Pumpkin Hook

Total for this ride: 16.8 miles
Total for this year: 1415.0 miles

Didn't really want to ride today... still tired from spending almost 14 hours in the truck yesterday driving back from VB... but my mileage for July has been really pathetic, so I dragged my sorry rear off the bed, put on the riding clothes, pumped up the tires on the Trek, and hit the road.  I knew it wouldn't be a long ride, but I wanted to do at least enough to put me over 1400 for the year.  Mission accomplished with a quick ride (15.9 mph - quick for me...) of just under 17 miles from home to Pumpkin Hook and back.  I'm still 172 miles ahead of the pace I set in 2008, my record year.  But that year I put in over 450 miles in July compared to just 285 for July this year.  Need to pick it up in August.  Looking ahead, I know I'll be doing at least 150 miles with the incoming freshmen when we make our 3-day tour to Niagara Falls.  If I can do 250 on top of that, I'll keep the margin I have now.  I think I'll have to do more commuting this month.  I mean, if I can average two commutes a week, that's about 225 miles right there.  Need my schedule and the weather to cooperate.  Throw in a few group rides, and we're golden.

Unfortunately I can't commute this week... workshops every morning...

Tour de Dam Neck

Total for this ride: 10.7 miles
Total for this year: 1398.2 miles

Not much of a ride.  Just some exploring on the base where I stayed during my vacation in Virginia Beach.  Pretty much rode on every street inside the gate with the exception of those which were specifically marked as off limits.  Saw lots of different schools - some for weapons training, some (apparently) for tactics, some for intelligence.  Also saw what appeared to be weapon system testing facilities.  Of course, the big reason why the family decided to stay here was the incredible beach.  It's huge, it's clean, there's great swimming, and there are no crowds.  Spending some time there this week reminded me why my mother would take us there as often as possible during the summers when I was growing up in the area.  It's really a neat place.

Maritime Trail

Total for this ride: 22.3 miles
Total for this year: 1387.5 miles

I'd planned two rides for this week's vacation to Virginia Beach.  Thanks to some wicked weather and planned activities with the family, it turned out that I did neither.  But I did do some unplanned rides.

I took one day to do some exploring along the main tourist district in Virginia Beach.  I lived in VB on three separate occasions when I was growing up, but I hadn't been there since 1972, so I was interested to see how things had changed.  I quickly discovered that one change for the better was the installation of a two-lane paved bike path ("The Maritime Trail") which ran parallel to the boardwalk for the entire length of the beach.  In addition to the trail, there were a number of other things which had been added in the past 38 years... an old Coast Guard station had been turned into a museum, a little plaza had been converted to a Naval Aviation Monument, and a giant 26-foot tall statue of Neptune had been erected.  It seemed like there were more hotels and condos than I remember too.  But the beach itself was pretty much the same - huge, clean, and crowded.

I got up to the north end of the trail but I wasn't ready to turn back yet, so I followed a guy on a bike who looked like a local as he headed off the trail and into a residential area just beyond the beach.  This tactic of following someone who looks like they know where they're going usually works well (remember when I was looking for the on-ramp to the GW Bridge in Manhattan in May?), and indeed it did again in this case.  I followed this guy onto Ocean Front Ave., a narrow street which is apparently well known to local walkers, joggers, and cyclists as a good low-traffic route for recreational activities north of the beach.  There were many of them out and about as I continued my little adventure.

When Ocean Front Ave ended I decided to head back to the main drag (Atlantic Ave.) and start working my way back.  After taking a look at the map, I wish I had kept going.  Just beyond where I turned around was the entrance to the "First Landing" State Park, where the Jamestown settlers first came ashore in I believe 1609?  I found out later that the park has several miles of trails.  And just beyond the park is Fort Story, which is home of the Cape Henry lighthouse, the first lighthouse authorized by the US government in 1792, and now on the National Register of Historic Places.  If only I had done a little more studying before this trip... I really would have liked to see the lighthouse.  It kills me that I was SO CLOSE... Oh well... valuable lesson learned.

I did make it back to the beach later that day, with wife and niece in tow.  It was getting pretty hot by then, so rather than make them walk the length of the boardwalk, I decided to rent one of those pedal-powered "surrys" to get up and down the beach.  I was disappointed that I couldn't adjust the seat to get a more comfortable pedaling position, but it was certainly better than walking in that oppressive heat.  I estimated that I did an extra 3-4 miles of pedaling in the cart, but I didn't include that in the daily totals.

Boardwalk on Dwellable

Out and Back

Total for this ride: 13.6 miles
Total for this year: 1365.2 miles

Kind of a boring little ride along part of the paved portion of the canal towpath between Genesee Valley Park and Schoen Place.  Jared picked this route because he hadn't ridden on the canal yet, and wanted to see what it was like.  Can't blame him.  And since I'm tired of planning rides, I can't really complain.  I'll just tag along on whatever ride somebody else picks.

Jared's wife, Emma, also rode with us this time.  I got the impression that she thought I was cruel for taking a picture of Roger as he rubbed his sore foot at the end of the ride.  Obviously she doesn't know me (or Roger) very well...

Another Commute to RIT

Total for this ride: 28.0 miles
Total for this year: 1351.6 miles

Tour de Rochester Parks

Total for this ride: 21.1 miles
Total for this year: 1323.6 miles

This was a cool ride -- something new and entirely different.  It was Bob's brainchild, so I let him take the lead, and it turned out to be a great time.

He took us on an "adventure" -- he knew generally what waypoints he wanted to hit, but he wasn't sure exactly how he was going to get us there.  So we started out as we often do, riding up the Lehigh Valley Trail then turning east on the Erie Canal Towpath.  Nothing new there.  But then in Brighton we turned north off the trail through Meridian Point Park and wandered around there for a while until we got our bearings and worked our way over to Winton Rd.  Then it was north on Winton for a while until we made a quick west turn and then back north through a residential area.

First major waypoint was Cobbs Hill Reservoir Park, home of the reservoir which supplies much of Rochester with its water.  Stopped long enough to enjoy a nice view of the city skyline before heading back down the hill and through another residential neighborhood.

The next waypoint was the Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, which traces its heritage to 1817, the year in which the Hamilton Theological and Literary Institute was established.  The current campus dates back to the late 1920's.

We cut through the grounds of the school and back down to the street, then it was off to Highland Park, where Bob told me stories about playing there as a kid.  We also visited the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial, which I believe was dedicated about the time we moved to Rochester in 1996.

From there it was over to Mt. Hope Cemetery, then through the UR campus to Genesee Valley Park where we paid our respects to the recently toppled "Tree Of Life" -- an absolutely beautiful old oak tree which was probably the best-known tree in Rochester.  I remember well how I climbed on it with the other guys from my hall on the very day my parents dropped me off for my first year of college.

That brought us back to the canal, where we retraced our path back to campus.  All in all, a really fun ride to some sites I'd never seen before from the saddle of a bike.

RIT Road Ride Around Honeoye Falls

Total for this ride: 24.8 miles
Total for this year: 1302.5 miles

Some of the scenery on this ride was just gorgeous.  Beautiful farmlands.... deer grazing in a field... More than once I said to myself, "It doesn't get any better than this."

Canal Towpath to Newark

Total for this ride: 31.6 miles
Total for this year: 1277.7 miles

This was supposed to be a short ride along the canal from Macedon to Palmyra with a group of families from church.  But nobody signed up, so I turned it into a longer ride along a section of the towpath I hadn't explored in a while.

It was much the same as I remembered it, except for the fact that in a few spots approaching Newark the surface of the trail changed from the usual crushed stone to loose cinders.  Might have been areas where the Canal Authority had been doing some maintenance.  I believe one of the sections had been washed out last time I had gone through there - in that same pot it looked like they had recently added a new retaining wall.  Anyway, the cinders made the going a little tougher.

At Lock 28B in Newark I stopped to peek inside the building that used to be the "power house" for the lock - a building that contained a couple of hydroelectric generators that produced the power needed to operate the motors that opened the lock gates.  The generators aren't used any more, but at this lock they have been meticulously preserved.  The building wasn't open, but I got a good look at them through the windows of the power house.

Picture below... remnants of an aqueduct that carried the canal over a creek near Lock 29 in Palmyra.

Nothin' Special... Just a Ride...

Total for this ride: 27.8 miles
Total for this year: 1246.1 miles

Just a ride from home to Canandaigua and back.  Much like the ride on March 21st, except warmer, and this time I skipped the little jog down to the pier.  Other than that, same ride.

Picture below - the Ontario County Courthouse on Main Street in Canandaigua, where Susan B. Anthony was tried for the crime of voting (before women were legally able to do so).  Although convicted, she refused to pay the fine.

STUPID HOT!

Total for this ride: 59.0 miles
Total for this year: 1218.3 miles

So what's "stupid hot?"  It's the next level beyond "wicked hot."  It's when the temperature and humidity get so high that you'd have to be STUPID to be out in it.  And yet... that's exactly where I was today.

OK, so I knew it was going to be hot.  I at least have the good sense to keep an eye on the weather, and there was no question that we were going to break into the 90's today.  That's why I planned a ride up by Lake Ontario -- I figured it would be a few degrees cooler up there.  I thought I was being smart.  But in the end, I was sorely wrong -- and therefore stupid -- as the image at the end of this posting will attest.

The ride started out well.  I took off from the Bear Creek Harbor on the lake shore about 9:45 a.m.  Again... getting an early start in the hopes of avoiding the afternoon heat (again... it turned out it didn't make a bit of difference when I started...).  Did the first leg of the ride, 15 miles out to Sodus Point, at a very respectable 15.6 mph.  Finally got a chance to see the lighthouse I've been wanting to check out for years, rolled through the part of the village I'd never seen, refilled my empty water bottle, and took off for the next leg of the ride, another 15 mile segment which would take me around the perimeter of Sodus Bay to the Chimney Bluffs State Park.

Again, things started out well, but about a third of the way there I ran into road construction on Shaker Tract Rd.  Fortunately, the crew wasn't working today, but the road was sort of a mess.  The ashphalt had been stripped off, leaving a rocky surface which had recently been oiled.  I stayed on the tracks where cars passing through had compacted the rocks at least a little, but it was still bumpy and it slowed me down.  After a couple of miles of this, I was thankful to hit Ridge Rd. and start east again.  After going over a bridge at the south end of Sodus Bay I turned north and rode the last 6 miles or so to the entrance of Chimney Bluffs State Park.

I was mildly disappointed with the park.  I mean it was clean and all, but I didn't see the bluffs.  I guess I would have had to ride another 5 miles or so to a different entrance.  But it wasn't clear that I would even see them from there.  Most of the park consists of hiking trails, and with my cleats on I certainly wasn't going to be able to do any hiking, so in the end I took refuge under the shade of a tree, ate a quickly melting power bar, downed some water, and got back on the road.

I think it was after I left the park, and maybe when I got back to Ridge Rd., that I began to notice that the heat was taking its toll.  I was drinking like crazy to ward off dehydration, and I started taking rest breaks more frequently.  After the break at the 30 mile mark at the park, I took another at 38 miles (where I downed a huge PowerAide drink), one at 48 miles (stopped at some sort of clinic and rested in the shade of the awning leading up to the front door), and one at 52 miles (just pulled over under the shade of a tree).  By now I was actually paying attention to my physical condition ("...checked my vital signs to know I'm still alive and I walk alone...").  I knew I was going to have to be careful -- in spite of the fact that it was near 100 degrees with God knows how much humidity, I was occasionally getting some chills, which was a bad sign.  I struggled to remember everything I learned about heat stroke and heat exhaustion in my lifesaving and water safety classes about a hundred years ago.  I couldn't remember which was which... I knew in one of them the victim quits sweating.  That wasn't my problem.  I was sweating like a pig.  But other than that, I couldn't remember any of the symptoms.  If I came down with one, would I start cramping and vomiting?  Or would I just pass out (that would be bad)?  I remember something about "if the face is red, raise the head - if the face is pale, raise the tail."  But how would I know if my face was red or pale?  I know!  I'd take a picture of myself (if I hadn't passed out).  But then I had my contacts in - how would I see the little image on the display?  Wait - I brought my reading glasses in my handlebar bag, so I'd be set!  These were the weird thoughts going through my mind as I was struggling to put in those last several miles.

Needless to say, even though I was totally zombified at the end, I did finally get back to the truck safely.  I loaded the bike, cranked the A/C on the MAX setting and made the long drive home.

Road Ride to Riga

Total for this ride: 29.7 miles
Total for this year: 1159.3 miles

For most of this ride I had absolutely no idea where I was or where I was going.  The ride was the brainchild of one of our Air Force grad students, Jared, who planned the route and led the group.  Group -- there were only four of us.  Jared, my usual riding buddy Bob, Jan (one of our faculty), and myself.  It was interesting to note that half of the members of the group (Jared and Jan) were not only experienced RACERS, they were also younger than Bob and me.  By a lot.  At one point about half way through the ride, as we're struggling to keep up with the young speedsters, Bob looked at me and said "What do you think - average age about 30?" referring to Jan and Jared.  I said "Yeah - and our average is 50".  Anyway, Bob and I spent the entire ride bringing up the rear.  Except for that one time when Jared broke down and we had to go back and wait for him to tighten the bolts on his chain ring.  Or something like that.  Still, it was good for me to ride with guys who were a little faster.  OK, a lot faster.  It definitely forced me to work harder than I normally would, as shown on the GPS.  Average speed for this ride was 15.4 mph - fastest average for any ride I've done this year.