Rides and Races - Boston rides

My winged bus takes off from TF Greene at 6AM ...my eyes will be red. I will be back to hang wit you guys on Thurs 14th. Herst, you get a one lap penalty for your subconcious meatheadedness ... so there. jus kiddin bro I had fun.

Hey, anybody interested in doing a spontaneous century this weekend? I haven't hit the 100 mile mark this year yet and it'd be kinda nice to do it before it's too cold. I don't have any brilliant routes in mind. Probably I'll just bike 50 miles and turn around or something lame like that...

I can't believe you would think about doing this without me. I'm in FL. Let's do it Monday, or next Saturday. Or go ahead, do it this weekend, but then be prepared to do it again next weekend.

Can't do Monday because I'm working. Then I'm getting drunk. But I guess I could wait until next Saturday...

Howell tried to catch me no dice though.

Trying to catch you was pretty much an excercise in futility- my legs are still shot from running that road race last weekend, and they let me know it.

I did ride through the sandbox, though, which was my real accomplishment for the evening.

Alright, so I gather stickyfoot and I are the only ones up for a century next weekend? Would more people be interested if we made it, say, a 120-mile ride? What if, just for kicks, we threw in a small mountain at the 60-mile mark?

Next Saturday, then, from Boston to Wachusett Mountain near Princeton, MA and back. Someone familiar with the roads needs to work out the route. Gmaps only gives a 110-mile highway route. I figure the non-highway route will be a bit longer. If it's 120, and if we can maintain the Franconia Notch pace, anticipate 7.5 hours of riding, or about 8 hours including repairs and pit stops.

Sounds like a blast, but I'll be happily enjoying a Saturday morning ride out to Concord with the cycling team and doing a 10 mile ITT to see how crappy I really am.

Oh yes, I do believe this could be the most fun ever. I am in like Anne Boleyn.

This might be a candidate for a fixed ride. Here is a description of the Wachusett Mountain climb, along with some others: http://www.usatfne.org/trail/2002mtnevents.html. That is less elevation change than Franconia Notch. If we gear down it's probably doable. I'm thinking 46x17 would be a good compromise. I've ridden 46x18 in the Shenandoahs and climbing was easy but descending sucked.

This sounds fun:
Just how steep is the course?
The Mount Washington Hill Climb is quickly becoming known as the toughest hill climb in the world and as Dick Devellian, past Race Director, says "This is the World Championship of hill climbing. If someone wants to say they are the best climber in the world then they need to prove it here on Mount Washington."

The Mt Washington Auto Road is 7.6 miles in length, has an average grade of 12% with extended sections of 18% and the last 50 yards is an amazing 22%! From http://www.tinmtn.org/hillclimb/faq.cfm

Tyler Hamilton won this year with a time of 51:11.

Yo, guys. Just throwing this out there: does anyone have a beater frame they don't need in the 53-56 range? I spent saturday in NYC while my girlfriend was at work wishing I had a bike. Had to explore manhatten by foot.

Anyway, let me know. CL is too nuts.

Oh, don't think I'm up for the century to Princeton this weekend, but I'll deff be by the track for the usual thurs night.

--alex

The Mt. Washington climb has a reputation for being insanely difficult. Watch around for the "This Car Climbed Mt. Washington" bumper stickers. It's that hard.

I'm told even descending is a trick because you have to work the brakes such to avoid overheating and bursting your tires.

I'm out on the Wachusett century, but still in for the Return to Franconia, terrified though I may be. :)

I don't know about doing the Wachusett fixed. jrowe, did you do the Shenandoahs brakeless? I suppose I could be convinced. I have an 18 tooth cog just sitting in a box somewhere, so I'd be at 47x18.

I'd love to nail that Mt. Washington hillclimb. I'm totally sure I could beat Tyler Hamilton. Totally. Um. Yeah. But first, I'd need an entirely new bike.

Well, the point of the ride is to do 100+ miles. Wachusett in the middle is just for fun. Gear for the main ride. Better to be comfortable for 7 hours and unhappy at Wachusett than the other way around.

To be honest, my main motivation for wanting to ride fixed is that I don't think I can sit on my road bike for that long. It just doesn't fit that well, and isn't that comfortable.

I don't care either way, as long as you think I can handle the downhills without brakes, or the 120 miles without grips or bartape.

Hey, is it supposed to rain Sat and Sun? Maybe Monday'd work better, if you have it off.

If you can lock up your rear wheel at 30+ mph you're fine.

But I think you need to be as comfortable as possible. Physically, not psychologically. 120 miles without bartape would suck ass. Take your road bike if you want. We don't need to match.

edit--let's do it rain or shine. You can tell your children about it.

I can lock my rear wheel at 30+ mph like a mofo when the pavement's wet. Probably I'll just ride the road bike and maybe stay in the same gear. I can't shift that thing to save my life anyway.

Rain or shine, eh? All right, tough guy, you're on.

Anyone up for a ride tonight or tomorrow night? Maybe we can ride first, *then* go to a bar.

heretic.

stickyfoot and I are meeting around 7-ish for a ride. We're meeting up in East Cambridge, but we could certainly pick up a couple of people.

Separately, I want to get a group together to go down to the La Calavera race in NY over halloweekend. Who is interested?

Man, I can't tonight... It's simultaneously Red Sox playoff and the first night of the NHL season (where Boston is facing off at home against their arch-rivals to the north, the smurfish Les Habitants).

There's some chance for tomorrow night but I'm sort of triple booked at this point. I'm going to try to be at the track at least.

I have at least one thing on Friday evening, but I'm not married to it. And then Saturday is full up.

A nerd with a full calendar, who knew?

****, I would've joined you all in East Cambridge - I just rode back from school. I'll see you all tomorrow night for sure, but on the Steamroller...the Pulse definitely needs a new rear tire (or jrowe's tubular fixing skills...if he has any). Otherwise it's time to order up some Tufos and tape. Hellz.

Fun ride with jrowe, stickyfoot, and myself in attendance. Launched from Central Sq, then rode through East Somerville, across the Malden Bridge, over some pretty sketchy roads in Chelsea, then down through East Boston to get a magnificient view of the city at an old ferry landing just beyond Maverick Sq.

Went back to Bukowski's mostly the same way, save for a detour on Washington Ave and the Revere Beach Pkwy through Chelsea/Everett.

Man that sounds nice. And it was such a gorgeous day. I will be joining you guys again soon... (if you'll have me) I laced up the new front wheel today and I will be getting my foot taken care of on Friday. I will be ignoring the pain to hit the track though tomorrow night. I am far too excited about finally having a good wheel to wait another week.

Yeah, the view of Boston from East Boston was memorable. Sadly my camera phone wasn't up to the task of capturing it.

The ride was glorious, though next time I'll pay more attention to the highway traffic and worry about missing our turn just a little less. Close calls will do that, I suppose.

Are you all coming to the ghettodrome tonight? I sure the heck hope so! 10:30pm. Let's have scorpion-bowl races at the All-Asia afterward!

Shoot- sounds like fun, but i got to turn in early. Got work at 6am, and dissecting mice with a hangover is less than fun.

fatbat

I might as well post this here. It ain't a ride, but I'll be there, riding both to and from. Alexi has said he's planning on showing too.

http://massbike.org/news/socials.htm

Are you all coming to the ghettodrome tonight? I sure the heck hope so! 10:30pm. Let's have scorpion-bowl races at the All-Asia afterward!

Yeah, I'll be there. No grocery bike, either.

I might as well post this here. It ain't a ride, but I'll be there, riding both to and from. Alexi has said he's planning on showing too.

http://massbike.org/news/socials.htm
The people in that picture don't look like they arrived by bike.

The people in that picture don't look like they arrived by bike.

but free beer!

Free beer, indeed, if you don't count the tips. rithem would have loved it. Despite the time restrictions, I think the three of us each succeeded in sampling all six beers, some of them more than once. Anyway, we'll see you at 10:30 for a spot of racing.

The highlight had to be when Alexi introduced himself to the executive director of MassBike as "a raging alcoholic." I honestly didn't think he was that lit.

Another successful outing by the Boston crew...next time we should up the scorpion bowls. Providence peeps, get your asses up here so we can have a real showdown. Maybe I'll even get a touch of endurance between now and then.

Much hilarity ensued on our ride home. I got all voodoo and ****.

Yeah. Everyone, Trevor's the man. A moderately inebriated Alex had a bit of trouble on one of the more aggresive turns on the ride back to JP. Trevor showed his best 'kickboxer' form getting things back into shape.

Minus one cheap 1989 Araya front rim, that's what I am.

btw, Trevor, what the **** was that thing you pulled out to disengage my front brake? Everyone should own one.

That thing was some weirdo "multitool" that I got at the Boston Bicycle Show. It has a couple of box wrenchs either 8 and 10mm along with a few spoke wrenches, a few hex wrenches, a phillips-head screwdriver, chain tool, and a bottle opener. It was $10 and the damn thing is all aluminum so it's good for about two uses before it's bent beyond recognition, but it's sure nice when you need a wee bitty wrench to undo the pinch bolt on your brake.

I'm not so tough after all. We're now hoping to go to Wachusett on Monday if the rain ever stops. So you guys will get another chance to join us.

I'm only partly tough. I went for a ride from Central Square out through Lexington and back through Belmont, all on my track bike in the rain. It was a good loop, with a few climbs that kicked my arse. I have no idea how far I went, but I was riding for 1.5 hours. Not a bad little jaunt, and good training for La Calavera!

Edit: the ride was roughly 21 miles long...

Hey guys ...

I'm back from NewMex ... altitude made riding diffa-fukc-ingcult ... wheezz. I prefer sea level thanks. Anyway, if the weather breaks I will be up Thurs for pedaling and drinking.

Free beer, indeed, if you don't count the tips. rithem would have loved it. Despite the time restrictions, I think the three of us each succeeded in sampling all six beers, some of them more than once. Anyway, we'll see you at 10:30 for a spot of racing.

I missed free beer? WTF!

You're a funny guy! The forecast for tomorrow night (according to NWS):

Thursday Night: Periods of rain. Low near 51. Northeast wind between 14 and 17 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.

Of course that could change, but I'm very skeptical since we've now been without sun since last Thursday (and rain on and off since Friday). Also, having to do a time trial in the **** on Monday morning really got me down on the weather. I had to let my bike hang upside down for a few hours after that and then clean all the crud off of it. Definitely need a little plug for that rear brake hole.


Anyway, if the weather breaks I will be up Thurs for pedaling and drinking.

How about just the drinking part? Then again, jrowedc and I aren't afraid of a little rain, having biked almost 30 miles in the stuff this weekend. No, we didn't make Wachusett, but we did get about halfway before the chilliness turned us around.

Yes, and you also missed a miserably cold and wet ride on Monday.

The weather isn't going to break. It's supposed to be gloomy, day and night, through saturday according to NOAA:

Rain-Rain-Rain-Rain-Rain-Heavy Rain-Chance Rain.

We can all just practice trackstands in my living room instead.

Sweet. You got carpet?

Okay, drinking could suffice but then again I can do that here and not have to drive home at 2:30 am ... I am dedicated, so I tend to accomodate. Maybe wet pavement skid comps. instead?

I do have carpet. Well, a carpety area rug that covers most of the floor anyway. Edit: I also have a basement with carpet. And a unicycle!

rithem, I always feel so bad for you. A few of us should go down to Providence one of these days and party down there instead. Maybe we could bike down some Saturday morning and bike back the next day.

Don't feel bad man I do it to myself... that Prov visist would be cool! I'll warn you Prov. can be pretty boring though, still we could do something like that sometime. That might be a shiety ride from Boston, you would need to pick a scenic route parellel to Route 1 to the West . BTW I want to try your unicycle after a few shots of the Meister.