Gentlepersons, your ride reports pls.

[Too Tall]

Just could not wait for Monday to tell all :)

Friday, drive up to Trexlertown for a coaching session with one of the Pros at "T" town. Wow, it was a great knowledge exchange and the guy got so into the coaching that he threw on his kit and rode his track during part of the time :) My goal was to race for the first time on the track (single bikes...did tandems) the next day at the "Noon Races". My new friend and coach was AWESOME. He was able to help me identify how this was diff. from road racing and clued me as to how and were to attack the course and how to make the best speed at various portions of the track. Also, a very important part was learing all the nuances of track racing a newbie like learns either by trial and error or has passed on knowledge from some long beard. Ahhhh, the joys of a pro coach....lemme tell you :) Haha, get this....I asked my coach to tell me how NOT to look like a first time track rider...he was great and showed me all the "cool guy" things to do like where to hang your bike and how to roll thru the staging area and hook a stylish "U" turn. Haha, these things are IMPORTANT y'all QUIT laughing.

So, after he tortured me for a while guess who shows up? Queen. She snuck onto the track and I got her to follow me around twice on the blue line...hehe she was screaming the whole time...in a good way.

Saturday, they put me into the cat 4 field because my license is one of those old guy deals...it's grandfathered...no cat 5's for me. Track is a different deal. For instance the first cat 5 race was won by a guy who was a cat 2 roadie...hmmmm. Gulp. Masters racing was out of the question for a first timer...there were guys in that field who raced Pro 123 the evening before. Sheesh.

Soooo, to make a long story short. TT took a 5th in the scratch race and with the help of a some sneaky attacking took enough points in the points race to make the final (insert cheesey grin). :)

Anywho, guess who else I saw at the track? CSB!!! I was warming up for my second race and I hear "Hey Too Tall". DOH!!! He was scoping out the competition. My man apparently has been taking track racing lessons with the Air Products program. Hmmmm....this could be fun.

And knock me over with a feather...my Ti Seven AXEMEAQUESTION did not suck as a real track race bike as I fully expected it to misbehave. The Nimble Crosswind as a rear wheel was freakin' brilliant and I used the Nimble Fly for the front....oh heck yeah.

Sorry to babble. It's just that I'm having so much fun. Hope you all are too.

[Bruce Jacobs]

We planned a 40 mile+ ride. Things were going so well. We were on a beautiful road we had never been on before and looked forward to a DH from all the climbing to get there and it happened. BANG. A blowout!

I only run 115# in a tire rated at 140#, less than 200 miles on the rear tire and tube but a nice hole in the sidewall from the inside, no puncture. Same noise as when you put too much air in a tire and it pops.

But I am prepared, 3 tubes (NIB), 3 CO2 cartidges, and a combo pump/CO2 gun.

Two bad tubes and one bad cartidge and I am down to the pump. It does not work. Brand new but cannot get a grip to pump air into the tire. So there is no choice, an agonizing ride to a well travelled cyclist road where we saw a bunch when we were climbing.

Where did they go? No one. We moved on very slowly as I did not want to roll the tire off the rim. My wife finally flagged down a cyclist who had a pump that was so old that the piece inside that has to be flipped to make it work for presta was fused. So much for carrying a convertor.

Rode on and on. Finally flagged a cyclist who had a real pump, got some air and made it back. Was only two miles from the car and had already done 10 miles on a flat.

After a stop at the LBS to get some new tires, etc, I changed out the rear, my dollar bill was pretty shredded (that I wrapped the tube where the whole was). But life goes on.

My left hand is a little numb from probably putting too much pressure ob the hoods trying to keep the bike and me going. 30 miles = 4+ hours including the hour to mess with the tire and get eaten by the local bugs.

Hope it does not spoil the ride this morning.

[TimD]

Wednesday - Just back from Paris (where there seemed to be some cycling event going on :)), jetlagged. Heat index in Boston is 105. Boss writes "Are you joining us in Hopkinton?" "Hopkinton?" "Group picnic." "Of course I am, sir. How could I have forgotten this over my 10 days of French immersion?" "I don't know. See you at 1 PM."

Fire up TopoUSA and plot a route. 15 miles each way. Hmmm. Haven't been on the bike in a while, looks like it might be hot out, I'm kinda tired, I am carrying a whole lotta chocolate croissants, maybe I should drive? Nah, go for it. Fill the pannier with sandals, bathing suit, & c., off we go on the Adventure Bike.

Into the scirocco the whole way. Yes it is hot out. Fully 90 degrees hotter than my coldest ride this year. And how did I miss the 1000' of climbing in the last 6 miles? TopoUSA, yep, right there on the map.

Eat, drink lots of water (there being no beer at this gala, to add insult to injury), hang out and sweat, refuse offer of a ride home from pickup-driving buddy. Mount up and choose flatter, slightly longer, much busier, and less certain route back.

Get slightly lost, get back on track. Dodge cars (it is now 5 PM and all the folks who were in a big hurry to get to their most excellent jobs are now in a big hurry to leave them).

Run over a hugely fat Dauschund. Now, before the numerous dog lovers on this forum who have nothing better to do than read this get excited, I love dogs. Simply, there isn't much one can do when riding in a 2' wide shoulder with lots of rush-hour cars on one side and an 8" stone curb on the other, and a dog which decides to get a better look at the bright yellow and orange thing approaching it at 21 MPH runs into one's path when one is 15' away. Except unclip, try to stop, and try not to crash, into traffic or preferably not at all. Which I somehow manage to do, limiting contact to my front wheel.

The woman who has this dog, and another dog, on extensible but unlocked leashes and who is emptying her mailbox at the end of her driveway at the time is appropriately apologetic, but perplexed as the dog is not known for chasing bicycles. Or so she claims. "Maybe it is something you are wearing?" What, clothes? :confused:

After we extract the leash from my drivetrain, I politely point out that I and the dog are lucky to be alive and, while we both appear unhurt, she might want to keep her eye on the dog. Mount up and ride on (before the dog succumbs to its internal injuries).

Flat. Fix it after a struggle with a corroded Salsa skewer (p.o.s.)

Ride off the side of a very narrow and busy road, into a ditch, avoiding a crater. Stay upright.

Eat a Japanese beetle.

Thirty-two miles, two hours total.

Thursday:

Twelve miles with my twelve-year-old, who manages to sprint to 27 MPH and hold my wheel at 21 MPH for a minute without obvious distress. Not bad, I thought! :beer:

Friday:

Twenty-five miles at lunch with my Cat 2 buddy who is trying to salvage his season after breaking his collarbone and wrist. Easy pace.

Saturday:

Up at 0540. Toast, jelly, juice, coffee, and a banana by 0615. Meet part of the group at 0640 and the larger group forms at 0710. This time I'm on my Legend, which I have loaned to a friend while I was away, for use by his buddy visting from out-of-town. A hundred yards up the road I flat. Two remain with me. I fix it and we start riding the recreational approximation of a TTT trying to catch up (25-28 MPH sustained).

After about 30 minutes of this mostly driven by the other two, I/we decide that the group has taken some other route, since the guy who knew the route was with me, and the riders in the main group are not sufficiently organized to maintain anything like our pace. We throttle back and I manage to hang onto my breakfast.

Ride through a crater not pointed out by the lead man. Another flat. Fix that, it deflates. Fix _that_, and the front is now soft. We are now out of tubes and patches. Around this time I notice that my nice DT Swiss 1.1/AM Classic rear purchased from Dr. Whatley has been dinged :crap: either by the crater or while on loan. Send my buddies on their way, leave a message for my wife, and wait for an angel to ride by, which happens about 90 seconds later. She gives me a tube and I head the 20 miles home. At about three-quarters distance I start feeling good. Then my wife, who hasn't listened to my message, calls and starts sharing her feelings on my "four-hour" ride...

God I love cycling :)

TimD

[97CSI]

Great recovery ride from yesterday's local tri-event. Eight of us did ~38 at about a 17mph average. Road mostly 2-abreast for easy talking on almost vacant backroads along the Bass River. Lovely country for an such a ride. Most of the 'fast-boys' were riding in the local crit/roadrace. We crossed their course but didn't see anyone, which meant they were on the far side of the course. Guess they had a pretty big turnout (80+) as we only had the eight. Nice temp in the mid-70s.

[csb]

so i look out into the 'drome, and see a tall guy circling about
in the warm-up area, consider him to be TT. something doesnt
seem quite right, perhaps the team kit is the wrong set of colors.
and then i realize my mistake, that tall guy aint tall enough. that
taller guy over THERE that i had mistakingly believed to be part
of the bridges' uprights is our pal TT. yes that is TT. the other
riders, ants all, follow TTs' wheel even in the warm-up ring seeking
shade in an environment void of that particular one of natures' gifts.
TT helpful as always, obliged where others' design had failed.

[TimB]

Since Annika was born on July 14, no riding at all for TimB. Heck, I haven't even managed to find time to drive 2 miles to get my tandem back from TooTall since lending it to him for a weekend in May. I thought the two year old took a lot of time - I forgot how much more demanding Tiny Babies are!

Aside from one injury - this has got to be my longest stretch off the bike in at least 10 years. I was back on my bike quicker after my hernia repairs...

[djg]

Thursday: Surgery. "Minor surgery," it seems, means surgery that should not be performed on minors.

Friday: Can easily walk to bathroom all by my lonesome. Physically abused by resident on 6 AM rounds. Disharged late morning with cryptic instructions and generous prescriptions.

Saturday: No miles. Not recommended to have any strenuous exercise for two weeks, which is just as well, as a trip to the grocery, in the car, has wrecked me. In my defense, the grocery in question was the Costco, which is a challenging store on the best of weekends.

Sunday: My eldest has her eighth birthday party in our home. More strenous exercise videotaping the talent show and slicing cake. I complete my second metric sedentary of the weekend.

[keno]

wowed the assembled, not to mention hisself, at TTown on Saturday, his lovely wife, The Queen, drove east to chez keno and led a ride consisting of The Queen, of course, Tris the Barbarian Triathlete, Mrs. keno for the first 7 miles (what a misnomer Mrs. keno is; she not only refused to take the name I came with, but also refuses to take any of my extensive crap whatsoever), and myself. The Queen found 45 lovely miles of New Jersey roads that she theretofore refused to believe existed in the first place to lead us over at breathtalking pace.

After the ride, The Queen and I had a lovely lunch at the chez at which time she revealed the true story of Too Tall, the Wunderkind, demonstrating, yet again, that truth is stranger than fiction.

Too Tall, I hope you come up to TTown more often so that The Queen can come and ride here in the Chosen Terrain while you schvitz and provide shade on the oval. Remember, The Queen and I will be laughing with you, albeit in absentia, not at you.

keno

[BumbleBeeDave]

WEEK BEFORE LAST . . .

I was in Kansas City visiting my parents. They’re elderly and I go out there to help out once a year. Got in 135 miles for the week on a rented steel Kona “Haole” with a Kinesis aluminum fork, old Ultegra, and MA4 wheels. It was heavy, it steered like a tank, but it went real well on the flats and it was 65 bucks for the week from the Bicyle Shack over in Grandview--a no-brainer deal since the airline would have wanted at least 150 big ones just to ship the Queen Bee. I took my saddle bag and the Cateye Mity off my daughter’s MTB and it worked pretty durn well, except on the hills, since the lowest gear was a 42-23.

There’s a group ride every weeknight in KC, and almost all of them start (and end!) at local bars or restaurants. There were LOTS of Treks and Fujis, a few Serrotas, and even saw a guy on a Dean, which looked like an Ottrott, but he said all the tubes were TI and the main tubes were just WRAPPED in carbon to add stiffness. I had never heard of that before. The rides are well-attended, shorter than around here, and very intense. Meet, ride like stink for an hour (usually about 20 miles), then towel off and go eat tacos and drink beer. I like it.

But the best ride of the week was, I think, Tuesday morning, when it was just me, Chris (owner of The Bicycle Shack) and a guy named Doug. We rode 25 miles, 12 of it in a pouring rain (what the hell-it was a rental!), then bought donuts and sat in the service bay at Bicycle Shack and watched the Tour live on TV. Man, that was absolutely sublime! Chris, Bert, and the other folks at the Bicycle Shack are some of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. I heartily recommend you check out their web site and go for a ride with them if you are in the KC area.

THIS PAST WEEK . . .

Back in the blessed Capital Region, with the Queen Bee again--with a new 12-27 cassette (yes, I confess, I’m a wuss!), new chain, and general tune-up courtesy of Bert at Cycle Therapy. Nirvana! It was like going from a K-car back to a Ferrari! I guess I should ride a rental like that Kona once a year just to remind me of how absolutely wonderful a Serotta is. Thank you, Ben!

Tuesday . . . 32 miles on the river loop, 19.4 average for the whole thing. 20.6 av. On the way out to route 9 before I fell apart.

Thursday . . . 31 miles with friend Jeff M. . . . Up 159 and down Rynex Road. Crappy 15.5 average, but Jeff is detrained and had a lot on his mind, so it was not a ride for average.

Saturday . . . 56.5 miles up Middle Line, then the Lake Desolation climb--familiar to anyone who was at Open House on Friday. Yes, it’s still just as steep--4.25 miles of hard work, but I knocked 40 seconds off my time from Open House. I was hammered by the time I got home, though. 18.4 average. I was at 19.0 until I got to the climb. At least Brian Smith wasn’t dropping me on his fixie--wearing sneakers with trap pedals--this time around.

Today . . . 83.5 miles. What the #$%& was I thinking? Rode out to Fultonville with the SCC Sunday group ride (4 others guys this day), then decided to keep going a few more miles to “explore.” Felt great, beautiful day, pretty countryside, so I ended up going 11 more miles to Canajoharie. Had my “lunch” of a Pepsi and chocolate chip cookies (sugar and nothin’ BUT sugar!) at Betty Beaver’s Fuel Stop--the sign features female beaver in star-spangled Wonder Woman type costume with 3-D, uh, endowments sticking out of the sign. Then turned around to come home and--Oops!--realized I had had a tailwind all the way out there. D’OH! So I buckled down, got going, and about the last 15 miles a thunderstorm had come through and left the highway wet, so I got a nice thorough spraying from passing cars and a trailer-less tractor who had apparently forgotten to put his splash skirts on. But it coulda been worse--about an hour after I got home it started raining like H*LL and did so the rest of the evening. 17.8 average for this ill-conceived expedition . . .

BBDave

[Dr. Doofus]

did stupid race yesterday

Too Tall's pal Gary wins sprint by about five bike lengths

Doof tried his usual two laps to go dig, but didn't take the first turn fast enough (fast downhill sweeper with lots of pavement lines...and lots of water on the road...Gary on doof's wheel yelling Go, Go, get us clear...doof cautious in the sopping wet turn)

On the plus side, doof was just chillin watching wheels and rediscovered a moderate bit of agression...on the minus side he rode the first five laps off the back doing a LT interval for no good reason, then decided to go ahead and play with the other kids...on the minus minus side doof got waxed by a bunch of fat guys who weren't chicken in the rain

races thurs, fri, sat this week -- doof takes a vow to all serotta pals he

1) will not hang out at the back for the first 90% of the race

2) will contest a sprint for a change

3) will initiate at least one fruitless break

the brain is slowly returning...


oh yeah..on the way back doof got lost after getting a coffee in Hickory NC and ended up driving 60 miles out of his way across some lovely parts of west-central NC on two-lanes

[pbbob]

sat. 103 miles in or around lancaster, pa. up and down all day but nothing that steep.
sun. 10 miles in the am then about 8 miles hiking and walking in a state park near the appalachian trail.

[Too Tall]

Dr. Doof, you've restored my faith in mapquest ;) Do I need to spell it? OK M A P Q U E S T. Hey, congratulations that's most excellent. Krikey, Gary has a ferocious sprint. Didja know he usedta be State Champ road and track? He and his big guy pal Dave are gems. Just proves that all bike racers are not huge snobs.

CSB and Keno - Yeah, don't these guys know that "shade tree" is a PAID position????? CSB - boy you need to race your bike...let's get ready to ruuummmble!!!

KenO - what can I say? You are a Prince.

[Dr. Doofus]

Too Tall --

Doof had atlas

Stopped for coffee...then took a wrong turn (can't read road signs too well) and was going north, not south on I77, when he noticed a nice four-car pileup (dorks driving 80 in heavy rain) on the south side. Traffic getting backed up in both lines for about three miles, pileup is fresh, no official vehicles in sight. if doof gets back on 77 south, it looks like a long wait.

doiof decides to get off 77, look at map. US 21 south runs parallel to 77. Easy. Just take it for a few miles and get back on 77 south of the pileup.

21 isn't signed too well in Hickory. Doof ends up on 65 west. Has to take it to 16 south, to 73 east, back to 77.

nice drive though

off to do some CP3, CP12 stuff for the Tall One wearing a NERAC jersey and Sachs socks...doof is such a poser....

[ols]

This past Saturday was a 101 mile mountain bike race called 'Wilderness 101' that does a giant loop through 2 really beautiful central PA state forests. It has some pretty technical single track and about 10,000 feet of climbing, so the winner's time of 6 hour 59 minutes just seems flying fast to me. Even the fastest single speeder finished in around 8 hours (riding a 34x17 I think!) I pulled in quite a while later although still managed to take over an hour and a half off my 2004 time thanks to switching to a '29er' since last year. For me at least, a 29er (which is basically a mountain bike built around 700c rims) rolls much better over the technical stuff and is especially great if you're a tall rider. Only crashed twice, and bloodied up just one appendage this time, (attractive 8 inch gouge out of my left forearm) but was still really glad to get the super cool beer glass they hand you when you cross the finish - and toast the big 'long live long rides' banner. (Getting off the bike was pretty good too at that point.) Awesome group of people to ride with there, and the hours they invest in all the trail maintenance and upkeep is simply phenomenal. A really great event.

[spiderman]

one week of riding/touring (500 mile total)
with my wife (best friend)
and second best friend...
what a blast...
60 - 100 miles per day
all you can eat pie for breakfast,
pasta with salmon as a mid morning snack
out in the middle of scenic iowa...
...midwestern hospitality at its finest!

[Birddog]

Spidey,
Nothing like waking up every day to the sound of 500 doors slamming on porta potties is there. Homemade pie twice a day, homemade ice cream with the pie, or a pork chop or two or three grilled over corn cobs makes for some fine gourmet Ragbrai food. I don't think I saw any salmon while I was in Iowa though. Ragbrai is like watching a Mardi Gras parade, being IN a Mardi Gras parade, and going to a State Fair all at once. Great Times,
Birddog

[davids]

...Let's see how much I can reconstruct.

Friday, 7/15: Odds'n'Endos wheels arrive in my office. Whoo-hoo! But I'm not driving home that evening, and the office will be locked all weekend. What to do? I come up with a Rube Goldberg-esque series of maneuvers to assure I can snatch the wheels up the following morning on my way to my buddy's house. I figure 30 minutes to mount new tires and tubes, and we're on our way.

Saturday, 7/16: The plan goes off smoothly, except for the part where I mount the tires. I find that new Veloflexes are very hard to mount - Once they've been used for a while, the slip on and off almost effortlessly. But not yet... It takes me almost an hour to successfully get the tires on. :crap: Two tubes die quick, meaningless deaths in the process. We get in a 36 mile ride, returning to my friend's house in time (we think) for the last hour of the Tour. We turn on the TV at 10:40, just in time to see the results posted!!! :crap: We'd just missed Stage 14, in which the isolated Armstrong successfuly fought his way through attack after attack! :crap: :crap:

Did I mention that my cassette had been rattling throughout the whole ride? In my haste and excitement to use the new wheels, I forgot to tighten the new cassette down on the hub... Do'h!

Monday, 7/18: The cassette nice and snug, I head off for my first solo ride on the new wheels. Man, they're nice! I ride the flatter of my two 25-mile morning loops, and finish with an average speed of 18.3mph. I've added over 1/2 mph to my typical average speed!

Wednesday, 7/20: I ride the hilly-er loop, and do it at an average of 18.1. I'm not exactly flying up the climbs in the Blue Hills, but I can feel the difference with the new wheels. Money well spent!

Friday, 7/22: A short, quick ride, so I can be home when Sears calls to tell us when the new drier is coming - They say they'll call between 7 and 8 am. Of course, the call comes at 7:45. At least I get to have a leisurely breakfast on the porch.

Saturday, 7/23: We have to choose between riding and watching the Tour, so my buddy and I watch the final TT, and it's definitely the right choice. I'll ride tomorrow.

Sunday, 7/24: My normal weekend riding partners have deserted me, so I plot out a ride that I haven't done in a year or so - 50-odd miles out and back, heading southwest to Taunton. The wind is at my back on the way out, and I have a 3-4 mile stretch riding a steady 23 mph that's just exhilirating. I hold my own as I head back into the wind, and finish up, completely spent, having gone 56.5 miles at 17.7 mph (The last few miles were tough - at the 52 mile point, I was still averaging over 18...) It's been a great ride, nearly perfect for a solo excursion.

Monday, 7/25: I recover on a morning ride with my wife. About 15 miles at a slow pace. She gets the workout she wants, I get to spin for an hour or so, with my favorite companion.

Tuesday, 7/26: I run into an occassional riding partner as I get underway, and ride with her through the Blue Hills. Aside from catching a 27mph draft behind a passing truck, it's a moderate ride. But very nice - 24 miles at about 16.5 mph.

Thursday, 7/28: I get a slightly earlier start, and take a bigger loop through the Boston suburbs. 29 miles at 18.1 mph. Another really enjoyable ride - I'm feeling strong and going fast. :)

Saturday, 7/30: I oversleep, and rush to meet a friend for a planned fast ride. I get there to find 4 others, and a change in plans. It's a more moderate ride, at least for the first hour or so, when my friend and I turn around and head for home. After spending the first hour socializing with the other riders (two of whom are on a 20-year old Santana tandem in immaculate condition - Would I like to try it sometime with my wife? Sure!) and engaging in occassional half-serious sprints, my friend and I peel off to head home, and pick up the pace. Yet another thoroughly enjoyable ride ends after 37.5 miles.

Monday, 8/1: I drag myself out of bed, feeling tired and slow. About an hour and a half later, I feel completely different! 25 miles at 18.3 mph, and I'm ready to shower and start the work week!

Boy howdy, do I love to ride my bike! :D

[spiderlake]

Aside from a bruised shoulder on Saturday, nothing all that exciting to report.....

Monday - 17 miles
Tuesday - 30 miles
Thursday - 30 miles
Friday - 13 miles (MTB)
Saturday - 13 miles (MTB) - bruised my shoulder by hitting a tree on a downhill portion of singletrack..... have ridden this trail (VASA) a million times without incident... not sure what happened but hitting the tree knocked me completely off my bike and left me wondering what had just happened. Did the quick "move all parts" and felt like I was okay so I finished the ride. Feels a lot better today but my entire shoulder area is one big bruise.

In addition to the riding - caught 4 films at the inaugural Traverse City Film Festival. Michael Moore is one of the founders and did a top notch job in assembling 30+ films for screening in about 3 weeks time.

[spiderman]

the slamming porta potties
still have me waking
at exactly 0521...
...how long does it take
to get over that???

[Ray]

Hmmm.

Last Thursday - about 33 miles with a couple of 10km TTs tossed in to try to estimate lactate threshold (I just started riding with a computer that has a HRM built in, so I figured I'd play around with it a bit). No intention to use this information for structured training, but I'm sort of interested in where my natural riding takes me in terms of aerobic zones, recovery, etc. I'm really slow compared to a lot of you who post here. Even relatively flat tt (plenty of changes in grade and short steep rollers, but nothing big enough to force me out of the big ring), I only average about 19mph. My typical hilly rides around here are between 14 and 16, with most solo rides very close to 15 (about 16 going harder in a group, about 14 when taking it easy). We're heading for the shore next week and I may try this again on REALLY flat roads. Anyway, established that the highest HR I seem to be able to maintain for 10km is 161, which was the point anyway.

Friday - 50 miles TRYING to stay in zones 2 and 3, which top out at about 147 HR. Can't do it. Can't even come close. Lots of moderate hills put me into the 150s and a couple of the tougher ones put me in briefly over 160. Oh well, now I know I ride "too hard" even on my less intense endurance rides.

Sunday - "Fast" club ride of 50 miles with a bunch of the toughest hills in the area. Came in about 15.5 mph. LOTS of efforts in the 160-165 HR area (some of them for a few minutes at a time) and a max HR of 176, which is theoretically above my max by a couple of beats. Really really fun ride with a bunch of other old farts and a couple of young guys to push us a bit. I guess this counts as intervals :cool: As close as I'm gonna come anyway.

Today (Monday) - 75 miles solo with lots of moderate hills and a few tough ones. Trying to be aware of HR and keep from maxing out, but many, many efforts in the 150s and a couple of quick forays into the 160s. But being conscious of HR seems to help energy management. I felt very strong (all things being relative) until the last half hour or so when the heat really started to build and wear on me. Just a tick under 15 mph, as usual.

Probably take tommorow off and do a short "easy" ride on Wednesday morning, before the ever-present heat gets too oppresive. I don't have the terrain around here to go really easy over any distance, but I can get about 20 miles in with only one major hill (unavoidable, since it brings me back to the town I live in).

-Ray

[scrooge]

one week of riding/touring (500 mile total)
with my wife (best friend)
and second best friend...
what a blast...
60 - 100 miles per day
all you can eat pie for breakfast,
pasta with salmon as a mid morning snack
out in the middle of scenic iowa...
...midwestern hospitality at its finest!


mmmm. Iowa chops. And Chriscakes. Do they still serve those? I remember downing thirteen of those for breakfast one year when I road in highschool (day after teh 150 mile sesquintenial ride, had 10 sausages too and decided I better quit if I was going to ride :D ).
Anyway, glad to hear you survived Spiderman. I'm originally from Sheldon and my parents still live there--said there was a pretty wicked storm the night everyone was in town there. During the storm, where you a. Safely in same Iowans basement b. quivering with fear for your life in your tent c. hanging out in the beer tent, "relaxing" a few thousand other really, really
drunk bikers :beer: ?

[spiderman]

mmmm. Iowa chops. And Chriscakes. Do they still serve those? I remember downing thirteen of those for breakfast one year when I road in highschool (day after teh 150 mile sesquintenial ride, had 10 sausages too and decided I better quit if I was going to ride :D ).
Anyway, glad to hear you survived Spiderman. I'm originally from Sheldon and my parents still live there--said there was a pretty wicked storm the night everyone was in town there. During the storm, where you a. Safely in same Iowans basement b. quivering with fear for your life in your tent c. hanging out in the beer tent, "relaxing" a few thousand other really, really
drunk bikers :beer: ?

after the first day,
i had to cut back to 5 daily servings of pork...
you're right,
the sheldon storm
was particularly fierce and deadly...
...one man was killed climbing out of his tent
by a monster tree...
my wife and i were actually
d) in the comfort of our own home
and didn't start camping until further away from
the iowa great lakes...
...a bed and breakfast in algona
and then the moss big dipper for the rest of the ride...

[csb]

last night @ t town we played italain pursuit.