Redneck in Spandex

Author: Chad

  • 2009 Athens Quilt Barn Ride

    On Saturday I rode in the Athens Quilt Barn Ride. I had initially planned to only ride the 30 mile route, but our riding group finished around 10:30 and we still felt fresh. We decided to take on the additional 26 mile optional route, and the experience turned out to be epic.

    First, a little video of the ride, featuring Jake, Chris, Kevin, Andrew, and me.

    2009 Athens Quilt Barn Ride from Chad on Vimeo.

    This video is also available on YouTube and Blip.tv.

    The route:

    At the end of the day, my odometer read 52 miles. This was the longest I have ever ridden on a bicycle, and I believe it was the longest trip for everyone in our group except Andrew. As you can tell from the video, the hills began to hurt a little more later in the day, but we encouraged each other and had a great time. The only thing I would do differently for the next ride is wear sunscreen and bring more food. I only brought two protein bars for the trip, and I was bonking pretty bad at mile 45 or so. Overall an awesome ride, and I’m looking forward to riding some more with those guys.

  • Bike ride video montage

    Here’s a few clips of video taken from the last few bike rides.

  • Saturday’s 37 mile ride with a few hills

    Yesterday I was able to get in a really good ride. 37.7 miles with over 2300 feet of climbing. Total ride time was 2 hours 45 minutes.

    I left the house at 6:30 a.m. and rode down 50 to Radford to 56. I then took 682 up to the Plains, and made my way to the bike path and back to town. Once arriving back in Athens, I headed through town to Cable Lane. Cable Lane hurt pretty bad, but, and I was able to get to the top again. I was pretty impressed with this, considering I had already ridden 20 miles before arriving at the base of the hill. Next time I do this route I may try to get off the bike path at Currier Street so I can take the hill on Second St., which would give me another couple hundred feet of climbing.. This was the longest ride I’ve had this year, and definitely the most challenging. I arrived back home at 9:15 a.m., and was greeted with a plate of chocolate chip & banana pancakes with bacon. Awesome!!

  • July 4th Ride

    Yesterday morning @cguder and I took a nice long ride on some of the best roads in Southeast Ohio. Route 56 recently got a new coat of asphalt, and we have been itching to get our bikes on it. Rt. 56 is a little sketchy to ride on during high-traffic times, but at 7:00 on a Saturday morning, we only saw about 5 cars the whole time we were on it. The climb from Athens to Union gives you a nice little warm up, and there are lots of rollers all the way up 56 to 691. There is a huge climb at the intersection of 56 and 691 that will really test your legs and lungs. We really enjoyed the hills, but we were definitely grateful when we finally made it to the bike path. Overall a wonderful ride. Total trip mileage was 32 miles in 2 hrs 20 minutes ride time. I also broke yet another spoke in my rear wheel, which is about the 3rd one this year on my road bike alone. I’m thinking once some funds become available, I’ll need to get some newer, stronger rims.

  • Today’s Ride: 682 Beaumont Loop

    Had a great ride with @cguder today. We got started at 6:30 this morning. We had originally planned to just ride the bike path, but we were feeling energetic and decided to mix it up a bit. This was the first time I have climbed up 682. It wasn’t a bad climb at all, and since it was so early in the morning, the traffic was minimal. We had most of the roads to ourselves, which was a real treat. The climb out of the bike path up Currier and Second Street was a pretty good climb, and got us both breathing pretty hard. Total mileage according to my bike computer was 17 miles, and the total ride time was 1 hour 15 minutes.