It's Starting to Look Like a Season

After a long, weird warm winter, spring is now solidly here and my brevet and ultra race season is beginning to take shape.  I had to postpone my first official brevet due to a work conflict, but my next event is almost here. I had planned to kick off brevet season with the classic Princeton (NJ) 200, but rode a local 200K permanent on the same day to cut out the excess transportation time that would have made me late to the school's annual action benefit.  So next weekend's Princeton 300K will be my first time riding with a crowd this year.

I plan to follow this over Memorial Day weekend with the flat NJ 400K that takes in large swaths of NJ Pine Barrens that transports me back to high school camping trips with friends in the 1980s. A month later I'll take in the Westfield (MA) 600K that rolls over familiar roads in MA, CT, NY and VT. I'll need to fit an ACP 200K in somewhere along the way to round out the official Super Randonneur award, but that could happen as late as next September. In addition to these brevets, I'm lined up to compete in the Saratoga 12-hour race again on the first weekend in July. This old favorite will be great fun. I'm quite eager to see what kind of speed and endurance I can muster over the next two months. It will be a great measure of my post-accident recovery against my past times on the event. Later this summer, I'll also be riding the D2R2 in Western MA.

• May 12 - Princeton 300K
• May 26 - Heightstown 400K [Change of plans - family conflict]
• June 9 - Central/Western NY 400K
• June 23/24 - Westfield 600K
• July 7 - Saratoga 12-hour race [Change of plans - family conflict]
• August 18 - D2R2
• September 8 - NYC 200K

Up next: the BikeNY Five Borough Bike Tour on Sunday. A father-son tradition continues. Stay tuned.

A Little Father-Son Bicycle Commute Makes my Day!

When your 12-year old son asks to ride the 14 miles into school with you one morning, you don't ask questions. It's not that he doesn't like riding so much as he doesn't go out of his way to do it, especially in lieu of sleeping in the back seat of the car. This week is different, though. On May 6, my son and I will be riding together in the 42-mile NYC Five Boro Bike Tour for the third year and I think he's feeling a bit behind in his "training."

The trouble with today's ride was not the distance or the unseasonably cold temperatures. No, the trouble with today's ride is that I decided to try a new route to cut out some city streets in favor of an additional 6-miles of rail trail and things didn't quite go as planned. It turns out that the alternate route contained more hills and traffic than the one I was seeking to avoid. In addition, despite researching directions, we got off track and added a few extra bonus miles to our commute. As a result, we arrived 10 minutes late to morning assembly and I bounded into the theater sans shower wearing my full training kit.  Needless to say, I made an impression. 

The April R-12 Ride: A Change of Plans Keeps me Local.

After planning for several months to initiate my 2012 brevet season with the Princeton (NJ) 200K, I sadly had to "switch gears" and ride a local 200K instead. When I was asked to serve as the MC for my school's annual gala auction on Saturday night by the generous and hardworking chair of the auction committee, I knew that the only appropriate answer was "of course." Originally, I thought this would still allow me the time to ride in the scheduled brevet, drive back to upstate NY, shower, dress and put on my game face. What could go wrong, I asked myself. Wait a second, that's probably not the best way to plan. With a margin that tight, I decided to stay local, eliminate the travel time and still get in my scheduled April R-12 ride.

So at 5:30am, I rolled out of bed, brewed some coffee, suited up and hit the road. The forecast was for midday showers and scattered thunderstorms, so I was sure to ride the new bike with Honjo fenders firmly in place. I also packed my new Showers Pass jacket eager to give it a try. Since one of my permanent routes starts a few miles from my door, I just clipped in a rolled out the driveway as the sun rose over the river. I designed the "Keep the River on your Right 200K" as a way to log winter miles in anticipation of my R-12 attempt. The route basically hugs the Hudson River on both banks, covering well maintained primary roads with very little altitude gain.  It's very hard to ride 200K without hills in this area, but many of the roads I typically cycle on would not be suitable to winter riding after a snow storm.

The downside of a basically two-directional route is that wind often makes one of the legs considerably less pleasant than the other. Yesterday, we had a steady 10-15 mph wind out of the south so the large middle section from Hudson to Beacon was slower and less pleasant than it might otherwise have been. The two river crossings in particular were blustery. It's a good thing there are secure railings on those bridges. Phew! Despite unpleasant winds, the rain never appeared so I was dry throughout the entire day.

In addition to the breathtaking natural beauty, the Hudson Vally is rich in history. On this particular ride, I passed the Vanderbilt Mansion, FDR's home in Hyde Park and the site of New York's first public school. I also rode past Hudson River School artist Frederic Church's home "Olana" and the outstanding modern art museum Dia: Beacon. I wonder how riders would respond to passing through an art museum to find answers for an information control?

Since I had the school's annual auction on my mind as I pedaled through at least 20 towns in which our families live,  it occurred to me that I should really plan an endurance trip taking in every town that sends a child to our school. Not sure how long that one will take, but seeing as we draw from a 30+ mile radius, it will be a good workout for sure.

Spring has sprung!

I can't believe it's been a month since my last post! Things do always seem to get extraordinarily busy in schools as winter turns to spring and this year has been no exception. In other words, I've not been able to ride nearly as much as I would like. I have been able to add some commuting to my routine again, which has been delightful. With various complications brought on by the children I need to get to school and the late meetings and after-school rehearsals I need to shuttle between, it's been hard to ride in more than one or two days each week

In addition, my family and I just spent our spring break on Block Island. Early spring, while the weather is mild and before the tourists invade is one of the best times to take it all in. I made sure to ride every day and while my rides were not as long as I would have liked, the regularity made me feel like a rider again. I concentrated on quick tempo rides and threw in a few sprints here and there in hopes that I might actually improve my speed on the road. We'll see.

My first big event of the season arrives next weekend with the Princeton (NJ) 200K. This brevet is an old favorite filled with quiet roads through historic towns of western New Jersey. There are a few respectable hills along the way and I look forward to catching up with friends and acquaintances that make up the NJ Rando scene. I plan to ride this one at a steady, fast pace making very few stops along the way. I finished in 8:05 in 2010 and while that is an unrealistic goal at this point with my level of fitness, I am eager to see if i can break the 9-hour mark. I'll be sure to pack enough food to ensure that stops require me to stop just long enough to fill water bottles and get my card stamped. I'm eager to take my new Indy Fab out for a ride.

The Flatlander's Delight 200K was a Delight

The best way to celebrate the return of Daylight Savings Time? A long ride, of course. Today was an absolutely ideal day for an early spring 200K permanent. The day started at 31F, but by noon temps were in the 50s and the sunshine was abundant.

Today, Andrey and Bill and I chose to ride the misnamed Flatlander's Delight 200K. With a total gain of over 7000 feet, there's nothing excruciating about the ride, but there are some choppers in the middle to get the blood flowing. One of the best features of the route is the stretch in rural Columbia County. In particular, I love the three miles of dirt roads we get to enjoy.

We stopped for lunch at mile 98 at the Historic Village Diner in Red Hook which is renowned for good food, pleasant service and large helpings.

This was the first time since the December that I've ridden my new Indy Fab. You know, steel frame +  road salt = not good. So with a March 200K in the bag, I'm one step closer to the RUSA R-12 Award. In fact, I'm just three warm, spring months away from completion.

Spoke(n): The Detours Cycling Ambassadors Blog Launches

Detours launched Spoke(n) their new Cycling Ambassadors blog today and my posts will be featured. I plan to post a few updates each week and you can read my first entry at this link.

I'm thrilled to have been asked to blog about my cycling experiences (while spreading the love about randonneuring and bicycle commuting) on their website. The Detours High Tails seat post bag has served me very well over the years, on rides long and extra long, and I'm eager to test other gear they have in the lineup. I'll be sure to share the love here on this blog when I encounter other products that meet a particular rando need.

The Newest Detours Cycling Ambassador

A few weeks ago, I happened upon a notice on the Detours Facebook page soliciting applications for their new "Cycling Ambassadors" program.  It turns out that Detours was looking for some real world cyclists to use and blog about their bags.  This seemed to me like a perfect job. I'm a big fan of Detours bags, having used their High Tails EXP UL as my main brevet bag for a number of years on rides from 200K to 1400K with satisfaction, so I'm optimistic that I'll like their other bags as well.

I've also had very positive interactions with the Detours staff. When I needed to replace my previous bag after it was taco-ed during my accident, the folks at Detours were most agreeable about offering me a replacement at cost. I love a company that not only makes good products, but also stands behind their work and bends over backwards to replace damaged goods.

The other day I was notified that I was accepted as one of 13 Detours Cycling Ambassadors from all over the US (and Asia!) Here's the deal - Detours sends me some bags. I use them and write about my experiences on a special blog set up for this purpose in the Detours site. Not a bad arrangement, I must say.

While their new range is not designed specifically with the randonneur or endurance cyclist in mind, there are quite a few bags that look like they will be easy to put to good use. These will probably be most useful for commuting to and from work and riding around town on errands of one type or another. I eagerly await the package from Seattle and will be sure to let you know how it goes.

February's R12 Ride: Cooking While Riding.

I created the "Keep the River on Your Right" 200K permanent as an insurance policy against terrible winter weather as I seek out the R12 Award. I figured that a flat route on primary roads with wide shoulders is a good thing to have up your sleeve during the long, snowy Upstate NY winters. Little did I know, winter would skip us this year, yet it's great to have this ride in the rotation anyway, just in case. It's hard to believe, but with eight months and December, January and February under my belt, the hardest part of the R12 may be behind me.

This route starts near my house on the Western shore of the Hudson River and heads north along several Western byways keeping the river in sight much of the way, crosses the Rip Van Winkle Bridge at Catskill-Hudson, heads south along SR 9 through the farms and towns of Red Hook, Rhinebeck and Poughkeepsie en route to Beacon where we cross the river again alongside semis on the US 84 bridge. After that, we keep the river in view along scenic and historic River Rd. and then scoot up 9W to the Highland Rail Trail and home.

Perhaps the best thing about the ride today was the fact that after a little pre-dawn slicing and dicing, I was able to leave ingredients for chili in the Crock Pot for a full 10 hours to cook all the while I was turning the cranks. Now that's my kind of cooking!

Andrey crossing the RipVan Winkle Bridge.

The Beacon-Newburgh Bridge has a bit different feel to it.

The obligatory panda shot. My first 200K with the new Rapha Classic Softshell. What a jacket! Love the technical features - vents under the arms came in handy as the day warmed up.

Nothing hits the spot after a cold 200K than a plate of hot chile!

Just four more months to go until sweet R12 success!