Tuesday Feels like Monday

Hola Compadres. Today was sure a good time. Man I am feeling way out of shape though. Here is the skinny. Started the ride with a brisk run down the smooth side all while having the good fortune of Detlef join us one last time before leaving our fair city. Well anyway we got to the bathhouse climb and the hell began to get unleashed. We went blazing by Erica On and On Badu's house and it looked like JeeP, The Count, and Thomas the Train were on the front keeping the good times at hand. Well after a quick trip behind the Arboretum, We hit the hills with everyone looking a little pensive. I was on the front and started to wind it up when The Tabinator came ripping by on the left. I caught his wheel and rolling into Westshore I did some MTB skills clinic work to get around the corner and down the hill we went. The Tabinator and I for whatever reason could not get on the same page as far as speed but we did get about 5 guys in a group that started to form a bit of a gap on the rest of the jokers. Well that got absorbed and back to the smooth side we went only to have The Count attack. The Tabinator went with him and we started to chase again. About this time my week off the bike was starting to really put me deep inside the pain locker with someone else locking the outside. Well we hit the smooth side and I think I took one small pull only to have someone attack as I was swinging off. Darn you somebody. About that time we started to roll behind the arboretum when The Count attacked as I was pulling off the front again. Darn you The Count. Well then we hit the bridge where and somehow Christian was up the road. Not sure how that happened but the thought is that might not have been the most sporting move of the day. I did not see so all I can say is we started a chase. Well on loving I though I was seeing Elvis and Jesus screaming at me on the grass. Got to the top and chased down the hill and was recovering a bit. The Lakewood came and I went. Well the stop sign saved my ride life and I was back on for good. I did notice however that the ride was quite small by now. No Chaineeeee, No JeeP, and a few others had dwindled to no so much. Well Mr. Brown Town with his excessively shiny cranks pulled off the coup and attacked going into the last corner. Flyer Shirer jumped on Greg the Bike Breakers wheel and according to Shirer Flyer he might have won if you are Liberal with the line placement. I don't know and really don't care because at that point I was simply trying to get my helmet and gloves off as I was just plain darn uncomfortable. I am not taking another week off like that for a while!!

Honorable mention today goes yet again to the Count and Thomas the Train for selflessly always working at the front on the rides even when the rest of us feel terrible. Also the mirage members sporting ink. Way to make all the old guys look cool!!

Sometimes life gives you lemonade tooo.

So todays ride. I turned off early (more on that in a sec). I really don't care who won and I really don't know what happened in the sprint. As with the new Thursday attitude though we are going to take a diversion. My very close friend Jason Vivion got an email from someone at Mavic that a certain gentleman was in town and was looking for groups to ride with. Jason connected me together with this whole ride group effort and off we went. Well Tuesday I had basically decided I was a little cooked and ready for some down time. Well I saw the name Detlef Schrempf on the email and decided it was time to dust off the shoes and get on the bike. I met "Det" at the AAC yesterday morning at 6 and we put in a couple of laps at the lake. While riding a rental bike the rear tire decided it did not like the air it had in it so we stopped to fix a flat. At this point Russ-tic pulled up and said hello. We visited for a minute and I introduced Russ to the group. Now I was a little concerned, as Det is a public figure and might want to stay low profile. He introduces himself as Det. Russ says "Great, Whats that short for, Detmer?....... Eventually Det says, "no Detlef" To which Russ responds with a Ohhhh like Detlef Schrempf. At this point, I chimed in and said quietly, "Russ, that is Detlef Schrempf". It was pretty funny, and Russ as usual was a class act and did a great job hosting with us as we had a guest in town.

Well here is the point. Today many of you might have noticed the rather tall rider with us that made the Count look like a midget, and made all 5'8" of me look like a fire ant. Well that was Detlef. I have had an amazing pleasure to get to know him over the last couple of rides and have been overly impressed with him. Detlef had a great career in the NBA and was very respected player who EARNED, not won, countless honors in the league. He also had quite a long career as well. That is not what has been so impressive about getting to know Det. He is in Dallas from Seattle for a youth basketball camp put on by Adidas. Not many people travel to Dallas in August from Seattle for a vacation. I also did a short bit of research and it is impressive how much charitable work Detlef is involved in at the present time. I wanted to simply mentioned all of this not to put him on a platform and start our idol worship because I am pretty sure his Velcro works the same on his cycling shoes as mine does. What I am saying is that "To whom much is given much is expected" Detlef has been given a lot and is giving back a lot as is apparent by his reason to be here, and also his charitable work. Go to www.Detlef.com Go look at the organizations they support and also the partner organizations and make sure to support those causes. Have a great day and as usual keep it rubber side down.

Pillow Time

Alright. I did not quite have it today so when the alarm sounded I hit off and off to sleep I went. I would love to give away the rights to anyone interested to let us know how today went. That being said here is what I do have of last weeks ride.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PWBAEozRL8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AwzE-zwy2I

Enjoy!

Thursdays fun and a visit with our past

So today was fun the usual worker bees were at the front most of the ride and I even took a few pulls to validate my participation. We were joined by an old friend today in the form of One Tough Texan, Senior CroZzy. Always good to see him out there. Anyhow lets pick up on the sprint stretch and then get into some other stuff. So we hit the smooth side for our sprint leg and CroZzy pegged it. We were rolling a strong 30mph and went into the sweeping Right hander before the second Murr. Well that right hander was a little tricky for the bunch at 30 and it caused a bit of a break I had the good fortune of staying on the Tabinator's wheel and getting back on the back of The Count, Thomas the Train, and CroZzy. Well CroZzy pulled off and left a group of about 5 of us to go it alone in the sprint. I believe after a short rest CroZzy took Thomas the Train and Fred at the line. Good ride and safer today.

We have a great privilege today to be joined by some old friends of the Tuesday Thursday Crowd in a round table discussion. Enclosed is the transcript of that dialogue. I was the moderator.

Moderator: Good Morning Gentlemen. How are you all.
Randy Tinney: Things are good here in Sunny Cali but Diiaamnnnn its early.
Frank Voight: Hey take it easy on us old guys now!!
Phill Kroll: Hey Ni%%#&'S Screw you all.
Joe Patronite: Hold on I think I am going to throw up... Ok, I am alright.

Moderator: So how has life changed for each of you since the Tuesday/Thursday rides.
RT: Well I think the Lapped Riders should always go to the Back.
FV: I like golf.....
PK: You Arseholds can have that ride. I have left the postal service and gone on to Messenger service
JP: Its hot hear in AZ

Moderator: What can be done to improve the competitive nature of the T/T rides
RT: I think all of you should move to Cali. No Wait don't move here I don't want anyone to realize how your turds don't actually stink here.
FV: Hey take it easy on us old guys.
PK: Attacking into oncoming traffic would be great, and you should get a time bonus if you cuss another rider out in front of a family in Lakewood!!
JP: I just think you don't ride hard enough unless you puke a bit in your own mouth.

Moderator: What about safety.
RT: Its just do diiammn early, and you jokers who skip the hills should get to the back niiowww yahere.
FV: Golf is a lot harder, but take it easy on us old guys.
PK: Safety My Arse You Nogga
JP: uh oh, I think I am going to puke again.

Moderator: You guys sure are missed. See you soon
RT: Naw Dim Daammn darnnet..........
FV: Four..... I think I just hit an old guy.
PK: Later Ni^^#%'!
JP: Huuuuuuuuuuuhhhhgg!

I farted... I mean Flatted

Alright. Today's post will be simply this. Short. We got some hitters out this morning and the hitters tend to elevate the game of everyone else so that's good. Well we had a quite quick smooth side and the fun appeared to be starting headed into the back side. FreakonatureFawley hit the front with the Tabinator at the top of the bathhouse hill and the fun appeared to be beginning. The count pulled back the break attempt and we settled down some although FoN Fawley kept the pace at the front quite high. I have been wanting to try and make a breakaway attempt but looking at your computer and seeing 25 mph on it is a hard motivator to think about taking off. We hit the hills and I apprehensively hit the front hoping to create a break and take off for a bit. FoNFawley was moving up the right and I was on the left and I was getting excited about the prospect of gettin gone. Well as fate would have it my tire decided it wanted to quit on me and I got to spend some relaxing time at the top of Loving fixing a flat. I did however get a front row seat as FoNFawley powered Thomas the Train to the finish. I got it on film so this should be fun to watch. Lester TBM incidentally that seat you tried out..... They make a white Alliante. I will defintely have a post up of the video so keep checking back before the end of the day tomorrow.

Fast Fashion Forward

Well, it had dawned on me that Thursdays rides really don't offer a ton of great material so we are going to take a bit of a left turn with the Thursday posts and although the ride will be a point of reference, a quick chasing of rabbits might be in store. Also offers have been extended to others to post a slightly different perspective of the ride (Flyer Shirer) but those offers were left unfulfilled. As a result a complete essay detailing why you should be considered to post in the future must be submitted. The individuals that care will vote on the validity of said essay and we will see where we go from there.

Today. Basically after some slicing and dicing Greg the bike breaker almost pulled off a major upset but Pretty boy Boyd took it at the line. More on him later but here is our rabbit, lets run..... Today offered some interesting risks and what not. The gentleman in the red and white with the Fujiyama bike was certainly a clever rider/ although I saw myself leaving a ton of skin at the lake today in my mind but somehow he managed to save it, almost like he does that a lot. I am all for our rides being inclusive, but when you risk me wrecking you are not welcome. Borrow my rollers Red and we will see you next summer. Jordan. Deciding to skip the hills from the inside left was cute. Thank goodness I ride a dirt bike too. Finally the guy who I believe went to UT. Taking a hard right from the bunch at the bridge is totally cool. Just let the rest of us know. Another swerve and dive and off we go.

Now for the fashion fast forward stuff. Red had on yellow socks and touring shoes. Boooo. Now Shirer flyer on the other hand had some new white shoes that he even tap danced in on Tuesday. Literally. But his shoes and pedals cost more than his entire fixed gear bike. I am not sure what to think about that. After UT football fan almost sent me into the lake today I rolled up next to Pretty boy Boyd on his new Orca bicycle. I happened to look over and noticed these kickin glasses on his face. I simply said "hey nice glasses". He looked at me with a stone faced look and in a nasal loud voice shouted out a "HHeeeeyyyyyy, I am Harry Carry". I laughed so hard I pee'd my pants a little bit. The most interesting new Fashion icon winner is Lester the Bike Molester. I spent a better part of the smooth side discussion some of his most recent decisions and we all should take note, because the overall point is really not how fast you are, but how fast you look!! So Lester went with a new Bar and Stem. But the bar is now wrapped in white bar tape, with white brake hoods on his campy record shifters. Very nice. Also added to the kit were a new white seat and also new white shoes. Its the subtleties that caught my eye. The Arundle bottle cages with white labels to match the white on the frame were a classy touch. Kind of like a chick wearing sexy undies. No one else knows but her,.... but she knows. Don't get me wrong I am not saying Lester tbm wears women's undies or that he is slow; I am saying he looks good regardless of how much pain he is inflicting. Now The Count on the other hand gives us the utilitarian look which is also good. Christian is still hiding his footwear which is ok. It is his shtick and I get that.

Let me establish a modest goal for those of us who are constantly out there scaring the crap out of walkers and families on Tuesdays and Thursdays. In these tough economic times lets start small. Lets work on getting the socks to match! That way when people jump off the trail in utter fear that will at least say, "darn those guys look good." Ride hard with the rubber side on the ground and we will see you soon.

Getcha Some

Alright first and foremost. Shirer intentionally sent me a pic of him in ridiculously short shorts in order that it would wind up on the blog so we must oblige. Blur Baker although wounded was wondering so lets end the speculation now, it is not Parks and Recreation.

So, Rumor has it the Blur is as good as can be expected after a violent fight with a rock Saturday. On to today's fried fish. The ride started briskly today as the Tabinator kept cracking the whip/hitting the front with the intent to cross some eyes. Matt was active in either going with or pulling back the Tabinator. The Slaughter was also in and on form helping keep the tempo high. Lester the Bike Molester showed up on his fancy bike to give it a go, and go he did. also we were graced by the resident expert on pace lines Leo Von Trapp, dancing with his MP3 player and all. so the pace was high but the challenge had been mentioned that we needed a kayak to get done Lakeshore blvd. Alternative routes were discussed but Senior Richardson suggested the best alternative was to divert ourselves right into the water. For some this will cause a bike cleaning for others (Parks, Robodobro) this WAS a bike cleaning!! Anyway we all made it though with out Menchoving and onto the second lap with Tabinator, Matt, The Count, Thomas the Train, and Lester the Bike Molester mixing up the stew pot at the front for the most part. I was sitting in saving my matches after taking two or three very brief pulls. Onto the spillway we went and I was planning on uncorking the Mojo after we hit the road. I played nice and waited for everyone else to make it onto the road and I started to wind it up. As my speed started to get down right nasty, the Count offered some strong caution as we did not know which way we were kayaking through the hills. Well needless to say I was so there and was going to destroy all with my power and dragon slaying manor up the climbs!, but hey sometimes you gotta be cool. Well on the climbs the bunch went hard but hardly went so we all wound up gambling that Jose was going to jack knife a 5th wheel trailer in the road on us. Needless to mention the roads were kind and Lester TBM and Leo VT hit the front in a one two punch and got the pace quite high heading into our sprint. They both came off and left The Count on the front. With a Flip of his cape and he put his head into the wind and trudged on at a quite high rate of speed. I decided in second wheel that coming out of the corner I needed to come on around or I was going to get boxed. I came and went and noticed my sprint needs some work. Greg the bike breaker gets the Bronze bike chamois this week!!!!!!

Honorable mentions for the day. 1st. Lester TBM. that bike sure is perty. Jordan for quitting!! Leo VT for playing nice with the ball and bat. Richardson for passing out the water wings as he guided us down the safer route. Finally Greg the Bike Breaker for sprinting like he meant it!!

I had the camera, had it on, and for whatever reason could not get the buttons right. I am still learning. Patience.