Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Team Cyldesdale Update

http://msclyde.googlegroups.com/web/tc_logo.jpg?gda=obUuYz0AAACtIjLLfZgKtG2gyeUy-FB0AHbUOF5tnPVTDKQV2zTYFp6Oc0AF9Lrx2dy5pveMSAPlNv--OykrTYJH3lVGu2Z5

Six weeks to the MS City to Shore, and Team Clydesdale is hard in training. Neil F. came up with the neat team logo, and we expect to have our jersey design finalized soon. Team Cyldesdale:

bautieri
Little Darwin
NeilFein
The Historian
JT
and Herb - I don't remember his screen name.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3067/2757230444_9d7a3b02bb_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilfein/2757230444/)

[IMG]
and Herb - I don't remember his screen name.

The missing name is vXhanz :thumb:

Also, greetings from a temporarily displaced clyde in LA. I really wish I could have brought my bike, the bike paths are amazing :cry:

http://msclyde.googlegroups.com/web/tc_logo.jpg?gda=obUuYz0AAACtIjLLfZgKtG2gyeUy-FB0AHbUOF5tnPVTDKQV2zTYFp6Oc0AF9Lrx2dy5pveMSAPlNv--OykrTYJH3lVGu2Z5

Six weeks to the MS City to Shore, and Team Clydesdale is hard in training. Neil F. came up with the neat team logo, and we expect to have our jersey design finalized soon. Team Clydesdale:

bautieri
Little Darwin
NeilFein
The Historian
JT
and Herb - I don't remember his screen name.

Well, we lost a member along the way, but as of now five of us are set to turn out for what promises to be a wet century ride. The fun starts in Cherry Hill, NJ, Saturday morning at 6:00 AM.

My plans are:
I'm riding to Cherry Hill on Friday, weather permitting. I'm not sure I want to ride to CH if we are getting an inch of rain. If I ride to CH Friday, I'll ride to the ride start Saturday morning (4.5 miles) and take it as it comes. Between the rain and trying to break in a new saddle, I might skip the century and ride the 75 mile route. Even that much riding on a new saddle might do this to my posterior:

http://www.strangezoo.com/images/content/110706.jpg

Well, we lost a member along the way, but as of now five of us are set to turn out for what promises to be a wet century ride. The fun starts in Cherry Hill, NJ, Saturday morning at 6:00 AM.

My plans are:
I'm riding to Cherry Hill on Friday, weather permitting. I'm not sure I want to ride to CH if we are getting an inch of rain. If I ride to CH Friday, I'll ride to the ride start Saturday morning (4.5 miles) and take it as it comes. Between the rain and trying to break in a new saddle, I might skip the century and ride the 75 mile route. Even that much riding on a new saddle might do this to my posterior:

http://www.strangezoo.com/images/content/110706.jpg

So, should I switch to cyclecross tires for the rain this weekend? And ditch the clipless as well? (I thought I'd try one more time, but if I need to put a foot down on rain-slick roads.....)

So, should I switch to cyclecross tires for the rain this weekend? And ditch the clipless as well? (I thought I'd try one more time, but if I need to put a foot down on rain-slick roads.....)

I would use the platforms - make everything as comfortable as possible. The tires you usually have will be better than cyclocross. The knobbies are probably not as good on wet pavement as a regular smooth tire is.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to train as much as I would have liked - i had a seizure last weekend and it killed my training ride.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to train as much as I would have liked - i had a seizure last weekend and it killed my training ride.

I'm sorry to read that, Neil. Please take care.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to train as much as I would have liked - i had a seizure last weekend and it killed my training ride.

Under the circumstances, I strongly suggest you skip the ride, or at least restrict yourself to the 75 mile option. Get SAG if you feel the slightest bit unwell on the ride. Or get SAG to Ocean City on Saturday and ride back to CH on Sunday, when the weather is better and you have an additional day to rest.

BTW, believe it or not, there's nothing personal in the above advice. Take or leave it as you will, I don't care.

Neil B.
Captain, Team Clydesdale.

I'm curious as to who you lost as a team member. Oh look. I just got an email from MS where I am no longer listed as a Team Captain. Funny. No one has called or emailed me to inform me a change was being made. Care to explain?

I'm curious as to who you lost as a team member. Oh look. I just got an email from MS where I am no longer listed as a Team Captain. Funny. No one has called or emailed me to inform me a change was being made. Care to explain?

I wish I knew. I was removed accidentally earlier this week. I had to contact them to be put back on the team. Perhaps when they added me they removed you?

Nice of you to join us, JT! :) Darwin won't be riding with us.

I wish I knew. I was removed accidentally earlier this week. I had to contact them to be put back on the team. Perhaps when they added me they removed you?

Nice of you to join us, JT! :) Darwin won't be riding with us.

And now that some of the tension on Team Clydesdale has been relieved, I'll see you all tomorrow morning. Group hug! :)

hope to see you guys tomorrow :) here is my teams page http://web.mac.com/team2tyred/iWeb/Team%202-Tyred/Jersey.html(with jersey design) so you guys can find me (should you want). (i will be the youngest guy on the team)

Assuming you have been practicing neil (historian) i think the clipless will be fine...they aren't that slick. I hope the weather thins the crowds a bit.

anyone else doing the MS city to shore not on team clyde?

I just wanted to apologize to the team for jumping the gun on two coincidental but unrelated events. Gotta work on those communication skills. See you tomorrow.

I posted about the two Team Clydesdale century riders in another thread. Here's the update on the other three folks:

JT - completed the 75 mile route Saturday, and rode about half the route Sunday until bad weather forced him off the roads.

Neil F. - rode from Hammonton, NJ, to Ocean City, 45 miles, and back on Sunday.

The Historian - rode 55 of the 75 mile route yesterday despite arthritis in his knees and a painful new saddle. Rode 13 miles of the 75 mile return trip today till saddle pain caused him to SAG.

I'm a little disappointed I didn't finish. Personally, I thought I was riding strongly, with more experience and at a faster pace than last year despite not being prepared for the ride and carrying 25 extra pounds. Once I get a saddle that won't chafe me raw, I'll be unstoppable. :) I tried to imagine the chafing was a broken rib, but that didn't help the pain go away. :)

Still feeling a little sick, I decided I'd do as much of the ride as I could, and take it easy.

Day 1: Hamminton to Ocean City, 47 miles. Day 2: I actually ride a little further than Hamminton on Sunday, to the Waterford elementary school rest stop, the next stop after Hamminton. 56 miles.

In the final approach to Ocean City on Saturday, they set up a street with fences on the side. People were cheering and screaming us on. I slapped dozens of hands held out to me.

The ride was a lot of fun. I missed the loneliness of solo touring, and you really can't go at your on pace and sightsee. On the other hand, there were people cheering us on. They had cheerleader at a couple of the rest stops, and disco music blaring on PAs. There was a band playing in Ocean City.

All the volunteers are amazing. The amount of time they put into the ride shows. You can depend on their cue sheets, and it's almost impossible to get lost - there are people flagging you on at every important intersection on the route.

I stopped to help a couple of cyclists about 20 miles into Saturday's ride; they needed a tire lever. The guy fixing the tire had a weird way of doing it - he put the tire onto the rim and then squeezed the uninflated tube inside it.

The last 20 miles were rough - lots of, um, let's call it chafing - and I was getting tired. My plan for Sunday was to do as much of the 75-mile ride as I could. Martha told me to let her know what rest stop I was going to stop at and she'd pick me up there. Between that and all the driving she did on Saturday dropping me at the ride and meeting me in Ocean City, she drove nearly as many hours as I cycled. I'm a lucky man, indeed, to have such a supportive spouse.


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3238/2897118320_139497522a.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilfein/2897118320/)
The first rest stop on Saturday
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3290/2896274891_49e5198aee.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilfein/2896274891/)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3130/2897120400_e7c9b0cd37.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilfein/2897120400/)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3101/2896277055_08e22b2d03.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilfein/2896277055/)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3161/2897122392_ed07ef7e61.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilfein/2897122392/)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3237/2897123396_041b17f6d6.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilfein/2897123396/)
Longpoint Somers Point Boulevard, the first of two bridges we went over to get to Ocean City
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3275/2897124358_16c94d38f8.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilfein/2897124358/)
Ocean Drive Bridge, over the Great Egg Harbor Inlet. There was much good-natured complaining about these bridges. They're the only hills to speak of on this ride, and they're really not all that bad, but they come at the end of a long day's riding.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3186/2896281141_b43765a233.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilfein/2896281141/)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3108/2897126316_6b86614278.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilfein/2897126316/)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3094/2896283361_b53926de38.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilfein/2896283361/)
Me with Ocean City behind me

More pics next...

Ride pix continued:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3204/2896284609_e9243d0683.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilfein/2896284609/)
The end of the ride's first day in Ocean City. I rode 47 miles, from Hamminton to here.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3126/2897129602_ed2aca14a9.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilfein/2897129602/)
Day 2: Back over the bridges. Since we were starting fresh first thing in the morning, these were much easier to ascend.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3203/2896286819_f2895acc2d.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilfein/2896286819/)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3278/2896287919_78702b319e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilfein/2896287919/)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3259/2896289001_6687f6ef40.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilfein/2896289001/)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3211/2896290023_5dda485af5.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilfein/2896290023/)
George Hess school rest stop
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3292/2897135076_189ede2d1f.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilfein/2897135076/)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3092/2896292307_620e01b540.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilfein/2896292307/)
Waterford elementary school stop, where I finished my ride, 56 miles out from Ocean City.

and a few more...

...and here are the rest:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3192/2896293391_ace1682dd7.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilfein/2896293391/)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3117/2896294277_78d8ecc64e.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilfein/2896294277/)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3164/2896297299_664d256666.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilfein/2896297299/)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3163/2896298389_1041eee2c4.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/neilfein/2896298389/)

I was there too :). I saw the Historian and his red trek on sat monring, however my fiance was with me and she said it was weird/creepy/stalkerish to talk to someone from online. I would have said hi once she left but alas, i did not see you after that.

i did the 100 (103) on sat and the 75 (77) on sun for the total of 175 (180) ) (real milage in parentesis ;) ).

So the story of this year for me was becoming a roadieish. Last year i was all mountian bike guy, riding trails and stuff before hearing of the MS ride. i endded up borrowing a hybrid to do the MS150 on and only training for like 6 weeks with the longest ride being 38 miles. That lead to doing the 75 both days the first at 16.3 mph and the second at 15.6.

After the ride i was hooked by the road bug and bough a bike this spring and joined a team i knew of (captian was from my church). Did some real training rides with groups and such and went on 3 rides over 60 miles in preperation. Ended my day one thie year with an average of 19.0 and a second day average of 16.9. The first day i was at 20mph at mile 80, but we were going 25-26 for 10+ miles and i kinda blew up and told my teamates to leave me (only 2 at that point the team breaks up the first day then together the second) then the traffic at the end lowered the average at the end along with the bridges (the finish is on an island). I was happy with my improvements, and this is my first 100 :) pretty close to the sub 5 hour so that will be the goal the next year.

my only pic is from the top of the first bridge into Ocean city looking at the second (really cool because it extends into the fog) which the fog makes look quite ominous (the bridges are by far the steepest part of the ride and come at miles 98 and 100 .

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn1/johnhekl/OCbridge.jpg

PS the rain made drafting suck i drank alot of water off the back of wheels, but i lead alot too. The rain also increased the flats.

Yeah, there were a ton of flats. One guy got a flat half a mile from the finish line, ouch!

Yeah, there were a ton of flats. One guy got a flat half a mile from the finish line, ouch!


For some reason there was a lot of broken glass on the roads near Somer's Point. On Sunday morning a volunteer was directing people to stay away from the right side of the road.

In the SAG wagon I rode in on Sunday a fellow was complaining about getting 8 flats this weekend. Six Saturday and two Sunday morning. It may have been the same fellow, a black gentleman wearing kit from Guy's Bicycles - he said he got a flat near the finish and rode in on it.

I was there too :). I saw the Historian and his red trek on sat monring, however my fiance was with me and she said it was weird/creepy/stalkerish to talk to someone from online.

Oh please, next time forget her and introduce yourself. I've wanted to meet you.

It may have been the same fellow, a black gentleman wearing kit from Guy's Bicycles - he said he got a flat near the finish and rode in on it.

No, the guy I saw was white and had the wheel off the bike already. But that's an awesome story.

Well done guys. Well done indeed.

Nice pictures Neil F, sorry we didn't get a chance to meet this weekend. Maybe next year.

Re: flats

I was looking over my tires when I got home and man alive they are chewed up horribly. Tons of gouges, glass shards, and slashes in the rubber. It's a wonder (or a testament to the folks at Vittoria) that I didn't flat out half a dozen times.

But it was a rear flat at the last rest stop on the way in to OC Saturday. I just got done giving my bike a thorough cleaning. It was a mess. I've been running Michelin Krylion Carbon's and they seem to have held up pretty well. In a weird twist of fate it seemed the faster riders who spent more time on the road and less time on the shoulder had fewer flats. The slower folks who spent more time on the shoulders listening to "on your left" all day had the flats.

BTW, great ride report and photo's Neil.

Eric

But it was a rear flat at the last rest stop on the way in to OC Saturday. I just got done giving my bike a thorough cleaning. It was a mess. I've been running Michelin Krylion Carbon's and they seem to have held up pretty well. In a weird twist of fate it seemed the faster riders who spent more time on the road and less time on the shoulder had fewer flats. The slower folks who spent more time on the shoulders listening to "on your left" all day had the flats.

BTW, great ride report and photo's Neil.

Eric

Not this Neil. I didn't flat once, and I stayed to the right almost consistently through the rides.

Bau and I were lucky enough not to get flats either. You do bring up a good point EC that people who stayed near the shoulder got more flats. I would imaging because that it where most of the road debre winds up after it rains.

I also cleaned the bike up yesterday after the ride... n-a-s-t-y! Noticed a few things I need to repair (broken spoke, brake pads, wheels trued)... all in all not too bad. I had to change the water our three times due to all the gunk and grime on the bike.

V.