Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Ride Recap: Burrrrr & YUUUMMMMMM

As I write this, my computer is dying a slow slow death. I just got the “deathly black screen” on my desktop and I can’t find any of my files…. Past ride reports and pictures. This makes me sad. Oh well… another reason to pay someone a lot of money to try to fetch my stuff and fix my computer. I mean $150 to find one folder??? Really? Yikes.

Anyway, I was really looking forward to riding all week. It was a tough week at work with private dinners and other events so I was happy to end the week. Plus Friday was a comp day so I got to drive out to Lancaster, PA to go to the largest Under Armour outlet store. More on that later.

Today’s ride was much needed. We met in Middletown and took a quick stop at a local favorite restaurant (actually a hole in the wall) called Helens. They are known for three things: 1) their deep fried sausage sandwiches 2) their off the wall hours from 4 am to noon on weekends and 3) their real real real long lines.

We got to Helens around 8:15 I think, hoping to eat something before the ride. We got in line and waited…waited..and waited and then we had to leave. Yup… went to a Delaware iconic food stop to just wait and leave like that. Felt cheated…. Like the pig (sausage) was laughing at me, taunting me and laughing more and more. I had hurt feelings. We had to leave so we could make it to the start place by 9 AM so we could meet anyone else who wanted to ride (and for the record… no one was waiting for us…COME ON PEOPLE…. Lets ride!!!)

Yup, it was cold. Yup it was windy and yup it was winter time. But it was a great day to ride. We loaded up and pedaled on.

The scenic views were amazing. This flat area we were on had it all from wet lands to wild life, to long stretches of trees, fallen leaves, beautiful colors, dogs, horses, and the list goes on. We stopped and relaxed some as well so we could take in the wild life and surroundings. Saw some hawks too which was neat.

We rode past a correctional facility and Jim D gave us the history on that. We rode to the beach, got some pictures and watched the guys fish off the pier. We were passed by some corn trucks so we pedaled onto the corn mill and it made for a neat picture.

It was a windy day and Jim B, Jim D and I took turns pulling the crew and having fun. The sun was out shining and when we started, it was 39 degrees out. Most people would say no to riding but I must say that it’s perfect riding weather.

I normally don’t endorse anything (except Giant Bikes) but I too was one of those people who could have easily turned down winter rides until a friend turned me onto Under Armour. Here is my thoughts:

Under Armour Compression Leggings: This was the first time I used these and they were great. Kept my legs warm while wicking away the sweat. You will feel cold with these… they are not wind proof but they do keep you warm. http://www.underarmour.com/shop/us/en/pid1221714-001

Under Armour Long Sleeve Crew Shirt: This is the first piece I ever bought from UA and it works wonders. Keeps your core warm which helps performance (at least for me). Wicks away sweat and helps to keep some cold air out too. http://www.underarmour.com/shop/us/en/pid1004604-001

Head Gear: I needed something to keep my bald head, ears, mouth and sometimes nose warm so this is what I bought on Friday. I will tell ya…. It’s worth its weight in gold. I wore it for 20 miles of the ride. Took it off for the last 8 miles and my head was cold. This face protection gives you a lot of options as far as what you want to protect. http://www.underarmour.com/shop/us/en/pid1223223-001 (and I always thought these were only for ninjas and for people who break into buildings….who knew!)

Wool Glove Liners: I do not own a pair of these yet but Jim B let me borrow his. Freaking great. Kept my hands warm. The problem is that I had to give them back to him at the end of the ride. I think I am screwed for tomorrow!

So what I am trying to tell ya all is that you CAN keep warm, have a fun time and ride too. I would rather ride when it is cold out versus the humidity in July and August.

All in all, great November ride. Didn’t see any other cyclists out there riding, not many cars, a lot of wild life and pretty scenery. Not much else could beat a day like this.
I hope you all enjoy the pictures!

p.s. As I told you, Helens closes at noon on weekends so when we were on the last 3 miles of the ride, I look over to Jim D and he was looking at his watch. I knew exactly what he was thinking. His speed picked up dramatically and we were gunning for the cars, unload and head straight to Helens to get something to eat. We made it with 5 minutes to spare. Line was short and so were the menu selection. They were out of everything except pork chop sandwich and scrapple. Jim D got the pork chop and I got the scrapple sandwich since I had no clue what it was. The pork chop sandwich was sooooooooooo big. I couldn’t believe it. We ate in Jim’s car which was in front of the restaurant and we watched numerous people coming up to try to get into the restaurant but it was locked. We were the last people. The looks on their face were priceless!

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Reminds me of the time we went to Philly,
was on line for the famous Geno's steak sandwich.
Pat's had a ling line, too. After a while we got
tired of the slow moving line and ended up in
a Vietnamese restaurant :)

So, you mentioned the pork chop sandwich was soooo big, how was the scrapple sandwich?

Scrapple can be an acquired taste...

scapple was good. We have something like this on the west coast. It was a neat place. Have you been there?

I've had scrapple. Sorry.

;)

I have never been there...heard about it but never went.

With my limited stomach size, any sandwich now is a bad sandwich (bread = evil)

But I also heard you may have had your 1st Tastykake too...hope it was the Butterscotch Krimpet...that is the best one

I had the eclaire. It wasent that goo to be honest. I will try the one you mentioned.

If you are going Tasty pies, you need to do peach, blueberry or french apple

The peanut butter kandykakes are good too

I've had Tastykakes, too. They're OK, but honestly I don't see the reason for the fuss. (My in-laws were from the PA/NJ area - I've had most of those things, including The Diner's fabled grilled sticky buns in State College, which I admit I do enjoy more than I should.)

I will give it another shot but I sorta agree with Craig. Nothing to right home about thus far. Jim said they used to be really good before they went bankrupt and the new owners took over.

Its a neat idea though.

I've had Tastykakes, too. They're OK, but honestly I don't see the reason for the fuss. (My in-laws were from the PA/NJ area - I've had most of those things, including The Diner's fabled grilled sticky buns in State College, which I admit I do enjoy more than I should.)

Tastykakes are overrated. While they are better than Hostess items, they aren't that much better. I think the pies are the best items they bake.

The Diner is wasted on the rabble at Pedo State. But you can get the sticky buns in other places.

I will give it another shot but I sorta agree with Craig. Nothing to right home about thus far. Jim said they used to be really good before they went bankrupt and the new owners took over.

Its a neat idea though.

As a lifelong Delaware Valley native, I can assure you Tastykakes have never been as good as their fans make them out to be. You aren't missing much.

It is not just Tastykake and Hostess, but just about every pastry/twinkie/donut that is mass produced tastes like cardboard with sugar.

Krispy Kreme donuts, fresh off the rack, are the only pasty I can savor. The apple cider donuts at Milburn Orchards are a close second.

agreed..... apple cider donutes and pumpkin donute freshly made and in some quanity rock...especially at farm stands.

Thanks for letting me know that Neil. I was affraid that I was missing something or mt standards were a little different then others when it comes to pastries.

I do think its a neat idea. Just needs refinement.

I haven't had one (TastyKake) for a long time...but growing up, they were always in the house...which is why I became as big as one (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Frd53vbCHLg)
But I always thought they were better than any other mass produced pastry -like product out there EXCEPT for Devil Dogs.

But Green, you are correct - Krispy Kreme doughnuts hot out of the baker are unmatched...but I only really liked the glazed ones - on their other flavors, I thought Dunkin Donuts was better

But enough about all this pastry talk...most of us are trying to lose weight and all this is making me crave a cake wrapped in plastic...

Tasty Kakes are not good at all any more. They used to be better. As a kid, I thought they were stellar, but what kid wouldn't?

Wish I had handy my photo of the infamous double pork chop sandwich from Pork Chop John's in Butte, MT. It was featured in the film "Ride the Divide," a film about the annual race on the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route. A participant has a bad experience with one. When we toured through Butte this summer I had to try one. Completely overrated sandwich, and it doesn't look nearly as nice as the one in this photo:

http://porkchopjohns.com/