RoadSkater.Net - Comments for "cycling"

Sunday I think it was

In reply to Sparky's Tater Ride Greensboro NC Triad Free Weekly No-Drop Bike Rides Skates for Beginners, Restarters & Leisure Cyclists:

Hey jack rabbit thanks for posting that ride. I think you were meaning the ride this morning from McDonald's. By the way you can use create/event when there is a set date (if you like). Thanks for starting to post. Btw I replied to your other post by phone but goofed and lost it. How was the ride today? How is the condition of the trail...skateable.

Two hour ride on Monday morning?

In reply to Sparky's Tater Ride Greensboro NC Triad Free Weekly No-Drop Bike Rides Skates for Beginners, Restarters & Leisure Cyclists:

Is that date correct? Am I forgetting an upcoming holiday?

Sparky's Ride - Aug 23, 2010

In reply to Sparky's Tater Ride Greensboro NC Triad Free Weekly No-Drop Bike Rides Skates for Beginners, Restarters & Leisure Cyclists:

8:00 a.m. - Meet at McDonald's -7069 Albert Pick Rd, Greensboro, NC. approx 20 miles at 10-12 mph.

Add MA and CA for 12 of the United States for the 2010 Jersey

In reply to Get Your 2010 Roadskater.net Inline Skating and Cycling Jersey or Grab a Classic Version Now:

I'm always interested how this spreads around. It's fun to see how we are all connected. Add these states to the list who have signed up to support the 2010 edition of the Roadskater.net jersey:

California
Massachusetts

Thanks!

Jersey Viability Update, plus GA, NC, NJ, PA, SC, VA

In reply to Get Your 2010 Roadskater.net Inline Skating and Cycling Jersey or Grab a Classic Version Now:

OK we're getting closer but the 2010 jersey is in danger of not making minimums. Thanks to more orders from these states:

Georgia
North Carolina
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Virginia

At this point I have 4, plus 1 owed, plus 1 commitment, plus 11 prepaid, so that's 17. I know of 3-6 likely orders, which brings us to 20-23 orders. That's close. I hope we make it, and thank all of you for considering it!

I spent part of the afternoon comparing color mixes in various amounts of full sun, cloud and shadow. I have four mixes I like and will be mocking some of those up to look at them more closely, then check with the printer to see how these would come out in their process. I've seen some of these mocked up before. It's going to be good, I'm sure of that. If we make the numbers. If not, well, we tried.

Roadskater.net Jersey Orders from MI, NY, TN, TX

In reply to Get Your 2010 Roadskater.net Inline Skating and Cycling Jersey or Grab a Classic Version Now:

WOW THANK YOU to people from far away in time and space who have put in their adoption papers for a 2010 Roadskater.net jersey!

Thank you to skaters from:

Michigan
New York
Tennessee
Texas

Does this mean some of these folk may be considering the 25th Tour to Tanglewood? I hope so! See http://tourtotanglewood.org for more info and to join or team go to http://nmss.org/goto/rsn2010.

At this point we have 4, all from outside NC, plus 1 owed to NY, plus 4 for me, so that's 9, with 15 to go by Sunday night Monday morning. Hopefully we'll have a 2010 jersey, but if not, it's the people with MS that matter and we skate for them at the tour and the CarolinaCentury.com October 23, 2010.

Skateylove y'all, Roadskater

Latest Info on Sparky's Tater Rides Schedule

In reply to Sparky's Tater Ride Greensboro NC Triad Free Weekly No-Drop Bike Rides Skates for Beginners, Restarters & Leisure Cyclists:

These basic notes from Sparky but remember LOCATIONS AND TIMES SUBJECT TO CHANGE:

Sparkys Tater Ride all rides start at 1pm.
After May 1st start time 10am.
Tue and Thu typically meet at back of Bur-Mil Park.
Sun typically meet at Panera Bread New Garden.
All rides 20 miles or so, 10-12 mph or so.

Sparky posts to local ride lists and keeps a private list going too for the taters. I think there's a slighly different ride memorial weekend, as mentioned here:

"Also this Sun May 30 meet at 9am. Old Battleground and New Garden. Last change I promise."

Can you give us a report on the Scotland Neck ride?

In reply to Tater Rides Again: Country Park and the Scotland Neck Country Roads Bike Tour:

Hi. It's interesting that you guys went down that way for a ride. Can you tell us how the ride was in terms of...

topography
scenery
rest stops
start/finish
road roughness
friendliness of the drivers and other locals

No biggie if you're too busy, but it's always good to get some notes before we forget. We often go back a year later to see what we can remember! Thanks for the info, and I'll be doing an article on Sparky's Tater Rides soon, I hope.

BMI Danger Zone continued

In reply to Body Mass Index (BMI) Out of the Danger Zone: Cycling for Brain & Body Makeover:

This comment was intended to be part of my first blog post. I have moved Part II into the body of the post BMI Danger Zone.

Powerful Post!

In reply to Body Mass Index (BMI) Out of the Danger Zone: Cycling for Brain & Body Makeover:

This post caused an avalanche of thoughts and feelings for me! First of all, many congratulations to you for doing so well so far. That is some good, solid progress. Working out sure wouldn't be a drudgery any more with those results! And way to keep going at it even after a less than optimal first day.

The way you described Dr. Amen's method makes me wonder why we're not all following it. I haven't read that book but now I want to. I'd like to see those images of the brain on caffeine - I have been
wondering about that one. But if I give that up too I really won't have
anything fun left. But it would be nice to break free...

Did you not see my picture on page 57?

In reply to Are You Trying to Ruin My Cycling Career? Most Careers Pay Money:

It was a pro race and I came in the sixties, low sixties, almost in the fifties. I am an elite bike racer.

I get cold easily, as I have no body fat or body hair.
You are an infant.
Get out of my house.
Oh, F...

ROTFLMFAO

Climbing like a cat 3 track sprinter

In reply to Are You Trying to Ruin My Cycling Career? Most Careers Pay Money:

Is there any way they could postpone the meal until after mid-December, when I start doing base again?

I think you are being serious

In reply to Are You Trying to Ruin My Cycling Career? Most Careers Pay Money:

I can do 2 watts per kilo more than a normal adult. I deserve special treatment.

Ghost Bike Not a City or County Sign Post, Not Close to the Road

In reply to Ghost Bike for David Sherman, Summerfield, NC Cyclist Killed by Hit and Run Driver:

The ghost bike is out of the right of way of the road and will not be in the way of mowing crews.

The ghost bike is attached to a post that would be able to hold a sign but does not. It is not a city or county sign post.

Windy

In reply to Roadskater.net Carolina Century 21- to 102-mile Bike Ride & Roadskate for MS October 24 2009 Gospel Baptist Church Greensboro NC:

On the next gusty skate I will try to get that Bob Seger song to shove Everyone knows it's Windy out of my head, especially the tripping down the streets of the city part :-)

Glad to be a part

In reply to Roadskater.net Carolina Century 21- to 102-mile Bike Ride & Roadskate for MS October 24 2009 Gospel Baptist Church Greensboro NC:

Why thank you lassie. I was glad to be a part of it and look forward to CC #3.

I wouldn't mind hitting up all the Raleigh/Cary/Durham bike shops to promote CC3. It would be fun.

You were singing Llama Llama Ding Dong, and I kept humming the Bob Seger refrain:
"against the wind,
still skatin' against the wind,
I'm tired now but still skatin' against the wind."

So glad you made it !

In reply to Roadskater.net Carolina Century 21- to 102-mile Bike Ride & Roadskate for MS October 24 2009 Gospel Baptist Church Greensboro NC:

MikeB! I'm so glad you came out and skated this event! I'm sorry about the rain and after skating through it myself I don't blame you for not wanting to continue. I'm happy also that Alan got to skate with someone too. It's good that you posted here about it because the volunteer I asked back at the church at 5.30pm said she didn't see any other skaters.

So now I get to be all swanky...put me down for 121 miles last week ;-)

I'll write more details later, hopefully tonight!

3 @ 102? In those conditions? WOW!

In reply to Roadskater.net Carolina Century 21- to 102-mile Bike Ride & Roadskate for MS October 24 2009 Gospel Baptist Church Greensboro NC:

Dude, sitting hear contemplating 102.....I just can't. How in the world did you do that? People always tap out LOL on emails and such but sitting here I'm getting a side ache from laughing, in amazement and awe.

Plus you & Eebee went down a couple a few times. Yikes.
It was quite slick, especially on the inclines and the pavement stripes were wicked.

Alan and I started at the sleep-in start of 9am. By 9:10 he was outta site, chasing cyclists like they stole his last twinkie. Good for him though, putting forth a great effort to participate and put in a solid 31+.

Lake Brandt road was wonderful with wind aided downhills. Quite sweet. And for a brief moment a sunbeam hit me just before the rest stop at M12. That was the turning point - M12. Just as it was time to roll, the drizzle started. My wonderful Bike Response Team gave a look like: "ya know, 21 isn't a bad effort." At least I thought that's what the look was. Who am I to second guess the support crew? 21 it was, right from that moment.

Scalesville Road was the easterly cut back and it was a good roll, even in the rain. Mostly because it was semi-wind aided. Although there were curious short patches of chip-seal to keep me alert.

Once on Church St. heading back south to the finish, boy it was brutal. The point being, my Church St. stretch was only 4 or 5 miles long after putting in 16 or 17. How you made it in on an 8 mile stretch after putting in 94....I will never know.

Kudos to you for a million different things in getting the 2nd Annual Carolina Century to be such a wonderful success!

3 Skaters did 102 miles; 1 did 42; sounds like a 31 and 21 too!

In reply to Roadskater.net Carolina Century 21- to 102-mile Bike Ride & Roadskate for MS October 24 2009 Gospel Baptist Church Greensboro NC:

Hey. More later but yes Tom Blooming won the day for the 102 distance, facing winds alone for the last 35 or so miles. Eebee and myself made it in at over 10mph, which on this day was epic.

At 33 we had a really windy downpour. Two cyclists joined us, John and Ben, and Ben did the rest of the 102, waiting as needed to finish with us. John had time constraints and completed the 72, which is for what it is designed...a quicker way home when recalculations are in order.

Northinsouth had boot/foot interface problems made much worse by the rain, but toughed out a huge 42.5 miles.

Here's how wet it was. My current camera has always been out, during Tour to Tanglewood this year notably, which was considered two days of mostly rain. Today, my camera shut down and would not turn back on from 33 to 79. When it did come back on the lens had a blob of condensation inside the lens for most of the rest of the way home. Once it stopped raining I had taken out the battery and let air flow through the battery compartment by holding it as we skated.

Here's another example of how challenging it was: we haven't fallen in a year or two that I recall in any significant way. I fell 2 times, making Eebee fall 1 of the 3 times she fell. Both of my falls were rather dramatic if not causing any real pain...a hipslide in the road and a tumble in the grass at a soaked rest stop. What a day! Two of our falls were at rest stops, just simple mistakes, but odd.

The worst damage for us was Eebee's favorite sunglasses. More later as we recall it, know it, can report it.

There was a fatal cycling hit and run crash at the next intersection closer into town just as we finished. Our SAG guy went there to help but it was too late. The police still had the intersection completely blocked about two hours later. This was not related to our event or a participant in the Carolina Century, but we all felt it deeply just the same.

I can't believe how great the Carolina Century volunteers were all day. They didn't seem to mind we had fewer folk out there, and did what they did just as if we had doubled our previous numbers. We will finish with a profit to give to the MS Society, and the volunteers seemed to really enjoy the special things we were trying to do as best we could. I know we were treated like the fastest, when we were in fact the slowest!

Carolina Century stats from MikeB

In reply to Roadskater.net Carolina Century 21- to 102-mile Bike Ride & Roadskate for MS October 24 2009 Gospel Baptist Church Greensboro NC:

Roadskater, you thought some stats would be neat, so here goes: Age: 45; Distance: 21m; Rolling Time: 1:47:37; Avg Speed: 11.7mph; Top Speed: 34.4mph; Avg HR: 180bpm; Max HR: 198bpm; weight at start: 153; weight at finish: 151: weight leaving the venue: 157 -- thanks to your Mom's awesome chili and Margaret's grill cheese sammiches. YUM!

Hope the marathon was out of state

In reply to Roadskater.net Carolina Century 21- to 102-mile Bike Ride & Roadskate for MS October 24 2009 Gospel Baptist Church Greensboro NC:

She should do well with those fancy shoes. I hope she did. And hopefully it was in good weather. The "CC" weather was a tad moist and blustery. I quit at 21, Alan from OH went 31, and I believe Roadskater and Eebee went for the full 102; not sure about that.

But Roadskater put on a tremendous event. I mean it was amazing. Everything was SO well planned and executed. Really, it was awe inspiring. Can't wait for the 3rd annual Carolina Century!

Good luck everyone!!!

In reply to Roadskater.net Carolina Century 21- to 102-mile Bike Ride & Roadskate for MS October 24 2009 Gospel Baptist Church Greensboro NC:

I wish I could be there with you all, but I'll be cheering on my girlfriend as she runs her first marathon.

Be safe and have fun, everyone!

- SM -

Terrific Photos of 2009 TTT

In reply to Photos and Maps for Tour to Tanglewood 2009 Bike Ride & Inline Skate for MS Greensboro to Clemmons NC:

Thank you for such a comprehensive photo log. Perhaps an 8gb memory card s/b on your birthday wish list??

Some of the finish line gallery mentioned they got good pics of 5 triumphant Roadskaters coming across the line on Day 2. Hopefully those photos will make their way to you for a later posting.

Speed Data vs HR Data

In reply to Elevation-Speed Profiles and Speed-Heart Rate Profiles for Tour to Tanglewood 2009 Bike Ride Inline Skate:

Awesome data figures. Speed is obviously consistent from one skater to the next, but I found it really interesting how heart rates can vary wildly per person over the same stretch of roads. While some were maintaining 160s, other skaters were 20 bpm higher or lower in the same pack on the same hills.
Knowing your body's personal tolerances is vital.

Carolina Century 51, 102 Better Than Last Year

In reply to Photos and Maps for Carolina Century 2009 Recon 51-Miler Greensboro NC Tour to Tanglewood Training Bike Ride & Inline Skate:

Hey. Well thanks for pointing out the brief section that was really bad, ha, instead of the other 101 miles! :o) But yes last year they put that stuff down on late in the week when it was too late to change anything. I had to compete just to get the markers down and make sure they weren't painted. So it was brand new with gravel on top, chipped but not sealed I think. Even the middle of the road, which was indeed smooth still, had tiny gravel bits. However, when there was no traffic I was able to actually recover a bit on this section. But I figured I'd have to change the course this year, and reserve that option, however...

We went up there for my birthday skate (thanks timv, northinsouth and skatey-mark) the street crews had covered over the gravel with the sealant stuff and it had smoothed out over the year. Even last year I don't think it was any worse than some years at A2A, but it was depressing that it happened the week of the event.

They also did another mile or two of the favorite roads around there with the stuff, but it has been sealed too. We did fine on that, but it wasn't as fast of course, and not quite as fun, but still fast and fun.

The really good news is that one of the roads I considered eliminating has been repaved with smooth stuff and it will be much easier going.

My goal is to give you fast, safe, smooth roads for as many of the 102 as possible, with very few technical challenges, and those only requiring moderate skill and not for long periods of focus or intensity...and to let you know where these places are at the route discussion the evening before and on the turn sheets and on the road.

I hope you'll be back this year and bring more pals...and your family! (Off topic, and start a new thread if you're up to it...the world wants to know...how is the Silver Comet after the floods?)

Questions

In reply to Photos and Maps for Carolina Century 2009 Recon 51-Miler Greensboro NC Tour to Tanglewood Training Bike Ride & Inline Skate:

Same route as last year, for this portion of the course?

The really bad pavement, recently chip sealed when we skated it last year, is better?

Great news for Glasgow!

In reply to Glasgow Scotland UK 2014 Games Bring Inline Skating and Cycling Velodrome:

And Glasgow can always use great news!

Anything indoors to help the kids get off the streets is a good thing there, in my opinion.

Come on down if you can

In reply to Paul's Cycling & Fitness, Winston Salem NC Tour To Tanglewood for MS Free Bike Training Ride Inline Skate: August 22, 2009:

I think I'll be there but weather could have an effect and if I were to skate too hard the day before that might zap me too, ha. But it's great stuff and free too, so I'll try to be there to see the team at the start and the tour folk afterward.

hmmm - let me think about it - may want to try it

In reply to Paul's Cycling & Fitness, Winston Salem NC Tour To Tanglewood for MS Free Bike Training Ride Inline Skate: August 22, 2009:

Sounds like it could be a skatey-good time. I sure would like to partake, but always the driving time and possible weather issues play in the back of my mind.

Can I leave it as a "we'll see?"

But man, 6+ skaters would be really cool, and I owe JonathanS a ton of pulling for bringing me in at Tour de Lions. He pulled the last 7 since I was gassed.

I plan to be there

In reply to Paul's Cycling & Fitness, Winston Salem NC Tour To Tanglewood for MS Free Bike Training Ride Inline Skate: August 22, 2009:

I think at least 2 of us should be there, but it's possible the 4 who were there at Clemmons may show up too. That'd be 8 skaters at least. This one's a good one once you get away from the shop a bit. In the old days there were some tricky road surfaces, but last year we went out with a police escort and that was cool (for those who started on time at least). Coming back in it was a busy road yes but better to be on that road than coming down a hill into it. Everything went fine. I remember there was a really sweet roll going out of town too...a nice long smooth fast safe one. Of course we got to climb later, but OK.