The Rides

Weather looks good...

Saturday morning, 8:00AM, Micklers to the bridge and back.

Sunday, Lisa's Loop. 8:30 her house. Contact Diesel if you need directions. This is a little "lighter" ride, with a coffee stop along the way. Perfect for anyone who's feeling a little rusty these days. Reach out to Diesel if you don't know how to find it!

The gossip

• Saturday saw Sweet Spot, Quadzilla and Kathy H out on the Lodge Ride. Considering Quadz is fighting an upper respiratory infection, this borders on heroic. They rode hard, but time out of saddle brought Sweets down a bit. Sweets and Quadz dropped off about 12 miles in. Kudos to Kathy H for holding on the wheel in front of her the duration. You go girl!
• Buffalicious was spinning wheels of his own - Roulette wheels in Vegas, baybee! He and the spousal unit headed out for their anniversary, and judging from the Facebook pics had quite the time.
• Kathy L spent some time back in Tally with the family and friends over the weekend.
• Tank was out king fishing, with proof making it into the Newspaper! Next thing you know, we will see her on Versus with her own show! It did mean she wasn't out on her bike.
• Tour de France season is over... 51 weeks and counting...
• Sunday brought the Schmuckatelli crew together. Masher, Quadzilla, Schmuck, "the new guy", and I rode about 33 miles. It was HOT. Quadzilla is just a beast, still fighting a cold, and he rode hard. All of us put in a decent showing. Schmuck never even looked like he was working hard. Masher took her pulls, and "the new guy" has revolutions. Sweet Spot was a no-show, but that's HIS story to tell ;)
• Dash 1 is headed to Virginia, so we are looking for rides this week. I personally am going to be looking for opportunities to spend time in the sun. (Save the lectures, I know.)
• This is the last week the L. teenager is outta town - I'm sure they are seeking ways to enjoy their last moments of liberation.
• Masher was in Cali last week visiting friends. I am always amazed when she comes back. One of these days, she won't.
• Make sure you comment if I missed anything~

Saturday – 8:00AM @ the Lodge – 35 – 40 miles round trip
Group AA = 25+ MPH
Group A = 19 – 25 MPH

The Group will leave the Lodge South down PVB out to 210 though the roundabout and out 210 over the PV Bridge and make a Right at Old Palm Valley Road (the first Traffic Light) to compete the Nocatee loops.

Weekend Rides

Saturday morning - the lodge ride. (7:30 at the Lodge. When I get the email from them, I will post if there are any changes.)

Sunday morning - Schmuckatelli's ride. Meet either at the Springs at 8:45 and ride over, or meet at Schmuck's at 9:00.

Weather looks tolerable.

And the gossip

• Quadz and Diesel had another trip to Virginia over the weekend. Apparently, we took all but Schmuckatelli's motivation with us. Where was everyone?
• Sweetspot has been enjoying Hotlanta, with the emphasis on Hot, as in Hot Airplane sitting on the tarmac. There is a guy who knows how to have a good time. Between that and shooing bar flies, I think he is happy to be home.
• Thong and Tank got a ride in early in the week, as did KH who did bridges Monday night. KH was having problems with her saddle, and anyone who been there knows that will wreck a ride AND the day after.
• KH returned from her trip across the pond, and while over there did get to see a leg of the race. Word has it, it really is awesome to behold. They went by so fast, she couldn't even get pics. Or so she says.
• Sweetspot and KL are teen ager less right now - so anyone with good happy hour opportunities, I think you might have some takers.
• Schmuckatelli has been in the gym on the spinners, so he's gonna be putting the pain capes on the rest of us slackers.

Road ID

My new RoadID came! I was terrible about taking my license on my rides. Of course, if a car blew into me, no one was going to have a clue who the flat chick with the gorgeous bike was. I'd been meaning to order an ID for Quad and myself, but during the Tour, their ads finally got me on the schtick. So, it came, and I am such a GIRL. It's an accessory now, so I will never forget it. It's pink, and I totally love it. It matches my outfits, cuz, c'mon, you gotta be hotness when you are out there sweatin' you butt off. OK, right, there is that whole added safety thing, but let's get back to what is important. It's PINK!

To get your own, click the Road ID Icon on this page, it's quick and easy for a piece of mind!

Watching the Tour

It's been great to watch the Tour De France this year. It is a fortnight (yes I used Fortnight) of focused TV watching that brightens up the boring summer TV doldrums. The only issue in my household is from Diesel Jr. whose cartoons and Disney/Nick channel watching has been usurped by wafer thin men(except for their thighs) going way too fast for way to long. When I utter that great statement...." Guess what dear? It's time for the Tour", I get a resounding , "NNNoooooooooooooooooooo" which leaves me smiling.

I have enjoyed the renewed interest in the US of A due to the Lance Armstrong storyline. I think it has made more people at least look at the standings on a regular basis instead of at the end going...who won someone named Sastre(2008)? No matter what you think of Lance and his motives, just his inclusion in this years race and his subsequent showing has fueled the renewed media frenzy.


I enjoy getting the stats from the riders in mid stage. The mph (I am getting better at the KM/hr conversion in my head) and their BPM give me a better idea of how fine tuned their bodies are for stage races. I find myself saying, "Hey, my bpm is usually in that range for that speed" then I go "Oh but they are on a 12 mile continuous 7% incline".... Nevermind..... Anyway, it gives me some goals when I look down at my bike computer during my rides. "So almost passing out frothing at the mouth equals X BPM"...good to know!

I will continue to watch the rest of the Tour and marvel at the last Time Trial later this week.

Post your thoughts...

Quadzilla's Machine

Quadzilla's sweet Ride!

I got this Trek 5.0 Madone Discovery Team version in the Spring of 2006 right before my first MS-150. It has been by far the best bike I have ever owned and ridden. I have taken the aero bars off since I never use them and have added blue walled tires and dark blue handlebar tape to match the bike. Those two features alone have made me 2.7 mph faster.....

Diesel's Baby

I may be the beast, but she is the beauty! My ride is a Trek Madone, 5.9 with a chameleon powder blue paint job. The engine doesn't do the body justice, but I sure love trying.

Ride in Review 7/11 and 7/12

Well, crew... a highly successful ride weekend, even if we were missing a few of you.

Saturday morning, we dodged the triathalon and rode A1A south and back. Winds were mild from the west, so we couldn't use that for an excuse. It was a rocky start, but Sweet Spot earned the "Can't keep me off my bike" award. Yes, he looked like a total goob riding in his flip flops - but, dude, he rode 12 miles that way! The Italian Stallion, Masher, Quadzilla, Sweet Spot and myself made up the pace line. Stallion has been hanging on a fast group recently, and he's riding strong (he even put in 20 more miles than the rest of us). Masher didn't think she was up for the full distance, but completely suprised herself. She had a great pull, despite a crummy transition on a hill. Masher even tackled the Vilano bridge this go round. Those weekend rides with her brother are paying off. Sweets wasn't on his bike long enough to feel the 6+ weeks away - he'd pay on Sunday. Buff was nursing a hangover, so his cutness was no where to be seen. Tank was being a responsible mom, as was Thong. Considering Quad and I have been off the bike for 3 weeks, we weren't complaining. We felt good and were just happy to be back in the saddle. Of course, Quad made sure I was coffee'd up as soon as we got back to the SAGburban. Don't underestimate my crankiness. And hats off to whoever the 58 year old lady was we picked up.

Sunday was a reunion, with some additional wheels. Buff had managed to rehydrate after all the Patron shots (though he is admitting to drunk chatting with his wife and having NO memory of it. Odds on when he gets to go out again???) His saddle had a little bit to talk about considering his time away. Sweets had all his gear, so he was looking for redemption this morning. That lasted until coming BACK over the Wonderwood, at which point he came pretty close to leaving all of his internal organs on the bridge. Foaming at the mouth is not his best look. Masher was huffin' a bit too - since back to back rides have been scarce of late. I was able to hang, but showed some real weakness on the climb. A billy goat I am not. Tank and Thong, still being responsible moms, were nowhere to be seen. That whole parenting thing can get so in the way of your riding. Craigilicious has been spinning during the week, and pretty much schooled us. And Quadzilla, well, there's a reason he has that nickname. Beast. We have a coupla Ghost Riders we wouldn't mind seeing sometime soon (you know who you are - don't make me call you out).

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Just for Starters

Hello All....

I'm Quadzilla, one member of a fun, social road cycling group in Jacksonville Florida. We are primarily weekend riders that love riding, being with friends and good natured sarcasm. We started riding together in the spring of 2006 for an excuse to have BIG Breakfasts and to get ready for our 1St MS-150. We got started by jumping on to a normal weekend Jax Beach ride by Craigilicious and Masher. That evolved into more diverse rides and local ride groups as we dove into the biking lifestyle. 3 MS-150's and new bikes later, we are riders for life , even getting Diesel Jr's participation. So this is our Blog about our group, our rides, our bikes and beer!

Please post any group stories or questions.