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!
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.
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!
I had a chance to ride today so I did ha ha! But one of them day you get out there and after a mile up GMR you ask yourself, what the heck am I doing up here?". Well, as tough as it can be at times those are the times you have to tell yourself, If I can make it today, I can make it anytime, well mostly ha ha! Did help that the 3 riders I saw up there were freaky fast and blew by me like like I was standing still.
The first guy that passed me blew by like he was on his way to fight a fire. Wow! But I would have to say he was cool and offered up a hello. One thing I have to give to GMR riders, they are almost always encouraging and motivating to other riders up there. Even when they kick your arse they are still friendly about it ha ha! This guy flew by fast, sort of made me wonder why I was up there. But after he passed I kind of sort of thought he looked like that guy holding the number one position on Strava. If it was him, I can see why he's number one! After thinking he was the dude, I felt a little better knowing that he should kick my arse anyway so it made it easier to keep on ha ha!
I did different mounts to try out. I used the Go Pro bar mount on the way up and the first section down. Tough trying to figure out how it really worked as the road was pretty torn up, lots of cracks and bumps. A couple of the views I got to the side were taken while holding the Go Pro on a small tripod. Actually works pretty good. But it was windy up there today so I kept my hand held shots to a minimum. Then the seat post shot, I really like this one but I'm using the roll bar mount rather than the handle bar mount so the width and the frame design of the Madone keeps me from pedaling. This shot looks a bit slow cause I couldn't pedal the to get up any kind of speed on the section of GMR where I tried it out. I think my Cannondale will work but the slope of the Madone made it impossible and I ain't clamping on the carbon tubes. The lower part I tried a "fotopro" mount I got online a couple years back for $5. Worked OK but again, seems the entire road of GMR was pretty torn up so it all came out a bit bumpy. Maybe I should have brought the helmet mount but I wasn't expecting the road to be that thrashed.
But the high definition looks pretty cool in the video! Oh yeah, and always, always stay on your side of the road when descending the switchbacks. Big green forest trucks are pretty darn "BIG"!
So it turns out the dude that passed me is a bike forum member by the name of AntonioRossi. Man, the dude is fast!
Another 42 on SART today. We ran into Tammy and Alan at the start so they decided to ride with us. Nice steady pace with a little help from the others taking a pull here and there while I shot video. Nice day, cool and not much traffic at at all. Last couple of days have been this way, I like it! Just another fun ride with friends and lots of laughs with Alan.
Gina, Alan, Tammy and some passenger we picked up along the way.
Not much traffic at all on the trail, only the birds ha ha!
Another 42 tandem miles on SART today. The wider bars are so much more comfy compared to the bars I had. Now riding a 46 vs the 42 stock bars. Pretty quiet day on the trail today. Is it the cool air? Not that it was cold but there weren't nearly as many riders on the trail today. Hey, I'm not complaining cause it's very nice not having to worry about too many riders.
We ran into Marcello and George at the coast. A short visit then they were on their way. Nice guys, always cool chatting with them. Alex2 made a brief visit then headed on his way to complete his 100 I'm sure!
No, not those jewels! I see our bikes like jewels, nice clean shiny sparkling jewels. At times we are walking through a mall and see a beautiful watch in the window of a jewelry store. Gina's says it's a beautiful watch then says we could swing it if I wanted it. No thanks! Give me a new cassette, a chain, a wheel and I'm happy.
I just put a new front wheel on her bike (DA/Fusion) to match ther rear wheel (DA/DeepV). I installed a new casette and chain then figured I'd take an updated pic of the bike for my photo album. I stepped back and took a good look. Wow, what a jewel! It's not a fancy bike, not a $20,000 TDF bike, not even a racer but damn the thing is beautiful!
It's her bike but since I maintain it, it's still one of my jewels. Thinking about it, I feel the same way about all our bikes! Offer up a nice thousand dollar watch or chain and cassette, I'll choose the bike stuff every time! ;-)
Cleaned up and ready to go for a ride this weekend, hate to see it get dirty!
The new DA/Fusion
I would have liked to build the wheel myself but after the cost of parts etc, the price was not much or to have my buddy Mark build it for me. I do build all my own wheels after years of bad experiences with local builders( being a heavier rider) the one and only guy that I trust other than myself building my wheels is Mark. Talk about a good mechanic, I've followed him around over a span of 16 years. He's good enough to have opened his own shop and still the only guy I trust with my bikes! Mark and Dave's bike shop (corner of Carnelian and Baseline Rancho if you ever need a good builder).
Had a chance to ride the MTB today for a test run with the new Go Pro. Trying to figure out the helmet mount, handlebar mount positions. Oh, and the between the legs seat post mount ha ha! I'm guessing the guys that can mount it on the seat post have some skinny legs. I had to ride with my legs apart like a bow legged pregnant lady ha ha! Not bad but I'm not so sure I see any advantages over my Flip.
I do know it takes for ever to load an HD video. 1080-6 minutes took 3 hours on my computer whereas the Flip takes me about 40 minutes. Not so sure I see a big enough difference in quality. That's just me though, maybe my eyes are old. High speed Verizon DSL but we will be getting cable at the end of the week so hopefully it's a faster, better be according to what the cable rep at Best Buy says.
I climbed the east side of the trail (I forget the names). I have to say the damp ground made the climbing feel twice the workout. I was sweating bullets. Maybe my legs are just getting old along with my eyes ha ha! Ran into some dude and his friend at the little gazebo on top of the trail. He says walking is better with better traction, maybe I should have walked he he he! Dude's name is Victor and his camera shy friend Jackie.
The cool thing is that the upper parking lot is being enlarged. Looked totally different and closed for now but it'll be a blessing once it's done. Heck, I don't MTB nearly as much as I did a few years back because I can never find parking.
All in all a cool day but I better load in a lower resolution till the cable guy comes!
Another 42 with Gina on SART today riding the singles. Very late start. Seems we haven't gone to bed any earlier that 2 am over the holiday weekend. Yeah, I set the alarm for 7 am but end up resetting it for 9:30 ha ha. Well today we didn't even start the ride till 12 noon. Seems to be a little more wind on the way to the coat but less traffic on the trail so it ain't all that bad.
With the late start and the way it looked yesterday we expected to be pretty much alone as far as familiar riders. But as soon as we pulled into HB, we were right behind Herb & Alyce who had just finished their Bay Bay section of their loop. Then Alex2 appeared out of thin air. Next JohnR and his main squeeze pull up on a tandem (she's a marathon stud). Yes JohnR, forum member and Everest Challenge stud! I believe he has one or two records on EC as far as tandem category. I didn't realize it at the time but I believe he is was wearing the jersey today as seen in the pics. Unless he has some other championship he hasn't mention. Ya never know, the guy is strong! I like JohnR! Much like JMX, the guys are badazz's but yet still find the time to stop, or slow on the bike to say hello or a friendly chat. These guys are keeping it real! Got to admire that!
Then Mark and Gail show up for a visit. Thought maybe we'd have big group for the return but Herb & Alyce had to leave so they headed out. The way back was nice! Mark kept a good steady pace for most of the return. I took a pull then Gail and Gina switched off a bit. Always nice to have a few buds along for the ride!
BTW, Mark's comments along with Alex's were not coached or blackmail ha ha! The two guys were talking about the videos, blog and how it has been a good deal for local cyclists getting to know one another. I did not pay them ha ha! So thanks for the good words guys!
A nice 42 mile ride on SART with Gina. Figured we'd ride the tandem again for kicks. Got a late start so the trail was not very crowded at all. Pretty uneventful other than a quick hello while crossing paths with Condorita till we reached Edna Park where we ran into Big Vic and his crew. Big Vic has a youtube channel and has left comments on my videos so that is where I discovered that he covers a big range of coastal rides. He claims there are more chicks and bikinis in his area, I've watched his videos and yeah, I've seen a few. His channel is "iberevbrick". He's got a bold but mellow voice so his commentaries are entertaining. Sometimes giving you the feeling of listening to a radio dj casting out dedications to the audience ha ha!
Big Vic and his buddies ride Cat Trikes. Pretty cool machines. a bit scary with the stopping power as demonstrated by Carlton, along with a story of a scary panic stop and some knuckles to the back of the head from another rider. Let's just say, those things can STOP! We chat for a while, record each other then we're off to the coast.
Time change makes things look weird. 1:30 pm looks more like 5 pm. The sun on one side of the trail and the moon on the other. Hmm, I didn't even know that was possible, now I know ha ha! Near the coast we see Bad Bob and Ben heading inland. Looking back toward the coast, wow was it foggy! From half a mile back, PCH wasn't visible. The beach empty while the sun tries to crack through the clouds. It did for about 30 seconds then vanished once again. To cold to hang out there so we jammed!
Right as we were leaving the coast, I saw JMX approaching the coast. Looking like he had been working pretty hard. I guess he was after looking at Strava times. Wow, the dude can fly! He did catch us on the return. Always nice enough to stop for a chat then he zoomed off at JMX speed. You know, next time we meet, I'm going to have to check that guys bike for one of those hidden seat tube motors ha ha!
Big Vic (iberevbrick on youtube)
Jerome
Carlton
Us
Caught in the act. That's why I set the timer on 3 shots
Have some time off so figured I'd hit GMR cause I reeeaally need to get back into shape. Missed the weekend rides due to rain and threat of rain. Hey, that's enough to convince me to skip the ride and take the parents out to breakfast ha ha! Any way, I headed up and realized yes, I reeeaally need to get back into shape. Average temp was only about 74 but it felt warm on the climb. Not sure I remember having that much sweat drip from my helmet in a long time. Maybe it's sign I reeeaally need to get back into shape. I did eat better last week but the weekend blew it. All I got to do is make it past Thanksgiving Thursday then I'm hitting it hard cause I reeeaally need to get back into shape. My target to day was to make it up without any breaks. Heck, might as well skip the break at the shack so I figured I'll just mosey on down he he! Times are slow but the elevation graphs always look cool!
Ha ha! I just realized that on a Strava segment, we hit #254 out of 2048 riders on the "Glassell Lincoln" segment. I should sign Gina up on Strava and post her times according to my Garmin since we ride together most of the time. That might blow the minds of a few riders. ha ha!
Another 41 miles on SART today. We decided to ride the tandem for a little something different today. Jose joined in for the ride from the start. Along the way we met up with Jeff and Angie for a short bit till they vanished into thin air. Louie for a hello at Edna Park and picture. Gina says she's jealous cause Louie looks prettier than she does side by side ha ha!
Near the coast we ran across Bad Bob who was kind enough to turn around and head back to the coast with us. So we had a few laughs and a short few miles together. Then Pleasant Peggy and Sarah showed up at the beach stop for a visit and a few laughs as well. Then it was back into the wind. Not sure what the problem is but the wind isn't cooperating ha ha!
Jose (El Monarcha)
Gina says she's jealous cause Louie looks prettier than she does ha ha!
