TT Bike Club

“how'd all the centuries go?”

“My century is Oct 23. Still doing pretty well with my training. Got in 2 workouts over the weekend in spite of driving to PHX and attending a wedding, rehearsal dinner and Sunday brunch! Hot in PHX, over 100F, could only ride at the peak heat times, no problem.”

“Century was fine.


It was along the seacoast in northern most massachusetts (Newburyport was the southern turnaround point), up through Hampton beach, rye and portsmouth NH, and then north through Kittery and York Maine up beyond Nubble light and Cape Neddick.

It was a gorgeous day. About 64 degrees bright sun, clear sky, dry.

The day started off pretty cool. In the low 40s. As a result, we decided to sleep in and get a later start after the dy had warmed up a bit.

We were on the bikes at about 9:30 or so. It was 55 degrees. Wore bike shorts, short sleeve bike jersey and a wind vest.

There was a pretty strong breeze blowing from the northeast.


We did the southern section first (11 miles down to Newburyport and 11 miles back). Wind was at our back on the way down. My friend and I switched pulling every two miles as we rolled south.

At the turn point we started alternating every 1 mile so that the lead guy wouldn't get too tired. We had a long section going north (about 50 miles, half of the century (d'oh). There was a 15 mph breeze from the northeast, so we knew we would be fighting a headwind the whole way north.

The fun part was we would have a great tailwind as we came south to the finish. (cue the ominous music).

We rolled right past the start (at mile 22) and kept going up to the rest stop at mile 42. Alternating by 1 mile each worked well. My friend and I were riding well together. Day was gorgeous. At the rest stop we had an average speed of 16.5 or so. We figured that would go up once we hit the turn around, stopped fighting the headwind and headed south with a tailwind.

We noticed two thing about the guys coming south: 1. they were overdressed (having started at 7:00 in the cold) and 2) they were crushing it. Getting pushed by a great tailwind, flying along and loving it.

We rode about 15 miles or so further north, against the wind. As we got onto the water front strip in York ME I was pulling hard and moving right along at 22 mph. I felt great. We were at about mile 60 or so and approaching the northern turn around.

Then it hit me. I was pulling at 22 mph and felt great.

I looked at the flags along the water front.


The wind had shifted. The flags were flying straight out. North. We had our tailwind alright. For the next 8-10 miles or so we had a nice tailwind. Then we turned around.


And fought a headwind all the way home.

What up wid dat?!!!!

It was too bad not to have the wind push us home. But not defeating. Frankly it didn't bother me much at all. My friend confessed that during a couple of his pulls he was getting discouraged. Certainly it was no picnic to have the road point straight into the wind and watch your speed drop to 14.5 while you were downshifting and working harder!! Especially when we figured we'd be hammering along at +20mph.


Anyhoo. We finished up at just before 5:00 (15 minute wait for a drawbridge at mile 100).

Our ride time was 6:05:59. Average speed 16.62.

We had wanted to break 6 hours. But didn't have it in us to fight the wind both ways.

To have fought it any harder on the way south would have risked bonking and not finishing.

it was a great ride.

The coastline is beautiful up there.”

“1. RE: starting at 9:30 vs 7:00.

This was not a race, or a mass start charity ride. It was an open start. So the night before we looked at the weather forecast and decided that sleeping in would serve us better than getting up and trying to get to a 7:00 start in the cold.

2. Hills. There were very few. Total elevation gain was 1500 feet. There were some rollers along the Maine coast, but nothing crushing or long. Certainly nothing long. I can only remember one short steep pitch that caught me by suprise after a sharp corner. that had me reaching for my lowest gear and scrambling; winded by the time I reached the top. But again, nothing long. Mostly short rollers that you could use momentum and a quick pop to get yourself over.

The wind both ways made up for the lack of hills to some extent.

It still was not a "hard" ride. Other than the shear time involved to sit on a bike seat that long.


The only physical repercussions so far is extremely tight neck and shoulders. By the end of the ride my elbows were locking me up. I really had to concentrate on keepign them loose.”

“lee - that ride sounds like it in a really nice area. Any fall colors yet?”

“it is southern most Maine . ..so no fall colors.

It has been really dry in that area this year (at least on the northshore of Mass where my parents are) so the only colors so far are brown ..as leaves crinkle up and die.



It IS a beautiful area. Its funny . ..having grown up within 20 miles of it . ..I have never even driven a car up that part of the coast.

it is really spectacular. Bicyling magazine rated this as one of the top 50 Centuries in the states (or something like that).”

“I lived for my first 25 years in upstate NY, but I never went to Maine. It seemed like everyone stayed close to home. I did get to Mass. and Vermont fairly often though. Indian Summer was always my favorite time of year in the northeast.

Okay, I'm already dreaming about a new bike. This one looks really good and it comes in a 44cm frame:

http://bianchiusa.com/561.html”

“or this one is even nicer:

http://bianchiusa.com/562.html

i just need to wait and put more miles on this one before i go spending any money”

“Great Job Lee!

Thanks for sharing the report, that sounded like a good ride. Next year you can do the same ride and do a comparison with the wind (if it favors you of course).Them headwinds are a bear.”

“Great job, lee, congrats!

My century, well, here's the background....

(1) I don't have a road bike.

(2) My longest training ride was 60 miles. Second longest was 32 miles. Had a handful of 20 mile rides, that was it.

(3) I didn't decide until a week before that I was really going to do this thing. At that point a man at work promised to loan me his 1984 Rossi something road bike and that pretty much obligated me to ride.

(4) Wednesday at lunchtime I got the bike, Thursday night I put on my pedals, Friday morning I put on my seat. Total of about 3 miles to make sure I could ride the thing without too much discomfort.

Ok, so you might say I was rather unprepared. It gets worse. I left the house without my backpack, and after arrival at the starting area, I "checked" my clean clothes bag without getting out my water bottles. At least I was travelling light. :-)

Weather for the ride seemed about perfect, at the start. After 40 miles, though, I was pretty whipped. My back hurt, my left knee was hurting, and my privates were numb. None of that changed for the next 60 miles, which turned out to be a lot tougher than the first 40 (not surprisingly.)

The wind picked up considerably, and this was a point-to-point ride, straight toward the ocean, straight into the wind. The closer we got to the coast, the stiffer the headwind. I think the last 10 miles or so we were riding into at least 15mph gusts and probably 20. That isn't a lot when you are hiking but on a bike when you are already exhausted, that is pretty rough.

On various occasions during those last 60 miles, I was able to jump in with one paceline or another. Often I was frustrated because even though I knew I needed the help with the wind, the pace those guys were riding was just a notch faster than what I could reasonably sustain, so I repeatedly found myself alone against the wind and watching the paceline pull away.

I did get a flat tire around mile 60, hit a rock or something pretty hard and that was it for the back tire. Stupidly I was out there with no spare, no pump, and no tools. The pump and tools were in the forgotten backpack. I never did have a spare tube for that bike, it was of course a different size than my mountain bike. So I had to humiliate myself and admit to some passing riders that I needed help.

Oh, hills. Almost none. There were two bridges into Ocean City at the end that were pretty tough. On the first of those, I would say half the riders were walking their bikes. It was a combination of the steepness, the fatigue, and having no protection at all from the still sea breeze.

I got a cramp in my right calf after that bridge, but I was able to massage it away, it lasted about 5 minutes, a little scary and of course it hurt but I didn't have to get off the bike for it.

Bottom line, it was about 6:50 from start to finish. I am sure I stopped for at least 45 minutes, between the rest stops and the flat tire, so I am estimating about 6 hours riding time.”

“Fritz: You made it! - I've never even done 100 miles. It takes me 3.5 hours to do a fairly flat 50 miles, so I guess it would take me longer than 7 hours or more to do 100 fairly flat miles. I guess I need to speed up.”

“I also need to get up to riding 100 miles at a time before I invest in a new bike.”

“Fritz, like wingding said you did it! That is awesome. Sounds like a learing experience for sure. Good for you!”

“Considering the circumstances Fritz, I'd say you did awesome!

if you'd actually put the training in, and been on a good bike you'd have blown those paceline guys off the road!”

“or maybe:

http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/05/cusa/model-5RW1.html

Well, I'll just keep dreaming.

I've used the trainer for the last 4 nights - my legs feel like they're getting a workout.

Does anyone have any of those spinerval videos?”

“rode in today via the short route.

28.5 miles.

+/- 1.5 hours. Hard to judge time. Once we were on a busy secondary road near a highschool and then Main street into Hartford . . .it got pretty hacked up.”

“commuting...

hacked up is right. my wheels are so out. road home in a thunderstorm at midnight this week. Makes it hard to see potholes. glad for a rest day today. scheduled for 1 and 3 hours this weekend.”

“Hey Ewk! Have a great ride this weekend!!!”

“Tour of Hope getting ready to leave TX. I caught them in El Paso.

Can you spot Pathman?
Tour of Hope Rally in El Paso
"TOH Current Location Map”

“Sass, it was a great ride except for being to hot. I was coming to a hill and was going to stand and pedal up it then bam cramps in each leg. I was luck i didn't crash. After talking to a few people it seems I wasn't the only one who did that. No problems coming back the next day though. I upped my speed over 4 miles per hour compared to the day before.

The event was great. They had 685 riders that biked it, they also had some no shows. They have to limit the number of riders to approx 700. A rough estimate of money raised was between 3/4 to one million dollars.

The oldest rider this yr was a guy 83. It was his first time to do it.”

“How awesome! That's alot of money. I'm glad you got to ride.

My school volunteers at the MS ride up here, also the make a wish ride (300 miles). At every rest stop and night stop there are massage therapy students ready to work on cramps and spasms and just relaxing those tight muscles. My class doesn't get to do it, the fall class does, unfortunately. I'm thinking I'll be volunteering as a professional next time.”

“Ewker - that's a lot of money for a good cause

My bike is in the shop - the gears are all out of wack and I just seem to be making it worse by making adjustments myself.”

“As an ex-bike mechanic who used to earn a dime turning spokes I can teach you how to make those adjustments. Pretty simple to do really. If you were in Bama I would have done em for free...my granny always said I was a sucker for a pretty face.”

“what a nice offer from an axe killer :)

i took a basic bike maintanance class at REI and they went over adjustments, but it seems that i just can't get it right on my bike.

the bike shop adjusts it for free, but they don't want to show you anything - they say, "just bring it in - that's what we're here for", but it's a pain having to bring it to them.

actually, i think it's an issue with the bike's crank, which is made by Specialized. I wish I bought a bike with higher level components to begin with. I'm saving my money for a better bike - I really like the women's bikes made by Cannondale (I'm 5'1" tall and need a small bike), so hopefully I'll be able to upgrade sometime in the next year”

“What follows is my response to a friend's qery this morning:

Do I ride in the fog?


I happened to this morning. It was surreal.


There were just three of us. Me, M---D-----,and the fast guy. I grabbed the fast guy's wheel and just stuck to it for the first three miles. It was like being on rollers in a dark room. I couldn't see a thing. The only way I knew I was on a bike was from the bumps in the road. Very weird. I figured it was beter to stick with him and use his light and mine.


At some point I did check over my shoulder to be sure M--- was still with us. He wasn't. He had fallen off the back somewhere along the line. He will often trail to AVOID using the draft . ..to get a better workout . ..but his headlight was no-where in sight.


So I eased up on a long straightaway to the traffic light at the intersection of 81 and 148. Eventually his light came up the hill and around the corner. I sort of regretted waited for him. It was scary to be alone between the two. I could barely see E---'s tailight blinking up ahead .. .then it disappeared (as he went down a slight incline and took the left onto 148).

The headlights from cars was blinding reflecting off of all the droplets.

We were out there for a good 30 minutes before there was enough natural light coming up to see a little.

That was my trip report from this mornings 21 mile ride.”

“Dateline: Eastern Sierra - 2 Day bike race with a total of 29,000 ft of climbing. Total of 6 climbs with three of them being 20+ miles long and 6,000 ft.

My brother participated and did quite well in the Everest Challenge Bike race two weekends ago. Of the 171 entrants, only 66% of them finished, just going to show how difficult this event is. Steve (Bishophiker) came in 79th, and considering he's not a pro, that fact that he finished with a better time then some of the cat 4/5 pros, shows how well he did. His 6 month dedication to training really paid off, plus he lives there and can train on the actual course!

Day 1: From Millpond campground, ride to Mosquito Flats, then back down and climb Pine Creek, then finish with the climb to South Lake. 102 miles with 15,500 ft. of climbing. His time was 8:21.

Day 2: From Big Pine, climb to Glacier Lodge, then back across the valley to Waucoba Canyon, and finally the climb to the Bristlecones to finish it off. 67 miles with 13,500 ft. of climbing. His time was 6:36.

I took some pictures and they can be viewed here:
http://community.webshots.com/album/462096518ZCdznp”

“that is some climbing!

Raining like stink here, good that I got out early for my ride. I did have to wait out one thunderstorm, too much lightening.

Road Cycling
UNM, Downtown, Old Town, Bosque/Rio Grande Trail, Hahn Arroyo, Osuna, Moon
60 miles

Out in the dark to UNM, heavy thunderstorm hits at UNM. Put on rain gear under a plaza overhang on campus while lightening passed, then headed out again. I pulled off rain gear on Bosque trail. Lymphoma and Leukemia group, must have been 75 strung out along the trail. Good ride in, got in Tempo 20 min x3 and Steady state 15 x3.

Week total:
143.4 miles
Time: 9h 30m 00s”

“friday - 17 miles, not sure of the gain
yesterday - 28 miles, only 900 feet gain
today - 29 miles, increased the gain to 1,800 feet
Tomorrow I think I'll do the same 29 miles as today but start earlier to avoid the heat going up the hill on the way home.

I'm still only averaging about 12 miles an hour (counting the stops to adjust my bike) - so slow - down to as low as 6 mph going up some of the hills - couldn't make it up them without the granny gear.

boy do i struggle up some of the hills.

My bike was no better after I picked up from the shop. After about 5 miles it wouldn't stay in gear. I got it adjusted and went on my way. after another 10 miles it was a mess again, so I adjusted it again and headed home. When I got it home on Friday I tried to get it so that it would shift smoothly and stay in gear. I thought I had it and for the first 10 miles on Saturday I was in good shape, but I had to make adjustment for twice over the following 28 miles. Today was better I only stopped once to make adjustments because it wouldn't stay in gear. I really think there's a defective part. I'm going to bring it in to REI and have the bike shop guy there take a look at it because I'm tired of dealing with the bike shop that I bought it at (my next bike won't be coming from that store).”

“Is your chain old (1000 miles or so)? That can cause trouble, plus as it streches it messes up your rear cassette teeth.”

“I hate that! My bike broke down on me out in Borrego while training for the Death Valley to Mt. Whitney 2-day stage race back in 2001. The bike shop didn't get it fixed in time, so I ended up buying a new set of wheels that were of better quality. The bike was fairly new at the time, just like yours. Mine turned out to be a defective rear hub.

Had a great ride on Saturday of 95 miles. Mile 57 was a climb up from La Jolla to the top of Mt. Soledad - a sustained 15% grade for almost a mile.

Here I am nearing the top, having stood up the whole way, barely turning the pedals over, and this dude pulls up next to me in a truck, "Sorry to bother you, but do you know where the high school is?" Are you freaking kidding me??? Yeah, sure pal, give me a second to cough up a lung, then I'll give you all the directions you need. I was barely able to utter a "no!" Couldn't believe it! It's like, now's not a good time for me, check back later!”

“I rode 5.8 miles to Starbucks and back this morning. I'm pooped.”

“calhiker, looking at your webshots album..
Nice pinky!

I had some tourists do that to me on a section of road that is reported to have sections of 20% grade. Absolutely clueless.

Two more training weeks before my century ride at the Ride for the Roses. All spots on the ride, over 6000 are filled. One more "Peak" week and a taper. Definitely feeling stronger than last year, but a little heavier too. I am most nervous about my wheels. Spokes are coming loose too often, once within 25 miles of being trued. The shops around town have been too booked up to true and tune in one day, and I don't take more than a day break. Would be nice to have a second set, use my current set as backup. Searching the internet, seems that people have had this problem with Mavic CP series. Looks like I should consider Mavic Pro with 14/15 double butted spokes and need at least 32 spokes.”

“Pathman - I've searched the internet too to see what problems people have had with my bike and it seems that the Specialized crankset on the bike has been a major problem. Specialized has let me know that if the bike shop finds it needs to be replaced that it's under warranty, but the bike shop has sent it home the same 3 times now.

Calhiker - I'm hoping to get better at these hills. You do some amazing climbs.

Today only 20 miles but I did 1400 feet gain in the first 7.5 miles - total of 1925 feet gain today. The wind is bad today.

Well I' better take a shower and load my bike up to take in to the guy at REI who said he might be able to help.”

“Yeah, that pinky needed a little more than just a band-aid! Nobody notices it now except if I point it out to them.

To help with your goal of under 6 hours, only spend as much time as you absolutely have to at the aid stations, and try to get with a group that rides a little faster than your normal pace, and draft behind them. I made a donation through your website. Lance rules! Good luck on your century!

WingDing - Just keep attacking those hills! I've been avoiding doing the longer climbs on my rides lately, just trying to slowly make the transition from hiking back to riding with some relatively flatter, but longer rides. When I choose to do the hillier routes, my legs should be ready for it.”

“thanks calhiker! I'm working on getting Lance to ABQ. I heard yesterday that LAF will be announcing some changes in the Peloton Project, Ride for Roses has gotten big enough, sounds like they will add some more rides like the Oregon LIVESTRONG ride. I've also been getting some encouraging news about attracting the Tour of Hope to ABQ in 2006.

RE: the stops. That is for sure. I rode 75 two weeks ago, without stopping, no problem. I should be able to cruise in and restock, take off. I'll hit the stop at 50 miles and then the Survivors Stop.

I need to decide on new wheels today, Bontrager Race vs Mavic Open Pro. I am leaning Bontrager.”

“Calhiker - it is tough trying to find the time to hike and ride the bike. So far, hiking has taken priority and the desert peaks are starting to call. I guess I need to load up the bike when I go on overnight trips to the desert so I can hike one day and ride the other.”

“I bought some leg warmers, so now I'm ready for cold mornings.”

“This cold, WingDing??!! :-0

http://community.webshots.com/photo/224311889/224316163eRSIcq

Death Valley is a great place to go hiking and riding. Just don't overdue it. Towne Peak and Pyramid Peak summits came on the heels of separate 200 mile bike rides. Ugh!”

“bike shop verdict. Wheels are shot. Drive train including chain, rear cassette and front chain rings need replacing. 12 days till my Century. Will do my long sunday ride, drop it off, monday is rest day, pick it up tues, finish my taper week and ride on Sunday.”

“calhiker - i think i'll need more than leg warmers for that cold.

pathman - The shop will have it back to you in a day? How often do chains need to be replaced? How old is your bike? How many miles do you have on it?

I got a lecture about my dirty chain yesterday, so I am the new owner of chain cleaning stuff. The guy at REI says that he doesn't think my bike will need any new parts and he'll be able to make it work okay for $21. He said that my dirty chain will cause me problems and I need to keep it cleaner.”

“wingding,

there are about 4 or 5,000 miles on the wheels and the drivetrain. Almost 4 years old? Must be closer to 5000 miles.”

“RE: shop turnaround in one day. No, I'll get it to them around 11am on Sunday, pick it up Tues afternoon in time for an evening ride.”

“last night, doing my scheduled workout in the dark with lights, I had finished and was heading home on my new wheels, feeling fast and hit a roofing nail. Pegged my brand spanking new wheel and tire square on and drilled slightly into the rim! I was still rolling when the tire was completely flat and I rolled a few feet with the nail driving in slightly with the tire rotations. Aluminum nail, didn't see any sparks. I wish I had a camera. I had to wiggle it side to side to get it out. I thought about walking home, but changed my tube instead and rode. Threw the punctured non slime tube over the wall into the backyard of the model home, most certainly the source of the nail.
last edited: 10/13/05 7:58:49 AM”

“that sucks Pathman - so, the rim isn't too badly damaged?

spinning class for me last night - the leader brings extra water for those who forget and brings healthy snacks to hand out after class - really nice.”

“We are working on our 10th inch of rain (or more) here in CT.

bottom line . ..no riding since one morning last week.



I am back in the gym lifting for my legs. Presses and squats etc.



Have a backpacking trip coming up in Nov. Full pack through the whites of NH. So I want to revamp from a century rider to a hiker again.”

“I'll be there after the Ride for the Roses, lee. I use fall hiking to morph into winter cross country skiing and snow shoeing.

I still have to inspect the rim. It was too dark last night.”

“I would've had a hard time not beating the sh... er, snot out of those punks! Yes, I think this would have been the proper time to live out my dream of being Dirty Harry for a day! I hope she was able to identify them to the authorities.”

“The article says she was able to get the vehicle's tag.”

“I worry about that kind of thing riding home late a night in ABQ. Had punks yell at me a couple of times, thats about it. I take different routes with more street lights and more public. Stay off of the dark bike paths with overpasses inhabited by homeless.”