These 2 Rides: 50.8 miles
Month: 825.6 miles
2011: 4,195.5 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 10,315.2 miles
I commented to Lori last night that I’m tired … getting these miles in is starting to take some of the fun out of riding. But I’ve got this goal this month. I’m less than 75 miles from the goal. (Mike is watching me and will likely sneak in more miles than me just to snatch away the SPP July mile prize.)
Today consisted of two rides. The first was Wicked Wednesday. At the start, Dave said something that was terribly deflating to me about yesterday’s effort. He said yesterday should have been billed as Timid Tuesday since his heart rate never got above 105 on what seemed to me to be a Terribly Tuesday fast pace. I pushed it again this morning, not quite as hard, and then dropped back at Glen Oban on the route north to pick up a dropped rider. We talked some. He is relatively new to the club and has just joined RUSA and had a lot of questions. It made it a much more enjoyable ride. The fast part of the ride was fun too. Riding in excess of 30 mph in a paceline has its own rush.
After the Wicked Wednesday ride, I came home for a couple of hours, then set off again on some errands that I could do by bike and put in the miles in a more interesting way. I stopped at the Severna Park branch of Bank of America, continued on to Koons Toyota in Annapolis, then to Annapolis BMW before coming back home. At each place, I was given the opportunity to talk about cycling and of course people were amazed not only that I was doing the errands on a bike, but also that the route was about 30 miles for those errands. Most people could see a bike for an errand of less than a mile, but to go nearly 30 and to a completely different town just befuddles people. That makes it even more fun.
The reason for these automotive related trips? This week I purchased a 2004 Alpine White BMW 330ci convertible for Lori. We traded in the Seabring. I was dropping off the title to the Seabring and obtaining a duplicate key for the new (to us) car. All of that fit into the cycling jersey pockets quite easily.
The Severna Park Peloton offers two different license plate frames to its members. The first is the 10,000 mile recognition. The second is for completion of the R-12 (12 consecutive months of riding a 200k ride as sanctioned by RUSA). Five of the members of SPP came over to my house last Thursday to present my license plate. I installed it this week.
These 2 Rides: 68.7 miles
Month: 774.7 miles
2011: 4,144.7 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 10,264.4 miles
After the hot 200k on Wednesday, I just didn’t have the gumption to get out and ride on Thursday. I took my bike in to the shop for a new chain and cassette. I learned that the previous bike shop had installed a 9 speed cassette onto my bike even though I had a 10 speed shifter (that they sold me). I had the proper 10 speed cassette installed. Now my front ring isn’t shifting and I’ve not yet taken the time to fix that properly, so the two rides have been ridden in the large chain ring exclusively. (I was out of town Friday – Sunday, and also did not ride.)
Monday it was good to get back out on the bike and ride with the SPP. We had a relatively easy pace, except for my push along B&A Blvd. I accomplished a goal on the last hill coming up out of Round Bay. I held above 21 mph all the way up the hill. Keeping the focus on getting faster up that hill has helped improve my speed the past month. Today (Tuesday), I was 4th rider in the paceline, and held around 23 mph up the same hill. That feels pretty good.
Today’s ride was much faster than yesterday’s. It was Terrible Tuesday, and the five riders gradually increased the pace. Jim K. & I took the easier hill in Round Bay, then waited for the other 3 riders to catch up. When they did, we all dashed down the trail together, exceeding 30 mph on the trail near the southern end. At the end of 20 miles this morning (including a gentle 3 mile ride to get to the Rusty Bridge), I had an average of 18.7 mph and one 5 mile “lap”of 22.3 mph average. These are some nice numbers to see. I’ll have to remember to hit my lap timer as we push off from the Rusty Bridge on these faster mornings to see what speeds we are really riding.
After the fast part of the ride I continued on to do the Airport Loop. I didn’t have much energy left in the legs after the fast morning so I simply took it easy.
I had hopes of achieving the SPP mileage award for July, but it looks like Mike also has that goal firmly in sight and he is shooting for a 1000 mile month also. It looks like I’ll meet my 900 mile goal, but I will fall short of 1000 miles. (Now, am I being truthful here or am I giving Mike a head fake for the mileage challenge? Only time will tell. I did seriously consider not posting a ride report just to keep him in the dark about my miles. We are close on distance for July, with him a few miles ahead of me right now.)
This Ride: 125.4 miles
Month: 706 miles
2011: 4,075.9 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 10,195.6 miles
That was the hardest 200k I’ve ridden. (8 down, 4 to go for the R-12)
Those who know the route might think I’m kidding. My “elevation correction” Garmin readings show 398 feet of climbing. The difficulty had nothing to do with the climbing or lack thereof. It had to do with the ride conditions themselves.
Mike B & I planned this 200k last week. Mike is at the beach with his family and I wanted to do a weekday 200k. Mike offered to accompany me if I rode the “Eastern Shore – Reversed”route, known within the SPP as Wallops Island for it’s start there. We planned a relatively early start time of 6:00 am. We would have started at 5:00, but both of us had considerable travel time. As it was, I went to bed early Tuesday evening and got up at 2:15 am for the 3 hour drive to the start of the ride. Once I arrived, I changed into cycling clothes in the Royal Farms restroom, Mike arrived, and we pushed off just a little after 6:00.
Mike & I rode the first 10 – 15 miles abreast, chatting it up and enjoying catching up with one another. Then, having said all we “needed to say”, we decided to pick up the pace a bit to get as many miles in as we could before it got hot. The forecast was for the low 90’s with a slight tailwind developing for our ride back. We each took 5 – 10 minute pulls on the front while the other drafted, increasing our speed to between 19 & 20 mph pretty consistently. This felt pretty good. The day was sunny, there was more shade than I expected, and the pedaling was steady. We watched for signs of the southerly breeze with every flying flag and watched for the grasses to begin to stir along side the road.
We reached our first timed control just 13 minutes behind the opening time … and we were 9 minutes late getting started. My mood and energy level was high. We simply anticipated a great day. I recall Mike commenting that we might even have to wait some for the next timed control to open. We refilled the water supply we had drained and pressed on. As the temperature rose, we made sure we remained hydrated, ate some, and I took e-caps every hour. I didn’t need to be reminded. Sweat was dripping off my nose and chin. My sweatband became completely saturated and ineffective. Everything I had on was soaked. I couldn’t have been wetter if we had ridden through rain.
By the time we reached the turnaround point in Cape Charles there still wasn’t any significant breeze,the temperature was 90 degrees and the humidity level was pretty high. All that had conspired to slow us down a bit. We noticed too, along the way that the road surface made a huge difference in the effort and the speed we were able to hold. That chip seal road surface is rough and really had an impact on us.
At the control in Cape Charles, we took a significant break. We reached it in good time, but not anywhere near the opening time for the control. We each needed more water and some food. The air conditioning felt amazing on my completely wet body. There really wasn’t anywhere to sit, so we simply paced back and forth in the air conditioning. We shared a chicken sandwich and prepared ourselves for the return.
I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I relied on Mike to pull for a greater percentage of the return than was fair. The heat was getting to me. I had thoughts of abandoning the ride, quitting the R-12 attempt, and at one point when we passed a small family cemetery I commented to Mike that I might as well lay down there for as long as necessary. We were going slower. I was watching my heart rate, and was attempting to keep it below 150. That became more and more difficult, especially when the promised tailwind turned out to be a quartering headwind and the temperatures continued to climb. I have experienced chest pains in temperatures like this when I was in my 30’s, complete with left arm numbness during a 4th of July run in Iowa. I continued to monitor any signs of chest pain, and probably monitored myself right into feeling a slight twinge. Recalling that a SPP rider died of a heart attack while riding with the group, I resolved to make sure I didn’t repeat that. When my heart rate climbed to 150 and I couldn’t bring it back down, I invited Mike to stop in some shade for a rest. Mike was gracious enough to do this … fairly often. We pressed on.
At the control with 22 miles to go, we stopped again for plenty of water and some food. Our bodies probably warmed the Exxon station up a few degrees as we soaked up the air conditioning. Mike and I purchased a gallon of chilled water each, filled our now empty water bottles and camelbacks and still had about a quart of water to pour directly on our heads to help us cool down. The temperature was 98.6 … that was air temperature, not body temperature! No wonder this was an effort.
During the last 22 miles, we stopped in the shade at least twice more (or was it 3?), finding those places where the shade and the breeze combined to maximize cooling. Our goal was in sight, but we still played it smart. This was hot, and we ground out the miles. We took advantage of any descent we found, and were amazingly slow on the climbs back up out of the “canyon”. (Remember, there was 400 feet of climbing over 125 miles! These climbs were probably 20 feet.)
This route is notorious for dog incidents. There wasn’t a single dog encounter during the ride. It was too hot. We did encounter 4 deer at an intersection on the edge of a corn field. Two ran down the lane perpendicular to our route, but two ran along our route. We watched them leap back and forth across the ditch along our path for about 1/3 of a mile (about 100 yards ahead of us) until they found a wooded area to enter. That was fun.
The final few miles, the pulls were a mile or less each, and I was never so glad to see a Royal Farms in my life. After negotiating dangerous and chaotic traffic in the parking lot, we shut down, loaded up our bikes, and offended everyone in the Royal Farms with our stinking sweat drenched bodies.
It took 20-30 minutes to cool down enough in the air-conditioning to change out of cycling clothes into something dry and suitable for driving home. We consumed fluids, protein, and a few carbs while waiting to return to normal. I then climbed back into the car for the 3 hour trip home, and arrived at about 6:30 pm. By 8:30 I was in bed.
I do have some injuries as a result of this ride. My chamois cream completely washed away at some point in the ride, and I’ve got some “hot spots” as a result, one in a place that I never would have expected. I have some hand numbness in both hands yet this morning. As I fatigued, I put more weight on my hands than I should have, pinching the nerve. I originally planned to ride a recovery ride this morning. I slept instead. My legs feel good. I don’t have muscle soreness or real fatigue. I think I recovered overnight pretty well.
The bike gets a new chain and cassette today, and it won’t be ridden until at least Sunday because of schedule conflicts.
Look for Mike’s report later. I’ll be interested to see how he describes this ride. His blog is Chesapeake Sailor.
This Ride: 22.6 miles
Month: 580.6 miles
2011: 3,950.5 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 10,070.2 miles
Someone asked me today how I’ve been able to get so many miles in on the bike. The answer is quite simple. It is a matter of just showing up. I can’t get miles unless I drag myself out of bed and get on the bike and ride. Those who get the most miles each month are those who are out regularly to ride.
There were at least 10 out today for our morning ride, with 7-8 of those deciding to ride fast. From the beginning, I chose to stay back and ride at a reasonable pace. I’m riding a 200k tomorrow and I didn’t want to burn my legs out. Mike C. and later, Jim K. joined me for a nice ride … still quick, but not unreasonable.
Before Dan & Clif got tempted to go with the faster riders, Dan regaled us with his solo “Four Presidents”ride last Sunday. In 200k it has over 10,000 feet of climbing. He struggled a bit in the heat of the afternoon, but it was a successful and beautiful ride.
Tomorrow’s 200k should prove to be interesting. I’m driving several hours to the 6:00 am start. It is a flat course and the temperature forecast is from 75 at the start to 92 early afternoon. It is a mostly unshaded course, so I’ll make sure I have the camelback and plenty of sunscreen. It will be good to ride with Mike again.
This Ride: 46.8 miles
Month: 558 miles
2011: 3,927.9 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 10,047.6 miles
Our peloton was 8 riders strong this morning. We rode at an easy pace, with a lot of conversation. I was amazed as I looked at the combination of my speed and heart rate and found that my heart rate was tremendously low compared to the speed we were going. I’m really noticing the overall fitness improvement with all the extra miles I’m putting in.
After the morning ride, I stopped by the house to see Lori off to work, then added another 25+ miles for the day. It was a nice morning.
This week will be a little crazy. I’ll ride easy tomorrow, probably somewhere between 20-30 miles. Wednesday is my 200k for the month of July. Thursday will be a recovery ride, distance yet to be determined. I don’t think I can ride Friday because of some other commitments.
[For some reason: graphic import is not working this morning].
This Ride: 63 miles
Month: 511.2 miles
2011: 3,881.2 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 10,000.9 miles
There it is! 10,000 miles ridden in just over a year and a half! This one feels pretty good.
It started as any usual Friendly Friday Breakfast Ride to Annapolis does. We had a pretty good turn out with 8 going all the way into Annapolis. Two of our regulars were missing … they have family vacations at the beach. It was a nice morning to ride, to breakfast al fresca, and great conversation all around. At the end of the ride, I announced that I was intending to do 50-60 miles on the day (even though my legs felt wooden). Carl & Evan rode with me into Glen Burnie where Carl pulled off to go home and Evan turned around near the airport. I did two clockwise airport loops, made my way back toward the hospital, extending the route so I could get the 63 miles for the day. I stopped at the hospital to pick up Lori’s car and I’ll pick her up from work later today and head to happy hour in Annapolis with friends.
My legs felt pretty good after about 30 miles … or about when I decided that today would indeed be the day to surpass this arbitrary yet important goal. I stopped once at about mile 45 for a banana and Gatorade.
I’ve earned the SPP 10,000 mile award now also. It is a license plate frame (for the car). I have to wait until some club event to receive it, but it will go on the car as soon as I get it. A photo will go up also.
On to some errands.
This Ride: 22.9 miles
Month: 448.2 miles
2011: 3,818.2 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 9,937.9 miles (inching toward 10,000)
There were not as many out this morning for the 5:45 ride. By the time we were moving down the trail, we had 7 riders. The pace was a bit easier than yesterday, so I decided to ride the hill in Round Bay, and that is exactly where I lost connection with the lead group and rode with Chip who was gracious enough to ride with me. I just couldn’t get the speed I had yesterday, and I had no desire to extend the ride, so I decided to rest a bit and gather the miles tomorrow. It was actually on the verge of chilly this morning with 68 degrees F, with a northerly breeze and much lower humidity.
I took the time to do some much needed maintenance. My chain and cassette really needed to be cleaned, and it was so bad that it took quite a while. My rear tire was also getting a little flat on the part that contacts the road, and after inspecting it I noticed the cord showing through at one point, and another place where the rubber was cut to the cord. I probably did that when I locked up the rear wheel on yesterday’s ride. I changed the tire. I’m riding Continental 4 Season (700 X 23) and have been very happy with them. The rear tire had about 2500 miles on it. Previously I rode a Gatorskin and had 1900 miles on that tire when I changed it. I’ve ridden 3200 miles (5 months) without a rear flat.
My front tire still is showing some tread after 3500 miles. I’ll continue to ride it another 500-1000 miles before I replace it … unless it develops flats too. This tire has not had a flat since I installed it 6 months ago. I know it is supposed to be bad luck to comment about lack of flats, but I’m pleased with this stretch of good fortune.
My chain is starting to show some wear. It is getting close to time to replacement time. I’ve ridden 4300 miles on this chain.
Break pads are good.
So, the Kona got a bath, new rubber, and the chain & cassette are bright and shiny.
This Ride: 48.1 miles
Month: 425.4 miles
2011: 3,795.3 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 9,915 miles (inching toward 10,000)
This was simply a good day.
Nine riders were at the Rusty Bridge for Wicked Wednesday, with at least 2 more riders (maybe 3) picked up early in the ride. We gradually picked up the pace so that by the time we were on Jennings Road, the pace was full bore. I closed a gap and looked down at the Garmin. It was reading 30 mph! We kept the pace above 20 mph often, except when people on the trail or intersections slowed us down. In Round Bay, four of us skipped the hill, forming a “breakaway”for the other faster riders to catch. Our goal was to not be caught by that faster group before the end of the trail. Brian (Commodore) and I set the pace, pulling 22 – 26 mph on the final stretch. We were not caught. By then, I was fried. I dropped off the back for the ride back north. A couple of us stopped to help Clif with a tube change at Glen Oban, and Jim K with a tube change near McKinsey Road. Odd: those were all front tire flats.
After assisting Jim, the ride back was leisurely. I continued on with Mike C and Jim K until they peeled off for home, then continued on around the river. I had periods of great strength and some slow stretches also. I got home feeling good, feeling as though I could have ridden more, but decided to stop. I was out of water and had ridden 48 miles on only a small granola bar.
I had some disappointing news yesterday. The fixie I was trying to build is going to cost more than I want it to. I’ll have to decide if it makes sense to use my old frame or to simply purchase a new/used fixie. I may get out today and price some in area shops. I had hoped to be riding a fixie within a week or so.
I’m feeling good about the numbers. 425 miles in 9 days of riding to date this month. I’m just 85 miles shy of 10,000 miles on a bike in the last 19 months. Maybe I can hit that goal by Friday. Will I be able to break 1,000 miles this month? Only time will tell!
And an odd thing. Suddenly my Garmin page is showing some charts in kilometers rather than miles.
This Ride: 31.1 miles
Month: 377.2 miles
2011: 3,747.2 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 9,866.9 miles (inching toward 10,000)
Today’s forecast is for one of the hottest days of the year in Severna Park, and after last night’s rain storm and a relatively high low temperature, the day certainly started off looking like the forecast would be true. The humidity levels seemed to be off the chart, with my riding glasses fogging up no so much because of the temperature differential, but because of moving through such moist air. I announced last night by email that I would not be “hammering”on “Terrible Tuesday”, but rather would be taking a much easier pace. Four riders joined me off the back of the main group. We pressed it in a few places, but made sure that we rode smart in the humidity. Jeff had a front flat on B&A Blvd, that didn’t take long to change. By the time he had the wheel off, we were all drenched in sweat with water pouring off our faces and down our backs. It made the first 30 seconds back on the bike actually quite cold.
I originally intended to ride 40-50 miles this morning, but once out on the bike just didn’t have the motivation. I’m still whittling away at the miles and am still on track for my highest mileage month ever.
I’ve arranged to complete July’s 200k ride in 8 days, riding The Eastern Shore Permanent Reversed (Wallops Island) on Wednesday with Mike B. The ride features a massive 500′ total elevation increase over the 125 miles. My 31 mile ride had 1.5 times that this morning. I’m looking forward to that ride.
Rev Rider 