Does 1 person make a B ride?

I did 37 miles with BBB last night. There were about 30 people on the ride. I hadn't been on a fast group ride in 3 weeks and it felt like it but the weather was great.

I was fine until we hit Range Road which is a series of rollers and bad pavement. I was dropped off the main pack but still managed to beat 4 or 5 people to the fair grounds where we all re-group. My breathing was ok, not 100% but certainly better. My legs were not ready for it though.

Right after we stop there is a sizable hill and I got dropped again, I chased on over about 3 miles and got to sit in for 4 or 5 miles before Dutton Hill Rd. As the road name suggests yeah it is just a big hill. It sucked and I came over the top last. One of the most annoying things on these rides is when you see a person (man or woman) who can not weigh more than 120 pounds fly up these hills like they are not even trying. Damn skinny people! No offense Slim and Crit.

Everything was fine on the way back. We were on Blackstrap Rd when a car decided to pass the pack. Unfortunately they didn't accelerate much and all of the sudden they saw a truck coming. Instead of braking and pullling in behind us they braked just enough to not get by the pack. The truck had to pull in the ditch. At this point I backed off and let the pack go as the car was still sitting in the other lane and I could see 2 more cars coming down the hill. I was pretty sure someone was going to get hurt. All of the sudden I realized I was stuck in between the main pack and 4 or 5 people 50 meters behind me. The car in the left hand land continued to force the other cars off the road. Why not accelerate and get in front of us or simply brake and get behind us.

So there I am going up Blackstrap all alone. 50 meters behind the pack and 50 meters in front of the other pack. ARRRFFFF

I tried to chase on but in the end had to let the other riders catch me. Thankfully once we were over the hill I could pull the other riders back but apparently they didn't share my desire to bomb the hills at 40 mph to try and chase back on so I was constantly riding alone unless I decided to wait for the others.

All in all a good ride. I am hoping that this ride gets me ready for Saturday morning.

BTW I am hoping to get a cycling computer for my birthday so I can start giving good stats for these rides.

Long overdue update

So I haven't posted in awhile and I thought I would simply recap my past months activities.

BW New Bike

The beautiful wife got an awesome road bike! The picture doesn't do it justice. All carbon fiber except for a carbon fiber/alu mix on the fork. It is in great shape and all we needed to replace right away was the saddle. Thank you EBAY! She also picked up a pair of Sidi 5.5's which are top of the line women's cycling shoes and a great helmet. Sadly though she is wearing one of my old SMCC jerseys.

We have been riding quite a few times (she went out with BF once when I broke my chain as well) and she is now over 100 miles with her longest ride being last nights 30 miler. We averaged 17 with some nice rollers and some long but not too steep hills. She is already getting strong and becoming more comfortable. I have even stopped looking back at every stop sign petrified she will not be able to clip out and hurt herself. The first couple rides were pretty stressful! I enjoy riding with her and the added miles is great for me. Here are the parts we will most likely change this winter:

Carbon handlebars with flat tops

Wheels--perhaps she will get the Rolf's and I will get new wheels this might have to wait but her current wheels are bricks

Rear Cassette--she is riding an 11-23 so we will either get her an 11-27 or a 12-25. This is a must change and will most likely happen before we go to Bar Harbor for Columbus Day weekend.

I would like her to be on a sub 19 lbs bike and these changes would probably get her closer to 18.5.

My Rides

I was sick/had allergies for a whole week almost a month ago now and it has been affecting my breathing ever since. I was dropped a few Saturday's ago and not even during a hard part of the ride. I literally couldn't catch my breath and my chest hurt, not heart attack hurt though. I could breath in fine but couldn't expel my breath normally. I then rode on a Thursday and after pulling over at one point to expel every piece of phlegm I had in my system I felt much better but my breathing still was not right. I stayed with the A ride all the way back and we were flying at between 22 to 38 even up the hills but I think that was simply adrenaline. It is much easier to ride when you can breath. I finally went to the doctor and they have me on a 30 day regimen of Claritin and an albuterol inhaler to see if I can get rid of the crap in my chest. It isn't bronchitis or anything like that so hopefully this will solve the issue. The good Dr. also thinks that all of my post nasal drip, vomiting issues are caused by allergies I have never dealt with. I hope she is right.

The results so far have been good but I have not pushed it extremely hard since I went to see the DR. last Thursday. This Thursday and Saturday will be the real tests as I am doing the BBB A ride and the SMCC Saturday ride with Critracer. I hope that I can breath this time!

My Bike

First of all I need to admit once and for all that I am jealous of my BW's nice new Bianchi! It is a great bike. So I immediately started researching new bikes for myself. I now know I want the Kuota Khan. I can not get a better picture of it off the Kuota site as it all Flash. Who knows if I will get one but at least I know what I want. It is designed to handle larger bikers who throw down the watts but don't necessarily compete in the sprints. All I know is it is really cool looking and super light!

In the meantime I have added FSA K-Force Carbon Cranks and a new FSA BB, a new Ultegra chain and front der. So now when I shift or have to get out of the saddle to climb hills my bike doesn't complain loudly like it is about to explode. I have also ordered new bearings for my Rolf Prima Vigor front wheel. It now looks like instead of buying a new bike/frame this winter I will probably invest in moving all my parts to 10 speed which would mean a new rear der, cassette and shifters. With all that being done my bike will weigh in at just under 18 lbs. Not bad at all for a nearly 10 year old Klein frame.

Poker

I have only played once since my last poker blog and here is a great summary:

Had terrible cards all night, made it to the final table without winning a hand as I only played in 3 hands. Won a few hands, got busted out due to a better kicker and went home. It was actually one of the most boring poker games I have played except for TBO breaking his hand when he punched the wall. That was fun....for me. I feel bad for the wall though.

Outside of that just working, camping once with BF, LF, Slim and family which was great. BF even brought Opus X's for the 3 of us to smoke. Good times!

I have cycling, poker, taking care of Sam and my fantasy football draft in the next week. I am excited for all of it.