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.

Ankle Allows Road Cycling, But Little Else

What else do I need? Well, I first needed to overcome a pneumonia I caught while laid-up with the injured joint. Then I needed to get back condition I had before I wrenched the thing. The good news is, road cycling is not very stressful to an ankle. So, as I got over the lung infection, and when the weather allowed, I started rebuilding the base of fitness I had lost by riding on the road. However, it was like losing two to three months of training and starting over from that point.

Base miles without intervals were done on the Lemond cyclocross bike at first. With Donna and solo, I did rides of 20 to 30 miles. Due to work commitments, much (too much) of the riding had to come on weekends. So, at first a 50-mile weekend, followed by a 65-mile weekend, etc. I did manage to get in a least one ride of 20 to 40 miles in the middle of the weeks.

Riders passing horse farms in Saratoga Springs, NY. McMahon's is the birthplace of Funnycide and a good Cargill customer.

With early season racing out of the question, I focused on training for my annual Team Guerrilla Road Ride Alternate Plan B (TGRRAPB) ride, which occurs every Memorial Weekend Saturday. Eventually I worked into longer rides and did some interval training on hills and long tempo runs. A 53-mile, 3500 feet of elevation gain Bruce Ride, "Balloon Festival Preview," was a good warm-up the weekend before. There were a dozen riders and I was one of the slowest, especially on the climbs. My ankle swelled up the last half of the ride, so much so, that Art and Bruce noticed it readily.

Copious icing and continued therapy with Keith Donato resulted in a good recovery. In fact, I think the stress it was placed under force greater progress. I did one good 30-miler during the week out in Cazanovia Lake, which included a great 9 mile climb from Cheenego to Cazanovia on little-traveled Route 13. The short stretch past the Falls is steep. I am packing the Lemond in the back of the Subaru as a travel bike these days to save my Cannondale from getting dinged and it makes a better training ride on the heavier bike. Since I have put the Cane Creek wheels on the Lemond, it is great fun to ride on the road.

Saturday of the big ride and I felt ready to not be too embarrassed. It was a glorious Adirondack day with temperatures in the high 50's, some clouds and a good 15 MPH breeze from the north, which would provide a tailwind on the last half of the 65-mile, 5000-foot ride. Twenty people showed up and we were off to do the most serious climbs, which come in the first third of the ride. Before the first real climb comes the screaming descent down to Diamond Point on Lake George. I hit 51 MPH and passed nearly all the riders that dropped me on the first little climb. I think I passed Bruce going 20 to 30 MPH faster than he was going.

I was not totally embarrassed on the big climbs, but was definitely towards the back of the pack. It was fun to get into the rhythm of the climbs that I now know so well. After the long and fast decent down to Schroon River (50 MPH), it was paceline time on the flat section along the river. I kept into the line-up for most of the long paceline, coming to the front towards the junction of Rt. 8. After the rollers and the stop at Adirondack, it was an easy ride toward the back of the group the rest of the way home. The tailwind helped and my base building paid off. No cramps or fatigue and my ankle held up very well.

Little to no swelling of the ankle and a rapid recovery of the legs were signs that I am ready to start riding like I want to now. Bruce is leading a Tour-paced ride the next day and Donna and I decide to do it. This is a joint club ride with a group from Long Island that Bruce does every year. We will have the option of going slower if needed, since the LI riders are more used to flat lands and a slower 16 MPH pace. Turned out we did not need to have the company of the slow riders. We felt good enough to go faster and there were enough local riders that usually go with Bruce and keep the pace at 18 to 19 MPH to keep us company. The ride was from Saratoga Springs to the Battlefield - one loop of the Battlefield (10.5 miles) and then back. I paced a group back from the Battlefield and it was fun to pick off riders that started ahead of us, or took short cuts around the climbs. My paceline always had Donna on my wheel and we picked up and dropped riders as we made our way back past the scenic, rolling horse and dairy farm scenes that make Saratoga the destination it is.

The Sunday of Memorial Day weekend found us ready to take an easy day. So, we drove up to Newcomb in the Adirondacks and rode the mountain bikes into Camp Santanoni. It was a short 5 mile ride into the Camp on a dirt road. The Great Camp is being restored and is on a beautiful setting next to the lake. We were chased out by some rain and took a nap at a Tauhus trailhead on the way home.

Long post, but it has been awhile since I felt like writing. The ankle still hampers walking and hiking. Too much time has been spent on the recliner with ice on my ankle, but now I am ready to get into better shape and do the riding I love to do.

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.

Spring Road Riding Takes Off

May weather turns warm and dry and with it an opportunity to kick road riding into higher gear. So far this year I have gotten in 22 outside road rides for 788 miles and 35,000 feet of climbing. Since the last day of snowbording, 311 miles on 8 rides for 13,505 feet of climbing.

More importantly than the statistics, it has been great to get out in the warmer weather and to not fight rain or snow. I really enjoy road riding this time of year. First it is a great weigh to shed those last 5 pounds off - you are out later in the evening with the later sunset and it just seems that the appetite is not as strong while the activity is greater. Then there is the ability to see far into the woods as you whirl by. The leaves are just starting to come out on the maple trees. The third thing is that the farmers finally are busy out in the fields and I get more time to work from the home office - and therefore more time to get rides in during the week.

Group rides are now on the schedule, so it is a great time to ride with others after the long winter of solo riding. Donna and I have done several good rides in the area. We also joined a Cambridge Valley Cycling (CVC) club ride on a (wet) Sunday. Last weekend I did a group ride with Mohawk-Hudson Cycling Club (MHCC), a "Bruce ride" which had 15 total riders and we went around Lake Luzerne from Skidmore. The weather was brisk but bright and sunny. The 53 mile loop included going over West Mountain Rd and Conklinville Dam.

This week Donna and I got in a good 26 mile ride on Monday, I plan to try out a CVC Wednesday ride, and I will get the mountain bike out for a MHCC group ride in Pittstown State Forest on Friday. We will see how much energy is left for the weekend. As the mountain bikers say, "ride-on!"