Saturday group rides are always fun. They promise infinite variety, from the rider mix, (and who is in form), to the weather (wind, rain) to the course selection (hills, road conditions, etc). OK, maybe not infinite, but there are enough variables to elicit the sensation of infinity when considering how one ride stacks up against another.
As fun as every ride is, today's ride will be hard to beat. The weather was nearly perfect, temps ranging from 55 at the start to 65 at the finish. The crew was salty and highly personable. The track was buttery and rolling nearly the entire route, Lola to the Olive Grove on Fitzhugh, and back. Winds in our face on the out leg rewarded us with some great tailwind on the return.
Add to that some immediate additions to HCD lore (a Buddy the Elf Impersonation), great conversation the whole ride, plus just the right amount of hammertime, and you have our ride.
Me, Ullrich, VJ, MC, Scheibs, Frank (aka the "Evil Wiener"), The Dykes Whisperer, Shannon and Hoodie comprised the HCD Pelo today. Shannon is an HCD virgin, sporting a b'dass Pinarello Paris. Matte Black, Carbon Rims. Very nice. Looked like Scheib's Bike's Italian Cousin.
Good to have the Evil Wiener back in the group, post dog incident. Oh yeah, no hellhounds on today's route, further adding to the greatness of the ride.
Nice and easy spin out 360 to SW pkwy to Travis Cook. Happened on a group of middle aged dads. .We dropped them pretty quickly, but in a very non confrontational manner. I mean no disrespect, but come on. What chance to middle aged dads have against the HCD?
Ran up on some Circle C riders on Fitzhugh. They proved slightly more formidable, creating a rift in the pelo as the usual suspects (Dykes playing the role of Keyser Sose') made a point of hopping to the front of their group ride. Some strong riders in that pack. A Masters National Champ and another State Champ. They were disinterested in conversating with such a band of misfits, so we let them go at 12 and Fitzhugh, resorbing the gruppetto and rolling nice and easy (mostly) to our turnaround spot, Texas Hill Country Olive Company.
While waiting for the guys to accumulate in the parking lot, we saw our coach, KL riding the other direction with what I presumed was one of his pupils. Here was my reaction:
Maybe there was a little too much excitement in my salutation "HEY KEVIN!! KEVIN!!" Sorry, but he is kind of a big deal. The ultimate irony here? He was riding with some guy named Lance. Both of them waved at me, but I think I cost KL a little street cred with his boy. Sorry Coach. By the way, what's your favorite color?
The lovely Melissa at THCOC greeted us warmly, opening the doors a little early for us. She brewed up some java and plied us with sugary snacks (cookies and pecan pie). Dykes feared some Grimm Fairy Tale subplot, which proved false. That place is pretty cool. We had lost Frank and Scheibs at this point, both pulling the rip cord somewhere on Fitzhugh whilst slow cooking in the gruppetto.
The way back was a total blast. Nice tempo until we got to the trailer park jailbreak (Inigo Stage), whereupon Dykes opened a large can of whoopass, and the rest of us tried to form a coalition to shovel our way out of the Dykes-induced shite-storm. But it was just a 10-ish minute knife fight, and as such did not unspool anyone too severely. Veej hung tough, and Ullrich was smiling the whole way.
Great roll back to Lola, and some excellent Slowing at the coffee shop.
As fun as every ride is, today's ride will be hard to beat. The weather was nearly perfect, temps ranging from 55 at the start to 65 at the finish. The crew was salty and highly personable. The track was buttery and rolling nearly the entire route, Lola to the Olive Grove on Fitzhugh, and back. Winds in our face on the out leg rewarded us with some great tailwind on the return.
Add to that some immediate additions to HCD lore (a Buddy the Elf Impersonation), great conversation the whole ride, plus just the right amount of hammertime, and you have our ride.
Me, Ullrich, VJ, MC, Scheibs, Frank (aka the "Evil Wiener"), The Dykes Whisperer, Shannon and Hoodie comprised the HCD Pelo today. Shannon is an HCD virgin, sporting a b'dass Pinarello Paris. Matte Black, Carbon Rims. Very nice. Looked like Scheib's Bike's Italian Cousin.
Good to have the Evil Wiener back in the group, post dog incident. Oh yeah, no hellhounds on today's route, further adding to the greatness of the ride.
Nice and easy spin out 360 to SW pkwy to Travis Cook. Happened on a group of middle aged dads. .We dropped them pretty quickly, but in a very non confrontational manner. I mean no disrespect, but come on. What chance to middle aged dads have against the HCD?
Ran up on some Circle C riders on Fitzhugh. They proved slightly more formidable, creating a rift in the pelo as the usual suspects (Dykes playing the role of Keyser Sose') made a point of hopping to the front of their group ride. Some strong riders in that pack. A Masters National Champ and another State Champ. They were disinterested in conversating with such a band of misfits, so we let them go at 12 and Fitzhugh, resorbing the gruppetto and rolling nice and easy (mostly) to our turnaround spot, Texas Hill Country Olive Company.
While waiting for the guys to accumulate in the parking lot, we saw our coach, KL riding the other direction with what I presumed was one of his pupils. Here was my reaction:
Hey Dad! It's Me! Buddy!!
Maybe there was a little too much excitement in my salutation "HEY KEVIN!! KEVIN!!" Sorry, but he is kind of a big deal. The ultimate irony here? He was riding with some guy named Lance. Both of them waved at me, but I think I cost KL a little street cred with his boy. Sorry Coach. By the way, what's your favorite color?
The lovely Melissa at THCOC greeted us warmly, opening the doors a little early for us. She brewed up some java and plied us with sugary snacks (cookies and pecan pie). Dykes feared some Grimm Fairy Tale subplot, which proved false. That place is pretty cool. We had lost Frank and Scheibs at this point, both pulling the rip cord somewhere on Fitzhugh whilst slow cooking in the gruppetto.
HCD, reflecting a typical elevation profile on Fitzhugh
Pardon me, would you like to partake of my Pecan Pie?
Great roll back to Lola, and some excellent Slowing at the coffee shop.
