2018 Outriders: A Return to Form

This is where I want to be, this is how I want to get there.  So said the old Outriders t-shirt from 2003.  Outriders is a one day 126 mile bike ride from Boston to Provincetown (just for fun).  I've done it off and on since 1999.  As the name suggests, many (maybe most) of the people doing the ride are LGBTQ, but it's a welcoming group and I've never caught any flak for being straight and participating.

The goal line (well, kinda)

I prepped my bike a day or two early and followed my big bike event checklist to make sure I had everything I wanted for this ride:

Helmet
jersey & shorts
gloves
cycling cap
2 water bottles
sunglasses
HRM
six Clif bars
two powdered gatorades
clif shot
sunscreen
lip balm
arm warmers leg warmers
shell/vest
cue sheet holder
wallet
paper towel
under the saddle bag w/tools, tubes, CO2
space blanket
Bag w/post ride clothing including sandals/flipflops

Dinner was work: gnocci, beans, vegetarian sausage. I wanted to be carbo loaded for bear.  I had brand new Specialized Armadillo Elite tires mounted on the bike.  Clothing was laid out and I even prepped my breakfast for the next morning.  Alarms were set for 4:45 AM.  Organization & checklists eliminate stress and mistakes.  This makes it easier to fall asleep.  I got into bed with plenty of time for eight hours of sleep and read a book until I felt drowsy.  

The next morning I was up with my first alarm.  Got everything ready and I was out the door and rolling to the start line in the South End.  My wife and kids had gone to Provincetown the day before, so I didn't have to worry about making too much noise so early in the morning.

Efficient check in.  Give them your rider number et voila

Arriving at the start I was quickly checked in and my rider number was written on my leg.  I met up with a friend and we took off a tad early at 5:50 AM.  The route officially opens at 6 AM.

One fun tradition is your rider number is yours forever.  The lower the number, the longer you've been doing this.

There are no official pit stops for the first 30 miles.  It's kind of a long stretch, but there are many convenience stores and coffee shops on the route.  I had a lot of food on me and I'd even decided to start the day with black iced coffee in one of my water bottles.  A good move for someone as caffeine dependent as I am.

Early on, maybe around the old Boston Globe building on Morrissey Boulevard a fast group came zipping by.  I jumped on the back of the train.  We were setting a blistering pace through Quincy.  Then someone said they thought they had a flat and pulled over.  I know that just a couple blocks away was the first big climb of the day.  I figured I wasn't going to be able to keep up on the climb, but if I left then while they changed a tire I could get over it and then hang on afterwards.  

I probably said something like, "I'll catch you guys on the road" and took off.  It was rude of me, honestly.  I should have made sure that someone was good at changing tires and explained my intention.  Anyway, just after that the bluetooth speaker I had on my headset came unvelcro'ed.  I pulled over to resecure it and the group came ripping past me.  I guess they didn't have a puncture after all.  And there went the train.  Oh well.

My friend Pete must have been spit off the back of the group, since he came by shortly thereafter while I was just clipping back in to get rolling, so at least we were able to ride together.  After a bit we came upon one of the people from the fast group and picked her up too.  I figured we'd collect a few more cyclists from it, but that turned out to be incorrect.  So, we three continued on together until we reached the first official pit stop.

Hamentaschen? Yes! Please!

Wide variety of food, water, and Gatorade.

Friendly volunteers!

At each pit you checked in with your rider number, they confirmed your name, and the info was uploaded.  The organizers & your friends and family knew where you were.  It made me feel very well taken care of.

After the pit I kind of upped the pace a bit and dropped Pete and Karen.  I made sure to eat and drink by the clock, not by the pit stop.  I felt really strong and that all the hard work I'd been putting in to be ready for this cycling season was really paying dividends.  All the squats, deadlifts, hours long wintertime spin sessions inside, early spring cold rainy rides, it was all for this: to be back in form flying to Provincetown. 

My time at 62 miles was something like 3:30.  By far the fastest metric "century" I've done in many years.  This pace was akin to how I rode 17 years ago when I was as fit as I've ever been.  Every skipped dessert, extra slice of pizza, beer, and martini was my payment for this (I've lost 35 pounds so far this year).  And I was enjoying it thoroughly.  

Before crossing the bridge I ran an important errand: I stopped at the Dunkin Donuts for a larged iced coffee.  I put a water bottle in my jersey and the iced coffee fit in my bottle cage nicely.  On the way over the bridge I met up with Pete who had caught up while I was in Dunks.

In queue to order my iced coffee.

Pete and I just over the bridge on the Cape proper.

My new rig, a Trek Emonda. Note the iced coffee.

Lunch stop!

Keep those salty crunchies coming!

I hung out for a bit at the Sandwich pit stop, eating and drinking.  Then, it was back on the road.  The next notable stretch was the service road that parallels route 6.  Traffic was backed up badly on route 6 and Waze/GPS services was routing a fair amount of poorly behaved drivers onto the service road.  It was less than fun sharing the road with them.

After the service road I was quite concerned about what 6A was going to be like.  There's a long stretch on 6A -- maybe 7 miles -- and tourists are lost and locals are angry.  As it turned out, this year it was fine.  No close calls and even a few very polite/careful drivers.  It's an intense section and I was glad when I got to the next pit in Yarmouth.  I entered it with my traditional sarcastic, "Wow, that section was fun!  Let's do that again!"  The riders in the pit seemed nonplussed at my attempted humor.

At this point I was drinking a full bottle of Gatorade in each pit and then another in between pits.  Also, the bottle I was using for Gatorade had a broken seam and was leaking a bit.  It was getting kinda gross.  I kept meeting up with the same riders at the pits.  I think they were faster than me, but I was spending less time in the pits.  I didn't introduce myself, which was kinda dumb on my part.

This stretch of the ride zipped along.  It zigs, zags back onto 6A for a moment, and then it's back up to the middle of the Cape in Brewster to get to the Cape Cod Rail Trail.  In the past I've made up some time here and raised my average speed.  I might pulled back a little time in this stretch, but it wasn't much.  At the 100 mile mark I was averaging 15.4 mph.  This was my best century time in many years.  I was gratified.  

100 miles.  74F  Perfect.

You do have to be careful on the rail trail.  There are a lot of quite inexperienced cyclists, children, and dog walkers on it.  My feeling is that there's a better chance of getting hurt on this stretch, even if the end result is probably not as bad as getting tagged by a car.  I ran into one cyclist -- not a participant in Outriders -- who had hit another cyclist.  He was kind of bloodied and had broken the chainstays on his carbon fiber Giant bicycle.  

The Cape Cod Rail Trail: chock full o' newbies

In any case I pushed along and this traffic sort of thinned out.  I ran into a few more Outriders including one guy who was really concerned about how much further we had to go until the next pit.  He seemed to be having a tough day.  Once you get over 100 miles it really is like breaking an important barrier.  It's a distance that most cyclists never do.  The weather was just perfect.  And the smell of the tidal flats and sun baked pine needles was just, well, it was the smell of Cape Cod to me.

The next pit was the second to last pit.  It was at the very end of the bike path in Wellfleet.  I stopped and ate a bit.  The best thing they had was the watermelon.  It was really refreshing.  The volunteers were great.  I recall that one of them was one of the ride organizers, Sondra.  I was kind of getting tired of eating though.  With 20 miles or so left in the day, this kind of food fatigue is not a good thing.  I really should have immediately left and gone to PB Boulangerie (right around the corner) for a croissant and a double espresso.

The always mellow pit at the end of the rail trail.

Sadly, I didn't do this and I think the lack of caffeine boost was impacting my mood.  Anyway, the next leg of the route is probably my favorite stretch of cycling anywhere.  It features Oceanview Road, some awesome S turns through kettle ponds down to Wellfleet center, and then a gorgeous stretch through the marshes around the Pamet River in Truro.  Although the starch was out of my legs and I lost a bunch of time on the climbs here, I just loved it.  It was a perfect sunny day to be cycling on such quiet classic New England back roads.

At this point I passed the rider who had asked me about how far it was to the next pit.  He was having a tough time.  I think he said he knee hurt earlier.  Anyway, I did a bunch of my usual patter to distract him.  "Hey, you're doing great"  "Look how gorgeous this is, we're lucky to be out here" "Did you know it was around here the Pilgrims stole corn and beans from the Wompanoag".  At the time I thought he wasn't buying it, but afterwards he reached out to me on Facebook and let me know he appreciated the effort.  😃

Finally we came to the last pit, the stop in Truro.  Since I had a lot of water left in my bottle and bunch of food, I shouted out my number, and just checked in.  I also chatted very briefly with another of the ride organizers, Lew.  And away I went to put this ride to bed.  I finished what Gatorade I had, slammed a Clif shot (with caffeine), and chased it with some generous gulps of water.  I got down in the drops and hammered.

Wow, it felt GREAT.  I still had a lot of power in my legs.  I made it up over the last couple climbs in Truro and got my first view of Provincetown.  Whooping and hollering I descended into Beach Point one gigantic grin plastered on my face.

This is where I want to be.
This is how I want to get there.

I crossed into Ptown, rode down Bradford, and there I was.  8:37 and done.  14.9 mph.  Best time in years.  My family was there.  My friends Joe and Rene were there.  It was fantastic.  I got off my bike.  Ate some real food.  Hung out.  I couldn't have been happier.  It turned out that one of the guys I'd been leapfrogging during the latter part of the day remembered me from 2017 -- and my whacky piece of advice "Remember, it's an eating contest with some cycling thrown in".  



Outriders 2018 marked a real return to form for me.  I could not be happier with my performance on the road.  As always, this ride is a challenge and a high point of my cycling season.  One of my favorite events.  🚴💖🚴🚴🚴

Why do organized training rides for your charity ride

You've signed up for a charity ride (yay, good for you!).  Hopefully, this ride has organized training rides.  Why should you take the time to go to a few of these rather than just riding on your own?

I rode 85 miles by myself. ANTISOCIAL

If you are new to cycling and/or have only biked on your own there are a whole bunch of skills you need to learn.  These range from standard long distance cycling tips (eat! drink!) to how to safely ride in a group (point out obstacles! communicate!  don't halfwheel!).

Studies have also found that people riding with friends will go faster and further.

A group of cyclists together is more visible and safer.

There's a more important reason to do training rides though.  To paraphrase the great Bobby Mac of blessed memory, training for the event is the sundae. The event is just the cherry on top.  Training IS the event.  Make sure you have fun doing it.  Riding organized rides gets you out and experiencing the culture of the ride.  You also meet people and make new friends!

So much happier riding with friends!

Lastly, and this is particularly important on one day events, meeting fellow riders gives you a chance to develop a culture unique to the ride you're going to be doing.

Esprit de Corps!

Bike commute tips

I've been commuting by bicycle year round for years now.  I LOVE IT.  More often than not, it's just the best part of my day.  It's a stress reliever, it's my workout, it saves money, and it's environmentally friendly.  Most importantly, day in day out, year round, it's fun.

Look how much fun I've had.

My ride is 15 miles each way, so I use a touring bike and I wear bicycling clothing.  If you've got a shorter commute (less than five miles, let's say) you can use just about any bike and wear what you like.  So, for a short commute, any bike, any clothing, you're good to go.

If you've got a commute that's too far you can try driving part way and cycling the rest or get an electric assist bicycle.  Ebikes have motors that give you an assist when you pedal. You still get a workout, but you can go further/faster than you would have on muscle alone.  

Parking is easy to find in many offices.

But is it safe to bicycle to work?  Yes, it's safe Ride on the right side of the road. Stop at stop lights. Stay out of the door zone. It's safe.

1. Don't feel like you have to do 100% right off the bat with this.  Ease into it.  Bike in, get a lift home with your bike, etc.  It takes a while to get used to working out twice a day every day.  Even now, years into doing this, I can get pretty worn out at the end of the week.  It's a good worn out though. You sleep really well.  

2. Make sure your bike is mechanically sound. Those brakes work, right?  Nothing wobbly? Get it checked out if you aren't sure.  Pump up those tires every couple weeks!

3.  A little planning ahead goes a long way.  Maybe you want to bring in a couple days' worth of work clothing and food?  I do this when I want to ride my "for fun" racing bike that doesn't have a rack & panniers.

4. Check out that route.  Maybe there's a slightly longer but quieter route that's better for cycling?  Talk to area cyclists.  Check out ridewithgps or mapmyride.  Talk to bike commuters at your office.

5. Clothing: for longer commutes you really want to go with padded bike shorts.  If you're the shy type who is not yet ready to dress like a superhero to commute, check out mountain biking shorts.  They look like regular shorts, but they have hidden padding.  Personally, I'm OK with dressing like a superhero every day.  Saddle fit is a whole thing on its own too.

6.  Fenders and lights.  Even you don't intend on riding at night or in the rain, you might end up riding after it rains. Fenders will keep you clean and dry.  Or at least drier.  I use my front white light on blink and my rear red blinkie on during the day too.  Statistics are hard to come by on whether or not this is safer, but with modern rechargeable lights that have very long burn times, so why not?  Point that front light down a bit to be kind to pedestrians.  Fenders and lights.  Really important.

7. Stop at stop lights & stop signs.  I haven't perfected the art of letting solid objects pass through me, so this is what I do.  Having said that, there may be tough intersections where you want to jump the light or cross on the pedestrian signal.  If you have to do this, be careful and make sure you aren't making any pedestrians break stride.  Be polite and kind to the pedestrians.  

8. Ring your bell hello at kids in strollers and on bikes.  You do have a bell, right?

9. Use a rack and a pannier instead of a backpack.  Save the backache and keep that back clear for cooling!

10. Have fun! The drivers sure aren't.

Dressing like a superhero who doesn't know how to take a proper selfie

2018 Midnight Marathon Ride: a million dollar experience

The night before the Boston Marathon there is a ten year old tradition -- an organized/ad hoc bike ride called "The Midnight Marathon Ride".  Most people take the commuter rail train and start in Hopkinton.  For the third year in a row, I did the out and back -- riding from my home in Brookline to Hopkinton and then riding to the finish.  It works out to about 53 miles for the night for me.

The forecast this year was dire -- freezing temperatures, strong winds, and rain.  For once, the weather forecast was accurate.  All of the friends who I was planning on riding with made the wise decision to bail on it.  At 7 PM I stepped out my front door to make my call.  It was barely raining at all.  Since I rode through the winter and have all the cold weather kit, I thought "what the heck, I'll give it a shot".  I put together all my best gear and went out.  At the last minute I also put in some of those Grabber hand warmers for my shoes and gloves.  Almost the whole night I was grateful for having thought of that.

I don't think the heavy stuffs coming down for quite awhile

About ten minutes into my ride I realized I had forgotten to bring any food!  What an incredible mistake.  I didn't want to double back, so I contacted my wife who grabbed some Clif Bars and drove in the car to catch me along the route.

On a normal evening all night long you see other cyclists going out and back along the route.  In good weather at least 3,000 cyclists do the ride and many people don't wait until midnight.  It wasn't going to be that way this year.

I passed a group of cyclists by the side of the road working on a flat tire.  I made sure they were OK, and then continued on.  I was shocked to see that one of them was in shorts.  I was wearing heavy wool socks, shorts, insulated winter cycling bib tights, rain paints, poly pro booties, a jersey, a vest, a winter cycling jacket, a rain jacket, winter cycling mittens, a fleece gaiter, a helmet liner, a helmet, and a helmet cover.  And I was comfortable.  My bike had fenders, a Magicshine headlight on low, a Planetbike headlight on blink, a backup old Magicshine headlight, and a rear red blinkie.

My view for the evening and morning

The rain mostly held off for this part of the night.  I didn't take the exact marathon route outbound, staying on Beacon and then cutting over to Quinnobequinn road.  At the 128 overpass I stopped to eat my first Clif bar and drink more water.

The roads were very quiet.  Cars would only pass occasionally and most stores -- even cafes were closed.  Sleepy Boston suburbs are particularly sleepy on Sunday nights.  Had a Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts been open, I would have stopped in for some coffee, but even those were closed.

Still, I was enjoying myself.  I had a nice mix of music playing on my bluetooth speaker.  It's velcro'ed to the top tube of my bike and not so loud that I can't hear cars and whatnot.

The group of cyclists who had the puncture passed me.  There were also bunches of fast cyclists going by.  Quite a number of people start the out and back together at the Public Garden.  The vanguard of that group was catching me.

In Wellesley center I saw a rider sitting in the doorway of a store & I asked if he was OK.  He responded that he was just fine.  As I passed and got downwind I understood why: he was taking a quick marijuana break.  Whatever it takes, I guess.

In Natick I caught up with the flat tire group again.  They were stopped by the fire station.  The shorts wearing guy had hurt his knee and was looking for a warm place that was open -- maybe just to take stock of the situation.  Nothing seemed to be open, but I said I was sure the fire station would take them in. 

Even at this point I was trying to decide whether or not to press on with this.  I was more than halfway to Hopkinton.  The rain was coming down in bands, but I was still comfortable.  My feet were dry and my gloves felt damp, but overall, I was alright.  

A lot of this was due to the tail wind.  I knew I had one, but I had no idea of how very strong it was really.

I kept getting passed by other cyclists at this point.  That's the nature of this sort of thing.  The only people you're going to see are people going a lot faster or a lot slower than you.

I stopped at the shelter by the Framingham commuter rail station for another Clif bar and to have some more water.  I assessed how I felt and what the conditions looked like and decided to keep going to at least Ashland.  The usual denial and bargaining I do to get through tough rides. A nice lady in Ashland was on her porch cheering on the cyclists offering jello shots.  I took a pass.

The rain got harder and then stopped.  I saw more and more cyclists coming in the opposite direction.  I felt the crunch of ice under my tires.  I got to the Hopkinton town line and started the climb up to the midpoint in earnest.  I talked for a while with one of the cyclists who started at the public garden.  He was one of the few people I talked to who was in good spirits.

I got to the top of the climb and the starting line for the marathon.  My good friend Tyler was there waiting for me with more Clif bars and a gallon of water.  A bunch of other cyclists were also in gazebo.  They were generally not happy campers.  I went to the bathroom, ate a Clif bar, and drank some water.  I swapped out my now wet gloves for a dry old spare set from my pannier.  They were old and torn in places, but they were dry.  In the ten or fifteen minutes I spent in Hopkinton my hands had gone numb!  Tyler said his car had fishtailed a couple times on the drive over.  I thanked Tyler again and departed before I got any more chilled.  

Arriving in Hopkinton

Tyler in Hopkinton with water and food

The huge downhill from Hopkinton was scary due to all the ice and I took it very slowly.  I experienced no problems and the ice went away after few miles.  My hands gradually warmed back up in the dry gloves with the still hot hand warmers.

I briefly chatted with a Yehuda Moon clone on a cargo bike who who dropped me like a stone.  He was happy with his bar mitts.

The headwind was crazy. and you had to push to make headway.  It was a slog.  And it was going to be a slog the whole way.  

By Wellesley college a couple students were out giving high fives.  I really appreciated it!  

A little further on there was a tent from Crimson Cycles, the Giant brand bike store and they were giving out snacks and hot chocolate.  IT WAS THE FINEST HOT CHOCOLATE I'VE HAD IN MY LIFE.  There was a young woman sitting on the curb looking really bad.  I dug through my pannier and at the bottom found a space blanket.  I've had it for more than 20 years I think.  Just sitting there in its wrapper.  It's probably older than she was.  Anyway, I made sure she put it on under her jacket and took off.  

Somewhere along here the rain finally penetrated my gloves and shoes.  Things got tougher.  But I kept slogging along.  I passed a few cyclists and talked for a bit.  Along heartbreak hill one of the people who had been with the hypothermic space blanket woman passed me and let me know she was OK.  I think he said she was bagging the ride and grabbing a Lyft back into town.

I could not believe the slow pace I was making.  The wind was unremitting.  My joke for the night was "You know what would be really crazy?  Running in this shit.  That would be absolutely nuts."  At 1 AM it's kind of funny.

At key points throughout the night there were volunteers pointing out obstacles like railroad tracks and important turns in the course.  

I was getting really tired and worn out, but I pressed on.  The toughest part was passing Coolidge Corner and knowing I was a just a couple blocks from my warm house.

Anyway, I kept going to the finish.  What a relief to pull in and see it.  There were two Boston Police cruisers there.  They had barriers across the road and would not let us cross the actual finish line. Oh well.  I got interviewed by WBZ TV.  How do you feel?  Cold, wet, and tired, but also very happy.

Rainy & windy finish!

Tired! Wet! Cold! Happy!

I rode home and had a nice chat with another cyclist about how to train for 100 mile rides.  Generally, I seemed to be 20 years older than the other riders.  Maybe more.  It's funny to turn around and suddenly you're the old greybeard.

I got home.  Ate.  Showered.  Shivered.  What a tough ride.

To paraphrase a friend of mine, it was a million dollar experience.  It was worth a million dollars to do it, and I'm not sure I'd do it again for a million dollars.  ;-)  Another tough ride that will serve a touchstone on other rides when I think I'm having a tough time.

Hill Repeats!

There's a lot of research showing that regular intense workouts yield large improvements in fitness.  Once a week I try to do a session of hill repeats.  I find the steepest hill that's convenient to me & I go up and down it ad nauseum.  Once I'm warmed up I try to make a few of these ascents with INTENSITY.  I get up out of the saddle and jam as best I can. 

My favorite location for this is Summit Ave in Brookline.  It's 125 vertical feet per loop and it's a pretty darn tough climb.  At the top there's a water fountain for water bottle refills.  A reasonable person would probably shoot to do this for about 45 minutes.  I'm not a reasonable person, so I've built up to doing this for two hours.

Nothing whips you into shape like hills.  But you have to make sure you only do this about once a week.  After two hours of Summit my legs are trashed for a couple days.  I can still ride, but I do so at a much lower intensity to allow for recovery.

Winter Cycling Gear that's worked for me

A quick post about winter cycling and the gear that's worked well for me.

I have a 15 mile commute in the Boston area and successful winter commuting is defined as riding two or three times a week.  That way I'm ready to bump it up to all five days when the weather gets nicer.

I'll start with the bike setup:  I run studded Schwalbe Winter Marathons.  You can literally ride on wet ice with these studded tires -- turning, stopping, starting -- without any problems at all.  The reflective sidewalls on the tires are a nice plus too.  They're visible and identifiable as bicycle at night from quite a distance.

I've also added 3M spoke reflectors on every other spoke.  When a car headlight illuminates them, they make a solid pulsing glowing circle.  Having them on both wheels just screams "bicycle!" when viewed from the side.  They do negatively impact handling in sidewinds -- they feel quite similar to aerospokes in that you can feel the wind kind of grab them when it blows from the side.

Fenders are a must.  I love the ones from Planet Bike.  They're really tough and offer great coverage.  Short fenders don't cut the mustard.  You've got to get full fenders.  I used to use Zefals but I found they weren't durable.  I'd ruin a pair every year.  This never happens with the Planet Bike fenders.  I since tried Bontrager full fenders and have had very good experiences with them too.

Disc brakes are very nice to have.

Lights are critical for visibility.  During day & night I use a rear red Niterider Sentinel & a front Planet Bike Blaze 300 SLX, each on blink mode.  Both are USB rechargeable.  The Blaze doubles as a secondary headlight in case I ever have a problem with my primary headlight.  I've tried a number of high intensity LED headlights and keep coming back to MagicShines.  They are the best of the inexpensive Chinese made headlights.  I've used a few look alikes and they aren't as tough.  In most locales a steady white light on the front and a red reflector or light in back is mandatory to be street legal after dusk.

Clothing:
Layering is important since it can keep you warmer and offer flexibility as conditions change.  The real challenge is always hands & feet.

 

A year ago I bought a couple pairs of Nashbar Mansfield II winter cycling bib tights.  I love them!  They're really warm and have made a huge difference.  They're just a tad thicker than standard bike tights, but it's all the difference in the world.  About half the time I wear cycling shorts under them since they don't have such great structure & their chamois isn't the greatest.  I've since supplemented these with insulated Escape 2 bib tights from Pearlizumi.  They're even warmer and cover your lower back better.

As a boundry layer I used REI water resistant bike pants which have been falling apart for years, but did the job.  They since been replaced with Showers Pass rain paints.  I particularly like the integrated velcro straps on those.  My favorite socks are thick woolie boolies, but pretty much any wool sock will work well. Over my regular Shimano bike shoes I've got Planet Bike Blitzen booties.  They're dry and warm.  When the temp goes below 25F, I also throw some Graber hand warmers into my shoes.  I've been comfortable down to about 12F with this set up.  My gloves are REI winter lobster mitts.  At the very lowest temps -- 12F -- I've had to stop for a coffee after 45 minutes.  My fingers were going numb.  Otherwise they've been acceptable.  In 2019 I replaced my gloves with the outstanding Planet Bike Borealis gloves.  Much warmer and more flexible since they are made of separated inner and outer components.  This makes them much easier to dry between rides.

Over my standard cycling jersey I've got an excellent Road Holland winter commuting jacket.  Sadly, they've gone out of business.  Polarfleece with a zipper works OK too.  Over that I wear a Pearlizumi screaming yellow shell.  I also have a Pearlizumi yellow helmet cover for visibility and wind/rain protection.  I wear a fleece neck gaiter and a thin fleece beanie under my helmet.  For a treat at red lights I brew up some tea and carry it in a beat up commuter mug.  The beat up commuter mug has been replaced with the excellent TK Travel Kuppe.  It excels at keeping hot fluids hot on the coldest of days & it's built to be used in a standard bottle cage.

 

Did I mention the beard, a scarf you can't lose?

North Shore Cyclists' Blazing Saddles Century

"So, are you going to taper or something?"  A friend of mine who runs marathons asked me late this week.  A good question given my weekend plans of doing the North Shore Cyclists "Blazing Saddles" century 100 mile route.  My answer was I was riding very slowly on Thursday and not riding on Friday, surely that would be enough even though the 200 miles I had ridden that week since Sunday was about the most I've ridden in a week for a year.

Turned out I was incorrect.  Tapering -- reducing your training load before a big event so you have fresh legs -- would have been an excellent thing to do.  I would sorely regret this decision.

In any case, I was up before my alarm went off at 5:20 AM.  I had packed all my cycling gear and post ride clothing the night before.  My bike was all prepped as well -- tires topped off the night before to full pressure.  Since the forecast was for a strong chance of showers and the roads were already wet I went with my touring bike.  It's got fenders on it and has a powerful headlight to use in case of actual rain.

Not a morning person.

I got to the start in Byfield (part of Newbury, apparently), got my wristband & map/cue sheet.  My registration was paid for back in May.  I used to do Blazing Saddles every year in the late 90's.  It was offered in a two day format.  You could pay one registration and ride both days any length route you wanted each day.  A couple times I did the 100 mile route both days and even set my personal best for a century on this route back in 2000.  Now it's only run one day.  Typically, it conflicts with my oldest daughter's birthday, so I don't get to ride it anymore.

The route map.  So well arrowed/signed I never had to look at my cue sheet.

As I rolled out I knew I wasn't going to set or come close to my personal best.  The 300 mile week I was so excited to get to was my summertime cycling norm back then.  These days I usually bike less than half of that mileage each week.  It was cool and foggy.  My legs felt achy and didn't have much pop in them.  I jumped on a couple pacelines for bit but didn't feel up to it.  I was paying a price for not tapering.  My legs just weren't there.

Water stop One

I did a good job with keeping up on eating and drinking.  It was helped greatly by the three rest stops along the route.  What a difference from riding on my own.  I didn't have to worry about stopping to get more food.  The variety of food at the stops was really good.  The middle stop featured sandwiches.

An overcast Merrimack River

Very quiet rural roads were the norm.

The terrain on the ride was typical rolling terrain for the area.  The roads were fairly quiet.  We rode along the Merrimack River and then up into New Hampshire for a bit.  Quite a bit of the route was along coastal areas.  I also saw farms with cows, goats, sheep, horses and fields with corn.  It was just gorgeous. A couple standouts was a loop in Ipswitch that went out along a small peninsula and a section along a salt marsh.  The day had been slowly warming, but it had been overcast all day.  Suddenly around one o'clock the sun burned through the clouds and the temperature jumped up to the mid 80's.  It was hot.

Scenic Ipswitch

Towards the end of the ride -- really from the last pit stop around 75 miles or so -- people got quite focused on how many miles were left on the ride.  Riders would repeat how many miles were left or ask each other how many miles they had on their bike computers (due to calibration differences you can get some variances).  People can get really fixated on this and in a way, it's kind of self-defeating.  Yeah, we've got 20 miles left, or whatever, but if you aren't having a good day, this can just get you down.  After all, that's really the toughest part of the ride.  Anything that might have slightly annoying you can become a major issue.  Have you been keeping up on hydration?  Eating enough?  That slight cramp in your leg isn't going to get better.  Achy shoulders start to feel worse.  Keeping ahead of all that early in the day is important -- as is addressing those problems and not obsessing on them in later in the day.  I tend to think that a mileage count down doesn't help with that stuff.  Anyway, we were rolling through some amazing farmland and all I could think was that people pay money to go on bike tours of places like this.

Snacks at 75 miles in.  I had lots more pickles than shown.

In any case, you keep pedaling and what do you do know, you eventually come to the finish.  Hats off to the people who laid out this route, it came in at 100 miles on the nose.  There was an excellent post ride spread, including vegetarian hot dogs.  It was a great ride all in all.  I was very happy to have had the chance to ride such a scenic route after so many years.  I finished my coke, veggie-dogs, said goodbye to the fellow rider I'd been chatting with and went home.  Satisfied with a long day in the saddle even if I didn't hit the pace I'd wanted (taper before events kids!).

Veggie dogs!

Very happy at the finish -- not the least due to getting out of that cycling kit!