December biking....

Since my last entry on this forum I have a) survived a nasty bout with a flu-like infection, b) watched the temperatures drop from the balmy 60s to the teens and 20s, and c) missed my stated goal of 5000 miles for the year. Oh well....

Watching the weather last night they said that 19 out of the last 22 days have seen temperatures below average and I can certainly testify to that. I don't mind a little cool weather but gusty winds and 35 degrees just is not fun. Fortunately no snow yet but they are trying to scare us with the predictions for the weekend...we shall see.

In the meantime, I will stick to CNN and ESPN and the indoor bike. Hard to re-create hills but with an hour or so a day the basic conditioning survives - and there is the added advantage of being able to stare down a holiday eggnog with no guilt feelings.

To all who may still occasionally check in to read my mental meanderings I wish you a very Happy Holiday, a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

See you on the road

November cycling,,,,continued

Note to myself: just because the sun is out is not reason to assume that it will be a warm day. I knew that the temperature was somewhere around 45 when I "suited up" this morning but for some reason I skipped the liners I usually wear under the wool socks I favor in winter. About ten miles out my toes started to feel sensations that I typically associate with my ice skating days as a kid in Detroit. The layering protects the body but the extremities are exposed not only to the cool temperatures but to the self-generated wind-chill as well - going downhill and hitting speeds of 30 to 35 mph probably drops the effective temperature by ten to fifteen degrees (I read that somewhere, don't ask me to prove it). In any case it was a good ride - 55 miles with about 3500 ft of climbing and not a cloud in the sky. I have a kind of self-imposed minimum temperature of 4o but above that I love a winter ride. The senses somehow seem more alert and sensitive to what is around, the roads seem to be a little less busy (all the tourists have gone into hibernation?) and especially with minimal wind you can put together a nice ride. I'm hoping that the real winter, i.e. snow and ice, will hold off for awhile (like forever?) and we get one of those years where we can ride right into January. My goal at the beginning of the year was to hit 5,000 miles and I'm at about 4200 now...it will be close.

Put away the summer jerseys...

The sun was out in full force but it was not a day to worry about sun screen. It is most definitely autumn and it wouldn't take much to feel like winter. In spite of the bright sunshine it was only in the mid-forties when I went out today and for the first time I had both winter gloves and ear protectors under the helmet. So long as I dress in layers I can still be pretty comfortable but there was certainly no doubt that the summer temperatures are gone for this year. We have probably passed the peak leaf season but there is enough left on the trees that with a strong afternoon sun the backroads are still good for some ooohs and aaaahs. Funny little story today....I stopped alongside someone's driveway on a country road in the Sourlands (what New Jerseyans call the Sourland Mtns - really a nice collection of hills and all country) for a drink and quick snack. The homeowner came down the drive to collect her garbage cans and asked if I had seen any bears...Bears??! says I. Keep your eyes open she says - this is garbage collection day and this is when they seem to come out....I rode off wondering if I could kick it into high gear and outrun a hungry bear....Who would have thunk it in New Jersey?

Scenes of Autumn

I complain a lot about the cooler temperatures, the shorter days and the need to start thinking long tights and extra layers under the jersey. But then we get a couple of almost perfect days and I realize that fall is truly a dream come true for cyclists. And the last couple of days have been that way: hardly any wind, sun and puffy-white clouds, and temps right around 70. I remember that last year I had just been cleared to ride again at this time and was disconcerted by the loss of the summer - I felt like I missed all the warm weather and the snow would be flying momentarily. This year I have been able to segue right into the cooler weather and watch the leaves turn and see all the country roads doing their magic thing with the scenery. Yesterday the roads were filled with the leaf-peepers: folks with their convertible tops down, a million or so motorcycles out cruising and dozens of horse trailers looking for places to ride. It is truly a magic time and I'm going to enjoy every mile for as long as it lasts.....

A Perfect Fall Day

It could not have been a better day for a ride. It was cool - temps in the upper 30s - but clear and with a promise of sun and a warm-up. The bike club in Bucks County in Pennsylvania sponsors an annual event that is probably my favorite ride of the year. It starts at the edge of the Delaware River and covers 63 miles inland through the rolling and rural countryside of Bucks county. If we are lucky we get weather like yesterday: sunshine coming through the filters of the golden, reddish hues of the turning leaves, no wind, and just cool enough to stay comfortable with just a couple of layers. The ride is called the Covered Bridges ride in honor of the six historic covered bridges that the route follows - I looked for Clint Eastwood but apparently he never got out of Madison County. And the fall colors were truly spectacular. We had long roads of woods and turning leaves that were just about at peak color. And we had hills. I had forgotten how many and how long - lots of 14-16% grades and the final tally was something well over 5,000 feet of climbing for the day. A great day!

Days are shorter, shadows are longer...

It was truly an absolutely gorgeous fall day today. The sun was bright, no wind and temps of maybe 65 when I headed out the door. We are just starting to see real fall color - and I say "real" advisedly. Because of the drought in these parts that we experienced in July through September a lot of trees started shedding their leaves a month ago but it was not the usual fall thing - it was simply the lack of water. And so I suspect that our typical New Jersey autumn display is going to be a bit less spectacular this year. However, there are some signs of the season and I did take a few photos to prove it.

The lower angle of the sun changes the scenery in a dramatic fashion. The very long shadows of the trees and sun shining through the golden leaves makes even the familiar roads seem fresh and different. I did about 60 miles today and came home about 5:00 somewhat surprised to realize that there really was not much daylight left...I hate to think of five 0'clock street lights and, even worse, freezing temps, snow....already I'm looking forward to a couple weeks in Florida.

Role reversal...

Wow, what a long time since the last entry - time flies when you are doing stuff... Almost a year ago to the day I was placing a finis on my rehab and climbing back on my (brand new) bike for my first post-motorcycle ride. For the past couple of weeks I've been away from the bike for a different reason. Susan had her second knee replaced four weeks ago and I have gone into the caretaker mode that she did so well for me. She measures her rehab progress on a day to day basis - sometimes reverting to hour to hour - and is generally doing quite well for someone who has had a body part cut out and replaced with a man-made substitute. She folded up the walker this morning and is now using the cane exclusively - she can go up the stairs by herself and even did her own lunch yesterday.... I guess she is not yet tired of my cooking since she shows no signs of doing dinner yet. Actually, as my daughter pointed out yesterday, we are lucky to have each other for support - life is good. Meantime, I finally pulled the bike down from the hooks in the garage yesterday and went out to view the fall colors. I realized how quickly we are moving into autumn when I felt better in a long sleeved jersey and could forget the sunscreen I was still using my last trip out. I did 40 or so miles on a gorgeous day with no significant adventures other than waving to lots of other cyclists doing the same thing on a Sunday afternoon. Today I'm a bit stiff after the layoff but maybe another ride is in the offing this afternoon and I'll go out to find my legs again.

How did this happen?

Wow! September 7 already and somehow we have slipped past Labor Day. Susan and I took a kind of holiday and went back to Michigan for a family reunion, through Canada and back to New York state to stay a few days in the Finger Lakes area to tour all the wineries I had remembered from Anchor House rides. The skies were blue, the temps were hot and it seemed like summer was set to continue indefinitely. We got back home the end of last week and by Labor Day the thermometer was reading 50 when we tried to go out for our customary breakfast on the porch. It's like summer just decided to go away - what a rude shock. I've lived through many years (more than I'm willing to admit to if the truth be told) and so this change of seasons should not be such a surprise. However, I was thinking today (while on the bike, of course) how much I can identify with the kids going back to school - I'm not ready. I don't want the shorter days, the cooler mornings - next thing will be the long sleeves, the leg warmers and tights and , worst of all, the ice and snow. In spite of the changing seasons I have had a couple of great rides in the past several days. The deer seem to be more numerous than ever these days and I've had them both standing stock still while I passed within a few feet of them at the side of the road and bounding out of the woods right into my path (usually in twos) and on into their next feeding ground. I've also seen a red fox scamper across the road and into the field on my right and a small flock of wild turkeys in a corn field. Today I felt like I was training for Dalhart. The wind was somewhere around 20 to 25 mph and, of course, it felt like it was in my face most of the time. I did 61 miles with 3500 feet of climbing and somewhere around the 40 mile mark I started thinking I could really use a quick nap....So I got home in time to catch the last set of the Querry match at the Open, take a quick shower and a pasta dinner with a cold beer for dinner. Nice consolation prize for the end of the summer.

100 miles...and then some

The Princeton Freewheelers put on an organized bike ride annually that I have been doing for probably 18 of the past 20 years. They lay out routes of varying miles, anywhere from 16 to a century in the country-side around Princeton. I started thinking about the century almost as soon as I could get back on the bike last December and yesterday was the day... I am not typically an early riser but I was up at 5:45 and out of the house by 6:30. I've done enough riding this summer that I felt confident that I could finish but was not at all sure what my time might be and wanted an early start. The ride attracts about 2500 riders from all over the area and I was hoping that I would see some early registrants to ride with but not a soul did I know in the early crowd (I did later run into a couple of Anchor House folks at the SAGs). Much as they start every year at the same site the routes seemed to me to be almost completely re-designed - some familiar roads but lots of different ways to get from here to there and lots of different territory. They took us through all the farmlands of Mercer and Burlington counties, then off into the Pine Barrens, around a beautiful lake, Mirror Lake, that I had never heard of and finally through Turkey Swamp park and back to Point A. I had one flat but otherwise no mishaps - although I did just avoid a guy who went down in front of me (the cue sheet said CAUTION, he took a sharp right turn at 20+mph and hit gravel: lots of road rash). Even though I found nobody I knew to ride with there are many singles and groups and it's the kind of ride where it is easy to hook onto a group for awhile or simply ride a comfortable pace and keep other riders in sight. Wandering through the farms and occasional towns and developments, my memory went back to the cross-country, of course (is there a day even a year later that I don't have at least a brief thought of that adventure?). I kept thinking maybe Tom was just behind me or maybe the little group just ahead of me was Champ and Hank or maybe the Daltons.... Bottom line, it was a great ride. The weather was perfect: mid 80s, lots of white, puffy clouds just like the midwest, just enough of a breeze to keep the humidity down without bringing back reminders of Dalhart. And I did 101 miles in 5 hours/54 minutes and an average speed of 17 mph, much better than I expected. The entire ride was 107 miles and with SAG stops, fixing the flat, and attending to the wounded warrior on the road it took just under 7 hours. Life is good......

Tip to Tip

As it turns out the "official" name for the top to bottom ride in England is Tip to Tip. It starts at Lands End in the south and proceeds north the top of Scotland. The boys (Tom and Peter) will be leaving tomorrow night, flying through the night, and presumably meeting with Harry (and the mysterious but we now know beautiful Carole as well ?) on Thursday. I had expected Tom to be involved in last minute details and was ten miles into a ride when my cell phone went off and it was Tom looking for one last bit of training before crossing the pond. I found him with his bike suitcase packed and ready and he pulled out his backup and we were off again. He, of course, talked of nothing but his packing, how he has organized everything - I even learned of the almost infinite variety of plastic baggies he has found for the trip. I suggested at one point that he seemed to be packing for a trip to the edge of the civilized world with all that he is bringing along. And in between we chose a good mix of rolling hills and flats where he could occasionally shoot out ahead and test his abilities to keep up with a couple of strong riders - it was fun trying to pull him back in (for my own satisfaction) but he is in good shape and the three of them should have a good couple of weeks. For my own part I'm doing a century on Saturday, my first since the accident and my first organized ride since last year. It is sponsored by the Princeton bike club and is an annual event that I have done for years. This year will be a little more special because I'm seeing it as a kind of "I'm back" statement and a test of all the rehab and riding I've done over the past 12 months or so. Plus the event attracts about 2,000 riders for a variety of distances and is just a fun day - the weather forecast is good and I'm looking forward to it.