I’ve been having some intermittent internet connectivity issues, and just when Comcast is scheduled to arrive to fix it, Derecho shows up and kills our power for 4 days.
Here is an article about the Derecho.
With our power out, so is our water since we are on a well. With no power or water, I didn’t ride. I’m looking forward to getting back in the saddle again tomorrow morning.
I was slow getting out of the house this morning. I had very little energy. I noticed right away the small saddle sore I have acting up, and it whispered to me to turn around and go back home. I resisted. When I arrived at the Rusty Bridge I announced that I’d be “sweeper” today. My job as “sweeper” is to ride in such a way that anyone who is dropped by the fast crowd is not last. They will get to ride with me. It was a late night, the rides this week have “torn my legs up” and I needed to spin easy. As it turns out, John Z’s brother from Indianapolis was in and the three of us rode the route at reasonable speed. I made sure that the potholes were all pointed out to our new-to-this-route rider. It was a nice morning ride.
But the riding was not over there. Today, the bike was the linchpin in my transportation. Lori had a meeting in Ellicott City. Her car was getting new tires. She took my car and I had the Kona as my primary mode of transportation. From the auto repair shop I rode to my first meeting at another church, then rode in to work from there. A couple of years ago I rode fairly regularly to work in the warm months, but after I started logging 20 plus miles a day, the short trip to work and back just didn’t seem worth the hassle any longer. My commute is about 5 miles … round trip.
It is quite different wearing street clothes on the bike these days. Long pants tucked into my socks or a reflective band around the ankles keeps the fabric away from the chain. The pants have no chamois so the ride is a little harsh. (That’s why people keep asking about how I can stand to ride long distances. They don’t know about the wonder of chamois!) I attempt to keep a speed between “when will I ever get there?” and “arrive full of sweat”. (No shower at work, only baby wipes.) The forecast is for mid-90°F so I’m hoping the wind I generate will keep me relatively cool on the way home. As I write this, I’m not done for the day. The car is supposed to be done around noon. If I were to guess, 3:00 is more likely. I’ll still swing by the shop on my way home for lunch and then decide how much more of the day will be committed to getting around by bike.
There are so many little things that impact the way a ride goes. A rider who ignores them does so at their own peril … or at least performance. As we tick down the days to the Tour de France, I have a much greater appreciation for the little things that can make or break a ride for professional and novice alike.
For instance, I noticed several situations and circumstances that affected my ride this morning. We were holding a nice paceline through Severna Park on the trail when we came to Robinson Road. We had to slow significantly for traffic, then as we crossed the road, I found myself on the front. I was now setting the pace. Our speed had been about 21 mph coming up on Robinson Road, so I accelerated swiftly to re-achieve that speed, spiking my heart rate in the process. Once that happened, I found it hard to latch on to the back of the paceline after I moved off the front. Heart rate management is key, as is timing the pulls and relying on the strength of others.
Our transition onto Old County Road has always been a mental obstacle for me. It requires an acceleration from just over walking speed on a slight incline and I’m always wanting to simply ride easy on that short section, so I’m always falling behind right there. There was another segment like that that I successfully have overcome the mental resistance and made it a strong point. It looks like this is yet another opportunity for that.
Those are two examples of challenges. I also played my cards just right in another spot this morning. I let the group go through Round Bay and I continued straight on Old County Road. I watched my heart rate, and although I rode fairly quickly, I didn’t let it get out of control. Once I got back onto the trail, I maintained about 19.5 mph and let my heart rate settle down on the flat trail. My goal was to get caught at Severn Way (which for months I’ve been erroneously calling Joyce Road) and to join the paceline there for a quick sprint to the end of the trail. This worked out perfectly, and as a result, I achieved my fastest average speed on this section of the ride, beating my old best time by 3 seconds, averaging 26.1 mph for the 0.88 mile segment. Now … if the other bike and pedestrian traffic were not factors, another second or two might have been possible.
It was a good quick ride this morning. I backed it off at the turn around and rode with two others who were taking a break today. Even so, I had 18.4 mph on the day.
These cool mornings with low humidity are numbered. By the end of the week the forecast is for hot and humid once again. I’ve enjoyed them and will be sorry to see them go.
This Ride: 23.6 miles
Month: 423.8 miles
2012: 2898.9 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 16,752.5 miles
No, not this … 
or this …
…but rather being dropped by a very fast paceline.
That’s the story of this morning’s ride. Last evening’s email chatter brought out a large number of riders all ready to practice good paceline skills, that is short “pulls” on the front and then drifting back and waiting one’s turn. It promised to be a fast day. We started out quick, and before I got to Robinson Road, I could tell I would not be keeping up this morning. It was fun while it lasted.
My cardio/pulmonary system and my legs just didn’t really want to ride at the top end of the curve this morning. I resigned myself to a slower pace, and eventually was joined by three others who like me had put in their all and decided to wait for another day. We enjoyed one another’s company as we chased bunnies off the trail and reveled in 62° F temps (my feet actually got cold) and relatively low humidity. I added a loop at the end of the ride to bump my morning distance to over 25 miles, and it felt pretty good.
While I set no record pace this morning, my speed was above average, but more importantly, the enjoyment level was above average also.
This Ride: 25.4 miles
Month: 400.3 miles
2012: 2875.3 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 16,729 miles
Here it is the beginning of another week, a Mosey Monday ride, and the routine begins again for another week. When the alarm goes off at 4:45 am, the body reacts automatically and begins the process for heading out the door for a bike ride. There is no thought of sleeping more, even though the night was long and sleepless. Most of the choices have already been made, so the kit (a fancy cycling term for the clothes we wear) is laid out. The bike is determined by the day of the week. The morning routine is set up so there are no choices and only the mental checklist. Am I wearing all my clothes? Shoes and helmet on? Lights and Garmin switched on? Let’s go.
It is this kind of routine that allows the base miles to continue to accumulate. Day after day, week after week, it is this routine that keeps the miles accumulating and the strength and fitness to continue.
It was an ordinary morning ride. The fixie performed well. I did climb the hill in Round Bay on the fixie and crested the hill before the other riders. Beyond that, there was little effort, good conversation, no drama, just the routine and 21.7 miles.
This Ride: 21.7 miles
Month: 374.9 miles
2012: 2849.9 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 16,703.6 miles
(Astute observers will note that these numbers are lower than Friday’s numbers. No, I’m not going back in time … I found an error in my spreadsheet)
The Race Across America (RAAM) riders began to trickle into Annapolis for the finish of the race last evening. We hoped that on our breakfast ride this morning, we would be able to watch some of the finishers, but alas, the timing wasn’t quite right. We did run into the Strategic Lions, an 8 person team from Great Britain. They had finished at about 5:00 am and their experience from last year told them that Hard Bean opened at 6:00 am and would serve beer at that time … the only place in Annapolis to do so. When we arrived at 6:30, the table was full of empties and they remembered that the SPP had breakfast with them last year. We had some good brief conversations with them, but no beer. They came in third this year.
We rode down to the finish line at City Dock, then headed back home up the trail. It was quite a warm morning, already nearly 80° F and humid. We took it relatively easy and had a nice conversational pace the whole way.
This Ride: 33.1 miles
Month: 386.2 miles
2012: 2861.3 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 16,714.9 miles
Summer arrived yesterday. It was not only the calendar but also the temperatures and humidity. I feel for the RAAM racers coming into this dome of high pressure and heat that is covering the East Coast right now.
Yesterday I rode hard. Not as hard as Tuesday, but hard enough to average over 18 mph and to be drenched in sweat. Mike B was out and I was content to ride with him most of the morning and to enjoy his company. We’ve not ridden much together except a few Fridays since the Fleche, so it was good to catch up again.
This morning, I resolved to ride easy. Dan accompanied me. He has been ill now for quite some time and is still trying, with medical help, to figure out what is going on. Mike C and I finally convinced him to return home. The humidity was high and temps were in the mid 70 degree range so it should have been fine, but I arrived home and still wrung out my sweat band before coming inside.
Although the ride was mostly at an easy pace, I attempted to set a personal record on a short sprint up a hill. I managed to spike my heart rate higher than ever and missed matching my personal record by 1 second. Better luck another time.
These Rides: 45 miles
Month: 320.2 miles
2012: 2795.2 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 16,648.9 miles
The title says it all, even if it is confusing. This morning marked three separate events. I’ll take them out of order.
We had 8 or 9 people out this morning for a cloudy and reasonably comfortable (temperature wise) ride. I put in a faster than usual first 4+ miles on my way to the Ranger Station, so I had a good base upon which to build for a fast day. We had a good steady pace, right out of the gate, not particularly fast … or so I thought. I couldn’t believe how winded I was by the time we got to Old County Road. I was the only rider to avoid Round Bay. I worked for a personal record time on Old County Road, but my results don’t really show that. My heart rate spiked at 174 and recovering from that effort pulled the speed down.
When I got back onto the trail, I had a real treat. I had a deer run along side me for about 25 yards. She was about 4-5 feet from me, just off the trail. I talked to her and asked her kindly not to turn into me, but to go left when she decided to stop running with me. She did, and I breathed a sigh (or quick exhalation) of relief. By that point, I could see the headlights of the peloton in my rear view mirror, and knew I was going to be caught around Joyce Lane. I was able to keep my lead just a bit longer because a car was approaching and while it didn’t slow me, it did slow the others. As they passed, I sped up and stayed with them to the end of the trail, floating along at about 26-27 mph at times.
At the end of the trail, I was spent. I noted an average speed for the morning thus far at 19.1 mph, announced my intention to allow myself to be dropped, and proceeded alone for the second half of the ride. I kept the speed up as best I could, but my legs really were in no shape to push it very hard, especially solo. By the time I got back to McKinsey Road, my average was still showing 19.1 mph, so I pressed on a little faster than normal once I got back on the trail. I had to cut out the loop back around Jennings Road because of an early morning meeting, so simply worked my way back home and climbed the last hill. At the end, 19.0 mph average on the day, and Strava confirmed my fastest time yet on the route from the Rusty Bridge to home.
So, you have the “Fast” and you have the “Deer”. What about the “2/3”? I’ve now cycled two-thirds of the distance around the earth since January 1, 2010! I crossed that threshold in this morning’s ride.
This Ride: 20.2 miles
Month: 275.2 miles
2012: 2750.2 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 16,603.9 miles
Alarm goes off.
I get out of bed, and get ready to ride: bathroom, banana, water, clothing, fixie.
I ride a little over 5 miles to get to the Rusty Bridge, the long way.
We 6 ride together, morning conversations are short and we are pretty quiet with a very slow pace.
We kick it into faster mode on the return trip.
We are done.
I did get out and scout a longer ride later in the day … but it was in the car.
This Ride: 24.2 miles
Month: 255 miles
2012: 2730.1 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 16,583.7 miles
Photo from http://www.tallshipbounty.org/
Earlier in the week when I learned that HMS Bounty [The Bounty was built in 1960 for MGM studios’ Mutiny on the Bounty with Marlon Brando. Since then, the new Bounty has starred in several feature-length films and dozens of TV shows and historical documentaries.] was to be in Annapolis this weekend, I put the word out to the SPP that we would make a stop on our Friday Breakfast Ride to view the ship. Eighteen riders turned out for the ride, fifteen of which made the trip into Annapolis for an al fresco breakfast and ship viewing. Not only do we believe this to be a record turnout for the breakfast ride, but we also had 6 riders on fixies! Mike C was the latest convert to start riding one of these awesome bikes. He did pretty well. I think he achieved about 30 mph on it, which is no doubt the fastest he has gone one one.
The ride started pretty easy. At Jennings Road, Ravi flatted. I’m not sure he has ever changed a tube on his bike so there was a pretty steep learning curve. We were nervous because he couldn’t find the sharp culprit, but the new tube held the rest of the ride. It seemed as though not only did we have a large group, but more people than usual were using the trail and out in cars crossing the trail, creating constant hazards. On the return trip, there were two close calls for those of us in the front of the group (Joyce Lane & Glen Oban). I was a lot closer to car bumpers than I ever want to be. I was riding with Clint at the time and he pointed out all the places where people had crashed on rides he had been on and told a few stories of the calls to spouses to meet their rider at the hospital. He was sure Lori was going to get a call this morning.
Mike B and I rode together to the airport where he was picking up a car in an airport parking lot. I continued on to the hospital where I made a couple of laps to get the odometer to 50 miles then packed up the bike in the car and brought it home. There are a lot of chores to do today at home, and having the car will help. The other car is in the shop.
This evening, I’m hoping for a gathering of SPP riders and spouses at a local hangout. The invitation is out there … we’ll see who can come.
This Ride: 50.2 miles
Month: 230.8 miles
2012: 2705.9 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 16,559.5 miles
Rev Rider 