Total for this ride: 29.5 miles
Total for this year: 242.1 miles
In what is turning out to be my worst riding year since since I started keeping a detailed record of every ride in 2008, I've had little reason to celebrate. Today I had a reason. Today I beat my personal best for a round trip commute from Bushnell's Basin to RIT and back. In only the 9th ride of this miserable year I set a new record of 1:57:27. This may not put me in the same league as Lance, but for an old guy it was pretty good. Helped out by perfect conditions, I truly felt like I was flying. Sweet.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Disaster Averted
Total for this ride: 18.9 miles
Total for this year: 212.6 miles
This was supposed to be an uneventful ride with a group of colleagues and students from work. It turned out to be anything but...
It was the first time in ages that I actually organized and led a ride for folks just from my department. Since I'd been leading the campus-wide rides for the past couple of years I stayed away from taking on an office group - two groups a week is just too much work. But since this year I managed to organize a group of five leaders for the campus rides I figured I'd be able to resurrect the smaller office outings. I sent out an e-mail last week to let everyone know that we'd ride the following Thursday.
The weather forecast called for periods of rain on and off all day. I started watching the radar about noon and it looked like it was going to be close. I sent out a broadcast message letting everyone know that I'd make the weather call at 3:30. When the time came, it looked like if we started right on time at 4, and kept a decent (but not overly aggressive) pace, we would get back about 5:30 just as a large area of rain was due to hit. I fired off another e-mail letting everyone know that it was a go. I got changed, filled up the water bottle, and rolled the bike down to the front door of the building to wait for any other riders.
I didn't know exactly how many to expect. I knew my my recruiter and one of my students would be riding. I quickly found out that one Russian post-doc and two PhD candidates planned to ride too. One of the grad students, a girl from (I think) India said she had bought her bike yesterday specifically so she could go on these rides. A group of six seemed reasonable for a first outing, and since this was a short, simple ride up to Mt. Hope Cemetery and back, I figured it would be a piece of cake. I could do this ride with my eyes closed.
We rolled away from the Carlson Building as the carillon rang 4:00. By the time we made the turn onto Perkins Road it was apparent that we had a bi-modal distribution of riding abilities on this ride. I was in the lead with my recruiter and student close behind. The post-doc and grad students were already trailing fairly far back - maybe 100 yards. And we hadn't even gone a half mile yet. Hmmm...
It was at that point that we got our first rain. We could see it coming - a brief cloudburst which passed over us quickly. By the time we reached the intersection of Jefferson and BH Town Line Rd it had already stopped and we were dry.
We crossed the road and made our way toward the Lehigh Trail. By this point it started to look like the post-doc and the male grad student were relatively capable riders. The Russian jumped ahead of the group at one point so he could get some pictures of us as we rode by. And the other guy, although he was sweating with long pants and a long sleeve shirt, didn't seem to be in any distress. It became more apparent as we rode along that the Indian girl was going to be bringing up the back of the pack for the entire ride.
I got a little perturbed with the group when we hit the UR campus. There's a short stretch there where we ride on the road (Intercampus Drive) between a couple of parking lots. There's not a lot of traffic there, but there is some - a fact of which some in my group seemed completely oblivious as they rode in the middle of the lane. I could see in my mirror that cars were starting to gather at the back end of the pack as my riders merrily rolled along without a care in the world. I yelled back a few times and motioned for everyone to move to the right and I guess they eventually figured it out since the cars started passing us.
The entrance I normally use to get into the cemetery had a plastic chain across it - this was little more than an annoyance, since it was no trouble to just lift it up and ride under. Once we got everybody through the gate I stopped to take stock of the group and see how they were doing. Everybody was in pretty good spirits but I noticed that the Indian grad student was wearing a thin sweater and long pants - and carrying a backpack. I started worrying about whether she'd be able to make it. She did take a drink during the break, but she was all smiles so we pressed on through the cemetery to Frederick Douglass' grave site. We stopped at the closest point on the road to the grave, and I pointed in the direction it was located if anyone wanted to go take a look, but nobody did. So with the weather starting to move in, I suggested we head back. They all agreed and we took off.
We had gone a few hundred yards from the turn around point when the guy grad student, who had fallen a little behind, yelled up to me that he needed to put some air in his tire, and that we should keep going. With the skies looking more and more threatening by the minute, and since he wasn't in any kind of physical distress, I decided to keep going and get back before the skies opened up.
Once again the group kind of divided in two as it did on the outbound leg. I rode through the parking lots at UR, down to the towpath, and then up the bridge over the canal at Kendrick Rd. At the top of the bridge I stopped my group to see how far back the rest of them were. The Russian and the Indian came into view about a minute after we got there. They waved, and we took off. That was the last time I stopped until we got back to the Carlson Building. And we got back not a second too soon - it started raining as we hit Andrews Drive and we started hearing thunder.
I waited a couple minutes in the front of the building to make sure the others got back OK. They didn't show up, so I took my bike up to my office and then came back down to wait. After about 10 minutes I started getting a little worried, and then I noticed that two of the bikes were back in the rack in front of the building. Apparently they got back while I was taking my bike up to the second floor. OK. That just left the one guy who stopped to pump up his tire. I asked the other two if they had seen him. Not since the cemetery. I went back out to wait.
By now the weather was bad. Hard rain, lightening and thunder. And after a half hour, still no sign of the straggler. I told the other two that I was going to take the truck and see if I could find him. I drove in the route that would have given me the greatest chance of seeing my guy if he was coming in. Nothing. I left campus and drove up to Crittenden thinking I'd drive to where it crossed the Lehigh trail and maybe I'd see him there. Again nothing. This was not good. I went back to campus to check in with the others.
They had heard nothing. We tracked down the guy's cell phone number and called but it went to voice mail. Now I was really getting worried. I told the group that I was going out again and to call me if they heard anything. I jumped into the truck and made another search - this time going all the way up to the cemetery. Still nothing, so again I returned to campus. By now it was 7:30 and although the sun was still up, we'd soon be losing daylight and I knew I didn't want to be searching in the dark. I decided that he must still be somewhere on the trail or in the cemetery, and the only way I'd find him would be to hop on the bike and retrace the entire route, which I did.
All the while I'm riding up there I'm thinking that he's had a heart attack and died (he is an older student...) and that I was going to be held accountable since I was the one who organized the ride. I made it back to the cemetery, crossed under the chain, and tried to remember which roads we had taken on the way out. Just then my phone rang. It was the Indian girl - the guy had called! He was alive and well, but he was lost. So told them to have him give me a call so I could figure out where he was and mount a rescue mission. Turns out when he stopped to pump up his tire, it was actually flat and he didn't have a patch kit. So he started walking. He made it as far as the canal but didn't know how to find the Lehigh trail from there, so he just walked east on the towpath. This took him all the way to Brighton, where he decided that he needed to ask directions. It was then that he somehow got in touch with his fellow student and they contacted me.
I finally made it back to the truck and drove out to retrieve the poor lost soul. He felt pretty bad about the situation, but I assured him that he was not the first person I'd rescued (remember Andrew with the flat tire in Bushnell's Basin last year??) and he wouldn't be the last. Still he was pretty glad that I came for him. I got him back to campus about 8:30 - three hours after I originally ended the ride.
Moral of the story - never leave ANYONE by themselves on any of these rides.
Total for this year: 212.6 miles
This was supposed to be an uneventful ride with a group of colleagues and students from work. It turned out to be anything but...
It was the first time in ages that I actually organized and led a ride for folks just from my department. Since I'd been leading the campus-wide rides for the past couple of years I stayed away from taking on an office group - two groups a week is just too much work. But since this year I managed to organize a group of five leaders for the campus rides I figured I'd be able to resurrect the smaller office outings. I sent out an e-mail last week to let everyone know that we'd ride the following Thursday.
The weather forecast called for periods of rain on and off all day. I started watching the radar about noon and it looked like it was going to be close. I sent out a broadcast message letting everyone know that I'd make the weather call at 3:30. When the time came, it looked like if we started right on time at 4, and kept a decent (but not overly aggressive) pace, we would get back about 5:30 just as a large area of rain was due to hit. I fired off another e-mail letting everyone know that it was a go. I got changed, filled up the water bottle, and rolled the bike down to the front door of the building to wait for any other riders.
I didn't know exactly how many to expect. I knew my my recruiter and one of my students would be riding. I quickly found out that one Russian post-doc and two PhD candidates planned to ride too. One of the grad students, a girl from (I think) India said she had bought her bike yesterday specifically so she could go on these rides. A group of six seemed reasonable for a first outing, and since this was a short, simple ride up to Mt. Hope Cemetery and back, I figured it would be a piece of cake. I could do this ride with my eyes closed.
We rolled away from the Carlson Building as the carillon rang 4:00. By the time we made the turn onto Perkins Road it was apparent that we had a bi-modal distribution of riding abilities on this ride. I was in the lead with my recruiter and student close behind. The post-doc and grad students were already trailing fairly far back - maybe 100 yards. And we hadn't even gone a half mile yet. Hmmm...
It was at that point that we got our first rain. We could see it coming - a brief cloudburst which passed over us quickly. By the time we reached the intersection of Jefferson and BH Town Line Rd it had already stopped and we were dry.
We crossed the road and made our way toward the Lehigh Trail. By this point it started to look like the post-doc and the male grad student were relatively capable riders. The Russian jumped ahead of the group at one point so he could get some pictures of us as we rode by. And the other guy, although he was sweating with long pants and a long sleeve shirt, didn't seem to be in any distress. It became more apparent as we rode along that the Indian girl was going to be bringing up the back of the pack for the entire ride.
I got a little perturbed with the group when we hit the UR campus. There's a short stretch there where we ride on the road (Intercampus Drive) between a couple of parking lots. There's not a lot of traffic there, but there is some - a fact of which some in my group seemed completely oblivious as they rode in the middle of the lane. I could see in my mirror that cars were starting to gather at the back end of the pack as my riders merrily rolled along without a care in the world. I yelled back a few times and motioned for everyone to move to the right and I guess they eventually figured it out since the cars started passing us.
The entrance I normally use to get into the cemetery had a plastic chain across it - this was little more than an annoyance, since it was no trouble to just lift it up and ride under. Once we got everybody through the gate I stopped to take stock of the group and see how they were doing. Everybody was in pretty good spirits but I noticed that the Indian grad student was wearing a thin sweater and long pants - and carrying a backpack. I started worrying about whether she'd be able to make it. She did take a drink during the break, but she was all smiles so we pressed on through the cemetery to Frederick Douglass' grave site. We stopped at the closest point on the road to the grave, and I pointed in the direction it was located if anyone wanted to go take a look, but nobody did. So with the weather starting to move in, I suggested we head back. They all agreed and we took off.
We had gone a few hundred yards from the turn around point when the guy grad student, who had fallen a little behind, yelled up to me that he needed to put some air in his tire, and that we should keep going. With the skies looking more and more threatening by the minute, and since he wasn't in any kind of physical distress, I decided to keep going and get back before the skies opened up.
Once again the group kind of divided in two as it did on the outbound leg. I rode through the parking lots at UR, down to the towpath, and then up the bridge over the canal at Kendrick Rd. At the top of the bridge I stopped my group to see how far back the rest of them were. The Russian and the Indian came into view about a minute after we got there. They waved, and we took off. That was the last time I stopped until we got back to the Carlson Building. And we got back not a second too soon - it started raining as we hit Andrews Drive and we started hearing thunder.
I waited a couple minutes in the front of the building to make sure the others got back OK. They didn't show up, so I took my bike up to my office and then came back down to wait. After about 10 minutes I started getting a little worried, and then I noticed that two of the bikes were back in the rack in front of the building. Apparently they got back while I was taking my bike up to the second floor. OK. That just left the one guy who stopped to pump up his tire. I asked the other two if they had seen him. Not since the cemetery. I went back out to wait.
By now the weather was bad. Hard rain, lightening and thunder. And after a half hour, still no sign of the straggler. I told the other two that I was going to take the truck and see if I could find him. I drove in the route that would have given me the greatest chance of seeing my guy if he was coming in. Nothing. I left campus and drove up to Crittenden thinking I'd drive to where it crossed the Lehigh trail and maybe I'd see him there. Again nothing. This was not good. I went back to campus to check in with the others.
They had heard nothing. We tracked down the guy's cell phone number and called but it went to voice mail. Now I was really getting worried. I told the group that I was going out again and to call me if they heard anything. I jumped into the truck and made another search - this time going all the way up to the cemetery. Still nothing, so again I returned to campus. By now it was 7:30 and although the sun was still up, we'd soon be losing daylight and I knew I didn't want to be searching in the dark. I decided that he must still be somewhere on the trail or in the cemetery, and the only way I'd find him would be to hop on the bike and retrace the entire route, which I did.
All the while I'm riding up there I'm thinking that he's had a heart attack and died (he is an older student...) and that I was going to be held accountable since I was the one who organized the ride. I made it back to the cemetery, crossed under the chain, and tried to remember which roads we had taken on the way out. Just then my phone rang. It was the Indian girl - the guy had called! He was alive and well, but he was lost. So told them to have him give me a call so I could figure out where he was and mount a rescue mission. Turns out when he stopped to pump up his tire, it was actually flat and he didn't have a patch kit. So he started walking. He made it as far as the canal but didn't know how to find the Lehigh trail from there, so he just walked east on the towpath. This took him all the way to Brighton, where he decided that he needed to ask directions. It was then that he somehow got in touch with his fellow student and they contacted me.
I finally made it back to the truck and drove out to retrieve the poor lost soul. He felt pretty bad about the situation, but I assured him that he was not the first person I'd rescued (remember Andrew with the flat tire in Bushnell's Basin last year??) and he wouldn't be the last. Still he was pretty glad that I came for him. I got him back to campus about 8:30 - three hours after I originally ended the ride.
Moral of the story - never leave ANYONE by themselves on any of these rides.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
A Little Errand
Total for this ride: 26.1 miles
Total for this year: 193.7 miles
According to the Federal Highway Administration: "For household-based travel, short trips account for the vast majority of trips" (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/pubs/pl08021/fig4_5.cfm). And consequently lots of environmentalists will tell you that if you're running errands around town, consider doing them by bike to reduce pollution. Today I did my bit for Mother Earth.
I don't know if a 26-mile round trip is considered "short" but the weather was nice (at least at the beginning of the ride) and I didn't have anything else to do, so I decided to take the Trek on my little errand to pick up international electrical outlet adapters at the AAA up in Penfield.
I made pretty good time on the outbound leg, averaging over 15 mph with a max speed of 35. But as shown by the GPS data (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/88612060) my destination was at the lowest elevation of the ride, so I was generally climbing on the way home, although with a 250-ft difference between my lowest and highest elevations, I can't really complain. Still, the fact that I was climbing, coupled with a slight headwind, definitely slowed me down on the return leg.
A couple of items to note about this ride:
1. It had been 16 days since my previous ride. Way too long, but with crummy weather, graduation, and travel I just haven't been able to get out there.
2. I almost left my helmet at the AAA. You can see in the pic below that when I went in I set it on top of an electrical box. When I came out I unlocked the bike and rode off with it still sitting there. Fortunately I hadn't even left the parking lot when I realized what had happened.
3. It's still May and I'm already over 450 miles behind the pace I set last year. Definitely no mileage records in 2011...
Total for this year: 193.7 miles
According to the Federal Highway Administration: "For household-based travel, short trips account for the vast majority of trips" (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/pubs/pl08021/fig4_5.cfm). And consequently lots of environmentalists will tell you that if you're running errands around town, consider doing them by bike to reduce pollution. Today I did my bit for Mother Earth.
I don't know if a 26-mile round trip is considered "short" but the weather was nice (at least at the beginning of the ride) and I didn't have anything else to do, so I decided to take the Trek on my little errand to pick up international electrical outlet adapters at the AAA up in Penfield.
I made pretty good time on the outbound leg, averaging over 15 mph with a max speed of 35. But as shown by the GPS data (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/88612060) my destination was at the lowest elevation of the ride, so I was generally climbing on the way home, although with a 250-ft difference between my lowest and highest elevations, I can't really complain. Still, the fact that I was climbing, coupled with a slight headwind, definitely slowed me down on the return leg.
A couple of items to note about this ride:
1. It had been 16 days since my previous ride. Way too long, but with crummy weather, graduation, and travel I just haven't been able to get out there.
2. I almost left my helmet at the AAA. You can see in the pic below that when I went in I set it on top of an electrical box. When I came out I unlocked the bike and rode off with it still sitting there. Fortunately I hadn't even left the parking lot when I realized what had happened.
3. It's still May and I'm already over 450 miles behind the pace I set last year. Definitely no mileage records in 2011...
Thursday, May 12, 2011
A Dream Come True!
Total for this ride: 29.2 miles
Total for this year: 167.6 miles
I planned to commute in again today but since a small portion of my normal route was so muddy a couple days ago I decided to use the road bike and stay on paved surfaces. It's really no big deal to do so - it's only a little longer than taking the off-road paths - but there's one stretch of East River Rd. between the UR's Laser Lab and the south end of the Genesee Valley Golf course that's in notoriously bad shape. This stretch of road is so cratered it's like riding on the face of the moon. And in order to avoid the frame busting, rim bending, teeth rattling potholes along what little shoulder there is, it's often necessary to swerve into the traffic lane - hopefully when no cars are coming up from behind. But, I was emotionally prepared to do so today in the interest of getting in some miles on the Trek. Imagine my surprise when I turned off Kendrick Rd. on to East River and saw the scene above -- a completely resurfaced stretch of road as far as the eye could see! I was so happy I almost cried! When the flagman finally let traffic in my direction go (only one lane was open for use) I triumphantly rode in the middle of the street just right of the cones, like I owned the entire road. Sheer bliss!
Total for this year: 167.6 miles
I planned to commute in again today but since a small portion of my normal route was so muddy a couple days ago I decided to use the road bike and stay on paved surfaces. It's really no big deal to do so - it's only a little longer than taking the off-road paths - but there's one stretch of East River Rd. between the UR's Laser Lab and the south end of the Genesee Valley Golf course that's in notoriously bad shape. This stretch of road is so cratered it's like riding on the face of the moon. And in order to avoid the frame busting, rim bending, teeth rattling potholes along what little shoulder there is, it's often necessary to swerve into the traffic lane - hopefully when no cars are coming up from behind. But, I was emotionally prepared to do so today in the interest of getting in some miles on the Trek. Imagine my surprise when I turned off Kendrick Rd. on to East River and saw the scene above -- a completely resurfaced stretch of road as far as the eye could see! I was so happy I almost cried! When the flagman finally let traffic in my direction go (only one lane was open for use) I triumphantly rode in the middle of the street just right of the cones, like I owned the entire road. Sheer bliss!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Commute...
Total for this ride: 28.4 miles
Total for this year: 138.4 miles
Nothing special... just another commute with the Univega (the off-road bike). Stretch between the canal and East River Rd. was extremely muddy...
Total for this year: 138.4 miles
Nothing special... just another commute with the Univega (the off-road bike). Stretch between the canal and East River Rd. was extremely muddy...
Sunday, May 1, 2011
New York City, Revisited
Total for this ride: 43.4 miles
Total for this year: 110.0 miles
After riding in the Five Boro Ride last year I really didn't have a desire to do it again any time soon. I mean it's a fun ride and all, but it's kind of expensive, and it's a hassle getting down to the city, and it's a hassle getting to the starting point, and you wait around for hours to actually start riding, and you have to walk through Central Park... so it's sort of cool to do every few years, but no more often than that.
Well, when he saw all the pics I posted after last year's ride my buddy Bob decided he wanted to do it, and he convinced me to go with him. Since I was his inspiration, I couldn't say no, could I? So a few months ago when the registration opened up I was right there online to pay my $60 to reserve my spot among the 32,000 riders that would be permitted to participate.
Bob also signed up on the opening day of registrations, and since this would be his first time doing the Five Boro, he let me take care of all of the logistics. Although last year's ride included the added adventure of the 30-mile round trip from our hotel in NJ to the starting point and back, I decided to minimize the commute this year. Ultimately I made reservations at a Comfort Inn in Staten Island, about eight miles from the Staten Island Ferry. I figured we could either ride or drive from the hotel to the ferry station and take the boat to Manhattan for the short ride to the starting line. When the Five Boro was over, it would be a quick and easy trip back to the truck for the drive home. If we drove down on Saturday, we could do the ride and get back to Roch by Sunday evening.
The trip down to Staten Island was uneventful. Bob was a great navigator, and we didn't really hit any traffic until after we crossed the Goethals Bridge from New Jersey into New York. Just past the tolls in Staten Island traffic slowed to a crawl. Fortunately we were just a few exits from our hotel, so it wasn't a big deal. We ran into a little trouble because the directions on the hotel's web site called for us to take Exit 7 for Victory Blvd, which would be cool except for the fact that Exit 7 doesn't take you to Victory Blvd. Exit 8 does. But we didn't know that until we had already committed to get off the Staten Island Expressway. No problem. We knew we were close, and with 20 minutes or so we arrived at the Comfort Inn.
We stayed at the hotel only long enough to check in and offload the bikes and gear. Since it was only about 3:30, we decided to scout out the route to the ferry, and take the boat over to Manhattan. It was a good thing we did. Although my research made it seem feasible to ride from the hotel to the docks, in reality, it would have been a difficult ride. Victory Blvd is not in the greatest condition, and sections of it don't offer much in the way of a shoulder. It might not have been a problem early on a Sunday morning, but riding back to the hotel after the Five Boro would have been tough. We decided to check out early in the morning, drive to the ferry station, and hope to get parking.
With time to kill, we took the boat over to Manhattan to walk around and look for a place to have some dinner. After docking we joined about 100 other people watching a group of six break dancers performing just outside the terminal. They were pretty good, but both Bob and I decided the two girls in the group were junkies. They were incredibly skinny and had that gaunt look in their face. And they were both wearing long sleeves.
We walked over to Battery Park where I took some pics of "The Sphere" - a sculpture which stood for thirty years on the plaza at the World Trade Center, until it was damaged during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It was moved to Battery Park and an eternal flame was added as a memorial to those killed on that day.
From there we wandered over to Ground Zero. I was amazed at the progress on the site in the past year. When I did the Five Boro in 2010 there was nothing visible above the fence that surrounds the area - at least I don't remember seeing anything, and I spent two hours waiting right next to the site waiting for the ride to start. Since then a couple of new buildings have popped up, including the new Freedom Tower which is already over 60 stories tall. Incredible the amount of work that's been done in a year. As we walked around the site we passed FDNY 10 House, home of both Engine Company 10 and Ladder Company 10 - the closest fire units to Ground Zero. There were a few dozen people there looking at the monument to fallen firefighters and looking up at the new World Trade Center buildings. As I backed into the street to get a picture of the 10 House, a female security guard at the WTC site yelled at me to get away from the gate which led into the construction area. Of course I complied, but it's not like there were any vehicles trying to get in there. And I'm sure with my little Canon camera I looked like a credible threat... oh well...
By then it was time for dinner so we stopped at a Panini & Co. Breads on Broadway and Cedar, about a block north of Trinity Church and the American Stock Exchange. Nice place, good food, reasonable prices. From there it was back down to the ferry terminal for the ride back to Staten Island. After getting off the boat we walked past the baseball stadium where the Staten Island Yankees play, and wouldn't you know I found a ball just outside the left center fence, apparently a home run that nobody bothered to pick up. AJ would be jealous.
When we finally got back to the hotel we loaded up the bikes with the stuff we intended to carry during the ride. I managed to get all my stuff (a Gatorade, a few granola and power bars, a hat, etc.) into the rack trunk, with room to spare. I wanted to make sure I had room to store my layers if I needed to peel some off during the ride. Knowing that we were going to get up very early the next morning, we turned in about 10. Unfortunately Bob wanted to sleep with the window open, which meant that I'd have to listen to all of the street noise all night long. It was horrible. I might have managed maybe 1-2 hours of sleep, but I kept waking up because of the noise, and eventually at 4:00 I just got up for good. I was wiped out. While Bob was sleeping I loaded up the truck with my gear and my bike. It was freezing cold, definitely in the low 30's, so I went with three layers on the top and two on the bottom. I was glad I did. Bob got up at 4:30, got himself together, and we checked out of the hotel at 5.
I was afraid that even at that early hour we might not get a parking space at the ferry terminal. As it turned out, even though cars were streaming into the lot when we got there, we still had no trouble finding a space. We offloaded the bikes, and followed the crowd to the line for the charter ferry to Manhattan. We waited only about 10 minutes or so before we were able to board. We ended up in the bowels of the boat where cars are normally stored, along with maybe 300-400 other people. The ride was cold but very smooth, and up ahead of us I could see out the open exit ramp the skyline of Manhattan as it grew closer and closer.
We rolled the bikes off the ferry and exited the terminal. As soon as we were out the door we hopped on our rides and followed the crowd toward Battery Park. There were plenty of marshalls there to get us headed north on Church St. toward the starting line. It was just after 6:00 when we hit the back of the pack at the intersection of Church and Thomas - about an hour earlier than I arrived last year. But even though there were thousands of people ahead of us, we were 10-11 blocks further north than I was in 2010 - that put us about 1/2 mile closer to the starting line. I hoped that the difference in distance would equate to a significant reduction in the amount of time we would have to wait before crossing the starting line.
We spent the two hours before the beginning of the ride snacking, taking a few pics, and people watching. Somebody had the good sense to bring a few beach balls, which provided a few minutes of entertainment each time one was inflated. Although standing in the street for almost two hours may seem like a long time, it really did pass pretty quickly. Fortunately the skies were clear. It would have been miserable if it had been raining.
About 15 minutes before H-Hour the master of ceremonies up at the starting platform began to welcome the crowd and introduce the dignitaries in attendance. I never heard of any of them. Somebody sang "God Bless America" and then the countdown to the start began. This year the organizers added another attraction - at the starting gate they had installed a set of massive propane burners which would periodically send flames shooting maybe 20 feet into the air. It was kind of cool, I guess. Although I expected to wait a significant amount of time before we would cross the line, it actually turned out to be only 11 minutes. Definitely better than last year's 1-hour wait after the event actually started.
It seemed like the ride followed the same route as last year, although I would have to check the GPS data to be sure. Last year it seemed like we rode past more skyscrapers as we worked our way north toward Central Park. And I don't remember riding by Radio City Music Hall, which we did this year. They must have done something different in Central Park this year too. Last year the "ride" through the park was horrible - we were packed so tightly we pretty much had to walk through the entire park. This year they may have split the peloton before it actually entered the park. It seemed like we were divided into two streams which diluted the crowd enough to allow us to actually ride (albeit at a reduced speed) through most of the park.
Upon leaving the park I'm sure we followed exactly the same route as both of my previous rides through the city. By the time we hit Harlem it was starting to warm enough to think about taking off a layer. Before we hit the Bronx I had removed one of the uppers. From that point on I continued to remove garments every few miles until I was down to a jersey and shorts. I noticed on a time/temp sign in Queens that it was 66 degrees - perfect for riding.
As expected we saw our fair share of crashes. The worst was probably in Central Park where a woman had gone down and was still face first on the asphalt when we passed by (help had already arrived). There were several others - including one which happened right in front of me at about the 30 mile point. We had a few near-misses, but nothing serious. Just oblivious people drifting over or turning without checking or signaling. Idiots.
By the time we hit the Verrizano Bridge it had cooled down again, and passing over the water the wind had picked up. Since we ride out of the sun on the lower deck of the bridge, it was actually cold up there, and I was wishing I had kept at least the shell on.
We rolled off the bridge and into the end of ride festival at Fort Wadsworth about 12:30 - much earlier than I thought. We decided to skip the food tents and head back to the ferry terminal to retrieve the truck and head home. We hit the road at just about 1:00, and with just one stop for gas on the way back, managed to get home in time for dinner.
All in all, a good time.
Total for this year: 110.0 miles
After riding in the Five Boro Ride last year I really didn't have a desire to do it again any time soon. I mean it's a fun ride and all, but it's kind of expensive, and it's a hassle getting down to the city, and it's a hassle getting to the starting point, and you wait around for hours to actually start riding, and you have to walk through Central Park... so it's sort of cool to do every few years, but no more often than that.
Well, when he saw all the pics I posted after last year's ride my buddy Bob decided he wanted to do it, and he convinced me to go with him. Since I was his inspiration, I couldn't say no, could I? So a few months ago when the registration opened up I was right there online to pay my $60 to reserve my spot among the 32,000 riders that would be permitted to participate.
Bob also signed up on the opening day of registrations, and since this would be his first time doing the Five Boro, he let me take care of all of the logistics. Although last year's ride included the added adventure of the 30-mile round trip from our hotel in NJ to the starting point and back, I decided to minimize the commute this year. Ultimately I made reservations at a Comfort Inn in Staten Island, about eight miles from the Staten Island Ferry. I figured we could either ride or drive from the hotel to the ferry station and take the boat to Manhattan for the short ride to the starting line. When the Five Boro was over, it would be a quick and easy trip back to the truck for the drive home. If we drove down on Saturday, we could do the ride and get back to Roch by Sunday evening.
The trip down to Staten Island was uneventful. Bob was a great navigator, and we didn't really hit any traffic until after we crossed the Goethals Bridge from New Jersey into New York. Just past the tolls in Staten Island traffic slowed to a crawl. Fortunately we were just a few exits from our hotel, so it wasn't a big deal. We ran into a little trouble because the directions on the hotel's web site called for us to take Exit 7 for Victory Blvd, which would be cool except for the fact that Exit 7 doesn't take you to Victory Blvd. Exit 8 does. But we didn't know that until we had already committed to get off the Staten Island Expressway. No problem. We knew we were close, and with 20 minutes or so we arrived at the Comfort Inn.
We stayed at the hotel only long enough to check in and offload the bikes and gear. Since it was only about 3:30, we decided to scout out the route to the ferry, and take the boat over to Manhattan. It was a good thing we did. Although my research made it seem feasible to ride from the hotel to the docks, in reality, it would have been a difficult ride. Victory Blvd is not in the greatest condition, and sections of it don't offer much in the way of a shoulder. It might not have been a problem early on a Sunday morning, but riding back to the hotel after the Five Boro would have been tough. We decided to check out early in the morning, drive to the ferry station, and hope to get parking.
With time to kill, we took the boat over to Manhattan to walk around and look for a place to have some dinner. After docking we joined about 100 other people watching a group of six break dancers performing just outside the terminal. They were pretty good, but both Bob and I decided the two girls in the group were junkies. They were incredibly skinny and had that gaunt look in their face. And they were both wearing long sleeves.We walked over to Battery Park where I took some pics of "The Sphere" - a sculpture which stood for thirty years on the plaza at the World Trade Center, until it was damaged during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It was moved to Battery Park and an eternal flame was added as a memorial to those killed on that day.
By then it was time for dinner so we stopped at a Panini & Co. Breads on Broadway and Cedar, about a block north of Trinity Church and the American Stock Exchange. Nice place, good food, reasonable prices. From there it was back down to the ferry terminal for the ride back to Staten Island. After getting off the boat we walked past the baseball stadium where the Staten Island Yankees play, and wouldn't you know I found a ball just outside the left center fence, apparently a home run that nobody bothered to pick up. AJ would be jealous.
When we finally got back to the hotel we loaded up the bikes with the stuff we intended to carry during the ride. I managed to get all my stuff (a Gatorade, a few granola and power bars, a hat, etc.) into the rack trunk, with room to spare. I wanted to make sure I had room to store my layers if I needed to peel some off during the ride. Knowing that we were going to get up very early the next morning, we turned in about 10. Unfortunately Bob wanted to sleep with the window open, which meant that I'd have to listen to all of the street noise all night long. It was horrible. I might have managed maybe 1-2 hours of sleep, but I kept waking up because of the noise, and eventually at 4:00 I just got up for good. I was wiped out. While Bob was sleeping I loaded up the truck with my gear and my bike. It was freezing cold, definitely in the low 30's, so I went with three layers on the top and two on the bottom. I was glad I did. Bob got up at 4:30, got himself together, and we checked out of the hotel at 5.
I was afraid that even at that early hour we might not get a parking space at the ferry terminal. As it turned out, even though cars were streaming into the lot when we got there, we still had no trouble finding a space. We offloaded the bikes, and followed the crowd to the line for the charter ferry to Manhattan. We waited only about 10 minutes or so before we were able to board. We ended up in the bowels of the boat where cars are normally stored, along with maybe 300-400 other people. The ride was cold but very smooth, and up ahead of us I could see out the open exit ramp the skyline of Manhattan as it grew closer and closer.
We rolled the bikes off the ferry and exited the terminal. As soon as we were out the door we hopped on our rides and followed the crowd toward Battery Park. There were plenty of marshalls there to get us headed north on Church St. toward the starting line. It was just after 6:00 when we hit the back of the pack at the intersection of Church and Thomas - about an hour earlier than I arrived last year. But even though there were thousands of people ahead of us, we were 10-11 blocks further north than I was in 2010 - that put us about 1/2 mile closer to the starting line. I hoped that the difference in distance would equate to a significant reduction in the amount of time we would have to wait before crossing the starting line.
We spent the two hours before the beginning of the ride snacking, taking a few pics, and people watching. Somebody had the good sense to bring a few beach balls, which provided a few minutes of entertainment each time one was inflated. Although standing in the street for almost two hours may seem like a long time, it really did pass pretty quickly. Fortunately the skies were clear. It would have been miserable if it had been raining.About 15 minutes before H-Hour the master of ceremonies up at the starting platform began to welcome the crowd and introduce the dignitaries in attendance. I never heard of any of them. Somebody sang "God Bless America" and then the countdown to the start began. This year the organizers added another attraction - at the starting gate they had installed a set of massive propane burners which would periodically send flames shooting maybe 20 feet into the air. It was kind of cool, I guess. Although I expected to wait a significant amount of time before we would cross the line, it actually turned out to be only 11 minutes. Definitely better than last year's 1-hour wait after the event actually started.
It seemed like the ride followed the same route as last year, although I would have to check the GPS data to be sure. Last year it seemed like we rode past more skyscrapers as we worked our way north toward Central Park. And I don't remember riding by Radio City Music Hall, which we did this year. They must have done something different in Central Park this year too. Last year the "ride" through the park was horrible - we were packed so tightly we pretty much had to walk through the entire park. This year they may have split the peloton before it actually entered the park. It seemed like we were divided into two streams which diluted the crowd enough to allow us to actually ride (albeit at a reduced speed) through most of the park.
Upon leaving the park I'm sure we followed exactly the same route as both of my previous rides through the city. By the time we hit Harlem it was starting to warm enough to think about taking off a layer. Before we hit the Bronx I had removed one of the uppers. From that point on I continued to remove garments every few miles until I was down to a jersey and shorts. I noticed on a time/temp sign in Queens that it was 66 degrees - perfect for riding.
As expected we saw our fair share of crashes. The worst was probably in Central Park where a woman had gone down and was still face first on the asphalt when we passed by (help had already arrived). There were several others - including one which happened right in front of me at about the 30 mile point. We had a few near-misses, but nothing serious. Just oblivious people drifting over or turning without checking or signaling. Idiots.
By the time we hit the Verrizano Bridge it had cooled down again, and passing over the water the wind had picked up. Since we ride out of the sun on the lower deck of the bridge, it was actually cold up there, and I was wishing I had kept at least the shell on.
We rolled off the bridge and into the end of ride festival at Fort Wadsworth about 12:30 - much earlier than I thought. We decided to skip the food tents and head back to the ferry terminal to retrieve the truck and head home. We hit the road at just about 1:00, and with just one stop for gas on the way back, managed to get home in time for dinner.
All in all, a good time.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
"Traditional" First Ride
Total for this ride: 32.6 miles
Total for this year: 66.6 miles
The riding season never officially starts until I've climbed Boughton Hill. Today was the day. Did a fairly typical early season ride from home straight down to Bloomfield, then over to Canandaigua and home again. It was fairly cool when I left the house about 10 - temps were still in the mid-40's - so I had on three layers. I dropped the shell after climbing Boughton Hill, but it was much cooler down by the lake so I put it back on half way through the ride and kept it on until I got home.
Not much on this ride worth noting. I saw a young girl with a lamb sitting in the driveway of a farm on Cooley Rd. I should have stopped to take a pic, but I was climbing a hill and didn't feel like stopping. I did take a few shots of the paddle wheeler Canandaigua Lady sitting on an enormous trailer in the parking lot of the municipal marina. But other than that it was just an uneventful conditioning ride.
Didn't make great time, but I actually felt OK. I even managed to climb up Lynaugh at the end of the ride. I figure I need to start doing more rides of this length, since Bob and I are scheduled for a 58-mile ride down in NYC in about three weeks. If all goes well I'll be able to commute in a couple of times this week. That will help.
Total for this year: 66.6 miles
The riding season never officially starts until I've climbed Boughton Hill. Today was the day. Did a fairly typical early season ride from home straight down to Bloomfield, then over to Canandaigua and home again. It was fairly cool when I left the house about 10 - temps were still in the mid-40's - so I had on three layers. I dropped the shell after climbing Boughton Hill, but it was much cooler down by the lake so I put it back on half way through the ride and kept it on until I got home.
Not much on this ride worth noting. I saw a young girl with a lamb sitting in the driveway of a farm on Cooley Rd. I should have stopped to take a pic, but I was climbing a hill and didn't feel like stopping. I did take a few shots of the paddle wheeler Canandaigua Lady sitting on an enormous trailer in the parking lot of the municipal marina. But other than that it was just an uneventful conditioning ride.Didn't make great time, but I actually felt OK. I even managed to climb up Lynaugh at the end of the ride. I figure I need to start doing more rides of this length, since Bob and I are scheduled for a 58-mile ride down in NYC in about three weeks. If all goes well I'll be able to commute in a couple of times this week. That will help.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Post Office Run
Total for this ride: 5.6 miles
Total for this year: 34.0 miles
Just a quick ride on the new Trek down to the post office and the library. I swapped out the Look pedals with a couple of toe clips, in anticipation of taking this bike down to NYC for the Five Boro Ride in a few weeks. I think that swapping the pedals is going to make my road adventures a lot more enjoyable... I really hate walking around on cleats. I won't mind using them if I'm going on a quick 20-30 miler on an old route. But for longer rides where I'll be exploring, the toe clips are definitely the way to go.
Total for this year: 34.0 miles
Just a quick ride on the new Trek down to the post office and the library. I swapped out the Look pedals with a couple of toe clips, in anticipation of taking this bike down to NYC for the Five Boro Ride in a few weeks. I think that swapping the pedals is going to make my road adventures a lot more enjoyable... I really hate walking around on cleats. I won't mind using them if I'm going on a quick 20-30 miler on an old route. But for longer rides where I'll be exploring, the toe clips are definitely the way to go.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Back in the Saddle
Total for this ride: 28.4 miles
Total for this year: 28.4 miles
It's been 110 days since I've ridden. 30% of a year. 2640 hours. 158,400 minutes. 9,504,000 seconds. Practically an eternity. But at long last, I'm back on my bike.
Did the typical round trip commute from Bushnell's Basin to RIT. I was on the trail before the sun came up, and although the temperature was 35 degrees, it felt colder. I was glad I went with 4 layers on top.
The outbound ride was fairly uneventful. I stopped to take a self-portrait at Lock 32, and a shot of the twin guard gates south of the UofR. But other than that, there was really nothing else worth noting.
After work, as I was leaving the Carlson Building, I saw one of my students, Joel, coming down the stairwell with a bike. I asked him where he was going, and he said he was headed to his home in the city. I asked which way he was going and he indicated that he planned to head north on Rt. 15. I calmly explained to him that Rt. 15 would be a good way to go, IF HE HAD A DEATH WISH! And I offered to let him ride with me on the Lehigh Valley Trail, which would be much safer. Although it seemed like he really wanted to ride alone, he agreed to follow me as far as the UofR. In the end, he was glad he did. And I felt like I saved a life.
We had a little excitement crossing Jefferson - although we crossed at the crosswalk, with the "walk" light, some idiot coming from the other direction felt he had the right of way and tried to cut in front of us as we worked our way across the street. I pressed on toward the curb (as I should, having the right of way), essentially cutting him off, which set the dolt into a bit of a rage. He hit his horn and gestured wildly at us. Where's a cop when you need one...
After that the ride was smooth sailing. I rode with Joel as far as the canal towpath, then turned east and head for home. With the temperature in the 60's there were a fair number of people on the trail. A couple of interesting sights on the way. Saw some guy riding either an old-style big wheel bicycle or a large unicycle. I couldn't really tell because I was fumbling with my camera as he passed. I completely missed the shot. Also saw a couple of cute girls on a bright yellow tandem. Kind of different.
Even though it's been 110 days since my last ride, today's commute didn't feel too bad. The outbound was fine - the legs were a little stiff when I got to the office, but it was a good kind of stiff. And I made pretty good time on the return. Until I hit Pittsford. I guess at that point I kind of ran out of gas. I mean, I was able to keep going, but I could tell my pace had dropped off considerably. Still, even though I was slowing down, I kept thinking to myself, "Every minute on my bike is a gift from God." I got back to the truck eventually.
Don't know when I'll be able to ride again... looks like next week's weather is going to be a return to winter...
Oh, yeah. Notice in the picture below how I celebrated St. Patrick's Day by wearing my green Tour de Cure jersey.
Total for this year: 28.4 miles
It's been 110 days since I've ridden. 30% of a year. 2640 hours. 158,400 minutes. 9,504,000 seconds. Practically an eternity. But at long last, I'm back on my bike.
Did the typical round trip commute from Bushnell's Basin to RIT. I was on the trail before the sun came up, and although the temperature was 35 degrees, it felt colder. I was glad I went with 4 layers on top.The outbound ride was fairly uneventful. I stopped to take a self-portrait at Lock 32, and a shot of the twin guard gates south of the UofR. But other than that, there was really nothing else worth noting.
After work, as I was leaving the Carlson Building, I saw one of my students, Joel, coming down the stairwell with a bike. I asked him where he was going, and he said he was headed to his home in the city. I asked which way he was going and he indicated that he planned to head north on Rt. 15. I calmly explained to him that Rt. 15 would be a good way to go, IF HE HAD A DEATH WISH! And I offered to let him ride with me on the Lehigh Valley Trail, which would be much safer. Although it seemed like he really wanted to ride alone, he agreed to follow me as far as the UofR. In the end, he was glad he did. And I felt like I saved a life.
We had a little excitement crossing Jefferson - although we crossed at the crosswalk, with the "walk" light, some idiot coming from the other direction felt he had the right of way and tried to cut in front of us as we worked our way across the street. I pressed on toward the curb (as I should, having the right of way), essentially cutting him off, which set the dolt into a bit of a rage. He hit his horn and gestured wildly at us. Where's a cop when you need one...
After that the ride was smooth sailing. I rode with Joel as far as the canal towpath, then turned east and head for home. With the temperature in the 60's there were a fair number of people on the trail. A couple of interesting sights on the way. Saw some guy riding either an old-style big wheel bicycle or a large unicycle. I couldn't really tell because I was fumbling with my camera as he passed. I completely missed the shot. Also saw a couple of cute girls on a bright yellow tandem. Kind of different.
Even though it's been 110 days since my last ride, today's commute didn't feel too bad. The outbound was fine - the legs were a little stiff when I got to the office, but it was a good kind of stiff. And I made pretty good time on the return. Until I hit Pittsford. I guess at that point I kind of ran out of gas. I mean, I was able to keep going, but I could tell my pace had dropped off considerably. Still, even though I was slowing down, I kept thinking to myself, "Every minute on my bike is a gift from God." I got back to the truck eventually.
Don't know when I'll be able to ride again... looks like next week's weather is going to be a return to winter...
Oh, yeah. Notice in the picture below how I celebrated St. Patrick's Day by wearing my green Tour de Cure jersey.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
The End...
It snowed pretty hard today, which very likely means I've done my last ride for the 2010 season.
It was a great season though - in fact my best ever. Notable accomplishments include:
- Greatest total mileage in a single year (2215.9 miles). Beat the previous record by almost 200 miles. And beat the next best after that by about 1000.
- Did four of my 10 longest rides ever this season, including my longest ride of all time - 115 miles.
- Did two centuries in a single year - first time ever.
- Did a whopping 16 rides longer than 50 miles. Previous best for a single year was a mere six.
- Did rides of over 50 miles on three consecutive days - first time ever.
But this riding season wasn't just about setting personal records - it was about adventure. And I definitely had some incredible two-wheeled adventures this year:
- I led a group of 10 kids fresh out of high school on the most memorable ride of their lives, and showed them in the process that they're capable of far more than they ever imagined.
- I rode with over 30,000 of my closest friends on the streets of one of the greatest cities in the world, and I rode completely alone on paths through remote wooded areas.
- I pushed my bike over trails that were covered with snow and black ice, and I struggled against heat exhaustion on the hottest day of the summer.
- I visited places of great historical significance, and places where I could relive my own personal history.
So what's in store for next year? Well... there are still a few specific rides I want to take. Like a ride around Cayuga Lake - close to 100 miles with some wicked hills along the way. And a ride across the state along the Erie Canal. But I don't think I'll push for any records next year. If they happen - great. But if not, it won't matter. I just want to ride.
It was a great season though - in fact my best ever. Notable accomplishments include:
- Greatest total mileage in a single year (2215.9 miles). Beat the previous record by almost 200 miles. And beat the next best after that by about 1000.
- Did four of my 10 longest rides ever this season, including my longest ride of all time - 115 miles.
- Did two centuries in a single year - first time ever.
- Did a whopping 16 rides longer than 50 miles. Previous best for a single year was a mere six.
- Did rides of over 50 miles on three consecutive days - first time ever.
But this riding season wasn't just about setting personal records - it was about adventure. And I definitely had some incredible two-wheeled adventures this year:
- I led a group of 10 kids fresh out of high school on the most memorable ride of their lives, and showed them in the process that they're capable of far more than they ever imagined.
- I rode with over 30,000 of my closest friends on the streets of one of the greatest cities in the world, and I rode completely alone on paths through remote wooded areas.
- I pushed my bike over trails that were covered with snow and black ice, and I struggled against heat exhaustion on the hottest day of the summer.
- I visited places of great historical significance, and places where I could relive my own personal history.
So what's in store for next year? Well... there are still a few specific rides I want to take. Like a ride around Cayuga Lake - close to 100 miles with some wicked hills along the way. And a ride across the state along the Erie Canal. But I don't think I'll push for any records next year. If they happen - great. But if not, it won't matter. I just want to ride.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Harkness Memorial
Total for this ride: 22.9 miles
Total for this year: 2215.8 miles
Cold and windy in southern CT today (wind chills in the low 30's), but with brilliant sunshine and no demands on my time there was no way I was going to miss the chance to ride. Shortly after breakfast I filled the tires on the Trek, layered up, and hit the road.
My plan was to ride to the Harkness Memorial State Park, a gorgeous 220-acre estate on the Long Island Sound which was donated to the State of Connecticut in 1950 by the Harkness family, who acquired the property in the early 1900's. The outbound route was one I've traveled many times, most recently in the summer of 2009. In spite of the fact that segments of the ride aren't really bike friendly (primarily because of moderate traffic and lack of adequate shoulders) it's one of my favorites when I visit my parents. It's kind of the biking equivalent of comfort food.
I made good time as I worked my way down to the coast and rode east along Niantic's Main St. I crossed the drawbridge over the Niantic River, rode past the entrance to the Millstone nuclear power plant, and then turned south toward Jordan's Cove. I would have loved to take a few pics, but with my cold weather gloves on, and the camera stored in a pocket underneath my outer layer, it's almost impossible to shoot while riding. I'd either drop the camera, or kill myself, or both. I waited until I stopped at Harkness to get the camera out.
Knowing I would probably do some walking at the park, I brought a pair of sneakers with me in a backpack. I really don't like riding with a backpack, but walking in cleats would have been a huge hassle, so the backpack was the lesser of two evils. Besides, it wasn't going to be a long ride, so I figured I could tough it out.
When I rolled into Harkness I was surprised at the number of cars in the parking lot. As cold and windy as it was, I expected the place to be almost empty. But there were actually a fair number of people out enjoying the sunshine - bundled up in their winter parkas, scarves, hats, and gloves. With my thin layers on they must have thought I was nuts. But even though it was cold, it was certainly bearable. I was relatively comfortable during the 20 minutes or so I was there taking pictures.
Before the ride I thought about going from Harkness over to Ocean Beach Park, just to the east in New London. But then I realized that I'd been riding with the wind to this point, and that I'd be riding into it on the way back. So having met all of my mileage goals for the year, I decided just to head back.
I took a new route on the return ride to my parents' house, through mostly residential areas of Waterford. Some of the houses along Niantic River Rd. were absolutely incredible... I survived the intersection at Flanders Four Corners and head back up the Post Rd. toward the house. My last decision was whether to make the turn at Ancient Highway and make the steep climb up to Webster Rd., or keep going and turn at Lover's Lane, which is a longer, but not quite as steep, access into Mom and Dad's neighborhood. I decided to man up...
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Sacred Ground
Total for this ride: 34.4 miles
Total for this year: 2192.9 miles
It was cold today. And windy. Temps when I left the house were in the high 30's, and never got any better. Winds were out of the east (unusual...) at 12. So yes, it was cold. But still no snow (or salt...), so I decided to layer up and hit the road. I'm glad I did.
The plan was to ride in a big rectangle from Victor up to Rt 31, then east to Palmyra, south to Manchester, and west back to Victor. The route would take me past some of the most sacred sites in the Mormon Church.
My first stop was the Joseph Smith Farm and Sacred Grove. I've been near this site several times, but had never made an effort to see the farm. In fact I hadn't planned to stop there today, but I saw a sign on Rt 21, and wasn't in any hurry, so I decided to make a little detour to see it. I don't know if it's closed on Sunday (which would be kinda weird) but nobody was there when I pulled into the parking lot. Fortunately I was still able to ride up to Smith's log house, where the Angel Moroni appeared to Smith in September 1823. The Sacred Grove (where God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ, visited the 14 year old Smith in 1820) was just beyond that, but I was wearing cleats, and didn't have a way to lock up the bike... so I hopped back on the bike and returned to my planned route.Once I got back to Rt 21, it was a couple miles to Hill Cumorah, where Smith received the Golden Plates containing the Book of Mormon in 1823. The site is now the scene every summer of an incredibly elaborate pageant which recounts the history of the Mormon faith. I saw it a couple of years ago for the first time - breathtaking.
I stopped only long enough to grab the pic shown below, then head for home. It took a while to warm up when I got back... my toes were numb for the next half hour...
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Rescue Mission
Total for this ride: 2.5 miles
Total for this year: 2158.5 miles
Just a short ride to rescue my truck from the shop where it was in for a new muffler and tailpipe. Rode in street clothes. Cut through the school yard, over to Lane Rd., and down to 96. Windy and cold...
Still no major snow in the forecast... I can keep riding until the salt trucks hit the road.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
A Cold, Dark Commute...
Total for this ride: 27.7
Total for this year: 2156.0 miles
Seems like forever since I've ridden... Been so long that I'd already put the bikes in the basement for the season. But with the weather man predicting a run of decent weather, I decided a couple days ago to haul out the Univega and make at least one more commute in to work.
I parked the truck in the usual commuter lot and hit the trail before sunrise. And yes, it was cold... I heard 30 degrees on TV before I left the house, but that was the temp downtown. I have no idea how cold it was out in the burbs. Maybe not quite as cold as some of those rides I made back in March, but it was still cold. I was glad I went with four layers.
The ride in was pretty uneventful. It was sad to see that the trees are all bare again. There's still water in the canal, but it probably won't be there much longer.
The ride home was a little more interesting... I left the office at 4:30. The sun was still up, but just barely. It would set by the time I hit the canal towpath, and it would be dark by the time I got back to the truck. But, being the smart guy that I am, I planned ahead and brought both my head and tail lights. Good to go.
That is, until I got to the corner of John and Jefferson, and while waiting for the signal to cross, realized that my headlight was out. Great... I didn't want to ride all the way back to the office to get fresh batteries, but I definitely wouldn't be able to ride home without the light. Fortunately, I happened to have two spare batteries in my rack trunk. I keep a set on hand in case the GPS runs low. But the light takes four batteries. So I had to cannibalize the two out of the GPS.
It's a good thing I did. The skies were perfectly clear today, so once the sun went down it got dark fast. By the time I got to Schoen Place, there wasn't even any twilight left. I decided that I'd never ridden when it was that dark before. Because if I had, I would have known that my headlight is woefully inadequate for those conditions. It was barely bright enough to keep me on the trail, let alone see if there was a deer or bear or whatever up ahead. If some obstacle appeared, I'd have a couple of seconds to react. But, luckily, the wildlife was on its best behavior so I made it back to the truck without incident.
Total for this year: 2156.0 miles
Seems like forever since I've ridden... Been so long that I'd already put the bikes in the basement for the season. But with the weather man predicting a run of decent weather, I decided a couple days ago to haul out the Univega and make at least one more commute in to work.
I parked the truck in the usual commuter lot and hit the trail before sunrise. And yes, it was cold... I heard 30 degrees on TV before I left the house, but that was the temp downtown. I have no idea how cold it was out in the burbs. Maybe not quite as cold as some of those rides I made back in March, but it was still cold. I was glad I went with four layers.
The ride in was pretty uneventful. It was sad to see that the trees are all bare again. There's still water in the canal, but it probably won't be there much longer.The ride home was a little more interesting... I left the office at 4:30. The sun was still up, but just barely. It would set by the time I hit the canal towpath, and it would be dark by the time I got back to the truck. But, being the smart guy that I am, I planned ahead and brought both my head and tail lights. Good to go.
That is, until I got to the corner of John and Jefferson, and while waiting for the signal to cross, realized that my headlight was out. Great... I didn't want to ride all the way back to the office to get fresh batteries, but I definitely wouldn't be able to ride home without the light. Fortunately, I happened to have two spare batteries in my rack trunk. I keep a set on hand in case the GPS runs low. But the light takes four batteries. So I had to cannibalize the two out of the GPS.
It's a good thing I did. The skies were perfectly clear today, so once the sun went down it got dark fast. By the time I got to Schoen Place, there wasn't even any twilight left. I decided that I'd never ridden when it was that dark before. Because if I had, I would have known that my headlight is woefully inadequate for those conditions. It was barely bright enough to keep me on the trail, let alone see if there was a deer or bear or whatever up ahead. If some obstacle appeared, I'd have a couple of seconds to react. But, luckily, the wildlife was on its best behavior so I made it back to the truck without incident.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Old Lyme
Total for this ride: 22.8 miles
Total for this year: 2128.3 miles
Riding on borrowed time... At this point in the season, every time I get on the bike it could be my last ride of the year. Got to enjoy them while I still can. I did enjoy this one.
I know I've done parts of this ride in the past, but I can't remember exactly when. All I know is that it was a long time ago. May have even been back when I was in college, riding the bike I used to commute to high school (which was stolen during my move to CA in 1984, necessitating the purchase of a new bike - a Trek 420 which I still occasionally ride to this day...). Anyway, even though there were some familiar sights on this ride, the bright sunshine and breathtaking fall colors made for a thoroughly enjoyable ride.
I started from my parents' house in a neighborhood off the Boston Post Road in East Lyme and headed south toward the beach on the Long Island Sound in Niantic. The traffic was, as usual, fairly heavy between Flanders and Niantic. But I've ridden that stretch of road so many times I've kind of gotten used to it.
When I hit Rt. 156, which parallels the coast, I turned west and followed the road for several miles, past the prison on Bride Brook Rd, and Rocky Neck State Park (which I visited earlier in the summer). The road eventually turns north and follows the Connecticut River inland.
I was apparently spending too much time "leaf peeping" and looking at the scenery -- and not watching for road hazards. I hit a small pot hole square on, so hard that it rattled my teeth. I was afraid I had damaged a rim, but I stopped and checked everything out. Seemed like all of the critical components were still intact, so I pressed on. After passing through town I made a quick stop at Rogers Lake to take a few pictures, continued on to Scott's Yankee Farmer, and then home.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Third Time's the Charm...
Total for this ride: 10.4 miles
Total for this year: 2105.5 miles
Today's ride was the third of the year through Turning Point Park up in Charlotte - once with the RIT bike group during the "regular season", once with a small group of colleagues from the office after work, and now once with Joe.
I had to leave work early for this ride. It's starting to get dark around 6:30, and I needed to pick up Joe at his apartment and then drive all the way up to the lake. I would have never been able to get in a good 10 miles if I waited until 5:00 to leave. I'll make up the time some time in the next week...
When we got up to Charlotte, we parked near the Port of Rochester terminal, where the "fast ferry" used to dock. We hopped on the bikes and head south along the Genesee River, past the Rochester Yacht Club, and toward the boardwak through Turning Point Park. Just before we got to the boardwalk Joe caught sight of a deer on the trail up ahead. We stopped, took a couple of pictures, then slowly worked our way closer as a second one appeared. They watched us as we continued to inch forward, but eventually they got bored and took off into the woods. We pressed on toward the boardwalk.
We saw a few people as we rode through the park. A couple of fishermen, some dog-walkers, two or three other cyclists. But it wasn't too crowded. We got to the end of the boardwalk and started up the long hill which goes slowly up the side of the gorge until the trail reaches Lake Ave. On the ride up I got a really cool picture of Joe as sunlight was streaming through the trees, casting long shadows on the trail ahead of him. From there we continued south past Holy Sephlucre Cemetery, then crossed to the west side of Lake to make a quick stop at George Eastman's grave. We didn't stay long though. We turned around, started north, and crossed back over Lake at King's Landing Cemetery - the first in Rochester. From there we just retraced our path back to Charlotte. When we got there we poked around the terminal a little, checked out a group of people taking a sailing class in the river, and took a couple of pics of a paddle wheeler getting ready to take a group out onto Lake Ontario for a dinner cruise. I hope the boat was heated... by then it was getting pretty cold out. We wanted to ride out to the end of the pier, but it was closed for repair. So with the sun down, dark clouds moving in, and the temps dropping, we called it a day and I took Joe home.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Old Erie
Total for this ride: 61.8 miles
Total for this year: 2095.1 miles
With good weather forecast for this weekend (probably one of the few I have left before the snow hits...) I decided to go for a long ride in an area I'd never explored before. The plan was to go the entire length of the Old Erie Canal State Park from DeWitt (just east of Syracuse) to Rome and back, a distance of about 72 miles. It promised to be a fun ride with lots of old canal artifacts and structures along the way. And with the fall colors near peak, I expected some spectacular scenery.
I figured it would take about an hour and a half to drive to DeWitt from Victor, so I planned to get an early start - maybe even as early as 6:30. But I got up at 6, it was still pitch black, and everything was covered with frost, so I took my time getting my act together. I eventually ended up pulling out of the driveway at 8:00. A little later than I hoped, but at least the sun was up by then.
As expected, it took just under an hour and a half to make the drive to the parking area at the western terminus of the state park. There were several other cars in the small lot, so apparently the park was being put to good use. I loaded up the bike, locked the truck, and hit the trail.
Right out of the parking lot the trail goes along an old aqueduct - one of several I'd see throughout the day. This was a good sign. If structures were maintained along the entire length of the ride, there would be plenty to explore.
More good news within the first mile - a perfectly preserved change bridge. Back in the years when the old canal was in operation, a change bridge was used to allow the mules which pulled the barges to cross from one side of the canal to the other without the need to be unhitched. This particular change bridge crossed over to a small park on the south side of the canal - a park with a bathroom. It was one of precious few bathrooms I saw the entire rest of the day.
I rode a good 10-11 miles before getting to the first town, Chittenango. I took a little time to explore the Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum on the south side of the canal. Unfortunately, this being a Sunday morning, the museum was closed so there was only so much I could see. But I did check out the ruins of an old cannery from the 1880's which were pretty cool.
The next town along the trail was Canestota. Canestota was considerably larger than Chittenango - there was actually a small village center, and the whole town was at least several blocks across. A quaint little place. Only problem was that as I was heading out of town I was confronted with a large "TRAIL CLOSED" sign. Hmmm... That's not good. I was able to look past the sign, and it didn't appear that anything would preclude me from using it. Maybe there was some construction just beyond the farthest point I could see? Normally I would have decided that it would be more of an adventure to just ride past the sign and see what was going on. But for some reason I chose to heed the warning and take to the street (appropriately, Canal St....) which ran parallel to the trail. So off I went.I stayed on the street for at least half a mile, every now and then glancing up at the towpath which was above street level, on the far side of a drainage ditch. Still no indication that there was anything going on that keep me from using it. But I stuck to the street untl the speed limit changed from 30 to 55. With a very narrow shoulder, I figured it was time to get back on the trail. There was no way I was going to be able to cross the ditch and climb back on the towpath. Fortunately, not far up the road there was a small driveway which connected the pavement to the trail. I made the turn and got off the road. It was then that I discovered why the trail was closed -- it really was under construction. It appeared that somebody - presumably New York State - was making improvements to the trail. The path had been cleared and leveled, as evidenced by the small ridges of freshly turned dirt running along each side. And some sort of base layer of material had been laid down. But this material was clearly NOT the final layer. It was a fine, sandy gravel, which had not been packed down. It was uneven, and it was soft, and it was not an easy surface to ride on. But it was better than taking my chances with the traffic, so I dropped into a lower gear and pressed on.
After riding on this surface for a while I started wondering whether I'd be able to make Rome in time to get back for dinner. I did some calculations in my head and decided that I'd turn around no later than 1:00 pm. That would mean I'd been riding for 3.5 hours. Assuming an equal amount of time to return to the truck (a reasonable estimate, I thought, since the route was flat and there didn't appear to be much wind), and an hour and a half to get home, I'd be back by 6:00. That should be OK, I thought.
Eventually the trail ended where the park crossed over the New York State Thruway. I wondered how many times I'd crossed under that overpass without ever realizing that it was part of the park. I picked up the trail again, in all of its sandy glory, on the other side of the thruway. It didn't go very far though before it abruptly ended in Durhamville, with a sign indicating that there would be no trail for the next 22 miles. Great. Back on the street. Luckily, all of the remaining roads would have large, ample shoulders.A couple of miles outside of Durhamville I noticed a large public parking area - like one of those rest stops without any amenities. But there was a historic marker, so I rolled in to check it out. After taking a picture, I noticed that there was an access point to the trail, again running right along the canal. There was a red rope dangling between the two sides of the gate across the entrance of the trail. Obviously a sign that the trail was closed here too. Back on the road.
In the next few miles I crossed through a few towns that looked like they were nothing more than names on a map: State Bridge, Higginsville, Stacy Basin. Aside from a few farms, there wasn't much to any of them. Surely no place to eat - and no bathrooms... I could deal with the lack of bathrooms, but it was now after noon, I'd been riding for a few hours, and had nothing to eat since a bowl of cereal at breakfast. I needed food. I dug into my handlebar bag and pulled out a power bar.My map told me that I needed to keep an eye out for Lock Rd. just past Stacy Basin. Lock Rd. would take me to Lock 21 on the current Erie Canal - the one which is still in use. From there I'd hop back on the towpath and make a straight shot into Rome, where hopefully I'd grab a quick lunch, check out the Canal Museum, and head back. It would be close, but I thought I could make it.
So I get to Lock Rd. and don't you know, there's a sign indicating that the bridge is out .8 miles ahead, and only local traffic is allowed. What did that mean for my ride? I didn't know. But I knew I was getting tired of all the prohibited areas on this ride, so I ignored the sign and pressed on. In a few minutes I arrived at Lock 21 - a really cool facility. Very clean, very well maintained. Apparently popular with the locals too - there were several fishermen with their lines cast in the canal on the east side of the lock, including a grandfather with his grandson, who looked to be maybe four years old. The kid waved at me. He was having a great time. I took a few pics, then crossed over the lock gates at the west end in search of the trail. No sooner did I find it than I saw the dreaded "TRAIL CLOSED" sign blocking my way. That was it. I'd had it. I threw in the towel and decided to head back. This meant that I'd have to go without lunch, since I didn't see any place to eat on the outbound leg. But if my situation grew dire I was sure I'd be able to find something in Canestota when I got back there. So I ate my last power bar and hit the road.
The ride back was fairly uneventful. I did notice however that with about 20 miles to go, I was starting to get a little sore. I thought that was unusual, since this was not a hard ride, and I've certainly had days when I spent more time in the saddle. But the tightness in my upper hamstrings just didn't go away. I actually took a couple of quick breaks on the way back just to stretch them out a little. Maybe I just need a break from riding for a while. NAH!
Made it back to the parking lot OK, packed everything back in the truck, and went home. Had take out from the India House with Joe and Molly for dinner. A nice way to end the day.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Trip To The Post Office
Total for this ride: 3.2 miles
Total for this year: 2033.3 miles
As the title says... just a quick trip to the post office to mail some bills. When the weather is reasonable, it's the quickest and easiest way to get there. Just cut through the school yards behind the house, zip down High Street, across Main, and over to School St, and you're there. It takes literally minutes. After dropping off the bills, I decided to do some exploring. I haven't been on the Auburn trail south of Main in a while. The trail's pretty much the same, but the Victor Hiking Trails organization has done a nice job of putting up some signage. Really helps make people aware that the trail's there. Anyway, nice little ride.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
AT-TI-CA! AT-TI-CA!
Total for this ride: 68.2 miles
Total for this year: 2030.1 miles
Another long ride with Roger. The plan today was to start in Geneseo, a quaint little town which is home to one of the campuses of the State University of New York, and ride in a big loop which would take us to Attica and back.
I've always wanted to go to Attica - there's a huge prison there. This prison was the site of a large riot in September 1971 in which 39 people died. It's also where a number of infamous, high profile criminals have been incarcerated, including Mark David Chapman, the scumbag who murdered John Lennon. My goal for the day was to have my picture taken in front of the main gate.
It was cool when we took off from the courthouse in Geneseo. Cool enough that I layered up for the ride - three on the top and two on the bottom. It was the first time I've ridden in the long tights in months. Although I was warm enough when the sun was out to take off the jacket, it was overcast most of the day so consequently I spent a good portion of the ride with all of the layers on.
The ride was a little hilly. I guess I didn't really notice it, but the GPS data shows that we spent about 15 of the first 18 miles climbing, reaching the highest elevation of the entire route right before we hit Warsaw. From there the bottom dropped out and we descended about 600 feet in 1.5 miles. We were dropping so fast that I rode the brakes most of the way down. The road was kinda windey and there was traffic, so I wanted to make sure I stayed in control. Thank God we didn't make the loop the other way... 1.5 miles of a 7% grade after riding 50 miles... not my idea of fun...
We eventually worked our way back to civilization as we approached Attica. My cue sheet indicated that we should take a left onto Main St. once we hit town. From there, a left turn on Exchange would take us to the front of the prison. Unfortunately, it appears as though I made a mistake when writing down the turn-by-turn directions. We should have gone RIGHT on Main and then left on Exchange. We realized after a mile or so that we were heading the wrong way. We could see towers of the prison off in the distance, but it was clear that we were heading away from our destination. In fact, we were riding along the back side of the prison property, as shown in the image below. When we realized our mistake, we turned around and head toward the village in search of lunch.
As it turned out, it started sprinkeling shortly after we hit the road, and it didn't stop until after we got back to Geneseo. The last 1/2 mile before the finish took us through the SUNY campus and up a nasty little hill. The average grade was about 5%, but the last 150 yards or so were significantly steeper. It was one of those hills where you wonder if you're going to be able to unclip your foot from the pedal in time if you have to stop. Fortunately, when we creeped up to the stop sign at the top of the hill, there was no cross traffic coming so we could roll through. Otherwise, it's entirely possible we would have fallen, still clipped into the pedals.
This ride was notable for a couple of reasons. For one, it was my 15th ride of 50 miles or more, which is kinda cool. But more importantly it was also the ride that put me over the top in terms of annual mileage. With the completion of this ride I set a new PR, which officially makes this my best riding year ever.
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