Sunday October 21st the A TEAM rode in yet another event on their heavy fall
cycling schedule which has included 6 GAP in Dahlonega, Ga... the Swampman in
wonderful Baker County and others to numerous to mention.....
Over 800 hundred riders enjoyed the beautiful Horse Farm country and got to
meet members of the Jacksonville A TEAM.....
Next event... the Horrible 100 in Clermont, Florida November 18th.... so come
on down and eat hot dogs after the ride with members of the World Famous
A TEAM !!!
Monday, October 22, 2007
Sunday, July 08, 2007
ART GONZALEZ RETURNS JULY 7TH, 2007 !!!
Unannounced ... Art Gonzalez rode TDJ Saturday July 7th. His first ride since his mishap in early April.... All went well and Art covered 34 miles with ease....
Riders were stunned at Art's cycling ability since he had not ridden for months..
The A TEAM is whole again !!!! Welome back Art !!!
Riders were stunned at Art's cycling ability since he had not ridden for months..
The A TEAM is whole again !!!! Welome back Art !!!
Thursday, July 05, 2007
July 4th - Baldwin Trail Fireworks
56 miler NFBC ride from the trail, looks like about 30 or so showed up including the ever present A-Team riders of Marino & myself. Kendall Frederick also joined the fray since his posse was out at the Nationals tearing it up.
Under overcast skies the ride started out downwind so the pace was brisk, about 21ish up to the stop at the convenience store. It was a good thing we all had ride maps because as a group, all of us missed the left turn at MLK on the trail so improvised to doing the route in reverse order.
I think this guy named Potts was the ride leader but I never really saw him during and at the convenience store stop several took off while others, me & Marino to name a few, were still filling water bottles and re-fueling. Fragmented is what happened next, a group took off and I scrambled to get back on the bike - didn't want to be gapped.
Now I'm looking ahead at this group, I didn't see Marino or Kendall as I left the store so I'm thinking they're up ahead on that pack. I start hammering it to try & catch up hoping Mike & Kendall are in the group telling them to back it down until 4 or 5 of us latch on. I didn't realize that Mike was behind me or I would have dropped immediately.
Anyway, got lucky, the group ahead was slowed by a stop light & then caught a draft from a truck to catch up. Now, as I catch up, I am just finishing a hard effort and coasting so I come up on the left of some old guy who gives me crap for not saying something so I told him basically to shove it since he & the others left us & I just finished sprinting to catch their asses!
Back in the pace line about 10 riders back I think I'm seeing Marino's jersey until Kendall drops back to say "Where's Mike?" Uh Oh...so we drop a bit but see nobody behind us (Actually Kendall dropped quite a bit but then he's more capable than I of making up the gap) so we rejoin the lead group. Now, some fat chick ahead of us lets the lead dogs gap us and Kendal decides to have no part so he goes & I go with him...I don't know why but I did. Kendall hammers out a steady 24 mph for a couple of miles w/me hanging on his wheel, barely and we catch lead group.
Stayed with that group for about 15 miles or midway on Yellow Water then cracked and dropped. Ended up riding the last 15 solo mostly in the rain.
A great workout, some are miffed about how the ride blew apart, 56 total miles in about 2:45 is faster than I had intended.
Went home & took a 1 hr nap & felt great after, wouldn't it be great if we could always nap after a ride?
Post ride thoughts:
1. Sorry Mike, I really thought you were ahead of me at the break or I would have dropped, honest.
2. Didn't plan on the hammer fest but it turned out to be a great hard effort work out.
3. Kendall is flat out riding like a maniac, that pull he did to catch the lead group was a blast & down right impressive!
Under overcast skies the ride started out downwind so the pace was brisk, about 21ish up to the stop at the convenience store. It was a good thing we all had ride maps because as a group, all of us missed the left turn at MLK on the trail so improvised to doing the route in reverse order.
I think this guy named Potts was the ride leader but I never really saw him during and at the convenience store stop several took off while others, me & Marino to name a few, were still filling water bottles and re-fueling. Fragmented is what happened next, a group took off and I scrambled to get back on the bike - didn't want to be gapped.
Now I'm looking ahead at this group, I didn't see Marino or Kendall as I left the store so I'm thinking they're up ahead on that pack. I start hammering it to try & catch up hoping Mike & Kendall are in the group telling them to back it down until 4 or 5 of us latch on. I didn't realize that Mike was behind me or I would have dropped immediately.
Anyway, got lucky, the group ahead was slowed by a stop light & then caught a draft from a truck to catch up. Now, as I catch up, I am just finishing a hard effort and coasting so I come up on the left of some old guy who gives me crap for not saying something so I told him basically to shove it since he & the others left us & I just finished sprinting to catch their asses!
Back in the pace line about 10 riders back I think I'm seeing Marino's jersey until Kendall drops back to say "Where's Mike?" Uh Oh...so we drop a bit but see nobody behind us (Actually Kendall dropped quite a bit but then he's more capable than I of making up the gap) so we rejoin the lead group. Now, some fat chick ahead of us lets the lead dogs gap us and Kendal decides to have no part so he goes & I go with him...I don't know why but I did. Kendall hammers out a steady 24 mph for a couple of miles w/me hanging on his wheel, barely and we catch lead group.
Stayed with that group for about 15 miles or midway on Yellow Water then cracked and dropped. Ended up riding the last 15 solo mostly in the rain.
A great workout, some are miffed about how the ride blew apart, 56 total miles in about 2:45 is faster than I had intended.
Went home & took a 1 hr nap & felt great after, wouldn't it be great if we could always nap after a ride?
Post ride thoughts:
1. Sorry Mike, I really thought you were ahead of me at the break or I would have dropped, honest.
2. Didn't plan on the hammer fest but it turned out to be a great hard effort work out.
3. Kendall is flat out riding like a maniac, that pull he did to catch the lead group was a blast & down right impressive!
Monday, July 02, 2007
I am buying a new Bianchi!
Celeste Green. It's beautiful. Not as beautiful as the rider, though.
It's for Anne. Rode the maiden voyage this afternoon after borrowing the bike from Scott Gross at Open Road. She loved it, much more so than the Specialized Dolce we test-rode on Saturday. Needless to say, I won't be bringing it back to Open Road and will have to haggle with Scott.
Some Saturday rides may soon be very slow. And very rewarding.
Friday, June 22, 2007
New Guy Pics
Here are the belated pictures of Peter's induction into the A-Team Hall of Shame. The shots would have been posted earlier, but my camera froze up after these pictures were taken. I'm just sayin'.....
Notice that the new guy is looking at his watch wondering when all this is going to be over.
Anyway, welcome Peter. It's great to have you aboard.
Notice that the new guy is looking at his watch wondering when all this is going to be over.
Anyway, welcome Peter. It's great to have you aboard.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
RAM
Fellow Icons,
Rapped out 50 big ones this morning to see how the bod would hold up...
did alright.... went to Orangedale and back...... nice turnout for RAM....
did get caught in the rain the last 10 miles.....
Peter...being a member of the A TEAM is a life changing experience .....
Rapped out 50 big ones this morning to see how the bod would hold up...
did alright.... went to Orangedale and back...... nice turnout for RAM....
did get caught in the rain the last 10 miles.....
Peter...being a member of the A TEAM is a life changing experience .....
Monday, June 04, 2007
The A Team Jersey!!!!
Gentlemen of the A Team...Thanks for the jersey and a spot on cycling's most elite team; THE A TEAM!
I'm sure it was a difficult decision to let a shlep like me hold an A Team jersey!
Seriously, always thought you guys would keep it just the four of you as I thought it should be so, I was really surprised!
Thanks again & I will certainly try to uphold the A Team legacy as icons of cycling!
I'm sure it was a difficult decision to let a shlep like me hold an A Team jersey!
Seriously, always thought you guys would keep it just the four of you as I thought it should be so, I was really surprised!
Thanks again & I will certainly try to uphold the A Team legacy as icons of cycling!
Friday, June 01, 2007
New Bike repair stand
So, I gave my old, unstable work stand to a guy in our church. He is heading to Malawai for a mission trip to, get this, repair bikes since it can be a major source of transportation.
Bought the Park stand shown, really nice, now if I just knew how to work an allen wrench...
Almost as cool as a new bike frame.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Memorial Day Weekend
Hope all had a safe cycling/rehab kind of a weekend for Memorial Day.
Leo & I spent Saturday and Sunday in Atlanta attending 2 Braves games. Losing both against the Phillies, Bobby Cox got thrown out of the Friday night game - again - and the Phillies clobbered the Braves on Sunday 13 to 6.
We took a tour of the Georgia Aquarium on Saturday...pretty nice aquarium but very crowded.
So, it's time to get back to riding next weekend, I'll probably do the Velo Brew ride Sunday & not sure what ride for Saturday.
The Disney race report is up at http://www.kingdogwood.com/
Later...
Leo & I spent Saturday and Sunday in Atlanta attending 2 Braves games. Losing both against the Phillies, Bobby Cox got thrown out of the Friday night game - again - and the Phillies clobbered the Braves on Sunday 13 to 6.
We took a tour of the Georgia Aquarium on Saturday...pretty nice aquarium but very crowded.
So, it's time to get back to riding next weekend, I'll probably do the Velo Brew ride Sunday & not sure what ride for Saturday.
The Disney race report is up at http://www.kingdogwood.com/
Later...
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
As we lounged at the first rest stop, Marino asked me how the Litespeed felt & I didn't get real animated but told him it was pretty good stuff. Well, just for the record...THE LITESPEED ROCKS BABY!
Some Observations...
-Didn't feel the road vibrations as much
-The Campy group shifting is incredibly smooth and crisp
-She's fast
-That guy at the end passed me as I was doing 27, caught him and when we stopped at the light he looked like he was ready to melt (Ok, the triathlon training may have something to do with that)
-Was able to stay with Art
I would have to rate it 5 stars out of 5...
Some Observations...
-Didn't feel the road vibrations as much
-The Campy group shifting is incredibly smooth and crisp
-She's fast
-That guy at the end passed me as I was doing 27, caught him and when we stopped at the light he looked like he was ready to melt (Ok, the triathlon training may have something to do with that)
-Was able to stay with Art
I would have to rate it 5 stars out of 5...
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Memory Lane sure is steep
Check out this link and remember. Some of those .05s are painful to the memory banks.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Mark your calendar
Upcoming schedule:- April 21-22: TOSRV
- April 29: Tour de David Vanderzee's Forts
- May 6: Rotary A1A Ocean Shore Scenic Highway Bicycle Ride
- May 21: Jekyll Island Challenge
- July 22-29: RAGBRAI XXXVI
- Sept. 2: Historic Savannah Century
- Sept. 9: Watermelon Crappy Route Century
- Sept. 30: Six Gap Century
- Oct. 21: Horse Farm Hundred
- Nov. 18: Horrible Hundred
The best riding bike you own or have ever owned?
There's a thought.
Me, it's a real toss-up. Rode the Specialized on Sunday for the first time in a couple of months
and it felt really good. I guess it's whichever one I'm on at the time.
The best riding ... ever? Probably the yellow-and-red Serotta Atlanta that I had in 2001-2.
Me, it's a real toss-up. Rode the Specialized on Sunday for the first time in a couple of months
and it felt really good. I guess it's whichever one I'm on at the time.
The best riding ... ever? Probably the yellow-and-red Serotta Atlanta that I had in 2001-2.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Back in the, um, groove
Month off the bike. Back yesterday with the VB group, A's and B's together.
Art is an animal. He and the rest of the A's took off from Orangedale back north and cranked it up to 27-28 mph with a tailwind (this after doing 24-25 in the headwind), leaving Grace and me (with Ed) in the rear, way back, again. At 210, Ed summarily decided we wouldn't follow. We headed straight back.
On Beauclerc Road, it suddenly occured to me that I had recently had 'roid surgery and that the adrenaline of being back in the saddle had worn off. I could no longer sit, so I stood the rest of the way — dancing on the pedals — back up SJ to OR.
Ouch.
At least I didn't crash.
Art is an animal. He and the rest of the A's took off from Orangedale back north and cranked it up to 27-28 mph with a tailwind (this after doing 24-25 in the headwind), leaving Grace and me (with Ed) in the rear, way back, again. At 210, Ed summarily decided we wouldn't follow. We headed straight back.
On Beauclerc Road, it suddenly occured to me that I had recently had 'roid surgery and that the adrenaline of being back in the saddle had worn off. I could no longer sit, so I stood the rest of the way — dancing on the pedals — back up SJ to OR.
Ouch.
At least I didn't crash.
Longest ride ever
This is the longest distance I've ever done on a single ride, rode a hard 110 miles Saturday on the tri bike. Two 55 mile loops starting at the Imeson trail head. Started out freezing & miserable for about 2 hours until the sun was up enough to warm things up.
Apparently, I didn't inflate the Zipps enough, on the first loop I struggled to hold 17mph. Got back to the car & inflated the tires & a vast improvement. Dealing with those valve extenders on the Zipps is a hassle, the air pump acts a little different than when it's straight on the tire valve vs the Zipps valve extenders, it's more difficult to determine tire pressure w/the extenders cause the pump doesn't hold the pressure to measure psi...another lesson learned.
Also had some gastric issues on the first loop & I think it's those damn Cliff Bars...on the 2nd loop had an Oatmeal Raisin Power Bar with me & it was more agreeable with the gastric plumbing. Another good nutrition discovery for long rides is Wheat Thins, I'll be packing those little crackers at IMAZ.
Hey ART - At breakfast did the Starbuck's double shot thingy I bought w/you Friday...hope that didn't cause the gastric stuff ,it would have been a good thing to have taken proior to hitting the 2nd loop.
So, with the under inflation among other things, it was a tough ride and on the final loop coming down 121 with the wind in the face...that hurt. Then it's back down the trail where, get this, I crashed! Lost concentration long enough to drift off the Baldwin trail & crash, I also think the wind assisted catching the Zipps, and BOOM! Not to worry, the bike is fine! I have road rash on the leg & arm, but as I said, the bike is fine.
At the end of the ride, got off the bike & felt a little dizzy so no mood to do a run, just headed home & took a 1hr nap then ended up going to bed later that night at 9:30.
Other than that...
Apparently, I didn't inflate the Zipps enough, on the first loop I struggled to hold 17mph. Got back to the car & inflated the tires & a vast improvement. Dealing with those valve extenders on the Zipps is a hassle, the air pump acts a little different than when it's straight on the tire valve vs the Zipps valve extenders, it's more difficult to determine tire pressure w/the extenders cause the pump doesn't hold the pressure to measure psi...another lesson learned.
Also had some gastric issues on the first loop & I think it's those damn Cliff Bars...on the 2nd loop had an Oatmeal Raisin Power Bar with me & it was more agreeable with the gastric plumbing. Another good nutrition discovery for long rides is Wheat Thins, I'll be packing those little crackers at IMAZ.
Hey ART - At breakfast did the Starbuck's double shot thingy I bought w/you Friday...hope that didn't cause the gastric stuff ,it would have been a good thing to have taken proior to hitting the 2nd loop.
So, with the under inflation among other things, it was a tough ride and on the final loop coming down 121 with the wind in the face...that hurt. Then it's back down the trail where, get this, I crashed! Lost concentration long enough to drift off the Baldwin trail & crash, I also think the wind assisted catching the Zipps, and BOOM! Not to worry, the bike is fine! I have road rash on the leg & arm, but as I said, the bike is fine.
At the end of the ride, got off the bike & felt a little dizzy so no mood to do a run, just headed home & took a 1hr nap then ended up going to bed later that night at 9:30.
Other than that...
Monday, February 19, 2007
Tour of California
You'll notice that there is no coverage in this morning's Sports section about the TOC. (In case you missed it, it was leap-out-of-your-chair awesome at the end; Leipheimer wins the prologue by 1.4 seconds.)
I'm asking you to do a couple of things because somehow, my arguments have fallen on deaf ears. Please complain to the following people:
chet.fussman@jacksonville.com (sports editor)
mike.richey@jacksonville.com (managing editor)
wayne@ezell@jacksonville.com (reader advocate)
You can also leave a voice mail for Wayne at 359-4217. That works best.
Send this message to all the cycling people you know.
Thanks
I'm asking you to do a couple of things because somehow, my arguments have fallen on deaf ears. Please complain to the following people:
chet.fussman@jacksonville.com (sports editor)
mike.richey@jacksonville.com (managing editor)
wayne@ezell@jacksonville.com (reader advocate)
You can also leave a voice mail for Wayne at 359-4217. That works best.
Send this message to all the cycling people you know.
Thanks
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Yes it is
Had to bail at Bolles. Couldn't breathe; hacking up too much.
I do not want pneumonia on the menu.
Tomorrow, at 38 degrees, is iffy. A 9 a.m. start suddenly sounds better.
I do not want pneumonia on the menu.
Tomorrow, at 38 degrees, is iffy. A 9 a.m. start suddenly sounds better.
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