The Englewood 600K: A Volunteer's Perspective

Past and present NJ Rando RBAs: Leroy and Laurent

What a great weekend for a hilly 600K romp through New York's gorgeous Catskill Mountains! Easy for me to say, of course, since I wasn't one of the participants, but the riders I spoke with at the Phoenecia controle on this weekend's Englewood 600K seemed to be fully enjoying the camaraderie, the route and the fine weather. I'm ashamed to admit that this was my first ever stint as a brevet volunteer. I could make up all kids of excuses, but it really comes down to the fact that with time constraints I'd always just rather be riding. Luckily, others have sacrificed their time over the years to make all of the brevets I've completed possible.

NJ Rando's Katie R. got in touch a few months ago to ask if I'd be able to help staff one of the controle's on the Englewood 600K route which swings rather close to my house and I was more than happy to confirm that I'd love to do something to begin to repay the many favors that NJ Rando has done for me over the years. Great news arrived last week when Katie confirmed that my shift would begin at 11:00 am at the Phoenicia controle located 40 miles from my front door. This meant that I would be able to volunteer AND get a great 80-mile training ride in (my longest one-day mileage total since the accident) AND catch up with some friends along the way.

The day started for me with a glorious ride to Phoenicia over low traffic roads that skirt the Ashokan reservoir as they enter the Catskills Park. I arrived at the controle at about 10:45 am to find that the lead group had just left the Rhinebeck controle roughly 40 miles away. It looked like I was to have a little time on my hands. Soon after I arrived at the Momma's Boy Cafe and settled into a shaded Adirondack chair, I was approached by Leroy V., the NJ Rando RBA, who drove up after checking riders in at the start to spend some time along the route. While I had packed the Jonathan Franzen novel I'm reading into my Detours bag, I much preferred chatting about rando life past and present with this four-time PBP ancien, whose first trip to the Catskill mountains from his native NJ by bike took place in the early 1940s when he was a mere 15-years old. As the father of a 15-year old, I'm not quite sure what his folks were thinking.

The first pair of riders who arrived just before 1:00 pm looked fit and full of steam as they took advantage of a little shade and ice cream. They stretched their planned 10-minute stop into 25-minutes, but did not seem bothered by the extension.  The next two groups to come in followed close behind and displayed a similar level of energy at the 1/3 mark on this hilly course. Several more riders came through after a short while and soon there was just one final pair bringing up the rear. Several of the riders in the day's event had come from great distance to participate in what was billed as a hilly tune-up for PBP.  Illinois, Canada and Florida were all represented. Sadly, one of the riders from Florida, who needed this event to qualify for PBP, arrived at the controle with his bike in the back of a farmer's pick-up truck, the victim to some nasty full-body cramping.  His partner, though, was fresh and full of energy as she pedaled off into the high Catskills after restocking her celery supply, fixing her light mount and applying some fresh sunscreen. All told, 18 riders in and 17 riders out.

I began my journey home at 5:30 pm after enjoying a day filled with conversation and merriment. The return trip was even more pleasant than the ride up as I took full advantage of a small tail wind, the sun on my shoulders and a slight decent all the way home. While I'm disappointed not to have been among the riders fin-tuning their fitness for PBP, I'm glad to have been a part of their excitement and to have been able to ride 80 miles with a smile on my face. Next up: the Ride the River Valley century on July 17.

A few minutes of shade and refreshment

Paved (Summer 2011): Handmade Ecstasy

Have you seen Paved yet? The world probably needs a new cycling magazine like a hole in the head, but this one is good, really good. Luckily, I was hanging out with my friend Jim this week and he passed along his copy knowing what a sucker I am for old-school steel frame bikes. The magazine is great, and I especially like the photo essay on modern handmade bicycles in the style of the mid-century French constructeurs. Peter Weigle, the grandfather of the modern constructeur renaissance, is featured as are Tony Pereira, Sasha White, Ira Ryan, Dan Boxer and a handful of others. The photos are delicious and the article is informative and very well written.

It was this bike above, though, built by Black Cat Bicycles that really caught my eye. It's no secret that I love a good set of Honjo fenders, but these along with the beautiful light blue frame looks quite a lot like my Independent Fabrication bike currently under construction. Seeing this has inspired me to build my frame up with silver components, and white cables and bar tape as well. What a beauty it is and will be!

Paved is a skinny tire spin-off Bike magazine edited by Joe Parkin of Dog in a Hat fame. Published four times per year, it's not yet possible to subscribe, but last time I checked, the local Barnes and Noble was stocking it and it's also possible to order online off their blog. Thanks, Jim!

Portrait Night at Signature Cycles with Rob Vandermark of Seven Cycles

When I was visiting with Paul Levine of Signature Cycles last week for a fitting at his Central Valley location, he invited me to the upcoming Portrait Night at the Greenwich Signature studio. The idea is simple, Paul invites an important figure in the custom bicycle business to speak, spreads the word to people who have bought or might buy through Signature and then additionally offers the opportunity for bike owners to have their portrait taken alongside their custom Signature bike by professional portrait photographer James Patrick Cooper. I've seen a few of these portraits and they're really quite nice.

The event is scheduled for this Thursday evening from 6:00 - 8:00 pm and features Rob Vandermark the founder and chief designer at Seven Cycles in Watertown, MA. I'm a huge Seven fan and look forward to hearing Rob speak about the Berlin Show Bike, the gorgeous urban utility bike he's planning to bring (pictured above), among other things.

The funny thing is that I'll be having my picture taken alongside my totaled Independent Fabrication Club Racer. I told Paul that I'd love to come, but only if I can get an additional portrait taken with its replacement which should arrive within the next 6-8 weeks. It should make for an interesting before/after comparison.

George Rides the Ridge!

Well today was the day I've been looking forward to for quite some time. My first event (and longest ride!) since the August 26 accident and, as you can see from the photo above, I look nearly normal. The Ride the Ridge Hudson Valley Challenge is a fixture on the local riding calendar and a fundraiser for a very nice independent school in the area. Not to sound snooty, though, but until this year, I never felt that a 50-mile event was really worth suiting up for. My how things have changed.

I live about 20 minutes from the start, so I didn't have to rise too early to pick up my registration materials and prepare for the ride. It was a thrill to go through my checklist last night and scurry around the house looking for all of the necessary items. It was hard falling asleep last night knowing that in a few hours I would be experiencing the excitement of a large group ride for the first time in over nine months.

I know I should be glad to simply be riding pain-free in an event of this length, but my weak legs and terrible cardio fitness really created a disconnect between my mind and my body. I was able to override the impulse to hammer, but finding myself in an unfamiliar part of the pack of riders huffing up hills I used to charge up was a bit disorienting. For the most part, though, I was able to climb seated on this ride with 2000 ft. of gain which was a pleasure to see. I really prefer to climb in the saddle unless things are really nuts.

While this was a local event, I was surprised to see so few familiar faces. I did run into my friend Doug from Woodstock at the start with his beautiful new carbon Serrota. I also had the pleasure of riding with Andrey and his son Alex in the last few miles of the ride as they were finishing the 30-mile loop. When I saw him in the distance, I knew that anyone with bar-end shifters and a rando bag had to be a friend of mine. It was great to catch up with Andrey who is in the midst of a successful season filled with qualifying rides for PBP.

The only physical discomfort I felt today came in the last few miles when I felt a little soreness in the area where my left femur enters my hip. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this is nothing more serious than some tight and/or weak muscles and tendons rather than any nascent problem with my bones.

Next up: I hope to ride the Flatlander's Delight 200K permanent before the end of the month, but I may have to fit in a 100-mile training ride first, just for good measure.

Finally Time for a Fitting!

Today I made the trip back to Paul Levine's Signature Cycles studio for a proper fitting to see if anything's changed since the accident that would affect the build on my new Independent Fabrication Club Racer. Luckily, I found that my numbers were pretty similar to the ones Paul had on file from 2008. My hamstrings are still tighter than I'd like them to be, but my pedal stroke remains strong and symmetrical. The only modification I may need (which may be temporary) is to slide the left hood back just a few centimeters to accommodate a slight limitation in my left shoulder range. That will probably straighten itself out and I'm very pleased that none of the permanent measurements on the new frame will be affected.

I've decided to go with the exact same model, same color, same component group and same accessory set-up. I was completely satisfied with the last version, and without going crazy over researching a replacement, I'll be very happy to just get back on the road with a familiar friend. In only six to eight weeks, this chapter will come to a close.

I may go with the hammered rather than smooth Honjo fenders. Need to think about that one. Perhaps I'll take a spin through my new copy of The Golden Age of Hand-built Bicycles for inspiration.

Book Review: Hell on Two Wheels: Buy it, Read it, Enjoy it.

Amy Snyder's new book, Hell on Two Wheels, is a thoroughly enjoyable account of the 2009 edition of the Race Across America (RAAM). Having followed the 2009 race pretty closely through RAAM and racer blogs, it was amazing to learn about the race and the racers from an entirely different and more intimate perspective.

While I don't want to race RAAM any more than I did before reading the book, I also don't want to race it any less, which was the impact that viewing the film "Bicycle Dreams" had on me when it first came out. The book focuses less on the suffering and tragedy of the race and more on the personalities and idiosyncrasies of the racers. Snyder also does a great job of documenting the context and history of RAAM, which promises to make the book accessible and interesting to an uninitiated, general audience.

My only complaint, really, is that Snyder's prose could have benefited from more aggressive editing as there is some senseless repetition in some areas. Nearly every time one South African racer is discussed, for instance, she is referred to as an "uber-athlete." Once would have been enough. That said, the account really is a page-turner and Snyder succeeds in conquering what she describes as a "diabolically difficult" task from a journalistic perspective with her subjects spread out over 3,000 miles over the course of two weeks. One of my favorite aspects of the book comes at the end when Snyder follows up a year after the race with participants and shares their reflections on the experience which are fascinating.

Hell on Two Wheels provides readers with an intimate and sensitive account of the world's toughest endurance challenge. It should be read by all who are interested in endurance sports and the frontier of human performance.

Eat, Sleep, Ride. The Tour Divide from my Armchair

"Enjoy the suffering; pain is only weakness leaving the body." Paul Howard.

After reading Run! by Dean Karnazes, I noticed another title pop it's head up in my list of Kindle book recommendations: Eat, Sleep, Ride (or How I Braved Bears, Badlands and Big Breakfasts in my Quest to Cycle the Tour Divide) by Paul Howard. Boy, am I glad I downloaded this title and read it right away.

Howard's account of his attempt to race the 2009 edition of the Tour Divide, the 2700-mile race from Banff Canada to Antelope Wells, New Mexico, was quite illuminating and enjoyable to read. It was also surprising in several ways. First, while a mammoth test of endurance for sure, the Tour Divide is definitely not RAAM.  Racers must be completely self-supported and literally forage for food at convenience stores, restaurants and elsewhere along the way and no one has crew support of any kind. The racers chronicled in this book also seemed to be getting plenty of sleep. In fact, Howard describes front and rear lights so lame that night riding itself seems not to be part of his plan. It may be more important to someone like six-time winner Matthew Lee whose time is significantly better than Howard's, but this is not something we'll learn from this book.

The description of the Tour Divide in Eat, Sleep, Ride makes the event sound much more like a randonee than a race. Randonneurs will recognize their own experience's in passages such as this: "we were no longer racing in the sense of competing against others - everyone was either too far behind to catch us, or more commonly, too far ahead to be caught - we were, in spite of occasional appearances to the contrary, [simply] intent on making it to the finish as quickly as possible."

All in all, this book was engaging and Howard's understated British humor and sense of irony was quite  entertaining. Like most endurance epics, it inspired me to get out and ride, just not 2700 miles along the spine of the American Rockies. We're in luck, though; because the start of the 2011 Tour Divide is less than two weeks away. On June 10, over 75 riders will begin their epic tour and the TD website will broad their stories and locations for all the world to follow. 

Tour Divide on the Trainer

Ride The Divide Movie Trailer from Ride The Divide on Vimeo.

This week, I rode the famed Tour Divide (TD) mountain bike race. Well, at least I watched the film "Ride the Divide" that commemorates the 2008 edition of this remarkable 2700-mile mountain bike race while working out on my trainer in the studio.

The film is quite enjoyable and captures some of the magnificent beauty along this incredible route from Canada to Mexico. It focuses on three riders, Mike Dion - a rookie rider and filmmaker, Matthew Lee, six-time finisher and current yellow jersey holder and Mary Collier - the first woman to successfully complete the Tour Divide.

I was surprised by how much time riders spent alone on this race. In some ways, TD is more similar to randonneuring than it is to ultramarathon racing. For instance, racers must be totally self-sufficient. Unlike in RAAM, there are no support crews and riders must carry everything they need on their bike, forage along the way for provisions or have things mailed to post offices on route ahead of time. TD racers also wear SPOT trackers and call in at regular intervals to report their location and condition.

The field has grown exponentially on this "underground" race over the past few years. In 2008, there were 16 starters, in 2009 - 42 and in 2010 there were 48. With two weeks to go, there are 95 starters currently preregistered! Some will ride the race as an individual TT, not starting on the same date as the others and some will race from Mexico to Banff rather than the customary north-south route. Be sure to follow the race on the TD website starting on June 10.

The Tour Divide has become a bit of a fixation of mine in recent weeks as the 2011 edition looms large. I've been reading Paul Howard's enjoyable new book Eat, Sleep, Ride in which he recounts his own experiences as a 2009 TD racer. While I don't much like mountain biking and can't imagine ever racing the TD, I did get a big kick out of the strength and courage of the TD racers profiled in the film and it fuels my own determination to get back out there to complete endurance feats such as this.

Up next: a review of Paul Howard's Eat, Sleep, Ride.