Great Turnout!

My post is not as timely as Michael's so this is a bit out of order, but I did want to share the photos and also say how great it was to see everyone on Saturday, even though a few of you I only got to see for a short time.  Sorry we didn't have a better turnout with the youth ambassadors, but I was glad Cooper came to provide us with some inspiration - Thanks Mark.

Playing in the Rain

Sam and I left before the sun was up this morning, a little later than we intended, but we were on the road, by shortly after 7am

It was a brisk 52 degrees, with light precipitation when I left downtown, but by the time we got going, it started out as just wet roads.

We headed south on Mann Road and I am not really sure where we were when the sun actually came up as it was to overcast to tell, but I think we were at the top of Centenary hill.

By the time we arrived at the Marathon station on 67 just before Robb Hill, it seemed like the weather was going to clear off, so I didn't bother to turn my rain jacket right side out when I snugged it down to my waist. We were trying to work on less than 3 minute stops and would have been out of the Marathon quite easily and back on the road in 4 but Richard, the guy manning the cash register was enthralled by my headlight. A cycling enthusiast himself, he said that he had never seen one quite so bright and had seen us coming from way down the road on the other side of 67. So I enlisted yet another Nashbar recruit and gave him all the info on my little Blackburn light.

So after about a 12 minute stop, we were back on the road and ready to climb Robb Hill.

We made it over the top in good order, but it started to spit rain again, so I had to struggle back into my inside out rain jacket, which I managed to do, but not without a lot of genuflection :)

Sam and I were very plesantly suprised to find a lot more climbing on the other side of Robb hill which pretty much continued well to the other side of Wilbur on 142 when we exited the wonderful tree cover and entered the land of abominable wind. Fortunately we only had a few miles of this before we made the turn around at the white house in the middle of the cornfield, next to the herd of escaped cows.

We stopped for a quick photo op (fortunately Sam took the phone pic as my Nikon seems to have ate the other pic - but I did find the pics that vaporized from my last rain ride with Kate E. - see Blood Sweat and Rain post )

So we got turned back into the wind full force and the sky looked ominous. The hills seemed to just fly by on the way back and either they were a lot easier on the way out or I just didn't notice because I was talking the whole way (which made me even happier that Sam was with me or otherwise it might have looked like I was crazy)

Next thing I knew, we were cruising back down Robb and were pulling into the Marathon to fuel up (yes they do have bananas) and got our stay there lengthend again by Richard. (quite a nice and interesting chap actually)

So in my haste to depart I left the water I bought sitting on the ledge outside the station. (If any of you go by there and see it, feel free to help yourselves, I don't really need it now) and fortunately did not really need it this morning.

The traffic was really pretty light until we were almost back, which made the early departure seem like that much better of an idea.

We averaged about 13.5 and this was a very pleasent 50.7 mile ride, I may do this for a double to get one more century in before I have to give up my bike. Excellant choice of venue Sam!!

Aside from not having a 7 mile climb, the topography was very comparable to what we will ride in DV. Great training circuit.

Well that's it see you all this week I hope and I will be at Southwestway on Tuesday again for the last time until Death Valley.

Keep those cards and letters coming!

Michael

Hope Ride

Michael, Sam, Tony, Alex, Bob, Dan, Kate W., Scott (Kate and Scott not pictured as they were dealing with bike issues before the start) did the Hope Ride on Saturday. Thanks for joining the MPCC Bikers group in an effort to get $1,000 donation for the Mary Rigg neighborhood center located on the westside of Indianapolis. I don't think we were the biggest team but it was well worth trying.We had many new friends join us on this ride, Marcy who knows many of you all from the Nebo ride. Penny, Christina, David, Brent of the MPCC bikers team. Dan, Lana, and 3 others riding with the JDRF Cinicinnati team who we shall be seeing in Death Valley.

We all started out together but ended up separating within the first 5 miles. There were several people that started out same time as we did which might have caused the disconnect. Bob and Dan later informed Michael that it was due to us passing on the left side of the road going up hill. We don't seem to recall that part but are sorry nonetheless. Michael, Tony, Marcy, and I stayed together most of the ride. We ran into Bob and Dan several times at stops and once when we were headed the wrong direction with a group of at least 30 riders ;o). We actually made a few wrong turns during the course of the day. We encountered several bike snobs at our first wrong turn, one guy would not respond to Marcy despite having to stop at the T right in front of us! It was classic! We did ride a short distance with the MPCC group which was working out well until we had bike troubles. Tony had problems with his bike chain and seat while I ended up riding on a flat for who knows how long of the ride. A big thanks to Michael for putting on a clinic changing my tube! Tony and I were very impressed! Also a big thanks to Tony for noticing that my tire was flat!

Marcy and Michael finished the century while Tony and I chose a shorter route after lunch and ended up with a total of 85 miles. Michael rode strong even without sport legs!

The weather was very pleasant despite being very cool at the start. We were expecting a flat ride however there were some small inclines here and there that kept us awake! I also felt like we were heading into the wind the last half of the ride but I am pretty sure that is not accurate ;o). We definitely had some head wind but also had some breaks.

Ride Happy!
Sam

Water? Who needs water?

On Saturday, Kevin, Mark and I decided to skip the hour+ drive to Hope, IN and do 100 miles starting closer to home. We met at Coxhall Gardens and set out on the 100-mile route for the organized MS ride that was held last weekend.

The morning started out chilly - around 49 F - as we pedaled north on the well-marked route. We kept a pretty good pace as we headed north and east, being helped along by a light tailwind that we didn't notice until we turned south and west. We took a short break at the Sheridan airport (did you know there was an airport in Sheridan? neither did we...), and shed our arm warmers since the temp was rising, but couldn't use the "facilities" because it was closed.

The MS ride is extremely well-marked and the organizers did a remarkable job of keeping the route off the main roads and away from civilization. This is great when the ride is supported with stocked and staffed rest stops... not so great when you are following the route on your own. So... we took a short detour from the route in Sheridan to stop at the familiar Speedway gas station for a quick water refill and a bathroom break.

We headed toward Kirklin, a route (and dogs!) we know well. We turned around at the Fire Station (the usual spot) with 44 miles complete and about half-full water bottles. As we headed out of Kirklin, we turned on a route unfamiliar to us. We drained our bottles as we rode another 30 miles in the vast corn fields of northwestern Boone county without seeing a place to stop... few houses and no gas stations or stores and roads so remote they didn't even register on my Garmin.

We stopped briefly at the Elizaville Christian Church to get off the bikes and with hope of finding an outdoor spigot or hose... with no luck. We pedaled on another 10 miles until we came upon the Boone County 4-H Fairgrounds near Lebanon, which happened to be hosting a dog show. We were pretty hot, tired and thirsty by the time we finally rolled in at 85 miles. Thankfully there was a food wagon where we got a quick bite and drinks and were able to fill our water bottles.

From there we rode Perry Worth road - not our favorite, since it parallels a busy and noisy section of I-65 - into Whitestown (NOT Knightstown, which I kept calling it), where we refilled again, and then back to Zionsville. We split up at the usual spot on the west side of Carmel and I got home showing 106.5 miles on my odometer.

It turned out to be a great, well marked ride with some new places none of us had been before. And we all felt good about completing 100 miles a few weeks in advance of Death Valley... we just need to plan our water stops better next time!

Tuesday's ride - No observatory!

Michael is a much better writer than me but I figured I would add a quick note about our ride this past Tuesday (9/14/10).

Gary, Michael, Ted, Tony, and I headed out around 6 pm. Ted just joined our group three weeks ago since the DV ride had an opening for him. He suggested that we go on without him as he was planning to ride slower that day due to not being on the bike much recently.

Gary, Michael, Tony, and I rode out to Brooklyn and decided to try the Robb Hill climb instead of observatory. I headed out for a ride alone last Sunday since I was not able to join the group on Saturday. A group of riders picked me up along the way and showed me the route to Robb Hill. The route was fairly simple however I did manage to miss a turn Tuesday night ;o). We got back on the right path and found the climb. I had to stop for a pitstop at the gas station before we headed up. I told Gary, Michael, and Tony to go on and I will meet them at the top. Michael and Gary explored the other side of the hill which appeared to be a similar grade to the DV climb so we figured it would be good to include this climb on future rides if possible however the nights are getting shorter so it would have to be one of our weekend rides. Robb Hill is longer in length compared to observatory but not as steep.

In the end, I clocked a total of 32 miles at 16.3 miles/hour. We never caught Ted on the way back. He was however in the parking lot and ended up riding a similar pace.

I look forward to seeing everyone at the Hope ride tomorrow!

Ride happy!
Sam

Blood, Sweat and Rain

It was a small turnout on Saturday, but Kate and I had a mostly enjoyable ride in the rain.

Things started off a little chilly and I donned my rain jacket for the first time of the year. (Kate had the exact same jacket as I did, so I felt like it was a bit of a fashion faux pas, when I had put it on, but I wanted to stay warm and dry. In retrospect, I should have called ahead to see what jacket she was going to be wearing)

None the less,invoking rules #5 & 9 of the Velomanatti :) we pedaled out through the rain in a generally north western direction in the wind and rain.

It seemed like no time and we arrived at the traditional gas station stop in Sheridan, only to discover that the restrooms were not available. So we went on down the street to this cool little breakfest and bistro, where Kate treated the whole team to coffee and Cafe Americanos. Plus they had nice clean restrooms.
Even Karnak the magnificent would have been impressed with the wonderful array of breakfast items presented on their menu. But we had miles to cover, so we got our coffee to go, shoved our extra water bottles in coat pockets and headed out with steaming coffees in our bottle cages! Reference rule 56

We somehow were following the exact route of the Holliday Park ride from a few weeks ago, but were not really making a conscious effort to go on a particular route as we figured that we were the only ones hearty enough to be out on such a day as this and anyone who could not get out of bed in time to at least catch us in Sheridan, would likely not be out at all.

Of all the rides that I have been on, I do not ever remember so many trios of dogs coming out to give chase. We had our first group just before we got to the place where Tony had tried to save us, by launching a sprint as a distraction, a few weeks ago, then the fence jumping dog that Tony had saved us from came out and ran along side barking and wagging his tail as if to say, "Where is the guy on the Specialized Rooby rooby roo Roubaix that tried to distract me?" Kate and I shouted a few words of encouragement to all the hounds we saw and pedaled on.

We were just finishing off our coffee, and commenting on what a delightful day it was turning out to be, and how we might just stay out for a full Century, when something happened so suddenly that both of us were suprised to find Kate having an upclose and personal meeting with Mother Earth.

Suffice it to say that Kate got the short end of the stick on that one. I thought I took a picture, but just realized today, that I had a technical difficulty and ended up with nothing. Kate was a real trooper and did what our parents always taught us to do when we take a hard knock and she walked it off. I had some stuff in my tool kit that I thought could make the wounds sting a bit more (in the form of a handy wipe) Kate made them sting and as if that was not enought poured sports drink in her wounds just to get a little salt in there.

Invoking rule #5 once again, Kate climbed on her freshly restraightend bike and we cycled on. The next we knew, we were pedaling happily along improving our handling skills on the gravel road from a few weeks ago. (you were right Alex, whatever does not kill us does indeed make us stronger) :)

After the gravel, we deviated from our path as I had discoverd earlier that I was having a wee bit of a problem with my rear wheel and took a short cut back to the Ian's Army bash.

Sure it was in to the wind all the way home, with blinding rain squalls, the dogs quit chasing me and started just going after Kate (I guess because they could smell all that blood) but that just added to the whole adventure, and didn't Kate look tough with all the scrapes (and when I say scrapes, I mean all the way up her leg from the knee up) and blood soaking through her rain jacket (which by now looked considerably different than mine) plus various and sundry bruises, not to mention being covered with road dirt. just a few tenths short of 70 but a good days ride all the same.

Amy fixed us some plates, heaped with Roast Beast, Potato Salad and Slaw from what was left over from the Cactus Grill and we felt warmer.

Hope to see you all next week at the Hope Ride!

Nebo Ridge, the B's have it!

Another perfect night for riding last night!

I was happy to see Tony, Gary, Kevin, Mark and Danny at the ride (if you were there and I did not see you,,,,, well I am not happy about that) :)

It was a spirited ride with the Killer Bs but I was able to hang on for a 21.9 mph avg over 30 miles, thanks to a little help from my friends Kevin Strawbride and Gary. Thanks for letting me use your wheels!

You can now call me El Chuppa llanta! (which translates as the chuppa llanta)

All the speed tips that Gary emailed me after last weeks ride were a tremendous success and all that jumping around and pill popping (sport legs) that he recommended really paid off in spades!

I also saw Mark out on the course as we came down the home stretch on Mule Barn road, he looked to be riding strong in the pack.

An we met Kevin Garner out on an independant excursion as we were crossing....32?? on the way out.

It was a fun ride, no wind and perfect temps!

Well I hope to see the lot of you on Saturday morning at 7:30 for the Ian's Army ride

Asta luega for now

Michael

Just another manic Tuesday

This week at the SWW hill ride, the weather was perfect!

I had a couple of helmet malfunctions this week, as Lisa and I wear the same brand helmet and had a mix up in transition at the Flying J on Saturday and the extra Giro helmet that I brought was sized for my lovely wife Melissa and the adjustment was frozen, so I had to wear Lisa's helmet...... good thing I just got rid of my head lice :)

It was just Sam, Tony and myself, but we got a really nice work out in! Sam rode in from her house, so she got the most mileage.

We regrouped after every hill interval and rode to the base of observatory hill, where Sam blew the doors off the boys in the big climb. Great Job Sam!!

It is starting to get dark earlier so we probably need to make sure to bring extra blinkies for the rest of the year, but we all got back to SWW just as the sun was dipping below the horizon, after a spirited extended lead out at the end.

I hope to see the lot of you at Nebo tonight!!

Peace

Michael

Observatory!

I was happy to make it to Southwestway park to join Michael and Tony for the Tuesday training ride this week. I have been able to make this ride a couple times but this was my first trip up observatory this year. It was certainly a challenge but I didn't hate it as much as the first and only other time I have climbed it!

I really appreciate Michael's tidbits on becoming a better rider. They have helped me tremendously! Thanks Michael.

Ride Happy!
Sam

I don't know why she swallowed a fly...

Got out on my bike today for a great ride with my friends Dawn & Kristen.  It had been a while since we had been out together and the weather made it a perfect day for a ride.  A few interesting things happened on this ride, here is the good, the bad & the ugly.  First the good, we were all on time, I was pleased that I made record time getting from downtown to Broadripple and 3/4 of the way through the ride we got to blow by three guys in their road racing kits - best "on your left" I've said in a while.  Now the bad, we had to ride back into a very strong wind, but I guess that is good practice; we did have two obnoxious drivers almost run us off the round about, but pretty good all things considered.  And now the ugly - I got stung on the lip by a bee.  You know how occasionally you end up swallowing a fly, well I guess this time I decided to swallow a bee, but it didn't approve.  Needless to say it hurt and was throbbing for the remaining 5 miles before we stopped for lunch, ice never felt so good.  It is still hurting, but no swelling - thank goodness.  I wish I could provide some pithe advice on how to prevent this in the future, but the only thing I can think of is to where a full face mask and there are obvious other issues with that.  Good riding and keep your mouth shut.

Just another Hilly Saturday

Lisa, Sam and I met at the Flying J early Saturday morning (5:30) and piled in the team bus (my Stealth Sport Van - which is neither stealthy or sporty) for our journey to do the 16 mile hill loop in Morgan Monroe State Forest.

It was very dark when we arrived so it took us a bit to get our lighting rigged on our bikes and get going so it was about 7:15 when we finally got underway.

Personally it was a hard day for me as apparently I was "blown up" from earlier rides this week and had cramping the whole time (I told Sam and Lisa that it was just that time of the month for my legs :) )

But the weather was awsum and perfect for putting in a hard effort!

I saw Tony going the other way towards the end of my second loop. I was wondering if he was going to show this weekend since it was so cold, but he made it for a few loops and to date has not missed a one of these rides.

We all did Bean Blossom Hill at least once and Sam did it an amazing 5 times! WOW!

Our training schedule called for 85 miles this weekend and I think that Sam did in the High 60 and Lisa did in the mid 70 range, but in those hills that was way over the effort for 85 miles of flat to rolling riding, I am sure. Our total ride time was 6 hours and 15 minutes a great amount of time in the saddle with Death Valley just around the corner.

I had a lot of fun, burned close to 6000 calories and slept great on Saturday night, with no more cramping that evening or the next day (woo hoo). Can't wait to do it again in a few weeks!

BTW Lisa took some great pictures of BB hill, but it was with my camera and I am having some technical difficulties, so be on the look out, I hopefully will get that figured out in a few days.

Peace

Michael

Who wants hills?

Mike and I are hitting Morgan Monroe again Saturday morning. It's a short loop, easily customizable to anyone's needs. You can ride anywhere from 14 miles on up. We'll be there starting early until mid-afternoon, so you could join us any time if you didn't want to be there all day, or meet on the south side to carpool if you do. SAG every loop at the car, bring your own snacks. Icy refills will keep us cool and happy. ;) Call, email, or text me or Michael if you want to join in the fun.