[CR]We Cheated DEATH Again!! Vintage Ride Report

(Example: Framebuilders:Jack Taylor)

Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2003 16:37:48 -0800
From: "Brian Baylis" <rocklube@adnc.com>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]We Cheated DEATH Again!! Vintage Ride Report

Fellow Listmembers,

The past two Sundays here in San Diego, where the weather has been quite acceptable for riding, a few fellow vintage buffs and myself have gone on the "JB" ride. It leaves from a shopping center in Rancho San Diego near where legendary "scratch and hoser" (otherwise known as sanding and painting) Joe Bell lives. JB looks forward to this ride all week as his time of freedom and exercise and time to spend with friends. But more importantly, the rides are really FUN! The group is experienced and composed of racers or former racers. JB and myself qualify as the latter.

Last week Mark Petry and John Pergolizzi joind me and the regular gang for the ride to Alpine. Elevation gain is approx. 1,500 feet I think, no big deal. Especially for Mark. The group varies from week to week and this ride I noticed a greater number of active racers in the paceline. I think racing season is getting near. The group was about medium for this crowd. The warm up pace was rather tame, probably on account of the chill in the morning air. It normally takes about 5 miles or so before I begin to feel warm when it's like this. John had on some extra warm garments. The ten mile warm up was now past and the first climb begins. Pergolizzi lets me know he needs to shed some clothes and some water ;-), so I tell him those who stop to stow clothing do so at the top of the first climb where there is a fire station. Since I'm about the slowest climber I tell him I usually don't stop. Since we wait at the top of the climb (another 3 miles or so) I figure I'll just try to stick with Mark until I fall off. JB was there for support, so we just set a comfortable pace and watched Mark press on. Mark went to the summit of the climb and went sailing past on his way back by us as JB and I waited for Pergolizzi to crest the hill. John came up surprisingly soon and we finished the rest of the climbing and rolling hills to the coffee shop in Alpine. There we take our well deserved coffee brake and fuel up for the decent. The coffee servers are excellent at this establishment and the place is perfectly situated for our break. We stuff our pie hole, cackel, swill coffee, feel each others' BIKES, and fart; then we're off! The wise ones stuff a free newspaper under their jersey for the blast down Harbinson Canyon.

We roll down hill and out of town and then the steeper grades appear ahead. The decent is in two parts. First the steep and a little curvey initial drop which JB generally leads the charge on. Man that guy can drop like a rock! Great draft for me, too. Once at the bottom of the first pitch we make a few turns and roll along in the big ring for about a mile before we drop into Harbinson Canyon; one lane each direction, lightly trafficed generally, and curves not too tight. It gets flat for a while which requires everyone to trade pace in their higest gear as we cut through town like a runaway freight. Then a final decent with high speed curve before you hit the valley floor. My turn in the paceline came just as the last decent got steep. I was riding in 56 x 11 (yes, 700c!) on my green vibrant stay Baylis. I pressed for all I was worth and continued to the bottom without letting up. I pulled off and directly behind me was Bill Holland, well known Ti framebuilder and good friend of JB since the early 70's. He remarked "good pull" as I moved over to let the train through the door. The paceline was about 8 strong and I knew this next 10 mi to the finish was going to be a GAS! And GAS it they did! Fast Eddie (likes to ride his old Eddy Merckx w/ SR a lot) is like a machine; a giant sewing machine. He's super smooth and likes to gently step up the pace when he's at the front. The other hammer dog is JB! If the paceline has the right dynamics and personnel then the finish is precision riding for 10 miles. It's some of the BEST fun of the entire ride. Sometimes near the finish the youngsters (the oldsters rarely attack) jump or set up for a sprint. Occassionally an oldster will beat them at their own game by surprising them from behind by bridging a gap that they figured was their meal ticket; and doing it so fast that they never looked back to see if anyone was comming. Us old guys are CLEAVER sometimes, although you got to have the legs to back it up.

Today the group was much smaller and JB and I decided to ride our old Colnagos ahead of time. Listmember Craig Fenstermaker showed up having ridden probably 25 or 30 to get there on his 30 year newer Colnago carbon something or other. As we left the parking lot Fast Eddie was just going into Starbucks to shake some dew from the lilly. We rolled out slow as he let us know he'd catch up. JB and I decided to wait for him and take the beginning of the ride real casual, as only JB and I know how to do. The group including Craig has gone off and Fast Eddie comes up from behind with some support and even passes us. I guess we were going kinda slow. As we're doddeling Craig comes back to check on us and join our social pace. We talk and take it easy and the warm up leaves us a few minutes behind the main group. JB and I decide to take it steady but comfortable up the hill and Craig went ahead to chase for a while. Just before we reached the summit Craig came back for us and actually told us we were making time on the main group during the climb. HA! A couple of old geezers on frames made of lead. WE arrive at the "T" intersection and continue the climb into Alpine. There are 3 Colnagos present when JB suddenly calls to me to look to my left. I turn back to see some guy riding with us who is on a 1973ish Colnago super just like the ones JB and I are riding!! It's the color green of my bike (sort of) which freaks both of us out. As it turns out JB had painted this persons' bike several years ago and had the same basic Colnago green color in mind as I did. Really cool as we rode over the last hills before we hit the coffee shop.

We have coffee. She's NOT there! BUT!!! A replacement WAS. Oh, yeah! I know at least one person who may not believe it, but I'd take the replacement in a heartbeat. And they're comming fast and furious NOW! Who manages this place? Genius, whoever it is. Much sweeter than anything they have to put in your coffee. OK, funtime is over. Craig has to leave us here to make his way back A LONG ways north and west. Too bad Kleggo, you missed some of the fun. Knowing the nature of the decent and the determination of master decender JB, I checked my front sew up tire for cuts or sidewall damage at the coffee shop. I spun it several times and looked closely. All appeared well. We leave heaven and begin our decent to earth through the first steeper and more curvey section. As usual JB and I are spearheading the charge. I can hardley believe what a clean profile through the air JB makes. We both get very low and let it all hang out on the decents. My ride began to get a little bumpy about halfway down and I thought the bike might begin to shimmy actually. I rode it out and made the bottom sucking JBs' wheel the entire way. We were clear at the bottom by a little ways. I rub my tire a lot with my hand to clean them. As I rubbed my tire I felt a sort of bumb on my tire. I told the small group to hold up for a second while I took a look. HOLY CRAP!! My tire looks sorta like a snake that just had a meal. Big "S" curve in it as one side of the sidewall was beginning to frey and bulge. I quickly let some air out. Crap! No 50 MPH downhill for me this time. I watched as the group of 5 rode off without me. They told me they would wait at the bottom. There was plenty of waiting because I rode the entire section on a slightly soft tire at about 10 MPH. When I got to the valley floor I felt I could ride straight OK and I met up with the others including Fast Eddie and JB. Since I had a cripled tire, safety dictates that I not ride in front of anyone. Bummer, no time at the front for 10 miles! These guys rocked and I got to ride lantern rouge the whole time. Great fun. There is no question in my mind that had I left the pressure in that tire and decended with the others I most certainly would not be writing this. The first decent caused the damage and the second decent would have found me becomming part of the pavement at nearly 50 MPH. OUCH! Glad I stopped to look. When we got back we checked out the tire. Looked nasty, but I got back on it.

Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Another great Sunday ride on vintage iron. Another one next week, on a bike with new tires.

Brian Baylis La Mesa, CA When they have to pick you up with a spatula, it's NEVER good!

Quote of the Day:

Joe Lerner says to Jason Lilly; "Watching Brian and JB going down the hill is like watching a shark with one of those "sucker fish" attached". Exactly, Joe.