The Last Ride in Shorts

It was late November, and unusually warm for this time of year. I had Saturday off, and wanted to go for a ride on my North Shore Long Island route. I have been doing this route, or its variants, since I was about twelve years old. It proved to be the last day for cycling shorts, which, for me, mark the end of another active cycling season. Many people who do not live here are not aware of the beautiful country roads that are available for cycling. It's true that some creativity is involved in this suburban setting, but great rides can be constructed on Long Island's Gold Coast.

My ride took me from Planting Fields Arboritum up to Oyster Bay, Center Island, and Glen Cove. It was moderately hilly, and I took along  my LOOK KG381i, a carbon framed bike with a comfortable slack 71.5 degree seat angle. This frame was originally designed for Tour de France racing, but has become a great general riding and Century bike for me as well. The carbon frame had now been durable for  eight seasons

From this point on, tights will be necessary for riding. In the off season, I will combine on road and off road riding, gym,squash, and of course, cross country skiing when I can get it. My accomplishments this season include several old things and some new to me:

1.  Doing five Century rides

2. Doing two of those on fixed gear

3. Participating in D2R2, although it broke my body

For next season, I would like to accomplish several things, including doing the 5 Boro Bike Tour on a fixed gear, getting involved in some Randonneuring, and maybe getting to ride in California.

A visit to Bloomington, Indiana. We go to a tailgate party, and I get my buckle.

On Friday, November 5, 2010, my wife and I went to Bloomington, Indiana, to visit my son Zachary, who is a student at Indiana University. Of course,most cyclists know about Bloomington from the famous Breaking Away movie of 1979. This university town is very bicycle friendly and has a good plan for cycling with lots of bike lanes. My son plays Lacrosse for the university, but the big event was Indiana vs Iowa football. I attended my first tailgate party with about 40,000 19 year olds. Order was kept by bicycle police, who flowed freely through the crowd.I even consumed a Keystone Light beer, but not out of a funnel, as my son's friends insisted. Although Indiana lost in the last few seconds, attending a big 10 football game was quite an experience. After my road slamming of October 9, 2010 in Maryland, I noticed that an Ultra SL buckle from my Sidi Dominator left bike shoe was broken. Attempts to obtain a replacement buckle from several local bike shops and internet sites were unsuccessful. I even called Sidi, and was told that the buckle was obsolete, even the shoe was being sold new with the same buckle. Replacement with the new Caliper buckle and strap would be at least twice as expensive! Shame on Sidi. Fortunately, I found an Ultra SL buckle in Bikesmiths, one of the excellent shops in Bloomington.

My Sea Gull Century, October 9, 2010. I ride for pie,and get smashed

My wife and I went down to Ocean City, Maryland on October 8, 2010. As she is not a century rider but loves the beach, this arrangement was perfect. This was my second century ride on my fixed gear bike. The Sea Gull Century out of Salisbury, Maryland, is well run and well attended. About 6,000 riders participated, making this the largest century ride on the East Coast. I tried out the Snow Hill Century variant this year, and was pleased with my choice. As with the others, it is not pancake, but basically flat. A few undulations are present, but nothing that I would call a hill. There is great support during the ride. Thanks to the Maryland State troopers for stopping traffic at all most intersections along the route. Particularly attractive was the pier at Snow Hill, the 77 mile rest stop.



After the 77 mile rest stop, which included great cherry pie, I continued on the beautiful farm roads that characterize the bulk of this ride. At the 82 mile point I was on a empty country farm road, with gorgeous fields on either side. I decided to stop and take a short butt and hydration break, While checking my route map I heard the voices of a group of cyclists coming up behind me. What danger could there be on this wide, unoccupied stretch of country road?

Then...BLAMMO! I was flying through the air, flipped upside down, and landed on my back. At first I did not know what happened, but it soon became evident that one of the group approaching me did not see me pulled over on the right side of the road. At first I just lay there in a stunned state. Lots of following riders stopped to check on us. All of my limbs moved, and I was not in pain. Buddy, the guy who hit me, had road rash on his elbow and a banged up knee. After checking the bikes, we both eventually remounted, and, I am glad to say, finished the ride under our own power. My neck and back were stiff, but I sucked it up and rode it in. The fixed gear Pinarello was lively on the road, and perfect for a century ride of this type. Will I ever go back to geared bikes? The next day, Helen and I rode on the Ocean City Boardwalk. We all had a great time

Miss Pinarello takes a spin

It was the first day of autumn and I was off from work. The weather was going to be in the upper 70's Farenheit, and the skies sunny. What a great day for a ride on the South Fork of Long Island. Miss Pinarello was eager to go out for a spin, so we headed out to Southampton to ride the beautiful and now uncrowded off-season roads there. The terrain was mostly flat with a few low rollers thrown in for interest. I will be taking Miss Pinarello to the Sea Gull Century on October 9, 2010. This ride goes out of Salisbury, Maryland, and tends to have about 6,000+ riders registered. It is also quite flat, and todays ride was a good prep. For those of you who haven't been to this area, yes, we have great cycling areas here!

Riding a fixed gear bike on flattish terrain makes a lot of sense, and I like the direct connection to the pedals. Lack of a choice of gears is simplifying, liberating, and excellent for leg tone and development. The Carradice Barley seat bag is earning its place on the back of my Selle Anantomic seat, and seems headed towards being a fixture on this bike.

By the way, do you ever think of your bike, or other beloved object as having a gender ? I definitely know that this bike is a female. Other bikes in my quiver have differing personalities and gender identifications that have come out over time. I would like to know how prevalent this line of thought is in the cycling community. My wife, who is actually a psychoanalyst, has offered various diagnoses for this belief of mine. Still, when you get a feeling about something that is strong, it often pays to go with it. As English has no gender assignments to nouns, such developments are ill defined. Each person views the world in a slightly different way.

The Flattest Century in the East...NOT!

We went up to Needham, Massachusetts to visit some friends from my wife's college this past weekend. Our friend Ron and I went down to Dartmouth, Massachusetts , on Sunday, September 12, 2010, to do The Flattest Century in the East, run by the Narragansett Bay Wheelmen. I had heard that this ride was not hilly but not flat either. Ultimately there were lots of small rollers but no tough climbs. At first I thought that a fixed gear bike would be the best machine for the job, but upon reconsideration, I chose my plentifully geared road bike. My LOOK KG381i was built in 2003 by hand in Nevers, France. It is a 57cm frame, with a 74 degree head tube, but a 72.5 degree seat tube. The carbon frame, fork, and steerer make for a good general road bike, comfortable for longer distances. The specs :

size...57cm ( c-c )

top tube...57.4cm

Wheels...Campy Neutron 2003

tires...Conti ultragatorskin 25mm

bars...3T 199gms
bar tape...Cinelli Zebra cork
brake/shifters...2003 Campy record carbon
crankset...2003 Campy Record 53/39 alloy
rear derailleur...Campy Chorus medium cage
cassette...13-29 Campy
pedals...Crank Bros Candy SL
brakes...Campy Chorus

seat...Selle Anatomica

seat bag...Carradice Barley

We had generally cloudy skies during the ride, but did get rained on at about miles 80 to 85. The secnery was wonderful, and the NBW club did a great job with the organization of the event.A great time was had by all. Hopefully, I will be able to get back here to do this century sometime in the near future. Thanks to Ron and Phil for having us over the night before. Thanks to Helen for putting up with me and for all the travel time.

August 21, 2010 D2R2

I went up to the beautiful town of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, for the 2010 edition of D2R2. My preparation for the event was extensive, including extra training on dirt roads and hills,hills,hills. Ultimately, nothing on Long Island could have adequately prepared me for the roads and hills of northern Massachusetts and southern Vermont. Our tour hosts were fabulous, and everybody was extremely friendly. The tents set up in the fields had every accomodation possible for the riders. Some famous individuals were there, although I was not one of them. My 100km ride started at a lazy 9am, and took us through regular roads, dirt and gravel roads, and of course, significant climbing. The rest stops were fully stocked, and the volunteers were very helpful. At about the halfway point, I was beat and bonked, despite adequate electrolyte hydration. I did come in under my own power, thanks to the mutual help from Pete from Connecticut. Thanks Pete! Almost every type of bike was used for this event, including regular road bikes, cyclocross bikes, and mountain bikes. Some bikes defied description. When the day was done, the rider was more important than the type of bike used. My Jamis cyclocross bike was adequate for the ride, but I was significantly jarred on the gnarly fast descents, and my shimano cantilever brakes were severely taxed. The mountain bike riders seemed to be doing the best of all the various bike-type groups. Maybe lose some weight and try next years ride on a Salsa Fargo.....

Getting ready for D2R2...my bike and why

The summer is hot and D2R2 in Deerfield, Massachusetts is only 16 days away. I have been training when time permits, alternating between my cyclocross aand fixed gear bikes. I have been increasing my on and off road hillclimbing, in order to best duplicate the planned 100k and 8,500 feet of climbing. The bike that I will use for this famous event will be my tried and true 2001 Jamis Nova cyclocross bike. It has had some evolution over the years. I believe that this configuration will best suit the planned terrain.

Frame...2001 Jamis Nova Reynolds 631,comfortable on road, stable off road, durable, not the lightest around. The 55cm c-c size with 32c tires gives me a good standover height.
Fork...Tange steel, a replacement as the original fork was cut too short.  This fork with 80mm of spacers gives me a comfortable seat = handlebars height.

Wheels...Mavic Open Pro front, Mavic Open Sport rear, Ultegra hubs, DT spokes

Tires...Ritchey Speedmax 700x32c, good on and off road,sheds mud great

Crankset...Sugino XD, 46/36/26

Rear derailleur...Shimano XT

Cassette..11-32, plenty of gear range for plenty of hills

Pedals...Crank Bros Candy SL... Thanks to Richard Sachs, who turned me onto these pedals as he lapped me in a cyclocross race when  I couldn't clip in  my muddy shoes into Shimano mb pedals.

Bag...Arkel Tailrider...tough, well organized, aerodynamic, has its own rain cover just in case.The rear rack gives some water/mud protection.

Seat... Selle Anatomica ...this seat brought me back from the brink of recumbent cycling. I am sold on the  Brown/Peterson theory of seat height = handlebar height for best comfort.

This setup will give me plenty of gears for the expected 27% off road climbs, and great flexibility for the on/off road nature of the event, be it dry or muddy, ( I like muddy! )