2012 Peckerhead Invitational

In case you were wondering, the 12th Annual Peckerhead Invitational Bike Ride and Weenie Roast is scheduled for Saturday, June 16th.  More info to come...

Thanks! And a Few Observations....

Another Peckerhead is in the books.  Over 90 riders and well over a hundred attendees.  We want to thank everyone who attended, all of our volunteers and supporters, as well as all the sponsors who dug what we are all about. We're pretty well signing off until next year, but will probably keep posting ride notices and other random crap on our Facebook page, so keep up with us there.  If we have your address and e-mail, you might just get some stuff from us every once in a while.  So, in closing, below are a few observations heard, overheard, thought of, or found scrawled on my bathroom wall...

1. Ted and Karl made us all look like pussies.   
"Hey lycra boy,  you ride 36 miles on a 55 year old three speed commuter bike or Karl's a 3 wheeler contraption with a fishing creel strapped to the front of it, then talk to me about your fancy clipless magoomium whatsit you just paid two hundred bucks to have FedExed to your office." 

No, that light is not an LED...

2. Beer out of these bottles tastes better.

Only 24 made this year.  Got one?

 

3. Is it just me, or does Original Peckerhead S. Conery represent a fantastic sales opportunity for the good people at Twin Six?

Paging Mario Cipollini...

4. To the guy who rode in SPD sandals, I can't decide if you're a total badass or just nuts.

Notice the stylish footwear.

 

5. If you're here from Italy, we do not require a helmet. Your natural sense of style and connection to the motherland will protect you from all harm.

Helmets are for people who cannot outrun automobiles.

6. We have very cool neighbors.

7.  If you're Ralph, it's okay to come late because you'll have more miles than anybody anyway.  122 miles and 6550 feet of climbing to be exact.

What was that about 9:00 am?

8. From G. Wardell.  "Two words.  Superb... Horrible".  

Good to know we're on target.

9. It's not doping, it's preparation.

The founder started early.

10. When there are no race numbers, everyone's a campionissimo and that is very, very cool.

Layacona on Teeter Road.

-

How We Will Feel Tomorrow

Early Bird Special

First 50 registrants get a free gift bag courtesy of Y-Not, Road ID, and Clif Bar.  While we're on that, here's tomorrow's schedule.

    7:00 am - Open for business

    8:40 am  - Rider meeting for announcements and information. My driveway. Be there.

We do a staggered start where we self-select into slow and fast groups (your decide what you are).


    9:00 am sharp - Slow group departs

    9:15 am sharp - Fast group departs
We do a staggered start where we self-select into slow and fast groups (your decide what you are).
The idea being that we come together on the road for some conversation and chit chat before Bellville. Remember, we're riding - not racing. There's plenty of suffering to be had in the second half.

Most Valuable Peckerheads

There are a few people that, without their help, the Peckerhead would be less than what it is. When you ride next to them or see them on Saturday, please take a minute to thank them for all they've done to make a great day for us.

My lovely and long-suffering wife, Amy. She's our biggest supporter and I'm her biggest fan. Quite simply, if she hadn't allowed me to make babies with her there would be no reason for me to have a Father's Day ride. She's the Queen Pecker if there ever was one.

My kids Ellie and Maggie. Need I say more? Okay, I will.  Make sure you cobgratukate them both on their great report cards.

My parents Jess and Roxie. Jess will be preparing and serving your hot dogs Saturday. Did you also know that he builds really cool cigar-box guitars? There may also be a grudge match wheelchair race between him and fellow retiree P. Leiter. Roxie is my mom. She has put up with me for 41 years and taught me to try to be nice.
Original Peckerhead and cycling jedi-master, Mark LaYacona. Mark has personally and professionally done whatever we've asked over the years to make the P-Head successful. From marking the course, to planning the route, to sponsoring massive Sam's Club trips -- Mark is a big part of this event and we thank him for his efforts.

Next door neighbor and bike commuter Ted Stiffler. While you are sampling a Peckerhead lager, thank Ted.  He also owns a sweet 1950's period Humber, which is riding tomorrow.

You. By showing up and joining in our little party, you're contributing to a better Peckerhead.

See you tomorrow!

Parking - The Church Say We Righteous

Talked to the nice lady at the First Congregational Church today.  She says we're good to use their parking lot on Saturday... for parking.  Not for campfires or demolition derbies.  Just parking.

What Can I Bring?

Fortunately, we are always answering this question.  We're lucky to have such a generous group of riders.  Here are the answers:

1.) You do not have to bring anything but your bike and a smile (shorts would be good, too.)

2.) If you want to contribute to the Peckerhead this year or in advance of next year, here's what we recommend:

SOMETHING TO SHARE
-Salads / appetizers are very popular.  Cool or room temp is best. 
-Beer or other recovery drinks are always appreciated.

DONATE TO COVER COSTS
If you can't cook or you just like to throw you money areound, there's always the donation jar. Donations are optional.  We use them to help cover costs and put the remainder away for next year's edition.

-If none of these work, you can always do this.  I generally take a 58 cm.


If you have questions, call or e-mail me.

Jay

White Ain't Right

IMPORTANT!  Someone had the gall to adopt the distinctive Peckerhead directional arrow as their own and has placed some of these on our route.  The imposter arrows are white.  The arrows we are following are YELLOW.   So remember, WHITE AIN'T RIGHT.  Word.

The Lord Desireth Fine and Bountiful Sunshine Upon thy Pecker

It has been decided that from this moment on we will only speak of good weather. There will be no fretting about thunderstorms, no attachment of fenders, no internal debates about if you should ride the beater bike, no rationalizations about how you could just come for the cookout, no rummaging around for rain jackets, and so on.  We will still ride in the rain, of course, but we are not to think about it.

We will think only positive thoughts about global warming, ozone holes, UV warnings, skin cancer, heat exposure, and 3rd degree sunburn.
Hereby signed and decreed.
Mother Superior.

Beehive Books - Sweet Like Honey

Those of us who read books without pictures extend our thanks to our remedial reading sponsor, Beehive Books of Delaware, Ohio. Beehive has contributed some cool stuff for the three or four of us who enjoy those sorts of things, and we're really happy about that.

On top of that, you might not know that Beehive Books sponsors a bike racing team, has a cool bike hanging from their ceiling, has a really complete cycling section, AND serves great coffee!

So next time you're going to Columbus, get all old school and take route 42 to Delaware. Follow your nose to Sandusky street and stop in for a bit. Thanks Mel for all your support.

We're Lucky Little Peckerheads

Right about now I'm beat.  Putting this whole thing together can be exhausting, to tell you the truth.  But I've always looked at the Peckerhead Invitational as a way to give back to cycling and do something is fun, challenging, and a little subversive. As the ride has grown from eight guys to probably over a hundred this year, it has gradually transformed itself from my ride into your ride. I couldn't be happier. None of the fun stuff we do happens without you guys, who make all the preparation work worthwhile. The vibe this ride gives off is so positive and so fun that it just lifts people; reminding me year after year of why I fell in love with cycling. We feel tremendously lucky to have dozens of our closest friends and people we've never met show up and hang out with us on Father's Day weekend.  Getting back to why we ride our bikes was always my goal from day one and I would say that eleven years in, we're still finding new ways to have fun and just enjoy a day on the bike.

Thanks everybody, and especially you  Super Peckers who go over and above to help us make this thing happen.

And especially, thanks to Amy, Ellie, and Maggie for making family, friends, and fatherhood worth celebrating every year.  Jay

Some of the Water Bottles are Pink. Oh Yes They Are.

This one's pretty easy. What do you say about your local bike shop? Thank you Denny and Eric Petersen for once again supporting the Peckerhead Invitational. Every year we go back to them and every year they just come through and deliver the goods for our crew. So, leave your flask at home.  Y-Not has kicked in enough pink water bottles to hold all of your water and on-the-bike vodka tonics.

Oh yeah... and thank you guys for teaching me how to build bikes fifteen or more years ago. I still use tools I bought at Y-Not way back when.

What is This "Bonk" of Which You Speak?

Dear Jay,

Clif Bar & Co. is happy to provide 196 Clif Shot Gels and 216 Clif Shot Bloks in support of The 11th Annual Peckerhead Invitational on June 18th. Your shipment is set to arrive on June 10th and is meant to be enjoyed by your event participants, volunteers and fulltime staff.

I just spent the last half hour looking for our "fulltime staff"...  who the hell are they?  But besides that, the goods arrived today and all my "ran out of food" excuses just went out the window.  Thank you Clif Bar!

Leiter Begins Journey to PeckerHeadQuarters

Original Peckerhead, P. Leiter has begun his journey from southern Ohio to rendezvous with his homies on Saturday June 18th. The photograph at left -- submitted by P-Head J. Stites from his organic pot farm and meth lab in Colorado -- suggests that Leiter is adapting well to the southern Ohio, er, lifestyle.

As our readers may know, Leiter once rode a vintage Marx Toys Green Machine across the country. Aside from his cross-country vehicle, Leiter has also piloted mountain bikes, recumbents, and a Merlin road bike. And those are just the bikes he's ridden. I shudder to recall the Tequila soaked days just off the AU campus.

Uhmmm, That Won't Work...

For whatever reason, there have been a number of road closures this year that may or may not affect our routing.  A bridge on North Liberty is out and impassable.  We also have a bridge situation on St. James / Kings Corners  that may still work.  The Full Pecker and John Holmes routes have had to be altered to deal with the North Liberty bridge.  Maps are updated.  We'll keep you posted on other stuff that may get you hopelessly lost and possibly killed by feral pigs.

Pedal On, Peckerhead

We Debut Our New Broom Wagon

Veteran Peckerheads have come to accept over the years that the Invitational is a self-supported ride. Support vehicles are for TOSRV, we have always reasoned. Our rugged individualists would be insulted at the thought of riding home in a minivan. In fact, some of our best stories have come from those who cracked and had to find their way home. Who doesn't remember when Neil Llewellyn was going so slow he fell over on Dill Road. Or when I dry-heaved my way home over the 20 miles in '06. Or when AARP Peckerhead Jack Bargaheiser plowed himself under 50 yards from the finish? Good times, baby, good times.

For Peckerhead management to sign off on a follow car, such a vehicle would have to present a set of distinct advantages that our riders could appreciate. We think we may have found such a mode of transport. See above.

Dangerous. Impractical. Environmentally hostile. A parachute! 

Route Planning, or How to Get People Home Happy

Probably the most difficult thing about planning the Peckerhead Invitational is route selection.  The management considers many, many factors -- none of which exist in a vacuum.  Difficulty, beauty, humor, irony, rest, history, tradition... all are critical things we consider.  A route must be planned with the rider and the end in mind.  For the past several years, our desired end has been to have riders return happy, challenged, personally victorious, hungry, and ready to hang out for a while.  We stopped trying to kill people years ago.  Now, if you do stupid things and end up shattering yourself, well, your folly contributes to other intrinsic Peckerhead characteristics like suffering, ridicule, and humility, which of course are also extremely valuable.  But those are on you, friend.

Now back to the matter at hand.

"How do I want the rider to feel at this moment?", the management asks itself when we choose a road. Should you be challenged right here?  Should you be resting and recovering?  Where is the next water stop?  What type of rider will be on this road?  It all depends upon who you are, what came before and what road is yet to come.  Context. 

Choosing roads that are scenic and quiet is very important part of the overall context of a Peckerhead.  We want people to see the beauty of our area and have a chance to talk to one another early in the day.  We're hoping to show people roads they normally would never see, or funny stuff that we've found while out riding.  Later in the ride, while riders might be suffering, we try to mitigate that pain with beauty and well-placed resting spots.  When we do a good jobs, stuff connects up just right. 

Here are some quick shots of roads from the first half of the Peckerhead.  We think they're kinda pretty.  Hope you do too.

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