Mark Your Calenders

Saturday Nov. 3 at 0930 leaving from Cadence. Should be fun, but I don't know how I'm going to do this ride hard and still be able to race in the Spring Mount Cross Race on Sunday...

Description: The Philadelphia Dirty Dozen is a 40 mile ride consisting of 13 challenging climbs in Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties. The format is a points race, with points going to the top 5 men and top 5 women (8-5-3-2-1) up each climb. A whistle will be blown at the start of each climb (rolling start) to signal the start. Riders will regroup at the top of every climb and ride slowly to the next climb. The organizer will try to mark the start of each climb and the 200m to go mark. Local riders will be familiar with many of these climbs, but many will be climbs not typically ridden. All riders welcome.

Entry Fee: $0

Great Advice: A compact or triple crankset would be ideal for this course, with a lowest gear of 25-27 in the back. Some of these climbs are very steep! (Maybe not as steep as in Pittsburgh… but it will be a good warmup for the Pittsburgh event). If you see yourself as a contender, my advice would be to not try and win every climb. Try to win the climbs that you think you can win and be in the top 5 of most of the others.

Prizes: First Place: Greatest Climber in the World; Second Place: First Loser, Third Place: Should train better

History: The Dirty Dozen was started by former RAAM winner Danny Chew in Pittsburgh in 1983. Every year (except 1993) Danny has been organizing the event, usually held the weekend after Thanksgiving. Winners include former professional cyclists Rob Acciavatti, Gunnar Shogren and Josh Smith. Most recently, Meredith Group/GPOA/Cannondale’s own Steevo Cummings has won the 2004, 2005 and 2006 versions. For more information, go to http://www.dannychew.com

Warnings: This is not a closed course. Riders ride at their own risk and they must obey the rules of the road. The organizer will not be held responsible for any incidents or accidents that may occur. That said, we will try to have one person at the top scoring the points and another person at any turns or intersections on the climb. Once you are finished each climb, get out of the way of the other riders and out of the way of the traffic. Do not go back down the climb until all riders have finished. Also, if you crash or you have to stop on the climb for any reason, please get out of the way of the other riders.

Other Notes: This is meant to be a fun event. Competitiveness is encouraged, but please be respectful of the other riders, the event organizer and traffic. Point disputes must be resolved before the start of the next climb. Riders may be disqualified or relegated at the discretion of the organizer for starting the climb early, for dangerous behavior or for any other reason.

Contact Info: Contact Colin Sandberg at capninsano42@msn.com or (330) 647-3977. Updates and course notes will be posted at http://colinsandbergevents.blogspot.com

Route Description

Main St. to Bridge. Left on Belmont Ave.

#1: La Collina. Penn Avenue (becomes Ashland at Price S.) from Belmont to Mary Watersford. Don’t turn right on Price.

Right on Mary Watersford at top of climb

#2: Flat Rock. Flat Rock Rd. from Mary Waterford to Hidden River

Right on Hidden River. Right on Sprague. Right on Hollow Rd. Be careful on descent (cars coming off of 76) Under overpass & U-turn.

#3: Hollow Rd/Hagys Ford. Hollow Rd from River Rd. Right Turn on Hagy’s Ford to top of hill.

Right on Hollow Rd. Right on Conshohocken State (Rt. 23) Hard right on Mill Creek Rd. Left on Rose Glen.

#4: Rose Glen: Rose Glen to Maple Hill. Left on Maple Hill up to turn around at park.

Back down Maple Hill Rd. Left on Rose Glen. Right on Youngsford Rd. Left on Stony Lane. Hard Right to stay on Stony Lane. Left on Spring Mill. Right on Conshohocken State Rd. Down to Bottom of Hill. Stay straight on Front St. Left on Ford St. Right on Cedar Ave.

#5: Cedar Ave to dead end.

Back down Josephine. Right on Ford St (becomes Matson Ford) Right on Gulph Rd. Right on Rebel Hill

#6: Rebel Hill: Rebel Hill to Lemonton. Left on Lemonton Way. Lemonton to Timothy Cir.

Back down Lemonton. Right on Rebel Hill. Left on Old Gulph Rd. Left on Matson Ford. Right on County Line

#7: County Line: County Line Rd. from Gulph Creek Rd. to Upper Gulph.

Left on Upper Gulph. Right on Hollow Rd. Turns into Gypsy Lane. Left on Hughes.

#8: Hughes Rd from Gypsy Lane to Weadly Rd.

Right on Weadley Rd. Right on Gulph Rd. Right on Swedeland, quick right on Gulph. Left on Balligomingo. Right on Front St. Stay Straight through light on Spring Garden.

#9: Spring Garden St from Conshohocken State to top of Hill. Bear Left on Merion St. Careful at start of climb going through light.

Back down hill. Right on Ford St. to cross river. Right on Bike path. Bike Path to Train Station. Left on Station. Right on Elm St. Bear Right to go up Barren Hill

#10: Barren Hill from Elm St. to Ridge. Careful of traffic. End of climb is at Stop Ahead sign before Ridge.

Right on Ridge. Right on Manor Rd. Manor Rd to bottom of hill. Right on River Rd. Right on Hart’s Lane.

#11: Hart’s Lane from River Rd. to Kinder Rd (top of last ascent before Barren Hill).

Right on Barren Hill. Right on Ridge. Right on Manor Rd. back down to bottom of hill. Left on River Rd. Left over tracks towards bike path.

#12: Port Royal (cobbled climb) from River Rd. (bottom of hill before tracks) to Eva St.

Right on Eva St/ right on Shawmont. Bear Left on Umbria. Right on Leverington. Left on Main St. Left on Levering.

#13: The Manayunk Wall. Levering St. Right on Cresson St. Left on Levering. Levering to Pechin.

W00T!!

I've been biking to work ever since I finally got a job in the area (the bike from Philly to DC is a little too far). The ride is about 20 miles each way. I've been riding since May 14. It took a while to be able to do it every day, but now I'm there, riding about 200 a week plus whatever I do on the weekend!

So yesterday, I broke the 4,000 mile mark on the way home. In figuring out what this equates too, I avoided spending 200 hours in a car, and saved about 150 gallons of dirty Arab gasoline.

So YAY for me. Hope to hit 5,000 soon!

I Want my Bicycle!

I Want My Bicycle! Thanks Phillyist for pointing this one out to me!

Darkness is my Friend

My wife and both noticed something that was quite wonderful on our respective travels to work today. It seems that moronic, suicidal, and oblivious drivers don't particularly care for the dark dreary mornings like we had today. I couldn't be more excited, as we are just now beginning to enter the "Dark Ages" where daylight hours and temperature decrease exponentially.

It is an amazing feeling to have the road to yourself in the mornings, or even to share it with a small group of law abiding, courteous drivers.

I have a sneaking suspicion that this trend will continue as we lose more and more daylight. The fact is, most of the assholes on the road aren't morning people. They can't stand to have to wake up, and the cold and dark just gives their lazy asses a great excuse to stay in bed. Those who don't mind waking up, the morning people, are conscious, alert, and cognizant of the fact that their cars weigh 3000 lbs more than me. They also realize that they are required by law to yield to bicycles.

Anyway, Oh what a wonderful morning!

Colbert is a Genius

If there's one thing I like almost as much as cycling, it's satire. Hence, why I nearly fell out of my chair laughing at Stephen Colbert's op-ed piece in the New York Times.

It started well:

"Bad things are happening in countries you shouldn’t have to think about. It’s all George Bush’s fault, the vice president is Satan, and God is gay.
There. Now I’ve written Frank Rich’s column too. "

It kept me laughing:

"Well, suddenly an option is looming on the horizon. And I don’t mean Al Gore (though he’s a world-class loomer). First of all, I don’t think Nobel Prizes should go to people I was seated next to at the Emmys. Second, winning the Nobel Prize does not automatically qualify you to be commander in chief. I think George Bush has proved definitively that to be president, you don’t need to care about science, literature or peace.
While my hat is not presently in the ring, I should also point out that it is not on my head. So where’s that hat? (Hint: John McCain was seen passing one at a gas station to fuel up the Straight Talk Express.)

Others point to my new bestseller, “I Am America (And So Can You!)” noting that many candidates test the waters with a book first. Just look at Barack Obama, John Edwards or O. J. Simpson."

It was great at the end:

"Let me regurgitate: I know why you want me to run, and I hear your clamor. I share Americans’ nostalgia for an era when you not only could tell a man by the cut of his jib, but the jib industry hadn’t yet fled to Guangdong. And I don’t intend to tease you for weeks the way Newt Gingrich did, saying that if his supporters raised $30 million, he would run for president. I would run for 15 million. Cash."

Look, the sad reality is, Colbert's article is as on point and accurate as any that have come from the Times lately. It's pretty sad when Colbert's satirical reporting is of a higher quality than the Times illegitimate, overpaid gang of liberal fools reporters.

Great Sunday Ride

Sunday brought about an excellent team ride with the folks from TSV and a few of of the Guy's riders. It couldn't have been a nicer day. We set out from the Art Museum at 9AM to a perfect 50 something sunny morning. The pace remained easy and conversation was plentiful. Topics as usual turned south quickly as fatigue from the Savage Century the day before set in.

After a casual ride out to Valley Forge Park, we rode back into Manayunk throwing in a few sprints on the way. Since it was pretty chilly, and we're in the off season, we decided a quick stop at La Columbe was in order. It's places like this that make you realize just how great the local coffee shop is and just how shitty big chains like Starbucks are.

Looking forward to more of these group rides in the future...

The Return of the Headwinds

Ah yes, fall has finally decided to arrive. As wonderful as mid 50s are, the glory of fall does not come without it's drawbacks. Headwinds. 20 mph headwinds are brutal. If it wasn't bad enough with a large sail messenger bag on my back, the ridiculously gusty headwinds definitly don't add any speed.

And unfortunately, usually by the time I leave work, the wind has either died down or switched directions so I don't benefit from turning around and getting a tailwind home...I guess I shouldn't complain too much; even with the brutal headwinds the lower temperatures rock.

Oh Jesus...CLASSIFIED

Proposed (Classified) Bill Will Defend Against Flesh-Eating (Classified)

Wow, got to love security in congress...what a dope...because the word "Classified" really protects the information. I love the Onion

A Little Bit of Common Courtesy

For the past few weeks since Philly schools have been back in session, I have noticed a fairly disturbing trend on the Philly bike paths.

1. It seems that rowers from UPenn are incapable of following the basic rules of the trail when utilizing the bike path that follows the river. Never mind that this large group of people is not using the trail for fitness, and are only using it to walk from their cars to the boat house, this large group seems to think that it's ok to walk 6-8 people wide and take up the entire trail. The. Entire. Trail. It's pretty frustrating for those of us trying to get a workout in the morning. Is it that hard to: 1. Pick a side. 2. Walk 2-3 people wide so you don't take up the entire trail? I mean really. It's not that damn hard. It's common courtesy to simply take up as little space as possible especially when you have such a large group (that isn't exercising).

2. When you run/walk/ride a bike on any of the bike paths it is important that you be able to hear when people are trying to pass you. Part of trail etiquette is yelling "on your left" or "behind you" so people can slide a little right to make passing safer. However, you can't hear, and make using the trail incredibly unsafe when you have you Mp3 player on as loud as it can go. Either take the ear buds out or turn it down low enough so that you can hear a soft conversation next to you. This way, you aren't oblivious to world around you and run the risk of being run over on the trail.

3. Again, back to rowers who use the trail. I'm not sure why, but rowers seem to have a difficult time running in a straight line. I don't really understand this either. If you go for a run before or after crew practice, it is important that you NOT run like you drank half a case of beer immediately prior to running. Again, by not running straight, it is incredibly difficult for people behind you to figure out what you're doing. You make the trail unsafe.

The thing to remember here is this: You are not the only person out there. Ever. Be aware of your surroundings and remember to follow the basic rules that apply to utilizing any public space.

Traffic...When will you people learn?

After having another great 20 mile bike ride home yesterday, I popped on the news to avoid working on my master's degree coursework. I couldn't help but laugh at the traffic report. Rt 202 was closed in both directions and traffic was backed up all over the area. Traffic? Really? Didn't notice it!

When will people in the area realize the benefits of taking public transit or riding their bikes? How many more hours do people need to spend in traffic; the only person in your 8-person-capacity SUV that costs you $100 bucks a week to fill up? C'mon people think outside the box a little. Stop being sheep and figure it out. Driving sucks, and it makes you fat, but more to come on that later.

Ahhh Holidays!

This morning during the usual 20 mile bike to work (during which I was a bit sore from the incredible bumpiness of yesterdays WhirlyBird) I couldn't help but notice the lack of usual A*Holes trying to run me off the road. It wasn't until I got to work that I realized today is a "soft" holiday. I for one am a huge fan of the soft holidays as I appreciate anything that keeps the number of suicidal/distracted drivers off the road.

Soreness aside, maybe also due to the lack traffic, I had a great ride, averaging about 21.5 mph during the commute, which isn't bad for a post-race ride.

For your viewing pleasure, another from Sunday's race...and no I'm not the only one out there, just that far ahead.

I Won the Whirly Bird!

So it may have been the "C" race, but today I won the Whirly Bird Cross race put on by Guy's Bicycle Club. The course was crazy fast, and incredibly rutted in a few areas; definitely a blast!

Here's the breakdown: After last week's 10th place finish at the Hillbilly Hustle in NJ, I decided that in order to win I definitely needed to go out harder at the beginning so i wouldn't need to make up so much ground over the course of the race. I would then hammer. Hard. It worked pretty well. After some bumping and grinding at the beginning with a a fellow cross racer (who would later finish third) I created a little gap halfway around the first lap of the 1.8 mile circuit. I managed to hold out for the remaining 3.5 laps to win the race.

I was a little worried though. I wasn't expecting to win, so when I made my Philly Car Share reservation (we don't own a car) I only planned on enough time to race and go home. Fortunately, the timing went well enough so i stayed for the podium shot professionally taken by my wonderful wife.

The First Post

I've finally broken down and created a blog. I plan to discuss topics of interest to me including cycling, defense/national security, and other issues that I find interesting.