Nottrott War Stories

[flydhest]

I thought we should have a thread just for this:
TT started on the other thread


Yo! My take on the rides.

There were no fast or slow groups just groups. Friday Zapper lead everyone on a ramble thru. the 'burbs of Potomac. We finished just before dusk on a lovely evening. Def. a low/highlight moment was the look on BBDave's face seeing a 4 inch long slice out of his nice Vittoria tyre. Yeah yeah, it woulda cut up a tubular too pal. Everyone stayed together and Bambi didn't stop to play with dogs. A GREAT adventure and warmup for Sat. Cool route Zap, thanks How did you arrange for the Maseratti, Ferrari and Porsche flybyes?

Saturday (Long riders / 62 miles) - BugSplatBuddah Bob was in charge. I came up with an interesting route and with Manet and me on the front we rode about 2 miles before the first mechanical...errk. Sorted that out and on on we went. Lots of rolling hills no big climbs just rollers and lots of backroads...well it was "rural" as rural can get in this neck-o-the woods! The long riders were about 15. The "plan" BBBbob and I agreed on was that BBBob would pick up anyone who dropped since he was doing the same route. That worked nice and everyone converged at the same grocery store within 10 min.s or so. We held a steady talking place...but steady. Heading out we picked up most of the group to meet with Smiley's crew at the OH SO FASHIONABLE Starbuck's in Potomac Village where a great deal of coffee and a few sticky buns were assasinated. Before we hit Starbucks, Zap was designated to "loose the hounds" about 6 miles before the Starbucks so that anyone who wanted to blow it out had their chance. Sure looked like fun from our perch...many clicks to the rear After telling a few lies we gathered the troops and soft peddaled back home to the most AMAZING afgani dinner EVER. OMG.
Sunday - (everyone together / 30ish miles) After learning from Seth that I was leading the ride...uh thanks Fly....I'll get yah for that I hatched a plan, or was that indigestion? Anywho, as a group we drifted thru historic Rock Creek Park past the Grist Mill, National Zoo and thru the Zoo Tunnel which passes under Adams Morgan and under one of the largest masonry bridges in the USA. At this point we were able to do something REALLY cool...take over a road that normally is not great for cyclists. Nottrott Critical Mass!!!! We rode south on the parkway past historic Georgetown, past the old DC Cemetaries and under the infamous "P" street bridge arrrrrrround the bend and under the Kennedy Center past the Watergate to reveal an colorful boat regatta on the Potomac...the Dragon Boats were racing when we rolled past...sweeeet Here we diverged away from the tidal basin for a moment for a few tricky turns and took a "Flying Lap" of Haines Point....everyone agreed to meet at the entrance in 20 mins. Again, trusty Zapper and Wife Zappette on their warp speed certified tandem ROASTED the pack for a flying lap of Haines Point...boy was that fun riding the tail. Tom Kellogg sneaked onto my wheel...he didn't know where the sprint was....as FLYMAN BLEW by for the win....you dog After that we regrouped for a pic. and a collective sigh at the Lincoln Memorial. Next was a meander under the ancient Oaks / Cottonwoods that line both sides of the reflecting pond and up up up the walkways for a sit down at the Washington Monument. More than a few tourists were blown away by all the un-F'in believeable Serottas that James graciously let everyone borrow. DEWD! Why don't they have a 66 for me to test???? What's up with that???? Sooo, the most important stop of the day was coffee. Eager to find the way despite being TOTALLY lost Climbo lead the way...in a stroke of luck he found the shop and again we all told lies and had coffee On the way home it really struck home how decent everyone is and what a great day it is just to ride bikes with friends. That's my story. What's yours?

[Smiley]

My B ride of +50 miles , the highlight was the two lovely ladies Queen and Brenda ( Dr Bill's SO ) working in tandem to reel in the lead pack on River Road, thank God I got a call on my cell so I had an excuse to drop off the back or these babes on bikes would have smoked me like salmon too :)

[flydhest]

To pre-empt the discussions of the flats, let me point out that a non-tubular rider on the ride with me told me he viewed the whinging about how long I took to change the tubular was just that, whinging. Besides, it took me as long to change the flat as it takes me to change a clincher so there! I'm slow regardless.

Seriously, there was a bit of tubular/clincher bs'ing going on. I flatted my tubular and got to hear it from the peanut gallery who was with us about this not being the best advert for tubular use. Luckily, BugSplatBuddhaBob pointed out that I had impecabble taste in where to flat and everyone gazed at the lovely landscape. For aesthetics, I did a figure-8 with the flat over my wool jersey, while riding lugged steel. Just give me a cig and a black and white photo and we'd be classic.

As it turns out, tubular creed was redeemed twice over the weekend. BBDave got a big ole slit in the tire, as TT alluded to. It was booted and he limped to Zap's house, just a couple miles away. I think they only felt comfortable putting in 30 or so pounds of pressure. Saturday, Paul got such a serious slash, from bead to bead across the tire, that all that was left to do was call the lovely Faye and have her pick him up. For clincher riders who point out that they carry two or three tubes and are therefore in a safer position than tubular riders with one flat, here's the counter example, twice in a weekend, in stark relief.

I must say, the upside to this last mishap was that I stayed behind with him and Mr. Tom Byrnes, waiting for the ride. That way, I got to roll back with Mr. Byrnes and make the acquaintances of one of the most interesting and genuine gentlemen I've had the fortune of encountering. Then he flatted his clincher as well.

[zap]

Zap got a :) out of Manet down at Haines Point.

Regarding wheeled products, the Lamborghini Gallardo and Ford GT were a big hit with Zap.

Oh, that Meivici with candy red panel was sweet.

[Tom Kellogg]

I was kinda' surprised, and pleased, at how many folks were on tubulars at Nottrott. I won't ride clinchers (I know better) but even in my races, very few people still ride tubulars. It appears that Too Tall has made some progress in bringing riders associated with Ben's forum over to the light. I think that Manet is headed into the light as I write this...

That little dust-up at Haines Point made me feel quite out of it. After "making the final selection" as Phil and Paul would have put it, I clearly was lost without home field advantage. 'Course, Fly still would have blown by us anyway just like he did last fall. But for the life of me, I couldn't see the faded little lines on the road that indicated the 300, 200 and 100 meter marks. Man, the years surely have make the need for glasses clearer. Winding it up with a tandem lead out and Josh taking it up to the very high 30s (what a wheel to be blessed with) I had all the advantages, Fly got it anyway. That guy sure can scoot!

After Coffee, I had the opportunity to talk at some length with Andrew about bikes and the business of bikes, things of which he knows a GREAT deal. It was a real pleasure to speak with someone else in the business that I could feel a real kinship with. The apple never falls far from the (Ben's) tree. I guess that my comfort level talking with him shouldn't have been a surprise, but it confirmed one of the reasons that you have all found such good bikes and such a great place to meet here. He knows what to do with a bike as well. Class act all the way.

My drive home, which should have been 3 hours turned out to be 5. I-78 was a parking lot just west of Hamburg for a couple of hours. Fortunately, Too Tall sent me off with a large cup of Java in my belly. The whole way home I was thinking of the BBQ and Sunday's ride. There is nothing I would have changed, period. It was perfect. Well, maybe more laying around in that amazing sun with even more coffee, but that is about it. Thank you to everyone. Let's do it again soon.

[Too Tall]

Manet needs to ride a few more tandem wheels before he appreciates how strong Zap and Zapette are....but DEWD what were you thinking sticking your nose in the wind???? Are ye daft mahn?

BTW - the guy riding the front with me Sunday is Tom Notto. I kid you not ;) No really! He is a master carpenter and if he'd quit wasting time in Yoga classes he'd be alot faster...so stay in the yoga classes puh-lease.

[flydhest]

Coming off the corner at Haines' Point, I knew the drill, being local. Set up for the wind, get to the other side of the echelon. Life was good, I was breathing hard, but that's what it's about. Then TK goes and TooTall is with him. Then TT starts motoring. I was chasing hard, sitting on Notto's wheel, then Manet's . . . ow, TooTall and TK got away, but how long could they hold that up? We got back on their wheels. I explain to Manet where the finish line is for the sprint. Though he denies thinking about going for the sprint, I heard TooTall telling TK where the sprint was as well. Luckily for me, Manet either a) didn't feel like and effort or b) has more self-respect than to contest a sprint with slobs like us or c) I had him nice and boxed in. I jumped around the fellers and rolled across the line with the hands in the air.

There were young women swooning, grown men crying, shouts of "bravo!" hmmm, I likely added that last part. As I mentioned to TooTall earlier today, some of the best fun of big rides like this are the BS sessions afterward where deeds take on epic proportions. Oh, and the answer to "how long could they hold that up?" is "for as long as TooTall wants."

[Ginger]

Scoot...that's something my cocker spaniel used to do...

[Ray]

Great times riding and relaxing. The Saturday mid-distance ride (which I think ended up being similar distance to the long distance ride, but a more relaxed pace) was way fun. Energetic but never crazy. Easy cruising down in the park to warm up. The section from the top of Tuckerman out to River Road was almost all fun. Cruising along River Road with Joe (Oldmill) at the right pace, with a big group ahead (but generally within sight) and a few riders further off the back being collected by Smiley. Watching Pete and Larry just keep trucking along at about the same good speed with seemingly no variation in effort. Trying not to stay on the wheel of a rider who shall be unnamed with a strategically placed and well-worn window in the back of his shorts - not something I needed to see more than once. The Queen insisting on escorting me back to the Spectrum B&B (Bob & Beth, but works the other way too) rather than just giving me directions and risking setting me loose on the quiet residential streets of suburban MD. On Sunday, cruising past the Watergate and Kennedy Center down to the Mall was a real kick. I decided not to contest the Haynes Point Sprint - I might have gotten to the line before those guys came around for lap 2, or maybe not. Watching BB Dave explode toward the bikes as they started going down like dominos at the Lincoln Memorial - saved a certain disaster. Being INCREDIBLY glad that I let discretion overcome whatever small amount of ego I had left and riding the geared bike instead of the fixie on Sunday - me on a fixie on that ride would NOT have been a pretty sight. Zipping back through the park with Spec Bob, Manet, Tom Notto, and a couple of other gents who's names I missed. I was the slowest of the bunch by a bunch but they were kind enough to keep the pace down where I could hang on, just barely. Funny how those guys don't slow down when the road goes up. I have this interesting relationship with gravity and I slow down for it. But they made sure to let me get back on after the couple of little climbs.

The relaxing highlights are way too many to mention. Hanging with B&B and the fire breathing dragon on their deck Saturday night, yacking with Climb and Len and Pete and Tom B. and Larry and several other new faces, cracking up any time Keno and Fly got within shouting distance of each other, laughing as Dana went to work on the top of Keno's head. Trying to make it through Friday's dinner without talking about bikes (house rules - didn't work). Eating waaaaay too much Saturday night BEFORE TK showed up with the ribs and chicken and world famous bbq sauce and then getting my fill of that too. Barely recognizing some folks in their street clothes after riding next to them all day.

Too much fun.

Oh yeah, the one minor war story - finding on Sunday morning that my rear brake was rubbing. It probably happened when I was loading it on Saturday after the ride, but I prefer to think it was rubbing all day Saturday, holding me back from certain glory by at least .1 mph.

-Ray

[djg]

To pre-empt the discussions of the flats, let me point out that a non-tubular rider on the ride with me told me he viewed the whinging about how long I took to change the tubular was just that, whinging. Besides, it took me as long to change the flat as it takes me to change a clincher so there! I'm slow regardless.

Seriously, there was a bit of tubular/clincher bs'ing going on. I flatted my tubular and got to hear it from the peanut gallery who was with us about this not being the best advert for tubular use. Luckily, BugSplatBuddhaBob pointed out that I had impecabble taste in where to flat and everyone gazed at the lovely landscape. For aesthetics, I did a figure-8 with the flat over my wool jersey, while riding lugged steel. Just give me a cig and a black and white photo and we'd be classic.

As it turns out, tubular creed was redeemed twice over the weekend. BBDave got a big ole slit in the tire, as TT alluded to. It was booted and he limped to Zap's house, just a couple miles away. I think they only felt comfortable putting in 30 or so pounds of pressure. Saturday, Paul got such a serious slash, from bead to bead across the tire, that all that was left to do was call the lovely Faye and have her pick him up. For clincher riders who point out that they carry two or three tubes and are therefore in a safer position than tubular riders with one flat, here's the counter example, twice in a weekend, in stark relief.

I must say, the upside to this last mishap was that I stayed behind with him and Mr. Tom Byrnes, waiting for the ride. That way, I got to roll back with Mr. Byrnes and make the acquaintances of one of the most interesting and genuine gentlemen I've had the fortune of encountering. Then he flatted his clincher as well.

I guess I wasn't the best advert for tubbies myself, at least not on Friday, when I shocked the conscience of several of the decoratively inclined by pairing a light blue CSi with bright green vittoria evo pave tires. On the other hand, at least too tall found the little size 24 Italo-Thais sufficiently attractive to fondle them at some length, not that I'm passing judgment or anything.

The people who said you flatted because you were riding tubbies were being ridiculous. And the people who said you flatted because you've put on a few pounds were just being mean. I really believe that.

I just did the little bitty ride on Saturday, because I had to get back to the little bitty people (and because somebody had to show a mildly injured Serotta Andrew how to ESCAPE FROM POTOMAC (my next film)). I rode tubbies (two of them) and had only half the flats Andrew had on his clinchers. Let's see ... he had no flats and I had ... right, that makes no flats. It's hard to believe you took a whole lot longer to change the tubular than it took the killer bee to change his shredded clincher (which, remember, he had to change twice, because I couldn't bring him a yellow one until the next morning).

No real adventures to report, although I enjoyed the fixie ride on Friday and the gearie on Saturday and the dinner and bevies and company both evenings. So to heck with tires: was Tom Kellog responsible for the bbq duck ribs? Mighty good, and not obviously treif either.

[flydhest]

And the people who said you flatted because you've put on a few pounds were just being mean. I really believe that.


. . . ow.

Now you know why I didn't take off my shirt for Dana.

:no:

[keno]

There were young women swooning, grown men crying,...

and I blew some chunks trying to catch up to your group, so no credit for you on that.

keno

[flydhest]

famous chef or Boston area cyclist????

[Len J]

Saturday, the Quote of the weekend........

"And we are going to do a "conversational" pace (on the fast ride.)"

Conversational for who......George Hincapie? LOL We fixed that when we (were shot off) decided to form a grupetto with Keno, Climb, Spectrum Bob, Fly, Manet, Tom and a few others.......I'm not sure what was more fun, watching Fly try to get the "super-glued) tubie off the rim, or giving him crap about it......of course, God got even when I broke my rear axel and had to be sagged in......Kudos to Mr. Class..Spectrum Bob for not leaving his Wing man....Thanks to Smiley also for the Sag.

The BBQ was awesome......Laughing, trying to reintroduce myself to people I just rode with for 3 hours (who recognizes people without their helmet and bike?). Introducing my Wife to this group......Loving the look on the Queen's face as Too Tall picked her up and put her over his shoulder to take her home...(She never did put down the bubble wrap!). The Ribs, Dessert....more food......and then listeneing to Keno & Fly try to out double-entendre each other, much to Dana's delight.

Second best quote of the weekend......."The sunday ride will be fixie friendly!" (Who knew that was true only if you had a 53/14 gear?). What do you get being one of 2 fixie riders in a 50 person group? Answer, damn sore legs! The look on Serotta Andrews face when he waived me thru at 25 MPH (Me on my 42X17) and I busted out laughing at him was priceless.

Riding behind Too Tall & Tom Kellogg was interesting....are there two more extreme opposites in dimensions riding bikes? I'd ride either of their wheels any time.

Too many more memories to put down....suffice to say, great hosts, great company, great time........Let's do it again....soon.

Len

[Serotta_Andrew]

[QUOTE=Len J]



Second best quote of the weekend......."The sunday ride will be fixie friendly!" (Who knew that was true only if you had a 53/14 gear?). What do you get being one of 2 fixie riders in a 50 person group? Answer, damn sore legs! The look on Serotta Andrews face when he waived me thru at 25 MPH (Me on my 42X17) and I busted out laughing at him was priceless.

Len,

I am still waiting for you to come around!!!!!!!

[Rapid Tourist]

I don't have any war stories to report but I did have an incredibly fun weekend, all thanks to Smiley, Karen, Serotta and Serotta brother/sisterhood!! That was so much fun I can't even express it! THANKS to everyone for coming out, taking the time, and sharing your weekend with us!

The highlight for me was riding on a tandem with SPOKE, who is the best bike handler on the planet. Too bad I didn't know we had a speedometer until Saturday's ride was almost over, but we definitely caught some speed on the downhills, especially River Road!!

We rode like we stole it, and we kinda did since it wasn't our bike. THANK YOU TIM B. WHO I NEVER MET BUT YOUR TANDEM ROCKS!!!! :banana: :banana: :banana:

[Too Tall]

"bbq duck ribs? Mighty good, and not obviously treif either"
Bwaaaaaaaaaahahahahahah.

I've got to explain that bit. It is urban folk lore from (paying attention Sspielman?) the Eastern Shore of Maryland. There was a famous or perhaps infamous Politican cum glad hander and fellow tribesman who was asked to a pig roast. Upon arriving the host being a sensitive and caring man offered the man a plate of fine pork ribs. Not skipping a beat he replied "Sorry, my people don't eat pork but load me up a plate of em' smoke duck ribs boy".

That, told to me by my drunk boat captain over beers and hard shells about 20 yrs. ago. along with my favorite retort for the ridiculous notion that everyone should vote :rolleyes: I digress "Don't vote....it only encourages em;".

Oh, FWIIW Fly...T.K. and I sat up a full 2 mins. before you even got on our wheel and T.K. was handing me a lit Chesterfield when you launched that pretty sprint. We coulda, shoulda, woulda but ultimately we preferred to watch....but we coulda ;)

[Too Tall]

R.T. - that was Tim's tandem??? Kewl, I did a light overhaul on that rig about 6 months ago....the fr.brake cable snapped in my hands. Hey no kidding SPOKE is a freakin' wonderful tandem driver however you REALLY classed it up.

[Rapid Tourist]

Hay, Thanks TT for fixin' that front brake. It came in handy, especially on that urban tour through Adams MOrgan and such. :) And thanks for parting the traffic on the Rock Creek Parkway--what a blast to take the lane on Sunday!!

[keno]

of no great import, but, like the racer guys, fly and I work together drafting off each other verbally.

keno

[Rapid Tourist]

One more thing...

Lessons learned from my 18 or so mile test ride of an Ottrott:

1) dang, that thing accellerates

2) friends don't let friends ride Fizik Airione saddles--omg that thing is a brick--my butt still hurts. :butt:

[Len J]

of no great import, but, like the racer guys, fly and I work together drafting off each other verbally.

keno

never sure who is setting the pace.

Len

[Smiley]

Many thanks to Keno for giving us the name Nottrott for our weekend gathering. I think Nottrott has become more famous now then Ottrott France, fact is were are sending two Nottrott attendess to France to compare the weekend activities. Get any pointers from the FRENCH couple guys :)

[djg]

. . . ow.

Now you know why I didn't take off my shirt for Dana.

:no:

Kidding, just kidding. We in the glass house like to kid a lot, and kidding gets relatively few complaints from the neighbors.

[Korn Julio]

This is so cool being able to finally have faces/personalities to go along with the names. This weekend I had the pleasure to meet and greet almost every person that’s contributed to this thread (‘cept for Ginger).

Not really a Nottrott war story. Just a short list based on this weekends experiences:

Fastest Descender: SPOKE
Best Mechanic: Rapid Tourist (thanks for the help in switching me over!) :beer:
Best Track Stander: Flydhest
Coolest Bike: Zap’s LOOK he rode on Saturday (Manet’s Spectrum a very close second)
Fastest Flat Fixer: Too Tall
Best Ride Wranglers: Too Tall, Flydhest, Karen & Debbie
My Most Embarrassing Moment: Mistaking Keno for Bumble Bee Dave (hey, from the back they look EXACTLY alike). :crap:
My 2nd Most Embarassing Moments: Getting continuously dropped by Ackwards on those hills.
Smiley’s Most Embarassing Moment: Mistaking me for Zoomie. ;)
Smiley's 2nd Most Embarassing Moment: Telling me that 53cm Ottrott ST demo looked about right for me. ;) :p I ride a stock 56 and a custom 54/55. Once I had the seat height adjusted on the Ottrott, that extra long Jerk-issued stem really made the bike fit. Thanks Smiley! :banana:
Biggest Surprise: Didn’t know there were so many camera geeks among you.
Best Clean Up Crew: Hope & Blizzard :beer:
Phrase I heard most often: “Oh, you don’t look like your avatar”. :D
Biggest Regret: I should’ve gone ahead and popped that Darvocet ™ so I could join the wonderful ride you all had on Sunday. :bike:
Hottest Nottrott Babe: This is a difficult choice. I’ve taken a lot of photos of beautiful women in my days and to try to narrow the list down to one is impossible. There are just too many to chose from -- they are all gorgeous!

http://www.pbase.com/nikonbuff/image/60497979
http://www.pbase.com/nikonbuff/image/60497961
http://www.pbase.com/nikonbuff/image/60497990
http://www.pbase.com/nikonbuff/image/60498203
http://www.pbase.com/nikonbuff/image/60498207
and http://www.pbase.com/nikonbuff/image/60497931 (ignore the message board trouble maker on the right) ;)

KJ

[BumbleBeeDave]

<<My Most Embarrassing Moment: Mistaking Keno for Bumble Bee Dave (hey, from the back they look EXACTLY alike). >>

He's 64. I'm 47.

Ouch.

BBD

[flydhest]

Oh, FWIIW Fly...T.K. and I sat up a full 2 mins. before you even got on our wheel and T.K. was handing me a lit Chesterfield when you launched that pretty sprint. We coulda, shoulda, woulda but ultimately we preferred to watch....but we coulda ;)

For the record, TooTall, you all had sat up for 3 minutes 12 seconds. I took one minute to sit up on my own in back before lolly-gagging it to your wheel. The point, of course, is that nobody else knew that until now. Sheeeeesh!

Thanks for continuing the artifice with me and using the word "sprint" to describe what I did.

[keno]

you should look so good if you get there.

keno

[Too Tall]

Well Fly, it was a pretty sprint and the Chesterfield sure made my day ;) Just sayin'.

Hottest Nottrott babe? That would have to be a tie between Dana and Queen...why else did they take their shirts off for the group pic. at the Lincoln Memorial and sing salty sea songs for Fly and Manet :) Hmmmm?

[Spectrum Bob]

I need to speak up here and say that Luna (Spectrum Beth) is also one very hot cycling babe IMHO who also attended the weekend.

[Climb01742]

and i gotta speak up for keno's calves. oo-lala. :p

[Zoomie80]

2) friends don't let friends ride Fizik Airione saddles--omg that thing is a brick--my butt still hurts. :butt:


Oh great...I just put one of those bricks on my bike last nite. ;)

[Zoomie80]

Korn J in front of me, and tandem w/ Jeanette and hubby in front of him climb after climb...then we lose sight of the tandem thinking they pulled way ahead of us (they made turn on the cue sheet...KJ and I didn't see them turn so we keep climbing!) About a mile later KJ pulls over and stops by the side of the road. $@#^! We're lost...but Debbie and Ackwards come to the rescue and guide us home. :banana:

But what a great, fun ride...every ride has a story!

Zoomie

[Mrs. Smiley]

So this is proof that Nottrott recruited another member to the Forum - my first official posting!
Rather than more banter about cycling prowess, I thought I'd provide some war stories from my perspective as the event planner:


the argument with Smiley and marriage counseling from David (Afghan restaurant owner) when I insisted on having Friday's dinner at the house rather than sharing a restaurant with 20 to 30 others. Sometimes, I do get to be the captain!
Ordering food for 36 and getting food for 50! Thank goodness you all had such hearty appetites after ZAP's romp through the upscale neighborhood
Being torn between continuing Saturday's ride and beating the quick route back to the house to have grills fired up and the feast laid out before the masses returned
Hiding from the neighbors and garbage collectors for the shame of what appeared to be the aftermath of a big drinking binge (6 boxes of recycled bottles lined the curb until this morning)

And now for the highlights:


The great turn out for each day's ride. Thanks Zap, Fly, Spectrum Bob, Smiley, Sandy, and TT for your excellent ride leadership
The weather - I'm sure we'll pay for this in July and August or have to sacrifice a few days of sailing but we were blessed with PERFECT weather conditions
Being referred to as a "Hot Babe" rather than "Mam" (Thank you Korn - you made my day!)
Bringing together Formites, other Serotta owners (who haven't discovered this great community) and our favorite cycling friends. We had a diverse, interesting and congenial group - a key ingredient for successful entertaining.
The best behavior of my "kids" - Blizzard and Hope - even if they did lick every pair of bare legs they could find. :p
Talking myself back into riding on Sunday and enjoying that great experience on the tandem with my best friend and partner - Smiley. I love you babe!
Spending yesterday basking in the sun, reading a book with my feet propped up on pillows - priceless way to finish the weekend :banana: :banana: :banana:

:) I'd do it all over again. The fun that was had and the appreciation expressed by everyone is all a hostess lives for! If any groups from other locations want to consider hosting the next "Nottrott" event, I'll be happy to provide some tips.

[Smiley]

Mrs Smiley an event planner and Nottrott consultant for hire :banana:


I married Martha Stewart :)

Hey BBDave , does Karen's posts count towrads my totals :)

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . but you have to get to 5k all by your lonesome!

And BTW, I'm very disappointed . . . you mean the dogs werene't just licking MY legs?!?! . . . ;)

BBD

[Korn Julio]

Not only did I get my legs licked, I also got the rare treat of having both my knees licked -- at the SAME TIME. :p

I so really wanted to dognap this one and take her home with me! ..but alas :no:

[Serotta PETE]

<<My Most Embarrassing Moment: Mistaking Keno for Bumble Bee Dave (hey, from the back they look EXACTLY alike). >>

He's 64. I'm 47.

Ouch.

BBD

I thought you were 74 :p

[keno]

does your betrothed know you say things like that? And I think, BTW, that Dana has first dibs.

keno

[Too Tall]

War Story aftermath of the batter between my calves and Blizzard's muzzle...I lost.

I was standing in the sun feeling great when someone said "hey looks like you got a little wild with the chain lube". DOH....wipe...smell...ewwww....dog slime!!! Ewwwwwwwww. Biker down biker down...bring sponges and disenfectant stat.

[Tom Byrnes]

I did not arrive back home from Nottrott until around midnight on Monday evening and had three court apearances yesterday, so I could not add my two cents to the various Nottrott postings until now.

I have no new war stories to add from the various rides, as most of the events have already been described. As I am sure everyone who wasn't at Nottrott can already tell, it was a great weekend for everyone.

On Monday, after returning my bike to Smiley's bike shop for shipping back to L.A., I had the wonderful pleasure and distinct honor of visiting that funloving, friendly, powerful cyclist, Seth, aka Flydhest, at his place of employment, the Federal Reserve Bank on Constitution Avenue, on Monday.

After going through some very serious security to enter the building, Fly showed me the Board of Governors' Meeting Room and even let me sit in Chairman Ben Bernanke's chair. Realizing the impact of the decisions made in that immense room is both impressive and a bit staggering. I got a private tour, a history lesson and lunch at the Fed's cafeteria, with its panoramic view of Washington. Thank you, Seth.

After spending time and talking with Fly this weekend, I truly feel a little less cynical about the direction of our economy. There is definitely a very serious side or aspect to Fly. He is a very esteemed economist with a tremendous amount of responsibility for our financial markets, yet he is still so very down-to-earth and self-effacing.

I guess Smiley and the Washington D. C. crew have known all this about the friendly, fun-loving youngster for a while. But, I didn't and it was very impressive to me.

Again, thanks, Seth.

Tom

[Rapid Tourist]

Welcome Mrs. Smiley, we look forward to your contributions! We sure could use a few more members of the fairer sex around here--Ginger , SC 53, Tailwinds and I have been carrying the load for too long :) :banana:

[Too Tall]

Tom., the really sad part of all this is Fly is just riding wife Mi's coat tails ;)
We love the bum, he's a keeper :)

[Tom Kellogg]

TT:

Let's just hope for Fly's sake that Mi agrees with you.

Cheers to all. Have a wonderful long weekend!

[Tom Byrnes]

As everyone has already stated, Nottrott Weekend was absolutely tremendous. It is truly the sum total of everyone present that made it so enjoyable. So, thank you one and all.

But I want to acknowledge a few who immediately come to mind who contributed greatly to the weekend's success for me:

The most obvious are, of course, Smiley and Karen. Both so generous, gracious and cool under the pressure of forty people wandering throughout their house for several days.

It was also quite apparent that several others were integral parts of the success. So, thank you to:

Too Tall, aka Too Fast, and Smiley and their lieutenants Fly, Spectrum Bob and Craig (Manet). They ran the various rides very efficiently and kept everyone together. Imagine, . . . printed Ride Sheets!! On the long Saturday ride, Craig and Fly gracefully slipped in front of me and others on some of the longer climbs and then, without saying anything, paced us slow pokes up the hills. TT, the Sunday Ride through Rock Creek Park was a dream for this So Cal guy. So much lush greenery and stretches of road without cars!! Sadly, we don't have anything like Rock Creek Park in Los Angeles.

The Lovely Nottrott Women, lead by Karen, with her very able assistants Debbie, Dana and the Doreen the Queen, kept everyone full of food and drink. It was obvious that it was planned that the responsibilities for the food and drink for the army would be shared by several people.

Korn Julio and BBDave for taking so many pictures so that we can all relive and remember the weekend.

Spoke for tirelessly tuning up and fixing everyone's bike. Even though my Ottrott had been tuned by Smiley's bike shop in Alexandria upon arrival, Bill was able to further tweak it. It has never shifted better!!

Tom Kellogg's barbeque ribs, with his own special secret sauce, were delicious!! He must have been cooking for hours. It was great to see so many beautiful Spectrum bikes in one place.

Serotta Andrew for driving down from Serotta with a truckload of beautiful Serotta demo bikes and Serotta beer. Very nice to know that Nottrott had the blessing of Ben and Company.

Pete, Len J. and BBDave for sharing with me their sage advice, experiences and opinions about how to better motivate and assist my 14-year-old stepdaughter.

It was great meeting so many people face-to-face that I have "known" through the Forum. In particular, I was glad to meet fellow AARP members Keno and Sandy - Kevan's better half. Nice to meet other senior cyclists.

Again, it was a great weekend. Thank you, Everyone.

Can't wait for Nottrott II.

Tom

[flydhest]

Finally a good moment to be able to reflect and respond. Tom(B and K) and TT are being overly kind. All three are men, generous of spirit, that I feel fortunate to call friends.

On a less mushy note, there were more than a couple AARP jokes flying around at Nottrott. The grey hair was widespread and would have been more widespread but for the lack of hair by some participants.

That said, the weekend made me realize that I have years left in which to cycle. After chasing Mr. Bynes and Pete down from a wrong turn they made, I was able to ride back with keno, Pete, and Tom to Smiley's house. I said to keno, "looking at you three together makes me realize my cycling future" to which he responds, "you wanna be 180 years old?"

Seriously, for gentlemen of "a certain age" these guys were able to lay down a couple of massive pulls that had me working hard and trying to seem generous and sincere when I offered to slow things down "for them."

Cycling is a great sport to keep you living forever.

[Mrs. Smiley]

But I want to acknowledge a few who immediately come to mind who contributed greatly to the weekend's success for me:



The acknowledgment is not complete without recognizing you, Mr. Byrnes. I have dubbed you "Everyone's Favorite Guest" as I had more people ask about you, where you were from and exclaim how nice you are. I also applaud yours and Seth's leadership in breaking the gender barrier when it came to dishwashing! You are a real class act and are always welcome to visit again.

[Tom Byrnes]

Thank you, Karen.

You and Smiley made me and everyone else feel very comfortable and welcomed in your home. It was an absolutely wonderful weekend.

I would love to come out there again sometime.

Warm regards,

Tom