Dobovedo's Journal of Journeys

Two words: "NIGHT RIDE" All you have to do is hear them (or read them) and all sanity goes right out the window. I came home at 10 pm tonight dead tired and yawning so bad I could barely see to drive home. Was out at BW3 for a friends birthday… no big deal and it was a very early evening by my standards. But I was ready to head for bed early anyway. Then I read those two words NIGHT RIDE. Craig wants to do a night ride. As I'm reading these words my phone rings. Sarah wants to do a night ride "Are you coming?". I call Craig… "You had to go and say NIGHT RIDE, jackass". He just laughs. "So… are you coming?" Well of course I am… like I said, all sanity goes right out the window. So I put my gear on, load up the bike and head out. Casstown loop – 24 miles… very slow pace (thanks guys!) just out having a ball. Power Hugger, Egglien, Crilli (fresh from the airport and his GA trip) and me. Noteworthy move of the evening… coming up Tipp-Elizabeth, heading for the cow hill. I hop off the back and cut down Benham at the last minute, shouting: "And Dobo cuts the course.. he's gonna win the township sign!". Being the competitive lunatic that he is, Brian actually turns around on Tipp-E and comes back at me to chase me down. So I turn my lights off and cruise down the road. Never intending to actaully go for the sign, I turn right, back onto Rudy to go meet back up and do the cow hill. I hear Brian shout as he goes flying past, while I'm just laughing my ass off. Crilli will do just about anything to win a sign. He was really chasing me down. Even if I had gone for it, I think he may just have chased me down even though I had a huge lead on him. Crazy! That's 200 miles for the week and it's only Thursday (well, Friday morning actually). Good thing I don't ride on weekends! ;-)

Read more on …and 47 becomes 70…

Was only gonna ride 10 in to work today and have Cindy pick me up on our way south for birthday celebration with a friend.

But instead I left work at 3 and got in another 37! Steady crosswinds on the mind-numbingly boring Loy Rd. were excellent mental training for RAIN.

Read more on 10 becomes 47…

What a great way we are going to finish out March – definitely looks like a lamb the rest of the way and today was great. 50°+, sunny skies and very little wind. Of course it would warm up now, my vest came in the mail today! LOL.

The day started out crappy (common trend lately) with work stress, but when 3:30 rolled around I got on my duds and headed out the door. Work was forgotten before I reached the end of the driveway.

Read more on Great DAY!…

Man… people tell Craig he’s “got it bad”, but I think I may be getting there too.

So… I’m in a head shop with my buddy Ed, a long time friend and rider of a different breed: the weekend warrior type. We’re lookin’ at tie dyes and Dead t-shirts – then I’m standing at a row of T’s with cycling stuff on them. While browsing through (can’t remember what they were), I look at my watch (which I never wear) and it’s 6:11.

6:11! HOLY SHIT! I’M LATE FOR FRED’S RIDE!!!!!!!!

Read more on Late for Church…

Finally, warmer weather yesterday evening. I heard a couple people grumbling because it was “colder than what was forecast”. Who cares! It was still 10-15° warmer than the last 2 weeks. I got to ride without the parachute jacket and it was awesome. Others may disagree but it can be in the upper 40′s for the next month and I’ll be happy. [someone remind me a month from now that I wrote this and see if I still agree]

Anyway, all in all a pretty good day on the bike. Did the usual 65 mile commute/ride/commute. Fairly brisk south winds on the way to work and to Process, but I don’t complain about south winds – they bring Spring! I was real twitchy to get going on the ride since I shed the jacket and wanted to stay warmed up. Started out with JMac, Rocky and SloMo… that was probably a bit of a mistake. JMac pulled his weekly antics and rode harder than he should have. I don’t mean to be rude, but somebody really needs to get that boy laid so he stops shooting his wad out on the ride. Anyway, once Craig brought the rest of the group up to the front he played a little game with SloMo and lifted the pace quite a bit down Aginbroad. Wasn’t too bad, but I noticed quite a few on the back really had to work for a couple minutes to avoid getting gapped.

Read more on No booties!!!!!…

Crazyness… spent the day working on the Windows reinstall. Saw the snow/sleet and laughed my ass off at anyone who went out to ride.

Friday ride summary: Well, got a bit more than bargained for since there were no ‘B’ riders in sight on Friday. Egg, Crilli, PK, and Rhino were the core and I made the mistake of not staying home. Another chilly evening and we were going to get wet, but I had to ride. It’s what we do. So I headed out on the Casstown loop and stayed with the group for about 2/3 of the ride, thanks to some help in various places from Craig and also Brian. Although it was Brian who was feeling good that night and wanted to go. More power to ya man! I hopped off the back for an easier ‘recovery spin’ for the finish down Rudy but also made up the milage by going up Pisgah. All in all a good ride. It was cold, it was wet but who cares, we stole another one.

Read more on ‘rest’ day…

Hee hee.. that may have been the longest 65 miles I have ridden in a while. The original plan was to ride from Troy after work, but since I worked from h0me I decided to ride all the way. Craig, I gotta give you credit, you tried to tell me. But I layered up and headed out anyway. The ride to Process was fine, just cruisin’ along at a reasonable pace. However, on Wednesdays when it’s not ideal weather you have to make a choice: dress approapriately for a hard ride with the big dogs if you want to stay with the group. I keep forgetting that there are seldom any slower riders out when it’s only in the 30′s. So my choice was really to just keep cruisin’ in the windsail and 1000 pounds of clothing.

The cows took off (like they do) and the Power Pflum’s outdistanced me quickly as well, even though they didn’t start out with the larger group. Fortunately one of our missing in action came out after a couple weeks off. Things may be a little awkward right now, but I was glad to have Sis’s company on the White Loop. We chatted about dogs, work and, of course, bikes, and I really didn’t do much but just maintain the pace. Issues aside, everybody should be riding their bikes!

Read more on 20 too many?…

Wow, what a crap day for first day of spring. We got March backwards this year – in like a Lamb and apparently out like a Lion. And snow on the way. Crazy!

Not to spend too much time whining, but I am really starting to get tired of putting on so many layers, especially booties and wind-proof jackets that act like sails. Now I see why Craig takes winter as a personal insult. I did my best to pull tonight, but it’s like doing twice as much work. Looking at the 10-day, I guess I’ll go ahead and buy a vest after all. Was going to wait ’til next fall, but with 2 day shipping I’ll be able to use it for a while yet this spring.

Read more on First Day of Spring! NOT!!!…