The Hangover that wasn't

On Saturday evening I was having some wine. It was a good wine so I didn't pay much attention and drank an entire bottle.

Of course Sunday I had a long ride with a group planned. Since I can't find anything anymore I got an address where they were going to meet and used the Maps program to get there. Well the starting location had been changed without an email. But luckily another member also showed up and he had the phone number of the ride leader. He got directions and it was about 3 miles to the new location. And the parking area was a wide dirt turn-around.

As we were about to leave, the ride leader said that the ride was 50 miles and 5000 feet of climbing. I was MNOT looking forward to that since I cannot remember that road and that is a lot of climbing with no warmup

Sure enough, a mile up the road the grade turned up sharply and over 12% in short grunts.. But we only climbed for about 2 miles and then there was a downhill that felt pretty sharp to me though not like the initial climb. I was NOT feeling good and everyone rode away from me and I could barely make 12 mph and I was telling myself about watching my alcohol intake.

After only ten miles the group had stopped apparently to rest. I don't really rest so I was standing there over the bike and they told me to go ahead, so I went. The road seemed flat so I continued on with 12 mph and occasionally little rises where I would slow to 10 or 11.

I was noting the rocks that were in a dry creek bed next to the road and the shale deposits on the other side of the road. This happens to be the sort of area where you could find fossils and one of the grandkids is a dinosaur freak so I was trying to find a place where I could bring him to search for fossils. The road was pretty narrow though and besides pickups coming by continuously sports cars occasionally and F-ing motorcycle play-racers at 60+ where I would hesitate 45 mph, pull offs were rare and not in an area that wasn't a No Trespassing zone.

The mileage from the start is marked in paint on the road and I was counting since I knew it was 25 miles out and we started at the 3 mile mark. At about 20 miles there was a rather steep climb that went on for about half of the remaining distance. At the top was a sign "You are entering Ruthy's World" and it had fresh flowers around the sign which normally means that there had been a fatality there.

Going down the other side though I passed by an old barn and farmhouse that had a sign about "Ruthy's Antiques". Later I was told that Ruthy was alive and well.

A mile or so past that I came to the Halfway Café up on a little rise and recognized that it must be the place because it had motorcycles parked there.

I was pretty exhausted so when I parked the bike I was a little light headed so when I went in they had beer on tap including a locally brewed stout. So I got a mug of that and the daily special which was a pork tamale. The Stout was in a large mug. This place apparently had changed hands about once a year so I left a fat tip in the jar hoping that would help these Hispanics keep the place open. I would hate to have nothing more than a turn-around spot.

I went out and sat down and a couple of minutes later the group turned up. While they were in ordering sodas, tacos and milkshakes, I looked over the motorcycles Apparently the upper crust ride Ducati these days and Suzuki and Yamaha are considered down-market.

We finished and I certainly wasn't looking forward to the climb back and the flats at 12 mph. Interestingly enough the GPS people had almost a mile less distance than I had with my wheel roll counter. Other wheel counters also had the same distance I had.

Leaving the café was instantly climbing against without the help of a warm-up so I went my own speed for a warm-up climb. About halfway up I caught up with the slower climbers and I stayed with them. I do not like passing people just because I can go 1/4th mph faster on a steep climb. Finally at the top the others were waiting. Starting down the other side I was riding drag since there was a woman that didn't descend very rapidly. Very quickly it appeared that I was bothering her since everyone knows I'm the fastest descender. So I went around and carried on. What I had thought were flats on the way out was about 2 and 3% grades so I was riding about 20-25 mph. The slight uphills would slow me to about 18 mph. The miles were peeling off and I was surprised how rapidly I was returning. I remembered the first down-hill which I would have to climb but when I hit it I could hardly notice it. I knew that the other side was pretty steep and while the road was old it was without potholes and pretty smooth.

While it took me three hours out I was back in less than 2 hours. And rather shocked that it was almost entirely downhill. No wonder I thought that I was feeling hungover and slow. The Stout and tamale completely revived me so the rack was mounted and I made a rapid exit to the Freeway via an old route that I recognized from old though you'd never know it now with Condos and new homes along it.

The distance back measured EXACTLY the same as that out for both me and the GPS people so GPS does not take into account the extra rolling distance of climbing or descending. Inasmuch as most of my rides include a lot of climbing that makes a difference and I won't be buying any of those GPS trackers. (The speedo on my car and the GPS on the map program disagreed somewhat the same since there's some climbing on the way to and from.)

I suppose the moral of this story is that if it feels like climbing it probably is.

Maybe I should move to California. It must be something in the air there if people who're no longer young can just up and ride 50 miles. (Or something in the wine?) My standard ride is 22km/14m, though admittedly I do that every day when the weather permits. -- AJ

On Tuesday, November 5, 2019 at 4:06:13 PM UTC, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Saturday evening I was having some wine. It was a good wine so I didn't pay much attention and drank an entire bottle.

Of course Sunday I had a long ride with a group planned. Since I can't find anything anymore I got an address where they were going to meet and used the Maps program to get there. Well the starting location had been changed without an email. But luckily another member also showed up and he had the phone number of the ride leader. He got directions and it was about 3 miles to the new location. And the parking area was a wide dirt turn-around.

As we were about to leave, the ride leader said that the ride was 50 miles and 5000 feet of climbing. I was MNOT looking forward to that since I cannot remember that road and that is a lot of climbing with no warmup

Sure enough, a mile up the road the grade turned up sharply and over 12% in short grunts.. But we only climbed for about 2 miles and then there was a downhill that felt pretty sharp to me though not like the initial climb. I was NOT feeling good and everyone rode away from me and I could barely make 12 mph and I was telling myself about watching my alcohol intake.

After only ten miles the group had stopped apparently to rest. I don't really rest so I was standing there over the bike and they told me to go ahead, so I went. The road seemed flat so I continued on with 12 mph and occasionally little rises where I would slow to 10 or 11.

I was noting the rocks that were in a dry creek bed next to the road and the shale deposits on the other side of the road. This happens to be the sort of area where you could find fossils and one of the grandkids is a dinosaur freak so I was trying to find a place where I could bring him to search for fossils. The road was pretty narrow though and besides pickups coming by continuously sports cars occasionally and F-ing motorcycle play-racers at 60+ where I would hesitate 45 mph, pull offs were rare and not in an area that wasn't a No Trespassing zone.

The mileage from the start is marked in paint on the road and I was counting since I knew it was 25 miles out and we started at the 3 mile mark. At about 20 miles there was a rather steep climb that went on for about half of the remaining distance. At the top was a sign "You are entering Ruthy's World" and it had fresh flowers around the sign which normally means that there had been a fatality there.

Going down the other side though I passed by an old barn and farmhouse that had a sign about "Ruthy's Antiques". Later I was told that Ruthy was alive and well.

A mile or so past that I came to the Halfway Café up on a little rise and recognized that it must be the place because it had motorcycles parked there.

I was pretty exhausted so when I parked the bike I was a little light headed so when I went in they had beer on tap including a locally brewed stout.. So I got a mug of that and the daily special which was a pork tamale. The Stout was in a large mug. This place apparently had changed hands about once a year so I left a fat tip in the jar hoping that would help these Hispanics keep the place open. I would hate to have nothing more than a turn-around spot.

I went out and sat down and a couple of minutes later the group turned up.. While they were in ordering sodas, tacos and milkshakes, I looked over the motorcycles Apparently the upper crust ride Ducati these days and Suzuki and Yamaha are considered down-market.

We finished and I certainly wasn't looking forward to the climb back and the flats at 12 mph. Interestingly enough the GPS people had almost a mile less distance than I had with my wheel roll counter. Other wheel counters also had the same distance I had.

Leaving the café was instantly climbing against without the help of a warm-up so I went my own speed for a warm-up climb. About halfway up I caught up with the slower climbers and I stayed with them. I do not like passing people just because I can go 1/4th mph faster on a steep climb. Finally at the top the others were waiting. Starting down the other side I was riding drag since there was a woman that didn't descend very rapidly. Very quickly it appeared that I was bothering her since everyone knows I'm the fastest descender. So I went around and carried on. What I had thought were flats on the way out was about 2 and 3% grades so I was riding about 20-25 mph.. The slight uphills would slow me to about 18 mph. The miles were peeling off and I was surprised how rapidly I was returning. I remembered the first down-hill which I would have to climb but when I hit it I could hardly notice it. I knew that the other side was pretty steep and while the road was old it was without potholes and pretty smooth.

While it took me three hours out I was back in less than 2 hours. And rather shocked that it was almost entirely downhill. No wonder I thought that I was feeling hungover and slow. The Stout and tamale completely revived me so the rack was mounted and I made a rapid exit to the Freeway via an old route that I recognized from old though you'd never know it now with Condos and new homes along it.

The distance back measured EXACTLY the same as that out for both me and the GPS people so GPS does not take into account the extra rolling distance of climbing or descending. Inasmuch as most of my rides include a lot of climbing that makes a difference and I won't be buying any of those GPS trackers. (The speedo on my car and the GPS on the map program disagreed somewhat the same since there's some climbing on the way to and from.)

I suppose the moral of this story is that if it feels like climbing it probably is.

On Tuesday, November 5, 2019 at 10:32:09 AM UTC-8, Andre Jute wrote:
Maybe I should move to California. It must be something in the air there if people who're no longer young can just up and ride 50 miles. (Or something in the wine?) My standard ride is 22km/14m, though admittedly I do that every day when the weather permits. -- AJ

On Tuesday, November 5, 2019 at 4:06:13 PM UTC, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Saturday evening I was having some wine. It was a good wine so I didn't pay much attention and drank an entire bottle.

Of course Sunday I had a long ride with a group planned. Since I can't find anything anymore I got an address where they were going to meet and used the Maps program to get there. Well the starting location had been changed without an email. But luckily another member also showed up and he had the phone number of the ride leader. He got directions and it was about 3 miles to the new location. And the parking area was a wide dirt turn-around.

As we were about to leave, the ride leader said that the ride was 50 miles and 5000 feet of climbing. I was MNOT looking forward to that since I cannot remember that road and that is a lot of climbing with no warmup

Sure enough, a mile up the road the grade turned up sharply and over 12% in short grunts.. But we only climbed for about 2 miles and then there was a downhill that felt pretty sharp to me though not like the initial climb.. I was NOT feeling good and everyone rode away from me and I could barely make 12 mph and I was telling myself about watching my alcohol intake.

After only ten miles the group had stopped apparently to rest. I don't really rest so I was standing there over the bike and they told me to go ahead, so I went. The road seemed flat so I continued on with 12 mph and occasionally little rises where I would slow to 10 or 11.

I was noting the rocks that were in a dry creek bed next to the road and the shale deposits on the other side of the road. This happens to be the sort of area where you could find fossils and one of the grandkids is a dinosaur freak so I was trying to find a place where I could bring him to search for fossils. The road was pretty narrow though and besides pickups coming by continuously sports cars occasionally and F-ing motorcycle play-racers at 60+ where I would hesitate 45 mph, pull offs were rare and not in an area that wasn't a No Trespassing zone.

The mileage from the start is marked in paint on the road and I was counting since I knew it was 25 miles out and we started at the 3 mile mark. At about 20 miles there was a rather steep climb that went on for about half of the remaining distance. At the top was a sign "You are entering Ruthy's World" and it had fresh flowers around the sign which normally means that there had been a fatality there.

Going down the other side though I passed by an old barn and farmhouse that had a sign about "Ruthy's Antiques". Later I was told that Ruthy was alive and well.

A mile or so past that I came to the Halfway Café up on a little rise and recognized that it must be the place because it had motorcycles parked there.

I was pretty exhausted so when I parked the bike I was a little light headed so when I went in they had beer on tap including a locally brewed stout. So I got a mug of that and the daily special which was a pork tamale. The Stout was in a large mug. This place apparently had changed hands about once a year so I left a fat tip in the jar hoping that would help these Hispanics keep the place open. I would hate to have nothing more than a turn-around spot.

I went out and sat down and a couple of minutes later the group turned up. While they were in ordering sodas, tacos and milkshakes, I looked over the motorcycles Apparently the upper crust ride Ducati these days and Suzuki and Yamaha are considered down-market.

We finished and I certainly wasn't looking forward to the climb back and the flats at 12 mph. Interestingly enough the GPS people had almost a mile less distance than I had with my wheel roll counter. Other wheel counters also had the same distance I had.

Leaving the café was instantly climbing against without the help of a warm-up so I went my own speed for a warm-up climb. About halfway up I caught up with the slower climbers and I stayed with them. I do not like passing people just because I can go 1/4th mph faster on a steep climb. Finally at the top the others were waiting. Starting down the other side I was riding drag since there was a woman that didn't descend very rapidly. Very quickly it appeared that I was bothering her since everyone knows I'm the fastest descender. So I went around and carried on. What I had thought were flats on the way out was about 2 and 3% grades so I was riding about 20-25 mph. The slight uphills would slow me to about 18 mph. The miles were peeling off and I was surprised how rapidly I was returning. I remembered the first down-hill which I would have to climb but when I hit it I could hardly notice it. I knew that the other side was pretty steep and while the road was old it was without potholes and pretty smooth.

While it took me three hours out I was back in less than 2 hours. And rather shocked that it was almost entirely downhill. No wonder I thought that I was feeling hungover and slow. The Stout and tamale completely revived me so the rack was mounted and I made a rapid exit to the Freeway via an old route that I recognized from old though you'd never know it now with Condos and new homes along it.

The distance back measured EXACTLY the same as that out for both me and the GPS people so GPS does not take into account the extra rolling distance of climbing or descending. Inasmuch as most of my rides include a lot of climbing that makes a difference and I won't be buying any of those GPS trackers. (The speedo on my car and the GPS on the map program disagreed somewhat the same since there's some climbing on the way to and from.)

I suppose the moral of this story is that if it feels like climbing it probably is.

In Ireland when does the weather ever permit? Actually the good riding season started two months ago and will probably run to mid-December in an average year. Then the rains come and of course they know when you have a ride scheduled and will have perfect weather the day before and the day after. You do have to have dear for 40 degrees F in the mornings though.

On Tuesday, November 5, 2019 at 8:44:32 PM UTC, Tom Kunich wrote:

In Ireland when does the weather ever permit?

You'd be surprised. During the "global warming" of the 1990's and oughties, we often cycled until the week before Christmas and again from the week after New Year, and the break was mainly to accommodate people's family and other commitments. We rarely have snow, and frozen roads don't last long even in the winter sun, but black ice can be tricky between the hedgerows on the narrower lanes because the sun, down on the horizon, doesn't quite reach the road over the the greenery. For most of the year, you just have to be ready to ride when the sun comes out, and not mind a light drizzle. It helps to have pedalpals who're ready at an hour's notice.

Actually the good riding season started two months ago and will probably run to mid-December in an average year. Then the rains come and of course they know when you have a ride scheduled and will have perfect weather the day before and the day after. You do have to have dear for 40 degrees F in the mornings though.

Heh-heh. One place we lived, a neighbour said to me, "When I see you wheeling out your bike, I run to get my washing in, because the moment you start cycling, the rain falls."

I meant to say yesterday that you probably ruined a good hangover by feeding it oxygen on your ride.

Andre Jute
Rainmaker

On Wednesday, November 6, 2019 at 1:51:35 AM UTC-8, Andre Jute wrote:
On Tuesday, November 5, 2019 at 8:44:32 PM UTC, Tom Kunich wrote:

In Ireland when does the weather ever permit?

You'd be surprised. During the "global warming" of the 1990's and oughties, we often cycled until the week before Christmas and again from the week after New Year, and the break was mainly to accommodate people's family and other commitments. We rarely have snow, and frozen roads don't last long even in the winter sun, but black ice can be tricky between the hedgerows on the narrower lanes because the sun, down on the horizon, doesn't quite reach the road over the the greenery. For most of the year, you just have to be ready to ride when the sun comes out, and not mind a light drizzle. It helps to have pedalpals who're ready at an hour's notice.

You just dress for it and go out. Showers Pass. It's the best. https://www..youtube.com/watch?v=SIzz9VBdKCU That video has bits of Larch Mountain, which is a 15 mile climb on the Gorge -- out and back from my house is about 90-some miles. I did that RT entirely in the rain with snow at the top. I about froze to death on the descent. Even good rain gear soaks through after long enough.

I used to race the SJBC winter series in San Jose, and there was maybe one race out of a dozen that would have rain. In the PNW, the whole spring season is racing in rain. Sitting in the pack, its like getting hit in the face with a fire hose of water and grit. That's tough on rims and chains.

-- Jay Beattie.

On Wednesday, November 6, 2019 at 1:51:35 AM UTC-8, Andre Jute wrote:
On Tuesday, November 5, 2019 at 8:44:32 PM UTC, Tom Kunich wrote:

In Ireland when does the weather ever permit?

You'd be surprised. During the "global warming" of the 1990's and oughties, we often cycled until the week before Christmas and again from the week after New Year, and the break was mainly to accommodate people's family and other commitments. We rarely have snow, and frozen roads don't last long even in the winter sun, but black ice can be tricky between the hedgerows on the narrower lanes because the sun, down on the horizon, doesn't quite reach the road over the the greenery. For most of the year, you just have to be ready to ride when the sun comes out, and not mind a light drizzle. It helps to have pedalpals who're ready at an hour's notice.

Actually the good riding season started two months ago and will probably run to mid-December in an average year. Then the rains come and of course they know when you have a ride scheduled and will have perfect weather the day before and the day after. You do have to have dear for 40 degrees F in the mornings though.

Heh-heh. One place we lived, a neighbour said to me, "When I see you wheeling out your bike, I run to get my washing in, because the moment you start cycling, the rain falls."

I meant to say yesterday that you probably ruined a good hangover by feeding it oxygen on your ride.

Andre Jute
Rainmaker

I didn't mean major sorts of weather but I've been told that it rains nearly every day at some time.

On Wednesday, November 6, 2019 at 4:29:54 PM UTC, jbeattie wrote:
In the PNW, the whole spring season is racing in rain. Sitting in the pack, its like getting hit in the face with a fire hose of water and grit. That's tough on rims and chains.

And on your face. Case for a full-face helmet? Maybe mandatory, so nobody has a weight advantage?

Jokes aside, I like the KMC chains. Though inside my Chainglider even the bare steel does well, they're available in various stages of nickel plating, and they hang tough for a good long time. I trebled my chain mileage once I switched over from Shimano Nexus to KMC 8-xx.

Andre Jute
KMC chains are a quantum shift

On Wednesday, November 6, 2019 at 7:54:32 PM UTC, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Wednesday, November 6, 2019 at 1:51:35 AM UTC-8, Andre Jute wrote:
On Tuesday, November 5, 2019 at 8:44:32 PM UTC, Tom Kunich wrote:

In Ireland when does the weather ever permit?

You'd be surprised. During the "global warming" of the 1990's and oughties, we often cycled until the week before Christmas and again from the week after New Year, and the break was mainly to accommodate people's family and other commitments. We rarely have snow, and frozen roads don't last long even in the winter sun, but black ice can be tricky between the hedgerows on the narrower lanes because the sun, down on the horizon, doesn't quite reach the road over the the greenery. For most of the year, you just have to be ready to ride when the sun comes out, and not mind a light drizzle. It helps to have pedalpals who're ready at an hour's notice.

Actually the good riding season started two months ago and will probably run to mid-December in an average year. Then the rains come and of course they know when you have a ride scheduled and will have perfect weather the day before and the day after. You do have to have dear for 40 degrees F in the mornings though.

Heh-heh. One place we lived, a neighbour said to me, "When I see you wheeling out your bike, I run to get my washing in, because the moment you start cycling, the rain falls."

I meant to say yesterday that you probably ruined a good hangover by feeding it oxygen on your ride.

Andre Jute
Rainmaker

I didn't mean major sorts of weather but I've been told that it rains nearly every day at some time.

You were told right. We have a form of persistent drizzle called "a soft day" that we don't even count as rain. On my sort of ride, which is rarely longer than two hours even with a short stop at a view or a river or whatever, good quality rainwear doesn't have time to get wet through from "a soft day". Even wool outerwear, if the wool isn't processed so much that all the natural oils are lost, will keep the rain from reaching your skin for a couple of hours, but I find Aran sweaters and suchlike too hot. I'm big on layers of cotton to regulate body temperature by peeling and putting on.

Right now (2200hrs) it's 2 degrees C, but generally in the daytime, without the wind chill factor we'd have mild weather, even in winter in the mid-single figures to occasionally the lowest double figures. But even in summer 20C is a heatwave... Two or three months in the year you need a warm underlayer on your legs (I use motorbike winter underwear), but I hardly ever use long-sleeved underwear on top because I get too hot.

When I first came to live here, I walked around in a fur coat even in summer; now, if I ever returned to the desert in which I was born, I'd probably fall down dead from heatstroke as I step off the plane.

Andre Jute
2C warmer than in Galway on the Atlantic coast

On Wednesday, November 6, 2019 at 2:07:35 PM UTC-8, Andre Jute wrote:
On Wednesday, November 6, 2019 at 4:29:54 PM UTC, jbeattie wrote:
In the PNW, the whole spring season is racing in rain. Sitting in the pack, its like getting hit in the face with a fire hose of water and grit. That's tough on rims and chains.

And on your face. Case for a full-face helmet? Maybe mandatory, so nobody has a weight advantage?

Jokes aside, I like the KMC chains. Though inside my Chainglider even the bare steel does well, they're available in various stages of nickel plating, and they hang tough for a good long time. I trebled my chain mileage once I switched over from Shimano Nexus to KMC 8-xx.

I've been getting Shimano chains on sale lately, and they don't last that long -- but then again, I'm now 11 speed on all my bikes due to upgrades, thefts, new bike purchases, etc. 11sp does not last as long as any lower-number-of-speeds chain. I've used and liked KMC chains in the past and may try the 11 version, although I still have two or three Shimano chains to go through first.

-- Jay Beattie

On Wednesday, November 6, 2019 at 2:31:51 PM UTC-8, jbeattie wrote:
On Wednesday, November 6, 2019 at 2:07:35 PM UTC-8, Andre Jute wrote:
On Wednesday, November 6, 2019 at 4:29:54 PM UTC, jbeattie wrote:
In the PNW, the whole spring season is racing in rain. Sitting in the pack, its like getting hit in the face with a fire hose of water and grit.. That's tough on rims and chains.

And on your face. Case for a full-face helmet? Maybe mandatory, so nobody has a weight advantage?

Jokes aside, I like the KMC chains. Though inside my Chainglider even the bare steel does well, they're available in various stages of nickel plating, and they hang tough for a good long time. I trebled my chain mileage once I switched over from Shimano Nexus to KMC 8-xx.

I've been getting Shimano chains on sale lately, and they don't last that long -- but then again, I'm now 11 speed on all my bikes due to upgrades, thefts, new bike purchases, etc. 11sp does not last as long as any lower-number-of-speeds chain. I've used and liked KMC chains in the past and may try the 11 version, although I still have two or three Shimano chains to go through first.

-- Jay Beattie

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...&FOR M=VDRVRV