"the latest in doping"

Check this out: It is already happening. What I am seeing is that they dont know for sure right yet, but are looking in to it? Am I correct?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phonak confirms Landis rider in question
This report filed July 27, 2006
The Phonak Cycling Team confirmed Thursday that Tour de France winner Floyd Landis is the rider who submitted a positive "A" sample following the 17th stage of this year's Tour de France.

The UCI revealed Wednesday that the anti-doping laboratory at Châtenay-Malabry in Paris discovered an "adverse analytical finding" in a doping control taken during the 93rd Tour.
"The adverse analytical finding received on Wednesday morning relates to the first analysis and will have to be confirmed either by a counter-analysis required by the rider, or by the fact that the rider renounces to that counter analysis," the UCI statement said.

A positive "A" sample is only the first step in the process and does not constitute proof of any rider's use of performance-enhancing substances. The Phonak Cycling Team issued the following statement Thursday, confirming Landis as the rider in question:

The Phonak Cycling Team was notified yesterday by the UCI of an unusual level of Testosteron/Epitestosteron ratio in the test made on Floyd Landis after stage 17 of the Tour de France. The Team Management and the rider were both totally surprised of this physiological result. The rider will ask in the upcoming days for the counter analysis to prove either that this result is coming from a natural process or that this is resulting from a mistake in the confirmation. In application of the Pro Tour Ethical Code, the rider will not race anymore until this problem is totally clear. If the result of the B sample analysis confirms the result of the A sample the rider will be dismissed and will then pass the corresponding endocrinological examinations. Please understand that we cannot at this time give you more detailed comments.

___________________________________________________________________
if I am right in what I have read, why wouldn't they wait to post this until they are absolutely sure of the results? I am flabergasted.....

dissappointedly,

H

LAST CHANCE

As part of the Tour Mania, we have been raffling off a 'Team Courage'
jersey thru the month of July. If anyone is still interested, tickets
are still on sale at The Bicycle Store of Hermitage for $1 Each!!!

If you can't make it to the bike store, mail me your money at:

2'Wheel'd Freaks
Jersey Raffle
5071 East State St
Hermitage, PA 16148

Winner will be posted on the site and will need to reply with jersey size.

Saturday's B ride meeting at Park - 7:15 AM

We'll meet in the Country Club parking lot of Buhl Park at 7:15 AM. I have an 11:00 appointment, so I plan to ride for about two hours. We'll end up in New Wilmington(via Camp Ground Road), so if anyone wants to add some miles to the ride, plenty of options from there, including a good cup of coffee.

Call/email any questions.

Jay

Sorry bout the delay

Hey Freaks!

sorry about the late ride post -- took the weekend off and slow getting back into things. By the way, ventured up into the NY Finger Lake area (where a sister of mine lives) and talk about SWEET road biking!!!! Man, that place is just begging for an organized visit from the 2WFs. My big sis lives on a farm with a few fields that could easily hold a tent or two of us. And the roads, wide, smooth and rolling. Beautiful farmland and great views of the lakes. Just an idea, but i think a summer's end trip up there (either bike up/ride home, or ride up/bike around/ride home) would be awesome. Anyone interested -- COMMENT below.

Also, since Harm took the initiative, we will be MEETING AT THE PARK tonight and THUR. See everyone there

jm

just ya' know, stuff

Hey just wanted to let anyone who is interested know that I will be in the park tonight at 545-600 pm for a ride. I didn't see any updates on rides this week but am letting you all know that I will show for the ride. I would like to do a fairly easier pace with lots of hills if that is desireable...?

On a side note, just also want to wish a bit of luck to Jason Diurba who will be adventuring out to compete in the wilderness 101 at State College. Even though many go to this event with the idea of "finishing", and Jason said that he was going on those terms, I know him better than that! Jason has an unmatched desire to succeed and I know that he will give everything that he has to dominate as much as he can. Jason I am wishing you the best of luck on this endeavor. I know that you will knock 'em off the place list "just a little at a time!" (for those who dont know, the wilderness 101, is a 101 mile mtn bike race)

again ride tonight in the park 545-600 slow with hills.

Way to go FLOYD LANDIS !!!!!!

"Attention Mtn. Bikers"

Its the end of the week and wanted to know if there are any mountain bikers out there that would like to join any rides taking place this weekend? If you are please respond to this blog or email me at j_harmer@hotmail.com I am not sure if anyone else is planning on riding off road sat or sun, but wanted to put this out so that anyone could get out there if they wanted to.

I am planning on riding in Kennerdell both days of the weekend and would like to start around 8 or 9 am. I am only planning to ride there because it is the most feesible at the moment and I haven't heard from anyone on where to go. If you would like to go and have a better place in mind, again blog it or mail me.

Look to hear from someone, hopefully.

See ya...

Jason

Saturdays Ride 7/22 from Bike Store @ 7:15 AM

This will be a causal ride, 40-50 miles, not sure of route. Show up, we'll discuss options.
We will leave at 7:20 AM.

Any questions, drop me an email or give me call.

Jay
724-962-1861

The Tour

OH MY GOSH!!!!!

Today's stage is one to see and one to go down in history! I won't ruin your surprise.

OH MY GOSH!!!!!!

LE TOUR DE FRANCE

I am sure that everyone is capable of spoiling this news on their own, but I thought that I would beat someone to the punch. Floyd has recaptured the lead and the "Yellow Jersey" once again, on perhaps one of the most crucial and difficult stages of the Tour. The Alp d' Huez has over the last few years (Lance to thank for this), become the definning stage of the tour. We saw Lance pound the competition and gain seconds and minutes over his competitors in the last few years. Upon hearing that the heavy hitters of the tour were being pulled for doping, I thought that this is a great opportunity for Floyd as he spent countless miles in the shadow of Lance on all these great climbing stages. Make no mistake about it, Floyd knows exactly how he needs to ride these hill stages in order to repeat or mimic Lances performances. Hopefully he will be able to gain more time through the remaining hill stages and have the support of his Phonak team to get him a top notch podium finish on the Champs. Note: Axel Mercx, son of the great Eddie Mercx was there atop the Alp d' Huez to assist Floyd in taking the yellow. It looks good for him for now, lets hope all goes well. Yes my Tour interest has been re-sparked.

Tonight would probably be a good night for a viewing of the stage. If anyone is interested, please blog this, or comment on this blog, or bring it up at the ride this evening. There was a chance of a little precipitation today, but looked as though it would be around between 10 and 3 or 4. I haven't seen it yet but am hoping that it wont get pushed into our riding time.

Hope to see as many as possible at the store for the ride this eve.

Have a great day!

Jason

2WF's OUT OF THE SADDLE

ok, for a little change of venue, come to D'Vanzos tonight any time after 8pm for some Tour action. And now for the visual aid. . .

Confirmed Appt. 07/13/2006

hey just wanted to make sure that this was noted for all that are interested. we are going to sit-down at "D'Vanzo's" (spelling) tonight around 830 if anyone would like to join. i know that there was nothing set in stone or advertised on the blog, so here it is. i am going to meet with anyone in the park at usual time (weather provided) and then stop down at restaurant for "Telley, Chow, and Conversation."

See Ya on the ride or after........

Jason

Any one up for some Rock Climbing?

While we are training / racing this summer, biking, tri's, running, you name it, someone is doing it, and I do realize that this is a bike blog, I'd like to toss out a very challenging, interesting, fun activity as a change up for a day. See below:

---

Saturday, August 19

Rock Climbing
Imagine the feeling of using your own two hands and feet to pull yourself up the side of a cliff. Rock climbing is becoming a popular outdoor sport; it’s great for strength and confidence building. After a short hike over easy terrain, we will learn about equipment, safety, how to belay, and some of the necessary knots. Afterwards, we’ll do some climbing and hopefully get in some rappelling! A variety of climbs will be set up so that even inexperienced participants (or even those who are afraid of heights) can experience success. In this one-day class, all instruction and equipment is provided for you, including the climbing shoes. Please dress in nonrestrictive pants such as sweats, Lycra or climbing pants, bring plenty of water and pack a lunch. More information will be provided upon registration. This is a beginner’s class and no experience is necessary.
Location: McConnell's Mill State Park
Time: 9:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Cost: $45.00 member/$55.00 non-member
Organization: Venture Outdoors

I'm going and so is is Mark Bianco. If you never have tried climbing, it's a great workout.
Any questions or comments, drop an email or give me a call.

Jay

6 HOURS OF POWER RESULTS

Well, not sure why i'm the one posting this, but here it is . . .

6 HOURS OF POWER TEAM RESULTS - FINAL - JULY 9, 2006
# Rider Names Team Name Cat Lap1 Lap2 Lap3 Lap4 Lap5 Lap6 Lap7 Lap8 Place
102 TRAVIS SAELER/TJ PLATT DIRTY HARRY'S/GARY FISHER MM- 0:46:17 1:30:35 2:15:30 3:00:37 3:46:29 4:33:32 5:25:17 6:13:29 1 Overall Team
129 SCOTT ROOT/EVAN PERRONE DIRTY HARRYS/GARY FISHER/FEARL MM31 0:50:29 1:38:18 2:26:57 3:16:20 4:06:00 4:57:20 5:47:08 6:41:12 2 2nd Place Overall Team
134 MIKE BROWNE/RYAN LABAR DIRT RAG: 2 SAFE DAYS MM- 0:50:18 1:39:12 2:29:23 3:20:06 4:09:59 5:02:24 5:54:52 6:48:39 3 3rd Place Overall Team
117 JASON HARMER/JASON DIURBA TEAM FRED MM31 0:51:50 1:40:06 2:31:25 3:20:40 4:17:11 5:08:02 6:04:57 4
109 BRAD CARBAUGH/JAMIE HUGHEY RED DOOR RACING MM31 0:50:30 1:38:52 2:28:49 3:20:00 4:11:06 5:04:04 6:12:17 5
115 JEFF WALKER/BRANDON FURBER THE 2 GEEZERS MM41 0:51:13 1:41:33 2:32:37 3:25:10 4:23:28 5:17:36 6:18:09 6
141 HARRY SHERRILL/FRANCIS MAGUIRE MT. NITTANY WHEELWORKS MM31 0:54:46 1:47:57 2:40:19 3:35:58 4:30:00 5:27:54 6:21:29 7
111 JOE MORELLO/ROB KLINSHAW SHIFTING GEARS MM31 0:54:21 1:44:54 2:37:59 3:32:58 4:27:56 5:27:30 6:28:06 8
135 CHRIS MICHAELS/COREY KNOWLES SHIFTING GEARS MM- 1:02:06 1:54:42 2:47:12 3:42:50 4:35:07 5:34:09 6:28:10 9
107 MATTHEW TINKEY/CHRIS HUFFMAN SLOWSKIS MM31 0:57:50 1:52:15 2:44:45 3:43:33 4:36:02 5:35:09 6:28:34 10
118 HEATH NEELY/DAVE KRACK NEELKRACK SPEEDGOAT MM31 1:02:09 1:55:44 2:48:33 3:43:16 4:39:02 5:35:30 6:30:10 11
133 EDWARD ROSIPAYK/JIM VREELAND SIGNSANDLOGOS.NET MM41 0:54:42 1:49:01 2:43:30 3:40:11 4:36:56 5:36:27 6:35:09 12
130 A.J. FINKELSTEIN/THOMAS WILBER FAMILY GUYS MM41 0:54:28 1:49:04 2:44:18 3:39:22 4:35:23 5:38:52 6:36:25 13
154 PAULA BITTLER/RYAN GOTCH URBAN GREENSPACE MIX31 0:50:15 1:49:50 2:40:00 3:43:04 4:36:00 5:40:09 6:37:22 14
110 BOB DAHL/JIM YOUNG HOLLYLOFT/FRAME OF MIND TIMERW MM31 0:58:39 1:50:52 2:48:49 3:41:54 4:43:24 5:39:15 6:41:36 15
120 GINO MARTIN/ROBERT LOCHNER BIKE LINE OF GREENSBURG MM- 0:57:11 1:52:36 2:48:58 3:44:52 4:44:10 5:40:43 6:41:38 16
119 DONALD HOSAFLOOZ/AARON TIMBROOK DIRTY HARRY'S MM31 0:55:32 1:52:38 2:47:20 3:46:07 4:41:55 5:43:45 6:42:24 17
150 DESANZO BETH/DESANZO CARMEN ULTIMATE SPORTS MIX- 0:54:48 1:53:14 2:46:31 3:47:06 4:42:59 5:47:21 6:45:54 18
106 PETER MUENCH/TODD HARAN RUBBER SIDE DOWN/PARK AVE BIKE MM31 0:55:46 1:53:16 2:47:09 3:48:29 4:49:53 5:53:48 6:51:09 19
104 SENN ERIC/JEZIORSKI,SCOTT "WOODY" MM31 0:56:36 1:57:26 2:52:05 3:54:00 4:50:23 5:54:54 6:51:39 20
139 NATHAN RAUPP/PETER NUESSLE RED DOOR MM31 0:55:45 1:57:27 2:51:29 3:53:04 4:48:30 5:54:16 6:52:26 21
105 RANDY GALIPO/ADAM REITZ MM31 0:58:42 1:53:56 2:52:39 3:51:07 4:50:44 5:51:57 6:52:33 22
128 CHRIS HONNESS/STEVE WEBER MID LIFE CRISIS MM41 0:57:48 1:56:19 2:51:28 3:52:11 4:51:30 5:52:42 6:53:20 23

you may have to do a little reading between the lines but here are all the times.


Again, Great job all you that road.


jm

Possible Coffee Ride for Saturday

Leave bike store, head out to Rt. 7, left on Rt.88 to Rt. 5, ride into Warren, stop at Mocha House (27 miles appx.), head out Market to Rt. 193, back to Sharon. See this link, but total ride is 57 miles, so we'll need to see how group feels along with weather, but if we stop 1/2 way, drink coffee, eat some light food, should be good to go.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=290732.

Open for comments.

Jay

Proposed Route for Tue 7-11 Ride

Check this route out -- 27-30 miler done at nice moderate pace.

SHENANGO LAKE LOOP

MTB RACE

EMAIL ME OR HARMER FOR APPLICATIONS!!!!


two.wheeld.feakz@verizon.net

"4 in the mix of the 6"

Good day to all. I just wanted to let everyone know how the race went for the four of us, who alot of you know, who participated in the "6 Hours of Power" this past weekend. To start I will just give you a little background about the race. It is a six hour endurance event in which you may participate as a single man/woman, or a two person (male/male or female/female) team. They also have age groups of under thirty and thirty-one to forty, and forty plus. You start, however you decide, or shall I say one person starts the race and at the completion of one lap you then tag your partner, if you have one, and then they proceed to do their lap.








The start of the race is a Le Mans style start and for those of you who do not know what that means, it means that you run a short distance and then hop on and go. This can be very taxing to those muscles that you plan on using just minutes after you kill them while running. I do not have much personal experience in this portion as my teammate takes one for us and usually does the running. Jason I owe you big time for your running, but I absolutely wouldn't put anyone else in those shoes! So, if you check the photo above you will see the starting line up of the race. Hard to see, but you can identify Jason Diurba and Ryan Gotch standing just to the left of the guy in the middle with the white shirt on.

In almost an exact repeat of what we all did three years ago. Ryan and Paula put together some very great lap times to finish in the top of their category and take first place for the second time in three years. Jason and I also claimed the top prize in our class, with some also very good lap times. Overall upon looking at the results today I discovered that we were also in fourth place overall in the entire competition. I also want to note to all that for Glenn Gerasimek and Dave Hornak (their first ever six hours of power, and Glenn's first ever cycling competition) they did excellent. They finished the event just as they told me that that was what they wanted to do. I think that after hearing some words from Dave that we are in the beginnings of transforming yet another roadie into a mountain biker. I am here for you Dave! Glenn, congratulations on your first ever Mtn. Bike race, and 1st cycling event. I give you tons of "props" (for lack of something better) for what you have done.

I also want to mention to you someone whom you all have never met. She was there three years ago and went away a winner and also did exceptionally well this year. Bonnie Hartman placed second overall in the womans solo 6 hours. Bonnie rides for CITGO/Grey Goat, and has spent countless hours riding with some of your fellow freaks.

So there you have it. Hopefully at some point we may have some others joining us in our future endeavors in up and coming cycling events. Please let us all know if you all have any upcoming events and where they may be held, as we all may like to participate.

take care,

Jason

p.s. first time adding photos, forgive my editing capabilities.....

Tour de Freaks!!!

Well, for those of you that were rolling over in your beds at 5:30 this morning, here's a recap. . . check the 11 o'clock news. The 2-Wheel'd Freakz got some major air time this morning with Frank Marzullo and TV 21. Here is a couple pics of me and my two gals -- Murphy, the one in pink, whooped Frank's butt in the trike race.



A special thanks to Randy Brown, Dave George and Rob Forner for coming out to support the crew. Randy, don't feel bad -- you hung in there with the Murph-ster a lot better than I did.

On a side note, a few other 2WFs came home with first place honors. Paula B, Ryan G, and our two Jasons all won at the 6 Hours of Power race this past weekend. More details and photos for follow.

Although we haven't heard from our social chairs, i think some time this week would be a good time to get the crew together at D'Vanzos for a little Tour de France watching and some race recaps. What does everybody think. COMMENTS ENCOURAGED!


jm

Tour De Frank

LAST CALL FOR TOUR DE FRANK!!

Monday 7-10-06 at 5:30AM be at the Bicycle Store of Hermitage for a trike race with Frank Marzulo. Fun time for all!!!

Tour of Crawford County

Sorry- a little late to post this info, but if anyone is interested, the the Tour of Crawford County is tomorrow, Sunday 7/9. There is a 20,40,62,or century option. For information see http://www.tourofcrawford.com/

B-Ride for Saturday-7/8

Since we want to be back at the Bike Shop around 10, we'll do an easy (12-15 mph) out past Kinsman via Rt. 7, turn around, head back in making our way to bike shop to meet up with the early riders. This is a nice flat ride, few hills. Should be a great morning ride.

Jay

PENN OHIO 40 miler for Saturday 6:30am Ride

Here it is -- going to drive it tonight with the girls and an ice cream just to make sure the roads are in decent shape. Only road that may change is 422 -Ben Franklin Hwy coming out of Hubbard.


PENN OHIO 40 MILE RTE

jm

The Tour can be viewed on OLN (Outdoor Life Network). You can get the view schedule, and daily reports at:

http://www.olntv.com/tdf/article/view/758/?ss=tv&tf=Body.tpl

The Tour airs Live at 8:30 a.m., then replays at 2:30, 5, and 8. There's expanded coverage during the 8 - 11 p.m. viewing, and this might be the best time for socializing. We could aim for this Thursday or Friday or for next week. If there's interest, I'll contact DaVanzo's and warn them. Comment if interested.

The Tour is off to a tumultuous start with 3 riders kicked off including 3 main contenders (Basso, Ullrich, and Mancebo) due to suspected drug use.

George Hincapie, Lance's long time right hand man, wore the yellow (overall leader) after stage 1, but lost it to Norway's Thor Hushovd after stage 2. This was impressive of Hushovd since he was badly wounded from a spectator's advertisement sign during stage 1.

Other Americans to keep an eye on include David Zabriskie, Floyd Landis, Chris Horner, Bobby Julich, and Levi Leipheimer.

Maybe one day, after years of riding together, the 2wf's can travel to view the Tour live in France!!!

Avoir.

VIEWING THE TOUR

HEY ALL,

whoever has a TV schedule of the Tour, could you post some air times so people can post when they might like to get together to watch at DeVanzos. And PB, since Jason Diurba seems to be AWOL, guess that makes you the social chair. I'm putting the viewing schedule in your hands -- good luck. (I don't even know what OLN is-- no cable here).

Jimmy Buffet Juvenile Diabetes Benefit!!!

EMAIL AMY OR JOHN IF INTERESTED IN TICKETS

I've heard Cross's talk on Everest -- truly inspiring. If the food and beer aren't alluring enough, this guy should make up your mind for you.

To all who are interested....We will be having our 2nd annual "Jimmy Buffett" juvenile diabetes benefit bash at the Shriners on lamor road in Hermitage, on July 15th , 5:00PM. All you can eat, chicken, lamb, pork, all you can drink beer, entertainment, a steel drum band, DJ, acoustic guitarist, chinese auction and a motivational speach by Will Cross, juvenile diabete who hiked Mt. Everest and more. We would love to see all our friends here at this benefit and help find a cure for juvenile diabetes!!!!! A guarenteed great time. To RSVP your tickets call me 724-962-0881 or email me by Wednesday the 5th. IF you sold tickets, please email me on how many you sold! Hope to see you there.

Poor Showing for Saturday

Well, I must say I was i little disappointed with the turnout for this Saturday morning. Debbie & Mike had some refreshments and snacks ready for us and were really excited about having us ride from their shop. We had 4 riders for 6:30AM and 2 for the 8AM (both new riders at that). I wasn't expecting a lot for the early ride but thought we'd get at least 6-7 for the later ride.

I AM NOT GIVING UP! There is no ride Tue due to the holiday, but we are scheduled to ride from The Bicycle Store again on next Satuday (they are planning on having a big tent set up with vendors and such). I know a lot of you will be tied up with a MTB event, but i'd rally like everyone else to make a good showing. I'm going to try a lot harder to get anyone I know with a bike out there and i plan on leading them and staying with them. I don't want to be a STATIC riding broup, I want to be DYNAMIC -- accomodating to riders of all levels. If we get large enough, people will find people to ride with at their own level. In saying that, I would really like all of you READERS to start becoming WRITERS -- to start using this blog to POST YOUR OWN RIDES -- TIMES -- ROUTES, etc. That way, if you work till 6 on Tue and Thur and can't make the ride, you can find someone else out there looking to ride at another time.

I'm rambling here. To reiterate briefly -- let's jump start this group and try to grow it. Also, USE THIS BLOG!!! I'll work on seeing if I can put up a 'ride board' for people looking for people to ride on off days/hours. I am no where near giving up on the vision that is the 2-Wheel'd Freakz.

ANYONE READING THIS, PLEASE COMMENT BELOW WHETHER OR NOT YOU'LL BE ABLE TO MAKE NEXT SATURDAY'S RIDE A THE BICYCLE STORE. A YES OR NO WOULD REALLY HELP IN HELPING DEB and MIKE PREPARE.


thanks again all

jm

Tour de France on the big screen

there has been a request for some off-the-bike socializating (no helmets, sunglasses or tight fitting clothing) among the 2WFs, and one suggestion, being that July is almost here, is to get together to watch the Tour de France. My friend Debbie of The Bicycle Store wrote this

hey John -
I am soooo excited for you all. I went over to La Isla; They DO NOT have
OLN network. Boo-hoo-hoo. I then called DAvanzo's - THEY DO!!!! The
Manager's name is Lynn (724-342-3467). I told her you would call. She
seemed willing to put OLN on screen. Just wanted to know some days/times/#
of people. I said you would know this better than I. I called them,
instead of Inn 62, because I can't even eat at Inn 62 it is SO SMOKie. If
this place isn't acceptable, let me know. And maybe we can call elsewhere.
DEB

So, I am calling upon our co-social chairs, PB and Jason (hello Diurba, you out there?) to make the call. DaVanzos does have a big screen TV as well as cold beers. Plus, they seem willing. Comment below Yea or Nay. I'm leaving this one up to the group.


jm

"two wheeled goats"

that is the new name of the A+ group "two wheeled goats"... these goats are relentless climbing maniacs. it has been quite sometime since i have had the pleasure of a rising pace on a hill difficult enough to climb alone. so another verbal congratulations goes out to all our riders last night, who showed, on an excellent job climbing that monstrosity. i hope that in the future i can find some hills that can maybe last a little longer for everyone. but really, great job on all your climbing efforts "goats."

remember that this saturday is the first stop at the Bicycle shop for the tour. I am going to try and get there in the am either with mtn bike ready to rock or road bike ready to roll. Hopefully we can get a bunch of people together for the support of the store.

ride hard, ride fast, ride far, and ride smart!

"let me specify"

just for all you who read the blog for the schedule of events. i just want to make clear that i said i would be there tonight regardles, "rain", or "shine." well i just wanted to clarify what that means to me. Rain- - -a dripping pour or sprinkle, versus the terrential downpour accompanied by lightning and thunder. Shine- - -well you all know that one.

reason being...i was once trying to beat a storm from new castle. i saw the deathly blackness in the sky and thought with around 15-20 miles to go, that i could beat it. Well approaching the 318 area on bethel new wilmington road, it got me. the winds were so bad, i felt like i should have had a V8 (ya know like them on that commercial), and was being blasted with sticks dirt and leaves. i passed a tree and the wind blew it over directly behind me. it hit the power lines and caused a wavelength in the cables, that all of a sudden seemed to be chasing me. i was so scared by this time that i blew through the intersection at 318 in front of two cars and straight into the garage of people whom were watching the storm.

in any case i just get pretty timid when the storms are intense. i dont mind the rain too too much it is just the nasty stuff. See you all later with hoods on...!

harmsway

Tour de Frank

HEY ALL!

Just in case you failed to read the fine print -- the July 10th trike race at The Bicycle Store is from 5:30-7:00 AM. We're talking sunrise! Hope that does scare all you potential racers and fans away.

jm

Let's Try it Again

I am reposting a previous post from last week. As you all know, what was looking like the best ride of the summer thus far was cancelled last Thursday due to Thunder Storms. We're going to try it again ...

"Thursday ride, you will have the distinct pleasure of discovering the two things that our neighboring town of New Wilmington PA does right -- it's COFFEE and it's HILLS!! We will be taking off from Mugsies Coffee House at 6:00pm (there is parking directly across the street). If you need a quick after-work-boost before the ride, their coffee will do it.



Harmer is planning on doing another one of his grueling hill circuits and the route looks pretty enticing.



Harm's Hill Circuit: NEW WILMINGTON CIRCUIT

tuesday's gone with wind........

word...! hey i just wanted to give a "Hell Yeah!" to those of you who have been riding with/without the group. those of you who are doin it on your own, IT SHOWS! and those who aren't you are still improving greatly. over the past couple weeks it seems as though tuesdays ride is getting faster and faster. we have a couple of people that are willing and able to push the pace and some who are starting to get the overall picture and work with the entire group to increase the longevity of the ride and the riders. I am totally impressed with what I am seeing.

as i have stated before, riding together will help everyone out. tighter riding lines and stacking yourselves closer together really tends to cut down on a lot of drag and resistance due to the wind. everyone seems to be trying to get er dun the way it is intended to be. i would really love to see more people show for the rides, this way we could divy things up and have everyone ride in groups in which they feel would be more appropriate for them. we would really like to get all of our groups implemented so that everyone can be where they need to be according to their abilities.

all in all congratulations on your improvements guys/girls, and keep striving to get better. count your alone time in the saddle as double time, cause that is where you make yourself who/what you are on the bike. all who want to come out and ride, please remember i will always try to make each ride that i am on as beneficial to you as i possibly can.

also wanted to mention that July 8th and 9th we have a few people who will be returning (as former winners) to the "6 Hours of Power", to attempt to claim the first positions in their classes. Jason N' Jason will be riding as a two man team 30+, P.B. and Ryan Gotch will be riding as a male/female team, and outside of others I dont know about, there are two others who will take a stab at the competition. Glenn Gerasimek (Gerasimek's Tree Service) and David Hornak (Hornak's Sales and Service), will be on a two man team 30+. Wish us all luck as this 6 hours is a very difficult race and will push us all close to our limits if not exceed them. If anyone would like to just come and check it out, you can get to their site by and through www.heartrateup.com. You may also check the results and possibly see some photos there too after the race is complete.

ride fun, ride far, and ride fast....

harmsway

Team Courage -- All Smiles

Just wanted to post a shot of the Team Courage members who participated in the Tour de Cure last Sunday. A good time was had by all (despite a major wipe-out by yours truly)and we raised a little money for a great cause in the process.

Who's ready to sign up for next year?

i think i can, i think i can

hey just wanted to post this link for anyone who would like to ready an interesting, bicycle related story, and blog. this guy has come a long way, and it is pretty amazing. I have not read everything yet, but will try to do so. I found that what i had read was interesting enough to pass on to all. Here you are: http://whatsyourstory.msn.com/?src=spaceshome&id=2&GT1=8232

enjoy, and remember long live the cycling community, and thanks to all of you who are participating in creating a culture within our society (locally) that did not exist for quite some time. We are all greatly appreciative of your participation.

sincerely,

Jason

TOUR MANIA -- "Tour De Frank"

This just in. . .

Monday July 10th 5:30-7:00 am at The Bicycle Store of Hermitage
"Tour De Frank" - Frank Mazullo of Channel 21 will be doing live telecast
from store. We need "riders" to race against him in tricycle race!!
We will be serving food and "champagne"!!
Please try to recruit as many people as possible
Thanks, Debbie


Stopped by the Bike Store at lunch to give them some more of our cards. They are pretty jacked about Frank coming. Hey! I don't know where else you could dust Frank Marzullo on a trike AND have Champagne with him afterwards. And we've got a personal invite. COMMENT BELOW if you'd like to sign up for the race. BYOT (Bring Your Own Trike). If you don't have one, I think the Bike Store may be supplying TREK trikes. Either way -- sounds like a great event.

Maybe we'll have some 2wf T-shirts by then! I'm working on it.


jm

NEW LOOK FOR 2WF

HEY ALL!

In trying to keep busy during this lousy weather, i've started playing around with a 'logo' for our group. Looking for input. Let me know what you think of this rough draft -- comments, criticisms, other ideas, etc are encouraged. I am not too excited about Font right now. Need a little help.

Morraine State Park

Wow, is that forest something else? Mountain biked last weekend in Morraine State Park and boy oh boy, does it remind me of how to make a mountain biker a mountain biker. This place is covered with all the terrain necessary to make you a true mtn biker. You have some really challenging hill climbs, tough rock garden sections, few flats to recover, and much off camber trail to challenge even the best of mtn bikers. I cannot say enough for the technical status that this place has.

Years ago when the original makers of the trail created it, there were so many rough sections that you almost had a hard time even riding it. There was so much mud in some places that you could not ride them, and so many rocks that you didn't dare fall down. Since then there must be a newer crowd maintaining things because the routes have been changed to avoid the mud, make it a little longer and get some more traversible rocky sections. They have also added many many (wheel barrow loads i am guessing) sections of gravel to soak some of the water, i think. But again still managing to provide a very difficult place to ride.

I unfortunately had the inconvienence of getting a flat tire on the front wheel. Since I did not use my noggin i did not bring a tube, which provided me with the pleasure of stopping to pump my tire every five to ten minutes. Make sure that you are prepared for anything when mountain biking in any area. Anything can go wrong and sometimes it always does.

In any case I just wanted to let everyone know about this place because it truly is an awesome place to ride, and will sincerely change a mountain biker who wants a place to ride to get better. There are other places to go that will also set the grounds for serious improvement, but many are a little further to drive to get to. If you have the luxury of also having a mountain bike, dont be affraid to get out there and try this aspect of cycling out. You just might find that you are a mountain biker at heart. It will challenge you in ways that you probably would never have thought you could be.

To all us roadies on the outside, I shall see you all tues and thurs this week. Keep in mind that thursday we will be on a circuit ride and that pace will be slower unless we are on the hill. The idea is to judge where you are at the beginning and ride the hill harder but still attempting to keep enough in reserve such that you may climb the hill repeatedly. This will also teach your body to recover after a hard effort. Recovery is key even while you are on the bike.

Summer Intake:

Water or energy drink: one bottle an hour
Food intake: 250 calories an hour

Winter Intake: Same

See ya all soon......

Jason

Pittsburgh Bike Mass

CALLING ALL 2WF'S:

The idea of a "bike mass" is for us bikers to claim the streets back from rude, oblivious passers-by on four motored wheels. At least that's part of it. Now I'm not suggesting we convert to 'Amishism' (although that has some appeal), just one fun night out in a wonderful city as a GROUP, if enough of us are interested.

SIDE BAR: Recently, at an extremely challenging, hilly marathon called God's Country Marathon in Olean, N.Y., an Amish women joined the race.....in her traditional Amish get-up (a heavy fabric dress), on a very warm day. One guy, a very good runner and iron-man competitor, said to his new wife (who was new to running), "Your goal is to beat her." Well, the Amish women beat them both! True Story.

The Pittsburgh Bike Mass next Friday, June 30th, would be a great opportunity for our bike club to get together (Groups A+, B, M, ect.)!!! John and Amy, wouldn't it be great to tour the town and NOT freeze your .............(fill in the blank) off?!!?! I'm happy to be a d.d. for up to four, but could only take two bikes.

Post a comment to this site if interested, and we could discuss at next week's Tues./Thur. ride.

HATE TO DO THIS, BUT...

As I type, the newly installed storm warning on Snyder hill is blaring news of the Thunderstorm, and as much as I hate to cancel what may have very well been the best ride of the year, I'm going to pull the plug on this one folks. I've gotten a few "I'm outs" from fellow riders, and even our ride leader Jason 'Harmless' Harmer has posted satellite images of tonights forcast -- and it doesn't look good. On top of the thunder and lightning there is also a call for 3/4" hail, which would be ok if we were not riding at 15-20 miles an hour (off the hill of course). And even though -- with the way weather forecasting has been going lately-- it may very well be sunny and 75 come 6PM,
it is with a sad heart that I am officially POSTPONING (that's right, postponing not cancelling -- you don't think i'd let you all off that easy) this awesome ride till next Thursday.

Painstakingly yours,

jm
2-WF Ride Organizer

weather

here is what i have to say about tonight:

http://www.weather.com/weather/map/USPA0707?name=index_large_animated&day=1&from=36hr_svrWatch_golf

you'll make the call......

jason...

Singletracker 4 Evva

Hey;

I'm in the book, you probably have my email. Call/Email, we'll hook up for any type of training your little O'le heart desires.

I remain Jewish:

J

Wheres R fearless "B" leader? J-who?

I was wondering what ever happened to that guy that said he would lead a slower "B" group on tuesday and saturday? Does anyone know who I am talking about? Older fella, a little taller, maybe losing a few folicles, may be in running shoes, mtn shoes, road shoes, swim shoes, drill instructor shoes.....etc. If anyone should see this fine gentleman, could you please report the siting on this here very blog, as it is very important that we speak with him as soon as it may be possible.

If anyone is desiring a ride on Saturday, please let me know. I am looking for a shorter faster ride on the road, but if I may find anyone interested in pounding some ATB trails, i am down with that too. Just would like to have a hard day in, prior to the "CRUISE" on sunday.

p.s. - - -talk to all and please try to get as many as possible to attend all and any rides departing from the bike store in the next couple of weeks. I wont be able to be there for all of them as we have some upcoming racing events, but will do my best to be there when I can. Also if anyone is interested in attending these up and coming endurance events, let someone know. Even if you dont race, it is still quite an experience, and one that I may also say you most likely wont forget. You may even quite possibly get the spark ignition that you need to send you into the mountain biking world.

"Singletracker 4-Evva"

Pittsburgh BikeFest 2006

Check out their Blog as well as their web site -- lots happening!!!

Bike Pittsburgh Blog

3 Things to Remember!

just a quick post to remind all you 2-WFs of three upcoming events.

#1. Thursday Ride (6/22) taking off from Mugsies in New Wilmington (see post below for more info). It's going to be one hell of a ride -- BE THERE!

#2. Tour de Cure (6/25) starting at Seneca Valley High School. Various ride lengths. See post below for more details and link.

#3. TOUR MANIA starts at 'The Bicycle Store' in Hermitage. All Tuesday and Saturday rides will be taking off from there starting Saturday 7-1 at 6:30am!!!! Please either email me or leave a comment below if you plan on making it. Mike and Debbie would like an idea how many of us might be there -- word is they may feed us upon our return!!!



Your Fellow Freak,

jm

This weeks line up!!!

OK, so i've noticed a little lapse in participation lately -- 3 or 4 riders here, 5 or 6 there. Well, in an attempt to KICK START the group so that we can be up to full throttle again for the July Tour festivities, I've altered this weeks schedule slightly. Tuesday's ride will still be from the park -- regular time 5:45-6:00pm start. However, for those of you attending the Thursday ride, you will have the distinct pleasure of discovering the two things that our neighboring town of New Wilmington PA does right -- it's COFFEE and it's HILLS!! We will be taking off from Mugsies Coffee House at 6:00pm (there is parking directly across the street). If you need a quick after-work-boost before the ride, their coffee will do it.



Harmer is planning on doing another one of his grueling hill circuits. Depending on how many show and who wants to, i placed a link to an alternate route for those not wanting to chase their tails -- although now that i've seen Harm's route, it's pretty enticing.



Harm's Hill Circuit: NEW WILMINGTON CIRCUIT

Alternate Route: NEW WILMINGTON RIDE

Group A+, and Group M

Hey just wanted to let you all know that it is now upon us to spend some time off-the-road in the next few weeks. As you all may know, or have heard, a couple of us "Heavy Hitters" are primarily Mountain Biking guru's. Since it is getting later in the summer months "ALREADY", we have to begin to prepare those muscles, that we dont really excersize while road riding, for the beating we will subject ourselves to on the trails of upcoming events. The one that a few of us will be hitting will be the 6-Hours of power in Ellicottville, New York. This is a tag team relay event (or solo, if you so desire) in which two persons riding of an on for Six Hours straight, on the slopes and trails of Holiday Valley Ski-Resort.

I want to introduce to all the "Group-M" which will be a Mountain Biking group that will be meeting on Sunday Mornings at various places every weekend. Now I do want to say that I cannot guarantee the pace or place of every ride. The pace, even when we would like to keep it slow, doesn't always remain constant. Since those of us who ride together off road have such a passion for speed and dirt, we all tend to force the pace and usually someone will be suffering. If you would like to join us you are more than welcome to do so. Just remember that our pace can get brutal at times, and we all love to blaze the trail. I will do what I can to converse with John about posting our mountain bike rides for sundays on the web so that if you are interested you may join, or even get a ride.

My next topic will be the "Group-A+". I was told two weeks ago that "we need to have a group that rides faster." I did not say much about it at the time, but thought about it over the last two weeks. Maybe we should change things to "A, B, & C and the M of course", in essence giving us the Fast A, Intermediate B, and the Cruising C, with the adventurous M's of course. I will have to talk with "Big John" on that. However, I want to introduce this week the A+ on thursday to start. I will take out whomever would like to go out with the idea in mind of working a little harder than normal to test our limits and increase our potential. What I am talking of is getting a couple of people together that would like to increase their potential so that on competition day they may be a little further than the guy standing next to them on the line. We can do some hill repeats, sprints, intervals, tempo riding, etc. I just want to make clear that whatever we do this will not be an easy ride. So if that is not your goal on that day, dont do it! Trust me on this though, whatever we do as the A+ group, you will benefit from it, I promise.

I would like to also back up PB (now gonna call her Peanut Butter) on her post. I cannot say enough for what everyone has collectively become a part of. There have been many occassions in the past twenty years of my life as a cyclist that people have tried to start some type of riding group in the area. None have stayed. I would really love to see this group of people become a long and lasting thing for many moons to come. You have no idea how awesome it is to see people getting together to ride continuously. I mean I have spent thousands and thousands of miles on the road and hundreds of miles off road, and have done so many of them alone. When you have people to ride with things always seem to be that much more motivating to you. I know that sometimes you dont always get what you want out of riding with a group, but those would be the days that you should be alone. When you don't really feel so much like going out there and sweating it out, or it is too cold........all us freaks that will.........should be the motivation to help you do so. Not to mention, people that ride, no matter the personality, will always have something to talk about. You can never be in a group of people that ride and not find something to speak about. You will always feel at home with them, and always be capable of having a common ground.

Looking forward to riding the 100 this weekend with as many of you as possible. Hopefully I wont feel to frisky and decide to jump on any fast wheels and dissappear again. Also looking forward to getting a pretty good plus ride in on thursday and a nice day on tuesday. Try to encourage all you know to attend the rides this week and next week so that we may encourage all to attend the up coming Tour Festivities in July starting from the Bike Shop in Hermitage.

See You all soon....

Harmsway

Gratitude

This is not an informative post...just a thank you to John and everyone for the group rides. It's been great to share the passion of riding with other people close to home. Some of which we may never have met otherwise. Personally, I've learned a lot about road riding. Things I may not have had the courage to learn or experience without the security of a group. I'm grateful to those who have taken the initiative to lead the rides too. It's a luxury to have someone who knows a safe route.

I admire John, Amy, Paula, Len, Dave, Jay and everyone who's combined their love of riding with raising money for great causes. We've all been so blessed to be able to ride...what better way to use it! I'm hoping to raise the minimum $100 and ride the Tour de Cure.

Looking forward to future rides and sharing the Tour de France with you all in July. Let's hope the USA has some contenders.

Viva la riding 2wf's,
Paula B.

Route for Crack-of-Dawn Ride 6-17-06

Here it is -- a nice Hermitage - Sharpsville - Greenville - Mercer 45 mile loop. Plan to stick to about a 15pmh pace which will get us home at 9:30 -- giving everyone plenty of time to cut grass, eat lunch, sip on a mimosa, take a nap, whatever. Remember, ride leaves my place at 6:30AM !!

Looking forward to a great ride -- weather looking awesome for the entire weekend.

45 MILE Hermitage-Sharpsville-Greenville-Mercer Loop

2WFs TO SUPPORT THE BICYCLE STORE of HERMITAGE's "TOUR MANIA"

Calling all 2WFs!! For the month of July The Bicycle Store of Hermitage is going to be running a Tour Mania to kick off the Tour de France and they have asked us if we'd like to participate by starting some of our rides out from their shop. SO, for the month of July, our Saturday and Tuesday rides will begin and end at the Bicycle Store. See their link below for directions and info on the event.

On Saturday, July 8th they are going to be having a tent with some 'French' foods and are inviting a few other vendors to stop in, so there will be a little reward for those riding the early morning Crack of Dawn ride starting at 6:30am.

I would really like to get a good turnout for this Tour Mania and support our local bike shop. Mike and Debbie have a blurb on their site in support of us and i'd like to return the favor.

Phone: 724-342-2031, Fax: 724-342-2031
Store Hours: M 12-7, T-F 10-7, S 10-4, Closed Sunday


Viva la 2WFs

jm

Tour de Cure

CALLING ALL 2-WHEEL'D FREAKZ!!!!

For a good time -- click on the link below.

THURSDAY 6-15-2006

Hello all....! Just wanted to send a little message out to everyone letting them know a little about the ride for thursday th 15th that will be leaving from Big John's Place (sounds like a bar). After speaking with Big John, we thougtht that it would be pretty neat to change the route/ride for a day and see what everyone thinks about it. Now what we are considering doing is a circuit/criterium style ride. What that means is that we will be laying out a route somewhere in the area with a smaller distance and we will do laps around the entire route. Why do we want to do this? Well for one it gives everyone the knowledge of where we are going and where we will be. Since we are doing GROUP rides on tues. and thurs., and the pace seems to always get lifted and we finish with less than we started, this will allow us all to be on the same course and pickup anyone who should fall back or see them again on the next lap, whatever. In all reality it is really setting a substrate for you to focus on certain aspects of your training/group ride. We will include one long hill where you will be able to set yourself a tempo for a good duration (which helps you learn how to train yourself to recover on hills), and there will be some good flat sections for recovery and a great downhill to help on your descents and speed. The route will then hit the uphill climb again. Once we have everyone that will be doing the ride on thursday, we will then determine if everyone would like to regroup at the top of the climb or if everyone would just like to be picked back up on the next time around.

Sometimes circuit style rides are very good for you, in that you can see how you did the time previous and think about how you would like to approach it the second or third or fourth....etc. It should be very fun, as if almost doing a criterium road race where you would do laps around a much smaller course, most likely 1 mile. They usually can be dangerous. When the distance of the route is increased they are usually called circuit races. In any case, we just wanted to throw something new out there and see how it all works.

The route in mind is as follows (and if anyone has any suggestions we may work them in and change as desired): from Big John's; a one mile warm up down Robertson Rd. to the intersection at Lamor Rd.; we crossover Lamor Road and begin the circuit/route down robertson road to valley view road where we will make a right and proceed to state route 258, and make a right up to neshannock road and begin our long gradient hill climb all the way back up to Lamor Road. We will then make a right turn at lamor and neshannock and ride to winner road and make another right and go all the way back down to 258 and proceed to make lap # 2. Now we can go all the way back to robertson but in my opinion Valley View road is poorly paved and a little dangerous, so I would prefer not to return to it. Ideally I would like to ride with everyone for at least two laps around to make sure everyone knows where they are going and what not. I think that the mileage would be about 4 miles or so, so I am thinking that we would do about 7-8 laps. But again everything is all up to those who are interested in participating. I know that some of us have events that are coming up and this could be an opportunity to work on some areas that you may not get to on your own.

So we will leave and warm up together, ride a lap or two together, and pending everyones opinion or desire regroup on the top of the climb (which does have a flat spot and then one last little who-rah at the top, so the top is at the farm about a 1/2 mi. from the blinker on lamor), and then ride to Winner road for the second lap together and then we will get busy.....

Just a little HEADS-UP on "GROUP RIDES"....the intent and purpose of a group ride, outside of something new that we will try on thursday, is to ride TOGETHER. We had 12 people start about two weeks ago on a tuesday and finished with five together. Now we all know that everyone has there own agenda and quite possibly their own training schedule, and that is great. But if you intend upon riding with a group your intentions should not be to come to the ride and blow it up. If you have a certain way that you have to ride on that day, then go do it. If you have a certain distance that you have to ride that day, then go do it. You see the faster people of the group don't go out with the intentions of dropping everyone, and if they did they could. But they don't. If collectively everyone decides that they want to ride 50 miles then that is what they will do. If they only want to do 25 then that is that. We just want to maintain the original idea of getting together to ride with people and finish with those people. Take advantage of those around you and see if there is anyone that wants to go out and hammer, or dissappear into the sunset, its tons of fun. But when the common goal is to ride together, we would like to finish together. I am sure that on a couple separate instances I have dissappeared, but I always try to come back and get those who were left behind.

I hope that the group riding has been beneficial to all. I have seen alot of improvement in everyone that I have ridden with. I am sure that the more consistent all of you are in riding the better that you will all get. Keep up the hard work and if you have not tried any of those long distance rides or events, you really should. They change everything about the way you ride, the time in which you do it and they really make you a better person (how, I am still trying to figure out, but that is what I am always being told?).

Happy Trails (and roads) !!!

MS150 -- Riding against the Wind

Well, for those 2WFs out there that missed it, this years MS150 was a great ride!! Awesome weather for both Saturday and Sunday's ride. I would highly recommend it for anyone looking for a great two day trip for an even greater cause. Our reception into Conneaut Ohio made the trip worth while -- streets lined with families holding signs thanking us for helping in the fight against MS. A truly touching experience I will not soon forget.

The support teams were terrific -- rest and food stops well supplied and Allegheny College did a commendable job of hosting the 1800+ riders for the evening. Would definately recommend the tent option to anyone interested. And food tasted delicious!

Looking forward to next year. On a side note -- if anyone is interested in getting a sweet looking (unofficially voted "Best Jersey of the MS150) Team Courage jersey, email me. I'm going to be placing another order soon!

jm

MS150 JERSEYS ARE FINALLY IN!!!!!

The jerseys are in!!! I will have them at the park Tue for the ride if you can make it there between 5:45-6:00PM. After that they will be at my house. Please reply to this post to arrange a time to pick them up if you can't make it to the park. For the few of you who haven't paid, please bring $60. Hope everyone likes them!

jm

Sunday ride at park will start a 7:30 instead of 8:00. See past post for details.

If it's raining buckets, call me at 962-1861 and we'll back the ride up, say an hour or so. If it's just drizzle, we'll ride. I don't mind riding in light rain, but T-Storms, I'll pass.
If in doubt, call me.

J

WHO'S WITH ME???

SATURDAY, JUNE 3rd.
MEET AT THE GREENVILLE SPORTS COMPLEX 7:00 AM
HEADING OUT 7:15.
BRING $20 FOR REGISTRATION FEE.
25/62/100 MILE OPTIONS.
'SUPPOSED' TO BE GREAT WEATHER. HOPEFULLY BETTER THAN PEDDLE PITTSBURGH!!!

SEE YOU THERE

MS150 -- T-MINUS 10 DAYS and COUNTING

MS 150 Riders. The jerseys shipped as per our timeline on Friday, the 26th, which should get them here some time this week. I will let you all know as soon as they arrive. Below is a list of the riders that have 'officially' joined Team Courage via the MS web site. I'm going to list after each persons name whether or not they have transportation. I can take four people and four bikes to Cranberry Saturday morning but still hashing out getting car from their to Erie for Sunday.

Chad J -- has ride
Amy J -- has ride
Tom P -- has ride
Jay -- has ride
Mark B -- ???
David G -- ???
Paula L -- has ride
Len L -- has ride
John M -- can take 2 more to Cranberry

Both Gus and Jim had to withdraw from the ride.

There are a few others that signed up for jerseys but haven't officially signed up for the MS ride. If any of you talk to them, give them a heads up and let them know what's going on. There are many more rides throughout the summer and it would be nice -- specially since we'll have matching jerseys -- to team up again for those. Keep your eyes on the blog -- 2wf.blogspot.com -- for upcoming news.

John

B Ride Tuesday Evening, 5:45 at Park

Easy 32 mile ride, ride fast, ride slow, your call.

Jay

Great Ride Sunday, see map for next Sundays ride

Mark, Paula, Len and myself rode about 62 miles. Excellent weather, course had some nice grades, mostly paved and in good shape. Coffee was great in N.W. stopped again at the Country Fair in Mercer. It was definitly a two water bottle ride.

We will be riding again next Sunday, from the Park at 8:00 AM. Route will take us into Grove City, then into Mercer, should add about 8 more miles for a total of 70 miles. This will the the last big ride before the MS150.

BTW, pace over all was 15 MPH,

See link for next weeks ride:

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=205875.

Jay

SATURDAY 'CRACK OF DAWN' RIDE

Saturday's early ride will be taking off at 6:30 from the park. We'll be doing around 65 miles at a moderate pace. I will have maps before the ride. This will be a great training ride for the MS150 and for those just looking to get in some long slow distance (LSD). Here is the link to the map:

PULASKI / NEW WILMINGTON RIDE -- 65 MILES

Again, wanted to apologize for the short notice on the location change for Thur night ride. I will make an attempt to give at least a days notice next time.

jm

B Ride is Sunday, 8:00 AM at Park

We will meet at 8:00 AM Sunday at parking lot across from Country Club, leaving at 8:15, see previous post for route. Pace will be 12-15 MPH.

Jay

Great Turn Out at Tuesday's ride

Had over 12 riders, all levels, nice evening, great ride. Thanks.

John is riding Sat at 6:30 from Park AM, I'll being riding either Saturday or Sunday, 8:00 AM from Park. Not sure yet what day, but will post by tomorrow. Here is the route, plan to stop for coffee at least once.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=192253.

Jay

MS150 Transportation REVISITED!!!!

Hey all, didn't get much feedback from previous post regarding transporation (who needs it and who can give it) to Cranberry and home from Erie for the MS150 on June 10th and 11th. When you get a moment, clic kon the 'comment' button at the end of this post to tell me your plans. I'll post the roster later tonight if I can with all of your names and whether or not i've heard from you. Hope you all have been riding. If not -- check the post just beneath this one -- there are a lot of good rides coming up. The Mercer County Trail ride offers a number of distances you could use as a warm up!!

Keep the wheels turnin!!
jm

Upcoming Rides!!

Here are a few rides coming up this summer. Check them out!!!

Mercer County Trails
Saturday June 3rd (start at Greenville Area Sports Complex)


Ride & Stride
Father's Day June 18th (starts at North Park Boathouse, Pittsburgh)


Tour De Cure
Sunday June 25th (starts Seneca Valley HS -- Harmony PA)


65 Roses Ride
Sunday June 4th (starts Settlers Cabin Park, AlgonquinGRove)

Tuesday Evening Ride

Easy 30 miler, 13-15 mph, should take about 1.5 hours. Little rollies at start, then flat.
See link: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=195957
Leaving at 6:00 sharp.

Jay

Mercer County Trails Ride

2WFers, here's a ride a little closer to home if anyone's interested.

Tour of Mercer County Saturday, June 3rd, 2006.
Tour of Mercer County. Greenville, Pennsylvania

Within a ninety minute drive from Erie, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, the Tour of Mercer County is a full service bicycle tour with routes of 25/62/100 miles highlighting the beautiful countryside, rivers, lakes and historic features of Mercer County. Proceeds benefit Mercer County Trails Association, Inc. which is establishing multi-use recreational trails in the Mercer County area. Application and details can be found at www.mctrails.org

Event deadline:
Pre-registration by Sunday, May 21st, 2006: $15.00
Registration Sunday, May 21st, 2006 and after: $20.00


Pedal the Lakes Saturday, 9/16.
Pedal the Lakes. Greenville, Penn.

Just across the state line find a full-service tour in the beautiful Western Pennsylvania Amish countryside featuring four lakes—including one where the ducks walk on the fish! Routes of 32/62/100 miles will be offered. Proceeds benefit Mercer County Trails Association, Inc. which is establishing multi-use recreational trails in the Mercer County area.

MCTA – Stephen Theiss; (724)342-2520.

Application and details can be found at www.mctrails.org

Event deadline:
Pre-registration by Sunday, September 3rd, 2006 $15.00
Registration Sunday, September 3rd, 2006 and after $20.00

Contact Information:
Stephen Theiss
91 Jefferson Avenue
Sharon, PA 16146-3304
Telephone: (724)342-2520
Email: hamxguy@infonline.net
Web Site URL: www.mctrails.org

PEDAL PITTSBURGH

PLEASE READ DETAILS BELOW -- A GROUP OF 2WFers ARE DEPARTING FROM MCCONNELL'S HOUSE at 5:15 AM SHARP (that's in the morning -- Registration is at 6:30!! see below) FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN CARAVANING IN YOUR OWN TRANSPORTATION. PLEASE POST A COMMENT TO THIS POST OF YOUR PLANNING TO ATTEND!!!! AS YOU SEE BELOW -- ENTRY FEE WILL BE $25.












2006 Entry Fees

	Individual	Group	Family
Postmarked by May 8 After May 8	$20 $25	$18 N/A	$45 $50

NEW! Join us for Pedal Pittsburgh 2006 as we introduce our new 6-mile all-trial ride, sponsored by Highmark. It's a perfect way for families and recreational cyclists to enjoy the day!

Pedal Pittsburgh is the region's premier cycling event celebrating design, health & fitness, and urban lifestyles. This fun, educational bicycle ride draws over 2,000 riders annually, and highlights the neighborhoods and design landmarks that make Pittsburgh unique. A ride, not a race, Pedal Pittsburgh offers a variety of course options ranging from 6 to 60 miles to accommodate everyone from recreational riders to hard-core fitness enthusiasts.

Our six courses provide the oportunity to see first hand how good design improves the quality of life in the Pittsburgh region.

Proceeds from the event benefit the Community Design Center of Pittsburgh (CDCP). The CDCP is a non-profit organization that improves the quality of life in the Pittsburgh region by encouraging good design of the built environment. We do this by investing in strategic projects, helping individuals and communities access architecture and planning resources, and educating the public about the impact of design.

Parking
Station Square will provide complimentary parking passes to pre-registered riders. Parking fees, up to $6.00, will be waived for pass holders, Passes will be issued to pre-registered riders at packet pick-up locations on May 18, 19, 20. No parking passes will be available on event day. Pre-registered riders must pick-up their packets in advance to receive free parking.

Event Day Schedule
All rides start and finish at the Amphitheatre at Station Square

6:30 Registration Opens
7:00 - 8:00 50- & 60- Mile Riders Depart
8:00 - 9:00 25- & 35- Mile Riders Depart
8:30 & 9:00 25-Mile Guided Tours Depart
9:00 - 10:00 15-Mile Riders Depart
9:30 & 10:00 15-Mile Guided Tours Depart
10:00 -10:30 6-Mile Trail Riders Depart
11:30 - 3:30 Lunch & Entertainment at the Amphitheatre at Station Square

For Everyone's Safety
Helmets are required. Medical support, links to emergency medical services, marshals at key intersections, plus en-route support vans will be available.

Riders are required to fill out the emergency information on the back of their rider number.

Participants are required obey all traffic regulations. Streets are NOT closed and riders share the road with automobile traffic.

Each course will be marked with directional signs from start to finish. Cue sheets noting course turns will be available at pre-registration and packet pick-up.

There will be rest stops with water and/or light snacks at Pittsburgh Children's Museum, Riverview Park, Highland Park, and Schenley Park. A rest area will be available at SouthSide Works for the 6-mile Trail Ride only.

Accommodations
The Sheraton at Station Square and all downtown hotels are convenient to the start/finish at the Amphitheatre at Station Square.

Check back in the spring for more event information.

QUESTIONS Call the Pedal Pittsburgh Hotline at (412) 232-3545 or e-mail us at info@pedalpittsburgh.org.

Saturday 8:00 AM from Buhl Park

Got to go, rain or shine as I need miles in saddle for MS ride. We'll leave by 8:15, see this link for route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=185854. We can do 4o or 50 miles, easy pace, stopping at 25, 35 again at 45 or when ever. Bring some food, money for food, at least one extra tube, 2 is better. Pace will be 13-15, anybody wants to go faster, go, anybody wants to go slower, we'll wait, won't loose anybody. This is a flat ride, and I do mean flat. Next Saturday, we ride some hills, again, need to get 50 +.
We meet in the parking lot across from the Country Club. That entrance is always open, though the other park entrances open at 8:00. If you're not there by 8:15, see ya next week, or print out route and catch us.
Any questions, email or call me.

Jay
jaycohe@gmail.com
724-866-1228

Pittsburgh Wheelers

Hey all, I hope that this post finds everyone dry and in great spirits. I myself am in good spirits despite the great weather that we consistently have in our wonderful area. I wanted to send a brief message to everyone (all viewers and riders) that there is a 60 mile ride going on in Pittsburgh this coming Sunday. I am not really sure of all the details on the ride, but I do know that it is going on on Sunday and most likely will kick off early. I will speak with the other Jason and get more of the details this evening, but I just wanted to put this out to everyone after reading John's post about doing some longer rides. I dont think that it will be a crazy hard ride, but nevertheless it will be fun. Should be lots of other "freaks" there to experience the city riding with. Hopefully if everything goes well with a turnout for a ride tonight we may be able to discuss this at that time. But for those who dont attend the ride I will try to do my best to inform everybody of the details for Sunday. I think that it is like 20.00 dollars for entering.

On another note, the weather stinks, and doesn't seem like it is really going anywhere fast. Hopefully it will lighten up for tues and thurs. The weekend I am hearing is supposed to be pretty good. We'll see when it gets here, but it almost seems as though that catchy little phrase may be in play again......."I hope that when summer gets here, it is nice and it will be on the weekend."

I also just want to give everyone a little weight loss facts. Please dont take this as bragging or whatever it could be misconstrued as, cause it would never be meant for anything other than factual information that could be used to anyone's advantage. With a proper diet and excersize you can shed weight (if that is what you are after) in a small amount of time. Increase the amount of fruit (only natural sugars) and vegetable in your diet, and dont eat meats with starches, they dont digest together because of the acids and bases that your stomach secrete's to digest those foods. Also lose all the sugars, they are junk. Here is the factual info....about three to four weeks ago I was tipping the scales at or around 200 lbs, after a good hard consistent effort of riding weekly (with about 1-2 days off/week) I am down to about 185-188. It just goes away. There was an article in Bicycling magazine sometime last year, that said "Bicycling is the BEST form of excersize for weight loss. It truly is....... I really dont know if that is usefull to anyone but when I got on the scale two days ago I was really amazed, because it is really not something that I pay alot of attention to. Once the mtn. biking season gets closer I do watch it, but dont live by it because I know that if I am consistent with my training and riding it dissappears. Lastly, the one thing that could be important to one, is that the more weight you carry the harder you work. So with a little loss and consistency you can get faster, and ride a bit easier.

Well I hope to see as many of you as possible this week. Heather V. keeps telling me that she is coming out to ride.......where is she? Sorry to put you on the spot, but you are a big player in getting people out there......so bring your indoor crowd out for recess.

Talk to you all soon.

Jason

ALL TEAM COURAGE MS 150 RIDERS!!!!

Well, the MS150 is a little over 3 weeks away and I hope everyone had been getting in some decent saddle time. We would like to have at least a couple longer rides in the next week or two (60-70 miles). The most obvious days for such a ride would be Saturday and Sunday. Would like to have comments to this post as to what days would work best and who is looking to ride.

On another note, we need to start getting our transportation sorted out. As you know, the ride begins in Cranberry and ends in Erie -- so we have to have a way to get bikes and riders to the start and then have transportation home from the lake. If you have already planned out your transportation, great. If not, please take this opportunity to either 1) offer your vehicle and or a driver, 2)ask for a ride to or from, 3) volunteer to be a member of the 'Team Courage' support crew (if you're not planning on riding but want to help out by driving, loaing a bike rack etc). Right now, we just need to know of all the riders going, who already has a way to and from, who doesn't, who has a car and wants to drive (how many you can take -- both people & bikes).

Jerseys are scheduled to ship May 20th (per our timeline) and I will notify everyone upon their arrival so you can have plenty of time to stand in front of your mirrors admiring how good you (and the jersey) look. Just about everyone has got me their money -- thanks. One last thing -- don't forget your $200 fundraising minimum. I think you have up to 1 month after the ride to get MS the money, but let's try to have it all by the 10th if we can.

And lastly, I am not 'cancelling' any of the weekly rides on account of the weather -- it is just too hard to predict, and there's usually not enough time to 'get the word out' at the last minute to cancel a ride, . If you feel you need to get in a nice wet-weather ride, show up. If you'd rather stay dry and aviod possible illness and injury, stay at home. You may find there are others who share your desire to peddle thru some puddles, or you may find yourself alone. Either way, enjoy yourself and the time spent on your bike.

jm

NEW RIDING LINE-UP STARTING WEEK OF MAY 15th

I would like to take a moment and introduce you all to Jay Cohen -- our new "B GROUP" ride leader. Some may already know him from his Saturday morning 'Boot Camp' and his Advanced Spinning Class at the Sheltering Tree. Others may know him by reputation alone. Regardless, he will now be leading (starting the week of May 15th) a less-aggressively paced, lower milage ride on Tuesday evenings leaving from the park at the usual time of 6:00pm. He will also be doing a Saturday morning ride starting at 8:00am (for those of you too lazy to make the Crack of Dawn ride).

jm

Mountain Biking Weekends

Although this group is ‘roadie’ dominated, I’d like to invite everyone to mountain bike rides. You never know who might want to explore their adventurous-side. Both road and mountain riding have it’s own lure. I originally resisted road-biking in order to be a pure mountain biker, but the two compliment each other completely. The road bike allows you to get more miles in with no wasted drive time, and increase your endurance. Road biking has an uninterrupted cadence and flow. Mountain biking has all the elements: mud, rocks, roots, logs, switch-backs, and water-crossings.

Sunday rides might be best so they don’t conflict with the “Crack O’ Dawn” rides. There are many locations to choose. Most are 45 min. – 1 hr. away. Kennerdell is very scenic and the trails are never ending. Moraine has some good technical sections, great flow, and you can go for a swim afterwards on hot days. There are a variety of great trails around Pittsburgh including Brady’s, Hartwood, Schenely and Apollo.

It’s nice to get an early start. With drive time, parking-lot time, and ride time, you are looking at 4-6 hours. We can set a departure location and time in order to share rides. If you have an interest, you can e-mail me at paula_bittler@hermitage.k12.pa.us. As with road riding, everyone is very thoughtful and groups make ‘check points’ to collect and check on everyone. There are a few riders outside of our area that are interested in getting together. If we have enough interest and variety of ability levels, we can branch into two groups.

Crack O' Dawn

Hey all, just wanted to get to everyone about the Crack of Dawn ride on Sat. the 6th. Today's ride was yet another success story. Initially it was looking as if we would get precipitated upon, however the route was leading us away from any inclimate weather. After a couple of hours had passed that good ole "MR. Happy" showed himself to help us out with our dreary day. We headed out route 258, yet again getting a little Hill Jacked, all the way to mercer. Then took the route 158 to New Wilmington and you guessed it, stopped at Muggsie's for the great morning "Java". For those of you who enjoy a great cup (or three) of coffe, this ride is more than well worth it. I know that not everyone can make it for the early start time, but my goodness, if someone where to tell me that after an hour and a half of riding time, you can grab a cup of joe and do a couple more hours, i would do it every day of my life. In any case from Muggsie's it was business as usual. Headed out the tues and thurs of recent route, and up passed McConnell's "Poo Corner" and then back towards the CEO headquarters. On the way back things really started to clear up. All except that ruthless "wind".

Personally I hate the wind, however last year I took a different approach to the wind. After many conversations with a great friend of mine, I will call "Fred", he informed me that I need not make the wind my enemy. Now I must say that even after this conversation with him, I still find that I get extremely upset at the end of a ride when I have to face this beast. What Fred had told me was that, I must use this to my advantage and let the wind be the force that makes me stronger. Just as it would be in riding the hills, Wind only makes you that much stronger. Hills can just demoralize an individual as does the wind. Usually I like to take the wind in the front on my way out, and not always does this force remain constant when you are in the saddle for a couple of hours. Sometimes it turns on you and you have to face it no matter what. What we all have to come to terms with, with this nasty so called enemy is that it is there to help us improve in all capacities of riding. As with the hills you almost have to convince yourself to love it. Knowing that every time that you face these winds or these hills it is only making you that much better of a rider. After all if we all lived in Ohio and had the wind at our backs at all times, we wouldnt be able to improve unless we all interval'd ourselves to death. So take a different approach with this beast and let it improve your abilities "Naturally". One other thing is that when you are at a deficite and riding with a group the ability to draft and "suck a wheel" (that is how they say it in cycling) can save your behind on a day when you are really not up to par.

I really want to mention to all who have been consistently participating in these weekly rides that I am definitely seeing massive improvements with everyone. I am so very pleased to see these results. Everyone else may not be seeing them but I am definitely seeing so. I have to tell you that the best thing that anyone can do to get better, more fit, and faster is to be consistent with your training. If you all keep this up, I am definitely going to run out of terrain to challenge you all. I am very excited to see where all of this goes, and to see at the end of the season, just how much these rides have benefited everyone. Congratulations to all of you who have been toughing it out week in and week out. I also want to let you all know that those of you who have come out for these "rainy day" rides are impressing the hell out of anyone who hears that you have done so. When people hear that normal average every day people who primarily have been spinning are out there training in the rain, and "poo", i feel as though they feel guilty for not even going out there and getting some time in when it is nice. Seriously pat yourselves on the back for really training and riding like real true champions.

I know that John and I spoke breifly about possibly riding from the park on tues and then riding from his casa on thursday. Please look at the schedule posted on the blog to find the final on where we will be departing from. Also just want to mention that I am currently trying to get a ride together with the group of riders that depart from Lakeside Bicycles and our group, so that everyone may make even more connections of people to get out and ride with. Who knows this could turn out to be a really awesome thing. Also want to mention that over the next couple of weeks there may also be a ride that will depart from Frankford Bicycle shop. As soon as I hear something about that I will make sure that something is on the blog so that all know when where and how the ride will be conducted.

Take care and keep the wheels turning........

Have a great weekend, see ya tuesday.......

Jason

FW: COD ride and other news

Greetings fellow Cyclists!

Just a quick note to remind you all of tomorrow’s COD (crack of dawn — actually the sun is coming up much earlier than that theses days — I just can’t get anybody to show up an earlier — but we’ll stick with the name). As always, we’ll be leaving from my house —see directions below— around 6:30-6:45am. Last week it was a little cold, 40ºF, but we warmed up quickly. Depending on the route, we may make a stop at New Wilmington’s best coffee shop, Mugsies, so bring a few bucks (Jim and H., I got you two covered). We should be pedaling back into town by around 10:00am — which usually makes for about a 35-40 mile ride. I know it may be early for some of you, but once you’ve done, this ride gets a little addicting. Nothing like seeing that sun rising while pedaling through Amish country with the fresh smell of manure tickling your nostrils. Remember, if you could park in the grass along Robertson Rd by the brick yard I’d appreciate it.

I’ve re-invited those of you who haven’t joined as members of our new Blog. A membership entitles you to not only make comments on the blog but also post your own messages. Regardless of whether or not you join, please remember to check the blog (2wf.blogspot.com) regularly for ride times and other info.

On Another note — jerseys are due to arrive around May 25th. I will keep everyone posted. We may get them a little earlier since we’ve kept to all our deadlines. For those of you who’ve turned in your money already, thanks. For those of you still waiting for your income tax return — no problem.

Last note — if you’ve got a dust cap for your water bottle, bring it!!!

Ride, Ride, Ride!
--
John McConnell
two.wheeld.freakz@verizon.net

"Inclimate Weather Maintenance"

I was thinking last night around 11:00 PM, when I began to maintain my Bicycle that I should display to everyone the importance of bicycle maintenance after riding in inclimate weather. Now this could be muddy days on a mtn. bike, rainy days on a road bike, and wintery snowy days on the road and/or mtn bike. The reason that I want to let everyone know the importance of this topic is that I am "Truly" a mountain biker at heart. I use the road riding to increase my physical fitness levels for mountain biking. As a mountain biker, if you have great technical ridiing capabilities you need not ride the mountain bike everyday. But you must ensure that you have the fitness levels to play with others. In any case having said that, in mountain biking "Maintenance can make you or break you". If you dont take care of your mountain bike it will not take care of you. The same stands true for a road bike, however the rate at which it deteriorates is far less. But the basics remain the same. With a mountain bike and all those moving metal parts, dirt is like sandpaper on a way different level. It gets in everything and everywhere, ultimately wearing out parts extrememly fast. So here are a few post inclimate weather riding maintenance tips that should ensure your longevity of your road bicycle.

When you are finished in crap weather, you should always rinse off the dirt and make sure your chain has a light coat of something (WD-40, Tri-Flow, White Lightning, etc...). Your chain is your lifeline, without it your bike is useless. To clean the chain you can use a rag and run the chain through the rag in your hands. The best way is to back pedal the cranks, while running the chain through the rag. You will have to continually change spots on the rag to you can see what you are removing. And in doing so you will see that the amount of black gets smaller and smaller as you go. You can purchase a chain cleaner, found most likely on most webs for gear and what not, but this is the cheap way. Once you have cleaned it really well you may then re-lube it. Chain cleaning tools do the best job because they have wheels with brushes on them that get in between the links which you wont be able to get with the rag unless you are extrememly meticulous like me. Any dirt on the chain accumulates and thus wears the chain out fast. Now this is not as fast as it is with a mountain bike, but since it is not ensuring that is clean will keep your chain in good standing for a lot longer.

The second important cleaning issue with inclimate weather is your brake pads. When you are out on the road and all the dirt and leftover from winter salt (there is probably still some, and in the new wilmington area who knows what else) gets into the grooves on the pads and on the face and acts almost like sandpaper on the rim surface. What does that do, well it reduces the amount of material on the sidewall over time. My father is 6'3" and had raced mountain bikes by my side for almost as long as I have raced. He also has a bit more weight than most of us due to the height, and was always under heavy braking. Well like I said in mtn bikes wear happens much faster. We we warming up for a race one morning in southern ohio and about a quarter of his rim just blew right on the rest of the wheel. This made his 6 hour drive to race absolutely worthless. So you can see that over time, the damage can be rather significant. So clean them brake shoes/pads. Household soap and water does the trick, you need not use any solvents or anything really corrosive or whatever, if it is tough......go to "walmart and get some ELBOW GREASE".

The other things are the front and rear derailleurs (the things that shift your chain for you) and the rear cogset. If you use some type of scrub brush and soap and water you can do the trick for getting these two things clean. You want to keep them clean and the cable that attach to them to ensure that things are shifting properly. Since there are little moving parts in there it is important for them to be clean. The rear derailleur has two pulleys (the little wheels that guide the chain) that must be clean as well. The can get an accumulation of grease on them which collects dirt and dust and yes sometimes the "poo", which will get back on your chain and cause the wear again. The same holds true for the teeth on the chainrings on the cranks. As far as the cogset is concerned you can clean this with a scrub brush as well but you wont get all the grease and grime. What you may do to accomplish a thorough cleaning, is to use a straight section of rag and run it back and forth in between the cogs to get it all. Once again using a clean section constantly to determine how long or how much you have to do this. Make sure that you go in between every cog. Now you may be thinking what about the teeth on them, well it is difficult to get them all, usually if you use a scrub brush you can get most of it off.

I am not sure that anyone will have the time to read all this, wow its long. O.K., as far as the rest of the bike is concerned, that is just up to you. I like my bike to be clean, but if you dont at least you know now what parts are important to keep clean. There are others, but without writing a book on this, you should be o.k. for the most part. When I do a thorough cleaning it usually takes me about three hours. To do what I just told you about usually takes me about 1/2 an hour or 45 mins, it just depends on how I want to treat my baby. Yes I can call it my baby cause I dont have any children and I spend most of my time with it.

I hope that this helps you all out in maintaining your equipment and helps you avoid any future issues that you may have. If any of this seems too intimidating and you dont want to do it, you can have a shop do it, and I can probably guess that it will come to you at a significant cost. If you let me know what that cost is and you still dont want to do it, I will beat that cost and do it for you. I am not trying to create a business for myself I just want to help everyone out and understand that you dont always get what you pay for. I had a friend that came to me once and asked me to go over his mountain bike. He told me that someone asked him, "why don't you take this to the shop?" He said, "if I take this to Jason, he is going to go over this bike like it is his own, and they will not do that at the shop!"

Parting Note: In inclimate "new wilmington" weather, you dont want to forget to wash those water bottle too. The poo, regardless of whether we eat the meat, corn, or whatever that they use that Manuer (sp) for, is something that I dont think is really ideal for consumption.

Rember to "Pimp Your Ride"

take care,

Jason

As I had stated in the previous post, I would have the information available to you all about the rides that take place on Monday and Wednesday out of Cortland Ohio. At a request here it is so that all may partake in their activities as well. If you have any questions please see there website.

The Lakeside Bicycles Mon and Wed ride will begin at 6pm from the shop in Cortland OH. www.lakesidebicycles.com There is an A and B group. The B group averages 14-18 mph and does about 15-25 miles. The A group averages 18-22 mph and does btwn 25-38 miles. No one will be dropped. Please check the website for address and phone number if you need directions.

If there is anyone out there that would like to join a group of folks for a very fast paced, 30-35 mile ride on Wednesday's, please let me know and I can direct you to a time and location for all to go and play with the "Cheetas" of the area. These guys are very fast and relentless at the same time. The terrain is the same every week and everybody takes a stab at being the fast guy in different areas of the entire route. There are some good hill climbs and some great decents as well as some good stretches of road to wind it up. Let me know if anyone is interested.

Take Care all...............!

Days of "R__N", Shades of "POO"

Days of precip. sometimes can be unavoidable, and some cannot. Its seems as though we could have another this eve. As we experienced this past Tuesday, it can still be a good time and a great workout. We had six hardcore members join in for the first ever "2wf" precipitation ride. All left and all returned safely so pat yourselves once again for a ride well completed. Although we dont like to talk about it or mention it, it may do it again this eve. Hopefully all those who intend on showing for the ride, do, unconditionally. If it should happen to do it, we will try to go a route that will yield far less "POO" than the last. Our fearless "CEO" had a personalized handprint that he left somewhere out in New Wilmington. I personally think that he was doing a taste test, or just wanted to get a quick facial while out there basking in the mist. But all had a delicate dousing of "POO", which seemed as soothing as a moderate MUD BATH.

I wanted to let all know that there is a shop in Cortland, OH., that has rides that will commence at 600pm on Monday and Wednesday if anyone is looking for additional riding time or groups. They will be hosting two rides on both of these days and the reason is to have two different riding levels. There is an A group and a B group, i dont really remember what order they go in, but the jist of it is that one group will travel at 13-17 miles per hour and the other 18-22 miles per hour. Now riding in Ohio is a little different due to the lack of aggressive terrrain. So miles per hour may be significant to you and may not be. I have gone in the past and it was a good time, so if you are interested let me know and I will let you know how to get there. In mentioning that I am hoping to coordinate in the very near future a day on a weekend where that shops riders and the riders that have been meeting for "2wf", can all get together and have an all out "Tour de Somewhere". This should allow us to maybe grow in numbers both on our side of the border and thiers.

The MS ride is getting closer, so lets see more and more of everyone over the next couple of weeks to get them legs all geared up and ready for that long distance. Keep in mind when training on the cycles that when you ride for more than one hour, you should be drinking at least one bottle per hour and you should have eaten something every hour. Even though it is great to lose weight while on the bike, if you do not replenish those stores that you are using you run the risk of "BONKING", and trust me on this, it is not a fun situation! When one bonks, the possibilities of strang things are endless. I have seen people look and talk like someone I have never experienced before, and your ability to function becomes severly impared. So drink up and eat on.

Hope to see you all tonight for the "ride"..........take care and "Happy Trails"