Rev Rider

This Ride: 32.1 miles
Month: 73.9 miles
2011: 2,281.3 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 8,401 miles

I wasn’t sure I would be able to ride this evening, but as it turned out, everything fell into place and I was able to join six other riders for a nice evening ride.  It was good to see some riders I had not seen in a while.  (You know who you are.)  A couple of the riders were relative “newbees” and I hung back most of the ride to make sure one rider wasn’t dropped.  We had a pretty tight group for the first 15 miles, then it fell apart until the last 2-3 miles.

I’m pressured for time this evening, so I’ll just post the map and quit.

This Ride: 22.7 miles
Month: 41.8 miles
2011: 2,249.2 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 8,368.9 miles

“Terrible Tuesday” is the SPP moniker for the day.  It promises to be fast and spirited.  I fully expect to have some good anaerobic workout on these days.  I was not disappointed.  Seven of us met at the Rusty Bridge, and almost immediately … it was on.

I was tight on the tire of the bike ahead of me, knowing that if I got dropped I’d never get back on.  I noticed that Mike C was off the back.  As it turns out, he dropped a chain even before we started, and was delayed by that.  On Old County, I opted to skip the hill in Round Bay, and served myself up as the “rabbit” for the chase group.  Once again, as I did last week, I pushed it hard, determined not to get caught before the end of the trail.  Once again, as I did last week, I made it to the end of the trail before the others arrived, but not by a whole lot.  I started the return with the group, but after meeting Mike going the other way, I slowed, stopped, and waited for him to ride back with.  We still had a good pace going, but nothing like the others.

It was on the way back that “this really felt good”.  I felt strength in my legs.  I wasn’t gasping for breath.  It just felt stronger to me.  It was as though I was just warmed up enough for a bike ride.  That’s a nice feeling.

This Ride: 19.1 miles
Month: 19.1 miles
2011: 2,226.5 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 8,346.2 miles

It was a nice “Mosey Monday” with seven riders out this morning.  Only two of us were out who had ridden the Ocean City Ride (Jeff and I) and so we regaled the others with the stories.  I cut the ride short this morning, both to spend a little time with Lori before work, and because I didn’t sleep well.  The death of bin Laden was not something we talked about beyond a mere mention.

And for the (and more), some photographs of the Ocean City ride from some of the other riders, and a link to Mike B’s account of the ride.

OC-12 Riders at the start

Another view of Dave's Place for breakfast

Strong fast riders must be slowed

Bikes taking a much needed rest while we eat

Thanks Mike for the photos!

This Ride: 113 miles
Month: 723.8 miles
2011: 2,207.5 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 8,327.2 miles

There are epic rides because the conditions are so bad that they leave an indelible mark on your mind.  I experienced that on the Ashland Brevet.  Our SPP 2011 Flèche Team experienced it in the rain and flooded roads a few weeks ago.  These kinds of epic rides serve to convince us that we can indeed ride even when very few will venture out.

I learned Saturday that there are also epic rides because of perfect weather conditions.  There is nothing quite like a 113 mile tailwind!

Saturday was leg one of our biannual SPP Ocean City Ride.  Unfortunately, I was able only to ride the leg from Stevensville, MD to Ocean City, MD because of the need to conduct worship on Sunday.  I wasn’t able to get the Sunday off.  We had 18 riders gather in Stevensville for the start.  We were decked out in our brand new SPP wind vests, arm warmers, racer caps, and other gear.  The vests were perfect for the day, and were ordered particularly because we wanted to be able to wear our “colors” externally.  Some of our longer rides occur in spring and fall when we might be inclined to cover up our jerseys with other wind vests/jackets.  A group of three local riders stopped by to wish us well.  Photos were taken.  Rules were discussed.  We were ready to go with the 53° temperature higher than what had been forecast.  We were delighted to have Randy M. on the ride.  Randy is a SPP member from Virginia who is riding the Race Across America (RAAM) starting June 15th.  He had been off the bike for a couple of weeks due to an illness, and he is a great rider to have with us.  Chip was riding his fixie.

As I fired up my Garmin, I noticed something peculiar.  My Garmin indicated several devices were detected.  It instructed me to press <Enter>, I did, and everything registered fine.  Or so I thought.  As it turns out, my Garmin heart rate monitor detected Mike B’s heart rate sensor and locked on to it.  If I wanted my heart rate reading, I needed to check with Bryan.  His Garmin had my heart rate connected to it.  Needless to say, ignore any heart rate my Garmin link below shows.

We rolled out of Stevensville at about 8:05.  It was mostly cloudy and we were excited about the temperatures and the tailwind.  I didn’t anticipate the benefit it would give us, especially in the last half of the ride.  We were in great spirits.  The route to Ocean City was familiar to most of us, and we knew that it is very flat (less than 1000 feet climbing in 113 miles … we do more than that on our 25 mile ride to Annapolis and back).  As we climbed the bridge to take us over Hwy 50, Mike earned the King of the Mountain points.  He was proud.  In Centerville, Mike was determined to claim more King of the Mountain points, but Bryan saw Mike’s push up the hill, caught him and captured the points.  I caught the points for the only other noticeable hill on the route.

It was a comfortable pace to our first planned stop.  We were not pushing it much at all as we got used to riding with one another.  We spent most of this first leg two or three wide, with a lot of conversation and some “getting to know you” opportunities.  It felt as though we were on a very casual stroll.  Before we knew it, Clint was calling in our breakfast order, and shortly after 10:00 we pulled into Dave’s Place.

A bunch of bikers in a biker's bar for breakfast

I sometimes wonder if these long rides might not be better described as eating trips using a bicycle to get from one place to another.  Mary Ann at Dave’s Place was in her usual fine form and excited to have us there.  She had not arranged for much help, so it was a bit of a wait for our food to arrive.  I heard no complaints.  The coffee was hot.  The pitchers of ice water was cold.  The homemade chocolate chip cookies, homemade brownies, and baskets of potato chips were enough to keep us occupied.  When it arrived, the food was good, and it also meant that we had Mary Ann out in the dining area, giving us the grand tour and not only telling us the history (stories we hear each year, but are great for the newbies) but also the raffle (this year the prizes were scratch off lottery tickets and a Powerball ticket).  Bryan, Mike, and I won the raffle.  None of us hit the Powerball jackpot.  Mary Ann will be sorely disappointed.

As we loaded up the left over cookies and brownies for our later happy hour, took the obligatory group photo with Mary Ann, and prepared to push off for our next food stop, we were trying to guess clothing needs.  It was still pretty cloudy and it had not warmed up much at all.  At first I thought about just wearing my jersey, but at the last minute pulled on the wind vest and arm warmers.  I’m really glad I did.  Even the short fingered gloves were a little cool for the first half hour.  We also said farewell to several riders (3?) who turned back because of other obligations later in the day.

After breakfast, we picked up the pace, taking advantage of the tailwind and the food.  It was not uncommon to look down and see our speed at 22-24 mph.  We kept having to ease back to make sure we didn’t drop anyone.  We had long stretches of road with no vehicle traffic, no stop signs, and nothing to slow us down.  We had no dogs chasing us.  We just pedaled and spun away the miles.  Occasionally we were concerned for Chip on the fixie, but he never complained about the RPMs he was having to turn in order to stay with us, and he never really drifted back.  We had a 20 mile stretch where our average speed was over 21 mph!  Thank you tailwind!

Before we knew it, and before I was really hungry, we pulled into Milton and our next food stop at Irish Eyes.  We had pretty fast service.  I had a “Grown up Grilled Cheese Sandwich” and Tomato bisque soup.  It was delicious.  We were kept busy updating family and Facebook and preparing for our next stop, less than a mile away.  Those who had them, put on their Dogfish Head Brewery jerseys and I know I saw at least one photo with half a dozen people in the jersey.  We climbed aboard and within moments we were at the brewery for a tasting.

Bikes indicate bikers in Dogfish Head Brewery

Dogfish Head has a tasting room where there are 4 beers to sample.  I noticed that they ones being served were all 10 – 12% ABV.  I wasn’t very fond of the Black & Blue (the blueberry was much too sweet for my tastes, and was glad to finish with the stout.  We bought new Jerseys, beer for the happy hour later, and for some … finally were ready to go.  Between Irish Eyes and the brewery, we spend quite a bit of time in Milton.

Next stop: showers, happy hour, and dinner at Lombardi’s!

It was as if the horses could smell the barn.  Again, we picked up the pace aided by the wind and covered ground pretty fast.  There were a couple of potty stops (trees and a non-public restroom at a convenience store) because the fluids at lunch and post lunch were running through us pretty quickly.  As we approached 10 miles remaining, a group of 6 started jockying for position for the first place finish and the greeting by the finish line girls (my wife and daughter).  I was able to close a 150-200 yard gap through sheer determination, and then remained part of this group until the turn south on Ocean Highway.  Mike and I just couldn’t keep the pace, and so we accompanied one another to the finish.  It was during this final push that we had the one and only dangerous interaction with a vehicle.  A driver, pulling out of a driveway apparently didn’t see us and was ready to pull out into our path (we had flashing headlights on at this point).  I alerted Mike to his presence, and he yelled loud, startling the driver.  Collision averted.

My wife and daughter greeted us as we literally rode into the lobby of the hotel for the finish.  She was surprised I finished strong and near the front.  The truth is, I was in the front for 90% of the ride, often the lead rider.

A quick shower, happy hour, and dinner followed as planned with a lot of recapping of the day.  Two riders, Chip & Randy skipped dinner, jumped back on their bikes, and started the trip back home.

Our bikes loaded into a van (driven over by Lori) we took my daughter back home to Salisbury and then using our cell phone maps and the cue sheet, located Chip & Randy around mile 50 and made sure they were ok.  They reported doing great … no problems except wondering why our vehicle was not passing them.  We all couldn’t believe how dark it was out in the middle of the Eastern Shore.  Note to all: Yes, you can see those Planet Bike rear blinking lights from over 1/2 mile away at night.  They are very effective!

This ride’s accomplishments:

• Fastest ride this year:  I’ve only had one other ride faster.  That was the Seagull Century at 19.4 mph average speed.  I was trying to go fast on that ride and it didn’t involve as much food.
• I’ve now traveled more than 1/3 the way around the planet since January 1 of last year.
• I exceeded my mileage goal for April.
• I felt strong and was in the lead group for the vast majority of the ride.  That was important for me as I prepare to ride this same route (solo or with one other rider) on June 2nd, and will be pressed for time.
• The maximum speed of 29 mph is not going downhill.  It is on the flat (yes, there was a tailwind) as I accelerated to catch a “breakaway”.
• I may have an announcement in the next week or so that I’m absolutely excited about, but need to wait to see if the details get worked out.

This was a great day and a great ride with great friends.  The return riders are now back home.  The encountered some light rain showers that were not in the forecast when we left Saturday morning.

I’m disappointed that OC-13 falls on a weekend that I need to perform a wedding.  I may only be able to ride the return trip … if any at all.

This Ride: 26.7 miles
Month: 610.8 miles
2011: 2,094.5 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 8,214.9 miles

Last night, I put out a post to the Severna Park Peloton group that anyone missing from the 5:45 ride this morning was to be presumed to be watching the Royal Wedding.  The comment actually got one rider out who has not ridden with the group in quite some time.  We had nine of us who avoided the Royal Wedding by cycling this morning.  It was a pleasant day.  I decided to wear as little as I thought I could in order to test my clothing choices for the beginning of the Ocean City Ride tomorrow morning.  At 50°F I do need toe covers, arm warmers, and long fingered gloves.  At 55° the short fingered gloves are fine and arm warmers are comfortable.  My knees were exposed and felt fine.  Conventional wisdom is that in people my age, knees need to be covered up to 70°.  I’m back and forth with that one.

Six of us rode into Annapolis for breakfast, including Mike who went on to Chick and Ruth’s.  The rest were at Hard Bean.  Meena (sp?) served us well and when we were done, brought out two individual servings of hot apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top as a treat.  I never had pie and ice cream for breakfast before.  The sugar rush not only got Dan to confess that sometimes he goes home and dishes up ice cream and cereal in a bowl as a post ride snack, but I think it increased our pace on the way home.

This evening, we have a short “happy hour” at Clint’s house in order to pick up our new SPP clothing ordered a couple of months ago.  Tomorrow, our Ocean City Ride (OC-12) pushes off at 8:00 am from Stevensville, MD.  The forecast is perfect.  At least 18 riders are covering the 115-120 mile route to Ocean City, and 8 are doing the return trip Sunday.  Mary Ann is ready at “Dave’s Place” (the biker bar) for breakfast.  We will be stopping in at the Dogfish Head brewery for a tasting and hopefully to meet the owner.  We told him we were coming through and that he could meet Randy, the RAAM rider who has been sponsored by Dogfish Head.

Today I’ll clean up the bike, lube the chain, check the brakes and tires and tweek the shifting.

The following is a description of two rides, bringing me up to date.

Tuesday Pizza Ride

This Ride: 28.1 miles
Month: 560.5 miles
2011: 2,044.2 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 8,163.9 miles

Last fall, Janet B started a Tuesday evening “Pizza Ride” that I was able to participate in a couple of times.  Now that the weather has warmed up again, and there is more daylight in the evening, these rides have resumed.  Nine of us pushed off from the Rusty Bridge for a good ride into Cape St. Clair, across Hwy 50, into St. Margaret’s and then returning on the B&A Trail to Old Town Severna Park and a local Italian restaurant.  It was warm, relatively quick, and a great chance to ride with some I don’t get to ride with very much.

An observation: When riding with those you’ve never ridden with before, no matter how experienced you or they are, watch them for a while.  One of the riders (who will go nameless here) was a strong, and experienced rider, but completely unpredictable.  Holding his wheel in a paceline was absolutely dangerous.  Even being near him could be hazardous because he would suddenly decide to slow down or move into another “lane”.  I appreciate that his situational awareness made these moves “safe” for him, but there was little, if any warning to those around him that those moves were being made.  I like predictability when I’m less than a foot off someone’s wheel or riding 6 inches from their handlebars.

On the return on the B&A Trail, we had several “breakaway” attempts, and four of us wouldn’t let it happen.  It was fun to be moving at 27+ mph on the flats.

At the restaurant, we were joined by some who did not ride, and by Mike B who stopped by on his commute home from work.  We nearly had the restaurant to ourselves.  It was a good ride, and a good time with friends.

Wednesday 5:45 Ride

This Ride: 23.5 miles
Month: 584 miles
2011: 2,067.8 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 8,187.5 miles

Wednesday morning was another unseasonably warm morning with 67°F.  It sure doesn’t take long to get dressed for these temps!  After Tuesdays two fast rides, I was pretty exhausted, and was determined to take it easy.  At the Rusty Bridge, five riders elected to do a Solley Road fast loop (minimal traffic signals and stop signs) while Mike B. and I opted for the traditional route at an easier pace.  Along the way we picked up Ben and Jeff who had opted not to meet at the Rusty Bridge.  This change in plans later spurred a lively discussion via email with what I think will prove to be an increase in the number of riders who make it all the way to the RB for the start rather than waiting for us along a planned route hoping there is no change in morning route.

We avoided Round Bay hill, and proceeded to the top of the Naval Academy Bridge for a hoped for sunrise … but it was completely overcast.  The ride was enjoyable and uneventful.

I planned then to rest on Thursday so I am relatively fresh for the Ocean City ride on Saturday.  The forecast for Thursday morning was for rain/thunderstorms.  Those didn’t materialize, but I’m still glad I took the morning off.  I’ll ride the breakfast ride on Friday and then prep the bike for the ride on Saturday.  Barring some major catastrophe on the Saturday ride, I’m in fine shape to exceed my April goal of 650 miles.

This Ride: 23.3 miles
Month: 532.4 miles
2011: 2,016.1 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 8,135.8 miles

It was another very warm morning, and I was expecting quite a number of riders out. I was out early and rode about 5 miles before arriving at the Rusty Bridge.  There were only 5 to start and one joined us much later (we took a different route). The day is typically designated “Torture Tuesday” because there is an expectation of some fast riding (which keeps some riders away). One has to be pretty fast to keep up.

As we left the trail, Bryan and Dan conspired to take a different route to avoid Jennings road and its large gravel and poorly repaired sections.  We traveled Truckhouse Road to Benfield and then back to the Trail as it crosses Robinson Road.  And we took it at a pace that I couldn’t hold.  The group waited for me once we hit the trail.  Then on Old County Road, I told the others to go ahead and do the hills in Round Bay, I’d go straight on Old County, and they could see if they could catch me by the end of the trail.  I worked hard, keeping my heart rate in the anaerobic zone, and successfully reached the end of the trail tens of seconds ahead of the rest.

We eased up back down the trail and Brian (Commodore) caught up with us.  At B&A Blvd, the group took off again, and I didn’t even try to keep up.  I did keep the speed up as best I could.  We regrouped again at the trail, and took a relatively easy pace back to the Ranger Station.

As it turned out, this was my ride with the fastest average speed for the year.  It was 17.8 mph over those 23 miles.

It sounds like the plan is to do the Solley Road route tomorrow.  I may offer a slower, easier pace to others since I’ll also be riding this evening.

This evening I’m looking forward to the “Pizza Ride”.

This Ride: 43.5 miles
Month: 509.1 miles
2011: 1,992.8 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 8,112.5 miles

I have the Monday after Easter as a holiday each year.

I woke up at 4:00 am with light rain falling. I checked the radar, and it looked as though the rain would continue until about 6 or 7 am, so I turned off the alarm and went back to sleep. No Mosey Monday for me, although the temperatures were reasonable for a ride in the rain.  I knew I didn’t have to ride in the rain with the day off.  Lori and I have plans to meet one of her friends after work, so I offered to take her to work and pick her up so we have only one car to shuttle at the end of the day.  Along the way we saw Mike B on his commute north to work and shouted out a greeting.  Returning home, it took me a little while to get ready … then it was off for an ever-changing ride.

My initial goal was to document in photographs some of the places I often reference in this blog.  So with an easy pace, I set out to ride the trail, and some of our normal morning route.  I often talk about Round Bay.  Here is a photo of one of the pretty places where we often get to see the sunrise.

Looking at the Severn River from Severn River Road in Round Bay

Then, shortly after this, is the hill in Round Bay (Askewton Road).  It continues upward after the curve to the right, barely visible in the photo.

This hill climbs up from the Severn River and ranges between 11-14% grade.

After this, the camera wouldn’t turn on … so I abandoned the photo tour.  No longer taking photos, I gradually picked up the pace.  Originally, I was intending to keep my heart rate below 135, but soon the beautiful morning and the wind across my face pushed me faster and faster.  I had a good ride to Sandy Point, where I did not stop except to give directions to a woman who was determined to spend time on the beach this morning.  I crossed highway 50, dodged tree cutting crews, and then made my way to St. Margaret Road.  I was cautious approaching the bridge because the threshold was awful the last time I rode this route, but it had been fixed.  Soon I was crossing the Naval Academy Bridge with the decision made to make my way back home via Veteran’s Highway.  It was relatively uneventful.  I did get up to 40.2 mph on one hill.  I’ll either need longer hills or to pedal hard downhill to break my speed record.  I made my way to East West Highway, then through Kinder Park and back home.  The bank thermometer read 84 degrees, but I think it was closer to upper seventies to around 80.

It was a nice ride.  Around mile 40 I needed a little nutrition.  My intent was to ride long enough to see just when my body began to really need something extra.  Fluid intake was good.  I went through about 1.5 bottles of water.

I’m looking forward to probably 2 rides tomorrow (5:45 am and Pizza Ride less than 12 hours later).  I’m also excited that the current forecast for our Ocean City ride on Saturday is absolutely perfect.

Oh yes, I got my cadence sensor working again.  It was nice to have it on this ride.

This Ride: 51.8 miles
Month: 465.6 miles
2011: 1,949.4 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 8,069.1 miles

It was another Friendly Friday for the Severna Park Peloton. We had a good group out on a chilly 43° F morning.  The usual characters were present, except for a couple who are out of town.  Seven ate at the Hard Bean and Mike B met friends at Chick & Ruth’s.  This was the first chance some in the group had opportunity to hear the stories of this year’s epic Flèche, and so the stories were told again without much embellishment.

Following breakfast, I met Mike B and we cycled together as he commuted to work.  It is always nice to ride with Mike.  As he peeled off to hit the old salt mine, I continued on around the airport and directly back home with one quick stop at a Royal Farms (convenience store) to pick up some more fluids.  I had started the morning with just 2/3 of a water bottle full of water and that wasn’t enough for this breezy morning.  The Royal Farms near Baltimore Washington Medical Center is pretty interesting mid-morning.  It was busy.  I was the only one in line not buying cigarettes, coffee, and pre-packaged donuts.  They looked disapproving at me in my cycling gear and I returned the favor with their cigarettes.  Self-righteousness goes both ways.

With this ride over 50 miles, I’ve just made the monthly goal within a much easier reach.  Without Mike this morning, I probably would have put in only half the distance.  Just 75-85 miles next week before riding OC-12, and I’ll meet my goal.  With good weather on Monday (a day off), I can probably get at least half those miles.

This Ride: 22.1 miles
Month: 413.9 miles
2011: 1,897.6 miles
Total since 1/1/2010: 8,017.3 miles

Pushing off from home at about 5:20 am, there was a pretty strong northerly wind and fine particles reflecting back in my headlight. Glancing around to my once black car, I noticed the green dusting from the oak pollen and realized that we have now entered the two week period of time in Maryland where the oak pollen is thick … on surfaces and the air. It is a sure sign that spring has fully arrived.

My ride started with a headache this morning.  That disappeared by mile 10.  Four of us started at the Rusty Bridge and soon were joined by two others … and later by Dan.  Where he joined, I don’t really know, because Mike C. and I were dropped on the hill in Round Bay and never got even close to getting back with the main group for the rest of the ride.  With the very strong northerly wind, our trip south on the trail was fast and fun.  Our return trip consisted of putting our heads down and peddling hard into the gale.  We both took some time on the front.  Gusts at times surprised us.  It was a good morning to be out, with a very pretty sunrise.

I’m clearly experiencing the struggle of cycling while on a calorie restricted diet.  I forgot to consume some calories before I pushed off this morning, and I felt it.  Slow speeds and high heart rates are the tell tale sign that my body is trying to find a way to fuel the effort.

Just as I was coming off the trail to do the last bit home, I met Mike B. on his commute to work.  He seemed in great spirits and stopped for a brief chat.  He had a full ride into the headwind this morning, and has ridden 21 consecutive days this month, part of a 30 Days of Cycling Challenge.  That’s a whole lot better than my disappointing 11 days thus far in April.  No wonder my mileage for the month is so low!  My goal is still 236 miles away with 9 days left in the month.

I passed the 8,000 mile mark (January 1, 2010 – present) this morning.  Only 16,884 more and I will have circled the globe.