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Dude, Really????

8/25/2011

13 Comments

 
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With a football game nearby, the parking lot was filled, forcing cyclists to park elsewhere but still they came, including Steve O.  Earlier I had tried to persuade him not to come by describing a boringingly flat route but this only motivated him to still come but bring the fat tired bike with toe clips and tennis shoes.

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Paul Stock gave me two free water bottles for plugging the "Pedal with Pete" ride a couple of weeks ago on the blog. It don't get no better than that.

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John G arrives sporting light blue shorts with a flower pattern while riding a single speed bike with fenders.

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A rare appearance by Rich Lewis, center, Tym Tyler, on the right, taking a swig of a pre-ride energy drink.

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More people came....

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.....and still more so the group swelled to 65.  Leaving the parking lot was a modest A group of maybe 18, including Gus, Marty, Tym & Lisa T, Dave C, John M, Pete, Steve O, Paul S, Katherine, Stephano, Doug M, Rich L and....

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....Claude, who had to take care of business at the last minute, in full view of those of us not riveted to Jeff Fallen's pre-ride instructions that included trying to send us out at 5:55 instead of 6:00pm.  We headed out 161 at a high pace, soon arriving at the light at 310 where we turned left and then right on Jersey Mill.  An emergency vehicle approached, soon followed by a second that served to stretch out the group. Those at the front hustled away while the balance of the group was still waiting for the vehicles to pass, causing a split in the group, nice.  I think we regrouped toward the bottom of Jersey Mill and approached the dead-end at 37. 

There is a stop sign here and a car was approaching from the left.  As has been the practice recently, the stop sign was ignored so those getting through it prior to the arrival of the car formed one group while those of us having to wait for the car to clear formed a second group.  We cruised through Alexandria, arriving at the left turn on Raccoon Valley Road with a truck driving toward us.  Some were able to make the turn prior to the trucks arrival, some of us could not, creating an additional split in the group.  There was some grumbling amongst us about the tactics used by those in front to create gaps.  It can probably be summarized by saying getting gapped because a guy has better legs or better cardio capacity is one thing, getting gapped because someone is using a vehicle or stop sign to create the gap is another.  It's only a matter of time before someone makes a split second decision to stay with the group and the consequence of running a red light, stop sign or turning in front of an oncoming vehicle will be demonstrated.  

Paul Stock, Steve O and I headed out RV Road, turned left on Hardscrabble, passed Claude, then Ralph and toward the top of the climb, our average was still at 23.3. As we approached Northridge, we came up on a group who had stopped.  Apparently, someone had touched Doug M's back wheel but had stayed upright so all was well.  Doug and Stephano jumped in with us and we had a good working group out Concorde, into Johnstown.  Doug split off there while we headed down a very knarly Caswell, right on Duncan Plains and left at Green Valley.  Paul and Steve were doing most of the work as we reached Clover Valley, then right on Miller and eventually reached the parking lot with a 22.4 average and 36 miles.   

Here's a radical idea, when you know or suspect the group is going to get split because of a vehicle or red light, how about looking back to make sure everyone got through before sprinting?  And, get this, how about not running stop signs while a car is approaching?  This stupid stuff is going to get someone hurt.

13 Comments
Caboose
8/26/2011 12:50:24 am

I'm sad to say that this is typical A rider behavior. They never wait for anyone, act like the ride is a race.

Reply
CIndy
8/26/2011 01:33:34 am

Well put; it would be sad for someone to get hit by a car, or worse, just to keep up with the group ahead of them. If you are dropped due to ability, or lack of, that's another thing entirely.

Reply
Gapper
8/26/2011 01:50:22 am

Hard to argue with the blog report. The water bottles looked used. Maybe that's why he gave them to you.

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In his defense
8/26/2011 02:21:16 am

I think Claude just had an embarrassing itch.

@ Caboose - c'mon! That's like saying all women get PMS

Reply
My Thoughts
8/26/2011 02:36:52 am

I believe Claude is demonstrating a "cycling timeout" which should be the punishment for any cyclist who rides inappropriately. Mark should be appointed judge and jury.

Reply
Observer
8/26/2011 03:12:21 am

Claude was filling his water bottle

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David C.
8/26/2011 04:17:35 am

I make it a point to try to wait if someone gets caught at a light or stop sign. We pulled over when the Ambulance came and the front 5 kept going. This is not how our Thursday ride usually goes, not at all pleased that it happened.
I did try to gap in Alexandria and wasted way too much energy. Marty and Jon Morgan closed the gap at the top of Hardscrabble they did a great job. I was sucking wheel the best I could unfortunatly I missed it by 5 lengths and was left to blow in the wind. Did my best Mark impression and cut out the north loop to Sportsman club, this put me ahead of the group who caught me at the end of Jug. They had the usual sprint only this time a truck tried to win and almost took out several guys. He was sideways in the grass for a moment, I thought it was going to be real bad. He managed to save it, I think Jon Morgan needs new shorts after his close call.

Reply
Can't Tell a Lie
8/26/2011 05:00:21 am

I was close to the front and I can name names. It was the dude wearing the blue shorts with flowers on them. He did it, I saw him and he should be banned....from wearing blue shorts with flowers.

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outta there!
8/26/2011 07:52:11 am

Use the porta potties or the NA Schools will no longer allow usage of their parking lot for this ride.

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safety first
8/26/2011 08:06:43 am

safety first. seems good at the time but a few seconds could lead to a very bad decision. don't be stupid.

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Go to your corner
8/26/2011 10:59:44 pm

Maybe all violators of the "rules of the road" and "A, B, & C" group etiquette, should be sent to the "Corner" like Claude!!! Sounds like the same s@#t every year!

Grand Poobah

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Same old
8/27/2011 08:58:34 am

sigh...

Thanks Mark for at least making a point of how stupid it all has gotten, versus just reporting the news. When's it going to be renamed the Thursday night Worlds. COP has already lost this ride.

Reply
Mark
8/27/2011 01:36:03 pm

COP has not lost control of this ride. The problem is easily remedied. The selfish, immature Richard Craniums simply need to be ID'd and then they will be banned from COP sponsored rides. It's been done before. We should not allow a couple of muffin heads to ruin the ride for us all.

Reply



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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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