After my failed attempt at Rapha’s Festive 500 featured photo contest…

I decided to throw my hat in on Prolly’s Raido Contest.

Below, after riding for nearly 12 hours and 7km from our destination.

We were forced to throw in the towel on the first leg of our honeymoon touring Europe.

My theme was shots from Europe, back in 2008 & in 2011. (minus one with my bud Federico) They “best represent the highs and lows of riding” for me mostly in the sense of either simple suffering on the bike or the taxing duress of extended touring with your newly wedded bride. “Wherever your marriage is heading, riding a tandem will get you there faster”. Or so they say…

Take a peek at all entrants on instagram including me here.

Below, after perhaps one of my most painful ascents this summer, Col de Galibier crushed me.

I literally collapsed at the top. Awesome.

My last day of the Rapha Festive 500 started early, the earliest actually.  I rolled out at 4:30!

I headed down Gulf Blvd to meet up with my new Largo riding bud Craig of Outspokin Bikes.

We had an easy spin down the key and back with one of his coworkers on a Di2 Ultegra equipped Giant.

My last Florida sunrise of 2011 was great.  We had 40+ miles behind us by 7:30.

We headed back towards Largo to meet up with a Ride’n'Roll group. I snuck an espresso in.

This ride was usually was supposed to add up to around 60 miles.

I was stoked to be maybe wrap up the contest with a century.

Below I ran into a fellow Rapha-wearer, Lane, who’s daughter gave him his jersey.

She is studying abroad in Holland.  His PRO team bibs are the favorite bibs he owns.

Here’s a shot of the group.  We were barely up to tempo and buddy in the back is feelin the burn!

The fog was starting to burn off. I caught a glimpse of it here.  Reminds me of one of Stefan’s ; )

Another ‘instragram’ of the group after a sprint.

I also spied this Ti Serotta.  His third, after two steel Serottas he upgraded to titanium.

Those bullet holes aren’t real but I wouldn’t put it past these horrendous Florida motorists.

Another new friend I made this trip, John Holmes, snapped these two shots of me and Adam.

The funny thing here, besides Adam making me look skinnier than I am…

Is that his son is actually allergic to pistachios.

Needless to say, his wife did not wholly approve of his kit but paired with hi-viz Oakleys, it looks good!

I peeled off from the group early to get home and ride with my family to the beach.

That put me 10 shy of a century and at 53rd place.

We’ll see if I have the time and motivation to rank higher next year.

Kristian & Stefan set the bar pretty high!

Photos from all 8 days are here and strava details here.

I enjoyed logging all of these miles and would like to thank my family for wrangling Otto in the AMs,

Rapha for the clever idea to get 3k+ people out and riding and John Prolly for the props!

Day 6 was originally going to be maybe 20 mile or so.

Riding began with me meeting my family at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.

I didn’t want to deal with changing so the touring shorts & merino boxers made perfect sense.

Little did I know the day would end with another 100k tacked on.

After lunch at Frenchy’s in Clearwater, I decided to head south on the Key.

Maybe swing towards St. Pete and visit Michael & Carol at 66fixed.

It was a slow cruise.  As it often does, the route included drawbridges.

I never mind watching the boats move along.

I stopped at this kitschy aquatic scene.

I’d never get anywhere if I stopped at every random Florida style signage that caught my eye!

At around sunset I rolled into 66Fixed.  Minute later the instagram comments I had gotten made sense.

66 is closing!  Michael & Carol have decided to move on from the a bike shop biz.

But, they’ll be staying in the industry!  Look out for more updates on what they do next.

I’ve been visiting this shop every trip to Florida since 2007 and will be bummed to see it go!

I am excited to see them move on to the next chapter and wish them both all the best!

If you’re in the market for ANYTHING.

Call or email the shop now for deals on components, frames etc.

Hell, he might let these Cinelli angel bars go!

My route back up to Largo was chilly & dark on the Pinellas Trail.

I met up with my family at the park to check out the lights and saw Florida’s only snowmobile.

Or is that a Sea-doo?

Check out more photos here and day 5′s write up here. Tomorrow is the last day of the challenge!

Otto, my nephew Mason & I made a 2 mile sojourn to a local playground.

Pacelining on sidewalks one half of the way and then met up with their Moms at the park.

Luckily, I brought some GSC water vessels along!

I was super impressed with Otto! He was sporting crocs, jamming along at a jogging pace!

We took up the whole rack!  Here is a shot from earlier this week of the whole crew.

We made it to the park! And this was Otto’s longest trip solo by bike: 1.9 miles!

Mason & I biked back as dusk creepin in.  He and I had spent some time working on his bike today.

It had a bent chainring, filthy chain, flat tire, stuck brake cable etc.

Now totally dialed, he was stoked!

Though he didn’t beat his PR for max speed, we had a blast on the ride home and I got 4 miles in!

After not meeting my goal of a 4 day Festive 500 completion, I was determined to surpassed 500k today.

Still sore, John’s suggested rendezvous of 7:30 allowed me some extra Z’s.

We rolled out towards the beach and I thought about how seeing the sunrise each day has been great.

I wanted to be back home by 10.  So we picked up the pace.  That means less pictures.  ; )

Our route was mostly pretty quiet.  Neighborhood roads, out towards Safety Harbor.

Chilly for Florida, we both had arm warmers. Again, our pace compensated for the 50 degree temp.

And, I was glad i brought my vest Philipp had got me at the Freiburg Collective.

In an otherwise uneventful nearly half century.  Somewhere along the way I met my 500k goal.

What better way to celebrate than with a natty fab?

After all, “A goal is nothing without at least a moment of panache” -Bill Strickland

When I wrapped up my ride I was ranked 35th.  Now its like 66th…

And where the hell did Kristian House come from!?! He’s closing in on 1000k!

I think I’ll sleep in tomorrow but do plan on taking advantage of the remaining three days to ride.

Here’s a breakdown of my rides totally to 536km. Read all posts here & photos here.

Another early morning.  Leave it to an apparel company to inspire you to wake up so early, so often.

Leave it to a kit to remind you of serenely scrumptious soups and organic treats, Biosk!

Damn i miss Freiburg. For updates from that neck of the woods be sure to follow europeantouches.cc

Meanwhile, in Florida, my Festive 500 quest continues and was scheduled to be completed today…

I set out earlier than necessary to rendezvous with a group ride i had caught wind of yesterday.

I want to spin my first 10 miles real slow and allowed myself nearly an hour to warm up.

I ran into two guys, below, heading to the 8:30 AM start in St. Pete.

Charlie in Garmin kit and John (another John) in Nalini, were happy to show me the way to the start.

In fact, I recognized Charlie from the Ride’n'Roll group yesterday.

Nice to already have familiar faces around here.

I met up with two other guys and headed out on a loop new to me.

Settling in a paceline, we sped up.

I was second wheel, expect a turn to pull on a long straight, no lights nor stop signed road.

Suddenly the guy in front of me yelled.

Slammed his brakes and swerved, I had been looking further down the road…

Immediately halfwheeled, his swerve took me out.

I saw the car fender.

Felt John pass over/beside me over the hood. That sound, the bike crash sound.  I hate it.

That moment.  The millisecond you know you are crashing and contemplate how bad it will be.

Immediately I stood up.  Cursing, I photographed the motorist’s license plate and dialed 911.

The car had not stopped at a stop sign and had begun a left turn, into our paceline.

Fucking pissed is an understatement.

My wounds were/are minimal.  The Biosk kit will see many more rides and my Kazane is ok.

Some stuff needs to be replaced but John’s Cervelo is toast.

Cracked around the headtube behind the fork, it had less than 500 miles on it.

We were all lucky.  Accidents always suck.  Bicycle accidents really suck.

Bicycle acidents because of motorist negligence suck more than that.

Well, our fellow Florida road user and vest sporting cyclist striker below received a citation.

His failure to yield should provide compensation for our damages.  But Florida is ‘no fault’?

Tomorrow I’ll call his insurance and find out. The important part is everyone was ok.

Still pissed of course.

We abandoned our planned route.  Some unscathed guys continued. Charlie, John & I got some coffee.

That helped. The fact the cop on the scene was a cyclist probably helped as well.

The common experiences, bonds and nearly immediate friendships that cyclists share, that helped too.

Riding home in the rain? That did not help and my wounds stung.

Soaked and realizing I would not wrap up my 500k, I made my way back to Largo.

In a final allegory of feeling vulnerable on the road. Not to mention slow.  ; )

I helped this little guy get across the street. It was pouring at that point.

I was relieved to get off my bike in one piece.

All things considered i feel sore but extremely lucky. I’ll be back out there tomorrow and after that…

Stories like this really make me remember how fortunate we were today.

Ride info below and on strava.  Yesterday’s post is here.

Not the most miles but most smiles by far.

I rolled out around 7 to Ride’n'Roll on West Bay next to the Pinellas Trail.

I love scoping bikes at races, rides and other events.  Like some sort of weather forecast…

You can surmise certain initial impressions about riders and what the day holds.

My verdict? Today would be fast.

The group was big. Mostly comprised of experienced roadies, I felt comfortable in the peloton.

We slowly ambled our way northward towards the route John & I had done the day before.

Speaking of John, he stuck out conspicuously in his hi-viz pHit pills kit.

Speaking of kits,  the Ride’n'Roll kits below sure stuck out as well.  Their team/club was out in force!

By the time our route reached its northern summit, we were in full on TT mode.

Maybe the hardest I’ll ape it all winter.

Below is the chase group as I fell back in after attempting to reel the ‘leaders’ in.

Luckily, the effort ended with a rest stop and i continued to get acquainted with local racers & riders.

While, at the rest stop and once back on the road.  I kept scoping out sweet rides.

Peek these Wiliers!

We had a steady spin back into Largo and I made sure to take my turns a the front.

I swung by the store to grab my favorite recovery drink, chocolate milk!

I can’t deny my brand choice wasn’t influenced by Steven of Boulder Velodrome‘s kit!  ; )

He hung on this hammer session fixed, which you know i can appreciate!

My last similar experience was at NAHBS but a brakeless century tops my list of not to be repeated feats.

well, after the ride slowly fragmented and the last few of us rolled back to the shop, I headed home.

I am grateful that my efforts for this contest have largely not been solo. Florida traffic is horrendous.

Most roads around here are three lanes.

Even with a bike lane the paranoia of a 97 year old careening a Cadaillac into my back plagues me.

But when even when on my own, i have a new riding partner.

Peek my new tattoo above by Shakes of Ink & Dagger Tattoo in Atlanta.

Family themed leg sleeve coming soon!

Below are my stats for the day.  I made it to spot 23 in the rankings.

Let’s see if I can end in the top 20!

Yesterday’s post is here and all photos here.

After I put my son Otto down for an afternoon nap, I kitted out and rolled out for maybe a 2 hour spin.

I knew I’d head north.  No route nor distance in mind and hoped, as it was xmas, that traffic’d be slim.

I learned yesterday that it’d get hot.  I suppose weather sites coulda told me too.

No shoecovers, knee/arm warmers nor vests require ’round here. It’d been ages since i rode bare shoes!

Well, after sneakily scoping out some indigenous inhabitants,  I ran into  lone cyclist.

He was spinning a pretty good pace northbound, right as I considered a U-turn to head home.

Francaise Des Jeux Cycling, in Florida? I followed him of course.  No drafting until an introduction.

John was a super cool dude.

He showed me some quiet roads and pretty much towed me back down to Largo.

He has raced for 35 years, formerly built frames, lived by Mt. Ventoux for 2yrs and is fast.

His Wilier was killer.  Gotta get a better photo at the 7:30 Ride’n'Roll group ride tomorrow AM.

Thanks once again for letting me sit on your wheel and the friendly and briskly paced ride John!

My second day the Rapha Festive 500 brings the tally to nearly 161 miles.

310 miles (500k) is the goal! Though, I am considering the funny finale of 666km too…

Yesterday’s write up: Rapha Festive 500 2011 | Day 1 | 98.3 Miles

Like most of my longer rides over the past year, i need to roll out early.

I posted looking for local riding buddies but too little too late. I expected a solo spin around St. Pete.

I prepared all of my supplies for the next day.  Maybe 50-60 miles planned.

I slowly decided to change my plans as the pace picked up.  I ran into a few fellow cyclists.

They were heading towards St. Pete’s Sat. AM group ride at 8:30.

Apparently they had some steam to blow off and were already ape’n it.

One woman recognized me from 2009′s FM24.

Elizabeth Morse Hill had the fastest women’s lap that year.

This photo caught the CAT6 comments on instagram that it deserved.

As soon as that bridge dropped… Sprint!

I rolled with various pelotons downtown, down to Ft. Desoto and back north before I headed home.

Not before this guy road me off his wheel.

I snapped a few photos of some of the ride that caught my eye.  The Moots is a always a looker.

Plus I’m a sucker for integrated stem and bars!

My only hill.  The Bellaire Causeway back to Largo.

The route & stats.

Follow me on Strava!

My ride ended with a short jaunt with my nephew adding 2.4 miles and an outdoor shower!

Not bad for a first day.  I am still on the fence about tomorrow and its 2am now…

Keep up with all the competitors here and Rapha’s highlights here.