SART 5/28/12 Summer is Near

Gina and I hit the trail once again for another 41 miles. Quickly ran into Jose and Bong at the Honda Center park. Bong's daughter and couple other riders were with them so we had to get a pic ha ha! Hit Imperial then headed back to the coast. Edna Park restrooms are under construction so we decided to stop for a stretch at the new little park/landing after the wooden bridge. Wasn't long before Greg came up for a chat, then Mobile155 of the forums. Wow, when you are riding,seems like you are out there alone. When you stop and actually pay attention to the amount of riders going your way, it's shocking. So a brief chat with Mobile then he headed off with his group. I thought we had only been there with Greg for 20 minutes or so but Gina says more like an hour, how time flies!

So we hit the coast where Jed19 is hanging out. We chat for a bit then Pete rides up, more chatting. Pete's funny, always got something good and funny to say. It was his birthday this week as was mine so we decided to compare white hair ha ha! He won hands down! Then Tammy and Alan come along to join the party. Also a dude I met a few months ago named Dave. He's really been getting into the training and nutrition aspect of riding, good for him although he claims to be riding for fun. Krylon shows up so I chat with him for a bit then he flies after some modeling for the women he he!

Of course being a holiday, the beach was pretty crowded and lots of people. Lots of eye candy for the guys too! Again, all I can say is "summer is coming"! After some time at the beach stop we head back with Tammy and Alan. Alan takes the front for the last few miles setting a good pace. The rest of us follow. After Edna Park bridge he slows the pace so we all relax for the final two mile cool down.

One of the forum members asked me if Gina prepared her own bike before a ride. So I made this silly little video as a response. ;-)

Bong and Jose ( right) with RiverVelo riders

                                                                  Mobile155

                                                                The Legend Greg

                                                                          Jed19
                             

                                                           Pete striking a "white hair" pose

                                                                        Dave

                                                     Plenty of Eye candy for the guys

                                           and plenty of eye candy for the women (Krylon)

                                            We did the dirty on Alan. Let him pull us 10 miles
                                                           then tried to drop him ha ha!

Anudder SART Tandem Ride 5/20

A dead body on SART. OK, maybe not dead but he looked dead and we thought he was dead. Alan says I live in world of exaggeration ha ha but this was scary! Again on the tandem we invited Herb and Alyce for a dueling tandem ride (no real duel). Aimee started with us, Alan surprised us showing up to join the group, then later joined by The Legend Greg.

Anyway we picked up some speed near the Imperial area as a rider from Santiago Cycling hopped on our wheel as we rode by. OK, not sure how he ended up on our wheel as we had a good little train of 7 riders, but he was second wheel now. I looked back and everybody was on so we just kept going. Soon after I pulled off the front for some help. Santiago Dude said, "nice pull" then took the lead. He did really nice job on his pull. We ended back up in the front again doing a nice pace but once again, I pulled off for some help. Next thing I know it's the Legend Greg at the front lifting the pace. Now I see why they call him The Legend. I couldn't recover fast enough to hop back on the line that had just shattered. So we broke up and all we could do was watch Greg pull a way.

So we regrouped and found a more fitting pace for the group and headed to the coast. Now the scary part. We had just pulled of the front allowing Team Herb & Alyce to take a pull. From the bottom of the Segerstrom underpass we saw a ride laying on the ground. So we slow ready to offer help but holy cow this dude is not moving at all! He's laid out next to his bike face down and very motionless. Oh my gosh please tell me this guy is not dead. His position was so that it made it look like his neck had been broken. The closer we got the more still the body seemed. We all stop and begin warning bike traffic. Alan and Herb run up to the guy still thinking he's dead. This guy I tell you was motionless for quite some time but luckily he finally showed some response. We tried to keep him down but he would not agree.

He got up leaving a small pool of blood on the pavement. He had a rock in his hand and I couldn't figure out why he would let go of this small rock. It was his tooth! Against his will Alyce called for emergency help as we tried to seat him (dispatcher's advice). He would not sit but I think it was more that he was out of his mind. His helmet bashed on one side and broken on the other. A large mouse under his eye and a bloody nose or lip, I couldn't tell. Dressed in a spiffy outfit and a super light bike, we figure he must have been pushing pretty good.

He wouldn't cooperate so finally I had to tell him that his eyes were pretty messed up. They were out of focus, pretty much cross eyed for a while. Once I bought up his eyes he really got worried but he started to listen a little more then allowed us to seat him. The emergency vehicles arrived very quickly then took over and somewhat rushed us off. "No problem do your thing but that is a very expensive bike so please don't lose it" I asked. He said they would transport it along with the dude.

Wow, that is scary. The unconscious dude was asking us how he crashed, was he alone etc. All we could tell him was that he was out when we found him, serious face plant I'm guessing. He couldn't remember his name, he was torn between two names and couldn't remember if he was 54 or 57 years old. Very fit looking guy but that goes to show the pavement doesn't care how old or how fit you are, be careful out there!

Just as we were leaving Garfield Cat came riding up for a quick hello. The rest of the ride was nice and safe. Alan managed to do some of the video shoot and Jed19 did some fancy posing for the camera ha ha! Herb & Alyce took the front for a large portion for the return. Hey, I was happy to sit back and enjoy the ride!

Some shots from Alan's camera

The Old Recording behind me trick

Two fisted action 

SART Tandem Ride 5/19

Saturday was a 41 miler on the tandem with Gina. We had planned to ride up GMR to see the race but she wasn't feeling up to the suffering that goes along with the show. I can't blame her after all she has been through in the last couple of months. So hey, gave me a good reason to buy a new tire for the tandem. Why not throw in a seat while I'm at it ha ha! All the OT I've done lately, why not! OK, some new tights for Gina, new socks for me, hey this is fun!

Well anyway it was a nice ride and the tandem rode nicely after a good dusting off. Oh yeah, I bought a new saddle too. I like my Terry Fly saddle but $120 a pop is getting crazy considering I've paid $60 in the past for the ti model, darn inflation. The cromo was on sale online for $65 but I want it now ha ha! I picked yup the Performance wannabe Fly on sale for $39 after reading MANY good reviews about the saddle. Guess what, it worked VERY NICELY. Now if it last for a while, I''ll be real happy cause as it is now, the Fly ain't got nothing on this cheapo.

The ride was pretty quiet, everybody must have been on GMR. On the return we ran into a small group of riders at Edna Park. Got to talking a little about how much better they would do on a roadie (you know me). If you can do 25 on knobby tires you can do 50 on  roadie tires. The people were very nice! Turns out to be a small group from Sanctuarychurch.com in Calimesa. We rode with them for a bit then a short chat at the end of the ride. Sounds like they are looking for other friendly riders in their area for some fun rides.

                                      

                                                 

SART 5/12/12

Lots of friends out today! We start at the fire station (Orangewood) and head inland as usual. Somewhere around Tustin we cross paths with Ron and Dixie on their tandem heading in the opposite direction. A quick wave thinking they are gone only to find they turned around and caught us from behind. We ride and chat for a bit then turn back at Imperial. Yeah, it's windy heading to the coast. So they take the front and we just hang on for a while. Knowing this is Gina's 3rd time on the bike in nearly two months I know she won;t be able to keep Ron and Dixie's wheel cause they are fast! Maybe on a good day she might hang longer but not with all the time off so we hang for a couple miles for some footage then drop off as planned. Gina did do very well on the ride but I just know there ain't no way with a team like Ron and Dixie.

A bit later in the ride I notice someone catches us form behind and is on our wheel. I have no idea who is there but then I hear someone say "Mr. Beanz". Turns out it is Scott and Laura on a tandem. I have to find out who they are so we chat a bit. Scott is a member of the forums but mostly a lurker. We end up riding the remainder to the coast then they stop for a visit. The more I see them the more I start to recognize them. We'd cross paths before but just never formally met. Nice people with some good bike rides like PS and Borrego Bash.

Next thing I know there are a ton of friends at the beach stop. Mark & Gale, Pete, JMX, Alex2, Bad Bob, The Legend Greg, Dr. Sarah, Peggy, the whole gang. Dang it! Now I just realized I omitted some video footage of JMX and Bad bob. JMX showing off his bike, new wheels and Bad Bob on online tires. Bummer but I did speak with JMX about his latest rides like Breathless Agony and his great finishing times. Although he didn't seem to happy with them, I'm guessing he's going for the course record next year. I wouldn't put it past him after running into him on GMR during his training rides.

After the long visit at the coast we headed back with Pete, Mar& Gale. Gale took the front for quite some time so we were happy to just stay in line. Alex2 soon caught us from behind to join the group. About 5 miles in I could see Gina was getting tired. But that was cool cause I was expecting it after so much time off the bike and she had done well on the first portion of the ride. About this time is when Alex2 took the front and did a darn good job of holding a steady pace but the little incline (405) blew Gina off the back. The group pulled away so I dropped back for Gina. She did manage to recover so I pulled her back up to the group. I was actually surprised that she had in in her to close the gap but she's strong just a little out of form. At this time Pete was up front doing a nice pace and still Gina hung tough.

Nice group ride, all riders were very steady and held a good pace. But by the time we reached Edna Park I thing Gina was a little too tired to hold exact pace with the group so we dropped back for the last 2 miles. I had no problem slowing since Thursday was a 10 hour shift, Friday a 9 hour shift only to come home to have Gina slave me around moving furniture ha ha! Hey, if I can find 1 excuse to slow down, I can still find 100 others. ;-)

Ron & Dixie,  Scott & Laura, Greg/ Peggy/ Bob, Dr Sarah, JMX, Gail & Pete

SART 5/6/12

Oh my goodness my legs were fried today! Gina's 3rd time on the bike in the last month and a half but she did well. Aimee also rode both day with me but she always does well. We did start a bit late today after a night of karaoke at Dad's house and Scrabble with Mom. Let's see, a 71 miler then going to bed at 3 am, yeah I had a hard time getting out of bed ha ha! So you understand the later than usual start. Not bad since there weren't many riders out there but wow the wind was STIFF! Some points I was pushing hard doing 14 mph but passing other riders. That's how stiff the wind was. We did pick up a few riders here and there who were more than happy to hop on the back of the B Train ha ha! (guy in green)

We did run into Olivia and Brian at Edna Park. The "Split Personality" tandem team. Got to exchange a few ride and youtube stories. They do some cool stuff and visit nice places.

Another 41 miles today.