September Cycling - Spectacular!

A record-setting month of road riding results from great weather and many group riding opportunities. September weekend schedules are full of multiple choice opportunities that Donna and I take advantage of.

After the Mohawk-Hudson Cycling Club (MHCC) century ride brings in the month, there are many other longer-distanced and hilly rides on the club schedule. With the great weather it is sometimes hard to commit to just one. Bash-Bish Falls and the Sacandaga Reservoir rides on consecutive weekends were challenging 60+ mile hilly rides done at an 18+ MPH pace. We revisited the Alternate Plan B ride up in the Adirondacks with a smaller group and at a slightly slower pace and Donna was able to see what a great ride it is.

Crossing Stewart's Dam --->

Donna and I did our own rides too. The Cambridge Valley Cycling Club (CVC) had it's Fall Foliage rides, followed by the Tour de Farm - a tour of local farms that have sold development rights to ASA, a farmland preservation group. We did these rides from home, on our own schedule and following our own route. On Saturday we did a hilly 50 mile course that hooked us up with three guys that were on the last 10 miles of their century. On Sunday we did a 35-miler from home that was even hillier, making the start and first stop at Ziehm's dairy farm, and then returning home. We drove back to Cambridge to check in and eat some good food.

Donna headed for home -->

All-in-all, I logged 475 miles on the road, a record for September. At the same time I am having my shoulder (the one that I separated on my first century in 2000 and re-injured on a July hike off of Big Slide Mountainn) worked on by an Active Release Technique (ART) chiropractor. So far - so good, but painful to get started breaking up old scar tissue and adhesions.

If this weather holds up, October can be just as good as September for all kinds of riding. I will likely head into the woods for more Mountain Biking now. In fact, tomorrow Donna and I are headed to Millstonehill Inn, a Lodge in the middle of 30 miles of single track built on the old granite quarries near Barre, VT, for a two-day get away.

Soggy But Successful Century

Dry, hot and humid weather turns to cool and rainy just in time for my annual 100-miler club ride. The first weekend after Labor Day is the traditional scheduled time for the Mohawk-Hudson Cycling Club (MHCC) century rides. This year marked my sixth MHCC century since taking up cycling in 1999, and in total 9.5 Century Rides have provided some memorable cycling experiences.

My first 100-plus mile bike ride, or Century Ride, was in 2000, the day after my mother married Jim. I had just lost about 45 pounds from dieting mostly and had limited group cycling experience. My red FujiClub 12-speed bike had carried me many solo miles and I felt I was up to the challenge having logged the miles on our hilly roads. The day of the event was perfect weather-wise and I was caught up in the excitement of being in a group of over 100 riders all starting out on a day of adventure. As a result I found myself in the lead pack for the first ten miles as we curved around Saratoga Lake early in the morning. I was psyched to be up front with all those others trailing behind me. Soon the road started to kick up and the climbing started. I soon realized that the lead pack group was just soft-pedaling and chatting, and now the real riding started. Quickly I was all alone. I turned over the pedals at my own pace for awhile before a couple caught me from behind. We rode together the rest of the day. Unfortunately, at mile 65, as the women veered away from some gravel, I clipped her rear wheel and I went down over my handlebar hard. I had some deep cuts and a separated shoulder. But, the adrenalin was still working and I gutted it out until the end. We rolled across the finish line together. Donna and Alix had me at the Emergency Room getting stitches and x-rays before the day was over.

The initial century was, fortunately for me, the most eventful one. However, over the years I have had other things happen on the 100-milers that are worth noting. On one MHCC Century I again was stuck between the lead pack and the chase pack all alone. Probably due to hypoxia or just not paying attention, I made a wrong turn and became lost off the course. I wound-up doing an extra eight miles and had to stop at a Stewart's to get water. Another MHCC had me involved in a mass crash as the lead pack started to accelerate. The rider in back of me clipped my wheel as I had to brake for the rider in front of me. He went down and took about five others with him. He broke some ribs and was taken to the hospital. It was sickening to hear all those bikes go down in back of me. On a Tour de Cure Century ride Art G and I were having fun in the lead pack until a severe thunderstorm forced the event to be canceled when we were at the 50-mile mark. They trucked us and our bikes back to a school and Donna came and rescued me.

I have managed to do some century rides very well. In one Tour de Cure I got there late so started 10 minutes behind everyone, but managed to chase down all but three riders in the first 10 miles. I was in really good shape from training for the Tupper Lake Half Ironman that year, which would follow the century in three weeks. By the half way mark I had caught all but one rider and he finished just a few minutes ahead of me. On another MHCC ride I got in with a good group that pace-lined well and averaged over 20 MPH.

Recently, I have not had good luck in these century rides. I have eaten poorly or had back luck in choice of foods. You are taught, or soon learn, to not try new foods or drinks during events - experiment with them during training. Well, I ignored this common sense one year by trying some new energy drink they were handing out at the 50-mile rest stop and soon had an allergic reaction to it. Needless to say, I death-marched that one home. And just last year, at the 20-mile to go mark, I had severe muscle cramps and had to really go slow and stop to get it done.

So, this year I was determined to have a good century ride. The weather has been very hot and humid and dry. So, when I awoke to find it raining and 60 degrees, I was almost glad. I felt I could do better in the cooler conditions. The MHCC rides are held both Saturday and Sunday, so you can choose which day to go, or do both. On Saturday, a hot and humid day, they had 126 century riders. On Sunday, the day I chose, we had 12 riders! Not everyone likes to ride in the rain. Of the 12 riders about six of us formed a lead pack. One rider was out in front on aerobars and he dropped us at about the 35-mile mark, never to be seen again! The rain was steady until about 45 miles - when it poured. We made it to the 50-mile mark and dried off some, but it was in vain. Even if the rain stopped coming down, the rooster tails off the tires sprayed you anyway.

We were down to six riders in our pack and then we caught some other riders doing the metric century course (62 miles). When that course split off again we lost three of our century riders as they were too cold to go the distance. So it was down to myself, Brian - a terrifically strong rider who did the century yesterday, and Jim, a young racer on a cyclocross bike. We stopped at 82 miles to fill up the water bottles and Jim was shivering, so I knew he would be in trouble before the end. Brian and I were in good shape. I passed the spot where muscle cramps forced me off the bike last year and just whizzed on by feeling pretty good about myself. Jim dropped off towards the end but finished just a few minutes behind Brian and I. Good weather, smarter pacing, nutrition and better training paid off with a good strong ride for the distance this year. We averaged 18.5 MPH, which considering we could not ride on each others' wheel for fear of drowning in the spray, was pretty good.

There is another, more hilly, century being run right past our house at the end of the month by Cambridge Valley Cycling. I may be up to do that one this year as well.

Ridn Takes A Plunge Downhill - For The Better

A new mountain bike for Alix, a new mountain biking experience for me and riding with family and friends make for record setting ridn in August.

Donna has wanted to get Alix a good mountain bike for quite awhile, but Alix has always been realistic about how much riding she would do. So, this time when Donna mentioned it, and she indicated excitement, we jumped on the opportunity. In a frenzied vacation day of on-line research and calling local bike stores we came up with a great bike for Alix. The Jamis Dakota female specific model is what we wanted, and Chris at Elevate just happen to have one on hand that was practically new since the rider that had it crashed and cut her leg on the big ring within the first hour and she no longer wanted it. So, the very slightly used bike was available at a good price. The only question was fit; but after test riding at the Saratoga store, we were convinced it was a good deal on a great bike.

As soon as we were able to locate some mountain biking shoes we all went for a ride on the home trails. At first Alix had the common problem of locking into the Candy SPD pedals, but she had a blast riding the home turf. It was getting dark, but she insisted on taking on both sides of the road. I wanted her to experience the G-drop section of the trail on that side of the road. Next time we will hit the Motocross track.

Donna and I took some extra time off for the Labor Day weekend and on Friday I had time to clean and lube some of the bikes. While I was at it, I took out the Malolo snowboard and cleaned and waxed the board and lubed the bindings. As a result, I began to long for the slopes of Killington. I got online poking around the site and started looking at the mountain biking trail map. Since Donna had a ADK group hike planned for Sunday, I decided I would try lift-served mountain biking at Killington.

Saturday Donna and I decided to road ride to New Skete seminary. She had been reading a book on the monks of New Skete and how they train their German Shepard dogs. So, we decided it would make a good destination ride. At 20 miles each way it was a pleasant ride. Donna was ride leader and took us up the steep and long and dirt English Road on the way to Cambridge. She obviously did not know what I knew about the road up to the seminary! Once east of Cambridge, the road starts to kick up. Where the sign says turn left for New Skete it turns to dirt and turns to a 15-plus percent grade for about two miles. Needless to say, we felt the burn until we got to the top. The ride down was tough as the dirt road was full of pot holes. After stopping at Anthem Bikes in Cambridge to replace my lost CO2 dispenser we took our time and pedaled home.

Sunday morning I packed-up and set off for Killington, reminding me of the days I went up to the mountain to snowboard, except it was 70 degrees warmer! As I pulled into the K1 Lodge parking lot at 10:30 I was surprised to see so many cars with bikes out getting suited up. We are talking full face helmets and total body armor. I went in to purchase a lift ticket and was reassured by the ticket seller there was plenty of trails that do not require a stunt man's bravado. In fact he selected a first run that would progress me from the easiest to the black diamond single track; and if I wanted more, there were double diamond trails to try; and if I was still looking for more he told me to come back for directions to some secret stash.

I talked to a couple getting ready next to me in the parking lot who each had Yeti 575's. We compared notes on our Yeti's and turns out he works at a certified Yeti dealer in Milford, NH (www.603sports.com). We would meet up again at lunch time and they gave me some good advise on which double diamonds to try (34 and 21). I am quite sure I talked to the same couple last winter. They have both summer ($99) and winter season passes. We talked dogs as they had a nice standard poodle that waited patiently in their truck. I also ran into some mid-20's couples on trail 14 that were playing on a tree stunt. One of them pointed to my bike and said, "nice bike!" I said thanks and then looked at his ride - he was also on a Yeti 575. We compared bikes and agreed Yeti's were special.

The riding was amazing!! I quickly progressed from the easiest to the moderate single track, and in the middle of the first run got on the black diamond single track trails 6 and 9. After that first run on the Skye Peak (east) side I hooked over on 7 towards Snowdon and Ramshead Mountains. There a tangle of beautiful, steep and rocky black diamond single track trails made for two more fun-filled runs. Each run takes about 45 minutes, with stopping only to catch your breath, build your nerve, or relieve your aching-from-braking hands and arms. After the third run, also on the Snowdon side I rode to the Subaru and had a tailgate lunch in the warm shade. After lunch I tried the double diamond trails and 34 was fine, but 21 forced me to get off and walk a bit. The last run - sixth of the day, and my feet, legs, hands, arms and shoulders were all tired and going to be sore, so I packed it in. It was 4 pm and with a solid four hours of riding in, I was more than happy and satisfied. I gained a new respect for Downhillers - not only does it take nerve and skill, but also stamina and strength. I was thrilled to have a new type of ridn to do!

When buying Alix's shoes at Rick's bike store her friend Paul noticed her. He works at the bike store and is an avid mtb'er. Next thing I knew all four of us were heading down to Grafton for a ride on the trails there. Paul is a remarkably skilled rider and fun to be with. He was quite excited to have Alix as a potential riding partner, even though he told her he was interested in riding with me. We rode Spruce Bog - Chet Bell - Little Johnnies - Water Tower trails. All of which contained some technical rocky and rooty sections that both Alix and Donna did very well with. Paul was amazing us with his riding abilities. He pulled a wheelie the length of the beach as Labor Day onlookers hooted and hollered.

Donna unfortunately twisted her ankle during a fall on Spruce Bog. Her Time pedals do not release well and when she tried Alix's Candy pedals, she could not believe how easily they released. What you don't know can hurt you - and not knowing any better, she thought all pedals released as hard as her Time pedals. We ordered a set of Candy-C pedals off eBay that night!

As I tallied the August training log mileage, the combination road and mountain bike miles was an all-time high for August at 495 miles. More importantly, the riding I have been doing this summer has been the most fun and rewarding yet as I am getting more family and friends to enjoy it with me and I learn to enjoy new types of bike ridn.