Total for this day: 29.7 miles
Total for this year: 44.3 miles
Rode in to work again today. And while the trail was finally clear of snow, it was still very cold - 29 degrees when I left the house. I was layered up again - two under the helmet, two on the hands, four on the torso, two on the legs, and two sets of socks under my riding shoes. This was enough to keep me warm. Except for my feet. Must have been because I was wearing the riding shoes today instead of the thicker sneakers I wore last ride. But no matter what caused it, my toes were painfully cold by the time I hit the half way point, and they just got worse as continued. I toughed it out and eventually made it to campus, but when I got the shoes and socks off at the gym my toes were bright red, and it hurt to walk. It took a good hour before the pain went away.
Other than that, the ride in was great. Because of the switch to daylight savings time I had to delay my departure until it was light enough to ride safely (my light mount is on the off-road bike, which is in the shop...). I hit the road maybe 15 minutes before sunrise. But I made pretty good time. Since I had the road bike it felt like I was flying compared to the last ride. Wasn't going so fast that I couldn't appreciate the wildlife that was out and about that time of the morning, particularly the birds. Saw a few cardinals, a couple of great blue herons, and bunches of robins. Spring is definitely on the way.
And since I didn't need to be "rescued" today, I was able to ride back after work. I don't know what the temperature was at the time, but I think it was pushing 50, so I was able to pack away most of the layers. I actually rode in shorts for the first time since... maybe November? It's been so long I can't even remember. Anway, it was a nice ride. Only way it could have been better was if there had been water in the canal and leaves on the trees. Won't be long...
Although the weather's supposed to be much the same for the rest of the week, my work schedule will keep me from riding in again for a while. If I'm lucky I might be able to get a short ride in over the weekend, but it's kind of touch and go. We'll see.
That said... I went on another ride today. Jacked up the mileage and did a little climbing - 2507 feet to be exact. I know a lot of people climb a heck of a lot more than that and don't even break a sweat. OK - so I'm old and feeble. But for me, that was a pretty good workout. In the past two seasons I've only climbed more than that twice - once on a 70 mile ride to Geneseo, and once on a 50 miler to Hemlock. So to do that much climbing in a 40 mile ride was pretty good by my standards.
So the route, as shown above, took me south out of Victor (and up Boughton Hill) to Bloomfield, west from Bloomfield to Lima, north from Lima through Honeoye Falls and on to Mendon Ponds, south out of Mendon Ponds to Rt 251, then east on 251 all the way back to Victor. The bike handled well, although the cables on the front shifter need to be adjusted already. For a while I was afraid that I wasn't going to be able to get the chain onto the small ring in front before going up the final killer hill (Lane Rd) before getting home. But thankfully I managed to drop it on just as I approached the climb.
This ride is traditionally one of my first of the season. A nice little warm-up. It features a few notorious hills... Boughton Hill as you climb out of the village heading south toward the farms between Victor and Canandaigua, and either Church St. or Lynaugh Rd. right before getting back to the Quail Ridge neighborhood. Today I chose to take Lynaugh with its 109 foot climb over just a quarter mile - an 8% grade.
I'd originally hoped to get another steel bike. The old Trek, with a cro-molly steel frame, really gives a comfortable ride, but steel bikes are getting harder to find, and those that looked like they might work for the kind of riding I do - mostly day trips and light touring - cost more than I wanted to spend. In the end I decided on another Trek, the Pilot 2.1. It has an aluminum frame, which I was trying to avoid, but it comes with carbon fiber forks and seat post, which are supposed to dampen the vibrations. I arranged with one of the local Trek dealers, Full Moon Vista Bike and Sport, to come in today for a test ride. After getting fitted for the bike I hit the road.
I'd originally planned on making a quick two mile circuit of downtown Rochester. But the bike was so responsive that with the first push on the pedals the thing just took off. I knew after riding just a block that two miles wasn't going to be much of a ride. I wanted to keep going. So I changed my plans on the fly and decided to head south of town toward the University of Rochester. I was riding through the Corn Hill district, and was about to make a right turn along the Genesee River on Exchange St. when I noticed a guy on skates waving to me from across the road. It was my son, AJ (black t-shirt on the left), out with a few of his skating buddies, grinding some ledges and enjoying the weather. I crossed the street to say hi and chat for a few seconds, then took off again for UR. I made one loop around the campus, then headed back up the river toward the city. I turned right on Court St. at the Blue Cross Arena and crossed the Genesee near Dinosaur Barbecue, kept going until I hit Chestnut, went up Chestnut to Andrews, and then back to the bike shop. What started out as a quick five minute ride ended up lasting over a half hour.
Total for this day: 14.6 miles
