Sunday, December 22, 2019

Woods ride on the Winter solstice 12.21.2019


I am not much of a mountain-biker or trail-rider, mainly because I prefer road-biking and I don't want to expose myself to a lot of Lyme-disease ticks or chiggers. But after a few frosts, I do like to get out to enjoy the woods, and riding some not-too-challenging trails is a good way to do so. I mentioned this to my bike-club buddy Jim C, who is still racing MTBs in his mid-70s (!), and he said 'Anytime.' So we picked a day. I chose the trails behind Batsto historical village in Burlington County NJ, because I'd ridden there before, and knew they are not too technical for me. Lots of single-track, but not a lot of log-jumping, with no monster climbs or screaming descents.

As before, I took my 1990 Schwinn High Plains, a made-in-Mississippi rigid-fork chrome-moly lugged-frame (with spider paint!) bike that was quite respectable in its day. The bike found me a few years back when a friend, who'd bought the bike off Craigslist for his son to ride to work, asked me to sell it for him on CL, as his son was not interested in it. After having it listed for $125 for several weeks with no bites, I asked if he'd take $100 for it, not telling him I'd be the buyer. He said OK, so I 'sold' it for him and gave him the cash. Weeks later, I told him I was the buyer, and hadn't wanted any special consideration. I like riding a vintage bike, and at the rate I'm going, I won't be doing a whole lot of MTBing, so why spend the money to upgrade?

[EDIT: It finally occurred to me that my sore shoulders were being caused by riding my rigid-fork Schwinn on some technical single-track. I stopped riding that bike for a while, and eventually (6 months +/-) the soreness went away. So I sold the bike!]

The day was cold enough (mid-20sF at 9am) to discourage others in our circle from joining us, but I was layered and wasn't uncomfortable, altho I did sweat too much and took note of that for future reference. Despite the cold, still it was Saturday and there were at least a half-dozen other riders in the Batsto parking lot also making final preparations to head out on the trails. Jim knew several of them, and one 'marveled' that I was going to be riding the old (hey, it's 'vintage'!) non-suspension Schwinn. He was diplomatic about it, and I didn't apologize for it.

We headed out, with the intent of doing the 19-mile Orange trail. At the split, Jim kindly suggested that we could take the 8.5-mile Blue trail, then ride it again in reverse if we felt like doing that much mileage. I figure he saw how inexperienced I was, and was giving me an 'out' for the longer distance. So I chose the Blue trail. And since we had both driven a long distance to ride, I decided at the end, yes, let's ride it again in reverse, which might have surprised Jim. By the last few miles, I felt jelly-legged but kept turning the pedals, and I wound up having a good 2+ hour workout and a memorable ride that left me smiling.

At one point, my right-side (platform) pedal must have clipped something unseen that was sticking up, and that sent me off into the brush.  But I wound up still upright and straddling my bike; JC complimented me with a 'nice save.' Cool.

When we started out, a guy Jim knew started with us. Those two promptly opened up a gap just riding their usual pace. Jim waited up for me, then gapped me again. After several of these sequences, he let me ride in front of him, so I could set my own pace and he could keep an eye on me, I figure.
On an early pause, Jim asked what tire pressure I was running, as he'd noticed I was 'deflecting' over every little obstacle. I told him I was running 50 lbs psi, and he replied that he was running 20! So I promptly aired down a bit and noticed a difference in the ride. Later I aired down a bit more, but maybe too much, as I had to work noticeably harder at pedaling. But now I know to start out around 30psi (my weight / 6).

Jim also told me I should try picking out and taking the outside line on the turns (unlike what I thought race-car drivers did) in order to keep my momentum and ride more efficiently. I tried it and really liked it. It also made it easier to correct my line mid-turn, if necessary, by simply leaning more. So I think I learned a lot. Thanks, Jim! I am looking forward to getting out there again.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Harriet Tubman ride cancelled

I cancelled my attempt to ride the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad 208k yesterday, even tho I checked in at an area hotel the day before. After lying awake in the hotel bed from midnite on, stressing about doing such a long ride alone, part of which would have to be in darkness in unfamiliar areas, I came to the conclusion that I was biting off more than I wanted to chew.

So I came up with a Plan B. That is, I chose to ride with 3 of my fellow bike club members (who were also staying at the hotel in Chestertown MD) on a 42-miler on low-traffic roads thru some nice farm country. I enjoyed it; it was stress-free and all in daylight.

I have to say, tho, that despite my recent training, I was surprised at how much the ride took out of me, keeping up with those stronger riders. I felt there is no way I could have done 3 times that distance yesterday.

Maybe I will recruit a co-rider and attempt the 208k when there is more daylight, like the month of May. After seeing the movie "Harriet," I want to visit the places where her remarkable achievements are memorialized.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad 200k Eastern Shore

After considering it for over a year, I went ahead and contacted a fellow randonneur who has a Permanent route that covers a lot of the ground that Harriet Tubman crossed when she ran her piece of the Underground Railroad, moving slaves Northward toward freedom. The route has a number of stops where I would have to learn Tubman / URR information from historical markers in order to answer questions on my brevet card as proof of my having passed thru there. I expect to find the history and the exploits of this remarkable woman fascinating.

After having received permission to ride the route (solo, at this point) as an official Randonneurs USA 200k Permanent, I went ahead and made two-nite motel reservations at the place some of my fellow club members will be staying at the same time while they spend several days riding around the Chestertown MD area. So while we won't be riding together, we will be able to socialize the evening before and after my ride.

My ride is set for Veteran's Day 11/11/19; to pay tribute I will display a little US flag on the back of my bike.

Now I've got to keep up my recent training so I have the best chance of a sub-10 hour ride, because the daylight on that date in that area is shown as only 10 hours and 12 minutes. If I start early, have no "mechanicals" and experience no heavy weather, I should be OK in that time window, as the area is flat.

The route owner does warn of at least one free-range cyclist-biting dog, plus the possibility of wet roads if the tide is high (it is low country in some places). This could be exacerbated by the full moon. Fingers crossed.

Thursday, October 3, 2019

Regular hill-climb ride; our own private Iowa

10.03.19
I've been organizing a regular invitational Tuesday hill-climb ride using a route which was originated by a friend from my club. We are about 7 weeks in. Response has been good, with usually 4 or more of us riding together each time, starting and ending at a diner where we have a socializing lunch at the end of the ride. These are hills in the South Jersey sense, with only about 1400' of climbing over 34 miles (there is a 39-mile option with 1600'). But the route is a good one for pushing the pace and working on becoming a stronger rider, eating together and catching up with each other afterward, while still leaving plenty of time in the day for getting other things done. And the route is mostly back roads thru some real nice farm country in Salem and Gloucester Counties, with plenty of corn and soybean fields, silos, livestock, woods and water making for a scenic ride. One might think they were in Iowa.

Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Vetting a new route

4.30.19
Today I rode to test a route that I created based on another rider's route which I'd recorded on my then-new Garmin Edge 820 when I'd ridden with him a couple months back. My tweaks snipped and revised in order to make for what I think is a safer route, and it came in at just over 39 miles, a nice distance for a decent workout. The route worked out well; most of the roads are light on car traffic, and go thru some nice rural parts of Gloucester and Salem counties. There are enough rollers to practice hill climbing and enough uninterrupted stretches on which to push the pace if desired, say, with interval work. At about a half-hour drive from home with free municipal parking at the start/finish in Pitman, it is a route I can see myself returning to ride time and again.

At one point, I saw a farmer on a tractor turning over the ground, and was reminded of a Stan Rogers song, with lyrics including:
Watch the field behind the plow
Turn to straight, dark rows.
Another season's promise in the ground.

I drove away from the house this morning without my water bottle, but turned back within the first mile to fetch it. Good thing I did. At one point in the ride, on Heilig Road, a dog came chasing after me in a most unfriendly way. I pulled the water bottle out of its downtube cage, held it at the ready, and when the loud pugnacious 50-pounder came close enough, I squirted it in the face, which stopped it cold. I'd heard that might work, and was happy to learn it did (this time). Hopefully Butch will think twice about chasing a cyclist again.

Early in the ride, I realized I'd dropped my favorite orange handkerchief somewhere. Damn those shallow windbreaker pockets. Fortunately, I covered the same last few miles of road on my return, and found the bright-colored rag along the shoulder. That's three times now I've lost and found that hankie while cycling!

Thursday, April 18, 2019

Stagecoach 100k randonneur ride, 4.18.19; Bright and blinky

I rode a sanctioned solo 100k ('Populaire') randonneur route this week, the Stagecoach 100k, which begins in Mercer County NJ. The roads and towns were all new to me. Starting in West Windsor, it passed thru Cranbury on the way to the easternmost point, the small town of Farmingdale NJ, then back past Manasquan Reservoir and Turkey Swamp and thru the Assunpink Creek watershed. All these places were just names to me before. Some double-digit headwinds on the return part of the loop (of course) made for a challenge, but it was a good day on the bike riding a nice route (once I got past the morning rush-hour traffic on one particularly busy road, 527A).

Again my recently-purchased Garmin Edge 820 got confused, and I had to accept Turn Off Navigation in order to get rid of the Make U-Turn message. Unlike on the recent 200k, the device did not recognize I was on the correct route so it did not continue to give me turn-by-turn instructions, alas. But it did continue to track my ride and created a nice file to download. And it helped when I came to an unmarked intersection where the cue sheet probably wanted me to turn (based on my total mileage per the separate Cateye computer still mounted to my handlebar). The Garmin confirmed the name of the road to be the road I wanted.

While riding, I was struck by the fact that the several cyclists I saw and acknowledged seemed very cool toward me, as if they didn't see me, or at least, didn't want to acknowledge me and thereby express solidarity. I then wondered if my bright yellow garb (vest and ankle cuffs) and blinky lights front and rear are a turn-off to some other riders, possibly making me a 'Fred.'

It is important to me to be very visible in order to ride safely, especially when riding solo on roads shared with cars, but maybe I am overdoing it in the eyes of others? Should that matter to me?

I do notice more riders seem to be running blinkies these days, especially rear lights. I think that is a great leap forward for cycling safety.

Batsto 200k randonneur brevet 4.06.2019

4.18.19
As planned, I rode the Batsto 200k brevet on Saturday 4/06/19.
Drove there via the AC Expressway with the wipers on intermittent setting, and arrived at Lower Bank by the Mullica in the misty gloaming around 0645. We were sent off from the Lower Bank Tavern, 1.7 miles away (due to parking concerns), at 0730.

The weather got nice and I had a decent day on the bike with no cramping (dosing regularly with Saltstick capsules and Advil), riding alone mostly, and besting last year's time by well over an hour. A lot of that was the lack of a serious headwind this year, for which I was grateful. My total time put me 2/3 down the list of 65 finishers, and I was satisfied with that, considering that I thought I might end up being last rider in. There were 4 DNFs.

My newly-acquired Garmin Edge 820 had the route downloaded to it, but somehow got confused, and I had to choose Stop Navigation in order to get rid of the Make U-Turn message. However, a few miles later somehow it recognized I was still on course, and picked right up again, tracking the whole ride and giving me a nice file to download. I am still trying to figure out the device.

Oh, and I fell once. Came up to a blind intersection where I had the Stop sign and the cross traffic did not, and thought I'd be able to roll thru the country crossroads. Got deep into the corner and saw a fast-coming pickup, so I turned back and hit the brakes, but could not un-clip the left pedal in time and fell on that side. Embarrassed but unhurt, I got up quickly as if it never happened, of course.

Tuesday, April 2, 2019

Testing, testing


4.02.19
Since my first 200k brevet a year ago, I've joined Randonneurs USA and ridden four 200k Permanents, plus eight Populaires (100k). I felt I had become a solid randonneur for such distances. However, I came to believe it would be best if took a pass on riding Rick's 2019 Batsto 200k brevet on the first Saturday in April, despite having signed up and paid up well in advance.

Ever since February when I did a 42-mile ride where I pushed myself to keep up with a couple stronger riders while I was wearing SPD clip-ins for only the second time, I have been experiencing more cramping than ever. (Cramping has always been a bugaboo for me.) After riding a 100k Populaire in mid-March (the fifth of a planned P-12), I felt that a 200k was not something I would be able to tackle again anytime soon. As I put it to a co-rider at the diner afterward, there was no way I could turn around and do a second 100k that day.

But I felt badly that I was going to miss Rick's brevet this year, which is something of a party he throws annually. I like Rick as both a co-rider and off-the-bike buddy. And reading the recently-arrived RUSA newsletter American Randonneur always motivates me to ride. So I reasoned that doing a 200k is as much about mindset at the outset as anything else. If I expected to do 200k, rode my own pace and dosed myself with salt capsules and ibuprofen at proper intervals, it could go well enough.

Yesterday I tested myself with a 52-miler of my own design, fighting headwinds across the open fields of Salem County. I figured, with 4+ days to rest up (e.g.no jogging) and the right attitude, I am in good-enough shape to tackle the upcoming 200k. I think Rick was glad to learn this. And I now find that I am looking forward to the ride; with around 60 riders signed up, it should feel like a real event.