Rev Rider

Yes,

• It was cool (64° F).
• There were many of us.
• It was fast, at least as fast as I wanted to go.
• I got dropped on the hill.  Nothing new there.
• The sunrise was pretty.
• Since it was Tuesday, the ride “ended” at The Big Bean.

It was at The Big Bean that Chip and Clint got their first chance to tell stories from the Big Wild Ride (the 1200 k in Alaska).  Chip was especially loquacious with his descriptions and it was non-stop story-question-answer-repeat for some 30 minutes before some of us had to head home for the morning.  They had a great time.  Chip said that he took a lot of photos, so we are anxious to see those.

And, on top of it all, we got to see Mike B’s new single speed (soon to be fixie).  It is one pretty bike.  He’s been in the market for over a year.  There was a little dialogue about gearing that he needs, and it will be fun to watch his learning curve.

This Ride: 20.1 miles
Malaria Campaign: 1217.8 miles
Funds Pledged: $608.90
Contributed in support: $1,487.60

Total = $2,096.50

It is very dark now when the alarm rings.  It is still dark when I push off away from home.  I’ve added a reflective band around my waist to increase my visibility for the first half hour of the ride.  Slowly but surely the sun rises a little later each morning now.  Sooner than we hope, the entire ride will be in the dark.

I pulled out the fixie again this morning (I rode her on Friday to breakfast) but noticed that the front wheel was binding up a bit.  It started as I tried to re-tighten the axle nuts to stop a noise.  As I tightened the nuts, the wheel didn’t spin freely.  It was not hitting the brakes.  I backed the nuts off as much as I dared so as to not lose the wheel and pushed through the added resistance all morning.  I’ll have to get the wheel into the shop.  Meanwhile, maybe a wheel from another bike is the ticket.

This morning’s ride was at an easy pace.  There were 3 of us on fixies.  I had a top speed of 34.5 mph on Friday and added to that today, reaching 34.9 mph.  That may not seem like much to some, but remember this is a fixie and that speed means my legs were spinning at a high rate.  In fact, the calculators say 155 rpm for that speed.  I am pleased to say it was smooth as silk, even though it made my heart rate climb into the red zone.  I needed something to wake me up this morning.

This Ride: 22.5 miles
Malaria Campaign: 1197.7 miles
Funds Pledged: $598.85
Contributed in support: $1,487.60

Total = $2,086.45

When the weather forecasters were saying that we would be riding Thursday morning in temperatures below 70° F, why would we believe them?  The last time that happened was a month ago!  But there it was when I got up … 67°.  I knew that would be trouble.  This was Thursday.  Dennis was going to ride.  Dennis likes to go fast.

Six riders met at the Rusty Bridge.  Marcus was anxious and ready to go.  When the clock turned to 5:45 Marcus was off like a flash, Dennis chased him down, and Dan showed them what speed was.  We were above 23 mph in no time, flying down the trail close on one another’s wheels.  I prepared to be dropped several times within the first few miles.  I wasn’t ready for this kind of speed.  I held on down Jennings Road and touched 30 mph for the first of three times this morning.  I hung on to Robinson Road.  I hung on to Riggs.  I started to drift back on Old County Road but knew I had a chance when 4 riders went right to take in Askewton’s hill.  I passed Julee’s house breathing hard but about 3-4 minutes ahead of our usual pace.  Dave was ahead sometimes 100 yards, sometimes 300 yards.  I continued to push with my heart rate in the red zone.  Back on the trail, I attempted to maintain at least 20 mph, but watched it drop to 18 a few times.  Then, with a few headlights in my rear view mirror, I kicked it again, covering the last mile or so at about 22-23 mph.  It was all a solo effort from Old County Road to the end of the trail.

Turning north, we headed into a headwind.  I rode with Dave until Dennis blew by and Dave grabbed his wheel.  When Mike and Dan came by fast, I grabbed their wheel, moving from my recovery of 16 mph to 21 mph in a heartbeat.  We stayed together through the end of the ride, flying down the road pretty quickly.

At the end of the ride, I was spent.  It was not my fastest day by any means.  To do that any more requires just the right conditions and pretty fresh legs.  Two hundred miles this week is not fresh legs.  But I’m loving the weather!

I haven’t been on the fixie in over a month.  I think I’ll make sure this afternoon that she is ready to ride, and take her on the Breakfast Ride tomorrow.

This Ride: 21.7 miles
Malaria Campaign: 1144.1 miles
Funds Pledged: $572.05
Contributed in support: $1,487.60

Total = $2,059.65

Regular visitors to this site may recall that a funeral interrupted a planned 200k last Friday.  I took some “comp time” on Tuesday and planned to ride my 212k route on the Eastern Shore.  I was joined by Janet and Gardner.

We settled on a 6 am start from Chester, MD in order to stay out of the most intense heat of the day.  As always, the first leg of this route is pretty quick, and we found ourselves at the first control point in Chestertown, MD very quick order, some 30 miles into the ride.  It wasn’t a particularly speedy stop but we topped off fluids and drained others.  Anticipating a hot ride and some 35-40 miles without services, we also stopped in Millington, MD to make sure we had sufficient supplies for the next stretch into the lunch stop.  Just a few miles south of Millington (mile 45), I noticed something hitting my arms as we rode along.  I asked the others if it was bugs or rain … and the reply was that it was rain.  It was so very light that it wasn’t even appearing on my eye wear.    Over the next 6 miles the rain intensified.  The “dusting” of rain turned into a light sprinkle, which turned into a light rain, which turned into a steady rain, which turned into a downpour.  And then, suddenly it was over.  The pavement was dry and we saw no more rain the rest of the ride.  It took a while to dry off with the heavy cloud cover.  I had some water sloshing around in my shoes for another 2-3 miles as it gradually worked its way out.

The miles rolled by.  There were times we had a little bit of a cross wind and some times just a bit of a head wind.  It was great when we had a tail wind because we made rapid work of the miles.  At times we would be in a pace line, at others we rode side by side engaged in conversation.  We encountered only courteous drivers.  I struggled some in the usual places on the ride, but soon enough we were on our way into Harrington, DE (mile 81) where we stopped at a Royal Farms for lunch, pulling in there close to 11:00 with an average rolling speed of 18 mph.

Lunch for me was a ham & cheese wrap, baked chips, and an orange juice.  That’s more sodium than I’m used to in a meal, but I’d already sweated buckets.  Temperatures were rising and we knew that the next 50 miles would be into a headwind most of the way.  I had a couple of hot spots on my feet.  At lunch I took off my shoes and that helped relieve the pain.  My socks were still soaked from the rain.  It would have been nice to have a dry pair on hand.  After lunch, the sun also began to make an appearance, increasing the temperature even more.

As we left Harrington, and just after we had gotten away from any shade, Janet flatted.  We found a significant cut in her tire and three small punctures in a straight line consistent with that cut.  We “booted” the tire with a dollar bill, installed a new tube, and pushed off again.  It was during this stretch with my bike computer close to the pavement in the hot sun that it registered over 98° F.  After we pushed off, it slowly dropped to 95.  As we turned into the wind, the wind was both a blessing and a curse.  It increased the effort necessary to move along at a reasonable speed but it also provided some cooling that we immediately noticed when we had to stop.  It also increased the evaporation to the point where I think it had an additional dehydrating effect.

Gardner had been talking about stopping along the way for ice cream, and I knew from my last ride in this area that the Royal Farms in Denton had no decent ice cream.  As we arrived in the outskirts of Denton I offered the McDonald’s or Arby’s, but that didn’t satisfy his craving.  I remembered that there was a place just a little further that I’d seen but never been in.  Bullock’s Deli was on the left, and when I looked, there was a sign that extended halfway across the marquis announcing “Ice Cream”.  We had to stop.  We parked the bikes out front, noting that the average between all our bike computer thermometers read 92°.  We stepped into a place that served at least 30 flavors of hand dipped ice cream and was a full convenience store to boot.  We sat down in the air conditioning WITH a large floor fan blowing right on us and it was marvelous.

We loaded up again with fluids and I had a brainstorm as I was filling my Camelback with ice and water.  Outside the water bladder and inside the bladder holder was some additional room.  I loaded that up with ice also, with the intent of letting it melt and drip cold water down my back and to help keep the water inside the bladder colder longer.  It worked pretty well.  Next time I try this, I might try wearing the Camelback differently though.  It has a padded and “insulated” section that goes against your back.  If I flip that to the outside, the extra cooling from the ice just might reach my back before it melts.  Before leaving Bullock’s, I also poured ice water over my head for the extra cooling effect.  I didn’t have the right equipment for an ice sock.  That would have been a good idea.

The headwinds continued.  Gardner took long pulls and Janet and I took shorter ones.  I wrestled with keeping the pace up and my heart rate low.  It seemed that when I rode with my heart rate above 140 I wanted more fluids and yet my stomach didn’t feel like it was emptying.  I spent probably 15 miles experimenting with ways to keep the pace and yet bring my heart rate down.  I experimented with different gears.  High gears with low cadence seemed to work to a point.  Finding the sweet spot was tricky.  I discovered that if I sprayed myself with water, my heart rate would come down about 5-8 bpm.  So every few miles, I’d sip some water and blow it out in a fine mist, covering myself from the chest up with the spray.   Well, I say every few miles … I think I did it about 4 times.  We stopped once in the shade near Tuckahoe State Park to help me cool down.  The sun was now out more than it was behind clouds.

We made the two highway crossings at the Queenstown Outlet Mall without much trouble and without incident, and rested for a little while in the shade just across Hwy 50.  We had a decision to make.  Janet had only a few ounces of water left for the remaining 8 miles.  I had a little more than that, but not much.  We decided to push on.  Gardner set the pace, and it felt like it was almost all downhill as we rode along.  About 3 miles from the finish, Janet couldn’t hold the pace any longer and I was perfectly willing to drop back with her and allow her to draft.  It wasn’t long before we pulled into the finish, completing the 212 k just under 10 hours.

Chocolate milk and water was my recovery drink … at least until we moved the party over to Ram’s Head where a couple of beers and wings became my supper.

And so completes my second R-12.  Twelve consecutive months riding and completing at least a 200k.  Temperatures have ranged from below freezing to near 100°.  Winds have often been a factor.  Hills and valleys and solo and in groups are also part of the mix.  Life has a way of making an R-12 a challenge.  Some of my friends have up to 7 years of them strung together!

In another milestone, the Malaria Project fundraising has now gone past $2,000 because of this ride.

I drug myself out of bed this morning to go on our usual morning ride, and put in another 20 miles this morning.  I was a little stiff and achy, but otherwise ok.  Once again I noticed that it required more effort to get my heart rate into the training zone.  After long rides, my heart rate settles down to a little lower than normal.  The second half of the ride was fast.  I didn’t intend that, but sometimes you just have to ride with the group’s plan.

These Rides: 174.1 miles (Monday – Wednesday)
Malaria Campaign: 1122.3 miles
Funds Pledged: $561.15
Contributed in support: $1,487.60

Total = $2,048.75

The need to officiate at a funeral early this afternoon means that the 200k I had planned for today is not going to happen.  I can’t say that I’m unhappy about that.  Temperatures at 5:30 am were 80° F and upper 90’s are forecast for today.  I have a friend who is riding a 200k today.  I’m tracking his progress through his Garmin 810.

We had a good showing for the early morning ride, and we really didn’t push it much because of the heat.  Still, we were drenched by the time we arrived in Annapolis for breakfast.  Leaving breakfast was even more of a challenge.  No one wanted to leave the air conditioning and push back to Severna Park.  I kept the ride short because of the other obligations on the day, and ended up with only 27 miles.

This Ride: 27 miles
Malaria Campaign: 948.2 miles
Funds Pledged: $474.10
Contributed in support: $1,487.60

Total = $1,961.70

Yesterday in our town, a cyclist ran a stop sign, collided with a dump truck, and was killed.  He was not a member of the Severna Park Peloton, but that kind of tragedy ripples through all who hear it.  No doubt, since it looks like he was at fault, drivers of vehicles will be emboldened to consider their animosity toward cyclists to be justified.  “Look what this law-breaking cyclist did to the dump truck driver who will now have to live with the consequences of this accident for the rest of his life.” It is a tragedy all around.

I know that I was more attentive this morning.  When I rode, I knew about the fatality but did not know that the cyclist was determined to be at fault.  I’ll confess that 8 stop signs this morning were treated as yield signs by me and the other riders.  I will note that at none of those stop signs was there any traffic.  The one stop sign where there was traffic, we stopped.  Legitimate excuse?  No.  Common for us?  Yes.

Safety was still on our minds.  We are most often riding within less than 1 foot from one another at speeds up to about 30 mph.  We must maintain constant vigilance as to where other riders are and what they are doing.  We know one another’s riding style and count on that predictability.  One rider’s behavior we cannot predict and we give him much wider berth.  In fact, there was a near collision with him this morning as he sat up to drink some water and slowed and swerved unexpectedly.  Anticipating potential problems allowed us to avoid a collision this morning where 8 bikes, a garbage truck, an oncoming car and a car following the garbage truck all were attempting to occupy the same stretch of road at the same time.  One of the garbage men yelled at a car driver for creating a hazard.  The cyclists were cautious and courteous.

At the end of the ride this morning as I was within sight of the fatal accident scene, I reflected about how our group riding makes us a much more visible presence on the road.  A single bike is about 1/8 the visual size of a car and something as innocent as a mirror can completely obscure a cyclist from a driver.  Eight bikes moving at speed has the visual impact of a truck.  I like that kind of added safety.  Sometimes we will take the full lane just so that we can be seen and not simply dismissed as an unimportant presence on the side of the road.  I also thought about how this is not a mindless sport.  Some early morning exercise … say at a gym on a treadmill … can be mind numbing and a chance to disengage the brain.  Not road cycling, if you want to stay mounted on the bike.

The ride itself this morning was enjoyable.  There was a nice sunrise.  By the end of the ride the sweat was pouring off our bodies and legs were feeling the effort.  Today is forecast to have a heat index of between 105 and 110° F so the 78° temps were the best we could get on the day.

This Ride: 22.5 miles
Malaria Campaign: 921.2 miles
Funds Pledged: $460.60
Contributed in support: $1,487.60

Total = $1,948.20

Sunrise is occurring later in the morning now with the solstice nearly a month ago.  When I pull away from my driveway, sunrise is half an hour away.  This morning’s ride was started with an owl hoot.  With an owl wishing me “good morning”, how can the day be anything but good?

We had a fast group and a slower group this morning.  The slower group is where I settled in.  Chip and Clint were riding their last ride before their 12ook in Alaska.  Mike C and I paced them.  They are excited and most of the conversation was about this ride and the preparations.  We chatted some about the upcoming trip to Italy that Clint and I and our spouses are taking in early September.  There remain details to work out.

Even though the pace was not the fast dash for speed records, at the end of the ride the exercise, humidity and warm temperatures resulted in me being completely soaked through with sweat.  That really is a good way to start the day … much better than attempting to ride when it is sunny and temperatures are in the upper 90’s as is forecast for today.

This Ride: 22.2 miles
Malaria Campaign: 898.8 miles
Funds Pledged: $449.40
Contributed in support: $1,487.60

Total = $1,937

Tuesdays end with coffee at The Big Bean.  Tuesdays are usually very fast days.  It was 80° F at 5:45 this morning and I wasn’t feeling fast.  Neither were several others, so we simply enjoyed the morning.  Yes, there were a couple of fast stretches, but we need those to work out the kinks.

Not every morning ride is special.  It is routine.  It is part of the base miles that make the longer rides possible.

I’ve had a change in plans for the end of the week.  Instead of a 200k on Friday like I planned, I’ll be conducting the funeral for a 34 year-old woman who died suddenly and unexpectedly over the weekend.  I’ll need to find another day to squeeze in my final 200k of this R-12.

This Ride: 20.4 miles
Malaria Campaign: 876.6 miles
Funds Pledged: $438.30
Contributed in support: $1,487.60

Total = $1,925.90

Friday’s ride was a bust because of active lightning.  There are mixed reviews about whether or not riding is safe during a lightening storm.  I concluded it was not and chose not to test it.  I’ll have another post later about lightning and cycling.  Several of us drove to breakfast.  Two of our group rode in the storm.

So now it has been three days with no riding and I was ready to get back on the bike.  These past two weeks have been very consistent with conditions.  Humid.  Temperatures between 73 & 77.  Slowly getting darker.  We had 8 riders out this morning and two different speeds going, so we broke up into two different groups.  I had to work more than expected to stay with the faster group on the first half of the ride, but after setting that pace, it seemed easier the second half.

Our route is routine.  We know the potholes.  The only real variables are where we will encounter “traffic” on the trail and vehicles on the road.  Rarely do we encounter disrespectful drivers, but one was out this morning.  We were riding at about 20 mph in a 35 mph zone.  There are rolling hills and a no passing zone because of poor sight lines.  I called “car back” and we started negotiating the sometimes tricky maneuver moving from riding two abreast to single file while avoiding the road hazards.  The car had to slow for perhaps 10- 15 seconds while this took place (and I’m sure I’m overestimating the time here).  As we crested the rise, and it was clear no other vehicles were approaching, the car accelerated hard, and the driver blew the horn in a continuous blast lasting about 5 seconds, the time it took for him to overtake us and return to the travel lane.  Nearly every one of us just slowly shook our heads from side to side.

How would you like to live in a home near there, with horns blaring before 6:30 in the morning?  Whose fault was all this?  I’m sure the driver blames us.  We hear the blame often.  But, come on … at most 20 seconds of “delay”.  The garbage truck traffic on that route on Thursdays does more to delay traffic than this.  Will the horn change our behavior?  Not in the least.  We watch for approaching cars and move as far right as is safe in single file when a car approaches from the rear.  We are grateful to share the road.  A little patience for all keeps us all safe.  And our reaction to all this is simply a sigh, a shake of the head, and usually a comment like, “really?” or “have a nice day.”  Riders on bikes (around 200 lbs and mostly flesh and blood) are no match for 2,000 + lbs of metal and plastic.  We know that.

This Ride: 22.3 miles
Malaria Campaign: 856.2 miles
Funds Pledged: $428.10
Contributed in support: $1,437.60

Total = $1,865.70

Monday I bailed on a ride with a number of excuses.  One of those excuses was the light rain that was falling.

This morning, there was light rain falling and it did not matter.  Seven of us were out to ride and enjoyed almost every moment of it … even the one flat tire that needed to be fixed.

I think I’ve posted before about how our group fixes a flat, but I always find it fascinating.  There are specific roles people step into.

• Grubby Hands: Handles the wheel, checking for sharps, installing the new tube (all usually performed the the owner of the flat … especially in the rain where one is going to get very dirty).
• Blow Hard: Reinflating the tube with the hole to determine where the flaw is.  This person also rolls the tube and returns it to the owner.
• Tool Jocky: Invades the saddle tool kit for a new tube and CO2 if it will be used.  Often slightly inflates the new tube to make it easier to install.
• Stand Around and Hold the Bike: Keeps the bike upright and the chain off the ground.
• Peanut Gallery: There are only so many jobs.  The rest of the group stands around and more often than not critiques the job being done and how long it is taking.

This repair didn’t take long at all.  I was the “Stand Around and Hold the Bike” this time, arriving after the repair was initiated.

The pace of the ride was quicker than yesterday.  It felt like a lot of work, but then, isn’t that the goal of exercise?  I was tempted to turn into The Big Bean for coffee, but instead made my way home.

This Ride: 21.9 miles
Malaria Campaign: 833.9 miles
Funds Pledged: $416.95
Contributed in support: $1,437.60

Total = $1,854.55