Today marked the start of our Fall Membership drive. Left a little early this morning to ensure no snags. On the way in, I passed a lady wearing a clown nose. At 7:30am. How bizarre. Couldn't determine whether that promised good or dark tidings.
We promised a rockin' HCD Tshirt to everyone that showed up for today's roll. Apparently people like gimme shirts. Turnout was excellent. VJ, me, Chuck, Dan K, Ullrich, Malo, TdF Kevin, Z, Dan P, Sam H, Hoodie, Yeti, Rey, Kevin L, and his two friends, Astana Tom (aka Vino) and Tri-girl, who looked like she could bury us all.
Chuck was rockin' a new Madone. Internal routing, beefy downtube. Nice rig Chuck!
As I said, I got up early to make sure I was there early. I packed everything. Well almost everything. Left without my jersey. Dumbass of the Year award. Check out my sweet STAR WARS Shirt at the start of the ride.
Excellent Crew!
Thanks to VJ, Z and Ullrich for toting my pocket-gear. Made for a turbulent start to the roll, as I hoofed it (accompanied by Rey and VJ) to my house for my black kit. Burned a few matches early, while the rest of the Dough traded recipes and enjoyed the cool fall morning. VJ bore the brunt of the carnage, as he popped off the back as we chased down the pack post-shirt change. Sorry Veej.
Down Veej, Rey and I re-engaged at the high school hill on 620. Shortly after hooking on, Dan P went off the front. Just like old times! Z joined him up there, and I was happy to let em go. Not so with Hoodie. Once he went off, it was go time. Lively but manageable pace to the dam. Absent in the games was KL, who probably hadn't even noticed a change in speed. Rey, on the other hand, was working the front like an animal. Unleash the Furry Rey!! On the dam climb we ticked it up a notch. I pulled the first third, Rey 2nd wheel, KL 3rd (checking his email, playing words with friends, etc). More guys behind him, but I can't speak to order. I know Tyler and Hoodie were back there. Rey took over pace duties from there, and took us up the second third, and into climb 3 after the Steiner light. As the grade turned up, Rey sat up a bit, looking for someone to share the load. I obliged by blowing past him. Not the Christian thing to do, but it was fun nonetheless. Note that I paid for this effort on 360. But what the hell. Got outta the saddle and rode all but KL and some random Austin Bike dude off the wheel. As I crested Comanche Peak, KL saunters past me with a smile that could only mean something like "Sorry dude, but I PISS excellence". Austin Bikes guy followed him. I guess he shares that urinary tract issue. Oh well.
Regrouped at Walgreens. Veej caught back on!
Kevin and his teacher's pets
Rey and Yeti sharing a giggle. In the background,
Dan contemplates a replay of his infamous clean pinch...
We all stuck together on 620 to Spicewood. Descent to Spicewood was, as Rey put it, totally sketch. Tyler and Dan K decided to do the hustle at 40 mph. Remarkably it did not end in tragedy. Nice handling, at least after the bump. I wanna say thanks, since I was about 15 yards behind it, and would have certainly experienced an Airborne Toxic Event had they gone down.
On a lighter note, Spicewood was a blast! Lotta guys at the front (mostly Rey) made for a 26mph gash. Took a toll on me, burning my last strong match of the day. Nice pulls from Ullrich, Hoodie and Tyler!!
On 360 KL decided to step up the pace. From my vantage point, all I can say is Rey and Vino looked strong. Tried to hang on, but just wasn't up for the suffering. By the time I was reloaded, they was R-U-N-N-O-F-T. Hoodie had reeled my back in and I was happy for the pacesetting.
Some great conversation at Lola. Z was there waiting for us, having bombed Tumbleweed instead of hitting the full course. Lola was a blast. I passed out some PedalHard coupons to the team. Still have some if anyone is interested in checking out the studio.
Thanks to all for coming out. Hoodie hits Levi's King Ridge Gran Fondo next week. He put in 5 hours today! What a beast! Good luck next week Big Fella! Looking forward to the debrief!
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