L to R: Amanda Wu, Amy Jones, Lance Lacy (partially hidden), Kyle Jones, Sherry Collison (Lance's girlfriend), Ty Wu (mostly hidden) and Ali Meller. Not shown, is me who took the picture.
They seated us pretty quick and took drink orders. I was kind of disappointed at the beer choices so I ordered the old standby, Sam Adams. Mind you they had every Japanese beer and Sake, but I'm not a fan of either.
They seated us a a really large grill horseshoe style. I took and end seat directly facing the Teppanyaki chef so as to get the best opportunity to get my eyebrows singed off. He did warn me...
Amamda, Ty, Sherry and Lance
Kyle, Amy and Ali
Me, and Amanda. Only Sue is missing.
That's Sue on the right.
I ordered the Filet Mignon and Chicken combo with Teppanyaki Shrimp and fried rice appetizers. The chef did all the usual stuff, the egg on the spatula trick and the onion volcano. It was pretty cool to see a Teppanyaki chef work the grill in person versus watching it on The Food Network. The food was excellent. I left nothing on my plate.
After we were done, we all packed into our vehicles and headed to the beer store and then Steve's place. While at the Waterbury there was much discussion about the proper 40 to pick up. I was looking for a 40 of Bass, but ended up with a 24 oz Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. Kyle Jones on the other hand went right for the good stuff. We all thought he was getting these for Amy, but he said they were for him. You draw your own conclusions...LOL. 
When we all got to Steve's he was out on his back deck blowing off fire crackers and bottle rockets at his neighbors. Seems the party was already going. After tiring of lighting off noisemakers a hasty retreat was made back into Steve's kitchen for some shots of Bourbon. Doetch went all out and picked up a bottle each of Makers Mark and 1792 Ridgemont Reserve. First up was the Ridgemont. I took my shot and slugged it down expecting the burn and gag, but not this time. It was like drinking a shot of ice tea. 1792 is probably the smoothest Bourbon I've ever had. I'm normally a vodka guy, but I will buy this. The Makers Mark was next and it was quite good also, but not nearly as smooth as the Ridgemont. Just to be sure we had another shot of Ridgemont. Did I mention this stuff is really smooth? After this I was ready for a beer so Steve handed me Grolsch to go along with the Sierra Neveda. Needless to say I drank them both and I think there was more Ridgemont too. After awhile things were getting really warm and fuzzy. I also think there was some guitar playing going on too, but I don't think I could call what I was doing guitar playing. It's been 13+ years since I played out with a band, and when I stopped gigging, I pretty much stopped playing for myself too. I've picked it up for longish stints on occasion over the years, but I'm very rusty to say the least and being drunk doesn't help.
All in all we had a great time and around 11 pm we all took off. I live 5 mins away from Steve, so my ride home, while not kosher, was not a big deal.
So now I've learned a few things about my teammates. Outside of racing, they're all great people and lots of fun to hang with. I need to start practicing my guitar on a more regular basis. And lastly I still get hangovers. I didn't do my 3 1/2 hour training ride until 1pm. By then I was able and the weather had cleared up. I did a pretty decent solo ride from the Park & Ride to North Beach and back. Using my TT bike I stayed mostly in zone 1-3 and came in with a nice 18 1/2 mph avg with 2500 feet of elev. gain for 60 miles. Maybe I should drink more often.
One last thing before I forget. There is no such thing as a free lunch when your married. Dana had off work on Sunday and her birthday is tonight. Happy 39 hon!
Even so I spent the whole day with her on Sunday and we went to Stitches 2008. A yarn and knitting expo at the Baltimore Convention Center. I think we actually spent more time at the light rail stops waiting for the damn train then we did at the expo. Still any day I get to spend with my wife is a good day.
Cheers,
FGR
Monday, November 10, 2008
Night Out With The Homies
ABRT Mt Bike Ride 11/9
On Sunday, 9 members of ABRT showed for a great mt bike ride on a beautiful day at Patapsco. It was a spirited but not-too-hard pace for me and easy pace for the experts. It was pretty cool to be sportin' the team kits in mass as we came across a fair amount of on-coming bikers and hikers! The woods sure afforded some nice protection from what seemed like a windy day everywhere else. I may be missing someone, but those in attendance included Mike Cunningham, Kidd Manville, Sean Sullivan, Dennis Scanlon, Dee (Mike’s wife), Dave Bradshaw, Tom Mackay, Rick P, myself, Jonathon Seibold (from Family Bike shop), and Jim McNeely from Coppi. Kidd, Sean, Jonathan, and Jim had already been out with some others for an hour or so before we joined forces along the way.
The woods were beautiful with bright fallen leaves everywhere; they added to the challenge because they were hiding some sneaky ruts and obstacles here and there. We crossed several small streams that were *COLD* but refreshing enough on my toes (that is, if you splashed too much as you were attempting to get across). It was a great workout for me, especially since my mt bike muscles have atrophied over the past few months...that and my brake was rubbing, among a few other mechanical excuses (not to mention that I am slower than everyone else, of course). I was busy bitching about my gears not shifting down when I needed them to, yet there were several others on freakin' single speeds sans a single complaint. There were a few logs that I didn’t bother to ride over- but I did ok on some of the smaller uphill logs that I would typically have avoided. It's always fun to watch Young Tom and all the others who are more technically savvy out there! I felt pretty good w/ the occasional rock garden and seemed fine with my rear shock locked out.
Mishaps along the way included Rick w/ a flat pretty early on the ride. He was straddling his brand new Cannondale 29'er with tubeless tires- so probably just squeezed some air out on one of the more significant rock edges (but I am not sure)- he managed to get air back into it without a long wait or incident. Later however, Dave broke his derailleur! This was followed by his having to convert his machine to a single-speed, using my trusty chain tool. I think I have loaned out that tool to at least 4 or 5 folks in the past... never actually having to learn how to use it myself. I had one spectacular endo- but of course it is not spectacular unless there are witnesses. Thank goodness I was in the back, so no one else saw me (blush)! I still have no idea what reached out and grabbed my front wheel. It was fast and silent. I slammed my diaphragm on my bars hard enough to painfully knock all the wind out of me. I couldn’t get enough air in my lungs to squeeze out even a feeble attempt at “help”! All that I accomplished was a comical whimper and faint whisper- I might have done just as well to have thought the words instead. So I laid there and thought real hard as I watched the rest of the group ride off up the trail ahead without me. Eventually I was breathing again and back on my bike wondering when they would figure out that they had one less rider. But it wasn't but a few minutes later that I encountered Mike coming back to look for me. This as Dennis went off on an adjacent trail thinking I had simply made a wrong turn (very likely since I have no clue where I am out there). But I was fine and ready for another hour or so and off we went. Shortly before the finish, Rick went down somewhere and lost his pump. So he doubled back to find it. Rick is apparently getting used to the way his shiny new 29'er handles out there...(whereas I'm getting used to the way a bike actually handles out there...). I noticed Rick had some slightly skinned knees peeking through some newly "vented" tights. But it was all in a day's fun on the trail and I think everyone had a good time or workout. Let's do it again and again! And remind me to bring my helmet cam along next time...
Not sure how long or far we went exactly, but it was just enough for me.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
This Week's "The Other Saturday Ride"
Towards the end of the ride, I was feeling the effect of the fixie. Going downhill was increasingly becoming difficult so I was feathering the brake more. On Sunday morning, I was definitely feeling a little beat up, way more tired than almost double the mileage for the regular Saturday ride. Better workout for less time?? I think I still have a ways to go before I attempt the regular Saturday ride on the fixie...
The other Saturday ride has worked well for me when I (like Peter and others) am a little constrained by family obligations, especially now that the rides are all starting at 10. I encourage others to attend if this works for you! Very fixie friendly.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Alexander Cyclocross Superstar
The Rockburn Cross
Did we mention that the wheelsucker does not have a cross bike?
So after some last minute advice from Mike Heffernan and Peter Jensen, the wheelsucker started near the back of the 3/4 35+/45+/55+ pack, riding his mountain bike, with the new wider-and-much-more-aggressive tires (the stock tires were not up to Patapsco riding as per an earlier wheelsucker report). The pack sprinted over the parking lot to the first turn and then jammed on the brakes and unclipped and waited, 'cause there was no way 80-plus riders were going to fit around the turn into the narrow grass lane at the same time. The rest of the race is a daze. The wheelsucker believes the race was supposed to be 45 minutes long; it seemed rather longer. The wheelsucker's HR monitor (when the wheelsucker was even able to take a look) was showing a heat rate 3-8 beats below the wheelsucker's maximum. The wheelsucker was slowing a lot going into corners, and slow through the corners, slow at the obstacles, and was losing distance/time, but could gain on the climbs. Early in the race as the course wound back and forth, the wheelsucker could see his team mates Mike Heffernan and Peter Jensen near the front of the race. But the field spread out, with the wheelsucker close to the back. Peter ended up 6th, Mike was 29th, and the wheelsucker was rather further back, actually near the back. In fact the wheelsucker was in such a daze he did not realize it was the last lap, and did not accelerate/sprint for the finish (rather he was setting up for the right turn to start the next lap) and an opportunist sprinted by him just before the line. But the wheelsucker took some solace from passing rather more riders than passed him, despite some early losses at the sandpit (the wheelsucker hopes that he did not get sand inside the bottom bracket) and the obstacles.
The wheelsucker's takeaways:
1. Use the faster tires
2. Do NOT try to pedal through the sand trap unless you know how to pedal in sand
3. Work on the dismount and mount technique so one loses less distance at the two "carry bike over" obstacles.
4. Carefully consider if he wants to do cyclocross again
5. Wear as little team kit as possible when you suspect you are not going to do well
Chris Adair rode an earlier race, but the wheelsucker neglected to ask him how he did.
Peter and the wheelsucker had a nice ride in Patapsco afterwards, which left the wheelsucker believing he was a little better at MTB riding than the first time he was in Patapsco. And the forecast rain will probably wash the blood off the rocks and trees.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Latitude Thurmont Ride
We had a great turnout for today's Ace, rip the legs off hill ride, apologies for anyone I've missed: Ace, Tom A, Rick P, Stu, Bob W, Chris H, Steve, Eric, Mike W, Mike H, Ty, Amanda, Alex, and our two token riders in Red, Dave and Greg Smith.The weather was cool with a moderate wind from the northeast which proved to make the second half of the course harder. Chris H and Mike H, both had a couple hours riding in by the time we rolled out of the Mountain Gate Restaurant a little after 10am. Pretty much out of the box we were going up Catoctin Mountain on MD 77. Alex led up the bottom of the climb at a very reasonable tempo (purely self centered preservation!), but after swinging off, the pace ramped up and promptly split the group in half, a theme that would repeat throughout the day.
The temperatures were fairly warm while there was some sunshine, making me wonder whether I had over dressed. After regrouping at the top, we continued on eventually stopping again to regroups at about the 20 mile mark, which was about at the bottom of the first climb.
We just kept trucking over the rollers and up to the top of the intermediate climb to Gathland State Park, then decending into Boonsboro, where we stopped for drinks. A few decided to take a "short cut" back. Chris H unfortunately had two broken spokes in addition to an additional 2 hrs on the bike so he was happy to take a route that he thought would avoid the long hill on 491 to Fort Ritchie. Turns out it really didn't save much and was perhaps just as hard if not harder according to Mike Wagner.
Things split up pretty quickly on the last climb up 491, with the me being in the B group. Back to my question:
Q: Is it still wheelsucking if you are so OTB that there are no wheels to suck?
A: No, it is NOT wheelsucking. It is just sucking... (thanks for the answer-you know who your are!)
Anyway, the group waited for me at the top at the corner of Ft Ritchie Road. The A group decided to deviate from the cue sheet and follow the "new" Civil War Century route up Wise Rd (I think that is it), which according to Steve O, was a couple very hard miles. Our group short circuited the route a hair by going down Ft Ritchie Rd, which dumps out on 550 in Sabillasville. From there, a clean shot back to Thurmont. By this time, it was cloudy wit 4+ hrs in the saddle and getting very cold. I am very happy I had the gear that I did.
The "short cut" group got back to the cars a little before the B group, followed shortly thereafter by the A group. After changing, 6 of us went into the Mountain Gate for the all you can eat buffet. Restraint was difficult, but Ace was the only one who gave into the pie table! We all joked about eating dinner again when we got home. I'm not sure who else did, but I polished off the Chinese food leftovers!
It was a great hilly ride. I don't know about anyone else, but I certainly suffered on the last climb. Thanks Ace and Chris for organizing the ride! Hopefully, this is reasonably coherent as I am really, really tired.
The New "Other Saturday Ride"
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The route will be familiar to most team members: through West Annapolis, down Bestgate Rd, out MD 450 to Rutland Rd, Left on Rossback (away from the Dville park and ride), left on St George Barber, looping around to Governor Bridge and back to Rossback, over 424 and back down to MD 450. Because I was going to do the Team Thurmont Ride Sunday, I chose to pretty much wheelsuck the entire ride. I was chatting with Peter P (who rode the whole ride on the front) for a bit, but had to work too hard, so promptly went back to wheelsucking! As such, I made a bee line back to Annapolis on MD 450 with the other Peter, while the 4 remaining riders added a loop through Crownsville. and based on the suffering in Thurmont, I'm glad I did (see next post). Up St. Stephens Church Road, right on Chesterfield, north on Crownsville to Sunrise Beach, River Road, Generals Highway, Bestgate and back to the park and ride, for about 40 and change miles. A very nice course. If you short circuit and eliminate the Crownsville loop it's more like 35 miles.
As Peter P explained, he wants to have this be a real training ride that is very focused on making best use of 2.5 hours for training, rather than the rather unstructured standard Saturday ride. So if this appeals to you, come on out, Peter will be there.