Club vice-president Kevin “Wolverine” Walsh will be tackling “The Toughest 48 Hours In Sport” tomorrow morning! You can follow Kevin’s progress in this grueling 500+ mile race on www.the508.com.
From the website:
AdventureCORPS, an event production firm specializing in ultra-endurance and extreme sports events, will host the 28th Anniversary Furnace Creek 508 Bicycle Race on October 8-10, 2011. Founded by John Marino in 1983 and known as “The Toughest 48 hours in Sport,” it is the world’s premier ultramarathon bicycle race. This 508-mile bicycle race is revered the world over for its epic mountain climbs, stark desert scenery, desolate roads, and its reputation as one of the toughest but most gratifying endurance challenges available, bar none. The course has a total elevation gain of over 35,000′, crosses ten mountain passes, and stretches from Santa Clarita (just north of Los Angeles), across the Mojave Desert, through Death Valley National Park and Mojave National Preserve, to the finish line at the gateway to Joshua Tree National Park, Twentynine Palms, CA. Solo, two-person relay, and four-person relay divisions are offered with a field limit of app. 230 racers.
A good place to see the racers in the first leg of the race is on Johnson Road. Check the maps on the site for details.
This annual ride is being held on October 22 this year. Featuring an exciting route with scenic vistas and very few stoplights or stop signs. If you’ve never ridden in the AV this is a perfect ride to get acquainted with the area. Wide open roads with light traffic are excellent for cyclists. There is a route for all levels of cyclists. Seasoned roadies will find the 100 miler to be a challenge and recreational riders will enjoy the shorter mileage rides. Come on out and ride!
There will be 3 ride distances.
25 miles – flat ride – great for beginners and recreational cyclists.
62 miles – good amount of climbing with very scenic roads.
100 miles – The big one. This ride features extended climbing and will be a challenge for the fittest riders.
NEW RIDE START LOCATION!
Antelope Valley College – north east parking lot near 30th St. West and Ave. J-8.
We will not have pre-registration this year however we have lowered the price to just $25.00. The ride features full sag support, multiple rest stops, and lunch at the end of the ride. If you have any questions please email deeporbit@gmail.com. Thank you!
I’ll be rolling from Marie Kerr Park at 7:30AM every Friday for some climbing workouts. I’ll be making a long round-about loop of the west side from the park to 70th St. West to the aqueduct and over Godde Hill. The route will feature climbs between 4.8% to 13%, and a quad smashing, chain breaking, frame creakin’ finishing grinder of 23% (don’t worry, it’s not very long!) Total elevation gain is about 955 feet. Good times!
Where can you possibly find a climb of 23% in the AV? Ride with me tomorrow and you’ll find out!
Meet at Marie Kerr Park, near the skatepark, every Tuesday at 6:00pm for
cyclocross practice. We’ll take a short road ride to an open area of the
desert with smooth dirt (a few bumpy sections to spice things up), sand, a
run up, tight turns, a loose off camber turn, and a few longish sections. Bring water and a patch kit just
in case. Email me if you have any questions. deeporbit@gmail.com
Mountain bikes very welcome! All riders are welcome. Cyclocross can improve your fitness and bike handling skills. Even if you’re not interested in racing cyclocross the workout is great. Road bikes would be overwhelmed by rocks and dirt however you’re welcome to come on over and check it out.
Helmets are required. No experience necessary! We’ll finish up between 7:00pm to
7:30pm depending on the enthusiasm of the group.
I will go over common topics such as dismounts, remounts, cornering speed,
avoiding flat tires, and anything else that comes up.
Here is the final route for the Camp Ride 2011. We’re leaving at 8:00am. Anyone interested in riding along and returning the same day is welcome. If you click on “View Full” you’ll go to MapMyRide.com. From there you can change the view, zoom in, zoom out. Don’t bother with the “Notes” tab. The directions are not accurate in the Notes.
The forum is temporarily down. Not sure what happen but I’ll take a look. In the mean time I set up a Google Group in an attempt to improve communication between club members and other cyclists in the AV. Go for it!!!
Club member Elaine Macdonald started the AV Conservancy ride 16 years ago and was never able to participate. This year she did get to do the ride and the AV Press covered the event. Click in each image to embiggen.
I started this over two weeks ago and spent $50 total. It took 2 complete bikes and one old long-john project bike to complete it. Many parts were re-purposed. Cantilever brake bosses were used for the steering linkage along with go-kart heim joints.
The donor bikes.
The fork area. The fork tube had to be extended along with the head tube. Pretty tricky but it came out good.
The frame is done and the majority of the big welding is finished. I cut cantilever brake bosses off of a fork and used them to build a rear brake. I don’t have a photo of that yet. It’s garage engineering at it’s finest!
The steering linkage is in place and working. It took two tries to make the linkage work. The first version had incorrect geometry and failed miserably.
The cargo box is done 99% done. I used some high quality plywood and lots of nails. I’m adding a few small brackets and braces to the corners to help keep it together.
The box is in place. I still need to weld on two supports underneath and bolt it on. Next up is paint and some different wheels/tires. New photos and video coming up asap.
This is going to be a short, easy ride. Start at L and 20th West. Ride West to 30th. North to Avenue G. West to Apollo Park. We will take the bike lane entrance to Apollo Park, ride around the park and then over to Foxy’s, have a nice meal and then return. Start time will be posted as the date gets closer.
