surviving frank stark

another great weekend of riding with G2! well, another great weekend of very fast riding with G2. a quick recap... well, okay, a pretty lengthy recap, but what else are you doing?:

saturday: saturday's ride started with Mike's Ride™. a surprise starter was helena! who ventured out to see what all the hubub was about and generally test the waters. also starting was Willy (captain and King Mixer), Smilin' Jack Gottlieb, and your humble author. we also picked up (All Go) Mo along the way who provided much needed horsepower at the front. G2 did a great job and had several riders in the front all morning. Jack, Mo, Willy and I were among a front group of probably 8 riders as we approached the long drag up to the spanish river hill. Greg Cousins and The Helmetless Dude™ were both ahead having blown the light at Hillsboro. they got a 20-30 second gap that never quite closed, although we got close. Jack and Mo did excellent work splintering the group near the top of the hill leaving just Willy and I ahead. Willy pulled hard with me glued to his wheel and finally pulled off launching me to my best finish on Mike's just behind the two breakaways... although I might have been nipped by a surprisingly strong older rider atop a vintage chromed steel bike... oh, he'll pay... oh yes.

as per the plan, we waited for everyone to straggle in and met the group who were starting at spanish river (Kevin, René, Clemens, and a not-as-yet-a-member Joe,  and continued north to the boynton beach inlet. Helena, I am please to say, did very well and now knows what's up. we hope to see her and more of G2's cyclistes feminine on Mike's Ride in the near future. The rest of the ride  - minus Mo's flat - was largely the usual fun ride with moments of speed. everyone took turns doing the work. Clemens came to the front at one point to administer a smack down to an impertinent rider who had gone forward in a big show only to fade in the strongish east wind. our tall dutchman moved quickly to the front, paused for a stare down, his deep voice intoning the rhetorical "hoe gaat het, be-otch?" before steaming ahead with Mo and I on his wheel. on the way home I took an ill-advised flyer that lasted from just south of atlantic in del ray until the fountain. ill-advised because I didn't realize at the time that I was expected to ride the next day's Frank Stark Ride

pre-race... er, ride. standing tall in a sea of Zs

frank stark: well, what's another 5am morning? I awoke in the pre-dawn dark to get my dogs walked - which I barely did before Clemens arrived to pick me up for frank stark. apparently, willy didn't trust me not to bail and sent the dutch mafia. at least I had my coffee.

Clemens and I arrived shortly before the start. I stayed clear of the start area having gone commando... well, I suppose it could apply to an absence of underwear, but in this case I mean an absence of a paid entry (I know, the shame). anyhow, I didn't feel entitled to any pre-ride goodies and was fairly convinced that I was going to get busted. once the ride began it stayed rather tame. the number of lights and number of riders kept things pretty well in hand. while this was supposed to be the "A" ride, I saw a good many people who I would not have placed there and there was certainly some nervous energy in the group. the beginning, though, was without incident.

once we hit A1A all hell broke loose... well, sort of. somehow willy and I had made it to the very front and bridged to three riders already hauling ass northward. Greg Cousins was (as usual) among the three. willy and I stayed with the group taking hard pulls at 25-28 miles per all the way past spanish river. somewhere in the blur of speed and pain, we picked up Gus who got into the rotation. even though G2 was now the majority in the break, we decided to back off and regroup with the other G2s who were coming up quickly in the next and much larger group. let me tell you, it's a lot easier sitting in the middle of a large pack at 25 and I enjoyed the total lack of effort. chapeau to the three riders up the road, though. they may have slowed at some point, but that is an enormous amount of strength and they would stay ahead the rest of the day.

Gus questions his sanity before the next surge.

somewhere north of lake avenue, the large field began to hot up... and then break up. somehow, I think it was coincidental with willy going to the front, but I'm not sure. at this point what remained was a fast group of about 30 that included pat patregnani, and the much storied Graham Potter™ along with the usual suspects from mike's ride, the always present paparazzi and finally various hollywood stars urging us on from the trailing caravan...

okay, so the paparazzi weren't really there.

we regrouped at the rest stop and gladly took the chance to rest and refuel. the trip home started reasonably enough. the earlier hard efforts and the wind conspired to keep the pace low. somehow, Willy and I slipped off the front and were surprised to be alone until most of the way back to lake avenue . we were finally caught by a group of three others and we tried to get some kind of rhythm, but I was pretty cooked and couldn't hold the pace they were looking to do. I finally surrendered and told willy to go ahead. there were enough people behind that I knew I could ride with someone back to palmetto park. I was caught by a group of about 6 more riders and managed to make it back to willy's group before falling off again. I finally ended up with the Gruppo Potter/Patregnani and was grateful for potter's willingness to pull us all back home. what none of us realized at the time was that somewhere behind, there was a major crash with one poor soul hitting an oncoming car. I heard that they suffered a broken pelvis and other injuries, but I imagine it could have been much worse. other G2s were right in the middle of it, although thankfully none were hurt. Jim managed to avoid actually falling even while hitting the rider in front of him. Clemens was a little ahead and I don't remember hearing where Danny was, but he too was uninjured.

most of G2 after the ride.

the rest of the ride was a reasonable spin back. I, for one, was right knackered (as the brits would say). most of the participating G2s gathered at the start/finish area. the lucky registered ones got to eat and hang out with impunity whilst I remained vigilant and hungry - still convinced I would be exposed. while unfortunate aging hip hop blared through the PA system, the organizers tried somewhat fruitlessly to give away prizes based on entrant's numbers. surrendering to the fact that many had already left, they began to throw out random requirements for receiving a prize. our own Clemens Vanderwerf narrowly edged out a competitor as the "tallest guy at the ride". see? there is an advantage to just showing up. in all a great and fun weekend. certainly, I know you share my relief that no G2s were caught up in the accident and we certainly hope to see more of you out there next year... where you'll find me registered and with a plate full of food.

G2 participants: Willy, Clemens, Jim, Danny, Bob, Gus, Rorie, and your humble author.

tradewinds

yesterday evening, Smilin' Jack Gottlieb™ and your humble author competed in the weekly training race at Tradewinds Park in the wilds of western Pompano. we arrived just before 5pm and were greeted by the particular bouquet of Tradewinds. despite its more malodorous characteristics, the Tradewinds course is a very good one. I had spent the better part of the week fretting over my first real race, but, as with all fear, it was for naught. this is a great course for anyone looking to get into racing. it is not very technical with only two 90º turns and very wide, closed-off roads. after a good warm-up and good words of advice from jack - who was also participating in his first race after some time away -  we lined up with about 20 riders. there were some familiar faces from Mike's Ride as well as several racers Jack knew from G2's racing days.

with little ado, the race began. a slowish roll out gave way to a couple riders heading up the road and into the first turn. I stayed close to Jack, and Jack stayed close to the front of the main pack. the wind was out of the north and the whole of the northwest section of the course was difficult going and that's where, against better judgement, I took off and brought the group up to a lone rider who was dangling between the main group and the early break. after the contact, the field worked to reel in the other two and it stayed together largely through the next few laps. on probably the 6th or 7th lap, a Bike America rider jumped hard on the left followed quickly by Jack who called for me to follow. I accelerated, but a larger gap had formed than I expected. I had to chase very hard to close the distance... in fact, I think this is where my speedo hit 31mph at around 800 watts. in addition to bringing a good deal of pain on myself, I also brought everyone else with me for a low cost ride. I think it was at this point that my legs started to rebel. for anyone used to Mike's Ride, this kind of race in entirely different. the speed isn't any higher, but there are more surges and the group is much smaller so you don't get the benefit of the pack. the constant accelerations definitely start to take their toll and you need to be much smarter about how you spend your energy. the two hard efforts I put in really burned a lot more energy than I expected and the wind took what was left. on the 9th or 10th lap with about 15 more minutes to go, I eased off the gas and watched as the group moved up the road. it was a little disheartening, but I was cooked. even when I began to recover and decided to try again, the group stayed too far ahead to bridge up. at the start/finish, I coasted to a stop and took on a new role as cheerleader for Jack as he continued to be competitive.

through the next couple laps I noticed Jack was also losing ground even as the the guy who would eventually win began to gap the field. the final lap saw two riders come in each separated by several seconds and then finally a bunch sprint contested by those who still had the legs. my friends, it is a very long half of an hour and even the lowest category is surprisingly difficult. Jack gamely finished out the race and we took a little time to watch the pro 1-3 field race. in all it was a very good time and I feel great about going back and giving it another shot. I hope that more G2 riders take advantage of this. it comes at a perfect time in the week to recover before saturday's ride and it will definitely make you a stronger rider.

for those who are interested, the B race goes off at 5:45pm at Tradewinds Park. it is 35 minutes plus 2 laps and costs $15. you will also need a USCF license (either day or yearly). I would try to get there by 4:45 so that you have decent time to get registered and warm-up. I encourage everyone to give it a shot and hope to see more G2s out there soon.

Jack tests out our race radios before the start

big weekend for G2

well... and, you know, the country I suppose. but enough about them, what about us? well, I'll tell you. it started with a great showing at the Independence Day Sprint Triathlon/Dualthlon at tradewinds park. several G2s participated in both the co-ed relay and individually. and, in typical fashion, we managed to do quite well:

Helena Redshaw: shook off jet lag and family obligations long enough to participate in the dualthlon where she placed 4th in her division. very well done, indeed! Time 1:04:44

New member Kevin Peranio: kevin cranked through the swim, bike and run and was enjoying the spoils of a record time when it occurred to him that... well, it was a little too much of a record, so like a true champ, he re-chipped and finished his run. well done kevin! next time we'll post someone to be the official lap counter. Time 1:04:02

Vi-an Le: vi-an is also a new member and is doing a great job competing individually. what can I say, she killed the whole thing didn't have jet lag and looked good. Time 1:04:49


Jennifer Wilder: jennifer also competed in the dualthlon and did a great job. she was slowed only by the knot of supporters in the transition area (including husband kyle) and fielding questions from the media. Time 1:10:14


G2 Relay Team: Christine Manna, our fearless leader Willy and your humble author competed in the co-ed relay on sunday. christine, while usually competing solo, graciously agreed to swim a very hot 400 meters. willy crushed the bike portion despite having his heart rate pegged at 181 the whole time. he even managed to better some poor woman who had managed to put her teardrop aero helmet on backwards in the manner of a large beak. despite not really feeling it beforehand, I managed a personal best in the 5K. and we were first among all the relays and 8th overall. Time (S/B/R) 6:25 / 22:42 / 19:26


5 of us made it out to a rather indulgent breakfast afterwards. unfortunately, it wasn't a long enough event to justify the food intake, but it was all good, nonetheless. the race was a good and social event. a special thanks to those who weren't participating, but came by for support! everyone competed admirably and it's good to be on a team like this that shares community and a will to kick some ass.

Monday

monday, despite the early morning showers, was the scheduled ride up to West Palm™. the group gathered at Atlantic... well, I mean, I assume they gathered since I was running late. as it turned out it was a very good day for a ride. the weather cooperated by staying dry and a little overcast keeping things cooler than normal. at the gas station in we picked up a group of Z motion riders and headed back south with 20 or so. the sun made a mid-ride appearance and heated things up for a short time, but ducked into the clouds again for the finish... which occurred shortly before the rain that would mark the rest of the day. several riders completed their first or among their first long rides yesterday. new member Megan McCraken, Vi-an (gamely riding after her performance sunday in the tri), and Christine all completed the long ride. well done ladies!

and a warm welcome to all of the new members. it looks as though this will be a good year for G2!