Group ride w/ Greg LeMond May 1

[enr1co]

https://www.facebook.com/pages/MASH-Transit/115514215191128

Likely suck (and dangerous) riding through the city at 2 PM on a Friday.

Perhaps just plan on heading to the Oakley store for the start or MASH at the end for a chance of a papparzzi goober photo op with Greg :cool:


Very cool roubaix pic!
http://imagehost.vendio.com/a/3577307/view/1519736_10152863536933494_6856880214453894071_o.jp g

[dolface]

Oh goddammit so much! Greg (and Breaking Away) are what got me in to riding but I'll be at on my way to Boggs then.

#····

[Broken]

I hav heard there is going to be a drinking game at the end. Every time he blames Lance for his failures you have to take a shot.

[peanutgallery]

Face palm

I hav heard there is going to be a drinking game at the end. Every time he blames Lance for his failures you have to take a shot.

[mcteague]

I hav heard there is going to be a drinking game at the end. Every time he blames Lance for his failures you have to take a shot.

Your user name says so much about you.

Tim

[Black Dog]

I hav heard there is going to be a drinking game at the end. Every time he blames Lance for his failures you have to take a shot.

Yea, you are looking for the other internet. This one is not troll friendly.

[oldpotatoe]

I hav heard there is going to be a drinking game at the end. Every time he blames Lance for his failures you have to take a shot.

You could always go drink with lance..he's in Aspen right now. I'm sure he would love another member of his fanboy club. bohica

[fuzzalow]

Very cool ride. Sure to be a great experience for those lucky enough to attend. No doubt Greg will be his usual affable self.

That Roubaix picture is a great testament to how effortless and lithe was Greg's posture and position on a bike. An American rider, tutored to the way of the EuroPro by the Frenchman Guimard and having a posture and position on the bike like the Italians! Down low in the drops, nice droopy rounded shoulders into weightless relaxed arms, a minimal amount of torso showing into the wind. Sean Kelly, seen to the left of Greg in the photo, has a position in the drops by comparison to Greg's which is much higher.

Lemond was, is, and ever shall be, the real deal.

[rwsaunders]

There have been some great, classic photos posted over the past few days.

[gemship]

I like the photo in the OP. I laughed at Broken's comment and I'm not a Greg hater or a Lance lover, just good at recognizing sarcasm. I'm sure the ride will be a good time and a thrill for many. One more reason for me to move out of Taxachuesetts but wait they don't have clam flats in CA. OTOH they do have droughts... oh desert storm....yay!

[Johnnyg]

Rode with Greg this winter at a fund raiser in Ft Myers, Florida. A very nice person and definitely out of shape.

[Muffin Man]

Skipping a lecture to go to this haha

[tumbler]

:mad: I'm moving to SF this summer, but won't be there in time. I also sold my LeMond last year, which I am now regretting.

[many_styles]

Taking a half day from work... 👍

[enr1co]

Have fun those that can make it out there and be safe.

Was going to attempt BART to SF Oakley store at noon but there are a bunch of loser protestors trying to screw up transit service today.:mad:


http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/04/27/protesters-plan-to-block-google-apple-facebook-shuttle-buses-in-oakland-friday-tech-may-day/

[vqdriver]

Likely suck (and dangerous) riding through the city at 2 PM on a Friday.


yeah
hopefully when they say 'mixed terrain' that means they'll bypass some of the busier areas with fireroads, gravel roads, or whatever you guys have up there. scenery will be nice for sure tho.

[tv_vt]

...That Roubaix picture is a great testament to how effortless and lithe was Greg's posture and position on a bike. An American rider, tutored to the way of the EuroPro by the Frenchman Guimard and having a posture and position on the bike like the Italians! Down low in the drops, nice droopy rounded shoulders into weightless relaxed arms, a minimal amount of torso showing into the wind. Sean Kelly, seen to the left of Greg in the photo, has a position in the drops by comparison to Greg's which is much higher.

Lemond was, is, and ever shall be, the real deal.

'Course Kelly beat Lemond in the sprint for third place that year (1985). Believe that 4th place was Lemond's best at P-R. Kelly won it twice with that crappy riding position of his.

[brando]

This ride is rolling out "closer to 3pm" (words of the organizer) to hit the 3:30 opening of the ggb west sidewalk.

[pdmtong]

2:00 and waiting. Maybe 75 riders. Eclectic mix from messengers to racers
DJ blasting the jams.

[beeatnik]

I hav heard there is going to be a drinking game at the end. Every time he blames Lance for his failures you have to take a shot.

I don't like your broken (busted) style.

[pdmtong]

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05/01/308e8b6f820eab8f3b687d919a0f4de9.jpg

[mistermo]

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05/01/308e8b6f820eab8f3b687d919a0f4de9.jpg

Pic of the day... Greg sucking in his gut as he talks to the lady with the flirtatiously coy look

[azrider]

Friends don't let friends wear Jawbreakers. Sheesh.

[stairalas]

source on the the pic used in the flyer?

would love that in wallpaper size...

[enr1co]

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05/01/308e8b6f820eab8f3b687d919a0f4de9.jpg

ey pdm, should have worn name badges- I must have been standing right next to you when you shot this!

Defied the transit protester threat and headed into the city to do the paparazzi thing. Greg was so cool and friendly with everyone!

[enr1co]

Pic of the day... Greg sucking in his gut as he talks to the lady with the flirtatiously coy look

I was sucking my gut in too- she was pretty easy on the eyes :p

[pdmtong]

ey pdm, should have worn name badges- I must have been standing right next to you when you shot this!

Defied the transit protester threat and headed into the city to do the paparazzi thing. Greg was so cool and friendly with everyone!

WT? argh man, I shoulda PM'd ya. Sorry! I have you to thank for raising the flag this was happening. I was wearing a rapha condor tee shirt. were you the guy just carrying a camera? check out the older guy with the LVC jacket from 1987!

Greg was as friendly and affable as the last time I met him. There were what 200 riders out there, of all sizes on all kinds of bikes, including Katerina Nash from the Luna women's pro team (BTW since I see her every year at sea otter for the past eleven that I have been taking my daughter, it was nice to see her and she recognize me)

My back is still a bit eff'd up so no riding. just picture with Greg and to be there. Now home heading to the train station to pick up daughter.

That woman he is talking to in the picture was marketing from Oakley corporate. They said they are just doing a handful of small events here and there with Greg.

I showed up at the store way early - no idea what to expect. But ALL cyclists came to "represent". Just shows Greg transcends disciplines ages and time.

Last note: I guess I better get a tattoo or two or three.

[pdmtong]

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05/01/45d4051b48d223ac7d8b7b796180e41d.jpg

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/05/01/d55c32efa756764d01b56e463aa03296.jpg

[enr1co]

Lol - that was me in the aloha Friday shirt w/ the camera! I did see you in the Rapha shirt and the mussette- those were some awesome glossies for him to sign! I had the attractive Oakley rep lady shoot pics of Greg and I just after you had taken a pic w/ him.

WT? argh man, I shoulda PM'd ya. Sorry! I have you to thank for raising the flag this was happening. I was wearing a rapha condor tee shirt. were you the guy just carrying a camera? check out the older guy with the LVC jacket from 1987!

Greg was as friendly and affable as the last time I met him. There were what 200 riders out there, of all sizes on all kinds of bikes, including Katerina Nash from the Luna women's pro team (BTW since I see her every year at sea otter for the past eleven that I have been taking my daughter, it was nice to see her and she recognize me)

My back is still a bit eff'd up so no riding. just picture with Greg and to be there. Now home heading to the train station to pick up daughter.

That woman he is talking to in the picture was marketing from Oakley corporate. They said they are just doing a handful of small events here and there with Greg.

I showed up at the store way early - no idea what to expect. But ALL cyclists came to "represent". Just shows Greg transcends disciplines ages and time.

Last note: I guess I better get a tattoo or two or three.

[enr1co]

http://imagehost.vendio.com/a/3577307/view/IMG_8169.JPG
http://imagehost.vendio.com/a/3577307/view/IMG_8171.JPG

http://imagehost.vendio.com/a/3577307/view/IMG_8197.JPG
http://imagehost.vendio.com/a/3577307/view/IMG_8178.JPG

http://imagehost.vendio.com/a/3577307/view/IMG_8199.JPG

http://imagehost.vendio.com/a/3577307/view/IMG_8203.JPG

http://imagehost.vendio.com/a/3577307/view/IMG_8211.JPG
http://imagehost.vendio.com/a/3577307/view/IMG_8205.JPG

http://imagehost.vendio.com/a/3577307/view/IMG_8219.JPG

[fuzzalow]

To enr1c0 and pdmtong Thanks very much for posting the photos for those, like me, who could only wish of going to an event like this.

Man, that Greg guy can just be smiling at the joy of being alive and riding a bike with others that feel the same way. What a welcome and refreshing change away from a manufactured celebrity that was too globally important to actually share a laugh, trade a story and a grasp a handshake.

[Black Dog]

To enr1c0 and pdmtong Thanks very much for posting the photos for those, like me, who could only wish of going to an event like this.

Man, that Greg guy can just be smiling at the joy of being alive and riding a bike with others that feel the same way. What a welcome and refreshing change away from a manufactured celebrity that was too globally important to actually share a laugh, trade a story and a grasp a handshake.

Well said.

[beeatnik]

Fuzzalow, I..ya know...ya

[John H.]

Easy Greg- that's Barry Bonds' woman.

Pic of the day... Greg sucking in his gut as he talks to the lady with the flirtatiously coy look

[paulh]

You could always go drink with lance..he's in Aspen right now. I'm sure he would love another member of his fanboy club. bohica

Just be prepared; if Lance is driving and you get pulled over, you have to swap seats with him real fast and take the fall for him.

[pdmtong]

Thank gawd for enr1c0 on the scene with a SLR. I do not care for the lowest common denominator cell phone, and apologies for the bit of blur in my shot. But hey, I was in a hurry to make the forum post deadline!

What was so refreshing - besides Greg himself - not a SR11 or Di2 or ultra bling bling bike in site. Bikes that looked like they were loved and ridden hard and now about to share the road with one of the sports iconic figures.

Oakley sent three or four corporate folks up to host. There was a waiver to sign - the first folks got an oakley purist water bottle until they ran out. Clif products passed out to anyone who needed or wanted a energy gel/block/bar/liquid. Just another group ride organized social media with the exception of a very special guest. Pretty much everyone I spoke to was blown away to have the opportunity.

Watching the sea of riders part to let him into the store - amazing. Time and a smile for anyone who came near him. Not sure why he even came in the store, save to keep the autograph and photo circus off the sidewalk. maybe 30 min of that and back on the street to lead the ride.

And, in the last group to roll that included Katerina Nash? A very fit woman on a ciavete responsorium.

Yea!

[weaponsgrade]

Lemond fixing his own flat!

[beeatnik]

And, in the last group to roll that included Katerina Nash? A very fit woman on a ciavete responsorium.

Yea!

Who is Katerina Nash?

too lazy to google....

[pdmtong]

Who is Katerina Nash? too lazy to google....

Luna Chix pro women mtb and cx
races the UCI World Cup series
Multiple Olympics -summer mtb winter xc ski
Podium at last years uci cross world championships
Lives in the eastbay now. Last time I saw her not at sea otter was Nevada City the year Horner Levi and -7 races as a "team"

Nice to see a true pro who is local come out for the ride

[pdmtong]

Lemond fixing his own flat!


So how was the ride and pace ?
What about the chaos through the city and over the bridge?

[many_styles]

It wasn't as chill as advertised, but plenty of fun. Same thing can be said riding through SF. I like figuring lines to dodge traffic, but it's not everyone's cup of tea.

[Muffin Man]

https://app.strava.com/activities/296709416/overview

My strava activity from the ride

Didn't get many pictures from the event because I completely forgot about documenting what was going on. Half of them are blurry too :(
Was a blast though!

http://i.imgur.com/u2AT2Xn.jpg

(I'm right behind John Watson in this one. He had a pretty awesome Speedvagen urban cruiser thing)
http://i.imgur.com/PxXGj5t.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/gzzLHDb.jpg

At the top of bunker hill
http://i.imgur.com/zqGXEI0.jpg

[weaponsgrade]

I couldn't get away in time to meet downtown so I just went to the bridge. As soon as I got there I saw a huge group start to move. I figured it must be the Lemond group so I hopped in. The west side of the bridge had just opened so there weren't many others crossing. I'd say the pace was a good notch above conversational (at least for me). I took my cross bike but I was very surprised to see that most were on road bikes. I must've counted at least 10 riders who had flats descending coastal trail. I'll echo the comments that Greg was very affable and down to earth. He even apologized for holding everybody up with the flat. It was great. I did see a small woman on a well used Peg. I didn't know who it was either. When we stopped at the top of Battery one of the Oakley marketing guys gave a plug about Oakley. Something about Oakley is about you and no more theromonuclear protection. Thermonuclear protection is why I got my frogskins. So I was disappointed to hear that thermonuclear procection was no longer an option. Anyway, it was nice of them to organize. I needed to get back and didn't have to to join the after party. So I had to split once I got back to the bridge.

[brando]

https://www.facebook.com/pages/MASH-Transit/115514215191128

Likely suck (and dangerous) riding through the city at 2 PM on a Friday.

You should have come for a spin. Riding in a massive group actually makes it really easy to get through the city. Peds and drivers were cheering on the peloton! (and 2% were infuriated lol)

[pdmtong]

When we stopped at the top of Battery one of the Oakley marketing guys gave a plug about Oakley. Something about Oakley is about you and no more theromonuclear protection.

If it was the guy in the AC kit that is the Market street store manager

One side benefit for me was having time to kill in the Oakley store - so I tried on everything from the jawbreakers to the TdF to the ferrari models.

I stopped wearing oakleys in the late 90s because none of the popular styles fit my face. And don't care for how the new "asian fit" models fit me. Tried on the radars. What? the current radars fit me no issue? What? Uh-oh....

[dk2ck]

You should have come for a spin. Riding in a massive group actually makes it really easy to get through the city. Peds and drivers were cheering on the peloton! (and 2% were infuriated lol)

That's really cool to hear. Sounds like it was a good time for everyone involved!

[redir]

Very cool ride. Sure to be a great experience for those lucky enough to attend. No doubt Greg will be his usual affable self.

That Roubaix picture is a great testament to how effortless and lithe was Greg's posture and position on a bike. An American rider, tutored to the way of the EuroPro by the Frenchman Guimard and having a posture and position on the bike like the Italians! Down low in the drops, nice droopy rounded shoulders into weightless relaxed arms, a minimal amount of torso showing into the wind. Sean Kelly, seen to the left of Greg in the photo, has a position in the drops by comparison to Greg's which is much higher.

Lemond was, is, and ever shall be, the real deal.

Kelly's position is just amazing. A bike fitters worst nightmare. You simply can't ride like that! But try and tell Sean Kelly's he's doing it wrong :D

[blessthismess]

Didn't make the ride, I was downtown and thought about stopping by (to shamelessly get my free water bottle) but decided not to. I'm not a big crowd type if guy, especially when it comes to city riding. If I had the time it would have been fun to wait on the Marin side of the bridge and catch the group there.

[Hawker]

Lemond fixing his own flat!

Greg gets a flat and none of you bums offer to fix it for him? Or play TDF and just give him your bike. ;)

[ScottM]

Thanks to all who posted pics. I hope Greg is enjoying this era. The last era of cycling was unjustifiable cruel to him.

ScottM

[enr1co]

Easy Greg- that's Barry Bonds' woman.
I thought Bonds was going out with cyclist, Mari Holden?

[Hawker]

I thought Bonds was going out with cyclist, Mari Holden?

Holden? Really?

[fuzzalow]

Kelly's position is just amazing. A bike fitters worst nightmare. You simply can't ride like that! But try and tell Sean Kelly's he's doing it wrong :D

Sean Kelly's position on a bike is one that is uniquely his own. Based on results you could not say it was a bad position for him but I would most certainly say that it was an inelegant one. To me the balance and alignments are not in concert as to the elements of his positioning if looked at from a dance aesthetic of grace in motion. It is not a position that anyone could or should try to emulate as there is no rhyme or reason to it other than making it work.

And that is the key - Sean Kelly is and was one of the true, epic, hard man, toughest and fastest mo fo's out there. In select company as one of the most victorious riders in cycling history for the spring classics. A different time. A different age. An age now marketed and made into an adjective "epic" with sepia imagery in selling bike clothing. A fantasy in mining the past.

None of the coddled, social media swaddled riders in Rapha with hipster facial hair will ever be as tough as Sean Kelly or even half the rider he was. It is almost better he rode without the outward style & grace of the Italians because there would be no denying by just looking at him ride in personifying brutality and steely will that he was one tough and formidable adversary on a racing bike.

[enr1co]

Sean Kelly's position on a bike is one that is uniquely his own. Based on results you could not say it was a bad position for him but I would most certainly say that it was an inelegant one. To me the balance and alignments are not in concert as to the elements of his positioning if looked at from a dance aesthetic of grace in motion. It is not a position that anyone could or should try to emulate as there is no rhyme or reason to it other than making it work.

And that is the key - Sean Kelly is and was one of the true, epic, hard man, toughest and fastest mo fo's out there. In select company as one of the most victorious riders in cycling history for the spring classics. A different time. A different age. An age now marketed and made into an adjective "epic" with sepia imagery in selling bike clothing. A fantasy in mining the past.

None of the coddled, social media swaddled riders in Rapha with hipster facial hair will ever be as tough as Sean Kelly or even half the rider he was. It is almost better he rode without the outward style & grace of the Italians because there would be no denying by just looking at him ride in personifying brutality and steely will that he was one tough and formidable adversary on a racing bike.

Effin good post fuzzalow- King Kelly was the real deal! Of all my cycling DVDs , The Sean Kelly Story gets played over and over... :)

[hokoman]

I thought Bonds was going out with cyclist, Mari Holden?

Yes he is.

[tiretrax]

None of the coddled, social media swaddled riders in Rapha with hipster facial hair will ever be as tough as Sean Kelly or even half the rider he was. It is almost better he rode without the outward style & grace of the Italians because there would be no denying by just looking at him ride in personifying brutality and steely will that he was one tough and formidable adversary on a racing bike.

Seriously, why the Rapha hate on a post praising King Kelly?

[Black Dog]

It is not Rapha hate. He was pointing out that Rapha sells the fantasy version of being the type of Hard Man® that Kelly was. Is this not true?

[roubaix]

http://imagehost.vendio.com/a/3577307/view/IMG_8178.JPG

http://imagehost.vendio.com/a/3577307/view/IMG_8211.JPG


Love that guy and I love that bike! Thanks for posting the pictures! :banana:

[redir]

Lemond was a tough guy with good work ethic too. Have any of you read 'Hunger' I was thinking of picking up a copy of that.

[tiretrax]

It is not Rapha hate. He was pointing out that Rapha sells the fantasy version of being the type of Hard Man® that Kelly was. Is this not true?

If marketing angles were banned, then all ads would be black print on a plain white background. What's wrong with selling heritage or tribute. I doubt everyone buying a Porsche thinks they're as good of a driver as Derek Bell or Jacky Ickx.

[CunegoFan]

If marketing angles were banned, then all ads would be black print on a plain white background. What's wrong with selling heritage or tribute. I doubt everyone buying a Porsche thinks they're as good of a driver as Derek Bell or Jacky Ickx.

People are generally less cynical about it if it is your own heritage.

[fuzzalow]

Seriously, why the Rapha hate on a post praising King Kelly?

There was not intent at all to open a can or worms towards an anti-Rapha tirade. I like Rapha both for their clothing and for the clever way they have marketed and built the Rapha brand. No criticism intended only a study in contrasts.

It is not Rapha hate. He was pointing out that Rapha sells the fantasy version of being the type of Hard Man® that Kelly was. Is this not true?

Yes, the imagery of the spring classics Hard Man was was I was pointing out. Rapha gets a lot of mileage out of that image and vibe.

But I also had too many themes going on in that post. And as that post was more of a grab 'n' go than a set piece I would write, like now when I have more time to write, I did not convey correctly what I wanted to say in the post.

It was my fault on how the post was written and not how tiretrax read it.

What I wanted to get at was the subtlety in cherry picking the elements of real life in making a fantasy seductive for the product in order to sell it. Often in Rapha's case, the imagery is derived of the spring classics hard man and epicness. And in the world of cycling there is but one troika of spring classics legends:
Merckx was the greatest, so can't monetize him.
DeVlaeminck was too glamourous with his muttonchops and Gios Torino.
Sean Kelly is the perfect archetype or model for a epic, hard man persona. Blood, guts and courage.

And yet that might not square with the other aspects of the fantasy if, for example, Sean's somewhat inelegant and awkward fit & position on the bike was considered. That his use of duct-tape over his cycling shoes in making shoe covers during races detracts from the high-fashion vibe of the clothing line. The fact that a high-end clothing line targeted to an affluent buyer employed perhaps in tech, media, finance of other intellectual capital pursuits doesn't square with the true hard men of cycling who often came to cycling as a better alternative than labor in a coal mine. That the effete, cappuccino sipping cyclists portrayed in Rapha gear have virtually no connection to the real rough and tumble of survival in a peloton, let alone a classics gauntlet of mud, suffering, cobbles and crashes.

This is in no way to take shots a Rapha, they do what every marketing effort tries to do. And they do it well.

If marketing angles were banned, then all ads would be black print on a plain white background. What's wrong with selling heritage or tribute. I doubt everyone buying a Porsche thinks they're as good of a driver as Derek Bell or Jacky Ickx.

You are correct. I was not knocking Rapha. I was just saying as perfect as Sean Kelly is in almost every regard as a great spring classics champion, real life is not actually good enough by a long shot for use in creating a vibe, evoking an emotion and creating a fantasy that a consumer wants to buy into for the rub-off of some of that goodness. Anything that upsets the rhythm, the flow and the emotion of the narrative is something that can't be allowed to happen.

In defense of Rapha, they are not selling junk, their bike clothes are pretty darn good. To those that don't like their marketing I'd say: OK but what about their bibs and jerseys? Few that have actually used their clothing feel abused about the experience. That's about as good as could be expected.