Solo 25 PR Medals for my Emerald Necklace 😁

 Solo 25 PR Medals for my Emerald Necklace (course name on Strava). 31 miles 15.6 average speed. Started out looking for an easy ride but feeling good, so I pushed it a little bit. Maybe the Lifesavers gummies are more aerodynamic than Clif Shot Bloks. I know they're a lot cheaper. 💰 🤑 💸 💲 Couple little munks admiring my old 1997 bike. 😁

Heck, I rarely push from the dam south because it's mostly downhill but today,  no headwind and feeling good so I pushed it. End of the ride segments about 8 miles. Averaged 22 mph . Heck, better than 20 years ago riding with a forum group. 👍

Some good old fashioned California scenery. 🤪

A big reason I pushed hard today was that a couple weeks back, when I latched on the back of a group ride, my intent was to get ride footage for video. I mean, some of the times I'm all I get ha ha ha! SO seeing the group taking off as I was approaching, I thought they might get a kick out of it. I did see a couple of things that scared me so I stayed back and to the side if you notice in the video but they were rolling!!! I didn't want to get in the way and not wanting to get hurt myself.

One gal latched on to the back and she looked very skilled and composed. I had let her go ahead of me after being behind me figuring I didn't want to get in her way or keep her from enjoying the tow as well. I figured I'd roll with the group for a while then drop off if it got too fast or hectic, remember I'm an old man now.

They didn't seem to mind the gal riding along and even let her move up in the line. I had thought about going around to get the riders' faces but every time I thought I had a chance, the group would lift the pace or they would gather on the left side or even the other lane. No way would I go then, too risky and too many to pass without them expecting me. So I just stayed back not having the right chance but that was cool.

But one dude dropped to the back and I let him in not wanting to interfere. But it seemed that his intentions were to drop me, ok. He started pulling the old "drop back on the descent and lift the pace on the uphill" sections of the trail. He would slow then accelerate in an attempt to drop me I was thinking. OK, whatever, I was just trying to get footage as I said. 

I was ok but then as seen in the video, he started swaying side to side and crossing the lane dangerously, drifting from the left to outside the white line and shoulder of the lane. At this point, I was F that! It ain't worth getting hurt over. I figure either the guy was struggling to keep up, hence the gaps, or he had lousy handling skills. Strong rider for sure but safety is number one. I figure he was trying to drop me, so whatever. At this point, I fell back having only about 1/2 a mile to the end of my ride and I had kept up for about 8 miles.

So today, feeling pretty good, I gave it a push to see what I could do. I rarely push on the downhill sections (-.2 descent type grade) not ever thinking much of downhill speeds to impress. But today, feeling good I figured I'd push to see how I could do solo on that section knowing that I could keep up with the group that day no problem if that dude hadn't started being wishy washy.

So I gave it a good effort and was surprised. Yes and no, figuring I know I could keep up no problem but happy with my results. I averaged 22.2 on that segment of miles while the group had averaged on the same segment. Just having a good time admiring the fact that even though some weenies feel the need to be elitists, it's cool to know I could better that segment riding solo vs their time 20.3 riding in a group of about 12 (?).  Heck, I was about 2 mph faster on my own ha ha ha!

I just might get one of those jerseys that says, "Don't underestimate an old man on a bike!". 😁

Another cool stat on Strava. I'm #94 out of 877 riders as far as my weight class. 

#457 out of 3102 riders in my age group. I guess I'm not that much of a slug yet ha ha ha!

This year, I have Tinker Juarez beat by 61 places ha ha ha! That would surprise me of course he was probably reading a book while riding.

 

Funny thing about pushing hard, at the end of the ride, I found a few little chunks of gummies that ended up on my Bryton GPS screen ha ha ha! I guess trying to chew gummies and trying to go fast can be a little tricky.

BTW, it is good to be remembered. I look in on cycling forums from time to time to see who is talking sheot about me. Some good people still mention me in a not so bad way and others in a total back stabbing POS way. You know, the guy who pretends to be your buddy on Fb then talks trash about you on a forum. Surprised the dude wouldn't suspect that I might check in to identify the backstabbers. They know who they are.

But I did see a comment about me claiming I could outwork people half my age. Yeah, that is true, been doing it for years and years. Even in the hot sun manufacturing business, I can outwork most people of any age. Heck, I think I was 59 here and still kicking ass on the young guys who were scared to sweat a little and get dirty. My boss didn't give me $100 more than once for working my ass off when others were busy crying about the summer heat. Oh yeah, she would buy me boxes of Liquid IV as well for work and boxes to take home for riding my bike. Yeah, all while the young guys were inside crying it was to hot outside. So there!