Another Gina Kick Butt Ride!

Well Gina says her mid week rides and change of eating habits haven't done her much good. I beg to differ! Today was good proof of that. We started the 43 miler with Mike but later ran into a few other guys. We had a pace line doing a pretty good pace against the wind. We picked up a few other guys, 2 of which we see often on the trail Joaquin and Eduardo. The guys took turns rotating at the front. It was nice to have help but I was worried that the pace into the wind would be too hot for Gina. The final stretch to the coast was windy but I felt great! With all the guys behind us I thought maybe I would slow down a bi  for Gina. Just then I heard her shout, I feel good, if you want to go faster!". Oh wow! I pushed the pace figuring none of the guys would sprint around to the end if the pace was too high. Sure enough they stayed on the back so I thought. When we pulled up to the coast I was shocked to see that 3 of the guys had fallen off the pace and were far behind but Gina was still there! We pulled int to the rest stop and one dude said, "wow she is strong!". When the other 3 finally arrived, they didn't say much but Gina got a few funny looks ha ha! It was a great day and Gina did pretty darn well. Eating habits are paying off for the 2 of us as well as the mid week rides that we fit in when we can! :-)


                                                                              Mike

                                                 Gina still looking good after 40 miles !

                                     Real cyclist, his bike is worth more than his truck ha ha!

                                                               Alan the real cyclist!

                                                 Iron Man Tammy, or is it Iron Woman?

                                                            Tammy leg with the tat!

                                                   Alan's leg, not much going on there! :-P

                                              SART regulars Joaquin and Eduardo

Midweek Cruise

A little exercise after work to smooth out the legs. 11.5 miles gentle climb up San Antonio Ave in Upland. About a 3-4% grade and a short steep 10% at the top that Gina just loves ha ha ha! From 13th to 24th, then down Euclid then back up a second time. :-)

                            There is the short steep 10 percenter Gina loves so much ha ha!

Birthday Ride (52 & 52 Miles)

52 miles at 16.4 average. Started out with Gina, Aimee, Jose and Mike (Spider Man). Ran into Gem along the way so he sat in with us for a few miles, maybe 8 miles. Near the coast we ran across Bad Bob who joined us for a bit and a visit at the rest stop. Pretty good rid. I think we all had a good time and a good workout! :-)

Sunday Fun!

35 miles with Gina, Jose and forum member Eyemage. Gina did very well, especially for the 2nd day of riding. 17.3 average.  Ran into Lucas (Jed 19) at the coast for a friendly visit. Ran into single speed Tony and his bud. Bad Bob and Greg also stopped by for a visit. Nice day and a good ride! :-)



                                                           

                                                                Mr. Beans Mobile!

                                                                      Eyemage (forum name)

                                                           Yay, it's almost Summer!

                                                              The end of a good ride!

SART Saturday with Gina

So we decided to ride the trail rather than watch the TOC. OK so I think it was that Gina didn't want to climb GMR ha ha! Either way it was cool. Cool day, a little bit of drizzle but not much and a big headwind! Some lady in red hopped on the back of or little train as we rolled by. She hung on for a few miles till it was time for her to turn around to head back. She stopped at with us at Edna Park to thank us for the lift, she said it was fun! The other dude in the picture hung on for a short while but got dropped after about a mile. Hmm! Oh well added another rider to the picture! :-P

I put a new GP 4000 on the rear of Gina' bike, cleaned the drive train so she was rolling smooth today! Bike was so quiet I didn't even know she was there ha ha!

                                                                    A little windy!

My Bike Guy

Gina and I took the day off today, played hookie ha ha ha! We figured we would try a little deli/bakery that my bike guy Mark had told us about. They make their own bread and boy is it delicious. While we were there we might as well drop in and say hello to Mark. Well what was Mark and Dave's Bike shop is now Mark's Bike Shop. He's on his own now and say she is doing well. He's a great mechanic and a great guy. His shop is on the corner of Carnelian and Baseline in Rancho near Smart and Final if ya ever need services. He is the one guy that I will let touch my bikes and for that, I have followed him around as a mechanic since 1995 when I started riding. I've tried a few others and they really made a mess out of my bikes and wheels. Mark is an excellent wheel builder and built the first set of wheels that lasted over 2k miles under my big body. I did pick up a couple spare tubes and another patch kit. Wow, I have 11 spare tubes now and 2 patch kits. I shouldn't have to worry for a while ha ha!

Well after the visit and our sandwich I figured it would be nice to get lunch for Mark and his buddy at the shop. So we ordered a couple to go then delivered them. Mark was happy but one thing, I get to take a picture in exchange for the sandwiches he he he! Hey, I'm Mr. Beanz!!!!

Mark said his buddy was camera shy but I say no problem I didn't really like the guy anyway! :-P After Gina and I strolled the malls. Then an early dinner at Lucille's and an open mic show at Sam Ash Music store. At the mall I bought a new belt, real leather for work. I've dropped 3 belt holes and 30 pounds now so my cheapo belt has cracks in my usual hole so I needed a new one! That was my reward for the weight loss. Oh, and a couple of huge towels from the linen store. I had no idea they were called bath sheets. To me they're just big towels ha ha! Well we played hookie and wasted the day but it's nice to do nothing sometimes! :-P

                                                         Mark owner and great mechanic!

                                                               Gina at Lucille's

                                       If I buy you a sandwich, the catch is a photo ha ha!

                                                           The little bakery/deli!

                                              Not much different from my daily dinner.

                                              Couple of yellow cages for my Cannondale

Sunday SART (1997 Cannondale/No Gina ride)

Today was a totally awesome ride. I felt great! Gina did some visiting today so I figured Jose and I would push the pace a bit and we did. Well as much as the wind let us, pretty stiff headwind. I was worried as my legs were pretty tired the previous night after doing the 51 with Gina. I figured if all else failed, I'd ride Jose's wheel all day long. After exchanging pulls with Jose at the start of the ride I started feeling really really good. Jose  started to struggle so I did longer pulls and let him up front for short periods so I could get a little rest. At one point heading to the coast just after Warner he fell off my wheel. It was on the short uphill of one of the underpasses. I slowed to let him back on since we both had planned to ride together. My motto "don't drop anyone that starts the ride with you and helps out". Well he got back on so I figured he was tired so I sat up to take a swig of water. I asked Jose, "do you need some water?". He replied, "NO, I NEED MY TRUCK!". Ha ha ha, I thought that was funny and that statement made my ride today! He later told me he could tell that I was riding much stronger and that the weight loss and proper diet has made a big difference in my riding. I don't post this to brag but it really is a great feeling and makes one proud when you see your efforts paying off!

Just before the coast we ran into a couple of dudes, Andy (I sure hope my memory hasn't failed me) and Chris. We exchanged some ride stories and bike stories. The first pic is Andy's bike. He was telling me that this is considered the "low end" model. Seriously, I was ashamed to park my bike in the same vicinity as this rig, it's sweet! These guys were pretty friendly so we had some good laughs and good conversation.

Later Bad Bob and The Legend Greg arrived at the rest stop. Again more good chit chat. At one point Andy said he is known for wearing the color of his jersey. Bad Bob said, "no, Mr. Beanz is known for wearing this color!". Andy then said," Then I'm the Asian version of Mr. Beanz!" ha ha ha! I thought that was funny! Oh well, I may have to change my colors soon anyway as Bad Bob was telling me that my jersey really needs to be replaced. He said it has seen better days. Wow, I bought this thing about 3 months ago after my first of it's color was pretty thrashed. Hm, I must be really hard on jerseys ha ha! Well I'll replace it after I lose a few more pounds, maybe something real cool looking!

On the return, we rolled by a group of about 4 or 5 guys. One of them left his group to work with us. Pretty strong dude! Made for a fun return.

Anyway, it was a great ride and a pretty cool day as far as friends and new friends!


                                                    Andy's "low end" rig....OKAY!

                                   Andy and Chris...again, hoping I got Andy's name correct.

                                                                     Strike a pose!

                                                                          Chris

                                                    Lucas was there for a short visit.

                                                                The Legend Greg

                                                                            Bad Bob

                                                       My 1997 CAD3 Cannondale

                                                Some dude we picked up on the return.

                                                                              Jose

SART 51

Probably the longest ride we have done in a long time. It was only Gina and I today so our 40 miler turned into a 51 miler. Felt good along the way so I asked Gina if she wanted to extend the ride, sure why not?! It was cold, dark and windy most of the ride but hey, got to have fun right!

Not many riders out at all. Seemed like we saw maybe 10 at most. I know it was more but it felt like 10 he he he! Nice consistent pace and Gina did very well! :-)

We did see Eric A running near Gypsum Cyn. Didn't expect to see him there so we barely squeezed out a "Hey!". Hmmm maybe he's training for the Iron Man , a Tri or maybe a marathon but he was out there running. Never expected to see him running. We were near our turn around point so we figured we'd say hi as we rolled by him on the way back to the coast but we never saw him. Wow, he must be really really fast! :-P

                                            Gina smiling at the start of the 40 turned 51.

                                                                  18 mile in stretch

                                                  First the quads then the hammies!

                                                                   At the coast!

                                     Not sure if this is still a smile or not at the end of the ride.