Woah. The beast is stirring. I am hearing rumblings that not only will the New Albanistas show on Tuesday but they will show in force. Perhaps an unprecedented demonstration of power in the long history of the rivalry. Much more to come.
0 Comments
For relatively new readers who are unfamiliar with the storied history of New Albany versus Canal/Fairfield County rivalry, a very brief history. Two great cycling communities separated by I-70. There used to be a COP sponsored group ride out of Canal Winchester on Wednesday and eventually a group ride sprang forth in New Albany on Thursday. The Canal routes are quite hilly so participants found it difficult to ride out of Canal on Wednesday and then ride hard in New Albany the following evening. So, the Canal rides were moved to Tuesday. Early, the stronger cyclists were from the south but the north invested resources in cyclist development and the tide began to shift, imperceptible at first but a tsunami at the end. Because I rode in both camps, I was witness to the shift and would tell my southern brothers that their dominant position was in jeopardy but they tut tutted the warning. They did not train as hard, became slothful, fat even and eventually, slow and inevitably, old. The south talked smack which I gleefully reported as the blog stirred the pot. Passions were aroused and one year, the northern hoards descended on the south with a chip on their shoulders and fire in their bellies for a summer solstice ride. After laying waste to the south, the northerners retreated but a year later the south had rebuilt, reloaded, became uppity so the Yankees visited again and again, beat the southerners like a drum. The cycle repeated itself, over and over, year after year and tonight, I returned to Canal to check out the action and determine if a another thumping should be administered. A strong group of cyclists, some shown above in this "murderers row" of strength, Matt Ashmore in the foreground. Andrew Hall on the left and Keith on the right. Keith, all kidding aside, is probably the strongest 60+ year old cyclist with whom I have ridden in a long time and I think he is 71 or 72. He stayed in the B+ group tonight and did not appear to be in difficulty. Beth and Eve, mainstays in the C group. Ride leader, Ric Nolan announces the Summer Solstice ride is next Tuesday. Steve Hewitt is leading a C group out at 5:00pm, another group probably departs at 5:30 and then the main pack at 6:00. With 40 cyclists in the parking lot, the A's were called out and only seven departed with 2 of those turning around before exiting the lot. Steve Oxley, Paul Stock, Pete Ashmore and 2 others. I concluded the New Albanyistas could probably just send Joan of Arc (Lori Nedescu) south and she alone could dispatch this group. I wanted to do the B route of 40 miles but someone told me the I would hate the pace and regroups so I went out with the B+ group that had Brent Jenkins, Matt A, Kevin, Andrew H, quite a few others whose names I do not know cause I don't get down here very often. We rode the rise out of Canal towards Lithopolis then hit that godawful climb on Slough, hung a left at Amanda Northern where there was another climb. made a right then soon hit the Pickerington Rad rollers..I mean one freakin climb after another and along the way... ...we picked up my old cycling buddy, Ryan Roe. Ryan called me out for not riding correctly in the pace line and other minor infractions, just like old times. Eventually we reached the town of Amanda arriving with a, considering the effort, low average of 18.9 but those hills....I soloed back to Canal and finished with 40 miles and an 18.6 average. I think the A group was a bit over 19 for their route. Well, I am surveying the Yankees to see if there is interest in next Tuesday and will let you know. Next week's Summer Solstice route will be tough but this one, for this Tuesday, wow. On this Monday morning, as you sit in your office cubicle sipping your coffee and catching up on all things cycling, ponder attending this one. 54 climbing miles for the A group. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14395268 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14395276 C (Todd Lee) Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14395312 Tuesday, June 21st, 2016, the Panzers of New Albany will rumble south and take on the Johnny Rebs of Canal Winchester. Yes, prior dust-ups have been a bit one sided but hope springs eternal. Plus there has been one defection as Jeremy Wesner has moved to Canal and will join the Rebs. Jeremy, a solid B- cyclist will add much needed depth to the Canal line-up. This ride, which includes summiting the mighty Cul de Revenge Peak, is a must do for all. The first to arrive at the top of Revenge will be given a crown, 3 pack of golf balls and a swig of Gin. I will depart with the Todd Lee senior citizen start time of 5:30, or earlier if needed, to be there when the leader emerges from the valley, victorious at the top. Route to come. The Gus & Marty Hocking Hills ride, following a Tym Tyler route, starting from Cenci Park in Lancaster. I got there early but could not find the park. I had given up and thought I should park at Alley Park and try to hook up with them on Tarkiln Road when...hey...here they came. I raced ahead to Alley where they paused and then jumped in with Ken Buddell, Tym & Lisa, Deniece Davis, Gus & Peggy, Gale aka Cooley, Marty, Aaron C, later hooking up with French Climbing Machine and Scott Young and..... ...the notable ascender, George, here descending from Revenge Road. Dang, the heat and humidity, hills and Hell wind conspired to sap me of my very shallow reserves. I was ok on the Pump Station Road climb, hung back with George on Starner, put out way too much on the climb to Cantwell Cliffs then we got mixed up and I thought we were refilling water bottles at Cantwell Cliffs Park but only Marty, Scott, Philippe and me stopped. We discovered the fountain is turned off. Upon reaching 180. rather than stay on the route by turning left we turned right. Marty and Philippe towed Scott and me with the intent to climb to Rockbridge Park and get water there. Ya know, climbing to the park with the sun beating down and then discovering three too the water is off, no words, hand gestures, facial expressions or a combo of all three can adequately describe my emotions. Scott, probably thinking of enriching his family fortune, encouraged us to head to Laurelville where his family owns the Young Market but Marty and I decided to head to Lancaster while Scott and Philippe headed to where their cars were parked at Clear Creek. That Marty, what a prince of a guy. I struggled up Clapper Hollow, struggled even on the down hills, practically unclipped on Revenge and then, finally, I headed down Beck while he followed Revenge. Finished with 53 miles and 3400' of climbing and completely wiped out. NOW, on to more important stuff.... ....today, well known cyclist and golfer Katherine Graham had a hole-in-one on a 220+ yard hole. That is awesome. It takes skill to drive the ball straight enough to get it on the green in the vicinity of the hole where some luck takes over and now she is only 2 behind me. Last week, Luke, aka Socks and Lori rode in the Roan Groan bike race. Lori, now a Cat 2 and likely a 1 before the end of the season, finished 4th in the women's pro/1/2 and I think all who finished ahead of her are pros and one Cat 1. Impressive. Remember Nick Perhala from the Thursday New Albany rides? To distinguish him by saying he used to kick my rear would only put him in a pool of hundreds but I don't know how else to describe him other than a really good guy who at least smiled while kicking my and other rears. Nick moved to CA for the winter, not the most recent one but the one before, working in a bike shop while racing as a Cat 2 with several accomplishments. Nick has an opportunity to ride/ace in Belgium learn the ropes and who knows? He is raising funds and if you want to contribute, go to this gofundme page: https://www.gofundme.com/25rxvy4 Lastly, there is a ride out of Granville at 9:00am on Sunday from in front of River Road Coffee Shop but park next door, just south or east depending on your perspective. The 75 mile route has a nasty start on the bike path of almost 14 miles: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/9383416 but..... ...can be avoided by this or something like this. I think Marty is coming so he'll likely have an alternative similar to this: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14250359 I have not felt this wiped out in a long time but probably will be there. Gus and Marty are riding out of Cinci Park in Lancaster at 8:30am. While there will be some regrouping and a stop at Grandma Fayes for refueling, if you come, know the route and be a good sport if unable to make the regroups. There may also be a ride out of New Albany at 8:00am but nothing firm yet. I plan on doing this route at a subdued pace and probably cutting it to more like 70ish miles. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14333789 A perfect evening for a bike ride and before me, the expansive parking lot of the Phillip Heit Center, sometimes referred to as "Healthy Phil's". Once again it did not appear there were many cyclists but at 6:00pm I counted 70. Andrew Clayton and Flyin Tuna. Cindy and I have been at each other's throat since before the turn of the century. While I win 99% of our verbal and email exchanges, defeat does not seem to wear her down. like it would with a normal person. Andrew rode 200+ miles on Monday and on track to exceed 16,000 for the year. Something has caught the attention of Farmer Mike and the other two, whose names I do not know but I am working on adding to the memory list. The problem is I forget two for every one I learn. The highlight of the evening, week and probably the season. I was caught amongst a group of my detractors when Don not only admitted that he reads the blog but that it is a bastion of truth or something like that! That did not go over well with the others who were soon clucking like a herd of chickens in disbelief. I salute you Don. Jared on the left rode with Andrew on Monday and he too put in a 200+ mile effort. David Smith in the background and apparently ready for the Garret County event in two weeks. Somehow he got in 700 miles in May, which is a lot considering the weather that month. Ride leader Rick is absent for this and the following 2 weeks as he prepares for and participates in RAAM, driving a follow van and supporting a team. So, we gather around Steve Hewitt for sign-in. Last year, I was riding in a pair of shorts that had become a tad thin, unbeknownst to me of course. Jon Morgan rode alongside me and let me know the shorts had become a bit "sheer". The wonderful guy that he is did me a big favor, as well as for everyone who would be riding behind me. Now, you are wondering why I insert this story in here. Oh, I don't know....just popped into my head I guess. Terri Griffith arrives, absent from the group for about 4 weeks. Strong group of Riveters made stronger when.... ..."Socks" arrives, aka Luke Russell. Luke did something that certainly has never previously happened during the Rivet ride and probably not in the old A group either. More on that below. Of the 70 in the parking lot, 21 rolled out with the Rivet group and so too did I for the fun of it. After the impediments of the lights were behind us, we burst forth from the confines of New Albany and sped out 161, turning right on Mink which for the most part has good pavement but that stretch south of Cable is really bad. We turned left on Columbiana Road and things were going swimmingly but then a bad omen. The group went single file which is always a bad sign unless there is a large tractor coming at us. Someone had taken over at the front and was railing it. I'd like to know who that was just so I can give them credit. Anyway, I popped at mile 10.4 (that extra .4 is important ya know) while being passed by those shouting encouragement at me, which was nice. My average was 24.4 and I pedaled along, getting up Alward and then stopping to wait for the A group with Mike Cauley who had stopped to check bike squeaks. We were surprised at how long we had to wait but eventually, they rose above a rise and we jumped on. Good group of around 25-30 with Paul D, Scott B, Gus, Ryan, David S, Corey, Rick, Katherine, Meredith, Kim O, Mike M, Pete Ashmore, Ian, Denise, etc.... It may be my imagination but the A group is comprised of a very few people who are really squirrelly with how they handle their bikes while I see none of that in the Rivet group (yeah I know, cause I am with them for only a minute or two). Stupid stuff like riding left of the yellow line while going up a hill when you can't see an approaching vehicle, darting in and out of the dual pace lines with no warning, not riding in the left or right pace line but instead in the middle, etc.. Mike and Gus do what they can to police it without going overboard but there are 2 people who are completely oblivious. We reached the top of Beechwood where we paused to collect everyone and headed west on what was a pretty challenging route. Along the way we picked up Ken Buddel who had flatted twice and I reached the parking lot with 50 miles and a 21.6 avg. In the parking lot, Jon and Ken were talking about the ride and how helpful a motor in a frame would be. Guess you can buy them for around $2200 and they put out about 200 watts for 30 minutes. Ken, looking at me said, "I can see myself using one of those when I get older." Of course I had to interpret that as a suggestion for me and we had some laughs but I was on ebay last night, searching. Now to the significant stuff.... .....Luke broke from the Rivet group on the Beachwood climb and then stayed away to the end while Marty, Pete C, Jon Hastings and until he flatted, Ken, chased. That Luke could stay ahead of those 4 while they worked together is a heck of an accomplishment. Above is a shot of Strava, each icon representing some of the cyclists with Luke maintaining his lead prior to the turn on Burnside, Marty's group just behind, then Jon Morgan, etc.. They finished with a 24 avg. That's with Alward, Beechwood, the climb up Louden, up Sportsman Club...wow. Oh wow, the Alward and Beechwood climbs. Route A/B 50 mile ride file https://ridewithgps.com/routes/5545435 Route C 36 mile ride file https://ridewithgps.com/routes/1430434 B Option 47 miles https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14304392 I am out of dsl service for a day so with the crushing demand of my job (updating the blog) I am at River Road Coffee Shop, eating a cookie and working. The Cycling Club's Tuesday ride, New Albany, 5:30 and few are there as the clock ticks toward the 6:00pm start. Probably the winds, 15-20mph out of the west has discouraged some but this ride always has a late arriving crowd so.... The minutes tick by and more cyclists come.... ..and then more and we get going with 24, following the strong tail wind. Among those who came out were John and Anthony, who used the group ride opportunity to do interval training? Anyway, we head out at the usual kind of B group pace until reaching the eastward headed climbs and.... ...regroup at Louden. In the foreground is Muscle Dude, who with Kyle, were the stars of tonight's group, along with Gus & Peggy, Denise, Axel, Rick, etc... Looking back into the sun, we await George who arrives and makes the implausible claim there are still two cyclists behind him. I found this claim hard to believe and so when we turned north and then west on Stone Quarry, I hung back for photographic evidence but the last to appear was..... ....George but there were still some climbs to go on this road so later, at Northridge where Stone Quarry ends, sure enough..... .....George was ahead of Michael and one other guy. I apologize for doubting the veracity of George's statement. On we went and enjoyed the newly paved Concorde, hit the Caswell decent and then arrived at the foot of the Caswell steps. Wait for it......I attacked! Usually when one attacks you get a blink of an eye and everyone follows but the shock of seeing me attack brought forth a flurry of blinks. No doubt an exchange of stupefied looks followed and it took awhile for there to be an organized follow so I had a bike length or two advantage! Quickly, Gus and Muscle Dude caught me and MD even gave me a push as they began to pass but MD is way too young to understand I had eased not because I was tired but because a wily veteran like me does not waste energy outside the draft. As soon as they passed I stapled myself to a tire and then toward the end...wait for it....I attacked again!!!! Even with the strong cross/head wind I set a new Strava PR that puts me inside the top 1000!!!!!!! Ahhh, the life of an endurance athlete is such fun. We finished with 37 miles and a 20. something average. 6:00pm roll out from in front of Meijer's in Canal Winchester. Routes are: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14254878 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14254875 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14254861 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14254735 Drive into the deep south and see for yourself what all the excitement is about. The Sunday River Road Coffee Shop ride but for today, turnout was limited to 14 as none of the New Albany cyclists appeared. Farmer Mike was there but he is more of an Alexandria based cyclist as his vast land holdings practically encircle that town. Some of the other usual attendees were elsewhere such as, Luke & Lori were competing at the Roan Groan, others at the Franklinton Crit and others riding out of New Albany to our destination but avoiding the bike path. There were several strong cyclists, Beau Berkley, Sandy Donald and a new guy, John moved to Granville from Orange County. John volunteered he learned of the blog while visiting a bike shop in Athens. Yes, the fame of the blog has spread near and narrow (get it, rather than far and wide. I crack myself up sometimes). Off we went to Bladensburg, not to be confused with Martinsburg but first, we enter the gloom of the bike path. Morning moisture coupled with overnight rain created nasty and slippery conditions. It is a mystery to me, with the abundance of lonely country roads at our disposal, why any distance is spent riding 5mph and picking up ounces of crud on the frame while.... ...subjecting ourselves to the risk of very slippery bridge surfaces made of wood. One in our group went down here but she popped up and resumed, At last, after about 8 miles we exited bike path gloom and were now headed out Horns Hill Road. Then we made a right at Licking Springs by the golf course and hit that climb hard and so impressed was I by the nature of the climb (ok, and my performance on it) that I created a Strava Segment and after entering it.... ...check out the names behind me, especially that Dave C guy. I know, each of them was riding it at a social pace (look at the power readings) but still, I can have fun lording over them when needed and the climb is remote enough, they may never pass this way again. Dang, that effort used up all the reserves and I barely hung on with Beau, Sandy and John and then at the Christmas tree farm on Martinsburg, I popped off. Later they waited and then I did something really stupid. I gave them the exact directions when I should have played dumb, thus keeping me drafting. Doy, doy, doy!!! Soon I again popped off the back. I caught them in Martinsburg but kept going to B-burg where I stopped and was soon joined by Farmer Mike. Most of the rest of the group , upon arriving in B-burg, kept going south on Henpeck so Mike and I resumed and were joined by Todd. At Hanover, I left them and the route to avoid the bike path return and took a mix of roads and hills, finishing with 65 miles. Starting at River Road Coffee Shop at 9:00am is the John Martin led ride. You can park one driveway down in the back of the business south of the Shop. Regarding the route, 541 from Martinsburg to Bladensburg is ok but better is Divan to Henpeck and then north to Bladensburg. We'll see. All are welcome and usually a broad range of fitness at these rides. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14104070 I have checked around and this is the ride that pretty much anyone who is anyone will attend. The real stars are rolling out at 8:00am and you are invited to ride and soak in the aura of just being around me..errr....I mean us. I'll be riding at my usual weekend relaxed pace, enjoying being on the bike but plenty of others will be there riding much harder and you can grab their wheel. I even hear Mark Clingan, aka "The Donald" is coming too. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/13052069 https://ridewithgps.com/routes/13052576 An important step in his long recovery from a blood disorder, Jeff Schluep returns to the Thursday evening peloton. Jeff is doing well, taking steroids and turning that into cycling muscles as well as some beneficial treatment effect. Rick Miller pressed me into service as ride leader and then I talked Steve Hewitt into doing it so I could take care of the important role of group photographer. There was some confusion about the Rivet route as the map showed a 58 mile option but no gps file posted for it so hopefully the Riveters followed the A/B route, 52 mile option. Paul Djupe on the right, who led the way up to the Canyon Road summit last week. Seems like most of the Thursday rides have had threatening skies and several people had their smart phones out checking radar. Fair weather riders opted to stay away but one appeared, albeit in his suv and not on his bike, Jon Morgan with Dave C, Marty and Aaron C to the right. After I posted Tuesday's climbing segment up Raccoon Run Road, Dave was quick to mention his and Marty's effort was at a relaxed pace (gee, thanks) and then.... .....Ken Buddell rode Wednesday and now he is at the top with a 42 second effort. I watched the Strava Fly-by, hoping Ken paused at the bottom to rest so I could disqualify him but it was an honest and solo effort. I'll be out of the top 100 in weeks. 42 seconds, that is going to last awhile. More folks radar checking but probably 60+ arrived and decided to ride.... ......including Philippe and a serious looking Kyle. Only about 18 in the Rivet group, of which I was an undeserving member but someone needs to spend a mile or two with them to report transgressions. We got hung up at each light but then burst into the open countryside. I was feeling good, not yet on the rivet when.... ....at freakin mile 2.5, Muscle Dude or someone said my tire looked a bit splashy and sure enough, I was out and the locomotive churned on. I use Gatorskins or Continental 4 Season tires so I rarely have a flat (I have the strength and power to overcome the poor tire performance, don't you know) and I admit at first, I had to pause to recall how one is fixed. I found about an 1/8" diameter hole so must have picked up a rivet. The A group, B group and C group passed with lots of encouragement although I thought I heard Flyin Tuna remark, "Couldn't happen to a nicer guy" and then other groups passed. I am grateful for all the offered assistance but each time someone said something I felt obligated to look up and acknowledge, taking me away from the task. It took 20 minutes to fix it and with my "toy" pump, I bet the psi was no more than 50 so I rode back, buying a new tire from Veloscience. Meantime, the big fish were out on the road riding a punishing route that would put the B group into the parking lot at or a bit after sunset. The top rivet group finished with a 22.5 avg. Geesh and golly! 58 tough miles for the Riveters to tackle with some monstrous climbing in there too. I predict the A group will be very strong as some marginal Riveters will look at the route and decide they don't want to be out there alone, so far, far from home. Or, they'll drop back prior to the A cut-off and will be scooped up, or I don't know what I am talking about. I'm goin with the latter rather than the former. I can't find the gps file for the 58 mile route but the others are: Route A/B 52 mile ride file https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14145605 Route C 36 mile ride file https://ridewithgps.com/routes/8577239 Aaron C and Denise D waiting for the arrival of Gus Cook, ride leader. There were about 24 who came out for this fun ride. I kind of like the change of pace of this particular ride. A moderate pace to the base of a hill where it is all out, brief regroup and then repeat. Keeps the group together to the end where there is a sprint finish. New guy Elijah with the red/white jersey recently moved from Fairfield County to become a regular at the Tuesday/Thursday New Albany rides. We head out with George in yellow and Ron on the right. It appears George desperately needs that carbon fiber frame returned so he can ditch the heavy steel frame. Out 161 we go, left on 310, plunge to the depth of the valley in Alexandria, climb Moots, dive down Lobdell and then the long uphill slog to Hardscrabble and then.... ...a brief regroup at Louden where Gus circles to see if we have everyone. So far and well for the duration of the ride, Chase with the Auburn jersey and Nick have been setting the pace on the hills with Mike C, Muscle Dude, H&H, Gus and me chasing. We hit the Stone Quarry hills but rather than go the distance to Northridge, we make a left on seldom traveled..... ...Raccoon Hill Road where a short but steep 18% climb awaits. That one really splits the group so for the second time we pause to collect and then head for a battle at Caswell Road and a spirited finish to New Albany where we had 37 miles and a 20.4 avg. Benton on the left, Rick in yellow, Kim Owens and George inspecting to see if his brakes are rubbing. Oh and one more thing. I loaded the ride file to Strava and look where I slotted in on the Raccoon Run Road climb. I know, as soon as these guys ride the climb with intensity I'll drop like a dead Cicada. |
Categories
All
Archives
November 2023
|