Foo - the frozen foobies ride w/wolfpack :)

Well, as many of you know, I am taking a road trip up to the Great Cold North....USAZorro graciously offered to host a ride for me this afternoon, but unfortunately, due to the coldness, there were only 3 brave souls to partake of the ride...myself, 'zorro, and stupidlybrave (sb). :o It was very nice to meet 2 more Foosters! These guys are sooo nice! I was telling UA about the ride and meeting them....Foosters are great people!! I'm really glad that both of them could take time away from work to ride with me today!!

I left Clayton this morning around 6am and didn't have any troubles getting up here...a bit of traffic congestion around Washington, but no real big deal. Arrived here at the hotel around 12:10pm. Checked in and gave 'zorro a call to let him know I was here and ready to ride. He and SB showed up around 1pm, did the meet & greet thing and then set off.

It was overcast and fairly windy here when we started and one of those temperature signs we passed listed the temp as 45F. I don't know if that was right or not....I wasn't too bad cold on the ride despite the temps and brisk wind. At least not for the first 1.5-1.75hr. It had to be colder than that...we had snow flurries several times throughout the ride.

The route 'zorro took us on was very nice! Some flat terrain, but I think the majority of the ride was rolling with a few good hills to climb. Even though it's cold and the leaves are gone from the trees, I think it's really pretty up here...it's a very nice change of scenery from NC.

Despite my lack of a lot of sleep last night and a 6hr drive, I felt pretty dang good on the ride. I managed to climb all the hills either out of the saddle or a combo of seated & out. And, on the last 3 climbs of the ride, SB passed me and commented..."you're still in the big ring!" Uh yea, don't remind me...those last climbs were tough - I think I saw anywhere from 12-16% range on them. But, I got over them.

I tell ya, I was ready for the ride to be over towards the end....after I started getting cold - my feet were frozen and I was hungry! I didn't bring anything but water either. Then, I see 'zorro rummaging around in his bag and pulling out a flask. No, not that kind, but I probably woulda took a swig if it had been to warm me up!! :D It was a flask of gel....by this time, I was hungry too. 3 apples and a chic-fil-a chicken burrito thingy for breakfast was long gone. I had brief thoughts of knocking him off his bike and taking the gel from him!! :) But, I didn't.

We finished up sometime a little after 3:30pm, talked a bit and then I left them to go get thawed out. OMG. I'm serious, my toes were freakin' purple! Tingling and hurting while in the shower. I finally just filled the tub with a little water, enough to cover my feet and swished around in that....eventually, they started feeling better. Feel ok now. Oh yea, the foobies. :D I think I might need to take a friend's suggestion and add some of those chemical warmers to the chest area. :)

So, that's all I can remember right now. I did get out after a warming shower for a big bowl of angel hair pasta with tomatoes, black olives, shrimp. And a salad & bread. I'm pretty tired right now...hope it's gonna be an early night, but if it follows all my other ones, it might not be. At least I get to sleep late tomorrow.

I also brought along the Garmin 305....stupid thing won't download right now, but we had 2400+/- of climbing over 33.6mi....

Here are the pics....I'll comment on the ones I have any idea about, but I can't say where any of them are, cause I was totally lost. I'm sure I've left something out, but 'zorro & sb can comment and fill in any gaps....

I'll post a similar thread about the T-day ride with pcad, but it may take longer to post, as I'll be at nyguy's place then and won't be too interested in much else but him. :innocent:

'zorro & sb before the ride:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/PA%20Ride/DSC03107800x600.jpg

'zorro:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/PA%20Ride/DSC03109800x600.jpg

'zorro & sb again:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/PA%20Ride/DSC03110800x600.jpg

house:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/PA%20Ride/DSC03115800x600.jpg

one of the climbs:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/PA%20Ride/DSC03113800x600.jpg

sb climbing:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/PA%20Ride/DSC03117800x600.jpg

the following were along a stream, can't remember the name...yellow something or nother:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/PA%20Ride/DSC03118800x600.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/PA%20Ride/DSC03119800x600.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/PA%20Ride/DSC03120800x600.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/PA%20Ride/DSC03121800x600.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/PA%20Ride/DSC03122800x600.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/PA%20Ride/DSC03123800x600.jpg

steel bridge deck...don't have anything like this in NC:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/PA%20Ride/DSC03125800x600.jpg
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/PA%20Ride/DSC03127800x600.jpg

warm horsey:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/PA%20Ride/DSC03131800x600.jpg

'zorro climbing:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/PA%20Ride/DSC03133800x600.jpg

ski slopes:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/PA%20Ride/DSC03134800x600.jpg

wooden carving:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/PA%20Ride/DSC03136800x600.jpg

all 3 of us after the ride:
http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f75/khgulledge/PA%20Ride/DSC03139800x600.jpg

Nice!

Thanks for all that WP. Anyone who's checked out your site knows you do a wonderful job of retelling 'the story of the ride'. And so cool to put faces (albeit bundled up against the cold) to names, guys.

Sorry about the cold and damp - hope things warm up for your p-cad ride.

enjoy the trip and drive safely...we might get a wee flurry tonight up in ny.

That looks like a gorgeous area! Looks like you also had a couple of great companions/guides.

I tell ya, I was ready for the ride to be over towards the end....after I started getting cold - my feet were frozen and I was hungry! I didn't bring anything but water either. Then, I see 'zorro rummaging around in his bag and pulling out a flask. No, not that kind, but I probably woulda took a swig if it had been to warm me up!! :D

Ah, to be living in Austin... sunny and 70 degrees during my ride today. :D Hehe. But yeah, too bad that flask didn't contain a bit of liquor. ;) Glad you're having fun. I'm driving up to Omaha, and plan on doing a ride while I'm there. Have fun with nyguy. :love:

Edit: wow, great pics! Ponies! :D

Yep. You three look pretty darn frozen. Almost stiff, even! :lol: Thanks for sharing your day with us, it's always nice to be able to meet fellow Foo family. All I can say is that I'm jealous of you.

Looks like despite the cold, you had a wonderful time. :thumb:

Great ride report - glad the weather cooperated and that a good time was had.

Looking forward to the pcad ride report - I'm sure it's going to be quite a bit colder.

Nice. Very Nice. Gorgeous countryside, handsome companions, what more could a girl want?

Cool. Er....cold. :)

Great ride report - glad the weather cooperated and that a good time was had.

Looking forward to the pcad ride report - I'm sure it's going to be quite a bit colder.

yea, no doubt it will be colder 'cause we're starting much earlier. i'm gonna stop tomorrow in piermont and pick up a pair of gloves. meant to get them before i left but just didn't get around to it.

Thanks for the ride report and pictures WP! :thumb:

I wish I could have made it, but I broke my chain last week, and I had problems with the new chain skipping and popping during my last ride. I didn't want to risk having mechanical issues and being an anchor for the ride or, worse yet, needing to get a ride home like I did last week. :crash:

I'm glad you had a great time. If you like the area now, you should come out for the Covered Bridges Metric century next August! :beer:

Ah, to be living in Austin... sunny and 70 degrees during my ride today.

DOH! We probably won't see 70 degrees again until next April or May.

yea, i'd like to get back up here in warmer temps...gotta get a representative dosing of all seasons. :D

Thanks for the ride report and pictures WP! :thumb:

I wish I could have made it, but I broke my chain last week, and I had problems with the new chain skipping and popping during my last ride. I didn't want to risk having mechanical issues and being an anchor for the ride or, worse yet, needing to get a ride home like I did last week. :crash:

I'm glad you had a great time. If you like the area now, you should come out for the Covered Bridges Metric century next August! :beer:

Sounds like a new cassette should be on the Christmas list...

Sounds like a new cassette should be on the Christmas list...

Yes, that's what I was afraid of. I cleaned the cassette after last week's ride, tuned the derailleur cable tension, and tried it today on a short, local ride. It's still popping in multiple gears, usually at convenient times such as when I'm starting from a stop or climbing out of the saddle. I'll probably have to break down and buy one sooner so I'm not riding for a month with the problem.

yea, i'd like to get back up here in warmer temps...gotta get a representative dosing of all seasons. :D

August will be much more like what you're used to, in terms of the temperatures. Plus there's usually a good Foo turn out for that ride. It's one of my favorite rides of the year!

Edit: The ride is in Lancaster, PA.

Great ride report! I got colder just looking at the pics....brrrr!

Looks like a fun ride wolfie!

yep, it was lots of fun. one thing i failed tomention...this route was great for the lack of traffic. very nice route!

i'm sure we'll have a lot of fun on T-day too. :D

yep, it was lots of fun. one thing i failed tomention...this route was great for the lack of traffic. very nice route!

i'm sure we'll have a lot of fun on T-day too. :D

It looks so serene and beautiful. :)

Forecast for Thurs AM: partly cloudy (showers/flurries out of the forecast), about 25ºF. Very benign conditions for Chester in late fall/early winter. I have two dozen packs of toe warmers wolfy, you can have one to use if you need it. I'll be using one. I'm riding tomorrow AM, similar conditions are forecast.

I love the name of the ride!

Here are some more pics to chill out your evening:

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s65/StupidlyBrave/BikeRides/FrozenFoobies-112008/ZorroSBWP005.jpghttp://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s65/StupidlyBrave/BikeRides/FrozenFoobies-112008/ZorroSBWP007.jpg
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s65/StupidlyBrave/BikeRides/FrozenFoobies-112008/ZorroSBWP006.jpg

I think it was probably 40F to start and dropped 35F by the time we were done. It was a bit windy as well.

You can also see why I love riding in this area so much. All we need now are civil engineers to come and design us some new bridges :innocent:.

And thanks to Z for putting this all together. It was a nice route.

Thanks for the ride report and pictures WP! :thumb:

I wish I could have made it, but I broke my chain last week, and I had problems with the new chain skipping and popping during my last ride. I didn't want to risk having mechanical issues and being an anchor for the ride or, worse yet, needing to get a ride home like I did last week. :crash:...

No worries there. I had that well covered. :o Seems like my legs have been losing strength over time.

p.s. - the stream is called "The Yellow Breeches".

No worries there. I had that well covered. :o Seems like my legs have been losing strength over time.

p.s. - the stream is called "The Yellow Breeches".

Or simply "the breeches".

Let's not forget that two of us were riding sub 18lb racing bicycles and someone else had a steel commuter with big fat tires, fenders and trunk space for a case of beer. :)

Just curious, Zorro. What do you have in that giant handlebar bag?

It would appear that any ride with Wolfy is an endless Fred Foto Shoot. That's OK. I need some new ones for Photobucket. I'll even bring the Pcad Cam.

Forecast for Thurs AM: partly cloudy (showers/flurries out of the forecast), about 25ºF. Very benign conditions for Chester in late fall/early winter. I have two dozen packs of toe warmers wolfy, you can have one to use if you need it. I'll be using one. I'm riding tomorrow AM, similar conditions are forecast.

i brought the warmers, but didnt use them today...duh. i might take a set of yours tho and try them out...mine are the toe warmers, but the little packets for hand warmers...i'll be riding tomorrow afternoon, maybe from nyack to bear mtn, temps should be ok in the afternoon.

It would appear that any ride with Wolfy is an endless Fred Foto Shoot. That's OK. I need some new ones for Photobucket. I'll even bring the Pcad Cam.

you know what i have to say to you? stfu. :D

No worries there. I had that well covered. :o Seems like my legs have been losing strength over time.

Well, you were on a LHT. Not one of those high zoot ti bikes.

you know what i have to say to you? stfu. :D

Oh SNAP!! pcad just got served!

Is this woman a closet Dominatrix?

Is this woman a closet Dominatrix?

yes

be afraid, pcad. Be very afraid.

you wanna fiind out? :innocent:

you wanna fiind out? :innocent:

I'll check with Mrs. Pcad and tell you Thursday.

:roflmao: dont worry, you'll be safe with me. :p

I thought foobies was spelled with a 'B'... :innocent:

Oh SNAP!!Hey look, someone who knows how to use that phrase!


Is this woman a closet Dominatrix?Closet? You must've missed the "whips and chains" thread.

:lol:

I thought foobies was spelled with a 'B'... :innocent:Foobieb? That doesn't make sense.

pcad, make sure you pick out a safe word! I made that mistake...

:roflmao: dont worry, you'll be safe with me. :p

As safe as you can ever be with any Fred I suppose.

you're pushin it....better stop while you're ahead. ;)

pcad, make sure you pick out a safe word! I made that mistake...

And make sure it's one you can remember.

"Klaatu! Barada! N[mumblemumble]"

And make sure it's one you can remember.

"Klaatu! Barada! N[mumblemumble]"

I said the words, now I'm taking the book!

Just curious, Zorro. What do you have in that giant handlebar bag?

Four Cliff bars, 3 protein bars, an extra hat, a flask of Hammer Gel, a little plastic container for Endurolyte tablets, two containers of drink mix powder, and SPF 45 Zinc Oxide (forgot to take some things out).

I think my rig tips the scales at about 35 pounds, but I was struggling up each and every hill today - something that doesn't usually happen to me before mile 20 of my summer rides. I really, really, really need to get way more consistent with bad weather riding (meaning any time it's not between 60 and 85 degrees and sunny with a light breeze) :o if I'm going to ride part of the Rando circuit in the spring.

you're pushin it....better stop while you're ahead. ;)

Listen toots, enough with the trash talk, if you really want to prove you're not a Fred, all you have to do is drop me on the first Chester hill, and that will be the end of it. Oh boy. Wait till you see Mt. Doom at mile 60 or so. Be sure you have Mommy on speed dial. On the other hand I'll have enough time to ride to my driveway, call Discovery Channel, direct their HDTV Film Crew Chopper to a safe landing and set up the HD cameras in time to record your arrival at Casa CAD for the Foo Ride of the Week HDTV Special we'll be filming.

Four Cliff bars, 3 protein bars, an extra hat, a flask of Hammer Gel, a little plastic container for Endurolyte tablets, two containers of drink mix powder, and SPF 45 Zinc Oxide (forgot to take some things out).

I think my rig tips the scales at about 35 pounds, but I was struggling up each and every hill today - something that doesn't usually happen to me before mile 20 of my summer rides. I really, really, really need to get way more consistent with bad weather riding (meaning any time it's not between 60 and 85 degrees and sunny with a light breeze) :o if I'm going to ride part of the Rando circuit in the spring.

dang, man, you're a hoss!

Four Cliff bars, 3 protein bars, an extra hat, a flask of Hammer Gel, a little plastic container for Endurolyte tablets, two containers of drink mix powder, and SPF 45 Zinc Oxide (forgot to take some things out).


You can never be too careful, God help you if you run out of sustenance. On my 60- 80 mile rides in the 90º Greek mtns. this summer I drank 2-4 water bottles daily and ate 1-2 Powerbars. The PBs fit in my jersey pocket. I think I stopped for a Coke on one of those rides that I did for 12 straight days.

'An extra hat'?

The Fred Psyche is a fathomless pit of inscrutability and wonder.

will there be a hospitality tent?