Ephrata, wa
Vicious Cycle
Road rides - Monday: 5:30 pm (none Jan.-Feb.)
Mountain bike - Wednesday: 5:30 pm
Meet at Jake's house- 139 E SW
3-15-10 Gran Fondo final countdown. Dale and
I rode the course again yesterday, I don't know why, it seemed like a
good idea. If your dying to be a part of this event but can't
convince yourself to ride it you can always volunteer. We'd love
the help, and as a bonus at the end of the day your butt won't hurt.
LADIES NIGHT! The lovely ladies of Vicious Cycle will be riding Tuesday
nights at 5:30 pm starting tomorrow. The ride will be on road at a beginner
friendly pace, all are invited. Meet at my place. 139 E SW.
NO MORE HEADLIGHTS! WOOHOO!
3-7-10 Grand Fondo Pre-ride. I don't know what to say, the
conditions where absolutely perfect today, almost too good! All
of the gravel roads were in pretty good shape, fairly smooth and fast.
I rode it with old worn out road tires (700x 23) on my cross bike
and was ok, though it did take some finesse. I have some Shwalbe
Marathon tires (700x 25) ordered that I
think will offer just the right amount of cush and flat protection.
There is some fast sections of gravel coming down Baird Springs
Rd that could be dangerous, use common sense and don't ride over your
head. There is a store at the end of Baird Springs, just across
Highway 28 called Smith Brothers Antiques and Espresso. They will
have some stuff available for purchase such as drinks, muffins,
cookies, etc. We will also have an aid station at approximately
the 40 mile mark (shortly after turning onto Palisades Rd). Three
Devils is a series of (you guessed it) three very steep climbs -very
steep as in barely ridable- at approximately 60 miles. From there
it is fairly smooth sailing with a fast decent down Sheep Canyon then
back into town. I had just over 4600' of elevation in the 78 miles with about 32 miles of it being gravel.
3-3-10 Primo Wednesday night riding, come get it while the getting is good!
2-7-10 Nothing like a little sunshine to get your cycling mojo
going. I know some of the gang got out for some mountain biking
on Beezley today. I was out for a fairly nasty 55 miler in the
wind on Saturday, but the sun today more than made up for it. If
that wasn't enough I even got some tailwind while in the sun! Oh yeah,
it was good, in a sore butt tired legs kinda way.
1-13-10 Vicious Cycle winter training camp.
1-9-10 I took off for a
ride this morning that I expected to be a two and a half hour base
kinda ride with no real suffering to be had. My route was out Rd
E, then East on the Frontage Rd, Mae Valley to Rd. 4, then back on
Dodson. I've done this ride many times in the past as a flat and
relatively fast 50 miles, but as you've probably guessed today's ride
didn't go quite as expected. To start with I'm greeted in the
morning with a nice sort of snow/ frozen rain mix. I rethink my
desire to be a "cyclist" and momentarily entertain the
idea of becoming a cage fighter... ok back to cycling. I'm off
and the roads aren't as slick as they look. As I ride out Rd. E I
can't help but enjoy the 20 mph speeds while remaining in the "base"
heart rate zones. I should also note this is my first ride over
one hour in I don't know how long. And that brings me to the part
when I thought "oh man I'm hurting and it's only been an hour and one
minute." As I neared Moses Lake on the Frontage road the nice
frozen mix I had been enjoying began to thaw. The jacket I was
wearing was fairly rain proof so I figured that maybe the tail on it
would keep my butt dry. What I didn't figure is that the tail
would act as funnel, collecting every drop of water on my back and
directing it right to my ass. On Mae Valley road, normally one of
my favorite sections of this ride along the lake, I now have a massive
rooster tail coming off both front and rear tires and I am cursing that
I took my fenders off for spin class. I'm totally soaked, parts
of my body are going numb, and I'm consider calling for a ride home,
but I think how much that would suck to fail at my first real ride of
the year. So I crunch some number and figure if I can keep it
above 16 mph I should be home sweet warm home in 30 minutes, I can
suffer for 30 minutes. That is if I can keep it above 16... I
soon find that I am at threshold to maintain 16, so much for base.
I am so ready for Dodson, the home stretch, as I make the corner
off Rd. 4 to Dodson it hits me, that 20 mph pace on E road wasn't
due to my amazing fitness level, it was a tail wind, which is now a
head wind. It was a 12 mph cold, wet slog all the way into
Ephrata. My nice two and a half hour easy base ride had turned
into three hours and 16 minutes of sub-threshold hell. It was one
of those rides where I am literally questioning my ability to finish
even blocks from my home. I must confess though, as bad as it
sounds I wouldn't be doing this if some part of me didn't enjoy it.
Plus think how easy this ride will be in June!
 |
 |
1-1-10 The elusive Yeti
once again made fools of us all. Despite no confirmed Yeti
sightings, all enjoyed the New Years day stroll in the park as well as
sipping Yeti Juice. Scott R. Steve, Scott B. Cory, Rene, Dale,
Dirk, Tim, and myself came in a nine way tie for first place. We
all ate chili and drank beer to celebrate. Thanks to Garlinis and
Wenatchee Velo for another great ride!
 |
 |
12-27-09 Hope Santa was good to everyone. I got some sweet new wool yeti socks. Hey, speaking of yeti, January
01, 2010: Yeti Ride! First Ride of the Year! Start time 12:00 at
Garlinis in Wenatchee. We'll probably meet at my place around
10-10:30 and see if we can pile everyone into one rig. Be
prepared for whatever the yeti throws down!
About Vicious Cycle
Vicious Cycle is a pretty laid back kind of bike club.
Nothing too official here just some folks who enjoy biking.
Our rides are usually pretty casual, and no drop. We meet
twice a week to ride and discuss highly relevant topics. It seems
we're always cooking up some new adventure... or questioning the logic
of last one. New riders welcome, come check us out.
