Two Rides a Week and 50 Degrees Apart

A large charity ride in the Adirondacks is followed by a sparsely attended Bruce ride, with solo mountain biking during the week between.

Donna and I wanted to do the Ididaride charity event starting in North Creek last year, but opted out at the last minute due to questionable weather and Donna was not sure she could handle the 75-mile, 6000 feet of elevation course. This year Donna trained and rode with the 2nd annual Ididaride in mind. The ride raises money for preservation of Adirondack wilderness space, so our trails are kept away from ATVs and bull-dozer like snowmobile groomers. About 80 to 90 people paid $55 each to ride this year.

The weather this year was ideal for riding - in the 50's, some clouds and no wind. Not a typical August day as arm warmers and wind vest were worn all day. Donna rode along some friends from her work that were riding tandem and enjoyed the draft they provided. I rode with them for about 5 minutes, and then started chasing down bikes that started ahead of us or that pulled out to the front. With the great weather and beautiful course, I was enjoying catching on to pacelines and talking with people. After coming back once to make sure Donna was okay, I set out to find the leaders.

The course is the opposite-but-equal-to ride companion of the Teddy Ride. Both start out in North Creek. The Teddy Ride loops 80 miles to the north; the Ididaride loops 75 miles to the south through Speculator and Indian Lake. The roads are wide and shoulders well maintained, unlike the Teddy Ride roads. As I worked up towards the front, the pacelines I joined were each a little faster. Just before getting into Speculator I joined what I assumed to be the leading pace line. We worked together well. On the first major climb I slowed down and let them pull away. Over the next 5 miles I slowly pulled them back in. I was gaining on the descents and long gradual climbs. Finally about 5 miles from Indian Lake I caught and eventually dropped them.

I confirmed with the guy manning the aid station that I was the first one there. He said he was struggling to stay ahead of us as he set up each station. I learned that he finished 12th overall in the Jay Challenge - quite a feat! I then stopped at the Stewarts and decided to wait to see if Donna or others I knew (Art, who started late) would catch up. I talked with two couples from Quebec riding Harley's who had all kinds of questions about my bike. After 30 minutes I was cooling down too much, even after drinking a coffee, so decided to go the last 20 miles to the finish. About 13 of the last 20 miles are all downhill, so it was a fun cruise back to the car. Donna and the others soon arrived and we enjoyed a great meal put on by The Inn at Gore Mountain. We had fun talking with Art and Gary and others.

During the week I did some solo mountain biking at SMBA and our home trails. The trails everywhere are dry and very fast! The Yeti needed to have the brake lines bled and refilled with oil, so I dropped the bike at Elevate and took the Epic over to SMBA. They have been busy building new trails that I had fun exploring. It is hard to believe, but I think the last time I was there was on my birthday back in November! I need to get there more because these trails are some of the best in the northeast. At home it has worked well to use the lights and go later in the day. If I start now at 7:30 it is just starting to get dark. In the woods you need the lights right away. I did one good effort in the middle of the week going from end to end and then back again using the loop across the road. The 1:40 ride at very high speed was a great workout. The next day I followed Donna as she ran about 5 miles, so that was a slow paced but fun evening. Night riding is great - the shadows darting away from you look like animals running in the night. Even though you know this, you sometimes get startled by reflex. The mountain lion sightings don't help the imagination either.

One week after the 50-degree cool Ididaride ride, I rode down to Schylerville to join Bruce on one of his MHCC group rides into Washington County. As I headed down the road at 8:45 in the morning, the sweat immediately started pouring off my face. This was on the downhill ride to Schylerville! As I pumped up the short hill to the school I quickly got out of breath. When I stopped in front of Bruce and the one other rider crazy enough to head out on a 70-mile, 6000-foot excursion in the 90+ degree / 70% humidity day, I told him we are going slow today.

However, we started out fast as usual along west River Road. As the hills started we still kept a pretty good pace. Before long the sun burned through the thick, heavy haze, but the humidity remained. It was getting brutal. Our other rider was out on his first Quick-level ride and had never done anything longer than 50 miles. This was not a good day, route or pace for him to start. So, we sent him down Route 40 to wait for us at a Stewart's while Bruce and I did the first of the big climbs. As we headed to the second big climb, Street Road, we both decided we had enough. We did lesser hills until we met back up with Mike in Argyle and then skipped the Summit Lake climb and headed back an easier way.

I managed to keep well hydrated and did not get muscle cramps. I was taking in extra electrolytes by downing Rolaids for magnesium and calcium, and getting sodium from 4X GU and Margaretta Cliff Shots. At the last stop I downed a cold V-8 and water. However, the heat was accumulating and my core temperature was rising. I was good until about the last 5 miles, after Bruce and Mike turned right for the bridge over the Hudson and I turned left to climb up Hogs Back to home, I started to get bad stomach cramps. In fact my stomach was bloating! My body had shunted all blood away from the gut to my extremities to cool. As a result, the guts stop moving. The warm Gatorade was expanding in my stomach and nothing was moving out.

After a shower and cooling off by the fan and air conditioner, along with some cool water, my stomach returned to normal. The effort in the heat did take a lot out of me, so a good recovery / rest day is needed. What a difference the week made - from 50 to 100 degrees! What a difference making your body work in the heat versus having ideal conditions.

Ti Ride and Grafton Tour

A unique out-and-back ride on Lake George and giving a co-worker a tour of Grafton provide enjoyable change of pace to riding in August.

Donna and I have noticed the "Ti RIDE" advertised in the Adirondack Sport and Fitness monthly newspaper for a couple of years now. The tour boats running out of the southern Lake George village have only one trip per year where they take a boat all the way up to the northern tip of the lake at Ticonderoga. On this occasion they allow cyclists to drop off a change of clothes and picnic lunches on the boat in the morning. You can then cycle up to Ticonderoga, meet the boat when it arrives at 11 to 11:30, then take the two-hour cruise back to the village of Lake George.

This year we planned well in advance and did the ride. It was not easy to get motivated to get up at 5 am on a Sunday morning after a hard work week, but we did. We packed the car with our bags of clothes and lunch and drove off with Alix in charge of the dogs until 5 pm. We got to the docks at Lake George before 7am and dropped our stuff in the bow of the Mohican and parked the car. There were many cyclists already underway. By the time we got on the road it was 7:30 or so.

Donna and I have done the 10-mile run, one-way 4th of July running race up Route 9N from Lake George Village to Bolton Landing several times. So, we know this stretch of road very well. The traffic was light on the Sunday morning. As soon as we passed the finish of the 10-mile mark and got past Bolton Landing, the road started to climb. This first hill was just a primer for the real tester - Tongue Mountain, which starts at mile 20.

Just before the climb we met and rode with a biker from Schenectady - Dave K. We had a chat and started to work on the climb. It was a good climb with some stretches pushing 15 percent, but on average 9-10 percent for two miles. I did not feel well as I started the harder effort, but Donna did great. We were all together for most of the climb, but separated out towards the top. The best part was the descent! With a wide road, little traffic and big sweeping turns I felt confident and wanted the rush. So, at the top I put it in the big ring and pumped to 30 MPH on the top and let 'er rip.

My intention was to not have to scrub any speed for the whole two-mile plunge. However, as I got through the first few turns and approached a tighter curve I looked down at my speedometer. It read 51 MPH so I felt compelled to shave off a just a little speed in order to not lean too hard or cheat too far into the other lane. It was a great ride, very similar to going down from the top of Neil's Gap into Helen, Georgia - that descent is 7 miles long! We stopped and talked at the bottom. Dave K rode up and took this picture as we looked out at the mountains across the lake.

Donna found a Monarch butterfly laying eggs on a milkweed here and she kept it in a lunch bag inside her jersey all the way to the end. We hooked up with another rider and I pulled us ahead of a good tailwind the rest of the way to the Baldwin docks in Ticonderoga. We were early arrivals and as we waited we jumped in off the docks and enjoyed the warm water of Lake George. In all about 60 riders were taking advantage of the cruise. All 60 bikes were carefully stowed away in the bow of the ship and we enjoyed at beautiful ride down one of the most scenic lakes in the world on a clear blue day.

Marty has only recently taken up mountain biking and I have enjoyed introducing him to the sport. He is quite skilled on the technical terrain for not having a lot of experience. He has gone with me all three years to the Kingdom Trails at our Sales Conference. The last time was on his new K2 bike and it was down to just the two of us. The year before we injured one of our suppliers who was a good road biker. Marty has a great set of trails near his home in Stowe that we rode together with Paul. So, I was anxious to show him what we had at Grafton.

We started on Spruce Bog, which is normally wet and sloppy, but was dry and not slippery. Once I saw he could handle that mess of roots and rocks, even under these ideal conditions, I knew he was in good shape. We then climbed to the Fire Tower, came down through Chet Bell and Little Johnnies and ended the 2:20 ride on Water Tower. It was fun to lead someone new through these trails. Next time I will take him to SMBA or Spier Falls.

August Outings and Work Schedule - the good and bad of summer ridn

A classic Adirondack road ride with MHCC, vacation time with Donna and night time trail rides balance off long work week that leaves me too weary to ride as much as I want on the weekend.

The 'Teddy' ride is short for Teddy Roosevelt, and is what we call the 80-mile, 6000-foot of elevation ride 'around the block' from North Creek to Blue Mountain Lake to Long Lake and back through Newcomb and Minerva - four right-hand turns, two roads. TR made the trip when he was VP and then had to high-tail it back to Washington DC when McKinney was shot. The first 13 miles are all up hill, followed by Adirondack rollers, and the 8 miles from the last stop in Minerva are all down hill. It was good to get back to doing a ride that would challenge me in length and intensity. While the Teddy ride is listed as 'tour-paced' it is really done more quickly than that. This year we averaged a little over 18 MPH. I have seriously bonked on this ride in the past having eaten bad Combos (pretzel/cheese snacks that I now avoid like the plaque) at the Long Lake Stewart's. I have also seen other good riders bonk on the ride, and this year was no exception. It is easy to start off hard thinking all the climbing is in the beginning and then not have enough in the tank to finish off the ride. That is the case especially for me. I always start fast and hard and then hang on to finish. But, I have learned to overcome this natural tendency, especially on the Teddy Ride.

We had a good group of 16 riders at the start. Two decided to turn back at Blue Mountain Lake, which is the last chance to go back without going all the way. We spread out pretty thin as everyone finds their own pace on the long climb to Indian Lake. After a quick re-group at the Stewart's, it is off to Blue Mountain Lake where we are supposed to regroup again and then climb up the shoulder of Blue Mountain and ride the rollers to Long Lake. The weather is perfect with little wind and crystal clear blue skies. I stopped at Blue Mountain Lake, but only Bruce and Skip and a couple of others did, the riders ahead went through and the riders behind were way behind.

Bruce and I stayed together and worked together all the way to Long Lake. I like this stretch of the road the best. The rest stop at Long Lake is an extended lunch stop. I now eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a cup of coffee instead of the dreaded combos. The protein and fat and caffeine get me through to the end as long as I take in some GU around an hour after we start again. Another traditional stop is at the Newcomb gazebo overlooking many high peaks. I could see Algonquin and it is fun to know that I hiked to that high peak. I try not to think about the knee pain associated with the hike. One last stop at a shade tree along the road in Minerva and we wait for the ones that are struggling. The one bonker this year is a young rider just starting out, same as last year. Both are in excellent shape, just need to learn the art of fueling and portioning out their energy, which comes with experience. The last stretch from Minerva to North Creek is a blast. All the rollers have longer downhills than uphills and the momentum carries you over the rise each time. I wind up leading the pack home again on this stretch with a good pace - not too fast so we stay all together and not too slow to enjoy the roller coaster effect. We get into the park and chow down on Hand melons I brought thanks to Alix and other goodies. Another great Teddy Ride!

Donna and I took vacation time but did not plan any trips. With dogs and Alix it is a chore to get away. So, we just planned to ride from home or take short trips and then ride. We did both. Our short trip was to Schroon Lake where we rode the 26-mile road around the lake -- the same route they run a marathon on in the fall. Starting at the southern boat ramp we worked our way clockwise around the lake. The start up the west side was on busy Route 9, so it was not that great. But when we made the turn over the top of the lake, the road became very interesting. Sharp steep hills and curves were the order of the day as we made our way all the way back to the start. Lots of steep driveways down to interesting waterfront homes. Donna and I were both getting pretty tired on this short ride, so we knew the hills were taking a toll. Also, I looked at my thermometer on my bike computer and it read 98-degrees! So, that was certainly a factor as well. We drove to the Country Store in the village of Adirondack and bought and inhaled some turkey sandwiches and then drove to a state park and swam and slept - a great day!

The time off was good to do these rides and to rest. However, work had to start again too soon. And the schedule and miles made it hard to get in good riding during the work week. This week was so bad that the riding I had planned for Saturday, a Bruce ride or the Mountain Biking Festival at Grafton, both were left unattended as I rested and caught up on paper work. During the week I did manage to get in a road ride with Donna after working out in central NY on Wednesday and a night ride on the home trails after a long day in Connecticut, so it was not a total flop of an August good weather week. Tomorrow we have a ride planned where we meet the steamship Mohican in Lake George, drop of a change of clothes and lunch on the boat and then ride the 40 miles up to Ticonderoga where we will board the boat and cruise home. Should be fun.