L & 20th Group Ride, Part II
I discovered the X-Box and Halo late and I'm having a great time kicking the Covenant and the Flood’s butt – when I’m not riding my bike, that is. So I haven’t been posting as much as I should. A while back (see the L & 20th post) I said I would discuss the L/20th boys so here goes.
There are three Bobs. I’m one of the Bobs the other two Bobs are actually a Bob and a Bobby. Bobby is a 43 year-old mountain bike racer that hasn’t discovered road bike racing yet. He should, he is blazingly fast and at about 140 lbs a great hill climber. I chased his butt up all the nasty grades going out to the Devil’s Punch Bowl. And after I hung with him on the last grade he said, “you’re a pretty strong climber for such a big guy.” Ah, there it goes again; a good climber for such a big guy…He’s riding a beautiful Look frame with a compact crank. As I said, he climbs like the dickens but does not descend as well at speed. Partly due to his 140 lbs, and partly due to the compact crank but I find I can out descend him and have had to catch up with him after a nasty climb. He would be a placer in road races. Mountain biking has left him with excellent bike handling skills and tremendous endurance. He is very close to being the fasted L/20th boy.
The other Bob is in his late 40’s or early 50’s and owns a furniture store here in Lancaster. He rides a nice Colnago, C40 and is tall and thin. He loves the ultra distance stuff and has “won” double century rides. If I did anything over 100 miles I would just fall off my bike at the end and convulse. I haven’t talked him into road racing yet but he would do very well. He has no problem keeping up when the group is averaging 25 mph +, in fact, he’s probably leading the group out. He climbs very well, perhaps the 2nd best overall climber in the group. So that leads us to the number one climber…
He’s a 53 year-old man that looks older than his age. Off the bike you might think you need to help him around but looks are very deceiving. Eric has a titanium rod in his left leg and rides with a funny left knee out position. He is easily recognizable by his riding style. He has a number of bikes but his beauty is his carbon fiber Calfee. But I actually rode with him while he was using a fixed gear Russian bike…and he stayed with the whole group at speeds of over 25 mph on the 50-mile ride. Eric may actually be the finest rider in the whole Antelope Valley. He’s an ultra marathon guy who kicks butt in double centuries. He climbs like an angel, as if gravity means nothing to him. I believe he was a Cat 2 racer back in the early 80’s. Eric is an inspiration to many riders in the L and 20th group and throughout the Antelope Valley. The first time I ever rode with him we had just both finished a 50 plus mile day (he coming back from 3 Points, and me coming back from 3 Canyons) and we were in the wind down phase of the ride. This phase has damn 70th street to deal with. 70th street is a gradual 4-6% grade for several miles before you can turn off it and head home. I’m used to just grinding away on 70th at around 13 mph or so. It is within 4 miles of my home so it’s a good place to slow down anyway. To make matters worse the constant wind in the Antelope Valley is always in your face on this grade. As Eric and I moved up 70th he never slowed down. He would have pulled away from me had I kept up my usual 70th street cadence – this would have been unacceptable of course so I pedaled faster to match his speed. He easily kept up a conversation with me, and I happened to glance at my heart rate monitor and saw that it was sitting right at my LT and getting ready to push beyond. A quick glance at the computer showed that we were making 20+ mph up this damn grade and the “old man” wasn’t even breathing hard. With about a half mile to go I “blew-up.” I dropped into his draft and said I had had it. He looks back at me and says, “I feel a little bonked myself.” He actually says this without a hint of breathing difficulty but he did drop the speed down to around 15 mph. Eric is incredible.
Randy…Randy is the source of a lot of conversations about the L and 20th group. Randy is a Masters 45, Cat 2 racer and very fast. He is tall and slender but with the powerful legs of a sprinter. No one, and I mean no one in the group, if not the whole Antelope Valley, can challenge Randy in a sprint. I’ve seen Bobby try but Randy always pulls it out. Randy is a very traditional road racer, an in your face road racer. He is not happy unless he’s kicked your butt and he has a way of letting you know that he is happy about kicking your butt. When I rode with the Santa Cruz guys 20 years ago almost all of them were like Randy. He is good and knows it and some others find him very abrasive. I just find him good and someone to ride with if you want to get better. In my book if you’re not chasing someone you’re not going to get any better. Getting dropped by a better rider is a right of passage for a road racer – Randy can drop a lot of riders.
As you ride around the good ride spots in the A.V. you’ll notice that someone took the time to figure out the percent of the road grade and spray painted it on the right hand side of the road, right where a cyclist would see it. I always thought this was pretty cool and I enjoyed writing in my journal that I climbed a 13% grade today, thanks to the unknown “grade analyzer.” It turns out that the guy measuring inclines is a late 50’s rider called Don. Don is an engineer out at Edward Air Force base and must be in his late 50’s or early 60’s. I’ve asked in discrete ways like, “Hey Don, what masters category would you be in if you decided to race?” He replied, “Masters 90.” Don can ride. Don is never dropped in an L/20th ride unless we’re ascending a steep grade. If the group is eating up the road at 25 mph plus, Don is right there taking his turn at the front. Don has been with L/20th since its inception. I like hearing Don grouse about how it used to be when the group would actually stop and wait for someone that had been shelled off the back of the pack.
Watch the Race Across America this year and you’ll se an L and 20th boy. Kevin is in his late 40’s and loves the long stuff. He loves to compete in the double centuries and even likes to compete in 24-hour events. I believe he is going to be California’s only representative in RAMM this year. He is a heck of nice guy and very easy to talk to. Like Don, he’s an engineer out at the base, though I’m not sure if he works for Edwards or NASA. He routinely rides his bike from his home in Lancaster out to Edwards Air Force Base, a distance of 25 miles or more. Going out in the morning to work is one thing but he also has to get back home and that means he’s got to head west. The A.V. almost always has a 20 – 30 mph West wind blowing in the afternoon. Sometimes it’s a lot worse; 30 – 40 mph with gusts to 50 +, and Kevin is right there plodding through it. Kevin will not usually out climb you and he definitely can’t out sprint you but if you’re riding for distance he’ll wear you down.
Other riders come and go with the group but these are the top personalities. We also have a 26 year-old second lieutenant in the Air Force that rides with us. He’s a Cat 4 racer and easily stays with the group. But even Kyle, at age 26, can’t get over how he can’t out sprint Randy, he can’t out climb Eric, and he would probably have trouble keeping up with Kevin after 100 miles have gone past his tires. We haven’t seen Kyle in awhile, so I guess the Air Force “deployed him.” They are a unique bunch and should be an inspiration to riders of any age. When you’re in town and want a fast ride come over to the corner of L and 20th and you’ll find it. Now that it’s getting hot we leave at 0700 hours – sharp.
There are three Bobs. I’m one of the Bobs the other two Bobs are actually a Bob and a Bobby. Bobby is a 43 year-old mountain bike racer that hasn’t discovered road bike racing yet. He should, he is blazingly fast and at about 140 lbs a great hill climber. I chased his butt up all the nasty grades going out to the Devil’s Punch Bowl. And after I hung with him on the last grade he said, “you’re a pretty strong climber for such a big guy.” Ah, there it goes again; a good climber for such a big guy…He’s riding a beautiful Look frame with a compact crank. As I said, he climbs like the dickens but does not descend as well at speed. Partly due to his 140 lbs, and partly due to the compact crank but I find I can out descend him and have had to catch up with him after a nasty climb. He would be a placer in road races. Mountain biking has left him with excellent bike handling skills and tremendous endurance. He is very close to being the fasted L/20th boy.
The other Bob is in his late 40’s or early 50’s and owns a furniture store here in Lancaster. He rides a nice Colnago, C40 and is tall and thin. He loves the ultra distance stuff and has “won” double century rides. If I did anything over 100 miles I would just fall off my bike at the end and convulse. I haven’t talked him into road racing yet but he would do very well. He has no problem keeping up when the group is averaging 25 mph +, in fact, he’s probably leading the group out. He climbs very well, perhaps the 2nd best overall climber in the group. So that leads us to the number one climber…
He’s a 53 year-old man that looks older than his age. Off the bike you might think you need to help him around but looks are very deceiving. Eric has a titanium rod in his left leg and rides with a funny left knee out position. He is easily recognizable by his riding style. He has a number of bikes but his beauty is his carbon fiber Calfee. But I actually rode with him while he was using a fixed gear Russian bike…and he stayed with the whole group at speeds of over 25 mph on the 50-mile ride. Eric may actually be the finest rider in the whole Antelope Valley. He’s an ultra marathon guy who kicks butt in double centuries. He climbs like an angel, as if gravity means nothing to him. I believe he was a Cat 2 racer back in the early 80’s. Eric is an inspiration to many riders in the L and 20th group and throughout the Antelope Valley. The first time I ever rode with him we had just both finished a 50 plus mile day (he coming back from 3 Points, and me coming back from 3 Canyons) and we were in the wind down phase of the ride. This phase has damn 70th street to deal with. 70th street is a gradual 4-6% grade for several miles before you can turn off it and head home. I’m used to just grinding away on 70th at around 13 mph or so. It is within 4 miles of my home so it’s a good place to slow down anyway. To make matters worse the constant wind in the Antelope Valley is always in your face on this grade. As Eric and I moved up 70th he never slowed down. He would have pulled away from me had I kept up my usual 70th street cadence – this would have been unacceptable of course so I pedaled faster to match his speed. He easily kept up a conversation with me, and I happened to glance at my heart rate monitor and saw that it was sitting right at my LT and getting ready to push beyond. A quick glance at the computer showed that we were making 20+ mph up this damn grade and the “old man” wasn’t even breathing hard. With about a half mile to go I “blew-up.” I dropped into his draft and said I had had it. He looks back at me and says, “I feel a little bonked myself.” He actually says this without a hint of breathing difficulty but he did drop the speed down to around 15 mph. Eric is incredible.
Randy…Randy is the source of a lot of conversations about the L and 20th group. Randy is a Masters 45, Cat 2 racer and very fast. He is tall and slender but with the powerful legs of a sprinter. No one, and I mean no one in the group, if not the whole Antelope Valley, can challenge Randy in a sprint. I’ve seen Bobby try but Randy always pulls it out. Randy is a very traditional road racer, an in your face road racer. He is not happy unless he’s kicked your butt and he has a way of letting you know that he is happy about kicking your butt. When I rode with the Santa Cruz guys 20 years ago almost all of them were like Randy. He is good and knows it and some others find him very abrasive. I just find him good and someone to ride with if you want to get better. In my book if you’re not chasing someone you’re not going to get any better. Getting dropped by a better rider is a right of passage for a road racer – Randy can drop a lot of riders.
As you ride around the good ride spots in the A.V. you’ll notice that someone took the time to figure out the percent of the road grade and spray painted it on the right hand side of the road, right where a cyclist would see it. I always thought this was pretty cool and I enjoyed writing in my journal that I climbed a 13% grade today, thanks to the unknown “grade analyzer.” It turns out that the guy measuring inclines is a late 50’s rider called Don. Don is an engineer out at Edward Air Force base and must be in his late 50’s or early 60’s. I’ve asked in discrete ways like, “Hey Don, what masters category would you be in if you decided to race?” He replied, “Masters 90.” Don can ride. Don is never dropped in an L/20th ride unless we’re ascending a steep grade. If the group is eating up the road at 25 mph plus, Don is right there taking his turn at the front. Don has been with L/20th since its inception. I like hearing Don grouse about how it used to be when the group would actually stop and wait for someone that had been shelled off the back of the pack.
Watch the Race Across America this year and you’ll se an L and 20th boy. Kevin is in his late 40’s and loves the long stuff. He loves to compete in the double centuries and even likes to compete in 24-hour events. I believe he is going to be California’s only representative in RAMM this year. He is a heck of nice guy and very easy to talk to. Like Don, he’s an engineer out at the base, though I’m not sure if he works for Edwards or NASA. He routinely rides his bike from his home in Lancaster out to Edwards Air Force Base, a distance of 25 miles or more. Going out in the morning to work is one thing but he also has to get back home and that means he’s got to head west. The A.V. almost always has a 20 – 30 mph West wind blowing in the afternoon. Sometimes it’s a lot worse; 30 – 40 mph with gusts to 50 +, and Kevin is right there plodding through it. Kevin will not usually out climb you and he definitely can’t out sprint you but if you’re riding for distance he’ll wear you down.
Other riders come and go with the group but these are the top personalities. We also have a 26 year-old second lieutenant in the Air Force that rides with us. He’s a Cat 4 racer and easily stays with the group. But even Kyle, at age 26, can’t get over how he can’t out sprint Randy, he can’t out climb Eric, and he would probably have trouble keeping up with Kevin after 100 miles have gone past his tires. We haven’t seen Kyle in awhile, so I guess the Air Force “deployed him.” They are a unique bunch and should be an inspiration to riders of any age. When you’re in town and want a fast ride come over to the corner of L and 20th and you’ll find it. Now that it’s getting hot we leave at 0700 hours – sharp.
posted by Bob Grove at 8:17 PM
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