Boy was the weather great today for a ride! Kristine (my wife ) had a great ride,in fact she said it was a breeze :eek: . We finished by noon (55 mile ride), we saw the BF group at the first rest stop. At the end hung out with Tony for a while until Karen came in. We tried waiting for you crazy kids, but we got hungry (sorry). Kristine says she wants to do the century next year!!

The Nacho Family was there and had a great time! Did you love that band at the end of the ride? Stevie Wonder's Superstition, The Doors' Riders On The Storm, War's Lowrider. And only one flat that I fixed in less than four minutes (but my wife said it was more like ten minutes).

Damn -- all sorts of folks we didn't get a chance to meet!!! Next time we all have to wear pink carnations so we recognize each other.

My ride report: GREAT COMPANY

Magicant: my carpooling victim...um...buddy and ride partner who is not only killer on a bike (he rode his tour bike today in lieu of his road bike and was still faster than me!), but who has yet to disappoint me with his various karaoke renditions of many rap and 80’s favorites.
Karen: Who is so pretty in pink and who put up with MY singing and constant threat to steal her bike (I'll knock it off now, as I realize she'd take me down hard if I tried).
Tony: Whom I didn't see, but I hope had a great ride :)
Herb: who seriously needs to quit sandbagging or I'm sending him a bronzed sand bag for Christmas next year - you did great time today!
Extort: Who after not barely riding at all this year still managed to catch up to "us" after every stop and who, to my utter delight, unzipped his jersey in a retro "disco" fashion exposing much chest in the process :p
Maddmike: Who was not only great company, but brought along his GF, Lilly, who is a blast, and who rode her first 25 miles today - and she said she could have easily done 55! I see a new century gal being added to the lineup.
NYGirl: What a hottie, I mean gorgeous! And sweet and sassy to boot - as well as another sandbagger! Oh, yes, my dear, you are too! ;)
James: Friend of NYGirl who rode with the best sense of humor I've witnessed. I know he wanted to shove me off my perky "yes-you-can" throne today, but he just smiled (grimaced) at me and chuckled.
Ronjon: Great to see in his BF Jersey (you looked mighty fine, if I might drool...um...I mean, say so, myself :D )!
Octico and his lovely wife Christy (sp???): What an adorable couple whom I hope to see on more rides!
Scvroadie: OMG! With a temperature of 102, no voice and a nasty cough, the man STILL RODE 100 miles today! Now that is dedication and he was a captive audience (well, he couldn't speak so I did ALL of the talking) - I hope you feel better, Lee :o
Caligurl: I never ran into you but I had the hugs all ready...darn it. We must have just missed each other. ;)

The ride: The same as last time (blah) but with awesome company (not that my company wasn't stellar in 2005, but this year was just different)
The roads: “were fine” - B******* - roads sucked! Airport road was better, but there were TONS of streets that were horrible with huge potholes. Also, what's up with all the left turns (dangerous) and a rest stop that you had to turn left to get to in front of oncoming traffic?!!!!!
The food: Pretty darn good
The volunteers: The absolute best! (rivaled Lighthouse) - they had high school bands out playing for us (my personal favorite of the day) and the sweetest attitudes and smiles. That alone may (I stress may) get me back there next year. See? I'm not so hard to please. ;)

Pics to come in a few minutes...

Pics in no particular order (sorry, I'm so tired):

Okay, what is this? (not a BFer although I'd love to meet him)
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/wtf.jpg

Joel, NYgirl and James:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/threeamigos.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/themountains.jpg

Hotties at the start line (drool, slurp, pant...):
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/theguys.jpg

Love that Jersey on Ronjon!
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/Ronjon.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/Ps.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/ps.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/PSskyline.jpg

Philly:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/phil-3.jpg

Philly with cheese:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/phil-2.jpg

And some more...

Extort arriving:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/phil-1.jpg

Extort posing:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/phil.jpg

The gang at rest stop one:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/phil1.jpg

Octico:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/Octico.jpg

NYgirl:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/NYgirl.jpg

Nice view, need I say more?:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/nicebutts.jpg

Maddmike:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/maddmike.jpg

Scvroadie:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/lee-1.jpg

Scvroadie again:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/lee.jpg

Karen:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/Karen.jpg

Magicant:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/joel-2.jpg

Magicant again:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/joel-1.jpg

And again:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/joel.jpg

Herb:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/herb-1.jpg

Herb again:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/herb.jpg

The gang:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/gangwithsky.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/frombehind.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/BFguys.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/all.jpg

Dinner after: Clockwise - Magicant, Extort, Maddmike, Lilly, Merider
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/restaurant.jpg

Awesome write up, and photos Mary! Thank you! I was on the lookout for you all day, but missed you :( But did run into some of the gang :)

Nice pics! Thnx ME fer the names otherwise I'd be playing ,"who's who?".:D

Thanks, guys. :) And Gretzky, sorry to miss you out there too, but from the sounds of it, you were way ahead and going much faster than I was!

Markaj and I got to start area a bit after 6..had no problem parking....Still a bit early so we hung for bit before gearing up...
We headed over to CPK and met nygirl777 and her friend James....then Ronjon10 came over...ME and magicant said they were parking so we headed over the start line and metup with Karen and Tony, ME and Joel met us just before the start...
Staggered start, the usual zoo...people who cant clip in..etc...but we managed to get out without incident..up Indian and out of town towards the windmills...
The group met up a few spots and regrouped....
Thanks to ME and everyone for hanging back at times with me...It was actually a good challenge for me to push to try to keep up with everyone...
This was a bad ***** group of riders...even the ones who said they were taking it easy!
Thanks for the constant encouragement ME..I really do appreciate it!
Overall the ride was great...the most perfect riding weather we could have asked for....some less bumpy roads would have been better...a few were pretty bad....and some gnarly left turns....I think there could be a bit of route tweaking....the short ride thru those sand dunes was pretty cool....
Great rest stops...a bit crowded, but that is to be expected...
Overall a really great ride...and I finally thawed out from Stagecoach!

At CPK waiting to meet everyone! The 2 BF'ers from NY
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n188/hmeyerowitz/HPIM0642.jpg

The start line
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n188/hmeyerowitz/HPIM0643.jpg

Mark and Ron at the start
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n188/hmeyerowitz/HPIM0644.jpg

Karen, Tony and Herb
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n188/hmeyerowitz/HPIM0645.jpg

ME and Joel at rest stop2
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n188/hmeyerowitz/HPIM0648.jpg

John, Kris and Maddmike
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n188/hmeyerowitz/HPIM0649.jpg

The group
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n188/hmeyerowitz/HPIM0652.jpg

The sand dunes (I wish I had my camera out sooner )
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n188/hmeyerowitz/HPIM0654.jpg

Glad to be done!
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n188/hmeyerowitz/HPIM0655.jpg

Thanks for the pictures, my parents love when I ride w/ y'all because its the only time I can give them pictures!

Great to see everyone and meet those I hadn't met before. I got a Bikeforums thumbs up when I was unloading my bike from someone I don't know. Gretzky gave me a shout out very early on before he took off with his group.

I rode with everyone in the main group on the century route until the 55 mile turnoff, so it made it a 66 mile day for me. I have to say, I definitely preferred riding on the century route. Besides the great company, the 55 mile group had a few more inexperienced riders which made for one or two interesting incidents.

The shorter distance and lack of steep hills let me drop the hammer a little. I averaged a personal best 16 mph (riding time) over the 66 miles and finished pretty strong.

The route makes for a nice beginner century as the hills aren't steep. I had my size 25 gatorskins on, that was definitely the right call. The roads were a little rough in more than a few places.

sorry for not meeting but regardless it was a blast. me and my friends finished in 5:15 i think our average was 19 MPH for the 103 miles. I thougt it was really cool seeing so many non-cyclist trying to finish it. As for some of the more elite groups everything is fun when its " fun " but I did end up in some group that were not there to help but simply to leech on the draft also some bad attitudes, especially when in the end this is a ride for charity not bravado. but whatever it happens. alot of fun and i don't think to many people got hurt. saw a couple of people abandoning , which is a bummer but I did see like a 5-6 six yr old climbing on one of the hills, which was probably the highlight ,he looked super determined.

can't wait for the tram Time trial Challenge out here - I think its 4 miles 2800 ft elevation. FUNFUNFUN!!

For those of you not religious about cleaning your bike and did this ride, you should check it out and probably give your drivetrain a wash. I cleaned my last week, and though yesterday was the third ride of the week, the chain and rear derailleur were gunkier were than usual. Might have been dust and such, lots of it around the sag stops. OTOH, I might've used too much lube :)

For those of you not religious about cleaning your bike and did this ride, you should check it out and probably give your drivetrain a wash. I cleaned my last week, and though yesterday was the third ride of the week, the chain and rear derailleur were gunkier were than usual. Might have been dust and such, lots of it around the sag stops. OTOH, I might've used too much lube :)

Thanks..will check it out...I used a dry lube as I hoped it wouldnt rain....
I have put too much on on occasion and it does make it messier faster!

For those of you not religious about cleaning your bike and did this ride, you should check it out and probably give your drivetrain a wash. I cleaned my last week, and though yesterday was the third ride of the week, the chain and rear derailleur were gunkier were than usual. Might have been dust and such, lots of it around the sag stops. OTOH, I might've used too much lube :) Funny you said that, I was thinking the same thing when I was taking my bike off the rack the rear derailleur was filthy. BTW when I left P.S. today was it windy ... I mean really windy. Good thing we rode Saturday rather than Sunday.

I left today too. And it rained almost the entire way home. We really lucked out.

I left today too. And it rained almost the entire way home. We really lucked out.


not a drop of rain in palm springs today... sunny and beautiful... but yes.... WINDY! the wind wouldn't have been conducive to a nice bike ride!

For those of you not religious about cleaning your bike and did this ride, you should check it out and probably give your drivetrain a wash. I cleaned my last week, and though yesterday was the third ride of the week, the chain and rear derailleur were gunkier were than usual. Might have been dust and such, lots of it around the sag stops. OTOH, I might've used too much lube :)
I dropped my bike off today (Jax), and she is getting full treatment from top, to bottom :)

Thanks for the great pics and write-up's Guys....

I hated having to miss the ride but I was there in spirit...

Glad you all had fun!!

Kristine going really fast on her new set of wheels
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/159/387586111_fce9f5e3d0_b.jpg


Tony welcoming Karen at the finish line
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/119/387588953_a7303123b9.jpg
Tony waits for his wife

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/180/387588592_bdee52a6bf.jpg

Damn she makes me look good ... without her in that shot I am just some average Joe
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/130/387577063_4d910e0f15_b.jpg

With all that red we are were wearing I suggested we change our team name to something "Tomato Soup", "Menstrual" ,but the wife shot that idea down quick.

What a great set of photos and ride reports! Made me very sorry to have missed it.

What a great set of photos and ride reports! Made me very sorry to have missed it.

+1

Great job everyone. too bad i missed that one.

Hi! I thought Palm Springs was a good ride, so many people made it difficult to pass safely sometimes.
And so many people at the rest stops, couldn't find a safe spot to put my bike! Thanks to Herb for holding my bike at the lunch stop while I went to the restroom! I appreiate it!
It was great to meet and ride with everyone, sorry I jumped ahead sometimes, I was antsy to get back as I knew Tony would be waiting....forever.
My time was 6 hours 40 minutes, ave speed 15.2 mph, 102 miles.. I will post in the COM thread.
Tonys times was 4 hours 46 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!! ave speed 22 mph..unbelievable...
Great ride and great company...Thanks everyone!!!!!
Karen

Hi! I thought Palm Springs was a good ride, so many people made it difficult to pass safely sometimes.
And so many people at the rest stops, couldn't find a safe spot to put my bike! Thanks to Herb for holding my bike at the lunch stop while I went to the restroom! I appreiate it!
It was great to meet and ride with everyone, sorry I jumped ahead sometimes, I was antsy to get back as I knew Tony would be waiting....forever.
My time was 6 hours 40 minutes, ave speed 15.2 mph, 102 miles.. I will post in the COM thread.
Tonys times was 4 hours 46 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!! ave speed 22 mph..unbelievable...
Great ride and great company...Thanks everyone!!!!!
Karen


My pleasure...I wouldnt want to lay that bike down either!!
It was great riding with you...you are fast girl....you just zoomed off after lunch..I figured you wanted to get back to Tony..I tried to keep up...but couldnt hang too long...
I always tell Mark..the faster you go the longer you have to wait for me....but he likes to nap in his truck..so that worked out...
You made great time...and Tony...whoa...that is incredible....

looked like a great ride and good ride weather!!! Great pics too!!!!

This is my fourth time doing this ride and it was the best of everything. The weather was the best it's been, not too cold not to hot. The rodes have actually gotten better ( I know, that spot near the lunch stop is still miserable but they fixed airport road!). And the best group of people too!

A few pics I took

Lilly on her first 25 miler.
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p33/maddmike1959/IMG_1014-1.jpg

Xtort and myself at the start
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p33/maddmike1959/IMG_1017.jpg

Xtort along the way
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p33/maddmike1959/IMG_1018.jpg

The first rest stop
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p33/maddmike1959/IMG_1020.jpg

The push me/pull you bike
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p33/maddmike1959/IMG_1022.jpg

dude I love the brake setup on that lazyboy!!!

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k183/__Extort/Palm%20Springs/Mike.jpg
Mike staying ahead of me...

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k183/__Extort/Palm%20Springs/Jimmy-1.jpg
JimmyNH (WITH A HELMET!!! :eek: )

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k183/__Extort/Palm%20Springs/KimandJimmy.jpg
Kim and Jimmy

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k183/__Extort/Palm%20Springs/HerbII.jpg
Herb staying strong...

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k183/__Extort/Palm%20Springs/Mary.jpg
M.E.

Okay, I've been a slacker so far, but here we go.

Got up at 3:45am to eat, get dressed & prepped for the drive. m.e. picked me up right on time at 4:30am and we stopped by Jack in the Box (24 hour drive thru!). Got some delicious breakfast food (which tasted oddly good even though it wasn't bar time).

The time on the way to Palm Springs passed by quickly with conversation and singing (at least I think it was singing).

When we got there, we parked a few blocks away and made our way over to the start, where we saw a few folks in BF jerseys. I recognized Herb and Ron, so we quickly stopped by to say hi. We had to sign up, where we bumped into Extort. Well, m.e. did - since I didn't know what he looked like.

Ride was great, but more uphill than I expected for the start of the ride. Not climbing, per se, but it was definitely an incline. The riding on the highway with cones was harrowing - I agree it would have been better without the cones. May have been nice for the early starters, but for us, the cones were knocked over and in the bike lane more often than not.

Finally caught up to the other BF folks at the first rest stop. The ride was very enjoyable, good to ride with Herb & Ron again and got to spend a little time with Asia, James, Phil, Mike, Lilly and Karen. Sorry I didn't get the chance to meet Octico, Kris and some of the others.

My song renditions were more limited on this ride. I've run through my entire repertoire of songs I can belt out without a music background. Because I was on the touring bike, I had the idea of carrying a karaoke machine on the back and handing around a wireless mic to riders along the way. Fun idea for the Rosarito ride, if I ever do that again.

Anyway, here are some photos.

m.e. at the start
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/magicant2000/psride016.jpg

Great scenery - in a dry, desert kinda way.
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/magicant2000/psride015.jpg

m.e. and Karen
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/magicant2000/psride014.jpg

At rest stop #2
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/magicant2000/psride013.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/magicant2000/psride012.jpg

Asia and James
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/magicant2000/psride011.jpg

What a great time! Next time I do the 55!

OK, here are my 2 cents. Pretty good ride! I met Extort - very strong rider and quite of a character, very cool guy. I saw quite a few other riders with BF jerseys but didn't have a chance to talk to them. Hope I'll see you guys again on some of the rides.
I enjoyed the ride quite a bit. The roads were crappy in a few sections but that's about the only complaint I have. I did it in 6:02 computer time (well over 8 hours elapsed time). Not bad for a guy who doesn't like to sit on a bike for more than 4 hours.
Thaks for the pics, Extort! Just, please next time give me a chance to take my helmet off - you are damaging my reputation, man! ;) :D

What a great time! Next time I do the 55!
The 55 mile ride is a nice ride mostly flat.

JIMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i missed seeing you at palm spings... and WITH a helmet!!! i'm SO PROUD of you!!!!! see..... helmets aren't so bad, eh??????????????

The 55 mile ride is a nice ride mostly flat.


the 100 is mostly flat... this is a flat century!!!!!!!!!!!

the 100 is mostly flat... this is a flat century!!!!!!!!!!! Oh come now there was a very slight incline in the beginning .

JIMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i missed seeing you at palm spings... and WITH a helmet!!! i'm SO PROUD of you!!!!! see..... helmets aren't so bad, eh??????????????

Hey Cali! Bummer, it would have been cool to have you with us. You must have been flying on that course. Well, next time...
Extort, never mind my previous comment. The picture with the hat is OK ;) , I got a pat on the back from Caligurl. :D Life is always a trade off...:D

the 100 is mostly flat... this is a flat century!!!!!!!!!!!


3000 feet is a flat century?...OMG...oh right you have done KOM so this would seem flat to you...

3000 feet is a flat century?...OMG...oh right you have done KOM so this would seem flat to you...

I'd say this one is flat, not because it doesn't have any elevation, but because it doesn't have any soul sucking, life ruining steep climbs. Moderate elevation gain over long stretches like these can be spun up without over taxing the system.

Plus, I started doing rides organized by this crazy blonde woman, and so far, everything else has seemed flat in comparison. :):p ;)

I'd say this one is flat, not because it doesn't have any elevation, but because it doesn't have any soul sucking, life ruining steep climbs. Moderate elevation gain over long stretches like these can be spun up without over taxing the system.

Plus, I started doing rides organized by this crazy blonde woman, and so far, everything else has seemed flat in comparison. :):p ;)


I guess I do agree with you...not totally flat...but as close as you can get...at least here in So Cal...

I agree with you, Ron (and I'd love to meet the crazy blond woman you speak of - I bet she and I would have a lot in common since I love to climb!) - this century seemed flat since there were no major hills, but I felt the incline in the beginning. I dislike those misleading inclines that go on forever. You don't kill yourself going up them, but they seem flat and it's frustrating going only 14mph! :D

3000 feet is a flat century?...OMG...oh right you have done KOM so this would seem flat to you...

Do you work at Lockheed? I did Tour de Cure with you last year.

Do you work at Lockheed? I did Tour de Cure with you last year.


No...But I am friends with some of the team member that do work there... were you on our team?
Do you work there?

In fact Team Dragon Lady is up and running for this years Tour de Cure...
Here is our team page..
Team
Dragon Lady (http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR?team_id=176118&pg=team&fr_id=4405&s_tafId=89552)

No...But I am friends with some of the team member that do work there... were you on our team?
Do you work there?

In fact Team Dragon Lady is up and running for this years Tour de Cure...
Here is our team page..
Team
Dragon Lady (http://main.diabetes.org/site/TR?team_id=176118&pg=team&fr_id=4405&s_tafId=89552)

Yeah I was on the team. I took after after the ride, didn't stick around for pictures. I'm already signed up for this year.

Yeah I was on the team. I took after after the ride, didn't stick around for pictures. I'm already signed up for this year.


Great...I look forward to seeing you!

Great...I look forward to seeing you!

I'm working on getting some free team jerseys from the company. Hopefully we can do a couple training rides up here before.

I'm working on getting some free team jerseys from the company. Hopefully we can do a couple training rides up here before.

That would be sweet..I saw the retirement one Steve got....really cool!!
Yeah..I heard the new team cap'n was going to set some training rides up...cant wait!!

Hey our Photocrazy pictures are up.........