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The First New Albany Winds of War Ride

4/10/2014

5 Comments

 
Although I was not there, I have many in the peloton who feel it is their responsibility to keep me informed and so, after talking to many, I can file this brief report.  Rick Miller had a brief presentation at the beginning and a New Albany police officer was there to add weight to the presentation while describing his own pursuit of cycling lawbreakers.  Then the group rolled out, around 30 total into an environment of clouds and very strong winds, probably 25mph+.  No doubt this kept the crowd down. During the warm-up, Dirty Dan was mixing it up at the front, dirty, dirty Dan, making the warm-up session rather short and life unbearable for a few.  Jon Morgan was up there too, probably inspired by Dan. Dan dropped off the pace after establishing himself as the pace setter.

The pace was very fast out Jug Street with a tail wind and then, entering Alexandria, the old habits arose as the lead A group turned right on to #37 with cars approaching from the left.  Rather than pause to make sure everyone got through, it appears the front group pushed the pace and so a gap was created.  This, by anyone's definition, is chickenshit stuff and the type of event that Rick is striving to avoid.  My very limited experience with the A group is that it is just one or two people who initiate this stuff and others follow so they are not dropped.  To be fair, since I did not see this, maybe the telling of the story was exaggerated.

The return, in to that strong wind, created more gaps but still, the lead group had a 22.8mph average.  I'll be there next Thursday, as long as it is sunny and 80, to post what I witness, at least during the warm-up phase.

5 Comments
To be fair
4/10/2014 01:19:45 pm

there was a regroup at the bottom of Mounts

Reply
dtom
4/10/2014 11:33:51 pm

Did anyone catch if the officer was spouting the stay 18 inches from the white line nonsense? Not only is that not the law, having cars squeeze through in our lane is the perfect way to get killed.

Reply
Marty Sedluk
4/11/2014 04:21:15 am

I think everyone tried to have a safe ride last night. I think it is good for people to share any grievances so that we can discuss it and continue to ride safely. In the case of passing through Alexandria, if people think we should stop and only roll if no cars can be seen coming from the left, if people agree that it would increase safety I think we should do that.

We came to a stop at Jug and Jersey Mill. Then stopped again at #37, turned left and rolled through pot hole filed of Alexandria. We had two guys who did not make it through the light when making a left on Mounts Rd. The group waited until they could make it to the group. Then when the group hit the hill near the bike trail it was game on and soon there where only six in the lead group.

I think everyone knows how important it is to not have people left behind at a light or intersection. We want people to only cross intersections if it is safe and never have anyone cut it close for fear of being dropped. This is not just for the A group or lead group, this is important for every group. From what I saw last night, I thought that the group did a good job waiting when it was called out that we had two riders waiting to get through the light in Alexandria. If anyone felt pressured to turn when it was not safe, then we need to do a better job.

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HFP Man link
4/15/2014 01:48:17 am

Well said by Marty. I look forward to seeing everyone this Thursday. Giddy up!

Reply
Doug
4/15/2014 01:53:19 am

I was in the A group as it rolled down Jug to #37. I was at the back in the group (not off the back) at 37. I heard someone say "car" as most of the group rolled through the stop sign. I stopped with one other rider to let the car pass. We rolled through Alexandria about 50 yards behind the main A group. The group did wait for us to get back on at the light on Mounts. I did appreciate it.

I can't speak to what happened during the rest of the ride (I waited on Mounts for a new rider to be sure he knew the way) but up until 37, I thought the group was a bit better than it had been in the past.

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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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