Mothers day weekend bike rides

Saturday May 10th.
Good turn out on a nice morning.
Representing the “Smell the Roses” riders were:
Tracy Clanton
Beth Gonzalez
Shelia – I can not remember her last name
Theresa Smit was on a business trip and extended stay to visit her son Kiehl and her mom for Mothers day weekend.

Representing the “Testosterone” riders were:
Ron Clanton
Todd Pechner
Steve Cope
John Majikes
Kevin Smit
And first time with the group Doug Who is Shelia’s husband.

Today’s ride can be summed up for the “Smell the Roses” riders as a smooth out and back jaunt.
For the “Testosterone” riders the ride can be summed up as a 4 out of 6 mechanical failures ride.

The “Testosterone” riders did not make it to Ron’s pull before Doug had issues with his front tire. The brakes were found rubbing on the top of the tire. Once adjusted to resolve that issue the brakes then rubbed on the rim. With some additional tweaks the tire rotated fine with the wheel held off the ground. Just then the “Smell the Roses” swept past the disabled “Testosterone” riders. In the effort to take chase the “Testosterone” riders had to make an additional stop for John Majikes who’s rear tire flatted just as he began to head out from Doug’s bike repair. The group stopped with Steve Cope jumping into action to perform a Tire Change that would make any NASCAR Pit crew envious. During this time John could only be heard saying “I am Getting A NEW BIKE”. Again the entire group voted in favor of John’s NEW BIKE.
Once again the “Testosterone” riders launched into the day’s ride (this makes the third start for the day). Within ¼ mile Doug’s tire was again rubbing against the front breaks. This was just as Ron and others started the hard push on Ron’s Pull Road. Kevin and John Majikes were with Doug as he pulled over to again deal with this issue. Doug was so frustrated that he elected to turn towards home, which was a short distance from his current location. Kevin was ready to join him to help ensure a safe journey. John Majikes insisted that he join Doug home and that Kevin go on with the group. John announced he wanted to call it a day and go BUY A NEW BIKE.
So with everyone in agreement the “Testosterone” riders split with 2 headed home and the remaining 4 charging down the road. The ride continued as usual with each rider taking turns at the lead heading towards UpChuck hill. As the climb of UpChuck approached Steve Cope and Todd set themselves up to charge hard on the uphill. Just as this started to unfold the “Smell the Roses” riders were found on their return trip from UpChuck as they were now headed back to the start. Kevin and Ron did not see who took the win on UpChuck. Both Todd and Steve had rocked past with so much intensity that they were over the top and out of sight before the other two could find the strength to lift their heads from the climb.
A right turn after UpChuck put the riders on the rolling hills towards Mt. Pisgah and ultimately Luther shop road. As Kevin and Ron did their best to close the gap on Steve and Todd, Kevin had a slight mechanical problem with his bike. A small plastic (not carbon fiber) component on the seat fell off on to the road. By the time Kevin discovered this they had covered several hundred yards. Both Kevin and Ron turned to back track in order to find this part. Riding along they scoured the roadside in an effort to find this small plastic part. After several minutes the part was found in the road with the screw still in the part. This was great Kevin could now easily reattach the part onto the seat. As he dug through the tool bag for a Phillips screwdriver Kevin dropped the screw. It hit the bike and flew into the ditch. RATS. Both Kevin and Ron were now found on hands and knees looking for a black colored screw in tall grass. After again several minutes they concluded that the screw is no recoverable and Kevin would have to find another one once he returned home.
On the bikes again Ron and Kevin knew they were now officially a splinter group from the “Testosterone” riders, Steve and Todd were no where to be found. Ron and Kevin finished the ride making the run to Lake Jordan and back without further mechanical issues.
Upon arriving at the start/finish they learned that Steve Cope had developed mechanical issues on the ride as well. One of his peddles would not snap his cleat in securely. This forced Steve to finish the last 5 or more miles peddling with just one foot. This meant his speed dropped from 23 miles per hour to 22.5 miles per hour on this last leg of the ride.
Another fine day’s ride with plenty of experiences.
We cannot wait to see John’s NEW BIKE.


Mother’s day Sunday May 11th.
Ride was Rained out.