Did You Ride Today?

Mr B, great hi-def photo. But is that a bike lane you're on? Never seen one that nice, really. Down here that road is wide enough to qualify as a US highway, and the generous 1-foot shoulder would be considered a bike lane! And the pavement looks super smooth and fast, and flat as a pancake too.

I assume from your language usage that you're in the US, so maybe CA? It's got to be a state with a lot stronger cycling lobby and more money than we'll ever see here....I'm jealous.

Our Rails-To-Trails cycling paths...at least the ones that get paved...are about the same width as Mr. B's California bike trails. I would assume there are safety standards that have to be met in order to receive state and federal funding.

Out trails are center striped and some portions are edge striped. Since trains have great difficulty climbing anything greater than about 2%, our paths are billiard table flat. I ride one Rails-To-Trails that goes over a pretty good climb...for a train...about 200' of elevation change in 10 miles and most of that is in 6 to 7 miles of the trail. The other trails I take the wife on are pan flat.

Ours are ridiculously easy to ride. The biggest efforts are the accelerations away from the gazillion stop signs encountered at cross roads/streets. Aside from little to no climbing, most of ours run through the woods and are sheltered from the wind and sun. On a 90° day it might only be 80°-85° on the bike path.

Mr. B. probably puts up with wind-blown sand on his trails. We put up with tons of leaf and twig debris that spays all over the drive line of the bike and coats sweaty ankles and calves with a black grit of ground up sticks, bark and leaves.

Overall, I rate the trail experience as a positive one and they offer cycling as safe as it gets. My wife really enjoys riding on them.

Mr. Beanz said:

I'm not sure if I have ever done a ride without some other dudes hopping on the back into the wind. Freakin' wheelsuckers!

Do you rotate the line and let them pull?

dhk2 said:

Mr B, great hi-def photo. But is that a bike lane you're on? Never seen one that nice, really. Down here that road is wide enough to qualify as a US highway, and the generous 1-foot shoulder would be considered a bike lane! And the pavement looks super smooth and fast, and flat as a pancake too.

I assume from your language usage that you're in the US, so maybe CA? It's got to be a state with a lot stronger cycling lobby and more money than we'll ever see here....I'm jealous.

Wait! You can hear my California accent in my writing? :p Yup, California!

This is the Santa Ana River Trail. It is 30 miles one direction, 60 round trip. Totally car free as we never have to cross streets. Trail runs up alongside the river as you can see in the photo above. Below you can see how the trail runs under the streets so we never have to cross a street. Dedicated MUP, bikes, skaters, joggers. We are lucky that 90% of the traffic is of the cycling world. A few walkers here and there but mostly in park areas we pass. 😎

Pretty flat.60 mile round trip givers us about 1,000 ft elevation gain. 1,096 to be exact!😄

CAMPYBOB said:

Do you rotate the line and let them pull?

I'm going to be honest with you. California is full of pussies! 😠

I get frustrated at times. Though I get the workout which is good, I get tired of the wheel suckers. Our regular ride partners are strong riders but they rarely offer to take the front. Our usual conversation before the ride is, "uhhh I will take the front if you want me to but I'm tired and if I take the front I'll get tired.But if you need me, just ask but I might get dropped!".

When we have picked up other riders I have started the rotation just to see if the [censored] will take a turn at the front. I'd say two or three out of every hundred that hops on will help at the front if asked.😠

Mike in yellow/green making the peace sign in the still image above actually man'ed up on Sunday after 30 miles and took a pull for about 5 miles. the week before he sat on our wheel the entire time of our 60 mile ride.

The dude at the very back we have seen several times before. He hops on and sits there for 25 miles. A couple times before, like most riders we meet, when he did feel he was strong he raced around as if we were racing. OF course he faded a mile or two later then ended up at the back again. Now he just knows he's a puss so he just sits at the back all day.🙄

I really have a hard time finding riders that "ride with me". Either they suck wheel for 20 miles then race around and try to prove they are bad asses. Or they just sit on my wheel all freaking day.

There have been times that I have been at the front all day and needed a 2 minute break so my wife comes to the front for a bit while the man pussies sit at the back.

If I had it my way I wold ride alone or with my wife. But the pussies gather when we ride by! I don't mind my wife or Aimee who will also go to the front if needed.

Btu seriously, California is filled with those weird mother f#kkers who hop on the back to suck wheel without ever saying a word or shadow you when you roll by. I'm not sure what's up with that either. Some dude doing 3/4 of your cruising speed then when we roll by, he feels he has to prove he can keep up. Uh yeah dumbass, we've been holding this pace for 40 miles and now you want to prove you can hold this pace for a mile? Give me a break!

We deal with a lot of wind so whenever another rider offers help,it's usually when we hit the tailwind or a downhill section....when I don't need the help......PUSSIES! 😄

Uawadall said:

On days when you just don't have it, do you find it more helpful to muddle through it or just shut it down for the day?

Once I get out there and ride, even though I don't feel as good as the day before, I will hang with it. Heck, I felt tired Saturday morning on the ride, even after drinking a huge cup of Expresso. It got better as we went, and I found my zone. I guess that's what it takes to ride these long distances. I also discovered what you meant by riding on fat. I had used up all my glycogen stores, and I was feeling really drained but I just kept on going. That was what earned respect from my two companions, who are super randonneurs. From recent performances on 100k's, they thought I would choke long before 82 miles.

:p

Mr. Beanz said:

Another 44 with Gina today (16.3 average) and a bud Mike. Mike man'ed up today and did a 5 mile pull. Stiffer headwinds today and Gina suffered a bit at the beginning of the ride but she ended up doing OK.

I'm not sure if I have ever done a ride without some other dudes hopping on the back into the wind. Freakin' wheelsuckers! :p

Every cyclist I've ever known is gay. They will all suck wheels if they can.:p

Mr. Beanz said:

I'm going to be honest with you. California is full of pussies! 😠

I get frustrated at times. Though I get the workout which is good, I get tired of the wheel suckers. Our regular ride partners are strong riders but they rarely offer to take the front. Our usual conversation before the ride is, "uhhh I will take the front if you want me to but I'm tired and if I take the front I'll get tired.But if you need me, just ask but I might get dropped!".

When we have picked up other riders I have started the rotation just to see if the [censored] will take a turn at the front. I'd say two or three out of every hundred that hops on will help at the front if asked.😠

Mike in yellow/green making the peace sign in the still image above actually man'ed up on Sunday after 30 miles and took a pull for about 5 miles. the week before he sat on our wheel the entire time of our 60 mile ride.

The dude at the very back we have seen several times before. He hops on and sits there for 25 miles. A couple times before, like most riders we meet, when he did feel he was strong he raced around as if we were racing. OF course he faded a mile or two later then ended up at the back again. Now he just knows he's a puss so he just sits at the back all day.🙄

I really have a hard time finding riders that "ride with me". Either they suck wheel for 20 miles then race around and try to prove they are bad asses. Or they just sit on my wheel all freaking day.

There have been times that I have been at the front all day and needed a 2 minute break so my wife comes to the front for a bit while the man pussies sit at the back.

If I had it my way I wold ride alone or with my wife. But the pussies gather when we ride by! I don't mind my wife or Aimee who will also go to the front if needed.

Btu seriously, California is filled with those weird mother f#kkers who hop on the back to suck wheel without ever saying a word or shadow you when you roll by. I'm not sure what's up with that either. Some dude doing 3/4 of your cruising speed then when we roll by, he feels he has to prove he can keep up. Uh yeah dumbass, we've been holding this pace for 40 miles and now you want to prove you can hold this pace for a mile? Give me a break!

We deal with a lot of wind so whenever another rider offers help,it's usually when we hit the tailwind or a downhill section....when I don't need the help......PUSSIES! 😄

I'd help you pull. Then again, I usually ride alone so I'm used to being out front. Why don't you, Gina, and Aimee get together as a team and just take 30 second pulls on the front, then drop back in the paceline? That will make the deadheads have to move up and pull. Of course, they might just pull through and pull over, but it does bring them up to the front. If you keep pulling all the time, you know, nobody is going to man up. They will just let you pull. Try that as your strategy next time and see what happens.

Mr. Beanz said:

Wait! You can hear my California accent in my writing? :p Yup, California!

This is the Santa Ana River Trail. It is 30 miles one direction, 60 round trip. Totally car free as we never have to cross streets. Trail runs up alongside the river as you can see in the photo above. Below you can see how the trail runs under the streets so we never have to cross a street. Dedicated MUP, bikes, skaters, joggers. We are lucky that 90% of the traffic is of the cycling world. A few walkers here and there but mostly in park areas we pass. 😎

Pretty flat.60 mile round trip givers us about 1,000 ft elevation gain. 1,096 to be exact!😄

That trail system is much better from what I encountered in Denver. In Denver the bike trail crossed intersections and had way too many people riding beach cruisers, who had no clue of proper bike etiquette. You never knew where you were, and I was there taking classes at Lowry AFB. I would use the trails to get to Aurora Reservoir park. I started riding with a member of the Belgian National Team, who was a native Coloradan. He said he never rode the trails because they were too dangerous. After that, I rode the roads. Then again, one Denver lane was wider than 2 city lanes in Norfolk, Va. People were a lot more courteous as well. Maybe Denver improved things, but back in 1991, bike lanes in Denver were horrible.

Mr. Beanz said:

I'm going to be honest with you. California is full of pussies! 😠

I get frustrated at times. Though I get the workout which is good, I get tired of the wheel suckers. Our regular ride partners are strong riders but they rarely offer to take the front. Our usual conversation before the ride is, "uhhh I will take the front if you want me to but I'm tired and if I take the front I'll get tired.But if you need me, just ask but I might get dropped!".

When we have picked up other riders I have started the rotation just to see if the [censored] will take a turn at the front. I'd say two or three out of every hundred that hops on will help at the front if asked.😠

Mike in yellow/green making the peace sign in the still image above actually man'ed up on Sunday after 30 miles and took a pull for about 5 miles. the week before he sat on our wheel the entire time of our 60 mile ride.

The dude at the very back we have seen several times before. He hops on and sits there for 25 miles. A couple times before, like most riders we meet, when he did feel he was strong he raced around as if we were racing. OF course he faded a mile or two later then ended up at the back again. Now he just knows he's a puss so he just sits at the back all day.🙄

I really have a hard time finding riders that "ride with me". Either they suck wheel for 20 miles then race around and try to prove they are bad asses. Or they just sit on my wheel all freaking day.

There have been times that I have been at the front all day and needed a 2 minute break so my wife comes to the front for a bit while the man pussies sit at the back.

If I had it my way I wold ride alone or with my wife. But the pussies gather when we ride by! I don't mind my wife or Aimee who will also go to the front if needed.

Btu seriously, California is filled with those weird mother f#kkers who hop on the back to suck wheel without ever saying a word or shadow you when you roll by. I'm not sure what's up with that either. Some dude doing 3/4 of your cruising speed then when we roll by, he feels he has to prove he can keep up. Uh yeah dumbass, we've been holding this pace for 40 miles and now you want to prove you can hold this pace for a mile? Give me a break!

We deal with a lot of wind so whenever another rider offers help,it's usually when we hit the tailwind or a downhill section....when I don't need the help......PUSSIES! 😄

I remember one year doing the Assault on Mt. Mitchell. I was passing everybody on the road because I had lost sight of 2 friends, who made a breakaway. I never did catch up to them. I then decided I would just reel in anybody I could see ahead of me so I chased these two guys. I finally caught them and decided to sit in behind them and take a breather, but they had other ideas and both moved over for me to take a pull. Like an idiot, I did, but I had used up too much energy trying to find my friends. These two guys finally just blew past me. All they were doing was looking for a faster wheel to suck, and I wasn't fast enough for them.

Uninvited wheelsucker.

Snot-rocket?

Stop and just let them go?

Drop them?

Hit the brakes hard a few times?

Print?

Bicycleman said:

Why don't you, Gina, and Aimee get together as a team and just take 30 second pulls on the front, then drop back in the paceline?

Exactly.

That's how it works. They go to the front or you decide to take a quick stop and let them ride ahead.

People I know or that prove themselves safe can sit and stare at my ass all day. I don't care. If they are someone I don't know or are not drafting safely I will pull over or really slow down. I don't want taken down by a Fred or even a decent rider that's in over his or her head.

I suspect I'm like Bicycleman and Weatherby. My nose is in the wind, solo, a lot. Still, when The Boy Wonder was drilling it on the front Saturday there is no way in Hell I could pull at his tempo. I did plenty of work with the third rider in our group, but basically it was The Boy Wonder's choice to either slow down and sit in and roll through (which he did do on the rare times he wanted to take a recovery break or to BS with us) or continue pulling or go off the front. I'll turn myself inside out to do my share...for awhile. After that the tempo has to equalize or it isn't going to work harmoniously.

I've found it best to slow down to the speed of those able to follow, but feel they can't get out front at my tempo. Usually they are willing to work up front at their pace.

Mr. B., I loved the comment on Cali pussies! That's funny. While it's a rare and difficult job to be able to give a tandem team shelter, there should be some riders able to give you relief from the Santa Ana winds out there. I'm guessing your bike paths have more 'semi-fast' riders on them than ours and I can see where getting a train behind you all the time and few riders willing to work with you would get old.

And seriously, I wouldn't think of all those behind you as pussies. 16-17 MPH 'averages', even on your flat bike paths, is hard work for many people BEFORE you toss in those winds. I'm guessing you are on the front doing 18-20 MPH for a good portion of your rides. That's entering a really good suffer zone for a whole lot of riders.

Be proud that you are a very strong rider. When you post those 4000' hill workouts, a lot of that strength came from hauling ass (and a train of riders behind you!) up and down that bike path, for sure. Keep up the excellent pictures and practice flicking an elbow and screaming, "Take a pull!!", as you drift to the rear.

Bicycleman said:

Why don't you, Gina, and Aimee get together as a team and just take 30 second pulls on the front, then drop back in the paceline?

Believe it or not I have done that and the deadheads hang back. I've shouted at them to move to the front taking a turn. Some pretend they don't hear or turn their heads. I've actually had a few arguments and told guys to GTF out of our line if they don't help. When my wife moves to the front to help me but the guys won't I get upset.

I spoke of a guy earlier who likes to stay back at rest stops then race up to catch us. I'm guessing he is showing off that he is strong enough to catch us. I've called him to the front before and he refuses. BUT he has let his wife go to the front. What a puss!

Bicycleman said:

. I finally caught them and decided to sit in behind them and take a breather,

I have absolutely ZERO problem with a guy who catches me and sits on the back for a breather. I figure he caught me cause he is stronger.

But after a short break if he goes around, I'm not stupid enough to try to race the guy. I let him do his thing and continue my workout.

CAMPYBOB said:

Exactly.

That's how it works. They go to the front or you decide to take a quick stop and let them ride ahead.

People I know or that prove themselves safe can sit and stare at my ass all day. I don't care. If they are someone I don't know or are not drafting safely I will pull over or really slow down. I don't want taken down by a Fred or even a decent rider that's in over his or her head.

I suspect I'm like Bicycleman and Weatherby. My nose is in the wind, solo, a lot. Still, when The Boy Wonder was drilling it on the front Saturday there is no way in Hell I could pull at his tempo. I did plenty of work with the third rider in our group, but basically it was The Boy Wonder's choice to either slow down and sit in and roll through (which he did do on the rare times he wanted to take a recovery break or to BS with us) or continue pulling or go off the front. I'll turn myself inside out to do my share...for awhile. After that the tempo has to equalize or it isn't going to work harmoniously.

I've found it best to slow down to the speed of those able to follow, but feel they can't get out front at my tempo. Usually they are willing to work up front at their pace.

Mr. B., I loved the comment on Cali pussies! That's funny. While it's a rare and difficult job to be able to give a tandem team shelter, there should be some riders able to give you relief from the Santa Ana winds out there. I'm guessing your bike paths have more 'semi-fast' riders on them than ours and I can see where getting a train behind you all the time and few riders willing to work with you would get old.

And seriously, I wouldn't think of all those behind you as pussies. 16-17 MPH 'averages', even on your flat bike paths, is hard work for many people BEFORE you toss in those winds. I'm guessing you are on the front doing 18-20 MPH for a good portion of your rides. That's entering a really good suffer zone for a whole lot of riders.

Be proud that you are a very strong rider. When you post those 4000' hill workouts, a lot of that strength came from hauling ass (and a train of riders behind you!) up and down that bike path, for sure. Keep up the excellent pictures and practice flicking an elbow and screaming, "Take a pull!!", as you drift to the rear.

Good points. On the tandem I don't mind sitting at the front as it is actually harder to keep someone's wheel. The stoker has no idea when we need to close a gap so short accelerations without the stoker knowing on a tandem suck!😄

I know what yo mean about being the strong rider. Most guys will say they would help but they can't hold the pace. I understand but even if we drop down from 18 to 15, it's giving me a break and a better chance to catch my breath. It helps but most are scared of getting dropped after a good effort. I do have a policy and I tell them. If they help and get dropped, I will slow and wait for them. After 3 drops, they are on their own and it's up to them to wave me on. Most times if I slow a bit they recover. I think most are afraid of making the effort.

As far as guys I don't know, uninvited suckers, I have no problem but when I do wave them to the front most won't go. That's when I feel, if you aren't strong enough to ride "with me", then you shouldn't be in my line. 😉

Weatherby said:

Uninvited wheelsucker.

Snot-rocket?

Stop and just let them go?

Drop them?

Hit the brakes hard a few times?

Print?

Well I do have my wife and Aimee on my wheel most the time so the brake checks are not an option.

Many times we end up dropping them anyway. The guys that bug the heck out of me are those that suck wheel for 5 miles then sprint around. When we catch them "again" I'll ride by laughing and saying "you suck!" or "nice sprint ha ha!"

The guys that are dangerous, headphones who don't hear my calls or bell as we pass swerving into us! I wave them on and if they refuse, I will stop if I have to. I ain't getting anybody hurt over some dopey cyclist.

CAMPYBOB said:

Exactly.
And seriously, I wouldn't think of all those behind you as pussies. 16-17 MPH 'averages', even on your flat bike paths, is hard work for many people BEFORE you toss in those winds. I'm guessing you are on the front doing 18-20 MPH for a good portion of your rides. That's entering a really good suffer zone for a whole lot of riders.

Be proud that you are a very strong rider. When you post those 4000' hill workouts, a lot of that strength came from hauling ass (and a train of riders behind you!) up and down that bike path, for sure. Keep up the excellent pictures and practice flicking an elbow and screaming, "Take a pull!!", as you drift to the rear.

BTW, the day we did do a 19.2 average over the 44 miles, I did drift to the back and I shouted at everybody to take a pull. Most did but still there were some guys that didn't. I really didn't think they could so I kind of don;t blame them cause we were hauling ass. You can see a couple of guys in the video on the short steep ramp in my video. I think they were honestly happy to just be able to keep up. Some guys did take a pull then fell off. That's the name of the game on a ride like this.

That day all my friends got dropped except one. But on our usual rides, I know all m friends should be able to take a turn at the front. For the most part none of them will take a turn till after the 30 mile point when they feel safe that they will make the ride. A few times my wife has asked me to slow down as she is getting tired. When that happens, she get about 4 or 5 "thank you Gina, thank you Gina!"s ha ha!:p

But you are right, that climbing for me as a big guy, makes the flats that much faster and easier even with the wind. 😎

Guy we caught in yellow at 4:10 took a pull then got dropped. Guy in red hopped on the back then got dropped before he took a pull.

Guy at 5:17 took 2 pulls and only doing a 20 mile ride got dropped 15 miles later.

Jose (Bianchi) started wit us took about 3 pulls and got dropped at the 30 mile point.

Couple guys at the back 5:40 hopped on as we rolled by (black and yellow). Held on for about 5 miles miles then got dropped, never took a turn.

Guy at 2:44 was strong (in orange). We picked him up then he did a good strong pull. It was the end of his ride but only 5 miles into our ride. Too bad he didn't do the whole ride with us.:p

Only guy who survived the entire ride was Mike and he was trying to rotate to the back at times without getting noticed. 😄

Only 14 miles this afternoon in between rains. Averaged 17 MPH on the nose with a wrong turn and a missed turn. Woops. Pay attention, Bob!

The wind was 10 to 12 MPH and climbing was a lowly 350'. A solo ride with lots of folks out riding, pushing babies, walking dogs and enjoying the 70 degrees of warmth and brief sun in between the wet stuff.

Draft? DRAFT??? I don' neeed no steenkin' draft! The ride was basically just a sprint up the river valley and back on a road that paralleled both the river and one of the crushed limestone unpaved bike paths. A fun ride and man did it ever pour 10 minutes after I got back home. There's nothing like dark blue-black skies to keep those pedals spinning!

I watched that video twice and finally at 6:29 the guy in the Disco gear used his drops!