A Wee Windy Warm-Up

Total for this ride: 6.2 miles

Total for this year: 358.0 miles

I started the "warm-up" rides for the RIT Recreational Cycling group today.  First ride is always an easy one - today we just rode around the perimeter of the campus twice, avoiding the hill on the west side by the Red Barn.  There were nine of us all together, about half of them first time riders with the group.  Really not a bad turn out considering 1) I advertised that this was going to be a ride for beginners who wanted to build some confidence before going on longer off-campus rides, and 2) it was freakin' cold out.  Temps were in the 40's and there was a stiff breeze from the west at probably 20 mph.  Our pace was very slow - it took 45 minutes to make the two loops - but nobody crashed, and everyone seemed to have a good time.  Hopefully it will be a little warmer next week.

I Fell...

Total for this ride: 51.8 miles

Total for this year: 351.8 miles

Round trip from home to RIT and back to attend the quarterly Air Force Association meeting.  On the outbound I followed Rt 251 going west until I hit Rt 15, then turned north and worked my way over to the campus.  On the return I rode with Roger Easton, starting with the route I typically use when going home - East River to the Erie Canal towpath, and then east on the towpath to Schoen Place in Pittsford.  We stopped at Schoen Place to have lime shebert shakes while waiting for another friend, Larry Belle to join us for part of the ride.  When we took off again we decided to visit the house that Chester F. Carlson (the inventor of electrophotography and the father of Xerox) once lived in.  I knew it was somewhere in the area but had never seen it.  Fortunately Roger had been there before so he took the lead.   Turns out it's near the end of a dead end residential street.  We slowly rode past the house (at least the one Roger THOUGHT was the house...), and then made U-turns to head back.  I was at the end of the pack, and didn't think to unclip before making the tight slow speed turn.  That was a mistake.  I lost my balance at the end of the turn, but before I could unclip and get my foot down, I found myself laying on my right side in a bed of thorny vegitation just off the asphalt, feet still firmly clipped into the pedals.  Fortunately I was going very slowly and fortunately I landed in the vegitation, so there was absolutely no damage to me or the bike.  I unclipped, got up, brushed myself off, and hopped back on to resume the ride.  I just wish that one of the other guys had a camera because a shot of me fallen on the side of the road would have made a great addition to this entry.  I made it home without any further incidents.

Notes from this ride:

1. I'm REALLY getting tired of riding in the cold.  It was in the mid-30's when I took off this morning.

2. I need to get a rack.  I'm REALLY getting tired of riding with my junk in a backpack.  It's not a big deal for a short ride.  But after riding over 50 miles, I can feel it. 

Still Cold

Total for this ride: 29.5 miles
Total for this year: 300.0 miles

Over two weeks since my last ride.  Way too long...

Did the usual commute today.  It was cold enough in the morning (39 degrees) to require multiple layers top and bottom.  The ride home was nice... sunshine and low 60's.

Finally starting to get some green in the trees.  Still no water in the canal though.

An Expensive Ride

Total for this ride: 7.0 miles

Total for this year: 270.5 miles

Not much of a ride today... used the off-road bike to get from the Ford dealer to work after dropping off the truck, and riding it back to retrieve it at the end of the day.  The problem: bad front wheel bearing.  The cost: $603.12.

I'm Gonna Be SO Sore Tomorrow...

Total for this ride: 81.5 miles

Total for this year: 263.5 miles

Wanted a long ride today, and that's what I got.  In fact, my 7th longest ride ever, and the only one in my top 10 longest that was ever done this early in the season (next earliest was late June, and that was a shorter ride).

The plan was to take off about 8:00 and ride due north to Webster, where I would meet up with an old friend.  The two of us would ride about 15 miles due east to the little town of Pultneyville, have lunch, and return to Webster.  After dropping him off, I'd ride due south to get back home.

The first third of the ride was great.  I flew through the 23 miles in less than an hour and a half - really good time for an old guy like me.

We took the ride from Webster to Pultneyville at a leisurely pace.  Pultneyville is a quaint little village on the shores of Lake Ontario, famous for being bombarded by the British during the war of 1812.  I didn't have anyplace special in mind to eat - I figured we'd find something there.  And as we rolled into town we noticed a sign for the Pultneyville Grill with a big "RESTAURANT OPEN" sign right by the front door.  We locked the bikes and went in.  That's when we discovered that it really WASN'T open, in spite of what the sign said.  And that's when we also discovered that there's no place else to eat in Pultneyville.  So we just went back to Webster.

By the time we got there we were both pretty hungry.  My friend took off for home, and I doubled back on Lake Rd. to see if I could pick up a couple granola bars or some other kind of snack at a convenience store about two miles back.  I figured I wouldn't be there long so I didn't even lock up the bike outside.  But as soon as I walked in the door I was pleasantly surprised to learn that this was not only a convenience store, but a little restaurant with a full menu of pizzas, sandwiches, and various other dishes.  I was thrilled, and happily devoured a turkey sub and a large Gatorade.  After lunch the owner let me fill up my water bottles from the fountain, and I was off.

I was actually quite lucky that I stopped, because as it turned out, riding home was tough.  Not only was I riding right into the teeth of the wind, but I discovered when I processed the GPS data that I was doing all of my climbing going in that direction too.  It made for a long, painful ride.  I had originally hoped to be home by 3:00 - it was actually closer to 5:00 by the time I rolled into the driveway.

No riding tomorrow - having people over for Easter.  Short ride planned for Monday.  Good thing.  I'll need the rest.

Bird Poop...

Total for this ride: 29.5 miles

Total for this year: 182.0 miles

I'll be making this ride a lot between now and the end of the season.  I won't be posting the map each time I do -- I'll just refer the reader to this date.

So it was a pretty nice ride both ways.  Early on this morning, maybe 15 minutes into the ride I got nailed by a (thankfully small) bird on the right shoulder.  Supposed to be good luck, right?  Other than that, not much to report.  Still breaking in the new bike.  I'll have a list of things that need to get fixed when I eventually take it back to the shop for the first tune up: small shift lever on the right doesn't spring back all the way, small shift lever on the left needs adjustment (doesn't always make it to the small chainring), and figure out what that annoying clicking sound is (I suspect it's a bearing in the bottom bracket).  Goal is to put lots of miles on in the next few weeks, then get the repairs done in time to ride it in the Five Borough Ride in NYC.

Oh, yeah - and I still haven't fallen because of the new shoes/pedals.  Might have come close a couple of times, but not dangerously so.  Just have to think about what I'm doing for a while.