Saturday DB Lite Logs

2013-05-11

DBL to McKinney + commute

57.27

0.00

1,477

Okay, today we were back to DBL speeds. Sixteen of us headed north on a mostly sunny and warming day into fierce winds…okay, not even a little fierce, but we actually had a little headwind outbound this week. Our route included a few hills here and there, and that seemed to take it out of some folks early on. As a result, after a while there were almost always one or two folks OTB, but we regrouped regularly. After the break (which should have been at the QT but those in front went to the Race Trac out of habit) the group off the front had a couple of extra adventures but always managed to catch up to the rest of us eventually. After Rollins we finally split rather conclusively into smaller groups. I stayed with the trailing group until after Legacy, then I took advantage of the tailwind and punched the gas for a sprint back to the lot (good for a PR on Strava and, at least among Strava users, a top 10 finish (in the real world probably a top 200, but I'll take it). I finished the ride with a 16.7 average, right in the middle of our advertised range. Good ride!

2013-05-04

25 plus DB Lt - 2610 cal

72.90

18.00

1h 38 min strongest, fastest DB Lt ever for me

2013-05-04

Fast DB Lite to Little Elm + commute

54.62

0.00

1,041

Despite the predicted cold and wind, twenty of us set out for a mish-mash of a route to Frisco and Little Elm. I took a route that already had crossing paths and crossed paths even further to make sure we didn't have any conflicts with Bike MS, so we got to see some scenery a couple of times. The predicted cool warmed up faster than expected, and the predicted winds didn't pick up until later in the ride, all of which gave us ideal conditions and a record-setting DB Lite pace for some folks. We had our fair share of pullers, all of whom did a fantastic job (logging this days later and names elude me--sorry!). Despite the tailwind the ride back east on Lebanon and south on Legacy took it out of a couple of folks (me somewhat included) so since we were above the published ride pace I invoked "Tim's Rule" and dropped back to stay with any stragglers. The slowest person headed home from Legacy and Coit, so the last two of us hit Coit with a vengence. Despite being the designated slow person on the ride I came in with a 17.9 average, and I heard of folks coming in with 18.4. I'm sure we'll return to our published speed next week, but for this week...what fun!

2013-04-27

DB Lite to GV Dam + commute

58.05

0.00

1,821

A somewhat warmer than usual morning fooled some of us into thinking "warmer" = "warm." Arm warmers might have been nice. Then there was the forecast S to SW to W wind: can you say NW? Despite these little weather quibbles, we had a great ride today. Two dozen of us headed out for Grapevine Dam by way of The Colony. I was reminded today that the group almost always splits turning onto Main/Josey from Memorial Drive: I need to find a different way to add a couple of miles to the route. After regrouping we had a fairly uneventful ride except that: the trip across the dam was a little faster than usual (a tailwind will do that for you!); Main Street in Coppell has a farmer's market on Saturdays that messes with traffic a bit; and try as they might, the front group never really escaped from us stragglers thanks to the wonders of traffic lights. I came in with a 17.0 average. A little hot coffee after was quite welcome.

2013-04-20

DB Lite to Rowlett + commute

55.54

0.00

1,601

Twenty eight of us headed down to Rowlett on a cool but not-as-breezy-as-it-could-have-been morning. Contrary to common sense I spent a fair amount of time in the first half at the front of a group, and paid for it later. We traveled together until Betsy became one lane, then Elizabeth took the first group and I took the second so we could give passing cars a fighting chance. The only real problem with this was that the folks in the back of the front group apparently didn't communicate "car back" so several cars got stuck behind the group for a while on Sanden. My hill-climbing demons held off until after the break, and I soon found myself in the back of the group. Elizabeth was kind enough to keep me company back there. Despite that I still came in with a 17.1 average so the front folks may have been approaching our top avg of 17.5. All in all, except for the car back issues, it was a good ride on a good day with good folks.

2013-04-13

DB Lite does BnB + commute

57.49

0.00

1,726

A cool morning gave way to a beautiful day as 18 of us headed out to Sachse on the "standard" BnB route (and to Chris and Natalie and Mark and Mike and anyone else who had a hand in it, several people commented on what a great route it is). The group was pretty well matched (even if some of us slid back on the hills) and was very cohesive, regrouping when needed and dividing into smaller groups to aid in letting cars around (esp. after one car started around, had approaching traffic, and stopped in the left lane). The pace was nice today thanks to the ideal temperatures and the lack of much headwind outbound. One rider decided to ride home solo after the rest stop. When a couple of us were falling off the back on Renner the group was good about giving us a chance to catch up until I told them to go on, which they seemed more than happy to do. ;) Jay and I were both on the edge of cramping so we kept each other company the last few miles. Despite our slowdown I came in with a 17.2 average, which tells me the bulk of the group probably came in at or above 17.5, our advertised top end. Great day, great group, great ride, and great talking to folks afterwards at Starbucks.

2013-03-30

DBL to Grapevine Dam + commute

58.52

0.00

1,821

An even dozen of us headed out on a warmer morning, our last 8 AM launch for a while. We headed west towards Grapevine Dam with a short detour into The Colony: I decided to vary from the 50 mile rides and so we went 52 instead (not a big change, but a change). The group held together pretty well today, and though a couple of folks were challenged by the good pace we were keeping (we came home with a 17.5 average, our upper limit), they never fell completely off. Speaking of falling off, we had one rider provide a visual aid as to why you should inspect your cleats on occasion and should beware of sudden acceleration on worn cleats. He had a little scrapage, but Dr. Gary bandaged him up and he had no issues after that. Max had his third (?) blowout on the same wheel as we were turning onto Rosemeade coming home (what do people see in that road?--cracks galore!), and while we were stopped we had another rider call for SAG as his knee was quite unhappy. However, even with 1/4 of our riders having issues, we all agreed it was a great ride on a great day for a ride. Kudos to Joe for being up front pretty much the whole way today: I'm afraid we'll lose him to DB2 all too soon.

2013-03-16

DBL to WRL + commute

56.89

0.00

1,749

Our biggest group of the year (26) headed down to White Rock Lake via Jupiter. The higher temps were welcome, the higher winds not so much. However, lots of folks paid their dues up front while heading south, actually too many to remember, but I for one thank all of you. We did get split at a number of lights. The split at 635 was the most momentous: when our second group was starting there was a bang and we had our first mechanical in a while. Long story short(er), the tire ate the replacement tube and although Steve Rovinsky was on the ride and had a spare tire, he wasn't in the tail group and SAG was called before he was able to offer it up. We sent most of the group ahead while Steve went back to try, and then when he returned we chased the front group. Despite both groups having to pull over for a passing emergency vehicle, we managed to regroup just before the rest stop. After the stop we split into faster/slower groups for the tailwind portion of the ride, which did include some climbs before we got too far. Once those were behind us we motored north at a pretty good pace. A couple of folks (and as it turned out the entire fast group) took a slight shortcut at the end, but some of us did the full 50 by taking the left on Waterview then right on Frankford to Hillcrest. All in all, a fun ride with a great group of riders!

2013-03-09

50.50

0.00

981

2013-03-09

DB Lite to Allen/Wylie/Sachse + commute

56.37

16.60

1,621

A threat of rain did not deter us from our appointed round this morning, as 17 of us headed out to battle a south wind. The good news was that it was warmer, so less layers were needed (I didn't even use any head-warming apparel). We edged north first to get warmed up, then east, and finally in Allen we headed south. I was pleased that there were immediately two pullers up front who weren't me (with Brian staying up there for the full duration of the ride--you da man!--and bad on me for not remembering the others' names). We split into two smaller groups for the section on 2-lane Parker Rd, and my tail group picked up one rider from the front group on Country Club. After the rest stop we headed south again for a while then got a short workout on the hill on Pleasant Valley just before Firewheel. After the regroup and a last bit of SW riding we turned onto Buckingham and reacquired a tailwind. We morphed into two groups some time after that, and those of us in the rear group motored up Renner with some entertainment from Bike Mart riders passing by then catching them at every light. Going up Indy OAS Lite passed us with similar results. I opened my throttle a little between Park & Parker for a last hurrah, then waited for the rest of my group on Cross Bend. Despite the warmer temps, a warm beverage after was mighty nice, as was riding part way home with Natalie (where the rain barely emerged). Another fun day with the PBA!

2013-03-02

DB Lite to Little Elm + commute

54.59

0.00

883

Even though I delayed the start until 10:00 it was still stupid cold when the eight of us headed out. Fortunately, by 11:30 it had warmed enough to be liveable (which may have been related to turning downwind). We were very grateful to have Michael (despite the cold) and Robert (despite his "shrinking" bike) on the front, Michael the whole way and Robert probably 80%. Thanks to their effort (and an avoidance of many hills) our 17.0 average was above what it has been in recent weeks, even with the higher-than-forecast north wind. The group held together pretty well, except of course in the Tribute sprint zone where most everyone did their own thing. We arrived back in the lot together (except for Luis who had headed straight home) and a couple of us grabbed coffee after and socialized with some OAS Lite folks (okay, we sat with them and they didn't throw us out).

2013-02-23

11 plus DB rec - 2900 cal

62.50

0.00

1h 57min>130 bpm

2013-02-23

Cold DB Lite to McKinney + commute

55.02

0.00

1,193

The later start really didn't seem to help as four (Curtis, Joe, Erich, & I) then six (added Beth & Marianne as we were leaving) of us headed north to McKinney and points just north. The sun was out at the start so it was looking good for warming up, but the farther we went the cloudier it got and it seemed to get even colder. At Wilmeth & 75 the women decided the cold wasn't worth it so they turned around, leaving us as an all-dude ride. We discovered that the road work they did last year on McIntire was a definite improvement. After taking a very slight shortcut to the rest stop, we found that being stopped on the leeward side of the building was much warmer than riding. However, realizing that we couldn't hang there all day we had a pretty quick stop and headed back out into the country along familiar roads (317, Orr Rd, Forest Grove, etc). Despite the cold, the relative lack of traffic and the tailwind made this part about the best of the day. We skipped the hill on Bethany but did go up Rollins. The sun even showed up again. Then it was Hedgcoxe & Coit and home. Nice warm coffee was more than welcome at the end, and sitting out of the wind and in the sun was quite pleasant.

2013-02-16

11 plus DB Lt - 2610 cal

65.70

16.60

1h 49 min>130

2013-02-09

DB Lite to Rowlett + commute

55.70

16.40

989

First long ride in three weeks and it showed. It was cool (okay, cold) and cloudy and breezy and the outbound route took it out of me despite giving up my spot on the front pretty early on. We had lots of help up front today, even from our first-timers. The group size changed several times during the ride, varying between the 14 who signed in to the 13 who left the lot to a low value of 10. For example, Lauren noticed during our mechanical on Los Rios that he had a tire that had a number of fibers poking out of it so he headed home, only to rejoin us later on Country Club after the rest stop then leave again to go straight home; somewhere between Los Rios and Country Club in Wylie we lost someone else; and so on. By the time we were singled up on Vinson we split into faster-slower groups, but we regrouped at turns and were a single group on Lakeside heading into the rest stop where we found OAS Lite, with whom we had crossed paths a couple of times before. The fixed flat from earlier was now a leaking valve stem so we cooled down further while that tube was replaced. Heading out of there we revelled in the mostly tailwind, but the first half of the ride had done its damage to me, and by Renner several of us were slipping away from the front group (okay, slipping sounds gradual, they took a commanding lead). At Indy and Parker we were overtaken by DB1, and thanks to traffic lights those of us in the DBL rear guard finished up with them. After much conversation and wonderfully warm Starbucks coffee I headed for home with a last weak effort into the wind. It hurt and I was cold and tired, but it was good to be riding with the group again!

Max Bisso

2013-02-04

DB Lite to Little elm

44.78

17.60

1,148

Very nice Ride lead by Brad who did a great job. It was my first ride in a little over a week so figured I would suck big time but to my surprise I did ok. I even helped in the breakaway on the sprint zone very unlike me hehe. We did have a rider down near the end on town & country the road there is one lane and has a very bad crack that is wide enough to take down even a wide tire. Problem is they have sort of fixed some holes and cracks right on the right edge of the road leaving very rough asphalt right by the big crack that runs most of the way down the road. It looked like the rider who went down got bumped into the crack by the rough road. Luck was on his side and he walked away with what seemed like minor injuries. After being checked out by Doc Gary he was able to ride home after a few repairs to his bike.

2013-01-26

12 plus DB Lt - no HRM data

58.10

16.60

HRM battery quit

2013-01-19

23 plus DB Lt - 2980 cal

71.80

15.90

1h 25min >130

2013-01-19

DBL to White Rock Lake + commute

54.08

0.00

1,119

We were a nice sized group of sixteen today. It was cool at the start but the sunlight helped us feel a little warmer. We had better-than-usual luck with the lights on Spring Creek, but unfortunately I think we made up for it elsewhere. The group was pretty cohesive outbound, hanging together on the complex Spring Creek-Jupiter-Garland road route. We split at the rest stop to have two smaller groups heading up the two-lane roads by the lake. There was some tension between our group, a car that was passing us, and the car that was coming south towards us (let's hope the southbound car was expressing herself to the passing car and not us). Once we got past the stop signs it was a nice cruise north along the west side of the lake. We regrouped north of Northwest Hwy, then immediately began spreading out on the hills that followed. We waited for stragglers at Walnut Hill with a half-dozen folks leaving early to make better time. When our last rider got there he, Michael, and the other Tim decided to take the trails back to Spring Creek and Waterview. The rest of us headed over to Plano Rd and enjoyed the push of the tailwind, and we gained three of the "better time" group at one point. We spread out on Renner and were mostly together going up Indy. So, while it wound up not being our most cohesive group ride, it was definitely nicer weather than we've been seeing and hey, any ride where everyone stays wheels down is okay by me!

2013-01-12

20 plus DB Lt - 2473 cal

57.70

15.60

1h 21 min>130

2013-01-05

45.00

0.00

1,030

2013-01-05

DB Lite to Valley Ranch + commute

50.74

0.00

1,039

Another cold morning so I delayed the start to 10:00 hoping it might hit at least 40 and the clouds might break. We got the 40 degrees but it was pretty cloudy and cool for much of the ride. We left the lot with 13 well matched folks and headed west. Not too far past Windhaven on Midway we were joined by RichardH who had blown a spoke early on DB Rec but had gotten a quick repair at the Tri Shop. Lots of folks spent some time up front and I even felt like I spent my fair share of time there today. We did the hills on Ranch View, so between the hills and the stop signs it toasted our average speed (and my legs) but it was a good workout and the downhill on Ranch Trail rocked! The ride north was more fun than the ride east, so I'm thinking the winds were a lot more south than west. The sun came out heading north so that helped the lift the comfort level a bit. We stopped before turning north on Midway to make sure the group was together, then we had another good cruise north. We were joined on Midway by MichaelW who was getting in a few more miles, then Richard left us when whe passed the Tri Shop. A mostly uneventful run across Windhaven (not sure what the conversation was with the driver at Parkwood) and Spring Creek ended a very fun (if a bit cool) ride. We came in with a 16.8 average which is right in the middle of our target range. Thanks to all for a good time!

2012-12-29

A cool DB Lite/Rec to Little Elm

45.36

17.30

938

Cold day, small groups, and a 1 PM start conspired to combine DB Rec and DB Lite today. Technically it was DB Lite so I gathered the signatures and did the speech. We headed up Coit and zig-zagged our way up to Panther Creek. I yielded up the front position on the hill on Parkwood/5th St. climbing into downtown Frisco and only had nominal returns to the front after that. Lots of help up front today, and DavidM was there probably the most. The group was pretty well matched despite being a combined group. Joe noted elsewhere that he was "hanging on" until he and two others headed back not long after the rest stop to claim a table at MexiGo but hopefully that was just a typically self-depricating description. The sprint zone at The Tribute was more of a tempo zone for me: I just got into a good pace and held it while most folks went on ahead. On the return trip Wai dropped back then stopped, at first saying he was okay and later admitting to some cramping. He walked it off and finished the rest of the ride strong. The RRP was a bit low today: one blown spoke that required a SAG, three folks breaking off early, one person heading home from Lebanon & 423, and one rider who headed home just as we got back. So technically we had 10 return from a starting group of 16. At least all were accounted for. It was overall a cold ride but fun, and looks to be my final ride of the year. Thanks to all my friends at PBA and especially DB Lite for a great riding year!

2012-12-15

27 plus DB Lt - 3320 cal

76.30

16.50

2h 1min >130

2012-12-15

DB Lite to Little Elm etc + commute

55.46

0.00

969

Today it was an even dozen of us on the road to Frisco, Little Elm, and The Colony. We had mixed success with the traffic lights, and as a result DB2 caught us on Lebanon. We generously let them pass, then caught up to them at every light until turning onto Eldorado. They cleverly timed their departure at that light to catch a few of our brethern (no sisteren on this ride) and we didn't see DB2 again until they were heading south on Teel & we were heading north to our rest stop at Main & Legacy. Other than that, while there was a little wind it wasn't too bad so the NW-instead-of-SW route was fine. Lots of folks spent time up front and westbound on Lebanon we worked a single pace line with some success. We even took the time to take a quick photo with one of the holiday decorations along the road. I wouldn't say I sprinted in the return trip from The Tribute but I slowly accelerated and got a little speed going which was fun. For the first time in a while I had a little something left over for the hills towards the end of the ride (having few hills at the beginning of the ride helps). While we didn't exactly arrive back as a single group we all got in within a couple of minutes of each other. Great day, great ride, great fun, and all within the posted ride speeds.

2012-12-08

25 plus DB Lt - 2750 cal

72.80

17.00

1h 34 min> 130 bpm

2012-12-08

DB Lite to WRL via Jupiter

53.72

0.00

1,014

The last time the group went to WRL they were less than thrilled by the route down. It was the usual Park Cities way, which meant lots of smaller streets, stop signs, and more importantly, cracks. Mike Rooney had shown me a route down Jupiter that he was thinking about for Bagels (that I gather was derived from something Shahab came up with for DB Rec) so I decided that we'd give it a try. As it turns out, it's not bad. Eighteen of us headed that way, and after playing hopscotch with DB Rec on Spring Creek we headed south on Jupiter. As expected, the Dallas parts of the roads we travelled tended to be a little rougher than the more northern ones, but overall Jupiter south to Garland Rd was quite do-able. There were a few times we had to move left when the lane became a right turn lane, but otherwise it was just a straight shot south. Between that and the overall downhill trend we had an over-18mph average when we hit the rest stop. Heading back north through the L-Streets our average got crushed (and two people left to head home a different way) (and we had an unprotected left onto Plano Rd...oops!), but back on Plano Rd heading north we were able to set a good pace. I fell back to the rear to support those who were actually riding the advertised pace. The group would split then come together at lights. That continued until Renner, when the front group smelled the hay at the barn and accelerated. I stayed with my group until Park & Indy, then did a wee bit of a sprint to Cross Bend with one other taker. Yet another fun ride! And for those on last week's ride, we hear that Julian is back on the bike, even if he looks like he lost a fight.

2012-12-01

27 plus DB Lt - 3730 cal

78.50

16.80

2h 35 min>130 47 cal/mi

2012-12-01

DB Lite to Grapvine Dam + commute: Sproing, Hiss, and Bump

56.32

0.00

1,112

The higher temperatures brought out more people, and 25 or so of us left the lot and headed west towards Grapevine. We took the same route as the awesome ride four weeks ago, but the larger group, higher winds, and happenstance kept it from being quite as smooth. The brisk south wind definitely made itself known north and south, but west and east were surprisingly fun. So, we made good time west until--sproing--a broken spoke required a stop. Once that was diagnosed and cleaned up we were on our way. Before we got to the dam we split into a couple of smaller groups, hoping that cars would have an easier time getting around us on the two lane road. It mostly seemed to work, although by the time we reached Hwy 26 we were in more than two groups. The good news was that this was the worst of the run to the south. We literally coasted along at 24 mph on 26 before the right turn and the rest stop that followed. A couple of folks who had fallen back rejoined us at the rest stop, and someone who had to be back early departed with the intent of taking a shortcut home (hope it worked!). The rest of us headed east (with one more short south run) and north and east and north etc. On Beltline we heard a Hiss! and there was a flat. We found a small space for the group to wait while the change was made: there were only three people doing the change, a seemingly dangerously low number. ;) Then we were off again. The group did a good job of keeping an eye out for those behind. As we approached Trinity Mills I fell back and stayed with them a while, but was shooed forward. Some of us caught the lead group at the left on Midway but got caught by the red light, then the same thing happened to the group behind us. Just after Frankford we came on the lead group. This was the bump: two riders had gone down due to a crack. 911 was called and Julian got taped up but neither he nor Matt required transport, just rides home. Once the ambulance arrived Max led most of the group home, and the rest of us waited until Matt & Julian had rides before we left. The rest of the ride was unventful, if surprisingly warm for December 1st. As always, thanks to the worker bees up front (Julian pulled at least 2/3 of the ride, I do believe). Thanks to Dr. Gary for his able medical assistance in our time of need; in fact, thanks to everyone for taking care of our injured friends. As someone often says, it's good to ride with my PBA buds!

2012-11-24

DBL to Rowlett + commute

56.96

0.00

909

The winds were light today and different groups went in different directions. I decided we'd take another run to Rowlett. Thirteen signed up, several abandoned us for DB2, and one rejoined, so 11 left the lot and headed down Spring Creek. It was a strong cohesive group and we set a good pace early and kept it up pretty much the whole way. The temps started out pretty chilly but the sun and lack of wind warmed things up a little as we rode. We had a couple of new riders with the group, including Shahab who joined us from DB Rec on a non-leading week. Everyone held together pretty well the first 2/3 of the route, but a couple of folks (and maybe me...) were sliding off the back during part of the final third. Seeing as we were running a bit above our posted average I swept and made sure everyone made it in, but we were all withing striking distance of the group the whole way back. We had people heading directly home starting on Renner, so while only about 1/2 the group actually rolled back into the lot, I'm still claiming an RRP of 100%. As always, thanks to the good folks who pulled the group along (a day later I can remember Lauren and Kraig but know that there were others). Good ride!

2012-11-17

17 plus DB Lt - 2580 cal

67.80

16.30

no wind day! 1h 9min>130

2012-11-17

DB Lite to Murphy/Wylie/Sachse/etc + commute

55.88

0.00

970

Good group of fourteen on a cool sunny day headed out to Wylie/Murphy/Sachse/Garland/etc. Not much wind but heading north still seemed more fun than heading south. This was the day of Gary's Tube and Tire Troubles. As we turned next to Southfork he had a flat. The valve stem on the replacement tube got bent and it took some maneuvering (and time) to get it inflated. Okay, so on to the rest stop. Not long after we arrived--Bang!--the tube blows. Long story short, it got changed two more times at the rest stop, which lengthened our stay there a bit. When we finally started out it was on cold legs and that hung with some of us for the remainder of the ride. I was relegated to far back in the group on one of the climbs and stayed there the rest of the ride. Those of us in the rear guard wound up coming in the last little bit with DB1. While my speed for the day was below what I hoped, the group played very well together and I still had plenty of fun. My RRP for the day, after accounting for those who rode straight home, was 92%. One route note...I tried 2551 (Angel Pkwy) all the way from Exchange to Parker Rd. While the road surface was okay, traffic on the two lane from E. Main to Parker was heavy enough that we always had vehicles behind us despite a steady stream of passing cars. Maybe it would be better with an earlier start, but I'll try to stay away from this stretch for the time being.

2012-11-10

20 plus DB Lt - 3172 cal

65.40

15.40

2h 29 min>130

2012-11-10

Windy DB Lite to Wylie/Murphy + commute

58.75

0.00

1,324

Twas a blustery day and 24 or so of us decided to see if we could conquer the wind. I'm not sure we all conquered it, but we got some exercise and had some fun. We were one big (mostly) happy group in the first half, starting by following the old Tweener route then hanging a left on Park/Betsy. I got a bonus half mile or so by turning around at Country Club to make sure nobody was back (guess I should have counted better, huh?) then caught up with the group at the rest stop. Heading out we split into faster/slower groups: Max took the speedy group, I took the not-in-as-big-of-a-hurry group. Our group size varied as a few people headed back early and we picked up a member of Max's group who'd fallen back on a hill. Once we'd passed southbound under the Bush on Garland Rd we stayed together as a group until the end. I had designed the route originally thinking that if we broke up the into-the-wind portions before and after the rest stop it would make it more bearable. What it seemed to do instead was be a little daunting after the rest stop to have the headwind again. Lesson learned (maybe). Regardless, I had fun riding with a good group of folks, and it was good to have Claudia back!

2012-11-03

DBL – Grapevine Dam + commute

56.30

18.30

What a great ride! I had planned to ride DB2 today rather than DBL, but when I saw the two routes, I opted for DBL. DB2 was headed to Lake Lavon, and having ridden to Lake Lavon twice in the past nine days, I took the opportunity to go somewhere new. DBL headed to Grapevine Dam, somewhere I had not ridden before. Tim and Brian made the pull from the start to the rest stop, with Brian pulling at an awesome cruising speed across the dam. The pace was a quicker than the typical DBL, but I loved it. The small group held together as we hit the rest stop. Just before leaving the rest stop DBRec pulled into the same stop. I am glad our small group beat them to the bio-break. Leaving the rest stop, I pulled with Tim for a while and then Brian swapped out with Tim. Brian and I got to talking and did not watch the pace as closely as we should. It wasn’t long before we realized we were well over the advertised pace and stringing out the group - time to back it down. I remained up front for the return trip to wrap up an awesome ride. Thanks gang for the fun.

2012-11-03

DB Lite to Grapevine Dam + commute

55.56

0.00

1,109

Moderately clear skies, a breeze out of the south, and a good group led to a DB Lite ride that was, well, a little faster than the published ride parameters. A nice sized group of fifteen headed out for a jaunt to the Grapevine Dam using a couple of new route segments. As a result we had not as many stops as usual and maybe shaved off a few climbs too (and nobody missed dealing with the rumble strips on King Arthur either). The new roads were pretty good: I like outbound on Hebron starting at Midway much better than coming back that way, and while Trinity Mills had lots of manhole covers with built-in cracks surrounding them those were pretty easy to miss. The group did a great job of hanging together: we were pretty cohesive before the rest stop, then after the stop when the front riders would notice they had gotten ahead (or, depending on your perspective, that some of us had fallen behind) they were good about waiting for the trailing riders. Except for the two folks who headed home as we were getting back we arrived back together, which is always nice. Thanks to Chris (I think), Brian, Michael, and anyone else who took some time up front today. Kudos to those who moved up to DB Lite from Tweeners today and hung with the group despite the elevated speed! And thanks to everyone for making my 4000th mile this year (and all the other miles on this ride) so much fun!

2012-11-03

DB Lite

50.30

18.30

1,052

Great ride on Saturday with a solid group. Led most of the way (probably a bit faster than group wanted) but everyone stayed together and we finished as a group. Love riding with DB Lite.

2012-10-20

DBL – White Rock + commute

54.44

15.40

134

Of the 17 PBA rides (including Rudy/Andrew/Richard rides) I have taken, this one was by far the least enjoyable. The route, where the number of stop signs seems to out number the total route miles, was not pleasurable or even fluid. The running joke was that everyone would need new clips after this ride from the amount of clip-in/clip-out moments at every stop. Unfortunately, the road cracks claimed some victims. The first rider went down right in front of me around the 11 mile mark when she got grabbed by a crack. She was in the right lane up one position and I in the left. As the crack took hold, she careened left and hit Ryan James, the rider immediately in front of me. Ryan managed to remain upright as she hit the road. I hear she is okay as she was picked up by her ICE contact at the scene. Just a few moments before her, another rider ahead of me had a harrowing experience as he almost went down when his rear tire dropped into a crack. Later, as we neared the rest stop close to mile 24, I heard the crashing sound as a rider behind me went down. Two riders had gone down before the rest stop. At the rest stop I heard some comments about the ride splitting into two groups, a faster and a slower, but this did not happen. Although two riders (Mike and another) opted to go it alone and take the trail back north. I pondered joining them but decided against that notion when they each said they would pull off early and go home. After the rest stop, the trek home seemed to have slightly fewer stop signs (not by many) and calls of "riders back" seemed endless. As the group turned north on Plano Road, David, whom I had been riding beside off and on, suggested we go to the front and pull for a while, but I believe his real intent was to pull away and get on down the road. I liked his suggestion and up front we went. We were quickly joined by three other riders. I wasn’t long before the five of us had simply out-paced the pack and headed home. On Renner our little group was overtaken by a RBM pack. Our five-some become separated as the RBM pack made its way past. David and the others dropped back; Ryan and I pedaled onward. As Ryan and I turned north on Independence, we caught up with two RBM riders also heading north to Legacy. We were now a group of four until Ryan and I turned off at Cross Bend, and the two of us wrapped up our ride as a pair. Thanks Ryan, it was fun.

2012-10-13

DB Lite to Rowlett + commute

57.23

0.00

1,038

A breezy day found several groups heading to Rowlett. We used the same route as on 7/28 and it again worked out pretty well. Seventeen of us left the lot and headed east. Winds were mostly south, maybe a little southeast, and the route did a lot of zigzagging to help avoid long runs into the wind. As a result, I lasted a little longer up front than I expected to, then was happy to turn it over to Lauren & company (lots of folks took a turn and my memory for names hasn't improved, but I know who you are!) We crossed paths with DB2 a couple of times on the outbound leg. We had a little stretch on Vinson where our "single up" skills were shown to be in need of work, but things went well besides that. We hit the rest stop, shortly after that DB2 rolled in, and then OAS Lite arrived, so the Race Trac was kind of busy for a while. We left first (with some personnel changes), but soon had two short stops for mechanicals and watched the other groups go by. We happened to catch up to DB2 for a short while on Country Club, then they (and one of our group) turned onto Pleasant Valley while we went on to Buckingham. We came across Plano Pkwy instead of Renner in part because it really isn't as stressful. On Indy our OAS Lite friends caught us, so we let them pass us then some of us drafted off them to the finish. The ride was marred by an unfortunate low-speed fall by one of our folks after a wheel touch on Spring Creek not far from the end, so now I've actually filled out one of our new Incident Reports. Except for that I thought it was a great ride!

2012-10-13

DBLite - Rowlett + commute

55.58

16.90

618

Back in the saddle after 15 days of business travel. What a windy day to get started again. I took two long stints at the front pulling since it was a windy day and I needed the extra work. I took one stint during the first half and pulled to the rest stop, and the second stint prior to 3/4 distance and pulled to mile 45. That's when I learned the 'thanks' one gets for being out front. On the last climb of the second hill on Plano Pkwy, my old and heavy Peugeot showed why it is not a hill climber as it proudly displayed those 32-35 pounds of bike weight. As I tried to give up the front and move over, no one seemed to want to give an inch. I watched as the pack freight trained by me in single file at speed and dropped me like a bad habit. I was then on my own and left back at the next two traffic lights – bummer – whatever happened to no one left at lights? "Rider back" must have been lost in the wind. Only when the OAS Lite riders came up, was I able to then latch onto their group and catch up with the DBL, who had finally stopped at a traffic light.

Michael Rooney

2012-10-06

DBLite + Commute

57.29

16.50

Ran into Kraig on the commute over and decided to do DB2 with him. There were only 3 of us, so we joined DBLite. Tim did a great job leading as usual. He swept at the end and made sure the straglers made it back. I went straight on Independence when the group turned right and headed home. Thanks Tim, great ride.

2012-10-06

DB Lite to Prosper 50 mi + commute

56.08

0.00

1,340

Actually, it was DB Lite/DB2, but since we used my route I'm calling dibs. Another breezy day, this one quite cool and cloudy, and we again headed to Prosper and points east…in a clockwise direction, of course! Not many folks were showing up for DB2 so they joined us and I thank them, as DB2 (Brad, Kraig, Mike, etc) provided much of the pull for the ride (at least while I was watching) and never threatened to blow it up. Despite several days rest I was still feeling the effects of my hill training Tuesday and really had to work during my time up front; okay, I had to work even when I wasn't up front. A couple of folks were falling back before the rest stop and still had issues after, so once I made sure the group knew the route I fell back and was sweeper from 1461 on. We were well off the back and got caught at Custer so never really got anywhere near the group after that. Larry was with the main group but was kind enough to claim he needed a rest stop, stopped just north of 121 on Coit, and pulled out to join and help out as we came by. Not my fastest ride of the year but still plenty of fun. Thanks all!

2012-09-22

19 plus DB Lt - 3055 cal

71.50

17.40

record avg speed for me 1h 52 min>130 great ride - no wind

2012-09-22

DB Lite to Wylie/Murphy + commute

57.59

0.00

1,195

What a great day for a ride. There was almost no wind, and yes, it did get a little warm, but overall it treated us very well. We started out on the old Tweener route, which was a nice ride down memory lane, but turned left at Park (which meant that yes, we were on Betsy). I lead an unannounced sprint zone around the park in Allen. Those who passed me became the volunteer pullers for parts of the rest of the ride. Overall, the group was really well matched. At the rest stop nobody wanted to split into speed groups and despite the fact that we were averaging a little above the published pace, everyone seemed to agree that the pace was fine. We did a good job keeping together: we arrived as a single group at the left turn onto Spring Creek from Misson Ridge, where traffic and a fairly fast light finally split us into two groups. The closest thing I have to a complaint is I hope that someday my hill training is actually reflected in my performance on a ride! Honestly, just a great ride with a great group.

2012-09-22

DBL to Wylie/Murphy

56.94

17.20

1,195

This route was something differnt for me, and I enjoy seeing new areas from the seat of a bike. So much fun riding with this group. We managed to stick together for almost the entire ride, but an evil stop light broke apart on ths final run home. Mileage and average speed listed above may differ from the actual PBA ride as the values above include my ride to/from my home to the start/end location.

Mary Hall

2012-09-15

DB Lite

50.40

15.30

1,286

I can't thank Max enough for hanging back with me on my first DB Lite ride. Not the most brilliant idea with a new bike, gear system, pedals and worst of all new saddle. Max's quote of the day..."just get out of the saddle every once in a while and tell her she will be home soon" priceless. Thanks Max! Thanks to my motivator for keeping me in one piece after the ride.

2012-09-15

DB Lite to McKinney + commute

57.33

0.00

1,279

It was cool but not cold, cloudy but no rain, and some light NW winds: in other words, almost a perfect riding day. We had a nice sized group today. I tried to take my share of time up front but had plenty of help along the way. At one point I had a John Evans moment: I lost the group when I was in the middle. I had dropped back to make sure our new rider (who, it turned out, was test riding--possibly as someone else's suggestion--a bike with different seat, shifters, and cleats than she was used to) and Max (who gets multiple kudos for graciously sticking with her throughout the ride) knew the route enough to get to the rest stop. After being reassured I took off with another rider after the lead group. While I had them in sight a couple of times I was stopped by long traffic lights. When we got to the rest stop the lead group wasn't there and hadn't been there. When they rolled in (after the trailing group) it turned out they had done their best to do as much of the planned route as possible even after part had been eliminated by construction. After the stop I pulled until we hit one too many hills then I fell off the lead, never to return. We briefly saw Group Max when we turned onto Hedgcoxe after going up Rollins. We later got passed by DB1. After that there were those who chased DB1 and those of us who couldn't. All in all, another fun and challenging ride.

2012-09-15

DB Lite

54.02

18.30

1,350

Great ride even though we got "lost" in downtown McKinney a time or two. Had fun on the sprints back to the barn. Great way to finish off a ride!

2012-09-08

DB Lite

50.20

17.80

1,336

There was wind. Lots of it but the ride back was awesome running at times at 30 mph with minimal effort.