SART 01/20/13

 It's back, the SART Journal ongoing thread Here it is in the SoCalBikeforums.com forum under "Ride Reports"..or just follow the link.

                SART Journal 2013

Wow, so many people out on the trail lately. I always seem to miss a few not having the recorder running constantly and running opposite directions. We did see Octico & Christine, Scott and Laura on their tandem twice but missed the shot. But we did quickly run into others like Verone at Edna Park. Had a nice chat and a good look at his bike, sweet! Very cool dude and a natural on the big screen.

At the coast we ran into LewisAClark, Mark & Gail, Jeff & Angie. Finally ran into Julie the Mileage Monster so I had to get her on video. She's not been able to view the postings over the years but says she just got a new computer so she's planning to sign up here and there so she can see the pics and videos ha ha!

We had all planned to head out together but at the last second Jeff went over to help another cyclist with his bike as we rolled. No problem we thought they'd catch us no problem as usual but didn't happen. Not sure if they stayed just a little too long or maybe it had something to do with the Sho Air rider that hopped on at the front of our little line. We were doing a decent clip when this dude came from somewhere behind then hopped on the front. At first I didn't pick up on it just thinking he was passing but he seemed to slow down as if he were inviting us to take his wheel. Well he was as he pulled away on a couple of the short inclines dropping the group but he slowed down allowing us to hop back on. He asked how far we were going then said he'd be happy to pull us to the end. We sat in for a few miles but the entire time I was waiting for Gina to say "uncle" knowing the Sho Air dude was doing a good a pace. Gina has surprised me many times on the bike and today was another one of them surprises. After the time off, being sick and all, she hung tough. Last weekend not so good but today, she was kicking butt again, Yeah Baby!

I knew at one point she was really starting to struggle but she was still there. But at this point I figured we'd drop off his wheel and wait for the others after noticing they weren't with us. Holding the recorder back and over my shoulder I thought we were all together, guess I was wrong. Mark & Gail had slowed their pace a bit knowing they had much further to go than we did as we were near the end of our ride. Heck, if we get tired, we can roll the last mile or two but they much more wind to fight so they went into conserve mode.

So I thanked the Sho Air dude for the pull and holding back for us. He was doing repeats it seems as he mentioned he'd turn around and do it again. So he turned around and we regrouped for the final couple of miles. It was fun and I'm glad we got to kick up the pace some. If it were me lifting the pace, Gina would have had a chance to hop my case but since it was the Sho Air dude, she just went with it. Funny how that works isn't it? Marriage.....Ha ha ha ha! 

SART 1/19/13

Wow, what a day! Beautiful day, about 80 and lots of friends out on bikes.   Didn't think we'd say many of our friends but seems they were all out there today. Ran into a few River Velo Boyz at the Honda Center.  We were just starting our ride when they came rolling by (after a break). They were rolling pretty well into the wind so hey, we hopped on figuring I could get some footage. We turned around at Imperial then headed back to the coast with  the usual wind shift near the halfway point. Big wind to Imperial then a big wind on the last 10 miles to the coast.

Mark and Gail were at the coast when we arrived. Along with Marcello, George and their buddy Antonio. If you want to be friend with these guys, you have to survive the initiation ride of 80 miles or so ha ha! Then joined Jeff & Angie, Herb & Alyce, LewisAClark, Alex2, Henry and Nancy, and finally Tammy & Alan. Good group today and a nice big picture ha ha!

We tried to head back together but too many levels so everyone did their own thing and I tried to get some footage. I must say Nancy has been doing some serious riding during the week while planning for a big tour this summer. Nancy started slow leaving the coast but did end up passing us somewhere along the line. Wow, she's ready to roll! I believe their tour is a couple thousand miles, I think she's ready!

Oh, Gina and I finally got a chance to wear our Clyde/Athena jerseys while riding the tandem. She was pretty happy wearing it!


                                     

Claremont Hills Wilderness Park 1/15/13 ....MTB

 It's back, the SART Journal ongoing thread Here it is in the SoCalBikeforums.com forum under "Ride Reports"..or just follow the link.

                SART Journal 2013

Had a chance to slip in an MTB ride at Claremont Hills Wilderness Park. Managed to get in 2 loops hoping to get back some fitness. Hmm ha ha ha!

Ran into a dude name Obay (spelling?) at the end of my ride. Had a nice chat, cool dude does some MTB and hiking. Mostly DH and Cross Country MTB when it comes to bikes.

Strange thing, I saw a gal in black shorts and a blue top running down the hill. I was about a mile into the climb. As I approached the top, I saw her again. Now either there is a set of twins running around up there or that lady is pretty darn fast to complete 4 miles in the time I ride 2 ha ha!

10 mile ride with some good dirt climbs



                             Winter time in California....only in California, only in California ha ha!

SART 1/5/13

OK, so I like posting the pics in cycling forums as well. I think it is time to restart the "SART Journal" thread. An ongoing thread updated after every ride, well I try. This is how I first started posting pics and stuff. A nice way for forum members to recognize one another and find new friends. I know several riders that have made friends with others through the thread and the blog.

So here it is in the SoCalBikeforums.com forum under "Ride Reports"..or just follow the link.

SART Journal 2013



With Gina still sick, Jose and I headed out alone. Jose is  a pretty strong rider but never really get to show his stuff since he usually rides behind Gina and I when we ride. Today was his chance. We rotated at the front which made for a nice break between pulls. About 3 miles from the coast we ran into a dude I had met at the beach stop before. I was really surprised as most times you pick up a rider, he sucks wheel then sprints around trying to drop us. This guy was cool, we rode up  on him but immediately he came to the front and offered to pull. Made for a nice ride and at 6'4, a good draft for me ha ha! We spoke at the beach for a bit and it turns out we had a chat last year. New bike, now I see why I didn't recognize him! Nice steel Torelli! Pretty sure his name is Tim.

Jose and I were resting at the coast when others came up, Alex2,, Terrible Tim, Jordan with his flat, and another dude I hadn't seen in a while. Dan and his Bianchi sportin' a thin saddle he describes as carbon fiber on a potato chip. Man that thing is thin!

Jose and I ended up heading out alone but soon ran into Evil Euro. Funny , we rolled by and I didn't even recognize the guy. Maybe cause he's been working out, a little body sculpting maybe?  He did catch back yup to us once he realized who we were ( I think). Either way, it was cool to chat with him for a short while.

Strange thing, on the way back I saw Tammy turn around right before we approached. She started kicking it up but I couldn't figure out what she was doing. After a mile or two I see Alan heading to the coast. I'm not sure but I think he was crying. Then I see Tammy turn around again and head after Alan. Ah, now I see, Tammy was riding circles around him. Poor Alan, he looked pretty beat and Tammy looked like she was having fun working Alan. ;-)



                                            Alex2, only 70 cause it was too cold for 100 Ha ha!

                                                    Dan's carbon on a potato chip saddle

                                                                       Jose and Dan

SART 50 Miler With Pete 12/31/12

Nice 50 miler with Pete today. Again the wind seemed to come from all angles so it was another ride without a tailwind. Pete and I had lunch near the pier but not without a short visit with Bad Bob on the way. Lunch then headed back where we ran into Jordan and Gistand at the usual beach stop.

When we first got to the coast we ran into BeachGrad05  who was on a mission to finish the 500 kilometer challenge on Strava, she did Wow! We had a few words, couple of pics then she was off for her final few miles. Ran into my neighbor's nephew Jeremy. I've spoken with him before at Uncle Dave's place but Jeremy caught me way off guard wearing cycling duds. Also met another dude named Jesus. He seemed interested in our conversation so hey, let's get him on camera ha ha!

I did try a different setting on the Go Pros. 720/60fps just to see the difference. I know it loads much faster to YT which is a plus and the slo-mo looks a little better but I just have a hard time liking the wide lens fish eye look. Oh well, I'll give it a chance.

The GoPro on my handlebars was the GP3 White and the hand held GP I used to pan was the GP2. No results yet from the comparison ha ha!


ATTENTION Gistand: Big Vic says he wants to assemble a huge recumbent ride this year. Hook up with him by visiting his youtube channel "iberevbrick" if you are really interested in meeting up with the guys!






                                                                    BeachGrad05

                                                                            Jesus

                                                      Gistand on his "pimped out" Cat Trike

Wet MTB Miles

Only about 7 miles as I went looking for some rain. Looked like pretty good rain from indoor but once I got out on the trail, wasn't what I wanted. I wanted to get drenched but had to settle for wet and dirty. What can you expect from So Cal? My main objective was to test the Go Pro 3 in wet conditions. OK, so much  for the Rain X advice given by Go Pro. It didn't do squat as far as keeping water off the lens. I'm thinking it would have been different had it been a drenching rain. I guess I'll have to take up scuba diving ha ha!

BTW, Go Pro suggests using Rain X to keep the lens clear in the rain. If Rain X is not available, try licking the lens, they say it works well. Obviously my Rain X was not working so I licked the lens. The mixture of Rain X, rain and mud made for one yucky nasty taste ha ha ha!

But at the end of the ride the GP3 was dry and protected much more than my poor muddy bike.

SART 12/22/12

Today was a tough ride. I got a chance to ride alone so I figured I'd have a kick butt fast ride. Yeah it was kick butt but not fast! Heading inland was OK, air felt dense and somewhat hard to cut through. Maybe I'd have a tailwind to the coast, nope! I saw 3 guys the entire time pass me and they seem to be working pretty hard so good, it ain't just me. Later I passed a group of 3 guys near the coast so I asked, is it just me or is there a tough headwind?". They said it was tough so I didn't disagree ha ha! The ride to the coast felt like it took forever.

I didn't really think there would be anybody out there since the forecast said a 40% chance of rain later on in the day. I figured I could beat it and a few others did too. I saw The Legend Greg near Kraemer. He didn't see me even though I shouted hey. Oh well, he said hi later when we crossed paths again later in the ride. Also Pinoybentr Ron in a little pace line, he waved! Jeff and Angie were at the coast when I got there. I don't think they recognized me at first since I was riding alone and on my FrankenBeans bike. Tony showed up, Alex2 appeared as well. After a short break we all kind of sort of headed back together, so I thought. Not sure what happened but Tony and I ended up down the road before we noticed that we were alone. So we held the pace down knowing the others could easily catch up. Terrible Tim headed out with us as well so he was right behind us. He pointed out some riders were approaching fast from behind figuring it was Jeff & Angie on their tandem and Alex2.  Jeff and Angie flew by and just kept on going but where is Alex? Their pace was blazing and no way was I giving chase. But Tony hopped on their wheel and took the ride. A few minutes later Alex2 rolls up so we group as 3. Alex is kicking the pace up pretty good so I'm just hanging on hoping he tires and slows the pace a bit. But he keeps going and next thing I know, Terrible Tim gets up there and lifts the pace even higher. Wow, I'm pushing my limit so I just back off and hope they slow so that I can catch back up later. I think Tim hooked up with somebody else cause he vanished. But there was Alex still in my sights. So he slows a bit like maybe the wind hit him so I push hard and close the gap.  Before I can recover he lifts the pace and pulls away again. Dang it, he drops me again! But once again he slows a bit a mile down the road and I'm able to regain contact.

Now I'm on and I'm getting a good draft so first chance I'll take the front but Alex is once again flying and I'm  trying to hold on. There was no way I was going to the front today. I was waiting for a slight slow but he never backed off the pace till the ride was over. I was happy to hang on and let Alex do the work. But I will say Alex punished me pretty good today! It was tough trying to hold his wheel! Glad it's over ha ha!

One dude I have to mention is Flying Merkel. Man, this dude comes up with some sweet classic bikes. He's riding a pretty cool single speed today. Get this, his neighbor gave it to him. Wow, some dudes have all the luck!

My FrankenBeans bike- CAD3

                                                                Angie made new friends

                                                      Alex, does not smile with food

                                                     Not even a smile with a hot woman

                       Flying Merkel...this dude get the best deals on sweet classic bikes, got all the luck!

                                              Tony, just waiting to go, and looking cool!

                                                           Speedsters Jeff and Angie