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Traffic signals will blink incessantly and ask us, "What are you thinking about?" Car exhaust pipes will go limp as we pass and parking meters will be heard whispering, "It's okay, that happens to lots of guys..." The streets we ride will be left behind, depleted and murmuring requests to the sidewalk for a cigarette and a hand towel.
"How can you let them treat you like that?" the sidewalk will ask. To which the street will reply,
"It's okay. I knew what I was getting into. They're the type to just ROOT and RUN and that's exactly what I was looking for."
The sidewalk will continue to judge the street and preach the benefits of the steady stride of pedestrians and cyclists who just want to 'take it slow' but, for all it's talk, will find no relief for it's insatiable jealousy.
Wednesday Nights @ 8:30pm
Start @ Ocean and Montana in Santa Monica.
Maintain speeds of 25-85 mph for a minimum of 35 miles.
Ends near the start.
Ride a fixed or geared road bike or struggle to keep up.
I'll be there at 8:30 but i can't guarantee ill be there till the end. I'm only running 76 gear inches which is gonna be pretty low for a ride of this speed.
@larsenf
Glad you've got the gumption to go for it anyhow! You'll prob be spun out but the ride will get really drafty once we get out of Santa Monica. Carb up! All that spinning is gonna suck a lot of carbs out of you.
Just scouted the last half of the ride, it should be fun, and provide for a bit of a work out...there will be a few hills involved. Nothing too serious, rollers mostly, that will provide a decent descent at the end. It's shaping up to be a pretty fun route I think..see you all there wednesday
This is the one to go on if you want to get onboard while we're still making stops within less than 30 miles. There won't be too many more. No joke. This is ROOT RUN. We do. Not. Fuck. Around.
Ahh, Nancine we need more fast and cute girls to come out...keep it up and we'll see you there in a couple weeks I hope. It should be a pretty fun ride, i'm going to try and make sure nobody get's dropped (within reason) but we will be sustaining a pretty solid pace tonight. See you all at the ROOT RUN, 830 meeting time 900 roll time from Ocean and Montana in Santa Monica. Come out people, let's try to get enough people for two solid draft lines, we'll see lot's of LA tonight
Ok guys, i'm out to do some work on the bike and have a beer or two before the RUN...if you're coming and might be a little late call me, i'll hold the start for a few minutes if we've got more people coming...if not we're going to try to Roll as close to 9 as possible...it is biker time though. A small route preview...we'll see LAX, we'll see UCLA as well as the ocean...full route descriptions will be given at the meeting point. Don't forget tubes, tools, and some spending cash to refuel at the stops
As I sit here gorging donuts coconut milk, I can't help but feel that I fully earned this binge. Thank you to everyone who came out and rode with us even if you didn't finish! Come back next week and try again. We're thinking of incorporating some new ideas to keep everyone together by riding with handicaps like they do in golf. For instance, the fastest ROOT RUNners could take an extra 2 mile lap at the start and spend the rest of each leg catching up to the pack.
We couldn't have had a better ROOT to RUN on our maiden voyage. SFRider gets all the credit for that. Thestolba gets the most credit for the pace and Ryan gets huge props for lasting to the end! We started with more than 10 and we finished with just 4 hardcore motherfuckers, breaking 40 several times along the way and maintaining 30+ on the flats at times. Let's do a new ROOT next week and stay fucking serious with the speed!
As a side note, thanks to SFRider for supplying the victory beer at the bar at the end.
First off...Chris you're a Mad Man, thanks for making sure that we kept a crazy pace tonight. Ryan, you're a stud for being one of the 4 that finished all the way through, and Bob, well you're just crazy in your own right and we needed that for this trip. I'm glad everyone enjoyed our ROOT, I do admit that the finishing lap around UCLA and the descent through the residential area was pretty cool in pitch darkness. We're doing it again next week, same ROOT time and same ROOT meeting place, just a different ROOT. Here's a link to the ROOT RUN route, for the most part...there were a few differences but it show's the basic idea. Flying through the Lincoln tunnel at 30 plus on flat ground was pretty solid. Thanks to all that showed up and I hope more of you guys come out next week...LAAAAATE
oh yea ROOT RUN kicks ass, thanks for the fun SFrider
p.s. i feel so lame for going so far and then cutting out right for the last and what i heard most fun leg. i still ended up getting in a good 45 miles in tonight though so i plan on going all the way next week.
I would've made it, but it turns out I broke my pulley on my rear derailuer pretty nasty which I didn't notice till I got chain back on.
GNAR!
But special thanks to Shues for the pickup and everyone for helping coordinate and keep a great pace. Some great scenery, pace and attitudes.
It'll be a bit till I get my bike fixed/a pulley..hopefully not too long, but expect some rooting with a vengeance upon return... Maybe even with some CSU kids.
thanks man you guys make me wish i had gears and brakes. i am definitely ROOT RUNout. Sean scared me off for the last leg saying it was just hills but it sounded like it wasnt too bad after you guys talked about it. i also kind of wanted to see the end of blue velvet since i have never finished it.
That sucks! I hope you can get it fixed in time for next week's ROOT RUN. I'm really glad that Shues was able to scoop you up 'cause that's not my favorite place to be stranded. Let this be a lesson to all ROOT RUNners; check out your mechanics before the ride or you could wind up stuck in the middle of the Lincoln tunnel like hitsthepoles_ow!
@larsen
You experienced FEAR? There's no FEAR in ROOT RUN! We're going to have to teach you some meditation exercises so that you can rid yourself of that disease. We can't have our riders slowed down by their own consternation.
I've been thinking about a few ROOTS...should have one finalized by tuesday. Give me a call with any suggestions and we'll make the second ROOT RUN better than the first. Let's get some more people out this week. We go fast but make a point to not drop anyone that doesn't want to be dropped. Come out and push yourself and the reward at the end will be worth it
Those who get dropped want it subconsciously. Just like the roads want to get ROOTed or they wouldn't lay there, all stretched out, with those sexy curves, wearing nothing but those thin little stripes of yellow and white. Nobody dresses and poses like that unless they want a certain kind of attention from a certain kind of cyclist.
dropping riders is only a bitter feeling... the more the merrier... but the slower we go the less root worthy we be...
people will be dropped but with saddness in our hearts that you wont be able to root with us the rest of the route and the understanding that the dropped ridazz have gone to a different place where everyone must root alone...
awe.. so sad.. makes you want to stick with root this week and next week and the week after until you can hold with'em - that's when it's worth it.
when you feel the pain
push on
when you can no longer
push on
when the rush overcomes
push on
when the sweat washes off
push on
when the intensity becomes too much
push on
when in the climactic line for the finish
push on
for the orgasmic thrill will bring you back
again and again and again and again
push on
or whatever, that is what i imagine it to be! in my head.. when i do the root run!
Most people just hear the buzz of rubber on asphault but we can clearly hear the street's screams "FASTER! HARDER! YES! DON'T STOP!" and we listen all the way to the end because we want to be invited back again. When the pavement's cries for more cease and the urge to drink something other than blood, sweat, and tears overtakes our passion for the successfully completed ROOT, we've got to RUN before we overstay our welcome.
Hopefully there will be lot's of people rooting tonight...we're the only ride posted on the board. We're going east tonight...come on people, come out and go fast tonight...ROOT RUN, Ocean and Montana, meet at 830 and roll by 9. Let's fill up our tires before we roll this time!
YES! I just scoped the ROOT for this week and I'm stoked to see a couple more miles piled on! Let's serve those roads what they've been begging for all week!
If this is your first time and you're worried about keeping up, do it anyway and we'll give you a copy of turn by turn directions to each stop. If you get dropped, you can always try to meet us at the next stop or just turn back toward the ending point to meet us there for cheers and beers!
@larsenf
you ate shit on taco tuesdays? Well it can't have been that bad unless there was a pile-up... right? Are you okay? Are we going to have to ROOT the pain away and RUN from the memory of such indignity?
@undecoverbob
I actually just had a really painful ride home, i dont think i hurt anything too bad but my left wrist and palm are really bruised. I was drunk and fell going close to 18-20mph. I ripped my gloves, tweaked my handlebars around, broke my light, and dented my ipod too.
Tonights ROOT is a bit longer than Last weeks, but flatter, with the only bit of climbing early on and fairly mellow/gradual. If we get out by 915 we may make the den dinner if they go late...but the finishing point is the same bar we finished at last week.
So if anyone doesn't finish, or wants to meet up we'll be at Sonny Mcleans around 1230 give or take a bit
first stop is about 16 miles in too...come out, it'll be a fun ride tonight. leave from Ocean and Montana at 9...get there early and bring tools/tubes etc
Tonight the ROOT gods were angry. No matter how hard we tried to outRUN their wrath, we were plagued by flats tires. The good news is, we stopped for them and no one got dropped due to technical malfunction. The better news is, the stops also caused us to ride a lot harder to make up for lost time. Resultantly, we were still able to exhaust ourselves sufficiently on this ride by cresting hills at 25+ and pushing past cars on the flats.
It comes as no surprise that once again, the final four ROOTers for the second week RUNning were:
wiz_vanmeter
thestolba
SFRider
Undercover Bob
Next week's course will surely show the streets a fast-paced good time and reward those who finish with a glamorous mix of adrenaline, endorphines, dopamine, and ethanol.
thestolba and I were trying to discuss this at crank mob last night but we couldn't concentrate for beans... we may RUN the first ROOT in reverse this week and start "operation money shot" next week.
Undercoverbob and myself talked about the ROOT for tomorrow...and needless to say you're not going to want to miss this one. There will be a stop at the playboy mansion for a photo op...yeah that's right, the playboy mansion. If you have been thinking of coming out this would be a great week to do it...
Noooooooo! I couldn't finish ROOT RUN :( And it was such an epic ride too! I wanna hear how the rest of the ride went. And see pictures too. I will be ROOTing again next week.
I got a pinch flat trying to take a shortcut on the torn-up sidewalk after you guys all pulled out of the gas station at Washington and La Cienega.
Root Run handed my ass to me. Fuck downhills, I am so tempted to get a freewheel. Also fuck uphills. About the only thing not getting any fucking from me tonight is guess whose mother??
Fuck, yes. Best ride ever? I think so. Maybe because I'm a little drunk and a little tired after that 50 mile ROOT. Guys that was the longest fast paced ride I've ever done and well, I'm ADDICTED. Can every ROOT RUN be as epic as this one?
Alright guys, I know that I promised a special prize for the first ROOT RUNner to make valid use of his spoke card but... I used mine and I'm keeping the prize for myself. However, one could posit that using the spoke card is a reward in itself so I highly recommend that you do!
From now on, spoke cards will ONLY be given at the end of the ROOT and only to those who finish the RUN. This time was an exception because it just felt right to distribute our first batch of spoke cards at the gate of the Playboy Mansion after a short tour of the grounds' perimeter and a pass by "the house next door" where the stars of the ironically titled show live separate from the main property.
ROOT RUNners have quite a lot less respect for rival sleaze-ball, Larry Flynt, so we were sure to dominate the sign in front of his building with bicycles and urine on our way to Watts Towers. We rolled pretty slow (for ROOT RUN) for the first half of the ride but after our last stop before Watts Towers, we realized how much time we had lost by just taking it easy and the chase was on in a big big way. So big, in fact, that we overshot a turn by a couple of miles before Blockhead Mark (who was paying close enough attention to decipher the streaking blur of street signs we passed) stopped and called my cell.
Surprisingly, as soon as we got into South Central, the roads turned from rough and littered with debris to virginally clean and smooth as an ice skating rink... which was a good thing because we really had to kick up the speed in order to outRUN the stray dogs that chased us with loud, blood-thirsty barks as we hammered hard and responded with booming calls of, "ROOT ROOT ROOT" until they they resigned to trot back to their posts with their tales between their legs, knowing that they'd been bested.
The roads got a little rougher as we approached LAX but we pressed on, making it to James Beach in time for last call, only to decide that a few 12 packs at the traveling rings would suit our sweat-soaked fancy a little more. bondink and Proxy joined us and post-ROOT RUN massages were had by all... mostly given by cypress because he's really good at getting out the bigger knots.
For the first time, we finished with a FINAL FIVE:
thestolba
larsenf
cypress
Blockhead Mark
Undercover Bob
@ thevladster
You earned that spoke card! I hope to see you with us again in the future. I think next week will be less hilly and a little shorter so I encourage you to come out.
@ wiz_vanmeter
BUMMER! We waited for you at a Ralph's for a pretty long time but when you never showed, we all realized that none of us had your number... we've gotta do something about that.
Text me @ 2 thirteen 7 thirteen oh 37 oh
At any rate, I'm glad to know that you got home okay and you're not hurt.
@ Blockhead Mark
PROPS for finishing your first ROOT RUN!!! You were right behind us the whole way even though you weren't in the pace line and that takes some serious legs.
@ thestolba
yes please. ryan [at] undercoverbob [dot] com
@ everyone who missed it
I hope we can repeat this route so you can have another chance to experience it!
what a great ride report! mellowyellow and I were talking about coming out next week (i'm back on day shift!!!), so the asian invasion is coming to Root Run =)
@undercoverbob well i hope we won't let you down. on the chance that we get dropped, i'll bring some scotch tape and one of you boys can tape up your eyelids at the end of the ride and break at least half the curse.
(i'll refrain from suggesting the taping up of anything else...)
hahah! well there won't be any other forms of taping necessary since we technically haven't even had a female start the ride with the intention of finishing it at all yet so I think the curse will be lifted as soon as you start pedaling. light_fixture started with us once but only intended to go as far as bikerowave. Hell, you may end up mopping the asphalt with us if you can go the distance. Just keep a wheel ROOTed in the pace line and you'll RUN the train with us all the way to the end. thestolba and SFRider push so much wind that you can almost relax in their drafts.
im waiting for UB to post them cause hes getting Bretts pics too... i dont want to post mine cause they are the end... we gotta start withthe beginning!!!!!!!
@ wiz_vanmeter
Why does that picture seem like it's from soooo long ago when it was just a few weeks?! Have the rides really been so epic that it feels like an entire era already???? Oh wow... they have.
Hey I just wanted to reconfirm that the meet up location and ride out time is still the same as what is posted at the top of the thread. Been looking forward to this all week! I want to see how I compare to you speedy boys.
@bondink, I'm so stoked that you're getting a roadbike!!! You took Temescal Canyon Road so well on the bike you have now, you're going to be super strong when you get your new bike! Can't wait to see you ROOT it out too!
... ahhh, now you see why i love, love, love riding with boys! it just doesn't matter which one you are hustling behind to hold your draft, it's such so nice!
and the fact that MRzzz has a bigger percentage of males than females, well, if for just that reason.. i cannot wait to ROOT ROOT ROOT !!!
but wait UB if their is a girl riding WITH us i wonder how many miles it will take before the ROOT ROOT ROOTING finally quiets down. Maybe we will just ROOT all night long?
im going to come out this week but my fixed cog broke so im using a freewheel and my BB is about to break.. good news sat im getting new wheels and BB yaayy.
Thanks all for the birthday wishes... I posted the ride now that my intrawebbie thing is working again. We're going to do the first ROOT backwards, it's got a very epic set of rolling hills to get the legs warmed up for the carnage that will come afterwards...Come on out everyone
we should still do the hillguard sunset part the same direction as last time... maybe a figure 8 is in store.. then go back down to lincoln tunnel after that... the hills will be so much more fun that direction
Okay, so I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it tonight due to over-use of benodryl (which makes me high and weak) due to allergies at work this week...
However, I think I may have to agree with thestolba that those hills were REALLY fun going that direction before and I'm not sure they'd be quite as epic going the other way.
I know dude, the thought of missing it is really killing me. I'm hoping to end the day at work feeling so surly that I just don't give a damn and then make myself puke from ROOTing more than my weak auto-immune system can handle. I'll show up at the end with spoke cards for new finishers even if I can't manage the ride.
We're going to be doing the UCLA section in the same direction as last time, just head towards the Lincoln tunnel afterwards...we're not going to go backwards up manning and hilgard
Root Run, epic, painful, it feels like my legs just gave birth to triplets, totally worth it!
cyclometer sayz AVG Speed 25 mph, max 74.9....
Now a word for the Westside Ladies, you should definitely come out to this ride. Mellowyellow and I lasted till the end, there were a couple regrouping stops for water so it's a good opportunity to catch up. I've never ridden this hard in my life, there is very little coasting and your legs will be pumping the whole time but this is the ride that is going to make you smoking fast. And who doesn't like fast women?
oh man. i saw undercoverbob, the other ryan, and the stolba ride by me on washington as i was strapping a bike to the back of my car and i had to stop, sit down and cry. why didnt i ROOT?
congratulations to the first ever FINAL SEVEN!
nancine
mellow yellow
wiz_vanmeter
thestolba
hitsthepoles_ow
SFRider
Undercover Bob
@ mellow yellow & nancine
Y'all gots some spoke cards comin' your way at the start of ROOT RUN next week! I think we were all stoked to see the curse of the ladyless ride finally get lifted!
@ all westside women and fast ladies in general
Come. ROOT with us.
@ cranktankerous & snapple
Come next week and try to finish. There's a spoke card in it for you if you can.
@ e-rock
It was good to RUN into you on our ROOT. Perhaps we'll be heading in more congruent directions next time and you can fall in with us for a while.
@ larsenf
We missed you, you crazy bastard. Did you at least use your spoke card?
@ wiz_vanmeter
WTF with your legz, dude? When did they get so F'n strong? Wait... wait... let me guess... did it start around the time you first began ROOTing?
@ hitsthepoles_ow
Leotard FTW!!!
@ all shutterbugs
Email me photos. ryan [at] undercoverbob [dot] com
@ thestolba
Email me a link to a google map of your route for next week so I can print up some directions/maps... Come to think of it, anyone who wants to propose a route, let's start pooling them and planning them ahead of time so we can have maps/directions designed and printed up before each ride.
@ all naysayers
RE: nancine's above post. HOW ABOUT THEM STATS???!!!! YEEEEEAAAAAAAH!
ROOT RUN colors explained:
Those of you who have earned your spoke cards know what they look like. Some of you may have seen one in a friend's wheel... or hanging from the doorknob of a cheap hotel room. Either way, if you seen it, you're surely aware of the double-sided, dual-use design. What you're less likely to be aware of is the meaning behind the colors on each side. The colors represent specific Orishas (nature deities) in the ancient, African religion, Yoruba (which is considered the origin of religions such as Santeria and Umbanda). Orishas are often represented by color pairs. In the case of the ROOT RUN spoke card, you'll see red and black on one side and red and white on the other.
okay under cover bob....judging from your religious weirdness...you are fucking nuts. But, I can ride with a fucking nut job....if he can organize a good ride. And, judging from the posts from your ride...you do this well. You know, you have some badger in you??? ask tracy.
@ tern
I'm not nuts. I'm not a practitioner of Yoruba. I just totally dig what those colors stand for! I'm a philosopher so there's always SOME sort of deeper meaning behind even my simplest choices. If showing those colors earns us the support of two of the most badass Orishas ever worshipped by mankind, ALL THE BETTER!
Thanks for coming and helping to build the rep of this ride, Tracy and Nancine you ladies ROCK, well done can't wait to see you out next week. Stolba and Bob you two are beasts, if I only had gears...Brett, well there isn't much that needs to be said about the singlet you were rocking last night, Ryan, you've gotten a lot faster over the course of one month...keep it up. Larsen, you should have made it out, you would have been able to get the UCLA section that you missed on the first ROOT because you were afraid of a few hills. So come on all, if we get enough people out we won't have to worry about dropping so many, we can have a front and back group. We're getting bigger and bigger each week, with 7 of 10 finishing last night. Keep coming out, don't be a pussy and read the thread wishing that you had tried it just sack up and come ride with us. I've noticed a trend, the people that have been to each ROOT have gotten faster and faster each week, it's about getting better than you were on your bike a day earlier. Do that each day and the ROOT runners will be taking over the los angeles streets, passing cars and working our way up to taking the freeways too. Thanks again to everyone that came out last night, the ROOT is only going to get better each wednesday night. Gotta have a good ROOT on HUMP day huh...
@ tern
It's not exactly "my" ride per se. It was SFRider's idea and thestolba gets plenty of credit for keeping it going and we've all worked together to organize things. At any rate, I appreciate the compliment and welcome you to ROOT RUN! I suggest you stock up on the items pictured at right...
id have to give props to SFrider for coming out on the forum with the idea at the right time!!!
Ryan, myself, and TheShues (until he disappeared) I feel are the ROOT RUNNERs that are trying to release a certain thing (wink wink) that we needed to create the ride FOR!!!!
@ blockhead mark
too bad you missed it. It was a really fun ROOT with some great descents. Not to worry though, next week, we'll be sure to RUN up and down plenty more hills courtesy of thestolba's brainstorm.
Next week in the life and times of ROOT RUN:
PALOS VERDES!
We'll take an inland path down enter palos verdes from behind, and climb, descend, climb, descend! Then we'll pop out at the beach and RUN back up the coast for ROOT beer (pictured at right).
After last night, who else wishes that The AT would stop trying to convince us to change the day and just come out to ROOT with us anyway? And when is Jaz gonna finish that new bike so he can RUN with us also?
@thestolba, I guess I didn't understand that you were looking for people to ride with tonight. =( Too bad, mellowyellow and I were talking about riding because it was cool out -- but we got lazy and ate and drank instead.
@ nancine
eating/drinking is a ROOT RUN approved diversion from riding. However, if you do it too often, you could be prosecuted by ROOT RUN for criminal neglect of a bicycle.
Cypress and I tried to ride up to Palos Verdes Friday night in the rain. We made it to San Pedro and turned back because the roads were so slick. I ate shit twice.
i really want to try this but there is no way i can root this week. i got terribly sick and i feel much better but my lungs are in no shape. i just biked from the Bundy SMC campus to around bundy and wilshire and i almost died.
@ Frozen Fingersss
Ride some more tomorrow and maybe you'll be feeling up to it. We'd love to see you come out to ROOT with us. Take a chance, roll the dice!
Hey everyone, this is a reminder to bring your bright lights to this week's ride. I'm working on the map/directions so if you get dropped, you should still be able to find your way to the next regrouping point. Just be ready for some DARK roads and some VICIOUS hills!
get some good food in you asap, charge down a few bananas to keep from cramping up, and drink a shit ton of water. I'll have some red ugo seaweed with m at the start...it's got three times the potassium as bananas. Good luck, this root is going to do some ass kicking...fucking stolba and his hills making me switch to 49 15 for this ride...see you out there...oh yeah and one more thing. Find someone's wheel and stay behind it, you work a lot less when you're in a tight draft
just so we make this clear... i live like 6-7 miles from the climbs were doing today.... ive only done this route once before... I HOPE EVERYONES BREAKS ARE WORKING
1: carb up and get some vitamins in you. Bananas are a must for potassium.
2: stretch stretch stretch, then warm up, then stretch some more.
3: tuck tuck tuck, ride the nose, roll your hips under, keep your arms loose and core round, draft draft draft and don't be afraid to scream "ROOOOOOT!" when the pain starts to hit you hard... it helps... I swear...
my inner wimp (from this point forward will be called pepito) is crawling out of my pores slowly in the form of sweat...pepito will be present tonight @ root run....
oh we won't be at it all night! We'll make quick work of those PV humps and as soon as those streets have gotten the ROOTing they've been begging for, we're out to RUN the hell away before they get too clingy!
Tonight we ride to get Cranktankerous home in time for bed! Let's get crankalankin!
Kangaroos are the only large animals to use cycling as a means of locomotion. The comfortable riding speed for Red Kangaroo is about 20–25 km/h (13–16 mph), but speeds of up to 70 km/h (44 mph) can be attained, over short distances, while it can sustain a speed of 40 km/h (25 mph) for nearly two kilometres.[15] This fast and energy-efficient method of travel has evolved because of the need to regularly cover large distances in search of food and water, rather than the need to escape predators.
Soooooo bummed, I was so sure that we were going to finish the ride with you guys but I lost sight of you on the PCH. When we got to Imperial HWY and the Lincoln Tunnel, I figured you'd take the beach back so we did the Via Del Mar to Moustache Bridge bit. (I need to get phone numbers before we leave next time!)
And....I still didn't get a spoke card for last week!
whew! I was sure worried about you girls! I'm sooooo glad to hear you made it safely. I'm still holding your spoke cards. If you go to Robotz this weekend, I can give them to you there. Otherwise, I'll be riding around on the westside for the next couple of days if you want to drop me a line. 2 thirteen 7 thirteen 0 three 7 zero
OH and also, this ROOT RUN completely destroyed me. That was the longest, most brutal ride yet! That climb nearly put me on my death bed but that descent was... wow. I've never been so high on adrenaline as I was after freefalling down the backside of that little mountain at over 45mph for what felt like 10 minutes.
@ Edward
Props for finishing that insanity fixed and brakeless!
@ EN
Props for determination and finishing with us in spite of a rough start and a possible tendon tear
@ Shues
Props for doing it despite full-blown cramping of both legs
@ Nancy
I don't know how we lost you given how hard you can push wind.
@ Stacy
There was no getting around you on that descent. I don't know how you did it, but I couldn't catch you in spite of being bigger and heavier.
@ Fixional
come again next week and give it another whack with more food in your stomach and with your credit card just in case.
@ Stuart (I hope I have the name right)
Props for fighting it out in no man's land. I saw you less than a mile from the finish but didn't see you there or you would have had a spoke card.
@ the guy whose name I can't remember
Thanks for riding with us. I hope we can leave early enough or maybe just ride a shorter route so that you can finish with us because keeping up is certainly not a problem for you...
@ The Original Final Four
Way to keep it together and be true to our ROOTs! Once again, we were alone at the finish... until the others caught up!
Now seriously, I'm completely thrashed and must attempt to make it from the couch to the bed now. I'm not sure if I can do it but I'm going to try.
your right, reading this thread i am sad to miss ROOT RUN this week. I did rock the root run card around the rear view mirror of the camero as i did an epic burnout in front on the brw for you guys though.
UGHH...Stolba you're a fucking Sadist. That was an exercise in brutality of the legs. Pretty epic descent on hawethorne....it even made to torture that was the climb up worth it. I can't even count how many times I wished I had gears, or at least a smaller ratio to get my ass up that thing. The final four are staying true to their ROOTs and continuing to handle and finish together at the front. Get out and ride everyone
"can you feel it?! CAN YOU FEEEEEEL IT!?!???? We have been fighting it for some time now... shes been tugging at our heels and trying to hold our ROOT at bay?!?!?? The time is soon.... soon it will be out turn.. our turn to abuse it... BONZAI !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Hawthorne was epic.. the ride was EPICER!
Had we had time to chill at naj's and grab a drink ... our legs wouldve been much nicer feeling going home.... time forced us to skip that ;(
C'est la vie!
PS. I had an idea last night... ROOT KING OF THE MOUNTAIN!
But not just a sissy climb once... like laps around PV will determine the winner!.... or shall i say THE ROOT KING (and Queen?) Winner gets to choose ;)
If there was one ride this week that was worth tearing my LCL it was definitely ROOT. For the record, I will be keeping up with you guys the whole way as soon as my knee heals. Hopefully that's next week, but if not, then definitely the week after.
@EN Heal up fast, but don't push yourself to ride before you're ready! Have you had your bike set up correctly for you? Maybe a couple small adjustments will prevent tears in the future?
i was on the 33 around 8:50 g0t off on santa monica and ocean expecting to find a bunch root run fanatics around..and guess what nothing... i rode around that area about 5 minutes looking for any sign but nothing...either u all left early or i was in the wrong place.
i did not get to run with you guys last night
but i did haul my black ass all the way back to inglewood on bike for punishment...i think i kept a steady pace...pepito whined... i will eliminate him at the next root...
@preti
oooh shit! I think you were just a little South of us! We meet at Ocean and Montana. We rolled out just after 9 last night. Bummer! Next time head North 'til you hit Montana and you'll see us on the corner. Pepito will get exorcised next week for sure!
Looking at google pedometer, I've just realized that we climbed 1,100 ft over the course of 4 relentless miles before dropping over 1,200 ft in under 3 miles!
I should definitely look into getting by bike adjusted. BikeRoWave does a "Bike-Fit Workshop." I also think a lot of problems came from slipping around inside of those track cages. Of course, skidding and skipping do not help at all.
From Wikipedia: "Kangaroos and wallabies have large, stretchy tendons in their hind legs. They store elastic strain energy in the tendons of their large hind legs, providing most of the energy required for each hop by the spring action of the tendons rather than by any muscular effort. This is true in all animal species which have muscles connected to their skeleton through elastic elements such as tendons, but the effect is more pronounced in kangaroos."
Pretty cool, but not nearly as bad ass as when Stolba and I were screaming it at the top of our lungs while rooting last night. I'm glad you got back safe...we're all out here to make you ladies faster, look forward to seeing you next week. You two have definitely earned the coveted ROOT RUN spoke card
@SFrider, You boys are going to make us so strong -- I can feel it already! I think ROOT RUN is a great environment for girls to come out and learn to be fast, bc I totally feel like everyone keeps an eye out for each other!
@Everyone, I'm already fantasizing about next week's ROOT!
LOL! Ultimate irony and possibly epic ride idea: Brett actually proposed a ride to his mom's house! It would be a LONG ride though... and that's just between biking all the way too and from ventura county!
Unfortunately I can't make it tonight, my hip still hurts on the upstroke and I want to recover enough to do the Dark Century this weekend. I'll be out next week for sure...and if I get off work early enough tonight, I'll swing by with some dessert treats =)
DAMMIT! According to the forecast, it's going to be wayyyyy too cold for nearly NAKED ROOT RUN tonight. Bummer. Ah well, I'll wear tights. Maybe next week?
When is that?? I'd almost take off work, drive up and ride nakey for that.
Bare in mind how bad it would suck to get dropped and ride home naked....... ALONE.
im sad i missed it again this week. i injured my knee. ive been adjusting my seat position and i think ive solved the problem! hopefully ill be out next week.
Seeing you guys ROOT right past DEN DINNER was so fucking amazing. It transmogrified the entire night into a social bike frenzy. Because of ROOT RUN, Sara Bond is now Core Elite.
When the rooters flew past at breakneck speeds, Sara Bond had no choice but to be taken into a state of core eliteness. This soon lead to her official announcement.
Thank you ROOT RUN, for simply being such an awesome sight to see with my own eyes. It was truly beautiful, and I was in a state of shock for a good 10 minutes after you had ROOTed the road right in front of me. My senses were tingling, and the only thing keeping me from joining you was a 5 digit combo lock and an initial velocity of 25mph.
Okay, that ROOT was pretty fucking fun last night. That Hillgard descent gets better every time we RUN it. The Chinese Theater was a great stop and capture the flag at UCLA was strangely cinematic in the late-night light.
The MOST EPIC part of the ride was when Big-Legs Vanmeter, Stolba, and myself rolled up to a light next to a paceline of TEN BICYCLE COPS and they CHALLENGED US TO RACE!!!! We all looked at each other wondering how to react before Stolba finally blurted out "Well alright then! ROOT ROOT!" and the light changed. I stood in awe at the intersection as I watched Stolba and Big-Legs sprint uphill with ten neon-windbreak-sporting cops spinning like mad in attempt to keep up. Then I snapped out of my moment of delirious disbelief, realized I was behind everyone, clipped in and ROOTed my way up that hill has hard as I could. passing the cops as I caught up to my comrades, I turned to them and said, "Come on now, is that really all you've got?!" They groaned a slew of inarticulate responses through heavy breaths and streaming sweat as they began to recede into the distance, doomed to spend the rest of their ride, feebly ROOTing our sloppy seconds.
Round of applause for our two first-time finishers, Justin and Evan. It was Justin's second ROOT RUN and it was good to see him make it all the way to the end this time. I only had one spoke card left so it went to him but Justin but Evan will have plenty more opportunities to earn his.
@ nancine
ROOT RUN brownies FTW!!!!! thank you thank you!
@ frozen fingersss
I believe this is the second time you've been passed by ROOT RUN. This makes you a regular ROOTy call and therefore you should certainly feel sexy inside.
@ jonnyboy
The text you sent me after we passed you guys totally made our night and motivated me to personally get so caught up in ROOTing that I didn't even notice when I passed our first stop and continued on my own to wait for everyone at the second stop, a fistfull of miles later.
@ jericho1ne
YES! Bring your legs! We need all the strong legs we can get to drive the train up that nice, long stretch of coastline!
@ tomato
Are you sure that was us? We didn't even have any remotely close calls last night.
@ ROOT RUNners
Sorry we got such a late start last night. That was certainly my fault. I thoroughly enjoyed our alternative route even though we didn't get to make it all the way up to Zuma Beach. Next week we'll plan to start as early as possible in order to leave ourselves enough time to make the 60mi round trip back to SM by a decent hour.
i'm pretty sure it was probably you guys..she lives in the marina and she said she was cut off...i do have to admit she doesn't have the best driving record, but i know how crazy some rides get and drivers get cut off a lot
nothing against root run, just be careful
AWESOME story about leaving the cops in the dust- hilarious
if she was in marina then it definitely wasn't us. We never went that far south or west last night. Thanks for the heads up though. We were pretty cautious last night. More so than usual as a matter of fact. No close calls or anything.
While C.R.A.N.K. MOB wasn't happening last night, jonnyboy pace lined with a handful of ROOT RUNners and he liked it. Hell, he even took a turn pulling! I think we'll be seeing him on Wednesday nights pretty soon.
Jaz was, once again, right behind us. I hope he can get his ish together and come out with us in the near future because it's fun to see him get pumped after a good ROOTing.
Molly also kept with us for a while and insisted that she would see us on Wednesday which is awesome.
AT is a ROOT RUNner at heart. He just needs to get his ass to the ride for a change instead of just ROOTing with me at Taco Tuesdays and Robotz scouting rides. He even plugged ROOT RUN in his recent story about Taco Tuesdays on Westside Bikeside.
Let's encourage first-timers to come this week. It's going to be at least two weeks before anyone can earn a spoke card from now on so I hope to see some new ROOT RUNners starting their journey to ROOTing glory this Wednesday. EN recently rode our upcoming route and confirmed that the Zuma Beach ride will be a good starting point for first timers as it's nearly impossible to get lost and never too steep. I'm going to make an effort to get an EARLY START this week so we can get people back to santa monica early enough to get some much needed rest before work the following morning.
thank u undercover man...i was "rooting" at crank mob and i would like to admit that i have an inner speed demon... i really hope i can make it this wednesday with you crazy, speed addicted, biking sadist weirdos...only then will i feel at home...whats the ride this week???
@ preti*ugli
ah hah! I thought I saw you pull into the crank mob park pretty soon after us at the front but I wasn't sure since I haven't been formally introduced to you yet. Good ROOTing! This week we are definitely riding up to zuma beach. Bring Pepito for his requisite beating 'cause there will be no foreplay or heavy petting allowed on PCH. That's one road you ROOT or nothing at all!
i am already laughing at the pain i will feel thursday morning... sounds good will i be able to keep on a single speed...i think im running 50 something and 16 in the back
you should be fine. Our fastest fixie RUNs 49/15 and I think the other two regular fixed finishers are 48/16 or 17. Just find a wheel at the front of the pack and try not to lose it. Getting dropped can really take the wind out of your sails on this ride.
man we better have a lot ppl. i got big balls to go around all night.. free balls... the same balls that were on issacs chin, and elmos.. get em while their still hot. hot balls..ryan.. where we riding.
LOL people keep asking where we're riding today but it's posted a little further up the thread. We're riding to Zuma beach. It's a much shorter ride than usual which should get people home at a reasonable hour and leave time for the night owls to knock back a few beers well before last call.
Shango or Jakuta - warrior god of thunder, fire, sky father, represents male power and sexuality
The energy given from this Deity of Thunder is also a major symbol of African resistance against an enslaving European culture. He rules the color red and white; his sacred number is 6; his symbol is the oshe (double-headed axe), which represents swift and balanced justice. He is owner of the Bata (3 double-headed drums) and of music in general, as well as the Art of Dance and Entertainment.
I need an axe and we need to work on these 3 big ass drums ... any ideas?
OH SNAP! Okay, the drums are seriously sacred dude. Bata ceremonies are extremely intense works of rhythmic storytelling. The drums are in three sizes and are played sitting sideways on the laps of three "bataleros" sitting side by side. The art of playing Bata is actually more language than music. The maestro of the ceremony plays the largest drum (usually clad with an array of bells hanging from the head) and sits between the other two bataleros. He literally directs the other two drummers' rhythmic patterns while he plays through a complicated system of subtle rhythmic variations in his own playing which demand certain responses. This system is supposedly derived from the earliest form of human language which was practiced through beating various objects to convey a message. I did not get far in my brief study of Bata, only learning the basics of itotole (smallest drum) but I do remember how to say the rhythmic equivalent of "stfu" on a drum and it's surprising how unmistakable the message is when it's heard. It's no wonder that Bata ceremonies are notorious for inducing wild trance states, causing people to speak in tongues and wild out in the most irrational of ways. Westerners often refer to the effective trance induced by a successful Bata ceremony as a form of being possessed and the drums have many times been outlawed by colonists for fear that their power that seems at first glance to be the diametric opposite of an exorcism at first glance. Careful Jakuta if we start incorporating Bata into our ride, we could be messing with some seriously heavy shit!
okay i am tossing the 52 and 16 single speed for the root i dont want to kill myself...instead i will bring the fixie which is 44? and 16...but i broke my chain..anybody have a chain breaker that can help me before we root???
44/16 is a couple gear inches smaller than the 48/17 i run and my legs spin FAST. hopefully by tomorrow if i can get a new chain ill be running 53/17. the zuma ride will be smooth, flat and fast. Its a good opportunity to take out those bigger gears.
yeah this isn't a very hilly ROOT this week. There will be inclines but no real hills to speak of.
@ pretti*ugli
I'd advise the higher gear ratio as we'll be moving pretty quick without a lot of hills and you'll probably save yourself some pain by keeping your cadence a bit lower. If we were doing the Palos Verdes ride again, I'd tell you to drop down as many gear inches as you could but this one is just the opposite.
@ candy cane
Too bad you haven't made it out to a ROOT RUN yet. Your bike sports our Chango colors!
@Sarah...always great to see you. Hope you had fun with you little taste of wolfpack last night. Come ROOTing soon.
Nancine,ask any question and I'll help you with your fixie...I break mine often enough I've learned how to fix about everything.
@the other fixie riders...I'm putting the go fast gear on for tomorrow. I'll be at 49 14, it's going to be flat and I want Stolba's wheel to pull my lazy ass. Should be a pretty good ROOT tomorrow. See you all out there
This is the most brutal ROOT RUN I've attended yet. Long rolling hills the whole way. The wind, though. The FUCKING WIND. Strongest wind i have ever felt. Dry hot desert wind coming off the hills blowing against us in both directions. Your throat so dry you wouldn't feel water going down. The one ROOT RUNNER with many spoke cards had to remove them or he would of been knocked down with a gust of wind.
By the time i reached home i noticed dry salt all over my top tube and cyclometer from sweat. When i looked in the mirror, white streaks down my face. The inside of my knee bleeding from being rubbed against the cloth on my top tube when sprinting up all the hills. Even after this i still could not keep up with the might
Jakuta and Eshu.
Nice and calm up in the HD for now.
Although I could feel those gusts going towards the Pass and, then through it.
They're not doing much to help the fires in Cucamonga either.
If anything, I always check the Weather Channel before venturing out yonder.
'Cause when it blows up here, it tears the roof off that ass!!!
congratulations ROOT RUNners. That was possibly the most bROOTal confrontation with nature that we have ever experienced on a RUN. I blame Jakuta for ROOTing the road right in front of his mistress, Oya causing her to blow all the more furiously in his face. Luckily, I was there to ensure that the roads stayed on the rubber side.
@ Jakuta
few will ever be able to understand what we experienced tonight. Undercover Bob and thestolba made perfect vessels. I will forever remember the roadside radar detectors as they gave us readings of 28 cresting hills and 50 on the descent. Truly and epic excursion into the world of man.
@ larsenf
I'm glad you appreciated the ROOT and proud of your for refusing to back down from the scorn of Oya's jealous fury.
@ nancine
I'm sorry about your car. That really is the suck.
@ Evan (what the hell is your login anyway?)
Good on ya for keeping so close to us in the end. I look forward to seeing what your legs come up with next week.
@ EN and Justin (dont' know your login either)
Kudos for your most impressive performance yet.
@ Fixional and Cranktankerous
If you can survive next week, you will earn your spoke cards.
@ Candy Cane
Sorry you didn't make it. It was terrifyingly fun
@ All Shutterbugs
please email photos to ryan [at] undercoverbob [dot] com. That address is working properly again.
I half expected the wind along the coast. ...that is, I expected half the ride to be headwind and the other half to be tailwind. WRONG. Crosswind both ways. I've never pushed so much wind. I had to downshift going down hill when it got real gusty. And I did not expect the horrible air quality. Even those of us who don't somke were hacking at every stop.
Zuma itself, however, was incredible. Laying on the grass, looking up into countless stars I forgot were there, watcing the shooting stars, feeling the warm breeze... Knowing that I'm probably a little bit stronger now. Thank you ROOT RUN.
@wiz_vanmeter, yea, that was a great description about how beautiful zuma was. the friggin' playground stop was pretty awesome too. loved trying to bounce SFrida off the teetertot with Jakuta. So much fun.
@ROOT RUN, i'm so biking places that i would have never gone before! a car pulled over and stopped me on the PCH coming home, i thought it was be totally sketchy, but all the dude wanted to know was how could he get in on our ride =)
and someone drove past me at one point and offered me water...the kindest thing after hanging in the wind for so long!
I think we telegraphed our punches to much last week...
The ROOT knew we were coming that way and teamed up with some other forces to try to detour us.
Endless rollers with such gusts... pumping so hard with the thighs the pain drowned out reality almost... on the way home I don't think i went downhill once... it was just climb after climb!
@jakuta, dude, before we left zuma you were making it sound like it was going to be so easy to get home! i had to pedal so hard on some of the descents bc if i wasn't maintain a good clip against the wind, i would have gotten swept off the road!
@ nancine
I too was nearly blown off of my bicycle. I blame Jakuta. He should know better than to go ROOTing roads right in front of Oya with nowhere to RUN from her.
@ nancine
Be at Bike Town Beta and you shall have your chance at glory.
@ all ROOT RUNners
We are warriors in our bicycle tribe and we have a village to defend. We will push ourselves and each other as hard as ever, showing our speed and strength, protecting our village from outside threats in a display of courage and fitness as we maintain a perpetually hustling pace line around the perimeter of Bike Town Beta's territory throughout the event. We will set up a "Pit Stop" booth at a good vantage point on the perimeter with water and chairs where spectators can show support by offering young warriors encouragement, a helpful wrench, a massage, or just a place to sit and rest for a minute. Hopefully other schools of battle such as Cubcamp, GoGA, VCR and Wolfpack will join us.
Wow guys, it looks like I missed one hell of a ride on Wednesday. I agree with Candy Cane. Wind just blows me right off my bike so I'm glad I didn't have to confront it in person.
I'm stoked for the Bike Town Beta perpetual pace line tomorrow! I hope to see all the ROOT RUNners sporting colors and warpaint!
Not sure how late I can really stay out, but since it's the ROOT before Halloween, I'd like to bring a pumpkin cheesecake to celebrate my fav holiday =)
Does cheesecake and ROOTing sound like a barf-fest or will it be okay?
well guys, it's sad but true...
Looks like I'll be missing this week for real.
My front rim is kinked badly and the kick is pretty scary on the flats let alone in the turns. I'm pretty sure it's going to crack if I keep riding it and I can't afford a new one as I still haven't found a new job and I JUST finished replacing my rear rim after riding it out of round for almost two months.
I might be able to make some spoke cards if somebody wants to buy the paper and lamination sheets (prob like $15 total). I could meet you guys at the end on my touring bike (which I'd have no chance of safely keeping up on) and have them ready for those who finished the last two rides. I know the futurist is due for one and fixional will be as well if he finishes this week.
If the ride were to finish around 12-ish I could make it. The urge to root must meet the logistical possibility.
If the Gods can smile upon me for this and make on gaurantee... I'll be stoked... maybe even a potential stop relatively near the start would make my day should people want to continue being big.
i wrote... i never write... this was done today with no preparation ... on a whim... i truly let my mind flow because i was about to explode ... something had to come out
if you ever see me ride i hope you understand this
Take the lane
Pavement a cold blur, the night black, my only defense a flashing light
An idea of where to go, though the journey unknown
Constant thought, I might die, just go ahead, take the lane
Legs screaming to stop, lung heaving, need more air
A car somewhere behind, can it be trusted
The feeling of struggle creeps up, I am alone with this
My heart can’t keep pace, wind screaming discouragements
I put my head down, I’ll leave my heart behind
My legs now blaring sirens, Shut the fuck up
Can’t quiet my mind, thoughts circling as fast as my spokes
My body’s agony, the conversation I was looking for
A language undecipherable, but one I seem to find solace in
The slope picks ups, don’t slow in defeat
A new struggle to drown my woes, feeling the car inch closer
I can’t let this happen, reality is not welcome
This writhing pain, these chaotic thoughts are what I want
Headlights are close now, the thought returns, a fear I embrace
Dreaming of deaths cloak, I imagine it warm on a cold night
Why do my pedals fight me so?
The car sure to pass, there is no hope
I am broken now, out of my control, I failed
My legs no longer scream, my lungs relax
Wind no longer curses me, my heart catches up
Mind now quiet, the world rushes in
The woes I tried to drown survive, failed again
The car passes, the heart that just returned now sinks
My devil calls me names, unimpressed with my strength
Another motor heard behind, a chance to redeem
Without hesitation my legs begin to scream again
My heart doomed to lose pace once more, oh well
I’ll leave it behind again, off I go
Drowning my mind, suppressing myself, don’t be pathetic this time
A warrior struggling with demons
The thought returns again, Maybe I’ll die
Here comes that car, just go ahead,
Take the lane
Details...here they are. Caught a curb going a bit too fast, got thrown over the bars and landed on my shoulder. Level three shoulder separation, it should be fine in a couple weeks. The big problem is my frame. It finally gave in to all the punishment that i've handed out to it. So, I need a new big frame before I can ride anything hard. I'll be lucky to commute on my bike the way it is now. Oh well, i'm glad you guys had a good ROOT last night. I'll be out there soon
lots of good word of mouth on this ride, I look very much forward to returning more frequently--great looking last root/route - reminds me of first ride!
@siku, glad to hear that there was a lady representing at ROOT this week. us girls all need to make sure that the curse of the ladyless ride doesn't strike ROOT again!
@sean, (!!!) that sounds so painful! let me know if you need anything, i'll bring you some dessert treats. brownies part deux! to-won-three-nine-4-for-7-for-six-O
@ROOT RUN, missed you guys so much last night. *sniffsniff*
@ cranktankerous
Thank you so much for the offer! Sadly, there will be no ROOTing for me tonight. I hope you guys have a great ride. I had better spend my night diligently searching for work as my court date today went less than stellar and I have to come up with a huge bail amount by next week in order to stay free before my trial.
The courts have misled you. If you can't come up with the cash, just go back to the courts with what you can afford, and you can request a fee waiver. Then you can pick a trial date and go defend yourself before the judge. If shit doesnt go your way, you can then request an extension on payment. If the judge doesn't think you're an asshole, and you've made at least one payment on your bail, he should grant you at least one extention.
If you can't pay that, your remaining balance will be referred to a collection service, which will charge an additional fee. Off the top of my head, it's about $200-250. If you don't respond to their requests for payment, they will suspend your license, and you will have to go to the court to pay a $10 abstract fee, and $55 for a license reissuance. If you make payments, they will very frequently erroneously suspend your license, so I wouldn't recommend you get on a payment plan. On the bright side, if you pay the entire balance online on your first payment, they will knock off $150.
In either case, I doubt that a West LA or Culver City judge is going to hold it against you considering the circumstances of your employment. Not to mention your undeniable dude-bro-edness.
we haz ROOTed Montebello and her soft, supple streets.
Highlights of the ride:
-Chasing then being chased by the Red bull truck.
-Riding on streets closed to cars around the Staples Center right after a game.
-Long, smooth downhill along Whittier Blvd.
-Montebello park and the fire within.
-Perfect hills along Washington Blvd.
-Gabby's Berfday at Sarabonds place.
Final Three:
-Jakuta
-professor fate
-wiz_vanmeter
@undercover_bob: I'll be sending you the latest batch of pictures for bike a roo enhancement. Good luck with the court situation. Looking forward to your return to the RUN.
Good looking out Cranktankerous...I've got a few leads, One in particular that I really hope comes through. I'll know by monday or tuesday. Thanks for the link...I already saw it on CL though...hehehe.
@The ROOTERS....i'll be out there soon. Keep ROOTING til I get back
This weeks ROOT brought to you by the letter J and the color RED!
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2387127
First Stop - Sand Dune Park
Second - Del Amo Mall
Third - Najs Bar at Redondo Harbor (200+ Beers on tap i believe)
Fourth - Airport and Manchester (7-11)
Fifth - FIN
um very rarely take bike path... at the end its more likely due to the fact we hang out at the rings just south of the santa monica pier after rides...
streets always !
I will be printing instructions ... um 5 .. thats it...
@nancine: Yes! ROOT with us! And see if you can convince mellowyellow to ride too. If you wanted to really destroy your legs, do ROOT RUN then Air Raid SIRENS the next day...and at the same time do a little Cub Camp too. With all these fast rides, the westside is going to have the fastest ridazz in the city.
@professor fate: When you login, on the left there is a link called "edit my rides". I've never created a ride, but I assume that link would let you change ride info.
Looking at the root, I see there are a few long smooth stretces of pavement.
alright! I'm stoked for this ride even though I can't go this week. I should be out there, ROOTing with you guys soon enough. I may meet you at the end again like I did a couple weeks ago.
Speaking of meeting at the end! The first AIR RAID SIRENS ride is this Thursday and I expect all able-bodied ROOT RUNners to be present at the end to show our support for the ladies with a loud greeting and maybe even some cold refreshments for the hot, sweaty girls.
Let's show them how much we love fast women!
Nancine, I hope to see you rolling into the finish with the rest of the SIRENS on a double-swolen set of ROOTed and AIR RAIDed legs.
@wiz mellowyellow can't make it this week, she's going to be playing WoW =( it would be nice if ROOT had a bigger lady contingent...hopefully soon SIRENS will be joining us!
@UB ya, if i'm not working, i'll be out with the SIRENS!
alright... we're getting our own thread. enuf of the hot, sweaty bullshit - look for hints buried in our thread - if you can figure out the "area" we will be ending in - that is only half the battle.
the other half - is to be careful us SIRENS don't lead you boys to you deaths........ be careful who you follow, for we know where we will lead.
ROOT RUNners can sense a pack of hot, sweaty girls up to 5 miles away using the animal magnetism of Jakuta and the sly guidance of Eshu. - FACT
After a ROOT the ROOT RUNners are infused with the powers of Jakuta and Eshu and have more energy than when they started. - FACT Although this energy is used for another kind of riding.
Once you have been ROOTed your are now safe. - FALSE The root runners appetite is insatiable, you are never safe from the best ROOT of your life.
-50 miles
-the front RUNners averaged 26 mph
-started with ten, six finished
-lots of long, smooth streets got ROOTed
-was not as cold as I thought it would be
-ran into e-rock going the wrong way again
-the mall security guy with the bike helmet rode a super top secret vehicle that I couldn't even take a picture of
-Naja's had like every beer ever, we drank some Racer 5
-4 flat tires total, didn't kill the ride or slow us down much, the last one was actually hilarious
-ROOOOOOOOOOOOT!
I ran over a dead cat on the way home -- you'd think squashed cat vs. skinny tires, that the dead cat would win, but i managed not to toppled over into the roadkill. ew!
ye RIDAZZ beware
crushing death of great
to the streetpassing thief
ye RIDAZZ beware
drinking beer of great
with the SIRENS is a feat
ye RIDAZZ beware
we entice you to come out
though you will not know our route
nor where we shall RAID
listen and hear for our SIRENS' call
ye RIDAZZ beware
our voices are heard
by that which is large and at times blue
where the foam of the deep
spills over onto the sand
where once he was a boy
his name is that of a man
ye RIDAZZ beware
traveling west on Venice
is a good clue
for which is the giant water named
this is all us SIRENS will give to you
Everyone knows that nobody loves fast women like ROOT RUN does so let's do whatever it takes to give these ladies an enthusiastic show of support!
In other words; let's all scream and flash our bras! Wait... no... not that kind of enthusiastic show of support.
Besides, we wouldn't know where to stand beside the road with our shirt-fronts at the ready because they won't post the location of their finish.
We're just going to have to find them ROOT RUN style!
I have a plan that will ensure we find the SIRENS or at least get within earshot long enough to follow their sweet sound to our inevitable doom.
If you ROOTed last night and don't feel too thrashed to push hard today, don't worry. You won't have trouble keeping up and I'm sure we won't have to pack on too many miles. You may want to sit this one out if you've never ROOTed before and you aren't a freak like Alex Thompson, Jaz, or jonnyboy (all of whom have proven that they can keep up during informal bouts of spontaneous ROOTing).
Meet @ our usual start location at about 10:30. Roll by 11
P.S. According to ancient mythology, the best way to avoid catastrophic suffering at the hands of a SIREN is to buy her a drink so you might want to bring some cash. Not sure if we'll end up at a bar or with a messenger bag full of cans but be prepared for either just in case.
@ pretti*ugli
OG's are expected to turn out for this but you are welcome, if you can hang. I believe in you. However, completing this ride will not apply toward earning a spoke card.
lol@ riding for spoke cards... I understand ur concern but i really ride just to ride, even though the plastic in spokes makes me feel really good... Thanks i will see u all there and hopefully get a taste of how much i can push myself.
@ pretti*ugli
lol! We all ride for the same reasons.
We've just had to set some limits on distributing our spoke cards because it takes a lot of time and effort to hand craft each one individually using adhesives, archival papers, spray paint, and somewhat painstaking cutting tactics.
Therefore it was decided that you'd have to successfully complete 3 official, 50+ mi ROOTs before you'd get your ROOT RUN spoke card.
This was found on the last card of the first batch of spoke cards for the bike co-op of the local university in the city I'm in now (Calgary, Alberta, Canada).
It is ROOT by-law that when names come into conflict there must be a ROOT OFF HELD in which the victor gets to keep the name and also gets to choose the new name of the other group.
We rolled out around 9:15 and ended the ride at 12:30. Much of the time spent at the stops was just trying to figure out where to go. I liked the spontaneous energy, but it makes you realize just how much Jakuta puts into planning and leading these rides. Enjoy the rest and heal up!
Through some sort of logic it was determined that airports are surrounded by long rectangles of streets, and so it was decided to make this the three airport ride. We more or less circled LAX, Jack Northrop Airport in Hawthorne, and Santa Monica Airport while dodging the smokey north and eastern air.
Lots of new ROOT RUNners were out this week. I'm sorry I don't remember all the names, but Tom deserves a mention for lasting 'til the end. And another ROOT RUNner rode with us most of the way despite having work at 4am the next morning!
There are pictures. I will send these to Undercover Bob. They may be posted within the next month or two.
Dear ROOT RUN,
I know I haven't been as faithful as i should. Attending less than half your rides is just unacceptable. I am just so defeated when I try keep up with Jakuta and Eshnu on my track bike. No matter how much I dream Los Angeles will never be a giant velodrome, I know! Times are changing though. See I'm borrowing this road bike with something they call a "carbon fiber" frame set and "9-speed ultegra groupo." So even though I will be missing you this week I hopefully can pull you next week.
When I read "I know I haven't been as faithful as i should." I cheered thinking ROOT ROOT ROOT... but as I read on I noticed the picture and clicked on it...
ROOT ROOT ROOT ... couldnt read the rest was too busy
Sounds like Jakuta will ride, and he might bring thunderstorms with him.
I am feeling kinda sick right now. There is a chance that if I'm feeling better, I will ride. There is also a chance that my sister will visit me Wednesday night, not sure. I may miss my first ROOT RUN ever! :( I hope I won't have to, but don't wait for me if I'm not there.
damn, I love the way this site inserts arbitrary line breaks and escapes all my quotes. Congrats to whoever designed this thing: it takes real ingenuity to make HTML a challenge
im asking because im interested in one of these rides and im wondering if i will have any trouble maintaining the draft pace with a 52/40 front ratio mated to an 18t freewheel. would you suggest i swap the 52 for a 50 for this ride just to make the pace easier to maintain?
and your ratio is crazy! 42/12 is pretty aggressive. thats about equivalent to 46/16 correct? also, do you do any velodrome racing?
@gian - you should come out and try the ride, and see for yourself. when there is enough people, it'll spread into a faster and slower pack. and if you want to finish, there seems to always be people with beers at the end of the ROOT!
for the record, i misspoke about the langster. it's a 42/16 so it's like 70 gear inches, but i'm usually around 88 or so gear inches on the bianchi. 52 front and somewhere in the middle of my cassette. hope this helps!
so around 52 - 16 on the banchi. thats wicked. i wanna race you!
i will come out soon. only 2 or 3 weeks left of the semester so after finals would be best. i take it that you do not track race?
thanks for all the info. you were very helpful.
I don't mind doing a short local ROOT tonight, but 53 miles to Redondo and back in freezing wet conditions is probably not happening for me.
I propose that the christmas special be moved to tomorrow night or next week. According to weather.com, it's not supposed to rain on Thursday. It'll just be very cold. Plus we could hijack the Sirens. Thursdays are usually a late working day for me, but I could sneak out early for ROOT RUN. What do you think of this Jakuta? What does everybody else think?? Discuss.
okay well if its postponed im still goign biking tonight. If anyone has a biking itch, i plan to start going up mandeville canyon at like 9, so you can meet me at mandeville canyon and sunset around 9 if you like.
Air Raid SIRENS is CANCELLED tonight. we are sorry, we love you. there are a few girls with some health problems and many have already fled LA for the holiday. We ride as a team, together and without them, we cannot.
Eventually we will ROOT with you - i know it's worth the wait - we're playing hard to get, but you love us anyway!
Have a great Holiday and New Year! And please be safe!
WE LOVE YOU (not drunk and not holding a megaphone)
good time, agh it hurts so good. Nancy I hope your tumble wasnt too bad, you looked pretty shaken up, but im sure with some r&r youll bounce right back!
@robin -- thanks! i'm home and all showered up now. somehow i have road rash on my hip and it looks like i just had a badass spanking. haha, i got spanked by ROOT RUN ;)
and as for being a kid, well i'm pretty sure that i'm the oldest person on the ride!
haha -- i was trying to think of things that could "date" me, and i realized that i used to smoke in restaurants when you could still do that in california. glad i can still get carded at times though...
Undercover Bob is a free man. On Wednesday morning two Sirens and two ROOT RUNners made an appearance at the los angeles superior court. Frightened by their obviously blinding speed and giant, pulsating thighs, the officers responsible for UBob's unjust citation hid their faces while the judge declared "case dismissed" and wish UBob a "Merry Christmas."
You gaiz enjoy. I'll probably be doing a solo ride out in the IE that day. I did this ROOT the last time I was out there Though, 19 miles is a little short, maybe I can expand the loop to roll down through Beaumont then circle back through Moreno Valley to Riverside to Loma Linda...
If you ride xmas eve, make sure somebody brings a camera!
fucking big winds and big waves... quad cramped while i was hauling and i was borrowing someones boat (im heavier then him so its rigged quite unstable for me)
QUAD CRAMPS I FLIP STEERING CABLE OWNS SIDE OF ANKLE ;(
SHARKS RUN!
ROOT ROOT ROOT
ps.. no root for me tomorrow .. im down to hang out somewhere tho.. anyone got a place we could cruise maybe...
I'm sitting this week out, trying not to jostle my brainz anymore than they have to be =) but if you ride, i'm down to bring hot cocoa + jack to the finish. no cookies this week though....
special shoutout to Joe (not the plumber--the acual dude and touring cyclist) who gets a spoke card bigtime.
he had his first Root ride, but by no means a first-time rider
He moved out to LA from New Mex on his surly longhaul trucker... more or less kept pace climbing mandeville and sunset through hilgard on that frame/tire setup and then came to Hal's for a little to celebrate.
Over spaghetti and coconut juice he mentioned 'gee I was going to bike home but where's the nearest rail stop? I might take that part way'
'Oh where you going?' I ask
'Long Beach... I actually came up on bike but feel a bit tired...'
80+ mile night for him--a significant portion of that as climbing.
2009. Hope to see you soon!
Only man fit to wear the sun on a jersey and own it far as I'm concerned.
Great ride last night guys. I think it was everyone's first Mandeville ride except for Brett so none of us knew what was coming before we hit that final stretch with the evil incline. The double dose of long descents, first on Mandeville and then on Hilgard made for a particularly fun ride. The only descent I've done that could out-do that combo would be the 50+ mph Hawthorn descent in Palos Verdes that scared theshues off for good ;-D
Joe was pretty badass on that LHT and that new mexico jersey was fuckin sweet. I hope we see him again soon whether we're ROOTing or just happen to RUN into him at another ride. Nobody got his contact info huh?
Well Joe, if you're out there, WE SALUTE YOU!
@ larsenf
I know you weren't planning on running into us but it was awesome that you turned around to ride with us for what little distance you could before heading the rest of the way to Hal's party.
@ Wylie
I'm sorry your bike didn't get fixed in time to join us last night. I was looking forward to riding with you again. Oh well. I'm officially out of retirement now so it can't be much longer before we're pacelining our way into the hearts and minds of stoplights all over the city once again.
i had a dream... a nightmare to some... but done before and a goodie -- is anyone feelng a january 11th - a 1/11 - ride from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles -- ride? Medium-good pace with extra girth?
meet maybe at UCLA trarnsit hub to amtrack, train up north, then finish back there? Get a cheap buffet after?
I want to do something grande before going back to school/suckfest
did some digging for a santa barbara - LA root (train from LAX to SBA) hypothetically for this Sunday morning
-$21 a person (not including tax etc.)
-easiest to leave from union station if we go as a group
-gotta take the 'pacific surfliner' train
-2 bike racks per train car - first come first serve (6 bike racks total)
-bring bungee cords/tie for your bike to the rack
tonight was awesome. We got a ton of pictures, but some of them i dont think we should post hahahaha
how many people can say they biked around the hollywood reservoir?
And the monstrous climb out of the reservoir, the monstrous climb up sepulveda, the climb up to universal city walk, and finally the climb up cahuenga. soooooo epic
Okay, this ride was some serious business. We did some pretty gnarly climbing guys. Spulveda, Mulholland, Citywalk, Hollywood Dam, Cahuenga.... SHIT. My legs thank and curse you all.
BIG props to everyone who scurried up all six of those 8-foot tall fences with our bikes as we made our way around the VERY closed resevoir. That was like a cross between cyclocross and american gladiators. There was even a little rock climbing involved to get over one of them!
Sorry I turned off toward the end but I was out of fuel and needed to get some grub after cooling off during those long flat-tire stops by the hollywood sign.
@robin swabbin
It was good to ride with you again!
I think igot something lovely and fresh for us next week. Get your climbing legs ready, practice on manlyville if you think youre going to have troubles
OOOH, I LIKES. I think I'll join up with you guys tomorrow. I have a lecture at 7, but I can be home (read: where ROOT RUN turns onto Venutra) by 8:15.
Are you sure about taking that alternate route down to the Valley floor? Bombing down that side of Sepulveda is SOFUN!
Sure! There's a 24-hour Ralph's right there, so it could even be a mini-stop.
Will you guys actually be there by 8:15? I know it takes me 45-60 min just for the Wilshire-> Ventura portion of Sepulveda.
And I have never seen this mountain gate. I'll have to check that out.
where is the valley river bike path exit? And I encourage you to all go from the start! Especially since i plan to do a bonus 30 miles at the end just to finish the century...
If you wanna join up with us, either be at that ralphs he was talking about where well take a short break, or be ready to roll right when we go by.
haha alright i will meet you guys when you come down. i'm not going to say where. im just going to sneak up on you and eat you ALIVE
i need my protein bitches. can someone call me or text me when you guys leave from SaMo? i will leave my house and head towards sepulveda. and try to bring some bicykillas with me for the entire valley leg
its ok, i just dont want to be soaking up top. well i will be already, but oh well...
yeah all you guys just watch your speed on the descent. sepulveda is banked for the most part, but there are cracks that get filled in with the rain. stay to the lane on the left even if it means getting in the way of the cars, you need to be visible anyways and they should slow their speed as well.
we did okay, not many people showed up, but we did some sweet stuff.
Mountain Gate off of sepulveda; Most insane climb in the city, it was awesome. I suggest everyone check it out. It doesnt connect to mulholland 'per say'. We took a fire road across the mountain and got a really good view of the city, it was actually pretty neat, next root run i plan im going to take people up there again.
We met up with junu and sarah at the ralphs, unfortunately we dropped sarah pretty early on, but it was cool that you gave it a shot! (get some gears!) We went to the velodrome, rode around for about 10 miles, had a cool little race. Left the velodrome went across the valley (couldnt remember exactly how we got to lankershim) bade junu farewell, went to the elliott smith wall and went back via santa monica. Ill upload some sweet pics tomorrow! Good work everyone, it was a great ride, and we were only 5 miles short of the 70 in the end!
The Velodrome! That's where you guys disappeared to... I didn't make it onto the bike path because a car cut me off, and then all of a sudden you guys turned and I couldn't stop to hop onto the path for awhile. By the time I got back, I couldn't even see your blinkies in the distance, so I did a dark lap and headed over to WNDSRS.
Root Run should come to the Valley more often. I want to be able to try and keep up. Maybe I'll finish up my road bike someday?
and after not having ridden hard in a month and a half, he tore me up a good quarter lap in the end. lost his slipstream for about 2 seconds, and he was gone.had me beat by 100m tops out of 2k.
It's starting at the old time, meet at 8:30, roll out at 9. At 39.24 miles, this is a slightly shorter than usual ROOT so we shouldn't be out too late, though you can always break off early after the hill on LaBrea. Fixed riders, don't let the 5% grade scare you off, we're only climbing a couple hundred feet and it's only really steep for less than a mile. Plus the decent is totally worth it! ...well lit, gentle curves, and no intersections untill after she levels out at the bottom.
Going to come out tonight for the first time to do this ride. Not sure how fast the pace is going to be so going to bring my road bike to make sure I can stay with the pack.
i'm not a strong rider but i'm thinking bout coming out tonight for the first time. route looks okay but i wonder how fast the pace is. riding 46x16 so i guess i'll see how long i can hang til.
great ride tonight, was great to meet everyone. root run ain't no joke, even though tonight was more like a root "walk" for you guys hah. hopefully i'll make it out again but you guys are making me think real hard about getting some gears.
Ride for tomorrow night is posted, should be really nice, I hope we can get a good crowd.
The route this time is pretty short (40 miles) and relatively easy. One big hill (mountain gate) and one small hill (cahuenga)
Please please come if youve been thinking about doing root run and you were afraid. The route is really straight forward and it'd be great to get alot more people.
now that i work on the westside, i might be able to do this and break off in the valley. but i will have to ride home first to drop off my stuff. hmm decisions decisions...
Even and I hit Aviation and PCH at a late yellow and with both got out of the saddle to accelerate, knowing we were really running a red. Both of my legs just cramped with the acceleration. I was 2 miles west of my house, so I stretched, downed the rest of my water, and called it.
Hey guys. I THINK i am in the right thread. Were you the guys in red at the All CIty Race? I just heard from someone that it was you guys that I kinda jumped in with. I was that random fixed gear rider on the Felt. just wanted to say sorry for jumbling up the paceline you guys were holding. Felt kinda bad about jumping in like that.. but my team got split up hard with no where to be found so I just jumped in the closest pack which ended up being you guys. Was some chaotic fun i must say. My name is "bry n" on LAfixed.com if any of you guys are on there as well. I don't visit this site too often.
If I'm in the totally wrong thread, just ignore this post, hah.
after reviewing the video. it looks like the results stand. Root Run Black did officially get second place. congrats! I will post the you tube video sometime this week.
all good bry'n--at first we thought it was a team tactic and were like 'ahhhh'--there is like a legit roadie thing where a person might hypothetically tame a pace or something (not sayin u did or whanot--you had good speed in that nasty headwind)--so initially we were like hmm--its all good and part of potential tactics!
but it was a good time--i hope the team is OK... i think there was a crash that happened
i'm very glad i didnt see any ambulances today--look forward to training with everyone in the next months
Rich! Thank YOU for joining last minute. You were a beast with those pulls, and extremely helpful in giving me a wheel to hold after my own. Glad to hear you plan on making it Wed. Just note that it's at 8pm. We've been kind of inconsistent about the whole start time thing. We're working on it.
@ richbell
THANK YOU for showing up and taking on the challenge on sunday.
@ tfunk408
what does that mean? does that mean that you are going to catch up to us and bring some friends so that there are suddenly 30 of us? That would be sweet!
@ rooters
sorry I was the last to cross the line. I just didn't have enough in me to push those headwinds by myself for that long after I got boned at that intersection and I was so burnt out by the time I found a peloton that i couldn't keep a wheel.
@Undercover Bob: U are the secret! haha nah i was just saying how there were times i came out to root run and it was just the faithful trio and how you had more people representing at WP all city than at the weekly rides. but now that everyone knows yall roll notoriously, the next time i see you guys y'all will probably roll dirty dozen with thirty cousins.
tfunk408 responding to a comment by Undercover Bob
06.29.09 - 7:58 pm
come to our ride tonight!!! you wont get dropped, were fast cruising to griffith park, doing a 7 mile circuit then climbing to the observatory then fast cruising back
-->
Ridazz Roulette!
Peace will be had with the streets another week as we have pleased the gods by dropping some sacrificial riders.
Bump for pics.
if I can't make it, I'll be there in spirit.
ROOT RUN!
no she typed 7 not 2 !!!!!
RUN!
Here they come!
Blair witch!?
OH SHIT! THEY FOUND US!!!
@ tern
@ blockhead mark
ROOOOOOOOT!
@ Frozen Fingersss
The ROOT RUNNERS need no warnings of DARK roads or VICIOUS hills for there is nothing DARKER or MORE VICIOUS than the ROOT RUNNERS themselves.
mmmmm hills....
mmmmmMMMMmmmmm
Wikipedia says...
Here's the ROOT from this week
does it matter?
While C.R.A.N.K. MOB wasn't happening last night, jonnyboy pace lined with a handful of ROOT RUNners and he liked it. Hell, he even took a turn pulling! I think we'll be seeing him on Wednesday nights pretty soon.
ROOT! ROOT! ROOT! C.R.A.N.K. ROOT!
OH SNAP! Okay, the drums are seriously sacred dude. Bata ceremonies are extremely intense works of rhythmic storytelling. The drums are in three sizes and are played sitting sideways on the laps of three "bataleros" sitting side by side. The art of playing Bata is actually more language than music. The maestro of the ceremony plays the largest drum (usually clad with an array of bells hanging from the head) and sits between the other two bataleros. He literally directs the other two drummers' rhythmic patterns while he plays through a complicated system of subtle rhythmic variations in his own playing which demand certain responses. This system is supposedly derived from the earliest form of human language which was practiced through beating various objects to convey a message. I did not get far in my brief study of Bata, only learning the basics of itotole (smallest drum) but I do remember how to say the rhythmic equivalent of "stfu" on a drum and it's surprising how unmistakable the message is when it's heard. It's no wonder that Bata ceremonies are notorious for inducing wild trance states, causing people to speak in tongues and wild out in the most irrational of ways. Westerners often refer to the effective trance induced by a successful Bata ceremony as a form of being possessed and the drums have many times been outlawed by colonists for fear that their power that seems at first glance to be the diametric opposite of an exorcism at first glance. Careful Jakuta if we start incorporating Bata into our ride, we could be messing with some seriously heavy shit!
...
@ Ryan
This was found on the last card of the first batch of spoke cards for the bike co-op of the local university in the city I'm in now (Calgary, Alberta, Canada).
Dear ROOT RUN,
Does REI carry snap-on velomobile shells?
ugh i got wrecked paddling today....
"Root Run should come to the Valley more often."
..