We had a great group of characters as we headed out under sunny skies from Firestone and Summit last night for our weekly Hammerfest. We even enjoyed the honor of one of Denmark's National Team members, the delightful Nicole den Dulk. What a great bike rider! She is visiting here with her boyfriend who is participating in our local tennis tournament. She wanted to come out and ride our Hammerfest. Welcome Nicole! It was really great riding with you!
Although, I must say it was rather calm compared to the stormy seas of last week. As we made our way around the Super Figure 8, I noticed there seemed to be a lack of friskiness among the usual candidates for instigation. However, it may have been in deference to those who haven't been on the Crit Loop part of the course. There was a definite acceleration during that couple of miles.
I personally think it is a needed addition to our usual repertoire of midweek loops. It also has the added benefit, as does the Burgess section through the park, of allowing a slower group to gain some ground on a faster bunch. Sometimes, like last night, even giving the hammerheads something to chase. Good fun, by the way! I think everybody really enjoyed themselves even though the only real sprint was at the end on Maygarden.
As is the case most nights, on the last pass on Langley, the pace quickens a bit. Last night was no exception. It seems that the Daves, (Carroll and Henderson...that's "Lawman" and "Retro" respectively), hadn't spent enough fuel and took a flyer shortly after the peloton passed Pensacourt. Nobody appeared interested in chasing until we reached the bottom of the slope at which time Vortex and Crusher decided to have a go. At 30mph+ they reeled them in by the right hander onto Spanish Trail. These four amigos were to stay together until about 1k to go.
Each bandito, (amigo) took a pull into what was a nasty headwind along Spanish Trail and Maygarden. With about 1k left of this pain, Lawman took his suicide pull up to about 500 meters from the line. That's when Retroman jumped and the rest looked like amigos on siesta. I think Lawman actually wanted to chase but Crusher and Vortex didn't see the point...so off Retro rode to a lone victory on his first night back in the F&S peloton. Congrats Dave!
Just a reminder for the Saturday's Rite of Spring Ride: All the Way Around the Bay.
- Please note that we will start at 7am from Firestone and Summit. This is a longer ride than we have done this year, so we thought to get an earlier start. Please assure your machine is in good condition...uh, the pistons too!
- The pace will be moderate (17 to 20mph...a little slower on the uphills and headwind and a little faster on the downhills and tailwind). We will have 3 scheduled stops to fill the bottles. Each about 20 to 25 miles apart. The weather forecast could not be better; sunny and low 60s to start, topping out in the mid 70s by the time we arrive home. Looks like a Tailwind Express for the last section!
- The route will follow our usual Around the Bay Loop to Milton where we will continue east on Hwy 90 to south on Hwy 87. Once in Navarre, we will take East Bay to Hwy 98 and hook up with our usual Around the Bay Loop to finish in Pensacola. This is a wonderful route with lots of variety including flats, 3 hills more than a mile each and a long section of rollers. All told: 70 to 75 miles. Come on somebody!
See you early Saturday morning for what is sure to become a classic. And as always, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
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