Are We Now a Drinking Group???

staying out of the rain

In a weird twist of CRC riding, we almost had as many non-riders show up tonight as we had riders.   Some of the smarter CRC riders saw the forecast and opted not to get soaking wet, instead chose to wait at Ali's for the rest of the crew.  Nice to see some first time riders out this year.  Jeremy..... oops Jer just showed up with this chips.  Ian and Jim finally made an appearance.  Although based on their summer schedules, that may be the last we see of them for a while.  There was discussion tonight of the Michigan game.... so stay tuned.  Definitely a September game.  I think we are good for beer for the next couple of weeks as both Jim and Ian brought beer this week.

Amazing Video

Check out this video of a guy with a GoPro on that gets hit by a car.  He lands on his feet.   Now, if only Ali could do this....

CRC in the News

Congratulations to Mark for getting his pretty face in the news helping out at the Kids of Steel camp.  Too bad he wasn't wearing his CRC jersey.  Also, kind of looks like he is pointing Ali in the correct direction.....

Dave leading the overall standings... what the?

     It was easily the best ride of the summer to date.  Mark, Ali, Roberto, Dave and Jay enjoyed the pristine trail conditions, the crisp breeze of the summer evening and a new section of trail. The biking Gods looked down on us and smiled for a change.
Nice of Craig to show up after with one bag of chips to gain his half point and provide some witty banter, well not much but some. The real question begs to be asked.... where are the rest of CRC???
     Rumour has it Ian is lost somewhere between Pontiac and Pinkney, Jer is getting a tryout with the Toledo Mudhens, Smitty riding trail in Boyne ( more likely enjoying the water park), Scott preparing the cottage for our arrival, Liam working too hard, Rusty out with a bad back or likely strained labia, Arthur nursing some weak injury (good one), which leaves Jim and Moose battling it out on Thursdays.

     Thanks again to Ali for hosting, Rob for the beer and chips and the cool summer night.  Let's think about a summer evening night ride, or a trip to Island Lake to look for Ian soon.

Take care gents and keep your wheels on the trail.  Next up for beer is Ian and/or Jim H.

Mr. Heat.

Hail to the Kings

After some weak picture sent by Craig, we were hardly inspired to ride.  However, well done to Smitty and Marky Mark for road riding and keeping the ride streak alive. As for the rest of us... well next week it is. Good job to Dave, Jay and Ali for getting half points and drinking the ROCK!

Look at the beer list and think about that State side ride to look for Ian.

Until next week, keep on keeping on.

Mr. Heat.

And then there were Four....

   
Finally we were able to get out on the trails tonight.  Despite the fact that a couple of riders showed up ready to ride the road, we convinced them to try the trails.  We kept to the North side of the tracks and it was ok.  We didn't even venture to the other side.  From there we hit Malden which was in ok shape also.  We did get in a two hour ride and 30 km.
    However, not to say the ride wasn't without a few issues.  First issue..... Ali's ass.  See previous post.  Ok, we can cut him some slack, but did we really have to hear about the sores on his ass from the weekend.??? Anyways, apparently his ass wasn't healed yet and with no one offering to put the chamois butter on for him, it was an early exit for Ali.
   Second casualty was Dave.  Apparently his tune up did not include checking the gears because every time we hit a hill, Dave's gears would skip.  After awhile we got to learn the precise moment when Dave's chest would hit the handlebars and his knee the frame.  After a couple of hills and many swear words later, Dave was done for the night.
    Beer order is a little off due to lack of riding and such.  Here is the beer order thus far.  While I believe there should be enough beer (Ali?) for another week, next up would be Jim H.  If Jim is not riding, then it would be Ian.  Since both have been AWOL this year, not sure.   Rob and I are away next week and out for beer.  You guys can coordinate it.  Also, I have removed some people from the beer list since it doesn't look like they are riding this year.
    There was talk of a Michigan ride next week.  Stay tuned to emails.

Congratulations Ali!!!

Just in case you haven't heard, Ali completed an amazing feat this past weekend.  He rode 615 km in two days in the Bruce region.  This was part of the Randonneurs in Huron County.  Here is a brief description of what Randonneur cycling is all about.

"Randonneur cycling", sometimes called marathon cycling, can mean something a little different to every rider. For some it is like long distance touring at a moderate pace while enjoying scenic roadways. For others the sport offers a challenge to pursue faster times and greater distances. The rides are non-competitive in nature often characterized by cooperation and camaraderie between riders.  Randonnée, a French word for ramble or tour, describes a long-distance cycling event where the participants follow a prescribed route within certain time limits as checked at control points along the way. Riders, called randonneurs, cannot receive support, except at the designated control points, so each rider must be prepared for mechanical mishaps, changes in weather, and so on.

Here is an excerpt of one rider's description of her day in the saddle....

Saturday morning, 5:00 AM, ten cyclists headed out to take on this 600 kilometer brevet.  For six of the ten, it was their first 600 kilometer brevet ever!  Not all ten would make it.  There is 3,900 meters of climbing on this ride - almost 13,000 feet.  Most of the climbing is done in the first 300 kilometers.  It would appear that everyone made it through that.  The last 100 kms going west to the overnight control in Wiarton, was a battle with the wind as well as the hills.  The five cyclists from Windsor stayed at a different motel and the two groups did not connect again.  John Maccio, Stan Shurlayov, Carey Chappelle with Rookie Chris Cossonnet and myself, headed out from Wiarton at 4:00 am.  A beautiful morning and no more hills to climb, we headed 40 kms northwest to Lion's Head.  And then.....we went south, sometimes southeast, sometimes southwest, but always south.  Into the wind.  All day.  With building heat and humidity.  All day long.  No point talking because you couldn't hear each other because of the screaming wind in your ears.  All the livelong day!  Endless headwind.  Just making it to the controls with little time to spare.  Looking down at my cycle computer, I began to make calculations on what I would need to maintain if I were to finish in time.  With 100 kms to go, I realized I would not make it.  Very disappointing.  Carey was ahead of me, and I hoped he would make it.  Both my knees were aching and I could barely stand up on my pedals to go up the slightest hill.  John Maccio and Rookie Chris caught up to me as I was walking up a hill while eating my last wrap with Nutella and cheese.  I told them that I did not think that mathematically we could make it in time.  John totally disagreed with me - just maintain 15 km/hr he said, and we can make it.  This gave me hope and I eased my painful arse back into the saddle, clipped my shoes back into the pedals, ignored my throbbing knees, put my head down and carried on.  In Lucknow, 35 kms from the end, Stan and I met up and we carried on together.  With almost 3 hours of time left, we felt hopeful we might finish in time.  We did.  Total of 39 hours and 18 minutes.  John Maccio said that except for PBP 2007, this was the hardest ride he had ever done.  Asking Stan what he thought of the ride, all he could do was nod his head and say "Yes"   It was a loaded "yes", full of wisdom and experience - if you know Stan, you can hear him say it, with his smile and the pain in his eyes.  Chris, the Rookie, completing his Series, he was just glad he made it.  Carey had already checked in and left.  As for the 5 cyclists from Windsor.....we are still waiting to hear their story.  I'm sure it's a good one!  Brouse's Beach Browser - the hills are one thing, but I always knew that if there was a South wind on the 2nd day, that would be the ultimate challenge.

Well done Ali!!!