the nlec blog

2011 Year in Review

2011-12-31T20:11:00.006-05:00

Time to pick out a few highlights from my 2011 rides and runs!

1. Snowball Run 5K

Surprised myself having such a great run, long after I figured the marathon training had left my legs.

2. Highlander Cycle Tour

Almost didn't happen after major flooding from hurricane Irene, but made it to the ride and enjoyed an epic day on the bike.

3. MBC Group Ride - Snake Hill and Stillwell
Can't remember feeling so strong on a ride! Nabbed the Yellow and Polka Dot virtual jerseys, although some regulars were missing. Could have gone even harder, wish I could have bottled this energy for a rainy day!

4. Wantagh Park Duathlon

My first ever 1st place (age group M45-49) in a race! Felt great!

5. Long Island Marathon

Fulfilled a childhood dream of running this marathon. Although I didn't achieve my 4 hour goal, it was so close (24 seconds!) and a 25 minute PR compared to the Wineglass marathon. Already started training for the 2012 edition, marathon number three!

Cannondale Supersix 3: First Ride Report

2011-10-30T14:06:00.011-04:00

Picked up the new bike from Mineola Bike yesterday afternoon in the middle of a freak October snow storm. In the shop, on the trainer during the BG Fit with Barry, watching the snow and rain pelting outside, I didn't expect to be out on the road with the bike for at least another week. This morning, woke up early to icy roads and high winds. MBC group ride cancelled. Went back for a few more minutes of sleep, then out for a 2.5 mile run with Linda. Sunny, clear blue skies, and the roads starting to clear, I decided to get kitted up for the inaugural ride on the Supersix. I was anxious to see how it handled, see how "smooth" a carbon ride really is, and especially to see how I would feel in a completely new riding position. Here are my impressions after one 40 mile ride.

Frame/Fork: 2012 Cannondale Supersix 3 Ultegra. 54 cm carbon versus my old 56 cm aluminum. Ride quality is superb! The carbon really does soak up the road vibrations. BB30 bottom bracket is really stiff. Very noticeable when standing to climb, no shimmy in the cranks or rear wheel.. Shaped tubes are bigger than steel and aluminum (especially the HUGE downtube) but overall I think the bike has good lines.

Groupset: Tried and true Shimano Ultegra 6700 10 speed. Full groupset (including chain) except for the crank. Shift levers and hoods are differently shaped than the 105 9 speed I am used to but still comfortable. Smooth operating and shifting as expected. Cassette is Ultegra 12-25. I may switch to a cassette with 11 for racing next spring since I am running a compact 50/34 crank. Need to work out the gear inches compared to what I could get on the triple to make sure I can get up big hills of the Highlander. Just need time in the saddle to get used to 2x10 gears instead of 3x9.

Crank/Pedals: FSA SL-K 50/34 compact carbon crank. Was concerned about possible flex in the carbon arms but sure felt stiff enough to me. BB30 system has many theoretical benefits: lighter (hollow spindle, no external cups), stiff 30 mm diameter hollow spindle, more widely spaced bearings, low Q factor. I had no problems so I guess it is doing its job! Bearings seem more exposed than on some other systems so will keep an eye on them. Should be easy to replace in a few years if needed. Went with Shimano R-540 pedals. These are the low end of Shimano's road race line but I've used them for years with ZERO problems. Also, same ones on the Specialized so no issues in switching bikes and using the same shoes. Not light but durable, dependable, and good value for the price.

Saddle: Fizik Arione with magnesium rails. Basically the same saddle I've used the last 3 years and have been happy with. Seems less padded than my old Arione and lacks the brushed leather center strip. Was fine after one ride. I think it should break in a little more after some more rides. Has the same integrated saddle bag clip system as my other Fizik, which is a plus.

Bars/Stem/Seatpost: Aluminum bars (44 cm) and stem (100 mm). As per my BG fit, recommendation was for 42 cm bars and 90 mm stem. I felt fine with the current setup and think I will keep it as is. Especially when riding in the drops, I don't want the bars any closer. Carbon seatpost, no issues. BG fit says I could be a little more forward in my saddle position but I am already as far forward as the seatpost allows and I'm happy where it is. Sometimes I feel like I would like the saddle further back but I think I need a few more rides to decide.

Wheels: Mavic Ksyrium Equipe came with the bike and seem to be a solid set of training wheels. Low end of the Ksyrium line, aluminum rims, bladed straight-pull spokes. The wheels are on the heavy side, but hopefully should be durable enough for LI roads. I might try switching in my Easton Circuits at some point if they are compatible with 10 speed cassette. Race wheels will have to wait a while, I've blown the bike budget for now.

Overall ride impression, very positive (of course). Very smooth ride. Like buttah! The bike feels light and launches when standing on the pedals. I could not discern any "bounce" in the carbon seat stays. I was warned about this possibility for heavier riders but I could not feel anything, maybe was an issue for pre-2012 models. Riding on the hoods, very comfortable in my new position. Not stretched out as much when reaching for the shift levers. Took longer to get used to lower position in the drops but by the end of the ride it was feeling very comfortable. Cleat position changed significantly. Finally, my feet are pointed straight and knees feel okay. Will take some miles for the muscles to acclimate, I didn't feel like I had 100% power but it may have been the wind on the ride today. Will be interesting to see how I feel on the next group ride. I SHOULD be in a more efficient pedaling stance so we will see how things feel after a few more rides. Plenty of gearing to get myself over the LI-style "hills".

Bike looks killer and the ride is great. Looking forward to putting the miles on!

A Colorado Rider Compares The Highlander vs. The Triple Bypass

2011-05-14T16:10:00.003-04:00

John Y. cresting Bopple Hill in the 2009 Highlander. Photo by Pyzahl.

From the Highlander facebook wall:

Looking Forward To It Yet?

This is something I was inspired to write about my favorite sufferfest. Enjoy, and I'd love to hear your stories too!

***(best read with a beer in hand)***

What’s it like to ride the Highlander vs. the Triple Bypass in Colorado? At first glance, they’re similar – about 120 miles (the Triple is 120, and the 2010 Highlander is 129 miles). Riders “enjoy” approximately 10,000’ of elevation gain on the Triple, 11K on the Highlander – also known as Death Before Dismount. Both rides are extremely well organized, the scenery is breathtaking, the camraderie strong... And that, my friends, is where the similarity ends.

The Triple Bypass has altitude and relentlessly long climbs over three mountain passes plus another “bump” just for fun. Basically, you start on one side of the Continental Divide, go up and over, and down the other side. Riders often experience frequent severe weather and sudden, dramatic changes in temperature (it’s not uncommon to see a forty degree change in the course of two hours).

The Highlander might seem mellower because the environment isn’t as extreme, but there’s a little extra kick in the Highlander that the Triple doesn’t have. Hills that go straight up. As in ‘rocket-launch’ straight up. Anyone expecting midwestern-style undulations is in for one hell of a rude surprise.

OK, who builds roads like this - roads that for no sane reason are completely vertical??? In Colorado we call them ski runs and we go down, as gravity intended!!

Look at Bristol Mountain from the parking lot, where the Highlander starts… and imagine pavement under the chairlift. That’s what they call roads in upstate NY!

Anybody from Colorado would tell you, you’re an idiot if you have a driveway that steep. For those who have gravity-defying driveways out here, a 4x4 truck with a permanently-attached snow plow is not a luxury, but the only way to get the groceries home. Driveways become bobsled runs in winter (and during mud season too, thanks to our baby-poo sticky clay soil), often negotiated sideways at awkward angles that cause flatlander visitors to gasp uncontrollably and grab their knees in white-knuckle terror.

But… even the most idiotic driveways in Colorado generally employ an obviously little-known-in-upstate-New-York engineering secret called “switchbacks”.

But noooooo, the Finger Lakes road builders figured the most efficient way to get from A to B was to draw a straight line from A to B. But there’s the issue of topography (well, I consider it an issue). Not these guys. 23% hill in the way? Bah, no problem! The fastest way to get from here to there is a straight line, duh.

So geniuses that they are, that’s what they did. Straight line from A to B. Obviously the best way.

Yes. In a car.

And that of course begs the question… who in their right minds would ride a bicycle up these roads??

Umm… I would. I, among many other “enthusiasts”. For reasons of our own, we are compelled to prove to ourselves and the world that because a hill is there, we can ride it. Not that that’s necessarily the “smart” thing to do. It’s just what we do. Again and again. We don’t cower and hide. We may whine and whimper, but we resolutely point our bikes at the hills and attack.

“As long as I live, I attack.” – Bernard Hinault

Background on me: I love climbing. Really, truly love to go higher and higher on a bike. It’s pure zen. I live in Colorado, at almost 7,000 feet above sea level and many of my training rides routinely take me from 6,000 to 11,000 feet (and back down). Altitude doesn’t begin to affect me at all until I get to treeline, locally around 12,000 feet. Climbing big mountain passes is a piece of cake. They’re long, but gradual. No big deal. They’re my backyard rides.

Yeah, and then I go ride the Highlander and I’m humbled, big time.

There is no county-maintained road in Colorado that exceeds 18% and those are exceptionally rare. Most of our climbs are in the 6% range – sure, they can go on for 16+ miles… but once you settle into your rhythm and learn to effectively utilize every available molecule of oxygen, you’re golden. It’s almost like riding on auto pilot when you get in the groove. But, no such luxury in the Highlander.

The Highlander can and should be considered an extreme ride. The Triple Bypass is tough. But the Highlander? Insane. Wonderfully insane.

When you break it down into its components, riding the Highlander is riding intervals all day long. Max effort, max recovery. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

I’m an endurance rider. A diesel. Point me in a direction and say “go”, and I go. For me, the Highlander is a challenge of epic proportions – to keep on going despite rarely finding my groove because (like mountain biking) there is no groove. You just have to keep going. No matter what.

There is one hill I must mention, the infamous Bopple Hill. No matter where it comes in the ride, it’s going to hurt you, guaranteed. 12-22% for a mile. Conquer Bopple, and you’ve conquered yourself.

Here’s my experience:

One minute I’m cruising along a scenic lakefront… in the 53x11… not even breathing hard… Yes, I know “it” (Bopple Hill) is coming, but in my mind I have my eyes closed and hands firmly clasped over my ears, singing “lalala, I can’t see it, lalala, total denial, lalala, this ride is easy, lalala!”

And then the road warps into an insane Escher drawing. My mind can’t really wrap itself around this strange phenomenon. Why would somebody just fold one corner of the road up like that? Why?

Who folds roads into origami swans?

My first reaction is a very un-ladylike expletive pertaining to procreation. Then, a drastic and sudden downshift, chain skipping over teeth as I desperately make the switch to the 39T and hunt for the third-from smallest cog. Pride, people, pride… (goeth before the fall, yeah, I know, whatever).

I silently thank Our Lady of Shimano that my derailleur didn’t snap off and the chain is still in one piece. I guess thanks are relative at this point. The fact that I did not experience catastrophic equipment malfunction means I am now stuck riding this thing. Oh goody.

I hammer out the first couple feet of Bopple out of the saddle, aware of a rather alarming drop in velocity despite my best efforts to continue the 20+ mph pace I had been carrying at the lakefront.

Within seconds the remaining two gears are ejected in favor of the only slightly less painful granny. I feel the deceleration, but before I succumb to the black hole pull of the bottom of Bopple, I sit back down and power up the hill in the granny gear.

Ha ha, power up in the granny gear. I have to laugh. Stupid oxymoron.

(For what it’s worth, I like big gears. I don’t ride a triple. Don’t need one in Colorado. The Highlander is the one and only ride where I wish I had a third chainring. Really, really wish.)

But there’s no time for this kind of thinking. Fully in the moment, fully in the pain of this abrupt climbing experience. Not ‘climbing’ as in ‘ascending’, like I do at home (a 3,500’ climb at home is a 16-mile pleasant romp at 4% that generally takes about an hour-fifteen). Here, it’s medieval torture. This is climbing as in “trying to scale a wall while being pulled backwards by an angry mob.”

I crane my neck to impossible angles just to catch a glimpse of the top – depressingly not yet visible. I know better than to look! It’s smarter just to look down and keep pedaling. I push on. I think I smell something burning, accompanied by a dull realization that my legs seem to have caught fire. Hmmm. If they fry, I won’t have to do this. No such luck. Somebody’s having a barbecue, watching the carnage on the hill. That, or I’m hallucinating. Legs intact but screaming, I push on.

“Death….before….dismount….” I chant silently, each breath keeping in cadence with my pedal stroke. Cadence? That’s laughable. Cadence implies forward movement. I went from a nice, comfortable 98 rpm to… 30. 20 mph to… 2. When, when will my rhythm come??? It dawns on me, it won’t. There will be no rhythm. Nothing but the pain of keeping the bike upright and forcing it forward.

There is no “settling in” to a climb like this. It’s nothing but brute force all the way up. I’m a girl, dang it, I don’t have to do this! Oh yes I do. Dang it. Fight the tractor-beam pull of the bottom! Fight it! Go! Go! Go!

There’s a slight break as the road levels out to 12%. A slight giggle because I’m somewhat shocked that I consider 12% a relief.

And then the real fun begins, the real climb, where it kicks up a couple of notches to over 20%. The Escher drawing that is this road twists into yet another mutated shape where ‘up’ and ‘down’ are equally daunting. Those of us with a (healthy) deathly fear of heights do NOT look down.

It’s remarkably difficult to keep a bicycle upright at very slow speeds. I am amazed at the acrobat-like agility that allows me to balance on tires less than 1” wide for what feels like eternity. I try to keep my upper body relatively still, bobbing up and down rather than side-to-side to minimize the metronome-like pumping that threatens to tip bicycle and rider over.

At some point that extra movement became a necessity. I bob a little more, pumping unseen energy into my legs. It’s a miracle of physics that I do not stall! How the hell is it possible that I’m still moving forward (sort of) and still upright (barely)? I know the sight must be both comical and incredible at the same time…

Time loses all meaning on Bopple. There is only the NOW, the zen and the suffering of the moment.

Random thoughts. Why am I not going anywhere? Why is it that I’m able to read every single name painted on the road? Am I going that slow? I’m thirsty. I hate this. Why do my frickin’ triceps hurt? When do I ever use my triceps on a road ride? I think my handlebars are gonna snap if I pull any harder. I wonder if I can catch that guy? I can’t believe I just thought that!! Amazing how those miniature chain pins can support this kind of load. Oh, look, there’s my name! I love this! Oww, sweat in my eyes! Hey, I can hear the bagpiper! Wow, I can feel my heart beat in my hands! I want this to stop! But no! I can do it! This is so stupid. Grape. Pie. Grape. Pie. Really. Yummy. Grape. Pie. There is no room in my head for idle chitchat. This is serious stuff!

If nothing else, I’m too stubborn to stop.

Riders ahead of me zigzag in tandem, engaged in their own struggle to ascend the evil Bopple. There’s a grace in two cyclists undulating back and forth across the road, much like skiers whose tracks rhythmically cross each other’s as they silently glide (downhill, having fun) through the powder. Only there is no silence here, only creaking of components and gasping of breath…

Some riders sit or stand relatively quietly on their bike, pointing their bikes skyward with grim determination, legs pumping up-down-up-down. Others engage in an epic wrestling match with their machine, bodies and bikes rocking and jerking, simply willing themselves to continue. A few walk, for the moment defeated by the hill. I catch only glimpses of other riders’ ascents as I concentrate on the pavement in front of my wheel. Don’t wanna look at the top. Don’t wanna see how far I have to go. It never gets closer!

I imagine this is about the point where people either get religion or make a pact with the devil. Or, if you’re like me, Phil Liggett comes into the announcer’s booth in my head with commentary worthy of the best Tour de France mountain stages. “Oh, it’s all she can do to keep those legs ticking over!” or “He’s cracked! He’s going backwards and she passes him like a freight train headed for the station! There’s no stopping her now! She’s won the stage and possibly the maillot jaune!” and “What an incredible effort on this most difficult of the mountain stages!”

Seriously. What would I do without Phil?

I see the top, but it never gets closer (okay, this happens back home when I’m climbing Mt Evans, too). Must. Keep. Going. Oh. God. This. Hurts. (This puny little one-mile hill hurts so much more than the whole of Mt Evans, which summits at 14,200+ feet above sea level).

So why is it so much FUN???

Near the top, spectators cheer me on. Somehow it works. My ego kicks in when I see them. A smile/grimace and somehow, I find that last little bit of oomph and give them – not me – a little extra. It’s a miracle.

The chant comes into my head again – “Death. Before. Dismount.” Each word a sentence unto itself, each eloquently expressive of suffering and determination.

Phil Liggett is thankfully still there, too, urging me on, imploring me to reach deep into my suitcase of courage. Huh. Did I pack that?

Go. Go. Go. C’mon, legs. Go!

With a final lung-exploding burst of effort, I clear the top. Keep rolling. Keep the legs spinning or they’ll seize up… grab a drink. Breathe. Got lungs?

I slump a little on my bike and roll down the road, a sense of triumphant accomplishment mixing with agonized breaths. Recover quick! I am aware of my heart beating slower now, relaxing back into a sustainable, sub-911 level. Thanks, body, thanks, bike. You did it again.

I almost neglected to mention the inevitable question, during most of the climb up Bopple Hill: Why do I do this every year? Why?!?

Einstein said that insanity is doing the same things over and over and expecting different results. I must be a bottle or two short of a six-pack, a couple of tacos short of a combination plate. Do I really think this will ever be any easier? Why do I hate it so much? Why do I love it so much? Why do I keep coming back year after year for more torture – and more fun?

Because I can.

Because there is something about the Highlander. This ride, this challenge, is above and beyond anything. This ride truly has the ability to strip away everything but one’s essence. This is where you find out what you’re made of.

Legs of steel, baby!

Mind of pudding, but hey… damn determined pudding.

Stay in the moment, never mind what’s coming, I say to myself. But the internal chatter kicks in – “but wait, there’s more hills like Bopple, more insanely folded roads that you are going to ride! (Whine, whimper). Don’t you wanna go home?”

No. I want to ride. Up, down, up, down. Just because. The origami ride.

YES! Let’s ROLL!

***looking forward to seeing you all in September!

Jarmila Gorman

Snuck One In, Between Snow Storms

2011-02-01T19:45:00.003-05:00

Cruising the LIE service road with Mineola Bike Club.

9W Ride Mashup

2011-01-18T08:04:00.003-05:00

Marathon Training Begins/New Cycling Team

2011-01-15T20:39:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow will cap off week 3 of 18 for marathon training. I'm following Hal Higdon's Intermediate training plan with the goal of a sub-4 hour time for this year's Long Island Marathon. Training is going well so far, though these first few weeks have been on the light side in terms of total mileage. Just trying to stay patient and let the buildup happen slowly.

Been using my new Garmin Forerunner 410 to track my runs and rides since Christmas. Its fun to look at the stats generated and very useful to get the routes and mileage tracked.

On the bike front, had a nice ride with Dan A. and a few of the MBC group on route 9W this morning. Nice route and will be even better once the weather gets better...and I get into better fitness! Renewed my racing license last week and decided to race in the Mineola Bike Club colors this year. No problems with EECT but MBC is closer for me and I've ended up riding with them more often over the past 12 months. Picked up my jersey today, getting excited to do some racing again.

2010 Year in Review

2010-12-31T14:38:00.002-05:00

As I did last year around this time, I though back over a year's worth of rides (and runs!) and picked out a few highlights.

1. Thw Wineglass Marathon
Number one on the list has to be running my first marathon. This is something that had been in the back of my mind since I was a kid and my Dad took us over to stand at the side of the Wantagh Parkway and watch the runners of the Long Island Marathon go by. In those days it went all the way to Jones Beach. Later, in high school, some of us from the band would bring our instruments to the side of the road and play songs to encourage the runners. I always thought that was something I would do one day.

2. Catskills Cycling Trip
A fantastic 6-day cycling immersion with great friends from EECT, SBRA, and the Early Birds. Beautiful country roads, challenging hills, and quality hours on the bike with friends. Will never forget it!

3. 2010 Highlander Cycle Tour
Such a hard day on the bike, but so great to do it again!

4. Transitioning
Finally, very much enjoying some North Shore winter rides with Mike and Rob from the Brands group.

Pounding the Pavement

2010-12-11T22:16:00.003-05:00

Continuing my weekly regimen of alternating pre-work runs and rides. Really enjoying the weekend North Shore bike rides with Mike and Rob, and a special one last week with Dan and the Mineola Bike Club. New chain and brake pads on the Specialized two weeks ago has the bike running nice and smooth. Would love to get in some longer rides but its starting to get colder. Maybe we'll get lucky with a couple of warmer days here and there.

I took the opportunity to sign up for two short running races to close out the season. Last Saturday, I did the Seaford Hot Chocolate 5k after getting back from a nice getaway to Lake Placid with Linda for our 20th Anniversary. Was pleasantly surprised to run it in a 7:21 pace, a PR for me. This morning, had another nice run at the Snowball Run 5-mile race, at a 7:29 pace. I guess the 3-4 days of running each week is paying off.

Snowball Run 2010, I am #255.

Looks like tomorrow might be a trainer day if the rainy forecast hold true.
In a couple of weeks, the marathon training begins...again!

Transitioning

2010-11-07T13:49:00.004-05:00

Now that the the big push for the marathon is over, I've started transitioning into winter "maintenance" mode. Trying to get into a routine for a couple of months before I decide where the next cycling/running focus should be. Probably will be the Bratwurst Century in April or May, and possibly taking another shot at the LI Marathon in early May. There is plenty of time to decide.

For the past few weeks I've been getting my 45 minutes of running or cycling in before work, then some longer efforts on the weekends. Did a couple of 13 milers running and some 50-60 mile rides. I've really been looking forward to some early morning Sunday rides to the North Shore with Mike and Rob. Great workouts! We met Jimmy today and went out to Centre Island, somewhere I've never been before.

Mike took this photo of us at a short nutrition break in Centre Island. From left, me, Jimmy, and Rob.

Here is the route from Mike's Garmin.

Signed up for the Snowball Run 5-miler in December. Hopefully a little warmer than last year's 23F!

Wineglass Marathon 2010

2010-10-04T21:48:00.001-04:00

After the seed was first planted about a year ago, everything finally came together so that I could run my first marathon. There have been lots of obstacles along the way, the biggest being a recurring calf injury that first struck a week before my first planned marathon attempt, back in May. I took three weeks off of running after that initial setback but it had come back to interrupt my training plans two or three more times since then, requiring one or two week gaps without being able to run, or several days of reduced mileage.

Besides the threat of injury, I also wanted to maintain my cycling proficiency and do my usual handful of races, several centuries, regular group rides, and my traditional big goal of the year, the Highlander Cycle tour.

There is no need to go into the day-by-day recount here, but I’ll summarize by saying my marathon training buildup and taper deviated significantly from what I planned. That said, I did get myself to the start line this past Sunday morning, ready to give it a go. Here’s how it played out:

We drove up to Corning on Saturday morning after I ran one last 2.2 miler to loosen up the legs. As I got my things together on Saturday night in preparation for race day, I decided to go for a 4 hr 15 min race goal, which is 9:44 pace. The Wineglass was offering pacing this year and I figured I would start out with the 9:44 group and see how I felt. If it was too much, I could drop back with the 10:18 pace group (4 hr 30 min marathon time). The weather report was calling for morning temperature of 39F, with 30% chance of showers, so I elected to start off wearing cap and gloves, three layers on top (short sleeve thin base, long sleeve base, sleeveless shirt with my number pinned on. Just the old regular running shorts, socks, and Nikes.

On race day, I got up at 5:00 AM, got dressed and had breakfast of oatmeal, banana, and coffee. Linda gave me a ride down to Main Street and dropped me off around 6:15. I hopped on one of the waiting school buses that were transporting runners from Corning to the race start in Bath. We were there in 30 minutes, plenty of time before the 8:00 AM start. I hydrated with a bottle of water, then a bottle of sports drink, visited the porta-potty, peeled off my sweats, dropped off my bag in the truck to take it back to Corning, and headed to the start area with about 10 minutes to spare. I was so happy to see Linda and the girls there! They drove over from Corning to see me start, and it really meant a lot to see them there. I found the 9:44 pace group, picked a spot in the crowd and waited to go.

We started off at 8:00 and there were the usual hesitations up to the start line before we could actually start running. I was relieved that the pace was very comfortable and I felt like I was off to a good start. After a couple of miles, I was warmed up and the early cold temperatures were no issue at all. By mile 4, we were at our second water station and headed up the first of two short hills on the course. I was making a point of grabbing a cup of water or Gatorade (or both) at every water station as the last thing I wanted was to dehydrate and cramp up. Our pacer advised that we would “fast walk” through the water stations so everyone would have a chance to hydrate and easily get back with the group. I saw Linda and the girls there and ditched my gloves.

The first few miles were going fast with the excitement of actually running my first marathon. The roads were very familiar since I’ve biked over most of them the many times we’ve visited family in Corning and Hammondsport. I think it was around mile 9 when we ran through a huge, enthusiastic crown in Savona. It was really a thrill! I saw Linda and the girls again and handed off my hat. The sun was out now and it was getting a bit warmer. Perfect temps for a long run. Still feeling very comfortable with the pace, no major complaints from my calf, I even carried the pace sign for a mile through some very quiet back roads.

As we approached the halfway point, our pacer found that we were 2 minutes ahead of our target, so she slowed up a bit. I felt good so I kept my pace. Myself, and a few others, drifted off the front. I figured I might as well keep it going while I felt good and that the pace group would certainly catch me back up later. By now, I was really warm and soaked with sweat, so I pulled off my middle long-sleeve layer, and dropped it off with Linda the next time I saw them.
By mile 19, I started feeling some fatigue in the legs and was realizing the farthest I’d ever run was 20 miles, and I was about the hit that point. This was also about the time the pace group caught up to me. This time, when I tried to hang on, it was a struggle. By the time mile 20 rolled by, I was a good 400 yards back from them and I knew the rest of the marathon I’d be on my own. Obviously 4:15 was not going to happen and I set my mind on the fact that I was in “new territory” and just needed to conserve energy to get to the finish. I passed runners in 1’s and 2’s, other runners passed me. Sometimes someone would come by me and a half-mile later I would come back by them as they stopped to walk.

I began to look for the mile markers, “Ok, 5 miles to go, I do that every morning before work, I can make it.” “Four miles to go, okay only another 40 minutes max.” “Three miles, less than a 5K.” And so on. The few spectators must know that the runners are struggling at this point and I constant heard “You’re almost there, you can make it!” My legs were so numb I had to consciously think about picking them up and putting them down. At mile 25, I turned the corner and saw the big glass Corning Incorporated building, and I knew I had it! I pushed as hard as I could but I’m sure that it was no more than a shuffle to anyone watching.

As I came over the footbridge for the final ¼ mile, I spotted my family, then the finish line. With relief, I stepped over it and heard the “chirp” of the electronic timer register my finish. My niece Mia was volunteering and she presented me with my finisher medal and gave me a hug. They handed me a bottle of water and wrapped me in a silver mylar blanket. It was done! Unbelievably, I made it! My legs were like jello, so we found a place to sit, and I forced down a little square of pizza, but I was too drained to eat. Riverside Park was a sea of silver mylar, blue glass discs, and Dri-fit. We sat for a while to soak it all in then slowly got up and made our way to head home for me to shower and have a celebratory lunch. My legs ached like never before but it just proved to myself that I had actually run a marathon.

It was an amazing day!

2010 Tour of the Hamptons

2010-09-27T08:51:00.001-04:00

Did the Tour of the Hamptons century ride yesterday. Great weather and a large, fast peleton made for a good ride out on Long Island’s south fork. I had been off the bike for two weeks, trying to get my “running legs” back in time for the Wineglass Marathon. Before this weekend, I had run 9 out of the previous 10 days, and only skipped the one day because of a late night getting home from work. On the last run (Friday morning), I started getting some calf pain and felt a bit drained. With the century on Sunday, I did I nice group ride with the Brands crew on Saturday to get used to the bike again and give the legs a break from running.

I had plans to ride with the Early Birds group at ToH, as I do every year. This was the first century ride I had ever completed, back in 2003, and I’ve done it every year since. Had a quick breakfast at home and drove out to Southampton for the 7:30 AM start. It was great to see everyone there from both the Brands team and the ‘Birds. Our big group pulled out on time, I’m guessing we started with 40-50 riders.

We had our first flat at mile 5, but that was it for the day! A pretty good statistic considering the large group and the mileage. As we got warmed up the pace gradually ramped up from the high teens to the low/mid 20’s. And it stayed there, on the mostly flat roads out to the first rest stop. Everyone’s legs were still fresh with just 35 miles in, so the stop was a quick one and we soon departed for the second leg of the ride, out-and-back to Montauk point.

We made short work of the hills out to the lighthouse, the group staying mostly together. It got really exciting at the turnaround when we got the tailwind. Forty riders, single file, 36 MPH = AWESOME! At the second rest stop, we had 57 miles logged and took a little more time to give everyone a chance to refuel. Heading back west now, we got into some rolling hills for the next 15 miles. At this point, my recent lack of riding seemed to become apparent and I got dropped off the back around mile 70. I was on my own for 7 or 8 miles then hooked up two more riders who also dropped off the main group. We worked together for another few miles to the final rest stop at mile 84. We were pleasantly surprised to rejoin the big group there!

With 20 miles left, we resumed at a good pace. Hitting some more hills, I started to yo-yo off again along with 6 or 7 other riders. When the road flattened, I dug deep and went into time-trial mode and bridged back over about ¼ mile gap on my own. After that, there were no problems hanging with the group for the rest of the ride. So, 104 miles at a rather brisk 20.4 MPH average.

Turned out to be a great day for riding, and a welcome chance to reconnect with my EB friends. I think the Massapequa Bike club has finally perfected this route, eliminating the busy Noyack section that put us on a busy narrow road with lots of annoyed drivers.

Highlander 2010 Ride Report

2010-09-12T07:51:00.014-04:00

Rode the Highlander Cycle Tour, once again, in upstate New York's Finger Lakes region. For the last few incarnations, they have been changing the route each year. For 2010, they turned the ride into a double metric century and visited two of the Finger Lakes, Canandaigua and Keuka. Still 10,000 ft. of climbing though (although one rider I met on the route said it was more like 11,000 ft., according to his GPS).

Great weather this year, a chilly start at 45F, but it gradually warmed up to 72F by the afternoon. Last year we missed out on some of the great views in the area due to heavy mist that hung around for most of the day. This time, lots and lots of sunshine. Hardly any wind, so just about ideal conditions. Two benefits of the dry roads: first, no flats this year (I also put fresh Gatorskins on the bike a couple of weeks ago), second, I could really bomb down the descents, over 50 MPH in two sections!

After a pre-ride breakfast of oatmeal and coffee, I left Corning at about 5:30 AM for the ride to Bristol Mountain. I picked up my ride number and joined the other riders in the chilly pre-dawn to put the bike together and get kitted up.

The weather was great and as the sun rose over the hills (and we starting climbing over the hills) things warmed up nicely!

We started climbing right away and within the first 20 miles or so we had already hit three testing climbs, the third being Gannett Hill. Here is a photo of some riders cresting Gannett.

As a bonus, there happened to also be a rest stop on top of the hill.

The Highlander is a challenging ride, but the payoff is riding through some magnificent scenery and breathtaking views. Photos cannot possibly do it justice, but here are a few examples:

As I got to Hammondsport and started climbing around Keuka Lake, the air was sweet with the smell of grapes ready for harvest.

After a steep climb to Bully Hill Vinyards at mile 64, I met up with my family who were spending the day in the area buying local wine, picking apples, sampling grape pie, and getting ice cream. Here I am with my nephew Brian and my daughter Tina.

Cruising around Keuka!

Another meetup at mile 80, just before heading out to the bluff:

From mile 90, after the climb to Skyline Drive at the end of the bluff, the miles and the climbing began to tell on the legs a bit and I really began to focus on conserving enough energy to get through to the finish. Climbing in really low gears, keeping the legs spinning. After a much needed final rest stop at mile 110, and a final long climb up Greisha Rd. I made a fast descent to the finish back at Bristol Mountain Ski Resort.

Again, I met my family there and they kept me company while I picked up my swag bag (including a bottle of local wine!), changed into civies, and had the included post ride meal and slice of grape pie. We sat outside and listed to a blues band for a while, enjoying the beautiful day.

No question, it was a hard ride, but I really like the new route. We'll see what they have in store for next year.

Late Season Plan

2010-09-05T13:47:00.002-04:00

Had a nice summer of riding and running. After the disappointment of missing the LI Marathon with my calf injury, I focused on the bike for a while. I got reacquainted with the Brands group and now have found that everyone has upped their game! I used to look forward to this ride as a Saturday warm-up before the intense Sunday Early Birds. No more! Although I haven't been there every week, there has almost always been a strong break going away on the LIE service road at the first hill. Really fun and an opportunity to stretch the legs. More importantly, a friendly and supportive group of riders.

Also have been making sporadic appearances at the Mineola bike club's Sunday rides. This has been a nice alternative on Sunday mornings. Usually I would do around 20 miles solo, ride the 10 miles to the ride start, do the club ride, then a few more miles solo back home. Put all together, its a nice 60-80 mile ride with the hard climbing sections on the North Shore. Again, a nice bunch of riders, too.

Really enjoyed the couple of times I tagged along with Mike W. to the Little Neck (Triangle) ride. We rode to Little Neck (yes, there is a triangular-shaped park that is the official meeting point) to start with the earlier, slower group. First few miles is quite slow as everyone chats and catches up, but the intensity gradually increases as the ride heads east. By the time the group heads north to the hills, its game on! Seems a little safer on this ride than the Saturday AM full-bore race ride that I used to do a couple of years ago.

On the running front, there have been ups and downs. Waiting now for an upswing (I hope). I suddenly realized at the end of July that the Wineglass marathon was approaching in two months and that I'd better start to actually train for it! I found an 18-week training guide and devised my own modified version of it, starting at week 10, hoping I had preserved some fitness from my early season training. I actually ramped up pretty well, after 5 weeks I ran a 20-miler! We went away for a family vacation for a week but I was able to do some early morning runs while away, including a 10-miler.

Now for the down swing! I broke training and did a 40 mile bike ride last Saturday, my normal long running day. Tried to run the next day and and ended up pulling my calf muscle again after just 3-4 miles. Oh no, not again! It wasn't as bad as last time so I figured I would rest it for a few days and then pick up the training plan again. Rode the bike 3 days, then tried to run. Made it through 3 miles but I think I made the injury worse!

Decision time. I have the Highlander century next weekend, so I'm planning to take a whole week off from running and put my efforts into the bike until after the Highlander. This may not turn out to be such a bad thing. After yesterday's and today's ride, I am realizing how much cycling fitness I've lost with all my emphasis on running this past month.

I'll have to see how quickly I can get back into the running groove after next week. I will only have 3 weeks until the marathon, one of which is supposed to be a taper. Not ideal by any means, but there is no real alternative. Gotta try!

Gold Coast Century 2010 Ride Report

2010-07-11T19:25:00.002-04:00

Rode from home to Greenlawn for the start of today's Gold Coast Century. This is probably the hilliest century ride on LI (haven't done the Harbor's Ride yet, which also looks to include a number of hills as well). Planned on meeting some East End riders to start the ride officially at 7:30 AM. Got there a bit too early (6:35 AM) but took my time registering, picking up my ride t-shirt and catching up with some fellow riders. Saw Mike W. and Bob from the Brands ride who were riding with Guy, also from the Brands ride.

The East End group swelled to 20+ riders but was delayed getting started. John Y., John S., Phil, Ralph, and I soft pedaled the first 5 miles or so until the big group caught us. We continued on together, skipping the first rest stop, up to the second rest stop. We five stopped but the big group, surprisingly kept on going. In a way, I am kind of glad. There was a bit too much aggressive and nervous riding in the big group for my liking. Best to save this for the race course, not crowded roads filled with cars and potholes. Secondly, the next rest stop was at mile 50. I was concerned that in the high heat and humidity, that was a little too far with just two bottles, one of which was already half empty from my 20-mile ride to the start.

We five made the stop, seeing the Brands group there, too. Loading up on sports drink, water, PB&J, and bananas, we soon left the Oyster Bay stop hitting more of the rolling route. The group worked well to the Roslyn stop at mile 50, where John S. and Ralph split off to do the 70-mile version. John, Phil, and I set off to do Beacon Hill and Sands Point, the back to Roslyn to refill water bottles and get Phil's bottom bracket looked at by the neutral support.

Rolling hills for another 15 miles or so to the final rest stop and looming Avery hill. By now, the temperature in the high 80's was starting to wear us down. My odometer was at 101 miles. I could not seem to drink enough! We winched up Avery then down to Rt. 25. John was climbing great all day and I was mostly unsuccessful at holding his wheel on the harder climbs. But we always got the group back together within 1/2 mile of each hill where it broke up.

I bid adeu to John and Phil when we intersected Round Swamp Rd. and headed home on my own while they went on to complete the "official" century route. Great day for riding, even if a bit on the warm side. We were always in sunshine! The rest stops were fine, as usual on this ride, and the road marked well. Didn't need to check the cue sheet even once! Feel a bit beat-up from the broken up roads but I think a rest day may be in order tomorrow!

Catskills Cycling Trip 2010

2010-07-05T14:06:00.003-04:00

Spent six days cycling in the Catskills with friends. Here is some ride info for each day and a few photos. All photos and Garmin data from Pyzahl. Thank you Percy!

Day 1: Big Indian - Windham
66 miles, 4325 ft. elevation gain

Day 2: Andes - Delancy
96 miles, 5781 ft. elevation gain

Day 3: Woodstock and Rhinebeck
50 miles, recovery day

Day 4: Rapha New Paltz
114 miles, 8305 ft. elevation gain
The Rapha ride that was the basis for our route.

Day 5: Phoenecia - Tannersville
55 miles, 3468 ft. elevation gain

Day 6: Hunter
60 miles (12 on my own), 4598 ft. elevation gain

Two Pair

2010-05-29T21:46:00.003-04:00

Two great riding days last weekend, and looks like two more this weekend!

Last weekend I planned on racing the Cedar Creek Criterium Cat 4 race. Not wanting to limit myself to 25 miles of riding on such a nice day weatherwise, I did the Saturday morning Brands group ride but kept an easier pace with the "B" group and mostly followed wheels until it was time to head to the race start. I watched Dan and Toni from the Mineola Bike Shop ride do the Cat 5 race, Dan getting an excellent 3rd place!

Meeting up with 4 GAB riders, including Pyzahl, we lined up for our race. Everything going great for 2 laps, until on the hairpin turn on lap 3, a rider in front of me goes down. I have to stop to avoid hitting him. By the time I get going again, the peloton is gone. I time-trialed for 12 laps on my own but finally got pulled as the the group was getting ready to lap me. Frustrating to continue my streak of DNS and DNF in race events (that I paid for!).

Made up for it on Sunday with a great ride with the Mineola crew. Finished with Dan and Toni as we hit the Stillwell and Picardy climbs, following some of the Triangle route.

Today was an awesome throwdown on the Brands ride, group of 4 going away on Rouns Swamp. Mike W. looking very strong to catch back on on LIE eastbound. I took a little flyer at the end heading back to Brands. Felt good to air out the legs a little.

Tomorrow, just an early solo ride in the morning then planning to head to Jones Beach with the family to watch the annual Memorial Day airshow. Blue ANgels this year! Here is a little video from the last time we went.

Cedar Creek Crit - Cat 4 Race

2010-05-23T13:00:00.004-04:00

Me in the orange and blue jersey taking the hairpin in one of the early laps. Photo by Percy Z.

This is not going to be good. I am right behind the Kissena rider.

Can just see my orange jersey peeking in on the lower right corner at 1:50 in this helmet-cam video shot by Percy Z. before the crash that left me off the back of the peloton until I was pulled with 10 laps to go.

The Brats Report

2010-05-19T20:31:00.002-04:00

... as in the "Bratwurst" Century.

So after some scheduling and weather issues, the ride finally went off this morning but with a light turnout most likely due to the weather forecast. Rain was being predicted all day until the final weather report I checked last night which showed that the rain would likely be finished by the 8:00 AM ride start.

I got up early to get myself and the bike prepared, and headed out to Riverhead in a light misty rain. Eight of us met up for the ride: me, George, John and Robin, Phil, Dan, Tom M., and Dave on his tri-bike (I remember him from last year, too). We kitted up and got going right around 8:00 AM. Roads were damp at the start but mostly dried up after a couple of hours. Thankfully, we did not get one drop of rain!

First flat at mile 15, but John fixed it quickly and we motored on to the Greenport ferry. George and Dave took some long pulls but said goodbye at the ferry and headed back to Riverhead, while the remaining six of us sailed over to Shelter Island. Phil discovered a flat tire just as we rolled off the ferry. Once we got going again, John took the direct Rt. 114 to the south ferry while the other five of us tried to follow the BBB indirect route. We missed a turn and got lost for a couple of miles but eventually got ourselves to the south ferry terminal. Great scenery on Shelter Island, as usual, even with the overcast skies.

We met up with John and took our ferry ride to the South fork, rolling through Sag Harbor. The paceline working like a well oiled machine, steady pace around 20-22 MPH, very comfortable with a favorable wind. Some flooded roads but passable on the bikes. Dan flatted at mile 45, but with the roads mostly dried out by now, it would be the last one for the day.

We made the usual lunch stop in the Hamptons at mile 64, a little chilly as we sat outside eating but once we got rolling again we warmed up quickly. As often happens, we made the route up as we went through the Hamptons and then finally hooked up with the EB route for the final 15 or so miles back to Riverhead. A couple of us went out for another couple of miles, just to get the odometer to tick over 100.

It turned out to be a really nice ride, and the weather (thankfully) cooperated. I felt good during the ride, and I think that was the best I ever felt at the end of a century. I felt like I could have knocked out another 50 miles, no problem. First century of the season done, can't wait for the next one!

Finding Some Motivation

2010-05-08T17:33:00.002-04:00

While running is on the back-burner for a couple of weeks, I've found some new motivation to get back on the bike. Last weekend I was determined to spend all of the "marathon" energy I accumulated out on the bike. Did a fast 50-mile ride early on Saturday morning, then a long 84-miler on Sunday. Half of Sunday's ride was on my own and half was with Dan A. and others at the Mineola Bike Club. Both were challenging rides in their own way and I felt tired but satisfied that I left "everything out on the road".

I rode 4 out of 5 days before work this week, getting back into the old routine. Everything feeling good on the bike.

If it hadn't been for Mike W.'s text message yesterday, I probably would have woke up this morning, saw the wet roads, and skipped my ride. Although the weather cleared up as the day wore on, if I don't get the ride in early, I usually don't get it in at all. So, big THANK YOU to Mike for the motivation to get out there. As it turns out, I met Mike, Rob, and Bob at 6:15 AM at the shop and we did a modified Brands Ride, returning on Vanderbilt Rd. for some variation and a few little hills to attack. It was a great ride with good intensity!

Mike's GPS track: http://bit.ly/dal2Fl

Tomorrow's motivation, in the face of some predicted 30 MPH winds, is the annual Tour de Parc, in Cedar Creek. This year I just registered for the Master's 45+ Criterium (it is Mother's Day, after all!) but am looking forward to the first race of the year and to seeing a lot of the EECT and Green Arm Bandits at the race, most of whom I've ridden with many times at the Early Birds and various centuries on and off Long Island. I have no illusions of placing but maybe I can work for the EECT Team. My simple goal: DON'T GET DROPPED!

Finally, the annual Spring (Bratwurst) Century is leaving from Riverhead on Wednesday. A loosely organized, unsupported century ride out on the North Fork, across Shelter Island, and back to Riverhead on the South Fork. I have the day off from work, but the weather report is not looking too good at the moment. We'll have to see how that develops. If the weather cooperates, I'm sure it will be a great ride as it has been in years past. Again, a good opportunity to reconnect with some riding friends who I haven't seen since last season. Can't wait!

New Plans

2010-05-01T09:29:00.002-04:00

By now, its old news that I pulled a calf muscle on my training run last weekend, just one week before the LI Marathon, my running goal for the year. Did everything I could think of to heal it and recover to be able to do the marathon. It was really feeling okay by Friday morning. Did nothing Monday through Wednesday, even took the subway to work, which I rarely do. I had done 45 minutes on the trainer Thursday morning and did my usual 3 mile walk to work that same morning and it was feeling okay. Tried to run on Friday morning, but after 1/2 mile the muscle tightened, hurting badly, and I knew the marathon was out of the question.

So, time to rethink things. I definitely need to forget about running for 2-3 weeks and let everything heal fully. Fortunately, I don't feel it at all on the bike. We are getting into the thick of cycling season now so the plan is to be bike-centric for the rest of the spring and summer. I will start running again in a few weeks and try to build a more substantial base. Then, I will probably shoot for a goal of doing a marathon in the fall. The best candidate right now looks to be the Wineglass Marathon, upstate in Corning on October 3rd. Hopefully I can make a weekend out of it with the family.

Last thoughts on this (I promise!): In retrospect, I may have rushed the training too much. I did not want to give up on cycling, so I was only a part time runner. It was only 3 months since the 3-week break after my hamstring pull so I'm thinking I did not have enough of a base built up. I should have had more 10-mile runs instead of 5-mile runs. Also, I would like to get in 2-3 20-mile runs before the marathon instead of just one. Going to concentrate more on preparation, nutrition, and stretching. These probably have more to do with this kind of injury than just raw miles.

See everyone on the road!

Derailed!

2010-04-27T12:51:00.000-04:00

Pulled my calf muscle on my last,, long pre-Marathon training run. Resting it for the remainder of the week but, right now, it looks like I'm going to have to miss the race. A hard pill to swallow after 4 months of training...

On Track... I Hope!

2010-04-17T20:37:00.002-04:00

Was planning on a Brands rise this morning but checked the weather last night and it was not looking too great for a bike ride this morning. I decided to switch my running and biking plans. Did a run this morning and planning on a bike ride tomorrow morning.

Although I'm not following any set training plan, I have taken a brief look at some "1st marathon" training plans on the net and there is a theme of doing your last long training run about three weeks before the actual marathon, then tapering down to the final couple of days were there is two rest days before the marathon. By coincidence, that is sort of how it worked out for me. Did 20 last weekend, 17 today, planning for about 10 next weekend, then a couple of short morning runs the week before the race.

To be honest, I was going to go for another 20-miler today but I stupidly did not drink on my 17-mile run and was starting to cramp-up a little at the end, so I called it a day at 17. Before that, was feeling a bit better than last weekend. Weather was cool and damp, but the wind was a lot lighter than last weekend.

Tomorrow, hope to get out for a bike ride. Planning to try something new, meeting the Mineola Bike Club for a ride out to Sand's Point. Was invited by ride leader Dan Aviles, who is also my daughter's HS music teacher. We talked bikes on the Spain trip and I thought it would be cool to do a ride together.

New Ground

2010-04-10T23:00:00.002-04:00

Broke the 20-mile barrier on my run this morning. This was a milestone, as I've read on a few running sites that when preparing for your first marathon, if you can do 20 miles in training, the adrenaline of the real race will give you that "something extra" to push through to 26.2. I have no idea if that's really true, though I did run my fastest 5-mile ever during the Snowball 5-mile race.

I decided to do 5-mile laps on this run so I could leave a bottle of sport drink out and take a sip on each lap. Also, if things did not go well, I could bail without needing to call for a pick-up. It worked out well. I ended up doing 3 laps of my usual 5.5 mile morning route, plus 1 lap of Linda's 3.4 mile route, then another trip up and down the block to get the 20. Honestly, after mile 15, it was not pretty. It was all I could do to pick the legs up and put them down. But, the mental achievement is probably as important as the physical one. I know I can do 20!

A few other factors about today's run that will, hopefully, be more in my favor for May 2nd. First, I did not taper. Actually, I did a 15-mile run 6 days ago and a 10-mile run on Thursday. I'll taper at least a week before the marathon. Second, I hope I will not be fighting 20 MPH winds on marathon day, but, you never know. And third, I had a bit of a stomach issue in the morning, but not too bad.

Glad its done. It was hard, and I felt like the last 5 miles would never end, but I proved to myself it was doable.

Summer Already?

2010-04-06T10:14:00.002-04:00

Was away for the Easter holiday weekend (3 days). Was pleasantly surprised to encounter some summer-like weather in Corning, temperatures in the 70F's every day. Was looking forward to some long rides/runs and was not disappointed.

Saturday, got up early for a 65-mile ride through the Savona hills to Keuka Lake and back. First half of the ride was GREAT, a bright, sunny day. I felt surprisingly good on the few steep hills mid-ride, given my lower than normal mileage this year (trading half of my cycling time for running). After descending into Hammondsport for the 30-mile return leg, the situation changed. I was fighting a strong, steady headwind back. Two hours of grinding against that wind! A bit harder ride than I wanted.

Sunday was a run day. Before yesterday's ride, I thought this would be the chance to finally get in a 20-mile run before the LI Marathon. Not to be. Was a little drained from Saturday and having some sinus issues, so I only managed 15. On the plus side, it was a sub-9 minute pace, which is encouraging. Then had a great Easter day with the family.

Finally, Monday morning before heading back to LI, did my usual 30-mile Harris Hill loop. Felt very good on the climb! Another 30 miles on the bike.

Really happy to get those three solid days in. Need to try for the 20-mile run next weekend.

Reset

2010-03-21T06:28:00.002-04:00

Its been a busy few weeks! Starting with a trip to Spain with my daughter and the Wantagh High School band, my older daughter's 16th birthday, family over for the birthday and the track nationals, a devastating Nor'easter that took down a big tree in my backyard (still working on the cleanup!), St. Patrick's day, cramming at work to meet a software implementation deadline, my younger daughter's 12th birthday yesterday, more yard cleanup this whole weekend, etc., etc.

Spain photos...

Click here to view these pictures larger

Squeezing in workouts as much as possible. Have done a couple of longer runs over the past two weeks, two 16-milers and a 10-miler, but the LI Marathon is fast approaching. I have a mental goal to do at least one 20-miler before the actual marathon. Just a few weeks left to try!

My cycling has taken the biggest hit! In Spain, I could run. In the rain, I could run. Its just harder for things just need to fall into place for a ride. But, it looks like today is the day. Just finished my routine pre-ride breakfast (oatmeal and coffee) and about to head out for a ride! Not going to be the "blissful" 70F and sunny conditions that some of my riding buddies have enjoyed this past week but I'm going for it in shorts anyway!

Time Slicing

2010-02-28T16:50:00.004-05:00

These past two weeks, continued to split my workouts between running and cycling. Last weekend, reached a new running milestone with a 17-mile run, longest I've done so far.

More snow during the week but the roads were clear for a 13-mile run on Saturday morning, followed by a great 50-mile cycle this morning. Lots of runners (and a few cyclists were out, especially on Round Swamp Rd.) As I climbed through West Hills on wet roads, I felt/heard a grating sound from the rear of the bike. A piece of gravel had gotten lodged in my rear brake pad, carving a nice groove in my braking surface. I stopped to clean it out and was pleasantly surprised when a motorist stopped to check if I was okay. I thanked her and told her I was fine. I thought that was nice!

This weekend capped off a good month. February 1st was my first run back after 3 weeks off recovering from my hamstring injury and I'm happy to have gotten back to where I was before the injury. Maybe a little slower but the endurance is there, at least on the running side of things. Since then, I managed to do some kind of workout everyday.

From MayMyRun.com

From dailymile.com

Trying to Build

2010-02-14T18:57:00.002-05:00

We had a major snowstorm last week but I've been able to keep the training streak alive. Monday, regular Jones Beach morning ride. Back-to-back runs, Tuesday and Wednesday (in the snow, beginning of the storm). Thursday, too much snow to ride or run outside, so did a trainer workout. Another run on Friday to cap-off the work week.

Really itching to do some 2+ hour training this weekend to start building back some endurance. Was worried about snow and ice on the roads for cycling but roads looked pretty clear and I went out for 41 miles on the bike on a cold Saturday morning. It was cloudy and sort of bleak, but mission accomplished. My bike is a few years old, not top-shelf, so I'm not really squeamish about taking it out for a ride in messy conditions. I've got a nice box of parts in the basement to give it a little tune-up once we get into the nice spring weather (new chainrings, brake pads, chain, and cassette).

Sunday, I did a long run, 13.4 miles. Again, cold and windy, but this time the sun was out. Put the iPod on and got into a nice rhythm for for the first 6.5 miles. Ran up to Bethpage Park on the same route that I would normally ride on the bike. A little too much car traffic for my taste but I'm sure the Jones Beach path is still probably choked with a foot of snow, so I had to make due. Fighting a headwind on the way back. I think this is about as far as I can go comfortably without additional food and water, so I might try and carry some sports drink as I move to longer runs. Or, possibly loop back home in the middle of a long run to grab a drink and some fuel.

Off tomorrow for President's day. Hoping to get on the bike again if the weather is decent.

Running is Back on the Program

2010-02-07T11:59:00.002-05:00

After 2 weeks off to let my hamstring heal-up (really more like 3 weeks, just one failed attempt in there) I started running again this past week. So far, so good. Did three early morning runs before work Monday (3.3 miles), Wednesday (5.8 miles), and Friday (5.5 miles). Staying close to home in case of problems. Pattern has been that the hamstring feels tight for first three miles, then starts to feel better the longer I go.

Saturday, I hoped to do a long ride on the bike but it was windy and snowing in the morning. Didn't want to push the running legs so I just did 45 minutes of intervals on the trainer.

This morning, 19F temps and wind, so I opted for a run over the bike. Supposed to warm up later but I hate riding around here once the roads are filled with cars. Instead, I did a few stretches then headed out at 6:00 AM for a nice run. Contemplated a run to Jones Beach but decided, again, to stay local in case the leg started acting up. I did two laps of my usual 5.5 mile morning run. Despite the cold and wind, I felt pretty good. I can always feel the hamstring but it acts like a reminder not to push too hard and keep in control. Was psyched to get this long run in. Now to build on it...

Getting Used to Numb Hands and Feet

2010-01-30T15:41:00.002-05:00

Managed two 50-mile rides last weekend. On Saturday, got to the LIE within minutes of this crash and saw the full devastation on my way back. Did the same route on Sunday, and amazingly, the LIE seemed to be back to normal.

Would have been great to do another couple of 50-milers this weekend too, but woke up to 17F temperatures and wind this morning (2F windchill). I managed to get out for 25 miles. Hands just got TOO cold! Will probably try again tomorrow, depending on the weather.

Thought about running but I'm sticking to my 2-week recovery from my hamstring injury. Going to try and run again on Monday morning (fingers crossed!).

Monkey Wrench

2010-01-16T15:20:00.002-05:00

Had to change the workout plans this week. I've been alternating between cycling and running this winter. Was looking forward to a nice long run last Sunday, despite temperatures in the teens. I had a goal of 10 miles. The run started out fine and I headed to the Jones Beach bike path, listening to my iPod and waiting for Nike+ to tell me when I reached the halfway point. At 5 miles, felt pretty good and turned back. Around this time, hamstring in my left leg started to get painful. I tried to run through it but by mile 6.8 it was too tender to run. I walked home the final 3.2 miles. Been unable to run since then.

So...back to full-time bike rider! Did the usual pre-dawn bike path loop before work Monday through Thursday. On Friday, I decided to test the running legs. Nope, still too sore. I'm signed up for the LI Marathon on May 2nd and really need to get some miles under my belt but I feel like if I push the running too soon it will just mean another injury and more weeks of training lost.

A warmish 40F this morning, perfect for a long bike ride. My start was delayed by 15 minutes when I found I had a flat rear-tire on the Specialized. I changed the tube but in my haste to get moving, I didn't seat the tube properly and popped it while pumping up to pressure. Off with the tire again, installed another tube more carefully this time and finally got going by 7:45 AM.

Rode my usual 50-mile training route, from Wantagh, up to Round Swamp Rd., LIE Service Rd. to Crooked Hill Rd., back to Round Swamp, North through West Hills Preserve, then home. Felt okay on the ride, didn't expect much since my last 50-mile ride was December 13th! No speed records today but nice to ride in the sunshine.

2009 Year in Review

2010-01-02T10:30:00.002-05:00

Had a great year cycling in 2009 and picked up a new activity, running, which I hope to improve upon in 2010. I met my overall goals in terms of mileage on the bike (7,700 outdoor miles, goal was 6,000). This year I leaned more to long distance rides (did 15 centuries) and less emphasis on racing (only 3 races this year).

Still loving the bike but looking for some new challenges and alternatives, for instance its easier to travel with a pair of sneakers and some running shorts instead of the bike and everything that goes with it. I'm still working on striking the best balance between running and cycling, but I don't think I can really go wrong as long as I enjoy doing both.

Some of this year's highlights:

1. My 200-mile solo ride from Middletown to Corning

2. My 5th Highlander Cycle Tour

3. Being part of the Brand's 55th Anniversary Ride

4. Picturesque TOSREC Century

5. East Island Ride with Mike

Looking forward to more in 2010!

Snowball Run 2009

2009-12-16T20:49:00.002-05:00

Just a few photos from the 5-mile Snowball Run last Saturday. My bib is #223.

Cross Training

2009-11-29T20:59:00.004-05:00

No, not Cyclocross, but running! Started running a bit over the summer and now am looking forward to splitting workouts between cycling and running over the winter. I think this will provide a good, alternative workout when the roads and weather are not favorable for the bike. It will also provide a good variation and motivation to try something new.

Away in Corning for the Thanksgiving holiday, I signed up for the 16th annual Pie and Glove 5K in Denison Park on Thanksgiving morning. Yes, it is a race, but its really a family-friendly event. My niece and nephews were also running, and saw lots of kids and parents running together. Prizes for top three finishers in each age category are pies, and everyone gets a free pair of gloves to help keep their hands warm in the chilly, November air.

I felt good on my run, finished 162 out of 800+ runners. Also signed up for the Snowball 5 mile run in December, here in Wantagh.

800+ runners ready to start the Pie and Glove 5K run.

Me in the final few meters of the Pie and Glove 5K run.

Saturday was a travel day back to LI but was glad to get on the bike this morning for 50 miles in good weather and sun. Enjoying what will probably be the last few days of good weather before winter really settles in.

Change of Seasons in the Wind

2009-10-31T16:25:00.002-04:00

Catching up on few weekends of riding, since TOSREC.

The Saturday after, did 54 miles solo on the Brands route and through West Hills. Sunny, but windy, the leaves not quite as far along here on Long Island as they were in Connecticut, but still a good ride. We went out of town for the rest of Saturday and Sunday, so only one ride that weekend.

Last weekend, still recovering a bit from being sick earlier in the week, did a pair of 40-milers. Saturday, was wet and windy, so I took the rain bike out for a loop of the Brands route, solo. Didn't get rained on but roads were a bit messy. Sunday, bit of a late start, needed to recover somewhat from Saturday night reunion with friends from Sunrise Park elementary school days. Thirty-two years since we graduated from the sixth grade. Was a lot of fun catching up with everyone and we had a great time at FG Quinn's. Anyway, it was a brisk morning but the sun was shining and I did I nice solo ride up to Sagamore Hill, Teddy Roosevelt's house. Foliage looking great and feeling really good on the bike.

Which brings us to this morning, another wet and windy Saturday morning. Not sure of my schedule this morning, so, by default, went solo. Did the 50-mile Brands loop and West Hills. Hard work fighting the wind alone but got a bit of tailwind on the return. Cleaned up the bike (after many weeks of neglect).

Just getting into the Fall routine. BTW...Happy Halloween!

TOSREC 2009

2009-10-14T23:06:00.004-04:00

Kris, John, and I cycling past a vineyard, TOSREC 2009. Photo by Pyzahl.

That is, the Tour Of Southern Rural Connecticut! A century ride designed by John Y. from SBRA Early Birds, this year assisted by Pyzahl. Actually ended up with about 112 miles with a few spontaneous route modifications.

Ride info and approximate route can be found here.

Also, Pyzahl's Garmin track and photos from today's ride.

Five of us departed Orient Point this morning on the 7:00 AM ferry to New London, CT. Downright COLD, temp in the low 40F's, but would warm up to mid 50F's during the day. We arrived in CT by 8:30 AM, disembarked with our bikes and worked our way out to the CT countryside.

The scenery on this ride is MAGNIFICENT, especially at this time of year with the foliage starting to change and riding little back roads in the crisp, cool, fall air. Kevin was not feeling too well, and when we stopped for coffee at mile 42, he decided to take a direct route back to the ferry. The remaining four of us continued on the full route.

Cruising through the fall foliage on CT backroads. Photo by Pyzahl.

This ride is deceptively difficult, constantly rolling hills, netting about 5,700 ft. of elevation gain. A few map errors did not dampen the spirit of the ride in any way. Another short stop at mile 80 for water, then time to knock out the last 30 miles. Percy and Kris were riding very strong, sometimes gapping John and I on the longer climbs, but we all finished together, back at the ferry by 4:00 PM. We coasted into town in search of some calories before the 5:00 PM ferry back to Long Island. After boarding, we secured the bikes, grabbed some coffee and had an uneventful voyage back.

Thanks John and Py for putting this ride together. And, to Kris and Kevin, for making this a great ride!

Brands 55th Anniversary Ride Report

2009-10-11T12:40:00.004-04:00

Bob, Todd, and I, in early April. Photo by Cecilia Grace Mizin Photography.

Over one hundred riders showed up this morning for the Brands 55th Anniversary ride. Fifty-five miles for 55 years! We met up in the LIRR parking lot across from Brands and picked up our cue sheets. A chilly morning (around 45F) but the promise of nice warm weather as the sun was coming up. After a few words from our leader, Jamie, the big group slowly headed out.

Riders of many levels, so a very easy pace up the usual Brands route, Seamans Neck Rd. and Round Swamp Rd. to the LIE. Started to beak into three groups around the first hill on Old Country Road. Still, a pretty easy pace through West Hills and up to the North Shore, and Lloyd's Neck. Despite the big group, no crashes (that I saw) and just a few isolated flats/mechanicals.

Looping through Caumsett, we headed back south and stopped at Lloyds Neck to meet the Brands van for water and Clif Bars. Then back along a similar route to Brands. Picked up the pace a bit on Round Swamp Rd. Finally back at Brands for a HUGE brunch of fruit, bagels, pastry, sausage, eggs, bacon, hash browns, pancakes, coffee, and tea.

Ended up being 58 miles for me, including a couple of miles to and from home. Was a fun ride, lots of smiles at the end. Scenic route (once North of the LIE). Thanks, Jamie and everyone at Brands for making this possible!

Blazing EB North Route Photos Added

2009-10-04T13:04:00.003-04:00

After yesterday's washout, decided to head out East for a (hopefully) fast, hard group ride at the Early Birds. Was NOT disapointed! A group of 12 riders met up in Manorville at the King Kullen. Regulars Percy, John, Robin, and Gerald there, plus good representation from East End Cycling team, Owen, Mike, Craig, Guy, Chris, Chris, and another rider I did not know.

We wanted to avoid flooding on Dune Rd. so we headed off to do the North route. Good, fast paceline to Doctor's Path. At this point the wet roads claimed their first tire casualty. The group stopped and waited for the repair. Off again, but another flat within a mile or so. Moving again on Sound Ave., found myself pulling just before the hill up to the tanks. Made the right turn up the hill, the group surged by me and I sag climbed until I latched onto Owen's wheel. Owen, Mike and I caught back on the the main group and stayed on until IPBSP. Another sharp acceleration up the hill there and Mike and I were gapped again. We chased hard on Sound Ave. but the group up front was too strong to catch, especially with Craig just putting the hurt on everyone. Owen dropped back to give Mike and I a hand and we rolled in to the regroup point a minute behind the front group.

More fast pacelines to Cutchogue for a water stop, then off again for the last 25 miles. Everyone sharing in the work. Finally, on Rt. 51, selection at the first long hill. Was 4th wheel, rider in front of me got gapped and the rest of the group swarmed by on ether side. By the time I could get by it was too late and I could not close the gap.

Eventually rode up to Guy and the two of us worked together up Rt. 51 and Rt. 111. Hopeless chase of a strong six-man group ahead but we came in just a minute or two behind. Total of 55 miles. Haven't done a ride where I've been in the red zone so much for a while!

PS: Here is a link to PyZahl's report.

And some photos, by PyZahl:

Tour of the Hamptons 2009 Ride Report

2009-09-26T18:06:00.003-04:00

Drove out to Southampton this morning for the Tour of the Hamptons bike ride. Met up with a bunch of the Early Birds to do the 100-mile route. A bunch of new faces too, so we had over 20 riders in our group. Also met Harvey and Matt (from the Brands group) at the registration table. They headed out at the official 7:30 AM start time, our big group went out at 8:00 AM.

Fast pacelines, even with the wind. We did the 106.5 mile route with a 20.8 MPH average speed. New rest stop location confused us. We skipped the first stop at mile 20, thinking it was too early. We didn't realize as we headed out to Montauk Pt. that we wouldn't hit the next one until mile 60! Last one at mile 96! Finally, we were pulled in the last 6 miles by a couple riding a road tandem (at 20+ MPH), which was kind of cool!

Great ride, weather cooperated, a little wind but lots of riders to share the work. Good EB group. Was a lot of fun!

Tour of the Hamptons 2009
Find more Bike Rides in Southampton, New York

Early Morning Escape

2009-09-20T10:28:00.005-04:00

After the mental and physical challenge of last weekend's Highlander, a busy week at work, and a somewhat "confused" Brands ride on Saturday, I was in the mood for one of those quiet rides, just getting in the "zone" for two or three hours. Decided to do an early morning solo ride on my tried and true Brands/West Hills training route. The morning was decidedly cool, mid 50's temp. Started to warm up once the sun got above the trees. Turned out be be a nice, mind-soothing workout. Here are a couple of photos from the ride.

Quaker Meeting House (built 1684), and little attached cemetary, just getting lit by the morning sun.

Golfers on Bethpage Black, waiting for the sprinklers to finish so they can get on the green and putt.

Tree-lined Sweet Hollow Road, in West Hills preserve.

Highlander 2009 Ride Report

2009-09-13T21:44:00.003-04:00

Tenth Anniversary of the Highlander Cycle Tour, and my 5th year, running. Two big changes this year from the past four. First, a new route, second, I was joined by three riders from the Early Birds group who also made the journey to the Finger Lakes to check out the ride. Thanks to Percy, John, and Marco for making the trip up.

Here's a short summary of the road trip:

Friday, 9/11/2009
3:30 PM - Marco arrives at my house and we load up the minivan for the drive up to Corning, our "base of operations" for the weekend. We head off into the rush hour traffic under gray skies and intermittent rain.

9:10 PM - Long ride up to Corning, lots of traffic until we got to Rt. 17, then some heavy rain, on and off. In Corning, we met up with Percy and John to sort out the plans for Saturday morning. Group decided to start a bit later than the 7:00 AM suggested start time. Thinking more like 7:30 AM.

Saturday, 9/12/2009
5:00 AM - Alarm sounds and we get up and get our gear together for the ride. Checking the weather report, it looks like 60% change of rain and cool, mid 60's. So, base layers, long sleeves, shoe covers are pulled on. We meet in the Days Inn lobby at 6:00 AM for complimentary breakfast. Finally on the way by 6:30 AM or so.

8:20 AM - Finally getting started on the ride! Cloudy, misty, and wet, we roll out of the Bristol Mountain lot. Later start than planned, just seemed to take a little longer to get bikes together and additional prep for the wet weather. After a few miles of gradual uphill, we hit long, steep Gannet Hill. We all got warmed up in a hurry on that one!

9:20 AM ??? - Just about an hour in, first flat of the day, Percy's rear wheel. He's running the new tubeless rims and tires and starts the repair by filling the tire with sealant. The foam starts leaking out and we start to think the gash in his tire might be too big for the sealant to be effective. I eventually holds and we proceed. It seems the likely culprit for the flat is some new chipseal put down just about a week before the ride. Its nasty stuff to ride in, and a bit dangerous on the downhill sections. Despite the difficulty, I think we're all appreciating the EXTREMELY challenging course and the rural setting (at least as much as we can see of it through the heavy mist).

10:20 AM - We haven't seen Marco for a while as he was up the road while we were working on Percy's flat. Caught up with him at a rest stop, which, unfortunately, was nearly out of food. Luckily there were some bananas and fig newtons left! Only 30 miles covered in the first two hours, but we attributed it to the long steep climbs and the flat. Finally, the repair seems to be holding.

11:00 AM ??? - More fresh chipseal and the 2nd flat of the day, Marco's front tire. A good size cut in the rubber, but the casing is still in good shape, so a new quick change of the tube and we're off again. We're now in a good rhythm of tackling the steady diet of climbing and descending. Taking the decents a bit easy on the damp roads, we're still hitting 40+ MPH in many cases.

12:20 PM - Rolling down a steep descent into the rest stop at mile 50, I can't believe my eyes that its taken 4 hours so far! Wondering it we'll finish by 5:00 PM in time for the post ride meal.

2:00 PM - A good section from mile 50 to 73, we pull in to the next rest stop. We've ticked off the miles at a little better pace and getting some confidence back. You know the group is working well together when there is minimal communication needed to keep things rolling smoothly. Only 32 miles to go, should be done around 4:00 PM or so. Some favorable winds, actually a few miles of pacelines. We seem to be riding mostly as two pairs, Percy and Marco up ahead, John and I a little behind, Catching up after long climbs and rest stops.

2:10 PM - A mile or so out of the rest stop, its my turn. Just starting climb, I stand on the pedals and feel my front tire go squirrely. John and Marco continue on to the top and Percy gives me a hand with the repair. I find a sharp stone that I have to push out from the inside of the tire. New tube, a blast of CO2, and I'm good to go. The three guys have started off and I need to struggle a bit to catch on. Just getting up to John and my chain starts ghost shifting in the rear. I need to stop and twist the barrel adjuster. John waits for me but now we've lost contact with Percy and Marco.

2:40 PM ??? - John's turn for a flat, again in the middle of a long, steep climb. We're noticing people repairing flats every couple of miles now. The wet roads are just eating up tubes! We get it repaired and grind up the climb. Between the four of us, we've no doubt spent at least one hour fixing flats today.

3:30 PM - John and I meet up with Percy and Marco who have waited for us at the last rest stop, about 15 miles to go. Overhearing others at the rest stop, it seems like half the riders have had a flat today. Our group is batting 1000! Now we're just hoping to make it in by 5:00 PM, and I know from prior rides, we will be facing a HUGE test at mile 100: Bopple Hill. Supposedly 23% grade at some point (Percy's GPS measured 19%, close enough).

4:45 PM - A long steep ascent of Miller Hill Rd., Percy and Marco gradually pull a little ahead of John and I. Mist has finally cleared and we get a nice view of Canandaigua Lake as we ride along its shore. The odometer just ticks over 100 miles, we turn right, and face a wall, Bopple. I drop to my lowest granny gear, 30x26 and start grinding. John doesn't have the low gearing and drops back a bit. As I get to the steepest part, I get up on the pedals and the few remaining bystanders clap and give shouts of encouragement, "Allez!", "Good Job!", "You can do it!" Below my tires are the names of all the Highlander registrants painted on the road (I see two Mitchell's, wonder which one was me). I pass one guy who is forced to walk his bike up, still gettin encouragement from the few people left at the side of the road. Finally cranking up past the cemetary at the top of the hill (too late for the bagpipes this year), Percy and Marco are waiting, Percy taking a few photos. I join them and John follows a minute or two later.

5:00 PM - Mostly downhill the rest of the way back to Bristol Mountain, we've done the full 105-mile route, 10,000 ft. of climbing. Elapsed time 8 1/2 hours! No idea of the actual ride time. A long, exhausting, wet day, but an incredible feeling to have done it! I ride all the way up to the lodge, park by bike and pickup my "goody" bag containing a bottle of wine, ride t-shirt, etc. They are still serving food so the four of us sit outside replacing calories and reliving the ride in all its dramatic glory. I get a grape pie to take home and wet slowly start packing up for the drive back to Corning. It takes a while, we're cold, wet, and tired.

9:00 PM - Having a beer and dinner at the Gaffer on Market street in Corning. The dining room is full so we're eating in the bar. Its crowded and the music is loud, so we're sort of a quiet bunch. We inhale our dinners but still have some room for coffee and dessert at the Soulful Cup coffee shop across the street. There is an acoustic guitar player there and just us and another small group in the place. We discuss plans for a short ride tomorrow morning before heading back to Long Island, then walk back to the motel, taking in a picturesque view of the Chemung River at night from the bridge.

CHECK OUT PYZAHLS BLOG FOR GREAT RIDE REPORT AND PHOTOS!

Sunday, 9/13/2009
7:30 AM - Quick breakfast of coffee and cereal, then out to put the bikes together for a quick blast to the top of Harris Hill. We need to be back before 10:00 AM to get showered and checked out by 11:00 AM.

8:00 AM - On the road! I lead most of the way through the town of Corning out to Harris Hill since I'm the one who knows the way. Great weather today! A little morning mist has dissipated by the type we start climbing. Our legs aren't all the fresh but this is the only climb of the day. We regroup at the top and take a few photos, the bomb back down the other side of the hill and get a fast paceline going back to Corning. We make it in plenty of time.

PYZAHLS BLOG (with photos!)

11:00 AM - Stop at Wegmans for sanwiches for the ride home, top-off on fuel for our cars get on Rt. 17 for the long drive back.

Its been a memorable weekend and I'm glad Percy, John, and Marco made it up for the ride. I think the ride presented the challenge we had all hoped for. Flats and wet weather were part of the equation, but in retrospect just make the accomplishment sweeter. This kind of sums it up: we're already talking about NEXT time!

Lost in Glen Cove

2009-09-05T13:43:00.003-04:00

Been thinking all week to get in a long, hilly training ride this weekend, in preparation for next weekend's Highlander, traditionally my big ride of the year. Unfortunately, I found out that the Brands 55th Anniversary ride is the same day, which is a ride I would have liked to do.

Out early for 20 miles on the Jones Beach bike path, back home to drop off my lights and pickup my sunglasses, then over to Brands. Good size group heading out at 7:00 AM, including Mike W, Harvey and Matt, Bob, and lots of the regulars. Todd had a flat in the morning and would meet us later in the ride. No Jamie, so pace was set by some of the young guns. A brisk pace up Round Swamp Rd. and just 4 of us together for the LIE service road out-and-back.

Back at Round Swamp, 50 miles done so far, I headed north on my own to Greenvale (up Old Country Rd.) and picked up the route markings for the Gold Coast 55-mile ride. Felt good, and was following the route with no problems until somehow I lost the road markings in Glen Cove. I doubled back to the last marker and tried again but still felt somewhat disoriented. Nothing looked familiar from the two other times I did the route this summer. I called home and Linda checked Google maps. She gave me a simple route that would get me back to Post Rd. in Westbury, which is the route I intended to take back home anyway.

Met a group of riders from the Massapequa Park Bike Club who suggested another route, which I tried. This put me on busy Rt. 107, so I doubled back to the route Linda had gven me, and all was well.

Got my miles (105.4), and a good hill workout, though I missed a few more hills that I would have gotten had I stayed on the GC route all the way to Roslyn.

Change-Up

2009-08-30T11:09:00.002-04:00

The last three weekend rides I did were solo on the Brands route and West Hills. A good training route, but mostly it was a combination of weather, work, and family schedule that kept me from hooking up on any group rides. I was glad to see an e-mail from Todd last night about getting together for a ride up to the North shore.

I went out early for two solo laps on the Jones Beach Bike path. Stopped home to grab a banana, then met up with Todd, Harvey, and Matt by 7:30 AM. We did a moderate pace ride to the North shore, Bayville, Brookville, etc. No way I could remember the exact route but lots of familiar roads from the Gold Coast, Triangle Ride, and Mansion Ride. We had planned to go to Sagamore Hill but a triathalon in-progress had the road closed, leading us to an unexpected ascent of the steep Mill Hill Rd.

We made one short stop for a couple of guys to refill bottles, and headed back. Together, we probably did about 50 miles. My total for the day, 74.36 miles. A good endurance ride with enough hills to keep us honest. Thanks Todd, Harvey, and Matt for a great ride!

More Photos from Sunday

2009-08-19T11:52:00.002-04:00

A few more photos...

All photos from Mike W.

Eaton's Neck and East Island

2009-08-16T19:59:00.003-04:00

Great ride today with Mike W. Exchanged a few e-mails, text messages, and phone calls and agreed to meet this morning at 5:30 AM for an 85-100 mile ride to the North Shore. Mike had a few route options in mind. In the end, we settled on a loose "triangular" route from Wantagh, northeast to Eaton's Neck, west to East Island, then back south to Wantagh. Eaton's Neck and East Island would be connected by a VERY hilly 35-mile portion of the Gold Coast route.

At Eaton's Neck.

We met up at Brands before dawn with headlights and blinkies. Heading up Round Swamp Rd. there was no longer any need for the lights by the time we go to Old Country Road. We took OCR to Greenlawn then followed Mike's GPS out to Eaton's Neck, covering about 30 miles. A few people fishing there, otherwise a calm, quiet morning. We snacked on some energy bars and took a couple of photos.

Back on the bikes we left Eaton's Neck and hooked up with the Gold Coast route on Rt. 25A. It didn't take long before we started grinding up the short steep hills that this route if known for. We followed the road markings for about 35-miles, constantly ascending and descending along the hilly North Shore. By mile 65, we needed a short break for another energy bar and also to figure out how to link in a diversion to East Island.

As luck would have it, we ran into another cyclist also heading to East Island and he put us on the right track to the beach there. Soaking up the scenery there, bathroom break, and a couple of more photos. By now we were both feeling the heat of the day and taking note of our dwindling water supplies. A few short miles after leaving East Island we found a little coffee shop and replenished our water bottles.

The next goal was the traditional Gold Coast rest stop in Roslyn to evaluate our options for the last miles of our ride. We pulled into Roslyn with 75 miles covered so far. At this point, we were both feeling the effects of the midday heat and the hills and decided to head for home. Following the Gold Coast route until it intersected Westbury Rd., we then headed south, finally connecting with Merrick Ave.

After a quick rolling handshake, we headed our separate ways, a total of 88 miles done. Thanks to Mike for coming up with this great route, navigating via GPS, and posting these photos. Looking forward to our next ride.

Improvised Century

2009-08-15T13:11:00.002-04:00

Woke up to a warm, sunny day today. Planned on doing the Brands group ride at 7:00 AM, so I had an early breakfast and was out by 6:00 AM for some warm-up miles on the Jones Beach bike path.

Had good legs today and the warm-up turned into a 20-mile ITT, probably around 21-22 MPH average. Pulled into the Brands lot just in time for the ride start. Up Round Swamp Rd., six of us split off the front and set a brisk tempo up the LIE service road. Usual attacks on the hills, but some peleton etiquette should be reviewed.

(stepping on to soapbox...)
I'm all for attacking on the climbs in the name of friendly competition, but if a rider is strong enough to blow up the group on a climb, he/she should pitch-in and take a pull on the flats, not just wheelsuck for 90 percent of the ride.
(stepping off soapbox...)

We stopped on the way back down the LIE after one rider got a double flat. By then, the main group caught us and we all continued back to Round Swamp. Here is a photo from Mike (@M1CW on Twitter).

I was feeling like I wanted to ride more so I split off solo to do West Hills, another lap on the LIE, West Hills in reverse direction, one more trip up Round Swamp to Rt. 25, then home. Nabbed the century and really enjoyed a great ride in the sun.

Familiar Ground

2009-08-09T08:25:00.002-04:00

Back on Long Island on Monday night, did the old Brands route solo on Tuesday and Friday and mixed in a couple of short runs on Wednesday and Friday. I want to add in running one or two days a week for some cross training and also thinking it will be a good alternative to the bike in bad weather.

Did the Kreb Friday Night race for the first time all year. Got a mediocre 9th place in the B race. No breakaways so a big sprint at the end. Tried a small dig with 2 laps to go but got pulled back. Some effective team tactics going on, four or five riders with red tape on their arms worked together to setup one guy for the prime at 9 laps to go. Not common for the B race, usually not very organized in terms of team strategy.

Saturday, was a fast group ride with the Brands crew. Group of 7 or 8 formed in Dix Hills and we kept a high pace for the rest of the ride. I took a direct route home skipping the regroup at Brands.

This morning, supposed to rain so I did a couple of laps on the Jones Beach bike path. Second lap, at the third bridge, I see a guy running back, wearing cleats, pushing his bike along. I ask if he needs help and he says he got a flat, another rider tried to pump his tire with CO2 but it wouldn't hold air. I stop to help, he's never had a flat on his bike before and he has no tube, no pump, no tire levers, no patch kit, nada. We locate a sliver of metal in the tire. I patch the tube for him, remount the tire and inflate with CO2 to get him on his way. My good deed for the day!

Last day of vacation today :-( so back to the grind tomorrow morning. Not looking forward to it.

Early Morning on Harris Hill

2009-08-03T09:03:00.005-04:00

Leaving for home today. Went for an early morning ride up Harris Hill in Big Flats, NY. Same ride as yesterday. Chilly 55F this morning and dense fog in the valley. Warmed up on the climb up Harris Hill and arived at the top in bright sun. Nice 30.5 mile loop.

Looking back at the road I climbed up to the top of Harris Hill.

Thick fog blanketing the valley.

Me and the bike at the top of Harris Hill.

Little Video from Yesterday's Ride

2009-08-02T13:33:00.000-04:00

Middletown to Corning Ride Report

2009-08-01T21:47:00.008-04:00

I successfully completed my 2-day solo bike ride from Middletown to Corning, NY. I have to admit, it was a bit different than expected. Day 1 had an INSANE amount of climbing. I'm definitely in doubt of the 5700 ft. reported by mapmyride.com. Need some further investigation on this, felt like twice that! Not so steep, but lots of long grinding climbs in the 42x26. I'll try to put together a little narrative of the trip. It seems like there are so many little incidents over 2 days and 200 miles of riding. Lots of riding through the woods, farmland, and small rural towns. A couple of busy roads but they were few and far between. Sometimes testing my limits as a rider, most of the time enjoying the best things that cycling has to offer.

Day 1 - Middletown to Deposit
Mile 0 - Up at 5:00 AM at the Super 8 in Middletown, where I was dropped of the night before. PB&J for breakfast, fill water bottles and Camelbak, then checkout. Nervous about the rain and thunderstorms heading into the area. The desk clerk takes a look at me and my bike and says, "I hope you're not going far, it looks like rain." I think to myself, "Not too far, just 100 miles!" Rain starts, just as I clip in at 5:50 AM.

Mile 5 - Hook up with Bike Rt. 17. Rain has stopped, but I'm soaked to the skin.

Mile 25 - Good amount of climbing, then a 4-mile long descent, 35-40 MPH, awesome! Rolling into Port Jervis.

Mile 30 - Following Rt. 97, North, considered a "Scenic Byway" along the Delaware River. Yes, very scenic, but an extreme amount of climbing! Has anyone at the NYS Department of Transportation actually ridden this route on bike? Nothing really steep, but a challenge due to the frequency and length of the climbs.

Mile 35 - Came within 100 yards of a black bear. A woman in a car coming the other way warns me of a bear in the road. I see the bear, we look at each other, I back off. I wait for a couple of cars to go by and scare the bear back into the woods before I hammer past on my bike. SCARY!

Mile 55 - Rain starts again, slowly getting heavier as the miles pass.

Mike 70 - 35 MPH descent in the rain to test the nerves. I climb into Calicoon, rain gets alot more intense and the sky turns black. Rain is too heavy to proceed and getting a bit dangerous. I pull under an awning at a hotel and call Linda on the cell phone and ask her to login and check the weather. She says there is a storm cell over Calicoon but it should pass in about an hour. I wait for 45 minutes, eat a CLIF bar, until the rain lightens then head out again.

Mile 80 - Crest a 10-mile climb I've been ascending since Calicoon. Steady rain. Thinking about asking Linda to meet me at Hancock to pick me up and forget the whole thing.

Mile 90 - Arrive in Hancock, still raining. Bike Route 17 wants to send me on a 30-mile loop to Deposit. I talk to a local at the Sunoco and he gives me a route of about 20 miles. I go for the shorter version.

Mile 100 - The "shortcut" has sent me over 10 miles of new chipseal (gravel). Finally get to Rt. 10 for the descent to Deposit.

Mile 112 - Arrive at the Deposit Inn, dripping wet at the front desk. Talking to the owner about my ride, where I came from, where I'm going. He hands me a rag to wipe off my bike and doesn't bat an eye about me bring the bike into the room with me. Rinse out my bike clothes and hang them to dry. Get some dinner at Wendys. Tomorrow should be an easier day, good weather is forecast, and should be much less climbing. Later, I wheel the bike out of my room to oil the chain. The owner sees me and asks if I'm going for a ride! Take a little walk to stretch the legs, then relax in front of the TV.

Day 2 - Deposit to Corning
Mile 0 - Out at dawn, CLIF bar for breakfast.

Mile 20 - The right shift lever is stuck and won't shift the rear derailleur. My 27-speed is now a 3-speed. I fiddle with it for a few minutes with my multi-tool and get it working, but I will need to baby it for the rest of the day. Must have gotten mucked up with the rain from yesterday. There's heavy fog but at the top of the hills, I can see a little blue sky.

Mile 25 - Passing through Binghamton.

Mile 55 - Need some energy, stop in Owego for a cup of coffee and an apple danish.

Mile 80 - Been cruising the last 25 miles! Some climbing, but no problem compared to yesterday. Legs feeling a little drained.

Mile 102 - Meet the familiy who are driving to Harris Hill park for pool and BBQ. I'll finish the ride to Corning then drive back to meet them.

Mile 108 - Arrive in Corning. Mission Accomplished! Shower, yogurt, banana, and back out the door for a fun afternoon at the park.

So, 2 days, 220 miles, its done. It been said, "Adventures suck while your having them." Possibly true in this case with the horrendous weather and brutal climbing on Day 1. But I am SO glad I did it! A bunch of experiences I will thinking about for days, weeks, months, and years to come.

On the practical side:
0 flats on my Continental Gatorskins with 3500 miles already on them :-)
Probably packed too much. Besides my shorts, jersey, helmet shoes, and gloves:
- Camelbak Blowfish hydration backpack containing pump, spare folding tire, tube, 7 CLIF bars, mix for 3 bottles, maps, GPS, camera, non-bike clothes (shorts & t-shirt), sandals, rain cape, blinkie light, cell phone, money, credit card.
- Seat bag containing two tubes, multi-tool, patch kit, CO2 inflator, tire levers.

Whats next?...

P.S. According to bikely.com elevation, Day 1 7418 ft., Day 2 3698 ft. These seem reasonable.

Making Preparations

2009-07-30T13:33:00.004-04:00

On vacation this week, so been doing lots of riding over the past 5 days:
Saturday, Brands group ride, 63 miles
Monday, solo century with hills, 100 miles
Tuesday, solo ride with rolling hills, 60 miles
Wednesday, solo century flat, 102 miles

Besides just enjoying time on the bike, I wanted to get some big miles under my belt in preparation for a long, two-day, solo bike adventure that I've thought about doing for a long time. Looks like the pieces are going to finally fall into place. I'm going to follow New York State Bike Route 17 from Middletown to Corning, where I'll meet my family to spend a long weekend together. I originally wanted to start the ride from home, in Wantagh but that would have added another day to the ride and I wasn't thrilled about riding through Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan. So, the plan is that I'll be dropped off in Middletown on Thursday evening, ride from Middletown to Deposit on Friday, then Deposit to Corning on Saturday.

Day 1 - Middletown to Deposit, 117 miles, 5800 ft. elevation gain

Day 2 - Deposit to Corning, 110 miles, 5800 ft. elevation gain

It will be my first back-to-back centuries, some new scenery, and a fair bit of climbing to keep things interesting. Spending all day today analyzing the route, packing, and creating some rough cue sheets. Got my motel reservations for Middletown and Deposit. Only remaining question mark is weather for Friday, but that is out of my control. Ride report to follow!

Ride to Sagamore Hill with Mike and Bob

2009-07-19T12:29:00.002-04:00

Mike posted and e-mail that he was going to to a ride to the North Shore in the morning, 7:00 AM start from Brands. I though this would be a good recovery ride after yesterday so I e-mailed him back that I would meet him at 7. Mike mentioned that Bob and Todd were also interested.

Went out early for 20 miles on my own on the bike path and Cedar Creek loop. Then, met up with Mike, Bob and new rider, Phil, at Brands. Thought we would meet up with Todd enroute. We took an easy pace up to the LIE, where Phil split off to head east. Mike, Bob and I continued north to Stillwell Ave. to meet Todd but he wasn't there. A few phone calls to try an coordinate and we continued north, over some short but STEEP hills, eventually making our way to Sagamore Hill.

Taking a short rest break, I noticed my front tire was soft, so I broke out the tire levers, removed a small piece of glass from my tire and replaced the tube.

Somehow, we never hooked up with Todd, but the three of us, started back south, conquering the hills in reverse direction. I think Mike said we got over 2,500 feet of elevation in less than 50 miles. Total for me was 70 miles. No idea on the ride time, we had lots of stops and starts. It was a great ride in all respects: route, weather, and company of riders!

Putting the Hammer Down on the Brands Ride

2009-07-18T10:10:00.002-04:00

Brands ride was a hammerfest again this week! Went out early on my own for 24 "bonus" miles on the Jones Beach bike path and a couple of loops around the Tour de Parc oval at Cedar Creek. Then, any easy ride over to Brands for the weekly group ride.

Another good turnout and some early clouds blew out after about half an hour. The group had three flats within the first 11 miles of the ride. Finally, when we got to the LIE, the pace picked up and the usual attacks started around Dix Hills. Mike W. opened it up and we were about a group of 5 until Ariel just blew things up! That started about 12 miles of constant attacks and counter attacks all up and down the LIE service road. Worked with Mike W. on the westbound leg after we dropped off the back a little bit. It was really hard work for the two of us going into the wind. I caught everyone except Ariel by the time we regrouped back at Round Swamp Rd.

More fast riding and attacks all the way back to Brands. Really fun, challenging ride, averaging about 19.5 MPH, which is fast for this ride. 63 miles total. Humid day, good thing I brought two bottles this time!

Saturday Group Ride, Sunday Solo

2009-07-12T09:14:00.002-04:00

Nice weather on Saturday, went out at 6:00 AM for 20 miles on the Jones Beach bike path (2 laps), then met up with the group at Brands. Big group and a few new faces. Amazing how much this ride has grown this year. Met up with Ariel at the LIE service road. Followed the usual script, all together until the sharp climb in Dix Hills, then a group of 4 or 5 of us split away. We kept a high pace and Ariel, as usual, absolutely flying on the climbs. Stopped back at Round Swamp Rd. for a short regrouping then hammered back to Brands. A few riders taking it a bit easier to conserve something for Sunday's hilly Gold Coast ride. Toal of 60 miles for me.

Sunday morning, early solo ride for me. No Gold Coast century, first time missing it in six years. On call for work starting at 9:00 AM. Did a fast solo ride of the Brands route and West Hills. Roads a little wet from overnight thunderstorm that passed though but great weather, otherwise. Great legs today! Did 50 miles and just barely missed a 20 MPH overall average (19.74). Left it all on the road today, rode the LIE like a race.

July 4th Weekend Rides

2009-07-05T20:07:00.002-04:00

Busy day planned for Saturday, so just time to head out early in the morning for 50 miles on the Brands route and West Hills. The group did meet up for an 8:00 AM start but I opted to head out for a solo ride at 5:30 AM, just getting home around 8. Great riding weather and legs felt really good.

Sunday, I wanted to do a longer ride. Again, started early, 6:00 AM this time. I cobbled together a century ride, riding from home to BAE Systems in Greenlawn, the usual start to the HBC Gold Coast rides. The official Gold Coast ride is next weekend, but I knew they had already painted the streets with the cue markings for all the rides. I would have 40+ miles just riding to and from Greenlawn, so once there I did the 55-mile route as marked. Once again, great weather.

It was a hard ride, lots of climbing, though a few of the big climbs from the full 100-mile version were missing. Pretty much non-stop except for two bathroom breaks. My last few solo centuries, I've been able to complete the whole ride on two bottles and two Clif bars, so its been convenient not to have to make any food and water stops. I took the GPS this time, here is a link to the ride. Elevation gain looks a little high and there is one hiccup where the satellite signal was lost. I know for sure I did not hit a high speed of 55 MPH!

Weekend Rides - Corning

2009-06-28T22:30:00.002-04:00

Had to miss the Tour de Cure charity ride with the Brands group on Saturday as I was out of town with the family. Tried to make up for it with a couple of long rides through the countryside.

On Saturday, family function at noon, so I hit out early to do a 70-mile version of the century I was planning for Monday, just skipping the loop around the lake. Ran into an unexpected road closure so I doubled back to Corning, did the Harris Hill loop with its single long, steep climb, then another 20 rolling miles for 77 total. Didn't feel great that day but it was a good workout.

Felt much better on Sunday, early start again and this time I worked out a detour around the road closure. Favorable winds heading west. Beautiful scenery, why didn't I bring the camera!?! Most flat and rolling route, one steep climb. Saw a few deer, wild turkeys, woodchuck, gophers, chipmuncks, some kind of soaring bird (a hawk, maybe?), horses, cows. Bit of headwind heading back and it was hard work on the rolling west side of the lake and the long (but not too steep) climb from Hammondsport to Bath. Nice cruise back to Corning and good timing as the rest of the family was just sitting down to brunch. 108 miles on the day.

Brands Ride and Bonus Miles

2009-06-20T11:24:00.002-04:00

A good morning, weather-wise, getting a break from the rain that has been hanging around all week. Had a great 80-mile ride today, some solo, some with the Brands group, and some with a 4-rider group that split off from the Brands ride to hit some hills on the North Shore.

Did two laps solo on the bike path before heading over to the bike shop. Met Mike W. on the return and the two of us went over to Brands. There was a steady stream of buses on the Wantagh Parkway ferrying spectators to the U.S. Open Golf Champoinship.

At Brands a group of about 10 riders assembled and Jamie gave us a last minute route alteration to avoid Round Swamp Rd. bacause of the U.S. Open. It was the exact same variation I did on my own last weekend.

The group broke up (as usual) once we started hitting the rollers on the LIE service road. There were a few attacks on the west-bound leg and I finally just decided to hammer off on my own and see if the group had any desire to chase me down. Mike W. and I had chatted about heading North to do some hills at the junction with Round Swamp Rd., so I waited there until the group came by. Some riders filled water bottles, Mike W. sharing his extra Gatorade with me (thanks Mike!!!). So Mike, myself, and two other riders from the Brands group headed up into West Hills, crossed Rt. 25 and did a few climbs around Cold Spring Harbor, Woodbury, etc. Mike was our navigator and those few hills really added to the ride.

We retraced our route back south and back to Brands, trading some strong pulls. All four of us agreed that it was a great ride. I thought I'd be doing 50 miles today, it turned out to be 80, and I have no complaints. Legs still feeling great at the end. Not sure what the weather will bring tomorrow but this weekend is already a success!

Soggy Sunday

2009-06-14T19:15:00.002-04:00

Another early morning ride to be home in time for work. Start time 5:30 AM, same route planned as yesterday except this time threat of rain, so I headed out on the old rain bike, expecting to get wet. Just 5 miles in and the rain started, light but steady for the next 20 or so miles. Rain stopped about halfway back on the westbound leg of the LIE service road. Slow climbing through West Hills then a welcome tailwind as I headed south, back home. Another 51 miles.

I made a point yesterday and today to avoid Round Swamp Rd., expecting closures around the U.S. Open Golf tournament at Bethpage. I only realized later, they will be playing NEXT weekend. Doh!!!

Spent a few hours on the phone and the computer with work, then cleaned the bikes under sunny skies this afternoon.

Early Solo Saturday Ride

2009-06-13T11:43:00.003-04:00

Early start today because I needed to be working by 10:00 AM. Did a modified Brands route to avoid Round Swamp Rd. and any congestion and road closings due to the U.S. Open golf tournament. Instead, from Central Ave., made a left on Broadway, up to Plainview Rd., a right on Old Country Rd., which let me out right at the corner of the LIE and Round Swamp. From there, just the usual LIE service road, then West Hills (both directions). Then, the same route home.

Warm, humid day, a little taste of summer!

Two Great Rides This Weekend

2009-06-07T20:19:00.002-04:00

After three straight days of rain, the weekend weather forecast looked promising for some good bike riding and especially for Sunday's annual Bike-Boat-Bike group ride.

On Saturday, a good spin with the Brands group was in order in preparation for the longer ride on Sunday. Went out at 6:00 AM for an hour on my own before meeting the group at the Brands lot. A good turn out of riders, including Jamie, Mike, Bob, Harvey, Todd, and Ariel. We kept and easy pace up Round Swamp Rd. then the LIE service road to Dix Hills. Scott and Ariel picked up the pace on an uphill, I grabbed Ariel's wheel and then the two of us hammered to the turn-around. We soft-pedalled to St. Matthews church, then waited a minute or two to regroup with the others. Stayed mostly together back to Round Swamp Rd. Mike and I decided to loop through West Hills, then headed back to Brands. A very enjoyable ride, and a good workout. Total of 60 miles, for me.

Sunday morning, out early for the 1 hour drive to Mattituck for the Bike-Boat-Bike ride. Met Harvey, Todd, and Bob from the Brands ride at registration. They were doing the 65-mile route in prep for the Tour de Cure century later in the month. I met up with the East End group, 100 mile route on the agenda. We had a dozen or so riders and made for a fast group. Great weather, fast pacelines, Pyzahl taking some long pulls (thanks!). Just a really fast, challenging ride! Various riders broke off at points if they were riding straight home or had other plans. Five of us ending up back at the Mattituck lot with 103 miles, 20.8 MPH average moving speed. Only one flat for the whole group. Great fun riding with this group!

As usual, Pyzahl documented the ride with some great photos. Here is a link to the photo album.

Here are a couple of photos from Pyzahl's album:

Ride Recaps for This Weekend and Last

2009-05-31T17:22:00.002-04:00

Last weekend was a three-day weekend, with Memorial Day being Monday. Did a 100-miler on Saturday, detailed ride report here. The next morning, got out for a little later start and did the Triangle Ride, a very fast paced group ride that originates in Little Neck and follows a circuitous route around the North Shore. Last time I did this ride I wrecked my rear wheel, but no such troubles this time. A hard ride with lots of short steep climbs and accelerations. I managed to stay with the group and hooked up with Mark from Babylon Bikes for the ride home. A total of 60 miles for me that day. Finally, on Monday (Memorial Day), did an early morning solo ride of the Brands route and West Hills to get home in time to see my daughter march in the local parade and prepare for a family BBQ at the house. Was really happy with a 210-mile total for the long weekend.

This weekend, did 50 miles solo on Saturday, another early start, 5:00 AM. Nice weather and light traffic made for an uneventful but pleasant ride. This morning, wanted to stretch my legs at the Triangle ride again. Rode the 9 miles to meet the ride at Steele Hill Rd. in Westbury and waited a couple of minutes with a few other riders for the big peloton to whisk by. We jumped on and the group kept a nice steady pace, heading east, then North up Sweet Hollow Rd. At 27 miles in, one rider crashed hard when he tried to replace his water bottle and touched wheels with the bike ahead of him. He launched over the side of the bike and landed in the lane of oncoming traffic. Luckily, cars were able to stop in time. Rider up fairly soon but lots of mechanical issues with the bike. Seeing that he was okay, and a bunch helping him with the bike, I decided to head home. Did an extra loop through West Hills to get the mileage and ended with another 50.

Noticed this year a lot of riders on the Triangle ride wearing TriangleCyclists.com jerseys. Check out their webiste for a little Triangle Ride history.

Thinking about Bike-Boat-Bike next weekend, probably meet the East End team for 100 or 125 mile route.

Solo Century

2009-05-23T11:42:00.002-04:00

Had been hoping all week to get to do a long ride this weekend, and it turned out the weather, work, and family all worked out so I could do it today. I also wanted to ride with the Brands group this weekend so I incorporated the group ride into my plans.

Usual oatmeal and coffee pre-ride breakfast, then out the door at 5:30 AM. Rode down the Jones Beach bike path (before the airshow crowds showed up) and it was a good ride except for the swarms of gnats at each of the three bridges. Was going to do two laps but the gnats made me think otherwise. Instead, I opted to do a dozen or so loops of the Cedar Creek Park loop road, same course as used for last weekend's Tour de Parc criterium.

Time check, 6:55 AM so headed over to Brands for the 7:00 AM start. A good turnout of familiar riders, at least 15. By the time we got up Round Swamp Rd., we were in three or four groups already. Up the first LIE hill, I saw Ariel, who was taking photos of us and I stopped to say hi. He is out of commission right now with a separated shoulder. I got back on the road but the group was long gone. Ate a CLIF bar at mile 40. I caught up to groups of 1, 2, or 3 riders but it looked like the group sort of disintegrated. Most of the rest of the way like this, then I turned solo again, to do West Hills. Stopped at a little park for a bathroom break and refilled a water bottle. Up to Rt. 25 then straight back to Brands.

Now with 73 miles, it took a fair bit of willpower to head back out into the wind. Ate another CLIF bar and went straight up Round Swamp Rd. again, up to the Northern State Parkway, then looped back home. One lap around the block to get the odometer to tick over to 100 miles!

A good ride, great weather, but a little less wind would have been nice! Wish the Brands group would have stayed together a bit longer but it was my decision to stop and visit with Ariel. Maybe I'll get to see some of his photos, should be some good action shots!

Tour de Parc Photos, Video, Links

2009-05-18T19:16:00.006-04:00

Race Results

Video of me at the front of the peloton chasing a breakaway in the Cat. 4 race at Tour de Parc on Sunday.

Racing through the rain in the Masters 40+ race. Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/8562469@N08/

Coasting in after a fast, wet Masters race. Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/8562469@N08/

Photo sites where I found the above:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/71596223@N00/sets/72157618389219452
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8562469@N08/sets/72157618320926345
http://tinyurl.com/qpwgv6
http://tinyurl.com/qbcnu2

Will post additional links here if I find any. Enjoy!

Tour de Parc Race Report

2009-05-17T13:35:00.002-04:00

Today was race day at the Tour de Parc at Cedar Creek in Wantagh, my own backyard! I guess I was feeling strong when I registered a rew weeks ago and signed up for two races, the Masters 40+ and the Cat. 4.

Both races were 25-mile criteriums and happened to be scheduled back to back. Masters first at 9:30 AM, then Cat. 4 at 10:30 AM. Had my usual pre-ride breakfast of coffee and oatmeal and added a bananna knowing I'd need the fuel. Chance of rain predicted all morning so I was a little concerned abount negotiating the hairpin turn on the course in a fast moving pack. Roads damp when I left to ride to the park but not raining... yet!

Picked up my race numbers from the registration desk, pinned them on the jersey, one over the other, and did a couple of slow laps around the park while the Cat. 5 race was going on. Promptly at 9:30 AM, the Masters riders were called to the line. I saw Paul C. and Mike I. in the field, so I think we were the only three East End riders. No sooner did the start whistle sound and the rain started. First few laps were blistering fast, nipping at 32 MPH on the back stretch (wind aided) and about 22 MPH on the finishing straight, into the wind. The rain was intense and lots of road spray. Two riders attacked on lap 3, and that was the last we saw of them for the rest of the race. A few bridge attempts were not successful and teammates of the leaders foiled most other attempts. It was a hard fast race and on the last lap, I could not hold on to the group that sprinted for the finsh. I ended up at the back of the main pack, but I did accomplish my goal of not getting dropped. My first Masters race, under my belt, and an epic one at that!

I did a quick u-turn at the start/finish line and had Ed pull off my Masters race number to reveal the Cat. 4 number underneath, just as they were calling the Cat. 4 race to the line. Had about 1 minute to drink something and catch my breath before the whistle to start the Cat. 4 race. East End represented well in this race, me, Karl, Rob, Chris, Larry, George, maybe one or two others. Again, a fast start. Amazingly no crashes in either race! By now the rain had stopped and the roads actually started to dry out a bit by the end of the race. There were five or six breakways, solos, but they were reeled in. The last one stayed away for about 6-7 laps, only to be caught on the final lap.

East End was successful in the end with Karl taking the win and Larry picking up fourth. Again, I was poorly positioned for the sprint and ended mid-pack at the finish but I tried to make a contribution to the team by working to pull back some breakaways and pulling for the team as much as I could. I'm afraid the Masters race took a bit out of me and I didn't have much punch left at the end of 50 miles of racing.

I'll check around to see if I can find any race photos later in the week and post some links here if I find any. Even with the rain, an exciting day of racing. Legs sore now but I felt strong and easily stayed with the group in both races. Satisfying day of racing, tried to do the EECT jersey proud.

Brands Route with Joel L.

2009-05-10T10:46:00.004-04:00

Came home yesterday evening to find a voice message from Joel L., one of the original Brands group riders from a few years ago. Joel has since moved away from the island but he does come down a few times a year and we have met up for rides on a few occasions. I had an early start planned to be home in time for Mother's Day breakfast.

We planned to meet at Brands at 5:45 AM to start a 50-miler, usual Brands route and West Hills. Nice sunny day, strong wind from the West. The early favorable winds gave us ample opportunity to chat during the ride and catch up on what we've been doing the past two years: jobs, kids, cycling, running (for Joel), etc.

After the turnaround, I flatted on piece of glass at mile 23. Repaired quickly and we headed into the wind to Round Swamp. Roads were in good shape, all dried out from yesterday's morning rain storms. On the way home, Joel flatted after hitting a pothole at mile 47. Repaired the flat and we continued on home, said our goodbyes, and I raced home, now late for breakfast.

Had some bacon and eggs and mimosa's for Mother's day. It was great to meet up with Joel. Had a good strong ride on a nice day.

Joel and I on Hilltop Rd.

Who'll Stop the Rain...

2009-05-09T08:48:00.003-04:00

The plan was to do a 3-hour (50-mile) early morning ride. Had a hard stop time of 9:00 AM to get ready for a first communion in the morning. I figured on a ride start at 5:30 AM to be home by 8:30 AM, leaving a cushion for a flat or other mechanical. I woke up with the alarm only to find that a storm cell was moving through Nassau County. Heavy rain, thunder and lightning, not good riding conditions.

Delayed my start by 1 hour, checked the local radar and saw that the storm had passed to the east and nothing headed my way. So, I had some coffee and oatmeal, suited up in shorts and a short-sleeve jersey, and headed out on the rain bike at 6:30 AM. Since I lost an hour of ride time, I decided to do the 35-mile route I did with Mike W. a few weeks ago. I estimated it should get me home right at the 2-hour mark.

Predictable, the roads were wet and full of sand and runoff from the storm. It was a messy ride, no doubt, but the light wind, no rain, and warm temperature (60F) kept it from being a truly "epic" affair. Up through West Hills, it reminded me of some footage from an old Liege-Bastogne-Liege race video I have: wet, misty, narrow road through the forest.

On the ride, I passed Bethpage Park, where there is now a huge tent city and grandstands for the upcoming U.S. Open. Quite a project going on there. The course itself is lush green an manicured thanks to all this rain we've been having.

Home right at 8:30 AM as I hoped, very wet and covered in mud. Hosed off the bike, glad to get 35-miles in today. Hopefully the rain will hold off tomorrow morning so I can get some morning miles in on Mother's Day.

Bratwurst Century

2009-05-06T16:20:00.002-04:00

Did the annual "Spring Century" with the SBRA EB group, better known as the Bratwurst Century. As usual, we loosly followed the Bike-Boat-Bike route, heading east from Riverhead on the North Fork to Greenport, short ferry ride to Shelter Island, across Shelter Island, another ferry to the South Fork, then back west to Riverhead.

A cool 50F at the ride start, overcast, wet roads, but no actual rain. We headed out with 15 riders. First flat at about mile 15, quickly changed, and we were off again. Steady pacelines, 20+ MPH. At about mile 30, a pothole took out Charlie and also caused Rick to flat. Charlie hit the ground hard! Two motorists stopped to assist but as the shock of the crash wore off, Charlie felt okay enough to get back on the bike. He continued with us to the ferry and Shelter Island, but decided to take a direct route back, accompanied by John Y. Hurt something on his right side, hoping its not too serious. Had a Clif bar on the ferry ride.

Last little delay was another flat at mile 50. Took a few minutes to extract the offending sharp stone, but after the flat was repaired just another 10 miles to lunch in Amagansett. By this time the sun was out and we had a nice lunch, sitting outside at some picnic tables. We were obviously in the "Hamptons" as my turkey and cheese on whole wheat was a pricey $7.30! A bag of peanut M&M's and a bottle of water and we were off again.

The last 40 miles had us in good pacelines but no one could quite remember the exact route so there were more than a few misdirections and wrong turns that kept breaking our momentum. Finally back to the start with 101.9 miles, 19.4 MPH moving average speed, elapsed time just uder 7 hours.

It turned out to be a great and and a great ride with friends. Will be back next year!

Fast, Wet, EB Ride

2009-05-03T13:12:00.003-04:00

Me and Robin at the start of Rt. 51. Waiting for 2nd flat to get fixed. Photo: Pyzahl

Wanted to get in a fast ride before Tour de Parc races in two weeks, so despite the threat of rain, I made the trek East to Manorville of the Early Birds group ride. Group was mostly made up of East End/Krebs Cycle team, so we were in for a fast ride.

We had light rain for the whole ride, tailwind headed east, then a bit of headwind for the return. Fast paceline the whole way. There was an early split due to a flat tire. Again, I was in the group that waited. Strong group of riders still, and lots of old friends: Pyzahl, Mike, Kevin, Tom, John, Robin, George (I'm sure I left someone out). Brian, Tom, and Mike seemed to be pulling us along alot of the time but I think we all managed to contribute a good share.

I felt really good on the ride and was at the front part of our group for the critical sections: the tanks, Rt. 51 and CR 111. Did not get dropped! So, I feel like I won't make a fool of myself at the races (May 17th, Cedar Creek Park, Wantagh). I think we ended with 54.8 miles, about 21.5 MPH moving average.

I see Pyzahl posted some photos from the ride so I'm going to try to link to a few here:

Waiting for the first flat. Tom S. rocking the East End sub-team purple and black! I'm up the road in the regular orange and blue. Photo: Pyzahl

Regroup after the tanks. Photo: Pyzahl

Cutchogue deli stop, mile 30. I'm on the left. Photo: Pyzahl

The Rain Bikes Make an Appearance

2009-05-02T11:11:00.002-04:00

Rained all night and still raining when I got up this morning, so I took my time getting ready to ride. I figured the Brands ride would be a washout so I was resigned to doing a short solo ride on the rain bike. No rides at all on Thursday and Friday due to work schedule and rain.

As I was having a cup of coffee and checking e-mail, I got a twitter from Mike W. that he was heading to the Brands ride start. Great! I quickly gulped down my coffee and got ready, arrived at Brands just about 5 minutes late. Met James and Mike there, so the three of us set out on the usual route. All of us on our "rain bikes", me on the Trek 520, Mike W. on his Specialized Allez, and James on an unbranded frame he built up himself. James was not feeling 100% so we kept a comfortable pace. It gave us the opportunity for some good conversation as we tackled the rollers on our route. Luckily no wind, and the rain stayed away for just about the entire ride.

After the LIE service road out-and-back, Mike and I went through West Hills and James went up Old Country Road. We regrouped at Rt. 25, then headed home. I was happy to end up with 50 miles on the day, more than I probably would have done on my own. Thanks to Mike and James for braving the elements, it turned out to be a great ride!

Brands Team Photo Shoot

2009-04-27T21:02:00.001-04:00

Check out some of the photos from yesterday's Brands Team photo shoot! It was a lot of fun. Thanks to Todd N. for setting the whole thing up.

Copyright © Cecilia Grace Mizin Photography http://cgmizin.zenfolio.com

Entire Gallery

Short but Sweet

2009-04-26T10:02:00.002-04:00

Busy day on tap but I arranged to meet up with Mike W. for an early morning ride. Had two hours available so we agreed on a 35 mile out-and-back route, up Round Swamp Rd., through West Hills, up to Rt. 25, then back. Click here to view Mike's GPS track.

Weather was PERFECT! Temperature 65F, sunny, light wind. Nice and flat to start and get warmed up, some easy climbs, then a nice quick spin home. A short ride, but sometimes quality is more important than quantity.

No mechanical issues, which is a good thing after all the maintenance work I did yesterday. Thinking about switching to a 12-23 cassette for these local rides for more gear choices when cruising these mostly-flat roads.

Renewal

2009-04-25T15:51:00.007-04:00

Excellent ride this morning with the Brands group, then some much needed bike maintenance.

I planned all week to make the Brands ride on Saturday morning. The forecast predicted great weather and I was looking forward to a good ride with the group. The usual Brands ride is about 38 miles, and I wanted at least 50. So I headed out at 6:00 AM to do a couple of laps on the Jones Beach bike path, then stopped over at Brands a little before 7:00 AM. I was great to see everyone again, Jamie, Mike, Bob, Ed, Harvey, Todd, and a couple of other guys whose faces were familiar but not sure of the names.

A big group of about 20 or so, we started off at an easy pace to everyone could get warmed up. Ed attacked on Central Ave. and so the pace picked up on Round Swamp Rd. A few other guys taking off the front. I bridged then led up to the LIE service road. I turned around and it was just me and two other guys. We took a quick straw poll and we decided to keep going on our own. We kept a strong pace out on the LIE srevice road. One rider dropped off and headed for home, leaving just Dan and myself to finish up back at Round Swamp.

Met a group of 5 riders from our original peloton and we did one more repeat of the first hill on the LIE. Pick up some more remnants of the original group, then we all headed back to Brands. Nice, steady pace!

After our post-ride chat at Brands, I took a spin over to Seaman's Neck Park to catch the first half of my daughter's soccer game (they won, 6-0!!!). A total of 61 miles on the day.

Back home, I had some lunch and had a long session of bike maintenance:
- full bike wash
- new chain
- new cassette
- new brake pads
- mount tire on my new Easton Circuit rear wheel (replacing the one I broke on the Triangle ride)
- mount the trainer tire back on the spare wheel I had been using while waiting for my new wheel

A few photos:

My dented rim, tire bead folded in and braking surface deformed.

New brake pads

New chain and cassette

New Easton Circuit rear wheel

Busy tomorrow, so just a short ride planned.

EZ Century Ride with SBRA

2009-04-18T16:21:00.002-04:00

Met up with 7 SBRA riders for a flat century on the South Fork, out to Water Mill and back, 105 miles, just under 6 hours riding time. One rider doing her first century, so we had a few more waitups than usual. Fast ride East on Dune Rd., lunch at Water Mill, then back on a more inland route. A few familiar faces and met a few new riders. Good to spend a day on the bike in this nice weather.

Long Weekend Rides

2009-04-12T11:58:00.003-04:00

Friday, day off from work for traveling but had time in the morning to do 50 miles on the Brands route and West Hills. Weather was good, not too cold or windy. I've been riding on my spare rear wheel while waiting for a replacement Easton EA70 for the Circuit I wrecked last weekend on the Triangle ride. It was a really good ride, despite the workday traffic.

Saturday, up in Corning for the Easter Holiday. Its quite a bit colder and windier here. Managed to get in 65 miles from Corning to Savona, up to the Hills in Tyrone and Weston, back down to Keuka Lake and Hammondsport. Across to Bath, then a straight line back to Corning. A really strong headwind from the Northwest that I fought against for the first 30 miles. Took a lot out of me by the time I got to the hills but at least I got the tailwind for the 20 miles home.

This morning, only time for a short ride before Easter brunch, but I got in 25 miles on a FREEZING cold (25F) morning here. Did the big climb up Harris Hill, so I would not exactly call it a recovery ride. Good to do some rides in a change of scenery, but wish it was warmer and less windy.

View Larger Map

Triangle Ride, Cut Short by Pothole

2009-04-05T11:59:00.002-04:00

Decided to do the Triangle ride today, hoping to meet up with Ed, from Brands, and Mike W. Sunny skies, a little chilly, but quite windy. Left home at 8:20 AM and rode 9 miles straight into a headwind up north to Steele Hill Rd., just off the LIE to meet up with the Triangle Ride peleton (ride start is in Little Neck).

Met Craig G. there from Sanchez-Metro team. We didn't have long to wait for the peleton as they would be having a slight tailwind for the first part of their ride. As they passed, I jumped onto the end and it was a pretty civilized pace at the beginning of the ride. Met Ed in the group but did not see Mike W.

Things heated up on Fish Hatchery Rd., group split up and I ended up in no-man's land between the front group and the chase group. I was hammering trying to get back to the front group. Made a high-speed right turn, into a shady section. Before my eyes could adjust to the reduced light level, BAM!, rode straight into a pothole at 25 MPH. I coasted for a few seconds, waiting to hear the clink and rattle of a broken spoke. It didn't come, front rim looked okay, bike was stable, so I jumped back on the pedals and kept going.

A couple of miles outside of Oyster Bay, a chase group of 5 picked me up and we rode into the town of Oyster Bay, just about 30 seconds behind the front group, 30 miles into the ride. As I squeezed the brakes I felt a strong pulsing in the back brake lever. At this point, I realized it was the back wheel, so I dropped out of the group and got off the bike to evaluate the situation. Rear wheel bent! Crap!

Bike was rideable, no noticable cracks in the rim, so I turned back around and headed home solo. Twenty miles later, back home. Got my 50 miles, and a good workout, but at a price.

Really disappointed I wrecked my rim. Its been trouble-free since I got it 17,000 miles ago. Never even been trued! I guess I'll try to get it to Brands today to see if they can fix it. First I'll swap my tire to my backup wheel, that has a trainer tire on it now. Fingers crossed they can fix it.

Finally Back On The Road

2009-04-04T09:48:00.002-04:00

Did not get to do a road ride since last Saturday's rain ride on the Trek. Last Sunday was more rain so I skipped my ride, and, I came down with a really bad cold. No rides at all on Monday and Tuesday. Two short trainer sessions on Wednesday and Thursday as I was still recovering from my cold. Relegated to the trainer again on Friday morning because of rain.

Despite a late night at work on Friday, I was glad to see the Weather forecast for today, with rain not predicted until after noon. Decent temperatures in the mid 40's. The only problem would be the wind, steady 20 MPH out of the West, gusts to 33 MPH.

Not sure how deep my energy reserves would be after being sick earlier in the week, I opted to try a primarily North-South route to avoid riding directly into the wind. On the Specialized, solo, up Round Swamp Rd. to the LIE, did the first big hill on the service road, then back to Round Swamp Rd. and through West Hills.

Felt pretty good but after a small taste of that howling wind, I was glad I didn't head East on the service road! Heading back south, I met up with Ed from Brands who was out riding solo. We rode the 12 miles back to Wantagh together, and passed Mike W. who was heading north, on his own. Ed mentioned that this morning was supposed to kick off the regular Saturday A.M. Brands group ride for the season, but he was the only one that showed. Good to know this ride is starting up again, another ride option for Saturday morning! Ed is planning on doing the Triangle ride tomorrow morning. I think I will try to do it, as well, if the family schedule allows. Its a ride as challenging as EB but doesn't involve the long car ride out and back.

On the racing front, the Tour de Parc is on for May 17th, can't wait!

Spinning (Steel) Wheels

2009-03-28T11:39:00.002-04:00

Planned on a 7:00 AM start but mother nature had other ideas. Rain showers moved through so I delayed until 8:00 AM. Started out in a light rain on the rain/commuter bike, my 2nd hand late 80's steel Trek 520 touring bike. In the rain for about 45 minutes, up to the LIE, with a slight headwind. Made the right turn onto the LIE South Service road into a crosswind. By this time I was feeling the weight of the bike and had to start spinning some lower gears, especially when climbing. Although, the Shimano Biopace chainrings are nice when climbing out of the saddle!

Was thinking of shortening the ride to 40 miles, but a patch of blue sky and the tailwind after the turnaround at mile 20 encouraged me to go for the full 50 miles. Recovered a bit heading west on the North Service road, then headed up into West Hills, keeping a high cadence.

Heading back south on Round Swamp Rd. past the Bethpage golf course, the sun started shining and it was a nice ride home. Grit my teeth a little into the wind last few miles. Glad I did the full ride, tougher than usual on the old bike. Now need to clean it up, the drive train sounded like a cement mixer the last 10 miles, not a drop of lube left after 3 hours in the wet.

Awesome Early Bird Ride

2009-03-22T12:52:00.003-04:00

I decided to ride with the EB's out of Manorville today, wondering if all these base miles are actually adding up to something. In a word, YES! Had a great, fast ride, and felt strong for the whole route. It was also an interesting ride with respect to the group dynamics.

Oatmeal and coffee for breakfast, then loaded the car for the ride out to Manorville. Got there by 7:45 AM for the 8:00 AM start. We had 20 riders by the time we rolled out. It was nice catching up with the gang for the first few miles: Pyzahl, John & Robin, John Y., Fintan, Gary, Karl, etc.

Seven or eight miles in, someone lost a bottle. There were lots of shouts for the group to slow-up so he could retrieve the bottle then rejoin the group. But, the front group had a head of steam going and did not slow down. The back group that I was in, waited until the rider rejoined and then headed in pursuit of the front group. I initiated a chase but no one else wanted to try to bridge. In the end, it was futile.

Now on my own, I caught up to Fintan who also had lost his bottle and was unable to catch back on the front group. He and I rode together to the climb at the Northville tanks, just as the second group was about to make contact from behind. We had a good pace up the climb and were joined by Gary. The three of us had a pretty good gap on the group behind and worked hard together figuring that we would regroup with the front riders at the usual spot.

When we got to the regroup point, we were greeted by an empty parking lot. The front group decided to keep going and bypassed it. We three decided to wait for the group behind to catch up. Once we were back together, we headed out to the Cutchogue deli stop, the next point that we might have any chance to get back with the front group.

At the deli, just a couple of riders who bypassed the tanks in the hope of catching the front group at the deli, but were unsuccessful. We stopped so some riders could refill water bottles and grab a power bar. At this point we found that Robin had a shredded rear derailleur cable and could not shift out of the smallest cog. Luckily, she had a hex key and a couple of us proceeded to adjust the cable to a better gear in the back. At least she would have two gears to use by shifting the front ring.

After the deli, we would now be heading into the wind. We kept an easier pace, 19-20 MPH so no one would get dropped off the back and have to ride alone into the wind. The last major obstacles were Rt. 51 and Rt. 111. No major attacks in our group but everyone rode strong. I think we must have finished with a ride average over 20 MPH for the 54 miles, thanks to the tailwind for the first part of the ride.

For my part, I took some long, strong pulls. Felt really good today, and I'm pretty sure I could have stayed with the front group if we didn't have that early split. Kind of strange they didn't stop but I guess its hard to stop a fast moving train. All-in-all it was a great ride for me and I realized how much I miss the sensation of riding in a fast-moving group. I need to get out to this ride more often this season.

Great Early Ride, Numb Feet Aside

2009-03-21T12:33:00.002-04:00

Had to make it an early ride today so that I could take Tina to her soccer tournament this morning (they won 2-0!). Got up at the same time I usually do for my pre-work morning ride and got out the door by 5:30 AM. Below freezing, 28F, but no wind. Flicked on my headlight and taillight and got under way for a 50 mile ride along the Brands route and West Hills.

Some issues with my headlight, I've noticed that the rechargeable battery performance really drops off when the temperature is below 35F. After 15 minutes, the red "low-battery" light was on and the light dropped to low power. About 30 minutes in, I set it for medium power and I had no problems for the rest of the ride.

Sun was starting to come up at the 20-mile turnaround on the LIE service rode. I felt really strong today, especially when riding out of the saddle. Did a lot of extended climbing standing on the pedals. No water after mile 30, water bottle frozen! Finished with an 18 MPH average for the ride (total time, not just riding time).

Back by 8:30 AM, time to put the bike away, shower, eat some yogurt & granola, update my ride journal and head to the soccer game.

On the bike racing scene, a dramatic finish at Milan-San Remo! Here is a video of the last kilometer (anyone understand Flemish?).

Pre-Dawn Ride

2009-03-15T17:36:00.001-04:00

Family gathering at the house today for brunch, so I went out pre-dawn at 6:00 AM for the ususal 50-miler, solo. Headlight and taillight for the first 90 minutes. Pretty good ride, a little warmer, a little less wind. Another 50 in the bank!

Couldn't Decide on Today's Ride

2009-03-14T10:58:00.002-04:00

Checking the weather on Friday night, I new today would be pretty good for a ride, cold in the morning but supposed to warm up. No threat of rain, light wind. Hard to choose through my ride options:

- Meet up with Percy in Rocky Point for his usual Sunday 55 mile "Easy A Pace"
- Meet Mike W. and Harvey at Brands at 8:30 for bit easier pace
- Get thrashed at the Triangle Ride
- Usual solo ride, 50 miles, Brands Route and West Hills

Woke up this morning and took the path of least resistance, did my usual solo ride. Out at 7:00 AM, temp right at 32F. Legs felt a little blocked but that is not unusual for a Saturday morning. Sun finally started to appear about 20 miles in. At mile 35, I made the turnaround at Rt. 25 and was joined by another rider. With not much more than a "good morning", we headed South and traded pulls down to the LIE. Marcel said he was heading to Wantagh, me too! It seems we are neighbors, only a couple of block from each other! Passed Mike W. and Harvey (and Bob?) on Round Swamp as they were heading North.

Marcel took the direct route home, I detoured slightly to get my 50 miles. Marcel invited me to join him for the Triangle Ride tomorrow but I realize I'm going to have to pass since tomorrow is the girls' family birthday brunch and I need to be home early. Maybe I can meet up with him next Sunday.

Still planning on a ride tomorrow morning but its going to be a pre-dawn affair, with lights, etc.

Vitamin S

2009-03-07T12:38:00.005-05:00

Cleaning the sand and salt off the bike.

They guys at Rapha talk about their rides out west as having plenty of "Vitamin G", meaning the gravel surface on the seldom used back roads they seek out. My ride today had plenty of "Vitamin S", meaning sand, salt, snowmelt, and SUN! The weather cooperated and it was a realatively warm morning, around 45F when I started at 7:15 AM, up to about 55F when I got home, 3 hours later. As I update this blog, its nearly 70F!

Did 50 miles on the Brands route and West Hills. Tried to hook up with Mike W. this morning but I left a little earlier than I anticipated and I think he left a little later than planned, so we ended up missing each other. I was riding solo but I saw a lot of other roadies out. A couple of small groups were heading North on Round Swamp Rd., probably heading to the Triangle ride. On the LIE North service road, I ran into Atila from the Early Birds, who was on his way to a group ride leaving from St. Matthews church. I should have checked the SBRA ride schedule!

Due to the first three S's, the bike was in need of a major cleaning when I got home.

February Finale

2009-02-28T11:14:00.002-05:00

A hard-fought fifty miles today, the last day of February. Wind, wind, and more wind! Predominantly out of the North, but seemingly gusting from all directions, I didn't see a hint of tailwind until making the turn back south from Rt. 25, after 35 miles.

I was thinking this could have been a wet ride due to last night's rain but the steady wind dried things up. I was out the door by 7:30 AM, roads were dry, and although it was still on the cold side (mid 30's), the big factor was the wind.

Did the usual Brands route out and back on the LIE service road, then a loop through West Hills. On the way back, I hooked up with Harvey (from the Brands group) on Central Ave. and we rode together back to Brands. I continued on home and promptly scarfed down my regular post-ride snack, yogurt with granola and fruit.

Glad to get a good ride in today, tomorrow looks like its going to be a rainout, but I hope not!

Short Ride to Beat the Rain

2009-02-22T10:09:00.002-05:00

Rain forecast for the morning so I had to play it by ear in terms of what kind of ride I could do. Warmer temperatures in the 40's but gray skies. I decided to do a shorter route and take the beater bike, just in case. Again, thinking I might get caught in the rain, I wore wind/water-proof kit. I turned out that it was a little too much and after five miles, I ended up doing the rest of the ride with my jacket unzipped and flapping in the wind.

A good ride, windy, but I was glad to beat the rain. Within 20 minutes after I got home, the rain started!

Winter is Still in Here

2009-02-21T11:57:00.003-05:00

Cold and windy today, 28F and 15 MPH wind out of the west. Delayed my ride start to 8:00AM to give the sun a little more time to warm things up. Usual Brands route and West Hills. Roads are in good shape, just sandy on the shoulders. Surprised I didn't see any other roadies out.

I've been enjoying the Amgen Tour of California coverage on Versus every night! I wish there was more!

Too Many Flats!

2009-02-16T09:47:00.003-05:00

A day off from work today for President's Day. Temp still right at 32F, but I dressed warm and headed out early today, at 7:15 AM. Legs feeling a little rubbery after two long rides on Saturday and Sunday.

Headed up Round Swamp Rd. and made the right onto the LIE service round without even thinking about it. I was soon reminded that not everyone had the day off today as I encountered the caffiene-fueled, rush-hour crazed, maniacs on their way to work. I did an about-face as soon as it was safe to do so and went back to Round Swamp Rd. and up through West Hills.

Tailwind on the way back south. After I made the right onto Central Ave. I felt the bike's handling start to deteriorate. You guessed it, another flat tire! On the front this time. I shouldn't be surprised as the front tire has about 10,000 miles on it. As I struggled to get the tire off the rim, I could see that the rubber is in pretty bad shape, so I'm resigned that I need some new tires. I think I'll try and get some Continental Gatorskins and try to fend off these flats for the rest of the winter and spring.

Anyway, after changing the flat, I just took the direct route home for a total of 35 miles. A few less miles than I wanted but a good recovery ride nonetheless.

UPDATE
Fresh rubber!!!

More Sun and More Wind

2009-02-15T12:47:00.003-05:00

Same ride as yesterday: Brands route and West Hills. A little bit later start due to some work issues, out the door by 8:30 AM. More sun today but also more wind, again, out of the North. I passed Mike W. on his way back on Seaman's Neck road.

No flat today, but I was still constantly checking the tire throughout the ride. Good workout, all-in-all.

Working on the Base Miles

2009-02-14T11:40:00.002-05:00

Cold morning, right around freezing, but roads were clear and dry. Had my usual pre-ride breakfast of coffee and oatmeal then suited up in full cold weather kit. Out the door by 7:40 AM. Immediately into a headwind blowing from the North, but nothing too epic.

As I made my way up Round Swamp Rd. and onto the LIE service road, I felt like the bike's handling was a little off and that I was bouncing around in the saddle. Glanced at my back wheel to check for the telltale deflection in the tire that it was flat but it looked ok. I checked it constantly on the ride West but thought maybe I just lost a few pounds of pressure due to the cold temps. Even got off the bike at one point to squeeze the tire but it felt firm enough.

By mile 26, there was no doubt that it was going flat. So, I pulled over, got out a spare tube, tire levers, and CO2, and 10 minutes and one scraped knuckle later, flat was fixed.

Roads were sandy but dry, so I included the West Hills loop. Ended up with a nice 50 mile, solo ride. Legs felt strong but quads were burning on the last few little climbs. Looking to get in another one tomorrow, but depends on work.

Warm, Windy, And Wet

2009-02-08T10:22:00.005-05:00

Same route as yesterday, 44.4 miles in 2 hrs. 31 min., but much different conditions. Temperature range was 43F at the start and up to 56F by the end. I ditched the shoe covers, AmFib tights, Barrier jacket, and ski gloves. I was comfortable on the entire ride with knickers, base layer, SS jersey and LS jersey. It was so great to be out riding in warm weather without all the extra clothing.

The tradeoff was a ridiculous wind out of the west, gusting to 30 MPH! I was really grinding up those little rollers on the LIE service road into the wind. It was a really good workout.

Also, roads were very wet from melting snow and dew. Mixed with all the road salt and sand, it was a messy ride. The bike and I were covered with by the end of the ride, looking like a vision out of Paris-Roubaix.

Back from today's ride.

Covered with road salt and sand.

I don't know how long the warm weather will last but is was great finally getting outside again!

Ride Through a Snowy Landscape

2009-02-07T15:01:00.003-05:00

Pretty good weather today, so I hit the road for 45 miles on the Specialized. Roads were nice and dry. A little sand and salt but no ice on the main roads. Side roads are still a little dodgy, so I skipped the loop through West Hills. Snow still plentiful elsewhere and it was cool riding through this landscape, especially around the Bethpage golf courses.

Been communicating with a couple of the Brands riders, might hook up for a ride tomorrow.

Good Start to the Month of February

2009-02-01T22:53:00.002-05:00

Unusually warm today, at least compared to what January has been like. Finally got out for a long-ish road ride today, 41 miles along the usual Brands (LIE) route. Temps were reasonable, 36F - 40F, but quite windy on the return leg of the ride. Roads all clear of ice and snow, which was the main thing keeping me off the road lately.

Saw a few other riders out, as well. Legs felt really good considering I haven't ridden more than 30 miles in over a month, and only two rides over 15 miles in the whole month of January.

On the blog front, I'm going to start posting my daily rides on my Twitter feed instead of Velog, just seems a bit redundant at this point, plus, I can update twitter from my phone.

More Snow On the Way

2009-01-26T20:14:00.000-05:00

Getting very familiar with the indoor trainer this month!

Weather Didn't Cooperate

2009-01-19T07:39:00.003-05:00

Had a three-day weekend, including Martin Luther King, Jr. day but, unfortunately, could not get a road ride in. Saturday, woke up to 11F temperatures, too cold! Saturday and Sunday, woke up to fresh snow, both days. So, taking the weekend off from riding.

Here is this morning's scene from my kitchen window...

Scenic but doesn't lend itself to a ride on the road bike.

Seems to be a Trend

2009-01-11T09:20:00.002-05:00

Last weekend did a 30-miler up Round Swamp Rd. and back, on Saturday. I expected salty and sandy roads so I left the Specialized at home and took the Trek instead. Weather was not bad, temperature mostly in the high 30's, but quite windy.

Sunday, did a 45 minute spin on the trainer then worked on preparations for a big family gathering at the house.

This weekend, once again did the 30 mile ride up Round Swamp Rd., this time on the Specialized. Legs felt pretty good but it was cold, around 28F. Hands and feet numb after 30 miles so I called it a day.

Last night snow and freezing rain, so the roads are too icy to go out for a ride. Hopefully can (at least) two rides in next weekend, which is a holiday weekend.

Got some cycling odds and ends from Excel Sports this week: Flea headlight for my short morning commute to the train station, a little velcro loop to keep pant leg out of the chain, new chain and cassete that will need changing in a few weeks, another base layer, and some chain cleaner and lube.

Flea

2009-01-09T09:00:00.002-05:00

Commuted with my new Blackburn Flea today. Its a great little "be seen" light, as opposed to more powerful light that you would need to see the road in darkness. Its super light (17 grams), bright (for its size and power), and is easy to put on and take off the bike.

Another great feature is that it is rechargeable from any 1.5v battery. It comes with two wires with little magnets on the end that let you instantly connect it to a AAA, AA, C, or D size battery for charging. Neat!

Holiday Break

2008-12-28T13:15:00.004-05:00

First ride this morning after a 3-day holiday break. We were out of town for Christmas and I decided not to bring the bike this year. Actually, its been about two weeks since the last good road ride due to cold/snow/ice/rain these past two weeks.

Did a nice 30-mile ride in unseasonably warm temperatures (58F today!). Roads were wet from overnight rain so after I got back home I spent about an hour washing and lubing the bike. I got a couple of nice bike-related items for Christmas from my daughters: a Road Id and a portait of my bike (see below).

Other than that, most of my rides have been on the trainer. On the plus side, I'm glad I got to try out my new headphones for my iPod. Inexpensive, but have a nice, warm sound.

Hope the weather stays warm for a few days!

Got bike!

2008-12-14T10:59:00.002-05:00

So, for the first time in the past three weekends, the weather cooperated and I finally got two back-to-back long rides in. Both 7:00 AM starts, both days about 30F at ride start, same routes (Brands route along the LIE and West Hills) and both done in 2 hr 50 min, give or take a minutes. These are elapsed times, so include traffic stops, etc. Well, at least there is some consistency there!

Saturday was more windy and it was a little rough going at first until I got warmed up. Sunday, felt better. The muscles got used to riding again.

Takes so long to get all the layers on for these cold rides:

socks
base layer
jersey
shorts
bib tights
jacket
balaclava
shoes
helmet
ski gloves

Typical summer ride:

socks
jersey
shorts
shoes
helmet

Well, a cold ride is better than no ride.

Almost a Weather Repeat

2008-12-07T09:06:00.002-05:00

Similar to last weekend. Saturday was a cold morning but I set out early for a solo Brands and West Hills 50-mile ride. Temperature was 28F at start but the sun warmed things up to the low 40F's by ride end. A few other bikers out.

Woke up Sunday morning to SNOW! Nothing major but slushy and icy roads, so no road ride in the cards. Opted for a short run with Linda instead of the trainer.

Bailed Out

2008-11-30T09:51:00.002-05:00

Just about to step out the door this morning for a ride and the rain and sleet started! We weren't supposed to see this until 10:00 AM. So, taking a day off. Gonna watch the Giants and Jets instead.

Colder Today, But a Better Ride

2008-11-29T17:21:00.002-05:00

This morning's ride started at 34F but, for some reason, it felt more comfortable than Thursday's "Turkey Day" ride. No half-measures with the kit today: full shoe covers and ski gloves, but just a cycling cap under the helmet, balaclava was in the wash!

I headed out solo to do the Brands route and West Hills but bumped into Mike and Bob just a mile in. We rode together for about 10 miles, to about the midpoint on Round Swamp Rd. At that point, I wanted to pick up the pace so I headed off on my own. Wind was favorable heading east on the LIE service road to the turnaround. Now into a headwind but not too bad. The sun was out by this time and really started to warm things up.

Felt great back at Round Swamp Rd. so proceeded through West Hills, seeing the horses out and running around a bit in the paddocks off of Sweet Hollow Rd. Through the preserve then a fast return down Round Swamp Rd. passing Bethpage State Park and the golf courses there.

By surprise, caught back up with Mike and Bob on Central Ave., now joined by Harvey, too. We rode in the last 5 miles together to Jerusalem Ave. and I then took the shortcut home. All in all a really great ride for the end of November. Hoping for another good one tomorrow!

Hard to Disconnect

2008-11-27T10:45:00.002-05:00

Hard to get in the groove for today's ride. Hands got numb quickly due to my last minute substitution of neoprene cycling gloves instead of my ski gloves. Also had a stiff back, I think due to having to stand the past two nights for the train ride home from work. Thinking about a lot of things that need to be taken care of before the end of the year. Anyway, I carried on and by mile 20 I started to loosen up and get more comfortable on the bike and getting a little into the "zone".

Very light traffic in the morning so it was a nice quiet ride. No howling winds today.

Did the 50-mile Brands/West Hills route again, solo. A lot of other cyclists and joggers out to burn some calories before today's traditional Thanksgiving feast. Can't wait!