March 28, 2010
Solo Macabre (take 2)
Started the ride with wet roads and drizzle, not quite rain. The effort and pace were easy as I rode into a headwind for the first hour or so. The ride back was propelled by occasional tailwinds and drier roads which helped to lift my spirits.
61 miles @ 3:03 = 20 mph avg
March 21, 2010
Solo Macabre
The somewhat infamous Sunday morning "Dans Macabre" ride took place in the rain today. I was the only rider to show up at the start, that doesn't happen often but I wasn't surprised with the weather scaring off the fair-weather riders and a local racing event in Union City (south of Atlanta) drawing the competitive riders. No problem, I rode at a comfortable pace and even stopped at the half-way point for a convenience store cup of coffee.
The route, from my house and back, is a metric century (100 kilometers = 62 miles) and includes some climbs like the rough paved Jack Pittman Road. Not an easy route even with ideal conditions.
Going fast and winning races is exciting and often fun, but at the end of the day it is not the reason I ride. Today's solo ride in the rain felt good and reminded me again why I am a cyclist.
March 20, 2010
Photoshop Noodling
A vintage rider poster. It was late and I was digital doodling.
March 18, 2010
Classic 3-Gap Ride
Riding the mountain roads in North Georgia for the first time each year is like an annual rite of winter for me. Spring is just around the corner so it wasn't to tough weather-wise but the inclines still require a lot of energy to ascend on a bicycle.
Stephen, Mike and I started from the famous stone pile and rode up and down Neels, Wolfpen and Woody Gaps. It was not a consistently hard effort and I waited at the tops to regroup, but we still managed to complete the 35-mile loop and 3000-feet of climbing in just a shade over two hours.
(L-R) Stephen, Michael and Dan next to the "stone pile"
March 11, 2010
2010 GTC Clothing
Here's a sketch of the idea for the team clothes this year. Kinda late getting it together but should have them back from the manufacturer in 6-8 weeks. Finally deviated from the red/black/white palette of the past 5 years and made blue gradients the primary color... still mixed in some red and black so the old uniforms and helmets will match.
March 07, 2010
War Movies
Watched The Hurt Locker last night and it has some excellent camera work and plenty of action scenes but the story was as a bit thin and didn't flow very well. The movie is set in modern day Iraq and done in a documentary style that reminded me of the mini series, Generation Kill.
The Hurt Locker is a good independent film that will probably get some recognition at the Oscars tonight but other than the fine cinematography it's really just another war movie. I probably liked Generation Kill better.
