If At First You Don't Succeed

Well after yesterday's day of feeling like snot on GMR I decided I should try again while I have the time. OK, so Hillbasher invited me on a second GMR day. So much better. But I will say that last night we went out for a nice spaghetti dinner. I also drank plenty of Gatorade in an attempt to recuperate from yesterday's lousiness.

Wasn't sure how I would do today but heck, let's give it a try. So we started up no problem. Amazing how one can feel so different from one day to the next. So another 2500 fun feet on GMR.

GMR Ride Not So Good! ;-(

So I had a chance to ride GMR today with Hillbasher so I figured I'd get there a bit early and warm up, test the new chain on the climb stuff. Everything went well but knowing a segment on Strava was the first 1.7 mile point, I tried to pick it up a bit. Doing OK then about 100 yards before the end of the segment, I just pooped out!

I stopped to catch my breath and thinking I was going to puke as HB rolled by. I figured this was a chance to capture a pic of the view. The plan was to recover then work my way back if I could. I must have been delirious thinking I took about 5 pictures but I only took one ha ha!

When I got back on the bike I could see HB up ahead on a switchback. He's doing well so I have to relax, recuperate then try to catch up. FO'GET THAT! Coming up to the 4mile point he is out of sight. I've slowed my pace, got a pain in my chest and it ain't happening. Halfway up the straightaway I see HB far ahead on the saddle of the mountain. Gees, he'll have to stop and take a nap for me to catch back up. So I remount start heading up by the end of the straightaway my legs just won't push and the pain won't leave. So at this point, I have to say, this is the first time in Beanz History that I have failed to make it to he shack. Hillbasher did well but no excuses for me, I just sucked today, GRRRR!

Up Along Bonelli Ride

Got a chance to squeeze in a 20 miler today. Nice little ride from the industrial center, across the dam and back. Then 3 times up the hill along the 57. Nice ride when one wants something a little more gentle than a GMR climb. Besides, I needed a picture for one of the threads "your bike by water" picture threads ha ha!

Going Slightly Mad

So like the rain is driving me mad. Just picked up a new chain, water bottle for Gina's Seat tube cage. Used on GMR climbs but the traditional bottles were driving me crazy leaking water onto her frame after I'd clean the bike. Ya need a second bottle on GMR and the large Podium bottles would not fit the tight spot on her compact frame. Also picked up a cassette online at a good price. Pretty cool! Online deliveries supply a cute little box and reading material for a visit to the throne ha ha!

Now the going mad part, the RAIN! Nice shiny stuff ready to roll but heck no, new stuff in the rain? I don't think so! Cabin fever drives me to playing board games. But we visit my Mom about once a week for a weekly show down. This time I took the first 3 games of Trouble and Gina a game of Yahtzee. We play 3 games at a time to add some variety. Last week Mom whipped me on the board and talked trash the entire time so this week, I brought my recorder to capture the pay back ha ha!...OK, so she didn't talk trash last week, just laughed the whole time.

So I've gone mad, no riding, no ride pics or video, just a crazy game video late night at Ma's house.

SART 3/11/12

Well I didn't get ride footage since our new buddy didn't make the ride. I was saving the time for his ride but as luck would have it, he had a mechanical before reaching the rendezvous point. So a text then we found ourselves with the same riders so figured I'd get by on today's ride with pictures.

But then JohnR showed up at the coast with is honey Leslie. Heck, John is a good poster and viewer so I had to get him on video. As we arrived at the coast there was a dude there so heck, let's talk to him too. Jorge from Durango vacationing in California. Mostly Spanish speaking, some English but knowing he was comfy with Spanish, I had him say hi in Spanish so that when his buddies saw the video, he'd seem cool! Nice guy, hung around with us for some laughs and chat.

EricAnderson also showed up so I had to ask. I hadn't seen him on his upright in a while. Well our little chat gave him a chance to show off his wife's Power Balls. Back on the bent for his brevets and those 200+ mile rides. Dude also looks thin. Guess eating right does that, I'll have to try it some time ha ha!

Bad Bob also showed up for some laughs. He did ride back with us for most of the return with some loving, err I mean liking words for The Legend Greg, "Quit being a sissy and get back on our bike". I'm not quite sure what the message is there but those are the words Bad Bob used ha ha!

SART 3/10/12

A beautiful day on the trail. Nice at the beach and Gina did very well on the bike. We've been walking up the hill during the week trying to get some mid week exercise in and it payed off for Gina. She said she felt great today. A little too good for me, I really have to keep an eye out or she'll soon drop me ha ha!

We had plans to meet ABEC but you know those young guys and late nights. He did meet up with us at Imperial. Alex was heading South near Lake View when he saw us so he turned back and did a little extra credit back to Imperial for a chat. So the three of us headed to the coast once Alex2 turned off the trail. Man, the closer we got to the coast, the stiffer the headwind as usual.

Once at the coast we ran into Dan for a few words and jokes. Marcello and George were also there so planning to be back early, we didn't hang long and started the return with Marcello and George. I told the guys before we left the coast that we'd warm back up for 1/2 mile then pick up the pace a bit while I tried to capture them on video. So 1/2 mile goes by then Marcello picks it up to like 89 mph ha ha! Then ABEC then George. I think the two had a BBQ waiting at home so as you can see, we have a few seconds of M&G video ha ha!

We weren't far behind when we ran into Keith (Cachequatch) stopped with some buds at the end of the first wooden bridge. I didn't hear him call out but Gina did so we quickly turned back for a hello. He's doing a ride with some friends who are camera shy so I took a pic of Keith and his Cyclocross bike. Also a pic of Alex2 at the start. Hm, the camera was hiding today ha ha!

As we were chatting Jeff rolled up and waited for us. So we said our good bye's and headed up the trail only to find ABEC had returned to join us. I'm not sure what got into Gina but she was on today. In the video you can hear ABEC asking her "what did you put in your water today?" ha ha! She did ride strong so I think it's time to pick up my game...or be dropped!

At the beginning of the video, I caught Eric Anderson rolling by thinking he was unnoticed he he!

SART 3/4/12

Another 42 mile trail ride with, well where do we start? Started with Gina, Herb & Alyce, Aimee, El Monarcha, and Chuck. As soon as we started rolling Alyce said to Aimee, "go ahead Aimee take the front." Boy was that a mistake. Heading into the wind Aimee just took off. Gina went with her and I'm not one to argue but I quickly fell behind. Next thing I know I am doing 23 trying to catch them. The gals sad they never hit more than 16, I say different but again, who am I to argue he he! Either way Aimee was working it into the wind. We blew by several riders, I was holding on for dear life. Few dudes here and there managed to hop on the back of the line.

I did see a couple of guys stopped near the mini mart near Kramer. Dudes tried to play "slick" cause next thing I know they are drafting the line hanging onto the back. I look back to make sure Gina is still on and that is when I spot the dudes. OK, classic move, now they are going to roll by and pretend that they were holding a conversation. So after the classic side by side we're just cruising act, they pull away for a short bit. Sure you had us fooled....NOT! The wind is stiffer now and the dudes start to bop their heads looking for a little extra power and they stat to draft each other. Uh oh! The act is over and the fade begins. For a few seconds I thought about going to the front to give Aimee a hand to reel them back but I decided against it once I saw Aimee was closing the gap just holding her pace.

So a couple minutes later we're (Aimee) just about to pass them but we hit our turn around point. Funny, I'm sure they will say they were just minding their own but dudes, you got "chicked" ha ha! But don't worry too much, Aimee is a POWERHOUSE so you need not feel bad! ;-)

So heading back to the coast from Imperial Alyce lifts the pace and we're all rolling pretty good. Wow, what did I get myself into today? Riders move up and next thing I know Herb and Aimee are flying away but the regroup is Edna so we don't worry about losing contact. We rest for a bit then head to the coast. Then it happens, I flat, front flat. OK, go with the GP4000's, they've got good resistance to punctures. What! I never flat in the front but today I did on a fairly new expensive tire. ;-(

The crew waits as I suggest they go ahead but they feel bad leaving me, I guess I am loved or something ha ha! But once we start, they don't feel bad anymore and they left me. That's when Jeff catches us from behind. He chats for a bit but being a fast dude I let him know ABEC and Aimee were just ahead. So he takes off but never bridges the gap. Did I mention Aimee is and animal?

So we all reach the coast and have good time. Visit with Tony and Jed19, Alan and Tammy too. Just another nice day on the trail!

GMR 3/3/12

Another nice ride up to the shack with Herb & Alyce, Aimee and Hillbasher. Saw Matt and GMR for a brief time, little bit of chat then they were on their way. Of course as soon as we hit the GMR gate Aimee way ahead of everyone else. Wow, last week was her second time up and first time she kept track of her time to the shack. Last week 1 hour, 3 minutes and some change. This week, 1 hour and a few seconds. Wow, if she trained and studied this road, she'd take lots of time off with a little GMR training. She's and ANIMAL! I mean that in a good way he he!

As we headed down I saw BobH (new blog linked on mine to the right). I remember suggesting he and his buddy Dave try GMR. It was a few years back when we met them on SART. Surprisingly, they were up there the next week heading to the village. So it's nice to see Bob has made GMR one of his frequent fun rides. The gals had started down a couple minutes ahead of us so sadly I didn't have a chance to stop for a chat as we rolled by.

This was a first for me on this ride. Well, first time ever seeing a couple of very young children riding up GMR. Parents had those attachment type thingies on their MTB's. OK, so now I've seen too many riders looking for an excuse to avoid GMR but these people had to be strong to work these kids up the hill. Dad must have been very strong cause he went flying by us on the way up. Mom was a bit behind but when she reached the shack, she was cranking too. Well I could say the kids were carrying their weight the whole time but according to Mom and Dad, this ain't always true. But I did hear that "Snakey Wakey" helped them pedal some ha ha! If you can't view the video, kids had a rubber snake named "Snakey Wakey". The kids were just too cute! Little boy was full of energy but once I turned on the recorder, he got a bit shy ha ha! And I must say, Mom was very prepared with the foods. Ketchup containers and all sorts of food. We ad to leave cause I was getting hungry ha ha!