How do you spell casual / recovery ride?

if you ride for roll: you spell it nineteen mph for forty-one miles. 

teamroll: Thursday Night Ride by fdaugherty at Garmin Connect - Details

 So I show up for the Thursday night ride with roll:  There were only six of us and as I was looking around I noticed that I was clearly the slowest.  This is never good, it was even more so today because Wednesday was pretty hard on me with a 38 mile day at 19 mph, 10 mph winds and 23 of those miles were on my own because I got dropped.  Why did I get dropped?  Easy I got 5 hours sleep, riding with fast people and I spent too much time on the front given the circumstances. 

New Rule: when riding with stronger people let them take long pulls, tuck in and try and stay on.


The Thursday night rides are the casual, no-one-gets-dropped ride.  These are the rides I like, because we do have a couple sprints to stretch the legs and get the HR up.  But at the end of the day the group stays together.  There were only six of us, Heidi had a problem with her rear tire, so we rode over to Jim's house to swap out the rear tire.  Then we were off on the ride heading up and through Galena at around 23-26 mph.

We rode over to Red Bank to climb the hill on Red Bank road.  I believe it is about 4.7% average grade, but only about 0.42 miles long.  I was up front on the decline heading on the base we hit base of the hill at 29 mph.  Its simple physics, the big guy goes down hill fast.  I was traveling at almost 30 mph and within 0.42 miles and about 2 minutes I was down to 10 mph with a HR at 171.  It is always amazing to me at how fast one's HR can peak.


We regrouped at the top, because I was the last one up.  The good news is my pull was over soon.  We continued to keep a brisk pace west hovering right around 20 mph only slowing for intersections. At one point, I was beginning to think that I needed a little breather to grab some water - then I heard the bark that sounded like it came from Cujo. I looked over and saw a Rottweiler coming out to greet us.  All of the sudden I had legs again. If only for a few moments to clear Cujo's property line.


Hartford Road heading west is probably one of the greatest road in Central Ohio.  It is a gradual down hill run when heading west.  Tonight there was no wind, we had Mike up front with a good strong cadence and we maintained a 24-25 mph pace.  It was at this point, were I had to laugh.  I was forth person back, tucked away nicely with a cadence round 100 with 33 miles behind me.  My thighs were starting to burn, breath was a little labored, and I think I heard my calves say,  "yeah have your fun now, but we're waking you ass up around 3:30 this morning and don't you dare say a word when we do."  Then I look up and see Heidi pull out her phone to read a text message.  I am hanging on, barely, and feeling good about it between gasps and she is planning a picnic via text.


Lessons learned: 
1) Fast riders make you faster. 
2) Strong riders make you stronger. 
3) Good teammates will smack you around a little if you are wussing out, but always have your back if you get in a spot of bother.
4) Strong riders who are humble and encouraging to others is rare, and we have a lot of them.

5) I am one lucky dude to know good people to ride with and this team even makes the pain fun.

teamroll:'s Frey Daddy featured in the Pelotonia Blog

The Return of Frey Daddy

June 15, 2010
Filed under: Rider Profiles — The Rider @ 6:01 AM

Jim Frey took a little vacation from cycling … 10 years!

“It’s great to be riding again,” he said of his return, which included the inaugural Pelotonia along with several of his new bike buddies on Teamroll:, who affectionately call him Frey Daddy. “I’m so glad I started up again and I’m sorry I was out of it for so long.”

Read the whole entry here:  http://www.pelotonia.org/ride/blog.jsp

The Great Canadian Cyclists Exam

I dont know if I should laugh or be offended.

We realize car drivers and cyclists don’t always get along, but that doesn’t mean they can’t share a laugh. Would you pass our tongue-in-cheek exam?

As everyone who suffered through one knows, motorists are required to pass a driver’s exam. They must demonstrate a minimum competence and show they can safely navigate our country’s streets and highways.

Cyclists need no licence. You hop on your bike and off you go.

It’s strange because a bicycle is a vehicle in the same way that a bow and arrow is a weapon. A gun, like an automobile, is the more dangerous of the two but the fact that a bow and arrow is powered by a person doesn’t mean it’s completely harmless. Irresponsible or incompetent handling can render it deadly. So why not test cyclists? At least make them answer a few questions to show they know the difference between a green and yellow light?

So, in the interests of public safety, Road Sage presents the first Great Canadian Cyclists Exam.

Circle the correct answer.

1. You encounter the following sign. You …

a) Report it to police. I don’t care what the fancy pants art critics say, graffiti is a crime.
b) What? I can’t hear you. I’ve got my iPod on.
c) If by “stop” you mean “keeping going” then yes, I “stop.”

2. What lane of the roadway should you ride in before making a left turn?

a) The far left lane in my direction unless signs or pavement markings inform me otherwise.
b) The lane I’m in. Unless I’m changing lanes and then the lane I’m going into.
c) Whatever’s free, you know, I’m not bound by corporate constraints.
d) I can do it from any lane. Wanna see?

3. A car is 50 yards in front of you signalling that it is about to make a right turn. What should you do?

a) Bust ass pedalling as fast as I can and then blow by the right side of the car screaming “WATCH WHERE YOU’RE GOING A**HOLE!”
b) All of the above.

4. When approaching a motorist in your lane the safest action to take is ...

a) Drive onto the sidewalk and swerve through some people and then pop this awesome jump back onto the road.
b) Try to squeeze by. Put your foot on the car if it’s stopped. Push off and try to get out in front.
c) What the f**k is that car doing on the road?
d) Spit.

5. You encounter the following sign. It indicates…

a) Silhouette crossing.
b) Caution: Reductivist artists at work.
c) Pedestrian are permitted.
d) Pedestrian are permitted – to kiss my bicycle-sculpted ass!

6. Never attempt to make a lane change in traffic until you are sure that you have …

a) Failed to do a shoulder check.
b) Made a swirly gesture with one of your arms.
c) Made sure you are not wearing a helmet.
d) Begun making it already.

7. You are wearing gorgeous racing gear. You look HOT. You …

a) Speed though the streets of Saskatoon and then through the Cranberry Flats pretending to be racing the Tour de France then head back to your place to watch the Nurse Jackie episode you PVR-ed, eat a ripe mango and then pleasure yourself.
b) Speed through the streets of Vancouver pretending to race the Tour de France then ride to Kitsilano and have vegetarian food at The Naam. Get home, watch the UFC

c) Speed through the streets of Toronto pretending to be racing the Tour de France then stop by Cherry Beach and pleasure yourself. Head home and watch The Sopranos on HD DVD. Think: Tony Soprano takes antidepressants. Why shouldn’t I?

8. You’re bicycling up hill, your four-year-old son in a bike carriage rigged behind your vintage bike. You’re talking on your cellphone, you’re wearing flip-flops and you’re not wearing a helmet. This is okay because …

a) Though I despise motorists, I trust them and their skills enough to weave in and out of traffic taxiing my child around in a carriage that sits on two small bike wheels and is constructed from netting and wire.
b) Look at me! Look at me!
c) The time my child spends staring at my ass while I bicycle is quality time.

9. It is January and a storm warning is in effect. Conditions are treacherous. Snow piling up. The roads are slick. You …

a) Throw on your Mountain Equipment Co-op Gear and get on the road. You have a life to endanger!
b) Time make winter your b*tch. Down a Red Bull, slap on a tuque and start biking. This will look so good on YouTube.
c) This is the 12th step. Facing fear. Climb onto your rusty steed and with great trepidation roll down the frozen labyrinth but first apologize to everyone you’ve ever wronged.

10. You see a sign that reads “Collector moving very well. Express moving well.” It indicates …

a) You are hallucinating.

What’s your score?
Answers: If you answered B you are correct. B is always correct because B is for bicycle and bicyclists are always right. That’s the first rule of cycling.

So this is how it is done.

I think that I have finally found out how Heidi et al are so strong on their bikes, how they can so easily ride away from me, power up hills, and etc. Surely this is the reason, yes?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nd13ARuvVE&feature=player_embedded

Certainly it is the motor -- surely it can't be training, diet, hard work or the fact that they are just plain ole heads and tails better than me -- can it be?

Dumbest Product of the Month: THE WORLD’S MOST ADVANCED BICYCLE

It’s time to throw away all your old bicycles because I now present to you THE WORLD’S MOST ADVANCED BICYCLE. Found at Inhabitat, this bike was designed by F1 race car tech company BERU and it shows.

Are you ready for this?

It’s inspired in part by car racing tech, and from the description it sounds like I’d probably need my own team of mechanics to ride it. The cost is a bit out there, too, at around $35,000.

This bike has features like a GPS system, heart rate monitor built in, ceramic brakes, a hydraulic braking system, full carbon frame (naturally!), and weighs in at about 15 pounds - bummer on that last part, but it is full of enough high-tech gear to make any geek happy, bike or otherwise.

The best thing is the price. It’s only 20,000 British Pounds, which, hey, because of the economy, is all the way back down to around $27,000. Better start saving.