Ride Schedule Change

After much consultation with the powers that be, it was decided to postpone this Saturday's Rite of Spring Classic; Around The Bay ride until the following Saturday.

This decision was prompted mainly by the weather forecast for the two Saturday's in question, coupled by the lack of serious miles by most of the peloton because the over abundance of water falling from the heavens. (It means, fewer miles because it's been raining so much). This Saturday at start time, it is forecasted to be 40 degrees and no more than around 50 by the time we're finishing up. Therefore, we are doing one of our group favs; Pine Forest Loop with a Starbucks stop. Next Saturday is forecast for a low of 62 degrees and topping out in the mid 70s...in was a no-brainer. Here are the details for both rides:

This Saturday, 3.2.13:

Pine Forest Loop. About 45 miles. Start at Maygarden and Summit at 8am. Moderate pace.

Next Saturday, 3.9.13:

Rite of Spring Classic; Around The Bay. 65 miles. Start at Maygarden and Summit at 7am. Moderate pace.

Hope this will alleviate any confusion. If not, oh well. There are more serious problems in the world. If that doesn't help, call the Bad Mayonnaise.

See you out on the road,
Bob

How About A Little Humor?!

Wow, with two nasty crashes that sent their victims to the hospital in one week, the Left Lane thought it time to send in a little bit of humor…with the emphasis on little bit.

The following is his commentary on the Bad Mayo’s Sunday Afternoon Madness Ride. This short (25 miler) is growing in popularity, especially for newbies and those wanting an easy spin to recover from Saturday’s harder efforts. The route is fairly flat and the guys always throw in a sprint or two just to liven things up a bit. Towards the end, the peloton almost always stops at either the new stadium or the park at the end of Palafox just to tell stories and take in the view.(we get to live here!) Anyway, heeeeere’s Left Lane:

Report of the Sunday Ride of the Twisted & Convoluted Bad Mayo Loop

A RIDE OF MANY RETURNS:

Well I was finally able to drag the Big Hoagie down from Pace to ride with the F&S boys again for the first time in several months, I believe.  Also returning after a long absence was the Retro Man Dave Henderson (is he tiring of riding his motorcycle?) and Johnny Bugno after a weeks long bout with the flu.  And the other return of note were the Left Lane's Blue Bullitt shoes!!

Stupid Human Tricks

I don't normally wear the Blue Bullitts, although fast, they tend to wear out my feet.  After riding Saturday in the rain, my normal shoes were soaking wet and around noon Sunday I checked to see if they had dried...No chance so I quickly came up with a solution....let them dry in my old gas oven which is always warm with at least a pilot light on all the time.  In addition every time I walked through the kitchen I would turn the oven on for around 30 seconds to get the heat up inside without cooking the shoes/inserts etc.  Well the last time I did this I must of got distracted and not turned off the oven!!

I was out on the front porch cleaning the chain on the trusty Cervello when I hear my wife start shouting that she thinks she smells an electrical fire or something and by the time I got inside she had located the problem...my Diadoras were roasting in the oven.  Looking inside my yellow super feet inserts had been turned into fondue and the shoes were smoking badly.  I layed some newspaper on the floor and pulled everything out of the oven including my gloves and shoe covers which were all OK but the inserts were completely melted and the plastic strap and buckle system on the shoes were melted and one buckle which mounted in plastic had melted off as well...so I went and dug the Blue Bullitts out of the closet.

Enough of Stupid Human Tricks.

The Ride

Hoagie showed up early so we decided to do an around the Bayou loop and then join the group at Bayview Park.  We had a spirited warm up and arrived at the park with around 9 miles in to find the Bad Mayo, Retro Dave and Johnny Bugno waiting.  I had not seen either Retro or Bugno in a while it was a ride of Many Returns.

We had an excellent ride following Retro Dave for the most part for his twist on the Bad Mayo Sunday Loop to the West Side, including a reverse twinkie, and a boardwalk dash through the swamps behind PJC West and many other antics.

The Reverse Twinkie win was contested with Big Hoagie leading the group to the top of the Navy Point Bridge but the Left Lane being ahead at the line at what was normally the beginning of the bridge in this case the end of the Bridge.  The judges agreed that the Left Lane was right that if this was truly a Reverse Twinkie Run than the Left Lane was indeed in front at that point.   Sorry Hoagie ...you must participate more often to know where the Points are won!!!  Of course Bob set the line for the Twinkie prize some time back when he was ahead at that point and not at the top of the Bridge (the Left Lane distinctly remembers being ahead at the beginning of the bridge one time with Bob passing before the top and at that time the Twinkie was awarded at the top of the bridge....Hmmmm!!).

Well Retro didn't seem to miss a step in his absence from the peloton as we rode at a spirited pace through every nook and cranny of the West Side of town and headed down Fairfield toward 98 for the Romp Through The Swamp.  As we turned onto 98 some Avian Antics were on display as a Hawk swooped down  to buzz a Giant Blue Heron that had been flying along the edge of the trees to our right.  Cool Stuff.

We then went through the campus and onto the Swamp Boardwalk...If you have never gone across this wooden wonder, be careful.  With wooden walls on both sides and many turns it would be easy to bounce off one of these walls and go down.  No incidents though other than to stop momentarily to ease by a couple walking their dogs in an oncoming direction.

We continued on toward the Barrancas Bridge and the Left Lane exploded off the front of the pack as we turned out of the Country Club and toward the Bridge.  The Blue Bullitt clad Left Lane would not be caught this day as the chasers fell off into the distance (think no one really tried)!!  But a Top of the Bridge first is a Top of a Bridge first nonetheless.

As the Left Lane's gap was quite significant, he pulled into the ballpark on Main Street and waited for the group to catch up....but as they came by they headed straight and a Whistling and Screaming Left Lane was all of a sudden 300-400 yards behind.  As I used the downhill out of the park and back onto Main, a semi-tanker truck went by, and taking a trick from the Vortex's page the Left Lane who was already cranking around 25mph drafted the tanker and went sailing by Johnny Bugno who was a ways back from the other three and reeled them in by Palafox St, where we slowed at the light.  As we accelerated on the other side of Palafox St here comes the tanker buy us with none other than Johnny Bugno drafting the silver behemoth and flying buy the peloton...."The Move of the Day" screamed the Bad Mayo. We hammered down Bayfront with Retro and the Hoagie doing the work to our afterride debriefing in Richey's parking lot.

A great ride and around 35 for me and the Hoagie.  Good to see Retro, Bugno & Hoagie again.  I am sure it will not be so long til next time with the Spring Riding Season fast approaching.

These Sunday rides from Bayview are becoming a Group favorite and the Blue Bullitt Clad and Somewhat Self-Satisfied Left Lane had quite a comeback from the Prenti Thrashing of the previous week.

But Damn, my feet hurt!!!..  I put the Blue Bullitts back in the closet and started shopping on-line (unless Stone at Cycle Sports cuts me a deal I can't refuse) for a new pair Go Fasters!!

The Left Lane

                        

Rain, Rain, Rain...

Well boys and girls of the peloton and those of you who love to ride; the weather forecast for the morning looks about like it does out my window right now, rain, rain, rain...

However, on the outside chance that it is not raining, we will be riding. Meet at Fish and Wildlife at 8am for the group fave, Innerarity Point Loop. This 50 miler is pretty much flat with a bridge or two thrown in for fun, (as well as the Fried Twinkie Sprint which should be good fun after the Left Lane was thrashed by The Prenti last Sunday.) Regardless, except for a sprint or two the pace should be moderate.

Hope to see everyone out on the road in the morning...weather permitting!
Bob

PS Please keep John Brizzard in your prayers. For those of you who may not have heard, he was in a bad crash with a vehicle yesterday on Scenic Hwy. A bit beat up, including some embroidery, but at least at home recovering. As you all know, John is a fixture in the local cycling community and a really great rider and friend. Get well soon John!!!

How About A Ride In The Twisted Hammock?

Well, checking the weather forecast for the morning, it appears we have a 30% chance of a shower or two. (Or as the Bad Mayo would say; "Hey, that's a 70% chance that it won't rain...come on now!") Therefore, we are still headed out for a ride in the Twisted Hammock. (Sounds like the title to a cheap romance novel.) The temps will be in the high 40s at start warming to low 50s with cloudy skies. Maybe a Starbucks stop is in order. We can decide in the morning.

We will once again, have two routes for those of us who haven't been riding alot of miles this winter. The long route will take in the full Twisted Hammock and the short route will bypass the drop down into the webbed sling. Remember: "It's easier to get into the Hammock than it is to get out." The miles are about 55 for the long route and 45 for the short. We'll do our customary rest stop at the Beulah store, (with a plaque outside honoring Randy Reisch) and perhaps throw in the additional Starbucks stop if the peloton wills. If the skies don't dampen the spirits, it should be a good ride will a tailwind on the way home. (Oh yeah baby, Clydesdales love Tailwind Expresses! I'm just sayin'.)

See you at 8am in the morning at the Maygarden and Summit Launch Pad. (Uh, although in close proximity to the Pensacola Airport, it's not an actual launch pad...it's just a metaphor for where we start. If you don't know what a metaphor is, then it is an actual launch pad and you can sit and wait for the rockets to launch as the rest of us ride off to the Twisted Hammock.)

See you out on the road,
Bob

Fort Pickens Here We Come!

Everyone looking forward to riding with the COUCs this weekend? If the weather is anything like it was this afternoon, then Katie bar the door! Man, it was beautiful! I think we clocked in at 76 degrees with nothing but sun to brighten the day! (Makes me feel bad for our cycling brethren in the New England area.)

So, here are the details for Saturday's ride:

Where:  Fish and Wildlife
When:  8am
What:  Fort Pickens Loop
Why:  Because it's there (and we love to ride)
Who:  You, that's who!

We will have two routes again this Saturday. The long route starts at Fish and Wildlife and is about 40 miles. The short route will begin approximately at 8:20am as the long route group passes by the start point for the short group. The short group will meet at the south end of 3 Mile Bridge in Gulf Breeze. The short route is about 34 miles.

Really looking forward to a ride with the Peloton Full O COUCs!

See you out on the road,
Bob

Modified Reverse Pine Forest With A Twist

Tomorrow morning's ride to celebrate whether you see your shadow or not, (if you don't know who Punxsutawney Phil is then never mind), looks to be another chilly one, at least at start time. I believe this is the first time ever we have actually had a ride scheduled on Ground Hog Day. If I'm wrong, forgive me...like it really matters to anyone except a few peculiar characters in a small town somewhere in Pennsylvania. Well, then again, we have several riders in that classification. (peculiar characters) Anyway, the temps are looking to be mid 40s at start, with a heat wave (not) arriving about midway through our ride, increasing the temperatures to mid 50s by the time we arrive back at the Maygarden and Summit launch pad. And nothing but bright sunshine! We will most definitely see our shadow!

For those curious ones among us, we are doing a new (modified) loop that has been entitled The Modified Reverse Pine Forest With A Twist. Otherwise known as The Modirepiforewat. (Say that three times fast!) We will once again have a long route of about 50 miles and a shorter loop that appears to be in the 40 to 43 mile range. The pace will be moderate until just before the rest stop, when tradition has it that the boys come out to play. After the rest stop, (Starbucks anyone?), the the two routes diverge. Both routes finish back at Maygarden and Summit. (About the same time, if Danamal and Happy have anything to say about it.) Which ever your liking tomorrow, should be good fun and plenty of exercise for the first ride of February!

Here's the details if you are too lazy to check out the Rides Calendar:

Time:  8am
Where:  Maygarden and Summit
What:  The Modirepiforewat (Sounds like a new frame for Fishbone)
Why:  Because it's there!
Who:  You, that's who!

See you out on the road,
Bob