My Bike Blog - 2007-2008

The End of This Blog

2009-01-03T16:55:00.003-05:00

In December 2007, I retired from the Federal government and started a separate blog at norockingchairforme.blogspot.com. That blog covers ALL outdoor activities, including biking, which is also covered here. It's become a bit of a pain to either do double entry or keep entering links back to this blog for any biking entries, so I will be discontinuing updates of this blog from this point forward. For any of you who have been following along, and there are probably precious few, please continue to do so at that new address above. Thanks for reading!

Lights in the Park (Albany)

2008-12-28T18:37:00.010-05:00

MHCC, NYBC, and ABC all coordinated a group ride this evening through Albany's Capital Holiday Lights in the Park display. It was supposed to have been last weekend, but the multiple storms knocked it out and they rescheduled for today. About 15 of us showed up at 4:30 pm, before the displays opened to vehicular traffic (at $15/car), and did 4-5 loops through the light displays. The very beginning of the ride also included a spectacular sunset as a backdrop. That was the real show.

Another rider posted a 4-minute video of the ride on YouTube. I'm the rider in the yellow jacket who appears only occasionally.

Tour de Clifton Park - Part Trois

2008-12-03T16:45:00.002-05:00

This was another Taconic Hiking Club group ride from a friend's house in Clifton Park. It was a sunny fairly calm day, with temps expected to reach the low 40s, but starting out at 10am, it wasn't quite that warm. 5 of us rode a nice mix of back roads and bike paths at a very casual and social pace, stopped for lunch at a local Stewart's shop, and had donuts and cider when we returned to the host's house after 28+ miles.

It's not over 'til it's over...

2008-12-01T15:21:00.002-05:00

Sunny. 53 degrees. December 1. Yesterday's miniscule snowfall has all melted, and the roads are dry. Time for a ride!

After being flat on my back since Thanksgiving night with a MAJOR lower back issue, I was ready to get out of the house. I'm not sure yet what it's all about, but it dates back to a 5k run I did on October 6, after which I experienced excruciating back pain later in the day. It's been off and on since then, but on Thanksgiving, it was definitely the sitting still that brought it forward again. Lots of rest and heating pad time over the weekend, and today I went for x-rays, just in case it's more than a muscle strain. I biked on the trainer twice briefly over the weekend, which went OK, so after being cooped up for all that time, decided to try a real ride today.

I just did a really relaxed 14.6-mile river loop, from SCCC to Lock 9 and back through Scotia. That was fine, so I think I'm almost back to "normal". Taconic Hiking Club is doing a longer slow-paced ride on Wednesday, so I may give that a try if all goes well.

Last Ride?

2008-11-24T21:48:00.002-05:00

After being off the bike for over 3 weeks, I decided I needed to finish off the last 8 miles to put me over 2,200 for the season. It's a stupid arbitrary number, but I just couldn't let it stand at 2,192.

Today was a breezy cold November day in the upper 30s, so I dressed for it and headed for the bike path. I only intended to do the usual 14+-mile river loop, from SCCC to Lock 9 and back. And that's what I did. My hands were cold to begin with, but warmed up after 5-6 miles. I should have worn the silk liners inside the windproof fleece gloves. By the time I finished, my feet were getting a little cool, which I could have prevented with plastic bags over the socks. That worked great last year.

The rest of this week is sloppy, wet, and maybe snowy, so I may well be done for the year, aside from some local MTB jaunts just to get out.

River Ride

2008-10-31T17:13:00.002-05:00

Another semi-nice day, with temps in the 50s, and I needed to get out and do something. I don't seem to be up for any big ride anymore, and haven't been riding enough to take one on anyway, so I did the usual 15-mile river loop. For the first mile or two, my right knee was twinging - it just hasn't been right since I was running last week and almost couldn't continue. It actually hasn't been 100% for many years, but the pain while biking has been only recently. After those first few miles, it worked itself out, and the rest of the ride was OK. It may be time to start putting in some regular time on the trainer just to keep things loose.

Historical Tour of Ballston

2008-10-26T18:43:00.003-05:00

Holly had picked up a brochure from the town that outlined a 20-mile driving tour of the town's historical sites. Here's a link to some history. Unfortunately, several of the stops were on roads that were less than bike-friendly, so today we did an 11-mile subset. It was a beautiful fall day in the 60s, and we had a very relaxed ride.

A Warm October Day

2008-10-15T14:33:00.002-05:00

Even though we climbed Whiteface Mountain yesterday, today was too nice to waste. It seemed like a good idea to just get out and loosen up the sore legs, so I did the minimum river ride, 14.55 miles out to NY103 and back. There was a pretty good headwind westbound, and my butt was complaining before I ever hit 10 miles, so I think this year's biking days may be numbered. The motivation has gone downhill, along with the level of fitness from riding regularly. I'll undoubtedly still get out to some extent, but I think the lengthy rides may be over. It's a really nice time of year for hiking, and it may be time to switch gears.

Another long one

2008-10-08T18:41:00.002-05:00

Today was another gorgeous fall day, with morning temps in the 40s and lots of sun. I decided to ride west today to Schoharie Crossing and have lunch at Karen's Produce and Ice Cream on NY5S. I knew this was about a 45-mile round trip, but it's all flat, and I had no problem doing that mileage yesterday. Light winds from the SE were forecast.

The westbound trip went very quickly and easily, and the explanation for that was the slight SE tailwind. Got to the lunch spot just before noon and had a big burger (with onions and peppers) and fries (with cheese). First mistake. Actually it was the third. The first was doing this kind of mileage on back-to-back days when I haven't been riding very regularly for the past month. The second was accounting for the wind, which was now a pretty brisk headwind all the way home. The third was having a heavy meal like that for lunch when I needed to continue riding. Around 30-35 miles, not far into the return trip, I started to run out of gas, for all three of the above reasons. It was a long slow grind back to the car. By the time I finished, I was pretty well spent, even though I'd been taking it pretty easy for the rest of that distance.

Tomorrow will be a day off to rest and let the body catch up.

A Different River Loop, and a Little More...

2008-10-07T15:52:00.002-05:00

Some friends from the Taconic Hiking Club were doing a rather lengthy ride today, and it actually motivated me to get back on the bike. We started at The Crossings, in Colonie, biked to the Niskayuna train station at Lions Park on the bike path and met some others, and then did a river loop, crossing first the Rexford Bridge and then the Crescent Bridge. We stopped for lunch at Stewart's on US9 near the Crescent Bridge, and continued back to Lions Park via the bike path. There, we left the group we'd met earlier and headed back to The Crossings, for a 43+ mile ride. It was relaxed and sociable, and a beautiful ride on a perfect, though cool, fall day.

Slowing down...

2008-10-01T15:12:00.003-05:00

The weather's been iffy, there's yard work to be done, and I just haven't been motivated to get out much on the bike. Played golf, went for a run, went hiking - all on days when I might normally have biked. Maybe I'm just getting biked out for the year, having done all the big stuff that was on the agenda.

Anyway, went out for another 21-mile river loop today. With temps near 70 in October, it would have been criminal not to do something. There were scattered showers around, and I got a late start after getting some other stuff done, so my choices were limited. I do still want to get in a long-ish day to either Indian Ladder or Karen's for lunch, and if the right day comes along, I'll do that. Today just wasn't it.

When all else fails, ride the river...

2008-09-24T14:50:00.004-05:00

I had thought I might get in a longish ride today, maybe to a lunch spot, but it was not to be. When I did my "ABC Quick Check" as I was getting ready to leave, I found (a) my rear brake was rubbing on a not-quite-true rim; and (b) there was a 3/4" gash in my rear tire, that I should not continue riding with.

So, off came the tire, and the wheel went into my newly acquired truing stand for some tweaking. I found a couple of seriously loose spokes, tightened them, and then tried to get the wheel as straight as I could and still have time for a ride. It ain't perfect, and still needs a little work...

Next, it was off to Scotia to pick up a new tire, a $40.00 Bontrager RaceLite Hard Case, an exact replacement. Considering I got over 5,000 miles on the originals, I really can't complain (much) about the cost.

When I got home, I didn't seem to have my wallet. Since I have a nasty habit of putting things on top of the car and driving away, I was understandably concerned. Called Bill, and yes, I had left it at the bike shop. Stopping back later to pick it up pretty much pre-ordained my day's ride route.

Put the new tire on, (mostly) got it correctly seated, readjusted the rear brake, and headed out. Quite a bit of spoke pinging from somewhere, but it seemed to improve as I rode. The rear brake is a little looser than I'd like, because of the remaining wobble, so that needs some work, along with the wobble itself and the almost-seated tire. Probably won't get to any of this tonight, and may or may not ride tomorrow. Rainy weekend ahead, so plenty of time for this kind of stuff.

Stopped in Scotia and picked up my wallet, and headed back to the car at SCCC, after an easy 21 miles up and down the Mohawk.

League of American Bicyclists Road I Class

2008-09-21T18:11:00.002-05:00

Last night and today, I took this class locally, from a couple of Albany instructors. I pretty much already knew most of it, but did glean a few useful things related to riding vehicularly, handling skills, and maintenance. Today, I biked to the class in Albany and back, and actually had my road test with the instructors on the way home, since they had also bicycled to class. Will send in the written take-home answers tomorrow (pretty easy), and get my certificate and reimbursement from MHCC.

The ride to Albany and back also pushed me over 2,000 miles for the year, so now I've raised the bar and will shoot for 2,500 instead. Lots of good riding days left.

A Long Hiatus

2008-09-18T15:07:00.003-05:00

After the metric century, I didn't ride for a few days, and then we left for a week in Maine. That was mostly a non-active vacation, including a pretty relaxing Windjammer Cruise, so when I got out today for a ride after 10 days out of the saddle, I could really feel the difference. I decided to just do the 14-mile river loop and see how it went, and that turned out to be the right idea. My legs were like lead and my butt hurt, and I was glad for the short mileage day. Of course, I also averaged just under 16 mph, so I must have been cranking pretty good.

Metric Century

2008-09-07T15:34:00.002-05:00

Finally, I managed to finish a metric century (100k = 62 miles) with no cramping or bonking issues! For the past two years, I've run into problems around the 55-60 mile mark, and had to limp to the finish. Today, I did a hilly course in about 4:25, averaging about 14.5 mph overall, and had no such issues. This course totaled just over 3000' of climbing.

Oh, I was pretty tired between the 30 and 50-mile marks, but the rest stop at 53 miles invigorated me, the last 10 miles were mostly downhill with some rolling, and I cruised in to the finish feeling pretty good.

A Basic River Ride

2008-09-04T13:15:00.002-05:00

Needed to test my adjusting of the front wheel spoke tension and its trueness before Sunday's possible metric century, and today was a HOT day, so I opted for the usual flat river loop, from SCCC to Lock 9, and back through Scotia. It actually seemed like the wheel was pretty good, but since I never seem to be able to get it right, I dropped it off afterwards with Bill Lewis at Adirondack Bicycle anyway, just to be sure. It felt pretty good to be back on the bike, and I didn't feel the leg deadness that I was noticing earlier in the week. Guess I just needed a little recovery time.

The weather for Saturday looks pretty bad, with the remains of Hanna blowing through with lots of rain, but Sunday may dry out enough that I'll decide to ride. It would be nice to finish a metric without the cramping and bonking in the late miles that I've experienced for the past two years.

Biking, Mini-golf, and Ice Cream

2008-09-01T17:18:00.002-05:00

Short relaxed ride today, 8+ miles R/T from Holly's house to a local mini-golf location. I won, as always, and got in an easy ride on the old Gitane just to keep the legs loose. I've only put about 80 miles (of 1800+) on this bike this year, and was continually fumbling for the downtube shifters. Good ride.

Back in the saddle again

2008-08-31T15:06:00.002-05:00

Home from Vermont on Friday. It was a great tour, and you can read about it at the link in the previous post.

Yesterday, I did a few local errands on the mountain bike just to keep the legs loose, and today, I biked to Holly's house and back to help her with some yard work. It sure feels different riding not loaded. Spent a lot of time today weighing EVERY item I packed, with an eye toward reducing the touring weight I was carrying. It was WAY over the top.

Annual mileage is now approaching 1,900, and with a possible metric century this weekend, 2,000 is well within reach in the next month or so. Best year ever!

Biking in Northern Vermont

2008-08-20T05:43:00.000-05:00

I'll be away for about 8-9 days, doing a bicycle tour of northern Vermont. I'm riding alone, carrying everything, and mostly camping when available and feasible. My tentative route is shown below:

I'll also be updating an online journal during this trip, and you can follow my progress here:

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/vermont2008

Feel free to sign the guestbook!

Another Test Ride - Steady As She Goes

2008-08-17T12:28:00.003-05:00

Decided I needed at least one more fully loaded ride before I leave for Vermont on Wednesday. I did the Kings/Old State/West Lydius loop, for 16+ miles, and this time the bike felt rock-solid. A few days ago, I tightened up the headset and rear brakes, and maybe that's what did the trick. Whatever I did, the bike feels much better now, and I can just ride, without fighting the bike every step of the way. A butt break (standing on the pedals), a drink while riding, and riding on the top center of the bars are still a little dicey, but those are all easily avoidable.

River Loop, With a Twist

2008-08-15T15:47:00.002-05:00

This afternoon's weather turned out better than expected, so I headed for the bike path to get in a quick flat 15 along the river. As I was heading westbound from SCCC, I realized I had a substantial tailwind, meaning a headwind on boring NY5 on the return. In a flash of brilliance, I decided to take the headwind out of play by climbing Rector Road to Ridge Road, and find my way back down through Scotia somehow. Rector starts out at over a 9% grade for the first .6 miles, and goes a total of 1.6 to Ridge, all of it uphill, so it's a good climb. Came down Closson to NY147 to Snake Hill to Spring, and back down to NY147, turning left on Vley, and ending up near Jumping Jacks, just before the bridge. It was a nice variation on a very common ride.

A Fast SWC Ride

2008-08-14T20:41:00.002-05:00

Tonight's SWC ride was in Clifton Park, and a lot of fast people showed up. These rides always make me ride faster than I really want to, but it's good training, so what the hey? We did 16-17 rolling miles at what felt like a pretty fast pace. Around the 12-mile mark, another person and I decided not to do some optional add-on miles that were mapped, and headed back to the start. Around 13 miles, a dog came after us, and I put the hammer down, and had to keep it down for a good quarter mile. This dog just wouldn't quit! Cruised to the finish after that, and the beer and pizza never tasted so good.

Grant Hill Loop - Loaded

2008-08-13T10:47:00.002-05:00

A nice morning, so it was time to take a loaded ride with some hills and some distance. With 45-50 lbs on the bike, it really handles differently, and I needed to see if yesterday's shimmy issue was adequately resolved.

As I started down Kings Road, the shimmy actually seemed worse then yesterday's final attempt. I stopped at the school and adjusted the weight distribution a bit, and continued on. I started getting used to the feel of the bike, and heading down the hills on Siver Rd, I was over 25 mph and there was no shimmy at all. Continued on to the climb up Grant Hill Road, and had to use ALL of the gears this time. It was an easy spin, but many more pedal strokes than when not loaded and in a slightly higher gear. Continued through French's Hollow, and again all downhills were fine. I did notice that the shimmy is worst when coasting in the 14-16 mph range. Pedaling dampens most of it, and knees against the top tube also helps. Other speeds are much more smooth, so I'll just need to be aware of that. I may need to tweak the weight distribution a little further as I go along, but it seems good enough for now. I also noticed that the headset has a slight wiggle and needs to be tightened, and the rear brake could also be a little more firm. Will take care of those this weekend. Tightening the headset may also help the shimmy problem.

I actually added on a couple of miles by going out US20 to NY158 and back via County Line Rd, for 23 miles total.

Pre-trip Test Ride

2008-08-12T16:37:00.001-05:00

I finally got everything packed and loaded on the bike for next week's departure for Vermont, the point of which was to get out for a loaded test ride. Glad I did - details here...

Another Grant Hill Loop

2008-08-08T10:02:00.003-05:00

50 miles yesterday weren't enough, so I got out for another 21 this morning before the weather went downhill yet again. I just did the same basic loop, and there's not a lot more to add, except to say that riding in the morning is really nice.