Is Sunday September 3 good for this ride?? Helen will drive the support vehicle again.

I have had that date reserved for awhile now, so should be a go for me.
 
[img:7c60f52a7e]http://www.team-pinnacle.org/albums/bc_personal/120x90.png[/img:7c60f52a7e]

Sorry Chris, I'm sure you're dying to get me out on a long punishing road ride, maybe next year.

Ken is dying for a little road punishment, perhaps you can get him out for the ride?

Come on Ryan ... it will be fun.

Chris

P.S. Boy ... it is hard work keeping up with this message board.

I'm interested. I might be a little slow, but as long as I have directions I should be all set. I will see about getting the whole day to ride, if you guys don't mind.
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

Unfortunately even if I had wanted to, I'm out of town Labor Day weekend. Besides I don't have time for a long road ride, I have wheelbarrow training to do. :D

For KWiley ;
if you hit the Maine, Vermont or Canadian borders you will have gone to far.

I'll just strap a Tom Tom to my bike and i'll be all set.

I can try to keep up, see how long I last, and then head back to the car before I die.
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

Would Helen mind some company?? My wife loves going up north and riding around. She might like to ride along and get pictures.
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

Now that we have a date set for the leisurely ride around the Whites, can we talk KOM, Sprint Points and Overall Classification?



KOM (based on 5 riders) 5,4,3,2,1
Sprints (town lines) same 5,4,3,2,1
Overall- Most points wins.

What does the crew say? The rain chances are slimmer only 40%

If everyone bails, I want to know so I can ride tomorrow.

PJ

I'm still in
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

I am still in too. A little ride tomorrow won't hurt though. Isn't that what rain suits are for?

We should have an official count of those in and out for Sunday. Looks like 40% chance the entire day with 5-6 mph winds temp in 60's. If this day is a no go how many can go on Monday.

I can go on either day. maybe we should do it bothe days. just kidding.

Dan

I can make it Sunday, but not Monday.
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

Well all you guys that melt in the rain missed a great time. PJ, Ken and I road the full distance with support vehicle driven by Helen it really was a fun time. PJ and I told Ken that since it was his first White Mountain ride and since he was lacking in seniority that he would be responsible for writing the official race log on this board. He was drafting ideas all the way home so we should all expect great things soon.
Dan

Quick review. Longer review coming tomorrow.

First time that I have hurt that much, been that cold and that uncomfortable and could still say that I had a blast.

Worst parts were the having my heart rate monitor stolen, last couple miles of Kancamagus and the last few hundred yards of Crawford Notch.

Best parts of the ride were getting to the top of Kanc, getting to the top of Crawford and beating PJ in 2 sprints.
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

OK, here is my attempt at a long review

First off, this was my first White Mountains ride and I can't wait to do it again. To start out, we make it to Lincoln, unload everything, get changed, and then I get my HR monitor stolen. Not the best start, but hey, atleast its not raining. We get on our bike, start to ride out, and it starts pouring. DOH!! Oh well, we keep riding and we finally make it out of the rain and start up the Kanc. Were going up and up and up, ect.... I am able to stay with PJ and Dan for awhile, but then I lose em. I just keep pedaling feeling positive that I am never going to see the top of this mountain. After a few more minutes I am riding in the clouds and I just keep going up. I see Helen (I can not say thank you enough for Helen and the support vehicle) and she tells me that I am almost at the top. This helps me put a little more energy into my legs, I push a little harder and finally make it to the top. I looked around for a second, but I could not see Dan, PJ or anything else for that matter because of the cloud coverage. I just assume they are at the bottom, so I start heading down. I tucked and flew the whole way down the mountian, what a blast. Finally, after about 5 miles Helen pulls over on the side of the road and stops me. I tell her that I have been flying for about 5 miles and just could not catch up to PJ and Dan. She lets me know that they are way up the mountain. They had stopped at the top to wait for me, but because of the clouds we couldn't see each other. So, Helen and I wait for Dan and PJ. They finally make it to the bottom, Dan changes into some warmer clothes, we refuel and then we are off again. At this point I am feeling pretty good, but also pretty sure that I could not climb another mountain like the Kanc. I ask PJ which Notch is the worst and he tells me Bear Notch, which is coming up next. Fortunately he was wrong and Bear Notch turned out to be about as difficult as Oak Street hill. After Bear notch we get onto some long rolling flats. We also get a mixture of Rain, sprinkles and just lots of clouds. I manage to beat PJ on a sprint and we just have a nice fast ride, till we get to Crawford Notch. OUCH!!!!!! The last few hundred yards of that mountain are nasty, but I didn't have to get off my bike and I was only a few hundred yards behind PJ and Dan. We get to the top, take a break, freeze a little, look as some nice pictures of Alaska and we are off again. The ride down had a mixture of very hard cross winds and even SUN. Thats right, SUN. Things start to dry out and for a ways PJ, Dan and I are able to draft and make some really good time. On another town line sprint, I manage to catch PJ, pass him and beat him to the town line. When we make it to the bike path, things are still pretty dry and the temperature is perfect. After we are on the bike path for awhile, the rain starts up again. Flying around the corners with wet leaves and twigs all over the place was a little scarry, but fun. Well, we make it through the bike path and back to where we began, just another 79 miles on my new bike. We get changed, get some food and head home. Definitely a day to remember.

So, I managed to stay with PJ and Dan except for the Kanc and Crawford, won a couple sprints and just had a great day.

Now, for PJ and Dans reviews.

Thanks again to Helen for the support vehicle and Dan and PJ for not calling off the ride.
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

Things I learned on this ride.

1. It is a waste of time to follow the weather radar several days in advance of a ride if you are riding anyway.

2. When it is 5am the morning of the ride and your wife says "so do you guys really like riding in the rain" and you say "sure" you hope she believes you.

3. Cars with turn signals on for the left sometimes turn right.

4. People will steal anything. Even heart rate monitors without the chest strap to make it work.

5. PJ won't say I quit first. Neither will I.

6. Twentyfour yearolds come on strong when they start training.

7. New wind socks let water in and not out.

8. Red blinking lights clipped onto a tool bag and a yellow rain jacket lend a new level of confidence to riding in the fog and rain. Except your riding partners always want you in the rear.

9. Drafting in the rain really sucks.

10. Octoberfest is now available in pitchers in N. Woodstock.

Photos are up - what a great time I had taking them. :D

H

[url]http://www.team-pinnacle.org/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=whitemountains06[/url]
 
It doesn't matter where you go in life .... it's who you have beside you.

I had cramps, I stayed out late the night before, I forgot to put air in my tires, I didn't eat breakfast, my ankle hurt, I couldn't see the signs........alright so Ken beat me in a couple sprints big deal. He beat all you lazy slugs too, you didn't even show up.

I did outdrink him at the bar, though. I am sure Ken was a bit tipsy when he included me in an "old guys" comment.

Great ride, Helen rocked with support. I drank only 1 bottle of water and a bottle and half of gatorade for the 80 miles, so the temp was perfect. No cramps, not really even tired. My longest ride to date was the Springfield loop.

The wind atop Crawford notch was blowing at 40-50, but it was at our backs going up that last hill. The Kanc climb was great. Got fogged in at the top and lost Dan in the woods during a pee stop and missed Ken on the downhill.

Ideas were tossed around for next year. Top to bottom NH ride? a 2-day affair. Maybe finding the 6 gaps in Vermont (at least the tar ones).

Thanks Dan for driving the car, and the paceline, Helen for supporting including GPS navigation, I-River Stones tunes, Pictures and seeing her find pleasure in our pain. Thanks Ken for giving me Winter training inspiration, and by the way, I stole your watch.

PJ

That's nice!! Guessing you didn't want me to see my HR because I probably would have slowed down. I guess people don't lose there ability to pull a prank as they get old!!

Did you know about the HR monitor Dan??
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

No I did not know about it. But I am sure that PJ did it for your own good. Not wanting you to be hauling all that extra weight up those mountains and worrying about what your HRM is saying. If you would have been wearing it just that weight alone may have prevented you from beating PJ in a town line sprint. So you should thank him.
D

Thanks PJ for ridding me of that excess weight.

Another lesson learned:

- If its your first group ride, don't leave anything lying around that you might want with you during the ride.
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

ohh yeah, and don't swim with Sting Rays
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

There have been 17 reported stingray related deaths worldwide since 1860.

There have been 47,000 cycling related deaths in the US alone since 1932.

Ride on
 
[img:7c60f52a7e]http://www.team-pinnacle.org/albums/bc_personal/120x90.png[/img:7c60f52a7e]

Good job with the photos, Gadget.

I think they captured the essence of what a truly awful day for riding it was, and yet all three persevered for 79 miles and with smiles.

PJ, What was the total time and riding time for this ride? I don't remember.
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

Thank you PJ for posting the loop, map, and your time info. Anyone interested can find it here: [url]http://www.team-pinnacle.org/local-loops/loop.php?loopID=159®ion=15&sport=1[/url].

Ryan

Thanks PJ. Watch works great.
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini