This Ride: 8.9 miles
Month: 415.9 miles
2011: 415.9 miles
Cumulative Total: 6,535.6 miles
This morning a fresh coating of snow, 32°F, and a light rain made it easy to decide to remain indoors. It didn’t make the trainer any easier. I only ground out 3 interval and was done. I got 30 minutes in, dripping sweat profusely for the last half. They say intervals are good for riders, increasing endurance and stamina. I hope so.
This Ride: 23.2 miles
Month: 407.1 miles
2011: 407.1 miles
Cumulative Total: 6,526.8 miles
When setting the alarm clock last night, I realized that I have only ridden the 5:45 ride once in the last 10 days. It was a bit of a challenge getting out of bed this morning to make the ride, but I was out the door early. That allowed me to add a few extra miles before meeting up. I was still the first rider there.
Dave, Dan & I were the riders. There were 4 yesterday for the very cold ride. This morning was a reasonable 28°F. We had a good pace and good general conversation (although … Dave told us other uses of “used” incontinence pads). Dave must be getting close to his R-12 because he is more and more focused on the upcoming 200k rides.
The sky is noticeably brighter at the end of the ride. Soon we will be routinely seeing the sunrise.
This Ride: 12.5 miles
Month: 383.9 miles
2011: 383.9 miles
Cumulative Total: 6,503.6 miles
I didn’t ride Mosey Monday at 12° F. I didn’t bundle up this afternoon to go out in 28°F. Between the cold weather, the wisdom of intervals on the trainer, and other excuses, I decided to hop onto the trainer this afternoon and work some intervals into my routine. I rode 40 minutes with 5 intervals into HR Zone 4, using the Garmin’s Workout feature. I think I’ll refine the workouts and try to use them more consistently. The trainer set up needs to be adjusted. I had some numbness and some leg pain at the end of the session.
This Ride: 24.6 miles
Month: 371.4 miles
2011: 371.4 miles
Cumulative Total: 6,491.1 miles
I did it! I climbed back on the bike again. After Monday’s long ride, I wasn’t sure when this would happen, but Friday breakfast rides into Annapolis are a big enough draw to put me back in the saddle again. There were plenty of reasons not to ride this morning. I didn’t get to bed until about 11:30 last night. I didn’t sleep well. There was snow overnight and the temperatures were falling. I had not yet readied the bike, transitioning out of randonneuring mode into local riding mode. None of that stopped me.
I was running just a bit later this morning than I like. I pulled off the trunk bag, moved tools and spare tube to the top bar bag, and put the fenders on. The streets were wet as I pushed off, but I soon discovered that the trail had patches of very crunchy snow stuck to the “cold parts” of the trail. I arrived at the Rusty Bridge and found it had ice on it. Soon, Bryan, Mike, & Dan arrived. We saw Dave go under the bridge. Clint came riding up and we heard him fall as he tried to turn on to the ramp up to the trail. He hit some ice and went down. We pulled down the trail and Clint said he was ok. We found Dave on Light Street with a front derailleur bent and twisted in some unusual ways. He reported that he had fallen at the roundabout, and must have bent the derailleur then. With everyone’s lights on the bike, he was able to get the derailleur moved around to be able to have some gears. Dan volunteered to accompany him home and the rest of us pushed off (now 15 minutes later than usual) for Annapolis.
We took it relatively slow. Crusty ice and water in the dark kept us alert. After Old County Road we took B&A Blvd to Ritchie Highway and then down to Annapolis without incident. Crossing the Naval Academy Bridge was a challenge. The strong, gusty, northerly winds made the crossing an adventure in staying vertical, but we all did. When we arrived at the Hard Bean, Chip was there. He had missed us because of the delay and traveled down to Annapolis solo, thinking he was behind us.
Mike finished at Chick & Ruth’s about the time we went by, and joined up with us. We talked about “fundraisers” for Randy’s RAAM ride, and have some pretty good ideas in place. We took the trail back, and conditions were deteriorating. Temperatures were dropping and what was water was rapidly becoming ice. There were no more falls, and soon I was back home with a very salt-encrusted bike. The rangers had dumped quite a bit of salt on the trail in Severna Park.
Yes, it was good to get back out on the bike.
This Ride: 129.4 miles
Month: 346.8 miles
2011: 346.8 miles
Cumulative Total: 6,466.5 miles
Wow! That tore me up. This was one hard ride. Having said that, I accomplished most of my goals. I finished. I had a little bit left in the legs at the end. I had very respectable numbers, and I learned a lot.
The lengthy details are after the break.
This Ride: 26.5 miles
Month: 217.4 miles
2011: 217.4 miles
Cumulative Total: 6,337.1 miles
There are conditions which negatively impact our Friendly Friday rides to Annapolis for breakfast. A planned Friday night 200k ride would be one of them.
So far, the Friendly Friday rides have thrown some challenges at us. Last week, it was snow showers while we were riding. This morning, it was that most of our regular riders were resting for their epic winter night ride. They are starting at 7:00 pm and riding 200k, fully expecting to complete the ride in the dark. Needless to say, they weren’t interested in an early morning ride today. But there were 4 of us who met up and rode in the very chilly 21° F temps. Three of us went into Annapolis for breakfast after riding the trail to the end, negotiating several sections that were glacial. We had a nice breakfast at Chick & Ruth’s with Mike’s friends Dave and Rod.
On the way back, we answered Bill’s questions about Randonneuring and encouraging him to step up into riding 200k. I think he will make the leap this year, maybe as early as this spring. Answering his questions was a good review for me as I anticipate Monday’s solo 200k.
Although I’m not riding until Monday, I’m looking forward to the weekend’s cycling activities. Today will be getting the bike and gear ready for Monday’s ride (the weekend is too busy to accomplish this). Saturday I’m looking forward to the ride reports from the Friday night ride. Sunday night we have our SPP “Awards Happy Hour” where we review the year and socialize with spouses. I’m hoping that I got the high mileage award for December.
Now, on with it.
This Ride: 21.7 miles
Month: 190.9 miles
2011: 190.9 miles
Cumulative Total: 6,310.6 miles
Tuesday evening the tail of a snowstorm went through our area and dropped 2-3 inches of snow. Rumor has it that only Dave rode yesterday morning. The rest of us decided to stay off the roads. My justification was that ice preceded the snow, and I didn’t really want to ride over snow covered ice.
This morning, with the sun having worked to help clear the roads all day yesterday, we fully expected them to be dry and clear, with occasional patches of ice. We were not disappointed. Seven of us rode in 26° F temps, with a strong northerly breeze. We took the “winter route” which avoids the trail. As it turns out, this was the right decision.
Much of the conversation was about the upcoming 200k rides being ridden this weekend. Five or 6 are riding a Friday night ride on the Eastern Shore starting at 7:00 pm. They hope to be done by 3-4 am on Saturday morning. I’ve registered for Sailing Down to Solomons for Monday morning. It looks like I’ll be doing a solo 207k starting at 7:00 am.
The winter route has more hills, and I had some trouble keeping up this morning, but nothing dramatic. At the end of the ride, I took part of the trail back toward home and it’s condition varied between dry and clear and ice covered.
It was a good day to be out.
This Ride: 22.5 miles
Month: 169.2 miles
2011: 169.2 miles
Cumulative Total: 6,288.9 miles
Ok, there is nothing really special about riding in the dark. We do it every morning this time of year. By the time I’m back home, the sky is just starting to lighten. This group of riders knows how to adjust and ride in the dark. Having said that, I am looking forward to sunrises coming earlier. That should start to happen next week.
I got out of the house about 5 minutes early this morning, and so I took a different route to the Rusty Bridge. I still got there a little early, so I added a little bit on the north end of the trail and then returned. We had six riders this morning, and later Dan caught up with us. He overslept, but since he lives at the south end of the trail, he has no trouble connecting with us on the route.
Bill set a quick pace at the start, and I hung with him. He had an early morning appointment and didn’t want to be late for it. I didn’t realize that Clint was on a fixie, and wasn’t sure until the turnaround why the rest of the group didn’t keep up with us. Clint reigned us in, and we stuck together for the return trip.
It was a good morning, a good ride, and all of us were anxious to see how the forecast snow for today will impact not only tomorrow morning’s ride, but some of the other planned rides in the next week. Dave was back from his Florida 200k, and didn’t disappoint any of us with his stories and recounting the ride.
This Ride: 17.7 miles
Month: 146.7 miles
2011: 146.7 miles
Cumulative Total: 6,266.4 miles
I couldn’t get out this weekend, and so I was looking forward to Mosey Monday with the group. As it turns out, it wasn’t a mosey pace.
Four of us met at the Rusty Bridge in temps of 20-23° F. Dan had circled the river this morning and was riding with a broken front derailleur cable, meaning he was stuck in the small chain ring. The extra effort of that higher cadence had him sweating so no one lingered in the cold, and we took off. Our pace was brisk. I was definitely riding with three stronger riders, and it showed on the hill in Round Bay and then on the southern stretch of the trail. Once we made it back onto B&A Blvd, I was fine on the rollers. As it turns out, this was my fastest average time for the new year. It wasn’t blazing fast, but in the cold, with extra clothing, I’ll settle for it.
Most of the talk was about the upcoming night ride. Both Dan & Chip are riding, and Bryan is trying to decide whether or not to ride. I think he is leaning in that direction. I’m considering a 200k (probably solo) on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (next Monday). As I think toward that ride, sometimes I’m confident about it. Sometimes I’m apprehensive. I will be watching the weather and the storm we are forecast to get tomorrow and see how that changes the forecast for next week.
All in all, this was a good ride. I cut it short this morning because I was late getting out the door to ride and I have a funeral to conduct this morning. I need to make final preparations.
This Ride: 25.9 miles
Month: 128.9 miles
2011: 128.9 miles
Cumulative Total: 6,248.6 miles
This was a great ride! At 5:00 am the deck was clear. The forecast snow had not yet arrived. By 5:30 it had snowed enough to cover untreated surfaces and completely covered my car. I pushed off anyway, got to the trail, and by then it was snowing hard enough that every half mile I had to wipe the snow off my glasses. My lenses kept fogging up, and snow was building up on my brakes, in my fenders, and on parts of my frame. I wondered if anyone else would come ride. Soon Bryan was there, then Dan, Mike, & Clint arrived. We had fun taking photos in the snow and telling stories about how each of us thought we might be the only ones out … until we saw tire tracks in the snow. We pushed off and were joined quickly by Chip.
This was a slow ride. We were riding on new snow most of the time on the trail. By the time we got to Old County Road, my cassette was completely snow covered/packed except for the gear the chain ran through. I had 4 inches of snow sticking out like the prow of a ship on my head tube. I stopped for photos by Bryan and dumped snow out of my front fender. Once back on the trail, I stopped, removed my front fender, attached it to my handlebars and continued on. That helped a good deal. With the fenders on I had to push through the built up snow and it felt as though I was riding up hill. The snow shower had been tapering off since we left the Rusty Bridge, and by the time we were at the end of the trail, it was no longer snowing.
Every few miles, we would examine one another’s bikes and marvel at the build up of snow on the various components. For a while, I had no rear brakes, ice had formed on the brake pads. Not that we used the brakes much anyway.
We arrived in Annapolis without incident. We had a good breakfast at the Hard Bean, made obligatory calls to those who should have been out riding with us, and pushed off late to return home. On our way back, we went up Francis street, past the government building where the incendiary device had gone off in the mail room yesterday. News trucks lined the street, and there were at least half a dozen television cameras across the street from the entrance to the building.
The ride back home was at a comfortable pace. My tires and bike remained mostly snow free on the return trip, but Chip was accumulating snow like crazy. We figured tire composition combined with changing temperatures contributed to the differences in snow accumulation at different times on different bikes.
I chose to end the ride near home this morning rather than extend it as I usually do on Fridays. I have plenty of work to do catching up after being on vacation after Christmas. I’ll post photos later, once I get access to Bryan’s photos.
Rev Rider 