In a word, that pretty much sums it up. I have neglected my bikes, my blogging and watching what I eat. If I neglected my job as much as I have neglected the things listed above, I would be without a job. If neglected a pet in this way, I am sure I would be visited by the SPCA, and if I neglected my relationships on the same level as the other things I have neglected, I would be a very lonely person.
So, now that I am aware of the neglect, and have confessed it here on the blog, I am working on a plan to pay sufficient attention to my riding, blogging and eating. I did ride on Sunday with Mike. We did a lap around river, which amounted to 30 miles. This is the first time we had ridden together in a while. As we started out I asked him if he wanted to hear the list of excuses I was using to stay off the bike, or if he wanted to hear the truth. He knew what the truth was. I have been lazy. Sure, I could blame it on work because I am very busy at work getting ready to do a datacenter virtualization project. I could blame the cold weather, because it has been unseasonable cold over the past couple weeks, but that is why I have Under Armour cold gear. On Sunday, when Mike and I rode, it was in the 30's and VERY windy, yet I was sweating when I got home, and did not feel cold during the ride. So, bottom line... I have been neglectful.
Moving on, the ride on Sunday was a struggle. I started from the house, which means that I get to climb UP Deep Creek Ave to start the ride. My legs and lungs were hurting and I had only ridden four tenths of a mile. As I was riding to meet Mike, the headwind was strong enough that I had to pedal down hill to maintain speed. That is VERY frustrating. I was telling myself that I did not want to ride around the river, I would propose to Mike that we just do an abbreviated ride due to the wind. Well, before I could mention my plan to Mike, he had already planned which direction we should go around the river to optimize the wind direction with the hills that we would face. OK, so I just shut my mouth and went along for the ride. This is the reason that it is always better to ride WITH someone. I had already talked myself out of riding around the river, but I did not want to be the "lightweight" who couldn't handle the wind. I am glad that I rode around the river.
Looking ahead, I have scheduled my 12th 200k for Friday December 10th. I will be riding in Windsor, VA which I hope will prove to be just a degree or two warmer than here in Maryland. There will be a ride report following that ride, and I am sure I will do an entry to re-cap my twelve 200k's. So, stay tuned.
Below is my Garmin info from Sunday's ride. You will notice that the heart rate looks a little funky. I think that my heart rate monitor needs a new battery OR I need a new heart. As we were climbing the hill on Veteran's Highway I looked down and saw that my heart rate reading in my Garmin read 0.0. When we crested the hill (and I could breath again) I told Mike that either my heart rate monitor was malfunctioning, or my heart stopped on the hill. SInce I was still pedalling, I assume it was just the battery on my monitor.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Flatbread 200k
On November 6th, I set out with fellow SPP member Chip Adams to ride the "check out" ride for the Flatbread 200k brevet that would take place on November 13th.
Just for clarification, a "brevet" is a scheduled ride, and is only available to be ridden on the date and time scheduled, where as a "permanent" route, is a ride that a rider can make arrangements with the route owner to ride at any time. A "check out" ride follows the route of the brevet to ensure accuracy of the cue sheet, the conditions of the roads and to work around any unforeseen obstacles. The "check out" ride is typically done a week in advance to allow the organizer to make any changes that need to made before the actual brevet.
At 7:20, Chip and I rolled out under partly cloudy skies and cool temperatures and a bit of wind. I was nervous about this ride, as I am about most of them, because I would be riding with Chip knowing that would be the pacesetter, and it would be considerably slower than what Chip normally would be at. The Flatbread 200k is a popular ride with SPP but I had never ridden the course, so my eyes on the cue sheet would help to find any discrepancies or vague instructions that may get the riders off course.
The first control, was an information control at a wooden bridge at the 8 mile mark. As we made the right turn on to the road that the bridge was on, we saw the big sign "Bridge Closed". This is why there is a "check out" ride. The bridge was just a 1/10 of a mile down the road, so we rode down to check it out. On the near side of the bridge, there were 2 jersey barriers, but there was enough of a gap between them for cyclists to get their bike through. The top of the wooden bridge was fully intact and the timbers were in good shape, so the bridge was safe to cross. The real obstacle was on the other side of the bridge. On that side there were 2 jersey barriers that were right up next to each other, allowing for no chance of a bike going between them. Chip and I contemplated the situation for a while (Chip knows the area very well, so he did a lot of contemplating... I enjoyed the scenery) and then lifted our bikes over the barriers, and continued on the route. I know this weighed on Chip's mind for a while, knowing that to avoid the bridge would require an extensive course redesign.
We pressed on to a coffee shop in Milford called Dolce. This coffee shop served as a control during last years Flatbread, but was not an "official" control this year. I found out that Chip like a good coffee shop, and I have to say that this was a VERY good one. We ordered our coffee and goodies, and sat in the coffee shop to enjoy them. After a nice break, we continued on the route.
The next stop was a convenience store in Slaughter Beach. I found out that part of the "check out" ride was to let the control points know that there would be about 40 - 50 cyclist coming into their establishment asking the clerks to sign their control cards and probably wanting to use the rest room, purchase water, Gatorade and so on. After we did that, we crossed the street to check out the view of the beach. Apparently, Slaughter Beach is where the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware Bay meet. It was pretty, but a little windy and cool.
The next control was in Milton, at Bodies Market. The previous control had no public restrooms, so fortunately, Milton was just 11 miles up the road. As we arrived at the Market, Chip went in to get his control card signed and I stayed with the bikes. This was the first place that I did not feel real comfortable leaving the bikes unattended. I later went in, got my control card signed and asked to use the rest room. The rest room was in the coin operated laundry next door, and was not much of a rest room. I am a guy, so my standards for rest rooms are not all that high. I knew however, that there would be ladies riding the brevet, so I let Chip know that the rest rooms were not that great. We tossed around the possibility of finding another control. As I wheeled my bike off the sidewalk, I felt that unmistakable feeling of a mushy tire. I had a flat. That sealed the deal, we considered that a bad omen. After changing the flat, we set out to find another control.
We slowly tooled around Milton and found a nice espresso bar. We went in, Chip talked to the person behind the counter, I checked out the facilities and we were both happy with the choice to change the control to the espresso bar.
The next control was a gas station in Bridgeville. Now the weekend prior to the "check out" ride, SPP did an Ocean City ride from Stevensville, MD to Ocean City and back over the course of the weekend. On the return trip on Sunday, we stopped at a place called Jimmy's, which just happened to be in Bridgeville. Now I make it a rule on the 200k's to NOT do many bonus miles, but I happily added 3 bonus miles for lunch at Jimmy's. Having been there just the weekend before, we knew what we wanted so menu's and time to think about what to get was not needed. Our waitress came, took our orders, delivered our food. We ate, paid the check and we were on the road again in just over a half an hour.
The next leg was the finally leg, but was 40 miles to the end. It was also the part of the ride that would present the worst of the wind. We each took turns riding in front to block the wind, but I was behind Chip a lot more than he was behind me.
We finished the ride in just under 11 hours and just before dark. Chip annotated the changes that needed to be made to the cue sheet and we called it a day. I made arrangements to help Chip the following Saturday with getting riders checked in and just anywhere that I could be of help.
On November 13th, I met Chip and Chris (another Chris) and Bill Beck at the brevet starting point at 5:45 a.m. Bill told us there were about 46 riders that had pre-registered online and other would be registering at the start. As it turned out, there were 71 riders at that started the brevet, which is one of the most highly attended brevets in this area.
Just after the riders started, I hoped in the car and headed to the bridge that was out. On the check out ride, Chip and I had decided that one of us would be at the bridge when the riders got there and provide assistance getting the bikes over the barrier. I know that this was especially helpful to those riding a tandem. Trying to lift a tandem over the barrier without any help would not positively add to the riding experience.
Of the 71 riders, 12 were from Severna Park Peloton. Clint and Dan, two very strong riders from SPP joined forces on a tandem along with Randy, Matt and Dave set a course record, finishing in 6 hours 48 minutes. All of the 71 riders who started finished with in the time limit and enjoyed pizza and soda from Good Guys Sports Bar, which was the final control.
It was a beautiful day, and a well planned event and I look forward to doing it again next year.
Here is a link to some photo's
Flatbread Photo's
My garmin info from the "check out" ride
Just for clarification, a "brevet" is a scheduled ride, and is only available to be ridden on the date and time scheduled, where as a "permanent" route, is a ride that a rider can make arrangements with the route owner to ride at any time. A "check out" ride follows the route of the brevet to ensure accuracy of the cue sheet, the conditions of the roads and to work around any unforeseen obstacles. The "check out" ride is typically done a week in advance to allow the organizer to make any changes that need to made before the actual brevet.
At 7:20, Chip and I rolled out under partly cloudy skies and cool temperatures and a bit of wind. I was nervous about this ride, as I am about most of them, because I would be riding with Chip knowing that would be the pacesetter, and it would be considerably slower than what Chip normally would be at. The Flatbread 200k is a popular ride with SPP but I had never ridden the course, so my eyes on the cue sheet would help to find any discrepancies or vague instructions that may get the riders off course.
The first control, was an information control at a wooden bridge at the 8 mile mark. As we made the right turn on to the road that the bridge was on, we saw the big sign "Bridge Closed". This is why there is a "check out" ride. The bridge was just a 1/10 of a mile down the road, so we rode down to check it out. On the near side of the bridge, there were 2 jersey barriers, but there was enough of a gap between them for cyclists to get their bike through. The top of the wooden bridge was fully intact and the timbers were in good shape, so the bridge was safe to cross. The real obstacle was on the other side of the bridge. On that side there were 2 jersey barriers that were right up next to each other, allowing for no chance of a bike going between them. Chip and I contemplated the situation for a while (Chip knows the area very well, so he did a lot of contemplating... I enjoyed the scenery) and then lifted our bikes over the barriers, and continued on the route. I know this weighed on Chip's mind for a while, knowing that to avoid the bridge would require an extensive course redesign.
We pressed on to a coffee shop in Milford called Dolce. This coffee shop served as a control during last years Flatbread, but was not an "official" control this year. I found out that Chip like a good coffee shop, and I have to say that this was a VERY good one. We ordered our coffee and goodies, and sat in the coffee shop to enjoy them. After a nice break, we continued on the route.
The next stop was a convenience store in Slaughter Beach. I found out that part of the "check out" ride was to let the control points know that there would be about 40 - 50 cyclist coming into their establishment asking the clerks to sign their control cards and probably wanting to use the rest room, purchase water, Gatorade and so on. After we did that, we crossed the street to check out the view of the beach. Apparently, Slaughter Beach is where the Atlantic Ocean and the Delaware Bay meet. It was pretty, but a little windy and cool.
The next control was in Milton, at Bodies Market. The previous control had no public restrooms, so fortunately, Milton was just 11 miles up the road. As we arrived at the Market, Chip went in to get his control card signed and I stayed with the bikes. This was the first place that I did not feel real comfortable leaving the bikes unattended. I later went in, got my control card signed and asked to use the rest room. The rest room was in the coin operated laundry next door, and was not much of a rest room. I am a guy, so my standards for rest rooms are not all that high. I knew however, that there would be ladies riding the brevet, so I let Chip know that the rest rooms were not that great. We tossed around the possibility of finding another control. As I wheeled my bike off the sidewalk, I felt that unmistakable feeling of a mushy tire. I had a flat. That sealed the deal, we considered that a bad omen. After changing the flat, we set out to find another control.
We slowly tooled around Milton and found a nice espresso bar. We went in, Chip talked to the person behind the counter, I checked out the facilities and we were both happy with the choice to change the control to the espresso bar.
The next control was a gas station in Bridgeville. Now the weekend prior to the "check out" ride, SPP did an Ocean City ride from Stevensville, MD to Ocean City and back over the course of the weekend. On the return trip on Sunday, we stopped at a place called Jimmy's, which just happened to be in Bridgeville. Now I make it a rule on the 200k's to NOT do many bonus miles, but I happily added 3 bonus miles for lunch at Jimmy's. Having been there just the weekend before, we knew what we wanted so menu's and time to think about what to get was not needed. Our waitress came, took our orders, delivered our food. We ate, paid the check and we were on the road again in just over a half an hour.
The next leg was the finally leg, but was 40 miles to the end. It was also the part of the ride that would present the worst of the wind. We each took turns riding in front to block the wind, but I was behind Chip a lot more than he was behind me.
We finished the ride in just under 11 hours and just before dark. Chip annotated the changes that needed to be made to the cue sheet and we called it a day. I made arrangements to help Chip the following Saturday with getting riders checked in and just anywhere that I could be of help.
On November 13th, I met Chip and Chris (another Chris) and Bill Beck at the brevet starting point at 5:45 a.m. Bill told us there were about 46 riders that had pre-registered online and other would be registering at the start. As it turned out, there were 71 riders at that started the brevet, which is one of the most highly attended brevets in this area.
Just after the riders started, I hoped in the car and headed to the bridge that was out. On the check out ride, Chip and I had decided that one of us would be at the bridge when the riders got there and provide assistance getting the bikes over the barrier. I know that this was especially helpful to those riding a tandem. Trying to lift a tandem over the barrier without any help would not positively add to the riding experience.
Of the 71 riders, 12 were from Severna Park Peloton. Clint and Dan, two very strong riders from SPP joined forces on a tandem along with Randy, Matt and Dave set a course record, finishing in 6 hours 48 minutes. All of the 71 riders who started finished with in the time limit and enjoyed pizza and soda from Good Guys Sports Bar, which was the final control.
It was a beautiful day, and a well planned event and I look forward to doing it again next year.
Here is a link to some photo's
Flatbread Photo's
My garmin info from the "check out" ride
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Sailing Down to Solomons - October's 200k
Ok... I know I am severly delinquent in blogging. The past month has included travel to New York, Chicago, Virginia Beach and a crazy time with our new laptops. Trying to juggle work, travel and family has taken my full attention... and the blogging has suffered. Things have settled down to a dull roar now, so I am hopeful to keep this up to date.
On Sunday morning I rode The Sailing Down to Solomons perm for my October 200k. This was the third time I had ridden this particular route, but my first time riding it solo. I asked Crista (the route owner) for a 6:00 a.m. start time, and as usual she accomodated me by handling all the paperwork via email. (That may not sound like a big deal, but some route owners will NOT provide the "goodies" via email for some reason).
Bike preperations were done on Saturday. Chain cleaned, lubed etc. Clothes were laid out. Nutrition 'stuff' was ready to go. I had also made arrangements to implement the controversial moisture control program on this ride. Let's just say that I was "poised' to keep myself dry, but the sucess of the ride did not fully "depend" on it.
The ride down to Solomons was fairly uneventful. I set a comfortable pace (for me) and was planning on the ride taking me 12 hours. I had advertised in an email to SPP, that if anyone wanted to join me... it would be a leisurely paced ride. At about mile 37 or so, I stopped at a Wawa and grabbed some water to top off my camel back and pick up something to nibble on.
After the Wawa stop, I pedeled to the turnaround control in Solomons. For those of you that have ridden this ride before, the route has changed slightly, and the cue sheet brings you into Solomons right down to the water for an information control. The route owner had mentioned that it added something to the ride, and I have to agree. It is a quaint little place that I am glad I rode through. After collecting the information that I needed for the control card I stopped at Woodburn's Market for a cup of coffee and a piece of coffee cake. I actually sat down outside the market and enjoyed my coffee, watching people go in and out of the store.
Just a few more miles from the market and I would be at the halfway point. I was ahead of my 12 hour schedule even with the 2 stops, so I figured I was doing fine. I rode to a little store that is at the 80 mile point. I grabbed a package of cheese and crackers (they diudn't have any Klondyke Bars) and a coke and sat on the picnic tables in the front of the store. After enjoying my gedunk there, I headed to to the next control. An SPP favorite, Sweet Sue's in North Beach.
At Sweet Sue's I ordered a Chicken Caesar wrap, which was made exactly how I ordered it. I sat at one of the tables outside Sweet Sue's enjoying the beautiful day and watching all the people that were doing the same. I think I spent about 40 minutes at Sweet Sues before heading to the next information control and ultimately to the final control in Crofton.
I have to admit that this ride is not my favorite. There is the traffic on Rte 2/4 that you have to contend with (which is really not THAT big of an issue, because the shoulder is wide enough it's like you have your own lane). Mostly though,it is the last 30 miles or so of this ride that make it not one of my favorites. The route takes you through the back roads of Calvert and Anne Arundel counties.These roads are a seemingly never ending line of little uphills and little downhills. Don't get me wrong, I prefer small uphills to big uphills, but it is very difficult to get into any cadence rhythm over these miles and they just seem to drag on.
I shouldn't complain. Sailing Down to Solomons is a staple for most of us that are working on getting our R-12 awards. Driving 20 minutes to the start as opposed to 2 1/2 hours is a HUGE benefit. That equates to two more hours of sleep.
After the ride, Mike and I met at Gina's Cantina for a root beer to celebrate the completion of 10 - 200k rides. It was nice to have someone there to celebrate with at the end. If everything stays on track, three of us (Dan, Mike and myself) will complete our R-12's in December. Due to scheduling conflicts, it doesn't look like we will all be riding the same route, but I am quite sure we will all share a root beer at some point to celebrate.
Lesson learned...
#1 - Ok, this is the leson learned you are all waiting to hear about. Moisture control. Incontinence pads. They work, and they work REALLY well. I only used 2 and I put them both on my stomach. The sticky back keeps them in place stuck to your base layer. For those of you who know me, know that I sweat a lot. Typically I sweat through my jersey and wind vest by the end of the ride. On this ride, my shoudlers and chest sweated through, but my stomach was dry. On my wind vest, on my jersey and on my base layer. All of the sweat was absorbed by the pads. I definately see the benefit of using them to keep yourself dry and warm in the colder weather. . Say what you want...but they work and I will use them again.
#2 - Ride your ride. I find that these rides are much more enjoyable when I ride within myself. I told Mike that I am not good at these long ride, I am slow. He assured me that those are two differnt things. I can be good at these ride and be slow at them. My hat is off to people who can do these ride in less than 7 or 8 or even less than 9 hours. I am just not one of those people.
#3 - If you want great weather for a week or so, order a winter cycling jacket. I recieved my Shower Pass Elite 2.0 on Saturday, and will probably not get a chance to try it out for another week or so because the tropics have somehow come to Maryland.
Big ride this weekend. Stay tuned... I promise to blog about it.
Here is the Garmin info:
On Sunday morning I rode The Sailing Down to Solomons perm for my October 200k. This was the third time I had ridden this particular route, but my first time riding it solo. I asked Crista (the route owner) for a 6:00 a.m. start time, and as usual she accomodated me by handling all the paperwork via email. (That may not sound like a big deal, but some route owners will NOT provide the "goodies" via email for some reason).
Bike preperations were done on Saturday. Chain cleaned, lubed etc. Clothes were laid out. Nutrition 'stuff' was ready to go. I had also made arrangements to implement the controversial moisture control program on this ride. Let's just say that I was "poised' to keep myself dry, but the sucess of the ride did not fully "depend" on it.
The ride down to Solomons was fairly uneventful. I set a comfortable pace (for me) and was planning on the ride taking me 12 hours. I had advertised in an email to SPP, that if anyone wanted to join me... it would be a leisurely paced ride. At about mile 37 or so, I stopped at a Wawa and grabbed some water to top off my camel back and pick up something to nibble on.
After the Wawa stop, I pedeled to the turnaround control in Solomons. For those of you that have ridden this ride before, the route has changed slightly, and the cue sheet brings you into Solomons right down to the water for an information control. The route owner had mentioned that it added something to the ride, and I have to agree. It is a quaint little place that I am glad I rode through. After collecting the information that I needed for the control card I stopped at Woodburn's Market for a cup of coffee and a piece of coffee cake. I actually sat down outside the market and enjoyed my coffee, watching people go in and out of the store.
Just a few more miles from the market and I would be at the halfway point. I was ahead of my 12 hour schedule even with the 2 stops, so I figured I was doing fine. I rode to a little store that is at the 80 mile point. I grabbed a package of cheese and crackers (they diudn't have any Klondyke Bars) and a coke and sat on the picnic tables in the front of the store. After enjoying my gedunk there, I headed to to the next control. An SPP favorite, Sweet Sue's in North Beach.
At Sweet Sue's I ordered a Chicken Caesar wrap, which was made exactly how I ordered it. I sat at one of the tables outside Sweet Sue's enjoying the beautiful day and watching all the people that were doing the same. I think I spent about 40 minutes at Sweet Sues before heading to the next information control and ultimately to the final control in Crofton.
I have to admit that this ride is not my favorite. There is the traffic on Rte 2/4 that you have to contend with (which is really not THAT big of an issue, because the shoulder is wide enough it's like you have your own lane). Mostly though,it is the last 30 miles or so of this ride that make it not one of my favorites. The route takes you through the back roads of Calvert and Anne Arundel counties.These roads are a seemingly never ending line of little uphills and little downhills. Don't get me wrong, I prefer small uphills to big uphills, but it is very difficult to get into any cadence rhythm over these miles and they just seem to drag on.
I shouldn't complain. Sailing Down to Solomons is a staple for most of us that are working on getting our R-12 awards. Driving 20 minutes to the start as opposed to 2 1/2 hours is a HUGE benefit. That equates to two more hours of sleep.
After the ride, Mike and I met at Gina's Cantina for a root beer to celebrate the completion of 10 - 200k rides. It was nice to have someone there to celebrate with at the end. If everything stays on track, three of us (Dan, Mike and myself) will complete our R-12's in December. Due to scheduling conflicts, it doesn't look like we will all be riding the same route, but I am quite sure we will all share a root beer at some point to celebrate.
Lesson learned...
#1 - Ok, this is the leson learned you are all waiting to hear about. Moisture control. Incontinence pads. They work, and they work REALLY well. I only used 2 and I put them both on my stomach. The sticky back keeps them in place stuck to your base layer. For those of you who know me, know that I sweat a lot. Typically I sweat through my jersey and wind vest by the end of the ride. On this ride, my shoudlers and chest sweated through, but my stomach was dry. On my wind vest, on my jersey and on my base layer. All of the sweat was absorbed by the pads. I definately see the benefit of using them to keep yourself dry and warm in the colder weather. . Say what you want...but they work and I will use them again.
#2 - Ride your ride. I find that these rides are much more enjoyable when I ride within myself. I told Mike that I am not good at these long ride, I am slow. He assured me that those are two differnt things. I can be good at these ride and be slow at them. My hat is off to people who can do these ride in less than 7 or 8 or even less than 9 hours. I am just not one of those people.
#3 - If you want great weather for a week or so, order a winter cycling jacket. I recieved my Shower Pass Elite 2.0 on Saturday, and will probably not get a chance to try it out for another week or so because the tropics have somehow come to Maryland.
Big ride this weekend. Stay tuned... I promise to blog about it.
Here is the Garmin info:
Monday, September 27, 2010
Eastern Shore Reversed...again.
For those of you wondering if I am still alive... I assure you I am. Here is the report from my Spetember 200k.
As some of you may remeber, last month for my 200k I did the Eastern Shore reversed route. Let's just say that the flats were more challenging than I expected. So this month I was determind to exact my revenge.
I planned to leave at 4:00 a.m on Sunday morning for a 7:00 a.m. start in Wallops Island. I was a little nervous that this route may get the best of me again due to poor preperation on my part. I spent the day Saturday in Cambridge taking pictures and cheering on our SPP particpants in the Chesapeake Man triathlon, and arrived home later than I had planned. Which meant that preperations for the 200k would be hurried. A quick look at weather. com showed a high of 71 for the day, 30% chance of showers and 12 - 15 mph winds out of the N/NE. I managed to get the bike in the car, floor pump, lube, clothes, helmet, sport beans, ecaps and gu chomps. I threw in my wind vest, rain jacket and arm warmers in as well and would make the decision on what to wear when I got there.
Sunday morning rolled around and I was out the door at 4:00 a.m. As I traveled down to Wallops Island on Route 50 I am noticing that all the flags are straight out from the wind, and although I do not have real good spacial awareness, I knew from the direction that I was driving in, that I would have that wind directly in my face for the last half of the ride, something that I didn't have to deal with too much last month. I thought to myself that this could be bad.
I arrived at the starting point with enough time to check weather. com again, just to get the finally idea of waht to expect. It showed that the temp would reach a high of 73 and that between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. it would be partly cloudy. After 12, it would be cloudy and the showers were forecast for 3 p.m. and later. With the chance of getting caught in rain, I rolled up my rain jacket and put it in the pocket of my wind vest. As a last minute decision I put my arm warmers on, knowing that if I got overheated I could easily roll them down or peel them off and store them very easily.
I got my right of passage recipt at 7:06 and I dwadled around with last minute preps and rolled out at 7:23. I had a GREAT tailwind as I started, I thought to myself that is most people experience headwinds no matter which direction they ride on the Eastern Shore, then there has to be someone who is experiencing tailwinds if they are riding in the opposite direction of the first guy, right. Well, I hoped to be that guy that was blessed with tailwinds both ways. Now, knowing that I am not THAT lucky, I did have a plan for this ride. I was going to do my best to keep my cadence down in the 75 - 80 range, which would save me 10 - 15 revolutions per minute, over a 10 hour ride would save me 6,000 to 7,500 revolutions. I figured my legs would thank me for that when I was fighting the headwinds to get back to the car.
I made it to the first control, which is an information control, feeling great. The next control is at mile 23 ish and I made it there feeling great also. Nothing much to say about the controls... you go in, buy what you need, ask the clerk to initial your card, they look at you funny, then they survey the card like it was some legally binding document that you were asking them to initial. They finally initial it and you are on your way.
It is about 40 miles from this control to the next control so I made sure that the camel back, and water bottles were filled and away I went. I am feeling great, ecaps every half hour, chomps and sport beans every hour, drinking water to stay hydrated AND I have a tailwaind. I could very easily have deviated from the plan and cranked up the cadence to 90 and gotten to the halfway point a little faster than I did, but I knew that on the way back I would need to dip into the suitcase of pain, and I wanted my legs to be as fresh as possible, so I took it easy to the halfway point.
I reached the halway control in 4 hours and 40 minutes. I got a random bag of pretzels, a coke (thanks again for that discovery Chip) and enjoyed that for 20 minutes and left that control at 12:23, 5 hours from when I started.
As I headed back, looking at my heading on my Garmin, it was NE. I no longer had a tailwind. It was a direct headwind and it wasn't as bad as I thought at first. I did my best to get into a good aero-dynamic position to lessen my profile in the wind. For those of you that know me, I am about as aero-dynamic as a brick, and even though I was in the drops, I felt like I was holding a piece of plywood into the wind. 75 rpm... that was what I kept saying to myself.
The route from the 2nd control to the halway control use about the same route. Seaside Rd. Stay on Seaside Rd forever. (which makes it a little more embarising that last month I missed a turn and did bonus miles.) Well, this time as I was headed out to the halfway control, I made it a point to find a landmark at that turn, so that on the way back, I wouldn't miss it again. A blue rubber pool. Left at the blue rubber pool. That was all I had to remeber.
As I pedaled back towards the next control, the headwind seemed to get stronger... or was I getting more tired? I passed the spot where I needed to take a break last month. Wow, that came up pretty quickly... only a couple more miles to the blue rubber pool. It was amazing to me, how much quicker the landmarks were coming up this time. I guess being hydrated and eating on the bike will do that for ya, huh? Well there it was... the blue rubber pool. I remember how I felt last month when I got to that pool and how much different I felt this time. I rolled into the control and spotted my ice cream freezer again. I bought my Klondike bar and coke and enjoyed them outside the control.
Up to this point there had been no rain, but looking at the sky I knew that it would be raining soon. I finished my ice cream and coke, filled the water bottles and headed to the finish. It was at mile 106 that I felt like the wind had really gotten stronger, or that I was just done and it was just me being more tired. In either case, it was a struggle to push through it. It was a race agianst the rain. Having to push through this wind was bad enough, having to do it with rain whacking you in the face would really suck. I was detrermined to beat the rain.
About a mile from the finish, it started misting, and looking of into the distance I could see the rain was coming. I pulled into the Royal Farns parking lot, which is the finish and got the bike into the car and the sky opened up and it downpoured. I later realized that by bringing my rain jacket I pretty much gaurenteed that it would not rain. Had I left it at the car... it would have rained the whole day. I was glad I missed the rain, and I was glad to be done. Garmin showed ellapsed time as 9:58 minutes, but because I didn't start right at 7:00 a.m. my recorded time will be at the 10.5 hour mark. Who cares, the point is I did not let the course get the best of me this time.... even though it tried to beat me down with the wind, I was prepared and I finished my 200k for September.
A couple of notable things to mention... riding this route solo allowed me to ride my ride. It would have been tempting to rush to the halfway point with the tailwind and had I been with someone who wanted to do that I probably would have followed. I remember riding in Ashland in January... Mike and I passed a guy that seemed to be going very slowly. Mike asked me "Does he know something that we don't"? Aparently he did, because I also remember that he was sitting in Ashland Tea and Coffee shop when we arrived. Fast is not always better, at least not for me.
Arm warmers.... I think that they were the best choice I made all day. It was cool enough to wear them most of morning and when it got warmee I just rolled them down to my wrists. As I headed back, and the weather got worse, there were sections of cooler spots and I could pull them up or roll them down as I needed.
I made a mental note on the last few miles, that I did not come in contact with one driver that was in any way rude or obviously perturbed by my presence on the roads. I was not crowded by any cars and many of the oncoming drivers were nice enough to wave.
As some of you may remeber, last month for my 200k I did the Eastern Shore reversed route. Let's just say that the flats were more challenging than I expected. So this month I was determind to exact my revenge.
I planned to leave at 4:00 a.m on Sunday morning for a 7:00 a.m. start in Wallops Island. I was a little nervous that this route may get the best of me again due to poor preperation on my part. I spent the day Saturday in Cambridge taking pictures and cheering on our SPP particpants in the Chesapeake Man triathlon, and arrived home later than I had planned. Which meant that preperations for the 200k would be hurried. A quick look at weather. com showed a high of 71 for the day, 30% chance of showers and 12 - 15 mph winds out of the N/NE. I managed to get the bike in the car, floor pump, lube, clothes, helmet, sport beans, ecaps and gu chomps. I threw in my wind vest, rain jacket and arm warmers in as well and would make the decision on what to wear when I got there.
Sunday morning rolled around and I was out the door at 4:00 a.m. As I traveled down to Wallops Island on Route 50 I am noticing that all the flags are straight out from the wind, and although I do not have real good spacial awareness, I knew from the direction that I was driving in, that I would have that wind directly in my face for the last half of the ride, something that I didn't have to deal with too much last month. I thought to myself that this could be bad.
I arrived at the starting point with enough time to check weather. com again, just to get the finally idea of waht to expect. It showed that the temp would reach a high of 73 and that between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. it would be partly cloudy. After 12, it would be cloudy and the showers were forecast for 3 p.m. and later. With the chance of getting caught in rain, I rolled up my rain jacket and put it in the pocket of my wind vest. As a last minute decision I put my arm warmers on, knowing that if I got overheated I could easily roll them down or peel them off and store them very easily.
I got my right of passage recipt at 7:06 and I dwadled around with last minute preps and rolled out at 7:23. I had a GREAT tailwind as I started, I thought to myself that is most people experience headwinds no matter which direction they ride on the Eastern Shore, then there has to be someone who is experiencing tailwinds if they are riding in the opposite direction of the first guy, right. Well, I hoped to be that guy that was blessed with tailwinds both ways. Now, knowing that I am not THAT lucky, I did have a plan for this ride. I was going to do my best to keep my cadence down in the 75 - 80 range, which would save me 10 - 15 revolutions per minute, over a 10 hour ride would save me 6,000 to 7,500 revolutions. I figured my legs would thank me for that when I was fighting the headwinds to get back to the car.
I made it to the first control, which is an information control, feeling great. The next control is at mile 23 ish and I made it there feeling great also. Nothing much to say about the controls... you go in, buy what you need, ask the clerk to initial your card, they look at you funny, then they survey the card like it was some legally binding document that you were asking them to initial. They finally initial it and you are on your way.
It is about 40 miles from this control to the next control so I made sure that the camel back, and water bottles were filled and away I went. I am feeling great, ecaps every half hour, chomps and sport beans every hour, drinking water to stay hydrated AND I have a tailwaind. I could very easily have deviated from the plan and cranked up the cadence to 90 and gotten to the halfway point a little faster than I did, but I knew that on the way back I would need to dip into the suitcase of pain, and I wanted my legs to be as fresh as possible, so I took it easy to the halfway point.
I reached the halway control in 4 hours and 40 minutes. I got a random bag of pretzels, a coke (thanks again for that discovery Chip) and enjoyed that for 20 minutes and left that control at 12:23, 5 hours from when I started.
As I headed back, looking at my heading on my Garmin, it was NE. I no longer had a tailwind. It was a direct headwind and it wasn't as bad as I thought at first. I did my best to get into a good aero-dynamic position to lessen my profile in the wind. For those of you that know me, I am about as aero-dynamic as a brick, and even though I was in the drops, I felt like I was holding a piece of plywood into the wind. 75 rpm... that was what I kept saying to myself.
The route from the 2nd control to the halway control use about the same route. Seaside Rd. Stay on Seaside Rd forever. (which makes it a little more embarising that last month I missed a turn and did bonus miles.) Well, this time as I was headed out to the halfway control, I made it a point to find a landmark at that turn, so that on the way back, I wouldn't miss it again. A blue rubber pool. Left at the blue rubber pool. That was all I had to remeber.
As I pedaled back towards the next control, the headwind seemed to get stronger... or was I getting more tired? I passed the spot where I needed to take a break last month. Wow, that came up pretty quickly... only a couple more miles to the blue rubber pool. It was amazing to me, how much quicker the landmarks were coming up this time. I guess being hydrated and eating on the bike will do that for ya, huh? Well there it was... the blue rubber pool. I remember how I felt last month when I got to that pool and how much different I felt this time. I rolled into the control and spotted my ice cream freezer again. I bought my Klondike bar and coke and enjoyed them outside the control.
Up to this point there had been no rain, but looking at the sky I knew that it would be raining soon. I finished my ice cream and coke, filled the water bottles and headed to the finish. It was at mile 106 that I felt like the wind had really gotten stronger, or that I was just done and it was just me being more tired. In either case, it was a struggle to push through it. It was a race agianst the rain. Having to push through this wind was bad enough, having to do it with rain whacking you in the face would really suck. I was detrermined to beat the rain.
About a mile from the finish, it started misting, and looking of into the distance I could see the rain was coming. I pulled into the Royal Farns parking lot, which is the finish and got the bike into the car and the sky opened up and it downpoured. I later realized that by bringing my rain jacket I pretty much gaurenteed that it would not rain. Had I left it at the car... it would have rained the whole day. I was glad I missed the rain, and I was glad to be done. Garmin showed ellapsed time as 9:58 minutes, but because I didn't start right at 7:00 a.m. my recorded time will be at the 10.5 hour mark. Who cares, the point is I did not let the course get the best of me this time.... even though it tried to beat me down with the wind, I was prepared and I finished my 200k for September.
A couple of notable things to mention... riding this route solo allowed me to ride my ride. It would have been tempting to rush to the halfway point with the tailwind and had I been with someone who wanted to do that I probably would have followed. I remember riding in Ashland in January... Mike and I passed a guy that seemed to be going very slowly. Mike asked me "Does he know something that we don't"? Aparently he did, because I also remember that he was sitting in Ashland Tea and Coffee shop when we arrived. Fast is not always better, at least not for me.
Arm warmers.... I think that they were the best choice I made all day. It was cool enough to wear them most of morning and when it got warmee I just rolled them down to my wrists. As I headed back, and the weather got worse, there were sections of cooler spots and I could pull them up or roll them down as I needed.
I made a mental note on the last few miles, that I did not come in contact with one driver that was in any way rude or obviously perturbed by my presence on the roads. I was not crowded by any cars and many of the oncoming drivers were nice enough to wave.
Monday, September 6, 2010
The Wall, Bay Ridge and Around the River
On Saturday I got up early and took a short ride just to stretch my legs a bit. It had been a week since I had ridden, and both Emily and Bev expressed their desire for me to take a bike ride. I guess I was getting a little "cranky".
I would have to agree with them. A week off the bike is too long and with work getting very busy, and dealing with incompetent, ineffective, poor planning vendors (can you feel the stress in my words) is not making my job any easier. After my Saturday ride, Emily noted a marked improvement in my attitude... I guess it really does help.
On Sunday, I set out alone to take a nice long ride to... I didn't know. All I knew was that I needed time on the bike, and time to think. I also knew that I was going to do "the wall". I did that and felt pretty good doing it. It is .25 miles, I am not sure of the grade but the last half of it is very steep. I was standing to pedal, not really to get any extra momentum, but because it felt like if I leaned back on the seat I would have tipped backwards. I hit the lap counter on the Garmin and I averaged 8.8 mph up the wall.
On my way to the wall I say Clif go by, one of the SPP riders that I have ridden with quite a bit. He looked like he was on a mission as well, so we exchanged greetings and headed in opposite directions.
After the wall, I headed into Annapolis. Feeling invigorated by having conquered the wall I did a few more of the more fun hills on the way into Annapolis. Once in Annapolis, I made a quick sweep of the coffee shops, but did not see any bikes that I recognized, so I continued out to Bay Ridge.
I rode out to Thomas Point Park and enjoyed a nice snack and water break over looking the Bay and Thomas Point Lighthouse. There were quite a few fisherman on the point trying their luck. I made a mental note of what a nice spot that would be to get a picture of the lighthouse at sunrise. The park opens at 8:00, so it would have to be a clandestine operation. I guess I could try to get permission... but as I always say, It's easier to get forgiveness then it is to get permission.
After Bay Ridge I headed back to City Dock, headed up Main St. and decided that my legs were feeling good enough to go home the long way, around the Severn River. I stopped at Naval Bagels on Taylor Ave and enjoyed an onion bagel with garlic cream cheese (I really want to be anti social) and a cup of coffee. That was my last stop before reaching home.
Bev was on her way to church. I had church on my bicycle. If you have never done it, try riding (or walking) at sunrise, and see the beautiful clouds, water, sunrise, deer, squirels, rabbits foxes etc and see if you do not become more keenly aware of God's presence.
While bev was at church, I did my best to destroy some of God's creation. We have some trees on the side of the yard that have been over taken by grapevines. It had gotten so bad that the trunk of the grapevine was as large ar the trunk of the trees (about 1.5 to 2 inches around) So I spent the day pulling, tugging, ripping, hanging from, and damn near swinging from these vines until I was able to get as many of them out of the tree as I could. I know when I was done, I stood back and admired my work. It was very quiet and very still and I was pretty sure I heard the trees say Thank You. I checked them out this morning and they already look better.
I am off to New York for work this week. I have my bike in the car. It will be nice to ride in a different area and check out different places. I will keep you posted.
Here is the Garmin info from yesterdays ride:
I would have to agree with them. A week off the bike is too long and with work getting very busy, and dealing with incompetent, ineffective, poor planning vendors (can you feel the stress in my words) is not making my job any easier. After my Saturday ride, Emily noted a marked improvement in my attitude... I guess it really does help.
On Sunday, I set out alone to take a nice long ride to... I didn't know. All I knew was that I needed time on the bike, and time to think. I also knew that I was going to do "the wall". I did that and felt pretty good doing it. It is .25 miles, I am not sure of the grade but the last half of it is very steep. I was standing to pedal, not really to get any extra momentum, but because it felt like if I leaned back on the seat I would have tipped backwards. I hit the lap counter on the Garmin and I averaged 8.8 mph up the wall.
On my way to the wall I say Clif go by, one of the SPP riders that I have ridden with quite a bit. He looked like he was on a mission as well, so we exchanged greetings and headed in opposite directions.
After the wall, I headed into Annapolis. Feeling invigorated by having conquered the wall I did a few more of the more fun hills on the way into Annapolis. Once in Annapolis, I made a quick sweep of the coffee shops, but did not see any bikes that I recognized, so I continued out to Bay Ridge.
I rode out to Thomas Point Park and enjoyed a nice snack and water break over looking the Bay and Thomas Point Lighthouse. There were quite a few fisherman on the point trying their luck. I made a mental note of what a nice spot that would be to get a picture of the lighthouse at sunrise. The park opens at 8:00, so it would have to be a clandestine operation. I guess I could try to get permission... but as I always say, It's easier to get forgiveness then it is to get permission.
After Bay Ridge I headed back to City Dock, headed up Main St. and decided that my legs were feeling good enough to go home the long way, around the Severn River. I stopped at Naval Bagels on Taylor Ave and enjoyed an onion bagel with garlic cream cheese (I really want to be anti social) and a cup of coffee. That was my last stop before reaching home.
Bev was on her way to church. I had church on my bicycle. If you have never done it, try riding (or walking) at sunrise, and see the beautiful clouds, water, sunrise, deer, squirels, rabbits foxes etc and see if you do not become more keenly aware of God's presence.
While bev was at church, I did my best to destroy some of God's creation. We have some trees on the side of the yard that have been over taken by grapevines. It had gotten so bad that the trunk of the grapevine was as large ar the trunk of the trees (about 1.5 to 2 inches around) So I spent the day pulling, tugging, ripping, hanging from, and damn near swinging from these vines until I was able to get as many of them out of the tree as I could. I know when I was done, I stood back and admired my work. It was very quiet and very still and I was pretty sure I heard the trees say Thank You. I checked them out this morning and they already look better.
I am off to New York for work this week. I have my bike in the car. It will be nice to ride in a different area and check out different places. I will keep you posted.
Here is the Garmin info from yesterdays ride:
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
A little about nothing
Just a couple pictures I came across that I wanted to share.
This is the sign at the top of Crawford Notch that we climbed during the New England Classic. I was more interested in the sign behind it. 13% grade for 3/4 mile.
Another is one that I found on the website of the owner of the Permanent that I did on Saturday. (Ride report to follow, I promise). For those who are not aware, randonnuering is an endurance cycling sport. You can get the details http://www.rusa.org/
Have a great day.
This is the sign at the top of Crawford Notch that we climbed during the New England Classic. I was more interested in the sign behind it. 13% grade for 3/4 mile.
Another is one that I found on the website of the owner of the Permanent that I did on Saturday. (Ride report to follow, I promise). For those who are not aware, randonnuering is an endurance cycling sport. You can get the details http://www.rusa.org/
Have a great day.
Monday, August 23, 2010
OK... so I am a little over-due
I apologize for my delinquency in regards to keeping the blog up to date. I could go through the long list of reasons (read excuses) why I have not had time to do a blog, but I won't bore you with that. Suffice it to say that I will try to do better moving forward.
The month of July was just a crazy month in regards to riding the bike. There was that whole New England Classic thing. Thank you to everyone that supported me on that ride. I do not only mean financial support, although that was especially nice, but also in regards to words or encouragment before the ride, comments on the blog during the ride, and congratulations after the ride. I did meet my fundraising goal, and for some unknown reason, I have plans of doing the ride again next year. Please send me all your good fundraising ideas now so I can start earlier than I did this year.
If you are keeping track of the training log, you will see a rather large drop off in total miles for the month of August. Again, I could give you the list of excuses... but you don't want to hear them, so I am considering August a recovery month. I still have a 200k to do this month to keep the R-12 alive. That will be 8 of them, and we are planning for a 300k (atually about 325K ride in September from Port Jervis, NY to Cape May, NJ. If anyone is interested, we are in need of a driver to help us with the Logistics of this ride.
Back to work.
The month of July was just a crazy month in regards to riding the bike. There was that whole New England Classic thing. Thank you to everyone that supported me on that ride. I do not only mean financial support, although that was especially nice, but also in regards to words or encouragment before the ride, comments on the blog during the ride, and congratulations after the ride. I did meet my fundraising goal, and for some unknown reason, I have plans of doing the ride again next year. Please send me all your good fundraising ideas now so I can start earlier than I did this year.
If you are keeping track of the training log, you will see a rather large drop off in total miles for the month of August. Again, I could give you the list of excuses... but you don't want to hear them, so I am considering August a recovery month. I still have a 200k to do this month to keep the R-12 alive. That will be 8 of them, and we are planning for a 300k (atually about 325K ride in September from Port Jervis, NY to Cape May, NJ. If anyone is interested, we are in need of a driver to help us with the Logistics of this ride.
Back to work.
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