Four Bottle Night

system check 1-2, check 1..

small ring to TBR

ZBAR hitting the spot

do I need to wave at everyone on the trail?

giving up, too many

another big one, 30 or so

good to see new faces

welcome to the lions den

Black Oak a classic

wind direction? SW

note to self, first ramp will tell the truth

tons of chatter but the storms a brewin

drink, first bottle gone

Disc Brakes has a go
too soon

captain to engine room, get your shit together

not bad, still in the big, no one is..

BOOM! Girodana Hairy Legs, shot from cannon

doesn't seem real 

steady as she goes
surge!

Yellow Kit, Orange Bike, JMSR, Scuba Steve 

it's go time

selection forming

hooold-hoooold-theeee-wheeeeeeellll

force it to make split or live to fight?

live to fight

cresting with The Captain, MG & Beer Run

not bad company

what goes up...

selection, spittin' distance

MG zeroed, massive pulls

Who got snaps on the petrol?
not me

Sulphur City wrinkle makes me wanna cry

drink, second bottle gone

love the next section

all together

tons of surging & yelling

don't make eye contact

Disc Brakes riding aggressive, I like it

float & follow

Yellow Kit taps out tempo, making it look easy

single file, no more chatter

Creaky BB moving up

must smell something

best to follow his nose

small wrinkle before big wrinkle

get near the front

not bad

big wrinkle loomin tho

this is the captain speaking, brace for impact

drink, third bottle gone
surge!

Orange Bike, Scuba Steve, Yellow Kit, Alberto

bats outta...
ride your own rhythm

MG is there

JMSR throws his towel

over the top, spittin distance

MG zeroes in, cruise missile..locked

recover 

pace is hot

I can actually rotate, been awhile

Orange Bike drifting back

Brentwood
bell rings, return to your corners

sweaty hot mess I am

water stop taking longer then normal

chatter, such a good scene

bell rings, round 3

Alberto has a go

The General opens a spot for me
says to stay on Yellow Kits wheel
The General throws himself into the teeth

follow & float
all together

West Fork sign looms

bunch getting nervous

i'm in good position

starting to swarm
click, click, click

BOOM! JMSR from nowhere gets it 

Yellow Kit moves up through the dry bones
best to stay on the wheel

Greenland sign still looms

the bunch is shredding now

Disc Brakes has a go, small gap

think I'll bridge

Alberto is there

Alberto goes!
gap..this looks good

Alberto pulls off 

lotta meat left on the hook
no choice now

captain to engine room, burn the ship down

50-40-30-20-spuuutttttterrrrrinnnn

BOOM! Chicken Eggs from outer space gets it

Dam, what a sprint
drink, fourth bottle gone

Good times.

A great night.

The Saturday Ride 7-27

Tripleberg Loop

I decided to throw in some challenging climbs for the route this past Saturday. Three was the magic number so I gave the route the Tripleberg nickname. We were greeted by 62 degrees and overcast skies which is a treat for July in Arkansas. The rain passed through the previous evening and we really needed it. Another great group of folks showed up to tackle a difficult 58 mile loop with 3,000 feet of gain.

The land is so resilient turning green over night after the rain. 

This was not a slow ride by any stretch.

The overcast conditions with a little mist and fog were welcomed relief. 

The pace eased for a few minutes as we got closer to the first test. 

The first ramp. The Wedington Blacktop Climb is about half a mile with 230 feet of gain.

In the guts of it now and the bunch is still together. 

Starting to come unglued.

The bunch is torn to shreds by the time we hit the top. Kudos to Jacob for getting the KOM. 

Damage control.

After a water stop in Lincoln we headed south on Canehill Rd. Stunning views our reward.

The bunch was rarely at ease. 

This might be in my top 5 favorite stretches of road. 

The view causing a moment of pause and appreciation.

Ozarkia.

Roller coasting. 

Down in Greasy Griesse Valley about to tackle the 4 Corners Climb. 

At the top of 4 Corners. Pretty straight forward from this direction. 1 mile with 300 feet of gain. Kudos to Scott & Jacob for getting the KOM. STRAVA has both of you at the same time. Who really won?

From here we drop down to Cove Creek before tackling the Hell's Kitchen Climb.

The descent is super fun. I wish it was 5 miles longer. Smiling from ear to ear. Felt like a kid again for a couple minutes.

I didn't get any pictures of Hell's Kitchen. I was too busy going cross eyed. Joe's face really says it all. HK is 1.3 miles with 400+ feet of gain. With a ramp near 20%. What made this difficult was that the 4 Corners climb is within a mile of Hell's Kitchen. 

Too see more on the Hell's Kitchen Climb click on this link to an older post. 

http://wheelshotfayetteville.blogspot.com/2013/03/hells-kitchen.html

 A look back at the ridges and valleys we rode through to get here. Makes me feel small. What a great morning.

Our KOM champ hamming it up. Jacob said he was planning on tapering for a race on Sunday up in Springfield. Sometimes you just go with it when the legs feel good. 

From here we crushed it back into Fayetteville. An excellent Ozark morning with good folks. I felt like I rode my bike at the end. That is certain.

Let's Eat! Dang those waffle fries are the bomb.

Five Bottle Night

system check 1-2, check 1...
slow roll to shop
thick as butter, hard to breath this stuff
what?...101 you say, fools to the slaughter
dang, 20+, guess we are fools together
Yellow Kit...ride just got harder
MLK-Farmington-170-P.Grove
wind direction? SW
6:01, Quintana still pumping up tires, sorry bra you know the rules
drink, first bottle gone
note to self, first surge Farmington city limit
'tower this is Ghost Rider requesting a flyby'
'negative Ghost Rider the pattern is full'
just need to be near the front, make the split
steady..steady..keep an eye on Green Socks
BAM! Green Socks gets it
MG's creeping...I know what he...BOOM...counter
who's gonna pull? don't even look at me
Yellow Kit?
turn red..turn red..YES..
drink, arhg bath water..second bottle gone
AF work together
Mountain Biker, taking huge pulls, impressed
not enough collab, gooiinngg..goooiiinnnggg..gooooone
too hot to stop
good deal, Quintana and Huge Calves caught up
PG hill not too bad
water stop 40 minutes in, it's a sizzler
Viney Grove-in Savoy Loop
chill pace, tons of chatter, lets just roll like...
nope, JMSR on a flyer
coming back now
float..float follow the wheels
who's gonna...
MG & The Captain go..that could stay off
float..float follow the wheels
Huge Calves wants to bridge, asked if I want a go
regrettably must decline the offer, know thy limits tonight
drifting back looking for a spot
New Guy better tell me he's on the hip or he'll end up
dam, what just happened, at the end of this tail
yo-yo ma
pace seems higher
who the..Yellow Kit..shoulda known
that was a pull
all together
drink, third bottle gone
small wrinkle ahead, folks starting to look at each other
get to the front
captain to engine room, give'r all ya got
choose wisely...don't get on a boat anchors wheel
teeth showing, this is painful
what goes up must come...
look alive son, this stretch is always hot
float and follow
wish it was float & sting, not tonight
Savoy
drink, fourth bottle gone
stair step coming
move up
gotta make it over the first pitch
still in the big, good sign
haanngg on
second pitch
regroup for a..
third pitch..get ready...
JP Cervelo attacka..
got nothing
okay..regroup..next
the run to Wheeler Hill is gonna be brutal
Yellow Kit's legs been kinda quiet, singing & carrying on with foreign tongues
that's why we all like Yellow Kit, rips your legs off while making ya laugh
spoke too soon
Yellow Kit and State Champ have a go
this is gonna suck
sorry fellas, no help tonight
survive
Green Socks throws himself into the teeth
just-gotta-get---over-----Wheeellleeerrr
damage control, everything is beeping, loosing altitude rapidly
captain to engine room shut'r down
sayonara
drink, fifth bottle gone
Quintana nice pull, but I got nothing left, carry on without me
Wait, who's that up ahead? engage tractor beams
The Lawyer JB
he has the look of a thousand deaths
hand him a Clif Shot
every wrinkle now
limping along, wounded, battered, beaten
I offer The Lawyer JB a Coke and a ride home
He accepts the Coke but declines the ride home
thatta boy, finish this...

Good times.

Storms were all around us last night and the clouds looked super cool.

It's great to see so many folks out on a super hot night. A good sign that cycling is alive & well around here.

The Saturday Ride 7-20

Airport Loop (short)

Saturday morning we tackled the short version of the airport loop. It's a little over 50 miles of rolling curvy scenic roads. Some of the smoothest tarmac in the state is on this loop. I would recommend staying off Healing Springs (264) out of Cave Springs unless your riding it early in the morning. Folks heading to the airport get a little peeved when a bunch of cyclists make them arrive 45 seconds later then they originally planned. Jokes aside, the speed limit on that road is 55 so the cars are moving. There are a lot of dump trucks as well. Again all the more reason to ride in off peak times. Use that common sense! Don't be like that guy I saw riding down 71 at 7:50am on a Monday morning. What a ----.

A ton of horsepower showed up. We averaged 20 mph. For a 50 miler that's pretty good.

 Sharing it.

We welcomed some new faces again this Saturday. Good times.

These two tied for most combative rider. Not sure who ended up in green. Could it be?

Fields Road is a short narrow cut through that keeps you off busy 112 a little longer. 

Kind of accidentally took this pic. Thought it was cool. 

Healing Springs (264) headed to XNA. Buttery smooth.

Tons of shade for the first 2 hours.

PRO.

Not PRO.

Tips for proper lean can be found at the link below. Very entertaining article.
http://www.velominati.com/etiquette/la-vie-velominatus-lean-properly/

The PRO police were waiting for us at the gas station in Highfill. They issued a few tickets and a couple warnings. Über long valve stem. Not PRO. 

If you look closely someone wrote 'wash me' on this chain. Not PRO.

MG got ticketed twice. This one for Gorilla gluing his bottle cage. Not PRO. Let's chip in a couple bucks and buy him a new one. 

Watching Le Tour while riding your bicycle. PRO. Watching Le Tour while riding your bicycle. Not PRO.

Impaling myself with steer tube. Not PRO.

After the PRO police issued various tickets and warnings we took a left on Gailey Hollow Rd. Buttery smooth and downhill for the next 7 miles. The boys let loose. 

Express yourself. MG is still mad about his tickets.

I highly recommend this route. Minus a couple miles of airport traffic you hardly see any cars. The road quality is superb. The scenery is fantastic. 

Heath was riding strong on Saturday. Good to have him along.

This section was lined with these purple things. 

We have it good here.

Ozarkia.

Old Glory.

There wasn't a whole lot of letting up. Good times.

Great view dropping into Johnson off New Hope Road.

Let's Eat! Sam's Club pizza. So good.

Not PRO.

Stone Mill goodness.

Let's Eat! It's kind of amazing what you can get for under $5 in this country.

The moon last night was great.