These Rides: 49.5 miles
Month: 597.2 miles
2011: 5,714.6 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 11,834.3 miles
Two mornings, two good rides. Yesterday was a fast morning, with everyone avoiding Round Bay and simply climbing the Old County Road Sprint. I was able to improve on my best time by a few seconds, moving to 18.7 mph average up the hills. Chip was out on his fixie, and I clocked him at 35 mph on the fixie!
This morning was an easy pace. No one wanted to ride fast on wet pavement and after two fast days, my legs didn’t have a lot of speed left in them. I put in an easy 28.5 miles today. Nothing much to tell, except that I nearly ran over a squirrel. It couldn’t make up its mind where to go, and with me headed at it at 19 mph, indecision can be dangerous for us both. I missed it by 2 inches, once it decided to exit stage left.
I’ll have to work at it a bit, but I’m still reasonably on track for my 800 mile goal this month. I’m also inching up on last year’s ride total.
This Ride: 21.8 miles (estimated)
Month: 547.7 miles
2011: 5,665.1 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 11,784.8 miles
This morning I pulled the trunk off the Kona and reset my Garmin for this bike (after yesterday’s fixie ride) and from the beginning, the Garmin had trouble. It kept automatically pausing when the speed sensor dropped unexpectedly to 0 mph (even though I was moving at 15-20 mph) and over the whole ride, measured a total of 5 miles with an average of just under 5 mph for one of the fastest rides I’ve ridden in the past month. I’ll have to trouble shoot this before tomorrow’s ride. A hard reset might be in order.
We had 13 riders out for a fast ride this morning. With that many riders, it wasn’t too hard to keep up, sucking wheel most of the time, but I did take a short pull on the front once and rode solo during one stretch. Some of us have joined Strava.com which is a social networking site for exercise. It has the ability to allow setting of particular sections of the route on which you can compete by simply uploading your GPS file and it will automatically calculate speed and ranking among those who have ridden that segment before. My goal this morning was to increase my speed and ranking on the section of Old County Rd that Dave P has mapped out, so while most of the riders turned into Round Bay, I motored on and hammered until I got to the segment end and then caught my breath. Four other riders also rode this route, and three of us took turns on the lead down the trail to the turn around, beating the other riders who rode Askewton’s hill. We found out later that they had shortened their route through Round Bay because of really hazardous roads near the water. On the Strava segment, I increased my best speed by about 2 mph and am sitting just one second behind Dave P’s best time. That was encouraging.
This might prove to be additional motivation to do some interval and hill training.
At least Strava correctly calculated this part of the ride from the GPS track!
The run back from the south end of the trail was also fast, as we all regrouped and rode a quick ride. It felt really good. I’m disappointed that the Garmin acted up, especially since I may have had a personal speed best on a morning ride this morning. Oh well.
There is no map or link to the Garmin data today because of its corruption.
This Ride: 27.7 miles
Month: 525.8 miles
2011: 5,643.3 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 11,763 miles
It was a tough morning. I was slow getting out of the house on the fixie for Mosey Monday. It was good to have 11 riders out but just as we hit Old County Road, I flatted the rear tire. It was even audible. There seems to be no such thing as a quick flat repair on the rear wheel of the fixie, but it was changed in reasonable time. I had a little trouble with the CO2 adapter, but got enough CO2 in the tube to ride the rest of the ride comfortably. No offending sharp was found. I think I simply got an in and out puncture. That’s two rear flats on two different bikes in the last two rides. The last flat I had before these was in February, 4,700 miles ago!
Chip & Clint were also out on fixies. It was a pleasant morning ride with the group, which I extended slightly at the end to add a few miles. I got back home quite late, and had to scramble to keep up with the rest of my agenda for the day.
Oh, almost forgot … personal speed record on the fixie was set this morning at 29.9 mph. I have no cadence reading because I scavenged the battery out of the cadence sensor for the other bike and the 200k.
This Ride: 128.2 miles
Month: 498.2 miles
2011: 5,615.6 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 11,735.3 miles
Clint and I worked out a plan to ride a relatively new 200k permanent route on Friday (September 16th). It is called Patuxent River Views and it shares some of the Sailing Down to Solomon route in southern Anne Arundel County and Calvert County. Clint and I were ready to go at 7:00 am, with the coldest weather since early May. Our start was at 48° F and it was very long before we got much above 60. Even so, Clint wore arm warmers the entire ride, while I stripped down to short sleeve Jersey and bike shorts once the temps hit 60.
Less than 3 miles into the ride, I flatted. This was the first flat I had since February. I couldn’t find the sharpie, and worried about the tire the whole ride. It held.
As we started, we watched a fantastic sunrise, and the quality of the morning light really was spectacular in the cool air. The route was quite familiar at first, but soon we turned off the well-worn roads to get a view of the Patuxent. We traveled along some beautiful country roads, and saw spectacular homes. At one point, Clint commented about how this road felt like a road to a castle, and soon, a home as grand as a castle was in view. A four car detatched garage was bigger than my house. Eventually that road petered out to nothing, we crossed a path next to a gate, and we continued on a narrow road that eventually widened and led us to our first view of the water. As soon as we saw the water, Clint wanted a photo, but was willing to wait the 1/2 mile to the deck on the water for the first information control.
Maybe one day I'll look like a cyclist.
There were a lot of information controls on this ride, and some of the SPP folks counted that against this ride. It may make it harder to do this ride fast, but the information controls are mostly worth it, as the views from the controls are pretty nice ones.
As Clint and I pedaled along, there were stretches where we talked a great deal. In fact, we went right past Control #4 and had to back track because we were engaged in a lively conversation and completely missed the cemetery on our left. We both contributed well to the navigation of this unfamiliar route with frequent turns.
We encountered quite a bit of storm damage along the route. Chainsaws were a constant hum. We saw many trees uprooted, and no small number of homes with blue tarp roofs. The hurricane and then heavy rains a week later really impacted roads and homes. We did not encounter any closed roads on this ride, but there were stacks of brush/tree debris at nearly every home.
At Broomes Island, we encountered a driveway with a traffic light at a couple of homes, and this parking meter that was one of the controls. (You can’t read the answer to the information control from this angle.)
Luckily "expired" applies to neither of the riders, although invisible would describe Clint.
At mile 72 we stopped in Dowell, MD for a quick lunch at Burger King. The manager couldn’t get over these guys who were in a “bicycle race” that decided to stop to eat at his establishment. He was telling the employees all about the race. We only said we were on a bike ride, and I don’t know where he got the rest of the story. I did catch one guy giving Clint the once-over from head to toe and a scornful look of disapproval. Spandex seems to have that power, especially if you are off the bike.
Coming up out of Dowell we were once again on very familiar roads as this route uses Sailing Down to Solomons route. Before we got to Chesapeake Beach, we slipped over to Breezy Point for a view of the Chesapeake Bay and quite a climb out of town. Both Clint and I got phone calls at the same time. He took his … I skipped mine. It wasn’t a number I recognized.
On our way to North Beach, I commented to Clint about the need to watch for deer in the fenced-in area outside of town. I’ve often seen deer there. We saw 2 bucks. Clint managed this photo.
Soon we were at North Beach and just had to stop at Sweet Sue’s. We are accustomed to Sweet Sue’s being mile 95 on the Sailing Down to Solomons route, but here it was at mile 107. We had a fresh from the oven muffin and I bought a gluten-free eclair for my daughter. It mostly survived the last 20 miles of the ride intact.
Regular riders of Sailing Down to Solomons would be surprised at how close some other towns are near the bay. Most of that ride is in rural settings. Here we dip into the small towns a little more frequently. We made our way to Deale, then had a quick 10 mile dash to the finish.
After a quick chocolate milk, I loaded up the bike and headed home. Clint and I met with spouses later for happy hour at The Back Room and had a nice extension to a great day.
We set no speed records, and in fact, this was an average ride for me. I know Clint could have gone much faster, but it was nice to simply spend a day on the bike with a good friend.
I’d recommend this ride to any Randonneur, but I’d also suggest planning ahead more than for Crista’s rides. The route owner took several days to coordinate our registrations and get us the control cards. Plan ahead!
As far as I know, we are the first SPP Randonneurs to ride this route. I’m sure we won’t be the last, since the start is only 30 minutes from home, and there are some very nice views of water and homes. The first half of the ride could be called Southern Maryland Home Tour.
My Garmin device malfunctioned during part of this ride. It showed me stopped while I was riding (for about a mile) and at one stop, showed me going between 1 & 2 mph off and on during the break. That’s why some of the numbers don’t jive.
Next 200 k I’m planning is Wallops Island (Reversed) overnight on October 14-15 as a warm-up to the Seagull Century on October 15th. If all goes well, I’ll ride 225 miles between 7:00 pm & 2:00 pm the next day.
This Ride: 21.8 miles
Month: 370 miles
2011: 5,487.4 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 11,607.1 miles
This morning I had conflicting goals. I wanted to ride relatively easy because I have a 200 k to ride tomorrow. I wanted to improve my ranking on an uphill “sprint” some of the SPP people have set up using strava.com. I was hobbled in this second goal by not knowing exactly where the start and stop to the sprint was. I miss-gauged it so both goals were impacted.
We had 9 out this morning, and it was quite pleasant out. We set a quick pace from the start, and I was riding comfortably with the group. When we got to where I thought the sprint started, I pushed hard, and held it there for probably twice as far as I needed to. I did succeed in improving my ranking and average speed over the section, but could have gone faster if I had started the effort at the start rather than several hundreds of yards after the start. (My average speed was 15.1 mph on the section before this morning. After this morning it was 17.6.)
Once I got back on the trail, I continued a pretty quick pace, and it felt good. I’ve not put out that kind of effort/speed since the end of June. It has been lacking in my riding and training as I was more focused on distance than speed.
I also discovered that my Garmin Edge 500 does not automatically select the bike I’m riding based on the cadence sensor. Therefore I need to make sure I set the Garmin for the proper bike if I want to have a cadence sensor that works.
Now for another long day of work. It has been a long week already.
This Ride: 23.8 miles
Month: 348.2 miles
2011: 5,465.6 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 11,585.3 miles
We had quite a few riders out this morning, but I announced early that I was riding an easier pace. Three others rode the first 1/3 of the ride with me, then Mike C. and I rode together the rest of the way. It was an uneventful morning with simple good conversation. I’m all set to ride a 200k with Clint on Friday, so watch for that report. We are riding a new route. Busy early day at work this morning, so off I go.
This Ride: 24.2 miles
Month: 324.4 miles
2011: 5,441.8 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 11,561.5 miles
When the alarm rang this morning, Lori said, “Do you always get up this early?” Well … yes. And so it is. The alarm goes off. I get up and get ready. I’m out the door before I think much about it. It is a matter of just getting out and riding. I told a friend this last weekend that if I accept an excuse for not riding one morning, it is more likely that I can convince myself not to go out again another morning. That starts a cascade that is hard to break.
It was a normal morning. Dave wasn’t interested in riding fast until the last half of the ride. He paid me a nice compliment before “dropping me” … stating that he thought I was the most improved rider over the past year or so. He once held that distinction and passed it along. Scott is committed to riding all winter now, and was quizzing some of us on the essential riding clothing. I also learned over the last day or so that several of us have ordered winter riding shoes that were on sale at Nashbar. It won’t be long now.
I rode most of the ride with Dan. He indicates he is feeling pretty tired. I noticed that both of us spent more time going up a few hills than usual. I was back out on the Kona this morning.
There was nothing spectacular or amazing about the ride. It was good to be out though.
This Ride: 25.8 miles
Month: 300.2 miles
2011: 5,417.7 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 11,537.4 miles
The rain stopped sometime over night, and so there were a few damp roads and some puddles this morning at 5:30, but no rain! It was a very pleasant 63° F with the promise of a gorgeous sunrise. We adapted some for our meet-up because part of the trail is closed due to a washout, but soon there were at least 6 riders out. I was on my fixie since it was “Mosey Monday” and I’m committed to riding it regularly for its benefits. I noted them today.
One benefit is that with one gear to ride, I tend to move to my regular cadence of 90 rpm, which places me just over 18 mph. That’s a little fast for Mosey Monday but will serve to strengthen my legs for other rides. Another benefit is that I have to anticipate the hills a bit more, which is simply good riding technique for the hills. This was also the first morning I’ve ridden the fixie up Askewton hill. I was a little nervous about that hill on a fixie, but was also determined not to walk it. I was able to power up the hill pretty quickly and spiked my heart rate to 171. The present gearing on the bike makes this hill reasonable. I also powered up the hill on B&A Blvd and held the speed above 20 mph on the fixie. Not bad! I had hoped for a speed record down the hill on B&A blvd, but the Garmin says I was 0.2 mph slower than my fastest even though I had 2 rpm faster than last Friday.
We did have one incident. As we descended into Round Bay, we crossed a few steel plates in the road, and Dave went down hard on one. As he fell, he tucked his shoulder and rolled. There was no visible damage to Dave or his bike.
Near the end of the ride we were blessed with those gorgeous skies as the sun rose. We met Mike on the trail as he commuted to work and rode with him for a couple of miles. I cut the ride a little shorter than I wanted this morning. I’m back to work now. The Sabbatical is over.
All in all, it was a nice start to the day.
This Ride: 36.8 miles
Month: 274.4 miles
2011: 5,391.9 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 11,511.6 miles
This was an event filled ride.
Once again, it was pouring down rain when I got up, and I pushed off in the rain, this time wearing my rain jacket. Part of the trail has been closed due to a washout, and part of the parallel road was also closed due to a sinkhole. We’ve had over 15 inches of rain this week. I explored those before showing up at our alternative starting place. While waiting for the others to show up, I used the time to raise my seat on the fixie about 1 cm. I could tell the difference immediately, and liked the new higher setting. By the time we were ready to start the ride, the rain stopped, and I stowed my rain jacket in a pocket. We didn’t need the rain gear the entire ride.
Moving down the trail in the dark we suddenly came across a log that had fallen across the trail, and three of the seven of us couldn’t stop in time and plowed right through the rotting wood. The others stopped, cleared the trail, then caught back up. We had an easy pace into Annapolis. Across one of the trail bridges I encountered two huge spider webs with gigantic spiders in each one. I was picking web off me all the way through breakfast. On Boulter’s Way, there were three deer spotted. On the approach to the Naval Academy Bridge I achieved my fastest speed yet on the fixie. I clocked 29.3 mph with an RPM of 141. I did bounce a little in the saddle. On the other side of the bridge, suddenly ahead of me there was a terrible noise, and it turns out that Clint dropped a chain on his fixie and it caught between the wheel and the frame. That was a quick fix, and soon we were back on our way to breakfast.
Myna at the Hard Bean was organized this morning, and we all had our food in record time. We called Chip for the dreaded “breakfast call”. Mike B. stopped in wearing civvies, he chose not to ride this morning because when he woke up it was raining. We also invited George, the city employee who is a crossing guard at the bottom of Main Street, to have coffee with us. We learned a little about his job, and he learned a little about these crazy bike riders who say hello to him (by name) every Friday morning.
On the way back from breakfast there was more deer sighted (4), a brief discussion with the Park Ranger about the washed out section of the trail, and Evan had a flat that was changed in quick order. I extended the ride just a bit, and could have gone a lot more but a long list of tasks awaits at home and I need to get to them if I have any hope of making my way through the list.
There were a lot of good comments about the fixie from the SPP crew. When I told them it was 27 lbs, they didn’t believe me and had me doubting it myself. Then, when they hefted it, they agreed that it was at least 27 lbs without the water bottle, and made the appropriate comments about hauling that kind of weight around. The rear wheel is out of round (I knew that when I brought it home.) A new one is being made by the factory and I’ll have it once that is done and shipped. The constant bump, bump, bump is distracting on smooth roads. Good thing most of the roads are not very smooth!
I hope the weather clears either today or tomorrow so I can get these bikes clean. They are full of sand, grit, dirt, and oil. This has been one very wet week of riding.
This Ride: 24.2 miles
Month: 237.6 miles
2011: 5,355 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 11,474.7 miles
It wasn’t raining between 3:30 & 5:00 am. I was hopeful that the trend would continue. We weren’t that lucky. It began raining just after 5, and there was even a little thunder along with it. I debated about riding, but I had promised some others that I would be riding my new fixie this morning and so I went out. Here is a snapshot of the radar about the time we finished the ride. The weather system is moving straight north.
In addition to steady rain during most of the ride, we encountered standing water of up to 3 inches deep, a washed out section of the B&A Trail, and a little bit of leaf debris. At least it was warmish … 70° F.
Four of us rode this morning, including Chip on his fixie. He and I rode together as he gave me pointers and was very encouraging. My present gearing will change, although this gearing made it easy to climb the short hills we normally encounter on the ride. I did achieve 27.6 mph on the fixie with an RPM of 132. I was riding the brakes a bit at that point. At that speed, imagine frog legs in a blender. There were only a few times when I wanted to coast, but of course the bike wouldn’t let me.
Observations from my first real ride on the fixie:
- I definitely felt connected to the bike.
- Riding through standing water means your feet are going to get wet. There is no coasting so there is no chance to keep the feet up and dry.
- Starting is tougher. Clip in one foot. Start the bike. Chase the other pedal around to clip in the other foot. That’s a lot to coordinate in the dark, in the rain, at 5:30 in the morning!
- Hills definitely have to be anticipated. This should dramatically improve my approach to hills.
- My legs feel the effort. Although one can “soft pedal” or let the pedals take the legs around with them, there is no stopping for even a few seconds rest.
After Chip left at White’s road to go back home, I doubled back to see if I could find Dave and Scott. Dave had a flat, and was simply adding CO2 in an attempt to limp home. I rode with him to the Rusty Bridge, then rode home. A towel was waiting for me as I got home. I peeled off what I could without getting arrested for indecent exposure, wrung out my socks, and had a quick hot shower. It felt good.
And for those of you who are still not sure what a “fixie” is … simply put, it is a single speed/gear bike. The rear cog is directly attached to the rear axle so that there is no coasting. If the wheel is turning, so are the pedals. It is possible to pedal such a bike backwards. I’ll let you know when I perfect that trick.
Rev Rider 