“No, thank you Lord Joe, master of all things mechanical and human alike.”

broderic on September 10, 2006

Today, I accomplished what I wanted to do on my bike. I wanted to ride a century before I hit 35. Although, I only rode a metric century, 63 miles, it counts for something. I rode 63.35 miles at the Civil War Century from Thrumont, MD to Gettysburg, PA. We passed through Emmitsburg and the backside of Ski Liberty before riding through the Gettysburg battlefield. It was awesome, and I’ll probably want to do it again next year.

First things first. I woke up early again, packed my car with my gear, and headed out to Thurmont via Route 26. The cool morning air was filled with fog when I reached Frederick county, so the ride was going to be in the early morning mist. As I get closer to the start, I pass some riders. They appeared out of the fog suddenly, so I note that it will be somewhat dangerous until the sun can burn the fog away.

I park. It’s eight o’clock. I am so set. When I get dressed, I find I had left my cycling shoes at home. “Son of a bitch.” I wonder if I can drive back, get them and make it back in time to ride. “Parking closes at 9.” I’m shit out of luck for it would take me 2 hours to go home and back arriving at 10 and missing some of the rest stops along the way. As I go register, I make up my mind. Do it. Ride in your sneakers. Use this calamity to your advantage and make it burn a desire to finish off the ride in style. Fuck it. I go for it.

The ride starts in the cool of the morning. I didn’t wear my arm warmers, because I feel that it was going to heat up later, but the air was still chilly before I was warmed up enough. Riding through the mist for about 45 minutes until the fog lifts was great. Like a dawn patrol, but on a bike.

I make it to the first water stop in an hour or so. I had averaged a good 15 mph! Looks to be about a 4 hour day. I had planned on a 12 mph pace, but I take it. The course was rolling. No hills to climb except for the backside of Ski Liberty. It goes up steep. I go into the red zone thinking it was a short climb, but as I crest the hill, I see it flatten then go up again for another 50 meters. I get off and walk the bike up.

At the second water stop, I grab some food: PBJ and a banana. I fill my water bottles with Gatorade and water. Hopefully, the Gatorade will help me not cramp up later in the ride. When I ride, I usually set my trip computer to display the distance. This time I set it to display my speed. I don’t want to know how many miles are left. It would disappoint me seeing the miles tick by slowly. The second leg averages a little bit less than 15 mph. The legs feel the 33 miles already. I have not ridden past this point so far this year. I am in unchartered territory. Will I have enough to get me through? And where the hell’s Gettysburg?

At this point I am stung by a bee that flew into my helmet. I thrash about trying to knock it away, but don’t know if I am successful. I pull over take off my helmet. A cute girl goes by in a group asking if I’m alright. “Bee!” is all I say. Mental note catch up to that group.

On the third leg, we cruise through the battlefield. I have to come back later and ride the park on a bike for it would be fun, but now I am busy. I rest at the Peach Orchard reading some of the commerative statues. When I climb on my bike again, I pass some kids who cheer the lot of us on. What fun! We cruise past Devil’s Den before leaving the park. I have to do this place again on a leisurely pace.

As we leave Gettysburg, I gain the wheel of four other riders. They’re pushing 20 mph, and I’m loving it except when I throw my chain again!

At the third and final water stop, a sign says that I have done 50 of the 63 miles. Only 13 to go woohoo! As I leave, I suddenly feel the mileage. My legs are getting weaker every turn of the crank. At 52 miles, they don’t feel anything at all. My tank is empty and I hope to make it home. I spin at a leisurely pace hoping that no hills arise. No hills come, but the wind kicks up. I am spinning 11 mph into a headwind and it is no fun. It’s also no fun when I pick up to ladies who latch onto my wheel as I break the wind for them. They back off after riding my wheel for a mile. That sucked.

I pass the cute girl’s group again. They have to wait for a struggling friend. Yet since my legs are dead, they pass me. She’s fast, and her companions complain. I try to keep up, but a steady incline has me falling back.

The final miles are not sliding by quick enough. I watch the odometer on my computer: 57 miles, 58 miles…

We get to the outskirts of Thurmont. A funeral procession passes. I stop and let them through. It’s the hearse, followed by the limo, then some Harleys, and some mods on scooters! I tag along on the back as another cute girl goes by. I try to catch her, but gain no ground. In the town, we’re caught in traffic. It’s stressful.

Finally, the finish. I look down 4 hours and 15 minutes to ride 63.35 miles. Sweet! I averaged about 14+ mph. Not bad. I get something to eat. Ice cream.

It’s been a good year for my cycling. I have put about 350 miles on my Gios and I had another 50 on my Bianchi. I think I’ll be slowing down a bit. Until next year that is.

“Right. And Ghandi was just a lazy little goof who slept 18 hours a day.”

broderic on September 4, 2006

UPDATED WITH A PIC

These are my impressions of participating in the 30 mile ride at the inaugural Save-A-Limb Bike Ride and 5k Run.

It starts of Saturday night getting to bed early. And it was early because I passed out about 11:00 pm. It continues to Sunday morming getting up early at 5:30. I shower because I want to wake up. I eat a breakfast which consists of a bagel with cream cheese (not good), a bowl of oat meal, and a glass of OJ. I am full and ready with fuel. As is my want, I will get a cup of coffee on the way to the event, and top off the fuel tank with a banana before the ride.

I get my bike on the rack and my stuff into the trunk, and jet off to Oregon Ridge, the start of the ride. When I get there, the parking lot has many cyclists in it already. We were psyched for the ride. I get ready: dressed, put on arm warmers because the weather’s cool, inflate the tires, spin around the parking lot to get warm. I hear the 60 mile group go out.

I get into the 30 mile group. It will be a bunch start. I have not done such a start, so I hang back in the group as we all line up. Is this a good decision or bad? For one, I could drop out and go at my own pace, but then I don’t get the benefits of riding in a back who’ll suck me along at a quicker rate, breaking the wind for me. I decide to stick to the final third of the bunch.

And we are off.

We go about a 12 mile pace. It’s not fast enough for me. We are all over the rode. I’ve never ridden on the line before. It sucks and is worrisome, but because we are riding 2 abreast, you have to ride the line in order to pass people. I am part of the bunch that misses the light at Shawan and Cuba. The first, faster group looks to be about 300 meters in front. We go across and begin an ascent and immediately the group starts stringing out. I climb with a pack of twenty riders.

This route feels hilly, and not in the good way. A ride with rolling hills is fun. You go up a hill and come down it all in a gentle manner. This ride feels like its going to go up abruplty and down quickly. 30 mile? Shit.

We make it to the top of a hill and start coming down. I like to pedal downhill, because going fast is fun. Other people do not, and I ride the breaks so as not to bump wheels. It had rained the day before, so the roads are filled with debris and are damp so we’re only going a cautious 30 mph. We go over a wooden bridge. This group I stick with for another hill. Then on the third on Falls Rd. I am dropped. I yo-yo back on the downhill, but on the next hill I am dropped for good. My little group goes away and I am left turning the cranks over. It is not fun to be 5 miles into the ride and pedalling squares. Of course on the downhill, I pedal to catch up. Yes.

I like to yo-yo while riding. Struggle up the hill, then fast down it. I pass riders going down as fast as they passed me going up. I wonder if this ticks them off. What ticks me off is riding up hill at a faster pace as a couple who take the entire road.

The views are nice, but I hardly notice them, because of struggling up and down. I lose my chainring twice both inner and outer(!) both going uphill and coming down(!). I wonder if my chain is clean enough and lubricated.

Every hill spied in the distance brings a muttered curse. Sometimes the road looks to lead up a steep pitch, but luckily the route turns at the base. I make it up most of the hills cranking on the granny gear. Hurray for the triple!

A fellow rider speaks to me. I say hello. He’s from Jersey where it’s flat and the hills are brutal to him. Tell me about it. I leave him rather rudely on a downhill. I can’t talk to you if you’re not pedalling downhill.

The first waterstop is 19 miles in. Although I am not thirsty I was looking for a rest from pedalling. I stay for about 10 minutes then make my way out on my own. I climb more hills, but faced with a steep one I dismount a few feet from the top. Look! Another water stop. This one 4 mile from the other. I grab another drink and some GU. The powerbar stuff in vanilla is much better. I like it.

I set off for the final leg. We make it to the inbound road, Cuba, that was fun to go up. Twenty-eight miles ago there was no hills. It turns out there were two climbs on this rode. I make it up both! On the triple! Huffing and puffing but not getting off! They were each probably a quarter mile in length. I was challenged and I met it. Yes!

I make it down the hill towards Shawan Rd. Cars start coming out of neighborhoods, but I am doing a steady 34 mph pace to the stoplight. At the stoplight I wait with another couple. We cross over to Beaver Dam Rd. Don’t cruise now, where there. Finish it off with a flurry. In the parking lot a ride volunteer has us take a final lap for the kids. I made it. And I received a cool poster from one of the many children whom this charity ride is for. I feel saddened that I didn’t get more donations for them. Damn, I am a selfish bastard.

I made it back with gas in the tank. My legs were not tired like the last time. Hopefully this bodes well for next week. I liked the challenge of this ride and perhaps next year I may be able to ride the 60 miler.

Gah?! This is me after the end of the ride. No wonder the racers zip up at the finish line: the picture looks so much better. That dazed look I need to work on.

Eat A Peach Challenge 2006

broderic on August 14, 2006

I have been riding my bike a lot this summer to start training for a half century (50 miles). One of the training rides I did this past weekend at the Eat A Peach Challenge. I only attempted the 33 mile route, and it was a challenge. I wasn’t dog tired at the end, but I felt it. I probably had 40 miles in me, but I was leaking energy slowly that it could be a problem.

Anyway, I finished 34 miles in 2 hours 30 minutes roughly. That’s time on the bike, but in reality it was about 3.5 hours total. I don’t know where that extra hour came from because I know at the two rest stops I did not take more than 15 minutes each sometimes less.

While I was getting ready in the parking lot, the cyclist next to me said that it was a good day for the challenge, because it was cool. I thought it was going to be too cold so I brought my arm warmers and jacket just in case. When I saw everyone riding in just jerseys, I thought I should follow suit. It wasn’t cold, because the exercise warmed me up.

I asked this cyclist also how hilly the course is. He asked from which direction I drove in that morning. I told him 140, and he just said you missed the hill. O, boy I couldn’t wait to see what he was talking about.

Later on in the ride at the first rest stop I ask the same question from a fellow rider. He had ridden the course in years past including the 67 mile route. He was riding this year’s challenge’s 33 mile route, because he was slightly out of shape. He tells me its “rolling hills,” but save some energy for the last miles with the hill being a particular nasty one.

The first thing out of the parking lot is a hill. According to the cue sheet, it is only 0.3 miles long. I ride easily through it my heart rate not going about 165. That’s easy, but I still have a long way to go.

Now the course is laid out in Carroll County, Md. The county has some nice asphalt which makes you fly. In the early part, I was cranking out 21 miles per hour. I think I should’ve held back some of that in reserve for the hill, but don’t.

The first few miles go by on a quiet country back lane called Salem Bottom Rd. I reach my max speed here, 38 mph. Of course it was going downhill fast which I love, yet realize that what goes down has to go up.

The route also traverses Liberty Rd. If you’ve been on route 26, then you know that the posted speed limit is 55 mph. I don’t even come near that because I spy up ahead a hill. I have to ride up that?! No, but the turn off runs you right into a hill that dropped my chain and is steep. I make it up it with no problems once the chain is back on. Hey, this could be an easy day.

At the top I get lost. I lose my way twice that day.

The rest of the mile flow nice and smooth. There’s a good flat bit that runs through farmlands and is serene and quiet. I liked it until it was time to head north and home to the car.

Going north every time you cross a street, the road went up. The first hill I blaze through it. Not bad, but this time my heart rates hitting 170s.

The next hill is long. I would guess a mile or more at a nice steady pace. I unclip and walk the bike a ways and rest some. I make it up this one on the bike, but only after the rest.

The next hill comes and I get halfway up again. I am gulping air. I stop and walk the rest of the way.

A smaller hill kills me, but I spin up it at 5 mph. I shift gears at the top and spin away, but only at 7 mph. Around this time at the 25 mile mark I feel my legs running out of gas. I begin to watch the odometer thinking of how much more I have to go.

THE HILL: Kate Wagner Rd. It is on the opposite of a steep downhill. If you have enough speed you can coast partway up on momentum. Unfortunately, there’s a light at the bottom. I don’t make the light.

I sit there with another cyclist waiting for the light to change. It goes green and the other guy goes. I stand up on my cranks and realize that I hadn’t changed gears I am still on the big gears. It becomes a struggle on the flat at the doorstep of the hill.

This thing is killing me. I struggle to get the gears to change. They finally do, and I begin to spin up the hill. A quarter of the way up, I attempt to change to my granny gear (Thank god for triple chainrings!) only to find that I was in my lowest gears from the start. I’m cooked. I walk the bike the rest of the way up.

Finally, I spin for home feeling it in my legs. I follow some lady who was portly but she keeps me in a safe distance away.

I get the feeling that I need to do some training for the ride in September.

Le Tour 2006: Remarkable Ride to Morzine

broderic on July 21, 2006

And I thought that his chances were finished, but Floyd Landis rides a phenomenal 17th stage to claw back into contention for the maillot jaune. He now sits third just 30 seconds back of the leader and with only the individual time trial left, he has a good chance of extending the American streak at Le Tour to 8 straight years.

He broke the contenders backs very early in the stage upon the first climb of the day. His team set a steady, but quick, pace up the Col des Saisies from which he launched his attack. The peleton let him have it thinking that he couldn’t ride at speed all the way to the finish. Yet, at each successive mountain, he would retake time back from the leaders until finally the fabled Col de Jeux Plane awaited where he rode the lone remaining cyclist off his wheel and into legend.

Now the tour takes a breather out of the mountains and a transitional stage awaits for them tomorrow. Can everyone get there legs back in time for the final time trial? I can’t wait.

The tour has been spectacular. It probably hasn’t been this good since the 80s. No more Lance Armstrong and his bossing of the peleton or Big Mig taking time in the time trials to sit and wait to win. This year’s been great to watch and hard to predict because there seems to be no one strong enough to win it except for Landis. I feel that since there is no one dominant team or dominant cyclist that the peleton doesn’t know what to do. It has been great.

Allez Floyd! Allez!

Le Tour 2006: Damn you La Toussuire!

broderic on July 20, 2006

This has been an amazing Tour. What seemed to be Floy Landis’s time came to an abrupt and stunning end on the top of La Toussuire. This was the first time that the Tour had visited this particular climb, and it will now go down as the scene of carnage.

I haven’t seen the footage, but I can hear Paul Sherwin proclaiming, “This is an utter disaster for Landis.” It must have been something to see. Oh! What could’ve been.

There is still tomorrow’s final mountain stage and with the crowd at the top of the leader board it is still anyone’s race. If it’s not decided tomorrow, then the individual time trial on Saturday will definitely sort things out.

I am bummed out for Floyd Landis. He looked so promising. This is one strange Tour, but exciting.

Le Tour 2006: L’Alpe d’Huez

broderic on July 18, 2006

The name says it all. The Yankee Stadium of cycling, the Orange Bowl of cycling, l’Alpe d’Huez. Franke Shleck takes it at the pinnacle.

Landis makes it back into yellow.

This is just the beginning of a good final week. Two more days in the Alps and a penultimate individual time trial will decide things. Who knows if Landis can keep it especially with the next two days in the mountains.

Le Tour 2006: GC standings blown up again

broderic on July 14, 2006

What a day of racing! An American sandwich of Landis and Leipheimer surrounding the eventual stage winner Menchov. He outsprints Leipheimer to get the stage win, but Landis gets the maillot jaune.

I mistakenly thought that yesterday the GC contenders let it slip away, but they waited until today to, once again, shake things up. It was 6 hours of hard racing, up 5 mountains, and finishing on an uphill climb. The main group destroyed by the hard charging of team T-Mobile, up the Col de Portillon, but they couldn’t maintain the pace which was picked up by Rabobank (I fly their team colors on my helmet!). Team Rabobank lead out the eventual winner of the day. And the race is once again on.

Unfortunately, it looks as if team Discovery Channel have come crashing back to earth. George Hincapie getting dropped early on the Portillon and finishing well back. Popovych finishes later as well. The team that was so good with Lance Armstrong as the leader has broken asundered and will now have to settle for stage wins. Armstrong was their motivator and without him they are struggling. They have regressed back to being spectators in this race. Perhaps, a stage win later, but they are not the monster team like years past.

It always amazes me that men on bikes can average 19mph up mountain passes. I can’t even maintain that for 10 miles on flat land with a tail wind. These dudes are amazing.

That’s it for the Pyranees. Some flatter stages ahead and next week, the Alps. It has been a surprising Tour.

Le Tour 2006: Up and up and up they’ll go

broderic on July 13, 2006

Stage 10 was the first mountain stage of this year’s Tour. And what a Tour it has become.

There are no clear favorites, yet, and today’s stage produced a long breakaway with the finishers climbing right up the podium and into contention for the maillot jaune.

I think the main contenders (Landis, Hincapie, Kloden) let today’s break gain too much time. They are minutes off the lead. It may be too much to regain that and today we may have seen the winner of the Tour.

Tomorrow more climbing!

But can he do the job

broderic on July 12, 2006

Everyone who watched the 2006 World Cup Final between Italy and France are still wondering why Zidane headbutted the Italian opponent. It’s still a mystery and unfortunately a sad coda to a brilliant career.

Here’s a video of an amazing Zidane goal. Fucking awesome.