How I Got a New Bicycle for the Price of a Pair of Tires.

I remember feeling the transformative power of a new set of high quality tires when I first upgraded to a set of Conti GP 4000s. My current upgrade to a set of Clement X'Plor USH tires is a bit different, though, as these not only enhance my ride, they also bring me places I was not able to travel on my road bike until this week. Riding through the Shawangunk Ridge has long been an interest of mine, but until I converted my Indy Fab Club Racer to a bike capable of riding on the trails and carriage routes, my exploration was limited. Each of these photos was taken either from the seat of my bike or while standing on the trail itself. No hiking required.

One of the great joys of working from home is that some days I can arrange my work schedule to allow me some flexibility on the bike. So today, while thousands of New Yorkers were fighting traffic in their cars heading out of town for the three-day weekend, I was exploring the trails along the ridge more fully. Parking again at the West Trapps parking area, I picked up the Trapps Road trail and headed west toward Minnewaska State Park. After arriving at the park entrance and confirming that an entrance fee is assessed only on those who arrive by car, I chose the Lower Awosting trail and proceeded to climb, climb, climb up to Lake Awosting deep in the state park preserve. The road itself at this point is crushed stone and the only challenge was to maintain a grip on the road surface with my rear tire on a few the very steep sections as I had to climb out of the saddle to create enough momentum to push me up the hill.

Once I arrived at Lake Awosting, I took a right turn to enter the Awosting Lake Carriageway to circle the lake counterclockwise. Here the trail became quite "technical" in places as large and sometimes loose rocks took the place of crushed stone. While there were a few moments I wished I was not using clipless pedals, my new tires enhanced my confidence. After circling the beautiful alpine lake, I took another right to enter the newly restored Hamilton Point Carriageway. This route is absolutely spectacular. These photos don't fully give justice to the expansive views from the trail literally cut into the edge of the 1000-foot cliffs. The smells and sounds of fall, circling hawks and overall isolation gave the ride an otherworldly quality that made it seem as though I was far more than 15 miles from my home. This trail climbs to over 2200 feet and then drops back down to 1200 at the park's entrance where I rejoined the Trapps Road trail to return to my car.

Now that my second bike is equipped with this new set of spectacular tires, I see no need to remove them any time soon. Until the snows arrive, I'll be including a few days of off-road riding each week in my routine to keep my spirits and fitness up.

Riding Along the Shawangunk Carriage Trails (with my new Clement X'Plor USH Tires).

For years, I've been thinking about swapping out my road tires for something better suited to riding on the local carriage roads and today it finally happened. These carriage roads, that weave through both the Mohonk Preserve and Minnewaska State Park along the Shawangunk Ridge, are stunning artifacts of an earlier time. Built in the 19th century to accommodate the carriage traffic from New York City and elsewhere to this spectacular mountain destination, these roads are carefully maintained today for use by hikers, cyclists, rock climbers and cross-country skiers. While I spend a lot of time riding on the roads over and along the ridge, I've spent precious little time riding on the carriage roads themselves and never with my preferred road bike.

Last year I bought a pair of 35 x 700 Clement X'Plor USH tires to expand the range of surfaces on which I can comfortably ride with my road bike. These Clements are rated highly for gravel grinding and other off-road pursuits so I knew they would be a wise choice for the local carriage roads. It turns out that you need to do more than just buy the tires, though; you actually need to install them to reap the full benefit. Happily, the tires fit perfectly on my white Indy Fab and afford just the right amount of plush traction to instill confidence in a road rider like myself out on the trails.

Now admittedly, these roads are covered with fairly smooth crushed stone, so the riding is not what I'd call technical. Still, with a bright covering of fall leaves, one needs to use some caution so as not to hit a stray rock, stick, root or hole. This afternoon, I pulled out my trusty Shawangunk Trail Companion to map out a route with easy access to my car that would give me a nice introduction to the terrain. I entered at the West Trapps trailhead, a favorite of climbers throughout the Northeast who come to enjoy the dramatic rock climbing along the ridge-line. This afternoon, I began by riding down the Undercliff Trail passing five or six groups of climbers on belay enjoying the cool afternoon.

Upon reaching the end of the Undercliff Trail, I took a left to connect with the Overcliff Trail that climbs gradually and runs parallel to the trail I had just ridden to return to the West Trapps trailhead, but affords a view to the northwest of the full Catskill range in the distance. Once back where I began, I shot out towards neighboring Minnewaska State Park along the trail known as Trapps Road that brought me deeper into the peaceful afternoon forest. I wish there had been enough time to take in the loop out to Lake Awosting, but that will have to wait until another day.

In all, my afternoon was quite enjoyable, filled with peaceful, solitary riding without any cares or cars to consider. While I did not find the gradual slope of the carriage trails terribly challenging (it was hard to raise my heartbeat, in fact), the views and serenity more than made up for the loss. This will surely become a feature of my off-season and recovery riding in the future.

My One-Year Anniversary D2R2 Adventure

When I determined that I'd be unable to participate in PBP this year, I thought about which other epic events I might use as goals in my recovery and return to endurance cycling and the Deerfield Dirt Road Randonee (D2R2) immediately popped into my mind. D2R2 has grabbed my attention for several years, but it's never quite fit into my schedule. The Rapha Continental boys had even made a film of their effort. It's a ride no self-respecting endurance cyclist should miss. This year, the ride fell on the day following the one-year anniversary of my accident and we had no family or work commitments on the calendar. With 412 preregistered riders on the 180K loop, it was going to be a fun day.

I rolled into Deerfield, MA around 9:00 pm on Friday and quickly set up my trusty old 2-person tent and attempted to sleep. With a 6:00 am rollout and a full day of climbing ahead of me, I wanted to snag as much rest as possible. Needless to say, I tossed and turned more than I would have liked before nodding off. I woke up with the dawn, changed into my cycling kit and rolled over to the food tent to savor some amazing organic French roast Peruvian coffee (these are some classy folks) and half a bagel with cream cheese. Riders who left before 6:30 were offered the opportunity to record frame numbers and rollout times in a spiral notebook at the start to time their rides. The sound of bagpipes echoed throughout the valley as a young guy played to send off riders in time trial rather than mass start fashion into the glow of the foggy sunrise. 

D2R2 is truly a unique event. It has a reported 16,500 feet of climbing over 180K, 70% of which are comprised of dirt carriage roads. Knowing that before starting was helpful, but nothing could really prepare me for the experience of riding on dirt roads at such steep and relentless pitches. D2R2 included (by far) the most challenging single day of cycling terrain I've experienced. Much of the challenge involved marshaling technical climbing and descending skills more common to mountain biking than the road riding I'm used to. Luckily, I was rolling on a set of 30mm Grand Bois tires inflated to only 75 lbs which helped stabilize my bike and dampen vibrations considerably. Every now and then, we'd cross a few miles of pavement which simply felt like riding on butter. In fact, I wasn't at all bothered by the extra bonus miles I picked up on paved roads along the way. It was like recharging.

The rest stops were welcome ports along to the way with cold five-gallon bottles of water propped on ingenious gravity dispensers. I filled up at each chance I got and took advantage of the Hammer Heed powder in various flavors along the way. The first check point at mile 36 was placed at the top of a serious slog of a climb which made it all that much sweeter. My pace on the ride was much slower than I expected. Going into the ride, I thought: 110 miles + 16,500 feet of climbing = 8-10 hours of riding. When I looked at the clock after the first hour and saw that I'd only ridden 12 miles, I realized this was going to be a LONG day.

All in all, D2R2 lived up to my expectations. I'm pleased that my legs and lungs held up and, while my time was nothing like I'd hoped it would be, I did not roll in DFL. Luckily the weather held for most of the event, but a light drizzle started to fall in my last hour or so of riding. Tragically, Hurricane Irene followed close behind and many of the roads we enjoyed on Saturday no longer even EXIST after the rains and floods of Sunday's storm. Reports of several feet of mud on the field we used for camping and eating and complete roads such as Green River Road eroding away to nothing are enough to send shivers down your spine. Ride founder and organizer Sandy W. worked with BikeReg to set up the Green River Village Restoration Fund. Riders and interested parties can donate to recovery efforts online until September 11, 2011. Money will be used to rebuild the lovely community park we used as a lunch stop on the banks of the Green River. Fortunately, the historic covered bridge (above) is still standing but the park next door is toast.

Next up on my calendar: a local 200K permanent in September and then the VT Fall Classic 200K brevet out of Burlington in early October which includes plenty of hard pack dirt roads. I may have developed the passion for a new flavor of suffering. Perhaps this will also be the year to snag that elusive R-12 award after all.