Not much to report from the weekend. I chose to leave the main bike at home and do some hill work over the weekend at the cabin. Rain and a need for some work on the backup bike made it less than stellar, but I did manage to defeat a hill that had continually kicked my butt for the entire summer. I'm hoping to do one more big trip this week, then relax into the CA trip. More to come...
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Monday, September 5, 2011
Catching up: my latest rides
I've been a bit remiss in logging these rides, so here's a little cleanup:
Harpers Ferry ride
I had a couple of days out at the cabin so I decided to do another C&O adventure, but wanted to go the opposite direction from last time. That means south(ish) to Harpers Ferry.
The ride overall was pretty uneventful... I loaded the bike up again with heavy car camping gear only to remember, "hey there's that crazy hilly road detour, right?". Right. Undetered, I kept packing. I'm in bad need of a good hilly workout at that point.
When I was about 2 hours into the ride I realized I forgot my wallet. And cash. And credit card. Dumb. I texted my very patient and helpful girlfriend and we decided to meet for lunch in Shepherdstown. She brought my wallet and I gleefully paid for lunch.
The ride felt great after a long layoff, and I was rewarded with an empty campsite a mile or two from the bridge to Harpers Ferry. Rather than haul it across the river like last time, I locked it at the rack on the MD side and went all pedestrian style to WV. I drank 3 beers with dinner because dammit I could.
Early return the next day, and the detour segment felt good. I'm getting the hang of hills... Thankfully. I have a bazillions in CA in October.
Map of the return trip (the outbound trip bonked):
Harpers Ferry trip
Total miles = 123.6
Lake Ontario rides
I had yet another trip scheduled to visit my home town of Rochester, but this time I was able to strap the bike to my car and get some rides in. I'm fortunate that my patents live on Lake Road, right on the shores of Lake Ontario... It's a tremendously favorable biker route. A bunch of people have circumnavigated the Lake by bike, which sounds really cool after these rides.
Saturday I rocked a ride from Webster to Pultneyville. I got some great views on the way including Ginna (pronounced GIH-nay) Nuclear Plant and, of course, Lake Ontario. The weather was crazy muggy and hot for this time of year, but it didn't get in the way of attacking some of the more challenging hills of the season for me. Much harder ones to come, but my confidence is increasing. Good egg sandwich in Pultneyville (despite Ohio State dude's pokey pace - and yes, I had to go there Buckeye fan).
Lake Ontario 1
total miles = 35.5
Sunday brought early thunderstorms nearby, so I delayed til midmorning. My hope was to get out to Sodus and back... Which I accomplished, but not quite as far as I'd have liked. I got in just shy of 50 total miles and made it to the town of Sodus, but not Sodus Point (time was my enemy since I had midafternoon plans). Still, the hills felt good and I brought back a cherry pie for my dad and apple butter for my mom (awww!). Headwind was *brutal* coming back so I'll need to get used to that.
One mistake I made again was pushing past natural break times. I took only one for lunch at MM27 and felt it at the end. Taking breaks before feeling fatigue = your friend.
Lake Ontario 2 at EveryTrail
Total miles = 46.7 miles
Big props to my buddy James for rockin a multiweek ride from Portland, Oregon to SF. I am truly outclassed!! He rode a close approximation of my route from Fortuna to SF so I'll be mining tips from him next week for sure.
Next big ride: the big loop on my birthday on 9/9. Or I'll drink beer. Maybe both.
Harpers Ferry ride
I had a couple of days out at the cabin so I decided to do another C&O adventure, but wanted to go the opposite direction from last time. That means south(ish) to Harpers Ferry.
The ride overall was pretty uneventful... I loaded the bike up again with heavy car camping gear only to remember, "hey there's that crazy hilly road detour, right?". Right. Undetered, I kept packing. I'm in bad need of a good hilly workout at that point.
When I was about 2 hours into the ride I realized I forgot my wallet. And cash. And credit card. Dumb. I texted my very patient and helpful girlfriend and we decided to meet for lunch in Shepherdstown. She brought my wallet and I gleefully paid for lunch.
The ride felt great after a long layoff, and I was rewarded with an empty campsite a mile or two from the bridge to Harpers Ferry. Rather than haul it across the river like last time, I locked it at the rack on the MD side and went all pedestrian style to WV. I drank 3 beers with dinner because dammit I could.
Early return the next day, and the detour segment felt good. I'm getting the hang of hills... Thankfully. I have a bazillions in CA in October.
Map of the return trip (the outbound trip bonked):
Harpers Ferry trip
Total miles = 123.6
Lake Ontario rides
I had yet another trip scheduled to visit my home town of Rochester, but this time I was able to strap the bike to my car and get some rides in. I'm fortunate that my patents live on Lake Road, right on the shores of Lake Ontario... It's a tremendously favorable biker route. A bunch of people have circumnavigated the Lake by bike, which sounds really cool after these rides.
Saturday I rocked a ride from Webster to Pultneyville. I got some great views on the way including Ginna (pronounced GIH-nay) Nuclear Plant and, of course, Lake Ontario. The weather was crazy muggy and hot for this time of year, but it didn't get in the way of attacking some of the more challenging hills of the season for me. Much harder ones to come, but my confidence is increasing. Good egg sandwich in Pultneyville (despite Ohio State dude's pokey pace - and yes, I had to go there Buckeye fan).
Lake Ontario 1
total miles = 35.5
Sunday brought early thunderstorms nearby, so I delayed til midmorning. My hope was to get out to Sodus and back... Which I accomplished, but not quite as far as I'd have liked. I got in just shy of 50 total miles and made it to the town of Sodus, but not Sodus Point (time was my enemy since I had midafternoon plans). Still, the hills felt good and I brought back a cherry pie for my dad and apple butter for my mom (awww!). Headwind was *brutal* coming back so I'll need to get used to that.
One mistake I made again was pushing past natural break times. I took only one for lunch at MM27 and felt it at the end. Taking breaks before feeling fatigue = your friend.
Lake Ontario 2 at EveryTrail
Total miles = 46.7 miles
Big props to my buddy James for rockin a multiweek ride from Portland, Oregon to SF. I am truly outclassed!! He rode a close approximation of my route from Fortuna to SF so I'll be mining tips from him next week for sure.
Next big ride: the big loop on my birthday on 9/9. Or I'll drink beer. Maybe both.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Saturday ride (40 miles)
I was off for a week in NYC1, which meant an extended time off the bike. Since I'll be going on yet another week (FL this time) without a bike, I thought I'd sneak in a 40 miler on my one day home.
1Why did I not bike in allegedly bike-friendly NY? "Hey they got bike lanes, didn't you hear?" All it took to confirm my "yeah right" attitude was the cab ride to the bus stop on the return home. Dude turned left through a parallel bike lane, with a biker about 3 feet away. Never looked. Biker was smart and assumed the driver was going to decapitate him. Smart biker. NYC biking and me will happen... just not for a while.
So, the morning came early... like it usually does... only with a lot less light than I've been used to. I guess that sunrise time thing the weather guy does2 isn't full of lies. I left about 6:30 and decided to go past my usual Great Falls destination and push for a total of 40. Rather than be smart and break at MM20, I decided to turn around and break at Great Falls, which meant a longer than usual opening 25 miles. I think that's about as long as I would normally like to go on a ride of 40+ miles before a break. Totally doable, but I suspect it would wear me out later in the day to not pace the miles more.
2Explain to me, why the weather people - trained meteorologists at best - are somehow responsible for reporting sunrise, tides, and even less relevant to their trade... meteor showers? They all do... coast to coast. I've never understood why. Is astronomy a required minor in weather school, or are is a universal truism that weather nerds dig heavenly objects?
I hit some weather about midway back from the Falls... nothing crazy, just some light rain. Honestly, the cooler temperatures are a welcome relief from the month of July, so the rain was fine by me. I washed some of the C&O grime off the bike afterwards and briefly considered getting some new gears installed while in FL. After a quick spin, I decided it's time to suck it up and try some hill training before I hack up the bike with lower gears. If that's a no go, I'll make the changes.
So, the plan is to do some gym-based biking while at the conference. No, I won't bore you with mileage of my biking there...
Miles this trip: 40.1
Total miles trained: 1113.5
1Why did I not bike in allegedly bike-friendly NY? "Hey they got bike lanes, didn't you hear?" All it took to confirm my "yeah right" attitude was the cab ride to the bus stop on the return home. Dude turned left through a parallel bike lane, with a biker about 3 feet away. Never looked. Biker was smart and assumed the driver was going to decapitate him. Smart biker. NYC biking and me will happen... just not for a while.
So, the morning came early... like it usually does... only with a lot less light than I've been used to. I guess that sunrise time thing the weather guy does2 isn't full of lies. I left about 6:30 and decided to go past my usual Great Falls destination and push for a total of 40. Rather than be smart and break at MM20, I decided to turn around and break at Great Falls, which meant a longer than usual opening 25 miles. I think that's about as long as I would normally like to go on a ride of 40+ miles before a break. Totally doable, but I suspect it would wear me out later in the day to not pace the miles more.
2Explain to me, why the weather people - trained meteorologists at best - are somehow responsible for reporting sunrise, tides, and even less relevant to their trade... meteor showers? They all do... coast to coast. I've never understood why. Is astronomy a required minor in weather school, or are is a universal truism that weather nerds dig heavenly objects?
I hit some weather about midway back from the Falls... nothing crazy, just some light rain. Honestly, the cooler temperatures are a welcome relief from the month of July, so the rain was fine by me. I washed some of the C&O grime off the bike afterwards and briefly considered getting some new gears installed while in FL. After a quick spin, I decided it's time to suck it up and try some hill training before I hack up the bike with lower gears. If that's a no go, I'll make the changes.
So, the plan is to do some gym-based biking while at the conference. No, I won't bore you with mileage of my biking there...
Miles this trip: 40.1
Total miles trained: 1113.5
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Gearing up
A few people have asked me about gear... I think the topic can be outlandishly boring, so I won't go into full detail all at once. I'm not exactly a bike-head, so I don't get excited about brands, weights, and all the mundane stuff. I'm learning I do want to make some gearing changes, so I'll talk a bit about that here too.
I ride two Marin hybrids... no not at the same time... one that leans a bit more road and one that leans a bit more mountain. I like them both, and I like Marin as a company... I think you get good bang for the buck, and the mountain hybrid has been with me for more than 10 years of sometimes uncaring rides. I've found the gearing on my road hybrid (see left... the one I'll be riding in CA) is a bit too high for what I need (and forgive my lay terminology here if you actually know what you're talking about). I need some lower gearing to accommodate what, to me, are going to be some pretty brutal hills. That's a project for tomorrow and beyond, because I expect that will require at least a new rear cassette... but who knows. That's what good bike mechanics are for, so off I'll go to the local shop.
Oddly enough the biggest issue with this ride is not the training or the equipment itself... it's getting the damn gear to California from DC. I did a ton of research and after a lot of back and forth on to ship or fly, I decided to fly the sucker. It has as much to do with my flight itinerary as anything else, but I think I like the idea of knowing my bike is traveling on the same plane as me... plus it looks like it might be cheaper. Maybe. I think.
I bought a Sette padded bike travel bag online and I dig its overall look and think it should serve me well for the future. Take a look at shirtless dude's video of the bag. Note to shirtless dude... would have been way cooler if you had packed a bike in there too. Just sayin.
Speaking of gear, I'm also thinking about getting something very alt energy producing: a dynamo that will charge a front lamp and my iPhone while I pedal. I found that my iPhone's battery is a rockstar if it gets a signal, but tries so hard to find a signal when there is none to be found (i.e. rural MD on the C&O) that it burns through a charge in about 6 hours. Since I like the data collection, mp3 playing, safety line, and other features of said phone, I need more juice. We'll see what I end up getting, but I figure this might make me thecool kid tech nerd at Climate Ride. And I'll have a charged phone, unlike the poor saps who'll be searching the campgrounds to charge their Zunes for an outlet.
Ok, that wasn't nice. Nobody has a Zune.
 |
| My chariot for Climate Ride |
Oddly enough the biggest issue with this ride is not the training or the equipment itself... it's getting the damn gear to California from DC. I did a ton of research and after a lot of back and forth on to ship or fly, I decided to fly the sucker. It has as much to do with my flight itinerary as anything else, but I think I like the idea of knowing my bike is traveling on the same plane as me... plus it looks like it might be cheaper. Maybe. I think.
I bought a Sette padded bike travel bag online and I dig its overall look and think it should serve me well for the future. Take a look at shirtless dude's video of the bag. Note to shirtless dude... would have been way cooler if you had packed a bike in there too. Just sayin.
Speaking of gear, I'm also thinking about getting something very alt energy producing: a dynamo that will charge a front lamp and my iPhone while I pedal. I found that my iPhone's battery is a rockstar if it gets a signal, but tries so hard to find a signal when there is none to be found (i.e. rural MD on the C&O) that it burns through a charge in about 6 hours. Since I like the data collection, mp3 playing, safety line, and other features of said phone, I need more juice. We'll see what I end up getting, but I figure this might make me the
Ok, that wasn't nice. Nobody has a Zune.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Who else believes in climate change?
Insurance companies, except they are sort of lousy at measuring the economics of it. Which is odd since they're all actuarial about everything...
Monday, August 1, 2011
Cabin to Cumberland and back: 156 miles
Check out pics with snarky commentary here.
Part 1, Cabin to Cumberland (Saturday 7/30)
One more weekend left before I leave town on a few trips that won't include my bike... so I decided to make it a good long ride with some camping mixed in to see how it would feel.
Friday night was a late night as I loaded up my bike. And I mean loaded it. I used mostly car camping gear, so I had a wide load. Honestly the weight wasn't awful... maybe 30 lbs? I'm sure that would be horrifying to a real touring person, particularly since I lashed it all to a single rear rack. Thank you inventor of bungees. I wonder if dude's last name was Bungee?1
I got out a little after 6 and the temperature was really nice for a few hours... then that devil heat2 we've been afflicted with kicked in. As you can see in the map data, there is a slowish climb all the way up there (a few flats and downhills too, but trends up) so the slog got sloggier as the day went on and I started tiring a bit.
The Paw Paw tunnel was a real highlight. And by highlight I mean "kicked in my claustrophobia and was therefore not fun." The tunnel is friggin huge, so there was no good reason to feel claustrophobic other than the nagging certainty that this engineering marvel of 1850-something was inherently unstable and would bury me at any moment. Good times. Oh, it's pitch black and I left my light at home, forgetting about the whole mile-long-pitch-black-tunnel-thing. I survived. Whatever.
I decided to roll all the way to the campground at MM180 and pitch the tent, then roll the remaining 4 miles into Cumberland for dinner. My iPhone was running low on juice, so I found a bbq place that had a nice spot near an outlet and mediocre food combined with AC. In the immortal words of Charlie Sheen..winn... nah, I can't do it.
I rode back to the tent in temps near 100 in the sun... once back in the tent, I pretended to listen to Midnight Marauders by A Tribe Called Quest but was asleep before Award Tour. That's not long. It was 6pm.
Oh, forgot... I should mention I bought a battery operated fan. Pre-use of said fan, I would have mocked me for it. Post use? If you camp in this godforsaken heat, do yourself a favor and get a battery operated fan. I pretty much gave up summer camping after moving from Oregon to DC, but technology has given my summers back to me. And by technology, I mean D-cell battery-driven gear. Who knew they even made D cells anymore?
cabin to Cumberland at EveryTrail
Part 2, Cumberland to cabin (Sunday 7/31)
Let me begin by urging you not to camp at MM180 on the C&O. Beautiful and cool spot, and very convenient to Cumberland (a mere 4 miles away) but holy hell is it noisy. Campers were great, but the stopped freight train must have had some freezer unit car, because it ran AC all night... and not quietly. At 5am, the farmer on the WV of the river switched on the pumps to irrigate the crops. All that said, I was out... like... a... light. 81 miles the day before on 3 hours of sleep = zzzzzz.
Ok, so the return trip was pretty uneventful. I saw a ton of deer on a mostly empty trail through the morning. I got to Paw Paw in what felt like record time, so I crossed the river and went to the gas station for an egg and cheese biscuit. That may sound gross, but to be honest... best thing ever. About then it started to heat up. That forecast for lower temps Sunday? Lie. Total lie. 95 at least and the sun baked right through you.
I took a long break in Hancock (I used the WMRT again... I couldn't risk downed trees on the C&O and I just think the NPS pays less attention to that 22 mile parallel stretch since there's far less traffic). The 11 miles to the crossing plus the climb was brutal... I ran out of water towards the end, but at that point it was all about getting back so I pushed through. Tough slog... so looking forward to a time when these temperatures will be a joke as I'm freezing my butt off on some fall-ish ride.
So... I've ridden every inch of the C&O. What's next?
Cumberland to cabin at EveryTrail
Part 1, Cabin to Cumberland (Saturday 7/30)
Friday night was a late night as I loaded up my bike. And I mean loaded it. I used mostly car camping gear, so I had a wide load. Honestly the weight wasn't awful... maybe 30 lbs? I'm sure that would be horrifying to a real touring person, particularly since I lashed it all to a single rear rack. Thank you inventor of bungees. I wonder if dude's last name was Bungee?1
- 1Um, no.
I got out a little after 6 and the temperature was really nice for a few hours... then that devil heat2 we've been afflicted with kicked in. As you can see in the map data, there is a slowish climb all the way up there (a few flats and downhills too, but trends up) so the slog got sloggier as the day went on and I started tiring a bit.
- 2I can't let this go by without saying: weather is different than climate, and I therefore can't say "It's hot, therefore there's climate change" anymore than that dufus Drudge can post blizzard footage (<sigh> in winter... in places that snow...) in a tacit denial of said global climate change reality. That being said... this is historic heat and my nonscientific right side of my brain says, "hell yes, this is global warming," while the left side of my brain shakes its proverbial head (a confusing metaphor, I agree) and mutters something dismissive about "creative types." It's an ongoing battle between the two. Thanksgivings are the worst.
The Paw Paw tunnel was a real highlight. And by highlight I mean "kicked in my claustrophobia and was therefore not fun." The tunnel is friggin huge, so there was no good reason to feel claustrophobic other than the nagging certainty that this engineering marvel of 1850-something was inherently unstable and would bury me at any moment. Good times. Oh, it's pitch black and I left my light at home, forgetting about the whole mile-long-pitch-black-tunnel-thing. I survived. Whatever.I decided to roll all the way to the campground at MM180 and pitch the tent, then roll the remaining 4 miles into Cumberland for dinner. My iPhone was running low on juice, so I found a bbq place that had a nice spot near an outlet and mediocre food combined with AC. In the immortal words of Charlie Sheen..winn... nah, I can't do it.
 |
| "Congrats, you're half done" |
Oh, forgot... I should mention I bought a battery operated fan. Pre-use of said fan, I would have mocked me for it. Post use? If you camp in this godforsaken heat, do yourself a favor and get a battery operated fan. I pretty much gave up summer camping after moving from Oregon to DC, but technology has given my summers back to me. And by technology, I mean D-cell battery-driven gear. Who knew they even made D cells anymore?
cabin to Cumberland at EveryTrail
Part 2, Cumberland to cabin (Sunday 7/31)
Let me begin by urging you not to camp at MM180 on the C&O. Beautiful and cool spot, and very convenient to Cumberland (a mere 4 miles away) but holy hell is it noisy. Campers were great, but the stopped freight train must have had some freezer unit car, because it ran AC all night... and not quietly. At 5am, the farmer on the WV of the river switched on the pumps to irrigate the crops. All that said, I was out... like... a... light. 81 miles the day before on 3 hours of sleep = zzzzzz.Ok, so the return trip was pretty uneventful. I saw a ton of deer on a mostly empty trail through the morning. I got to Paw Paw in what felt like record time, so I crossed the river and went to the gas station for an egg and cheese biscuit. That may sound gross, but to be honest... best thing ever. About then it started to heat up. That forecast for lower temps Sunday? Lie. Total lie. 95 at least and the sun baked right through you.
I took a long break in Hancock (I used the WMRT again... I couldn't risk downed trees on the C&O and I just think the NPS pays less attention to that 22 mile parallel stretch since there's far less traffic). The 11 miles to the crossing plus the climb was brutal... I ran out of water towards the end, but at that point it was all about getting back so I pushed through. Tough slog... so looking forward to a time when these temperatures will be a joke as I'm freezing my butt off on some fall-ish ride.
So... I've ridden every inch of the C&O. What's next?
Cumberland to cabin at EveryTrail
Miles this trip: 156.0
Total miles trained: 1073.4 (!!)
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Yet another Great Falls ride...
Great Falls at EveryTrail
Much nicer ride today... looks like the weather is 50/50 for the C&O completion ride I'm hoping to do this weekend... we'll see!
Miles this trip: 30.5
Total miles trained: 917.4
Much nicer ride today... looks like the weather is 50/50 for the C&O completion ride I'm hoping to do this weekend... we'll see!
Miles this trip: 30.5
Total miles trained: 917.4
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