2 out of 3 ain't bad...

Good ride Saturday morning, even though Kevin and I weren't told the ride was leaving at 8.
Thanks.
No matter.
We rolled out into LR, enjoyed the sunshine, and got 80km. He hasn't ridden in 8 weeks...life...
It was funny. He was very chatty for the first couple of hours. The last 30 minutes or so were decidedly more quiet.
We also turned down Zeigler Rd., out in Hopkins. Thinking the giant "Road Closed" signs might have been an ruse, we rode past them. Well...

As you can see, it's sort of...not...there...
The gap is 150+ feet. Bigger than the gap on Air Base, by a wide margin. We turned around. Upon heading back out, we noticed that the crown of the road had shifted a bit. The remaining lane has subsided. It was a bit like riding on a sidehill...
I got back to Service Course and did dad things. Kevin said he laid down and had leg cramps. Been there pal...
Welcome back.
No Ridey Sunday, as TS Bonnie was making landfall, and my mother decided to show up 2 hours earlier than planned. Instead, I took a nap.
Should have ridden. It wasn't THAT bad outside...
Monday was that FF50. As usual, we met at the airport, and rode to the ride. Big John rode in from LexCo.
Stud.
The ride out to the Swamp was uneventful. Even pleasant. The group was HUGE this time around, even with the wet roads, and threat of weather.
Once out of the National Park, things went batshit, as usual. I let it go. I don't have that anger in my legs yet. And honestly, I'm glad I let it go.
Cedar Creek is beat to shit, and borderline dangerous, especially in big groups.
Blackberry is no better, and sadly, someone came to grief.
The front group was hauling ass, in the rain, and someone hit a chunk of displaced pavement @ about 45kmh. Immediately blew the front tire, and he crashed on his head. Not good.
BC was on it ASAFP, and stabilized his head/neck. An Ambulance was called, and to RCEMS's credit, they were there in less than 10 minutes.
Big deal you say? It was a big deal, as we were in the middle of fucking NOWHERE.
We all rolled to the store stop, and kept the pace reasonable.
Another reasonable pace took us back to the park, and then back home.
I ended up with 115km in a tick less than 4 hours. Good stuff.

Now for what A LOT of us have been thinking, and actually discussed...
STOP RIDING OVER YOUR HEADS!!! We know that everyone wants to stay in the front, and show how fast they are. Super. Good for you.
Speed often outstrips ability. Just because you can ride in a group at 25+ mph doesn't mean you have the ability, and experience, to do so.
It's exactly why this crash happened. It's exactly why the last several crashes on group rides have happened.
Know your limits folks!!
Don't ride with your head down. EYES UP!!
Be steady. Don't panic on the bike. That behavior accordians down the group, and creates problems behind you.
Point stuff out. Don't just swerve around it. And point it out well before you get to it. If your eyes are up, the hole/debris/roadkill/whatever should been seen well in advance.
Don't leapfrog!! If you have been shuffled to the middle/back in the course of the ride, stay there. Don't rush the front when it slows down. It's dangerous for EVERYONE.
I cannot count the number of gaps I've had to close because riders have leapfrogged, then run out of steam when the pace picks back up.
Cycling has a STEEP learning curve, especially riding in big groups. The fact that bought a $5000 bike, and all of the commensurate gear is great. Just know the purchase didn't include the ability, and knowledge, that many of us have compiled over the last two decades.
You know how we learned/got taught? We stayed in the back. We listened when advice was given. We got yelled at by the more experienced riders. No one wants that to happen again.
Please, do not take this as some elitist/racer diatribe. It isn't. Cycling is a beautiful, inclusive thing. Everyone is welcome.
It's about safety. The goal should be to have a fun, safe, and even fast ride, then go home to our families.
There's NO podium in the parking lot!!!!
We're in this together folks.

Thanks!
M

MidWeek

Nothing going on...
No ridey last night, as The Boss had to take #1 to middle school open house. He figured it out pretty quick. She was confused. Par for the course these days...
No ridey this morning, as #1 had his 5th Grade Graduation/Promotion ceremony. Yes, you read that correctly.
Sadly, there were parents who brought "Congrats Grad" balloons...others who were hugging and congratulating each other.
Guys, it's 5th grade!!
Of course, a few of the kids have been in elementary school for longer than the commensurate 6 years. This is probably their peak.
The plan is to ride tomorrow night...or at least leave with the group, and come home on the dirt. Need to do a test run of the new CX shoes.
Looks like Saturday will be ok, Sunday and Monday are iffy due to a developing Low off the coast. Of course, it's just rain, and as we've discussed, I'm not made of sugar. I'll be riding...

 Um, yes please...

 And again...

 I don't care what you think of Pozzato. The guy has style. And that Wilier..ooof.

 Workbench goals...

The Keepers aren't wrong...
New porn from Baum...

Oh myyyyyyy....

Happy John? A second post this week...so demanding...

If you're gonna be a bear...

So, as has been documented on this inane little site, I had knee surgery. Blah, blah, blah...
The knee is getting back to normal. Still won't run, do any hard lateral movements, nor kick a soccer ball. All by choice.
Riding though, is no problem. No pain. The veal-like right leg seems to be coming around, and shockingly, the majority of the fat that found me during my injury and convalescence is falling off.
The issue?
I've been out doing rides alone. Just me. Juan Solo. And not much over two hours. Granted, most have been on the CX bike, and most have been at tempo, or above.
Last weekend was a little different.
Saturday, we met @ 0800. Early. Getting up before 6am on a weekend day should be left for those getting paid to do it, but I digress.
We met at the spot, and rolled out into LR. It was still wet from the deluge of the previous night. Meh...not made of sugar.
Funny part? The Tour de Cure was going on out there Saturday morning. We were seemingly ahead of the ride, so every time we passed an organized rest stop, the volunteers cheered.
Slightly embarrassed parade waves were returned.
And here's EXACTLY why riding in LR is so great...
Mike flatted on his brand new Boras. Pinched and destroyed the first tube. Second tube was faulty out of the plastic. Tube number three worked. The great part, you ask?
As we stood in the mouth of a driveway, the homeowner came out. Not to yell, or harass, but pushing a 40 gallon compressor, with what appeared to be an 80 c.i. Harley motor on top. I am not embellishing.
This guy didn't have to get of his couch, yet he threw on shoes, and schlepped his compressor out to the road to help us. We didn't need it, but the effort was MUCH appreciated.
AND he threw away our old tubes!!! Nice folks out there.
The remainder of the ride was drama-free, and it always happens, by the time we rolled in the door, the sky was blue, and the sun was out.
3:30 and 100km.
I figured I'd be wrecked on Sunday, but after two climbs in the first hour, things came around. We did a back door Swansea loop. The people aren't as nice out that way, but the terrain and scenery make up for it.

Across the country, we hit a couple of roads that go untraveled unless committed to a LONG ride.

As you can clearly see, it was terrible.
A quick stop, then a loop across the ridgeline, in a vain effort to stay out of the wind. A decision was also made to venture out that way on the fat tired bikes, and explore the myriad dirt roads. All are welcome. Can't promise anything other than a good time.
Once in Sandy Run, we turned into the dead headwind for the WHOLE ride home. It was not what one would consider "fun".
Gotta say though. It was a bluebird day. 70-ish degrees. Blue sky. Good little ride group.
3:45 and 111k.
211k in two days. That's been my weekly total for the past 8 weeks or so. Sweet.
Legs? Tired, but good. Knees? Fine. Back? OK. Taint? REALLY not happy with me.
This is why I keep Boudreux's Butt Paste in the house.

The Tour of Cali ended yesterday. How about this for a picture of the final sprint?

Cav, Sagan, and Kristoff...
Cav is LOOOOW!

 When comfort rules, but you gotta be aero sometimes...

Hey Mike...quit fooling around with those Giro shoes!!

When do we leave?
And as it is Monday, I leave you with this affirmation from Pooh and Piglet...

As I have received a bit a stick for only posting one day a week, I'll do better with sharing even more silliness...whether you like it or not...

Monday...a day of rest...

Everyone whinges about Monday.
Mondays are the best days around here. The Boss goes back to work, and Junior Management goes back to school.
I used to be a person who thrived on noise and chaos. Now, the silence of Monday morning is a gift.
What am I doing today? Nada. Nada a damn thing...

 I rolled out of the rack Saturday, to an empty house. #s 2 & 3 were at the Lexington County office, and The Boss took #1 to a work event, if one wants to call the Poultry Festival in Batesburg an "event". He likes going with her to these things. Who am I to argue...?
A small brekkie, then on the CX bike. Felt like hot garbage, still rode okay. I guess that's fitness coming back around.
Two big laps of the Powerstation, then home. 2.5 hours. A quick lunch, then the power tools came out.
The rest of the afternoon was spent cutting, and laying bricks on the new patio project. I tried to hold fast to my "It wasn't my idea, ergo, I'm not helping" plan, but the idea of The Boss running the chop saw with a masonry blade gave me a little shiver...
My legs and back gave up after about 3 hours of standing, walking back and forth, and bending over to place bricks.
Big fun...
Sunday brought much of the same. Another couple of hours in the dirt. Left with REALLY crunchy legs and back, but once the crap got spun out, I felt pretty good. Special thanks to SCE&G for grading the big waterhole out at the end of The PowerStation. Here's to hoping the juvenile frogs got out before their waterhole was summarily destroyed.

Got home, ate a sammich, made a trip to Lowe's to get a new light for Service Course, then back to the bricks.
Gotta say though, Sunday morning was perfect. Light wind. Big Blue sky. 60 degrees. If you didn't ride, well...

After taking in what can only be considered a BlueBird day, I cut and laid brick for another 2 hours. That far off noise you hear? Yeah...those are my hamstrings barking at me...
The result seems to be worth it though....

Thus, Monday is a day of rest.

The Tour of Cali started yesterday. The stage itself was largely a yawner...until the finish...


If you want to learn how to surf the group, and use other teams, to get you to the finish, just watch Sagan in the last 2km of this clip. Watch it over, and over, and over, and over...
And learn how to handle your bike...
Be like Sagan.

Rest day in Italy today. Honestly, this year's Giro has been much like a normal GT. Hope it livens up...

Okay...I'ma go lay down...

Back to normal programming

Futbol ended Saturday...
I enjoyed coaching the kids, and most of them improved greatly. It was also nice to actually WIN.
Yeah, I know they're 9/10 y.o. kids, but there's no reason not to play to win. Fuck all that "everyone gets a trophy" crap. That's what has created 'special snowflake' children, who become millennials...but that's another discussion for another day.
And #2 son was pursued, again, to play on the traveling team. We took the pass though, for several reasons.
Now I can get back to riding long on Saturdays, instead on being limited to early morning, full power dashes.

That being said, I DID get a full week on the bike this past week.
3 CX rides, including early Saturday morning, and a longer than usual mid-week road ride to shake down the 11v stuff on the Ridley. We'll get to that in a moment...

Did a LONG, solo, CX ride yesterday, and summarily got my ass kicked by the wind, and one of the dirt roads that I frequent. Seems the County thought it necessary to put crush and run over the entire length. The stretch just was NOT fun. I'll skip it next time out.

Twas quite green out on the dirt though...

 The not-yet-amber-waves-of-grain...

Upon returning back to Service Course, I realized that I've ridden the tread off the rear Clement LAS on the CX bike since I got back outside after surgery. A new one is on the way. If you have a CX bike, and haven't ridden these tires, you should. Trust me on this one.

There's a LOT of style going on in this photo. A LOT!

If you cannot figure out the style, or the rider, well....

Now, back to the shakedown of the 11v Ultegra. First, it's dead easy to set up. Easy peasy.
It shifts great...better than 10V 7900 D/A. There's been a LOT of trickle down from D/A in the 11v Ultegra. Lots o' carbon bits...
The levers are WAY different than the 10v D/A I've ridden for years. That took a minute to get accustomed to. They're longer (more reach) and smaller in diameter, thus, they feel slightly smaller in the hand.
Everything was copacetic...except something that I changed, and shouldn't have...
I installed aftermarket, ceramic, aluminum pulleys. While they spin like no one's business, they just didn't work with the R/D and chain.
The new 11v chains are directional, thus the inner and outer plates are different. The stock lower pulley is shaped to deal with this.
The ceramic units were not, thus, when shifting in the upper end of the cassette, the chain jumped the pulleys, and wedged itself between the pulley and the R/D cage. Not good...
Actually a good way to shear off a R/D.
Once back, I swapped the stock units back in, and everything SEEMS to be in order. We'll see...
FYI, the stock units are sealed bearing. No more bushings.
I pulled the seals, and both were a little lacking in the lube department. I smashed in a bit of FSA ceramic grease, and put the seals back on. They spin similarly to the ceramic units.
Sometimes (most times), it's better not to overthink things...

Happy Monday! It's nice outside (here). I'm doing nada today, other than watching The Boss finish laying the 1400 pavers she had delivered for her patio rehab. You have fun with that dear...

#RideDon'tPose

It rained...

The alarm goes off Sunday morning, and it was cloudy...rain on the radar. Then it turned flying-monkey-dark.
It stormed for about 30 minutes.
I said "F it", and took a shower, thinking it would be crap all day.
No sooner did I get toweled off, El Sol came out...and stayed out until the late afternoon. Day pretty much wasted...
Yes, we DID get 2+ inches of rain yesterday, but it came in bursts.
Should have gotten on the CX bike, and ridden...

I DID get good rides in on Thursday and Saturday though. Actually rode HARD on Saturday. Felt good to blow the carbon out of the pipes after being sort of sick all week. And by carbon, I mean snot...
Thankfully, this is the last week of futbol, so I get my Saturday mornings back. Need to start stacking up some miles...

Los photos...

 C60

 Or C60

Quit messing around Mike!!
So Thursday morning, my mom calls...flipping about about her car. Needs $2500 worth of engine work. It's a 12 year old Chevrolet Equinox. As you can guess, it's KBB value isn't much more than the money that needed to be dumped in it.
We met at Love Chevrolet, and got her a NEW 2016 Equinox. Easy deal. Super nice guys. Worked with us to get the numbers right.
While we were there, I had a moment ...
Z06 Corvette w/the Z07 package. $101k BEAST.

I like big butts, and I cannot lie!
It's probably better that I don't have great piles of money laying about.

No ridey today. Had work and house stuff to do this morning. Supposed to rain again tomorrow. IDGAF.
As long as there's no lightning, I'm on the bike. Still some carbon to be blown out...