The Assault on Mount Mitchell 2022 – A Baby Seal was I
July 30, 2022 § 2 Comments
When Terry Downs sent me the registration link, this seemed like a great idea. I was going to sign up for Ride the Rockies again, and having this activity in May would force me to get out there and train, because this beast is a monster. In case you aren’t aware, Mount Mitchell is the highest point East of the Mississippi. The term highest has to be understood. The Appalachian Trail does NOT traverse Mount Mitchell and so Clingman’s Dome (soon to be renamed thus ridding us of another Confederate traitor) is the highest point on the AT. Mount Mitchell Highlands NJ is the highest coastal point South of Maine (Cadillac Mtn though is on an island). Mount Mitchell in NC is the highest thing around for man miles. This ride begins all the way South in Spartanburg South Carolina and generally winds it’s way North and West until it ascends to the Blue Ridge, and then its South to the final climb to the summit. One hundred two miles and more than 10K feet of elevation gain.
« Read the rest of this entry »AT Massachusetts – Baby Seal
October 21, 2020 § Leave a comment
Baby Harp seals have to be among the cutest most innocent looking creatures on the planet. I know, there are a lot of critters out there whose young are super cute, and that includes human critters as well, though let us be clear, sometimes, there are some real ugly babies. But this isn’t about ugly babies, it is about cute and innocent, and launching into something with the greatest zeal and perhaps over estimation of just where on the fitness scale one actually sits.
« Read the rest of this entry »Catching The Monday SFCC Train
November 16, 2017 § Leave a comment
I knew I was going to San Fran Cisco, and I knew I wanted to ride my bike. Where to start? I could describe my first forays into exploration, however I should just cut to the chase. I finally googled “San Francisco Cycling Club”, and the top hit was SFCC, or San Francisco Cycling Club. What better name exists for a 100% hit, I know not.
Fools Classic 2017 – Who’s the Fool Now?
April 15, 2017 § 2 Comments
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a person lacking in judgment or prudence Only a fool would ride Fools Classic without knowing what thy got thyself into.
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a : a retainer (see 1retainer 1) formerly kept in great households to provide casual entertainment and commonly dressed in motley with cap, bells, and bauble: The designers of Fools Classic are entertained by the motley fools who sign on for their event.
b : one who is victimized or made to appear foolish : dupe History has made fools of the many who ride Fools Classic. -
a : a harmlessly deranged person or one lacking in common powers of understanding That fool must be MENTAL and has no idea what Fools Classic is going to do to them.
b : one with a marked propensity or fondness for something a dancing fool, a fool for candy, a cycling fool
In some ways it seems pretty simple to apply each of these to the participants involved in the 2017 edition of the Fools Classic.
L’Enfer D’Hunterdon
March 25, 2017 § 3 Comments
The Hell of Hunterdon is a tribute ride to what is arguably the best of the European one day “Cycling Monument” races, Paris Roubaix, a.k.a. L’Enfer du Nord, The Hell of the North. For those that are ignorant of this cycling classic, Paris Roubaix is jaunt through the old WW1 war grounds of France between Paris and Roubaix. The route stitches together 29 “sectors” of cobbles for a total about 55 km, and count down as they are encountered, so the first sector, Troisvilles to Inchy, is hit at kilometer 97, and is numbered 29. There are sections that are ancient even to an American audience, for example, Trouée d’Arenberg, a Roman era road that is off limits to all forms of travel but foot traffic year round, except for this race. A 2.4 Kilometer line of carnage for many, and the place where this race begins to break apart, and many find that this is not their year.
Surf Taco Challenge 2016
October 31, 2016 § Leave a comment
I am not sure who had the first thought regarding this event, but it was Andrea Brennan who created the event, and it was an invitation from her in my Facebook notifications to ride this inaugural 2016 event. The original date and I had a conflict, and as it turned out, so did the weather, so rescheduled it was, and as luck would have it, Andrea was treated to a terrific warm and sunny late October Saturday for this event. (video here)
White Rabbit
June 1, 2016 § Leave a comment
The clock was ticking. I was finishing up some work when I saw 5 o’clock slip by. “No problem” I thought. I can still get home with plenty of time to change and catch the Tuesday Night Hustle ride. Then it was 5:15 and I knew I was running out of time. Had to wrap things up and get out of there. As my machine was shutting down, I realized I hadn’t taken care of my time sheet, and today was submission day as well. No problem, as I could handle it all using a phone app. With that taken care of I was out the door and in my truck. However there was HUGE problem when I got out to Industrial Way. Traffic was backed up as far as the eye could see West with east-bound traffic (my direction), and not only that, but the west-bound lane was backed up as well! Quick thinking and I realized I had to go West first, then loop around North and around, and actually catch 35 South to West Park Avenue where I can double back East and North to get home. While that did work for me, there were many areas where traffic was just a pain in the ass thick.
Thor The Destroyer
August 19, 2015 § Leave a comment
I could tell already what kind of Hustle Ride it was going to be. Me, I was already aching and quaking from a 14 mile AT hike along the NJ NY border from High Point State Park to Wallkill River Wildlife Refuge. As I seem to do on all of those AT hikes is I forget to start off with Ibuprofen and continue an Ibuprofen regimen throughout the day. I know I would ache a lot less on Tuesday if I did.
The Tuesday Night Hustle – Some New and Some Returning Faces
July 29, 2015 § Leave a comment
I got home early today. This week is VIP week at Fort Dix and I figured I would be tied up all day every day, but so far, this week is easier than the last two weeks! Once the VIPs come through, we can close up shop, and so we did and I was home by 4 o’clock. I have to admit, that today was pretty damn hot, and the humidity stuck to me like a wet drape. I wasn’t sure I was in the mood to go out into that mess and hammer for an hour.
What Happened To The Tuesday Night Hustle?
July 15, 2015 § 1 Comment
If you are a bike nut, and of course when I say bike I mean bicycle, and not a motorcycle. Really we would say a cycling nut because we are “cyclists”, and not just “bicycle riders”. What is the difference? WTF knows, but there is a difference! So, if you are a cycling nut, and you are nuts enough to race your bicycle, and by race that could be race in mass start events like weekend criteriums, or road races, or it could be race as in you are a tri-head, but you really really really love the cycling portion of the event, and to go fast on the bike is something that you think about all the time when you aren’t riding.
Along comes a weekly ride that you have been waiting for. A ride that you have read about in other parts of the country, or friends of yours from Ogalala post to their Facebook accounts every week about this ride that totally kills them, and you think “Damn, why isn’t there a ride like that at The Jersey Shore?” Sometimes you have that ride on weekend if the right people show up, but generally you want something like that during the week. Something to break up the week and give you a decent workout mid-week, and prep you for whatever the weekend will bring. Something that has you just on the limits of your abilities, until you fall back and drop back in behind the last person of the pace line and ahhhhh, just enough relief that you realize you can hold on for another turn.
Big Bird's Adventures 
Meriam-Webster provides the following definitions of fool, slightly modified for this print edition