i guess norm will just have to learn to live w/migranes.
i lol at fred's waaambulance.
fwiw norm had no allergy issues last night on A ride. i think he is better.
My Hovercraft is Full of Podcasts
- Thread starter Norm
- Start date
i guess norm will just have to learn to live w/migranes.
i lol at fred's waaambulance.
fwiw norm had no allergy issues last night on A ride. i think he is better.
Cast of characters last night: myself, Utah, Iggy, Jeremy.
Roll late, 5:45, swing by Esnes' house on the way to grab him, sit in the HG lot for only a few minutes and talk to Mundi, who is not joining. The crew is small tonight, aside from the 5 of us who rolled up, there's Jon, Colavita Rich, JVS Billy, Feisty Jeff (I think that's his name, the older guy with the Seven), and a few others. Ed would meet us on the road.
Some guy leads us out at mach speed, where the mach was 0. I think we were doing 15 coming out of the shop. He peeled off and I took over shortly after and ramped us up to 21 or so. Into the wind again, but I'm not hiding today. I bring us to the light, take the right, and Utah takes over. After the left, Ed pulls for a little, then exposes me, then I peel early and let Utah take us the rest of the way and I literally sit at the end, just to see what it's like back there.
Through the 4 way stop I somehow end up at the wrong spot again, and peel off before the gradual climb. As I'm being dropped to the back Iggy lets me hop in so I don't have to go to the end of the line like a bad student. This puts me in a much better spot for the golf course. My approach for this climb is to hold & react. I'm not confident enough to attack on my own. I prefer to react. I don't remember who goes, but I match it. Eventually I'm on Jon's wheel and he start to tail off and I jump him. Once I'm in front I start to steady-state, at which point Utah jumps me and we crest the hill. Someone jumps over us, I think Jon again, and Utah & I follow.
On the downside I jump to the front and pull us the rest of the way around the golf course to the stop sign. We keep the gap on the group through this to the left turn. A bad break sends 3 cars up the road, and our gap is whittled to maybe 50 yards. At the end of the condos, another car stops us from holding it, and we're back together. We were coming up on the Burger King anyway, so we would regroup in any event.
Burnt Mills is generally a place to get some rest, which is why I have no problems letting it go at the golf course. As we approach the sprint, I'm between Utah and the 7 Foot Menace to Society, so I figure I'm in a reasonable spot. The group starts to string out pretty early - too early I feel - and I'm behind 7 Foot. I sit there, pick a few spots, and when I think it's a good spot I split the gap, jump the 3 guys who had jumped out early, and launched to the sprint point.
I win the sprint fairly easily. This is the first time I've ever taken this sprint.
After the turn Jon comes up front to pull, and I sit on his wheel to recover. Not much happens until the rollers. Again, I hold & react, and a lot of people go hard early on this one. Ed & 7 Foot go early, which seems odd to me. Eventually it shakes out and again I'm on Jon's wheel, and again I jump over him, and sort of just sit in front. Rich comes around us, and we get on his wheel. After the turn we let Rich sit out front. Jon was behind him and was trying to recover. Rich wanted to press, Jon wanted to recover. I sat in and let them figure it out. Eventually we form a rotation and come up to the left to the Dairy Farm. Not sure who was in front but that was the sloppiest turn in the history of road biking.
The Dairy Farm is the usual speed work, and as we start up the pitch at the end I see Jeremy huffing a bit. I think he's close enough to the end to hang but I'm not sure. As we get further up the hill, it ends up shaking out to 4 of us: Utah, JVS Billy, Colavita Rich, and myself. Utah comes up to take his pull and whoever was behind him has popped. So Utah is left to hang when he comes to the left. We get closer it's Utah, Billy, Rich, and myself.
This is the climb that leads to sprint #2.
Billy & Rich jump Utah, and I follow. They try to shake me but no luck. As we crest, I'm sitting there biding my time. We press down the hill and since Billy did the cresting work and weighs like 140 pounds, the odds are against him. I hear Rich downshift as we get closer, and he gets in his drops and starts to hammer early for the sprint. I match him and sit on his wheel. As we get closer he looks over his shoulder, sees I'm on him, and throws in the towel.
I take sprint #2 by a wider margin than #1. Not sure what's in the air tonight, but something is working for me.
Lamington is Lamington. For whatever reason, this road often hurts me more than I think it should. I don't know if I have gotten bad luck in the order of pulls, or if the combination of hills just doesn't work for me, or what. The first hour of the ride was me throwing it down quite a bit, so it may have started to add up. But it hurt. I guess it's supposed to. According to Strava we average 26.2 mph over the 4 mile span.
Sprint point #3 is still an enigma to me. But I'm getting a better idea of where it is. It still took me by surprise and by the time I realized Rich was going for it, it was too late. He took this one, and I pull up in 2nd a bike length behind. If I had another 50 yards I think I could have gotten him. Maybe not. Eventually I'll learn where that point is.
The Liberty Corner approach is light, as Utah and I sit out front. I tell him to ease up, especially since nobody is jumping us. Since we had given it so much, this was going to be tougher. As we get closer I keep telling him to go easy, go easy. If someone jumps then we can let that dictate what we do. But nobody jumps. I keep trying to tell him to ease up and let it play out. The longer we can milk this the better it is for us. Even through I think we're going relatively easy, we boil down to 6. Utah, Iggy, and I in blue/orange, plus Jon, Colavita Rich, and Feisty Jeff.
I don't have it in me mentally to keep at it so I let them go. As they hit the second pitch I see Iggy drop and I catch up with him. The 4 are up ahead, and it looks like Utah has buried himself bringing them up the hill. I see him dangle a few times but he hangs on. I was hoping to catch back up but I let the gap get too big. We pass the B ride on the side of the road, where the 7 Foot Menace is, and at the bottom he joins back up with us. He pulls for a little but I get antsy and jump his pull and catch up to the front 4 as they are hitting the 4 way stop.
We cross, and Jon is out front. I peg it to catch his wheel, and a few people follow, Utah being one. After the turn I jump out and pull, but we get caught by the light. After that we rotate through the condos and nothing of note happens.
Most of the fireworks in this one were in the front half, which turned Liberty Corner and sprint #4 into lesser items compared to normal. Liberty was almost an afterthought for all involved, but you have to do something when you're out there so at the end, I think you feel obligated to fight a little bit.
Sprint point #4 is totally uncontested. I think the real action is the hill climb, and nobody cares about #4. That seems fair to me. #4 is a force. Liberty Corner is the real goal anyway.
Back at the house for baked Mexican chicken, rice, asparagus, cookies, and my homemade red bean ice cream. The later start times mean a shorter social affair. By 9:00 everyone is gone.
At 9:30 I am on the couch and my head is killing me. I wonder how I'm going to get up and get the kid to bed. But it only lasts a few minutes and I'm fine. We get to bed around 10:00. Julia then proceeds to wake up a bunch of times coughing. Sure enough, she wakes up this morning with a bit of a cold. Fun times.
And now I'm at work. I'm not proofreading that. Hopefully it's not too rough.
Roll late, 5:45, swing by Esnes' house on the way to grab him, sit in the HG lot for only a few minutes and talk to Mundi, who is not joining. The crew is small tonight, aside from the 5 of us who rolled up, there's Jon, Colavita Rich, JVS Billy, Feisty Jeff (I think that's his name, the older guy with the Seven), and a few others. Ed would meet us on the road.
Some guy leads us out at mach speed, where the mach was 0. I think we were doing 15 coming out of the shop. He peeled off and I took over shortly after and ramped us up to 21 or so. Into the wind again, but I'm not hiding today. I bring us to the light, take the right, and Utah takes over. After the left, Ed pulls for a little, then exposes me, then I peel early and let Utah take us the rest of the way and I literally sit at the end, just to see what it's like back there.
Through the 4 way stop I somehow end up at the wrong spot again, and peel off before the gradual climb. As I'm being dropped to the back Iggy lets me hop in so I don't have to go to the end of the line like a bad student. This puts me in a much better spot for the golf course. My approach for this climb is to hold & react. I'm not confident enough to attack on my own. I prefer to react. I don't remember who goes, but I match it. Eventually I'm on Jon's wheel and he start to tail off and I jump him. Once I'm in front I start to steady-state, at which point Utah jumps me and we crest the hill. Someone jumps over us, I think Jon again, and Utah & I follow.
On the downside I jump to the front and pull us the rest of the way around the golf course to the stop sign. We keep the gap on the group through this to the left turn. A bad break sends 3 cars up the road, and our gap is whittled to maybe 50 yards. At the end of the condos, another car stops us from holding it, and we're back together. We were coming up on the Burger King anyway, so we would regroup in any event.
Burnt Mills is generally a place to get some rest, which is why I have no problems letting it go at the golf course. As we approach the sprint, I'm between Utah and the 7 Foot Menace to Society, so I figure I'm in a reasonable spot. The group starts to string out pretty early - too early I feel - and I'm behind 7 Foot. I sit there, pick a few spots, and when I think it's a good spot I split the gap, jump the 3 guys who had jumped out early, and launched to the sprint point.
I win the sprint fairly easily. This is the first time I've ever taken this sprint.
After the turn Jon comes up front to pull, and I sit on his wheel to recover. Not much happens until the rollers. Again, I hold & react, and a lot of people go hard early on this one. Ed & 7 Foot go early, which seems odd to me. Eventually it shakes out and again I'm on Jon's wheel, and again I jump over him, and sort of just sit in front. Rich comes around us, and we get on his wheel. After the turn we let Rich sit out front. Jon was behind him and was trying to recover. Rich wanted to press, Jon wanted to recover. I sat in and let them figure it out. Eventually we form a rotation and come up to the left to the Dairy Farm. Not sure who was in front but that was the sloppiest turn in the history of road biking.
The Dairy Farm is the usual speed work, and as we start up the pitch at the end I see Jeremy huffing a bit. I think he's close enough to the end to hang but I'm not sure. As we get further up the hill, it ends up shaking out to 4 of us: Utah, JVS Billy, Colavita Rich, and myself. Utah comes up to take his pull and whoever was behind him has popped. So Utah is left to hang when he comes to the left. We get closer it's Utah, Billy, Rich, and myself.
This is the climb that leads to sprint #2.
Billy & Rich jump Utah, and I follow. They try to shake me but no luck. As we crest, I'm sitting there biding my time. We press down the hill and since Billy did the cresting work and weighs like 140 pounds, the odds are against him. I hear Rich downshift as we get closer, and he gets in his drops and starts to hammer early for the sprint. I match him and sit on his wheel. As we get closer he looks over his shoulder, sees I'm on him, and throws in the towel.
I take sprint #2 by a wider margin than #1. Not sure what's in the air tonight, but something is working for me.
Lamington is Lamington. For whatever reason, this road often hurts me more than I think it should. I don't know if I have gotten bad luck in the order of pulls, or if the combination of hills just doesn't work for me, or what. The first hour of the ride was me throwing it down quite a bit, so it may have started to add up. But it hurt. I guess it's supposed to. According to Strava we average 26.2 mph over the 4 mile span.
Sprint point #3 is still an enigma to me. But I'm getting a better idea of where it is. It still took me by surprise and by the time I realized Rich was going for it, it was too late. He took this one, and I pull up in 2nd a bike length behind. If I had another 50 yards I think I could have gotten him. Maybe not. Eventually I'll learn where that point is.
The Liberty Corner approach is light, as Utah and I sit out front. I tell him to ease up, especially since nobody is jumping us. Since we had given it so much, this was going to be tougher. As we get closer I keep telling him to go easy, go easy. If someone jumps then we can let that dictate what we do. But nobody jumps. I keep trying to tell him to ease up and let it play out. The longer we can milk this the better it is for us. Even through I think we're going relatively easy, we boil down to 6. Utah, Iggy, and I in blue/orange, plus Jon, Colavita Rich, and Feisty Jeff.
I don't have it in me mentally to keep at it so I let them go. As they hit the second pitch I see Iggy drop and I catch up with him. The 4 are up ahead, and it looks like Utah has buried himself bringing them up the hill. I see him dangle a few times but he hangs on. I was hoping to catch back up but I let the gap get too big. We pass the B ride on the side of the road, where the 7 Foot Menace is, and at the bottom he joins back up with us. He pulls for a little but I get antsy and jump his pull and catch up to the front 4 as they are hitting the 4 way stop.
We cross, and Jon is out front. I peg it to catch his wheel, and a few people follow, Utah being one. After the turn I jump out and pull, but we get caught by the light. After that we rotate through the condos and nothing of note happens.
Most of the fireworks in this one were in the front half, which turned Liberty Corner and sprint #4 into lesser items compared to normal. Liberty was almost an afterthought for all involved, but you have to do something when you're out there so at the end, I think you feel obligated to fight a little bit.
Sprint point #4 is totally uncontested. I think the real action is the hill climb, and nobody cares about #4. That seems fair to me. #4 is a force. Liberty Corner is the real goal anyway.
Back at the house for baked Mexican chicken, rice, asparagus, cookies, and my homemade red bean ice cream. The later start times mean a shorter social affair. By 9:00 everyone is gone.
At 9:30 I am on the couch and my head is killing me. I wonder how I'm going to get up and get the kid to bed. But it only lasts a few minutes and I'm fine. We get to bed around 10:00. Julia then proceeds to wake up a bunch of times coughing. Sure enough, she wakes up this morning with a bit of a cold. Fun times.
And now I'm at work. I'm not proofreading that. Hopefully it's not too rough.
The A Ride
Ok, got it. The big recaps are boring. Fine, the short version for you ADD losers: RIDE BIKE FAST BECAUSE BIKE
I fear that this ride is not going to last too much longer. Fred texted me something today that I was thinking the other day, which is that it needs a new route. I remember Ilya coming out here a few years ago after work 1 day and we went on a ride, and after the ride he posted how awesome the area is for riding. It really is nice. I can go 4 miles and then be in the hills forever. But the shop ride seems to want to find the flattest roads possible, which I understand to a point. But at the same time, this is exactly part of the problem. Guys who should not be hanging on this ride are, and when we get to Burnt Mills it's just sloppy out there. To be fair, 2 of the last 3 weeks saw some brutal cross winds. It's tough to stay tight when it's gusting.
Still, we need an alternate route. One that goes into the hills. I can propose something. If we start getting abused by the police then we're going to need to do something. Another thing to consider is that commuters are going to opt for flat roads, which are faster roads. We go up into the Bernardsville hills and traffic is going to die quickly. I could even make sure that Liberty Corner is still in there.
Today
Release day, WFH, so I got out late. Did my Long Swamp TT:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/171907740
I had this one in the bag until I got to the swamp and was met with a headwind. I never, I mean never, have a headwind in that direction. Usually that's a guaranteed 24 mph run, but today it was a struggle to keep 22. I did keep the 22.0 average for the loop (split 1) but was not able to crack the 1 hour mark (1:00:29). I believe that last year I did. Maybe if I get some time I'll check later. That blew because I was in there.
Edit, I found it here:
http://connect.garmin.com/splits/95830229
22.4 for the split, 59:44. So that's a solid 45 seconds. Did the wind matter that much today? Not sure about that.
Another one at 59:47:
http://connect.garmin.com/splits/92739933
The 3rd from last June, 1:01:14:
http://connect.garmin.com/splits/89520218
Ok, I need to name these better so it's easy to keep them in 1 spot. Is this why people would use courses in GC? So it's April and I'm close. By June those should fall.
I seem to be free & clear in the allergy department. My weather app says otherwise, but I feel reasonably ok. A touch light in the head but overall decent. Hopefully this is the start of the slide out of it all.
Last Night
Went for a beer with some coworkers who are getting the boot. For the first time since I've been working here, there were a few that got it that I don't think deserved it. It's an odd time here. Kind of a bummer but this is the reality of things. Anyway, 1 turned into 3 beers which made waking up and riding this morning a bit tough.
DFH sample night at the Stirling Hotel tonight. Looking unlikely though Kirt may be able to swing it if the release ties up early. I may opt for bed instead. Feeling like I could use a nap now, actually.
Ok, back to work.
Ok, got it. The big recaps are boring. Fine, the short version for you ADD losers: RIDE BIKE FAST BECAUSE BIKE
I fear that this ride is not going to last too much longer. Fred texted me something today that I was thinking the other day, which is that it needs a new route. I remember Ilya coming out here a few years ago after work 1 day and we went on a ride, and after the ride he posted how awesome the area is for riding. It really is nice. I can go 4 miles and then be in the hills forever. But the shop ride seems to want to find the flattest roads possible, which I understand to a point. But at the same time, this is exactly part of the problem. Guys who should not be hanging on this ride are, and when we get to Burnt Mills it's just sloppy out there. To be fair, 2 of the last 3 weeks saw some brutal cross winds. It's tough to stay tight when it's gusting.
Still, we need an alternate route. One that goes into the hills. I can propose something. If we start getting abused by the police then we're going to need to do something. Another thing to consider is that commuters are going to opt for flat roads, which are faster roads. We go up into the Bernardsville hills and traffic is going to die quickly. I could even make sure that Liberty Corner is still in there.
Today
Release day, WFH, so I got out late. Did my Long Swamp TT:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/171907740
I had this one in the bag until I got to the swamp and was met with a headwind. I never, I mean never, have a headwind in that direction. Usually that's a guaranteed 24 mph run, but today it was a struggle to keep 22. I did keep the 22.0 average for the loop (split 1) but was not able to crack the 1 hour mark (1:00:29). I believe that last year I did. Maybe if I get some time I'll check later. That blew because I was in there.
Edit, I found it here:
http://connect.garmin.com/splits/95830229
22.4 for the split, 59:44. So that's a solid 45 seconds. Did the wind matter that much today? Not sure about that.
Another one at 59:47:
http://connect.garmin.com/splits/92739933
The 3rd from last June, 1:01:14:
http://connect.garmin.com/splits/89520218
Ok, I need to name these better so it's easy to keep them in 1 spot. Is this why people would use courses in GC? So it's April and I'm close. By June those should fall.
I seem to be free & clear in the allergy department. My weather app says otherwise, but I feel reasonably ok. A touch light in the head but overall decent. Hopefully this is the start of the slide out of it all.
Last Night
Went for a beer with some coworkers who are getting the boot. For the first time since I've been working here, there were a few that got it that I don't think deserved it. It's an odd time here. Kind of a bummer but this is the reality of things. Anyway, 1 turned into 3 beers which made waking up and riding this morning a bit tough.
DFH sample night at the Stirling Hotel tonight. Looking unlikely though Kirt may be able to swing it if the release ties up early. I may opt for bed instead. Feeling like I could use a nap now, actually.
Ok, back to work.
I think this is somewhat normal with cars vrs. cyclists. I know the tuesday night pick-up crit in Rahway park had some complaints over the years from motorists and as a result the cops threatened to shut them down. I think they did get shut down for like a week...but the ride always comes back.
Norm, how about scooting over to River Rd(right on cowperthwaite left on river rd) instead of going the whole length of Burnt Mills. River rd is way more quite, we could set up the sprint on River rd.
I am all for mixing up the route of that A ride. I'm a climber, long and steep is fine by me. + i get bored of the same loop. still I think this idea might go over like a fart in church with that crew.
Personally I hate being out on burnt mills pacelining due to the cars. Ya they are dicks and feel the need to swipe over at us, squeeze us and lay on their horn all the time....but we are also taking up a good portion of the lane. Its one of those danger factors that brings me back to my mx days....."how many times are we going to make it through here before something goes wrong?" I would love a reroute of that road at least.
Those roads all suck for the most part. But I'm a new guy that has been dropped 2 of the 4 rides, so my opinion doesn't mean shit. But I think this pretty much sums up the situation.....
There are 2 changes we could make to take the loop off both Burnt Mills & Lamington. But Iggy is right, they won't do it. I already proposed we change the loop and it didn't go over that well. I also told Fred that I've been feeling increasingly nervous that someone is going to plow their car into the lot of us. I don't know why I feel like this. But I do. At the end of the day, regardless of who is right or wrong, I don't want any part of anyone getting hurt, or worse.
There are better roads but this ride is for the workout, not the scenery. I know most of those guys would object to my proposal because there are a few 6-7 minute climbs in there. If it keeps up, I imagine we'll split the group into Flat & Climbing loops. The Climbing Loop will be less "droppy" but of course harder. We can work in sprint points and plenty of pain areas. It won't be popular with guys like 7 Foot Menace because he will get dropped 45 seconds into the first climb. But again, it's better then getting plowed into.
I'm out next week so let's see how that ride goes and if there is any police intervention.
There are better roads but this ride is for the workout, not the scenery. I know most of those guys would object to my proposal because there are a few 6-7 minute climbs in there. If it keeps up, I imagine we'll split the group into Flat & Climbing loops. The Climbing Loop will be less "droppy" but of course harder. We can work in sprint points and plenty of pain areas. It won't be popular with guys like 7 Foot Menace because he will get dropped 45 seconds into the first climb. But again, it's better then getting plowed into.
I'm out next week so let's see how that ride goes and if there is any police intervention.
Agreed...we're on bikes, we lose either way. After that dickhead in the Kia decided to draft me and mundi a couple of weeks ago...then this weeks incidents with the truck swiping over at me, then the next car just missing Jeremy...though nothing has topped the motorcycle guy bumping jim last year...man that was scary. Just quite a few close calls in my mind anyway, though im far from and experienced road rider.
This is what happens with the Martys randolph ride. There is a steep climb about 10-15 min in and it just explodes the group into pieces. I happen to like it as its then 3-6 of us left murdering each other for the rest of the ride.
my goal this year is to make it to the top of the hill in *that* group. hopefully next week i finally won't have my usual "Wednesday in the City" and be able to make the ride.
I'm really not sure what the precise element is that makes this ride such a drama. It's not like it's 1/100th as absurd as the Rocket Ride. But I've only ever done this ride, so I have nothing to compare it with. It may be as simple as [too many bikers] + [too many cars] = [something has to give]. Or maybe it's because the 2 fast paceline roads have a very, very small shoulder.
I really don't know.
But then again, we've all been riding side-by-side with only a single other person and had "that asshole" who needs to lay on the horn and let you know that you're in the way of his getting home to stuff his face with garbage or kick his dog or watch America's Funniest Rat Fink Bastard or whatever it is. I guess we just seem to always attract the attention of "that asshole"? Or maybe Lamington is just chock full of assholes?
I know Maurice has told me before that he avoids that road solo during rush hour. So maybe a group of 25 is simply asking for trouble.
Probably this. I am liberal with taking my part of the road, but 2 abreast is on roads with less than a 4' shoulder at the time you guys ride at is just asking for trouble.
I'd 2nd too many bikers + too many cars.
This part of NJ is much more densely populated then Monmouth Co. If we were going out on Saturday or Sunday morning the volume of cars on the road would be a lot less. We are going out at the evening commuter rush home. There are going to be a lot of cars on the roads.
When I did Thursday nights out of Cranford bike shop we never double pace lined and when we were told to single up by the ride leader we listened, most of the time. Our avg. pace was 20mph on a fast night, no sprints.
The HG A ride is a 22 mph avg. ride with double pace lines and sprints. Its like a semi-controlled road race at rush hour.
I don't understand why these guys are so adamant about the same route. At the very least we should get off of Burnt Mills. We seem to get someone laying on their horn every week at this section. Even with 20 guys singling up on this road its tight.
Funny, I was reading all this and about to post this again: I ride river rd. and would rather deal with flats than ride Burnt Mills. During the week Burnt Mills is not enjoyable, plus it's a bit boring, river rd is 100% nicer.
This is why I don't do group rides: 1) you burn your matches during the week, they always end up a pissing contest for ... nothing ... get your work-out in a race if need be, better yet is a casual ride in the hills, everyone gets a good work-out and there is no dicking around. 2) cars etc., whether you like it or not the roads are more and more clogged. 3) I've got the voices in my head for company.
I'm old school, but to me a group ride should be a ride, not a race. It should be for getting miles in and chatting with people. Workouts are alone or with a number on your back.
ArmyOfNone
Well-Known Member
On a good day there could be 8-10 MTBNJ boys and umpteen High Gear boys showing up for these rides. They are big rides. And we are all reporting back here how things went. So the coverage is greater. I think thats why we are hearing so much about it. Similar to how much you used to hear about the Cranbury rides.
If you want to make a statement to push for a change, dont attend the ride next week. You dont need an army of guys to get a good hard ride in. Set a route up and some designated points. Regroup at the end and do it again. Then eat some of the master chefs kung pao.
If you want to make a statement to push for a change, dont attend the ride next week. You dont need an army of guys to get a good hard ride in. Set a route up and some designated points. Regroup at the end and do it again. Then eat some of the master chefs kung pao.
Maurice & Fred - good posts.
For me, I like this forced work, because it's very hard (impossible?) for me to get this level of workout in at 5:00 am. The power just isn't there. This gives me a schedule where I can get a hard workout in during the week. If I'm left to my own devices I won't ride as hard. Winning a sprint is of no value, but practicing to sprint is good.
The route can and should be changed. Jim covers that with his post today.
I won't be there next week because I'll be in Chicago. The following week we'll see. I have no problem doing our own thing and I imagine some of the guys in that ride may jump ship. I've thought about the idea before for a few reasons. Mainly, I would prefer to keep it at 5:30. The 6:00 start pushes the night back a bit too far for me. But now as we seem to have more and more run-ins with the cars, it's another good reason to do an alternate ride.
Of course, once it's our own, it's not a standard, weekly thing. And then you need to make sure to avoid the slide. Having said that, I think we should at least occasionally do our own thing. If we have at least 5, we should.
If it gets you out for the kung pao, I'll do it for the next Tuesday ride
For me, I like this forced work, because it's very hard (impossible?) for me to get this level of workout in at 5:00 am. The power just isn't there. This gives me a schedule where I can get a hard workout in during the week. If I'm left to my own devices I won't ride as hard. Winning a sprint is of no value, but practicing to sprint is good.
The route can and should be changed. Jim covers that with his post today.
I won't be there next week because I'll be in Chicago. The following week we'll see. I have no problem doing our own thing and I imagine some of the guys in that ride may jump ship. I've thought about the idea before for a few reasons. Mainly, I would prefer to keep it at 5:30. The 6:00 start pushes the night back a bit too far for me. But now as we seem to have more and more run-ins with the cars, it's another good reason to do an alternate ride.
Of course, once it's our own, it's not a standard, weekly thing. And then you need to make sure to avoid the slide. Having said that, I think we should at least occasionally do our own thing. If we have at least 5, we should.
If it gets you out for the kung pao, I'll do it for the next Tuesday ride
Same here, if left to my own devices I can't ride very hard. I actually think it's not a bad thing.
Of course, once it's our own, it's not a standard, weekly thing. And then you need to make sure to avoid the slide. Having said that, I think we should at least occasionally do our own thing. If we have at least 5, we should.
I'd be up for the occasional deviation.
Aside from that I feel the need to skip the A ride at least 1x/mo, as the season progresses I'll probably only do it 2x/month. This is what I did last year. I find that doing that ride everyweek and racing wears me out. I like to mix some less intense volume/miles in during the week as well. I get out of work at 2:30, this allows me to do a 4 hr. ride if I want to.
I am skipping this Tuesday as well, knowing myself I will not be 100% after SSaP on Sunday.
Hills. The idea of simply heading out Basking Ridge/Bernards is a much nicer proposition. There are places you can open it up, some killer climbs and very low traffic.
I have been really turned off from road riding this year due to some close calls last fall (especially in the afternoon commute).
I'm sure we could stir up enough of our own internal competition.
I have been really turned off from road riding this year due to some close calls last fall (especially in the afternoon commute).
I'm sure we could stir up enough of our own internal competition.