Sunday Ride Revisited -8/30

Ok ..we did Schmuckatelli's ride again starting earlier (8am) today. I would guess that we would have less traffic at 8am Sunday mornig but that was not the case. It seemed that alot of people had 'stuff' to do ...right then....Today's participants were Quadzilla, Sweet Spot, Schmuckatelli, Masher and Red Shirt. We were all doing well but got seperated a bit on St Johns Bluff after turning off from Monument. As everyone regrouped, we got an Add on to the group. A lone rider that asked to hook up. AS always we have no problems with adding to our group. He was a nice conversational guy....saw my VT(Virginia Tech) racing jersey and asked if I had been a part of that team since he used to ride against them back in his Naval Academy days. I told him the truth and said I wished I did looking back on it now...man how fast would I have been a few pounds lighter and 15 years younger....ok back to reality. Well we were talking a bit more when he hit a large rock and almost went down, luckily it only popped his front tire. So we all do what all good groups do...stop and watch him repair it. Well he had a mis-matched air cylinder and nozzle so I gave him my spare set....he filled his tire up and proceeded to rip the stem clear out of the tube while removing the nozzle head. Ok... I give him my spare tire and air cylinder number 2. He gets the tube in and can't get the nozzle on fully since it was a short stemmed tube (curse my bulk order from Nashbar) so he borrows Masher's extra tube with a long stem (leave it to one of the ladies to have one of those....). I know its alot of parts but we didn't want him to have to walk home....we were nowhere close to the SAG mobile. Anyway, he stayed with us through the rest of the ride and was strong over the bridge...We made it all home in one piece and had fun doing it! Diesel was missed...she is back in town tonight!!!

Weekend Rides

All...It looks as if Masher wants a ride on Saturday. Quadzilla and Diesel are out....So I think anyone that wants to meet Masher at Micklers at 8am Sat would be appreciated.

Sunday we will do the Schmuckatelli's Ride at 8:00 AM to start before the heat. 7:45 at Quadzilla's or 8:00 am at Schmuckatelli'....

Lone Rider

I think Masher is looking for a ride on Saturday if anyone is out there.

Sunday Afternoon

Just a quick note....Sunday afternoon, Diesel Jr wanted to go to Hanna Park to fly her new Kite and play in the surf. She also asked to bring her bike so we can hit some trails! How can you say No to that? So I packed up the HMS Clifford with beach stuff, Diesel's Hybrid, Diesel Jr's bike and my own hybrid (which I had to do some minor surgery to and replace the front slick road tire back to the original off road tire) and headed over to Hanna. We got on the trails first and tried a couple easier ones. We were doing well (Diesel Jr is new to trail riding and riding in general but she has done a few of the Hanna trails before. Yes the first one she ever did was the trail Misery...that almost wrecked trail riding for her for good. That is another story.) and liking the new(for us) trails. About half way through the trail there was a good sized hill. Diesel Jr was up in front at this point and decided to ride down. As we watched, she was doing well then started getting a bit squirrely, then started over-correcting.....you see where this is going... Well she almost recovered until she hit a nice root at the bottom that spun her front wheel and bucked her like a bronco. She went face forward like she was diving into Home Plate. We got the Whooomp.....silence (since the air was knocked out of her) then a bit of crying. We raced down and made sure she was still functioning...which she was with a bit of coughing and a couple scrapes....KH would have been proud! After a minute or so of recovery....she was back on the bike continuing on. Granted she was a bit more tentative and we went directly to an exit trail but I was very proud of her overall. We'll no doubt do some more trail riding in the near future ...minus that one big hill!

Ride Reviews - 8/22-23

Saturday

More good rides! We are all trying to stretch ourselves to get ready for this year's Cycle to the Shore in early October. So we got together and did the Micklers to Vilano run on Saturday 8/22. It was Diesel, Sweet Spot, Buffalicious, KL and Quadzilla on a mission to go Fast! Well it seems as if everyone else in Jax was 'in training' too so we had alot of groups to choose from. This benefited KL since she was not keen on the prospect of a continuous fast ride. She jumped onto another group and had a good ride. So the rest of us, right off the bat, got hooked up with a 6 person group from Comcast. They were planning to do 30 sec pulls to keep the speed up at 23-24 mph. We fluctuated but stayed pretty fast to the Gate station. Since a few of the group dropped a couple miles before the Gate, we got to catch our breath. The two from the Comcast group that dropped, I think, decided to head back to Micklers instead of continuing on to Vilano. So the rest of us hooked up and got back up to speed. We made it down to the bridge, turned west right into a pretty good headwind (just what you want up the bridge :( ). We turned right back around, attacked up with the wind and all regrouped at the close BP station. We made sure everyone was ready and got going back North.... as soon as we got up to speed, Buffalicious blew a tire....We told the Comcast group to keep going and then tended to his tire. It's always happens in the hottest section of road without fail. New tube replaced, new tire tool thrown out...(I didn't like it) and we were off... As we were 'trek'ing north we caught a couple lone riders that looked like they could use a wheel to grab onto. So our little troop grew as we went along. One of the riders got enough of a rest that he accelerated up the inclines in Guana during his pull, the other new rider wasn't fond of that and dropped. We proceeded to finish the ride with our sprint starting at the top of the last incline where the houses stop through the long left turn into the hard right turn to Micklers. I got the benefit of the Sling Shot from Sweet Spot and burned out the rest of the gas out of my tank by the time I got back to the parking lot. Everyone rode strong and I think showed that we are ready for the Cycle to the Shore.

Sunday was Schmuckatelli's Ride. It was Schmuck, Sweet Spot, Masher and Quadzilla. Diesel was being Super Mom and ran errands with Diesel Junior. It was cooler than expected (for mid morning in Aug) but we were all OK with that. We did the tour starting at Monument at Hidden Hills, right onto Wonderwood/Merrill, turn around at Merrill/Old Ft Caroline, right onto Monument Rd, left onto St Johns Bluff to the Town Center. Half way down St Johns Bluff the clouds looked pretty ominous. We were contemplating turning around and forgetting the Wonderwood bridge (I don't like riding in rain and wind). We lucked out though since the upper level winds pushed that storm out to sea and we were back in the sunshine. we made it all the way back to monument, took a right then took a break at Monument/Wonderwood before heading towards the bridge. Sweet Spot needed a quick lower back stretch to get him the rest of the way. Masher was passing out her Power Gels(?), I am not sure if I liked the little gummy discs...but they did taste just like Coke(modern technology is great!) Since Masher was under the weather a bit, the other 3 of us rotated the pulls (yes, even Schmuckatelli). We all attacked up the Wonderwood with the wind pretty well. We all hit around 35 mph down going east. We took a quick break then headed into the wind back over going west. I think I was pedaling through the downhill and only hitting 25 mph. We grouped up after Girvin and continued to the Mt Pleasant right turn. We all decided to get a couple more hills into the ride instead of heading straight back up to Monument. We all had a strong day and a good ride.

Lodge Ride Info

Hello

SAFETY NOTE: Be careful on Saturday Ride especially in Group AA. The last couple of Saturdays there have been a crash at the U-Turn in Spoke 3 and at a couple of other places like on top of the PV Bridge. Either the rider is coming in too HOT and the wrong line or there is some type of road debris – rocks or sand in the U-Turn. Ride with in your limit. Keep your head up and watch out for other riders. Stay focus!

Remember to call/point out road debris on all rides.



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

Due to the Nocatee Bike Road Race on Saturday we will have a different route for this Saturday’s Ride.


We will ride out to 210 and right at the roundabout to Landrum and complete one figure eight. Then over the bridge, right onto old 210. Right at Crosswater Parkway and complete Spoke 1 – two times and then return back on old 210 to the bridge.

This should keep us out of the Nocatee Road Bike Race traffic.




Sunday - 7:30 AM at the Lodge – 50 – 55 miles

This is a group ride; we try to keep the group together.
We will regroup when necessary for those loosing contact with the group.
Ride Pace = 19 – 22 MPH

Remember this is a GROUP ride. Let’s try to keep everyone together back to the Palm Valley Bridge.

Ride Safe
Robert


Robert Buck
robertbuck@comcast.net
Phone 904-285-1217
Cell 904-635-1718

Gossip

Does anyone have any gossip? I have been out of touch this week!

Riding this Weekend

Saturday 8:00 Mickler's to Vilano (Keith - I know you wanted to ride the Lodge ride this weekend, but the races are kinda in the way.)

Saturday afternoon- gonna try to get to Nocatee for a race or two.

Sunday 9:00 at Craig's.

8/15-16 Rides In Review

Lodge

Whew....Well Sweet Spot and I met up with the Italian Stallion(IS) at the Lodge Ride on Sat. We got a bonus because Robert and crew were getting a professional group picture done. One at the start and one at the Traffic circle on 210. I hope we didn't break the camera...I know my bike is pretty but I am not, especially at that time in the morning. The ride started out nicely at an easy pace down to Micklers. That is always a good time to catch up with friends while warming up the legs. The pace was still OK up to the traffic circle due to the aforementioned photo opportunity. I know we confused all of the cars yielding since we did a 360 then continued on the ride since Pablo was setup on the Publix arc.

The pace picked up towards the 210 bridge, I found a rear that I recognized (easy guys, it was KH) and proceeded up the hill. I stayed on and realized quickly that our trip back was going to be fun since I was hitting 35+ on the way down....

I looked back and saw that Sweet Spot and IS had dropped just off the back of the group flying down the hill so I peeled off to let them grab a friendly wheel. We humped it back up to a group as we got into Nocatee. It is very true that 100 yards behind a fast group is as good as 10 miles. It was too much effort to grab on so we backed down, kept a steady pace and caught them on a turn around. I grabbed onto the group that I thought was the one we were trying to ride with....Jumped up to 24 mph and took my turn pulling, broke off, looked back and realized I had gotten myself into a faster subset of the group we wanted to ride with. At this point we lost IS for good (Sorry Man). I understand due to the amount of effort we used to catch a couple groups and he already had 10 miles or so from his house before the Lodge ride even starts (Kudos to him).

After a couple more spokes and extended effort by Sweet Spot, we pulled off and headed back over the parkway....and yes...the wind reminded us that we were tired... We made it back to Micklers, stopped and had our Ambiguously Gay Duo moment when I helped him stretch his back. We got a second wind and had a good average speed back up to the truck.

It was a good ride, it again showed us the importance of staying with the group!

Sunday Ride:

This was our normal (as of late) Sunday ride local to East Arlington(Home Base). It was myself, Sweet Spot(Back for more fun), Diesel, Schmuckatelli and Red Shirt (FNG, Clue... we haven't decided). Masher was under the weather and Buffalicious was a no show (I guess he is either "skeerrrd" or not able to balance late night partying with early morning riding).

We were all riding strong. We still need to work with Red Shirt on his group riding skills since he is new. Since he is young and strong, I guess he doesn't mind riding a couple bike lengths behind the rider in front of you...Hey if you want to pull the whole ride, more power to you.... Schmuckatelli made an appearance up at the front this week...I wonder if last weekend's continuous stay as the caboose kept him fresher for this week. Diesel always rides strong and consistent. Sunday was no different. Sweet Spot took some miles at the front of the group and kept us at a good pace. The wind whipped a bit heading up to and over the Wonderwood. Even though we were almost creamed by the same car at different times and places in the ride and me trying to get everyone hit at the Wonderwood/Girvin stop light( I just didn't want to loose my momentum, sorry all) it was a good ride. I had some left in the tank so I tried to attack on both sides of the bridge. I try to remember our motto when I start to fizzle..."We Do It Because It's Hard"

Till next week.........

Rides

Quadzilla is riding the Lodge Ride Saturday morning.

Sunday is Schmuckatelli's at 8:00. THIS IS A CHANGE. It has been too hot for the late start, so we moved it back an hour. If you start from Quadz house, be there at 7:45.

Gossip

• Thong1 had a big week. P-Nut had to get tubes in her ears on Thursday. Baby girl is doing just fine and back to school already.
• Thong2 returned from the beach on Sunday, bringing with her Sweet Spot's teenager, who started school on Thursday.
• When asked about the teen ager's summer, all we got: "It was goooooooood".
• Dieselzilla is back from her trip to the Outer Banks. She had a great time spanking all the old folks in Gin and holding her own in Scrabble with two teachers.
• SweetSpot tripped to Georgia for business this week. Something about deliverance... there are questions I just don't ask.
• KL is feeling much much better.
• Got gossip I missed (it was quiet this week)... post it!

Rides in Review

Saturday last, Quadzilla took the ladies out to the Lodge Ride. Yes, a hot date, indeed! OK, so Masher and I had some trepidation about this ride. We'd heard the rumors of how quick they moved and some of the recent crashes. I know a bunch of these guys, and they are a tough crowd. We meet up with the group, saddle up, and start heading down PV Blvd, past Micklers and onto 210. So far, so good. A nice warm up speed of 18-19. Nothing the ladies couldn't handle. We're hanging out. Feeling good. Starting to approach the bridge, and the tension begins to mount. 21MPH. Again, no problem. The hypnotic hum of the chains is beautiful - but you can almost smell the testosterone. Then the bridge - ATTTTTTACCCCKKKKK. Masher and I are stong on the bridge, but not strong enough, and we get dropped by the gazillion A group and the zillion A group. The A group is about 6 of us. We finish out the 35 miles at about 18-19 MPH, every so often getting buzzed by the race horses. It's amazing that you can recognize someone's ass as it goes by at 26 MPH. While Masher and I are independent ladies, and quite willing to go it alone, Quadzilla stayed with us and was feeling his own oats - pulling about 90% of the time. Damn.

Sunday was Schmuckatelli's ride. Again, another 35. Buff was out - and not expecting the Tour du St. Johns Bluff, but even more so, not expecting to get DROPPED on the Wonderwood by none other than Quadzilla. Yes, you heard me correctly. Buffalicious was dropped on a climb - and not for lack of trying. The -zilla is just a monster these days. Masher and I were in pretty good form. Schmuck never skipped a beat. Sweet Spot was out and easy to spot - what is with the day glo anyway? We did have to tubes go that ride. And Kernan is no place for cyclists. Even with three lanes, it is still just a death trap. I bagged on the bridge. The best part was lunch. Props to Hot Dog Spot on Monument Road....

Tuesday night saw KL back on her bike. You go girl! She and I did a 15 mile reintroduction ride. We won't be winning any crits, but KL rode solid, and with some regular time in the saddle, should be showing strong in no time.

Anyone else ride when I wasn't looking?

The Lodge Ride

SAFTEY NOTE: Be careful on Saturday Ride especially in Group AA. The last couple of Saturdays there have been a crash at the U-Turn in Spoke 3 and at a couple of other places. Either the rider is coming in too HOT and the wrong line or there is some type of road debris – rocks or sand in the U-Turn. Ride with in your limit. Stay focus!

Remember to call/point out road debris on all rides.

We are creating a blog thanks to the help of Clint Burbridge for the bike riding group that meets at the Lodge. This will make it easier for you to check the ride schedule for the weekend.
More information to come. Stay tune.

Pablo Rivera will be taking photos of the group on Saturday at the Lodge and then at the roundabout at 210 & Mickler’s Road. We will take more photos at a later date out in Nocatee.

Wear your best bike kit, shave your legs, and clean your bike on Saturday.
The blog design will be a work in progress for a couple of weeks.


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

Remember it is a warm up ride to the Palm Valley Bridge.

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.


See Attached Map for Group AA and Group A

Group AA will make Right at Crosswater Parkway (at the traffic Light at the end of Old Palm Valley Road) and complete Spoke 1, 2, 3, 1 and 3 before returning back by going up the ramp onto Nocatee Parkway.

Group A will make a Left at Crosswater Parkway and complete Spoke 2, Spoke 3, Spoke 1, and Spoke 3 before returning back by going up the ramp onto Nocatee Parkway. We try to make Group A a fast group ride. We will regroup at Old Palm Valley Road after the bridge. Turn around and look to see if we are all together.



Sunday - 7:30 AM at the Lodge – 65 miles.

This is a group ride; we try to keep the group together.
We will regroup when necessary for those loosing contact with the group.
Ride Pace = 19 – 22 MPH

This Sunday August 16 ride will be a long ride. We may include 2 water stop if the group needs them.

Remember this is a GROUP ride. Let’s try to keep everyone together back to the Palm Valley Bridge.

Ride Safe
Robert


Robert Buck
robertbuck@comcast.net
Phone 904-285-1217
Cell 904-635-1718

Tuesday night 8/11, 6PM

The Route: Start at Publix on Bartram Park. Go south on Bartram Park (marked bike lanes) to light at Racetrack Road about 3.5 miles. Turn Right on Racetrack and go for 1.5 miles. At next light, turn left on St Johns Parkway (marked bike lanes). Turn right on Longleaf Pine Parkway (need to check if it has marked bike lanes and distance). Make a U-Turn at the end of Longleaf Pine Pkwy (need distance and bike lane status). Turn right on St Johns Parkway (marked bike lanes, need distance) and make a U-Turn at the end of the road. Turn right on Racetrack Rd (1.5 miles). Turn left on Bartram Park.

Rides 8/8 and 8/9

Saturday morning: Lodge Ride for as long as we can hang - then we know the way home.

Sunday morning: Craig's house at 9:00 (or the Springs at 845).

The Gossip

• Last Friday was the first adult night out Quadz and Diesel had had in a while. Let's just say Diesel got her drink on - and she aint as young as she used to be. But to my defense... I got my butt up out of bed and got on my bike the next morning. I wasn't setting any land speed records, but I was out there.
• Thong2 is out of town again this weekend. Hitting the beach.
• KL has been fighting a nasty cold this week. Hope she gets to feeling better.
• Sweet Spot and KL are back to full time parenting next week. Vacation over!
• Masher was in St. Louis this week... pics on her Facebook page.
• Thong1 has turned into a SharePoint Geek - so much for that HR career... the Borg got her!
• Buff has been fighting a nasty cold this week also - not sure which door knobs he and KL were lickin' - butchaknow...
• Saturday night Rugby was good times! Saw a few familiar faces out at the Axemen.
• Sunday was a beautiful day for a boat ride.
• KH was riding Mountain style in Greenville this week. Hope the trails were a blast!

Last Weekends Rides

I am behind getting last weeks post ride summaries up - that whole work thing gets in the way...

Saturday was Mickler's. Attending: Quadzilla, Thong2, Masher and Diesel. The weather was good, everyone looked strong heading south. I can give some good advice though - moderate the alcoholic intake the night before. Riding with a hangover lends one towards unimpressiveness. So at the gate, I took my hungover self, and turned back around. Luckily, the wind was at my back - so I only sucked a lot, instead of having to be scooped off the pavement. Masher and Diesel rode strong. Thong2 was having a good ride, but a strange craving for a chicken. Not, not a piece of chicken - A CHICKEN. Sometimes, there are questions you just don't ask.

Sunday was a retro ride - doing Lisa's loop. Schmuckatelli, Diesel, Quadzilla and Masher were riders on. It wasn't a particularly fast ride, due to the route, but it was fun - and we still had to work for it. The miles count! By then, I had worked the poor judgement out of my system, and felt much better.

Lodge Ride Updates

Hello

Amelia Island ride on Sunday

Let’s be careful on the road. The last couple of weeks we have had a couple of bike wrecks on the Saturday and Sunday rides. Fortunately they have been a single rider going down and not a group. Pay attention, call out road debris and hazards.
We hope those of you that have wrecked are healing up.

A couple of riding issues people have commented on to me. Then they ask me to pass along to the group.

Please observe the biggest issue – no riding on aero bars in the pace line! These are road bike rides not TT / triathlons.
Wearing head phones or adjusting you iPod/MP3 in the pace line. It is hard for you to hear what is going on and you may gap the pace line not being focused.
Riding over your head in the fast Saturday Group AA.
Please point out or call out road debris / hazards.
On the Sunday ride – watch your speed. These are group rides and we will easy up to let a weaker rider get back on.
If I let one comment out, I know someone will remind me to add to the next email.
Stay focus in the pace line and ride safe.

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

Remember it is a warm up ride to the Palm Valley Bridge. Let’s try to manage the warm up speed till the bridge. It seemed like we were at race speed going out 210 before the bridge.

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.


See Attached Map for Group AA and Group A

Group AA will make Right at Crosswater Parkway (at the traffic Light at the end of Old Palm Valley Road) and complete Spoke 1, 2, 3, 1 and 3 before returning back by going up the ramp onto Nocatee Parkway.

Group A will make a Left at Crosswater Parkway and complete Spoke 2, Spoke 3, Spoke 1, and Spoke 3 before returning back by going up the ramp onto Nocatee Parkway. We try to make Group A a fast group ride. We will regroup at Old Palm Valley Road after the bridge. Turn around and look to see if we are all together.



Sunday - 7:00 AM at the Lodge
Ride to Amelia Island – 70 miles round trip from the Lodge
We will ride North on First Street
We will pass Rag Time in Atlantic Beach around 7:30 AM
Catch the 8:00 Ferry - $1.00 Each Way

This is a group ride; we try to keep the group together.
Ride Pace = 19 – 22 MPH

Remember this is a GROUP ride.

Ride Safe
Robert


Robert Buck
robertbuck@comcast.net
Phone 904-285-1217
Cell 904-635-1718