Saturday, August 18, 2007
Lake Loop 2
It’s 11:05 and I’m back from the morning jaunt around Lake Murray. The pace this week was slightly quicker than the last time. Doug and Robert (2 of my old buds from across town) showed up this morning and it was great to see them both. I hadn’t seen Robert since the spring crits.
We took a slightly different route today by going all the way up to Prosperity, SC and then taking a left on 391. That’s where the first head winds were experienced. We had one slight mishap when my bud Bryan D. swerved and ran off the road. He was on the front of the group and everyone simultaneously gasped. Shortly after that some bonehead redneck decided to bolt past us and immediately turn right. We all gasped again and hit the breaks. That, produced a middle finger gesture to the driver. Anyway, he sped off, obviously in a hurry at 9:30am on a Saturday morning in Saluda. Probably ran out of crack, crank, ice or some other narcotic I haven’t heard of.
We stopped at the Saluda traffic circle for about 10 minutes to top off the water bottles and then it was back to it. This time the headwind was more noticeable and the group dwindled down to 5 riders. We made it back in together until we got to the big climb on 378 just before Lexington. I’ve now named and trademarked that hill. It’s now known as S.O.B.Hill™. I got gapped off on the second tier of the beast and OSP™ and I finished together.
Hats off to Bryan D. for making the loop! That was his first group ride in a pace line and it was his first ride over 40 miles. Of course he’s an ex-runner so the heart and lungs are there. He just needs to work on a little form and he’s got it That will come in time.
So anyway, my tribe is at the Library and the house is quiet. Think I’ll go lay on the couch and watch a movie. BTW, The Science of Sleep is a pretty cool flick. We watched it last night. It’s an Indie and I recommend it. Later…
It’s 11:05 and I’m back from the morning jaunt around Lake Murray. The pace this week was slightly quicker than the last time. Doug and Robert (2 of my old buds from across town) showed up this morning and it was great to see them both. I hadn’t seen Robert since the spring crits.
We took a slightly different route today by going all the way up to Prosperity, SC and then taking a left on 391. That’s where the first head winds were experienced. We had one slight mishap when my bud Bryan D. swerved and ran off the road. He was on the front of the group and everyone simultaneously gasped. Shortly after that some bonehead redneck decided to bolt past us and immediately turn right. We all gasped again and hit the breaks. That, produced a middle finger gesture to the driver. Anyway, he sped off, obviously in a hurry at 9:30am on a Saturday morning in Saluda. Probably ran out of crack, crank, ice or some other narcotic I haven’t heard of.
We stopped at the Saluda traffic circle for about 10 minutes to top off the water bottles and then it was back to it. This time the headwind was more noticeable and the group dwindled down to 5 riders. We made it back in together until we got to the big climb on 378 just before Lexington. I’ve now named and trademarked that hill. It’s now known as S.O.B.Hill™. I got gapped off on the second tier of the beast and OSP™ and I finished together.
Hats off to Bryan D. for making the loop! That was his first group ride in a pace line and it was his first ride over 40 miles. Of course he’s an ex-runner so the heart and lungs are there. He just needs to work on a little form and he’s got it That will come in time.
So anyway, my tribe is at the Library and the house is quiet. Think I’ll go lay on the couch and watch a movie. BTW, The Science of Sleep is a pretty cool flick. We watched it last night. It’s an Indie and I recommend it. Later…
Friday, August 17, 2007
I don't know who all reads this, but we have a ride planned for 8/18/07 (Satyrday Morning). We're meeting at 7AM at the McAlisters parking lot across the street from Bike to Nature. We will leave at 7:15 sharp and do a loop around lake Murray. Apx 75 miles, maybe less. Pace will be about 20-22mph.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
An Epic Loop Around Lake Murray
I got a call late yesterday afternoon from OSP(tm) about meeting early and doing the lake loop. It had been years since I'd been all the way around the lake so I decided to do it. We met at 7:10 in the AM and left the McAllister's parking lot promptly at 7:15. Doug R. showed up looking fit as ever and about 10 of us were off.
We started our journey going across the dam first and headed into Chapin. About 5 miles out of Chapin I spotted a lone bike rider up the road. We immediately began chasing this poor bastard as if he had a leaders jersey and we (the peloton) had found our chance to move up the leader board. I've never understood why the pace ramps up so quickly when the group spots a solo rider but it does every time. The lone poor bastard proved to be someone I knew. "Imagine that" I said. All this way and Bryan D. (from work) is out here almost to Chapin riding solo. Later he told me that he tailed us into Chapin and turned back to head back to Irmo.
SO we got north of Chapin and ventured around the north rim of Lake Murray. The one thing worth noting here was the great big lady walking around in her front yard with a black negligee. Yes it was a site to behold and I'll not spend any more time on that topic. Let your imaginations run with it for a second...
...We made 1 wrong turn that ended up costing us about 30 minutes and added about 5 miles. We had to stop and ask a local for directions and with that, we were on our way.
We ended up stopping at the traffic circle to refuel and top off water bottles then it was 378 back into Lexington.
Since I'm a purist, I don't have a computer on my bike. I was later told that we were approaching 80 miles on the day with a butt load of climbing. One thing I'll say is that there are virtually no flat roads all the way around. It's either up or down and by the end of the day it felt like more up than down. Anyway, I got back to the house and took a Hobath-- and about that time Doug showed up. I gave him the 25 cent tour and then I was off to the pool.
Again, I have caught wind of a party that is happening tonight at the pool. Live music, libations and cool water! Sounds like a nice mix to me. I'm supposed to meet my buddy Steve (The Marathoner) for a 7am run in the morning. Ugg! Hopefully I'll make it. Later!!!
I got a call late yesterday afternoon from OSP(tm) about meeting early and doing the lake loop. It had been years since I'd been all the way around the lake so I decided to do it. We met at 7:10 in the AM and left the McAllister's parking lot promptly at 7:15. Doug R. showed up looking fit as ever and about 10 of us were off.
We started our journey going across the dam first and headed into Chapin. About 5 miles out of Chapin I spotted a lone bike rider up the road. We immediately began chasing this poor bastard as if he had a leaders jersey and we (the peloton) had found our chance to move up the leader board. I've never understood why the pace ramps up so quickly when the group spots a solo rider but it does every time. The lone poor bastard proved to be someone I knew. "Imagine that" I said. All this way and Bryan D. (from work) is out here almost to Chapin riding solo. Later he told me that he tailed us into Chapin and turned back to head back to Irmo.
SO we got north of Chapin and ventured around the north rim of Lake Murray. The one thing worth noting here was the great big lady walking around in her front yard with a black negligee. Yes it was a site to behold and I'll not spend any more time on that topic. Let your imaginations run with it for a second...
...We made 1 wrong turn that ended up costing us about 30 minutes and added about 5 miles. We had to stop and ask a local for directions and with that, we were on our way.
We ended up stopping at the traffic circle to refuel and top off water bottles then it was 378 back into Lexington.
Since I'm a purist, I don't have a computer on my bike. I was later told that we were approaching 80 miles on the day with a butt load of climbing. One thing I'll say is that there are virtually no flat roads all the way around. It's either up or down and by the end of the day it felt like more up than down. Anyway, I got back to the house and took a Hobath-- and about that time Doug showed up. I gave him the 25 cent tour and then I was off to the pool.
Again, I have caught wind of a party that is happening tonight at the pool. Live music, libations and cool water! Sounds like a nice mix to me. I'm supposed to meet my buddy Steve (The Marathoner) for a 7am run in the morning. Ugg! Hopefully I'll make it. Later!!!
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]