2 Rides

Calorie Consumers (aka Riders)

You have two chances to ride this holiday weekend... and given what's going down "the pie hole" tomorrow... some of will NEED to ride... Statistics say (anything we want them to say)... but the average Thanksgiving meal is about 10,000 calories... that's a nice calorie load for a ride, right? So, after you consume more than your "fare share" of Thanksgiving goodies... make plans to burn that fuel... on at least one of the SVRs (Saturday Vance Rides).. either Friday or Saturday...

Details... Mr. NameSake (aka Vance) is meeting at New Spring parking lot for a ride at 0900 on FRIDAY.... the route is the same... as what we do on the Saturday ride...

However, there are a few of us.. (me included).. that must WORK Friday... (on my work schedule, Thursday is the holiday.. but, there's not any special notation for Friday... that mean business as usual)... so, in light of that....

I'm announcing the tried and true SVR... SATURDAY "Vance-less" Ride... 0900 from New Spring... don't worry about Clemson-USC traffic... as our route is off the main roads... you'll he home in time to watch some of the game... usual ride time is about 3 hours... I do declare only ONE short cut this weekend... I'm not doing the rollers (again)...

So, take your pick... ride one or the other.. or BOTH!!!!

JUST FYI for last weekend.. we had 3 riders show... Tony "I'm back" came out to join Jerry "the Animal" and yours truly... we met The Knights of the Roundtable on S'burg... and then, near P-ton.. here comes Mr.NameSake riding General Lee... it was cold, but the Frozen Chozen marched on... now, just how did NameSake and "the Animal" catch us on Dalrymple???? we need to know...

SVR for 11-22-08

Riders: This bike is for sale

06 Specialized Transition 56cm 635 miles Picture shows pedals but I'm keeping them. $2250 leave a comment or see a regular SVR member for contact info... we don't publish email addresses or phone numbers for the world to see.

now, on to regular business... riding and talking about riding..

It might be cold, but we're still going to ride!!! Last weekend, we have 5 riders show up and the ride was nearly picture perfect... except for the wet roads at the start, and the head wind at the end... but, what do you expect for nothing ... a rubber biscuit?? All I know is the TT-twins were riding hard... and I was spinning off the back... Once again, we meet at New Spring parking to for a "wheels rolling" at 0900....sharp..

From what I've gathered, it will be chilly, so wear your warm riding gear.... We have a few SVR regulars that are out of town... so, we're looking for those riders who have taken some time OFF the bike... TO GET BACK on the bike... and ride....

The route is ~41 miles... give or take depending on any declared short-cuts... so, I will take liberty to declare that I will TURN right at Yoders going into P-ton.. and I will by-pass Country Pee Stop Rd and "the rollers" to get my 41 miles... NOTE: "the Rollers" is Pinedale... Simms Mill is road that deserves 100% respect.. and I'll refer to it by name... of course, I will NOT ride Simms Mill Rd.... who needs that during the OFF SEASON...

And now, let's talk about Mrs. Fancy Pants... she raced a BIG race the other weekend.. and the race report was something like.. "it was fun, had a good time"... LITTLE did we know that she just "kicked the course"... according to reliable sources... she did well on the swim... smoked the bike.. and tore up the run.... she did better than her previous 1/2 experience.... at least that's the way I HEARD it!!! CONGRATS on a fine race...and please do tell us the details... we're proud of ALL SVR folks... no matter what.... all this "stuff" binds us together!!!!

and for this week, we hope one of the TT-twins doesn't FLAT!!! but, if someone does.. the entire group will be there to lend a hand, pump, tube, and enough commentary to write a novel...

speaking of writing... the hand writing on the wall says... Whaley's coming back to ride... this weekend (if it isn't too cold!!!)... DUDE.. MAN UP!!!!

see ya Saturday???

SVR for 11-15-08

Riders,
The question of the day is… will the weather hold to allow us to ride? It’s just a question and IF mother nature does NOT send us rain, the SVR will ride again on Saturday. Our group will meet at New Spring parking lot to roll out at 9AM. Just speaking for me, I’m transitioning into “just riding-to be riding”… trying to maintain a base of miles… trying to keep my legs.. but, that’s so hard when I’m only riding (outside) one day a week!!!! Of note, I’ll only be spinning this Saturday… I have a commitment on Sunday that requires that I do NOT trash my legs… there may be others out there who’ll participate in some speed work…. Perhaps as they ride General Lee down Five Forks!!!

Speaking of General Lee… in case you haven’t heard.. Mr. NameSake is back… Vance made his debut last Saturday… he’s the one who started this SVR.. (Saturday Vance Ride) back in the day of IM training… actually, I think originals also included Vortex and Mr. France… Vance took a year off and has come back with a vengeance… When will Vortex return???

Of note, congrats to Nancy and Lori who went ALL THE WAY to Miami to compete in the Miami Man Half Iron Triathlon… as I understand it, they crossed state lines with contraband… hmm, just how innocent are they???

Here’s a link to some cycling pics… some of which are our local heroes who rode in the 2008 Safe Harbor Ride… Thanks to Beastie Bob for the link… Here’s his message for anyone that rode in the Safe Harbor II (Iva) ride this summer. There is a photo gallery available through the website http://www.safeharborsc.org/programs.htm , 505 pictures). Several members of the SVR family are prominently displayed including Mr. Chambers, the Stories, Steve Pugh and family, Ryan, Eva, et al.

It’s a lot of pics, but they’re fun to look at….

the Clemson Tigers play at home… with a 12noon kickoff.. but, that has NOT had an impact on our ride!!!

Don't they look like they're having fun?? that's because they trained all winter... logging base miles so they coud enjoy a full metric???

See ya Saturday, for sure, eh?

Hi folks,

Mike Whaley and I represented for the SVR at the inaugural Beach 2 Battleship iron-distance triathlon in Wilmington, NC on Nov. 1. Mike is now an Ironman (though it was a SetUp event, not an "Ironman" event -- as Mike told me, "I'm not going to let Ford tell me if I'm an Ironman or not.") Mike's time was 12:55:21 which was WAY better than respectable for his first iron-distance race.

I guess I'm a third of an ironman as I only did a relay, but it was my first time doing a time trial of 112 miles and I'd say it went pretty well. I teamed with Dr. David Bridges of Greenwood and Cameron Dorn of Waterloo (and a Lander student). There were 25 teams doing the full iron distance and we pretty much crushed the field. Our time of 8:39:16 beat the second place team by almost two hours. Dr. Bridges had a blistering swim of 48:04. I covered the bike course faster than any other rider, individual or relay. I posted a 4:31:33 bike split ... 24.75 mph. And Cameron, running his first-ever marathon, closed things out with a 3:16:33 marathon. (This kid is a freak of nature.) It was a 2-loop run course and Cameron was so far ahead of all the other competitors that, as he was trying to enter the finishing chute, a volunteer literally grabbed him and tried to force him into the turnaround to head back out on the second loop again. Dr. Bridges and I were standing right there and we almost took the poor volunteer's head off. Cameron was a bit dazed at that point and I think he might have headed back out if we hadn't intervened.

Most triathlons start in "waves" and relays usually go near the end. I do lots of relays and I'm used to hitting the bike course with the entire field ahead of me. This race was a mass start. Since Dr. Dave was so fast, I hit the bike course with only five riders ahead of me. After 10 miles I was alone off the front and I took over the motorcycle escort from the lead rider. MOTORCYCLE ESCORT!!!! I've never had a motorcycle escort before. That was really cool. They stayed right behind me for the entire course. And I was the first rider into T2. I heard the PA announcer announce my name as I rode in and there were hundreds of cheering spectators. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The individual winner was a pro from Denmark. He paced just far enough behind me and the motorcycle so as not to get a penalty and he stayed there for 70 miles before I drank my little bottle of Boost and got the boost I needed to pull away from him. He finished about 3 1/2 minutes behind me.

It was SO COLD! I had no plans to stop for anything and I wanted to go all out. So I had to dress for a start that was around 40 degrees and a finish that was pushing 70. I just froze at the start so I could be comfortable at the end. At least I didn't have to come out of the water.

That's Dr. Bridges on the left and Cameron on the right in the photo. I'm in the middle.

Bob Chambers

SVR for 11-8-08

Riders,

NOTE: The SVR (Saturday Vance-Velo Ride) starts at 0900 from now until sometime next year.

Isn’t there a famous line out there about this “being the best of times and the worst of times?” Perhaps it was penned by a famous literary figure (NOTE: although Whaley has published in a literary magazine, I’m not talking about him!!!) and I’m not talking about any election related discussions… I’m talking about riding… the best of times… as in any time on the bike… and the worst of times… as in the weather at the start and the weather at the end of a ride… as in this weekend, the starting temperature could be in upper 40s and the finishing temp could be above 60 degrees… so, just how do you dress for that??? Layers, layers, layers is what I recall… so, get out the base layer, a long sleeve jersey, shorts and tights… and you’ll be ready to ride with the group.

We’ll meet at the parking lot of New Springs for a rollout of 0900 SHARP. Our route will remain the same. My mission is to get some miles… base miles for building a strong season next year…

What’s your mission?

So, just how big is cycling (swimming and running) in our area?? That can be answered by some of our local elites who completed some heroic races and event recently… Props to Chasse and her team for riding to Texas to raise money for the LA Foundation, Props to Ken F and Jamie M who just “kicked the course” at IMFL last weekend… check out their times !!! and to Whaley for taming B2B in near Arctic conditions… and to TT-Bob for just blazed a trail that left others in his dust as he posted the fastest bike split at B2B… and props to the enthusiastic team who traveled to Florida for some volunteer work..


don’t forget… since we’re starting 1 hour later than usual, please alert your loved ones that you’ll arrive home about 1 hour later than normal… that’ll keep everyone happy and prevent cell phones from constantly ringing as we’re pacelining Tree Farm Rd… of course, at this time of the year, I’m usually off the back of the paceline, doing that spinning thing…

ps… check the blog… can you tell what’s wrong with these pictures?

and the answer is... that peleton was during IMFL 2008...(there's ain't no drafting in triathlon) and the fin-man... well, he's supposed to swim 2.4 miles... without any aid of propulsion..... thou thinkest he's breaking the rules!!!! digital cameras... they're everywhere!!!!