First Ride for August 2008

Riders,
Okay, clear your calendars and reserve some time.. This notice is coming out one day early!!! But, for this Saturday’s ride, I have to declare that I’m only riding out to Mac’s and back at a “reasonable” pace. So, if you EVER wanted to join the SVR, but didn’t have the time to commit to a 45 mile ride, this is your chance to ride half that distance. We’ll still ride Shackleburg to Timms Mill to 5-Forks to Macs so we’ll get a good workout… we’ll just finish the ride early to be able to check off more “honey-dos” on the list.

So, join our group of riders for an 8AM SHARP rollout time from New Spring Church Parking lot. My short distance will be about 22 miles, give or take… there will be some riders doing the whole route… so, for this Saturday, we truly have something for everyone who rides.

So, if you're reading this, welcome to the blog... last weekend, we had a good and descent ride... and we've named another member to the "nick-name" hall of fame... let's welcome Two Tubes Lacy to the ranks... and if you ride with two-tubes, be sure to pack an extra tube cuz one just ain't enough... as he's apt to listen to the peanut gallery to "just put one more stroke of air in"... POW!!! and this past Tuesday, we've named the 4th Bob.. so, now we have TT-Bob, Beastie Bob, Bullet Bob and the newly appointed Bob-Bob... Other names include Knights of the Roundtable (for the Wren Riders) Griz, Rocketman, Spidey, Vortex, Pepe Le' Pugh, Ryno and Nascar Dave (who use to be know just as Big Dave)... also, Nascar Dave may join us on Saturday... (so you can put a face to the famous "race report" of 6-14-08.. which I read about once a week) ... and shall we never forget the king of all nicknames... Wheel-less, Bike-less, Cleat-less and "tin-foil-man"!!! But, what we really need is a nickname for Tony...oops.. I wasn't suppose to name him on the blog again... but, somehow the delete/backspace isn't working!!!

Props to Tanner... and if you're reading this... I have the connection for the development racing team at Donaldson... and Props to Mr. Gurrie who will chew on an Oly distance tri this weekend in NC.. go get'em... and send us a race report.... Props to Wheel-less' neighbor who absolutely BLISTERed the ride to P-ton this past Tuesday...

Can anyone guess what an IronMan does in the offseason??? a whole years worth of offseason?? here's a hint... he ain't singing karoke!! this guy is a professonial in everything he does... anyone care to guess???

So, are you riding or not???

The Poster


Could that be Mr. SVR himself??? you tell me!!!

Need some motivation to ride??? maybe this will do the trick..

Riders,

It’s Thursday night… it’s been a very long week… but my spirits are lifted as I look forward to the SVR!!! I have only one question, is everyone ready to get back on the road? This is the last Saturday ride for the month of July 2008…. This date in history will never come again… so, let’s make the most of it, right?? Last week, we had a huge group… and we even picked up a new rider… props to Tanner for sticking it out with the old guys… pretty soon, he’ll be ready to take a flyer off the front and just rip some legs off… you just can’t beat youth!!!

I hope everyone tracked the heroic efforts of our local IronMen at Lake Placid… they did a fantastic job… props to Russ, Fred, Brooks and Dave. I hope you guys are getting the rest you deserve… we’re still waiting on a race report!!!!

Once again, Wheel-less is looking for some distance… I’m good for about 52 miles… then, I must return to the homefront…. So, who’s going to be Whaley’s wingman? I believe it’s your turn!!!

So, if your ready to ride, meet us at the parking lot at New Springs for a rollout time of 0800 sharp… we’ll travel the same route… we’ll regroup at Macs, the square at P-ton and again at Timms Mill…. Some will continue on… others will “retire” for the day… what’s your pleasure???

Anderson Conquers Union

Riders,
Looks like Wheel-less wasn't Bike-less... and he had a few others from A-town to defend our honor in another of the upstate YMCA series...

Subject: 2008 Union YMCA Sprint Triathlon Report
With the A Team at Lake Placid for some little ole Ironman event, Anderson sent the B Team to the Union YMCA Sprint Triathlon. (The B in B team could stand for beer, or bigger, since this crowd was decidedly a little less svelte and a little more acquainted with cervezas. And, byt the way, just where in the hell is the Anderson Independent with our article? Maybe they could interview us tonight at Wild Wings for Happy Hour. Or, we can call Straight Talk.)

Anyway, Anderson was "representing" with the B Team bringing back the hardware. Jesse Dantice and Matthew Newell took 1st and 2nd in the 35-39 age group and Mike Whaley took 2nd in the 40-44 age group. Mikey Cox had the fastest time of all 4 Andersonians, but just missed the podium for his age group. Well-known triathletes Cameron Dorn and Kris Sinclair took 1st and 2nd overall.

The course was brutal and was unanimously voted harder than the Middle Tyger YMCA Sprint. The first and last swim lanes were so narrow that your shoulders brushed the wall and the lane divider. The bike was 14.5 miles of some serious hills. Two of the descents took us to around 40 MPH, but that meant we had to climb out of the bottoms. The run was twisty and hilly as well.

ODDS and ENDS:
Say it ain't so!
I was passed by a 44 y.o. age grouper on the bike and he gapped me by about 45 seconds, but I kept him in sight and planned on walking him down on the run. Once I caught him, I was going to blow by him and totally demoralize him. I crested a hill at 1.5 miles and saw him 50 yards in front of me. I called on my hill repeats with Russ and caught him, only it WASN"T HIM!!! It was a 52 year old guy wearing the same kit. DAMN!!!! My heart dropped out. I asked him if a 44 y.o. had passed him and he gasped yes just over the next hill. I saw my real nemesis about 200 yards ahead of me and closed the gap to about 50 yards by the finish, but could not pass. Turns out he was really in the 45-49 age group based on USAT rules.

Say it ain't so! Part 2
Jesse "The Body" Dantice" found himself seeded first in the swim. He got passed by a woman. Nuff said!

They Call It Courage Award
We were warned that there were dogs on the course on a certain stretch of road. The owners refused to put them up (this is Union after all). There was one smallish dog that would dart out of the woods. And 4 LARGE dogs (lab and pit bull mixes) that were aggressive at the edge and standing in the road. A tri newbie from Greenwood, was in a group of about 5 riders that came up on the 4 dogs, and whether a dog got him or another rider clipped him, he crashed. He finished the race with the worst road rash I've ever seen (complete left side from shoulder, arm, hip, and leg), serious stitch requiring gashes on his knee, AND a broken collarbone.

SVR for 7-19-08

Riders,
Time to ride… and this time, we’re not going too long nor too hard… at least that’s my story. If the TdF riders get a day off from the bike, then I’m guessing it’s okay to have a “non-hammer” ride, right? As an editorial rant… I’m not sure what Ricco did on his “off” day.. perhaps he hit the juice too hard!!! I refuse to allow 3 TdF riders from my yearly enjoyment of watching cycling on the tube… although my zeal is waning…

Anyway, I’m in for about 40 miles at a pace that won’t be so painful… just FYI, last SVR, Wheel-less (almost Bike-less) talked me into a metric… and Bullet Bob and CR1 pushed the pace… And for those who may be in for a “shorter” ride this weekend, bro is coming down from G’ville and he’ll take the route to Mac’s via Scotts Bridge Road.. once we regroup, I’ll meander around the route…. and do a Goldilocks ride... not too hard and not too soft..

Please note, our arrival time at downtown Pendleton is approximately 9:15AM… and most riders arriving via Cherry St. Ext.

We have a “wheels roll-out” at 0800 sharp…. let us know if this is your first ride with the group and we’ll be sure to keep an eye on you.

And for those who had to travel to Lake Placid to complete an IronMan… that’s Russ, Fred, Brooks and Dave, best of luck… our prayer for you is safety and results commensurate with your training… so that means a podium spot cuz WE ALL know how much training you guys have done. Track them on http://www.ironman.com/ and look for the link for ironmanlive.

Now, what exactly happened to Dorothy's red slippers??? He should have kept them so he could click his heels together... there's no place like home, there's no place like home...

Who says we’re “only” about cycling.. here’s something fun, provided by Bullet Bob. http://digicc.com/fido/

See ya Saturday,

The Sweeper

PS.. there's someone looking to buy a 58 to 60cm bike... anyone have one for sale???

Four Horsemen Head to IMLP

Please make sure you visit the weblink at the bottom of this e-mail for the recent Anderson Independent Mail article about four of our locals heading up to compete in the Ford IronMan Lake Placid Triathlon on July 20, 2008 starting at 0700. They will need your support and positive thoughts to get through this grueling event. They have all trained hard and we predict success for all of them in their goals. Look for Brooks Keys to finish in about 10 hours. After that, you will have time to read the paper, wash the dog, go for a run, shower, and eat with plenty of time to spare for the finish of Russ Lott.

You can view the event live at http://www.ironmanlive.com/ .

Please note that our investigative reporters uncovered the original, undoctored photo along with audio from their photo shoot. The audio portion has been transcribed. ... double click on the photo... to read the transcript..

Godspeed Iron-Men of the Upstate... make us proud... one pedal stroke for you, one giant leap for triathlon.

7-12-08 Ride

Riders,
So, does watching the Tour de France make you want to dust off your bike and get in some miles??? it does for me... And for the SVR, we get a sampling of all kinds of TdF stages... a sprint zone at Mac's, some hill climbs on Cherry St Extension and Simms Mill (for those who choose to ride that)... and some rolling "flats" along 5 Forks... so, no need to ride 21 stages when you can ride SVR and get it all!!!!

So, join us as we rollout at 0800 SHARP from our usual place of departure at New Spring parking lot... We'll ride 40+ miles with some riding fast, some riding moderate and some bringing up the rear at a conversational pace... most riders do a little of each...

For last week, Wheel-less set a personal record... he logged a full metric... and he said he could have ridden more... AND rumor has it he's coming back for at least 62 miles... I'm in for at least 52 miles... and perhaps we can plan how 10 more can be added to the end of the route...

So, if you're done with camping the woods, had enough of the extended family in another state... or need a break from changing diapers... or just need to get on two wheels and ride, ride, ride... we'll be looking for you...

See ya Saturday...

The Announcer

First Ride for July

Riders,

What’s the best way to burn off all the calories from your July 4th celebration??? A nice long ride… so, if you didn’t ride with CR1 Shuey on Friday, come join us on Saturday.. heck, join us even if you did ride… our group leaves at 0800 from New Spring… we should reach downtown Pendleton after 1 hour and 1 minutes of ride time...remember, we’re coming in from Cherry St Ext… and sometimes that HILL hurts… well, it hurts me more that others… But, the short cuts are over.. and it's time to get back to usual.

Please note my riding MO… I ride the flats and chat the hills… no reason to hammer hard all the time, right??? Getting back on the road bike last Saturday was a good thing... it was like finding an old lost friend… Vortex and Vortex Lite tell me the TT bike is like a wild stallion... likes to run wild and free... kinda twitchy at times, so taming it takes a while... me thinkest I'll give the stallion another week of rest...

Actually, Votrex and Vortex Lite took me aside when I bought the Cervelo... and told me a few things.. having been a TREK rider, they told me I was in for trouble... it was like the saying a house divided cannot stand.. well, a rider can't ride two different bikes... and somehow, the P2C wasn't beholding to sharing ride time with the 5200... so, the first chance she got... she "threw me"... hmm, maybe the P2C likes to ride alone??? and the 5200 enjoys the crowd... one thing for sure.. when I do saddle up that Cervelo... I'm going to double-lasso my grip and dig my cleats in her pedals and buckle down for another ride... and if she so much as twitches, I'm going to take my mini-pump and put a few more marks on her carbon fiber frame...

Props to Bob ranking in the top 20 at the National TT for his age group... Props to Ryno and Jeff for a fine showing at the Mountain Top Hill Climb TT, and best of luck for the IMLP taper of Rocketman, Fast Freddie, Brooks and Dave...

And who said all we do is ride??? Last weekend, our international Brazilian stars were rowing their way to the hall-of-fame for the Broadway Lake Cardboard Boat Show... see the pic on the blog...

So, if your not on vacation, camping in the mountains, in Illinois, working or have other commitments... meet us at the start..

Until Saturday,

The Sweeper