Noobz

We had two newbie riders with the Truth Squad today, Brian and Rosalina. We found out fairly early on that they are refugees from a higher level of cycling - Brian set a hot pace and Rosalina sat on his wheel. I hung with them on the way out to Katy Mills but regretted it later.

We blew through a light just as it was changing halfway along, and together with the fierce pace, the group got blown to pieces. The three of us hit the Walgreens for the turn-around well ahead of the rest. When everyone was in the chat naturally turned to the Tour de France, and the likelihood that Cadel Evans would make up enough time on the TT to take the Maillot Jaune onto the Champs Elysee. I wondered if Schleck would violate protocol and attack on the last stage, particularly if he was only a few seconds behind. Kevin though that if he did so and won he'd get an asterisk after his name.

Back on the road and Brian and Rosalina streak ahead again. I hang with them for a while but have to drop back. We regroup in the Park but once again they are too strong, especially when we turn South and hit a block head wind. Fortunately they don't know the route and have to wait for the mere mortals.

A gentle run back along Memorial to the shop, and then Min Kae and I cruise home (like last week). I get back and turn on Versus, to see that Cadel has indeed blown out Andy on the TT. Well done mate.

Talk of the Devil

Fans of this blog (and you know who you are) will recall that I was fantasizing about the new bike from Cervelo, the S5, last week. Well, yesterday morning, Jamie rolled up for the Truth Squad riding - a new S5! The shop has a demo model and she got to take it out. If anything it's more gorgeous in person...

While I was waiting at a light on the way to the start, another rider pulled up beside me and said hi. She was planning to ride with Jamie too and we got chatting. Her ride to the start was a lot longer than mine - a good 10 miles.

The usual crowd gathered for the ride. No sign of Dennis The Waterford Wonder, but Keith showed up on a very nice Cervelo time-trial bike. He and I were stalwarts on Manny's ride last year but I don't think he's been on a Truth Squad run yet. Jamie (on the S5!) opted for the run out to Katy Mills Mall, a shortish route.

We headed out, with the usual suspects setting the pace. I was happy enough to hang back, feeling pretty comfortable. With a few miles to run to the turnaround Jamie opened up on the new bike, so I jumped on her back wheel. It has to be said that drafting behind a semi-pro female cyclist on Cervelo's most aerodynamic road bike is not a particularly rewarding experience - she wasn't blocking much wind.

A good break at the Walgreen's (Keith took the opportunity to ride the S5 around the parking lot!) and we headed for home. The wind was favorable for once and we cracked ahead. A bit further long I caught the speedsters at a light. I velcroed myself onto a rear wheel and was able to stay with them right to the end.

A warmish run through the park (no velcro on this stretch!) and then it was back down Memorial to the shop. My new friend was planning to ride home along Memorial but with the traffic building up she gladly accepted my offer to guide her through the subdivisions to Gessner. She's an impressive young woman - Houston born and bred and a graduate of Rice University, now working as an IT consultant. She has a nice bike too.

Bike Porn

Watching the Tour de France gets me all aquiver - not just the thrills and spills and the bollocks that issues every time Cavendish opens his mouth, but the adverts too. The big bike manufacturers buy time to show off their latest creations in loving detail and Cervelo are right in there. This proud beauty is the S5, currently running at $3,800. Susan calls it "Bike Porn" because there is something quite salacious about the way the camera runs down the frame, lingering in soft focus on certain particularly fine curves.

This was on my mind today during the outing with the Truth Squad, in part because Kevin was test-riding a fabulous-looking S3, and loving every minute. Jamie opted for a Bear Creek - Cullen Park - George Bush Park loop, quite a short one really, but I was glad to get it over early.

The ride was pretty uneventful. My pump decided to slip from its mounting halfway up Eldridge, which put me at the back of the peloton, but we regrouped. Quite a hair-raising run through Cullen, with some of the riders setting a hot pace despite the narrow, winding path through the trees.

On to Fry and then to the western end of George Bush Park, all very familiar territory. Just as we started in the park we were passed by a kid on a time trial bike. This of course is not permissible and we formed a pace-line to run him down. Again this was really too fast for the road.

Back at the Dam and we regrouped, swapping tall tales of cycling derring-do and general misbehaviour, as you do (at least when there aren't any women around). We cruised down Memorial and back to the shop, hoping to watch the end of the Tour stage - but sadly they don't have TV in there any more. Apparently their service provider found out that they were supplying a business, not a residence, and upped their rates to untenable levels.

I got back home in time for the Podiums and the post-race analysis. Oh well, should be able to catch more of tomorrow's stage.

Nice and easy does it

A very gentle ride this morning with David, my neighbour and co-worker. He wants to do the MS150 and has bought a pretty nice bike, a full-carbon Felt. We meet at 6.30 outside his house and head off to Terry Hershey.

David wanted to ride for about 2 hours so I suggested we start out going west and see where we are after one hour. Very little traffic of any kind on the trail as we start, more runners as we progress though.

I set a gentle , 14-16 mph pace, partly because of traffic but also because I'm not sure how fast he can go. We clear the park after 30 minutes and decide to carry on to the Cop Shop. With less traffic around we can open it up and I settle in at about 18mph. I told him to draft, ride as close as he can, and he hangs in pretty well.

At the Cop Shop he's blowing a bit but gets his breath back and we chat about work for a few minutes, then turn back. He holds on to my wheel very well and even takes the lead for a bit. At the turn south I suggest we pick up the pace. I crank it up fairly quickly to a full sprint and drop him. We regroup at the Dam, where he tells me that he couldn't hold on above 20 mph.

An uneventful run back home through the Park, now getting very busy. We ride down our street with him telling me about his son - and he forgets to unclip and very nearly goes down. I'm back in the house by 8.30am, feeling pretty good - a much better start to the Weekend than the Truth Squad, but not much physical benefit.

Il fait chaud

Out with the Truth Squad yesterday morning. I missed last weekend's ride (we were out of town) and it hasn't got any cooler. Jamie had to sub for Manny (who is nutritionist for one of the Ride Across America teams) so we went out on our own. I asked for a short'n'sweet ride but the others wanted a longer run and opted for Old Katy/Kingsland, 39 miles and change.

On the way out it was pretty clear who felt strong and who didn't. Two riders in particular set the pace and would do so all the way round. I struck up conversation with one of them, Scott, while we were hauling ass through Cullen Park. He's a Texan, but married a french girl, speaks pretty good french (can't beat a sleeping dictionary...) and has a daughter who tells everyone she's french even though she's never left the country.

Out of the park and onto Park Row for the 9-mile drag to Old Katy. We initially start at a very gentle pace, but before too long we're back at 20 mph or so. I'm definitely feeling the pace and drop back with the Autobus. We regroup at the Shell station and get to practice our french a bit, amidst lots of laughter and folk wisdom (Scott's Dad told him, if you meet a girl and can see her boobs from behind, marry her). I manage to forget to eat my gel and regret it later.

Back on the road and it's hotter than Satan's armpit already. We cross the freeway (very steep bridge that brings out the sprinter in everyone) dead into a strong wind off the Gulf, than turn east for the run home. It's a cross-wind now and I try to ride en echelon for a while. Scott and the other hot shot leave us quickly but we catch them at the many traffic lights on this route.

Finally back at the Cop Shop and I congratulate the two speedsters on their promotion to the ILC (translation - bugger off and let the rest of us cruise along in peace). We head out along Wind Alley, but I'm fading fast (too hot, too fast, too much vino last night). The last section is straight into the wind and I struggle. We pick up Memorial for the run back to the shop and I get dropped pretty quickly, although we hook up again at the lights at Eldridge.

I'm very glad to get off the bike and sit down in the A/C comfort of the shop. I look briefly at a new wheelset (way too rich for my blood) then head home for a nap. If I'm going to keep riding with these guys I'll need to take it all a bit more seriously.

Racers both real and pretend

Second Saturday morning ride with the Truth Squad and some familiar faces appear. Dennis rocks up in a very smart Texas bike jersey and new shades. Jamie shows up looking tired - she had been racing at the Alkek Velodrome the night before - and she opts for a shorter route, an out-and-back to Katy Mills Mall. We roll out, thankfully ahead of the ILC this time, although one rider sets a pretty hot pace down Memorial. I've been out with him before - he goes off like a rocket but fades fast, and today was no exception. Another familiar face is a man who used to take twin 12 year old boys with him on Manny's ride. He's upgraded to the Truth Squad but is riding with just one of the boys today, and when he takes off at the front of the paceline, his son jumps on his rear wheel and I follow suit. Not a lot of point drafting behind a leggy, skinny kid though.

We stop at the Constable Station (aka "The Cop Shop") to stretch and regroup and head out along Kingsland. This route is straight and flat but the first half has a lot of traffic lights and we manage to hit most of them red. One rider I remember from last week is setting a hot pace and the group fragments. With a few miles to run to the turn I get spat out the back but I don't really mind. When this happens with the Mules they stop and wait for you, which is embarrassing to say the least.

At the Walgreens where we turn around I chat a bit with Dennis - he's in insurance and is dealing with a claim relating to water in crude from some Eagle Ford production. We're standing in the sun and it's getting very warm, so I'm glad when we set out again. The usual suspects roar ahead and I hang with them for a while, before dropping back to join Dennis, where the conversation turns to Colombia. His wife is Colombian and wants to go home.

When we get back the section with all the lights Dennis and I rejoin the front-runners. Jamie and the others appear too. According to Jamie, if you ride at 28 mph you'll hit nothing but greens - but none of us (except perhaps her) are capable of such speeds for a long time.

We finish out the ride at a little before 10am and I'm home soon after. That's why I left the Mules - shorter rides and home earlier.

After lunch I drove into the City to watch the final stages of the Houston Grand Criterium meet. Eric, who rode with us last weekend, was competing (he's a category 4 racer - respect!) but I missed his event. When I arrived, the Ladies Elite race was finishing. A few minutes later the Men's Elite/Pro began and I watched a few laps. This shot is the peloton after rounding the turn on Bagby. Quite exciting to see the riders go by so fast, so near, but Eric had warned me that it wouldn't be very interesting and he was right. A breakaway group of three formed quite quickly and their team-mates sat on the front of the peloton to prevent any attempts to catch them. Fun to watch anyway, but too hot to hang around and I left before the end.

Out of the frying pan, into the fire

Saturday was my first ride with the Bicycle World and Fitness group since last Fall. It was nice to be able to ride to the start, rather than drive for 30 minutes, and we started earlier too, at 7.00am (more or less) instead of 7.30 with the Mules.

BW&F has three different rides on Saturday morning, each led by a different employee. Manny's group rides 27 miles on Terry Hershey at a fairly easy pace, Jamie's group (aka The Truth Squad) goes about the same distance but faster, and the hard core ride with Ryan (The International Liars' Club or ILC), 50-60 miles at a pretty hot pace. Before departing to rejoin the Mules I had been a regular with The Truth Squad. I only recognized one rider, Denis the Mad Irishman, but it was good to catch up with him.

Jamie's group has adopted a different route since my last outing with them, and this morning the ILC was going the same way, at least as far as Katy. We rode as a big group for a while but the pace set by the ILC was too hot for Denis and me (and a couple of others) and we soon fell behind. We regrouped at Bear creek and restarted but split up quite quickly again. I was pretty comfortable with Denis, Jamie and the others.

Coming out of the park I got a flat in my front tire and we all stopped while I changed it out. Denis helped and we got the tube replaced pretty fast. I used a CO2 bottle to inflate the new tube but didn't get it all the way up to pressure. We set out anyway and crossed into Cullen.

One of the other riders took the lead through the park and set a fast pace. I was able to keep up with him but really wasn't happy about going that quickly. The trail is not suitable for high speed cycling - there are lots of turns and usually plenty of foot traffic too. We made it through OK though and turned on Saums road. While waiting at a light I noticed that we hadn't got my tire properly seated on the rim and it was bulging slightly near the valve stem. Fixing it would require deflating the tire, seating it properly and reinflating, so I decided to wait and see how I got on with it.

On Saums the pace crept up and we took it in turns to pull. We hit 23 mph on one section but decided that was too hot and backed off a bit. By then the group had fragmented (this happens very easily when there are traffic lights on a route), with me and three others in the lead, and Denis, Jamie and the rest behind.

We pulled into the Shell station for a pre-arranged break and found three ILC riders, including Ryan the leader and Eric, a mechanic from the shop. Eric was riding a full-on fixie - cleats and no brakes! Jamie and the others soon appeared and we took a good break. I let the air out of my tire, seated it properly on the rim and tried to reinflate with a CO2 bottle scrounged from Jamie, but I couldn't get it to work. She took pity on me, and used her own CO2 adapter, the kind apparently known to the pros as a "crack pipe" (as illustrated above).

Back on the road with the ILC trio in the vanguard, setting a strong pace. I was able to keep up but I was feeling it. Coming up to the Highway 99 underpass, Eric gave an object lesson in stopping a fixie - he locked up the back wheel and skidded about 20 yards, weaving the wheel left and right all the way. He must get through a lot of tires.

We got back to the Dam and started a fast paceline. I held on but eventually got spat out the back. We regrouped at Route 6 and when Eric appeared he had a flat back tire. Without a fixie wrench (to get the wheel off) he couldn't do a repair, but he seemed happy to ride on the rim and made it all the way back to the store without apparently damaging the tire or rim.

A quick chat and cool-off in the store and I rode home. I felt pretty rough, pretty much the same as I feel after a Mules run, but I need to do better with my hydration, and having the ILC set the pace for half the ride didn't help. We'll see how the Summer proceeds.