His legend grows

I was doing my best this morning to hold onto Tuck’s wheel as we rode the rise on Bridgeway past Mollie Stones.  When I finally gave up, I sensed an unfamiliar bike on my wheel and I grimaced as he passed me.  I gave him the typical, “Good Morning” as I grumbled under my breath about getting dropped.  But the guy smiled at me and said, “Hey, Wheel Destroyer?”  “Yup”, I said, not knowing exactly who I was talking to.  “Its me, Bingo.  Nice to finally meet you, Matthew”.

We chatted for a while until, of course, the Golden Gate Market where I dismissed myself, “This is where you and I part”, and Bingo made his merry way up the hill without me.  

I have not yet figured out exactly how he figured out who I am, given my pseudonym on Strava and my name not being posted on the back of my jersey this morning.  But who cares …  Good times.

Legend

The Bingo Cometh

This morning’s Strava log was blessed with an early morning attack by Marin’s strongest cyclists attempting to break the KOM northbound up Camino Alto.  The standing record of 4:09 has been official since July 8^th of 2012.  Today at 5.15am, a crew of nine guys provided the lead out Marin’s newest super star, Mr. Bingo McKenzie.  The powerhouse peloton shaved 14 seconds off the KOM to an impressive 3 minutes 55 seconds.  But the ride itself was only half of the entertainment.

The first comment on Strava congratulating Bingo was from the former KOM himself, Peter Cracknell.  Bingo thanked Peter for his humbleness and also gave props to the lead-out which got him to the apex.  Some smack talk ensued with a challenge to Chris Phipps, another of the Bay Area’s most riders and owner of hundreds of well traveled KOMs, about targeting Chris’ White’s Hill record.  A dozen or so other cycling studs chimed in to congratulate Bingo or throw in a jab or two.

Then, Mr. Pancakes threw down the gauntlet.  He dared to introduce the age-old postulate that a KOM on Strava is not actually a KOM unless it is done in a solo effort.  This comment set off the masses in a debate of Bingo’s effort and, furthermore, the validity of any KOM on Strava given the various conditions present at the time of the ride.

As one commenter suggested, at a minimum, Bingo set the KOM for the number of comments received on a single ride.  Do enjoy the comment string yourselves, http://app.strava.com/activities/60093099#.

Most importantly, this KOM and subsequent commentary proves that Strava is here to stay.  If nothing else, Strava is the conduit for the community to come together, creating another layer of enjoyment for its users.

MoMiles Challenge - May

Another month and another victory for this FatGuy

Cycling Running

ACTIVITY
Avg Rides / Week	8	8
Avg Distance / Week	126mi	196mi
Avg Time / Week	8 hr  33 m	13 hr  3 m

YEAR-TO-DATE
Distance	3,148.6mi	3,436.1mi
Time	213 hr  10 m	235 hr  9 m
Elev Gain	137,267ft	157,369ft

I can't really figure Mo out.  He talks a good game, and he backs it up with some crazy stuff.  But then he falls off the wagon and forgets about his bike for a week or two at a time.  In April, we had the Battle Royale that made this bet so much fun.  Mo put down 912 miles in April, more than any month I have ever done.  But then he followed it up with a whimpering - I got a new bike but it doesn't fit right and my knee hurts - 566 mile May.  I am guessing he has 1,000 miles in his target for June.