Willow Park 200K

[Cupcake/The Sock Monkey]

Yesterday had a very close call on the tandem. A car pulled out in
front of us. I slammed on the brakes but didn't have room enough to
stop without t-boning the car. Made a quick right turn and somehow
avoided hitting the car. "Pucker factor" was a 12 on a scale of
1-10. Car left without stopping. Maybe it was the obscenities I was
screaming that made them decide to leave.
Yesterday's ride was terrible. Bad weather, bad roads, bad drivers,
limited riding partners & we missed a turn and added 11 "bonus"
miles. Today's weather was great, good roads, good drivers, good
riding partners & no bonus miles.
I guess it all evens out.

[Gary Gottlieb]

Val,

Part of me is sorry that you had a bad ride and as the ride organizer part
of me takes offense to your e-mail.

The groups I was in had a good day out there. Yes there was a little mist
and drizzle but it still was a good ride.

John Pogue rode his first 300K and made his first venture into the realm of
200 miles plus rides. Jim Rimbey and Charlie Fenske did the 200K and both
had great rides. Jim was enjoying the ride even more because he was on his
new Merlin that rode like a "magic carpet" in his own words as he approached
Dinosaur Hill on FM 205. He was smiles ear-to-ear. We rode with them until
the routes split in Glen Rose. Why did you not ride with our group?

When darkness fell everyone commented on how peaceful it was as we glided
over Lake Granbury and the Brazos River before the grind up Tin Top Road to
Weatherford. We saw very few cars until we got to the Aledo area when a
football game let out, but still all of the drivers gave us plenty of room.

Most of the people I rode with on Saturday returned for Sunday's ride.

Sharon was having trouble keeping up on Sunday and I told the rest to go on.
At about mile 125 at the store in Zion Hill we checked it out. Her front
wheel was locked up and was very hard to move. Her Schmidt Edelux was a
short circuit and her generator hub was putting out full power no matter
what the switch setting was on the light. Once I unplugged the light the
wheel spun freely. All Schmidt hubs are limited to 6 watts so she was
pushing enough power in her front wheel to power four lights for all day. I
lit the way for her with my two Edelux lights. Good thing I have two
because we now know what happens if one fails. See there is method to my
madness.

These are the roads I ride on everyday. I believe the hills around the area
west and south of Fort Worth have made me a stronger rider. I am proud to
live and ride in the land not "east of the Trinity".

So "I guess it all evens out".

Gary G.

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"Lone * Star * Randonneurs" group.
To post to this group, send email to talk...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
talk2lsr+u...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/talk2lsr?hl=.

[Cupcake/The Sock Monkey]

Gary
Sorry you took offence to my post; I didn't intend to criticise you in
any way. I was just reporting our experience.
Congrats to all that reached personal milestones. I'm happy that
others had a good ride.
On the subject of lights, I'm only speaking for myself so please don't
take offence. I carry a completly independent back-up light system
(battery CateEye) becuse all lights (or hubs) can fail. If your hub
fails will your back-up light work?
Val

[Gary Gottlieb]

No worries Sock Monkey I still love you,

Good point on the generator hub. If my hub would fail I can turn my helmet light forward and set it to its brightest setting and it makes a great back up light. I normally run it on its lowers setting aimed down to illuminate my cue sheet an bike computers. Trouble is the only Schmidt hub I have ever seen fail was Bob Riggs and the wheel stopped turning. He called a friend from one of the controls and got a new front wheel and a battery light delivered.

Talking about bike computers I now run two cheap CatEyes. Last weekend's 400K Sharon's only computer failed. I rode with her so she would not miss any turns. This weekend's 300K one of my computers failed, but the second one kept me on track. That was not the case this Summer in Houston on one of the overnight brevets. Luckily Bob Riggs, Mark W., and Brannon kept Dana and I on course. The next day on the way home from Brookshire we stopped at PBS on Hullen and bought a second CatEye.

So if you think I am a geek with two identical bike computers, think again.

Plus there are many other reasons to call me a geek...

Gary G. aka Pimp Daddy

[Pam Wright]

aaaaaahhhhh Val.....I KNEW YOU LOVED ME!!!  "Limited riding partners" and in my pea brain, the only riding partner missing was MEEEEE :)   Wouldya take that up with the boss so I can get back to riding on weekends!!    Glad your pucker saved you guys from a car incident....we can ask Pat Horchoff how "those" work out!  No' so good. Pam Wright --- On Sun, 11/22/09, Cupcake/The Sock Monkey <bikep...@yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Cupcake/The Sock Monkey <bikep...@yahoo.com> Subject: [LSR] Willow Park 200K

-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Lone * Star * Randonneurs" group. To post to this group, send email to talk...@googlegroups.com.

To unsubscribe from this group, send email to talk2lsr+unsub...@googlegroups.com.

[Brenda Barnell]

Thanks for hosting the last two rides, Gary. It was a great way to
complete another series for the year.The nasty weather and gloomy
skies on Saturday are what I expect for winter riding that's why I
love the summer time. :-)

My 'pucker factor' for the day was when Mark and I got on FM 2580/ Tin
Top Hwy shortly after dark and had a car squeeling their brakes to
avoid us. We were single file, close to the fog line, tail lights on,
required reflective gear and the fear of waiting for the impact was a
scary feeling. Mark sped up, I did too and also took the gravel/grass
off of the pavement. Whew! Besides that huge heart rate speed, the
area is nice to ride around.

Safe travels and enjoy the upcoming holiday!