Cruzbike Chris
Well-Known Member
Not a Calvin's Challenge or 20k Climb of the Devil Mountain Double but 2 days of consecutive event riding my Silvio was a new one for me. Respect to all you racers, don't know how you guys/gals do it.
DAY 1: Saturday was a early start 7am so right up my alley. I was hoping for clear skies and sunshine but no such luck, not happening today. It started off with strong north head winds and a fine mist for most of the first half of the 83 miles. I was lucky enough though to start up front due to my wife working for the title sponsor SAM's club so that was nice. For the first 5 miles or so of struggling with the head wind to see through my Giro shaded (will remember the clear one for next time) shield in the dreary skies and mist was not much fun. But I was up front and the lead motorcycles were all around me protecting me and opening up all the intersections for clear sailing. I finally saw the “A” group behind me after they formed up and weeded out the slow pokes and coming up on me pretty fast. I was watching my GPS pretty close as I am not a racer by no means, so was trying to hold my power down to below 170 for a long day of riding. I moved over slightly and let them all get by, more than I could count, over 40 or so. I latched on to the back as the only Bent rider there. Most of you know the stares from the left, yea I could hear the grumbling all the way to the back. I hung on for the better part of the first 25 miles averaging right at 19mph or so and watching all the others fall off way before me. I would have not dropped had it not been for a misplaced and unsecured ride number attached to the rear triangle getting caught up in my back wheel, sounded like when I was a kid clothes pinning a bicycle playing card on my old Schwinn fork to make a motorcycle noise. (insert old man joke here) I slowed considerably to reach back, not stopping and grap the number without loosing a finger or 2, ripping what was left of my number out and putting it in my rear pocket. I of course lost the group and by then there wasn't a soul around me for several miles that I could see. Thanks to the cold, rain, wind and loosing my hold on the lead pack of course now I had to pee too. Getting old is not fun I tell you.
I did get a hold of a couple of DF bikes but could not really ride with them as they would coast down the hills and I like to capitalize on the advantage and roll down so I pedal to try and keep my power output steady. They probably didn't like that but a mile of two down it didn't matter because they were nowhere to be seen. The wind never let up out of the NNW exactly the direction I was heading all morning for nearly 40 miles. I finally made the turn to head south with a nice tail wind and hit a really rough road, I mean rough as in unpaved hard packed dirt road for nearly 5 miles. The last ¼ mile was so rought I thought I was going to loose a filling in my teeth. As I anticipated the turn to get on the paved road with total glee I just about crashed as it was a downhill turn and I let up and my chain bounced off the middle 39t to the inside of my BB. I stopped and fixed that in a blink of an eye to sprint the next 2 miles up a hill to a train track. Yes, as soon as I approached there was also an approaching train with police blocking the intersection and watching all of us making sure we didn't try to sneak under the train arms. By the time the train had passed I had sat there long enough to gather another group of 8 or so riders too, no less that 10 minutes, I promise.
We finally got going again and I grabbed on to a few of the faster riders for the next 6-8 miles until a rest stop. They all stopped, I didn't as the finish line was only 14 miles away, with a nice 20mph tailwind and in my neck of the woods. I knew these finally roads like the back of my hand. I finished passing another 15 or so riders to the surprise of my crew that was riding along the entire way and got to Texas Motor Speedway before them. It was all in all a great time and fun riding. Now to get some recovery for another long day with more climbing but shorter. You can see my slow and steady ride if you want here on STRAVA
Day 2: Another 7am start or earlier is you chose to ride around the TMS track 1 ½ miles which I opted out, to get to the front of the line again. I had already ridden the track for 15 laps years back when I got a Richard Petty driving experience for Christmas. Of course that was in a NASCAR car at over 150 mph so maybe a little different. Off we went and I immediately sprinted to the front again as all the DF's were chit, chatting and organizing their fast group for the day. No rain but the wind heading north again was 15-20mph with gusts to probably 25. I was in my element so not to worry, right! I was just cruzing along on my Silvio and out around the 10 mile mark the fast riders finally caught me. I watched as they went on by and I again latched on the rear of the pack to go for a little ride free of the headwind. They weren't flying by no stretch of the word but it was nice to have a group to ride with for a while. Of course just as soon as I settled in I was ready for my first potty break, so I had to give up the pull and take my exit. The sun was finally starting to come out more by this time and I was felling a little better with my shaded shield on by now so able to see all the pot holes and uneven road conditions with no problem. My Silvio was performing awesome on the chip seal at 120 psi read and 115 front, shock precisely aired to 150psi as suggested. For a heavy guy at 193 that air pressure I have come to believe is perfect for me. I was taking it easy and just ridin as this was quickly coming up on the hilly part of the ride. Not by Colorado or some of you guys epic climbs but for North Texas it was going to be a strain on this old mans second day in the cockpit, so I was taking it easy. Finally made the turn south just at the half way point was in to some nice mostly down hill rollers when to my surprise I started slipping and sliding about in the back. I could quickly tell that my days was to be interrupted with a quick flat fix on the side of the road. I called my crew that were out and about riding around with my spare A67 Cruzbike wheels with them but they were a ways back ordering breakfast at the local fast food joint. I tore into the repair with reckless abandonment and had the tire ready to air up when my SAG crew pulled up with spare wheel in hand and ready to assist. They held the bike while I installed the new wheel checked the pressure with my floor pump and off I went. I think I was only there maybe 10 minutes at the most. What a great crew, time to thank my wife, son and daughter in law for making my ride a fun and eventful time. And of course my other son Jake and grandson Lane for helping out tremendously on the first day too.
I picked up the pace a bit trying to make up time and catch a few more roadies, many passed me I'm sure snickering at me no doubt. I finally got the the infamous Boat Club road hilly area with apprehension and all I could to was stare at my GPS where I had put 2 labels on it, one at the top that said “Relax” and one at the bottom said “Just Ride”. Well to my surprise in all the wheel hoopla the “Relax” must have fell off so all I could do was “Just Ride”, and I did just that. I passed several DF's going up hill, yes up hill on My Silvio. Not that I was fast by no stretch of the imagination, I just think I was consistent in my power output and kept her right where I wanted her. Finally topped the last hill with my fabulous crew in the car beside me playing the Rocky theme song as loud as they could play it. How funny is that? I was now approaching the last rest stop with all the real stuff behind me and another 14 or so miles to go to get into downtown Fort Wort, Sundance Square. I thought well I have plenty of power left in me and mostly down hill from here, why stop now? I pushed on seeing my crew in the rest area at the local Boswell High School where both of my boys graduated years ago. I whistled as loud and I could and yelled to my son Shane, lets roll as I flew by them. I knew I could make this without another potty break so why stop? This was going to be my “epic” part of this adventure as there was a huge celebration for the MS fund raising and in addition there was a lot happening in Fort Worth today with May Fest celebration going on, so people were going to be all over the place. I started down the first big street into downtown and all the police were still blocking off intersections everywhere and controlling all the lights for just little ole me. Not another bike in site, I guess they all stopped at the last rest stop best I could tell. I was flying as I later saw, averaging 24.5 mph in next to the last 5 mile segment as my Garmin would show. Wow, that's not me! It was a little down hill and I didn't have to wait for traffic anywhere so that was really fun. I pushed on, weaving in and out of the construction and all the cones placed for the bikes to come into town. I did have to slow as just coming in was a hill to get to main street but by this time I was nearly finished. Hoping my crew made it to the area and found a decent parking place so they would see me come through and maybe yell and scream in pure amazement. Well they didn't quite make it. I was too fast for them and beat them in to the square. I was however, greeted by the most important person for this ride and why I was riding this charity ride in the first place. An old buddy of mine was there to take some pics and greet me at the finish line. Thanks Robert for making the long trip from Dallas to see me come in to the finish. He was on his phone the whole day trying to meet our ride goal of $2k before I finished and was only a few hundred short. I found out after my ride, 4 hours and 20 some odd minutes of riding I came in in the top 25 of over 2000 riders. Wow, what a real surprise. I am also happy to report as I write this Monday morning we exceeded our goal and are now at $2,194. What a great time and for such a good cause too. Thanks to Cruzbike for a great bike and all the tribe for providing all the solutions way in advance for my “epic” ride. Day 2 STRAVA
Now if I can just figure out what RATZ keeps preaching, tubeless is the only way to ride long. I have a set of tubeless wheels now, I think, or I was told they were when I bought them so I may have to explore this new flat tire solution on my next tire purchase. For now I suggest you just get out and ride, enjoy the time on your bike and especially the beautiful scenery this country provides us every day. More pictures to follow as I am still getting them off everyone's phones and such.
I had a great time and finished with plenty of gas in the end. If you want to read about my buddy Robert's story.
Sorry I missed you Barry, we just couldn't get on the same sheet. Maybe next time you are down visiting family we can ride together.
DAY 1: Saturday was a early start 7am so right up my alley. I was hoping for clear skies and sunshine but no such luck, not happening today. It started off with strong north head winds and a fine mist for most of the first half of the 83 miles. I was lucky enough though to start up front due to my wife working for the title sponsor SAM's club so that was nice. For the first 5 miles or so of struggling with the head wind to see through my Giro shaded (will remember the clear one for next time) shield in the dreary skies and mist was not much fun. But I was up front and the lead motorcycles were all around me protecting me and opening up all the intersections for clear sailing. I finally saw the “A” group behind me after they formed up and weeded out the slow pokes and coming up on me pretty fast. I was watching my GPS pretty close as I am not a racer by no means, so was trying to hold my power down to below 170 for a long day of riding. I moved over slightly and let them all get by, more than I could count, over 40 or so. I latched on to the back as the only Bent rider there. Most of you know the stares from the left, yea I could hear the grumbling all the way to the back. I hung on for the better part of the first 25 miles averaging right at 19mph or so and watching all the others fall off way before me. I would have not dropped had it not been for a misplaced and unsecured ride number attached to the rear triangle getting caught up in my back wheel, sounded like when I was a kid clothes pinning a bicycle playing card on my old Schwinn fork to make a motorcycle noise. (insert old man joke here) I slowed considerably to reach back, not stopping and grap the number without loosing a finger or 2, ripping what was left of my number out and putting it in my rear pocket. I of course lost the group and by then there wasn't a soul around me for several miles that I could see. Thanks to the cold, rain, wind and loosing my hold on the lead pack of course now I had to pee too. Getting old is not fun I tell you.
I did get a hold of a couple of DF bikes but could not really ride with them as they would coast down the hills and I like to capitalize on the advantage and roll down so I pedal to try and keep my power output steady. They probably didn't like that but a mile of two down it didn't matter because they were nowhere to be seen. The wind never let up out of the NNW exactly the direction I was heading all morning for nearly 40 miles. I finally made the turn to head south with a nice tail wind and hit a really rough road, I mean rough as in unpaved hard packed dirt road for nearly 5 miles. The last ¼ mile was so rought I thought I was going to loose a filling in my teeth. As I anticipated the turn to get on the paved road with total glee I just about crashed as it was a downhill turn and I let up and my chain bounced off the middle 39t to the inside of my BB. I stopped and fixed that in a blink of an eye to sprint the next 2 miles up a hill to a train track. Yes, as soon as I approached there was also an approaching train with police blocking the intersection and watching all of us making sure we didn't try to sneak under the train arms. By the time the train had passed I had sat there long enough to gather another group of 8 or so riders too, no less that 10 minutes, I promise.
We finally got going again and I grabbed on to a few of the faster riders for the next 6-8 miles until a rest stop. They all stopped, I didn't as the finish line was only 14 miles away, with a nice 20mph tailwind and in my neck of the woods. I knew these finally roads like the back of my hand. I finished passing another 15 or so riders to the surprise of my crew that was riding along the entire way and got to Texas Motor Speedway before them. It was all in all a great time and fun riding. Now to get some recovery for another long day with more climbing but shorter. You can see my slow and steady ride if you want here on STRAVA
Day 2: Another 7am start or earlier is you chose to ride around the TMS track 1 ½ miles which I opted out, to get to the front of the line again. I had already ridden the track for 15 laps years back when I got a Richard Petty driving experience for Christmas. Of course that was in a NASCAR car at over 150 mph so maybe a little different. Off we went and I immediately sprinted to the front again as all the DF's were chit, chatting and organizing their fast group for the day. No rain but the wind heading north again was 15-20mph with gusts to probably 25. I was in my element so not to worry, right! I was just cruzing along on my Silvio and out around the 10 mile mark the fast riders finally caught me. I watched as they went on by and I again latched on the rear of the pack to go for a little ride free of the headwind. They weren't flying by no stretch of the word but it was nice to have a group to ride with for a while. Of course just as soon as I settled in I was ready for my first potty break, so I had to give up the pull and take my exit. The sun was finally starting to come out more by this time and I was felling a little better with my shaded shield on by now so able to see all the pot holes and uneven road conditions with no problem. My Silvio was performing awesome on the chip seal at 120 psi read and 115 front, shock precisely aired to 150psi as suggested. For a heavy guy at 193 that air pressure I have come to believe is perfect for me. I was taking it easy and just ridin as this was quickly coming up on the hilly part of the ride. Not by Colorado or some of you guys epic climbs but for North Texas it was going to be a strain on this old mans second day in the cockpit, so I was taking it easy. Finally made the turn south just at the half way point was in to some nice mostly down hill rollers when to my surprise I started slipping and sliding about in the back. I could quickly tell that my days was to be interrupted with a quick flat fix on the side of the road. I called my crew that were out and about riding around with my spare A67 Cruzbike wheels with them but they were a ways back ordering breakfast at the local fast food joint. I tore into the repair with reckless abandonment and had the tire ready to air up when my SAG crew pulled up with spare wheel in hand and ready to assist. They held the bike while I installed the new wheel checked the pressure with my floor pump and off I went. I think I was only there maybe 10 minutes at the most. What a great crew, time to thank my wife, son and daughter in law for making my ride a fun and eventful time. And of course my other son Jake and grandson Lane for helping out tremendously on the first day too.
I picked up the pace a bit trying to make up time and catch a few more roadies, many passed me I'm sure snickering at me no doubt. I finally got the the infamous Boat Club road hilly area with apprehension and all I could to was stare at my GPS where I had put 2 labels on it, one at the top that said “Relax” and one at the bottom said “Just Ride”. Well to my surprise in all the wheel hoopla the “Relax” must have fell off so all I could do was “Just Ride”, and I did just that. I passed several DF's going up hill, yes up hill on My Silvio. Not that I was fast by no stretch of the imagination, I just think I was consistent in my power output and kept her right where I wanted her. Finally topped the last hill with my fabulous crew in the car beside me playing the Rocky theme song as loud as they could play it. How funny is that? I was now approaching the last rest stop with all the real stuff behind me and another 14 or so miles to go to get into downtown Fort Wort, Sundance Square. I thought well I have plenty of power left in me and mostly down hill from here, why stop now? I pushed on seeing my crew in the rest area at the local Boswell High School where both of my boys graduated years ago. I whistled as loud and I could and yelled to my son Shane, lets roll as I flew by them. I knew I could make this without another potty break so why stop? This was going to be my “epic” part of this adventure as there was a huge celebration for the MS fund raising and in addition there was a lot happening in Fort Worth today with May Fest celebration going on, so people were going to be all over the place. I started down the first big street into downtown and all the police were still blocking off intersections everywhere and controlling all the lights for just little ole me. Not another bike in site, I guess they all stopped at the last rest stop best I could tell. I was flying as I later saw, averaging 24.5 mph in next to the last 5 mile segment as my Garmin would show. Wow, that's not me! It was a little down hill and I didn't have to wait for traffic anywhere so that was really fun. I pushed on, weaving in and out of the construction and all the cones placed for the bikes to come into town. I did have to slow as just coming in was a hill to get to main street but by this time I was nearly finished. Hoping my crew made it to the area and found a decent parking place so they would see me come through and maybe yell and scream in pure amazement. Well they didn't quite make it. I was too fast for them and beat them in to the square. I was however, greeted by the most important person for this ride and why I was riding this charity ride in the first place. An old buddy of mine was there to take some pics and greet me at the finish line. Thanks Robert for making the long trip from Dallas to see me come in to the finish. He was on his phone the whole day trying to meet our ride goal of $2k before I finished and was only a few hundred short. I found out after my ride, 4 hours and 20 some odd minutes of riding I came in in the top 25 of over 2000 riders. Wow, what a real surprise. I am also happy to report as I write this Monday morning we exceeded our goal and are now at $2,194. What a great time and for such a good cause too. Thanks to Cruzbike for a great bike and all the tribe for providing all the solutions way in advance for my “epic” ride. Day 2 STRAVA
Now if I can just figure out what RATZ keeps preaching, tubeless is the only way to ride long. I have a set of tubeless wheels now, I think, or I was told they were when I bought them so I may have to explore this new flat tire solution on my next tire purchase. For now I suggest you just get out and ride, enjoy the time on your bike and especially the beautiful scenery this country provides us every day. More pictures to follow as I am still getting them off everyone's phones and such.
I had a great time and finished with plenty of gas in the end. If you want to read about my buddy Robert's story.
Sorry I missed you Barry, we just couldn't get on the same sheet. Maybe next time you are down visiting family we can ride together.
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