Category Archives: Group Ride

Group Ride 081208

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Another group ride is done. Fast. I held on for a long time and was actually climbing really well (for me).

Then I popped. I was so demoralized thinking – Hey I’m going to make it this time….

Then I fired up the Garmin and saw I just set a record for myself on the course. Everyone else just got faster.

I hate pulling into the parking lot within a minute or 2 of the leading group – meaning we were close, but that difference adds up to 1-3mph. Pretty big gap.

Oh well, I never said I was good at this stuff.

Group Ride

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Last night’s group ride was sweet. CyLowe got a case of the weirds from it though. I was feeling quite good and was able to pretty easily hold on to the pack for 95% of the ride. I gave up my usual ground on some of the hills, but I did actually finish the first one 2nd wheel – big accomplishment for a short fat guy.

There were a lot of new faces on the ride last night. Some were old regulars that many knew. The quick road nazi assessment was indicating that the fred level was rising slightly.

OK – my take on Freds…unlike many other elitist road weenies I tend to actually like Freds. This is mainly because I honestly feel a kinship of sorts with anyone who throws their leg over a bicycle (this obviously removes recumbent riders – which I will now refer to as recumbulators as picked up in the Two Johns Podcast – from my feeling of kinship.) I generally like them.

The ones I don’t like are the activist, self appointed safety monitor, retro-grouches that feel the need to spend the whole ride barking at people or trying to convince us that a 5 speed freewheel with friction bar ends is “where it’s at”. That ship sailed in 1986.

While I am on the topic I feel the need to lob a grenade at a local team. They are on the opposite end of the spectrum but just as annoying. I hate it because they are the closest team to my house and doing their rides would work into my schedule and I do know at least one of their riders, but they are just too freeking uptight. They gives enthuiasts and racers a bad name. They totally eliminate the joy out of riding and make it a task instead of an adventure. Total road nerds.

These are the kind of guys that will bark at everyone, insist that no new riders join up until they have passed some sort of 20 point inspection of riding skills and abilities complete with clinic, ride rigid pacelines with over the top protocols on their normal group rides, and eat their young. They look like a wannabe pro team when heading out on local century rides for Pete’s sake. Our buddy on the team skipped one of the best rides we put together all year just because the century ride….CENTURY RIDE that all of us were doign the next day he was going to be doing with this team and had to be able to perform at his best.

Despite all of this they basically suck in every race I have ever seen any of them do. Maybe it’s just something about them that ticks me off and I am being too harsh on them, but I don’t think I am alone. If you check their site it seems like no one is really active on it anymore and I really haven’t seen them at any local races this year. I have to think their membership has to be suffering because they simply found a way of sucking the joy out of one of the most joyous things one can do….ride a bike.

I won’t mention the name, but let’s just say they all supposedly have a phd.

So where was I……oh yeah the group ride. Fred Factor. The nice thing is that we rolled out uber slow. It was a nice change for me and I think it allowed me to actually warm up before hitting it hard. We did lose patience by the time we turned North. I took a flyer off the front. by the time I turned around we had basically halved the group.

So we get to a road closure. We all kind of knew it was there, but didn’t make the necessary arrangements to change the route before actually hitting the closure. So there we are…staring at the construction equipment. Some want to go back up the big hill we just came down. Others want to cross the construction site and keep riding.

hating hills I quickly joined the “let’s cross this thing” club. So we did….and ended up doing a little cyclocross. OK…more than a little. Jumping from one submerged rock to the next in a flowing creek with road shoes on is a little dicey to say the least….but it got me out of another climb.

The rest of the ride was fun. Fast and furious. I had brought along another new rider from Bike Forums that I had met during a race in Bensenville last week. Turns out he had a cleat problem right after the cyclocross adventure. By the time I realized he was not in the group it must have been 5 miles or more later. When I asked around no one had seen him since the crossing. I felt like an a-hole for not noticing sooner, providing a route map, and for not going back to find him, but he had said enough on the way up to imply that he was pretty familiar with the area.

Turns out he had an adventure finding the way back to the car, but by the time we rolled in he was there. I promise I’ll get him a map by next week…at least of the normal route….sans closure.

So…commute on Monday. Group ride on Tuesday. Commute this morning. Hopefully a commute tomorrow. Even a possibility of a 1/2 commute on Friday. If all of that comes off without a hitch then I will be enjoying the long weekend at the wedding that my wife and I have planned.

Vacation is over

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So I am back at work. Moustache is gone. It was starting to come in nicely, but the wife didn’t see anything other than White Trash-ness to it. No humor …

Trying to piece together some upcoming plans:

  • Tonight – Possible wrenching in the shop – Voldemort
  • Tuesday – Group Ride
  • Wednesday – Possible wrenching in the shop – Voldemort
  • Thursday – Possible Commute
  • Friday – Possible 1/2 commute then leave for RAIN
  • Saturday – Ride RAIN and return to Chicago – and convert bike over to TT setup *pain*
  • Sunday – Possible Hampshire TT
  • Next Tues – Bensenville Races for Superweek
  • Next Wednesday – Bensenville Races for Superweek
  • Week off – wife working on the weekend so no rides
  • Another TT the following weekend – OR – my boss’s son’s wedding (also my wife’s cousin…long story)
  • Melon Metric/Chicago Criterium/Oswego Century the next day(?)
  • Elgin Crit the next saturday.

Feeling a little overwhelmed….and excited. I wish there was more time for an escape to Wisconsin mixed in there. Might have to take a 1/2 day and head up there sometime. Part of the wellness program….

Group Ride

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Last night’s ride was great. I was feeling the awesome.

We actually rolled out kind of slow – lots of new people on the ride. I held back to keep an eye on voldemort (from Bike Forums). It was his first time out on this ride and while he knows the area he was not sure of the specific route. I didn’t want to ditch him.

neitsmas held back with me as well. After making it to spring whatever it is it was apparant that the group was on and we were going to be off. Part of me wanted to just hammer back to the group – I was feeling good – but really I thought taking it a little easier with voldemort would be more fun.

neitsmas was in for either. he was feeling the awesome as well. I was climbing like a fool. Better than I have climbed all year. We had lost enough ground on the group that I suggested we cut and do Braeburn backwards. The effect is that it’s like taking out the 2 mile section of river rd before the turn on to Braeburn.

When I do this I usually have enough time to get to the bottom, turn around, relax for a bit, drink, etc….and just about the time I start to get a little antsy they come around the bend. Worked again last night like clockwork. I was able to turn around and get a rythum on the hill.

First alien went past with a new alien on his wheel. Then there wasn’t much. I was holding my own. Then finally the next alien went past with neitsmas. About that time I started to hear panting. As the rider came by I saw the bike forums jersey…it was CyLowe.

I thought…heck I can even catch his wheel at this point…so I did. Felt good. I usually don’t try to push myself on Braeburn. I just spin to the top. Pretty soon we were passing the alien. I thought to myself as we passed….”oh he’s not going to let me pass him on a hill”

Sure enough I heard him motor on past in short order. At that point I figured I should cut off a bit – we were near the top and I didn’t know what was in the tanks and wanted to hold on for the rocket train back to the pub.

The train did not fail to impress. The couple of times I could look down and concentrate enough to actually read my computer it was north of 25-30 mph. I am starting to know the route and knew where they were going to turn it on, etc. so I was pretty much able to match every acceleration. Then just before 68 there was a little roller (28mph uphill) then they turned it on over the top.

I was expecting a little bit of gas, but I was really impressed. I had to dig deep into my suitcase of awesome to hold the wheel in front of me. That’s when I literally got momentary tunnel vision and started seeing little specs/polka dots. I took it as a sign and knew I was roasted. I pulled out of line before I let a gap develop. As I looked down I was coasting and dropping back to 30.

I got enough recovery time that I caught up at 68 and held on to the end. neitsmas took a killer pull and came off the front like a rock. I swear I heard that cartoon bullet ricochet sound as he went by. The train was moving like a fish through water – I was on the fish’s tail as it flapped around in an attempt to swin faster.

Back in the parking lot is when you feel the rush hit you. Gotta be like a runner’s high. My hands seem to always be trembling after that. Not nerves or anything, but like the low blood sugar shakes I get sometimes when I bonk on or off the bike.

Guess I needed to replenish some carbs. Luckily there was a pub nearby.

On the police side of things we did in fact see quite a few out there in force. They even had a speed limit radar station thingy set up. Don’t know how well those things work with bikes, but it said 25 was the speed limit and it was reading a shaky 28 for us. Must have been broken. They did not give us a citation so we must have been OK. ;)

In all we followed all the laws and I actually had fun coming to a stop at every sign. It really helped keep the group together for the majority of the ride.

Voldemort….GREAT JOB! You held on longer and rode faster than my first time out with this group for sure. In a few weeks you’ll be the one with a beer in your hand by the time I get back to the car.

The police await.

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Today marks my return to the local Tuesday night “beat your head against the ground” lung burner we like to call a “group ride.” This one runs out of Penny Rd Pub in Barrington….because it can.

This is where I show up, get kitted up, shoot the crap with a few guys, make jokes about how much I suck, how poor shape I am in, etc. Then we go out along Penny Rd and play “Wack a’ Wheel” with the moon like cratered surface that is Penny Rd.

Usually a few aliens show up (see pictures from previous posts) and push the pace in an attempt for them to learn more about human phsiology. It’s like a big lab experiment. About 5 miles in there is a sprint point. It comes right after a downhill.

I don’t know what you know about riding/cycling let alone cycling at high speeds within groups, but there is one thing you pick up quick when you start….if you’re fat you descend faster than everyone else, when you’re skinny you climb faster than anyone else. Well I happen to be in the fat club (really…seriously….;) )so I tend to roll up quickly on the front of the pack everytime before the long slight uphill to the sprint.

I’m a sucker for sprints. I usually go if the person who goes first is within striking distance and I am feeling it. It’s always a mistake…because I seem to always win.

What I win is a first class, all-expense-paid trip into the red zone. I have hit new heart rate maximums here. The thing that really sucks is that then the ride turns a corner and rapidly heads uphill. Remember what I said about fat and skinny riders? Combine the first uphill with a fat rider who is already solidly in the red zone and what do you get? OTB.

For those of you who don’t know….OTB=Off The Back. It is that location that cyclists hate to ride in. Almost no one goes there willingly. It sucks. It’s demoralizing. You get to watch the aliens softly and slowly float away from you. Hanging just off in the distance. Far enough that you can’t draft, but close enough that you still feel like trying to get back on their wheel.

That pain goes on for a little bit and then I totally un-hitch. I then spend the next chunk of the ride riding all out in an attempt to stay reasonably close. I have learned to cut a few sections taking about 2-3 miles out of the ride so that I can meet back up with the group before the “big climb” and the hammer train back to the start.

The problem with riding all out in an attempt to latch back on is the police….rather the locals who don’t like us riding on their roads and call the police.

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=207853&src=13

The article linked is the exact area we ride in. The picture, needless to say, is not us. There really are about 1000 riders out on thes roads (OK slight exageration, but it makes my point) every Tuesday and most weekend days. It really is probably the most populated area I have ever ridden in.

Last week, after the article came out, the group took it easy. Thankfully I had an excuse to not be there. I have a bad temper and knew better than to put myself in a situation that could bring it out. Even though they took it easy there was still a cop hanging out in the parking lot of the pub when the group returned…giving everyone the “stink eye”.

After seeing some of the comments posted on the article I am shocked that the officer didn’t take to time to see if anyone was harrased on the ride. This crap is nothing new. Communities have responded like this all over this country. In the end….nothing happens. Enforcement gets stepped up for a while, tickets are written, articles get everyone in a huff, then everything goes back to the way it was before. Why? Because it just so happens that bicycles are vehicle and are allowed to legally ride on the road. That won’t ever change.

On top of that cyclists are advocates by nature. It tends to happen when you face death every time you get on a bike. The two sides will never see the other’s side. The angry motorists just want bikes off the road….because….they just don’t like them and they feel like they get in the way and slow them down (all of the other excuses they use are total BS). Cyclists look at it as a bunch of fat lazy slobs who are in too much of a hurry to get to McDonalds or to the gas station to take an extra couple of seconds, slow down, and make sure they don’t kill anyone.

Motorists forget that they are wielding a weapon, and cyclists forget that motorists just don’t think rationally when beind the wheel. That’s it.

I hate when this crap comes up because NOTHING good EVER comes of it. It’s akin to a police mission in the middle east writing tickets to people who are not in the incorrect ethnic security zones….it only gets everyone on edge and invites conflict.

So…uh….anyway I plan on riding again tonight. It’s been another week. I am a good steward on the road for both camps. I just need a good road ride before going on vacation and I know I will get on by going….at least until I go OTB.

…but then I’ll have plenty of time to stop and smell the roses.