Huge group this morning as we left from Firestone and Summit under sunny skies. Most of the regulars were in the peloton finding their place in the paceline for this moderately paced 45 miler. Several were taking short pulls on Spanish, Creighton, Olive and Johnson. Everyone was wanting some press time because the ride officials had implemented a new computer program to calculate the percentage of time each rider was pulling at the front. These numbers were to figure in heavily on who is awarded the Big Pull Bull award at the conclusion on today's ride.
Representatives of Phillips, Oliver and Matthews, (POM) the developers of this new software, were on hand to insure it's proper use as well as trouble shoot any potential problems. This new technology is called the Pull-O-Meter or POM and is absolutely cutting edge. It measures to the 1,000th of a second, the time each rider spends on the front pulling the peloton down the road. Then automatically calculates the percentage of total time as compared to the other riders that spend time at the front. (You probably saw this software in use during the recent Tour action.)
In honor of it's inaugural use in the United States the developers coupled with the ride officials have created an award worthy of the beast that wins it. This strong rider spent more time at the front pulling than any other rider during today's event. This coveted award, presented by the CEO of POM and on the behalf of the Pull-O-Meter research and development team is entitled The POM POM Trophy and comes with a cheerleading squad to ride alongside of the winner on the very next POM sponsored ride.
Here are the top 3 finishers in today's Pom Pom competition with their percentages of time at the front tugging on the F&S peloton:
3rd Place: Prentiss "The Elder Half of the Prenti" or "EHOP" Berry...............................17%
2nd Place: Tim "Crusher" Fox..................................................................................................21%
1st Place: Randy "Ranoldo" Riche.........................................................................................33%
Congratulations to Ranoldo for his first ever POM POM award!!! I'm sure he is very proud of his prize. Colorful too! In addition he also grabbed the Big Pull Bull (BPB) award! The man is a beast on bike. (BOB)
Once the award was presented however, several of the more macho riders breathed a sigh of relief that they had sucked wheel through most today's ride. "You'll never see me at the front!" one rider exclaimed under condition of anonymity. "What's he going to do with that thing, wear it? I wouldn't even hang it in my shed." However, in the post ride press conference, Ranoldo seemed delighted with the acknowledgement of his hard work. "This is one beautiful award and will take a prominent place with all my other pulling awards."
Well, for one, this rider can't be more pleased that the POM company awarded it's POM POM...to another rider! Geeez, what's next?!
How about an easy paced ride tomorrow at 3pm at Firestone and Summit! This recovery ride will be about 25 miles long and most likely we'll do some variation of the Manssiere Loop. (Home of the Bro) Look forward to seeing you there. And, as always, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
Another Adventurous WERAD...and a Schedule Change
Well, that was one WERAD for the books! Big group even with a few of the notables missing. The pace was blistering and the antics nonstop! Except for an ill timed flat, (is there ever a good time for one of those?), I haven't had that much fun since Aero Jim was trying out his pistons of power (POP) on Fort Pickens Road. (I just love this kind of stuff!) However, having flatted within the last 3 kilometers, I get the same time as the peloton. Since not having been there for the final antics along Maygarden, the Left Lane will give his color commentary. But first, a word from our sponsor...oops, I mean, a bit of housekeeping, i.e. a Schedule Change...route only!
Tomorrow we will have a schedule change. Time and start location will remain the same, only the route will change. We will be attempting a brand new route. The Northwest Passage Loop. (NPL) Not to be confused with NPR...uh, never mind. (Having been raised in the DC area, this acronym thing is really a curse.) This daunting 45 miler has everything to intimidate even the most seasoned of riders, yet it is as harmless as a kitten...if not playful. (Here kitty kitty) Great roads with a few medium hills and lots of long flat stretches to rev up the pistons. We will have one scheduled rest stop to fill the bottles and tell stories. The pace will be moderate as the shorter and longer groups will stay together for this new addition to the massive route digest which is the Firestone and Summit Arsenal of Routes. (FASAOR) Sorry, I can't help myself.
We pick up our commentary already in progress:
The view from the Left Lane, (scary thought)
Great WERAD yesterday, should have been there!!! Good turnout with the Vortex, Bugno, Semper Cy, Bad Mayonaisse, Danger Sharp, The Count of Fishbone (We’re Not Worthy!!!), Chuck (without his MUCH better half Sandy) Nathan, Mark Brill, Woody & Carol Ann, we picked up Nate around the Airport, yours truly The Left Lane, a new guy who asked if we did not mind if we picked him up as a straggler (Straggler… for sure…young skinny guy around 35 with shaved legs) and maybe a couple others. Cut me some slack if I forgot someone as I slip into senility!!!
Hope to see everyone there in the morning! But until then, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
Tomorrow we will have a schedule change. Time and start location will remain the same, only the route will change. We will be attempting a brand new route. The Northwest Passage Loop. (NPL) Not to be confused with NPR...uh, never mind. (Having been raised in the DC area, this acronym thing is really a curse.) This daunting 45 miler has everything to intimidate even the most seasoned of riders, yet it is as harmless as a kitten...if not playful. (Here kitty kitty) Great roads with a few medium hills and lots of long flat stretches to rev up the pistons. We will have one scheduled rest stop to fill the bottles and tell stories. The pace will be moderate as the shorter and longer groups will stay together for this new addition to the massive route digest which is the Firestone and Summit Arsenal of Routes. (FASAOR) Sorry, I can't help myself.
We pick up our commentary already in progress:
The view from the Left Lane, (scary thought)
Great WERAD yesterday, should have been there!!! Good turnout with the Vortex, Bugno, Semper Cy, Bad Mayonaisse, Danger Sharp, The Count of Fishbone (We’re Not Worthy!!!), Chuck (without his MUCH better half Sandy) Nathan, Mark Brill, Woody & Carol Ann, we picked up Nate around the Airport, yours truly The Left Lane, a new guy who asked if we did not mind if we picked him up as a straggler (Straggler… for sure…young skinny guy around 35 with shaved legs) and maybe a couple others. Cut me some slack if I forgot someone as I slip into senility!!!
Pace was fairly quick from the start with the Vortex and Fishbone carrying on an extended conversation (it was like they were on a date or something!!) at the front of the double pace line until we got within a few blocks of our turn onto Langley for the first time. This first trip up Langley was mainly into the wind so the usual hammerfest did not materialize and the group stayed together as we went up Spanish and then to the Crit Loop through the neighborhood which started out at a reasonable pace until The Vortex went to the front and bumped the pace up above 25 as we neared the turn on Scenic Highway. We slammed it hard up to our turn back into the neighborhood and all the way through the Crit Loop. The Left Lane held on to the leaders on his new Cervelo and when everyone was sitting up just near the end I slammed it down trying to be first to Spanish Trail for the first time on the Crit Loop. Of course the Vortex and Fishbone would have none of that and nipped me just as we reached Spanish Trail. Oh well…one day!!
We regrouped and Nate did most of the pull up the first long straight after crossing 9th avenue and then the hammerfests began in earnest on Burgess as The Vortex went to the front and kicked the pace up close to 30mph. That’s what I call softening up the peloton!! Everyone regrouped as we came up to 9th Avenue and the Langley Maygarden Loop.
On Langley a small group of around 4 riders got ahead including I believe Nathan, Nate, Fishbone, Mark & Danger Sharp with the second group with Gianni Bugno pulling hard at around 25 and reeling in the lead group which was around 30 yards ahead. As we were gaining Vortex came to the front of the Chase Group to pull back the leaders but immediately pulled up with a tire going down. Bugno pulled up as well to help Vortex and Semper Cy started looking back over his left shoulder and almost pinched The Left Lane off the road to the right as I was shouting at him and he corrected just in time. Bugno & Vortex were out and Semper Cy got it back in gear pulling me and Chuck and others toward the lead group whose lead had grown with the slow down caused by Vortex & Bugno pulling out. Semper Cy chased them down by the light pulling the rest of us back up to the group. But as we were taking the turn those of us who had just caught up had to wait for some right turning cars and the lead group gapped us again as we turned onto Spanish Trail. Chuck and I had used up a little too much getting back up to the lead group the first time and could not quite close the gap this second time as we turned onto Maygarden. Chuck put it down hard and almost got us back up to the lead group of around 5 or 6 riders but as we neared the air terminal our chase was futile and we watched the leaders move off ahead. Chuck kept chasing hard and Danger and I were back a ways as our gas tanks neared empty. Did not see the finish but I am sure it was exciting. Will have to get the details of the finish from someone who “was there”!!
Mark "The Thrill" Brill pulled off his first ever F&S win! Congrats to The Thrill. As they approached the last 200 meters he jumped the rest of the survivors who were overheard singing, "The Thrill is gone, the Thrill is gone away..."
Hope to see everyone there in the morning! But until then, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Wet and Wild!
That's a fair description of Saturday's ride to Fort Pickens...wet and wild! However, it didn't start out that way, nope, it was actually a nice morning with a few clouds on the horizon over the Gulf. We had quite a large group as we started across 3 Mile Bridge and picked up a few more in Gulf Breeze. The pace was a bit on the frisky side as the boys had evidently been watching Le Tour.
The loop through GB saw Semper Cy on the nose keeping the pace hovering around 20mph. A few others, Left Lane, Ranoldo and Gianni decided to follow his example tickling the low 20s. Once over the Bob (Pyches) Sikes Bridge things were getting a bit serious with Aero Jim Britnell pushing things into the mid 20s. However, word from the back came that Crusher had broken (crushed ) yet another component on his Trek Madone. This time a rear spoke. The peloton waited for several minutes for him at the Holiday Inn, but no Crusher appeared. Vortex headed back on a search and rescue mission, admonishing the peloton to carry on.
Vortex found Crusher on the side of the road trying to fix what was in deed a broken spoke. There was actually a full inch of spoke missing! Never seen that before! Both riders tried in vain to adjust the neighboring spokes so Crusher could continue the ride. However, it was determined that Vortex's spoke wrench was too large for the Crusher's tiny spokes on his fancy carbon rims! (Never seen spokes that small under a big Clydesdale.) Crusher finally decided it was time to head back to the barn and encouraged Vortex to continue on, which he did.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch;
The peloton was hammering towards the infamous Brick Wall Sprint into a nasty headwind. Apparently, Aero Jim had the bit between the teeth and pretty much dropped the group. As the sprint for second came along 17 minutes later, (just kidding) Lawman took it out throwing down a huge surge at the line, beating out all others...uh, nobody else was interested. The peloton regrouped in Fort Pickens awaiting the return of the Vortex and Crusher. (Little did they know Crusher was on his way home and Vortex was doing a solo time trial into that headwind down Fort Pickens Road.
Halfway to the Fort, Vortex, in his own world of pain, sees a lone figure on a bike heading towards him. With eyes blurred and sunglasses smeared he makes out what appears to be the figure of a cyclist suffering like a dog...with a tailwind mind you. As he gets closer he determines it can be none other than the hunched over encrustation of the climbing curmudgeon himself, Coolio! The two pass by like two ships in the night saying nothing but wondering all kinds of things. Whaaat? Why? How? Off he rides as Vortex continues on in search of the peloton.
Just a few meters through the Brick Wall and the peloton appears, already headed for home. A quick U turn and the Vortex is back in the fold for the ride home. Or should it be called race home?! Aero Jim is back on the nose and he's opened up his suitcase of pain and is sharing his dirty laundry with the entire peloton as he keeps it pegged between 28 and 30mph!!! And when it rains, it pours. No, literally...it starts raining. Now the peloton was wet and wild! Aero Jim stayed on the nose all the way until the gate, at which point the pace became much more civil, (mid 20s). We stopped at Tom Thumb for some much needed R&R... and to tell Aero Jim stories.
The pace was moderate on the way home with no real antics to report...well, maybe one. It appears that Gianni and Lawman got kind of tied up together and ended up on the floor...at slow speeds. Actually, I believe Lawman ended up in the grass. It's a bit confusing as to what, in fact, happened. But here's Gianni's report in his own words:
That Gianni, what a character. He was probably trying some Thor Hushovd move changing his shoes on the fly. Well, what should we expect, the whole peloton is full of characters. And tonight's WERAD should be full of something as well. Hopefully you! See you there, and...
See you out on the road,
Bob
The loop through GB saw Semper Cy on the nose keeping the pace hovering around 20mph. A few others, Left Lane, Ranoldo and Gianni decided to follow his example tickling the low 20s. Once over the Bob (Pyches) Sikes Bridge things were getting a bit serious with Aero Jim Britnell pushing things into the mid 20s. However, word from the back came that Crusher had broken (crushed ) yet another component on his Trek Madone. This time a rear spoke. The peloton waited for several minutes for him at the Holiday Inn, but no Crusher appeared. Vortex headed back on a search and rescue mission, admonishing the peloton to carry on.
Vortex found Crusher on the side of the road trying to fix what was in deed a broken spoke. There was actually a full inch of spoke missing! Never seen that before! Both riders tried in vain to adjust the neighboring spokes so Crusher could continue the ride. However, it was determined that Vortex's spoke wrench was too large for the Crusher's tiny spokes on his fancy carbon rims! (Never seen spokes that small under a big Clydesdale.) Crusher finally decided it was time to head back to the barn and encouraged Vortex to continue on, which he did.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch;
The peloton was hammering towards the infamous Brick Wall Sprint into a nasty headwind. Apparently, Aero Jim had the bit between the teeth and pretty much dropped the group. As the sprint for second came along 17 minutes later, (just kidding) Lawman took it out throwing down a huge surge at the line, beating out all others...uh, nobody else was interested. The peloton regrouped in Fort Pickens awaiting the return of the Vortex and Crusher. (Little did they know Crusher was on his way home and Vortex was doing a solo time trial into that headwind down Fort Pickens Road.
Halfway to the Fort, Vortex, in his own world of pain, sees a lone figure on a bike heading towards him. With eyes blurred and sunglasses smeared he makes out what appears to be the figure of a cyclist suffering like a dog...with a tailwind mind you. As he gets closer he determines it can be none other than the hunched over encrustation of the climbing curmudgeon himself, Coolio! The two pass by like two ships in the night saying nothing but wondering all kinds of things. Whaaat? Why? How? Off he rides as Vortex continues on in search of the peloton.
Just a few meters through the Brick Wall and the peloton appears, already headed for home. A quick U turn and the Vortex is back in the fold for the ride home. Or should it be called race home?! Aero Jim is back on the nose and he's opened up his suitcase of pain and is sharing his dirty laundry with the entire peloton as he keeps it pegged between 28 and 30mph!!! And when it rains, it pours. No, literally...it starts raining. Now the peloton was wet and wild! Aero Jim stayed on the nose all the way until the gate, at which point the pace became much more civil, (mid 20s). We stopped at Tom Thumb for some much needed R&R... and to tell Aero Jim stories.
The pace was moderate on the way home with no real antics to report...well, maybe one. It appears that Gianni and Lawman got kind of tied up together and ended up on the floor...at slow speeds. Actually, I believe Lawman ended up in the grass. It's a bit confusing as to what, in fact, happened. But here's Gianni's report in his own words:
Sorry I missed the end-of-the-ride antics. Had a bit of a mishap coming off the beach. Came through the light by Flounders, had some trouble getting my left shoe clipped in. Suddenly, the heel of my shoe caught in the back wheel and jammed, locking up the wheel. As I came unintentionally skidding to a stop, I still could not get my shoe free, and tipped right over in the middle of the lane. Lawman Dave, narrowly avoiding me from behind, went down in the gutter, rolling off in the grass. Almost felt like I was right there in the Tour, with bikes flying everywhere! We picked ourselves and our trusty steeds up and began assessing the damage. Bodies: minor abrasions; machines: no visible damage; my pride: destroyed. My friend Peter was there with us, and the 3 of us pressed on straight through Gulf Breeze. I think we ended up in front of the group, and just pressed on home. Could have been worse, so I guess it turned ok in the end. |
That Gianni, what a character. He was probably trying some Thor Hushovd move changing his shoes on the fly. Well, what should we expect, the whole peloton is full of characters. And tonight's WERAD should be full of something as well. Hopefully you! See you there, and...
See you out on the road,
Bob
Friday, July 22, 2011
The Fort Pickens Loop It Is!
Well, after checking the weather forecast a few times for wind direction, etc, looks like the Fort Pickens Loop is a go for tomorrow! We will start at 7am from Fish and Wildlife for this 45 miler. The pace will be moderate as both the longer route guys will be riding alongside the shorter route dudes. We will have one scheduled rest stop to fill the tanks and tell stories. (There will be a regrouping after the Brick Wall Sprint as well) Please bring $3 just in case we don't have enough passes to get everyone in "free".
If you want to start on the south side of 3 Mile Bridge in Gulf Breeze, we should be cruising through about 7:20am. Please be ready, as we won't stop but just slow down to pick the riders.
We should be home with plenty of time to watch the front contenders launch for the Time Trial from Grenoble in Le Tour de France. This will decide it! It has, in fact been one of the most exciting Tours this rider has seen in many years. Good fun!
Sunday, we will try to ride, weather permitting, the UWF/Scenic Hills loop at 3pm from Firestone and Summit. The pace will be easy to moderate for this 35 mile ride in the hills. Come on!
Last Wednesday evening's ride with the Wheelmen was a lot of fun. We had a huge group of riders. Several F&S guys showed up as well. Nothing really exciting to report...except we almost lost Gianni on Scenic Hwy, (don't ask) needless to say it was very scary!
Weather permitting, I look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow morning. Until then, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
If you want to start on the south side of 3 Mile Bridge in Gulf Breeze, we should be cruising through about 7:20am. Please be ready, as we won't stop but just slow down to pick the riders.
We should be home with plenty of time to watch the front contenders launch for the Time Trial from Grenoble in Le Tour de France. This will decide it! It has, in fact been one of the most exciting Tours this rider has seen in many years. Good fun!
Sunday, we will try to ride, weather permitting, the UWF/Scenic Hills loop at 3pm from Firestone and Summit. The pace will be easy to moderate for this 35 mile ride in the hills. Come on!
Last Wednesday evening's ride with the Wheelmen was a lot of fun. We had a huge group of riders. Several F&S guys showed up as well. Nothing really exciting to report...except we almost lost Gianni on Scenic Hwy, (don't ask) needless to say it was very scary!
Weather permitting, I look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow morning. Until then, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Better Weather for Riding This Week
What a wild and wet weekend! For those of you not able, perhaps wisely so, the Full Moon Ride saw a wet peloton with no sunset and no full moon! However, it was a very pleasant ride down to the Fort and a slightly faster cruise back to Casino Beach. We were soaked to the bone. The ride wasn't without controversy though. There was a disagreement as to who won the Brick Wall Sprint. Crusher and Vortex were the only two meatheads silly enough to try for the (wet) prize. They came across the line in a virtual tie, however within seconds, Crusher was hoisting the victor's cup while still in the saddle. Vortex disagreed with the self-proclamation, claiming he was indeed the conqueror.
Then, to add more confusion to the proceedings that followed, Vortex asserts that the big Clydesdale should be relegated because he was on the left side of the double yellow lines. Crusher was incredulous that the smaller versioned Vortex (Vortex2) would throw down the "R" word without just cause. (This was reminiscent of the infamous Bad Mayonnaise/Danger Sharpe controversy from last year's Pensacola Cycling Classic that still rages on to this day.) However, Friday's incident was followed by a judgement from the race officials, Gianni Bugno himself, writing the opinion, "Left Lane rides on the left side of the double yellow as a matter of course, so there will be no relegation in this particular incident." (That Gianni, he's so articulate!) Therefore, the BWS was awarded to the big Clydesdale boy, Crusher! In a Contanasty like response, Vortex was seen throwing his machine in disgust!
That was one wet and wild controversy...and ride!
However, as I understand it, that was just an hors d'oeuvers for the main course Saturday morning. If Friday evening was the cup of chowder, then Saturday morning was the whole kettle of fish itself. Although, I wasn't there, (one of the few good decisions I've made in some time), I have heard that it was like riding in Ivan himself. Well, maybe that's a bit over dramatic, but suffice it to say, uh...does the word "drenched" mean anything to you? In other words, Coolio would have stayed in bed.
And, to top it all off, I understand in the midst of the tropical storm, nobody showed up for Sunday's ride. Go figure.
But, look what we have for the week ahead! Beautiful weather and great rides planned for tonight, tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday.
Tonight we will be heading out from Firestone and Summit at 6pm for a 20 miler or so at an easy to moderate pace.
Tomorrow evening is WERAD! However, we are meeting with the West Florida Wheelmen for their ride at 5:30pm at WSRE parking lot on the campus of Pensacola State College.
(That's WERAD at WSRE with WFW...got it?!)
Their loop is about 22 miles or so. Pace will be moderate to very fast, depending on which bunch your riding in. Afterwards, some will be hanging at Kooter Brown's to watch the stage of Le Tour de France and have some refreshments. Come on somebody!!!
Saturday we will be meeting at Fish and Wildlife for either a ride to Fort Pickens or a loop down Soundside. (We'll check the wind direction as the day draws nearer.) Sunday will see the peloton trying once again to accomplish the group fave UWF/Scenic Hills Loop.
Great rides all week to match the great weather! Come on out everyone and enjoy some fun with the cast of unusual charters that make up the Firestone and Summit peloton! Until our next rendevous avec douleur, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
Then, to add more confusion to the proceedings that followed, Vortex asserts that the big Clydesdale should be relegated because he was on the left side of the double yellow lines. Crusher was incredulous that the smaller versioned Vortex (Vortex2) would throw down the "R" word without just cause. (This was reminiscent of the infamous Bad Mayonnaise/Danger Sharpe controversy from last year's Pensacola Cycling Classic that still rages on to this day.) However, Friday's incident was followed by a judgement from the race officials, Gianni Bugno himself, writing the opinion, "Left Lane rides on the left side of the double yellow as a matter of course, so there will be no relegation in this particular incident." (That Gianni, he's so articulate!) Therefore, the BWS was awarded to the big Clydesdale boy, Crusher! In a Contanasty like response, Vortex was seen throwing his machine in disgust!
That was one wet and wild controversy...and ride!
However, as I understand it, that was just an hors d'oeuvers for the main course Saturday morning. If Friday evening was the cup of chowder, then Saturday morning was the whole kettle of fish itself. Although, I wasn't there, (one of the few good decisions I've made in some time), I have heard that it was like riding in Ivan himself. Well, maybe that's a bit over dramatic, but suffice it to say, uh...does the word "drenched" mean anything to you? In other words, Coolio would have stayed in bed.
And, to top it all off, I understand in the midst of the tropical storm, nobody showed up for Sunday's ride. Go figure.
But, look what we have for the week ahead! Beautiful weather and great rides planned for tonight, tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday.
Tonight we will be heading out from Firestone and Summit at 6pm for a 20 miler or so at an easy to moderate pace.
Tomorrow evening is WERAD! However, we are meeting with the West Florida Wheelmen for their ride at 5:30pm at WSRE parking lot on the campus of Pensacola State College.
(That's WERAD at WSRE with WFW...got it?!)
Their loop is about 22 miles or so. Pace will be moderate to very fast, depending on which bunch your riding in. Afterwards, some will be hanging at Kooter Brown's to watch the stage of Le Tour de France and have some refreshments. Come on somebody!!!
Saturday we will be meeting at Fish and Wildlife for either a ride to Fort Pickens or a loop down Soundside. (We'll check the wind direction as the day draws nearer.) Sunday will see the peloton trying once again to accomplish the group fave UWF/Scenic Hills Loop.
Great rides all week to match the great weather! Come on out everyone and enjoy some fun with the cast of unusual charters that make up the Firestone and Summit peloton! Until our next rendevous avec douleur, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
Friday, July 15, 2011
FULL MOON RIDE TONIGHT!
We are taking a ride on the Full Moon Express tonight! I really had my doubts earlier today as to whether we would be riding tonight or not. The skies looked threatening all day with a high percentage of rain possible, if not a short shower. However, as I peek out the back window of the palatial Graves estate looking south from the mountaintop (hilltop) here on the Bayou called Texar, I see the clouds breaking up and some gorgeous sunshine brightening the possibilities for a perfect ride on the white sand beaches tonight! Come on somebody!
Just a couple of notes regarding tonight's ride:
1. Please try to be on time as we will need to leave as close to 7:30pm as possible. The sun sets just shy of 8pm and the moon rises at 8:11pm...timing is everything! Don't forget your lights!
2. Remember to bring an extra $3 to get into the National Park. We usually have enough Annual Pass holders to get everyone in "free" but we never know exactly how many folks may be riding on any given ride so we may not have enough pass holders...enough said.
Now, how about that ride tomorrow morning?!
Well, from a ride on the Orient Express...oops, uh, I mean, the Full Moon Express tonight to a trip on the Pine Forest Loop Line tomorrow! Man, I just love this kind of stuff!
Yes, tomorrow morning we will leave the Firestone and Summit Station at 7am for a moderate paced ride on the group fave Pine Forest Loop! We will have both groups together for this 40 to 45 miler. Good fun! And for the boys who are feeling a bit frisky, we'll throw in a couple of sprints just to keep folks from falling asleep at the wheel. One rest stop is planned to fill the bottles and tell stories. This would be a great ride to invite a friend that has wanted to come out but is intimated by some of the names of the riders...i.e. Crusher, Big Motor, Danger and of course, that Bad Mayonnaise!
For those of you that care, I'm sure we will be home in time to see all the attacks on the final climb on tomorrow's stage of Le Tour de France!
Sunday, we'll do an easy paced ride on the UWF/Scenic Hills loop...minus a couple of the hills. This ride starts at 3pm at Firestone and Summit. Not quite a recovery ride, but we won't be hammering either.
Hope to see everyone out tonight and/or this weekend and as always, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
Just a couple of notes regarding tonight's ride:
1. Please try to be on time as we will need to leave as close to 7:30pm as possible. The sun sets just shy of 8pm and the moon rises at 8:11pm...timing is everything! Don't forget your lights!
2. Remember to bring an extra $3 to get into the National Park. We usually have enough Annual Pass holders to get everyone in "free" but we never know exactly how many folks may be riding on any given ride so we may not have enough pass holders...enough said.
Now, how about that ride tomorrow morning?!
Well, from a ride on the Orient Express...oops, uh, I mean, the Full Moon Express tonight to a trip on the Pine Forest Loop Line tomorrow! Man, I just love this kind of stuff!
Yes, tomorrow morning we will leave the Firestone and Summit Station at 7am for a moderate paced ride on the group fave Pine Forest Loop! We will have both groups together for this 40 to 45 miler. Good fun! And for the boys who are feeling a bit frisky, we'll throw in a couple of sprints just to keep folks from falling asleep at the wheel. One rest stop is planned to fill the bottles and tell stories. This would be a great ride to invite a friend that has wanted to come out but is intimated by some of the names of the riders...i.e. Crusher, Big Motor, Danger and of course, that Bad Mayonnaise!
For those of you that care, I'm sure we will be home in time to see all the attacks on the final climb on tomorrow's stage of Le Tour de France!
Sunday, we'll do an easy paced ride on the UWF/Scenic Hills loop...minus a couple of the hills. This ride starts at 3pm at Firestone and Summit. Not quite a recovery ride, but we won't be hammering either.
Hope to see everyone out tonight and/or this weekend and as always, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
A Short Note Regarding This Week's Rides
Sorry for the lack of color commentary this week, I have been very busy with other pressing matters. However, I did want to get out a ride announcement or two before tonight's WERAD! So here goes;
Tonight at 5:30pm at Firestone and Summit we will be doing our imitation of Le Tour de France, (just like every other club in the world during the month of July!) Looks like the rain will hold off and should be a massive crowd. (Using my Phil Liggett accent here.) Can't wait to see everyone!
Also, this Friday is our group fave Full Moon Ride at Casino Beach Parking lot at 7:30pm.
And finally, this Saturday we are going back for a ride on the Pine Forest Loop Express! Come on somebody!
Again, sorry about the short note...I'll make it up to you later with some obnoxious, verbose ramblings about how Left Lane lost the latest meaningless fried somethingarather unannounced acceleration he calls a sprint! (I just love that kind of stuff!!!) However, I have lots of news to share so I will Blogulate real soon to catch everyone up to date...Stay tuned!!!
See you tonight at 5:30pm and...
See you out on the road,
Bob
PS Sorry Left Lane.
Tonight at 5:30pm at Firestone and Summit we will be doing our imitation of Le Tour de France, (just like every other club in the world during the month of July!) Looks like the rain will hold off and should be a massive crowd. (Using my Phil Liggett accent here.) Can't wait to see everyone!
Also, this Friday is our group fave Full Moon Ride at Casino Beach Parking lot at 7:30pm.
And finally, this Saturday we are going back for a ride on the Pine Forest Loop Express! Come on somebody!
Again, sorry about the short note...I'll make it up to you later with some obnoxious, verbose ramblings about how Left Lane lost the latest meaningless fried somethingarather unannounced acceleration he calls a sprint! (I just love that kind of stuff!!!) However, I have lots of news to share so I will Blogulate real soon to catch everyone up to date...Stay tuned!!!
See you tonight at 5:30pm and...
See you out on the road,
Bob
PS Sorry Left Lane.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Yellow Jersey...on Maygarden?!
Great rides this past week! The WERAD was epic (Not!) if not very fast. Several of the riders were feeling their oats as the pace rarely dropped below 20mph for anything except a stoplight. Come on somebody! At times, it was well into the upper 20s! Why such a hammerfest? What was the special occasion? Apparently, the color yellow. Yep, that goofball Vortex showed up in an official (uh, unofficial, although it was purchased on the Champs Elysee' in Paris by his daughter several years ago. He just now has lost enough weight to where he can actually wear it.), Yellow Jersey. Who does he think he is anyway, Thor Hushovd? Please!
However, it must have inspired several of the riders who kept the pace bordering ballistic as we cruised the loop known only as the Super 8. Neil "Big Guns" Geci, Mike "Legs" Larson and YHOP (Younger Half Of Prenti) took turns at the front keeping the peloton strung out. On the final pass down Langley the speed approached 30mph...animals! Once onto Maygarden, Big Guns took a short pull at speed and relinquished to the big Clydesdale boy, Tim "Crusher" Fox. He pulled all the way until young Jedi YHOP took a flyer with 800 meters to go. However, Crusher, grinding out a huge gear reeled him back in with about 500m to the line. The Yellow Jersey took a lame pull feigning exhaustion. (O Brother Where Art Thou?)
Nate the Great tried a turn at the front but Legs Larson would have none of it. He was determined to launch the Big Guns missile to the line. Legs cranked it up until with 200m left he gave up the ghost and the missile was launched! Big Guns had the line in sight, when out of nowhere comes the Yellow Jersey riding like he was on the Champs Elysee' itself on the final stage of the Tour...WHAAAT?! With 50m left in this WERAD, the Yellow Jersey passes Big Guns for the victory.
However, the result evidently did not please several fans who were seen yawning and some were even crying out, "Boring!" Although, it sounded more like booing! Like the Yellow Jersey was being booed. Upon hearing the shouts of the crowds and perceiving how jealous they are regarding the jersey of yellow, the Vortex was overheard vowing to never again don the Maillot Juene on a WERAD, stating, "They sure are a fickle lot, the fans." He will settle for the color green.
Hats off to several Big Pull Bulls (BPBers) including Big Guns, YHOP, Crusher and Big Motor! Congrats to all!
If you missed the antics of this past week, don't fret there's more to come this weekend...in fact, check out the ride tomorrow! We are heading to one of the group's all time faves; The Lillian Loop! This 50 miler starts at Fish and Wildlife at 7am and should be back home by around 10:30am. The pace will be moderate so come on out and enjoy some riding with the cast of unusual characters! See you in the morning and as always, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
However, it must have inspired several of the riders who kept the pace bordering ballistic as we cruised the loop known only as the Super 8. Neil "Big Guns" Geci, Mike "Legs" Larson and YHOP (Younger Half Of Prenti) took turns at the front keeping the peloton strung out. On the final pass down Langley the speed approached 30mph...animals! Once onto Maygarden, Big Guns took a short pull at speed and relinquished to the big Clydesdale boy, Tim "Crusher" Fox. He pulled all the way until young Jedi YHOP took a flyer with 800 meters to go. However, Crusher, grinding out a huge gear reeled him back in with about 500m to the line. The Yellow Jersey took a lame pull feigning exhaustion. (O Brother Where Art Thou?)
Nate the Great tried a turn at the front but Legs Larson would have none of it. He was determined to launch the Big Guns missile to the line. Legs cranked it up until with 200m left he gave up the ghost and the missile was launched! Big Guns had the line in sight, when out of nowhere comes the Yellow Jersey riding like he was on the Champs Elysee' itself on the final stage of the Tour...WHAAAT?! With 50m left in this WERAD, the Yellow Jersey passes Big Guns for the victory.
However, the result evidently did not please several fans who were seen yawning and some were even crying out, "Boring!" Although, it sounded more like booing! Like the Yellow Jersey was being booed. Upon hearing the shouts of the crowds and perceiving how jealous they are regarding the jersey of yellow, the Vortex was overheard vowing to never again don the Maillot Juene on a WERAD, stating, "They sure are a fickle lot, the fans." He will settle for the color green.
Hats off to several Big Pull Bulls (BPBers) including Big Guns, YHOP, Crusher and Big Motor! Congrats to all!
If you missed the antics of this past week, don't fret there's more to come this weekend...in fact, check out the ride tomorrow! We are heading to one of the group's all time faves; The Lillian Loop! This 50 miler starts at Fish and Wildlife at 7am and should be back home by around 10:30am. The pace will be moderate so come on out and enjoy some riding with the cast of unusual characters! See you in the morning and as always, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
What a Fantastic Weekend of Riding...and a WERAD Note!
For those of you that rode this past weekend, I'm sure you would agree it was three great rides! Saturday was the infamous Gianni Bugno's The Duker Puker. Sunday had the group on a spin around the Manzierre Loop: Home of the Bro. While Monday saw the peloton cruising on the group fave Soundside Loop. Three great days worth of three great rides! I, for one, really enjoyed all three routes. (Who picks these things anyway?!)
WERAD NOTE:
Hey, before I go any further, please note that after discussing tomorrow's UNIRAD with the West Florida Wheelmen, we have decided to postpone our joint group ride with them for a bit. Several of you have expressed that you would not be able to participate because of the earlier start time of 5pm. We will reschedule for sometime in the future with more advance notice so many of you can plan ahead for the earlier start.
Therefore, we will be at Firestone and Summit tomorrow night at 5:30pm for our usual WERAD with our cast of unusual characters!!! (Check the Rides Calendar for details as needed.)
Now to live action...
Huge group last Saturday with several folks we haven't seen in a while...at least not on a bike. We don't name names here but it sure was nice to see Chuck and Sandy Norton out! They are a few of the riders that make it so much fun to get out and ride in this otherwise miserable weather. Well, it wasn't that terrible, just humid I guess...and hot. You know when the sweat doesn't evaporate off your overheating body...yeah it was miserable, to a degree anyway. Regardless, it was a fantastic ride over one of this riders favorite courses. And, to top it all off, no Puker this time around on the Duker! Amazing!
The ride was pretty much uneventful until we hit the last 3 kilometers or so. (Gratefully no Happy Unhappy Mishap or HUM) The pace had quickened a bit as we rode down Langley and made the turn onto Spanish. Most everybody was feeling a bit worse for the wear as we made the final right hander onto Maygarden itself. There had been several albeit short pulls until Earl "Semper Cy" Page took over the duties at the front. (Earl is not related to the Pensacola News Journal writer Jamie Page, who wrote that wonderful article in last Sunday's Coastal Life section regarding cycling in our area. If you haven't read it yet, check it out! Very informative and complimentary of our group and the WFW as well. Really enjoyed it. Thanks so much Jamie!!!)
Back to live action...
Semper Cy pulled from about 2k to go all the way up to the final sprint. The man had the bit between the teeth. However, as his suicide pull was about out of fuel around the 400 meters to go sign, out of nowhere comes charging down the left side like the big Clydesdale that he is, Tim "Crusher" Fox out of the saddle with head down throwing his machine like a dog pulling on a chew toy! Lawman jumps hard to get on Crusher's wheel with the Vortex trying to latch onto the Lawman. With less than 300m to the line, (this after a hot 50+ miles in the saddle) Lawman moves to the right to launch his sprint. He and Crusher are heads down and eyes blurred surging for the line. (I just love this kind of stuff!) Lawman gets the advantage on Crusher with less than 100m to go and eases up on the pedals. Just then, out of nowhere on the extreme right comes the Vortex in a massive gear. With less than 50m they are even and at the line, Vortex nips Lawman by no more than half a bike length. Fantastic finish...and good fun!
Sunday's classic route looking for the Home of the Bro saw a much smaller peloton including a couple of group favorite's Trish "The Kat" Kuhnell and Gianni Bugno as well as a couple of new faces Tom Horn and Nestor Arquea. The ride was taken at an easy pace with our usual stop at the end of Palafox to take in the view and fill the bottles. Great recovery ride.
The Soundside Loop was on tap for yesterday's ride. We had a good group of fairly evenly matched riders, so the pace was fast. (18.3mph average) In fact, I was home before 10am! Great ride and pretty much uneventful except for Semper Cy taking the rest stop sprint. Atta boy Earl!
Fantastic weekend of riding! I had over 130 miles. Don't worry if you missed them. We're riding again tomorrow night. Yeppers, 5:30pm at Firestone and Summit for the weekly WERAD! Come on out and don't miss a single mile of the latest peloton antics! See you tomorrow night. And, as always, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
WERAD NOTE:
Hey, before I go any further, please note that after discussing tomorrow's UNIRAD with the West Florida Wheelmen, we have decided to postpone our joint group ride with them for a bit. Several of you have expressed that you would not be able to participate because of the earlier start time of 5pm. We will reschedule for sometime in the future with more advance notice so many of you can plan ahead for the earlier start.
Therefore, we will be at Firestone and Summit tomorrow night at 5:30pm for our usual WERAD with our cast of unusual characters!!! (Check the Rides Calendar for details as needed.)
Now to live action...
Huge group last Saturday with several folks we haven't seen in a while...at least not on a bike. We don't name names here but it sure was nice to see Chuck and Sandy Norton out! They are a few of the riders that make it so much fun to get out and ride in this otherwise miserable weather. Well, it wasn't that terrible, just humid I guess...and hot. You know when the sweat doesn't evaporate off your overheating body...yeah it was miserable, to a degree anyway. Regardless, it was a fantastic ride over one of this riders favorite courses. And, to top it all off, no Puker this time around on the Duker! Amazing!
The ride was pretty much uneventful until we hit the last 3 kilometers or so. (Gratefully no Happy Unhappy Mishap or HUM) The pace had quickened a bit as we rode down Langley and made the turn onto Spanish. Most everybody was feeling a bit worse for the wear as we made the final right hander onto Maygarden itself. There had been several albeit short pulls until Earl "Semper Cy" Page took over the duties at the front. (Earl is not related to the Pensacola News Journal writer Jamie Page, who wrote that wonderful article in last Sunday's Coastal Life section regarding cycling in our area. If you haven't read it yet, check it out! Very informative and complimentary of our group and the WFW as well. Really enjoyed it. Thanks so much Jamie!!!)
Back to live action...
Semper Cy pulled from about 2k to go all the way up to the final sprint. The man had the bit between the teeth. However, as his suicide pull was about out of fuel around the 400 meters to go sign, out of nowhere comes charging down the left side like the big Clydesdale that he is, Tim "Crusher" Fox out of the saddle with head down throwing his machine like a dog pulling on a chew toy! Lawman jumps hard to get on Crusher's wheel with the Vortex trying to latch onto the Lawman. With less than 300m to the line, (this after a hot 50+ miles in the saddle) Lawman moves to the right to launch his sprint. He and Crusher are heads down and eyes blurred surging for the line. (I just love this kind of stuff!) Lawman gets the advantage on Crusher with less than 100m to go and eases up on the pedals. Just then, out of nowhere on the extreme right comes the Vortex in a massive gear. With less than 50m they are even and at the line, Vortex nips Lawman by no more than half a bike length. Fantastic finish...and good fun!
Sunday's classic route looking for the Home of the Bro saw a much smaller peloton including a couple of group favorite's Trish "The Kat" Kuhnell and Gianni Bugno as well as a couple of new faces Tom Horn and Nestor Arquea. The ride was taken at an easy pace with our usual stop at the end of Palafox to take in the view and fill the bottles. Great recovery ride.
The Soundside Loop was on tap for yesterday's ride. We had a good group of fairly evenly matched riders, so the pace was fast. (18.3mph average) In fact, I was home before 10am! Great ride and pretty much uneventful except for Semper Cy taking the rest stop sprint. Atta boy Earl!
Fantastic weekend of riding! I had over 130 miles. Don't worry if you missed them. We're riding again tomorrow night. Yeppers, 5:30pm at Firestone and Summit for the weekly WERAD! Come on out and don't miss a single mile of the latest peloton antics! See you tomorrow night. And, as always, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
Friday, July 1, 2011
Impromptu Ride Today...and a Lesson
We have been contacted by a few of the group stating that they have today or this afternoon off in celebration of the July 4th Weekend. Therefore, by popular demand, we are scheduling an Impromptu Ride for this evening at 5:30pm at Firestone and Summit. This "kickoff" ride will be a real easy spin of about 20 miles. (We wouldn't want to wear ourselves out for the infamous Duker Puker tomorrow!)
And speaking of Gianni Bugno's Duker Puker, the weather forecast looks absolutely perfect for this group favorite...low to mid 80s with a light breeze out of the north to northeast. Come on somebody! As we pass by the site of Happy's Unhappy Mishap (HUM) we will have a moment to HUMmmm. (Just kidding Happy!) Although, last time we did the Duker Puker, someone bailed on another railroad crossing...and as I remember a train was approaching!
Leave it to Gianni to always pick an exciting route!
But wait there's more!!!
Sunday will see the group on the Manzeirre Loop (Home of the Bro!) And, of course on Monday, Independence Day, (wear our colors, i.e. the Stars and Stripes!) we'll do an easy 40 miler down a route we haven't done in months...The Soundside Loop! Four great rides, including this evening, with a great cast of unusual characters! Come out for one, two, three or even all of these classic routes prepared for you at great expense and suffering...or not!
Now for today's lesson:
David "Lawman" Carroll sent me an email after asking Coolio how he kept his chain so perfectly clean. Coolio expressed, other than not using it, there is a special technique to cleaning the chain at least once a week. When you view the lesson, you will see Coolio (using his pen-name Sheldon Brown), demonstrating the technique while donning his hazmat suit. Note how meticulous he cleans his chain. That Coolio, what a character!
View the lesson here:
http://sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html
And I'll see you out on the road...without a clean chain!
Bob
And speaking of Gianni Bugno's Duker Puker, the weather forecast looks absolutely perfect for this group favorite...low to mid 80s with a light breeze out of the north to northeast. Come on somebody! As we pass by the site of Happy's Unhappy Mishap (HUM) we will have a moment to HUMmmm. (Just kidding Happy!) Although, last time we did the Duker Puker, someone bailed on another railroad crossing...and as I remember a train was approaching!
Leave it to Gianni to always pick an exciting route!
But wait there's more!!!
Sunday will see the group on the Manzeirre Loop (Home of the Bro!) And, of course on Monday, Independence Day, (wear our colors, i.e. the Stars and Stripes!) we'll do an easy 40 miler down a route we haven't done in months...The Soundside Loop! Four great rides, including this evening, with a great cast of unusual characters! Come out for one, two, three or even all of these classic routes prepared for you at great expense and suffering...or not!
Now for today's lesson:
David "Lawman" Carroll sent me an email after asking Coolio how he kept his chain so perfectly clean. Coolio expressed, other than not using it, there is a special technique to cleaning the chain at least once a week. When you view the lesson, you will see Coolio (using his pen-name Sheldon Brown), demonstrating the technique while donning his hazmat suit. Note how meticulous he cleans his chain. That Coolio, what a character!
View the lesson here:
http://sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html
And I'll see you out on the road...without a clean chain!
Bob
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