A Transportation Stage Deep into the Heart of the Catskills

Finding time to train during the spring remains a serious challenge. With work and family commitments, spring really is the busiest time of year in my household. As the result of a little careful planning, though, it's still possible to get the job done.

This weekend, for instance, we had a trip planned to visit with my in-law's in Andes, NY - right in the heart of the Catskills, so I seized the opportunity to plan a long ride as one of the legs of the journey. Jan Heine of Bicycle Quarterly, refers to rides of this type as "transportation stages." So rising early, I clipped in and hit the road to begin my 75-mile journey.

Undertaking a transportation stage takes a little planning, of course. On Saturday, I prepped the bike and packed a bag with a change of clothes and (mercifully) remembered to attach the bike rack to the roof of my wife's car. Unfortunately, we were out until 2:00 AM on Saturday night, so I did not get the best night's sleep, but the weather could not have been more ideal.

The trip to Andes involves some lovely backroad riding up to the Ashokan Reservoir and then a long stretch heading northwest on State Route 28. Since Route 28 is basically the only road that runs in this direction between the Catskill high peaks, there's no really avoiding it, but thankfully, the road crews have repaved in the past several years so, for much of the journey, I was treated to 10-foot wide shoulders free of cracks and debris.

There's still lots of water running at this time of year, so at various points during the trip, I was surrounded by the sound of rivers, waterfalls and creeks, all of which slow down considerably by late summer.

One of the best things about a transportation stage in combination with a family trip is the inevitable point in the journey when family and rider intersect. On this trip, I texted my de facto crew that some fresh cold water and a little nosh would hit the spot, so shortly after the longest and steepest climb of the day, I saw a familiar blue Subaru pass by complete with waving arms.

After 50 miles, a few bottles of cold water and an energy bar really hit the spot, but it was the "Paris Brest" that really took my breath away, but I decided that this gorgeous confection would serve better as an incentive rather than as a mid-ride snack, and so sent the crew off with instructions to keep the pastry in the shade.

While the casual viewer might see a mocking daughter, a shocked son and a wife trying to get as far from her stinking husband as possible in these photos, I prefer to see love and admiration. 

Finally, the glories of reaching the top of a hill are far greater when achieved by riding a bicycle. In all, I arrived around lunchtime about an hour after my "crew" feeling very grateful for the chance to have both a good workout and a fun day with the family.

Fine-tuning a Favorite Permanent Route

While riding my Hudson River Double Cross training ride this morning, I decided to stop off and take a look around the grounds of the historic Wilderstein mansion. One of several stately Hudson River homes in the immediate area, this one was built in 1852 and occupied by FDR's cousin/lover Daisy Suckley featured in the film "Hyde Park on Hudson" until her death at age 100 in 1991. The view is pretty majestic, but the home is only open for visitors during the summer months.

In addition to getting a good 50-mile workout on a lovely Sunday morning, I was also taking notes on a re-route of the Keep the River on Your Right 200K permanent that will bring riders closer to the Hudson on several gorgeous back roads between Rhinebeck and Hyde Park. Riders will now be able to take a peak at Wilderstein and the Mills Mansion down the road as well as the Vanderbilt Mansion and FDRs home in Hyde Park that appeared on the original route.

With my first official brevet just two weeks away, I better get some more training miles in . . .

Spring has Finally Sprung!

Spring has finally arrived in the Hudson Valley and I could not be happier. This year, March entered like a lion and pretty much left like a lion as well with temperatures hovering below freezing on both ends of the month. April is another story, however. This past week we've enjoyed temperatures in the 50s and low 60s as crocuses pop their heads through the earth and spring peepers sing in chorus from every pond and waterhole. The combination of warmer weather, longer days and spring lifeforms freshens my love for riding as a source of pleasure and not just transportation and exercise.

With the longer days, I've been able to steal away for short rides after work before dinner and this alone brings joy to my week. Luckily, there are a range of options right out my door so a 90-minute ride can feel like entering a different world. With even less time, I can manage a great workout with hill repeats as I did last Thursday. One way or the other, I'm committed to getting this soft and flabby body back into peak form over the next several months.

Today, my pal Peter and I decided to ride a 50-mile Hudson River Double Cross as way to welcome in spring. We met up on the road just south of Kingston and found our way over to the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge where we were nearly blown over by the high southerly winds as we watched the mighty tug boats guiding barges toward Manhattan. After returning to solid ground, we hung a quick right and followed the Hudson south along River Road. Neither of us had ever ridden south of Rhinecliff on these quiet country lanes and we were dumbfounded by the beauty we found along the way all the way through Staatsburg to Hyde Park where we rejoined State Highway 9. We passed no fewer than half a dozen gorgeous Hudson River mansions along the way, which gave me the idea for a RUSA permanent devoted specifically to viewing the historic mansions in this region.

After skirting the City of Poughkeepsie on Route 9G, we met up with the Walkway Over the Hudson for our second river crossing. We successfully dodged all of the other pedestrians enjoying the spring weather in everyone's favorite regional state park.  Just a few miles up the rail trail from the river, Peter and I parted company to complete our last legs of the journey to our separate towns alone.

These have been a mighty busy few weeks for me as I've recently accepted a new job that will begin in July. More soon on how my new job will not only bring me incredible professional satisfaction, but also enhance my riding in direct and dramatic ways.

Block Island Training Camp 2011

Out on Block Island in August, the roads are pretty congested with all sorts of vehicles and pedestrians for much of the day, but if you get out early enough, the roads are simply magical. They are smooth and winding with modulating rollers and sea views from various vantage points along the way. For the past week, I've enjoyed riding these roads each day as I do my best to get back into form before D2R2 later this month.

Even though it's a tiny island, you never know exactly what might appear along the way. Yesterday, I felt a swift breeze as what first seemed like a locomotive but then turned out to be a young guy on a Cervelo tri bike dropped me like a cold fish. He must have been turning his cranks around at about 25 mph on the flats and I just let him go knowing I would not be able to hold his wheel. After returning home a bit demoralized, I looked out the window and saw . . . wait for it . . . a white and blue Cervelo with shoes still clipped into the pedals leaning against the hedgerow. "It couldn't be," I thought. A peek out another window revealed a small party assembling for cocktails on the porch next door, so I mustered some confidence and walked over to introduce myself to our new neighbors.

It turns out that the Cervelo in question was owned by a nice guy named Joe wearing an Ironman Kona t-shirt. "Kona?!?" I thought, "No wonder that breeze felt so pronounced." After chatting a bit about Kona, PBP and my accident, we arranged to ride the following morning at 6:00 am. At this point, I realized that not only had Joe raced in Kona last year, but he was also in training to race it again THIS October. "What was I thinking?" I asked my wife and sister-in-law as we prepared dinner. "This guy is going to eat me for breakfast."

I set an alarm for the first time this vacation (at 5:30 am) and predictably went to sleep a bit later than I might have hoped. The next thing I knew, I was tossing around in a difficult dream about oversleeping and alarm when I sat bolt-upright and realized that the sun had not even risen. I still had about 30 minutes of sleep in the bank. After a few more minutes of sleep, I rose alert and ready to ride, tossed on a clean jersey, fought with a pair of contact lenses and enjoyed a hot cup of coffee before heading out to face my sentence of suffering. Joe was bright and eager as I thought he would be as we exchanged greetings and carefully pulled out of the stone driveway together in search of the paved road about 400 yards away. Luckily neither of us took a humiliating spill and we hit the road with fresh legs.

It was not as hard or uncomfortable as I thought it might be to ride at 20-24 miles an hour while carrying on a conversation, but I found myself huffing and puffing a bit more than I would like on the hills. Despite that, it actually felt VERY GOOD to be riding in such a manner for the first time in quite a while. Joe was a gracious riding partner from the start who knew I was not eager to threaten his preeminence on the island. I made sure he knew that my feelings would not be hurt if he took off ahead at some point if I was holding him back, but he declined. It turned out that we both bought our bikes through Signature Cycles and had a few other things in common, so despite our different fitness levels, frame types and race goals, maybe we weren't that different after all.

We decided to stop riding after enjoying a vigorous single lap of the island at which point I pulled in for a family breakfast and Joe dismounted to run 18 more miles. While I'm not yet up to quite that level of hardcore exercise, it did feel really great to ride 16 miles full out, even if the guy I was riding with was holding back just a bit.

My First Century! Ride and volunteer report.

Today I rode the first century since my accident and (after a nice cool shower) I feel simply maaaavelous. While not as strong as I was last June, I rode pain-free and relatively strong all day.

The event was the second annual Bike the River Valley century put on by Glen at Bicycle Shows US who also organizes the Ride to Montauk and other deluxe century offerings. Since I was not too keen on spending $100 to ride around my neighborhood with a bunch of strangers, I inquired about volunteer options which would generously eliminate my entry fee. Glen was happy to accommodate and gave me the task of leading the escorted 100-mile ride: a perfect arrangement. Talk about pressure, though. I was pretty sure I wouldn't run into trouble, but knowing I had people depending on me really helped.

We had a blast! What fun it is to pull together a group of total strangers of varying abilities into a team to take on some controlled adventure. The weather was generally cooperative, but temps did get into the 90s in the afternoon and the exposed sections of the route were a little brutal at times. Luckily much of the route was shaded. My knowledge of the area definitely came in handy when the other route leader had us heading south on River Rd. in Red Hook rather than north. While we took in an extra 10 miles due to some curious route markings, we were able to shave off an unnecessary northern loop near Germantown and clocked in at exactly the reported route mileage of 104. The route also passed directly by my driveway in the final 10 miles so my wife and son were able to bring buckets of cold water to dump on our heads as we rode passed.

So, all in all, it was a very nice day. I got to:

• enjoy the excitement of an organized ride, 
• meet a bunch of nice people, 
• ride over some beautiful roads on a gorgeous summer day, 
• feel like my efforts and knowledge of the area were really helpful and, 
• most of all, prove to myself that I can ride a strong 100 miles without pain and suffering.

Next up: the NYC 200K on July 31. Anyone care to join me?

Return to the Open Road

With bright skies and temperatures in the mid-60s, seven and a half months after my accident, I returned today to the open road. What a relief to simply roll out the door and head up into the hills behind my house. At my current level of fitness, though, climbing these familiar hills felt more like I was ending a double century than going for an easy 18-mile spin.

I was surprised by what did and did not hurt during this little experiment. I would have expected that my legs, hips and left shoulder would have held me back a bit, but it was my right shoulder that actually gave me a little trouble. I think the discomfort is traceable to my utter lack of upper body strength at this point in the year rather than anything more serious. I simply need to add this to the rehab list along with all the other strengthening exercises.

While I wasn't really freaked out as cars passed, I did place an order for a Take-a-Look mirror as soon as I got home. It might just give me a few seconds, but I'll feel a lot more comfortable when I can see 'em coming and no longer have to rely on my fading hearing to know who's behind me. The forecast for Monday has temps in the 80s. I'll take tomorrow off (to assess any discomfort) and plan to get out for another ride on Monday after work.

My first (OUTDOOR) century of the season

Finally! The cycling gods looked down favorably on this humble randonneur. The weather cooperated while family plans and work obligations aligned to open up a nice stretch of time for an outdoor century this weekend. Motivation has been lagging a bit recently and with my first brevet of 2009 in two weeks, it was great to get out on the roads again for a long training ride. I had initially hoped to squeeze a 200K permanent into the weekend, but there was simply too much to take care of to clear the way for that.

The weather on Saturday was outstanding. I left home late (at around noon) with temps already in the 40s. It rose to the low 50s by mid-afternoon. As I ran out the door, I ditched the long sleeve jacket in favor of a short sleeve wool jersey with arm warmers. No neoprene booties today; toe covers worked just fine and my fingers were not at all icy with my light full-fingered gloves. What a relief to ride feeling unconstrained by multiple layers. I was comfortable for the entire ride.

Much as I enjoy long trainer rides, since I am not training indoors with rollers, riding outdoors again always requires dusting off the usual handling skills. Handling is also more of a challenge on roads still covered with a coating of sand left behind by a long winter’s worth of snow storms. The sand is especially thick on the hills of the back country roads I favor for training, so descents are more tricky than usual. One has to remember to ease into the turns and look closely at the road surface at all times. With so much residual salt and sandy crap on the roads, I chose to ride my old Bianchi rather than the new Indy Fab.

Saturday’s ride followed one of my standard century loops; it’s mostly flat with some rollers and one big hill (1500 feet of gain in three miles) that begins at mile 50. Farmland, still fallow, lines many of the roads. Cows, sheep, horses and even a few turkeys greeted me as I passed and homeowners along the way were beginning to attack their yard chores with vigor as the sound of mowers and leaf blowers filled the air.

One of the biggest differences between indoor and outdoor riding are the animals, live and dead we see along the way. Deer, hawks, and small furry things too small to identify darted through the leaves as I pedaled down quiet back roads. In a sure sign of spring, an Eastern Bluebird even alighted several feet away from me at one point. I also saw my share of roadkill out there. The count: one deer, one red fox, one raccoon, two house cats, and six or eight squirrels. It’s hard to tell if these poor critters are among the recently dead or if they’ve been lying on the side of the road buried under snow banks for several months, just making themselves known after the recent thaw.

One of my many goals this season is to do a better job of nutritional management on long rides. In the past, I’ve fueled myself in fairly haphazard ways. This time, I made an effort to consume all of my calories in the form of a thick solution of Hammer Perpetuem. The directions indicated that I should sip this thick brew while hydrating with my other bottle. The trouble was twofold: one – I had to stop once an hour for water and two – I was just too hungry to make it through a full century without some solid food. Need to work on this next time. Maybe I’ll try a more concentrated solution, paced more effectively and some supplemental Hammer Gel. I might also try a Camelback. Perpetuem in this solution would work great if I had a crew handing me fresh water bottles every hour, but having to find a bottle per hour on the road was a big hassle which slowed me down considerably.

So, in all it was a very good ride. Good to be out on the roads again. Hopefully, we’ll get some rain in the next few weeks to clear the roads of the residual salt and sand so I’ll feel more comfortable bringing my good bike out of hibernation.