Tuesday Night B+ Ride 4/17/12

Nice to see a lot of the old faces back on the Tuesday night ride - Leon, Folsom, Jay B, and others.
Tonight's ride again started out up Prospect Street, a brisk pace as we turned right onto Shopping Plaza Hill, as soon as we hit the downhill the attacks started coming fast and furious - 1,2,5 riders took flyers down the hill, these sandbaggers obviously didn't belong on our ride.
And then we got to the stop sign and I started my rant - I tend to get a little jacked up on these rides (the 2 pre-ride Jet Blackberry GUs with 2x caffeine doesn't help the HR, but it does prepare you for a lot of other shit you're going to encounter on the ride) so the adrenaline overtakes common sense - who knew the A ride was doing damage control by trying to get by us as quickly and safely as possible.
I stopped and yelled at Krysten and a couple of other guys before Luch pulled up and yelled at me for yelling at his ride. Next week I'll know.
But yelling was in order over the first several miles of the ride.
As we pulled out of Mechanic across 70 the shit started happening - on the front as we went across 70 onto Old Union Turnpike I tried setting a quick tempo pulling the group up "that hill", keeping things in order, single file, nice and orderly. But it wasn't to be, I heard the gears clicking and the attacks coming, F me, this stuff isn't supposed to happen at mile 4, but it did, and the strong guys rode away while the rest of us tried to maintain order.
This happened again.
And again.
A group of 4 or so, I won't mention names Moeckel and Zim and the other two I didn't catch were ripping it apart as we headed down towards Shirley Center, and then across the tracks all the way until we regrouped at 2A.
That's when the GIRL got things under control - short pulls so we can all work together as a group to keep things fast and organized - emphasis on the organization.
Finally things started to work and work well.
Obviously it wasn't going to last - we still had that bitch of a climb on Wallace Hill Rd ahead of us, but the next couple of miles things settled down, and we all started working together and it was fun again.
And then we regrouped, waited for the traffic to pass on Main St., I think we all enjoyed the recovery - rolled across onto the start of the climb.
This is where stuff was going to happen.
And it did.
F me, I hate this road, not that it's so steep, I actually enjoy the steep stuff because it happens early on.
But when that section is over and done with you look up and all you see is this long stretch of road that seems to go up and up and on forever.
And that's when the head goes down, the lights go out and the saliva pours down the side of my face like my favorite dog, Shawnee's Bermese Mountain Dog Junior (shameless plug here):



I was somewhere in the pack, maybe 5 or 6 off the front - buried it, lights out, puke zone, I wanted that hill bad - I managed to pick off 1, 2, 4 riders, I still don't know who the rabbit up the road was, probably TC, maybe someone else - I started counting pedal strokes, 1,2,3,4, 1,2,3,4, my head was down and I have no idea if I was closing the gap or not (probably not) - I'd settle for 2nd.
Closer to the top, I could feel it, I had at least a 20 meter gap on everyone else - only a couple hundred meters to go.
And then I knew it was over, I heard the wheels twisting over the pavement, where the hell did they come from, in my mind I had opened up a 1/4 mile gap - reality is often different than perception. Wake up call! I was about to get smoked, 1,2,4 riders picked me off, I managed to pull a couple back, in the end I think it was a draw between about 6 of us.
Recovery time at the top before heading down that hill where it gets real fast again - just watch out for the potholes and the seams in the pavement, don't want to hit any of that at 40mph (I don't think my dental insurance covers road damage) - I was on the good wheel, JC, nothing to worry about, but even JC gets caught up in the unforeseeable - I don't know how I missed catching his wheel at the bottom, but thankfully I did because that would've been a real buzz-kill (like when you're 17 smoking weed with your buds in your friend's basement and all of a sudden through the smokey haze you see his mother standing there with "that look" on her face - not that I've ever been there mind you, but I know people who have).
No matter - we survived it. The GIRL said we were going to Charlie's house, so I was pretty stoked, looking forward to some burgers on the grill and a couple of cold ones. It sucked knowing Charlie wasn't going to be driving us home in his Honda after Sunday's mishap, but maybe someone bought Gene's Suburban and we could toss the bikes on the roof for the ride back to Gear Works.
What the GIRL meant to say was we would be riding BY Charlie's house, not actually stopping for BBQ and beers - more suckage.
Oh well, we made it down Dudley - headed down 119 for the .10 miles before taking the left onto W. Townsend Rd. Supposedly it was going to be excellent stretch of pave', (freshly paved and real fast) - but those first several miles were like riding the Arenberg section of Paris Roubaix (the toughest 2.5km of the race) - we were doing well riding the cobbles until we had our first mishap of the night, not one, but 2 flats. I noticed Tom Stevens had one, and then further back I could see another group. Tom's self sufficient so I rode back to the other group.
JC also flatted.
No worries, Jason Bourgeois was on the scene ready to help. He's a mechanic at Gear Works so I was sure he had matters in hand. JC got the tire off the rim, threw me the flatted tube (which I kept and will frame and hang in my freshly remodeled living room) - Jason was a big help and quickly handed the new tube to JC, who got it on the rim in seconds flat (no pun) - I had Co2 ready to go, JC turns the wheel over, looks good, I'm ready to inflate.
WtF Jason! I don't know if they taught you this in bike repair 101, but whatever tube you gave him, the stem wasn't going to work on a 58mm rim. Me thinks you need the remedial summer school bike repair class at the Mount.
Finally got that straightened out just as Tom was finishing his repair (I assume a tubular).
And then got rolling.
La de da de da, it was a nice leisurely 15mph pace on a road that was meant to be ridden much faster, I had all I could do to stay awake. Who was at the front anyway?
Finally Jeff Robert corrected the problem by going to the front and getting things rolling - and then it got fast again, real fast - and the train was rolling like it should be rolling, smooth and fast.
We were tearing it up, everyone was working the front real hard. I had Noah's wheel which is is a very good wheel to have when your 2nd back - the guy was killing it, he was Mark Renshaw and I was Caviendish on the old HTC train, he buried himself for at least a couple hunderd meters before peeling off, and then I drilled it like I owed it to my leadout man, it was amazing! These things only happen by being in the right spot at the right time, and Noah's wheel was the place to be!!!!!
Too bad I shamed myself later on.
Ho hum, past Coolidge Park, and then up to Boutelle St, I still love riding through the 'Burg, the Spanish fans love to cheer us on and it's great. Boutelle was fast, but too short - rolled onto left onto Summer and then onto Bemis.
Slowed to reorganize one last time before the finishing sprint down Airport Rd.
You just knew this was going to be fun.
REAL FUN!
I rode up and looked for my spot.
Where the fuck was Noah when I need him, I know he was up front but I couldn't find him.
Oh well, there were other wheels to pick.
I chose wrong - too close to the front and the really fast guys behind me, including TC.
Lesson learned, get behind the fast guys, not in front of them.
This is how I remember it, but I might be right or I could be wrong -
I was 3 or 4 behind the lead out man, who I think was a woman (Robin) - as always she pulled hard, I was worried she'd ride the 2 guys behind her off her wheel, but whoever they were held it - she peeled off, I let a small gap open up so she could sneak in and maybe contend for the sprint - so I had her wheel which is a good wheel to have.
The first guy peeled off.
Then the next guy.
Robin was killing it, but it was good, I felt strong and held it, I was ready, she peeled off and I went, hard, and tried to hold on and not think about the small stuff - like dying, but if I had to die it was a good night for dying.
Again, reality doesn't always match up to perception - I thought I had opened a small gap, maybe even more than a small gap, I started to think about the Tuesday night glory, the town line, less than a mile, maybe.
I took a peak over my shoulder, I wasn't sure who it was, but of course they were right there on my wheel.
Decision time.
Instead of pulling for another hundred meters I tossed in the towel and bailed.
I was humiliated, especially when thinking about Noah's pull earlier in the ride.
I'm no Mark Renshaw -
I was dropped like a rock - TC, Moekel, the GIRL, Steve Z, Steve D, many others, they were all over me like a swarm of angry bees. No chance tonight, my night was over while I watched the rest punch it out for the town line.
But there were lights up ahead - they were blue and flashing. And cars coming in the opposite direction.
FPD had a car pulled over - screwed up the last 100 meters of the sprint.
I have no idea who won - in the end what does it matter? And I don't think anyone really cares about the glory - although Alex still kept it going well beyond the finish line, good work guy!
This was one of those nights that had the potential of being a complete disaster but because someone was able to pull the whole thing together, turned out to be one of the best rides ever.
This shit is getting real fun.
Lets do it again next week.

Riders of the night (I'm not going to do this each week, but there were a couple who deserved attention):
1st place - the guy who broke his front cable - he had 2 gears all night and he made the best of them.
The rest:
Jay B - I didn't think he had it in him, but the guy rode hard all night, including the hills. Well done.
The guy I called out in last week's blog, Bill did well tonight - still needs to work a little harder on his pulls, but a lot better than last week's effort.
Noah for making me a Tuesday night hero with the sprint down W. Townsend.

That's all - thanks again everyone for all the hard work and making tonight's ride a lot of fun!

Tuesday night B ride report by Charlie - 4/10/12

The B group started out with around 10 riders last night. We were on our way up Prospect Street and I was leading the group at a leisurely pace until we came up to Lawrence Street ( street on the left ) where a car stuck his SUV nose almost in front of me. I stopped pedaling and when you’re going uphill it’s the same as putting your brakes on. Also moved a bit to the left which almost took down the rider’s right in back of me because he overlapped my wheel a tad. Unfortunately Big Dave who was third wheel did kiss the pavement and absorbed most of the impact was on the left side of his face.

After checking to ensuring he was ok, we adjusted his bike and based on the external cuts I saw advised him to ride back to the shop and go to the hospital for stitches. I think he had more damage internally but I wasn’t sure about that.

So now I’m depressed and feeling responsible for what happened. Kept running over in my mind how I could have handled this differently. Did not get a lot of sleep last night thinking about this.

Continuing back up Prospect Street we made our way over to Route 70. I could sense that something was going wrong with my rear wheel and when we arrive near the soccer fields on route 70 it starting seizing up. I stopped and Mike from the shop determined that my rear hub was shot.

I instructed the rest of the group to continue on and that I would ride back to my car in Leominster. The rear wheel wobble staring getting so bad that even with my brake adjusted wide open it was still rubbing on the brake block. They were a couple of hills that I had to walk up it was that bad.

I finally got back to my car at 7pm, and dropped my rear wheel at the shop for them to perform an autopsy on the rear hub. I hope they can fix it and have it ready for Saturday’s mornings ride. If not I’ll have to go with my back up wheels.

I left the shop right away and went up to Leominster Hospital to check on my friend Dave. I figured I could keep him company while he was getting patched up. The ER waiting room was pretty packed but I located Dave and his wife was already with him to keep him company. Dave had an ice pack on the left side of his face to keep the swelling down and had not even seen the doctor yet. Looked like he was going to be there awhile so I left and drove back to the shop to give everyone and update on Dave.




I guess the rest of the B ride was uneventful and I feel awful about what happened last night.



Here’s an email I received from Dave.

After a 4 hour stint in the ER and 5 stitches on the outer lip and 3 on the inner lip, a tetanus shot and a sore wrist, I am doing OK.

The bike is fine as far as I could tell.. Thanks Daren for straightening out the handlebars. I will check for further damage tomorrow.

I have penicillin to take for 5 days.

Tuesday night ride report - 4/10/12

Next week someone please remind me there’s no need to do the 20 mile pre-ride ride before the Tuesday night ride. That was my first mistake - there were more to follow.

Everything from tonight is more or less a blur, the accuracy of this report is suspect. Feel free to correct any errors or ommissions.

First off, it totally sucked going up Prospect and seeing the B group pulled over to the side with Big Dave bleeding profusely. I don’t know much of the details other than a. a car pulled out too onto Prospect St. causing the accident, and b. Big Dave is apparently okay. Someone please post details of what happened.

The new Cat B+ ride started off a little late, someone decided he wanted a pair of knee warmers before heading out, but was shamed out of it by one of the managers at the shop – apparently it’s frowned upon holding up the ride for the sake of comfort. If he had sold me the right size when I bought the originals last weekend this problem could’ve been avoided. But in this case the customer was wrong.
Oh well, there were bigger problems ahead than riding barelegged.
Good thing I brought that 1 GU with me – that lasted me all of about 30 minutes before the effects wore off.
I was screwed all the way around tonight staring with that pre-ride ride, lack of food and water, and being totally outclassed by others in the group.

Oh, I suppose you’re all less interested in the whine and more interested in what may or may not have happened tonight as seen from my perspective.
Well this is it, rode out of the parking lot, up Prospect St, saw the carnage from the B ride.
Steve pulled with the GIRL on 2nd wheel, lights went out – and some 30 miles later we pulled into GW. That's the whole story.

Somewhere in between I remember a couple of things.
I was on the front as we hit the top of Prospect and started to roll down Shopping Plaza Hill – there was a traffic light at said shopping plaza, it was turning from green to red. 9 times out of 10 I run that light, and 9 times out of 10 in years past I would get yelled at for running that light.
New year, new rules, no slowing for a red light unless it’s a 4 way intersection.
Mea culpa to the group – I paid the price as they rolled by and I tried to catch the last wheel down to Mechanic St.
We stopped, we rolled onto Mechanic, it got fast again real quick.
Dust was flying up, Noah was showing off again - I have to admit, it was somewhat impressive watching him doing his off road stuff. The dust reminded me of sections of Paris Robaix this past weekend.
And speaking of that race (this will only make sense to about 4 people), yes, I know, it's Fortini, not Fortunini or Fettachini - I'm glad I was able to amuse some of you this past sunday. And in case you're wondering, no, the upgrade did not come through so there'll be no Battenkill as a 4 this year. I'm kinda relieved.

Okay, back to the show - as it always does, the real fun began as we took the right onto 70 – I have to admit that was good fun, no more worrying about riders blowing up on that stretch, the group was on a fairly level playing field as far as fitness goes. People did their pulls, some longer than others, nonetheless we kept it together to the end as we turned right onto 117 and then onto Langden.
Landen was fun – I was 3rd wheel – the 2 in front of me did their work, I think I did okay on my pull before pulling off and letting the group pull though.
All night it was the same old story, take a pull, peel off and then do everything in my powers to catch that last wheel without becoming road kill.
Turned off Langden and headed over the gravel towards ALC.
This is when the trouble started. I thought I heard what I didn’t want to hear – the unmistakable sound of a hiss from a tire going flat.
Fuck me! (sorry kids, this blog is now R rated).
I’ve gotten 6 flats on rides this year, there is one common denominator – every ride I’ve flatted on had one particular friend on every one of those rides. He’ll remain nameless only because he had me over for Easter dinner – and his wife is an amazing cook.
The flat change was a complete cluster f*ck because I don’t perform well under pressure. Let’s just keep this our little secret because I don’t want the word to get out on the street. Just in case.
I swear I checked the tire before rolling out, it was clean.
Made it 20 feet before that hissing sound reared it’s ugly head once again. Rookie mistake, didn’t check the tire close enough, Noah realized the piece of glass stuck in the side, picked it out, changed the tube in record time (Jeff Gordon’s pit crew isn’t as fast as Noah when it comes to replacing a tire).
By then I was pissed – I felt I owed it to the group to blow myself up and pull for as long as possible – I think I made it to the 5 corners, and then some more as we rolled left onto 110.
Dumb move on my part – this is not the group to be playing heroics with – I burned more than a couple of matches on that pull and I was in the puke zone as I grabbed last wheel and held on for dear life over the next couple of miles.
Thankfully we forked off to the left (instead of those punchy hills towards Nashoba) and headed towards Bolton Orchards. The light there is always red, thank God recovery time was close at hand.
It was red!
Until we got about ¼ mile from there and then it went green, story of my night, more bad luck, no recovery, more work to be done.
Everyone seemed to be pegging it trying to make the light.
Save for one, and it wasn't moi.
WtF – I looked up and the GIRL was in complete hysterics, throwing her arms up in the air, violently pointing at something – and then I realized what had happened.
I hate calling people out, but Frodo Baggins for some unexplainable reason decided to sit up and let a big gap open – the GIRL took off, I had a choice, grab the GIRL’s wheel, or suffer humiliation – I grabbed the wheel and held on with every milligram of that GU I had left inside of me and made it through the intersection.
I think we were together heading towards Harvard – Recovery started to set it, it was almost enjoyable riding the stretch into Harvard – even the small hill where the nuns hang out wasn’t bad.
I like nuns - not the good ones serving a higher cause (well I admire their dedication), but the ones in the videos that wear stilletos. Ah maybe we should keep this between us as well.
On the front again, I wasn't happy, on a mission, I was bound and determined to shed Frodo and one or two others.
Turned left onto the hill up to Fruitlands, this is where I wanted the attrition to happen.
I think it might’ve worked.
But that’s when bad luck struck again – I heard the commotion behind, I hate that sound worse than the hissing of a flat. Someone went down.
Unavoidable – Robin bumped wheels with Tyler, these things happen, Robin went down, fortunately other than the adrenaline rush and a couple of scrapes, she was okay. Tyler felt bad for a slight drop in acceleration, Shawnee felt bad for running over his friend Robin. And I felt bad because Baggins was still with us.
Which played perfectly into Frodo's hand, time for him to recover.
There’d be no more chances to shed him.
This week anyway.
The rest of the ride was fast, but uneventful – we turned left onto 110 and headed towards Ayer, there was some confusion with the path those in the front picked around the safety barrels set up in the construction zone. Made it through those okay, no regrouping needed at the rotary – heading through downtown Ayer, we pissed off more than a few motorist trying to make it down the same road.
Straight through down towards Devens – rough pavement turns real nice – the group was flying as we went up and over the little bump over the bridge, more pain was being dished out by Steve – who the hell invited him on this ride anyway? He and JC just got back from a month of training in Spain and both were flying like Valverde when he was sporting the national champion colors of Spain.
I didn’t mind being on Steve’s wheel because I felt no pressure to hold it whenever he took off – I’m not proud, I’d let the gap open, he could sit up or ride a solo TT because I had the rest of the group behind me.
But again, it held together pretty well all the way into Shirley where we held our last regroup and a summit meeting of sorts.
At the summit it was agreed there’d be a truce on the 2 painful climbs left – Keating, and the hill up to the summit of Prospect.
If I had a dollar for every time I heard that one (as well as the “it’s only going to be an leisurely pace”), I would be doing more riding and less working.
I trust no one, especially in this group – I could see certain riders salivating as the hill up Keatings stood before us – and then it was game on – Shawnee and Re went, I'm sure Steve did as well, there were others, I was looking down at the pavement trying not to think about certain things, like vomiting, others passed me, I managed to pick off a couple.
And then out of nowhere the hero of the night, one Frodo Baggins, finally decides he’s going to grab some KOM points. Well played, the guy sits in all night, does 0 work, and makes his one heroic effort with less than 5 miles to go.
To top it off once at the top of the hill Frodo pulled about 20 feet off to the left to let others do the work of bridging the gap Shawnee and Re’ opened up.
That’s when the real hero emerged – SHE wasn’t happy, SHE actually frightened me with her anger because I had her wheel and I always get scared when SHE flips the finger, mutters some obscenities, goes into the drops and buries it. Anyone in their right mind would be frightened too.
Unfortunately there was no way in hell SHE was going to be able to shut it down. The gap was at least 100-150 yards, Shawnee and Re’ are strong. But then again, SHE was pissed, and let this be a lesson to any guy reading this - never underestimate what an angry woman can do. There had to be at least 100-200 yards to close – no way.
I was buried deep inside the cave, I had everything I could do to hold her wheel, I would’ve even given her some help in the attempt to bridge the impossible, but SHE was having none of that – sure as shit I could see the impossible happening, SHE was closing it.
And about 2 minutes later SHE did closed it.
Hero of the night award goes to the girl.
At that point I was toast, I didn’t care about anything anymore except making it to the shop and having a liquid refreshment. So I got dropped going up to the summit of Prospect. The lights at the bottom of Prospect are the great equalizer, caught the group there.
We all finished together.
Other than the 2 flats and the mishap up to Fruitlands, it was an awesome night with 10 or so of my favorite people in the whole world.
Thanks Noah for the help with the flats, and everyone else for riding strong and steady all night. Made for a very fun (but painful) night.

New Gear Works group ride descriptions

These will be the new ride catagories for the upcoming group ride season. Read and heed:

GEARWORKS RIDE CATEGORIES AND PACE DESCRIPTIONS: Our groups are growing especially on Tuesday nights and with that come more variety in ability and fitness levels. To attempt to serve that end and hopefully have some solution to some of the problems of large groups with too many ability levels within, we have new category system for our Tuesday night rides and for our Saturday morning rides.

NOTE: When description states "ability to maintain" a particular speed, this indicates ability to remain at that speed for a reasonable and steady amount of time -- it does not refer to "average" pace for entire ride. Also some rides say they have no or little speed control, but riders are still expected to obey any and all traffic laws.


NEW RIDE CATEGORIES AND PACE DESCRIPTIONS FOR TUESDAY NIGHTS:
Fast A Ride - Riders must have the ability to maintain 22-24 MPH; High endurance with very little speed control.
Fast Road: This is it!! Be ready for anything, and prepared to ride 45 to 60 miles with the ability to maintain a speed of 22-24 miles per hour. There might be a little waiting for those that fall behind, or maybe no waiting. These rides are wholly self supported. Riders need to be comfortable working with other riders in a pace line, and be willing to take hard pulls. Wear your helmet and buckle your seat belt.
Intermediate B+ Ride - Riders must have the ability to maintain 20-22 MPH; Moderate/hard endurance for experienced riders with some speed control by the ride leader, Darren.

Intermediate B Ride - Riders must have ability to maintain 18-19 MPH; Low to Moderate endurance for experienced riders with moderate to strict speed control by the ride leader, Charlie or Peter.

Two Intermediate Road Rides B+ and B: These two intermediate rides make up the core of the GWC led rides. There will be a few short stops, and someone will wait at turns. Rides will be from 30 to 50 miles long, with the ability to maintain 20-22 miles per hour for the B+ group and around 18-19 miles per hour for the B group. Bring water, stuff to fix a flat, energy food, and don’t forget your helmet! Road bikes only, please. A GWC staff member will accompany this ride to help work with riders on group form and pace line etiquette. Our goal is to help you become a better rider, learn new routes, and get you acquainted with other riders so you can schedule your own rides. These rides generally leave every Tuesday night at 6pm and Saturday mornings at 8:00am. Feel free to call Friday night to verify that there will be a ride. You can also request that your name and e-mail is added to the GWC Road Ride List. This will enable you to receive an informative email Friday night.





NEW RIDE CATEGORIES AND PACE DESCRIPTIONS FOR SATURDAY MORNINGS:
Intermediate B+ Ride - Riders must have the ability to maintain 20-22 MPH; Moderate/hard endurance for experienced riders with some speed control by the ride leader, Darren.

Intermediate B Ride - Riders must have ability to maintain 18-19 MPH; Low to Moderate endurance for experienced riders with moderate to strict speed control by the ride leader, Charlie or Peter.


Two Intermediate Road Rides B+ and B: These two intermediate rides make up the core of the GWC led rides. There will be a few short stops, and someone will wait at turns. Rides will be from 30 to 50 miles long, with the ability to maintain 20-22 miles per hour for the B+ group and around 18-19 miles per hour for the B group. Bring water, stuff to fix a flat, energy food, and don’t forget your helmet! Road bikes only, please. A GWC staff member will accompany this ride to help work with riders on group form and pace line etiquette. Our goal is to help you become a better rider, learn new routes, and get you acquainted with other riders so you can schedule your own rides. These rides generally leave every Tuesday night at 6pm and Saturday mornings at 8:00am. Feel free to call Friday night to verify that there will be a ride. You can also request that your name and e-mail is added to the GWC Road Ride List. This will enable you to receive an informative email Friday night.

Beginner C Ride- Riders must be able to maintain 12-14 MPH; Lowest endurance for least experienced riders with the strictest speed control.

Beginner Road:
Occasionally these rides are slower paced, but usually average around 14 miles per hour. The goal of this ride is to either teach or reinforce pace line riding, bicycle handling skills and group ride etiquette There will be stops, and waiting for those that fall behind. You should bring plenty of water, and the means to fix a flat (pump, tube, tools etc...). You also must have a helmet. A GWC staff member leads the beginner rides on Sat. mornings at 8:00am. Feel free to call Friday evening to verify that there will be a ride. You can also request that your name and email be added to the GWC Road Ride list. You will receive an informative e-mail every Friday night. Please, road bikes only.

Saturday 7/16/11 Ride Report – Blacksburg Va loop

Blacksburg Virgina, if you enjoy cycling like I know you all do, and you enjoy the beauty of nature, miles and miles of near perfect roads, good food, friendly people and of course ice cream, you need to plan a couple of days in this perfect bike riding local and soak it all in.

So here's the entire report, the good the bad and the really ugly.

There are some family issues I needed to attend to in Florida. Instead of flying down as I have been doing, I decided to drive down, mostly because I don't know how long I'll be down for and I wanted to have my bike to get some rides in.

The decision to stay in Blacksburg was mostly arbitrary, it was around the halfway point between home and my destination and I love college football, although VT isn't my favorite team, I had heard the campus was beautiful and I had wanted to see the memorial for the student victims of the tragedy back in 2007.
But it wasn't completely arbitrary. I had also heard that Blacksburg was a pretty cool town with great restaurants, good beer and wine, neat little stores and great people.
And it was all of this and more. All of the larger college towns I've been to in Florida, mostly Gainsville, don't have the same feel as say the college towns in New England (Northampton and Hanover NH), it's a lot of sprawl with no real charm. But Blacksburg had the exact same feel as a small new England College town so that was really neat.
But that wasn't the real reason I chose Blacksburg. It was because someone on Bike Forums had tipped me off that it had some of the best bike riding in the southern Virgina, northern Carolinas area, great roads and spectacular scenary.
And they were spot on!
So the decision was made.
And the decision was a good one.

I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, just in case I ran into any mechanical problems on my ride the next day I'd be prepared. Noah knows how bad my mechanical skills are, especially when it comes to anything to do with a bike, so I didn't want to take any chances.

I went to bed a later than I wanted to, but was able to sleep in until 6:30 (a treat for me) and then fill up on the breakfast buffet before getting kitted up and heading out on my ride.
One problem.
I’m in Blacksburg and had no idea of where to ride. I'm not adventurous enough to just pull up a map of the area and start riding. I've been riding in Florida enough to know there are some streets and roads you want to avoid mostly because of traffic and drivers who pay no attention to anything other than the car in front of them.
Actually two problems, my rear tire was toast from locking up on the breaks two weeks ago and burning a section of rubber off. I've been riding the tire for a couple of weeks without any problems, but I didn't want to tempt fate and get stranded with no team support vehicle to pick me up.
Both problems were solved when I went on line and found this place http://eastcoasters.com/
Perfect, a great bike shop right up the street from my hotel. The only problem was they didn’t have the P3R tire in blue so I had to settle for red, which I knew riding a bike with tires that didn't match was really going to upset my OCD but in a pinch I had no choice because I didn’t want to ride the damaged tire over a 50+ mile route on roads I didn’t know.
Did I ever mention my love of run on sentences like the one above? I think they actually reveal the inner workings of a person's mind in that the person must suffer from ADD if they can't stop to enter a period or a comma or some form of punctuation to break up their stream of thought and now everyone knows I suffer from both OCD and ADD and that I probably need some major help but I wasn't going to worry about that before my ride it would be one more thing I can deal with when I return back home .
While the tire was being changed they hooked me up with a cue sheet for a great 56 mile ride which by getting lost at the end of the ride turned into a 71 mile ride.
Nonetheless, itzallgood.

The numbers I ended up with were:
Time: 3:58
Distance: 70.1 miles
Elevation gain: 4594

The forecast called for mostly sunny skis with highs around 83, almost ideal except for the sun part (I had no sunscreen). Fortunatly weather prognosticators are prone to being wrong.
When I left the hotel it was 67 and misting (which stopped as soon as I rolled out of the bike shop), I didn’t see the sun all day which kept the temps relatively low in the mid 70s, so it really was near perfect conditions for a long ride.

The ride started at the bike shop.
4 extra caffeinated gel packs, $6.
New Tire $54.
71 miles of pure beauty and AWE, priceless.

What made this ride so spectacular is I love riding new areas and experiencing unexpected beauty, and the ride today was full of unexpected beauty and surprises around every turn.
And what made this ride truely epic was I went out without any goals in mind, other than riding roads I've never ridden, and stopping often to take lots and lots of photos. Of course it’s difficult to capture all the beauty around you with a camera, but hopefully you'll get the idea of some of the beauty around this area.

The first couple of miles were pretty unspectacular, sort of like the tuesday night ride out of the shop up Hamilton over to Washington before getting onto Pleasant, so I started out with low expectations on what I was going to experience on this loop.
And then at mile 4 I turned onto Lusters Gate Rd and a big smile came across my face that stayed with me the entire ride when I realized how great this ride was going to be.


And this was just the beginning.

And then this at the end of the first stretch, the railroad brige looking into the little village ahead.


It didn't take me long to start calculating in my head how I could sell enough bike parts to afford a house down here. I know this might come as a shocking surprise to anyone who knows me, but I do have big plans of someday moving out of Fitchburg. Before it was to move to Gardner or Leominster, or maybe live in Gene's garage with his massive bike collection.
But riding along I realized I'd much rather live down here, even more than Gene's garage. Especially considering they get very little snow, and you can for the most part ride year round.
And as I later found out they also have excellent group rides, and a great racing scene with races most every weekend from February all the way into November.
And the fall races are real races, on roads. Not these pseudo cyclocross races where you have to dismount and actually run with your bike on your shoulder, up steps and through mud.
But I'm not knocking "cross" racing, to each their own I suppose.

From there the loop had me turn left onto Den Hill Road that begins the descent into the valley.
A left onto North Fork Rd is the beginning of the stretch that runs along a river, I think the Roanoke River, but I couldn't find the name on a map. The road was very reminiscent of the COVAC ride, mostly flat with a couple of climbs, but nothing too difficult.
Coming down one of the short little hills I amost got taken out by a couple of the local residents. I wish I had my camera ready, but you can't capture everything. There was a couple of deer on the side of the road having lunch, I spooked them and they jumped directly across my path which thinking about it would have been a lot like my last COVAC, only I wouldn't have had the team support vehicle (Lisa Lemconte's minivan) to come and rescue me.
Itzallgood though.

After my adrenaline slowed, I started rolling along when I noticed a sign, it made me think of ice cream (if you click to enlarge you might be able to read Blue Bell Road).


You see, I have this friend who lives down around Dallas and she claims that Blue Bell ice cream is the best ice cream evah! I wouldn't disagree, I had their Bananna Split ice cream the last time I was in Florida and it was pretty good.
But she believes that the best ice cream is that which contains nuts, which I completely disagree with. Nuts don't belong in ice cream, or baked goods (especially brownies and toll house cookies) or any other food consumed by humans. Nuts, especially almonds, cashews, and pistachios are meant to be eaten by rodants, squirrils, chipmunks, and rats.
But whatevah, to each their own and if you like nuts in your ice cream or baked goods, that's your problem. (and remember this for anyone thinking of baking me some toll house cookies as payment for all this free entertainment I've been providing you over the past several years, this is hard work coming up with new material most every week for the past 3 years).
Oh yeah, one last note, one of our bike riding friends with lots of tattoos has a most excellent brownie recipe (or so I've been told) which I'd someday like to try :)

okay, enough about ice cream and baked goods, back to the ride.
At mile 16 is the left that takes you onto Bradshaw road, which has a lot of short punchy rollers for the first 10 or so miles. It's kind of tough but not like the stuff on 119 heading into Ringe NH that can wear you down when trying to hold the wheel of someone like Tattoo Dave which happened during a group earlier in the season. This road was actually tree lined and very scenic unlike the wasteland of 119 from Ashburnham into Rindge NH where the sun beats down on you for 15 straight miles.
Around mile 20 I heard the first clap of thunder which is never a good thing, especially when you still have another 35 miles to go (not counting the additional miles that came at the end when I got lost).
And the climbing hadn't even started.
There isn't a lot of population around this stretch of road and I started to panic just a little thinking about where I was going to find cover if a thunderstorm opened up. Before I left my hotel i didn't stop to think, this is the mountains and like the Whites in NH, storms probably pop up all the time down here. I don't mind riding in the rain at all, but throw in some lightening? That's alltogether different, electricity coming down from the sky scares the hell out of me.
And then it occured to me, there aren't a lot of houses on this road, but there seems to be a church every couple of miles (this is the bible belt, so one way or another God was going to save me if or when the skies opened up).
Thank God though, that single clap of thunder was the only threat of a storm I heard over the entire 4 hours.
BTW all the churches along the road had these clever little sayings out front, my favorite was "God doesn't care about email, only knee mail", which I found ironic since I didn't even know She had a computer up there in heaven, but I suppose She needs someway of keeping track of the good from the bad, me from everyone else who does the tuesday night ride. Hopefully She's keeping track of all my charitable giving because if I can't earn my way into heaven by being good, I'm going to try my best to buy my way in by charitiable giving to such nobel causes as the Gear Works Trust Fund which covers most of my bike related purchases throughout the year. Pastor Gene and associate pastor Daren do a most excellent job of preaching the good word to me everytime i walk into the shop.
Speaking of Daren, I wonder how his little Specialized boondoggle to Monterey California went. Did Mike hook you up with a free Specialized tee shirt Daren, or did he try and sell you one for $24.99 like Jay did to me when I was needed a tee shirt a couple weeks ago?
Daren seemed a little ambivilant when he was telling me about the trip. And then I told him Pebble Beach was only 10 miles away and his whole face lit up. I could see the wheels start turning on which one of his customers he could call on to try and hook him up with a tee time. Screw the vineyard tour, wine is good, but golf is better. I'm the opposite, but whetevah, to each their own and if people like hitting a ball and then chasing it and hitting it over and over again and again, 105 times over the course of 18 holes, more power to you.

So somewhere around mile 25 things got really good and really fast, it was a slight descent that went on for about 5 miles, I don't have my Garmin data, but most of the time I was averaging around 25-35 mph with the smile still intact.
Life was good.
But then I started thinking about what the ride was going to be like on the other side. Every downhill has an upside to it, right? I should coin that phrase, almost like every cloud has a silver lining?
And I knew exactly where the upside was coming.
But fortuntely before it did I had a chance to stop at the gas station for a quick bite to eat before the climb out of the valley.



They didn't have much of a selection, but I have to admit the Rice Krispies Treats were an excellent choice, the Oreos were in case I needed backup to help me finish the ride.
And while I was there I asked to use the rest room. I hate using gas station rest rooms because of a phobia I have about gas station rest rooms from watching the movie Trainspotting (if you've seen the movie you know what I'm talking about). Well this one wasn't quite as bad, but it wasn't good either. I should've left the light off, but I didn't, I just closed my eyes and tried not to think about the situation but my olfactory neurons were completely overtaken to the point where closing my eyes weren't helping matters.
You migth want to close your eyes now, this is the only part of the ride that wasn't particulary beautiful. In fact this is the "really ugly" part of the ride lol:



I was glad to be out of there, eating my rice krispies treats and then heading to the only way out of the valley:



Actually the climb up Catawaba Mtn wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, definately not as brutal as the guys at the bike shop described it. It reminded me of riding up the Pack, there were about 6 switchbacks, kind of steep (about 800 feet of elevation gain over a little more than a mile), but it didn't have the finishing 200 meters at 20% like the Pack has so I got out of there mostly unscathed and feeling pretty good.



After a quick stop for some well needed caffine and my Oreos, I started on the best part of the ride, the last 25 miles on Blacksburg Rd which takes you back into Blacksburg (in case you didn't figure this out on your own). But it only takes you into Blacksburg if you don't deviate from the cue sheet the local bike shop provides you with.
This stretch of road was completely deserted, and I loved it. Over the first 10 miles I don't think I passed one car.
And the beauty of the area was unlike anything I'd ever experienced before (I keep saying that a lot). I could've used up all 10,000 terabytes on my memory card taking photos of everything I saw on this stretch.
Like the "orchard house" I someday want to live in (because there are no neighbors and I happen to like apples):



And this place, again, no neighbors, no problems:



And then out of the blue I saw a flash of yellow pull out onto the road.



One of the best things about cycling is you never know who you're going to meet when out on the road, but almost inevitably you're going to run into another cyclist somewhere along the way.
This guy's name was Robert, he was a local racer who races for a Big Team down here, I didn't catch the name, sounded like SOYLA, but I checked on USA Cycling and couldn't find the club.
Anyways, we had a great time chatting it up over the next 20 miles, everything from the local racing scene, to his dislike for nuts in ice cream and baked goods, so naturally we bonded and he told me to look him up next time I'm down here. The problem is he told me his last name, but I don't know how to spell it and can't find him on FB. If anyone recognizes him please let me know.



He told me to follow him back to Blacksburg, but i wanted to head in another direction to get some more photos, which in hindsight was a big mistake.
I caputued this one which is one of my favorites, just a stream in the middle of nowhere, but it must be somewhere because someone had recently cut the grass.



So riding along I thought I had a good idea of how to get back to my hotel (I'm a guy after all and we have a very keen sense of direction and an aversion to asking people for directions). I felt especially confident once I found Ellet Rd which I knew was a super steep climb that went right to Main St in Blacksburg.
I was right about it being super steep.
But wrong about where I thought it was going to come out (it sure wasn't Blacksburg).
Instand I eneded up in Cleatusville (which isn't really the name of the town, but it sounds good).
When I realized I was lost and extremely tired, I broke the number one rule of being a guy when I stopped into the local antique shop and asked for directions. The owner was busy with a customer, so instead I got her 93 year old mother who was a very nice woman by the way and invited me over for tea and crackers (uh thanks for the offer, but I really want to get back to my hotel for a beer and my leftover Pizza from "The Cellar" the night before).
I asked he if she knew the way back to Blacksburg and she stared at me with a blank look on her face before telling me "Well, tuh be perfuhtly honest with yah, I really doun't believe yah kin ahget thar from a hereh". WOW!, I knew I was off track but how he he^^ did I get transported from somewhere in Virginia 800 miles back to Maine?
Finally the owner came over shaking her head and set me straight, she basically said I had a pretty bad sense of direction (nice little dig, probably for not indulging her mother with the tea and crackers offer), that I was about 15 miles away from Blacksburg. She finally set me straight, telling me the way to get back to town.
Those last 15 miles were the worst, I basically ended up going through the business section of Blacksburg which is like riding along a double lane highway with large shopping centers on both sides of the road and people not paying any attention to the guy on the bike.

The final numbers:



This ride was special for several reasons. One of them being the beauty of the roads I was on. Another was it was great medicine to clear my head of all the not so great stuff I've been dealing with over the past several weeks. Meeting up with another rider and spending some 25 miles chatting about everything under the sun is one of the best surprises about riding a bike.
But mostly I think it was that I was riding my bike for all the reasons I originally got into riding. I love the training, the tuesday night hammer fests, and the occassional race.
But I much more enjoy just getting on the bike and pedaling effortlessly on beautiful roads where you feel like you're one with the bike and the environment around you, completely lost to everything else, riding along and just watching life unfold before you.
That to me is the best part of riding.
Thanks Blacksburg for a ride I'll never forget!

Cheers!

Tuesday 7/5/11

First off I’d like to thank Daren for offering me up all of the Torpedo IPAs stowed away in the Gear Works secret vault. This was especially nice of him since these were the same beers I gifted Noah for some work he did making my bikes right again this past weekend. “Just don’t drink the Coronas, those are mine”. Don't worry Daren, your yellow beers are safe from all who have access to the vault!
BTW - that refrigerator looks like some sort of lab experiment with all the green stuff you guys have growing in there. Maybe you can get Syracuse to clean it since he's got nothing better to do than tell everyone what a great ride he is.
(Just kidding Steve!)
I have to say though, that Torpedo was damn tasty, and the 2nd and 3rd ones were even better! Thanks Noah!
So what’s to say, I was nervous as hell driving down to the shop last night. Not for any other reason than I’ve been off the bike for 3 weeks and didn’t know how my fitness would hold up against the regulars on the Tuesday ride.
As I’ve noted before, and maybe it’s because I’m getting older and have a penchant for certain flavors on Ben and Jerry’s, this ride has gotten exceptionally fast and painful this year. And I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to hang on before getting spit out the back.
The only hope I had was all the fast guys (and girls) would be at the beach this week and only the old guys like myself would be out there riding a 17-18mph pace.
One thing was true about this, a lot of the fast guys were missing, including troublemakers Tom Stevens, his cat2 protégé Young Greg, and the rest of his teammates. I keep wanting him to bring Paul Curley out to the ride again so I can see how really slow I am. Paul rode with us once last year and it was a trip seeing him do his thing.
So Tom’s teammates were missing
And the girl on the tri bike was missing too.
Things were looking up.
But there were a lot of new faces in the parking lot, and most everyone was wearing different team jerseys, which is never a good sign unless they’re going on the A ride, which most of them weren’t.
And we had the Worcester contingent there including the guys with the Barney Cycling Kits. Those were really cool!




According to fearless ride leader (FRL), it was suppose to be a fairly flat route, but it really wasn’t.

I don’t have the exact stats, but it was something like this:
47 miles
Average: 20.3mph
So the ride time was somewhere in the neighborhood of 2:20.
And the climbing, according to Garmin was 2700 feet, but it seemed like a hell of a lot more, especially the climb from Holden into Princeton which seems like 2000 feet of elevation gain on that one stretch alone.

Pulled out of GW at 6:00.
It was hot.
It was humid.
This was going to hurt, of that I was sure.
We rolled up Hamilton to the lights on Rt. 12. Half the group made it through, the other half didn’t. FRL wanted to attack, but we blocked him in while we soft pedaled up Washington until we were all together.
Usually the warm up last until we turn onto Pleasant St. before the pace picks up. But last night it got real fast as soon as we hit Pond St. By the time we hit Pleasant we were rolling fast enough that I was having difficulty holding a conversation with all my bike riding friends I hadn’t seen in several weeks.
Oh well, the conversations would have to wait, right where the gradient picks up is where riders started attacking, going for those KOM points, but it’s not even a categorized climb so there are no KOM points. Nonetheless it didn’t stop the usual suspects from putting the hurt on the rest of the group, I hate it when I think I’m riding strong and then one by one the other riders are passing me to the summit of Sholan Farms.
At the farm the ride slowed, for a couple of seconds before the pace went back up as we rode to N. Row where we stopped to regroup.
N. Row is fun ever since it’s been repaved. But there were a lot of riders up front making me nervous by the way they were riding the double yellow, and sometimes going over it. I don’t know about everyone else, but have no interest in seeing who would win the Bike versus Car competition because I’m pretty sure I know the outcome and it’s not going to be pretty.
Once we got to the bottom of N. Row we rolled right onto Rt. 12, well most of us did – there were several riders who didn’t understand what “Go Right!” meant and stopped in the middle of the intersection and then when they realized their mistake tried to squeeze themselves back into the group.
So what’s up with the noobs? The juniors, one on a lime green bike, the other sporting a Livestrong kit, these kids were fast. And strong. But they had no skills whatsoever so they were reprimanded for their sins. They seemed to get the message, a little anyway, but they’re going to be a Tuesday Night project for the rest of the year, getting these guys to ride smarter.
Once on 12 the train got rolling. The best, and fastest stretch of road on most of our rides, pure pain and suffering trying to hold the wheel in front of you, and then when you’re on the front it becomes even more fun trying to pull the train without letting up on the gas.
Everything was working perfectly as we rolled through Sterling Center and past my personal favorite package store “House of a 1000 nips” (whoever came up with that name is a genius and should be working at Los Alamos Laboratories instead of bagging nips in Sterling), but you’ve gotta pull for the underachievers in life.
Once we got past the House of 1000 nips someone pulled off with a flat. Right in front of the 2 Sterling cops hanging out on Rt. 12 with nothing better to do than watch 40 cyclist hanging out waiting on a flat repair. I bring this up only because one of the same cruisers would be hanging out in the same spot on our return back to the shop.
On the road again, just can’t wait to get on the road again – it’s a Willie Nelson song, but it was what I was feeling after what seemed like a 20 minute flat change.
And then we were rolling again, this would be the one and only flat of the night.
Rt. 12 taking the right past the Stone Church we rode into West Boylston and then took the left that would lead us up to Rt. 31 in Holden.
This is where the carnage began – one by one riders were getting spit off the back as we made our way up the 3 or so miles to 31. And the sad part was knowing this wasn’t even going to be the difficult part of the evening.
We all made it to the store at 31, rehydrated before the lonnnnnnnnnnnng climb up 31 into Princeton.
It started easy enough, the guy in the Yellow Jersey went off the front a bit, but no worries, he wasn’t going far.
And then I bridged up to him and chatted a bit,.
And then I heard Dr. Natalie say something about how civil everyone was being.
So me and Yellow Jersey looked at each other and started to pick up the pace, but no one was biting, they were all staying back.
And then the hill starts.
And I heard the unmistakable sound of carbon wheels rocking back and forth on the pavement.
Me and Yellow Jersey – “This can’t be good, I guess the civility is over”, as it was. I lost track of how many riders effortlessly rode past me, making fun of the slow guy going backwards – I really need to spend more time training on hills instead of in front of the television.
The one good thing about that climb is it levels out in certain places, and in one place it even goes downhill for a bit, but that’s just cruel because then you have even more climbing to make it into the center of Princeton.
Once in Princeton center we regrouped. It was hotter than he^^ so I decided to ride for a bit with my jersey unzipped.
That was dumb.
I didn’t stop to think the next 4 miles down 62 are all downhill and average about 45mph the entire way,.
Once I realized my mistake I panicked as I tried to stay away from the group, but not too far off so I could get back on the train as I worked to get my jersey zipped.
Success! Managed to bridge up to the back of the group and sat in enjoying the 3-4 miles of downhill into Sterling where we crossed 140 and then took that right that brings us out to the airport and eventually Rt. 12.
So we come to 12, take a right, it’s déjà vu all over again.
Really, the same portion of road we rode and the same cop is still sitting there talking to the same guy in a truck an hour since we’d last passed him. I didn’t know if it was real or if I was having a flashback from the 70’s. But others saw it too so it must’ve been reality.
So the next 10 or so miles were uneventful, hurt ourselves climbing up Chase Hill.
And then there was Dr. Natalie complaining like she always does, this time about being shit on.
I get shit on all the time, but I don’t let it get to me.
But the doctor wasn’t talking figuratively, she literally got shit on – like she thought a bug flew into her helmet, but when she reach up to get it out it was all gooey and slimy when she realized some bird dung came down from up above and hit her square in the helmet.
It’s supposed to bring good luck, so maybe you’ll come into an extra 4 weeks of vacation time at work so you can actually have some fun this summer.
Ho hum, the ride went on as we crossed 62 and then went down the road with the “Do Not Enter” sign at the top, that was good fun, flying down this twisty hill at 30mph, I think we scared the runner coming up the hill, he sure as heck jumped out of the way when he saw the 30 bikes coming at him.
And then onto Langden at a nice easy pace, everyone saving themselves for the finishing sprint.
I toyed with the idea of contesting it.
But I didn’t have the legs to go all in, and if you can’t go all in you’re better off staying out of it because if you’re like me the only thing I ever think about is if I lose contact with the wheel in front of me I’m going to get yelled at in a major way for splitting up the group.
So as the speed picked up I stayed on the back for as long as I could, no pressure to hold a wheel to prevent a gap from opening.
And then the gap in front of me opened.
And that was my night.
Until I found Peter a little up the road.
And then Mike the mechanic hooked on and there were three of us riding in a nice even rotation, no pressure, 10 second pulls, the group up the road looked close enough to catch, and they weren’t working together, and for a moment in time I actually had visions of grandeur that we could pull back the breakaway and win the green jersey.
And then I woke up and remembered the juniors were up ahead and they weren’t going to be caught by 3 Masters.
Hopefully the weather will continue to be nice and we can get a couple more 40 mile rides in before the days begin growing shorter, which of course they already are, but I’m not going to think about that for now.

Tuesday 5/10

Here’s a clue for you all (and no, it’s not “The Walrus was Paul”).
The Tuesday night B ride is not a training ride for all you racers or racer wannabees.
That’s the A ride.
(yes, I know I’ve been as guilty of this as anyone).
And things tend to work better in a group ride if the fast guys don’t spend all night at the front setting a pace that not everyone in the group can maintain (yes, I’ve been guilty of this as well). There’s something wrong with the pace when long time riders who are fit are getting dropped out of sight from the rest of the group because of the testosterone up front.
Again, A ride.
One more helpful hint to make things more efficient and less stoppage. Short pulls (< two minutes at the front), pull off to your left, let the group pass by, latch onto the back, rinse and repeat.
Again, short pulls, pull off to your left, let the group pass you by, latch onto the back, again and again and again.
If you get stuck behind someone's behind you don't particulary care for, physically or olfactory, then pull off, fall to the back again until you find the right ass for you. I know you all want to ride behind ME, but there's only one of me to go around, so you'll have to work it out amoung the pelaton who the lucky rider is. Maybe you can take turns each week, I don't care as long as it isn't Daren, he worries me with that pink saddle of his.

Anyway, the epiphany came to me last night (after almost 2 years of trying to make this ride as fast as possible), that’s it’s a group ride, not a race.
I don’t know why it took me so long to get it.
I suppose I'll start treating it like a group ride and help those in the back instead of going for the tuesday night hero status.
The stats I have from last nights ride (from another rider):
34.7 miles
102 minutes or thereabout.
20.1 average (felt faster)

Things started out bad and got worse.
I was on the front going up Prospect St. It’s usually Big Dave’s job to set the pace going up this street but he wasn't there so I was left to do his job and I had no clue what I was doing but I was apparently going too fast and drop one or two before the top of the hill.
Mea Culpa.
I think we pulled it back together when we got to the golf center, and again as we turned onto 70.
You all know Tattoo Dave, well we had Cat2 Greg (get it? Tattoo, Cat2? Clever, huh?) on last night’s ride giving us great entertainment as we were all struggling to keep our HR out of the red while he was cracking Cat 2 jokes for the 4 miles to Rt. 117. Unfortunately he’s non stop and my brain can only retain so much, I forgot most of what he said.
The one I did remember was “Surges in the pace are the price we pay for other’s mistakes”.
How apropos for last night’s ride.
Rode down 117 to Langden and then a left leading across 70.
I think we’re missing a rider or 2.
Regroup, head over towards the 6 corners, take a left on 110 and head out towards Bolton, staying right at the fork and heading up to the high school. I hate this route, it’s not terribly long, but it gets tough once we come up on the ball park and gets worse all the way to the top at 117.
When we reached 117 is where I realized things weren’t working well.
And I knew they weren’t going to get better as we headed towards Harvard.
And they didn’t.
Decision time, try and hang on with the fast guys, or fall off and help those who’ve fallen off.
I chose option B. Let the rest of the group continue their pseudo A ride.
Worked in the back as we climbed up into Harvard.
Mike slowed up and waited to join.
We rode to the intersection of Green and Harvard where the group was waiting.
Before riding off again.
Regrouped again in Harvard.
Before the group rode off again.
Regrouped at 110, turned and headed toward the rotary and then off to Devens.
This is what confused me most about last night.
We were together (at least I think we were). It was flat. I think we had a tail wind.
And we were going slow all the way into Devens before taking the left onto Patton Rd heading by the golf course.
Things got heated up a little bit going up one of the hills before regrouping and then heading towards Shirley.
Regrouped again in Shirley and then the entire group rode right and headed towards Keating.
Some attacks on the hill up to Keating, I think Billy Baggins took the sprint points on that one.
Cat2 Greg let it go, biding his time, and then somewhere around Powell he whispered in my ear “this is how it’s done”, the attack was launched and he was gone and I was left wiping Cat2 Greg’s spit off my ear.
Rode back to the shop.
The consensus in the parking lot was the ride sucked.
Maybe things will go better with more riders.