Alright, 2012 is just about over and we have two great rides scheduled to finish out the year! We sent out a short questionnaire to the so-called leadership to get a general opinion as to how to close out the year in cycling. It was unambitious...uh, I mean unanimous! Therefore, we're heading Around The Bay and lookie here...Around The Sound! Well, at least Soundside. Oh yeah baby, we're closing it out in style!!!
All the details are on the Rides Calendar at the bottom of this Blogazoidal. But, in case you are too tired, (being the end of the year and all), then here you go:
Tomorrow at 7:30am at Maygarden and Summit. We're doing the all time group fave; Around The Bay! The pace will be mostly moderate for this 65 miler. There is a shorter option of 45 miles for those who want a shorter version.
Monday, NEW YEAR'S EVE meet at Fish and Wildlife at 8am for the Soundside Loop or Around The Sound Loop depending on how unambitious you're feeling! The shorter route is about 40 and the longer loop is 60 miles. The pace will be moderate.
And, as if that wasn't enough miles, join the Bad Mayonnaise for his Sunday afternoon easy spin in the park...Bayview Park that is and it's at 3pm. Come on somebody! A great ride to keep those legs loose after the Saturday 65 miler or just before Monday's 60 miler!
Oh yeah, that's 150 miles over the last three days of 2012! Who says we can't close out a year right?!
See you out on the road,
Bob
Friday, December 28, 2012
Friday, December 21, 2012
Chilly Clime Brings Change to Start Time!
For those of you from north of the Mason-Dixon Line, please ignore the following change. For those of you south of the Mason-Dixon Line, please pay close attention. (For those of you who have no idea where the Mason-Dixon Line is...there's still hope.)
Tomorrow morning the temperature is going to be around 40 degrees at 8am. To start our ride at this temp would be in violation of our Cold/Inclement Weather Policy. (I have been reminded of this fact several times since late Wednesday evening by those who evidently were raised south of the Mason-Dixon Line.
Therefore, we have changed the start time for tomorrow morning's ride to 9am.
This is the only change to this ride.
We will still meet at Maygarden and Summit and still be doing the Pine Forest Loop.
And, STILL be making a Starbucks stop! (might be the best part of the chilly ride)
See you (bundled up) out on the road,
Bob
Tomorrow morning the temperature is going to be around 40 degrees at 8am. To start our ride at this temp would be in violation of our Cold/Inclement Weather Policy. (I have been reminded of this fact several times since late Wednesday evening by those who evidently were raised south of the Mason-Dixon Line.
Therefore, we have changed the start time for tomorrow morning's ride to 9am.
This is the only change to this ride.
We will still meet at Maygarden and Summit and still be doing the Pine Forest Loop.
And, STILL be making a Starbucks stop! (might be the best part of the chilly ride)
See you (bundled up) out on the road,
Bob
Friday, December 14, 2012
Thanks Gents!
Last Saturday's loop around the bay was a fantastic ride! It's no wonder it's at the top of the All Time Favorite Rides list. As you may or may not remember, it started out quite soggy as we had to delay the start time one hour because of rain. It's interesting to note that this one hour delay moved the start time back to it's originally scheduled time. A certain rider, (we don't name names) had insisted the start time be moved forward one hour because of the length of the route. In his defense, this (blogifier) rider had agreed with the change as well as several other riders polled. However, the powers that be, to be sure, had another time in mind. Therefore, after much searching of the weather map and receiving back suggestions from the cycling constituency, the new time was announced and this rider headed back to the warm quilted bed with it's other occupant still residing.
Alas, my cycling chums, sleep was not to be had as the wretched smart phone (misnomer), kept declaring that it had received yet another text. By the time all textseseses (plural for text, although my Spell Check has it underlined with one of those serpentine red lines), were answered, it was nearly time to don the costume and head out upon the roadways for another antic filled jaunt with the COUCs, (cast of unusual characters). And a large group it was! Great ride with sunshine aplenty and dry roads after the first two hours of back and face spackle. For those of you unfamiliar with this common cycling term, it has to do with the rooster tail that proceeds from the rear tire of a bike as it moves through water on the surface of the road.
There needs to be an acknowledgement of the general cooperative spirit of the peloton as well. Several hammerheads were very receptive to the speed limit. This created a most enjoyable ride for the entire group. The stronger ones amongst us took longer pulls while those not having as good a day, stayed in the back or took shorter pulls. I was particularly impressed with the likes of Happy, Rabbit Brett, Nestordamos and Big Jim, who could have at any moment dropped the hammer. Instead, they chose to keep the pace in the moderate range, (18-21mph) and therefore enabled the peloton to stay together. This produced no small amount of accolades and will surely classify this Around The Bay ride as one of the most enjoyable ever! Thanks Gents! (This now concludes the Acknowledge Segment of this Post)
Now, let's see, whats on tap for tomorrow? Ah yes, one of the Top Five!
We're heading out on the Innerarity Loop leaving from the Fish and Wildlife Launch Pad at 8am!!!
This time we're including Bauer Road on the way out and Navy Point on the way back. Not sure about the Fried Twinkie Sprint though as there no longer is Hostess to produce them. (Rumor has it that Left Lane bought several dozen cases from WalMart when heard heard Hostess was going out of business. Maybe he'll have a few left over for the award.)
See you in the morning for another buffoonery filled ride with the peloton known only as The COUCs. (It's a term of endearment for those who know them. To all others it's Firestone and Summit.) Until then, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
Alas, my cycling chums, sleep was not to be had as the wretched smart phone (misnomer), kept declaring that it had received yet another text. By the time all textseseses (plural for text, although my Spell Check has it underlined with one of those serpentine red lines), were answered, it was nearly time to don the costume and head out upon the roadways for another antic filled jaunt with the COUCs, (cast of unusual characters). And a large group it was! Great ride with sunshine aplenty and dry roads after the first two hours of back and face spackle. For those of you unfamiliar with this common cycling term, it has to do with the rooster tail that proceeds from the rear tire of a bike as it moves through water on the surface of the road.
There needs to be an acknowledgement of the general cooperative spirit of the peloton as well. Several hammerheads were very receptive to the speed limit. This created a most enjoyable ride for the entire group. The stronger ones amongst us took longer pulls while those not having as good a day, stayed in the back or took shorter pulls. I was particularly impressed with the likes of Happy, Rabbit Brett, Nestordamos and Big Jim, who could have at any moment dropped the hammer. Instead, they chose to keep the pace in the moderate range, (18-21mph) and therefore enabled the peloton to stay together. This produced no small amount of accolades and will surely classify this Around The Bay ride as one of the most enjoyable ever! Thanks Gents! (This now concludes the Acknowledge Segment of this Post)
Now, let's see, whats on tap for tomorrow? Ah yes, one of the Top Five!
We're heading out on the Innerarity Loop leaving from the Fish and Wildlife Launch Pad at 8am!!!
This time we're including Bauer Road on the way out and Navy Point on the way back. Not sure about the Fried Twinkie Sprint though as there no longer is Hostess to produce them. (Rumor has it that Left Lane bought several dozen cases from WalMart when heard heard Hostess was going out of business. Maybe he'll have a few left over for the award.)
See you in the morning for another buffoonery filled ride with the peloton known only as The COUCs. (It's a term of endearment for those who know them. To all others it's Firestone and Summit.) Until then, I'll...
See you out on the road,
Bob
Friday, December 7, 2012
Around The Bay Clarification UPDATE!
Alright cycling fans and those of you who actually love to ride; tomorrow morning is our group's all time favorite route. (According to the latest survey of those who actually ride.) In fact, it was number one in a long list of most beloved Saturday morning loops. Here's the Top Five: (Margin of Error is +/-22%)
1. Around The Bay...............................................37%
2. Twisted Hammock............................................24%
3. Lillian Loop......................................................23%
4. Innerarity Point.................................................17%
5. Around The Sound (East Bay)..........................16%
I know, those of you who are more "anal" than the common rider will immediately calculate that this total is more than 100%. In fact, there were still 5 other loops named in the survey totally 138%. (Did I mention this was not a scientific polling of the riders? Besides, please notice above the Margin of Error.) Anyway, there you have it whether you like the results or not. Now on to our group's all time fave!
Evidently, from the number of emails, texts and phone call I have received, there is a bit of confusion as to the start time tomorrow morning. Well, I'm here to clear that up:
1. Around The Bay...............................................37%
2. Twisted Hammock............................................24%
3. Lillian Loop......................................................23%
4. Innerarity Point.................................................17%
5. Around The Sound (East Bay)..........................16%
I know, those of you who are more "anal" than the common rider will immediately calculate that this total is more than 100%. In fact, there were still 5 other loops named in the survey totally 138%. (Did I mention this was not a scientific polling of the riders? Besides, please notice above the Margin of Error.) Anyway, there you have it whether you like the results or not. Now on to our group's all time fave!
Evidently, from the number of emails, texts and phone call I have received, there is a bit of confusion as to the start time tomorrow morning. Well, I'm here to clear that up:
8AM
AT
MAYGARDEN
&
SUMMIT!
Any questions? No? Well, I'm glad we had this little talk, aren't you? Good.
Now if you have any other questions, please take a quick peek at the Rides Calendar below before shooting off that email, text or pick up your smart phone, okay?! (Let's try to remember it's called a "smart" phone for a reason.) Thank you for your kind cooperation. See you in the morning for a fantastic ride! Weather forecast looks almost perfect with temps in the low 60s at start to almost 70 when we're back in Pensacola!
See you out on the road,
Bob
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Happy's Happy!
Another fantastic ride this past Saturday as the peloton headed out to Lillian, Alabama for one of our group's favorite routes. The weather was just about perfect, except for a bit of a headwind on the way back into Pensacola. But the sunshine aplenty more than made up for that. On the way out the group pretty much stayed together with one minor exception at the Blue Angel crossing. (Meaning where we crossed Blue Angel Parkway, not where they flew over the peloton...just thought to clarify that less the emails start again.) We were waiting at the red light at Blue Angel Parkway, when out of nowhere the Left Lane decides to cruise on across. In reality, the left turn signal was green and no approaching traffic so he did what all Left Lanes do, get a jump on the peloton before the light turns green for the traffic going straight. And in his defense, (I know, this is something I never do), the Young Jedis were not starting slowly after a stop. In fact, it usually went from standing still to 23 in about 400 to 500 meters. So, he was probably thinking, "This will give me a chance to get up to speed before those young whippersnappers drop me again and I have to chase hard to latch back on." (It's a dangerous place to be inside the mind of the Left Lane, but there you have it.)
Regardless, we caught up to him and a couple of other scofflaws by the time we reached the right hander at Hwy. 98. We cruised on to Lillian together and the obligatory rest stop. After filling the tanks, it was off to the countryside and beautiful roads of south Baldwin County. A group of Young Jedis got a gap on the peloton and that was the last we saw of them until the second rest stop back in Florida. The average age of the Young Jedis is probably 25 to 30 years old. However, the group's average age this time was a bit skewed as none other than Harland "Happy" Williams was mixing it up with these mavericks.
I mean, what on earth has gotten into Happy lately? A couple weeks ago he's throwing it down for a Fried Twinkie win. He'll go to the front and crank it up several mph. There's been several Happy sightings at all hours of the day and night. (Leads one to believe he is on the infamous Double Secret Workout Regiment) The man is a 60 something beast! And with the absence of the other 60 something rider, he appears to have taken up the gauntlet for those who were born just after WWII. (Otherwise known as Baby Boomers) Oh yeah, he's a boomer baby. I mean the man is a beast! He definitely has his Happy on! In fact, after the second rest stop, he hangs with the under 30s group (age not speed) all the way back to the finish line...uh, I mean the end of the ride. The rest of us show up and he's there looking fresh as a daisy. When asked how long he had been waiting, he replied, "Oh, I don't know, about 6 minutes."
Now for those naysayers among us, I did some quick calculations. The peloton was cruising into that headwind at an average of just over 18mph. The distance from the rest stop to the uh...finish line was just under 15 miles. Therefore, in less than 15 miles, Happy gapped a peloton traveling at 18mph. Hmmm...if my calculations are correct, that's just under 30 seconds (24) per mile faster for each mile. At 18mph the peloton is covering a mile in a little less than 3 minutes 30 seconds. He's doing it in 3 minutes 6 seconds. And he's a member of AARP! Oh yeah, he's got his Happy on! I would say, Happy's Happy!
I wonder what the boy will do when the route is longer like this Saturday's Around The Bay Loop?! We'll be crossing the Gargoyle Point Bridge and he'll be at home halfway through that box of a dozen Krispy Kremes! (Hopefully he'll stay in the pack and help us less fortunate AARP members!) Really looking forward to the help! Thanks in advance Happy! (See how I put that pressure on him? Don't tell him, maybe he won't notice.) Weather looks grand and the peloton is more than game. See you then! And...
See you out on the road,
Bob
Regardless, we caught up to him and a couple of other scofflaws by the time we reached the right hander at Hwy. 98. We cruised on to Lillian together and the obligatory rest stop. After filling the tanks, it was off to the countryside and beautiful roads of south Baldwin County. A group of Young Jedis got a gap on the peloton and that was the last we saw of them until the second rest stop back in Florida. The average age of the Young Jedis is probably 25 to 30 years old. However, the group's average age this time was a bit skewed as none other than Harland "Happy" Williams was mixing it up with these mavericks.
I mean, what on earth has gotten into Happy lately? A couple weeks ago he's throwing it down for a Fried Twinkie win. He'll go to the front and crank it up several mph. There's been several Happy sightings at all hours of the day and night. (Leads one to believe he is on the infamous Double Secret Workout Regiment) The man is a 60 something beast! And with the absence of the other 60 something rider, he appears to have taken up the gauntlet for those who were born just after WWII. (Otherwise known as Baby Boomers) Oh yeah, he's a boomer baby. I mean the man is a beast! He definitely has his Happy on! In fact, after the second rest stop, he hangs with the under 30s group (age not speed) all the way back to the finish line...uh, I mean the end of the ride. The rest of us show up and he's there looking fresh as a daisy. When asked how long he had been waiting, he replied, "Oh, I don't know, about 6 minutes."
Now for those naysayers among us, I did some quick calculations. The peloton was cruising into that headwind at an average of just over 18mph. The distance from the rest stop to the uh...finish line was just under 15 miles. Therefore, in less than 15 miles, Happy gapped a peloton traveling at 18mph. Hmmm...if my calculations are correct, that's just under 30 seconds (24) per mile faster for each mile. At 18mph the peloton is covering a mile in a little less than 3 minutes 30 seconds. He's doing it in 3 minutes 6 seconds. And he's a member of AARP! Oh yeah, he's got his Happy on! I would say, Happy's Happy!
I wonder what the boy will do when the route is longer like this Saturday's Around The Bay Loop?! We'll be crossing the Gargoyle Point Bridge and he'll be at home halfway through that box of a dozen Krispy Kremes! (Hopefully he'll stay in the pack and help us less fortunate AARP members!) Really looking forward to the help! Thanks in advance Happy! (See how I put that pressure on him? Don't tell him, maybe he won't notice.) Weather looks grand and the peloton is more than game. See you then! And...
See you out on the road,
Bob
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