Last Ride This Month

Riders,
It feels like winter doesn't it? HA, with today's high in the upper 50s, I'm smelling SPRING. And the sunset is getting later by a minute. That means the time change is right around the corner and the Tuesday Night Ride will begin!!!!

But, for this weekend, it'll be a bit chilly at the start. Yep, we're riding!!! We leave the parking lot at New Springs at 0900 SHARP, (NOTE: 0900 is Eastern Standard Time).
The standard route is ~42 miles and some riders might take a short cut here and there.
Nice to see the group is growing, last week we welcomed 2 new riders, Mr. T and Steve.

I told Mr. T (aka Pete) that I'll ride 26 miles this Saturday if he'll come back. Mr. T comes to us from a mountain bike riding background. I guess he's tired of all that dirt and grit? I only have 2 more required short rides until I jump on the Pendleton Train and ride the full Monty. And I can't wait!!!! But, for now, the short distance must satisfy my "ride itch." Last weekend, we had 4 riders opting of the short route.... so, surely we have something for you!

There's one more thing, for the first 50 riders who show up on Saturday, we have a little something for you. What is it you ask? hmmm

Ride for 1-24-09

So, why the art work??? it's a way of saying... Houston, we have a problem!!! with my new computer... the spell check doesn't work.. I can't find my photos.. my downloads are lost... I can't sync my iPOD... and I can't move old emails and address groups from the OLD to the NEW... AND the spin class at the Y was FULL tonight... and all my auto populated userids are lost!!!! aarrggghhh (note, it's not talk like a pirate day)... so, if you didn't' get the emailed announcement... sorry about that... but, I think I might have lost some email accounts.... aaaarrrggghhh again!!!!

Apparently, "The Rainmaker" is planning on riding this Saturday... how do we know this? it's because the weather forecast is calling for a chance of rain Friday evening into Saturday morning... and ever since "The Rainmaker" bought his bike... we've had rain on the radar for SVR (Saturday Velo Ride).... so, check the radar before the ride...

If it DOES NOT rain... I plan to meet the group in the parking lot of New Spring... wheels roll-out at 0900 sharp... the WHOLE route is 43 miles or so... however, since I still have a Sunday afternoon obligation, my ride is limited to 21.08 to 26.39 miles on Saturday... when you're old like me, you don't have many matches to burn over the weekend.

Props to those 4 riders who braved the COLD last Saturday... From what I understand, one ride had 4 pairs of socks, 3 pairs of tights, 4 jerseys with a baseline, 3 layers of headgear, 3 pairs of gloves, toe warmers, booties, glasses and Vaseline smeared on all exposed body parts... the only thing missing was 4 calling doves, 3 french hens, 2 turtle-doves and a partridge in a pare tree!!! (tis was the season, eh?)

Props to those who joined the swimmers at the Y pool... sounds crazy, but the pool water was warmer than the air... sa-weet swim... even if the workout was somewhat "advanced"....

Of note, my home computer almost "died"... so, I had to get a new machine.... if you know someone who is suppose to get this email announcement and didn't... send me the details so I can add the address to the group.... don't forget the blog... where the announcement is posted... along with some miscellaneous comment or two.

Of note, if you're reading this... you may want to read the post below this one... kinda a nice reminder of some important safety issues....

Here's a public service announcement about peanut butter..
Please be aware of the peanut butter recall.apparently some of the Clif Bars are affected . Please check the site mentioned below if you eat a lot of these.
www.clifbar.com/vountary.recall

Rules of the Road

I've been impressed at the numbers of riders who are turning out on Saturday mornings at New Spring. This weekend will probably be light thanks to the frigid weather, but hopefully we'll all be back out there in force next weekend.
Since I don't live in Anderson and I'm not the most socially interactive rider even when I am there, I don't know who is a "newbie" and who's an old hand. I know there are some newbies out there. This is for you ... and for anyone else who needs a reminder about etiquette and safety rules of riding on the road.
There's one law of cycling from which most of the rules derive. That law is that, it's not the person who causes a crash who gets hurt. It's always someone else. Nobody knows this rule better than me. It's been over ten years ago now, but I was riding in a fast paceline on wet roads when we crossed some RR tracks. The rider in front of me crashed on the tracks. When I changed my line to avoid him, I hit the tracks at a bad angle. I went down and my kneecap went squarely into a rail and shattered. The guy who caused the crash got up and rode off. Ambulance ride, surgery and months of rehab for me.
You don't want to be the cause of somebody else being seriously hurt, so please read and follow these rules:

Be predictable and smooth. When people are riding in a pack or a paceline, an unexpected move can cause a chain reaction.

Keep your eyes ahead. Know what's coming in the road ahead and keep an eye out for loose dogs, cars backing from driveways, etc. This is especially important if you're the lead dog of the paceline.

Call out obstacles in the road. Don't call out every twig and leaf. Then people will tune you out. But if there's something that could really cause riders behind you a problem, call it out for all to hear -- but don't startle people.

Call out cars. You'll hear folks yell, "car up," "car back," "car right" or "car left." Do the same.

Share the road. This is a two-way street. Cars are to respect our rights to the road, but we also need to be courteous to drivers as well. If we hog the road and refuse to move over to help a car pass, we just create another driver who hates cyclists. If you hear "car back," get to the white line.

Triathletes and TT bike riders ... do not ride on your aerobars unless you're at the very front of the pack or you're off to the side or hanging a few bike lengths off the back. You may think you can reach your brakes quickly, but when something really bad happens, it'll happen faster than you thought possible.

The following rules relate to when you're riding in a paceline:

ABSOLUTELY DO NOT ride on aerobars in a paceline. I allow for the exception of the rider at the very front. Many folks don't even find this acceptable.

Being smooth and predictable in a paceline is more critical than anywhere else.

Do not overlap wheels. Leave the rider ahead of you complete freedom to move left or right as they may need to in the event of a sudden emergency.

Keep your eyes up the road so you know what the people ahead of you must react to. Do not fixate on the rear wheel (or the rear end) of the rider ahead of you.

When it's your turn at the front, "pull through" at the same pace the line was going when the last rider was still ahead of you. Don't suddenly surge. The person who just pulled off is probably a little spent and needs a chance to catch onto the end of the line without having to surge to catch up. If you want to increase the pace, it's OK to do so AFTER the person who pulled before you is comfortably tucked in at the back of the line.

Keep your pulls short. The paceline will go faster and everyone will stay together longer if everyone shares short, fast pulls. Fitter riders can take longer pulls.

When you're done pulling at the front, pull over out of the line BEFORE you slow down. The classic rookie mistake is to suddenly sit up and stop pedaling. There are a string of riders lined up behind you. If you do that, there'll be a crash and someone will get hurt.

Communicate. You'll be flying down the road. It's essential that you keep your eyes and ears open and that you let each other know of any potential hazards.

Know your fellow rider. It's a good idea to size up the folks you're riding with in a paceline. Give the squirrely ones some extra room and don't hesitate to point out these rules to them ... for the sake and safety of everyone else.

Have fun. A fast-moving, smooth-flowing paceline is what road cycling is all about. It's like being one of the Blue Angels without the barf bag.

1-17-09

Riders,

Listen up… this is going to be important… As usual, there is “intent” for a group of riders ready to ride at 0900 this Saturday, 1-17-09. The ride departs from the parking lot at New Spring Church in Anderson. The route should remain the same.

You should note, there is a weather alert for extremely low temperatures Saturday morning. Years ago, during the winter months our group was known as “The Frozen Chozen”… we rode any time, any place in any weather. however, I’ve heard from a few riders that as they’ve aged, they’ve lost their resolve to battle the elements when temperature drop to 25 degrees at the start of the ride.

That said, I can not guarantee that I’ll be there… as my “resolve is missing”… and if I did find some resolve, deep within, I'd only ride 26.21 miles.. because of a previous commitment on Sunday... I cannot burn many matches on Saturday...

Stay warm and I’ll see you when the temperature increases a few degrees.

Not to promote “spamming email”.. but if someone is “in” for riding.. perhaps a reply to all would give others confidence to put on another pair of tights, gloves, jersey, etc and join you.

1-10-09

What beauties!!! I don't know about you.. but I just love looking at new bikes... and here are two super fast rides who'll join our little group very soon... even by this Saturday??? After all, as nice as they are to look at... they should be even better to ride!!!! I can't help but think that perhaps these bikes were on a special delivery from the big man in the red suit... kinda a post Christmas delivery because all the room in the sliegh was occupied by Wii games and other electronic gadgets...

R U rdy 2 ride? That’s my lame attempt at the new fangled texting communication that is so widespread among the youth of the world? However, I think I’ll stick to emails with full blown words of the English language… just hold me to any grammatical standards!!!

I’m no weatherman.. just ask the riders who have shown up lately… my forecast for nice weather has missed the mark… we’ve had drizzle and dense fog on more than one occasion. I know the lake needs the rain… but, don’t we need to ride???

So, if the weather cooperates, our group will meet to ride on Saturday, 1-10-09. We leave the parking lot of New Spring at 0900 sharp. Be late and be left-behind.

I’ll go on record that I do not plan to ride the entire 40+ miles… I have a significant obligation that requires attention… and I can’t give it the due diligence it deserves if I ride the whole 40+.... so, I'm doing 26 to 30 miles.

1-3-08 Ride

All Aboard!!!

We'll load the bus (aka paceline) at 0900 on 1-3-08 for the first Saturday ride of the new year. Hopefully, the "bus" will be full of riders working to fulfill their New Years resolution, to ride more.

We start from the parking lot at New Springs and ride for 40+/- miles. I'll cut the route short by a few miles to save the legs for Sunday afternoon.

And I can ill-afford to hammer hard on the ride... so, I'll concentrate more on spinning.. a fast spin cadence to pull me through to the finish. Others will hammer and hammer hard...

Route is from New Springs, down Shackleburg to Timms Mill, 5 Forks to Mac Smith's, meander around La France to Pendleton... and back country roads from Pendleton to Bishop Branch, Wilson, Rumahah, Baugh, Melton and back to 5 Forks...

Come one, Come all.