Paul H
Fearless OOS Poser
I think @liong71er said it was Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx
Book of Paul H
- Thread starter Paul H
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Paul H
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Liong showed mercy... come out to 82 miles for me
https://www.strava.com/activities/1109589136
Felt ok when I woke up and out the gate, it actually felt pretty good but as soon as I hit the first climb, my legs asked... what the f you think you're doing? No sir! On my way to meet Liong, I couldn't get passed 14-15 mph. My legs weren't having it. Not to mention, I took a wrong turn and I guess I wasn't mentally there either. So I was thinking about cancelling the ride and figured I would tell him when we meet up as I was scheduled to arrive at the meet up point 15 minutes early. I apologize and tell him that I just don't have it to do a big ride. But as soon as I saw him... something said, just see how far you can go. You are already there and don't waste the opportunity. I knew I would be a bag of garbage and slow him down but he graciously said, HEY HO! LETS GO! He let me dictate the pace and I figured I wouldn't last past GW bridge anyways. But as time passed, I started feeling better. Not physically but mentally.... feeling a bit more confident. I thought I would stay on the easy gears and just spin faster if needed and save the strength for climbs. This strategy worked and I was chugging along and next thing I knew it, we were in the Bronx.
The night before, I actually wanted to take the Talon for the ride and I got it ready to go but during the night, due to the way I rode HM that day, I thought it would be a bad idea. I woke up @430 and started prepping the Defy. Prolly not the best decision I made. The reason why I initially wanted to take the Talon was that Liong did mention there would be off road trails along the way. Let me just say that it wasn't optimal to be on a roadie on dirt. I think it was more because of the rim brakes that sucked. Also, on the steeper climbs, just didn't have the traction. I might want to get rid of the Defy and get myself a cross/gravel bike.
The last ten miles is always a struggle but this time was the worst so far. It was hot and my shoulders were killing me. Oddly the legs kept on turning the crank. It was tired but almost as if numb, it felt like dead weight but still turned. Took a bit of shelter from the sun at Saddle River and give the shoulders a rest. At this point, I had 2 climbs left and on the first climb, I am on granny mode and the legs did their job. I am totally shocked because it actually wasn't that bad. Last climb... 3/4 of a .8 mile climb... CRAMP! Left calf... I pull over because the road shoulders are narrow and at my current fatigue level, just wanted to play it safe. Unfortunate circumstance... because after the this little stop... the legs quit. Couldn't climb anymore. Leaves me wondering if I would have finished the climb if I didn't cramp.
I took a battery pack with me on the ride and during lunch, I saw that my battery was at 30% and I hook up the battery pack. Let me mention, this battery pack was purchased from Alibaba and this is the first time using this thing. Maybe I didn't charge this thing correctly but I get to my garage, I eagerly take out my phone to check strava to see how many miles. WTF.... screen would not turn on. Battery is dead. First big ride of the year... gone... I am about to cry. Feeling defeated... I crawl back home and hook the phone to the charger. It boots up and strangely, strava turns on by itself and as if God himself left a msg on my phone... STRAVA RECOVERED YOUR RIDE. YAY!
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Johnny Utah
Well-Known Member
Paul H
Fearless OOS Poser
Oh... lol
Yeah... that was me on the blk/green Giant
Were u the one on the Santa Cruz or the Giant?
Paul H
Fearless OOS Poser
Cool! Nice to meet you!
That was a Trance right?
How do you like it for HM so far? I just got mine and the pedal strikes are bothersome but trying to work around it but other than that... really liking it!
Paul H
Fearless OOS Poser
Lol
I would imagine same strikes at CR no?
Paul H
Fearless OOS Poser
@jmanic sighting
It is indeed a rare and an incredible honor to observe such a magnificent creature in the wild especially during the hunt. He is lightening fast and sufficed it to say, I was unfortunately not quick enough to capture this event on film. Perfectly camouflaged in dress shirt and pants with sneakers. He blends in with his surroundings. Only way to distinguish him is his neon green stripes on his sneakers. He zeros in on his kill and within seconds, just look at the markings he has left behind. Just ferocious!
If you see him in the wild, approach with caution as this... could be your horrifying fate.
It is indeed a rare and an incredible honor to observe such a magnificent creature in the wild especially during the hunt. He is lightening fast and sufficed it to say, I was unfortunately not quick enough to capture this event on film. Perfectly camouflaged in dress shirt and pants with sneakers. He blends in with his surroundings. Only way to distinguish him is his neon green stripes on his sneakers. He zeros in on his kill and within seconds, just look at the markings he has left behind. Just ferocious!
If you see him in the wild, approach with caution as this... could be your horrifying fate.
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I am the Banksy of bike decals.@jmanic sighting
It is indeed a rare and an incredible honor to observe such a magnificent creature in the wild especially during the hunt. He is lightening fast and sufficed it to say, I was unfortunately not quick enough to capture this event on film. Perfectly camouflaged in dress shirt and pants with sneakers. He blends in with his surroundings. Only way to distinguish him is his neon green stripes on his sneakers. He zeros in on his kill and within seconds, just look at the markings he has left behind. Just ferocious!
If you see him in the wild, approach with caution as this... could be your horrifying fate.
Paul H
Fearless OOS Poser
I had a couple of hard hits on hawk and ancients.... usually going up rocks. For myself... I blame technique.
Paul H
Fearless OOS Poser
First scratch on the Trance. I just wish it came from a crash or something of that nature. At least that would have been cool. But no such luck.... I had it standing against a big old rock and it just fell. It doesn't bother me yet... but when and if it does, I guess I can spray some black paint on.
But the good news... the Trance has full SLX brakes now. Swapped the rear caliper from the Talon and either tonight or tomorrow, gotta work on the Talon to install the Deore caliper on. First time I didn't make a mess bleeding it AND didn't contaminate the pads! YAY ME!
But the good news... the Trance has full SLX brakes now. Swapped the rear caliper from the Talon and either tonight or tomorrow, gotta work on the Talon to install the Deore caliper on. First time I didn't make a mess bleeding it AND didn't contaminate the pads! YAY ME!
qclabrat
Well-Known Member
First scratch on the Trance. I just wish it came from a crash or something of that nature. At least that would have been cool. But no such luck.... I had it standing against a big old rock and it just fell. It doesn't bother me yet... but when and if it does, I guess I can spray some black paint on.
But the good news... the Trance has full SLX brakes now. Swapped the rear caliper from the Talon and either tonight or tomorrow, gotta work on the Talon to install the Deore caliper on. First time I didn't make a mess bleeding it AND didn't contaminate the pads! YAY ME!
I have a full set of Testors for this reason. You could also use a good nail polish as an alternative.
