Perkiomen Trail ride 11.03.2020

11.03.2020  The Perkiomen Trail gets mentioned occasionally in discussions about interesting places to ride in the Delaware Valley. It is a 19-mile-long multi-use rail-trail along the Perkiomen Creek in Montgomery County PA, beginning at the junction with the Schuylkill River Trail by Valley Forge. It was partly funded by Natural Lands Trust, which funds some green space in our local area. It seemed worth checking out, so a few fellow bike-club members (Jim C, Paul M, Roy D, Rick L and I) picked a day to ride it in early November (Election Day, as it happened) with a good weather forecast. We met in Audubon NJ and braved the Schuylkill Expressway on a 1.5 hour drive that was supposed to take 50 minutes (but slowed by highway tree-trimming). Oh well.

Our three-vehicle convoy found the sizeable parking lot just off the Oaks exit of US422; problem was, we could not find any restrooms. Being men of a certain age having just taken a long, stressful drive, we all went scrambling off in different directions toward our chosen personal patch of woods for a nature break. Then we assembled on the bikes in a more relaxed frame of mind. Our machines were varied: two hybrid bikes, one full-suspension MTB, one custom-built randonneur bike, and an old Raleigh Super Course.

Once saddled up and riding, we found the trail pretty enjoyable (even saw an eagle close up as it took flight). Following the creek, it is a mix of some paved but mostly gravel woods riding, with short stretches of roadway on the fringes of towns. It goes North thru Collegeville, Schwenksville and Upper Salford to Green Lane Park, where it ends unceremoniously by the creek, deep in the woods. Once there, we broke out the snacks, took a few minutes to rest and enjoyed the November sunlight filtering thru the bare trees.
 

Altho most of this trail was along an old Reading Railroad right-of-way, the 8%+  grade in the last stretch down to the water made it clear that this section was not part of any train line. It was a real bear climbing back up, beginning the return. But after a bit, we had topped out and were happy to sense we were rolling downstream the rest of the way. The pedaling was easier, and the company was enjoyable. All in all, a good, memorable 40-mile day on the bikes.

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/58549828

Tabernacle 112km randonneur ride 1.15.2021

I rode a Randonneurs USA route today with a long-time randonneur, bike-club buddy Rick L. The route looped from New Egypt to Tabernacle to Jacksonville to Chesterfield and back, with stops at mandatory 'controls' per RUSA rules. The control in Tabernacle was the very familiar Nixon's Deli.

Last nite, Rick had emailed that I should take it easy on him, as he hadn't been riding much lately. As if.
At one point early on, he was way up ahead of me. I yelled, "Am I taking it easy enough on you, Rick?" He was so far ahead, he may not have heard me.

The route took us past the Fort Dix firing range, where we heard lots of rounds being fired. And there were a lot of low-flying huge aircraft coming and going around McGuire AFB. Can't help staring at them, they are that awesome.
At one point much later, a roadwork crew necessitated a detour, and we wound up going thru the Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery, the first NJ state-operated one (1986).

Along Burrs Mill Road I pedaled past my long-time good friend Len's driveway; I worked for Len for over 2 years 1975-1977.

We heard, then saw, a handful of chevrons of geese flying at the same time in the gray wintry sky; there must have been over a hundred geese in our view.

Again, double-digit winds, and of course they were in our face during the long return thru open farm-field country. Glad I had a riding buddy to share the misery. At one point Rick said, "Uphill with the wind in our faces." I thought, Does it get any better than this?
I had attached a larger under-saddle bag when I saw the temps were predicted to be going from the 30s to the 50s, figuring I would start peeling off layers and storing them in the bag. Didn't happen; I stayed layered up. Wind-chilly day, but then it is January. We were glad we could get the ride in.

Pictures, route map and elevation profile here: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/61499698 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!