Post Tamale Ride Wowzer!!!!

35.6 miles with Gina today, 15.6 average. Didn't seem to windy today but once we hit the coast and hung around for a bit, the wind seemed to kick up and not in our favor. Little tough on the return and Gina suffered some but she survived! Mark and Gail rod with us , saw Alex and Marcello rolled by too!

Pic for now, maybe a weekend video later, oh and some tamale factory pictures ha ha! Mom's house!

Sunday Ride

Another 35 miles today. Seems like we really pushed hard yesterday. So today I told  the troops I was out for a recovery relaxation ride, none of them argued ha ha! So I backed the pace off some today. Not really cold but Gina was happy with a windbreaker. Well, at least there wasn't any rain. I think everybody enjoyed the more relaxing pace. I know I needed it. Last night I felt so wiped out that I drank 3 jugs of Gatorade and 2 jugs of water.

Gina is one to suffer from heartburn if she drinks Gatorade. I mix mine from powder and that really gets to her. Aimee suggested her drink (Scratch). She brought some powder today so that Gina could mix it and give it a try. Not bad. Raspberry flavor mixed well and the taste was not t sever so Gina actually liked it and no heartburn. Gina said she plans to buy some so that she has something to drink on the bike. Yeah, she'll buy some for her but I bet she keeps me on the cheap Gatorade powder ha ha! Actually that is OK! I use cheap stuff but if I ever train for another big ride I'll go with the good stuff. :-P

Funny day today. We all know Aimee is very competitive and this girl hardly ever says a word. But today was different, she was in a mood ha ha! All in good fun!

              This is how I take pics on the bike. Over the shoulder aim backward trick! (see shadow)

                                                    Always a crazy dude in the crowd!

                       Ladies from back East. They asked Mike to take a pic of them. After, they
                                   looked at his outfit then asked if he had been surfing ha ha!

                                  Sheesh! no wonder the put me up front in the headwinds!

Saturday SART 12/6

A nice ride today. Felt really good but as always , the closer we got to the coast, the stiffer the headwind got! Few miles into the road we met up with Mark and Gail. so we had a pretty good little group going! :-P     44.6 miles @ 16.4 average.

Almost December!

One you see the final two pics you'll know why I chose this title. Almost December and our cooler SoCal weather still invites the chickadees to hit the beach!

Started the ride with Gina and Mike. Headed inland to Yorba Park for a breather then back to the coast. Stopped at Edna Park where Allen and Tammy rolled up a few minutes later. We talked a bit then headed to the coast. We stopped right after the bridge as Tammy thought she saw something fall off Gina's bike. Turns out it was a dust cover from somebody else's bike that Gina ran over tossing it up in the air. It was then that Mark and Gail rolled up so hey, we had a big group of 8 riders. It was somewhat breezy but I was feeling good so I just pulled the group to the coast. I must admit the final 200 yards were the hardest and I had thoughts of moving aside for a little break but hey, I've gone this far might as well just suck it  up! 

Alex showed up at the coast and had a chat with some of the buddies. Then Ray showed up on his new bike, Cannondale carbon steed. Got a chance to check it out then he bounced.  We all headed back just about the same time so there were a few of us on the return as well. Did a pretty good pace on the return. Gina rode well and I love it when others are around cause she doesn't yell at me for lifting the pace some. My favorite segment (Northbound bridge to bridge) was at a pretty good pace. We held a 20.2 on that 7.4 segment so all was good with me. The stretch back to the parking area was a good little push. I knew Allen and Mike were on my wheel so I urged them to sprint to the finish. Bot h decline the invitation so hey, I just lifted the pace as much as I could and sure enough, it was a sprint finish! I knew being the lead out I would not win but I was just tying to lift the pace at the finish for a fun ending! :-P

Mike

                                                        Same pic before the crop

                                              The kind of people I have to deal with!

                                                             Ray and his new bike!

                                                                            Alex

                                                     Tammy's Iron Man number

                                                  Mark felt that he should bow down!

                                                   Are you coming or going?

Freakin' Wind!!!!

Today was a freakin' windy day!  I don't usually use the "f" word but that is how windy it was ha ha! I thought there were some stiff headwinds yesterday but check out the video ha ha! Honestly I love to ride when it's really windy. I think it is all strategy. I cruise while riding with the wind conserving energy for the battle. We actually started out into the wind which is tough trying to warm up the legs. We rode about 5 miles into the wind then turned around at the detour. Heading to the coast was a cruise but that is where the plan comes into place. I saw a few other riders pushing as hard as they could with the wind. We were doing 20 without pedaling but these guys were doing 30'ish. I really wanted to see them heading back into the wind. I've seen them before on the side of the road crying when it's time to head back.

Like I told Aimee, we cruise with the wind the when we hit the wind, we find a groove and stay in it. You can ride against the wind but  you ain't gonna beat it! Pretty sure Gina will be happy she had to sit this ride out! It's her father's birthday so she wanted to visit the cemetery today. Aimee sent a text this morning saying it was very windy and had second thoughts. I told her I wouldn't blame her if she back ed out but trust me, it will be fun!

I was shocked when did show up. She was still in doubt and said she would start and if it sucked, she'd just ride back to the start. Cool, but once we start, you're going to have fun, trust me! :-P

We headed into the big headwind and once we hit our turnaround point, I think she actually having fun! It was funny at the start, I'd seen this face before. Not on Aimee but on Gina. A sour face filled with doubt, anxiety and intimidation. Gina gets that same face when we plan a long 80 miler or so with forum members. Aimee had that same face but I knew it would change to smiles once we started riding. Then to seal the deal, an older lady was starting at the same time we were starting. She asked if we were heading to the coast. Yes but inland first then backtrack. I asked her if she was going to the coast and she said yes. I saw the look on Aimee's face, change. If she can do it, I can do it! Of course you can and it will be fun, trust me! :-P

Video with a sample of the wind and short Aimee interview.

New Bike Mike!

Well our ol buddy Mike asked us if we were planning to ride on Saturday. Yup! Gave him the info and he was there. I knew he had just bought a new bike so I brought along my recorders. Who doesn't want to see themselves on their new bike ha ha? So we set off for a 45 miler. Gina had plans for Sunday so we rolled beyond the detour. At Yorba Park we ran into Jose of RiverVelo and his buddy Seph (spelling?). Had a quick chat then headed off. At the coast we ran into Ron & Dixie. Mark & Gail were also there and joined us for the return leg. :-)






                                                            Jose of River Velo

                                                        His buddy Seph (spelling?)

                                                                    Nice Ride!

                                                               Mike's new bike!

                                                                      Happy Mike

Saturday Fun SART

Ride video, bit cooler, more wind, lot less rider.

Wish I had my recorder on when the dope on the bent almost ran Gina off the road. I pulled up to his side and said a few words to him, he didn't react. I'm glad he didn't stop at our mid refills spot or I would have politely fed him some nasty words. 10 miles later he happened to be at our usual rest stop telling stories to our friends of how a great riding veteran he is. I had cooled off by the so I just sat away from the dope. Before he left he came over to Gina and apologized.

His move: He had been behind us for 6 miles, about 40 yards back. We followed the trail, I don't know what he did but later he came down a ramp to enter the trail. Gina was about a foot from the white line on the right side of our lane. He came up from behind her, about 5 yards after the ramp ended. He squeezed in the tight area on Gina's right and scared the snot out of her. She had no idea he squeezed that big bulky bike into the tight little spot. I thought he bumped her elbow.  What a dumbazz! 3 of us on the trail, nobody around, entering the trail and he has to squeeze into a tight little spot. Couldn't lose 5 seconds off his pace after trailing us for 6 miles?

I was expecting him to pass us way before as we were just cruising holding the pace down. But I guess he knows all about safety and courtesy since he is quite the experienced rider! 

Sunday SART

Ahh nice day! A little cool for Gina, she was expecting heat. Hey, I read the forecast to her ha ha! It was somewhat overcast when we hit the coast but knew it was almost misty somewhere. When we reached the coast Charlie and his wife were there. They started much earlier and told us that it was misty earlier at the coast. Well ya see, that is why we don't ride early. That and not being able to get Gina out of bed ha ha! Had a good chat with Charlie on racing. Got some first hand info on the race scene.

Mark and Gail showed up and stayed for a visit. We all headed back together. Mark was doing a good job with the pull so I just sat back and took pictures ha ha! Gail is a funny one! She doesn't ride in like forever then after a couple of rides back, she's out there riding like she hasn't missed a beat. If I took that kind of time off the bike, I'd be hurting big time! Maybe it was her new shoes, being purty in pink and all! :-P

But as Mark is my witness, I am not the type of rider to suck wheel for 12 miles then sprint around for the victory ha ha!