@Cyclops has taken it upon himself to organize North America’s first official Cogal right in the backyard of where it all started: Seattle, Wa. @Scaler911 and @McSqueak have confirmed that they will be driving up from Portland, OR to attend and we hereby invite any and all Velominati to attend.
We’ll be doing a no-drop ride on Whidbey Island, following a route that is not terribly hilly and easily accommodates varying distances, though I myself will be planning on a 100k or more. We’ll leave the Coffeehouse Bookstore in Langley at V minutes past 10 to give everyone plenty of time to find their way up to the island and into Langley. Route details will be published in the posts below when it is confirmed. (I have to do some research as I’ve not done the ride in it’s entirety myself.) Hope to see you there.
UPDATE: The route has been posted on MapMyRide. It is a 160km ride with the option to cut section off for those who are getting tired.
UPDATE: Those who are interested are invited to dinner Friday Evening at Quinn’s Pub on Capital Hill in Seattle. Please arrive as close to 6:30 as possible; late-comers will not be guaranteed a seat at the table if the place is full.
Yours in Cycling,
Frank
—
Though there are two 2011 U.S. National Champions about 30 minutes down the interstate from me – southeast Idaho isn’t exactly a road bike Mecca. And I wear the V-Shirt whenever I’m traveling in the area to races (whether to participate or spectate) but I’ve only had one person recognize the Sign of the “V”. So the chances of running into or riding with a fellow Velominati are pretty slim. Let alone the demented brainchild of all this nonsense – Darth Strack. What’s a boy to do? Take the bull by the horns and make it happen my own self, that’s what. I figure that anywhere that I can drive to in a day is not too far to go for a ride so I’m off to Seattle to see whether this “Frank” character is indeed worthy to be praised or if he’s just some guy behind a curtain pulling levers and turning dials.
The plan is for a meet and greet (and eat and drink) Friday night Oct. 14 and a ride on Saturday the 15th. A few blokes from Portland way are planning on coming up as well so it looks like it is going to turn into a little Gran Fronkdo. Anyone that can make it is invited. We haven’t sorted out the details of the route or meeting place or time or anything important like that but we should have all that set in cobbles by early this week, so stay tuned.
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@RedRanger
The new iPhone os comes out today, and that should make it way easier to take photos while riding, so I for one will try to snap a lot of them while we're out.
I'll also be on the lookout for a loom for you. I had no idea you were into weaving.
@mcsqueak
Sweet. I like me a new OS. Dude I am super tired at the moment and the iPhone key board has been my enemy. I am looking for an excuse to quite my job so I can sleep more.
@Lepidopterist
Always KM's, but MMR has a tendency to default to miles when I embed this stuff. So when I look at it, its in Km's, but others will see it in miles. I'm actually working with them on improving the embed tool, and we'll have to add that to the list.
@Marko
Rats. I expect Josh is down for Madison, too.
@Chris
As it happens, I thought LBL was the following weekend for some reason, and found an excuse to be in Munich the previous week so I could skip out to Belgium for the weekend. Turns out I got that one wrong, but will try to book travel around the race and get some riding in.
@mcsqueak, @Eightzero
It's very easy to cut bits of the route off if you get tired. We'll mock you though. Oh, and I am out of shape myself. I may be the one cutting bits off.
@Steampunk
Great plan. Would love to do it. Whoever lives in those areas should feel free to take the lead and hook it up.
@mcsqueak, @RedRanger
I've been using iOS 5 for about a month. Its the cat's cock. The camera is cool, but the notification system will change your life.
@all
Dinner arrangements have been made. We'll be meeting Friday night at Quinn's Pub on Capital Hill at 6:30 for beers and food. Make sure you're on time - I had to really work with them to get the reservation made and they are going to seat us right at 6:30 or 6:35 and those who are late are going to have to fend for their own in order to get a table.
Looking forward to it.
@Steampunk
Keep me up to speed on the LBL arrangements. I'll start dropping some subtle hints to Mrs Chris. A good proper reason drop some V on the rollers over the next few months! With some luck some other Euro Velominati will come out of the woodwork.
@frank
I did 105 miles last weekend, I can surely do it again this weekend. Average grades on the rollers look to be 2.5% - no problem for easy cruising. It's not like we're grinding up and down massive climbs.
We can try to do the full thing, or not. I just know my body and the way it likes to "bonk" on long rides if I get hungry, and getting a bit of food at some point (like after 65 kms or whatever) is a good idea for me. It can be a roll from a coffee shop or a pastry from 7-11, or whatever. Not a big deal.
Dinner promptly at 6:30? Maybe I should leave PDX at 2 instead...
Have fun gents. Wish I could be there but Rule 11 considerations intervene.
@frank -- can I suggest getting the Giro di Lombardia VSP up before dinner Friday? The race is on Saturday, not Sunday.