Jose and I took turns at the front, an even rotation of 1 mile each. Felt good but on the way back he said he wanted to stay at the front. OK cool! Who am I to argue? Nice tailwind but when we hit the soccer fields, the wind kicked up and he was willing to trade pulls at that point. that's cool, I good a good long ride on the back. Though once we approached Moon Park, the pace he suggest of 17-18 turned into a 23 for a while! I held on best I could hoping he'd get tired ha ha! So we traded at teh top of that little incline thank goodness. I was able to back the pace down to what was a more comfy pace for me. Who cares about Jose ha ha! really though, I'm sure he got some good rest when I went to the front holding like 19 or so.
Did give me a chance to wear my new Mark's Bicycle Shop jersey I ordered from my buddy Mark. His shop is on Carnelian and Baseline in the Smart and Final shopping center. Of course he's a great guy and a great mechanic. Only dude I let touch my bikes, the stuff I can't do which is not much. I've followed him shop to shop over the last 20 years, maybe more. He fixed the shifting on my alignment on my 1998 Cannondale after wasting gas and 3 trips to Incycle. Amazing, you know me, not a fan of local bike shops after having gotten screwed way to many times over the years. Wheel builds, adjustments, you name it, I've got a story. However, Mark is magnificent! As I was saying, after 3 wasted trips to Incycle and having to hear them tell me it was my fault that the chain was dropping in the front, I took it to Mark. No, lie, God honest truth, he stood back, looked at it, didn't even freaking touch the bike, then 10 seconds later he says, "I see the problem!".
He noticed that the front derailleur was set up like an MTB with a different alignment, chain passing through the cage. He grabbed a tool, adjusted it, took 60 seconds maybe, then the freaking chain never freaking popped off the chain ring again. I'l tell ya, Mark has fixed plenty of crappy jobs by other local shops for me. I could go on and on but my fingers are tired from the ride ha ha!
So anyway the dude Mark is always willing to help the up and coming home mechanic. Always willing to pass on knowledge and skills. He's answered questions for me, given my tips and now I build my own wheels that actually last more than the first 40 miles. Don't get me started on Competitive Edge! ;-)
Now I think about it, back in 1996, I was destroying wheels at 220 pounds. Mark was the first and only guy to build a wheel for me that lasted. I think 20,000 miles that I know of. And yes, same exact specs and components as the other guys at the other shops.
Anyway, I do 99 percent of my own mechanics now but that one little thing that stumps me, I head to Mark knowing it will be done correctly! If you get a chance and don't know Mark, stop in and say Hi! You don't have to buy anything, he's always happy to talk bikes and rides!
So back to the ride! We were taking nice even turns Jose and I. As we were catching up to some dude, he hopped on the back as Jose was in front. Looked to be in good shape seeing I probably outweighed him by 100 pounds. And riding a sweet bike while I'm on my 1998 Cannondale CAD3.
Jose rotated off, then I pulled up. A mile later I pulled off and noticed the guy was on the back. Uhh no! Jose is too kind. I think if we are doing a decent pace and some dude hops on, he can help too! No free rides, especially if we don't know you! So I tell the guy to pull up and that we are taking 1 mile turns at the front. He looked at me and laughed then sprinted around. I figure he ain't willing to help so we just hold the pace as he gets about 20 yards ahead then fades. few seconds later we are rolling up on him when he pulls hard left and into the dirt south of Lincoln. He looks at us as we roll by and I can't help but throw in that silly little laugh that says, "YOU SUCK!". :-P
Once we get to the coast we see Ron and Dixie. Bummer, they are working on the rear wheel of the tandem. Flat! Not sure exactly what happened but turned out to take a few to fix it. Something about the spares being old maybe? Again not exactly sure but it was entertaining watching Ron fix the flat. I't always entertaining to watch as long as it is not mine he he he!
My new Mark's Bicycle Shop jersey! I like it but don't none of you dudes look at my ass, that's for the wimmins! :-P
Not sure what was going on at Yorba Park but hey!
My Fat Bastard ride partner. Jose has actually been doing very well on the bike as far as handling skills!
New jersey in action!
Dixie fixing the flat teaching Ron.
My face after the 46 miles. Actually I was pretty happy with the ride!
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