“Re: RE: PMC Day Two: Bourne to the Provincetown Inn”

Sorry about the messy post - some reason my nice spaced out paragraphs didn't get preserved. I'll try to add some breaks in this one to space out stuff. ..........

Ask for "Chris on the Road Crew" or just stop by the conference room before the big opening ceremonies. It's on the left side of the hallway on the left side of the beer desk near the expo. Would love to meet ya one of these years. ........

Food closes at 8pm (usually slightly earlier). Last Rider usually gets in about that time, but I still have to gas up, unload rider equipment, etc, so I'm not usually done until after 8:30. This year, I was done at 7:30. The slower riders leaped waterstops, and the last rider was there because of a mechanical issue (busted crank) and was delayed. .......

I heard Art started around 6am. My job is to make sure Mass Maritime is cleared out before I leave. Never fails, always a few bikes left there with no riders. Last guy out was a Wellesley Rider who slept in one of the field tents until 8:30am. We caught up with Art at Waterstop 6 and he was the last one out of there - no idea what time that was. .......

Trikes are not always slower, but this one certainly was. IT was heavy (40lbs) and he sat quite high on it (wheelchair height). "Delta" style means one front wheel and two back wheels. There are 'performcance' trikes with a 'tadpole' design or one rear wheel and two front wheels (There is a Tandem of this style in the PMC) which can be very very fast - especially on the flats and downhill, and they can corner like a go-cart because you sit only inches off the ground and usually very reclined. The ones I have ridden (single and tandem) were a lot of fun. They do slow down on the uphills due to the extra weight (high end versions are still 25-30 lbs) but, on rolling hills or flats, a good rider can easily ride as fast or faster than regular bikes. One of the better versions is this: www.greenspeed.com.au ..........

Art was in his early 60's. His wife looked like she was 35, but she had two kids 17 and 18, so who knows. .......

Vans are your friend. Know that, Learn that, Love that. By the way, you CAN get cold water at the Host hotel in the morning. Take your water bottles to the ice machines first. Where are they? behind the door to the left of the 'INFO counter' between the opening ceremonies and the Expo areas. ........

The 'triple tandem' was a long time riding couple who had ridden a regular tandem for years, now brought their 15 year old son on the ride. 15 is the youngest a rider can be. ............

First riders left MMA at 3:45am this past year. The bridge was just barely partitioned off in time. There is actually talk about secring the bikes until 4 from now on to keep people from leaving before safety crews are in place. ...............

No, I don't remember what you said you'd like to do. I assume it has something to do with Table 22 again. (^_^) .............

Ah.. Saddle replacement. Actually watched this one. Guy was hammering along, hit a small bump, and the fancy superlight titanium rail saddle just collapsed. I stiffled the laughter at the look on his face when I pulled out the big overside padded one that we had for replacements. For some reason I think he hit the first bike store he could find and bought something else. (^_^) Sometimes I just can't help but be amused at the slow techno geeks that show up. These are the 250 lb guys on carbon spoked wheels that then get all upset with us that we have to swap out his fancy featherweight wheel for a standard spoked wheel when he manages to break the carbon spokes. Um, did ya even look at the tag that has the weight limit? ...................

Problem with replacing a badly worn chain is that chances are the rest of the drivetrain is also badly worn, and a new chain will not work well and will wear out fast. Spending $40 on a new chain is a cheap way to keep all the rest of your expensive drivetrain for many years. I've got probably 10,000 miles on my recumbent and I'm still using the original crank and chainrings mainly because I go the extra effort on keeping the chain and replacing it early. I swapped out the rear setup last year to get lower gearing, but otherwise that stuff was all in great shape too. .........................

Broke my foot chasing the dog. Ran past the recimbent exercise bike and managed to kick the rear support. Drove my 'ring toe' straight back and split the bone in my foot behind it like cordwood. Yea, just like those kung-fu movies where they hit the stack of bricks and break the one on the bottom. And yea, it freaking hurt like hell for a week. No cast as the break was such a way that there was no way to hold it externally. They didn't need a pin because it was still in place, so I was told to take it easy and give it time. took 6 weeks to feel 'normal' again. Just in time to start taking my little group of PMC riders out for 'hell rides'. (^_^) They had fun this year as I wasn't quite as fast up the hills as before and they could keep up. (^_^) Wait until next year. *evil grin* ........................

Yea, rain day was a 50 mile run from Bolton, MA to Nashua, NH. The beginning and end are a series of long hills, and the middle 20 miles are on the Nashua River Rail Trail. Normally it is a tough ride for them as they don't 'do' hills. This time it was just nasty. Heavy cold rain. I like to wear a silkweight t-shirt under a rider jersey in that so that it acts like a wet suit. Handed out every t-shirt I own that morning as they had no idea. Some tried to stay dry - RIGHT. When it rains, you get wet - you need to deal with the "stay warm" part. ................

Replace your brake pads with Ritchie or CoolStop (same pads) in the RED color. Yea, they will wear out faster, but they work really well when wet. Usually a special order item. Mountain bikers who do a lot in mud swear by them, and I've found them to be the cat's meow on the road bike. ................

At least I didn't see John Kerry. Would have been taken away by his 'van'. (^_^) Freaking Socialist Git! But enough politics.............

The PMC is an amazing experience. If you have not done it, you simply can not understand. I have no idea what it's like in the pacelines of the front, but in the struggling rear, the stories will leave you in tears of joy and sorrow. ...........

I'll try to keep popping in here, but this has been a very busy year on this end. Wife is expecting in Oct. (and yes, she still drove down to P-town with the pup and shuttled three of us back home with bikes and gear in her third trimester) I hardly expect that this comming year will be any less hectic. (^_^) But one thing is for sure - I'll be there for PMC 27 and my 11th year. ..................

I say this all the time, so why stop now? "One of these years, I'm going to take it easy on PMC weekend and just ride the damn thing." ...................

Chris