Hey cycling fans and all around peloton enthusiasts. What a fantastic Labor Day weekend for riding. Several of us rode more than 150 miles over the three days. Saturday morning saw a good group headed out on the Pine Forest Loop under partly cloudy skies. The pace was spirited if not frisky. Randy "Ranoldo" Riche took both the half way sprint and the final sprint, showing he is in peak form and ready for the Senior Games competition on the 18th and 19th. The Senior Games are part of the inaugural Pensacola Cycling Classic organized and promoted by Randy Bullock and our own David "Two Wheels" Mayo as well as the band of renown's, (aka: Organizing Committee).
If you haven't heard about this three stage race, you may want to check your pulse. It has been the talk of the town over the last few months. A huge list of great sponsors, three challenging race courses as well as a purse to rival the Tour itself! (Okay, I exaggerated a bit on that final one). However, this will be the cycling event of the season on the Gulf Coast! If you enjoy riding, racing or just cruising the beach on your, uh...beach cruiser, you are going to get a real kick out of the Pensacola Cycling Classic as a racer, spectator or both. Several of our own Firestone and Summit cyclists have already registered as competitors for one, two or all three of the races! How about you? Come on!!! You can find all the details at: www.pensacolacyclingclassic.com Don't forget to sign up as a team member of Firestone and Summit and wear your jersey!
Back to live action.
As we made the turn onto Maygarden the pace picked up into the low 20s. Just then Sheila Sheila attacked the peloton. (Obviously going for the coveted SheBeast Award...which she received of course) The boys were chasing her down like a bunch of kids playing tag in an elementary school recess playground. We finally pulled her back into the fold just as we started into the final S curve. Just then that rascal Ranoldo jumps from the back of the pack to gap the group as we top out the final hill. Tim "The Hammer" Fox cranked it up with yours truly on his wheel. Ranoldo held off the charging Clydesdales by less than a bike length as the big boys were closing fast!
Sunday we decided to try the crit race at Ellison just for the fun of it. So we did a warm up loop of about 15 miles on the way up. We arrived at the crit course about ten minutes before the race was to begin only to find David "Twin Six" Murphy sitting in the shade waiting for whomever was to run this shindig. Nobody ever showed... Therefore, we did a quick lap through UWF hills and called it a day. Anybody other than Coolio actually like that steep climb?
Labor Day saw the peloton staring at the Innerarity Point Ride. We haven't done this route in several weeks so the group was definitely looking forward to it. We decided to take Jackson instead of the downtown routes so we could pick up Count Fishbone. The Count was absent in body although not in spirit. The pace westward was frisky as Left Lane had the hammer down keeping things around 23 to 24 mph. (Was this a suicide pull?) Others including David "Lawman" Carroll, Tim "Big Boy" Fox and John "Gianni Bugno" Duke kept the pace just outside the city limits of Anarobia. Gianni Bugno, famous for his Duker Puker Ride, did most of the pace making and taking the Point Gate Sprint.
The trip back from Innerarity took us through Navy Point with Left Lane taking the infamous Fried Twinkie Sprint to the consternation of Tim "Grocery" Fox, (That dude has more nicknames than Krispy Kreme has donuts), who hasn't beat Left Lane for the FTS in the last three attempts. However, Grocery and Lawman paid Left Lane back in full over the Barrancas Bridge leaving him as roadkill and gazing into the eyes of Pukeasaurus Rex. Great ride!
It was, in fact, a great weekend full of great riding with great weather to match! If you missed it, "Don't fret yourself Mary." ( From Chariots of Fire, where Eric Liddell was telling his sister Mary he was going to run in the Olympics. Apparently she was uh, fretting herself.) There are plenty of great rides scheduled for this week and coming weekend! Rides like the Hammerfest tonight and Saturday's Fort Pickens Loop as well as the Full Moon Ride later this month. Check out the Ride Calendar at the bottom of this blogulation for more details.
Come on out for some fun and sure to be peloton antics! Yes, you too can be a part of the characters that make up the Firestone and Summit Group.
See you out on the road,
Bob
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