Since Early July, 2008 I have not Posted any activity in RuppRidn. No good excuses, just needed a break. Ridn Activities went on, along with injuries, recoveries and work.
Here is a summary of the Ridn Activities:
> Donna and I kayaked at Russ's beautifully renovated home on Hadlock Pond over the 4th of July weekend. I really enjoyed the upper body workout and getting the accelerated motion result from the extra effort put into paddling. In "spare" time I would like to take kayaking up as another activity to get a more well rounded workout to go with all the leg stuff I do.
> Also on July 4th weekend we went on a short hike to the Blue Ledges section of the Hudson River. A good test of the knees on a short and flat 2-mile in / 2-mile out hike. The water was great and the scenery spectacular.
> The third leg of the 4th weekend activity was a Bruce Ride - Lake Luzerne - Bow Bridge version. With nine riders setting a fast pace, it was fun and the weather perfect.
> Donna and I did some road riding together on our great local roads. With the hot weather we did early morning rides, or late afternoon, to keep cool on the road.
> I tried a long Time Trail after doing well on the Tuesday 10-mile time trial. The Stillwater TT had a 20 and 40-K option for my age group, and I opted for the longer test. It is an out and back race against the clock with no drafting on River Road. Having a big race like this with the course within 3 miles of your house makes it even better. I did well on the out, averaging 8-minute 5k splits. But after the turnaround, I lost my focus, stregth, rhytem , etc. I averaged 21.9 MPH and 1:07:43 time, which was not a good placing. The aero postion for that long was painful for several hours AFTER the race.
> Next day Donna and I rode in the Tour de Paws, a charity ride in Manchester, VT benefitting the dog rescue efforts there. It poured the whole ride. We did 40 miles on great roads. After returning we enjoyed a great meal put on by the organizers and drained the bikes!
> Marty was down for a meeting and he came to the house for a mountain bike ride on our home trails along with Donna. It was fun taking someone new on our home trails.
> I did a MHCC "Tour" ride that featured a tour of the Serrota factory in Saratoga. While these rides are supposed to be at a slower pace than the "Quick" rides I normally do, it was not. I got in with a fast group and we averaged over 19 MPH for the 50-mile ride on a super hot day. The factory tour was very interesting, but I still am not enticed to pay the premium price for their bikes.
> Next day was anotehr Bruce "Quick" ride called Hill of a View. The ride features many tough climbs that I did not do well on with the ride the day before still in my legs. Also, one of the riders had 3 flats before he broke a spoke and we finally (justifiably) abandend him towards the end of the ride.
> End of July and I finally do a Friday Grafton MTB ride this year. Had a good time with the usual crew and rode some new single track the Chris has built.
> Home trail and home road rides with Donna between T-storms and avoiding the heat of the day. I borke the derailleur hanger and tip of my rear triangle frame on the Epic on a simple home trail ride. I immediately went home and found a rear triangle up for bid on Ebay. After researching and asking many questions, I decided to bid on it and won the auction for only $40 plus shipping. To buy new it would be at least $250 and probably closer to $400. Very luck, since I have saved the Ebay search and have not seen another Epic rear triangle frame up for bid since!
> More Bruce and local road rides as well as home trail rides make up August. Our annual Teddy Ride - a 80-mile, 4-corner ride up in the Adirondacks was turned around at the first corner by bad weather. It was still a 58-mile ride, but we were disappointed in having to cut it short. We got soaked before we made it back anyway.
> Did a ride with Donna at SMBA. It was good to get back out on these trails again. There are some additions that are more appealing to intermediate riders with makes it fun.
> Our summer business celebration was delayed until August this year and moved to PA. So, my annual VT mountain bike adventure with coworkers did not happen. Instead I found a bike path ride along the Lehigh River starting in Jim Thorpe, PA, going 25 milers up river and then returning. Terry and Marty joined me after I did it the day before to check it out. Almost perfectly flat on a good solid base, I used the Cannondale with the Cane Creek aero rims. Terry's spokes were bent and needed fixing at the turn around point. It was Marty longest ride ever as he is now getting into some road riding.
> Late evening road rides in late August are fun because you can start so late in the day and still have time to get a good ride in. But the days are getting shorter now. Donna and I did one that had us out at Christie Rd talking to Mike and Stacy until we decided we better get going. It was pretty dark by the time we got home. On another occasion I started out from the house and within a 1/2 mile saw a bunch of riders going the other way. I turned and hooked up with them. They were from the bike store in Schylerville. Marty, a world-class speed skater and great cyclist in the off season is leading rides out of the store on Monday evenings. Donna and I rode down to the store the next Monday and we did a ride out to the Saratoga Battlefield. We had to leave the group and go like heck to make it home and still wound up in the dark on River Road without a light.
> August is also Rupert Mountain ride. Another Bruce ride, 80-miles with killer climb early and lots of intermediate climbs late. Eight riders enjoyed a perfect ride with the best that NY and VT road riding can offer. I get to ride to the ride!
> Time to break out the lights. Both the tail light for late returns on the road bike and the high pwoer headlights for the mountain bikes. I got the Yeti out for a night ride on the home trails. I always enjoy night riding and can not help the first couple of time from getting adrenelin rushes as the shadows crossing your path look like animals streaking at or past you. On the way out I went past Carol's barn on the road. On the return I came from behind the barn and went through some tall grass. Unseen until I was upended were the 15 to 24 inch diameter logs strewn in the grass. I went over the handlebars and hit on my right chin, head and shoulder. Bike and headlamp were not damaged, however.
> Early September is MHCC Century ride time. I started out with the fast group as usual, but this time the fast group was super fast and I was dropped on the first little climb. I got dropped by another group and Bruce and Art were up ahead and I was solo in heavy headwinds. I stopped at the first water stop and waited for a group and went with them. I found two guys that were doing their first century rides. They were both good atheletes and in good shape, but not experienced cyclists. Remembering my first century I decided I would hang with these guys for the day. We stopped and fixed a couple of flats and had a great day of it. The serious climb up West Mountain Road was a challenge, but I stayed at the top and waited for them. I finished and Donna and Harry were waiting at the picnic.
> I could not let the season end without taking the Yeti to Killington for a Downhill MTB day. With the rain we have had all summer the trails were very slick and slippery. It took me about 1 1/2 runs to get used to it, but after that it was a blast. IN all I got six runs in and covered most of the black diamond trails.
> Sacandga Art Ride - good weather and good people, about 20 for the Quick version and 20 for the Tour version. Excellent pizza to take home for Donna.
> SMBA solo rides - enjoying getting to know the trails with new ones being great for solo riding. I was returning from trip to VT that I had bike in the car and never used, so stopped at SMBA before getting home.
> Early October and fall colors are at the peak. Did a great ride with Donna out the Battenkill, Skellie road and around Cassyunna Lake.
> Lake Desolation MTB Ride - early for this ride this year, we have done this in November before. Lots of mud and rocks and climbs and another foray into the Graphite mine shaft.
> More night rides on home trail on Yeti, no logs causing headers of handlebars, though! Mixing good riding on roads on weekends and home trails at night during the week has kept me in decent shape so far into the early fall. However, a trip to CA in which I could not bring or rent a bike put in a week of no activity.
> Finally purchased a new snowboard that have been researching (and driving Donna crazy) all summer long. The Lib Tech Dark Series board has Magne-traction, which is a wavy edge that lets you keep an edge on the hard pack and ice, and Bananna-traction, that is a reverse camber so you do not catch an edge as quick. Donna says this is all just marketing BS. We will see. I got a great deal on it and now can not wait for the snow to hit the mountain.
> With Donna road to McDougal Lake Road to check out a house we saw listed in one of the Real Estate booklets. Nice house, nice road and good ride.
> November 2nd and Killington is open and I am there with my new board!! With limited lifts the crowds were a bit heavy at first, but lighter towards the end. K-1 Gondola open and top to bottom riding in Rime, Reason were great. Board worked as advertised, too. I wanted to take it easy on these new muscles, but was having too much fun. Sore the next couple of days. Did a night mountain bike ride, but had to take it easy from the soreness. Then at Salem office, I reached down to pick up my computer bag, and OUCH! My back went into spasms. This was a Thursday, by Saturday I was at Donato's office.
> Broke out the Lemond cyclocross bike and put the trusty Cane Creek road rims on it with road tires. Back was good as long as not out of saddle. Did some MTB-ing with Bruce, but back still not right. Had to take a full two weeks off and several sessions with Donato, but finally got back in good shape. However, neck and shoulder issues from the tumble over the logs has persisited.
> More Lemond rides, taking it easy, keeping in some shape and still trying to get neck and shoulder better. Weather makes activities limited now to spinning indoors and Snowboarding. The Snowboarding actually helps the neck and shoulder as long as I don't fall hard.
> Studded tires are mounted on Epic for some Ice Biking on the home trails. XC skiing is good now in mid Decmber and Donna goes out with me on her new Snowshoes.
> By Christmas I have gone to Killington five times snowboarding, so it is shaping up to be a great year. The conditions have been good overall, with some days limited to hardpack, but the new baord makes it ridable.
> Very hard to keep weight off and stay in shape. We have lost some long time furry friends: Cherry our Bassett, our cat Sundance, and our Greyhound Liberty - all have been with us 12 years or more and all are gone in the past 2 months. Not a great way to end the year.
> Cold and windy weather make outdoor training hard to accomplish. Donna and I are hitting Dan's sping class on Saturday. XC skiing has been great, using headlamps at night has been fun on the home trails. Even Snowbarding has been a challenge. One day they shut down the main chairs and Gondola at Killington and I had to go back to the car and drive over to Bear Mountain to get out of the wind. Once I was there it was great. And, we have been getting big snow amounts. I did a Pico Powder Day again this year after a big snow fall. The trails, Glades and Woods there are amazing. I took this past Friday off and went to Killington for one of the best condition days ever, knowing that this weekend was going to be brutally cold and windy.
This brings us up to date and I will try to make more frequent entries into the blog going forward. We are working on some exciting things and will keep posting.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Summer Riding Provides Bike Variety
More Bruce rides, WNY work rides and a local club Time Trial Series provides plenty of opportunity for riding. So the Lemond and Y-Foil are getting out and seeing some action. Yet untapped are club mountain bike rides, but that should be happening soon.
I was still hurting from the Whiteface UPhill race when I rode with Bruce and a crew of six the following week. That did not help me go
up the very steep and too long Glens Falls Mountain Road just before the half-way point of the 55 mile quick ride. Bruce had to wait for me at the top, but as always, the reward is in the descent and we cruised to the Stewart's for a well-deserved break. The second half of the ride was much better as the climbing up West Mountain Road was less steep and at the beginning after the rest. The rollers going back to Skidmore were fun and the ride left a satisfying drained feeling.
Stewart Dam Crossing ----->
My work now takes me to WNY for more time to be with new people I have hired and to keep close to our customers there. I have begun packing up the Lemond with both wheels off in the back of the Subaru on my road trips. It saves the Cannondale from getting dinged and makes it possible to go on trails if needed. Also, the bike is heavier, so the rides I do will be better for training. I was able to get away for part of an early afternoon at Letchworth State Park in Mt. Morris, NY. If you have not been there, you should go. It is described as the Grand Canyon of NY. That is a lot to live up to and it does not compare to the western version, but it is a beautiful cut valley from the Gennese River flowing north through the Glacial till of western NY.
I started at the Mt. Morris entry near the dam and rode the length of the road south through the park to the other entrance at Portageville. It is 17 miles one way, so a 35-mile ride altogether. The ride south is uphill all the way with many dips and steep, short climbs mixed in. At first I thought my brakes were dragging on the flats, but I soon realized I was going upriver, so the flats were false ones. I stopped several times to rest my still weary legs and take some pictures of the river that at times was almost 600 feet below my vantage point. The road was smooth, but the air was awful as the local customers were spreading their manure and it was sinking down into the valley. No wind, but plenty of foul air. The return trip was a blast as now the false flats were leaning downhill and the down hills carried you over most of the uphill climbs. I now realized my legs were not as bad off as I thought.
I did get the Epic out for a short stroll one night with Donna walking Harry through our trails. It will be good to get back on the mountain bikes for some real single trail riding soon. The ankle is getting to the point that it will be ok.
I have wanted to do the Glens Falls local club Tuesday Time Trial on West River Road near Ft. Edward ever since they started doing them two years ago. But, Tuesdays have been tough for me to be home for in the summer, and every time I was, I was too tired or there was a thunderstorm. This time I was tired, but decided to go anyway. I was glad I did. There were 26 riders in all, and of all levels of ability and with all kinds of bikes. The Cambridge club riders make up the majority, but riders come from all over. The bikes ranged from state of the art TT bikes with aerobars and disc wheels to regular tour bikes.
I knew the road well from traveling with Donna as she rides to work and back. In fact Donna rode into work this beautiful day and I met her with the car as she was returning. I got to the parking lot about 45 minutes before the start, enough time to ride the five mile out, five mile back course for warm up. A donation of $5, signing the release and getting the number were all I needed to do. We lined up and started 30 seconds apart.
My speedometer was not working, and I was almost glad. I know that a good time would be less than 25 minutes, so I just used the clock on my computer.
I hit it hard from the start and judged that I was pushing along at about 165 beats per minute (my heart rate monitor is also not working) by the level of breathing I was doing. I thought I could keep this pace for 25 minutes, so just kept at it. When my legs started to resist, I click up a gear for relief. At the turn around I was about 12 minutes into the ride, so felt I was doing a good ride. I passed two riders on the way out, and nobody else and no one passed me. On the way back I moved to a lighter gear a couple of times to get relief, but kept near the same pace. As I approached the rail road sign, which is near the finish, I pushed hard and had about 12 minutes more on the clock.
As it turned out my time was a little over 25 minutes, or 23.7 MPH, which was good enough for sixth place. I was happy with that! I would love to do it again and think I could improve by pushing bigger gears. The Y-Foil is really fun to ride and I was glad I rode it Monday morning for a 35 mile ride to get used to the positioning of the aerobars. I felt very comfortable with my position on the bike.
Next post should be about getting the Epic and/or Yeti out in the woods.
I was still hurting from the Whiteface UPhill race when I rode with Bruce and a crew of six the following week. That did not help me go
up the very steep and too long Glens Falls Mountain Road just before the half-way point of the 55 mile quick ride. Bruce had to wait for me at the top, but as always, the reward is in the descent and we cruised to the Stewart's for a well-deserved break. The second half of the ride was much better as the climbing up West Mountain Road was less steep and at the beginning after the rest. The rollers going back to Skidmore were fun and the ride left a satisfying drained feeling.Stewart Dam Crossing ----->
My work now takes me to WNY for more time to be with new people I have hired and to keep close to our customers there. I have begun packing up the Lemond with both wheels off in the back of the Subaru on my road trips. It saves the Cannondale from getting dinged and makes it possible to go on trails if needed. Also, the bike is heavier, so the rides I do will be better for training. I was able to get away for part of an early afternoon at Letchworth State Park in Mt. Morris, NY. If you have not been there, you should go. It is described as the Grand Canyon of NY. That is a lot to live up to and it does not compare to the western version, but it is a beautiful cut valley from the Gennese River flowing north through the Glacial till of western NY.
I started at the Mt. Morris entry near the dam and rode the length of the road south through the park to the other entrance at Portageville. It is 17 miles one way, so a 35-mile ride altogether. The ride south is uphill all the way with many dips and steep, short climbs mixed in. At first I thought my brakes were dragging on the flats, but I soon realized I was going upriver, so the flats were false ones. I stopped several times to rest my still weary legs and take some pictures of the river that at times was almost 600 feet below my vantage point. The road was smooth, but the air was awful as the local customers were spreading their manure and it was sinking down into the valley. No wind, but plenty of foul air. The return trip was a blast as now the false flats were leaning downhill and the down hills carried you over most of the uphill climbs. I now realized my legs were not as bad off as I thought.
I did get the Epic out for a short stroll one night with Donna walking Harry through our trails. It will be good to get back on the mountain bikes for some real single trail riding soon. The ankle is getting to the point that it will be ok.
I have wanted to do the Glens Falls local club Tuesday Time Trial on West River Road near Ft. Edward ever since they started doing them two years ago. But, Tuesdays have been tough for me to be home for in the summer, and every time I was, I was too tired or there was a thunderstorm. This time I was tired, but decided to go anyway. I was glad I did. There were 26 riders in all, and of all levels of ability and with all kinds of bikes. The Cambridge club riders make up the majority, but riders come from all over. The bikes ranged from state of the art TT bikes with aerobars and disc wheels to regular tour bikes.
I knew the road well from traveling with Donna as she rides to work and back. In fact Donna rode into work this beautiful day and I met her with the car as she was returning. I got to the parking lot about 45 minutes before the start, enough time to ride the five mile out, five mile back course for warm up. A donation of $5, signing the release and getting the number were all I needed to do. We lined up and started 30 seconds apart.
My speedometer was not working, and I was almost glad. I know that a good time would be less than 25 minutes, so I just used the clock on my computer.I hit it hard from the start and judged that I was pushing along at about 165 beats per minute (my heart rate monitor is also not working) by the level of breathing I was doing. I thought I could keep this pace for 25 minutes, so just kept at it. When my legs started to resist, I click up a gear for relief. At the turn around I was about 12 minutes into the ride, so felt I was doing a good ride. I passed two riders on the way out, and nobody else and no one passed me. On the way back I moved to a lighter gear a couple of times to get relief, but kept near the same pace. As I approached the rail road sign, which is near the finish, I pushed hard and had about 12 minutes more on the clock.
As it turned out my time was a little over 25 minutes, or 23.7 MPH, which was good enough for sixth place. I was happy with that! I would love to do it again and think I could improve by pushing bigger gears. The Y-Foil is really fun to ride and I was glad I rode it Monday morning for a 35 mile ride to get used to the positioning of the aerobars. I felt very comfortable with my position on the bike.
Next post should be about getting the Epic and/or Yeti out in the woods.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Whiteface Uphill Bike Race - Five Minutes Apart, One Second Togther
Hot and humid weather at the start turned to fog and mist at the finish; the ride down was in a pouring rain with thunder and lightning, but the Whiteface Race was a good day for both of us.
Donna and I did a lot of training together for this race. We did our hill intervals on Willard and Summit climbs. I would always pull ahead of Donna and circle back to cheer her on. My training was impaired by the ankle and my work schedule and Donna's by her hectic schedule. I noticed that she was getting closer and closer to matching my efforts as we got closer to race day.
Day of the race was very hot and humid with chance of severe thunderstorms late in the day. The race starts at 5:30 with waves going off in five-minute intervals. Close to 300 racers were gathered at the start. We warmed up for about 15 miles and then waited for all the preceding waves to go off. Donna's wave was five minutes before my "old men's" wave, the last one. I cheered as she started off in the bright hot sun.
The five-minute wait seems to last longer. Eventually the gun goes off and you have to start. The effort is pretty evenly distributed the whole 8-mile trip up the 8% on average slope mountain road. Which means, you have to start right off the bat by pushing it. The wait to start works against me every time because it is tough to turn it on right at the get go. I have a 25 sprocket on the back with the 39 low crank, so had to go there right away and only once or twice can i click it up one or two gears. My splits the first couple of miles are pretty good, so I was feeling encouraged. This is my fourth time doing the race, so I should learn that the early good news means bad news later. Mile 4 was a good split too, so I look at the heart rate monitor and I am staying around 168 most of the time.
By mile 6 I start receiving the bad news from my quads, back and ribs. Heart rate is still up there in the 165 range, but I am losing ground on the splits. I was heading for a 1:10 time, but that is slipping away. You can start to hear the announcer and the cheers from the finish at this point, yet there is much more work to do. I pass a couple of women and wonder how Donna is doing. I thought I might of seen her a couple of times when you can see far enough ahead.
Final push for the end and the fog is thick and air much cooler with some wind. The rain starts coming down hard the final 200 meters and the finish crew is scrambling for cover. I was unsure exactly where the finish line was in the confusion. But, finally it was over as there was no more up to go. I gasped and struggled to regain some dignity wiping foam and sweat from my face. I kept pedaling through the tunnel of the monument and there was Donna sitting huddled frozen Georgia mountain style. I asked what her time was and she says 1:15:09. I had my time at 1:15:48, but was not sure if I had it right in the confusion at the end.
Times were less important right now, getting off the mountain was paramount. Because, the sky lit up with lightning and thunder sent everyone scrambling and the wind and rain started to unload. After getting some food and Gatorade I tried to convince Donna we needed to start riding down. She thought we were not yet allowed, but from previous experience, I knew we were allowed to go. Finally we started, but this time we were not allowed to pass the traffic jam of cars and bikes that were going as slow as their brakes would allow. The road was flooded with runoff and the visibility was near zero. The ride down was almost as painful as the ride up. Our shoes were water logged as was the rest of our bodies. Forearms and hands grew numb with the effort of holding the breaks so the bikes would stay slow enough against the pull of gravity to stay in place behind cars and bikes.
Finally, we were off the mountain and at the car changing out of our wet heavy clothes. We made our way over to the picnic and consumed the food in large gulps under the cover of tents in the pouring rain. The Stewart's ice cream topped off the meal. We were soon on our way home with another exhilarating mountain cycling experience.
Later that week I was off in western NY and checking email, but decided to see if the results of the race were posted yet. I opened up the overall results of the 240 riders and found my name, and Donna's right next to each other:
Even though we started in waves five minutes apart and never even saw each other during the race, we completed the course in ALMOST exactly the same time -- only one second apart!! I burst out in laughter and sent the results to Donna in an email. She looked at the email and results after I left a voice mail. You can tell we trained together for the race. People not knowing we were in different waves would think we rode together and then I jumped at the finish line to just nip her, male pride intact. Donna's theory is that we had the same time exactly and they had to separate us by one second, because the system is not designed to take a tie. This is obviously female folly. In any case we make a great team and it shows in the results.
Donna and I did a lot of training together for this race. We did our hill intervals on Willard and Summit climbs. I would always pull ahead of Donna and circle back to cheer her on. My training was impaired by the ankle and my work schedule and Donna's by her hectic schedule. I noticed that she was getting closer and closer to matching my efforts as we got closer to race day.
Day of the race was very hot and humid with chance of severe thunderstorms late in the day. The race starts at 5:30 with waves going off in five-minute intervals. Close to 300 racers were gathered at the start. We warmed up for about 15 miles and then waited for all the preceding waves to go off. Donna's wave was five minutes before my "old men's" wave, the last one. I cheered as she started off in the bright hot sun.
The five-minute wait seems to last longer. Eventually the gun goes off and you have to start. The effort is pretty evenly distributed the whole 8-mile trip up the 8% on average slope mountain road. Which means, you have to start right off the bat by pushing it. The wait to start works against me every time because it is tough to turn it on right at the get go. I have a 25 sprocket on the back with the 39 low crank, so had to go there right away and only once or twice can i click it up one or two gears. My splits the first couple of miles are pretty good, so I was feeling encouraged. This is my fourth time doing the race, so I should learn that the early good news means bad news later. Mile 4 was a good split too, so I look at the heart rate monitor and I am staying around 168 most of the time.
By mile 6 I start receiving the bad news from my quads, back and ribs. Heart rate is still up there in the 165 range, but I am losing ground on the splits. I was heading for a 1:10 time, but that is slipping away. You can start to hear the announcer and the cheers from the finish at this point, yet there is much more work to do. I pass a couple of women and wonder how Donna is doing. I thought I might of seen her a couple of times when you can see far enough ahead.
Final push for the end and the fog is thick and air much cooler with some wind. The rain starts coming down hard the final 200 meters and the finish crew is scrambling for cover. I was unsure exactly where the finish line was in the confusion. But, finally it was over as there was no more up to go. I gasped and struggled to regain some dignity wiping foam and sweat from my face. I kept pedaling through the tunnel of the monument and there was Donna sitting huddled frozen Georgia mountain style. I asked what her time was and she says 1:15:09. I had my time at 1:15:48, but was not sure if I had it right in the confusion at the end.
Times were less important right now, getting off the mountain was paramount. Because, the sky lit up with lightning and thunder sent everyone scrambling and the wind and rain started to unload. After getting some food and Gatorade I tried to convince Donna we needed to start riding down. She thought we were not yet allowed, but from previous experience, I knew we were allowed to go. Finally we started, but this time we were not allowed to pass the traffic jam of cars and bikes that were going as slow as their brakes would allow. The road was flooded with runoff and the visibility was near zero. The ride down was almost as painful as the ride up. Our shoes were water logged as was the rest of our bodies. Forearms and hands grew numb with the effort of holding the breaks so the bikes would stay slow enough against the pull of gravity to stay in place behind cars and bikes.
Finally, we were off the mountain and at the car changing out of our wet heavy clothes. We made our way over to the picnic and consumed the food in large gulps under the cover of tents in the pouring rain. The Stewart's ice cream topped off the meal. We were soon on our way home with another exhilarating mountain cycling experience.
Later that week I was off in western NY and checking email, but decided to see if the results of the race were posted yet. I opened up the overall results of the 240 riders and found my name, and Donna's right next to each other:
171 Paul Mang Toronto ON 46 M 170 1:25:14 171 1:15:14
172 Kevin McNamara Barre VT 45 M 171 1:25:21 172 1:15:21
173 Kurt Ruppel Greenwich NY 55 M 194 1:30:28 173 1:15:28
174 Donna M Ruppel Greenwich NY 44 F 173 1:25:29 174 1:15:29
175 Gaetan Duperron Montreal PQ 37 M 135 1:20:54 175 1:15:54
176 Joseph Whiteley Pleasant Valle NY 49 M 176 1:26:14 176 1:16:14
Even though we started in waves five minutes apart and never even saw each other during the race, we completed the course in ALMOST exactly the same time -- only one second apart!! I burst out in laughter and sent the results to Donna in an email. She looked at the email and results after I left a voice mail. You can tell we trained together for the race. People not knowing we were in different waves would think we rode together and then I jumped at the finish line to just nip her, male pride intact. Donna's theory is that we had the same time exactly and they had to separate us by one second, because the system is not designed to take a tie. This is obviously female folly. In any case we make a great team and it shows in the results.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Ready to MTB and Race
Ankle continues to improve, getting stronger with greater range of motion. So, I ventured out on the mountain bike and Donna and I both signed-up for the Whiteface Mountain Uphill Bike Race, coming up shortly on June 14.
I have purposefully stayed off the trails until the ankle was in better condition. No sense in cutting my recovery short when I can ride on the road and the trails were muddy and full of turkey hunters. But the trails are drying out, and turkey season is now over, so to move things along I went out on our home trails for a good ride.
Our home trails are one reason we have not moved from our present location. A half-mile down our road begins a 6-mile network of trails that are a result of years of 2- and 4-wheeler, snowmobile, and motocross activity. They include a short stretch of recently added single-track, some rocks and roots (but not much compared to other sites), a few short, step climbs - but mostly flat, a challenging motocross racing track, a heart-pounding G-drop, long open field runs and plenty of fast twisty trails through the mostly pine woods. When I go "end-to-end and back again" it is a 12-mile, ~1:20 workout/ride.
Depending on what I want to accomplish, I can go slow and steady (usually doesn't happen), spend time doing intervals on the motocross course, which I run backwards (to the direction the motocross bikes run) , and is a great way to get the heart rate up, or just cruise it as fast as I can go- which is usually what I do, and what I did this time. Result of this ride on the home trails was a new eagerness to go on some group mountain bike rides, and assurance that the ankle will withstand the jolting of some rougher trails.
At the same time, Donna and I have been talking about doing the Whiteface race together. I have encouraged her to do the race, knowing she would enjoy the challenge and do well. Last year I did the race and she did a hike and then we stayed at a B+B in Keene Valley. This year we are both registered for the race and we are looking for a place to stay. I have begun (way too late) to get some good climbing rides in. Friday morning of this week I awoke to 65 degree temperature with sunny weather and the prospect of rain and hot weather later, as well as an appointment with Donato and varied work commitments filling up my day. It was a no-brainer -- I was on the bike rolling out of the driveway at 7:45 am. My goal was to get some climbing in on Willard Mountain, which is home to a local Ski Mountain only 8 miles from our door. My usual "Willard ride" is to go into Greenwich, then up a small climb on Burton Rd. to warm up, then the big climb up Interval Road, which is about 400 feet of elevation gain in about a mile of riding. I then go down on Vly Summit Rd. to Rt. 40 in North Easton, and climb back up the other way. Then repeat. And repeat again, and again, if the legs can handle it. Then it is a 8 mile ride back by way of town to warm down.
Looking for a new version to spice up the ride, I decided to get to the top, go down to Route 40, but then climb past the turn for the Ski area, all the way to another high spot on Vly Summit Road (550 feet over 2 miles). Then go down to Rt. 74, and go over to Herrington Hill Road, which is a steep, long climb (550 feet over 1 1/2 miles) on a well-packed dirt road that takes you back to the ski area a different way. My legs and time only allowed for one set of each climbs, but it was enough to get in 30 miles and about 2200 feet of climbing, before a late breakfast.
The climbing I just started doing should have been done three weeks ago to properly prepare for the Whiteface Race, but that will have to do. Donna and I will have fun challenging ourselves on the 8 mile, 8% slope race in less than 2 weeks!
I have purposefully stayed off the trails until the ankle was in better condition. No sense in cutting my recovery short when I can ride on the road and the trails were muddy and full of turkey hunters. But the trails are drying out, and turkey season is now over, so to move things along I went out on our home trails for a good ride.
Our home trails are one reason we have not moved from our present location. A half-mile down our road begins a 6-mile network of trails that are a result of years of 2- and 4-wheeler, snowmobile, and motocross activity. They include a short stretch of recently added single-track, some rocks and roots (but not much compared to other sites), a few short, step climbs - but mostly flat, a challenging motocross racing track, a heart-pounding G-drop, long open field runs and plenty of fast twisty trails through the mostly pine woods. When I go "end-to-end and back again" it is a 12-mile, ~1:20 workout/ride.
Depending on what I want to accomplish, I can go slow and steady (usually doesn't happen), spend time doing intervals on the motocross course, which I run backwards (to the direction the motocross bikes run) , and is a great way to get the heart rate up, or just cruise it as fast as I can go- which is usually what I do, and what I did this time. Result of this ride on the home trails was a new eagerness to go on some group mountain bike rides, and assurance that the ankle will withstand the jolting of some rougher trails.
At the same time, Donna and I have been talking about doing the Whiteface race together. I have encouraged her to do the race, knowing she would enjoy the challenge and do well. Last year I did the race and she did a hike and then we stayed at a B+B in Keene Valley. This year we are both registered for the race and we are looking for a place to stay. I have begun (way too late) to get some good climbing rides in. Friday morning of this week I awoke to 65 degree temperature with sunny weather and the prospect of rain and hot weather later, as well as an appointment with Donato and varied work commitments filling up my day. It was a no-brainer -- I was on the bike rolling out of the driveway at 7:45 am. My goal was to get some climbing in on Willard Mountain, which is home to a local Ski Mountain only 8 miles from our door. My usual "Willard ride" is to go into Greenwich, then up a small climb on Burton Rd. to warm up, then the big climb up Interval Road, which is about 400 feet of elevation gain in about a mile of riding. I then go down on Vly Summit Rd. to Rt. 40 in North Easton, and climb back up the other way. Then repeat. And repeat again, and again, if the legs can handle it. Then it is a 8 mile ride back by way of town to warm down.
Looking for a new version to spice up the ride, I decided to get to the top, go down to Route 40, but then climb past the turn for the Ski area, all the way to another high spot on Vly Summit Road (550 feet over 2 miles). Then go down to Rt. 74, and go over to Herrington Hill Road, which is a steep, long climb (550 feet over 1 1/2 miles) on a well-packed dirt road that takes you back to the ski area a different way. My legs and time only allowed for one set of each climbs, but it was enough to get in 30 miles and about 2200 feet of climbing, before a late breakfast.
The climbing I just started doing should have been done three weeks ago to properly prepare for the Whiteface Race, but that will have to do. Donna and I will have fun challenging ourselves on the 8 mile, 8% slope race in less than 2 weeks!
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