Texas - Superbowl West End ride, Who's In?

I did this last year it is a fun ride and a chance to see way too many lycra clad folks decend on one restaurant.

http://www.greaterdallasbicyclists.com/specialevents/westend.html

If you are going where are you starting from?

I will ride with PBA from Legacy & Indy. I'm going to do it on my fixie!

Then we can all go home drink beer and watch the Patroits do it again. :rolleyes:

My wife and I are really thinking about it but we aren't too sure about the distance and speed. I'd like to leave at Bluebonnet my LBS but 60/M would be a pretty big effort and I would hate to drive to Grand Prairie for the 35/all levels. ah decisions decisions.

For the last couple years I TIVO'd the game but I'm not sure I'll even bother with that this year. Lame commercials (only reason I even TIVO'd it that a few years ago and well the Redskins didnt' make it yet again :D

35 miles would probablly create a more happy wife, which is very very important.

You'd think it would be that easy except my wife is the one who is pushing to do the full 100 up in witchita falls (HHH) this year and trying to get rid of our car soo you never know :)

Nice you should marry that one....wait you already have...good job. Harden the F***up and do the 60 then (stolen from Patencad):D

I'm in. Most likely will do it on my fixie as well. Depends on what the wife wants to ride though. May end up on the tandem. Also starting from L&I.

I'm in if I can find other who would like ride to the West End, turn around, and come right back. I don't mind being in my cycling kit while riding but I'm not too fond of hanging out while in that get up. If I go, it will be on the fixed gear!

Edit: I'll be starting at Legacy and Indy.

Kevin, depending on weather conditions, I might be in in for a turn around at the W.E. and a nearly immedate return.

Kevin, depending on weather conditions, I might be in in for a turn around at the W.E. and a nearly immedate return.

Cool! That sounds good, Jon! If it's colder than 35 degrees at 8:15, which is the time I would need to leave my house, I'm out. I'm also out if it's raining or if rain is predicted.

If we end up doing this ride, it'll be an immediate turn-around for us and we'd be starting from Indy/Leg (is there anywhere else to start rides??).

If we end up doing this ride, it'll be an immediate turn-around for us and we'd be starting from Indy/Leg (is there anywhere else to start rides??).

Check the link in the OP, there are many, many locations to start from.

I'm in. Most likely will do it on my fixie as well. Depends on what the wife wants to ride though. May end up on the tandem. Also starting from L&I.

Nice, see ya there

I'm in if I can find other who would like ride to the West End, turn around, and come right back. I don't mind being in my cycling kit while riding but I'm not too fond of hanging out while in that get up. If I go, it will be on the fixed gear!

Edit: I'll be starting at Legacy and Indy.


Nice three fixies...where is Horbartlemagne?

Check the link in the OP, there are many, many locations to start from.

I guess my sarcasm missed the mark on that one - the only group rides I do are PBA, so most every ride for us starts at Indy/Leg (unless it's Austin Ranch). :)

The RBM start would be (much) closer for me, but much rather head up to Indy/Legacy and ride with the PBA group. Does the PBA website have a route map up for this ride?

http://www.planobicycle.org/pba/images/uploads/maps/westend48.pdf

http://www.planobicycle.org/pba/images/uploads/maps/westend48.pdf

Thanks for the link. The ride goes right by my door practically, I'll probably jump on the train when it rolls by if I do the ride.

I'm planning on doing the ride from Bluebonnet also. I'll probably just ride back with someone I dont trust my navigating skills to make it back before sundown :D

So how many people do we have starting at Indy & Legacy? Roll call!

I'm going to jump on the PBA train as they roll down Meandering Way. Looks like the route comes down Melrose / LaManga and hangs a left onto Meandering, which is about a mile from my apartment. Look for me there.

I'm still trying to find someone who is starting at Legacy and Independence that will be turning around at the West End and heading back to Plano.

Kevin, fairly sure mocella and his wife are both heading straight back, so will I so you'll have at least 3 others till I turn off at my place. That is if I don't get dropped along the way. ;)

I'm still trying to find someone who is starting at Legacy and Independence that will be turning around at the West End and heading back to Plano.

Like Cuda mentioned, we'll be doing a nearly immediate turn-around. Hans just posted a thread on PBA as well - so should be able to see who else is doing UTurns.... :D

Like Cuda mentioned, we'll be doing a nearly immediate turn-around. Hans just posted a thread on PBA as well - so should be able to see who else is doing UTurns.... :D

I like what you did there... ;)

If Im not sick I may go.

Kevin, Id be up for an immediate return, but you'll probably want to ride faster than me.

If Im not sick I may go.

Kevin, Id be up for an immediate return, but you'll probably want to ride faster than me.

Hope you're able to make it Ryan. Tony and Kevin will likely leave me in their dust so I'll need someone else to help remember which way the route goes. ;)

If Im not sick I may go.

Kevin, Id be up for an immediate return, but you'll probably want to ride faster than me.

Didn't you do this ride on a fixed last year? I think we have a few fixed riders this year if ya want to join the fun.

I will start at Indy & Legacy - have not decided to eat lunch or take a break and turn around. My pace is between Tweeners & DB.

Didn't you do this ride on a fixed last year? I think we have a few fixed riders this year if ya want to join the fun.

It seems like I "need" to pick me up some fixie - I heard TailChaser talking about Kevin's fixie a few weeks ago, and not he's got one, and all this fixie talk has me thinking......

Well I might be out. So much for group rides in 08' ;)
My merlin is back in the shop the bearings in the BB won't stay in so they are going to call merlin for help and then potentially loctite/epoxy them. I brought in both rear wheels to my fuji touring bike with spoke snapping/truing issues and they were going to try and have one for me so we'll wait and see. Not sure a 70lb+ touring bike is the right bike to bring to an M ride so should be interesting.

Are any of the routes available on bikely or mapmyride etc?

It seems like I "need" to pick me up some fixie - I heard TailChaser talking about Kevin's fixie a few weeks ago, and not he's got one, and all this fixie talk has me thinking......

They are pretty fun, quite challenging and a great way to train. I have done a couple of 50 mile rides fixed and it is a great workout. If you are just going to use it for road riding a conversion is the way to go and can be done for under $300. I saw a sweet Raleigh on Craigslist today...

Well I might be out. So much for group rides in 08' ;)
My merlin is back in the shop the bearings in the BB won't stay in so they are going to call merlin for help and then potentially loctite/epoxy them. I brought in both rear wheels to my fuji touring bike with spoke snapping/truing issues and they were going to try and have one for me so we'll wait and see. Not sure a 70lb+ touring bike is the right bike to bring to an M ride so should be interesting.

Are any of the routes available on bikely or mapmyride etc?

What happened did your BB become loose and wobble out the shell?

What happened did your BB become loose and wobble out the shell?
Yeah sliding to the right and causing crank/chain stay collision.
<long wandering rant :rolleyes:>
What I have learned in the last week or so was there were some old merlins made that just have a straight shell and the bearings are pressed in on the spindle and held in just by friction in the shell, later others actually use retaining clips but not mine.
So I guess the last owner got sick of it and turned it in on a new bike and I'm the new happy owner of an old merlin road bike on the cheap :( Well I am really happy except for this.

First time 200ish miles or so and the bearings shifter almost a cm right which caused the crank to hit the chainstay. My LBS, not the nothing is wrong with it I must have crashed it place I got it, recentered it. Fix lasted a bit longer but it started shifting again. They pulled out everything to check it out and are putting it back together and will use some adhesive which will hopefully do the trick. Soon I'll have my giro 26 to share or take over the commuting duty so the merlin won't get beaten up so much taking royal down near the airport.

They are pretty fun, quite challenging and a great way to train. I have done a couple of 50 mile rides fixed and it is a great workout. If you are just going to use it for road riding a conversion is the way to go and can be done for under $300. I saw a sweet Raleigh on Craigslist today...
The $80 raleigh in 58CM?? with my merlin issues I almost picked that up.

I chose to do a painful hill repeat workout instead of doing the Westend ride. I hope everyone had a great ride. The weather was great even with the wind coming out of the south.

I chose to do a painful hill repeat workout instead of doing the Westend ride. I hope everyone had a great ride. The weather was great even with the wind coming out of the south.

The West End ride was a lot of fun. The pace on the way down was fairly slow mainly due to all of the stops and having to slow to keep the group together. MPH2 was out on his fixie and we had a fun little sprint down Hillcrest after we got split at a light to get the group back together. I decided to head back with the group that wasn't staying for lunch and we had a faster time on the way back. Over all a very good weekend of riding (85mi total), the kind of milage I really needed.

Sounds like a good weekend, Jon! I was actually right around the corner from Legacy and Indy at 9:00 doing some repeats on Rollins. I decided at the last minute to skip the Westend ride. Those rides with so many people of so many different skill levels makes me a bit nervous. I have flashbacks of the weekend when we had a combined type ride and one rider was taken out TWICE in one ride by a less experienced rider.

The West End ride was a lot of fun. The pace on the way down was fairly slow mainly due to all of the stops and having to slow to keep the group together. MPH2 was out on his fixie and we had a fun little sprint down Hillcrest after we got split at a light to get the group back together. I decided to head back with the group that wasn't staying for lunch and we had a faster time on the way back. Over all a very good weekend of riding (85mi total), the kind of milage I really needed.You should hang out with me more and we'll get you some real mileage! :-) Good seeing you today!

I'm out of town this weekend, I'm going to be in for more surgery on the 20th most likely, so weekend after next is all I've got to get the rest of my February mileage in. After that I hope to be back on the bike by late March so I can get out to Spring Fever in Sulphur Springs.

http://jonpfischer.com/thecuda/photos/upload/RidePhotos/IMG_0130.jpg

Nice pic, Jon. Maybe with all the pictures Tony is going to take this year, he'll eventually figure out how to hold the camera straight while riding. :poke-poke:

I need to remember to carry my camera. I also need to train my wife to grab the camera when we go out on the co-motion - that and fix her a glove compartment to stash cameras and food and phones and such in.

Now... the FUN ride down to the west-end was Mike and I's vain attempt to make it. We came real close - especially considering we didn't roll out of Legacy & the tollway until after 10:00.

Not to burst your bubble, but you wouldn't have made it quite as far if we didn't have a 5min wait on a flat almost immedately after rolling out of Dicks. But all the same, you guys probably made some good time on the way down even with only the two of you to share the wind.

I've been considering getting a new camera for use on the bike. I usually borrow my wife's Olympus 3.2mp when I need a camera on the bike. But either it, or the cheap batteries I was using in it, were really giving me fits the last two times out.

It was a good ride lots of conversation at a nice pace. The weather was perfect I actually got a bit of sun. Staying for lunch was a good idea because I sat with people I never met before and made some new friends. Cuda showed up and we got to ride together a bit. I love riding in the downtown area. I am going to have to do that ride for fun sometime. Even at an easy pace 50 miles on a fixed is a serious workout. Riding in a group and having to climb and decend at everyone else's pace makes the one gear tough to stay on top of. Here is a picture of the scene at Dick's

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd181/MPHtwo/BIKE%20PORN/WestEndRide001.jpg

Didn't really have a bubble... I just thought it was really cool that we made it that far - especially into the wind.

My Sony works pretty well from the bike. The screen is bright enough, you can actually see what you're taking a picture of. And it's nice and smooth so it comes in and out of the Jersey pocket easily.

Nice pic, Jon. Maybe with all the pictures Tony is going to take this year, he'll eventually figure out how to hold the camera straight while riding. :poke-poke:

What do you mean? That was taken in the foothills outside of Dallas :D

I fairness to my lack of skill with the camera, I was one-handed while trying to bridge a decent sized gap after several of us caught a red-light. Now that I think of it, why was the guy with a camera in one hand responsible for pulling us back onto the line??

Now that I think of it, why was the guy with a camera in one hand responsible for pulling us back onto the line??It's the PBA way? (now that I'm webmaster, not membership director, I can say snarky things like that...)

What do you mean? That was taken in the foothills outside of Dallas :D

I fairness to my lack of skill with the camera, I was one-handed while trying to bridge a decent sized gap after several of us caught a red-light. Now that I think of it, why was the guy with a camera in one hand responsible for pulling us back onto the line??

You weren't bridging the gap when you took that picture. :p

If Kevin had showed up, he could have given a seminar on on-bike photo techniques.....

If he would have showed up that is...

If Kevin had showed up, he could have given a seminar on on-bike photo techniques.....

I will have to figure out a way to use my DSLR while riding:eek: J/K...That setup cost more than my bike. I have a small Nikon CoolPix that works great while riding. It's pretty small and takes some pretty decent photos.

Cuda -- Check out Overstock.com if you are looking for something inexpensive to use on the bike. I think I paid $90 for my small Nikon. If I drop it or lose it, its not that big of a loss. Also, try using Energizer lithium batteries. They are expensive but they last a long time. I use them in my DSLR external flash, which is a power hog, and I rarely have to change them.