Wed. 7/11
Dennis and I took the drive up to the FarmDog TT to see the Silver guys, but more importantly, to pick up my new set of HED wheels.
I can't wait to try them out. They are way cool (according to Hwood)...
Oh, and I got int a nice 92 miles last Saturday with the VeloRochester group as we headed to Lake City and back.
Then another 42 on Sunday for a nice long cool down.
Since then I have been mostly at Kathy's clinic appointments, working remotely, eating, and sleeping.
I guess I did get one 35 mile ride in the other day.
The new wheels will give me more incentive to get my lazy butt out there.
D to D is coming fast...
I can't wait to try them out. They are way cool (according to Hwood)...
Oh, and I got int a nice 92 miles last Saturday with the VeloRochester group as we headed to Lake City and back.
Then another 42 on Sunday for a nice long cool down.
Since then I have been mostly at Kathy's clinic appointments, working remotely, eating, and sleeping.
I guess I did get one 35 mile ride in the other day.
The new wheels will give me more incentive to get my lazy butt out there.
D to D is coming fast...
Sat. 6/30/12
Dan Ulwelling Memorial Race, Freedom Fest (SpamJam) Austin, MN...
25 miles of fast, flat racing. Ussually the wind is the biggest factor, but today there was virtually no wind to speak of. There was a slight breeze from the ESE, so the last two stretches were the ones that I tried to stay alert to my position in the group.
As usual, the Silver boys showed up. We had Steve, Rob, Shad, Jay, Carlton, Chuck, and myself.
From the start, Silver was up near the front keeping the pace high.
It wasn't long before Al (from Rochester) took off the front and Hwood went with him. Silver settled in to a more comfortable pace as a few others riders moved to the front to try and chase. But all of those efforts were short lived, as Hwood and Al gained ground on the rest of us.
As we turned east (and into the slight breeze), two riders launched off the front. Silver picked the pace up, but the two chasers got a nice gap on the rest of us. But they did remain in sight, so there was really no panic in the group.
We turned south and the pace stayed nice and high (right around 24-25 mph). Along the way the main group was getting smaller as more and more riders moved to the back and soon lost contact.
We were down to around 20 or so, when disaster struck.
I was middle of the pack riding the right edge of the road, when two riders up ahead made contact.
The rider to their immediate left overreacted and lunged to the left, coming in contact with another rider. They went down taking two more riders to my immediate left.
I threaded the needle between the pile on the left and the two rider who had made initial contact. They had both headed for the ditch mostly, so I was really only watching the bikes to make sure they didn't bounce into my path.
As I cleared the mess, I looked back to see a number of others involved in the crash. I'm guessing at least 10 people were on the ground.
I didn't see who actually went down, so I continued on to catch the front end of the group.
I did a quick head count of Silver and I think we were two short. Just then Shad came up from behind, he had gone way left and around the mess. So we were still one done.
We were only about 5 miles from the finish, so the rest of us pedalled toward the finish. Though you could really tell the group had lost its desire to race, as the pace was under 20 mph.
We turned south onto the final home stretch and the pace picked up again as everyone dug deep to finish the race strong. Carlton made a great effort up the left side, I stayed tucked in on the right and as the pace got back up to 28 mph, the legs started to fail (some worse than others). I went around several riders as they ran out of gas and I found myself back from a group of 5 or 6 (about 10 yards).
I tried to bridge, but by now my legs were feeling it. Just then I noticed someone on my right trying to nip me at the line, so I dug deep and pulled away from him to finish just behind the small group.
After a quick cool down, I met up with my brother Dennis and we went back into the parking lot. There we learned the Steve had been involved in the crash. In a few minutes, here came Steve on his bike. You could tell he had gone down, by the scuffs on his jersey. We helped him get the jersy off and sure enough there was road rash on his back, elbow, and hip. The bike brake levers were twisted, but otherwise the bike looked ok. We got come antiseptic wipes and helped Steve clean off some of the scrapes.
I'm sure he is feeling it today. Heal fast there Big Steve, I'm thinking about you. If I had known it was Steve, I would have stopped.
Anyway, Hwood got second overall as one of the secondary chasers bridged to them and then kept right on going to a nice solo finish. Hwood took the sprint over Al for second.
Dennis and I didn't stick around for the awards, but I'm sure Silver Cycling was well represented.
A fun, fast race as usual, but the inconsistancy, inexperience of the riders and their pack skills make it a very sketchy ride.
I was lucky, I'm sure there are a number of people who are not feeling too well today...
25 miles of fast, flat racing. Ussually the wind is the biggest factor, but today there was virtually no wind to speak of. There was a slight breeze from the ESE, so the last two stretches were the ones that I tried to stay alert to my position in the group.
As usual, the Silver boys showed up. We had Steve, Rob, Shad, Jay, Carlton, Chuck, and myself.
From the start, Silver was up near the front keeping the pace high.
It wasn't long before Al (from Rochester) took off the front and Hwood went with him. Silver settled in to a more comfortable pace as a few others riders moved to the front to try and chase. But all of those efforts were short lived, as Hwood and Al gained ground on the rest of us.
As we turned east (and into the slight breeze), two riders launched off the front. Silver picked the pace up, but the two chasers got a nice gap on the rest of us. But they did remain in sight, so there was really no panic in the group.
We turned south and the pace stayed nice and high (right around 24-25 mph). Along the way the main group was getting smaller as more and more riders moved to the back and soon lost contact.
We were down to around 20 or so, when disaster struck.
I was middle of the pack riding the right edge of the road, when two riders up ahead made contact.
The rider to their immediate left overreacted and lunged to the left, coming in contact with another rider. They went down taking two more riders to my immediate left.
I threaded the needle between the pile on the left and the two rider who had made initial contact. They had both headed for the ditch mostly, so I was really only watching the bikes to make sure they didn't bounce into my path.
As I cleared the mess, I looked back to see a number of others involved in the crash. I'm guessing at least 10 people were on the ground.
I didn't see who actually went down, so I continued on to catch the front end of the group.
I did a quick head count of Silver and I think we were two short. Just then Shad came up from behind, he had gone way left and around the mess. So we were still one done.
We were only about 5 miles from the finish, so the rest of us pedalled toward the finish. Though you could really tell the group had lost its desire to race, as the pace was under 20 mph.
We turned south onto the final home stretch and the pace picked up again as everyone dug deep to finish the race strong. Carlton made a great effort up the left side, I stayed tucked in on the right and as the pace got back up to 28 mph, the legs started to fail (some worse than others). I went around several riders as they ran out of gas and I found myself back from a group of 5 or 6 (about 10 yards).
I tried to bridge, but by now my legs were feeling it. Just then I noticed someone on my right trying to nip me at the line, so I dug deep and pulled away from him to finish just behind the small group.
After a quick cool down, I met up with my brother Dennis and we went back into the parking lot. There we learned the Steve had been involved in the crash. In a few minutes, here came Steve on his bike. You could tell he had gone down, by the scuffs on his jersey. We helped him get the jersy off and sure enough there was road rash on his back, elbow, and hip. The bike brake levers were twisted, but otherwise the bike looked ok. We got come antiseptic wipes and helped Steve clean off some of the scrapes.
I'm sure he is feeling it today. Heal fast there Big Steve, I'm thinking about you. If I had known it was Steve, I would have stopped.
Anyway, Hwood got second overall as one of the secondary chasers bridged to them and then kept right on going to a nice solo finish. Hwood took the sprint over Al for second.
Dennis and I didn't stick around for the awards, but I'm sure Silver Cycling was well represented.
A fun, fast race as usual, but the inconsistancy, inexperience of the riders and their pack skills make it a very sketchy ride.
I was lucky, I'm sure there are a number of people who are not feeling too well today...
Saturday, June 23rd
Dr. Tim sent out an email for a nice civilized ride on Saturday, so I responded with "I'm in".
I copied Jeff and Steve just in case they were around.
To my surprise they both showed up, along with Dr. Tim, Tim B., Al, Ian, and Franz.
We rolled SSE, out on Cty 1, through Simpson and continued south to Cty 2.
From there we headed west to Racine and after a few more westerly miles, we turned north on Cty 8.
Then we continued north through High Forest and then back into Rochester on Cty 8.
What a great ride!!! Very civilized, nice pace, and a real fun group of riders.
It was great to see the familiar faces again.
Just like old times.
I copied Jeff and Steve just in case they were around.
To my surprise they both showed up, along with Dr. Tim, Tim B., Al, Ian, and Franz.
We rolled SSE, out on Cty 1, through Simpson and continued south to Cty 2.
From there we headed west to Racine and after a few more westerly miles, we turned north on Cty 8.
Then we continued north through High Forest and then back into Rochester on Cty 8.
What a great ride!!! Very civilized, nice pace, and a real fun group of riders.
It was great to see the familiar faces again.
Just like old times.
Lately,
Getting in a few rides here and there.
Hopefully ramping up the miles in preparation for Dawn to Dusk 2012...
Alot of rain lately has slowed things down and now here comes the heat.
Hopefully ramping up the miles in preparation for Dawn to Dusk 2012...
Alot of rain lately has slowed things down and now here comes the heat.
Sat. 6/9
The Silver guys had a ride starting from Cannon Falls for Saturday.
So, I packed up the bike and made the trek up there.
We left Cannon Falls at 9:00am or so, heading for Red Wing.
The back roads were hilly, but almost no traffic made for some very nice riding.
We stopped in Red Wing for some water, food, and rest. Then we continued SE to Lake City via the back roads.
Again the roads were perfect and very quiet, but now the temps and wind were starting to pick up.
After another quick stop for water, we headed NW toward Old Frontenac.
Another beautiful road with hardly no cars. Then we headed across 61 and back to the backroads for Red Wing.
We stopped at a nice sandwich shop in Red Wing for some great food, cool temps, and much needed rest for the legs.
I could really feel it in my legs as we headed out, but I figured I would "warm up" again.
Then it was back to Cannon Falls following our original backroad for a ways, then we jogged over to the trail for the shade and wind block.
Unfortunately, my legs never did really come back to life and I really felt it all the way back to Cannon Falls.
105 miles with almost 4000 feet of climbing on a hot (+90) and windy (+15mph) day.
Only one flat (sorry Rob) and a great, perfect day spent with terrific friends.
So, I packed up the bike and made the trek up there.
We left Cannon Falls at 9:00am or so, heading for Red Wing.
The back roads were hilly, but almost no traffic made for some very nice riding.
We stopped in Red Wing for some water, food, and rest. Then we continued SE to Lake City via the back roads.
Again the roads were perfect and very quiet, but now the temps and wind were starting to pick up.
After another quick stop for water, we headed NW toward Old Frontenac.
Another beautiful road with hardly no cars. Then we headed across 61 and back to the backroads for Red Wing.
We stopped at a nice sandwich shop in Red Wing for some great food, cool temps, and much needed rest for the legs.
I could really feel it in my legs as we headed out, but I figured I would "warm up" again.
Then it was back to Cannon Falls following our original backroad for a ways, then we jogged over to the trail for the shade and wind block.
Unfortunately, my legs never did really come back to life and I really felt it all the way back to Cannon Falls.
105 miles with almost 4000 feet of climbing on a hot (+90) and windy (+15mph) day.
Only one flat (sorry Rob) and a great, perfect day spent with terrific friends.
What's been happening...
Kathy had a bit of a break from treatments, so we hopped in the car and spent a few days in Chicago.
From there, we headed up the west coast of Michigan to Mackinaw City.
We spent three days in Mackinaw City, one day on the island and the other days spent wandering around.
Mackinaw Island was fun, we walked through a lot of the shops, visited the old Catholic Church, and took a horse-drawn buggy ride.
Then we headed back across the U.P. for home.
Now, we are back to the clinic for the rest of the treatments.
I have been getting in a few shorter bike rides in lately, but I am starting to fall a bit behind on the miles...
Hopefully, I can get a few longer rides in.
From there, we headed up the west coast of Michigan to Mackinaw City.
We spent three days in Mackinaw City, one day on the island and the other days spent wandering around.
Mackinaw Island was fun, we walked through a lot of the shops, visited the old Catholic Church, and took a horse-drawn buggy ride.
Then we headed back across the U.P. for home.
Now, we are back to the clinic for the rest of the treatments.
I have been getting in a few shorter bike rides in lately, but I am starting to fall a bit behind on the miles...
Hopefully, I can get a few longer rides in.
Lately,
I made the drive up on Saturday to help at the first of the 2012 Farm Dog TTs.
I was the usual "holder/whip" person along with Jason.
They had over 70 people, with about 30 of them doing the route a second time.
Beautiful weather, warm, sunny, and lighter winds.
The only concern was several gravel trucks hauling along the route. Silver got up close and personal with one.
Anyway, I've been getting in some riding but mostly shorter, solo rides.
Maybe the weekends will clear up a bit so I can make a few of the group rides. Either that or I'll have to try to make some evening rides on the weekdays.
I was the usual "holder/whip" person along with Jason.
They had over 70 people, with about 30 of them doing the route a second time.
Beautiful weather, warm, sunny, and lighter winds.
The only concern was several gravel trucks hauling along the route. Silver got up close and personal with one.
Anyway, I've been getting in some riding but mostly shorter, solo rides.
Maybe the weekends will clear up a bit so I can make a few of the group rides. Either that or I'll have to try to make some evening rides on the weekdays.
Thur. 5/10
It was a great night to get out for a ride.
So I took advantage of it and made my way to Chatfield and back.
The wind was out of the SSE, so the first half was a bit harder, but the last half was less work (especially the northward sections).
Nothing out of the usual to report this time, no bee stings, no empty (or full) beer cans...
Only spotted on other rider near Simpson (heading south).
My legs were plenty tired as I neared home.
So I took advantage of it and made my way to Chatfield and back.
The wind was out of the SSE, so the first half was a bit harder, but the last half was less work (especially the northward sections).
Nothing out of the usual to report this time, no bee stings, no empty (or full) beer cans...
Only spotted on other rider near Simpson (heading south).
My legs were plenty tired as I neared home.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Where You At???
About Me
|
| Subscribe to the new Silver Cycling Club group email |
| Visit Silver Cycling |
| Subscribe to the Velo Rochester Cycling Club group email |
| Visit VeloRochester |