Wednesday Nite Recovery Coast

A few of us met at HQ last night. We pushed a solid 14mph up Shoal Creek. Great conversational ride. Good to catch up with Panozz, who was rockin' his P3. What a speed machine. I was a little disappointed that he left his aero helmet at home. When modeling it at the office, he looked a little like this:

It was a super pleasant ride. Until we ran into Chachee. At the stop light at Jefferson and 35th, we happened upon a true rouleur. Atop his trusty Trek Hybrid, decked out in khakis, vans and a backpack, this dude was all about performance. For some reason, he took umbrage with Hoodie. Maybe he is anti-healthcare. Who knows. During their brief  conversation, the Chach exclaimed "I ride A LOT!" I think he needs to hydrate a little better, because it seems the sun is pickling his nugget. Once the light turned green, Our boy was off the front. Which was not hard, since we were all spinning in the lightest gear and paying no attention to the chach. He built a 100m cushion and held it, working his ass off to keep ahead of the "chase" group.

At the next stop, he once again makes some off-the-wall remark and lights out at the green. Really weird. and no one but Hood and I are aware of his challenge. On the 1.5% grinder that follows that light, we reeled him in. Granted we were working hard. All of us were between 85-100bpm. Putting out major watts. Like 150! So as we hit the next stop sign, Hoodie thinks Chach is turning right. Being the gentleman, the Hood bids him farewell with a "See you later!". Chach, who is NOT turning, once again takes offense.  He replies "Yeah, I'll see YOU later". And now it's game on. Really?

So he breaks away. holding a 10 meter lead, I am now ready to end the charade. But following coach's orders, I decide we will just turn left and escape to Great Northern. As we turn, I hear the crazed Van-clad kook call out "I told you!!"

Now that is a competitor.

"I ride a lot!"

Weekend Summary

Dough, summer is here.

Saturday ride was delayed due to my Firm's community service efforts. 15 or so of my office mates congregated on Bee Cave Road Saturday morning to pick up trash on the south side of 2244, from Bee Cave Pkwy to Senna Hills. Mauricio is the driver of this initiative, through his 787 affiliation. It was as fun as trash pickup can be. Interesting finds: PF Chang's table buzzer, partial bumper with embedded golf ball, snake carcass, coyote carcass, deer carcass. No Doughboy carcasses found, but one wonders where the Lurker has been, or Fitzy for that matter.

Cleanup left me and Hoodie hitting the road at 11am. He had a 3.5 hour endurance ride on the calendar, so we pushed the full Oz, plus a Great Northern loop. Clouds kept the temp in check until around 1pm. At that point, the sun scared everything out of the sky. And off the road. I think we were the only cyclists dumb enough to roll the heat of the day. You ever see a dried-up frog on the side of the road? That was me and Hoodie by the end of this roll.

dehydration victim

Sunday -  I left the house on the bike at 6am, meeting Ullrich at 6:30 at Lola. We had conflicting workout plans, so spun together for the warmup. I turned left at Lost Creek for some 3 minute intervals, and the German took it down Bee Cave. Really early, but I prefer it to a mid-day roaster.

Summer Solstice

This is it. All downhill from here. Today is the longest day of the year. Starting tomorrow, the day's will start to shorten. Imperceptibly at first. Then before you know it, October will be here. We will fall back an hour, and BOOM. Football season, tailgating, cooler weather. Ten pounds of beer and batter fat.

Dough, now is the time for vigilance. In the face of campfire-heated summer days, it's time to push the pedals. Stave off the urge for a three month siesta.

Livestrong is right around the corner. If you are not doing the century, you may need to review the Rules. #5, in particular. Plenty of time to prepare.

So, engage the gorilla. He is waiting.

Wulf Sighting

Me, Ullrich and the Wulf rolled a smooth recovery ride this am. Recovery was in order, as I was just bouncing back from a colossal over-serving of vino on Friday night. Saturday was a wasted day, leaving Father's Day as my only shot at riding this weekend.

Very pleasant roll, and great to catch up with the Wulf, who is now CFO at his division. Congrats on the promo dude! From the start, Ullrich looked a little pained, even though we were riding well within his capacity. Turns out he had some unfinished business to attend. We stopped at the la Quinta. Let's just say the Dough made their mark at the La Quinta. Probably gonna be banned from the chain for life. But Ullrich seemed happy.

Super easy spin. Only thing slower than the pace was the service at Lola, where they are still waiting for Ullrich to pay for his Whey upgrade.

Y'all have a great Father's Day!

Old School

What a crew this morning! Charlie, Blaine!, Loaf, Ullrich, AT, VJ, me, Malo!, Bergie, and Q rolled at 7am from Lola. Hoodie was a late scratch. Too much birthday libations is my bet. Happy Birthday big fella!!

Dam Loop (Spicewood Springs version).

Weather was as good as you can get in June. And no wind!! finally. Rolled a very leisurely pace to 620, when the pelo started to break up. AT, Loaf, Q and Bergie were off the front, Charlie on their heels. Me and the rest of the crowd comprising the laughing group.

I separated a bit from the guys on the dam, trying to push an even LT pace. At the top of climb1, there sits our boy Chad, wrestling with a tire puncture. I stopped to render aid. Can't leave a Chad hanging. This ain't Dade County. So I gave him a tube and a co2. Oddly, the contents of my Rapha bag were unfamiliar (it wasn't mine). Sorry Hoodie.

Cranked up the remainder of the hill to a very impatient group. They had bought a bag of ice, and let's just say it was half-melted. Did some nice pulls from there thru Anderson Mill. It was game on on Spicewood, with a lot of the pack working for good position to attack on the final bump. Bergie and Q did most of the pulling, with the rest of us just biding our time. Somehow I won the bump, but it cost me most of my matches.

360 was just a tempo ride for me, given the state of my matchbox. Bergie, Q and the Loaf busted off the front. I hear that Bergie inflicted most pain on the way home. Q and Bergie are frightening on the inclines. AT is ever the aggressor. Loaf is getting back into form, which is scary. Malo (sleeker version post 20lb weight loss) looked strong, as did VJ. Charlie and Blaine ripped the course at different points in the ride. Ullrich managed to keep his avg HR under 159, which should make his coach happy. Lotta interest in the new kits. Hoodie, time to crank up the creative machine!!

Great post roll conversation at Lola's, including an excellent Machiatto, paid for by Malo!

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/90058850