Long Standing Writer Strike Appears to be Over!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Rumors of a settlement in the 6-month writer strike at Sprocket Rocket now appear to be fact. Sources close to the Sprocket Rocket who spoke at the request of remaining anonymous, confirmed that terms have been agreed to which will allow Sprocket Rocket to continue posting miscelaaneous ramblings during the upcoming 2009 cycling season.

Although terms of the agreement have not been made public, our anonymous source was able to confirm that various carbon fiber & alloy components were brought to the negotiating table in an effort to kick start Sprocket Rocket for 2009.

When asked his opinion concerning the settlement at Sprocket Rocket, Rylo, longstanding local cycling activist and pasta aficionado was quoted as saying “I’m not sure why this is such a big deal – not that many people read his stuff anyway. My blog is much more interesting and thought provoking. Besides, Sprocket hasn’t been on his bike in 2 months and I wouldn’t expect anything interesting from that lazy bastard anytime soon.” When asked the reason for his Vitriolic comments Rylo responded “No reason in particular. You just need to understand that my dog Louie can ride a bike better than him”. No one from Sprocket Rocket was available to comment on Rylo’s remarks.

Look for more posts at Sprocket Rocket in the near future.

Tour de Grandview Criterium

Saturday's Grandview criterium went well for teamroll:. Me...not so much. Slow to warm up, I didn't find my cycling legs until about halfway through the race after the main field was down the road. Picked up a few other stragglers and finished off of the pace.

Congrats to roll:er John Price for his top 5 finish in a fast race with a very strong field. Our teammate Jaybone has a really nice write up in his blog.

Granville Grand Prix

Matt Herring wins big!

Photo courtesy of Eric George - The Newark Advocate

This has been a pretty awesome weekend for team roll:. After winning in Worthington on Friday night the 4-5 squad was back in action today in the Granville Grand Prix. Our team included John Price, Matt Herring, Dave Chambers, Marco Corroto and George Conti. This year's Granville course was changed a bit from last year and included a pretty serious climb up the bricks to the Dennison campus and then a fast descent down into town. The 4-5's stayed together most of the race and at the end it was a podium sweep for roll: with Matt Herring taking the win followed by John Price and Dave Chambers in 2nd and 3rd respectively. Marco and George were right there finishing in the top 10. Great job guys!

Josh Morrow and I were in the 3-4 race. It was big ring "go-like-hell" right from the start and I lost contact with the lead group after the 2nd time up the climb. I tried to have a good warm-up beforehand but it obviously wasn't enough. As the race progressed I felt better and was able catch some other riders to make up 3 or 4 positions. Most of my race was a solo effort and I ended up in 5th place. Josh Morrow was on his "A" game tonight and rode a terrific race finishing in 3rd place and in the money! Way to go Josh! A strong young rider from Team-COBC/Raisin Rack won the 3-4 race. Unfortunately I didn't get his name.

Josh riding strong.

Photo courtesy of Eric George - The Newark Advocate

This was an extremely challenging course and despite my pain and suffering I had a really fun time. Today's race was tied in to the last stage of the Tour of Ohio so the crowds were great and the organization was top notch. Team Columbus did a great job presenting another safe & challenging racing weekend.

Don Moxley deserves a huge atta-boy for making the call of the day. The 3-4 race was scheduled to begin at 5:00 and Don herded everyone together early so we could start at 4:45 due to the forecast for bad weather. During the last few laps of our race the rain began to fall and as we finished the skies opened up. Rain came down, thunder clapped and lightning lit up the sky as I rode to my car to put away my bike. When I reached the car it began to hail! If the race began 5 minutes later we would have been riding in a real mess.

I figured the day's excitement was over after the race when it was time to go home. But driving through Reynoldsburg back to Columbus I was rear ended at a red light. Fortunately I got the guy's drivers license info. and license plate number because he took off while we were waiting for the police. He didn't have insurance which is probably why he bolted (sounds like a topic for another blog?). This is one more thing I'll have to deal with next week. The Columbus Police Officers who helped me out were great and I can't say enough about the service they provide to our city every day. The next time I see mayor Coleman I'll recommend they all receive a raise!

Worthington Classic

Last night teamroll: was well represented and rode strong in the Worthington Classic which was the appetizer race before the Tour of Ohio boys took to the course. Chairman Fred and I were corner marshalls and it was a beautiful night to be outside and enjoy some great racing.

Our race had a nice sized field that included roll: racers Dave Chambers, George Conti, Marco Corroto and John Price. Other teams in the field included Echelon, Raisin Rack/COBC & A Gear Higher. Roll: did a nice job of controlling things from the start and we had someone up front from start to finish. Two thirds of the way through the race a break of about 7 riders was able to get away and it included Dave Chambers and John Price. The team worked well together and at the end John Price was able to do teamroll: proud by coming away with the win. Great job John!

It looks like the Tour of Ohio is a big success this year. There were over 100 riders in their field with teams coming from all over the Midwest. Inferno appears to be controlling the race and has possession of the overall leader's jersey. Haydon Godfrey added to Inferno's success by winning last night's race. The Tour of Ohio finishes up today in Granville. Roll: will be there for the 3-4 & 4-5 races.

No More Cycling Heroes

A few weeks ago my good friend Marco asked if I had any cycling heroes. Most people when asked this question would likely name off any number of cycling superstars who currently ply their trade at the top of our sport. There was a time not so long ago when I would have responded the same way.

My adoration of big time cyclists came to an end during what for me was a watershed moment in the 2007 Tour de France. Only days before the race’s conclusion in Paris Michael Rasmussen, who was leading the race and was the almost certain winner, was pulled by the organizers for missed drug tests and an alleged breach in his travel and training routine. It was painful for me to watch Michael implode during the final time trial of the 2006 Tour de France so his success in 2007 was exciting to me and I was cheering him on each day as the race moved toward the Champs Elysees. When Michael was pulled from the race and the winner’s yellow jersey was awarded to the 2nd place rider I was just short of devastated. Then to pour salt in the wound Alexander Vinokourov, one of my favorite riders because of his aggressive and tenacious riding style, was ejected for doping. These events came on the heels of scandals involving Tyler Hamilton and Floyd Landis; two other cyclists I once greatly admired. For me, this marked the end of big time cycling heroes.

So I was less than shocked when I read this week that Tom Boonen is under investigation for possession of cocaine. I admire Tom’s talent and strength and even posted a congratulatory entry after he won Paris Roubaix this past Spring. But unfortunately Tom is one more example of how much more is needed to clean up our sport. I know cocaine is not a performance-enhancing drug but that matters little in this case. We see professional cyclists on TV or the Internet each week during race season but we don’t know much about them at all. Who dopes? Who is clean? I have no idea. These are definitely not the stuff of heroes. It now looks like Boonen is out of this year’s Tour and I wonder who will win the green jersey? I’m afraid I don’t care as much this year.

I still watch races on Versus because I love the sport itself. Even as a racer of limited talent and ability I know enough about cycling to appreciate the strategy, teamwork and suffering involved in our beautiful sport. But something is now missing in my feelings toward the racers themselves. Call it a self defense mechanism, but I have grown weary of being disappointed by someone I hold in high regard.

Has pro cycling made an effort to clean itself up? Definitely. Do they still have a long, long way to go? Absolutely. Until the pro riders prove to me they are clean and respectable I will reserve my admiration for a group more deserving.

XM Radio Installation in a 2008 Honda Civic

A few months ago I began driving an ’08 Civic EX and wanted to install my existing XM Satellite radio receiver. I have a Delphi Roadie XT receiver that comes standard with a cassette adapter. However, Honda now includes a CD player as standard equipment and the old cassette player is no longer available. Fortunately Honda also includes an MP3 jack on all Civics (except the entry level DX). Having the MP3 jack makes installation of XM Radio a breeze.

Before I get too far, I’ll mention that XM also includes an FM modulator on most of their current radio receivers. For this to work you stick a small adhesive-backed contact over the radio antennae inside the rear window. You then select an FM channel in your XM receiver and link the wire from the adhesive contact to the antennae wire. To listen to XM you tune your radio to the frequency programmed into the XM receiver. If you drive a vehicle without an MP3 jack or a cassette player this is one of your only options for listening to XM. Unfortunately the sound quality is pretty bad and I’m sure anyone using this connection method would be disappointed. Another problem with this method aside from the poor sound quality is that you need to re-program the frequency in your XM receiver if you ever travel into an area that broadcasts an FM signal on the frequency that was originally programmed into the receiver.

Since Honda includes the MP3 jack on the Civic (except for the DX) the FM modulator problem is a non-issue. As mentioned above, installation is really easy with the MP3 jack and it took me approximately 30 minutes to be up and running. The only additional accessory I needed to buy was the MP3 cable which I picked up from Best Buy for about $20.00. Since the power outlet and the MP3 outlet are right next to each other below the dashboard, the installation looks pretty clean. XM includes a spiral looking tube to join together the wires and cables and this really improves the look of the installation.

Here are the basic steps for installation:

1. Mount the receiver cradle (I mounted my unit to the air vent using 2 clips included with the receiver) and place the receiver into the cradle.

2. Connect the MP3 cable to the receiver and plug it into the jack.

3. Connect the power cable to the receiver and then plug it into the power outlet.

4. Connect the antennae wire to the receiver and then run wire to the outside of the car. Place the magnetic antennae “puck” on the roof of the car.

5. Tidy up the cables coming from the receiver and hide the antennae wire so it is not visible.

6. Turn on the radio and enjoy XM.

No tools are required. Nothing to cut, tape or rig together.

Most of the time spent on installation is with the antennae wire. The antennae wire runs from the receiver along the inside of the center console up toward the firewall. From there the wire runs straight back under the carpet into the back seat area. The wire then runs under the rear floor mats and up between the left rear seat and door into the trunk (Since the rear seats fold down to expand the trunk area there are seams on the edges of the seats. It is very easy to run the antennae wire through these seams and into the trunk). The wire then comes up from the trunk lid to the rear window and along the edge of the glass to the roof. There is a recess along the edge of the glass to easily and securely hide the wire and there is no rubber seal to fight with like on some other vehicles. The antennae wire is very thin and is easily hidden under the floor mats and under seams where the carpet meets plastic panels. There is only about 4 inches of wire visible on the roof to where the puck is located.

Something nice about the Roadie XT - the receiver can easily be removed from the cradle and placed somewhere safe when not in use:

The power and MP3 cables mount near each other to help make a pretty clean install:

The antennae wire is virtually hidden where it snakes up between the rear seat and rear door:

From the rear seat the antennae wire comes across the top of the trunk back to the rear window. It is up and out of the way so it does not catch on items being placed in the trunk:

You can only see the antennae wire coming from the trunk to the rear window when the trunk is open

Only 4" of wire are visible where the antennae puck is placed on the roof:

The unit sounds very good and I’ve been pleased with quality. I used a cassette adapter in a previous vehicle and feel the sound through the MP3 connection is comparable.

The total cost of the setup is less than $100.00 ($60.00 for the receiver and $20.00 for the cable). I’m not sure if Honda offers dealer-installed XM for the Civic. If they do I’m sure the cost would be several times what I have in mine. I have read complaints from people in the past about all the wires that are visible with an owner-installed XM unit. However, I think my install is pretty clean and the only visible wires inside the car are those coming off the receiver which are neatly organized with the spiral tube mentioned earlier.

Bogey at 8:00

No this entry isn't about a dog fight over enemy skies - a group of us met at the Bogey Inn Saturday morning for a 2 hour ride out to the Plain City area and back. It was already hot and humid when I unloaded my bike shortly after 7:30 and the skies looked like rain could fall anytime. Fortunately the rain held off and we had a pleasant ride.

It looks like Dave Chambers got cut out of this shot - Sorry! (Darn camera phones)

Nothing eventful today. We had a nice group of about 10 riders and the pace was brisk but steady. With no racing this weekend I enjoyed the break.

Cycling Tragedy in Mexico

This terrible cycling tragedy occurred during an organized bike tour in Mexico. One cyclist was killed and several more were seriously injured.

Drunk and stupid are a really bad combination especially if you are moron enough to get behind the wheel of a car.

Keep the victims of this accident in your thoughts!

Nelsonville Criterium - Shake, Rattle and Roll!

2 races in 2 days with 1 set of old legs can make for a difficult combination. Today the team roll: "Masters Caravan" headed south to Nelsonville for the Star Brick Criterium. Our masters included "Chairman" Fred Parks, "Marco" Corroto, "Cadillac" George Conti and me. We had a pretty good sized masters field which included the Mighty Scott Young who has been my racing comrade through most of the Torelli Spring Series.

The finishing stretch was all brick and it was showing its age during the race. We all spent the first several laps working to find the smoothest line with the least amount of bouncing on our bikes.

The Masters started one minute behind a pretty large 3-4 field and we kept them in our sights for several laps. At one point I thought we might even bridge up to them until they finally dropped the hammer and moved on down the road. Our race was pretty uneventful with your typical criterium jumps and attacks until about halfway through the race when George made a strong attack off the front. Fred jumped and bridged up to George and we had the makings of a nice breakaway. Marco and I worked to control the field and several laps later Fred drifted back to us.

George stayed off the front for a long time and it looked like his break might stick until the 3-4's came through our group and ended up pulling our field up to George. Some cat and mouse took place until we were down to about 3 laps to go. At this point Scott made a big jump off the front and it took everything I had to pull him back. I burned some of my few remaining matches to get back on Scott's wheel and coming into the homestretch a rider in an OU jersey attacked the sprint and I didn't have enough in the legs to come around him. I ended up in 2nd with Marco and George and right on my wheel. I was a bit disappointed and felt like I let the team down but gave it everything I had.

With the Spring series finished I have a week or so to recharge my batteries and prepare for the rest of the season.

Hocking Hills Road Race

Andy Will, Josh Morrow and I represented teamroll: today at the Tour of Hocking Hills. We were able to race together since the 1-2, 3-4 and Masters rolled out together. It was great for me to race with my teammates.

Hocking Hills is always a tough race since it includes the Jack Run and Cantwell Cliffs climbs. Jack Run is the shorter of the two climbs but it is also steeper and many of us racing felt it is the tougher of the 2 climbs. This was also the first race of the season that had hot temperatures and I was definitely feeling the heat by the time we were finished.

Before we were one mile into the race Devin Hurst, a young rider from Savage Hill, made a strong attack off the front. After several miles we reeled him back in and most of us probably thought that was the end of that. After the climb up Jack Run he made another attack that stayed clear for a few miles. We eventually reeled him back in and after a few miles he took off again. Devin ended up making 4 attacks and a few riders jumped on his last one and they were gone. Devin ended up winning today's 3-4 race and I was very impressed with his aggressive riding. I'm sure we will be seeing more from Devin in the future.

Josh climbed really well and rode a great race today. He jumped onto a break with 3 riders during the last lap and they stayed away until the end. Josh finished up strong in 6th place.

Andy Will also rode strong today and finished 2nd in the 1-2 race. I believe he also secured 2nd place overall in the Spring series.

In the Masters race I stayed close to the Mighty Scott Young. Scott is a strong climber so I knew I would have my work cut out for me. We stayed with the main group until reaching the top of Jack Run on the final lap. At that point 4 of us drifted off the pace and rode together to the finish. Scott, Mike Carroll and I pulled clear on the finial climb to the finish and I was able to sneak across at the end for 1st in Masters.

Today's race completed the Team Columbus Spring Series so my lucky number 708 can be retired. Overall the series was safe and well run. Everyone I talked to really enjoyed the racing. As mentioned in past posts, larger fields would be the icing on the cake and hopefully we will see the number of participants increase. With so many races so close to home at a time when gas prices are pushing $4.00 a gallon, it really makes sense to support local racing in Central Ohio. Team Columbus is offering several more races this season and they can be seen on the Team Columbus schedule.

I'm not a pro cyclist but I did stay at a Days Inn last night.

This was another travel week for work and last night I stayed overnight just off the Pennsylvania turnpike near Murraysville since I had an early meeting in East Pittsburgh this morning. My first choices in lodging (Hampton Inn & Holiday Inn) were booked up for the night so perhaps I was lucky to find a room at the nearby Days Inn. The room was only $61.00 and the girl at the front desk asked if I was paying "cash or charge?". Having never heard that question before at a hotel and, since they didn't ask to see an I.D., it made me wonder how many fugitives and people on the lamb pay cash at hotels?

Once in the room I realized why they only charged $61.00. Nothing too terrible other than water dripping from the ceiling onto the vanity (and onto the floor) all night and a toilet that constantly made strange gurgling noises. Looking out from my window I could see a dumpster with 3 mattresses leaning up against it - one can only imagine...

I was up early this morning and on the road shortly before 7:00. Walking to my car I was surprised to see what appeared to be the entire Rock Racing caravan parked in the lot including 3 Cadillac SUV's (2 with trailers) and a large truck with trailer. Looking at Rock's website they are scheduled to race the CSC invitational in Arlington, VA on June 1st so that is probably where they are headed.

I would have loved to meet some of the guys on the team but there is no doubt they were still sound asleep as I was hitting the road. I hope their rooms were a little nicer than mine.

Memorial Day

My father with a member of Lima Company at the Worthington Memorial Day Parade in 2006:

Memorial day is always a special holiday for my family. In addition to its most important purpose of remembering the men and women who have given their lives for our country, Memorial Day is a time for family, cookouts and parades.

During the last few years Memorial Day has taken the added importance for me of spending time with my father who is a World War Two veteran. My father enlisted in the US Army in 1942 just a few months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. After completing basic training he was assigned to the 2nd Armored Division in Europe. During the war he served under General George Patton in 4 different theatres including the Normandy Landing, the Battle of the Bulge, Bastogne and North Africa. After receiving the Distinguished Service Medal he was discharged from the Army in 1946. He continued to serve our country in the Army Reserves until the early 1960's.

Six years ago my father suffered a stroke which seriously impacted his ability to get around and to do many of the day to day activities most of us take for granted. However, some things the stroke did not take away are my father's patriotism and his encyclopedic memory of World War Two history.

This morning when it was time to roll down the street to watch Worthington's annual Memorial Day Parade dad said he would like to wear his military dress jacket. Mom wondered if it would fit but I was sure it would since dad has lost quite a bit of weight since his stroke. Sure enough it fit like it did the day he first reported for duty. I pinned a few of his medals on the jacket (Dad has more medals than we had time to pin on him) and we rolled down the street to the parade.

I was so proud of my father as one person after another came up to him at the parade to ask him where he served and to thank him for his service to our country. He is my hero for so many reasons in addition to the fact that he served our nation in its time of need. I hope everyone takes advantage of this special day to remember those individuals who are special to them. Happy Memorial Day!

Hocking Hillapalooza

I met the Mighty Scott Young in Logan this morning to hit the hills and ride next week's Hocking Hills race course. The weather was great and traffic surprisingly light despite the holiday weekend. I'm glad we covered next week's race course as I had forgotten how long and tough both Jack Run and the Cantwell Cliff climbs are. We'll need to ride smart and conserve energy on race day! Scott was climbing like a monster and we ended up with 4 hours and 60+ miles - I'll sleep like a baby tonight.

Mid Ohio Grand Prix

Team roll: was well represented today at Mid Ohio including Mark Matrka & Dan Tinderholt in the 5 Open, Jaybone Allred in the 4-5, the talented young Andy Will in the 1-3, and Marco Corroto, Chairman Fred Parks, Cadillac George Conti and yours truly in the Masters. Brother Butch and Mel Corroto were among the many roll: fans who came out to cheer us on!

When we arrived at Mid Ohio we were not able to ride on the racetrack because the BMW club was still finishing up their testing in preparation for tomorrow's road race. As I said to a few folks at today's race, if you have any second thoughts about the cost of bike racing then come out and see the goings on at one of these car races. There were street Porsche's, 7-series BMW's and AC Cobra's among the other high dollar cars burning up gas, brakes and tires on the track. Don't get me wrong I love auto racing and it would be really cool to take one of these awsome cars out on the track. I spoke to someone before the race who was there with their car and they travel all over the country doing these events and there are over 40 races on the calender. It makes this bike racing thing look cheap by comparison.

So back to the race. By the time the cars were finished up we were a bit behind schedule so our race was shortened from 10 to 7 laps. No big breaks developed and our group stayed together until the finish when Cadillac George launched a powerful sprint and stayed away for the win! Marco was right on his wheel and finished in 2nd place. I finished in 3rd to make a clean podium sweep for teamroll:! This is how we planned it during the race and it was nice to see things come together the way they did. Chairman Fred road a strong race and showed off his recent training with a top 5 finish. Just wait 'til crit season Fred!

I didn't get to hear the other final results but Mark, Dan and Jay all looked really strong in their races. The talented young Andy had a strong sprint at the end of his tough 1-3 race and I believe he finished in the top 5.

Speaking of Andy, he wins this week's "most resourceful" award. As gas prices inch ever closer to $4.00 per gallon, I think Andy has figured out how to make his gas go as far as possible by using his motorcycle to travel to the races. I'm not sure I would have believed this could be done but Andy figured out a pretty slick system.

Tomorrow morning I'm meeting the Mighty Scott Young for a reconnaissance ride in the Hocking Hills to check out next week's race course. Should be a nice way to enjoy the great weather that is in tomorrow's forecast.

Sugar Grove Road Race

I arrived home from North Carolina Friday evening shortly after 5:00. Andy and I burned up the road and we drove non-stop except for a quick pit stop for gas. After visiting my folks I came back home and unpacked a few things before hitting the rack fairly early. I wanted to get as good a night's sleep as possible to be ready for Sugar Grove.

Teamroll: was well represented today including Marco and me in the Masters race, Dan Tinderholt racing 5's, Pascal in the women's race and Iowa Josh Morrow in the 3-4's. As I arrived in Sugar Grove I noticed the traditional sprint finish through town was in terrible condition since they were doing quite a bit of work to the street. I was glad to hear that Tym decided to put the finish at the top of the climb to insure a safer race. Although it is tough, I love the hilltop finish and will always remember the talented young Mark Ames winning there in '03 when we were racing for Breakaway.

The Masters and the 3-4's raced together which was great because it was fun to race in a larger field. The weather was cloudy and the winds were strong and several times during the race it looked like we would see rain. But except for a few drops we were dry the whole race.

Several teams were present in our race including Stark Velo, Echelon, Inferno and Savage Hill - yes Savage Hill! It was great to see Savage Hill back in the peloton (on their home turf) and they rode strong today. We raced 5 laps (6 times up the climb) and for the most part the field was together except for 2 riders who got off the front and stayed clear. One of the riders was a Master (the same rider who dropped us in Yellow Springs) so I was racing for 2nd place in my group.

Gearing today was an 11-23 with a compact crankset - a combination that worked really well. My standard 23 cassette has a 12 tooth small cog but I swapped it out for an 11 and this really helped me keep up on the descents. The 23 gave me plenty of spin on the climbs.

In the past I have struggled to stay with the group through the fast descents on the other side of the climb but, as mentioned above, I was able to stay attached nicely today. Coming up the final climb to the finish I was maybe 20-30 feet off the small lead group and finished 2nd in Masters and Top 5 overall. A big "shout out" goes to Josh who rode a really strong race and was at the front of the field all day. I believe he finished 4th in the 3-4 race which is a great result on this tough course. It was great racing with him and I hope to do more of that as the season progresses.

Prior to the race both Tym and Don made a point to remind the field to obey the center line rule and stay on the right side of the road. Fortunately everyone heeded their request and we had a safe race. On one of the fast descents there was a truck in the oncoming lane coming through a blind curve and this could have been a dangerous situation if everyone wasn't riding smart.

New Zealand pro Hayden Godfrey was in the house today and he raced the pro 1-2 race. He is attached to the Inferno team for the remainder of this season so perhaps we will have an opportunity to see him again this season. I had the opportunity to meet Hayden a few years ago at Sugar Grove when he was racing with Health Net and he is a really nice guy. I'm sure he will be a huge addition to an already strong Inferno squad.

The Team Columbus Spring Series is winding down and we have 2 more races left: Mid Ohio and The Tour of Hocking Hills. These are both great courses and I hope there is a nice sized turnout for both of these events.

Some riding, some raining and some sightseeing

Yesterday it was more climbing on the parkway. Marco, Mel and Andy climbed up to the top of Mt. Pisgah and I cut my ride a bit short to go back and fetch the car and meet those guys at the top of the climb. We went through about 5 tunnels and a few of them were long enough to kinda freak me out. Anyone who has ridden the Parkway probably knows the feeling - you ride into long tunnels that become darker and darker until they are virtually pitch black before seeing a small light at the other end. If you are in a long tunnel like this that curves it can be extra freaky.

After descending back to our start point and fetching the car, I drove to the top where Mel joined me for the drive down. We then followed Andy and Marco down so the car lights could illuminate the tunnels. Surprisingly the tunnels were not nearly as difficult on the descent even without lights, due to the speed moving through and the shorter time inside of the tunnels.

Cyclists are pretty resourceful when its time to change out of the kit after a long day on the saddle

After finishing our ride we changed and loaded up the car. Next stop was coffee at Biltmore Village. That night we dined on more Mellow Mushroom pie and it was then early to bed.

Light rain greeted us this morning.

This morning we awoke to light rain and decided to be tourists. This break was well earned after 4 consecutive days of climbing the Parkway. We visited The Grove Park Inn which I feel is a "must see" if you are in Asheville. We visited some stores in downtown Asheville and then had a late lunch before returning to the house.

The Grove Park Inn - these pictures don't come close to doing it justice.

Our hope was to try and get out for a little shakedown ride this afternoon but the rain started falling again after 4:00 and it looks like it may continue for awhile. This might be a good evening to lay low and chill out.

Pisgah National Forest

As expected, Tuesday was the beautiful day we hoped for to take our long ride in the mountains. After a leisurely breakfast we loaded up the cars and headed to the Pisgah ranger station to begin our ride. Andy found this route during a previous trip and it worked out well for our group. We climbed approximately 13 miles up to where our road met the Blue Ridge parkway. I don't know the grade of this climb but using a compact crank I was in the 23 - 25 most of the time and maintained a steady spin while seated. A standard crank set would definitely require a 25 - 27.

The scenery was great and the traffic was pretty light. The lower portion of the road had some debris on it from from all the high winds that came through during the last few days.

After reaching the parkway we decided to take a 4-5 mile fast descent into Caruso where we filled up water bottles at the volunteer fire station. When we arrived at the fire station a TV news crew was interviewing someone about a fatal plane crash the took place the day before. After leaving Caruso we climbed back up to the parkway and then enjoyed the long, fast descent back to the ranger station.

Marco looking for our next big climb.

Driving along the parkway back to Asheville we stopped at the Pisgah Inn. There was a black bear on the side of the road less than 20 feet from the car (too bad my camera was in the trunk). That was the first time I ever saw a wild bear!

DISCLAIMER: while similar in appearance to the bear we saw at Pisgah - the photo below in not of that same animal.

After getting back to the house to shower and change we went to Carrier Park to watch some local track racing at the Mellow Drome, an old car racing track now used for cycling. There were 2 different classes and they ran several points matches. At the end of the evening there were 4 teams racing a Madison.

After watching the races we went to dinner at Barley's and then back to the house where I quickly crashed for the night

Blue Ridge Parkway - Day 1

One of the first scenic overlooks I came to on the parkway. Not much elevation yet, but we'll be much higher by the end of the week

After last night's noodles and a few adult beverages I slept like a baby. When I got up this morning the winds were strong and the temps were chilly (50's). After breakfast we headed into town to check out some local sights and wait for the weather to warm up a bit before getting on our bikes. We went to Bio Wheels and Hearn's Cyclery - 2 very nice bike stores here in Asheville. Both shops had nice rides for sale. Hearn's also had some classic road bikes on display.

After checking out a few other stores we headed to the Mellow Mushroom for lunch. If you are ever in Asheville and want some good pizza pie, this is the place to go.

Andy and I got out on the bikes in the afternoon and hit the Parkway. We stayed together for about 30 minutes and then Andy was off on his own - a bit to quick for this old man to hang with. The higher I rode the windier it became. Fortunately the sun was out so my ride was pretty pleasant.

If you ever ride hills with Andy be prepared to have this view of his back wheel (until he completely vanishes down the road)

It is hard to see the wild turkey in this picture, but it was on the side of the road along the parkway and it let me walk up within 15-20 feet before it headed into the bushes

Tomorrow still looks like the day to plan our long ride. Temps should reach to low 70's. Should be a perfect day.

Drivin' down to Asheville

Heavy rain in Kentucky

We hit the road yesterday morning around 7:30. The rain began just as we were loading up the cars and continued almost until we hit North Carolina. The picture above was taken somewhere in Kentucky and the rain was coming down hard and visibility was limited to a few hundred feet. We drove Rt. 23 all the way to our destination which allowed us to pass through Chillicothe to see some of the early, soggy TORSV riders slogging back home to Columbus. We saw dozens of cars loaded up with bikes driving back home that morning - I'll bet more riders would have bailed if they had the option. This was the first TOSRV I have missed in several years and it was probably a good one to skip.

Louie ready to take his turn at the wheel

We arrived at our house in the afternoon. Located high in the hills overlooking Asheville, the views of the city are pretty spectacular. We chilled out for a bit and after watching the Giro on Versus Mark, Mel, Andy and I took a short spin along the road leading from our house to the Blue Ridge Parkway. The awesome views and beautiful scenery were just as I remembered. After returning to the house we got cleaned up and headed out to dinner at a noodle house that has become our traditional first night meal.

Watching the Giro after arriving at the house

I called Mom last night to wish her a happy Mother's Day and she told me there were tornado warnings in Columbus. Andy spoke with his mom last night and it sounds like a tornado may have been sighted near his family's home. I also checked e-mail to learn that Tym cancelled/postponed yesterday's Granville race. When I think of how nasty the weather was when we raced this course in '06 (cold temps & heavy rain complete with cow dung elixir spraying up off the roads) it makes me wonder how much more lousy yesterday's weather had to be? Just a few more reasons to love Ohio weather in the Spring.

An awesome view of Asheville from my room

Today's weather in Asheville is cool and windy with a chance of showers. After Louie the Wonder Lab gets his morning constitution, we are going to head out to visit a few bike shops and then go for a ride this afternoon. Tuesday's weather looks to be the best of the week so we are going to plan on this being our long day on the saddle.

Road Trip!

No racing for me this weekend. Early tomorrow morning I'm heading off to North Carolina with M & M, the Talented Young Andy and Louie the wonder lab. The 5 of us will be spending the week in Asheville riding the Blue Ridge Parkway by day and sampling Asheville's micro breweries by night (actually Louie will probably not be riding or visiting the brew pubs). Later in the week Marco and I will be heading over to Boone to spend a few days riding with some of our teammates who are headed down separately for a long weekend.

Right now the weather forecast for the area looks a bit spotty with a chance of rain several days. I'm hopeful that the wet stuff will blow through and we will have plenty of time to ride.

I'll try to check in to this blog with updates on our riding as the week progresses.