me 92 instead. The 100 mile group was comprised of Mark C, Andrew C, Flyin Tuna, Jeff and me.  We arrived in Sugar Grove and studied the menu, eventually giving an order to an over worked staff. The subs were fantastic and worth the wait. From here, people made all kinds of route accommodating, some striking toward Canal Winchester and finishing with around 70 miles and some of us staying on the long route. Later, entering Millersport....  ....we caught up with Dan and Steve, who had stopped at Scott Young's house for an emergency repair. Note the bike wheel made out of barbed wire above the garage door. The Covered Bridge ride had by many of our counts, 1 bridge but that is ok because too often trying to force more takes away from the route. The route had a good first half but that second half, yikes, boring. Work on that for next year, ok?  The Covered Bridge ride is tomorrow and I suspect there will be other rides as the day progresses. This is a COP event with a cost of $5 for members and $10 for non-members. If you are like me, arriving Saturday morning to pay and ride, you will not have access to the gps file for your chosen route. So, here are the links to the routes which I believe are for this year's event: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/24966459 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/24775271 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/24773361 Looks like 80ish miles rolling out of Rockmill Brewery, route to come for the very fit or for those that want a later start,9:00am. More to come....  The day began with a gravel ride on a mountain bike with Mike Smith and Flyin Tuna. It was more paved road then gravel and that doesn't bother me all that much. 35 miles with 3200' of climbing. One stretch going toward Somerset had super rollers, the top of each climaxing with 20% grades. Well, on to.....  ...the Thursday New Albany ride. The posted route length troubled some cyclists so some adjusting occurred, for good reason.  Some stretching was going on too. Always a good thing prior to and after a ride. I need to start doing that.  Yeah, it looked and felt like November, causing some of us to raid our cold weather clothing including.....  ....Chris who went full thermal including gloves.  That camera hogster, Luke R, photo bombs my carefully planned image. I think around 50 came out including....  ....Lori, back from the rigors of racing and van living. She proclaimed the off season had begun.  The Riveters departed with no adjustment needed to their route of 41 miles, which they would cover at a 24mph average. Then of course, the A group got going and a healthy group of 15 B's, including me. I was glad for the relaxed pace but then as fate would have it.....  ....we encountered this on Sadie Thomas Road. Taylor was the first to cross, then Chris, Enrique and me. The others of poor balance found a work around via bike. The down side to this is now I was in a group who wanted to do more than a B pace. Dang I should have gone with the others.  Even with only 30 miles, of course that water crossing delayed things, the sun was setting as we closed on New Albany. Later, the A and balance of the B groups pulled in and I saw a couple of people arriving probably later than they should be on a bike. We'll adjust things for next season.  The season is winding down and it went by so quickly. The routes for Thursday, September 6th: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19489498 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19489618 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/19489837  What every cyclist needs, a pad on which to stand to keep the socks clean. Why did I not think of that? Sokha participated in a crit this past weekend and finished 2nd. More to come.  Larry bought a pair of cycling shoes 4 years ago, waiting for the day his old pair went out of service and today was the day.  Seventeen came out, some of us deep in contemplation.  A loud bang signaled a flat tire so the guy, back left, was busy fixing it while Deniece described a challenging event in which she and others participated this weekend in Vermont. Sounded like brutal conditions.  And so the bell tolled 6:00pm and out we went. I hung with the group for 2 miles and then, turned around. More then that I do not know.  The ride scheduled for Saturday has been shifted to Sunday but note the start time is 8:30am. September 3rd; 8:30 a.m. start time; at Hoback Park, S. 30th Street, Dorsey Mill Road, Heath OH. Scenic ride starting in Licking County; options of 51, 72, or 85; longer routes go into Bremen, shorter option goes as far as Somerset. All routes are hilly with food/drink available. Restrooms are available at start. Please print a cue sheet if needed, maps will be available. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/15895870 51 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/15895297 72 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/15894621 85 miles  Also at 8:30am is a ride out of Granville Sunday, September 3 8:30 AM Leaving from River Road Coffee Distance: 49.7 mi Elevation: + 3218 / - 3223 ft Estimated Time: 04:06:37 Through Newark, out Blue Jay. Texas Road. Toboso. Marne Road. Return on Hazel Dell, Dayton, Stewart, Welsh Hills. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/24828754 I am torn. The Bremen route is my least favorite of all the rides available to us during the season. The Granville route has an undesirable extended bike path section but that can be avoided and usually is depending on who shows up. |
