Saturday is the Pine Forest Loop!

Yes, and the weather forecast looks excellent for a trip down the Pine Forest Loop. According to the Weather Channel it looks like high 50s and sunny at start time and almost 70 degrees by the time we finish up. Bright sunshine the whole time! Yes! Not quite sure just yet, but the miserable rides may be over for this season...hope so!

The Pine Forest Loop is a group favorite and offers lots of variety including a couple of sprints, (one for Left Lane) and a planned stop to fill the bottles. The ride starts at Firestone and Summit at 8am and is a total distance of about 40 to 45 miles, which we'll ride at a moderate pace. (see Pace Chart below for more details) Hope everyone can make this classic ride! However, if you can't don't worry we accept doctor's notes, unless you are just in a donut induced coma from the slumber party at Coolio's the night before.

Whatever the reason, don't fret yourself, look at these fantastic rides just on the horizon:

• 3.16.11 First Wednesday Hammerfest 2011 (less than 3 weeks away!)
• 3.20.11 First Full Moon Ride 2011
  
• 3.26.11 Around the Bay (Rite of Spring Ride)
• 4.2.11 Tour de Cure (Sign up under the Team Mayo)

Come on somebody! I told you that you would want to be riding the miserable rides so you would be at a fitness level to enjoy the unbestinkinglievable calendar of rides we have scheduled this year! There is even talk of taking a group of Firestone and Summit riders to Cheaha this year! Come on, don't tease me!

And plans are in the making for the first ever, (uh, to our knowledge anyway), Pensacola to Tallahassee Weekend! Yep, 3 awesome days of riding across the beautiful Panhandle of Florida. All for you and all before Summer sets in! And that's just the rides for the first 6 months of what will no doubt be a fantastic 2011!

So, come on out this Saturday and get in those base miles before it is too late! If you need any details just check out the Rides Calendar at the bottom of this Blogomatical. I hope to see you then and as always, I hope I'll...

See you out on the road,
Bob

The Lillian Loop Never Disappoints

This past weekend showed us two fabulous February rides. First, on Saturday, we rode the infamous Lillian Loop followed by Left Lane's 9 Mile Madness ride on Sunday afternoon. Beautiful weather both days.

On Saturday we headed towards Lillian from Fish and Wildlife. We had waited an extra few minutes as there was a rumor that David "Bad Mayonnaise" Mayo was riding but hadn't shown his smiling face yet. He did indeed show, just didn't stop. Just as we were leaving, with no warning whatsoever, there goes the Bad Mayo himself charging down Gregory thinking we were ahead of him. We were all laughing as we tracked him down and pulled back on the reins to his chariot.

We cruised down the length of Jackson then jogged over to Lillian Hwy and turned right onto Hwy 98 toward our destination. We had the proverbial obligatory sprint into Lillian with some new Young Jedi winning just ahead of The Foxinator. We stopped in at the gas station to fill the bottles before beginning the loop through the sweet home Alabama countryside.

The loop around Lillian was fantastic with great roads with little or no traffic. At one point we did have to race a tractor, (don't ask), but other than that it was uneventful...in other words, no Armadillo Incident. (ask later) After the left hander onto the road that parallels the Perdido Bay, the pace quickened somewhat. It appeared that several of the boys wanted the Fried Green Tomato Sprint prize. This is the last sign as we approach the light at Hwy 98. El Foxo had cranked up the pace for a good almost 2 kilometers and turned the pace making over to the big Clydesdale boy nicknamed "Vortex".

We'll pause for a moment from our story to explain the uh, Vortex title. The definition of vortex, according to Websters...and I quote; "A whirling mass, especially one with the force of suction." Apparently, more than a few in the peloton have benefited from a certain uh, "whirling mass" as he charges down the road towards a finish line. His draft, or shall we say, his "force of suction" makes for the perfect leadout. Thus the new nickname Vortex. I think it is actually an offhanded compliment and certainly an improvement to several other names this rider has been called over the years...some we could not repeat here as Blogger has a profanity filter.

Back to live action...

Vortex took over with about a kilometer or so to the line and motored up to the high 20s with about 200 meters to go and then, "Who let the dogs out?!" Everybody and his brother, sister, cousin and mother-in-law wanted a piece of that Fried Green Tomato! From my vantage point about 70 to 80 meters back as they crossed the line it looked as though the Clydesdale wannabe Gianni Bugno edged out the Young Jedi Joe Piscopo. Good fun.

We stopped at the Tom Thumb at Bauer and 98 to fill the bottles and decide which way to ride home. The Prenti, (that's both the younger and elder), and the Young Jedi decided to head straight home on 98 and the rest of us took Bauer to Gulf Beach Hwy to Navy Point. The big Vortex boy took a couple sprints. The Dub Blum Bridge Sprint (DubBB) and then the infamous Fried Twinkie Sprint. This was met with no small amount of consternation from the peloton as he had gapped the group on Gulf Beach Hwy and increased his lead even though the chase group had the hammer down. This led to an increased amount of suspicion in the peloton.

After some questioning to determine if he had stayed on course or used some Leftiest Laneiest Maximus shortcut techniques to obtain the cherished prize. He was found without guilt and the interrogators satisfied, awarded him the fried delight. Vortex, being the good natured fellow that he is, accepted it all with the grace of a Roman Emperor returning from yet another conquered enemy.

Now the dispute settled, we moved on to the next and final task...the Bayou Chico Bridge! There were no lack of contenders at the bottom as it seemed everybody wanted the last prize of the day and final bragging rights for the week. However, at the top there was only one...David "Lawman" Carroll. His victory was tainted however. Once over the bridge and in the lead of the reforming peloton, he turns right on Main Street which is totally blocked off with construction. We were all wondering what in the world the dude was doing or if perhaps somebody had spiked his water bottle. When asked what he was thinking, his response was simply, "I have to pee pee!"

That Lawman, what a character. Seems there is no end to the weekly peloton antics. But, don't fret yourself if you missed it, we'll do it again this Saturday...come on out! Check the Rides Calendar for all the details.

Hey, just as we were finishing up the ride, we had a Dave "Retro" Henderson sighting. I saw him again this afternoon. It would appear that the Retroman is getting ready for a return with a vengeance to the peloton this Spring. Perhaps, we'll see him at the first Wednesday evening Hammerfest just 3 weeks from tomorrow. Hope so!

See you out on the road,
Bob

Impromptu Ride: Fox's President's Day Frolic

No, it's not the latest sale at Target. And it is not the local car dealer trying to get you out the door in one of his new sports cars. Nope...

It's a bike ride!

Tim "The Foxinator" Fox has scheduled a ride tomorrow morning at 9am from Firestone and Summit to celebrate President's Day! The big Clydesdale boy called me just a few minutes ago to ask if there would be any interest. I told him I wasn't sure, but I would put it on the Rides Calendar and we'll see who shows up.

So, if you have the day off tomorrow and are planning on sitting at home wondering what you are going to do all day, come on out for the first ever Fox's President"s Day Frolic.

All the details are on the Rides Calendar. See you then and...

See you out on the road,
Bob

I'm Loving This Weather!

...aren't you?

I can't wait for tomorrow's ride! The weather forecast for 8am is for sunny skies and upper 50s. By the time we finish our ride to Innerarity and back it will be close to 70 degrees...come on somebody, it's February! We will be starting at Fish and Wildlife at 8am and we will make two scheduled stops to fill the bottles, (and tell stories), on our 50 miler. There is supposed to be a slight breeze, (4mph), out of the northwest. There is some talk on the street about changing the route to the Lillian Loop! Come on out and cast your vote. Should be a great ride!

Speaking of stories, a few of us went out yesterday afternoon for a short ride around northeast Pensacola. Namely, The Count, Foxinator, Coolio, myself and we ran into Happy. (Man, every time I'm out riding I run into that guy. He says he's riding 120 to 150 miles a week! And it's only February!) Anyway, we were heading north on 12th after picking up The Count at Cactus Flower. As we cross the bridge and head up the hill towards Bayou Blvd, Coolio and The Count start this race up the hill. Fishbone (The Count) is seated on his Specialized carbon and Coolio is out of the saddle stomping on his Lynskey titanium doing an imitation of the Foxinator back in January when he spanked the little climbing curmudgeon up La Petit Alpe Duez. (Complete details in a previous posting)

Well, these two, Coolio and The Count, are giving it everything they got as I'm watching with delight from an increasing distance from behind. Neither are giving in! I'm thinking, "Man, the testosterone is flowing now...and it is only the middle of February! I wonder what the first Wednesday evening Hammerfest will be like in less than 4 weeks?" (Note to reader: I have noticed an unusual level of fitness with several of the riders this year. Evidence of many participating in the dreaded Double Secret Workout Training Regiment.) So, these two yahoos are giving all they got all the way to the top of 12th with Coolio surging ahead by a few yards. Upon considering this situation more carefully, I have come to recognize that the little climber had more to lose than The Count and therefore put in the greater effort to obtain the unspoken win.

Regardless, I was getting a kick out of how competitive we can be over something that amounts to absolutely nothing! However, once turning onto Summit, The Count gave up the ghost as the little climber tightened the screws by going to the front and putting in yet another surge. That Bobby definitely had something to prove...what? I'm not sure, but something. Maybe it had something to do with last Sunday's ride?! Maybe ask him on tomorrow's ride. He should be there, the temps are above 65!

I'm looking forward to seeing you in the morning. If you need any more details, check out the Rides Calendar at the bottom of this Blogulation. And, I'll...

See you out on the road,
Bob

It Was A Great Weekend for Riding

I really enjoyed getting in some miles with the group this past weekend. Sure, Saturday morning was a bit chilly, but by the time we had finished our Starbucks stop it was beautiful. Sunday afternoon's weather was even better. If you didn't ride on Saturday, you missed The Foxinator unveiling his new machine. A Trek 5.9 or 5 point something?! It is a sweet carbon ride with all the latest gizmos for rider comfort and convenience. It even has some kind of an integrated computer thingy that figures everything including the current years taxes.

It is one snazzy "steed", (his word, not mine), to be sure and will make it even tougher for Coolio to get revenge on La Petit Alpe Duez when they compete in their grudge match in a few weeks. Left Lane loved everything about Tim's new ride except the color, stating it was, "Coolio-esk", (meaning, he doesn't like the color). I was wondering about the benefit to The Foxinator when he was evidently suffering like a dog up the hills in UWF and Scenic Hills. It is very uncharacteristic for the big Dale, (uh, Clydesdale, not Chip and Dale), to struggle up the hills. However, once on Ten Mile we discovered that his rear brake was rubbing terribly and causing no minor amount of effort for him to just keep up with the peloton. He remedied the situation and was back to his old self at the front of the pack. He even took an unannounced sprint! (See the definition on the page below) Did I mention he was the only competitor in said sprint.

The only other antics to report was the Left Lane's breakaway with about 5k to go. He usually does something like this so it was no surprise to the bunch. However, we had a neophyte named Steveo with us, so I pulled up next to him and explained the pace may get a bit "sprightly". Which it did. The chase group was sure that the breakaway artist had taken a particular shortcut in his effort to widen the gap, therefore we did as well. Whether we did or not, he didn't have a chance. We were packing too much horsepower in the group with the likes of Big Motor, Gianni and The Foxinator himself who was feeling much better now that his wheels were rolling freely.

We swing back on the course from our shortcut and look up the road only to see it vacant! "Man, that dude has gotten strong", expressed Gianni. "No way! He couldn't have gotten that far ahead! He must be..." We all looked back at the same time to see the Left Lane himself coming up behind us. Apparently, he had not taken the shortcut as we had suspected. This was, in fact, the second "out of character" episode for the ride. Uh, we don't call him Left Lane for nothing!

As we hit Langley, Big Motor went to the front and the pace did get a bit "sprightly". We were doing 23-24mph as we rolled along and onto Spanish Trail and then the final turn unto Maygarden, the "Jam Lane" itself. Now, the pace picked up in earnest. (For those of you who have ridden the Figure 8 in the summer months, there is no explanation needed, as you know the pace and the pain!) Through the first S curve Big Motor was doing his impression of a suicide pull with head down and stompin' on it. He pulled all the way to the top of the second S curve and then...Katie Bar the Door!

Gianni went around him to the right because I had eased up on his left with the hopes of blocking him in a bit. The Foxinator jumped on Gianni's wheel and I hopped on his. "Who let the dogs out?!"

Gianni had quickly gained a 5 meter advantage with about 400 meters to go. The problem was, the gap was widening. I was waiting for big Tim to close the door so I could ride his wheel up to Gianni and hopefully go around them with 50 meters to go. It wasn't working to my plan. Rats! "Plan B must be implemented immediately", I heard the Bridge call down to the Engine Room. I clicked two gears and did my impersonation of Mark Cavendish. (Although, not quite as fast...a mere 36.8mph max...not bad for an old fat dude in the middle of February, however just a few mph short of El Marko, the Mansk Missile) But...enough to reel in Gianni for the win and to obtain the Sprint Leader's Green Jersey, at least temporarily. Good fun!

Sunday afternoon saw a couple of riders out for the ride we haven't seen for awhile. Yes, David "Lawman" Carroll and Bobby "Coolio" Cooley. We did a loop of about 25 miles called Manzeire Lane: Home of the Bro at a moderate pace. We had advertised an easier pace because it was rumored that El Rondo Martino was going to make his peloton debut...or re-debut. However, we never saw the boy.

Generally speaking, we like to do an easy pace(16mph or below) on Sunday afternoon's unless just the regulars show up. Then, we will keep the pace a bit in the moderate range. (17-20mph) The goal on Sunday afternoon rides is to allow those who haven't ridden much or are just getting back into riding to come out on a group ride without getting "hammered". (No...not that kind of "hammered", that's for AFTER the ride. This "hammered" is uh, meaning dropped or the pace is so high they wish they were getting dropped and therefore wanting to get the other kind of "hammered" after the ride)

Seeing that there were no newbies we kept it around 17 to 20mph with a couple of visits into Anaerobia just to see the view. We rolled to a stop at the end of Palafox to take in another kind of view and headed back home. Oh, as a side note, there was one sprint in which Subway Mark Calvert and myself were the sole contestants. It was so close that neither of us could call winner, so we settled for a draw. Although, from his perspective 70 meters back Left Lane thinks Subway Mark won...who knows?! Good fun regardless.

And more to come this weekend! Hope to see you soon out on a ride or at least I hope to...

See you out on the road,
Bob

Ride Schedule CHANGE

Tomorrow morning's ride will be delay one hour due to the chilly temperatures. It will now start at 9am at Firestone and Summit.

The route will remain the same. We are doing the UWF/Scenic Hills Loop with a twist. (The Twisted Udub) Should be a beautiful morning with full bright sunshine forecast and temps in the 50s by the time we make it to our obligatory Starbucks stop...get down on it!

I'm looking forward to seeing many of you who were wise enough to not ride The Miserable 45 last Saturday. Should be the beautiful 45 tomorrow!

See you out on the road,
Bob

The Miserable Forty Five

No, this isn't a title for the latest Hollywood production or even your worst college class. Nope, this is what we rode last Saturday! Yep, 45 miserable miles. I haven't ridden in conditions that bad since leaving Ohio after a winter that lasted what seemed like an eternity. For 6 weeks we didn't see the sun and it snowed every third day like clockwork. Which meant, I was out in it shoveling every third day. Cold? Man, was it cold...and gray skies that seemed to never end. I never thought I would see a day like that down here in sunny Florida. (No, it didn't snow, but it sure felt like it could!)

When I showed up at Fish and Wildlife last Saturday at 9am, (we had delayed the start time an hour because of chilly temperatures), there was no other riders there yet. So, I said to myself, "Hey, nobody shows by 9:03am, I'm outta here." A few minutes went by and I looked around and thought it was time to go home and get warm. I pulled my phone out of my back pocket to check the time. Yep, 9:03, time to go. As I was putting my phone back in my pocket I heard a voice, "Man, it's cold out here." I swung around to see The Count smiling back at me from under his heavy jacket. "I almost didn't come." he laughed.

"I was just heading home. It's too wet and cold." I was almost apologizing. We exchanged some pleasantries and decided we would just head on home. As we were clipping in, around the corner, dressed in nothing more than tights and a sweatshirt comes the bodacious Brit himself. "Aw, man! We were outta here. I can't believe this." I was kind of complaining under my breath. Apparently, loud enough for The Count to hear because he laughed out loud expressing that we waited 10 seconds too long. He was right.

The Brit is Keith "Big Motor" Irwin. He greeted us with his typical, "Hello Gents." You see, for those of you who have never lived in Britain, last Saturday's weather was like a summer day for them. Mine you, Big Motor has lived in the States for over 20 years, however he was raised in that climate, so nothing that the Panhandle of Florida can dish out seems too bad...with the exception of the occasional Ivan, of course. Keith was ready to roll. "Where we going?", he asks. The Count and I mumble something about back to bed or hot bath but he didn't hear us because he goes on to answer his own question. "How about 45 miles? And I just want to stop at that coffee shop up north." By coffee shop, he meant the Starbucks at Pineforest and 9 Mile Road. This is one of our usual stops on a chilly winter ride.

After a few more minutes of complaining, we were off, headed for The Miserable 45! It was 42 degrees when I left my house with a stiff wind out of the northwest and cloudy skies. I was cold and it got colder. (I have noticed over the years that cold and heat have a cumulative effect. In other words, the longer you are in the cold or heat, the greater it affects you.) The temps actually went down and we were riding into the wind...it was cold. Did I mention it started to rain?! Oh, I'm loving it now, baby! Cold and wet we finally arrived at Starbucks for a hot latte to warm the innards and thaw the toes, hands and face.

It rained on us most of the way home. There are no sprints to report. No breakaways, no king of the mountains...just suffering. And that, our capacity to suffer, which every cyclist must own, is really the only benefit I can discern from riding The Miserable 45...it wasn't epic. Sorry you missed it!

Don't fret yourself, there's more suffering planned for this Saturday and Sunday. But don't take my word for it, check out the Rides Calendar at the bottom of this Blogazoidal. The weather forecast is for bright sunshine but chilly temps at start time. Stay tuned for an update as to if we delay the start time an hour...my guess is that we will.

And here are some other dates to keep in mind:

• Less than 5 weeks until our first Wednesday evening Hammerfest on March 14th.
• Saturday, March 26th is our Rite of Spring Ride: Around the Bay
• Saturday, April 2nd is the TOUR de CURE. Sign up on line under our own Team Mayo

Great rides and warmer weather just on the horizon, but you have to prepare now for the longer, faster rides coming in just a few short weeks. I know it's no fun riding the miserable rides now, but they are absolutely necessary for your success on future rides that you will not want to miss. So, come on out and suffer with your cycling brethren. The pace now is much slower and the distances much shorter than they will be in just a month or so. Come on..."Get up off dat ding, shake it loose and you'll feel better." Taken from a James Brown song.

Uh, I'll leave you with that. And, of course I'll...

See you out on the road,
Bob

Nothing Like a Ride in the Hammock

Saturday's ride in the Hammock was fantastic! The weather could hardly have been nicer for the last week of January. We started on time from Firestone and Summit with about 10 or 11 riders. Before we even made it out on to Summit however, we had some controversy. Apparently, Gianni Bugno "discovered" a fairly large slice in the rear tire of Happy's machine, thus causing the sprint points leader to abandon before the ride ever got going.

This was met with no small amount of suspicion as Gianni holds second place behind Happy in the sprints. After frisking the Bugno for any sharp objects that could have produced such a clean cut on Happy's tire, we headed down the road with guarded confidence that the cut was caused by something other than Gianni. (Hmmmm...now that I think about it we didn't check the surrounding shrubbery for a ditched knife.)

The pace out to the Hammock was easy and quite enjoyable as we were all basking in the warmth of the winter sunshine. As we turned off Mobile Hwy the strategy of one Left Lane became very apparent. No more than a kilometer from the left hander onto Buelah Road and he throws down quite the cheeky move! He hammers up the final climb on the, you guessed it, left side and was off on his little adventure towards the finish line for the Hammock Sprint. By the time the peloton reached the same corner, Left Lane was out of sight. (But, not out of mind)

As we now headed towards Hurst Hammock itself, a little chase group of four developed to track down the runaway bandit. These four had some serious power and would make it nearly impossible for the Leftist Laneist to stay away. The four were Earl "Semper Cy(cle)" Page, The Foxinator, Gianni and yours truly. We put the hammer down and soon had the errand boy in our sights. With about 50 meters to the catch, we agreed to let him "simmer" a bit before reeling him in. This worked for a few hundred meters until Left Lane figured out what we were doing and just pulled over...actually, I think he was pretty much toast.

The 4 of us continued on and as we got closer to the Hammock Sprint Line, the tactics became evident. Now, with just 500 meters left, Semper Cy was on the front with yours truly right behind and Gianni and The Foxinator at the rear. This was shaping up to be a fantastic sprint! The pace had quicken a bit as we came around the final curve and the line came into view. I call out to Earl like Cippolini to Fagini to "Stomp on it!" He sits up and asks. "What?" I yelled back, "Stomp on it!!!" Again, "Stomp!!!" Just then he hits the brakes and says, "Stop?" I cry out, "No, Stomp!!!" But, it was too late...there goes The Foxinator out of the saddle, head down...doing his version of "stomp on it"...and with Gianni Bugno right on his wheel! With 50 meters to go, Gianni came around him for the win and bragging rights for the week. Congrats to John "Gianni Bugno" Duke!

As we were riding back out of the Hammock, Earl and I were laughing about the miscommunication. I'm yelling stomp and he's hearing stop. Regardless, it was great fun and I'll get Gianni next time! In fact, I did. In the final sprint down Maygarden, The Foxinator had done most of the work to get us up over the final hill. Just then, the Bugno, who must be thinking he is pretty much invincible against the bigger Clydesdale boys, jumps hard with 300 meters to go. Around the final curve we go, Gianni with me in tow...I love this kind of stuff! With 50 to 60 meters left, I clicked a gear and went around him for the Clydesdale Revenge Victory! (CRV) O how sweet it is!

I know what you are thinking...Gianni has been participating in the dreaded Double Secret Workout Regiment. Further, he was sure that the only threat to his early season prowess was Happy. In the group before we left that morning, was Gianni lined up right behind Happy...perfect position for sabotage of Happy's rear tire thus sending him home with no chance to challenge the Bugno! Others, have come to the same conclusion. (A full investigation is underway) When reached, Gianni had no comment. Stay tuned for more details as they become available.

Good fun and a great ride! The Hammock never disappoints!

Now, for some schedule housekeeping:

Saturday morning's ride has been delayed one hour and will now start at 9am from Fish and Wildlife. We will either be going to Fort Pickens or Soundside, depending on the wind. Temps are forecast to be chilly with bright sunshine. The temps are cause enough for the delay, but we also have the Double Bridge Run crossing 3 Mile Bridge as well and we do not want to interfere with our 2 footed brethren.

Sunday's ride will start at Firestone and Summit at 2pm instead of 3 pm. Several of you mentioned that you have plans for the Super Bowl so we thought it best to give ourselves a bit of room by bumping the start time by one hour.

As always, you can find all the details on the Rides Calendar at the bottom of this Blogazoidal. And, I will...

See you out on the road,
Bob