A few housekeeping notes of interest:
1. This weekend is, of course the Independence Day Weekend. We will have rides scheduled each day starting with Giannis Bugno's The Duker Puker on Saturday. This is one of our group's favorite rides. It has has the site of Happy's Unhappy Mishap (say that 3 times fast?!) about halfway into the Puker section of the Duker Puker. Regardless, it is a great route and our Ride Captain will keep the pace manageable throughout the ride.
Sunday will see our group riding the Manzziere Loop (Home of the Bro) to a rest stop downtown. Good fun!
And finally on Monday (4th of July) we will meet at Fish and Wildlife for an easy 40 miles down the Soundside Loop! Come on somebody!
2. Next Wednesday for the WERAD we will meet the West Florida Wheelmen at WSRE Parking Lot for the WFW's version of the WERAD. We all had so much fun last Wednesday together that we thought we would give it another go. Please note they start at 5pm. If you are running a bit late, meet the peloton at Summit and Maygarden as we roll by about 5:20pm or so.
3. And speaking of last Wednesday's ride, you probably are wondering why we didn't see the cycling article in this past weekend's Pensacola News Journal. I was wondering the same thing until I received an email from Jamie Page. The answer is that it was bumped to this coming weekend. You can view it in the Life Section. I understand there are some pictures online at their website as well.
4. We have had several motorists, over the weeks, stop to complain that we are blocking the traffic on Hallmark where we stage our WERAD rides. To alleviate their consternations, tonight let's stage just around the corner on Firestone in the parking lane...under the tree. Thanks for your cooperation.
5. Many of you have asked about the Cross Florida Ride for this October. Well, I have good news. We are, in fact, going to do the ride this year! I have been meeting with Roger Grooter's widow Vicki and her family and we are finalizing the plans for the first ever Roger's Ride! More details will be available soon, however mark your calendars for Thursday October 6th through Sunday October 9th 2011!
Now, for some color commentary from the Left Lane:
We had 2 great rides this weekend.
Saturday: The group rode the Innerarity Point Loop and we had probably the largest turnout we have had in a couple of months. Most of the Usual Suspects were in attendance including Bob (The Vortex), Fox (you pick a nickname!!), Johnny (Bugno) Duke, (Lawman) Dave Carroll, Chip (Circle K Wilson, (Dave4) Mr. Dave Green,who returned for the first time in many months, also returning for the first time in months (Bad Day...more on this later) Bobby (Coolio) Cooley, also returning was the Tampa Tornado.. Count Fishbone, The Prentii, Team Cervelo...(Aero Jim) Brittnell and Chris, Randy (I'm in a Beulah State of Mind) Riche, Mark (The Big Hoagie) Calvert, Dave (The Bad Mayonaise) Mayo ....can't wait to see that nickname in the upcoming News Journal article, Nate, Rusty (The Mayor), Woody & Carol Ann, me The Left Lane and maybe some others....That's the danger of trying to list such a big group ... I probably forgot someone!!
Anyway it was a great ride with the pace being very reasonable heading out until the traditional unannounced sprint before Gulf Beach Highway which Fox took with some wyly blocking of the Vortex who was coming up quick. Relegation of the Fox was discussed but the result was allowed to stand. We cruised out toward Innerarity with the pace remaining reasonable until the short ride group headed to the Navy base Back Door Loop and the rest of us went on to Innerarity. Aero Jim Brittnell did most of the work as the pace really kicked up. We took our usual break at the light before Innerarity and I made sure the group did not leave me in the bathroom like last time we were out this way!!
The ride through Innerarity was fantastic as usual and the group was mostly together throughout. As we passed through Innerarity on the way back the pace accelerated again with Jim out front and then Lawman Dave Carroll going to the front and kicking it up a notch and a group separated itself at the front including Jim, Bob, Fox, CircleK, Lawman, Coolio, Left Lane (for a while) and maybe a couple of others. As the pace accelerated a couple miles before the Dub Blum Bridge Sprint I lost the wheel and fell back around a 1/3 of a mile or so and pulled up as Chris caught up to me. Chris and I started doing a 2 man chase with short pulls at the front in the 24-26 mph range and we got back to within around 100 yards of the lead group as we crossed the Dub Blum. Boy that Chris can really lay down the pace when he gets going. (even though he is on a 58CM bike which is much to small for his 6'6"es and would probably fit me much better!! Trade anyone??. We were close enough to see Circle K take the Dub Blum Prize. Now Bob said that the K Man won only because nobody chased because he did not want to pass Fox who was doing the hard work at the front. I am not sure if I buy Bob's excuse though cause In my personal experience I've had Bob make sure he is at least a foot or two in front of me even if we are cruising side by side at 14mph at an Unannounced Sprint Point (can you say competitive spirit??!!).
We took our final break and then headed down Gulf Beach Highway toward the Infamous Fried Twinkie Sprint which was taken by Vortex Bob with Bugno,Fox & Circle K and others chasing closely.
As we were heading home we were wondering what had happened to Coolio and Lawman Dave who had disappeared only to find out Sunday from Dave that that Coolio had taken a nail all the way through tire tube and rim. Dave said that after much patchwork they were able to get Coolio back on his bike and to ride home. I felt like I had jinxed Coolio by earlier joking that his new nickname should be "Bad Day Bobby" after overhearing him talking about a bad day on the bike. Anyway, it was good to have Coolio back for the first time in several months. Hopefully he will get a new set of rims real soon and rejoin the peloton...you know that Coolio will not ride unless his fastidiously maintained machine is in impeccable condition!!!
Rest of the ride home was pretty uneventful with a certain Left Lane trying a mini breakaway through the Country Club to possibly get over the Barrancas Bridge first. He was quickly joined by Jim and The Count of Fishbone as we headed down Country Club Road. With only a 200 yard gap on the peloton the break was futile so Left Lane having no climbing legs left took the short cut out to Barrancas so as to not have to chase the mountain goats up the bridge.
Group kind of broke up over the Bridge and we rolled in at Richey's in various intervals until everyone was accounted for. It was only a short hop to my house on Gadsden for the traditional 10 AM beer bash on my front porch attended by the usual suspects... Mark The Big Hoagie and Johnny Bugno. As usual Johnny said he would have 1 then ride back up to the F&S area but with a little arm twisting (very little) that became 2 or 3 and Mark who parks his truck at my house before rides from F&W gave The Bugno a ride home!!.
Great ride and of course then around a 2 hour nap!! See you guys on the road soon.
Uh...ditto,
Bob
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
The Results Are In!
The results of the Second Firestone and Summit Blogazoidal Contest are in and the winners are...
But, first I would like to thank all of those who participated in this exciting event. I know you all have been sitting on the edge of you seats awaiting the news of who the winners are this time around.
The scores have been tabulated by the independent accounting firm of De Vortex et De Vortex, LLC. We would like to thank them for their time and effort at absolutely no cost to the Blogazoidal or the members of Firestone and Summit Cycling Group.
Here are the winners:
1st Place ($20. gift card*) Jared "The Missile" Moore
2nd Place ($10. gift card*) Richard "Left Lane" Lopiccolo
3rd Place ($5. gift card*) Tim "Crusher" Fox
*Thanks again to our friends at Bikes Plus here in Pensacola!
Honorable Mentioned:
4th Place David "Bad Mayonnaise" Mayo
5th Place Harland "Happy" Williams
The scores were very close, much closer than our last contest. However, The Missile has come through victorious yet again, thus raising the suspicions among the other contestants. But the scores were checked and rechecked by our independent accounting firm, (who never make mistakes...I mean, they're accountants! Just ask Left Lane.) The difference between 3rd place and 4th place came down to the Tie Breaker with Crusher winning out by the slimmest of margins over the Bad Mayonnaise! Happy was a solid 5th place.
Now here are the answers to the Contest:
1. We surpassed 10,000 Pageviews on April 21, 2011.
2. The acronym WERAD translated into english: Wednesday Evening Meeting With Pain.
3. The countries with the most Pageviews in 2011 other than Unites States and Canada are; 1) Germany; 2) China and 3) United Kingdom.
Tie Breaker: The total number of Pageviews as of noon on June 17, 2011 is 12,264. And we are not even one year old yet! Our Blogazoidal Anniversary is coming soon!!! Stay tuned!!!
Thanks again to all our contestants and congratulations to our winners!!! The gift cards will be mailed or hand delivered to the winners in the next few days. Until then, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
But, first I would like to thank all of those who participated in this exciting event. I know you all have been sitting on the edge of you seats awaiting the news of who the winners are this time around.
The scores have been tabulated by the independent accounting firm of De Vortex et De Vortex, LLC. We would like to thank them for their time and effort at absolutely no cost to the Blogazoidal or the members of Firestone and Summit Cycling Group.
Here are the winners:
1st Place ($20. gift card*) Jared "The Missile" Moore
2nd Place ($10. gift card*) Richard "Left Lane" Lopiccolo
3rd Place ($5. gift card*) Tim "Crusher" Fox
*Thanks again to our friends at Bikes Plus here in Pensacola!
Honorable Mentioned:
4th Place David "Bad Mayonnaise" Mayo
5th Place Harland "Happy" Williams
The scores were very close, much closer than our last contest. However, The Missile has come through victorious yet again, thus raising the suspicions among the other contestants. But the scores were checked and rechecked by our independent accounting firm, (who never make mistakes...I mean, they're accountants! Just ask Left Lane.) The difference between 3rd place and 4th place came down to the Tie Breaker with Crusher winning out by the slimmest of margins over the Bad Mayonnaise! Happy was a solid 5th place.
Now here are the answers to the Contest:
1. We surpassed 10,000 Pageviews on April 21, 2011.
2. The acronym WERAD translated into english: Wednesday Evening Meeting With Pain.
3. The countries with the most Pageviews in 2011 other than Unites States and Canada are; 1) Germany; 2) China and 3) United Kingdom.
Tie Breaker: The total number of Pageviews as of noon on June 17, 2011 is 12,264. And we are not even one year old yet! Our Blogazoidal Anniversary is coming soon!!! Stay tuned!!!
Thanks again to all our contestants and congratulations to our winners!!! The gift cards will be mailed or hand delivered to the winners in the next few days. Until then, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Best (UN)WERAD Ever!
That was without question the best ever WERAD! Or, should we say the best ever UNWERAD?! Hmmm...maybe a new acronym...
How about the United Numbers Wednesday Evening Rendevous Avec Douleur?! UNWERAD! Naaaahhh...Maybe we should call last night the UNIWERAD, or maybe just the UNIRAD! Yeah, that's it! UNIRAD. (Under Neutral Influence Rendevous Avec Douleur) Perfect!
Regardless of what we call it, last evening was in fact, the best Wednesday evening ride ever! It was fantastic to see everyone out riding together. I never counted, but I would say we had over 50 riders. Maybe we had 60...anybody get a head count?
And I for one, really enjoyed the little loop we all did after the obligatory photo shoot ride. Good suggestion Brett Laggan! And speaking of the President of the West Florida Wheelmen, I want to thank him and all the WFW riders who showed up for this important event. Also, a big thank you to the Team Subaru boys. Not to mention a hearty thank you to the F&S riders! It was great having everyone out on the same ride. What a ride of solidarity! (ROS) Hmmm...maybe a new name? Not!
For those of you wondering what the big deal is all about. A local writer, Jamie Page, for the Pensacola News Journal is putting together a story concerning cycling in our area. The story is supposed to run in this weekend's edition of the PNJ. Check it out! It isn't often we get any article written about cycling in Pensacola.
Now for a bit of housekeeping:
The weather forecast for this Saturday's ride looks pretty good for changing the route to the Soundside Loop. We'll keep an eye on the forecast and update everyone tomorrow. Also tomorrow, we'll reveal the top 3 winners of the second Firestone and Summit Blogazoidal Contest. The response was awesome and looks as though the scores are coming in very close. Stay tuned for all the results! Until tomorrow, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
How about the United Numbers Wednesday Evening Rendevous Avec Douleur?! UNWERAD! Naaaahhh...Maybe we should call last night the UNIWERAD, or maybe just the UNIRAD! Yeah, that's it! UNIRAD. (Under Neutral Influence Rendevous Avec Douleur) Perfect!
Regardless of what we call it, last evening was in fact, the best Wednesday evening ride ever! It was fantastic to see everyone out riding together. I never counted, but I would say we had over 50 riders. Maybe we had 60...anybody get a head count?
And I for one, really enjoyed the little loop we all did after the obligatory photo shoot ride. Good suggestion Brett Laggan! And speaking of the President of the West Florida Wheelmen, I want to thank him and all the WFW riders who showed up for this important event. Also, a big thank you to the Team Subaru boys. Not to mention a hearty thank you to the F&S riders! It was great having everyone out on the same ride. What a ride of solidarity! (ROS) Hmmm...maybe a new name? Not!
For those of you wondering what the big deal is all about. A local writer, Jamie Page, for the Pensacola News Journal is putting together a story concerning cycling in our area. The story is supposed to run in this weekend's edition of the PNJ. Check it out! It isn't often we get any article written about cycling in Pensacola.
Now for a bit of housekeeping:
The weather forecast for this Saturday's ride looks pretty good for changing the route to the Soundside Loop. We'll keep an eye on the forecast and update everyone tomorrow. Also tomorrow, we'll reveal the top 3 winners of the second Firestone and Summit Blogazoidal Contest. The response was awesome and looks as though the scores are coming in very close. Stay tuned for all the results! Until tomorrow, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
Friday, June 17, 2011
The Second Blogazoidal Contest!
What, another Contest???
Oh yeah, because everybody loves a contest, especially one where you can actually win a prize. So to break up the summer heat and doldrums here is our second ever Firestone and Summit Blogazoidal Contest! Prizes? What prizes? The prizes are as follows:
1st Place..............................$20 gift certificate*
2nd Place.............................$10 gift certificate*
3rd Place..............................$5 gift certificate*
*Thanks to our friends at Bikes Plus bicycle shops in Pensacola.
Rules: Answer the three questions below by sending your guesses to: rjgravesjr@cox.net One guess per question per rider...no exceptions Left Lane! (Don't forget to answer the Tie Breaker as well!) Your submission must be marked by no later than Wednesday, 6.22.11, 11:59pm. The list of winners will be posted by Friday, 6.24.10, 5pm. Gift certificates will be mailed or hand delivered to the winners on the next group ride. Please assure that your answers are clear and are written in a manner that can be understood! Any answer that cannot be understood will be disqualified. Good luck!
Questions:
1. Our Firestone and Summit Blogazoidal is viewed several times each and everyday of the year by people from all over the world.
On what date, in 2011 did our Blog surpassed 10,000 total page views?
2. The WERAD is one of our most popular weekly rides.
What does the acronym WERAD stand for translated into English?
3. As expressed above, our Blogazoidal is viewed by those in countries other than the United States. In fact, there are more than two dozen countries that have viewers of our Blog.
From the list below, what are the top 3 countries, other than the United States and Canada, with the most viewers of our Blog in 2011?
-Spain, Sudan, Japan, Germany, Mexico, Brazil, China, United Kingdom, Russia, Israel, Greece, Philippines, Italy, Peru, South Africa, Belgium, Georgia, Norway, India, Panama and France.
Tie breaker:
Knowing that our Blog has over 10,000 page views to date, what are the exact number of total page views as of noon on today's date, June 17, 2011?
Remember, this is just a fun contest, so don't take it too seriously! Good luck everyone and I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
Oh yeah, because everybody loves a contest, especially one where you can actually win a prize. So to break up the summer heat and doldrums here is our second ever Firestone and Summit Blogazoidal Contest! Prizes? What prizes? The prizes are as follows:
1st Place..............................$20 gift certificate*
2nd Place.............................$10 gift certificate*
3rd Place..............................$5 gift certificate*
*Thanks to our friends at Bikes Plus bicycle shops in Pensacola.
Rules: Answer the three questions below by sending your guesses to: rjgravesjr@cox.net One guess per question per rider...no exceptions Left Lane! (Don't forget to answer the Tie Breaker as well!) Your submission must be marked by no later than Wednesday, 6.22.11, 11:59pm. The list of winners will be posted by Friday, 6.24.10, 5pm. Gift certificates will be mailed or hand delivered to the winners on the next group ride. Please assure that your answers are clear and are written in a manner that can be understood! Any answer that cannot be understood will be disqualified. Good luck!
Questions:
1. Our Firestone and Summit Blogazoidal is viewed several times each and everyday of the year by people from all over the world.
On what date, in 2011 did our Blog surpassed 10,000 total page views?
2. The WERAD is one of our most popular weekly rides.
What does the acronym WERAD stand for translated into English?
3. As expressed above, our Blogazoidal is viewed by those in countries other than the United States. In fact, there are more than two dozen countries that have viewers of our Blog.
From the list below, what are the top 3 countries, other than the United States and Canada, with the most viewers of our Blog in 2011?
-Spain, Sudan, Japan, Germany, Mexico, Brazil, China, United Kingdom, Russia, Israel, Greece, Philippines, Italy, Peru, South Africa, Belgium, Georgia, Norway, India, Panama and France.
Tie breaker:
Knowing that our Blog has over 10,000 page views to date, what are the exact number of total page views as of noon on today's date, June 17, 2011?
Remember, this is just a fun contest, so don't take it too seriously! Good luck everyone and I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
Thursday, June 16, 2011
The Best Full Moon Ever! (RELEGATION!)
...even with the Sheriff Deputies showing up! (don't ask) Actually, they were a couple of great guys! And they even were on bikes. Good news is; no tickets and we didn't have to bail Left Lane out. (don't ask again!) Good times!
This had to be the best Full Moon Ride ever! I mean, the weather was perfect, great group and we even timed the ride correctly so we saw the sunset and the moon rise...nice! Not to mention the unbestinkinglievable Tailwind Express on the way back. I don't think we ever dipped below 26mph! Man, I just love this kind of stuff!
Several new faces too! But, it was the usual characters that were up to the usual peloton antics on the way out to the Fort. The pace was very easy up to the gate, (no Ranger there, so we hardly stopped). Once through the gate, the pace picked up substantially with the Vortex leading into the upper teens. (we were in the 20mph speed limit zone) Just then a couple of SUVs passed him. (neither being white, he decided to accept their draft. Kids, don't try this at home.) Before he knew it he had a fairly large gap on the rest of the bunch. But then the speed limit goes up to 35mph and he gets dropped in no man's land.
What to do?! It is still over 4 miles to the Brick Wall Sprint into a stiff headwind. He looks back and determines there's several hundred meters back to the chasing peloton. He decides to go for it. As he passes the Coast Guard house he checks on the closing group. He's still got a good gap. He is suffering like a dog as he passes the Store, but determines he has a slight chance of holding off the now shredded peloton. Heading onto the final straight which leads to the Brick Wall itself he checks one last time to see he still has a couple hundred meters. (I just love this kind of stuff!) He crosses the line with less than hundred meters ahead of the two surviving chasers, Matt "The Hammer" Salvatorins and Speedy Gonsalez. Animals!
However, in the post ride discussion, the judges decided to RELEGATE the Vortex to last place stating he took draft off of neutral services vehicles to his advantage. This is shocking news because there has not been a Relegation handed down since the Bad Mayonnaise shook his boney finger of accusation (BFOA) at Danger Sharpe in last season's infamous Pensacola Cycling Classic incident. Of course, when asked for comment about the landmark Full Moon Ride decision, the Vortex whined, "...everybody does it." That Vortex, what a wiener. ( Uh, not that he has twittered photos of himself in his bibshorts. That's a vicious rumor...somebody must have hacked into his twitter account.)
After watching the absolutely beautiful sunset, the group headed back under the gorgeous full moon over an equally beautiful Gulf of Mexico! Fantabulous! However, with the Tailwind Express on the tracks, this train was anything but late for arrival! The Hammer had the bit between the teeth and rarely dropped below 26mph! As soon as he did, the other aero brother came to the front and took us into Anaerobiaville. It was one Stompfest! (New title, will have to define on the Glossary of Cycling Terms page at some point) Somebody said we averaged over 26mph on the way back to Casino Beach.
Great ride and good times! I can't wait for the next one...or, this weekend for the classic Three Amigos Loop. This 40 to 45 miler will be ridden together with both the shorter and longer groups. The pace will be easy to moderate with a couple of sprints thrown in for kicks. (The infamous Fried Twinkie Sprint being one.) We will have one rest stop to fill the tanks and tell stories. (Ask Left Lane about the Deputies)
Looking forward to seeing everyone at 7am at Firestone and Summit for The 3 Amigos Loop! Until then, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
This had to be the best Full Moon Ride ever! I mean, the weather was perfect, great group and we even timed the ride correctly so we saw the sunset and the moon rise...nice! Not to mention the unbestinkinglievable Tailwind Express on the way back. I don't think we ever dipped below 26mph! Man, I just love this kind of stuff!
Several new faces too! But, it was the usual characters that were up to the usual peloton antics on the way out to the Fort. The pace was very easy up to the gate, (no Ranger there, so we hardly stopped). Once through the gate, the pace picked up substantially with the Vortex leading into the upper teens. (we were in the 20mph speed limit zone) Just then a couple of SUVs passed him. (neither being white, he decided to accept their draft. Kids, don't try this at home.) Before he knew it he had a fairly large gap on the rest of the bunch. But then the speed limit goes up to 35mph and he gets dropped in no man's land.
What to do?! It is still over 4 miles to the Brick Wall Sprint into a stiff headwind. He looks back and determines there's several hundred meters back to the chasing peloton. He decides to go for it. As he passes the Coast Guard house he checks on the closing group. He's still got a good gap. He is suffering like a dog as he passes the Store, but determines he has a slight chance of holding off the now shredded peloton. Heading onto the final straight which leads to the Brick Wall itself he checks one last time to see he still has a couple hundred meters. (I just love this kind of stuff!) He crosses the line with less than hundred meters ahead of the two surviving chasers, Matt "The Hammer" Salvatorins and Speedy Gonsalez. Animals!
However, in the post ride discussion, the judges decided to RELEGATE the Vortex to last place stating he took draft off of neutral services vehicles to his advantage. This is shocking news because there has not been a Relegation handed down since the Bad Mayonnaise shook his boney finger of accusation (BFOA) at Danger Sharpe in last season's infamous Pensacola Cycling Classic incident. Of course, when asked for comment about the landmark Full Moon Ride decision, the Vortex whined, "...everybody does it." That Vortex, what a wiener. ( Uh, not that he has twittered photos of himself in his bibshorts. That's a vicious rumor...somebody must have hacked into his twitter account.)
After watching the absolutely beautiful sunset, the group headed back under the gorgeous full moon over an equally beautiful Gulf of Mexico! Fantabulous! However, with the Tailwind Express on the tracks, this train was anything but late for arrival! The Hammer had the bit between the teeth and rarely dropped below 26mph! As soon as he did, the other aero brother came to the front and took us into Anaerobiaville. It was one Stompfest! (New title, will have to define on the Glossary of Cycling Terms page at some point) Somebody said we averaged over 26mph on the way back to Casino Beach.
Great ride and good times! I can't wait for the next one...or, this weekend for the classic Three Amigos Loop. This 40 to 45 miler will be ridden together with both the shorter and longer groups. The pace will be easy to moderate with a couple of sprints thrown in for kicks. (The infamous Fried Twinkie Sprint being one.) We will have one rest stop to fill the tanks and tell stories. (Ask Left Lane about the Deputies)
Looking forward to seeing everyone at 7am at Firestone and Summit for The 3 Amigos Loop! Until then, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
FULL MOON RIDE TONIGHT!
The weather forecast for tonight's Full Moon Ride is just about perfect! The temps will be the mid 80s with a breeze out of the southwest and clear skies. It may be a bit of work heading out to the Fort, but a delightful Tailwind Express on the way back! I've heard from several riders, including a few new ones to the Firestone and Summit peloton, who plan on riding tonight so looks to be a large group once again. I can't wait!
We're starting at 7pm from the Casino Beach parking lot and will ride into the setting sun. (Sun sets at 7:56pm tonight) We stop and regroup at the docks in Fort Pickens to tell stories and refresh the tanks before heading back with a tailwind under the full moon over the Gulf...magnificent! Once back at Casino Beach, usually Left Lane and a couple others break out the adult beverages...great finish to a great ride!
Although many of us have yearly passes for the Park, the Park Service only allows the pass holder plus 3 riders in on a pass. Therefore, sometimes we don't have enough passes for everyone to get in "free". Please bring $3 for yourself just in case. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone there tonight! And, as always, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
We're starting at 7pm from the Casino Beach parking lot and will ride into the setting sun. (Sun sets at 7:56pm tonight) We stop and regroup at the docks in Fort Pickens to tell stories and refresh the tanks before heading back with a tailwind under the full moon over the Gulf...magnificent! Once back at Casino Beach, usually Left Lane and a couple others break out the adult beverages...great finish to a great ride!
Although many of us have yearly passes for the Park, the Park Service only allows the pass holder plus 3 riders in on a pass. Therefore, sometimes we don't have enough passes for everyone to get in "free". Please bring $3 for yourself just in case. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone there tonight! And, as always, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Ride Schedule CHANGE
The current weather forecast for Saturday is not conducive to our Around the Sound route as planned. The wind will be right in our faces on the Navarre to Pensacola Beach road. Many of us have experienced this brutal desert like conditions with a stiff headwind before. Most don't want to experience it again. Therefore, we have changed the route for Saturday morning...were doing the Fort Pickens route!
Everything else remains the same; we will still start at 7am at Fish and Wildlife. The shorter route riders will start at the south end of 3 Mile Bridge. (Please be ready by about 7:20am. We will be rolling through, but we won't be stopping.) Also, remember to bring $3 for entrance into Fort Pickens National Park. Many of us have a Yearly Pass, however, we may not have enough to get everyone in free. We'll have our usual rest stop at Tom Thumb next to Peg Leg's.
Long route is about 45 miles and the shorter route is just under 40 miles. Pace will be moderate until somewhere within the Park...that's when the boys usually wind it up for the Brick Wall Sprint. (BWS) Don't worry, we'll regroup and ride most of the way back together. Maybe not the bridges...seems somebody always puts the hammer down on the bridges. Mmmm, wonder who that could be?!
Hope to see everyone there! Temps look good with sunshine aplenty! Not to mention a Tailwind Express on the way home! (Ooops, mentioned it.)
See you out on the road,
Bob
Everything else remains the same; we will still start at 7am at Fish and Wildlife. The shorter route riders will start at the south end of 3 Mile Bridge. (Please be ready by about 7:20am. We will be rolling through, but we won't be stopping.) Also, remember to bring $3 for entrance into Fort Pickens National Park. Many of us have a Yearly Pass, however, we may not have enough to get everyone in free. We'll have our usual rest stop at Tom Thumb next to Peg Leg's.
Long route is about 45 miles and the shorter route is just under 40 miles. Pace will be moderate until somewhere within the Park...that's when the boys usually wind it up for the Brick Wall Sprint. (BWS) Don't worry, we'll regroup and ride most of the way back together. Maybe not the bridges...seems somebody always puts the hammer down on the bridges. Mmmm, wonder who that could be?!
Hope to see everyone there! Temps look good with sunshine aplenty! Not to mention a Tailwind Express on the way home! (Ooops, mentioned it.)
See you out on the road,
Bob
Monday, June 6, 2011
A Hammock Weekend...and an Announcement
Ah yes, the Hammock never disappoints and Saturday's ride was no exception. However, as the Lawman discovered, the old adage is in fact true..."It is easier to get into the Hammock than it is to get out!" I'm pretty sure Left Lane would agree.
The F&S peloton started out early under mostly sunny skies. It was going to be a hot day in the saddle. The pace was moderate all the way past Coolio's Corner and past the turn where the shorter group heads for home. Up to this point The Prenti, both EHOP and YHOP have been doing most of the work at the front. The pace quickened a bit up to the turn that marks the start of The Hammock.
Immediately, as if on cue, Neil "Big Guns" Geci goes to the front and accelerates into the Zone of Pain. (ZOP) He pulls the group along for a kilometer or so and then out of nowhere comes Mike "Shiny Legs" Larson who decides to take it up to the high 20s. (Shiny Legs is his old nickname from last year. This year he has yet to shave his pins, so a more appropriate title may be Fury Legs...however, I'm sure once he reads this, he will immediately remedy the dispute and be crowned with his previous moniker.)
Back to live action: Mike no sooner is on the front than he is off, claiming he hasn't ridden for a few weeks...thus the reason for the fury legs situation as expressed above. Once he peels off, Big Guns is back at it again. After a few hundred meters he moves over for the Vortex to give it a go. The Vortex takes his typical short pull and then Crusher pulls through. The survivors of the many strong pulls at this point are down to four amigos; Big Guns, Vortex, Crusher and the all too quiet, sitting on the back Lawman. Crusher does a beastly pull to within a few hundred meters of the line. He moves over and Lawman takes charge. He winds it up into the low 30s as the amigos are anticipating a view of the finish line with every curve of the road.
Finally, as they come out of last curvature in the road, they see the sign that marks the line. Mr. Fresh Legs (Lawman) jumps out of the saddle like the Olympic 100 meter Champion sprinter Usain Bolt. Whaaaaat?! Immediately, Big Guns jumps as well. At this point, the third rider in line, (Vortex) has to make a choice, "Who's wheel to follow?" He jumps on Big Guns, considering that Lawman has been pulling the last 300 hundred meters or so. However, it soon became evident...wrong wheel!
Now, with 150 meters left in the Hammock Hammer, these three were side by side charging for the line with heads down and eyes blurred. With less than 100 meters, it was Lawman a mere bike length ahead of the closing Vortex...this was going to be close! (I just love this kind of stuff!) Just 50 meters to go and the Vortex had shut it down to less than a bike length. With one final surge to the line, Lawman held off the charging Vortex by less than half a wheel! What an exciting sprint into the Hammock! Congrats to Dave "Lawman" Carroll for his first ever Hammock Hammer win! The Vortex was second, with Big Guns third and Crusher crossing the line in fourth position. Great ride down into the Hammock. However...
It is easier to get into the Hammock than...well, you know the rest. You see the younger half of the Prenti (YHOP) went to the front and pulled the group out of the Hammock at no less than 20mph! Several, including the Hammock winner were suffering at the back. (It's easier to get into...ah forget it!) The group told stories and tanked up at the rest stop.
Once back on the road, the pace was civil. We rolled all the way back over Kingsfield, Detroit, Johnson and the neighborhoods that eventually drop us onto Langley. The pace down Langley was brisk and even picked up a bit on Spanish as Big Guns went to the front to test the legs of the weary bunch. The group was altogether as they turned onto Maygarden and the pace quickened substantially. The Vortex went to the front after a pull by the big Clydesdale boy, Crusher. The pace was mid 20s as they made the turn with 1k to go. Just then, straight to the front goes Lawman. He takes the group right up to a couple hundred meters from the line. That's where Crusher and Big Guns have at it. These two were heads and shoulders above the rest, (literally, as they both are tall) meaning they left the rest of the group behind by a hundred meters. As these two bandits approached the line, Crusher was charging hard with Big Guns on his wheel. With less than 100 meters, Big Guns goes around him for the win. Crusher took a valiant second with Left Lane in his BMW third. (See his post below)
Great ride and good fun! Congrats to all and especially to Lawman and Big Guns for their wins! All told, 55 miles at an 18.5mph average.
As mentioned above Left Lane showed up in his Beemer as he claims he had a mechanical out on the course. Here's his excuse...uh, I mean, his report:
I got my bike back Friday but they had only fixed the spoke and trued the back wheel. Stone told me I had worn out my 2 largest front chain rings and that I needed to replace these as well as the chain and cassette. Looks like I have to buy my bike again!!! Probably going to be around 200-250 total by the time they are done.
That Left Lane, what a character.
Well, if you missed the antics, don't fret, there's more to come yet this week! Tomorrow night at 6pm and Wednesday night at 5:30pm, both start at Firestone and Summit. I hope to see everyone there for both rides!
Announcement: Look for our second Firestone and Summit Blogazoidal Contest coming soon!!! Prizes awarded to the top three! Get your thinking caps on!
See you out on the road,
Bob
The F&S peloton started out early under mostly sunny skies. It was going to be a hot day in the saddle. The pace was moderate all the way past Coolio's Corner and past the turn where the shorter group heads for home. Up to this point The Prenti, both EHOP and YHOP have been doing most of the work at the front. The pace quickened a bit up to the turn that marks the start of The Hammock.
Immediately, as if on cue, Neil "Big Guns" Geci goes to the front and accelerates into the Zone of Pain. (ZOP) He pulls the group along for a kilometer or so and then out of nowhere comes Mike "Shiny Legs" Larson who decides to take it up to the high 20s. (Shiny Legs is his old nickname from last year. This year he has yet to shave his pins, so a more appropriate title may be Fury Legs...however, I'm sure once he reads this, he will immediately remedy the dispute and be crowned with his previous moniker.)
Back to live action: Mike no sooner is on the front than he is off, claiming he hasn't ridden for a few weeks...thus the reason for the fury legs situation as expressed above. Once he peels off, Big Guns is back at it again. After a few hundred meters he moves over for the Vortex to give it a go. The Vortex takes his typical short pull and then Crusher pulls through. The survivors of the many strong pulls at this point are down to four amigos; Big Guns, Vortex, Crusher and the all too quiet, sitting on the back Lawman. Crusher does a beastly pull to within a few hundred meters of the line. He moves over and Lawman takes charge. He winds it up into the low 30s as the amigos are anticipating a view of the finish line with every curve of the road.
Finally, as they come out of last curvature in the road, they see the sign that marks the line. Mr. Fresh Legs (Lawman) jumps out of the saddle like the Olympic 100 meter Champion sprinter Usain Bolt. Whaaaaat?! Immediately, Big Guns jumps as well. At this point, the third rider in line, (Vortex) has to make a choice, "Who's wheel to follow?" He jumps on Big Guns, considering that Lawman has been pulling the last 300 hundred meters or so. However, it soon became evident...wrong wheel!
Now, with 150 meters left in the Hammock Hammer, these three were side by side charging for the line with heads down and eyes blurred. With less than 100 meters, it was Lawman a mere bike length ahead of the closing Vortex...this was going to be close! (I just love this kind of stuff!) Just 50 meters to go and the Vortex had shut it down to less than a bike length. With one final surge to the line, Lawman held off the charging Vortex by less than half a wheel! What an exciting sprint into the Hammock! Congrats to Dave "Lawman" Carroll for his first ever Hammock Hammer win! The Vortex was second, with Big Guns third and Crusher crossing the line in fourth position. Great ride down into the Hammock. However...
It is easier to get into the Hammock than...well, you know the rest. You see the younger half of the Prenti (YHOP) went to the front and pulled the group out of the Hammock at no less than 20mph! Several, including the Hammock winner were suffering at the back. (It's easier to get into...ah forget it!) The group told stories and tanked up at the rest stop.
Once back on the road, the pace was civil. We rolled all the way back over Kingsfield, Detroit, Johnson and the neighborhoods that eventually drop us onto Langley. The pace down Langley was brisk and even picked up a bit on Spanish as Big Guns went to the front to test the legs of the weary bunch. The group was altogether as they turned onto Maygarden and the pace quickened substantially. The Vortex went to the front after a pull by the big Clydesdale boy, Crusher. The pace was mid 20s as they made the turn with 1k to go. Just then, straight to the front goes Lawman. He takes the group right up to a couple hundred meters from the line. That's where Crusher and Big Guns have at it. These two were heads and shoulders above the rest, (literally, as they both are tall) meaning they left the rest of the group behind by a hundred meters. As these two bandits approached the line, Crusher was charging hard with Big Guns on his wheel. With less than 100 meters, Big Guns goes around him for the win. Crusher took a valiant second with Left Lane in his BMW third. (See his post below)
Great ride and good fun! Congrats to all and especially to Lawman and Big Guns for their wins! All told, 55 miles at an 18.5mph average.
As mentioned above Left Lane showed up in his Beemer as he claims he had a mechanical out on the course. Here's his excuse...uh, I mean, his report:
I got my bike back Friday but they had only fixed the spoke and trued the back wheel. Stone told me I had worn out my 2 largest front chain rings and that I needed to replace these as well as the chain and cassette. Looks like I have to buy my bike again!!! Probably going to be around 200-250 total by the time they are done.
I figured I would ride the Hammock anyway Saturday morning. Everything seemed fine as I rode up to F&S but as I slowed down I could here that spoke noise that you get when something is not right. Figured what the heck and rode anyway. Running gear and wheel sounded like crap the whole ride but did not have any “real” problems.
We did not have a very large group. But it was a pretty fast group. I had a reasonably good ride until we were going down The Hammock and around 3/4ths of the way down, as the peloton was accelerating over 30, my chain would skip as I tried to torque it up a notch and I just felt like not pushing it and fell off the back around a ½ mile from the end. My legs were not feeling very good this day and with the bike issues I turned around and rode out of the hammock solo. When I got to the break store up ahead and the group had not caught back up with me I decided to solo home a shorter route… 9 mile road then Old Palafox all the way back to P’Cola.
Ended up with around 42 miles total and was home around 9:30 so I grabbed a shower and figured I would get a 12-pack of Yeungling and head up to the finish on Maygarden. Had a chair a cooler and a newspaper and was going to go to the finish line and sit there sipping a beer as the boys finished and maybe get a picture or two on my cell phone. Unfortunately, they were finishing up just as I got to Maygarden. The Boys looked pretty used up and no one even had a beer. Oh well more for The Left Lane!!!
Did a short ride Sunday evening in the nasty heat. Went back to my Diadora shoes trying to improve my comfort level on the bike. Just can not seem to get everything feeling right on the bike lately. Going to try playing with the cleat position a little and maybe put in some of the wedges that come with the cleats to try and find the comfort zone.
That Left Lane, what a character.
Well, if you missed the antics, don't fret, there's more to come yet this week! Tomorrow night at 6pm and Wednesday night at 5:30pm, both start at Firestone and Summit. I hope to see everyone there for both rides!
Announcement: Look for our second Firestone and Summit Blogazoidal Contest coming soon!!! Prizes awarded to the top three! Get your thinking caps on!
See you out on the road,
Bob
Thursday, June 2, 2011
That Was Some Small WERAD!
We have never, to my recollection, had a WERAD with that few riders! What's up?! The weather was hot, but not awful. Was everybody just busy on the same night? Or were several riding with the Wheelmen on their Wednesday evening ride? (Hey, what do you call a female Wheelman anyway? A Wheelwoman? Wheelperson? I'll have to remember to ask Trish "The Kat" Kuhnell next time I see her. Maybe it's a Wheelmanbabe?! Hmmm...has potential.) Anyway, I'm thinking about rejoining them as well. Why? Because, I want to ride! (And misery loves company!)
Last evening I ran into Gianni Bugno on his way home from work. (We were both on our bikes.) He asked if he could draft me down Summit as he had been fighting that headwind all the way home. As we approached Spanish, the whole of the Wheelmen group was just turning onto Summit from Spanish in the opposite direction. They probably had around 20 riders, good group. After dropping Gianni off, I headed for Firestone and Summit, hoping for a nice size group as well. We had five of us at 5:30pm. Five minutes later as we headed down the road two others showed up. However, we lost Left Lane to a blown spoke in his rear wheel, but picked up Gianni on the back side. Seven riders, that's it.
Now, I know that numbers aren't all that important. However, this year we just haven't had the groups like we did last year. I'm sure there are several factors contributing to this phenomenon. I don't want to over analyze something that may just be a changing in the wind. But, I don't want to continue something that may be dying of natural causes and we should just put a wreath on it and be grateful for the good times.
Firestone and Summit Cycling Group started several years ago because a few riders, including myself were unhappy with the overall attitude of the Wheelmen club towards cyclists of our less than "Hammerhead" abilities and, more importantly, they only offered a weekend ride on Sunday mornings. In fact, I wasn't even part of the original group that started F&S. Those original five riders were, Bobby Cooley, Andy White, Steve Baker, Larry Hicks and Bob Gowing. I began riding with these guys a couple years later at the invite of Bobby Cooley himself. I started writing the ride announcement emails a couple years later, then started this Blogazoidal because the uh, lovely Mrs. Graves wasn't too happy with all the emails clogging her Inbox. However, the group has continued to grow over the years because it met a need that the Wheelmen club just wasn't meeting at the time.
Fast forward five years to today. The Wheelmen have changed for the better. I believe they are genuinely trying to accommodate those riders in the middle to middle-front of the peloton...i.e., most of us. They now have a Wednesday evening ride in our neighborhood...to the consternation of some. Granted, it's no WERAD, however, they have many riders show up every week. And, they are looking for someone or perhaps a group to start a Saturday morning ride. Do they still have a few with that old attitude, perhaps. However, I think they are working to better that image as well. (I'm just offering up some facts here...and some food for thought.)
Now for last evening's WERAD antics: there were none...other than Gianni Bugno pulling the group on Burgess at 25+mph! (I guess he recovered nicely from Saturday's Sufferfest...nothing like a Big Mac, eh Gianni?! If he ever gets an updated machine, we're in trouble.) And, Nate attacking on Maygarden with 1.5k to go. Then the Vortex chasing him down with 700 meters left and finally catching him in the last 50 meters. Quiet ride for the most part.
Hey, Saturday we are headed for the group fave Twisted Hammock! However, because of the heat we will just do the standard Hurst Hammock route without the "Twist". This loop is 50 to 55 miles. We are also offering a shorter route of 40 miles for those who need to be home a bit earlier. Both routes start together at 7am at Firestone and Summit. The shorter route turns off Mobile Hwy onto Eight Mile Creek Road just past Coolio's Corner. Then heads back to Summit via Detroit and Johnson.
Looking forward to seeing everyone there and as always, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
Last evening I ran into Gianni Bugno on his way home from work. (We were both on our bikes.) He asked if he could draft me down Summit as he had been fighting that headwind all the way home. As we approached Spanish, the whole of the Wheelmen group was just turning onto Summit from Spanish in the opposite direction. They probably had around 20 riders, good group. After dropping Gianni off, I headed for Firestone and Summit, hoping for a nice size group as well. We had five of us at 5:30pm. Five minutes later as we headed down the road two others showed up. However, we lost Left Lane to a blown spoke in his rear wheel, but picked up Gianni on the back side. Seven riders, that's it.
Now, I know that numbers aren't all that important. However, this year we just haven't had the groups like we did last year. I'm sure there are several factors contributing to this phenomenon. I don't want to over analyze something that may just be a changing in the wind. But, I don't want to continue something that may be dying of natural causes and we should just put a wreath on it and be grateful for the good times.
Firestone and Summit Cycling Group started several years ago because a few riders, including myself were unhappy with the overall attitude of the Wheelmen club towards cyclists of our less than "Hammerhead" abilities and, more importantly, they only offered a weekend ride on Sunday mornings. In fact, I wasn't even part of the original group that started F&S. Those original five riders were, Bobby Cooley, Andy White, Steve Baker, Larry Hicks and Bob Gowing. I began riding with these guys a couple years later at the invite of Bobby Cooley himself. I started writing the ride announcement emails a couple years later, then started this Blogazoidal because the uh, lovely Mrs. Graves wasn't too happy with all the emails clogging her Inbox. However, the group has continued to grow over the years because it met a need that the Wheelmen club just wasn't meeting at the time.
Fast forward five years to today. The Wheelmen have changed for the better. I believe they are genuinely trying to accommodate those riders in the middle to middle-front of the peloton...i.e., most of us. They now have a Wednesday evening ride in our neighborhood...to the consternation of some. Granted, it's no WERAD, however, they have many riders show up every week. And, they are looking for someone or perhaps a group to start a Saturday morning ride. Do they still have a few with that old attitude, perhaps. However, I think they are working to better that image as well. (I'm just offering up some facts here...and some food for thought.)
Now for last evening's WERAD antics: there were none...other than Gianni Bugno pulling the group on Burgess at 25+mph! (I guess he recovered nicely from Saturday's Sufferfest...nothing like a Big Mac, eh Gianni?! If he ever gets an updated machine, we're in trouble.) And, Nate attacking on Maygarden with 1.5k to go. Then the Vortex chasing him down with 700 meters left and finally catching him in the last 50 meters. Quiet ride for the most part.
Hey, Saturday we are headed for the group fave Twisted Hammock! However, because of the heat we will just do the standard Hurst Hammock route without the "Twist". This loop is 50 to 55 miles. We are also offering a shorter route of 40 miles for those who need to be home a bit earlier. Both routes start together at 7am at Firestone and Summit. The shorter route turns off Mobile Hwy onto Eight Mile Creek Road just past Coolio's Corner. Then heads back to Summit via Detroit and Johnson.
Looking forward to seeing everyone there and as always, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
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