They've Waited Seventeen Years for This

Outriders! One of my favorite rides of the year.  A one day ride from Boston to Provincetown.  More than 125 miles/200 km in one day.  Just. For. Fun.  No fundraising.  Just plunk down the registration fee and ride.

Spoiler alert: I made it

A quick sidebar, I'm going to try and write this quickly.  I've done too my write ups that I never finish because they were too detailed.

It was a real challenge this year, far more than normal.  Winter was tough and I didn't get as many miles in as usual.  Spring had crappy weather almost every weekend.  In September I had Covid (for the first time), and it took six months before my overnight resting heart rate returned to normal.  Top to top it all off there was a major emergency at work that chewed up weeks of my time.  In the end it all meant I was missing well over a thousand miles of cycling in my legs compared to normal.  Oh, and I didn't get a good night's sleep the night before the event.

My game plan was to ride conservatively.  Ride at an easy pace, and try to avoid hard efforts all day.  Concentrate on hydration and eating.  The basics.  This pretty much worked out.

I organized all my stuff the day before the ride.  Water bottles were in the fridge, food was loaded on the bike.  There was no scrambling after I woke up at 4:20 AM.  I was out the door an hour later.  The volunteers at the start were ready earlier than they had to be.  So I rolled up, signed in, got my number written on my leg, and hit the road.  It was forecast to be a fairly warm day, with highs in the mid 80's (almost 30C).  One of the first really warm days of the year was a fair trade for the first non-rainy Saturday in two months.

1377, my rider number.

I caught up with another cyclist while we were rolling through the South End.  We stuck together until about the gas tank around Morrissey Boulevard.  I rode with another ad hoc group for a while and was passed by bunches of faster cyclists.  The first pit stop of the day is 30 miles into the ride.  I was riding my easier geared gravel bike, a Specialized Diverge, that has three bottle cages on it.  So I took my third water bottle to ensure that I would be able to guzzle fluids (water & heavily sugared iced coffee) for this first bit of the ride.

I didn't skimp on the sunblock

On this first bit of the ride I was passed by Jian, a cyclist I had met a few years ago.  Clearly Jian had not missed any training.  I think he was red shifted when he sped past me.  I said hello, as I do to anyone who I pass or passes me.  Jian realized it was me & slowed down to chat briefly.

I also saw my friend Richard who's done many of the same rides as me and has always been faster.  We talked for a bit & I noticed that he had replaced his flat bar hybrid with a red road bike.  Red bikes are faster.  Everyone knows this to be so.

When I got to the first pit I re-filled one of my water bottles.  The empty coffee bottle became my sports drink bottle.  I wasn't temped by any of the food they had out, so I had another one of my Clif bars that I had brought.

I kept my stop very brief.  Given my -- stately pace -- I just wanted to press on.  I did this all day and it kind of kept me from talking to other riders or joining a group.

The route after the first pit has a lot of lovely scenery.  Horse farms, easy flat spinning.  Just good cycling.  I didn't reference the queue sheet & I forgot that it was another 30+ miles to the next pit.  If I had remembered, I would have refilled my third water bottle.  Of course, if I had trained better I would have spent less time between the pits and two bottles would have been enough.  

The rolling hills after Plymouth is where the ride starts to feel "real" to me.  The ride isn't half over yet.  The hills are big enough that you can't charge down one to get significantly up the next one.  This finishes up in a crawl up an exposed/unshaded hill.  The Anvil of the Sun.  Well, there was nothing for it, but to get into my climbing gear and spin up the hill as easily as possible.  

Finally, I got through that section, safely made my way through the intersection with on/off ramps to the highway, and made my way to the bridge. Yay. Over the bridge, flip the record, and start a whole new ride. Right? Right? Right?

I still had a bit of a way to go to the lunch pit in Sandwich. And there was an eerie high pitched noise.  What was it?  Some kind of siren?  Nuclear reactor meltdown?  And there all these really large flying bugs around.  Cicadas!  Brood XIV which has been sitting underground for 17 years!  And then I realized they were the source of the sound as well.  What a weird otherworldly sound.  It was even stranger when I thought that these insects had been waiting under the ground since 2008.  Of course, had I had my wits about me, I would have taken a photo of a cicada.  Guess I'll have to wait until Outriders 2042. 

The lunch stop traditionally features peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  I looked at one and just wasn't into it.  I grabbed some peanut butter cracker packets and ate some.  When I got up to leave, I took more & put them in my top tube bag. They made for good snacking as I cycled through Sandwich heading for the service road. The service road featured a new parallel bike path for quite a stretch. What a luxury not to have think about cars. I was also more than 72 miles into the day, so every turn of the wheel marked a new longest ride for the year.  Normally, I would have done a one hundred mile ride two or three weeks before Outriders.  Oh well.

Unshaded bike path, no cars

No stress, just pedaling.

At this point I kind of started riding with a small group off and on.  We'd been leapfrogging most of the day.  It was nice to chat about what were the longest rides we'd ever done, the longest events and what not.  They also kept me from making a wrong turn in Hyannis.

At the Hyannis-Yarmouth border we picked up a spur of a bike path that joins the Cape Cod Rail Trail, but is not part of it.  Going into Hyannis & picking up this path adds a few miles to the route, but we get to skip a very scary section of Route 6A.  A very fair trade, to say the least.

The group I rode with for some of the day

We hit pit stop three in a park.  I kept it short & left ahead of the group, figuring they'd catch me soon enough.  I was getting close to 100 miles (160 km) for the day and really feeling it.  The rail trail is a good place to recoup some energy.  It's shaded.  Even when it's uphill, it's very gently graded.  There are lots of inexperienced cyclists on it, so you should not go too fast.  I hit 100 miles passing Nickerson Park.  My bottles were almost empty, but I knew that there was a bottle filling station in Orleans.  Earlier in the day I had drunk the very last Forto Coffee shot I owned.  They've stopped making them.  So sad.  As a replacement I got a GU coffee pouch that promised 40 mg of caffeine.  I tried it, but damn, it tasted vile.

Max dosage. OK.

I stopped in Orleans, filled two bottles with water.  In one I added some powdered sports drink.  I sat and polished off another Clif bar & drank most of another bottle.  I chatted with a nice older couple who were enjoying the day on the rail trail.  My group passed me by, but I could not rush after them.  The concept of rushing was off the table.  I was tired.  From the miles.  And from the crap night's sleep.

About 100 miles in with some fresh sunscreen

Eventually, I got up, got back on my bike and resumed riding.  I felt A LOT better thanks to the stop.  In short order I got to the official pit stop in Wellfleet.  I grabbed a little more food, feeling kind of fatigued from eating.  I sat down and talked to some of the other riders.  We were all really feeling it.  One guy had some bad knee pain, but was going to try to muscle through it.

I talked to a group of three cyclists who had come to the Cape on the Cape Flyer Train.  They asked what we were doing.  I realized that the pit stops on the rail trail have no signage.  Seems like an opportunity to advertise the event.  Boston to Ptown, One Day, Just for Fun.  Boom.

Well, the time had come to face the most beautiful and also most challenging section of the ride.  In years when I've trained well, this section is the reward for the day's work up.  Oceanview Road, Wellfleet, Pamet Marsh, and the hills in the backroads of Truro.

This year those hills crushed me.  Just crushed me.  They're beautiful and in the winter you can even see Provincetown in the distance, but this year they destroyed me.

I got through them.  Often wondering on the descents how long would a descent have to be until I got cold?  These weren't.   Anyway, I ground them out and got through them to the last pit stop.  I had some kind of salty crunch industrial snack, cheetos maybe?  Drank some water.  And then I got back on my bike to finish the ride.

Finally, I hit that last climb, three successive hills from a convenience store in Truro to a crest that overlooks Beach Point and beyond that, Provincetown.  There were a few more miles to go, but I had a tail wind and no more climbs.  What a great feeling.  Whoosh, down the hill, through Beach Point, past the condo we rented for the weekend, and to the finish line in Provincetown.

132 miles for the day, including cycling to the start from my home.  Wow.  I was a wreck, but I was a happy wreck.  My family was waiting for me at the finish, strangely, they wouldn't hug me.

Another Outriders in the books, and a lesson learned. Next time, get those winter & springtime miles in!

Too tired to lift the bike over my head at the finish

Thanks for reading.  Keep the rubber side down. 

Previous Outriders write ups:
2018

2022

2023

2025 Midnight Marathon Ride

Whew! What a great ride!  The Midnight Marathon Ride, it's always super intense and a kick off to my cycling season.  For the past couple of years I've been able to do the out & back with some friends.  This years, most of my regular riding buddies couldn't make it.  One was on the shelf with a running injury, another was out of town, and a third had somewhere to be Monday morning.  Fortunately, one of my friends, Andy, would be able to join me, albeit leaving his house late in the evening after finishing Passover and packing away his Passover dishes.  We would text and meet up en route later.  

I left my house just after the end of Passover.  This meant my dinner was one last kosher for Passover dinner, matza pizza with air fried eggplant.  Kind of a bummer to miss out on fresh real pizza, but at least I felt full for the first 18 miles of the evening!

The forecast was for a cool night, getting down to 40F/4C.  When I left my home it was considerably warmer, so I put most of my cold weather gear in a pannier.  The jacket, heavy gloves, gaiter, and fleece helmet liner were so bulky that I had to use a pannier with its aerodynamic penalty instead of an inline trunk bag.

It was about 8:30 in the evening and there were already a lot of cyclists riding out to Hopkinton.  I briefly rode with some people who had started in Hopkinton, rode to Boston, and were now cycling back out to Hopkinton.  The Midnight Marathon Ride is a sort of do what you feel, how you feel event.  Not centrally organized, so people are out doing it in many different ways.  It's one of the attributes that makes the evening so special.  One person in the group had run Boston in the past, but it was her first time cycling it.

I took Beacon all the way to 135 instead of the marathon route.  The combined out and back -- 54 miles -- was going to handily be my longest ride of the year so far.  This route out was marginally easier.

I was on my own the whole way out to Hopkinton.  Occasionally, I'd pick up some packs and ride with them for a while, but there was no one going my pace.  There were A LOT of people out on the course going both ways.  I had some hot tea in my TK Travel Kuppe and a couple water bottles in the cages of my bike.  My top tube snack bag was filled with a variety of bars, a coffee shot, and a battery charger.

Riding out, I had expected to need to stop and put on my winter cycling jacket, but it just didn't get cold until I was in Hopkinton.  Partially, this was due to all the climbing you have to do from Framhingham through Ashland to get to Hopkinton.  There were some people out along the route spectating and cheering cyclists along.  My favorite is the huge bonfire in Ashland.  They always have a big sound system and this year they were blasting Neil Diamond's coming to America.  Topical.

Finally arriving in Hopkinton I met up with my friend Tyler and his girlfriend Marsha. They had brought water, hot tea, and a few boxes of Clif Bars to hand out to people.  Kind of amazing and typically generous of him.  While I was talking to them Tyler noticed I was shivering.  The very strange thing was I didn't perceive it, even after he mentioned it to me.  It's such an important lesson: when you're doing stuff like long bike rides it is very difficult to assess your own physical/mental state.  I have many years of experience doing bike rides in all sorts of conditions.  Often, the best assessment comes from someone else. 

Suffice it to say, I put on my winter cycling coat and zipped it up.  I also drank a coffee shot, or as Tyler said, I took the Ketrecel White.  IYKYK

After chatting for a while I had to leave.  I didn't want to cool down too much and I did want to get going before the bulk of the riders at midnight.  That first descent is a big drop and I feel a lot better getting it out of the way riding among smaller groups.

I turned both my primary & secondary lights on high for the ride down the hill.  Until then I had been running my Magicshine on low.  Really, that's enough for riding on the road, but I like the extra visibility -- and the brightness of the lights on the road helps other cyclists perceive where I was on the road.  

Around this time Andy left his place.  We were in touch and I was keeping an eye out for him.  At a certain point OK, after going through Natick) this meant yelling "Andy!" at every cyclists riding in the other direction.  Finally, we met up just at the Wellesley/Newton border.  It was great to ride with Andy.  We just rode side by side in the quiet suburban streets chatting.  Like Mike Magnuson observed in his book "Heft on Wheels" long distance cycling is like hanging out at a bar talking to your friends.

On our way up the climbs that comprise Heartbreak Hill we saw a banner on the final climb -- something to the effect of "Congratulations, you did it, you've finished heartbreak hill".  Unfortunately this banner was not at the actual summit, but rather some distance from it.  I cannot imagine what this well intentioned gesture did to runners.  I also saw a number of cyclists stopped to take a breather along Heartbreak Hill.  

It was getting pretty last and It was important to double down on habits that keep you safe.  Communicating with other cyclists, double checking for cars, that kind of thing.  Well past your bedtime, you're not your best.  

Finally, we turned onto Boylston to get to the finish.  Coincidentally (I swear) the theme from the movie "Chariots of Fire" started playing on my mix.

We got as close as to the finish line as the police would let us.  Got a few photos and then headed back home.  I got home close to 2 AM, showered, ate a little something and hit the hay.

I've been doing the Midnight Marathon ride for quite a few years now.  If you would like to read more of some of my write ups, they are linked in here at the bottom of the page:  https://playingintrafficcommuting.blogspot.com/2023/03/midnight-marathon-ride-tips-n-tricks.html

As always, keep the rubber side down.

Quechee to Bethel: In Vermont You Earn Every Descent

We rented a place in Quechee Vermont for Memorial Day weekend.  I did a bunch of digging ahead of time trying to find a good road loop in the area.  In the end I just popped open Google Maps, picked a destination, and hit the cycling directions option.

Vermonting in Vermont

The town of Bethel was 25 miles away.  It looked like it had a bakery and a market. The right distance.  Places to get some food & water.  All side roads.  

A Dam On The Quechee River 

50 miles in Vermont means a lot of ups and downs.  It's hilly there!  Well, quite a bit hillier than eastern Massachusetts, anyway.  And gorgeous.  Most of the route paralleled a river, but getting into the valley meant riding from one river valley to another.  

The roads had fairly light traffic and almost as a rule the drivers gave me oodles of space when they passed.  It seemed to me that the Vermont version of the "punishment pass" was only giving me four feet.  As I left the Quechee River Valley, I realized there was a long climb followed by a LONG descent down to the White River.  I realized it was going to be an interesting return trip if I chose to do an out and back along the same route from Bethel.

Regardless of the climbing and descending, the area was simply gorgeous. The route was nicely simple.  From one valley to another.  Ride along a river.  Take a left and ride into a town.  

The weather was perfect.  Sunny.  Maybe even a bit warm.  I was carrying three water bottles on my bike.  I had my trunk with me with some extra food, a cable lock, and some spare clothing in case the forecast was wrong (vest, arm/knee warmers).  You never know.

Finally I got to Bethel.  As it turned out it was not a very big town at all.  And most of the shops were closed for the holiday weekend.  Fortunately, the little market with the very friendly people staffing it was open.  I bought some water, Gatorade, Coca Cola, and a packet of peanuts.

I popped open Google Maps to see what my options were going back.  I picked an alternate route back.  Unfortunately, when I remounted I rode in the wrong direction and then circled back.  When I did that Google Maps re-set me to its preferred cycling route back to Quechee -- the same way I came.  I really had wanted to go another way just to experience some different terrain.  It would have taken me on the other side of the White River.  Additionally, the route would have passed closer to Woodstock where my wife & daughter were spending part of the day.  I thought that I might have been able to meet up with them there.  Oh well.

There were a few historical markers along the way detailing incidents around the Revolutionary War and Lafayette's visit/return later in life. 

Along the way there was a little backup in traffic while someone backed his boat into a driveway.  Oh, I should mention there was tons of spots to pull off and go into the river.  If I were the swimming type, I might have taken advantage of it.  I also had a nice conversation with a motorcyclist while we were rolling slowly in traffic.  There were lots of motorcyclists out enjoying the day.  Had I gone through Woodstock I would have seen more cyclists.  My wife told me there were lots of people out riding on the other side of the river.  I saw a scant handful all day.

Finally, I got to the bridge over the White River.  And the climbing began.  And the climbing went on and on and on.  I just got into a comfortable gear and ground away.  Up and up.  Periodically I had to stand up in the pedals just to stretch and vary the stresses on my body.  On the way up I passed a group of hikers with fishing poles.  I wish I had stopped for a minute to hear that story.  But anyway, the endless climb just continued endlessly.

Until it was finally over and I crested the climb.  There was no way I was going to touch my brakes going down to Quechee.  I couldn't believe how shot my legs were.  I soft pedaled on the crazy descent, just to keep the blood moving in my legs.  After bottoming out at the Quechee River I had a couple small climbs up to my rental.  My legs just felt dead.  It was great.  Anyway, I finished up.  Texted my wife and sat at the table for a good ten or fifteen minutes before I moved again.  

It was a tremendous ride.  About 51 miles and it felt tougher than a lot of 100 mile rides I've done.

Thanks for reading.  Keep the rubber side down.

No, It's Not Your Grandpa's Bike Ride

 Richard, Jay, and I have been ramping up the mileage for Outriders.  A one day 128 mile ride from Boston to Provincetown. Just. For Fun.  No fundraising.  The past couple weeks we've intended to go out for about 65 miles.  On both weekends we ended up doing just 54 miles.  This weekend, though we were determined.  The first weekend we cut it short due to bad weather.  The second weekend, we had to change the route due to road construction.  This weekend? Marlboro Man.  No, we weren't going to smoke a pack and call it a day.  The route goes out through Marlborough.  I was sure it was about 65 miles in its shortest variant (I do have a longer 90 mile ride built off it).

Meanwhile, somewhere in Sudbury

This is kinda sort the route, but not quite.  Oops

We met up around 9:30 AM.  It was a little chilly, but sunny.  So I decided to go with a vest, jersey, arm warmers, thermal bib tights, and wool socks.  It worked out pretty well for the day.  I wore a cycling cap under my helmet and had a thin gaiter in my back pocket in case I did get cold.

Getting ready to roll out

We spun out easily from Brookline.  I think there was a bit of a tail wind.  I had taken the day before as a rest day off the bike and got an excellent night's sleep, so my legs felt really fresh.  In Weston we hopped on the MCRT rail trail where we were passed by an absolute lunatic yelling "on your left" at the top of his lungs.  I was embarrassed as a cyclist, an American, and as a human being.  He scared the bejesus out of a pedestrian.  When we passed her I said in as a conversational tone as possible "uh, we are not with that guy.  Sorry about that."  While we were hanging out at the MCRT, Richard revealed he had done a 72 mile ride earlier in the week.  I think he's ready for Outriders already.

Snack stop at the end of the MCRT in Wayland

Riding out through Water Row were were overflown by an incredibly majestic bald eagle.  I've never seen one that close up before.  It was amazing.  I immediately thought how very wrong Benjamin Franklin was to have preferred the wild turkey as our national bird.  Weather wise, it was an odd day.  If the sun was out, it was warm.  If it was behind a cloud, it was cold and you wanted your arm warmers on.  While riding down Water Row we saw a right hand drive range rover with a dog in the passenger seat.  It totally looked like the dog was driving the car.  Don't drive angry, Rover.

126 was a mess -- they're prepping it for repaving.  It was a relief to bang a left on 117 and take it west.  It was also quite scenic.

We stopped at a convenience store/Dunkin Donuts in Sudbury where Richard finally released an inchworm that had hitched onto him in Newton.  We split a gallon of water.  As we continued on through Stow, Maynard, and Bolton, traffic was pretty heavy at times.  Finally, we got to the intersection with route 85.  One of the things I like about "Marlboro Man" is how simple a route it is for such a long distance.  126 to 117 to 85.  Then take the Marathon Route back into town.  For the 90 mile version, just keep going on 85 to Milford.  Then jump on 16 into town.

Always salacious Betty Boop

After passing through Hudson we stopped at a gas station/convenience store for more food.  Jay seemed to be very hungry.  I'm not sure he'd been staying on top of eating consistently due to food fatigue.  You can get sick of eating the same bike food all the time.  It can make it difficult to take on enough calories to keep going.

All along 85 we were generally going up.  Sometimes the ascent was steep, sometimes, less so, but the general trend is up up up.

The old DMV building. As seen in the film Knives Out

After passing through Marlborough, Northborough, and Southborough, we finally got to Hopkington, 50 plus miles into the ride.  At this point I realized it was going to be quite a bit longer than 65 miles for the day.  I forgot that it was an earlier version of Marlboro Man that was 65 -- that one went out via Watertown.  By going out to Wayland and Sudbury, we'd tacked on quite a few miles.  It was also apparent that Jay was having a difficult day.

It's a steep long climb up to Hopkington from Southborough.  Jay was not having fun.  

Jay is not having fun.

Welcome to Hopkinton

The good thing about arriving in Hopkinton is we'd finished with all the tough riding.  While there was still about 20 miles left, it wasn't going to feature much significant climbing.  Also, since it's along the marathon route, it's a bit of a known quantity.  We rested at the gazebo.  Richard & I made sure to eat.  Finally, it was time to fly down the big descent from Hopkinton into Ashland.  At this point I kept seriously gapping Jay and Richard.  After a bit I rode along side Jay and found out he hadn't eaten in Hopkinton!  We pulled over and I gave him my Skratch Labs drink mix.  We weren't too far from Natick and we planned on stopping at a bakery there.

Scones!

At the bakery we got some scones and filled our water bottles.  There was a young girl in the bakery looking at us through the window.  I waved hello and she came out with her father.  He said she was calling us "the grandpa group".  Honestly, my day would have been better if I hadn't heard that.  The grandpa group.  Ooof.

Anyway, we saddled up for the last 12 miles of the ride.  A segment I know extremely well since it's my normal bike commute route.  It kind of flew by and we were done.  78 miles.  oops.  I felt really bad about it, because clearly 65 was the right number.  And a better increment from the 54 mile loops we'd been doing.  Oh well.

Inside of 128.  Finally

Back in Brookline after 78 miles.

We'll probably do another 78 mile loop, likely the same ride.  And then try to squeeze in a 100 mile ride before Outriders.  As always, you learn every year the importance of eating and drinking.  A couple weeks prior I had really bad leg cramps after riding.  This time I had stayed on top of hydration.  I weighed the same after the ride as before.  So, no leg cramps.

Anyway, thanks for reading.  Keep the rubber side down.