The Sunday Ride - June 1, 2008

Cycling to the Sounds
Just how long has it been since you have ridden your bicycle to a Sounds game? Possibly never ?

The Sunday Ride (June 1) will begin at NOON. Meet at Beyond the Edge.
(Note: If you want to get a few extra miles, park at Greer Stadium)

This will be a great ride for beginners. No spandex? No problem!

Plan to loop through East Nashville and ride the Shelby Bottoms Greenway (not raceway) /Davidson Street back to downtown and meander over to Greer Stadium for the game. First pitch is at 2:00 P.M.

The Sounds will be playing the Iowa Cubs.
General admission is $8.00, reserved seating $12.00. The promo is Purity Sundae Sunday, which translates to ice cream sundaes are $1.00.

The "official" ride will terminate at Greer Stadium. Feel free to join the ride even if you can't attend the game.
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Sunday, May 25

NO Official Ride Today.

Everyone have a safe and happy holiday !

Weekend Ride Recap w/ photos

Saturday marked the 5th annual Tour de Nash: a fantastic event !!! Great vibe from the start... Stocked rest stops were plentiful and the routes were well planned and varied enough from previous years to keep it interesting. Kudos to whomever took the Otter Creek hill out of the west side route ! Our riding group splintered at the Shelby Bottoms Bridge. I wound up with @ 60 miles for the day including the pizza and Yazoo post ride tours.

The Sunday Ride rocked ! With Percy Priest Dam as our destination, a determined group headed to the greenway with high expectations and a hint of fear of the unknown...

The first stop was 2 Rivers Skate Park. Dan (GAD) threw down with the mohawked youth and dazzled the crowd with his skills on the halfpipe!

After a perilous crossing of Lebanon Road, we encountered lots of beautiful scenery but had to portage around a few impasses.

That's Ron, Cindy and Matt passing America's Next Top Models!

Finally, we reached the dam......

Alice and Karla joined us at the dam and we headed back. A short but heavy rainfall briefly lowered our spirits but we all safely made it back across to 2 Rivers. (For those of you considering this route, there is no easy or safe crossing of Lebanon Rd.)

I got a rear flat and my Red Zepplin inflator basically exploded under pressure. Ron had 2 extra cartridges, both of which had been used... misery ensued. Greg Crowe (no relation) and DJ to the rescue. They happened by and had a small pump that provided just enough PSI to get me rolling again.

After a few miles of slooooow riding with a under inflated (half-flat) rear tire over a rough section, I realized a pinch flat was eminent.

Suddenly, like a CO2 angel, Halley emerged from the horizon and offered a unused 16 gram cartridge. It was full speed back to the start from there.

GREAT RIDE !!!!!!!!!

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Sunday Ride and Tour de Nash After-Ride Details

The Sunday Ride (May 18) will begin at 1:00 P.M. Meet on the patio at BTE. This will be a nice recovery ride for those participating in the Tour de Nash on Saturday. Weather permitting, plan on @ 20 miles at a casual pace along the Shelby Bottoms/2 Rivers and Stones River Greenways over to Percy Priest Dam and back. We are going to the dam or bust !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Tour de Nash. The ultimate bicycle tour of Nashville. There is going to be an after-ride gathering for all serious cyclist to re-carb and re-hydrate.

Where: Nashville's Most Wanted Pizza - 207 Woodland Street (less than 1 block north of LP Stadium)

Stopped there last night to check it out:
(Positives)
1. Extremely welcoming management/staff ~ A+
2. Nice patio
3. Pizza looked and smelled great! (low carb no crust pizza available)
4. Baked hot wings
5. Decent assortment of bottled beers (a few imports)
6. Smoke-free
7. Open at 11:00 A.M. on Saturday

(Negatives)
1. No draft beer
2. No mixed drinks or wine
3. No Dos Perros, but he said he would have it by Saturday. (You might want to carry your own lime. I didn't see any there.)

You can read a review at http://nashvillerestaurants.blogspot.com/search/label/Pizza
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Sunday Ride Update....

I had planned to offer a thrilling detailed account of the 3S3M ride, but lightning, rain storms and wet roads at the start convinced me not to attempt the ride. Maybe next year...

Instead, I opted for the alternative 25 mile route which included a trip to the IMAX, 3 jumbo shrimp, a dozen oysters and 3 Sweet Georgia Brown Ales. The route mainly followed the Chattanooga River Park trail. I almost lost it several times trying to avoid goose droppings along the smooth, relatively flat, concrete trail. The posted speed limit for bikes was 5 mph. I think we averaged 4.

The final rest stop was at the Boat House which offered a gorgeous view of the Tennessee River and the River Park trail. Upon departure from the Boat House it became apparent that someone had changed the bike speed limit signs to read 555 mmmppphhh and the goose droppings had also tripled. Go figure ????

Upcoming area cycling events:

May 9: The official bike-to-work day. Groups will meet at various places on the outskirts of town and bike into the downtown area. Details can be found here. (I think you will have to scroll down the page to find the details).

May 11: No official Sunday Ride due to Mothers' Day. What to burn off some of that massive lunch? I'll be on the patio at BTE @ 2:00 pm if anyone wants to cruise the Shelby Bottoms/Two Rivers greenway over to Percy Priest Dam. Shoot me an email.... jcrowjr@yahoo.com

May 17 : Tour de Nash. The ultimate bicycle tour of Nashville. Cheap registration ends May 10. Rumor is that there is going to be an after-party...details to follow.

Please ride safely !!!!!