So, I'm uploading 90 pics! :eek: But there were so many good ones, I have to share.
Highlights for me:
1. BF crowd (duh)
2. Meeting April - what a doll, AND strong rider. The girl did Ganado without so much as a moan! Me, on the other hand...:o
3. Meeting the new folks - Yogi, Dunwood & friend, Ed, Weekend Warrior and his lovely wife, Sally, Fangu, Skinnyfatskinny (no - skinnyskinnyskinny!), Dscott - did I miss any? I hope not.
4. Seeing a tiny fraction of the Vegas crew - Travis and his friend, Eric (who is from here actually)
5. Great climbing weather
6. The hammer/fast guys DIDN'T leave us (entirely) on this ride. :D
7. The offer by the boys to carve my cell phone in to the tree at the top of PV East so that single cyclists could call me. That was so sweet, guys. :love:
8. The views and great route - PV can be tough to maneuver, but we all did fine.
9. All of us landing at the brand new 7-11 on Palos Verdes and seeing the owner's incredibly happy smile.
10. Riding a second day with one of my new most favorite friends, Happytime. Joy, you are the best, lady! Great ride, and thank you for stopping and creating many regroups. I know for the fast folks this is a bit frustrating. But we had at least THREE levels today, and I don't believe anyone was dropped or left behind to get lost. That's an A+! :)
Pics coming...
Oh, and a couple of things to add:
1 - WE MISSED YOU, ASIA!!!!! MANY FOLKS ASKED WHERE YOU WERE!
2 - It was so great to see Tracy (Indolent's gorgeous wife) out there today. Longest distance for her to date!
merider1
10-14-07, 05:19 PM
The day begins with this view...
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/10.jpg
And this view...
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/9.jpg
And we are off!
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/8.jpg
Tracy, with her gorgeous smile!
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/21.jpg
merider1
10-14-07, 05:30 PM
Dan again:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/40.jpg
Sally, Weekend Warrior's wife who was out riding for her 8th time only! She was a trooper!
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/39.jpg
Since Roadfix wasn't there to give his usual "tongue smile," Scootcore filled in for him.
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/37.jpg
Efficiency, taking a pic of me, sigh, while I take a pic of him.
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/36.jpg
Ronjon and Vancemac:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/35.jpg
And more views:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/34.jpg
The gang all safely to the side of the road at a regroup. We all stopped at stop signs too!
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/47.jpg
A great group that we met at the top of PV East:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/79.jpg
Sally, arriving on top all smiles! You go, girl!
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/78.jpg
Skinnyfatskinny, arriving too, and the "pup" was on knobbies! He is so cute:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/77.jpg
Joy, signaling to me that it's time to put the damn camera away and move it:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/76.jpg
Ah...finally, Mark gives in and not only poses for a pic but lets me grope him in the process:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/75.jpg
Wan, willing to step in for a photo:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/74.jpg
Gary and Sally - they look so good together!
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/73.jpg
As does this dynamic duo:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/72.jpg
Jason and April kicking back at the rest stop:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/71.jpg
merider1
10-14-07, 05:48 PM
Since I'm fatty-fat-fat and hate to have my photo taken lately, I've been hiding from frame. But after being acused of fatbagging, I decided to shut my pie hole and pose with the boys:
MErider with Jschen and Chimivee:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/90.jpg
MErider with Luwin
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/89.jpg
MErider with Skinnyfatskinny:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/88.jpg
MErider with Cole:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/87.jpg
MErider with Thomson:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/86.jpg
Skinnyfatskinny, finishing his FOOTlong meatball sandwich at a regroup. We made that man hungry!
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/85.jpg
And last but not least, my favorite pic of the day - me with April at the top of Ganado just under the street sign. I was so proud of her for going for it and she beat me up it!:
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/70.jpg
thomson
10-14-07, 05:57 PM
Nice pictures Mary, thanks for sharing.
Mr. Beanz
10-14-07, 06:04 PM
Nice fotos! Looks like a good time!
awiner
10-14-07, 06:08 PM
Awesome ride....
I wish you got a pic of Thomson's money shot that hit Joy in the face :eek:
I've never seen a squezed bottle shoot that far....
roadfix
10-14-07, 06:08 PM
I'm still at work!!
Nice photos!! :D
spingineer
10-14-07, 06:11 PM
I'm still at work!!
Nice photos!! :D
I'm still in Norcal ... I'll second roadfix and awiner's sentiments ... great photos. Thanks ME.
alicestrong
10-14-07, 06:13 PM
Looks like a fun and well organized ride!
ronjon10
10-14-07, 06:41 PM
Thanks for organizing Joy, that was a great ride and great day. I've been slacking off the bike this month (you can tell by the reforming gut in the pics) so it was good to get back into the hills a bit. Definitely glad I made it even though I overslept and didn't get up til 6:45 or so. :p
Also thanks for the pics Mary, if I scroll the browser window fast, it's like I'm there again! :)
awiner
10-14-07, 06:54 PM
I've been slacking off the bike this month
You sure fooled me then. You look great and rode strong.
herbm
10-14-07, 06:54 PM
Wow...thanks Happytime....and thanks ME....
What an awesome day...I had a great time...of course it was great to see everyone..and meet some new people...
Totally fun ride...
herbm
10-14-07, 06:55 PM
You sure fooled me then. You look great and rode strong.
+100
BTW..It was great to see you Adam..and I am so glad you are feeling good and back riding...
VanceMac
10-14-07, 07:04 PM
Scootcore, not so much, but he did pose!
http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p27/merider/October%20Fun%20Ride/62.jpg
He did pose a lot, but I'm pretty sure he also gets the medal for most miles today!
jschen
10-14-07, 07:14 PM
Thanks for organizing and leading a great ride, Joy! I had a blast out there. It was great to ride with so many friends, some new, some with a bit more history. And I already knew from yesterday that April is a strong climber, but I was really impressed today. If you don't believe it, this link (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=353492) shows the proof.
Thanks Joy for organizing and leading this ride!
Wkend_Warrior
10-14-07, 07:14 PM
It was a great experience going on this ride with all of you. It was so positive that I would definiely do it again. Thank you so much, Joy for pacing me up the climbs... Also, thank you, Jim for watching out for me in the back. It keeps me in one piece :) I will try to get my own username next time instead of Gary's. BTW, do any of you know how he can change his login name (he realized Warrier was misspelled!)
ME, I will try to ride more... like you say, maybe in a few more months, I have enough guts to sign up a CENTURY!!! Again, thank you to everyone for cherring me on. You are one awesome group. Hope to see all of you again in my next ride. Sally
ronjon10
10-14-07, 07:23 PM
It was a great experience going on this ride with all of you. It was so positive that I would definiely do it again. Thank you so much, Joy for pacing me up the climbs... Also, thank you, Jim for watching out for me in the back. It keeps me in one piece :) I will try to get my own username next time instead of Gary's. BTW, do any of you know how he can change his login name (he realized Warrier was misspelled!)
ME, I will try to ride more... like you say, maybe in a few more months, I have enough guts to sign up a CENTURY!!! Again, thank you to everyone for cherring me on. You are one awesome group. Hope to see all of you again in my next ride. Sally
Hmm, sounds like the Palm Springs century is in your future. It runs in February, draws a huge crowd including lots of us, and is a great first century. Glad you had a great time!
tombunn
10-14-07, 07:25 PM
Thanks Joy, very well organized and the ride absolutely lived up to its billing. I had a great time, met some great people, and felt well taken care of the whole time. And thanks Jim for riding with me.
Cleave
10-14-07, 07:31 PM
Hi All,
Thanks Joy for organizing this and thanks to Jason for bringing an out-of-region forumite, April, to the ride. :) Jason obviously is a man of impeccable manners as April was riding his beloved Vivian.
I was having a great time until I decided to go up Hawthorne after the Starbucks stop. I got really cold at the top and decided to stop for a muffin at the top. Then I froze my you-know-what off coming down. :(
Anyway, it was great to see everyone and I was glad that I got to chat with a number of folks. Wish I could have had the chance to chat with a few more.
Oh, and thanks to James for riding with me up Crest a couple of times and making me hurt. :rolleyes: Of course, he could have destroyed me but since we are both of Asian descent, he knows to respect his elders and not put the total hurt on them. ;) :D Of course if I weighed a buck twenty like James I'd be able to climb faster. :rolleyes:
ronjon10
10-14-07, 07:35 PM
You sure fooled me then. You look great and rode strong.
Thanks, I actually think the slow couple of weeks helped quite a bit. Good to have you back out there!
efficiency
10-14-07, 07:40 PM
Awesome ride guys. Felt great all day even though I've been practicing the dark art of mountain biking for the past month. I have lots of photos. I will get to posting them sometime soon. Great to ride and share a meal with new people.
I'm glad I didn't ride the fixed gear.
DaveSANYYZ
10-14-07, 07:52 PM
Yeah, thanks Joy for organizing the ride and it was fun riding with you all. :D
Happytime
10-14-07, 07:57 PM
An awesome ride couldn't happen without awesome riders!
Glad you all came and had a great time. :) I love riding around here and am glad I got to show others what great terrain it is. Special thanks goes to thomson and Fangu for helping out. I really needed the help and you guys delivered in spades. Much appreciated!
The Awesome Ones (incl. awesome BFers who joined us along the way):
MErider, jschen, Aprilm, thomson, Dunwood, Ed, awiner, pmc, Luwin1026, herbm, MarkAJ, N2GLOCK, Cleave, Scootcore, Wkend_Warrior, Sally, Cole505, Yogi13, DaveSanYYZ, Indolent, efficiency, Tracie, DScott, Fangu, VanceMac, Ronjon10, fattyfatskinny, SpeeDee, Dubbayoo, Juan, Chimivee, Dan, TomBunn, Travis, Eric... anyone I missed?
Dunwood
10-14-07, 08:08 PM
A shout out and big thank you to Joy and the others that supported her. Great ride, cool weather perfect for some falling riding. A real nice group of riders. Wish we could have stuck around longer.
I've read most of the posts, no mention of Pancho's. Did you get thrown out that quickly? :rolleyes:
Indolent58
10-14-07, 08:11 PM
Thanks Joy for a fun ride. More new BF faces, some extra credit get-lost miles for me, and Tracie may eventually forgive you for the hills.
DaveSANYYZ
10-14-07, 08:12 PM
I don't think we took any pics at Pancho's. The photographers weren't there (James and ME).
The food is good though, but very filling. For some reason, Mexican restaurants serve really large portions; at least compared to other cuisines.
Shnuddy
10-14-07, 09:03 PM
Great pics, ME. Looks like a great time was had by all! :)
Luwin1026
10-14-07, 09:16 PM
Had a whole lot of fun - it was good to get out there and see some familiar faces and meet lots of new ones. Special thanks to Happytime for organizing. She even caught me fondling Sacha . . . next time I'm snagging her for an S-Works menage-a-uh-derailed. ;)
I really had no idea what Ganado was - I heard people talking about it, and ended up just following DaveSANNYZ - little did I know what I was getting into. I'm just glad I made it up without rolling backwards - special props to the Nebraskan for handling it with such grace and poise, and thomson for doing it in his fixed - that man is sick. ;)
I had a good time chatting with all sorts of folks and catching up on their lives. Wish I could have spent more time chatting with the new faces, but it was a bit hard as we were dodging sand/pedestrians on the path and traffic on the roads. But I hope to get a chance on a future ride to do so!
On a side note, there was nice bike eye candy as well. Cleave with his Serotta, DScott with his Time, Indolent and awiner with their Look's, etc. -
A personal apology to Juan - as he was leaving from our Starbucks/Subway rest stop, I accidentally called out, "See you later, Jose!!" Lo siento, senor. Mi mal.
Note to self: Not a good idea to eat a glazed donut with a Slurpee before the rollers/climb. And of course, our Omaha visitor mocked me for having a blue tongue.
Had an absolute blast - til next time!!
efficiency
10-14-07, 10:34 PM
Here are all the photos I uploaded:
http://www.flickr.com/gp/9895405@N06/89WB35
Some highlights:
Some Portraits
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2057/1574473572_8424770b22_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2057/1574473572_8424770b22_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2409/1574467526_b6dec4f65f_o.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2409/1574467526_b6dec4f65f_o.jpg
fattyfatskinny had speakers attached to his handlebars. It was like party riding around him. He also had a footlong sub in the middle of the ride. The last true roadie thought he was crazy.
WOW! What a great group!!! There are days when I really miss SoCal!!! :p You all look fabulous... but I gotta say... GREAT LEGS CHIMIVEE!!! :D
t~
chimivee
10-14-07, 11:08 PM
Fun ride. Great photos. Good to see/meet everyone. The bike path was a little yucky, but otherwise, it was an excellent route.
chimivee
10-14-07, 11:11 PM
Oh, and thanks to James for riding with me up Crest a couple of times and making me hurt.
How'd you get faster on the second go 'round?! :p At least Vance wasn't climbing it with us.
Pepper Grinder
10-14-07, 11:37 PM
and now it starts...
oh my poor legs :(
aprilm
10-14-07, 11:49 PM
And of course, our Omaha visitor mocked me for having a blue tongue.
:lol: I can't resist giving someone a hard time. :D
Thanks again Joy for organizing this excellent ride! Definitely the toughest I've done, and I couldn't have done it without Jason and Mary pacing me up those hills AND Ganado. Even after a two-hour nap, I'm still exhausted. :o I have GOT to find a hill like Ganado in Omaha. I know there's gotta be one somewhere around... :D
It was nice meeting everybody! I need to move here! :eek:
Edit: Oh yeah! Thanks to ME for all these wonderful pics!! :beer:
spingineer
10-14-07, 11:54 PM
hmmm ... everyone seems to be talking about Ganado ... I'm not sure I'm familiar with that climb. Guess I'll have to google it.
jschen
10-15-07, 12:01 AM
Ganado... this (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=353492) steepness for two painfully long blocks. Then a bit less steep, with even a brief section of ever so slight downhill. Which is just a short respite before it gets a bit steeper for a little while. (Not very long, happily.) Then another respite, if one can call a steady high single digit grade incline a respite. And then a set of corners through a yet steeper section before the climbing is done.
aprilm
10-15-07, 12:21 AM
Really? Two blocks? You're sure it's not three? :o
jschen
10-15-07, 12:24 AM
I don't know for sure. Joy would know.
Happytime
10-15-07, 06:20 AM
It's two. Just feels like three sometimes. :p
That's great you got to climb Ganado, April! And yes, ME and Jason are a fount of support and I would trust them with my life. (I wouldn't trust them with my bike... but my life....? OK!) :D I'm not sure about the accuracy of my Garmin on the pitches, but that first straighaway averages 14%. The following turns spike up to 18% unless you take them very wide, in which case they are a much easier 12%. :)